By Miriam Raftery

June 7, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – El Cajon resident Clyde Ray Chappell, 58, died at Sharp Memorial. from blunt force injuries suffered in a vehicle accident that occurred on June 2^nd. 

Chappell was the rear passenger of a vehicle traveling north on State Route 67 through Lakeside when the driver lost control approaching Winter Gardens Blvd. The vehicle left the roadway and Chappell was ejected.

Witnesses called 9-1-1 and first responders transported the victim to Sharp Memorial, a trauma center, where despite aggressive resuscitative efforts, he was pronounced dead at 1 a.m. on June 3^rd.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

June 6, 2018 (La Mesa) – Edward Cline was killed after a vehicle he was reportedly driving at a high rate of speed ran lights, then struck a Mustang. The collision occurred at 8:15 p.m. last night.

Cline was ejected and died at the scene.

By Miriam Raftery

June 6, 2018 (San Diego) – California voters, by strong margins, approved four ballot initiatives on yesterday’s ballot, with only Prop 70 failing to win passage.

Joel Anderson, termed out of State Senate, advances to run-off for Board of Equalization

By Miriam Raftery

File photos: Brian Jones and Jeff Griffith, left; Joel Anderson, right

June 5, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – In the open 38^th state Senate seat being vacated by Joel Anderson due to term limits, former Assemblyman and current Santee Councilman Brian Jones,  a Republican, has secured 58.7%. Cal Fire Captain and paramedic Jeff Griffith, a Democrat running on a platform of fighting to improve public safety, has nearly 40% in this heavily Republican district.  Assuming Jones remains over 50% once all late mail-in and provisional ballots are counted, he will win the election outright and there will not be a run-off race.

Update June 6, 2018 -- Across both San Diego and Riverside County, with 100% of precincts tallied but not late mail-in or provisional ballots, according to the Califiornia Secretary of State the results are:  Randy Voepel 44.5%,  James Elia 31.3%, and Larry Wilske 24.2%.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Jonathan Goetz, who also contributed to this report

June 5, 2018 (San Diego's East County) -- In the 71st Assembly district held by  Republican Randy Voepel, with 15.3% of precincts counted, Voepel is on top in San Diego County with 44.13% but Democratic challenger James Elia is in second with 32.2% of the vote among the roughly 34,000 ballots tallied so far. 

Republican challenger Larry Wilske, a retired Navy Seal, had attacked Voepel with accusation of stolen valor, claiming Voepel inflated his military record.

In conservative Riverside County, which has a small percentage of voters, Wilske is actually ahead of the incumbent. Among Riverside's roughly 3,000 votes counted thus far, Wilske has 35.26%, followed by  Elia at 33.17%, and Voepel at just 31.57%. Voepel has strongest name recognition in East County, where he formerly served as mayor of Santee.

"We laid it all on the line, we've knocked on as many doors as we can and we look forward to the end of the night and we're confident we're going to November," Elia, an accountant, said tonight.

Lions, tigers and other exotic felines are kept as pets, photo props and roadside zoo spectacles across the U.S.

East County News Service

June 5, 2018 (Washington D.C) -- The Animal Welfare Institute, Big Cat Rescue, Born Free USA, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund are celebrating the introduction of the Big Cat Public Safety Act (BCPSA) in the U.S. Senate.  Championed by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the bill would ensure that unqualified individuals, including chronic animal abusers, are prohibited from obtaining and keeping dangerous big cats like tigers, lions, leopards and pumas.

By Miriam Raftery

June 5, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – Two small brush fires in La Mesa and Rancho San Diego caused brief evacuations over the weekend but were doused with no structure damage or injuries.

On Saturday, June 2^nd, a fire started in brush near an apartment complex at Jamacha Road and Fury Lane in unincorporated La Mesa shortly after 4 p.m.  About 40 residents were evacuated from two apartment buildings as a precaution. The fire was held to 2.5 acres by San Miguel Fire Departments. The Sheriff’s Bomb Arson detectives are investigating the cause.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

Last updated June 4, 2018 at 9 a.m.

June 3, 2018 (Del Cerro) – San Diego Fire investigators have concluded that a fire that scorched 38 acres in Del Cerro yesterday was started by 12-year-old children playing with a lighter. It has not yet been announced whther the juveniles will face charges, ECM news partner 10 News reports.

