July 5, 2023  (Lakeside) – Shiloh Ireland sent in these photos of spectators and participants celebrating our nation’s birthday at the Lakeside Patriotic 4^th of July Parade yesterday.

East County News  Service

July 3, 2023 (Santee) – A man armed with knives, a hatchet and dumbbell weights threatened to harm people including deputies inside the Walmart Store in Santee yesterday, prompting a seven-hour stand-ff with law enforcement.

The 22-year-old man entered the store on Town Center Parkway shortly after noon and climbed atop shelving in the sporting goods department.  “Store employees called the Sheriff's Department after the man armed himself with workout dumbbells and threatened to use them as weapons. The man also told employees he wanted deputies to shoot him,” says Lieutenant Christopher Galve with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

The Walmart store was evacuated and closed down for several hours.The Sheriff's Special Enforcement Detail (SED/SWAT team) and Crisis Negotiations Team were called to assist.

“During negotiations, deputies determined the man was experiencing a mental health crisis,” Lt. Galve says. “The man refused to drop his weapons and refused to come down off the shelving. He told deputies several times to shoot him and walked toward them with the hatchet raised.”

 East County News Service

June 28, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The Santee Fire Department and Lakeside Fire Protection District (FPD) assumed local control of ambulance services in their communities through formation of the Santee-Lakeside Emergency Medical Authority (SLEMSA) back on January 1.  As a result, on May 12, an additional ambulance was placed in service in Lakeside. This 12-hour Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance operates daily from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to assist with peak call volumes. Starting June 30, a  A second 12-hour BLS ambulance will go into service in Santee.

Story and photos by Shiloh Ireland

June 27, 2023  (Lakeside) – A vacant home went up in flames on Saturday 9727 Petite Lane in Lakeside.

Officials said the home was unoccupied, but being renovated.

By Miriam Raftery

June 21, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – Two drownings, one fatal, two days apart in Lakeside prompted East County Magazine to dive into the circumstances and the victims’ lives. Our coverage has resulted in two awards from the Society of  Professional Journalists presented at last night’s awards ceremony.

Shiloh Ireland’s article, Who was Thomas Moreno? received first place in the daily reporting profile category. The piece profiled a man whose body was found in a Lakeside pond, his hope to reunite with his adult children after prison, and suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

A shocking video provided by a community member, Angel New, led to our article, Heroic bystander and deputies save drowning woman in Lindo Lake. Miriam Raftery and Shiloh Ireland shared SPJ’s third place award for breaking news in the daily reporting category.  The article documented a shocking delay by deputies to take action while a homeless woman was drowning in Lindo Lake. A bystander ultimately entered the water, and only then did law enforcement officials help to save her life. ECM grilled multiple officials in an effort to seek answers and accountability.

Our coverage depends on your support.  Will you please donate to help us report on more important stories in our region? Give now.

Story and photos by Josh Stotler

Photo, left:SDG&E Helitanker 729 makes a water drop on the Wildcat fire as crews cut brush below.

Photo, right:Flames overtake vegetation and paintball barricades on the Barona reservation.

June 20, 2023 (Ramona) -- On a day that saw four vegetation fires in San Diego County, residents can rest assured that firefighters are ready and able to aggressively attack wildfires. 

At 4:06 p.m., calls came in to 911 dispatch reporting smoke in the area off Wildcat Canyon Road on the Barona reservation. Crews, most of which were coming off other fires, were sent to the area and confirmed a fire was making its way through the brush of a paintball park.

Crews set up quickly and were familiar with this exact area. Only two short months ago, this place was filled with firetrucks, hand crews and firefighting aircraft, not for a fire, but for the 2023 Multi-Agency Wildland  Preparedness Exercise—a three day real world simulation that played out nearly exact to the scenario fire crews faced today.

East County News Service

Photo via County News Service

June 14, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The State of California has awarded a grant of nearly $17 million to help put people experiencing homelessness along the San Diego Riverbed into permanent housing and to connect them with services.

The grant is the result of a county-led partnership in collaboration with the city of Santee, the city of San Diego, and the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans).  It’s funded as part of $240 million in Encampment Resolution Funds that California announced last year to help local jurisdictions resolve encampments and get people into housing, as well as provide services.

According to the Point in Time homeless count conducted countywide on a January morning in 2023, homelessness countywide has risen by 25% over last year’s count.  Here in East County, communities along the San Diego River, where there are numerous homeless camps, have seen homeless numbers rise significantly including a 58% increase in Lakeside, 23% increase in Lakeside, and an 18% increase in Spring Valley.  In Lakeside and Valley, 100% of homeless people are unsheltered, highlighting the need for these funds. The count found 78 homeless people in Lakeside and 71 in SpringValley.  Santee had76 homeless individuals, of whom only 18 were in any type of shelter.

