East County News Service

July 22, 2023 (Santee) – Catalytic converter thefts off vehicles have been on the rise regionally. To help protect motorists from losses and increase the chances of being able to return stolen parts to their owners, the San Diego County Sheriff is hosting a free catalytic converter engraving event on Saturday, July 29 from 9 a.m.to 1 p.m. at 8891 Railroad Ave. in Santee.Reservations are required.

By Miriam Raftery

Reported incident may be a hoax, but workers in the field are urged not to accept water or food from strangers

July 21, 2023 – A flyer with SDG&E’s logo circulating on Facebook claims two workers for a local flagging company during extreme heat were given water bottles by a stranger. “Apparently, the water bottles were laced with Fentanyl. Sadly, one of the flaggers died and the other is in critical condition after ingesting the water,” the flyer headlined “Non-SDG&E Contractor Incident Alert” states.

However, SDG&E spokesman Alex Welling told ECM, “We have been working on this since yesterday and we cannot verify the information.  We sent out an alert to contractors; this is true. But after further information we have been unable to verify the source.”

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Boxes hold electoral college electors' votes, awaiting certification by Vice President Mike Pence in Congress on January 6, 2021.  Photo courtesy of Senator Jeff Merkley.

July 19, 2023 (Washington D.C.) – Former President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he received notice that he is a target of a federal grand jury investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The Grand Jury has been looking into the violent attack on the U.S. capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.  That attack included plans by insurrectionists to halt the counting of votes and now appears tied to a conspiracy to certify fake electors from multiple states and substitute them for the real electors’ votes.

The U.S. Department of Justice and some states have launched probes into the fake elector scheme,with the first arrests announced in Michigan, where felony charges have been filed. Here’s the latest, according to Newsweek:

Source: American Tortoise Rescue

Photo: Red-eared slider turtle, by Greg Hume, CC-by-SA via Wikipedia

July 18,2023 (Malibu, CA ) – American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), founded in 1990 as the first national turtle and tortoise rescue, is sending a plea to parents – buy Ninja toys not turtles.

Update July 20, 2023:  The victim has been identified as Kai Torres Bronson, 24, of Otay Mesa, according to the County Medical Examiner.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Cal Fire

July 17, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – A Good Samaritan who helped rescue hikers suffering heat-related illnesses on Saturday has died, Cal Fire reports.

By Jacob Pamus

Photos via Wikimedia Commons

July 14, 2023 (Hollywood, CA) – The Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike in Hollywood since May 2nd, meaning that all writing for film and television has halted. Now on July 13th,  after the Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has failed to negotiate with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP),  they have decided to join the strike with the WGA. This means that along with all writing, all acting in Hollywood has halted as well.

By Jacob Pamus

July 14, 2023 (Washington D.C.) – Two weeks after the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden’s executive order granting sweeping forgiveness of student loan debts, Biden and the Department of Education today announced a new, more tailored plan to forgive $39 billion in student debt.

By Ken Stone,Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  La Mesa Councilman Jack Shu wore an orange shirt emblematic of the gun-safety movement. Image via Facebook

July 12, 2023 (La Mesa) - The La Mesa City Council on Tuesday night advanced a draft ordinance requiring residents to keep firearms locked away or disabled with a trigger lock unless carried by — or near — an authorized user in the home.

By Miriam Raftery

July 12, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The  Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) outbreak in livestock that began in San Diego County in May has now spread to encompass six California counties.  One county in Texas also had a single confirmed case on a property that’s been released from quarantine.

Species affected locally includes primarily equine species such as horses, though two local sites have had cattle infected and one San Diego location has had clinically infected rhinoceros.

By Miriam Raftery

July 6, 2023 –Our East County Dining Club is back!  East  County Magazine invites you to join us on Thursday, July 20 at 6:30 p.m. for a fundraiser where you can savor the flavors of southern Italy at AnniVenti La Trattoria,  a delightful new restaurant at 8099 Broadway in Lemon Grove. RSVP early to save space!

