By Miriam Raftery

East County has long been called the playground of San Diego County. Visitors and residents alike will find many unique adventures to experience in our inland region, from tours of rugged desert terrain and wineries to activities such as zip-lining, sky sailing, scenic hikes, trail rides, vintage railway rides, wildlife safaris, fishing, boating, beautiful gardens, and more. There are also unique classes such as falconry, rock climbing, pioneer skills such as axe-throwing, star gazing and more, as well as visits to wildlife preserves, soothing hot springs, farms, flower fields, and even a gold mine.

Some are free, while others have fees ranging from very affordable to more extravagant splurges. There are activities for solo adventurers, couples, and families, many of which you won't find anywhere else.  

Here are a few of our East County guide’s favorite local adventures:

August 5, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Cajon Valley board member questions superintendent's $19,000-a-month credit card bill CBS 8)
• The Learning Curve: Cajon Valley’s Had a Tough Month (Voice of  San Diego)
• 'Zombie snails' have been spotted at a lake in San Diego. Here's what you need to know (CBS 8)
• San Diego American Indian Health Center Will Now Help Newly Arriving Refugees (Times of San Diego)
• MTS Board approves Copper Line trolley segment between Santee and El Cajon (10 News)
• Water Rates Will Rise, But Hurt Less than Expected (Voice of San Diego)
• Border arrests plunge 29% in June to the lowest of Biden's presidency as asylum halt takes hold  (KPBS) 
• Escondido Leaders Say a Proposed State Housing Bill Misses the Mark  (Voice of San Diego)

 STATE

• Newsom’s Encampment Order Is on Everyone’s Mind (Voice of San Diego)
• COVID Levels 'Very High' In California As New Variant Spreads: CDC
• As massive Park fire marches into history books, firefighters face hurdles to slowing it down  (Los Angeles Times)
• California attorney files class action suit against homeowner-insurance provider  (NBC San  Diego)
• California Department of Education plans to develop housing on school district-owned lands (East Bay Times)
• U.S.
• As cartels take a stake in ‘green gold,’ US and Mexico rethink how avocados reach American kitchens (Apple News)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

East County News Service

June 29, 2024 (San Diego) – East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery received three awards in the San Diego Society for Professional Journalists’ journalism contest.  The awards recognized Raftery’s investigative report into the Mother Goose Parade’s demise, a profile on “backcountry warrior” Donna Tisdale, and an analysis/timeline of evidence in Espionage Act charges against former President Donald Trump.  The wins bring ECM's total journalism awards to 146 since ouri inception 16 years ago.Individually, Raftery has won hundreds of awards in her journalism career spanning four decade.

Read the winning entries, all entered in the Daily Reporting and Writing category:

Second place, investigative/enterprise story:  Is the goose cooked? Mother Goose Parade organizer duck media calls after event cancelled for fourth straight year

Second place, profile:  End of an era: `Backcountry Warrior’ Donna Tisdale retires after final battle

Third place, politics/election story:  Trump indicted under Espionage Act for risking national security, sharing defense secrets and hiding evidence from grand jury

June 4, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Shark scientists use new DNA technology to track great whites after San Diego attack (NBC San Diego)
• Nearly four years after protests took a violent turn in La Mesa, the healing continues (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego wants twice as many people in 2 popular neighborhoods. Its controversial plans could get OK’d this week. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego Padres player Tucupita Marcano banned for life by MLB for betting on baseball (10 News)
• Auditors Flag SDG&E’s Soaring Costs to Bury Power Lines(Voice of San Diego)
• 20 years of the Lebanese Festival in El Cajon (10 News)
• Morning Report: Gloria Pushes Back on Countywide Water Rate Hike (Voice of San Diego)

STATE

• Recess is a right next year in California. Are school districts ready? (KPBS)
• CA Among Worst States For Tick-Borne Illness: Ranking (Patch)
• Sacramento Report: Flurry of Votes Decides Which Bills Move on, and Which Die (Voice of San Diego)
• California Sen. Alex Padilla convinces colleagues to vote against bipartisan border bill (Los Angeles Times)
• Former California water official pleads guilty to conspiring to steal water from irrigation canal  (KPBS)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

