East County News Service

January 21, 2017 (San Diego's East County) - One of the most exciting days in sports is right around the corner: Super Bowl Sunday on February 5^th.  Everyone knows that no football party is complete without cold beers, huge TVs, delicious food and a little bit of game-day rivalry.  This year, The Hills Local Pub in La Mesa and Eastbound Bar & Grill in Santee are serving up Super Bowl parties where you can root for your favorite team, enjoy food specials, and go for a win of your own in games with prizes.

Story and photo by Miriam Raftery

Photo: University Avenue in La Mesa between Olive and Parks

January 21, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – From Thursday through Saturday, storms doused our region.  Mount Laguna received over 10 inches of snow.

Julian got 5.97 inches of precipitation, the most in San Diego County.  Lake Cuyamaca, Descanso, and Pine Hills all got over 5 inches of rain.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, right:  Cathy and Kayla Lechien at La Mesa trolley stop

Photo, left:  Women's marchers at the embarcadero in San Diego 

January 21, 2017 (San  Diego) – At the Spring Street trolley station in La Mesa, hundreds of East County residents converged to ride downtown and join this morning’s  Women’s March.

Major media outlets estimate some 40,000 marchers in San Diego joined millions more across the U.S. in what CBS reports was the largest protest in U.S. history.  Some participants estimate there were over 100,000 marching in San Diego; another 10,000 marched in North County. Other cities around the globe also drew huge crowds.

 Women and men,  young and old, straight and gay, white, black and Latino –and all shared one common goal:  forging a resistance coalition opposed to policies of President Donald Trump that would weaken rights and freedoms for  women, minorities, and many other American.

East County News Service

January 21, 2017 (La Mesa) -- People's hearts tend to grow 3x the size when Valentine's Day rolls around. This year, the community can show their love by attending Cupid's Carouse, an annual tasting party, on Saturday, Feb. 11 from 7 - 10 p.m. at the La Mesa Community Center.

East County News Service

January 17, 2017 (San Diego) - A women’s march, in solidarity with a national women’s march on Washington to protest Donald Trump’s inauguration and denigrating statements toward women, will be held in downtown San Diego on Saturday, January 21.

East County News Service

January 21, 2017 (Sacramento) - Assemblymember Randy Voepel (R-Santee) has announced he has been appointed to the following Assembly Committees:

By Mike Allen

January 20, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- El Cajon’s Gillespie Field is in the middle of an expansion aimed at creating more hangers, more space for aviation- related businesses, and thousands of new jobs.

Update as of 9:46 PM: LARGE 3-4 FOOT BOULDER BLOCKING LANES SEVERAL SMALLER BOULDERS IN THE RDWY AS WELL El Monte Rd/Lake Jennings Park Rd

Update as of 9:28 PM:  Conrad Dr. in Spring Valley is now OPEN.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo credit: Photos for Class, Creative Commons image

January 19, 2017 (Washington D.C.) -- On Friday, January 20^th, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45^th president of the United States.  Trump enters office with the lowest approval rating of any President –Elect in history, according to polls done Tuesday by CNN and the Washington Post, which found only 40% approve of the job Trump has done during his transition time.

Programs funding the arts, public broadcasting, civil rights, legal services for the poor, violence against women, civil rights enforcement and police salaries are all set for elimination or deep cuts

By Miriam Raftery

January 19, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – Donald Trump is preparing a budget that would “take an axe to government spending,” reports The Hill, an online news site specializing in capitol politics. The budget is based on plans from the conservative Heritage Foundation.  It includes deep cuts or outright elimination of many cherished American institutions, as well as safety nets for the poor and elderly.

By Miriam Raftery

January 19, 2017 (El Cajon) – On February 7^th at 7 p.m. El Cajon’s Planning Commission will consider a proposal to convert an existing building into a crematorium burning human remains.  The site is located at 1150-1168 North Marshall Avenue between Fesler Street and Vernon Way.

Crematoriums in urban areas can cause serious problems.  In 2011, the County shut down a crematorium in unincorporated El Cajon after numerous public complaints and findings of health hazards to the public.  Neighbors’ videos and eyewitness accounts documented smoke and sparks coming out of the facility, with ashes coating nearby cars, patios, and even hamburgers at a fast food restaurant next door, as ECM reported.

Long is the Mountain West’s all-time winningest coach

Source: goaztecs.com

Quotes and photo by Liz Alper

January 19, 2017 (San Diego) - Rocky Long, the all-time winningest coach in Mountain West history and the three-time conference coach of the year, has agreed to a contract extension that will extend him as the San Diego State head football coach through the 2021 season, SDSU Director of Athletics John David Wicker announced Thursday.

SDSU has a 6-2 record at home this season

Source: goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

January 18, 2017 (San Diego) - San Diego State women’s basketball fashioned one of its most exhilarating games of the season, using a season-high 14 long balls, its most in nearly 13 years, to take down UNLV in Mountain West action, 87-68, Wednesday night at Viejas Arena.

East County News Service

January 18, 2017 (San Diego) — In mid-October, the Border Patrol launched Task Force Otay, focused on targeting criminal organizations that exploit the vast network of human smuggling routes on Otay Mountain. Since the onset of Task Force Otay on October 16, Border Patrol agents arrested more than 1,000 people who illegally entered the U.S. on Otay Mountain.