By Ken Stone

Credit to Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Julian Fire Chief Rick Marinelli (left) with a Julian resident after July 2017 special meeting of fire district. Photo by Julie Pendray via eastcountymagazine.org

June 26, 2018 (Julian) - Five months before retiring, Julian’s fire chief violated state law — threatening volunteer firefighters involved in a vote of no confidence in his leadership, a labor agency says.

But Rick Marinelli, who left as chief in late May, denies allegations made in the state agency’s complaint against the Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District.

East County News Service

June 25, 2018 (Ramona) – A 72-year-old woman killed in a vehicle crash outside her home has been identified as Nicole Rodriguez Estrada, the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s office reports.

The Ramona resident’s vehicle was found along the driveway of her home at 480 Gem Lane on June 20^th after an apparent impact into an embankment. Fire and paramedic units responded to a 911 call and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

She was not wearing a seatbelt, according to Officer Travis Garrow with the California Highway Patrol.

By Miriam Raftery

June 24, 2018 (La Mesa) — You can earn gift cards from $25 to $100 and other prizes for taking and posting photos on social media between Friday, July 6^th and Sunday, July 8^th for a “Dine, Shop, Explore” contest sponsored by the city of La Mesa.  Photos must be taken in the city in July to show off parks, restaurants, businesses and more.

East County News Service

June 23, 2018 (Santee) - Caltrans has announced closure of State Route 52 eastbound on Sunday and Monday night between Mast Blvd. and Mission Gorge Road from midnight to 4 a.m.

The closure is to enable crews to upgrade overhead signs. Detours will direct motorists onto the Mast Blvd. exit, turning left, then right onto Cuyamaca Street and back on State Route 52.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Protesters in Santee and Mission Trails Regional park opposed the pipeline; Preserve Wild Santee

June 22, 2018 (Santee) – By a unanimous vote, the California Public Utilities Commission has denied SDG&E/Sempra Energy’s request to build a 47-mile, three-foot diameter gas pipeline known as Line 3602, which would have replaced the aging Line 1600. The new line would have run through neighborhoods in San Diego’s North County and could also have impacted Mission Trails Regional Park and Sycamore Canyon preserves. 

Activists reacted with joy, while SDG&E voiced disappointment.  The utility had argued that the pipeline was necessary for safety and reliability.  But the CPUC rejected those arguments, based on the utility’s projections for natural gas supply and the CPUC natural gas reliability standards, 10 News reports.

By Miriam Raftery

June 21, 2018 (San Diego) – President Donald Trump has nominated Robert “Bob” Brewer to serve as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California.  Brewer is a former assistant U.S. attorney and deputy district attorney who once ran for San Diego district attorney, but was defeated by incumbent Bonnie Dumanis. 

Brewer has prosecuted cases including espionage, bank robberies, smuggling, narcotics, murder for hire and civil rights violations.

He has spent most of his career, however, as a defense attorney representing clients such as Sempra Energy at a time when Sempra was facing bribery allegations in Mexico. In 2011, he was named San Diego’s criminal defense white collar lawyer of the year by Best Lawyers. He’s also been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America.

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor, and Miriam Raftery, Editor

June 21, 2018 (El Cajon) — The seeds of El Cajon’s Herculean downtown redevelopment plans for the city's historic heart bore fruit at Thursday's grand opening of the Courtyard-by-Marriott El Cajon hotel, drawing an enthusiastic crowd.

The four-story, 88,000-square foot hotel is located on Magnolia Street just off Main Street near the city's “superblock”, which also includes the East County Performing Arts Center set to reopen in spring under management of international concert promoter and producer Live Nation.

Numerous restaurants, sidewalk cafes, shops, galleries, and civic festivals  are all within a couple of blocks of the hotel in the revitalized heart of El Cajon, a city that celebrated its centennial in 2013. Located just off Interstate 8 in San Diego's East County,  the hotel is 20 to 30 minutes from downtown San Diego and beach areas, also close to attractions in the region's backcountry. 

But there's plenty to do right here in downtown El Cajon, where major community events include Friday night outdoor concerts at Prescott Promenade Park and Wedneday night classic car shows (photo, below right)on Main Street all summer long. Visitors can also enjoy seasonal celebrations such as America on Main Street, Hauntfest on Main, and holiday festivities. The superblock also includes city hall, the courthouse, library, and police headquarters.

By Miriam Raftery

June 21, 2018 (Ramona) – A 72-year-old Ramona woman died after the white Nissan Murano she was driving missed a curve and struck a concrete and rock retaining wall. 

The crash occurred yesterday at 2:42 p.m. on a dirt road on private property along Gem Lane in Ramona.  The driver, who as not wearing a seatbelt, succumbed to blunt force injuries at the scene.

Local business owners celebrate refugees’ positive economic contributions: over 64,000 foreign-born residents add $1.4 billion in business income to San Diego County

Source: Business For Good

June 20, 2018 (El Cajon) – On June 20, small business owners will gather at an immigrant-owned restaurant to honor the positive economic impact of immigrants and refugees on the San Diego economy. The event will take place on World Refugee Day, observed annually to honor the courage, strength and determination of people who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.

The event will begin at 5 p.m. at Suri Restaurant, 461 El Cajon Blvd, El Cajon, CA 92020. If you’d like to attend, check out the event link.

Business for Good San Diego, a local nonprofit that unites small business owners to drive policy that improves the community, works to support policies that recognize the importance of immigrants to our local economy. Staying true to this perspective, Business for Good partnered with International Rescue Committee San Diego to bring this summer mixer to Suri Restaurant, a Syrian restaurant in El Cajon.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

June 20, 2018 (San Diego) - Agriculture values sprouted for a second straight year in the annual County Crop Report, helped by 20-plus percent increases in the value of lemons, miscellaneous vegetables and tomatoes, and a continued renaissance for oranges.

By Ken Stone, originally published at Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Network

June 18, 2018 (Julian) - Julian residents Lori Foss and Patricia Van Natta stood quietly in a heating-up helicopter hangar Thursday, watching their East County supervisor and Cal Fire chief boast of backcountry fire readiness.

Update June 30, 2018: El Cajon Planning Commission again denied the Conditional Use Permit sought by El Cajon Mortuary and Cremation Service to build a crematorium at its existing site near El Cajon’s city center. The vote was 3-0 at the June 19 meeting, with commission members Mroz and Longoria absent. For details, click here.

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

Photo, left, by Paul Kruze:  Mortuary, shown on right.

 June 16, 2018 (El Cajon) -- A downtown El Cajon mortuary owner’s plans to add a crematorium to his existing mortuary business was upended on Thursday when the City of El Cajon Planning Commission staff recommended that the Planning Commission deny his application for a second time.

By Miriam Raftery

 June 15, 2018 (San Diego) – The Kellogg Company has announced a recall of Honey Smacks cereal, which is linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened over 70 people  in 31 states, including California.

 In addition, the Centers for Disease Control have confirmed that pre-cut melons in California and other states have been recalled due to a separate salmonella outbreak. Melons were sold in major outlets including Walmart , Sprouts and Trader Joes. Read more on recalled melons here.

East County News Service

June 14, 2018 (San Diego) -- New signs have been installed leading into median of State Route 15 (SR-15) between Interstate 805 (I-805) and Interstate 8 (I-8). The signs are aimed to remind motorists, transit riders and other travelers to stay out of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) bus-only lanes.

East County News Service

June 13, 2018 (Sacramento) – A U.S. District Court issued a ruling  on June 8th denying the city of San Diego’s motion to dismiss disability discrimination claims made in a lawsuit that challenges the ticketing of homeless people in RVs and other vehicles.