By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  President Joe Biden, speaking in Tel Aviv, Israel (screenshot)

October 18, 2023 (Tel Aviv)—President Joe Biden, in Israel today, announced plans for the U.S. to send $150 million in aid to both Gaza and the West Bank. He also reaffirmed America’s support for Israel’s right to protect its freedom  following the Hamas attacks on Israel.

In addition, Biden said he believes that the devastation at the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza yesterday was the result of  a missile launch by Islamic Jihad, a militant group in Gaza, though Hamas has claimed  Israel attacked the hospital.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left:  Amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, front, and the landing ship USS Carter Hall, by U.S.Navy Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Riley Gasdia

October 17, 2023  (Washington D.C.) – President Joe Biden is traveling to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu tomorrow, after which he will head to Jordan for a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, USA Today reports.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said that while Biden fully supports Israel’s “right and indeed the duty to defend its people,” the President will also work with Israel to develop a plan “that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza—and them alone,”  Voice of America reports. He voiced concerns that Hamas, the terrorist organization that governs Palestine and launched the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, could intercept supplies of food, water, fuel and medicines.

Israel reports that the Hamas attacks killed at least 1,400 people in Israel and injured more than 4,121.  Hamas has also taken an estimated 200 to 250 hostages.  The dead and captured include American citizens as well as Israelis.  Palestinian officials estimate that Israel bombings in Gaza, which Israel says targeted  Hamas militants, have killed 2,778 people and injured 9,938. 

The United Nations warns of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 

East County News Service

October 17, 2023 (El Cajon)— A 28-year-old woman has died after being struck by a vehicle yesterday morning in El Cajon.

Officials in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. have attempted to "backtrack" on the widespread unconditional support that's been expressed in the last week for Israel's assault on Gaza.

By Julia Conley, Common Dreams

Reprinted under a Creative Commons license from Common Dreams

Photo, left: Bombing in Gaza,  Al Araby cc by SA 3.0

October 16, 2023 (Israel) - The United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories expressed concern on Sunday that the international body has so far not publicly advocated for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, as rhetoric from the United States and other influential countries has offered tacit approval of an Israeli air campaign in the blockaded enclave where at least 2,670 Palestinians, including more than 700 children, have now been killed.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

October 16,2023 (Tecate,CA) --  Cal Fire/San DIego County Fire crews and a water-dropping helicopter are at the scene of a vegation fire in Marron Valley, west of Tecate.  The fire has burned at least four acres on the U.S. side of the international border.

By Cecilie Shamanow

El Cajon – Imagine going to sleep at night in your home, content, safe and secure, only to wake up to it going up in flames. Melissa Taylor didn’t have to imagine such a tragedy because it was her reality.  The 65-year-old El Cajon resident woke up the night of August 7th to a fire rapidly spreading through her home.

Taylor, who normally falls asleep to the sound of her television, was awoken at 5:30  pm. by the sudden silence caused by the power going out in her trailer. She could hear the sound of her neighbors outside yelling for her to get out.

She narrowly escaped; the trailer was burned beyond repair in a matter of moments. Taylor could do nothing but watch as it burned, and listen to the sounds of her four cats crying inside, unable to escape.

East County News Service

October 13, 2023 (San Diego) -- San Diego County is launching the Blue Envelope Program starting October 16. The program is designed to promote inclusivity and provide an enhanced communication awareness tool between law enforcement and community members diagnosed with a condition or disability such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, dementia, anxiety, or other conditions that might require additional accommodations or awareness during a law enforcement interaction.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San DIego Online News Association

Photo:  attendees bow their heads in prayer for Israel. Photo by Chris Jennewein

October 13, 2023 (San Diego) - Over 4,000 San Diegans crowded a park in University City on Tuesday night in a solemn vigil to show unity and support for Israel following the deadly attacks from Gaza.

By Miriam Raftery

October 12, 2023  (San Diego)—After the Hamas terror attacks in Israel in which more than 1,200 Israelis have died including children slaughtered,  Israel has retaliated with air strikes in Gaza,  urging residents to leave as Israeli forces shut off power, water and fuel until dozens of Israeli hostages are freed.  The crisis has sparked fear in local residents for family and friends in both Israel and Palestine.

This week,  students at local universities staged rallies and protests for people in both Israel and Palestine.