By Mike Allen

June 9, 2023 (Santee) -- Padre Dam Water District’s board is fed up with having to pay higher rates for the water it purchases from the San Diego County Water Authority, and voted unanimously not to go along with any rate hike unless the CWA gets serious about its long-range planning.

East County News Service

June 6, 2023 (Santee) -- Santee officials say it’s music to their ears – with the start of the city’s Summer Concerts taking stage on June 15th and running through August 17^th. 

The concerts are held at  Town Center Community Park East on Thursday nights from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. (except for July 6^th).

By Miriam Raftery

May 28, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Equestrian Foundation (USEF) will hold a webinar on May 31 at 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Vesicular Stomatis Virus (VSV), a contagious livestock disease that has spread to at least six different communities in San Diego County. Registration is required for the webinar, which will be held on Zoom. Register here.

Dr. Angela Pelzel McCluskey, USDA equine epidemiologist, will provide an overview of Vesicular Stomatitis and the current situation report also providing perspective based on her firsthand experience managing numerous VS outbreaks in her previous roles. Dr. Katie Flynn,USEF Equine Health and Biosecurity veterinarian, will cover prevention measures for horses and their premises, as well as the biosecurity requirements being implemented at those USEF events with horses competing from VS Affected States.

As of Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that 23 properties are quarantined due to VSV, including 18 sites in San Diego County—seven more than in the last report five days earlier.  All but one case in the outbreak have occurred in equine species such as horses, but there is one suspected case  in a “backyard beef steer” at a local property with three cattle. The remaining cases are in Riverside County. 

The USDA has not responded to our media inquiry for specific locations impacted in our region, but the Ramona  Sentinel reports that the first six confirmed cases since the outbreak began May 17 were in Ramona, Lakeside, Campo, Jamul, Del Sur, and Descanso, according to local veterinarians. San Diego and Riverside counties are the only places in the nation with current cases.

May 26, 2023 (Lakeside) – Trevi Hills Winery in Lakeside will host “Runway Chardonnay” on Saturday, May 27 from  3 p.m. to 7 p.m. featuring wine, fashion and music.  The event is presented by Local Umbrella Media and  benefits Music Therapy for Veterans studio.

Floyd Armstrong will be entertaining with his smooth, baritone voice singing favorites while guests sip wine and feast their eyes on Dawn Sebaugh's new spring collection from WALA, a beautiful compilation one of a kind dresses inspired from her original art.

By Shiloh  Ireland

May 21, 2023 (Lakeside) – Ginger Rich, owner of Reflections Salon and Day Spa in Lakeside was once homeless in San Diego.  Because of those who believed in her, she is now a successful businesses woman owning the salon for over seven years.

Each year, she’s held Haircuts for the Homeless, an outreach event to help those in need, offering not only haircuts, but also clothing, food, and personal essentials. In addition,  several organizations from county to private offered services and resources.

East County News Service

May 21, 2023  (Santee) – Jose  Lawrence Ruvalcaba, 29, is in custody for allegedly groping a 12-year-old girl on May 18.

A 12-year-old student from Chett F. Harritt School was walking towards  Big Rock Park on Arlette Street on May 18 shortly before 4 p.m. when a man approached her and inappropriately touched her chest, says Lieutenant Anthony O’Boyle with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

According to O’Boyle, a friend who was with the victim tried to intervene by pushing away the suspect. He took off on an electric black and gray scooter. 

An employee at the Santee Teen Center, which is also located at Big Rock Park, called the Sheriff's Department on Friday, May 19 just before 6:30 p.m. when he saw a man who matched the all-black clothing description of the suspect and his scooter.

Source: San Diego Sheriff

May 20, 2023 (Santee) -- Detectives with the Sheriff's Child Abuse Unit and the Santee Sheriff's Station want the public's help in identifying and locating a man wanted for groping a child in Santee. The alleged incident occurred  on Thursday, May 18 just before 4:00 p.m. near Big Rock Park in the 8100 block of Arlette Street.

“A 12-year-old student from Chett F. Harritt School was walking towards the park when a man approached her,” says Lieutenant Anthony O’Boyle. “The man inappropriately touched her chest. A friend who was with the victim tried to intervene by pushing away the suspect. He took off on an electric black and gray scooter. He was last seen going eastbound towards Mesa Road.”