The fire reported at 4:09 p.m. in the Adobe Falls area of Del Cerro on Del Cerro Blvd. near Waring Road forced evacuation of 60 to 80 homes on Adobe Falls Road this afternoon and evening.

The fire started in a brushy canyon and swiftly threatened homes, burning east and to within several feet of Interstate 8, forcing closure of the freeway and harrowing moments for motorists.

ECM reporter Rebecca Jefferis-Williamson was driving toward the fire on I-8 and got cell phone photos (top left and lower left) of flames beside the freeway and a wall of smoke confronting motorists.  "The other driver and I didn't know what we were driving into, but we were not stopped from advancing," she reports, adding that orange and black embers and ashes were hitting her car. One ember came through her open window and burned her finger, she added.

By Miriam Raftery

May 31, 2018 (San Diego) – Matt Brower, candidate for Superior Court Judge in seat 37, sat down for an in-depth interview with East County Magazine on KNSJ radio. He’s a deputy district attorney and a judge advocate in the Marine Corps Reserve running for San DIego Superior Court seat 37.

He says if elected, he will “be focused on a daily basis with treating all people with professionalism, dignity and respect.”

He’s running against incumbent Judge Gary Kreep, who was censured by the State Commission on Judicial Performance for 29 counts on judicial misconduct and running his courtroom in a biased manner, making derogatory comments about minorities, women attorneys, and people with cases before him.

Listen to his full interview at the audio link, or scroll down for highlights.

By Miriam Raftery

May 31, 2018 (Julian) – The only on-duty firefighter authorized to drive a firetruck in Julian was placed on leave yesterday after a heated argument with the chief, ECM news partner 10 News reports.

Rick Marinelli, the departing Chief of the Julian-Cuyamaca Volunteer Fire District in process of being taken over by the County Fire Department run by Cal Fire, reportedly ordered Captain Dave Southcott escorted off the property by law enforcement. Firefighters told 10 News that Marinelli placed Southcutt and Battalion Chief Mike Van Bibber on administration leave this week.

But no one else authorized to drive a fire truck was slated to work yesterday or today, leaving the public vulnerable should an emergency occur, firefighters told 10 News.

By Miriam Raftery

May 30, 2018 (San Diego) – The FBI has issued a warning of Russian hackers infecting computer routers. The hack is linked to an espionage group loading malware that has already caused major attacks in the Ukraine and has now been found on home and office computer routers in the U.S.

Hear our interviews with 4 candidates in the race on their immigration views

By Miriam Raftery

May 30, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – A campaign mailer sent by 50^th Congressional candidate Josh Butner, a Republican-turned-Democrat, to voters contained false smears against his opponent, Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar.  KPBS reports that Butner’s mailer distorted Campa-Najjar’s stances on immigration, falsely claiming he’s defended Trump’s Muslim ban.

It also has a photo taken before Donald Trump’s presidency, when Campa-Najjar says was working with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, to falsely position Campa-Najjar as a Trump supporter when in fact, he has been a vocal opponent of a wide range of Trump’s policies.

East County News Service

Photo:  Creative commons photo by Youli on Wikipedia

May 29, 2018 (Sacramento) -- The California State Assembly today unanimously passed a bill authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego)  to help prevent future deadly wildfires caused when trees dry up into kindling after being killed by beetles that have become a scourge of the Southern California countryside.

East County News Service

Photo: Underground utility line installation in Alpine during construction of Sunrise Powerlink.

May 29, 2018 (El Cajon) - The El Cajon City Council will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, June 12^th at 3 p.m. in Council Chamber, 200 Civic Center Way in El Cajon to consider an underground utility district on N. Magnolia Avenue from Fletcher Parkway to Vernon Way. This would allow overhead utility lines to be placed underground at a cost of $1.9 million, paid for out of San Diego Gas & Electric Funds allocated to the city for this purpose.

Councilman Gary Kendrick advised ECM that the action is sought to enable a hotel to be build on the site of the former El Cajon Police station, where overhead powerlines would currently prevent construction.

By Eric Galatas, Public News Service

Photo:  The program that helped create Gettysburg and other historic military sites is set to expire Sept. 30. (Wikimedia Commons)

May 27, 2018 (Sacramento) - As Americans observe Memorial Day, more than eight thousand veterans from across the nation have signed a letter urging Congress to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program that helps protect some of the nation's most historic battlefields, monuments and public lands.