Riders can win prizes including free transit for a year.  Ditch rush-hour traffic, save gas and take a ride!

By Miriam Raftery

September 17, 2019 (San Diego) – Metropolitan Transit Service (MTS) and the North County Transit District (NCTD) are offering offer free rides to the public on all three trolley lines and fixed line busses, as well as the Coaster and Sprinter train service on Wednesday, October 2, which is also California Clean Air Day. 

Test results show elevated nitrates in the drinking water supply

East County News Service

September 17, 2019 (Lake Morena) -- The County of San Diego, Department of Environmental Health (DEH), has issued a Do Not Drink Notice and Public Notification effective immediately for Lake Morena Views Mutual Water Company located at 29846 Mallard Road, Campo, CA 91906.  Recent water sample results showed nitrate levels exceeded the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) in the water distribution system. The water system serves a population of approximately 123 residential connections and a general store.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

September 16, 2019 (San Diego) - San Diego County Supervisors voted Wednesday to pay property owners to keep roughly 300 acres of their land in agricultural production instead of possibly selling it into development, as part of a program to preserve agriculture and still support farmers and ranchers.

By Jonathan Goetz 

Signature drive not on track to meet end of September deadline to make it on the ballot without massive last-minute influx of signature gatherers

September 15, 2019 (Lemon Grove) – Firefighters led volunteers who spread out through Lemon Grove yesterday to collect signatures on a ballot measure that would bring Lemon Grove's sales tax on par with La Mesa, raising it by ¾  a cent. The measure, if approved, which would nearly double the amount the City receives as its share of the sales tax.

East County News Service

September 15, 2019 (San Diego) – The California State Legislature today passed on a 61-9 vote Assembly Bill 589 authored by state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) to make it illegal for an employer to confiscate a worker’s immigration documents as a way to force them into labor.

By Miriam Raftery

September 15, 2019 (La Mesa) – Gunshots were fired at a motorcyclist in the intersection of University Avenue and Marian Street around 3 a.m., prompting La Mesa Police to shut down several streets while they searched for a dark-colored sedan last seen heading east on University.

The shots missing the motorcyclist, but he sustained leg injuries after the gunfire caused him to crash into a fence. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.

By Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office

Image credit:  Shutterstock

September 12, 2019 (San Diego) - The County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to continue exploring the idea of getting into the business of buying and selling electricity. Supervisors Kristin Gaspar and Jim Desmond opposed the motion.

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson and Miriam Raftery    

By Miriam Raftery

Photos: New magnolia tree and crowd outside; vocalist Stephanie Noriega and Mayor Bill Wells performing piano and vocal accompaniment of "Hallelujah" at grand opening of The Magnolia performing arts center

September 11, 2019 (El Cajon) – Community members from across the region flocked to the grand opening of The Magnolia performing arts center in downtown El Cajon yesterday.  More than $8 million has been spent remodeling the former East County Performing Arts Center, which had been closed for a decade but has now blossomed anew.

As the setting sun sent a starburst shining through a newly planted magnolia tree out front, visitors inside saw renovations including a new VIP viewing area, multiple bars serving up food and beverages including cocktails, backstage dressing rooms,  a shimmering new gold curtain and more.

“This is the most significant labor trafficking prosecution in this district in many years.” – Robert Brewer, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of California in San Diego (photo, left)

By Miriam Raftery

IVM Indictment - Click HERE

September 11, 2019 (San Diego) --  A dozen leaders of Imperial Valley Ministries, including the former pastor, are charged with subjecting dozens of mostly homeless people to forced labor, an indictment unsealed today reveals. Victims in San Diego and Imperial Counties were coerced to surrender welfare benefits and compelled to panhandle up to nine hours a day, six days a week, for the financial benefit of the church leaders, prosecutors allege.

By Kendra Sitton

September 10, 2019 (El Cajon) -- A Muslim group is pushing for the House to formally investigate and censure San Diego Representative Duncan Hunter for alleged war crimes. On Monday, Sept. 9, they delivered a petition with 8,000 signatures to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. 

By Miriam Raftery

September 8, 2019 (Potrero) – A former chicken ranch that sparked a firestorm of controversy when Blackwater sought to acquire it to build a paramilitary training camp has been sold to Green Hygienics Holdings Inc., an industrial hemp cultivation company. The 824-acre Potrero Ranch land and buildings will be utilized to grow industrial hemp for cannabidiol (CBD) cultivation.

By Miriam Raftery

September 9, 2019 (Washington D.C.) -- With 450 cases of severe lung illness and five deaths tied to vaping reported nationwide, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control are advising everyone to avoid all vaping (e-cigarettes)– especially young people and pregnant women. The advisory includes all vaping including nicotine, marijuana, and other substances.