By Miriam Raftery

Photo via ECM news partner 10 News

January 12, 2022 (San Diego) – An early morning fire at 4 a.m. damaged the City Heights residence of Nathan Fletcher, Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors, and his wife, former Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez.

Gonzalez tweeted, “Our entire family is safe. No one is injured. That’s all that matters.”

Fletcher tweeted gratitude for the swift response by San Diego Fire and Police Department. He indicated the family was awakened by smoke alarms to find the front of their home engulfed in flames. They were able to evacuate safely out a separate door.

East County News Service 

“The SAFE Act will bring transparency to the secretive ‘Hide the Predator’ game the Department of State Hospitals has played when releasing SVPs into communities” –Senator Brian Jones

January 11, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) -- State Senator Brian W. Jones (R-Santee), Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) and Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) have introduced the “Sexually Violent Predator Accountability, Fairness, and Enforcement Act” (SAFE Act).  The measure aims to prevent the state from continuing to try to secretly dump Sexually Violent Predators (SVPs) in East and North San Diego County, as well as other unsuspecting communities throughout the state.

By Miriam Raftery

January 9, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – Combat veteran Joseph C. Rocha this week announced plans to challenge State Senator Brian Jones, a Republican in the newly redrawn District 40 which includes Rocha’s home in Escondido.

 By Miriam Raftery and Rebeca Jefferis Williamson

Images: Public Domain

Jan. 5, 2022 (Washington, D.C.)  --  January 6, 2021 will be commemorated in the nation’s history books  as the date when thousands stormed the U.S. Capitol while the US Senate was preparing to certify the electoral count from the November 3, 2020, election. Five people died during the violent insurrection and 140 police officers were injured, ABC News reported. 

In a speech today, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, “The actions we have taken thus far will not be our last.” He added, “"Those involved must be held accountable, and there is no higher priority for us at the Department of Justice."

"The Justice Department remains committed to holding all January 6 perpetrators --at any level--accountable under law, whether they were present that day, or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy. We will follow the facts wherever they lead."

By Elijah McKee

December 21, 2021 (El Cajon) — The El Cajon City Council tackled several County-level issues at its recent meeting on December 14.  

First, City Manager Graham Mitchell spoke about a rare opportunity to temporarily over-staff the police department with 10 new officers drawn laterally from other nearby agencies, in an effort to save the city money over the next three years. 

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, as many as 160 San Diego police officers may be facing termination in light of the city’s vaccine mandate. Meanwhile, El Cajon does not currently have such a mandate.

By Elijah McKee

Photo, left: Rebecca Branstetter, East County Homeless Task Force, testifies to El Cajon City Council

December 18, 2021 (El Cajon) — The El Cajon City Council addressed several agenda items at its last meeting that had potential to either help or hurt those in the homeless community who rely on cars or RVs. 

According to the East County Homeless Task Force (ECHTF), the Cajon Valley Union and Grossmont Union High School Districts serve a known homeless population of over 550 families, at least 30 of which are unsheltered and sometimes living in vehicles. 

However, after lengthy discussion, the two pressing items — a Safe Parking Program proposal and a zoning code update on RVs — were pushed off to a future meeting so that City staff could look at them in greater detail. Many who spoke at the meeting hoped to see clear actionable steps and less policy mazes on these issues, but the City Council sought to strike a balance. 

By Elijah McKee

December 14, 2021 (Lemon Grove) — “We are a mom and pop store,” said Alisha Hormiz, as she stood at the podium facing the Lemon Grove City Council. “We want to earn your trust, and to work with you every step of the way,” she pleaded. “So please give us a chance.”

Alisha and her spouse, Peter Hormiz, have run the Discount Market convenience store on the corner of Broadway and Main Street for the past 21 years. Recently, they requested City permission to sell ten percent of their inventory as alcohol, both to help them financially and to listen to their customers’ wishes. The Planning Commission denied their request for the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) they needed — an appeal to the City Council was now their final option to try to win their permit. 