May 9, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Supervisor Nora Vargas will take medical speaking rest for vocal nodules  (KPBS)
• Supreme Court to hear case claiming CBD product from Vista company got trucker fired (NBC San Diego)
• Assistant Superintendent Named Finalist to Take Helm at Grossmont Union HS District (Times of San Diego)
• MTS hopes new 'Copper Line' can improve trolley system's reliability  (KPBS)
• Fantasy or a New Reality? How This Group Plans to ‘Fire SDG&E’(Voice of San Diego)
• Mayor Gloria Wants to Empty Public Power Piggy Bank (Voice of San Diego)
• A Court Says Agencies Can Delay Records Responses Indefinitely and We Must Fight It (KPBS)
• How Mexico’s historic election will impact the San Diego border region  (KPBS)
• Majority of San Diego County’s largest school districts cutting jobs amid budget shortfalls (inewssource)
• Authorities Reveal How Missing Surfers from U.S. and Australia Found at Bottom of Well in Mexico Died (People)

STATE

• Law that ended single-family zoning is struck down for five Southern California cities (Los Angeles Times)
• Restaurant Service Fees Will Soon Be Illegal In CA (Patch)
• California finally reverses its population-loss streak (Politico)
• At least 16 people died in California after medics sedated them during encounters with police (KPBS)
• RFK, Jr. qualifies for California ballot (The Hill)
• Biden expands 2 national monuments in California significant to tribal nations (KPBS)
• California reports the first increase in groundwater supplies in 4 years  (KPBS)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

December 31, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – As the year draws to a close, we honor the memories and legacies of local leaders and luminaries who passed away in 2023—gone but never forgotten.

This year's list of leaders lost includes several prominent elected officials, leaders in business and philanthropy, a tribal chairwoman, a Holocaust survivor, an SDSU professor, a BMX champion athlete, a sports team owner, a well-known community volunteer, an author and radio host, a former fire chief, and a popular musician.

Below are highlights of their remarkable accomplishments, listed in chronological order of their passing,  with links to full obituaries.

November 17, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• 3 cities (including Santee) face a climate dilemma: to build or not to build homes in risky places (NPR)
• San Diego Selling Back Some Pricey Colorado River Water for Cheaper Met Water (Voice of San Diego)
• What's that smell? Some East County residents complain of strong odor in the air  (10 News)
• San Diego County asks organizations to host ‘sleeping cabins' on their property in homelessness fight (NBC)
•  San Diego residents charged up about high electricity prices (KPBS)
• San Diego Tourism Authority celebrates over $14 billion in visitor spending last year  (KPBS)
• San Diego gets closer to zero waste goal, but is still behind schedule (KPBS)
• How the Union-Tribune’s new owners could impact democracy in San Diego County (KPBS)
• How big will the Cardenas fallout be? (Voice of San Diego)
• San Diego man's car insurance retroactively canceled after he got in an accident (NBC 7)
• The Supposed Volunteers Keeping Major San Diego Venues Staffed Are Often Paid Under the Table and Below Minimum Wage (Voice of San Diego)
• Restoring Cuyamaca’s tree canopy is years away. Some birds may never return. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• Thousands Forced To Switch Insurance As Yet Another Provider Leaves CA (Patch)
• Newsom pushes California universities to boost campus safety as protests rage over Mideast war (Politico)
• California's electricity bills could soon be based on how much you make — and some people are furious (Business Insider)

For excerpts and links to full stories,click “read more” and scroll down.

September 5, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Grossmont Union school board reaffirms decision to change mental health provider  (KPBS)
• Supervisors pass policy supporting voter OK for water district departures  (KPBS)
• San Diego’s Eye-Popping Electricity Rates Get National Notoriety (Voice of San Diego)
• America’s Most Wanted fugitive Donald Santini used bankruptcy to finance life on the run  (10 News)
• Rolling in money and talent, San Diego State University is emerging as a major player in science
• Citizen brings to light questionable spending in Ramona cemetery district (KPBS)
• Nathan Fletcher & Lorena Gonzalez sitting on a combined $2.3 million in campaign funds (KUSI)
• Former SDSU football player connected to gang-rape case pleads guilty on child-porn charge (NBC)
• San Diego City Council approves use of 'smart streetlights,' automated license plate readers (10  News)
• Thousands of gallons of sewage spills after South Bay plant pumps fail  (10 News)
• Tijuana's illegal sewer hookups linked to cross-border pollution  (KPBS)
• Venezuelans make way in San Diego, join 1.9 million migrants nationally in legal 'twilight zone'  (KPBS)
• UCSD ranked 3rd, San Diego State at #16 on Forbes' Top 25 Public Colleges list  (10 News)