Source: Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District

October 12, 2023 (El Cajon)--The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District will be demonstrating support for undocumented students by joining community colleges across California in Undocumented Student Action Week October 16-20. Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges will be holding a wide range of events in support of undocumented students and immigrants.

Students are encouraged to visit the Together We Rise Center at Cuyamaca College or the Dream Center at Grossmont College, which offer programs and services to help empower undocumented students to achieve their academic and personal pursuits.  Both centers serve as a resource to help students with access to higher education, advocacy and educational materials, campus-based and community services, current events, engagement activities, legal aid referrals, legislative updates, and more.

East County Supervisors, candidate for vacant seat split on views over migrant aid

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left:  Migrants in Jacumba Hot Springs in May 2023

October 12, 2023 (San Diego) – By a 3-0 vote,  San Diego County Supervisors on Tuesday approved allocating $3 million in federal American Rescue Act funds to aid nonprofit groups that have become overwhelmed by waves of migrants in our region. Agencies through the region’s  Rapid Response Network are handling hundreds of asylum seekers daily in recent weeks. The funding will provide immediate aid with a goal of consolidating resources into a proposed migrant center in the future.

An estimated 98% of these migrants have family in the U.S., according to the proposal. But after being processed and screened by Border Patrol agents, many are being dropped off at transit stations without food, water, translation services, or any means of contacting relatives or traveling to reunite with their families. Recently, many migrants have been held temporarily in scorching desert heat in areas such as Jacumba and Boulevard without shade, water or food; community volunteers have stepped up to provide tarps, water, and sandwiches in what ECM reporter Rebecca Person termed “peanut butter diplomacy.” One immigrant called a volunteer offering food “an angel.”

An award-winning ECM report in May led the Southern Border Communities Coalition to file a federal complaint with Homeland Security over alleged mistreatment of migrants in violation of U.S. and international laws.

The use of the federal funds approved by Supervisors, intended as a three-month stopgap measure while the  County pushes for more federal money, will be used to help migrants and asylum seekers with translation help, transportation, food, water, hygiene kits, restrooms, access to Wi-Fi and equipment to reach relatives and move beyond San Diego to their destination, while asylum seekers await hearings in immigration court.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

October 12, 2023 (San Diego) -- The County of San Diego released an Annual Report earlier this month that listed numerous accomplishments and stated that the County, the public it serves, local cities, community groups and organizations are better when they work together.

By Rebecca Person

Photos by R. Person and Noah Miller

October 10, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- What began as a trickle of migrant activity at the Mexican border outside small towns in the farthest corner of east San Diego County has surged to a humanitarian crisis - a river, a deluge of hundreds of border crossings here daily. The scene has mirrored and surpassed the crisis last May, when the towns of Jacumba Hot Springs and Boulevard felt a sudden wave of migrants when Title 42 was lifted and Title 8 returned.

Those changes allowed migrants to apply for asylum.  But for those not able to qualify for asylum, crossing the border can lead to formal deportation back to one’s country of origin and possible criminal prosecution if the person makes a second entry within five years. 

Humanitarian groups such as Border Kindness have joined local resident volunteers and some church groups to bring a steady supply of donations - bottled water, blankets, jackets and tarps to migrants camped along the border fence. Also sandwiches, especially the peanut butter kind.

By Jonathan Goetz

Photo: Screenshot of Indigenous People’s Day video posted by San Diego Miramar College on Facebook.

October 10, 2023 (San Diego) -- Indigenous People’s cultural awareness day was celebrated in different ways in San Diego County in 2023. Here are some of the events and activities that took place:

At the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians hosted an all-day event that included tellings of the tribe’s cultural stories and exhibitions of the tribe’s art and craftsmanship. There were also traditional foods available throughout the park. There was an opening blessing ceremony at 10 a.m., a closing prayer at 4 p.m., and live music performed by members of the San Pasqual band.

At San Diego Miramar College, there was an Indigenous Peoples Day celebration with free frybread tacos and a musical performance by the Soaring Eagles of Southern California.

By Jacob Pamus

The United Auto Workers (UAW) continues to expand, with the strike now in its 26th day. On Sept. 29, the UAW added new locations: Fords’ Chicago Assembly plant and General Motors Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant in Michigan. The number of workers striking is now over 25,000.

Today, Canadian autoworkers walked out on strike against Ford in solidarity with the UAW in the U.S.