East County News Service

December 7, 2021 (El Cajon) - Community members are invited to join Mayor Bill Wells and members of the City Council at the State of the City event, to be held on Tuesday, December 14^th, at 6:30 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Community Center in El Cajon.  “I am very excited about this year’s event,” expressed Mayor Bill Wells.  “In addition to sharing many of the City’s exciting achievements over the past year and a look ahead to next year, we will be honoring four outstanding individuals of our community with awards,” he continued. 

After the Mayor’s address, guests are encouraged to stay for a reception with light refreshments. The Ronald Reagan Community Center is located at 195 East Douglas Avenue. For additional information, please call (619) 441-1716.

By Miriam Raftery

November 30, 2021 (San Diego) – The 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld California’s ban on large-capacity gun ammunition magazines, overturning a lower court ruling. Gun rights advocates had taken aim at a 2016 law and a similar ballot initiative passed overwhelmingly by the state’s voters in an effort to reduce mass casualties from assault-style weapons.

By Miriam Raftery

November 27, 2021 (Lemon Grove) -- The City of Lemon Grove 2021 State of the City Address has now been released on several public digital platforms.  The address, delivered virtually by Mayor Racquel Vasquez, focused on the City’s successes in 2020 including compassionate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, goals for the future, and a positive year-end budget.

Source:  Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District

November 23, 2021 (El Cajon) - The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District’s trustee area boundaries will remain unchanged, after a thorough review of 2020 Census population and demographic data.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and colleagues with President Joe Biden at infrastructure bill signing

November 19, 2021(San Diego’s East County) –  Could funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act just signed into law by President Joe Biden be used to fund sorely needed projects to benefit East County, from wildfire prevention to reducing freeway gridlock, taking communities off-grid, and improving dam safety?  East County Magazine reached out to Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who attended the bill signing at the White House. She issued a statement on some local priorities and had her staff respond on other potential projects including:

• Reducing gridlock on State Route 52 in Santee
• Repairing dams at El Capitan and Lake Hodges reservoirs
• Increasing mass transit for our region
• Cleaning up a toxic underground plume near Gillespie Field and an elementary school in El Cajon
• Taking communities such as  Descanso, that have suffered through many power outages, off-grid to produce their own clean energy for reliable electricity;
• Replacing lead water pipes

“We have big infrastructure needs in San Diego, from broadband to transportation to wildfire prevention, but the good news is that this bill provides new funding to meet these needs. Now it’s time to make sure that San Diego gets our share of the funding and I look forward to working with our state and local partners to get that done,” Jacob says.

By Miriam Raftery

November 17, 2021 (San Diego) – San Diego Congressional members Juan Vargas and Sara Jacobs, along with Congressman Juan Castro of Texas, have sent a letter urging the U.S. Department of Justice to investigation allegations of critical incident teams or “shadow units” within the U.S. Border Patrol.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  attorney Cory Briggs contends the county’s limits on public comments violate civil rights, free speech rights and open meeting requirements

November 14, 2021 (San Diego) – Last week, San Diego County Supervisors enacted changes limited public input in an effort to address racist and threatening comments made at a recent public meeting. But the new policy goes farther, also eliminating the public’s ability to ask that consent calendar items be fully discussed, severely restricting speaking times and prohibiting group presentations on some topics.

By Miriam Raftery

Map, left:: Proposed Congressional districts (View full size)

November 12, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – Every 10 years, political districts at all levels undergo redrawing district boundaries to reflect demographic changes reported in Census data.  A statewide commission this week released preliminary maps of Congressional, State Assembly and State Senate districts, which must be finalized by Dec. 7.  In addition, a county commission meets Nov. 13 to consider draft maps for Supervisorial districts.

Some East County leaders have voiced concerned over certain proposed maps that if approved, could divide East County, lumping communities such as Lakeside in with coastal areas and some places in with communities in other counties. Opponents include the Lakeside Chamber Commerce, which supports alternative maps.

The stated intent, per the law, is to focus on trying to keep communities together based on factors including shared cultural, ethnic, geographic or economic concerns, voting rights and more.  All districts must be approximately equal in populations, be contiguous with compact shapes to avoid gerrymandering and try to keep cities, towns and communities together.