STATE

• U.S. sues Southern Calif. Edison over 2020 California wildfire (Reuters)
• A new gray wolf pack is found 200 miles south of California's nearest-known pack  (KPBS)
• As California maternity wards close, preterm birth rate rises  (KPBS)
• California aims to introduce more anglers to native warm-water tolerant sunfish as planet heats up (KPBS)
• Closure of 3 Southern California power plants likely to be postponed, state energy officials decide  (KPBS)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

April 14, 2023  (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• SDG&E proposes adding flat fee to utility bills (KPBS)
• Duncan Hunter Blamed in Friendly Fire Incident That Killed 2 Marines in Fallujah (Times of San Diego)
• Fletcher Resignation: What Are Next Steps for County Supervisors and How Much Will It Cost? (KPBS)
• Proposed ordinance banning homeless from camping in public places sets off fiery debate (10 News)
• Border Patrol: Armed bandits robbed 3 migrant groups in Otay Mountain wilderness (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• three migrants shot and wounded in the same vicinity.
• Supervisors delay vote on sewer rate increase for 8 unincorporated communities (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Julian Man Dies From Flesh-Eating Bacteria After Chasing Dog Into Pond (NBC 7)
• Man surrenders to deputies, taken in for psychiatric evaluation after 7-hour standoff in Dulzura  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Bankruptcy court OKs sale of Borrego Health to DAP Health; regulatory approval pending  (Desert Sun)

STATE

• Feinstein asks for Judiciary replacement after calls for resignation (The Hill)
• Los Angeles, Las Vegas and other major cities could face huge water cuts in feds’ proposed plan to save the Colorado River (CNN)
• California Government Cuts Back In-Person Press Access in Post-COVID Era (Cal Matters)
• Ocean temperatures hit record as El Niño looms (CBS News)
• California’s snowpack is among the deepest ever. Now get ready for the perilous ‘big melt’ (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Undocumented California farmworkers would get path to state residency under new proposal (Sacramento Bee)
• Lawsuit seeks to uphold closing California’s last nuke plant (AP)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

March 10, 2023  (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells announces bid for Congress, setting up fight with incumbent Sara Jacobs
• County officials may build small houses for the homeless in Santee. Local leaders are not on board. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Cops willing to jump to El Cajon will get a significantly larger bonus, part of a broader effort to expand law enforcement (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• SDG&E Says $16M in Funds Will Help Struggling Customers With Energy Bills (NBC San Diego)
• Pine Valley businesses benefit from surge in tourists visiting snow (10 News)
• Student at Granite Hills HS arrested after attacking teacher (10 News)
• Settlement reached in Tijuana sewage lawsuit (KPBS)
• Over the past year DOJ's Task Force Kleptocapture has been extremely busy (NPR via Boise State Public Radio)

STATE

• New storm could bring more peril to California rivers already hit by deadly flooding  (Los Angeles Times)
• California’s snow-stranded residents need food, plows, help (AP)
• California bill would eventually ban all tobacco sales (KPBS)
• California's solution to regulations around hazardous waste: send it across state lines  (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

December 5, 2022 (San Diego's East County) -- ECM intern John Lekven and editor Miriam Raftery highlight the many annual autumn attractions, festivals and events across San Diego's East County.

From colorful fall foliage to Oktoberfests, grapestomps at local wineries, Halloween happenings and fall festivals, culiminating in events to herald in the holiday season, each fall brings a magnificent array of options for residents and visitors to San Diego's inland region.

