East County News Service

May 17, 2015 (Lakeside) – Lakeside resident Shermal Taha, 23, and Nicole Gonzales, 27 of Spokane, Washington have been arrested and booked on commercial burglary, conspiracy and felony evading of arrest.

May 14, 2015 (Lakeside) - The Crimson River quartet will perform a free concert feature a rich blend of harmony on Saturday, May 30th at 6 p.m.  The concert will be held at the Lakeside Christian Church, 13739 El Monte Road, in Lakeside as the church celebrates 60 years at the site.

East County News Service

May 1, 2015 (Santee) – Ryan Willweber, a track star and junior at West Hills High School in Santee, has died of injuries sustained in a crash yesterday afternoon.  Two other students were injured, including Willweber’s brother, who reportedly suffered broken bones.

By Miriam Raftery

April 25, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) has released a $200 billion, 35-year regional growth plan for the county titled "San Diego Forward: The Regional Plan."   The plan lays out visions for transportation, sustainability and growth through 2050 including higher density land use along transportation corridors.

Several public hearings will be held including a May 13^th hearing at 6 p.m. in La Mesa’s community center.  But thus far, no hearings have been schedule in East County’s mountain, desert or rural areas.

East County Magazine asked the County why no hearings are scheduled in those areas. We pointed out that rural, mountain and desert areas lack public transit, making it difficult for residents to travel long distances to attend hearings in San Diego or even La Mesa.  In response, the County indicated it could hold additional workshops potentially if a community group to partner with could be found.

By Ed Barrena



April 24, 2015 (Santee)--Some breweries are huge, some are small. Butcher's Brewing in Santee is a small microbrewery, however they serve nothing but big beers.

East County News Service

April 19, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)—From beekeeping to mobile home park expansion, here are the hot items on local city council agendas this week in Lemon Grove and Santee.

April 17, 2015 (Lakeside) - At the Eastbound Bar & Grill in Lakeside, staff is ready to welcome the rodeo crowd this weekend. The restaurant is ready to give away 1,000 free hats to its customers -- and provide a streetside spot to watch the 50th annual rodeo Saturday morning.

April 9, 2015 (Lakeside) – A two-hour guided hike at the Lakeside River Park will be held on Saturday, April 11 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. to learn about birds of the San Diego River. Gail Sabbadini will lead the hike, identifying both year-round and migratory species.

April 5, 2015 (Lakeside) – The Lakeside Rodeo has been an annual tradition in Lakeside for the past 51 years. 

This year’s event features Western-style entertainment and events that include bronc riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, roping competitions, bull riding, and for youngsters, stick horse riding.

World champion trick roper Rider Keisner will be performing, In addition, the  Budweiser Clydesdale horses will also make an appearance at some (though not all) rodeo performances, with public viewings also scheduled.

By Miriam Raftery

March 26, 2015 (Santee) – Randy Voepel, Santee’s Mayor for the past 15 years, has thrown his hat in the ring to run for the 71^st State Assembly seat that Brian Jones is vacating due to term limits, SD Rostra reports. He’ll be running against Michael Harrison, who works for Congressman Duncan Hunter and previously worked for Hunter’s father when he served in Congress.

March 11, 2015 (Santee) - The Santee Chamber of Commerce invites you to join over 30,000 visitors at the Santee Street Fair and Craft Beer Festival on Saturday, May 23 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Festival highlights include: a craft beer festival, live music and entertainment, a crafter row and artist alley, over 300 food and vendor booths, carnival rides and games for the family. In celebration of Memorial Day weekend, there will also be a tribute to our veterans. This free event will be held at Riverview Parkway and Town Center Parkway in Santee.

March 5, 2015 (Lakeside) – Sheriff’s deputies arrested a woman Thursday for threatening to “shoot up” a school in the Lakeside area.  Sarah Joy Lomaintewa, 26, will be charged with making terrorist threats and threatening a school.

East County News Service

Photo: Courtesy of ECM news partner 10 News

March 3, 2015 (Lakeside) – Sheriff’s deputies trying to serve an eviction notice at an apartment in the Riverview Villa Apartments on Woodside Avenue in Lakeside this morning made a gruesome discovery.

February 3, 2015 (Santee Lakes) - Santee Lakes will be stocking lakes two and three with 1,000 pounds of trout on Friday, February 6^th – bringing the total of Rainbow Trout planted in the lake since November to a whopping 10,500 pounds.  For  fishing information, you can visit www.SanteeLakes.com.