15% of all food and drinks plus 100% of raffle tickets will benefit East County Media to support East County Magazine, nonprofit award-winning community news coverage, and East Coundy Wildfire & Emergency Alerts.

For just $35 per person, (excluding tax and tip), the 4-course feast will include:

Appetizers served family-style (pistachio burrata, calamari, and charcuterie)

Pasta entrée options:

-- Spaghetti Vongole (clams, white wine garlic sauce, pesto and pistachio)

-- Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe (chicken pasta in creamy pepper sauce)

-- Busiata Normanna(eggplant, tomato, basil, mint, ricotta)

-- Pappardelle al Ragu (slowly braised beef pasta)                  

Caesar salad

Desert:  Tiramisu,Limoincello, or Cannoli

The restaurant also has a full wine list as well as beer and creative cocktails.

Win prizes! We will also have a raffle with prizes including a gift card to AnniVenti, gift certificates for other local merchants, gift baskets, jewelry, flowers, books, and more! Thanks to our prize sponsors so far: Anniventi La Tratorria,  Mastiff Kitchen, Jasmine Creek Florist,  Elevated Coffee, Mario's Family Clothing Center,  Stephanie Klein at Roots Real Estate, Lemon Grove Antique Mall, El Pollo Grill, Maxwell's House of Books, Mary Ann Chanthala at ASKMary4RealEstate brokered by ΓEA⅃, Moutain Gypsy, Jean's Dance Studio, Busy Bee Garden Co-op, Flowers by Elsa, and more.  

RSVP BY JULY 17: Please email editor@eastcountymagazine.org and include your name, the number of people in your party, and the subject line  “RSP for AnniVenti.” To reserve space for the July 20 event. (Late RSVPs may be accepted on a limited basis, based on availability.) We expect this to be a popular event to welcome Lemon Grove’s newest fine dining restaurant!

By Miriam Raftery

Update: The victim has been identified as Richard Taylor, 68, of Lakeside.

July 11, 2023 (Lakeside) – A Lakeside father died at the scene of a solo-vehicle three-wheel motorcycle crash last night that injured his 2-year-old son, a passenger.

By Mike Allen

July 10, 2023 (Santee) -- Already paying some of the highest water bills in the nation, customers of Padre Dam Municipal Water District as well as 22 other agencies could see their rates increase even more if two North County water districts secede from the San Diego County Water Authority (CWA).

Both the Fallbrook Public Utilities District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District have been trying to leave the CWA because they say the costs for the purchased water is too high, and they can get it cheaper by joining the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County.

An independent government agency, the Local Agency Formation Commission of San Diego County, better known as LAFCO, will determine the outcome of this issue, and scheduled to take a vote today.

Story and Photos by Josh Stotler

July 9, 2023 (Potrero) -- At 2:49 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to 25850 Potrero Park Dr. for reports of a vegetation fire. Arriving units radioed that the fire was 3-5 acres in heavy fuel with a potential to spread to 50-100 acres. 

Additional resources were requested, bringing in more air support and ground crews to the scene. Structures were threatened and evacuation warnings were issued for grids 0852 and 0853, the Potrero valley.  Due to the unpredictable nature of the fire, the warnings were quickly upgraded to evacuation orders for those two grids.

By Miriam Raftery; Henri Migala contributed to this report

Photos by Henri Migala

July 9, 2023 (Rancho San Diego) -- A blue vehicle crashed into a power pole on  Steele Canyon Rd. near State Route 94 this morning. The power pole fell across the roadway and the vehicle caught fire, causing closure of Steele Canyon Rd. in both directions.

The crash caused a power outage affecting portions of Spring Valley,  Rancho San Diego and La Presa.

East County News Service

Photo and video by Robert Gehr

July 8, 2023 (El Cajon) – A two-vehicle crash knocked over a fire hydrant at the corner of Van Houton and Douglas in El Cajon this morning, spewing water across the roadways.  The vehicles involved were a white pickup truck and a dark Nissan car, according to ECM photographer Robert Gehr.