November 13, 2022 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Uptick in flu cases prompts hospitals to put up overflow tents in parking lots to ease ER burden  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Lemon Grove officials say a council member bullied employees. But the city is keeping alleged evidence secret (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Neighbors concerned about 64-unit apartment complex planned for La Mesa Village
• With Tuesday’s runoffs, San Diego Democrats will have a 9-0 City Council majority for the first time (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Republicans Won Big Races in Small Cities and That Could Change Regional Transportation and Development Plans (Voice of San Diego)
• Increased border crossings leads to influx of migrants in San Diego homeless shelters  (KPBS)

STATE

• California lost billions in COVID-related fraud and is trying to get some back  (NPR)
• Pipeline operator agrees to $50M California spill settlement  (AP)
• Audubon California says take down bird feeders to help stop avian flu  (KPBS)
• Congenital syphilis rates soar across California as public health funding dwindles (KPBS)
• Regulators propose $155M fine for PG&E for 2020 wildfire (KPBS)
• California enables sexual assault victims to track rape kits (KPBS)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

April 11, 2022 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Local firefighter leads mission to help search and rescue efforts in Ukraine (10 News)
• As spring open house season approaches at famed Hubbell art compound in Santa Ysabel, a torch is passed (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• La Mesa will use federal money to aid new businesses amid high vacancy rates (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Other cities have tried sending less serious 911 calls to nurses, not hospitals. Did it work? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Rise Up Industries in Santee helps former prisoners (10 News)
• Attorneys argue case over ex-La Mesa police officer's firing (KPBS)
• East County asphalt company must improve safety after emissions reach potentially dangerous levels (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego police shoot armed man, 60, in garage of San Carlos home (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• Proposed bill would shorten California workweek to 32 hours. Here’s what you need to know (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• California Is About to Test Its First Solar Canals (Smithsonian)
• Superblooms of fungus’: Climate change is making valley fever worse (Los Angeles Times)
• California Lawmakers Extend Eviction Ban for Some Renters (NBC San Diego)
• California corporate diversity law ruled unconstitutional (10 News)
• California to pay $55 million for massive wildfires (AP)
• California drought: Sierra snowpack falls to one of lowest levels in 70 years (Mercury News)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By Miriam Raftery

December 29, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – Turbulent times continued in 2021, marred by a persistent pandemic, vaccine rollouts, political divisiveness including an insurrection at the nation’s capitol, and local controversies such as growing homelessness, a housing shortage, power outages, protests over mask mandates, and SANDAG’s proposed mileage tax, to name a few.

Some national issues, such as pandemic relief, the infrastructure bill, the end of the Afghanistan war, and court rulings on immigration had strong impacts on our region.

There were bright spots. California reopened its economy mid-year, allowing all businesses and event venues to finally reopen. Hometown hero Joe Musgrove pitched the Padres’ first no-hitter. Residents organized to halt sexually violent predators from being placed in a Mt. Helix community. La Mesa named a new police chief committed to rebuilding community trust. Major land acquisitions by the county preserved riverfront land in Lakeside and the former Starr Ranch in Campo for posterity.

Two new Congressional representatives from East County took office and a special election sent a new Assemblywoman to Sacramento, while redistricting at year’s end will bring even more sweeping changes in 2022. 

Below is a rundown on the top stories that impacted East County in 2021:

December 6, 2021 (San Diego) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego's inland regions, published in other media.  This week's round-up stories include:

LOCAL

• Trial begins for former La Mesa police officer accused of lying on report (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Arsonist Who Set Fire to Chase Bank in La Mesa Sentenced to Probation (NBC San Diego)
• Lemon Grove Councilmember Liana LeBaron files complaint against city manager, city attorney (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego’s burrowing owls get new homes at Ramona Grasslands after sprawl drove them away (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• 'Making malicious threats'| CEO of Sullivan Solar Power arrested on felony stalking charges (CBS 8)
• Daniel Sullivan of Sullivan Solar Power a no-show at bail review hearing (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Santana Student Raped Countless Times in Early 1980s by Counselor, Suit Alleges (Times of San Diego)
• Black job applicant in San Diego sues company for discrimination over hairstyle (San Diego Union-Tribune)

STATE

• Police investigating several flash mob thefts in California (10 News)
• Rain, snow and chill are heading to Southern California this week (Los Angeles Times)
• ‘There is nothing alive on that tree’: Inside a giant sequoia grove scorched by the KNP Complex fire  (Los Angeles Times)
• Derby winner Medina Spirit collapses, dies in California (San Jose Mercury News)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.