January 3, 2010 (San Diego's East County)--What were the stories that captivated our interest and attention in the past year?  Stories that were newsworthy, tugged at our heartstrings, impacted our lives, or fired up indignation in San Diego's eastern regions?  Which images most indelibly reflect the changing times in East County--or captured key moments in time?

We've compiled our most compelling stories and images from 2009, starting with the first quarter (January through March):

Part two of our four-part Year in Review

Part three in our four-part Year in Review

Part four in our four-part Year in Review (fourth quarter 2009)

Dear Readers, 
 
It's great to see so much community dialogue on our stories. However, we need to remind everyone to  please respect our rules.  The "comments" feature is for discussing news articles and events - not posting links to ads for businesses.  We will be delete comments (or portions) that are blatantly promotional, especially when unrelated to the news topic.  Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.
 
Miriam Raftery
Editor
 
 
 

ECM has searched high and low to find the most under-reported important national and state news stories that may impact you or your family.  Here are our picks:

Read on for some surprising details: