Ghost guns seized in Spring Valley after SWAT team operation 78
East County News Service Photo courtesy of San Diego County Sheriff May 25, 2026 (Spring Valley) – A Spring Valley man who is prohibited from owning firearms has been arrested after a search found un-serialized “ghost” guns, ammunition, and gun parts in various stages of manufacture. Printer-friendly version
78 viewsTroubling details emerge on teen shooters in Islamic Center attack 64
By Philicia Tonangoye Photo by Leonard LMT, creative commons 4.0 via Wikipedia: San Diego Islamic Center, hours after the shooting The deadly attack at San Diego’s Islamic center on Monday was planned by two teens who met online and became radicalized in a hate speech forum. The pair eventually took their own lives after shooting and killing three men at the region’s largest mosque. Printer-friendly version
64 viewsECM World Watch: national and global news 24
May 25, 2026 (San Diego) – Top stories reporting in other media in the US include rising inflation, weakening of the Voting Rights Act, a fund that could reimburse Jan. 6 rioters, court rulings on tariffs and humanities grants, ICE funding of police, and insider trading allegations. Global headlines include the U.S. indicting Cuba’s former ruler, plans stalled to reopen Strait of Hormuz, a South American oil spill, and Russia threatening new strikes in Ukraine. Printer-friendly version
24 viewsReader’s Editorial: National Military Appreciation Month–an opportunity to advance protections for toxic-exposed veterans 47
By Christina Johnson May 24, 2026 (San Diego) — Essentially, the ties between San Diego County, California, and the armed forces have never been confined to uniforms, deployments, or ceremonial tributes alone. In many ways, the region has grown alongside the military sector itself—honed by generations of Navy personnel, aviation crews, shipyard workers, veterans, and their families who helped make the county one of the most concentrated military communities. Regrettably, that long-standing presence has also carried less visible consequences that often receive far less public attention—most notably illnesses attributed to prolonged toxic exposure. Printer-friendly version
47 viewsLemon Grove Pride Drag Brunch coming on June 6 39
East County News Service May 24, 2026 (Lemon Grove) — J Lau Farrow-Halston of Escondido Drag is hosting the Lemon Grove Pride Drag Brunch next month. The 2 1/2-hour show will include performances by Amore Envy, Gabby Link Aux and Drag Latina’s Rosalinda and will be held starting at noon on Saturday, June 6. Doors open at 11 a.m. at El Cata Mariscos Sushi & Cortes at 8099 Broadway in Lemon Grove. Printer-friendly version
39 viewsTeachers’ union endorses challengers for controversy-mired Grossmont Union High School District board 244
By Alexander J. Schorr May 24, 2026 — Grossmont Education Association (GEA), the teachers’ union in the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) has endorsed a slate of three challengers running against controversial incumbents for the district’ s board of trustees. The endorsed slate includes Jeneé Littrell for area 3 against incumbent Gary Woods, Steve Mull for area 4 against Robert Shield, and Pete Mergens in area 5 against Jim Kelly. GEA has withheld endorsements from the previously backed incumbents due to allegations of severe ethical misconduct, election manipulation, and a breakdown in district labor relations. Photo: Left to Right: Pete Mergens, Jeneé Littrell, and Steve Mull Printer-friendly version
244 viewsLa Mesa City Council approves e-bike safety law for children under 12 52
By Paul Levikow May 23, 2026 (La Mesa) — The La Mesa City Council voted 4-1 on May 12 to adopt a new electric bicycle safety ordinance prohibiting children under age 12 from operating Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes within city limits. Councilmember Laura Lothian cast the lone dissenting vote. The ordinance was adopted under California’s San Diego Electric Bicycle Safety Pilot Program authorized through Assembly Bill 2234 and will take effect 30 days after adoption. For the first 60 days after the law takes effect, La Mesa Police Department officers will issue warnings only. After that educational period, violations may result in a $25 administrative citation. Parents or guardians can avoid paying the fine if the child completes an approved electric bicycle safety training course within 120 days of the citation. Printer-friendly version
52 viewsCounty reports two local cases in statewide Kebab Shop E. Coli outbreak 63
By Fernanda Lopez Halvorson, County of San Diego Communications Office Photo: E. coli bacteria. Image source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May 23, 2026 (San Diego) – County health officials are urging anyone who has eaten at The Kebab Shop restaurant chain between March 27 and April 30, 2026, and later became ill with a stomach illness to get medical care right away amid a statewide outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Locally, two people have become infected with STEC after eating at local The Kebab Shop locations. One was hospitalized but since released. Statewide, nine STEC cases across five counties are linked to the chain’s beef kofta dish. Six patients are children. Five people have been hospitalized, and two developed hemolytic uremic syndrome(HUS), a serious complication that can cause kidney damage and is sometimes fatal. No deaths have been reported, and no cases outside California are currently connected to the outbreak. Printer-friendly version
63 viewsCounty unveils $9.1B budget plan; public input sessions coming 92
Photo courtesy County of San Diego May 22, 2026 (San Diego County) — The County of San Diego is holding a virtual meeting and an in-person open house next week so the public will be able to learn about and weigh in on the County’s $9.15 billion recommended budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The County released its new recommended budget on May 18, highlighting investments designed to maintain stability while investing in essential services and responding to growing community needs. The budget shows a 6% increase over the current year that prioritizes core services and community stability amid a backdrop of state and federal funding uncertainty. The proposed spending plan prioritizes essential programs, from behavioral health and homelessness response to infrastructure and public safety. Printer-friendly version
92 viewsOur interview with Marni Von Wilpert, candidate for 48th Congressional District 124
May 22, 2026 (San Diego’s East County — Earlier this month, ECM interviewed Marni Von Wilpert, a Democrat and one of the leading contenders running in the 48th Congressional district for an open seat as a result of Republican Darrell Issa retiring. She’s a San Diego City Councilmember, a former civil prosecutor with the City Attorney’s office, and a former lawyer for the House Committee on Education and Labor. This is an important race in a redrawn district that could help determine the balance of power in Congress. This interview was originally aired on KNSJ radio. Scroll down to read highlights, or click the audio file or video link for the full interview. View Video Hear Audio: The redrawn district includes Escondido, Vista, Warner Springs, Santa Ysabel, Borrego Springs, Descanso and Pine Valley, as well as parts of Oceanside, Riverside County and Palm Springs. She lives in Scripps Ranch. Her principal opponents in the primary are Supervisor Jim Desmond, a Republican, and Democrat Ammar Campa Najjar, a Navy reservist who has worked in the Obama administration Labor department. Q: Why do you believe you are the strongest candidate to win the general election and square off against a Republican, most likely Supervisor Jim Desmond? A: I am running to stand up to Donald Trump. We need to take our country back. We need to unrig our economy so that it works for everyone, not just a wealthy few. We need healthcare that makes people healthier and not poorer. And we need to stop Donald Trump’s chaos and confusion, including having a functioning immigration system and stopping the unAmerican, aggressive tactics of ICE. I am the strongest Democrat to flip this district because I’ve done it before. I’ve won competitive red to blue elections multiple times, and I’ve governed and delivered for citizens of our region for six years now. I’ve spent my whole life in public service. I’ve worked in the U.S. Peace Corps in sub-Saharan African during the AIDS crisis, I’ve served as a civil rights lawyer in Mississippi so I know why voting rights are so important, and I’ve served as a local prosecutor here in San Diego. I’ve prosecuted corporations that broke the law. Q: As the daughter of an immigrant, you’ve said our immigration system should reflect our values, not fear and division. Yet Trump’s mass deportations are going way beyond deporting violent criminals as he originally campaigned to do. Now anyone who crossed the border without authorization, even as babies, are being deported. We’re seeing special protection status for people who came here legally taken away, such as Afghan translators who helped our military and people granted asylum from other places, are having those protections arbitrarily stripped so they can be deported, too, and he’s even talking about denaturalizing some citizens. What specifally would you work to change? A: My father is an immigrant…he was drafted during the Vietnam era and he served in the U.S. Army. I’m very proud of my immigrant background and I grew up in a border town. And so I know that we can have a strong border that stops bad actors and drugs and guns, but promotes lawful immigration and students and commerce, and has a pathway for citizenship for people including as you mentioned, the Afghan immigrants who served alongside our soldiers in Afghanistan. And the Dreamers, the young people who came here through no fault of their own and have done nothing wrong, have gone to college, want to be good members of our society, they need a pathway to citizenship as well. We have to stop the chaos and corruption of Donald Trump’s ICE agents. I am the public safety chair for the city of San Diego. I support professional, highly trained law enforcement. But ICE is not law enforcement, it’s chaos. When Renee Good and Alex Pretti (two American citizens) were killed in the streets, that’s when the whole nation saw that this is not law enforcement and it needs to stop. Q: Many Americans have voiced deep concern about the trampling of Constitutional rights by the current administration, and even defying court orders on issues such as immigration, and even tearing down part of the White House without authorization. What should Congress do to restore checks and balances, particularly if Democrats are successful in taking back control of Congress? And we should note that this seat is one of a handful that Democrats are targeting nationwide. So what should be done to restore those checks and balances? A: Thank you for the question. I studied our Constitution quite heavily in law school, and our founding fathers put in three branches of government to be coequal branches for a reason. And it was to prevent someone like Donald Trump from claiming authoritarianism in our country. And so Congress needs to become a coequal branch of government again and stop rubber stamping everything coming out of Donald Trump’s White House. We need to enact the War Powers resolution and reign in Donald Trump’s unilateral war in Iran which has caused nothing but chaos and caused all prices in California to spike—at the gas pump, in energy prices and food prices. Q: What actions would you support to reduce inflation, improve the economy and help the many Americans who are struggling with affordability on everything from groceries to housing costs? We should note that Donald Trump ran on a platform of reducing inflation but in fact it has increased in many sectors. A: Yeah, I hear the most from the constituents that I serve in Southern California that they are grappling with the incredibly high cost of living here in Southern California, and I’ve been working very hard to try and help…I worked with our local teachers. When I found out that they were being priced out of the housing market and were leaving California, I started the very first teacher assistance down payment grant program and worked with the teacher’s union so that they
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