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How much more valuable is land in East County cities? $14 billion in El Cajon, $10 billion in La Mesa, $9 billion in Santee,$3 billion in Lemon Grove

Printer-friendly versionEast County News Service   Photo from left to right: Jordan Z. Marks, San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk (ARCC) and Andrew Potter, Executive Officer, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors.   August 21, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) – Land in East County has never been worth so much.   According to Jordan Z. Marks, San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk (ARCC),

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Have your say on County’s legislative priorities

Printer-friendly versionBy Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office Photo:  California State Capitol Building.  Image credit:  Shutterstock August 20, 2025 (San Diego) – The community is invited to a virtual meeting on August 27 to learn about the County’s state and federal legislative priorities and give feedback on what they think is important for the 2026 Legislative Program. Community

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Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Seeking Candidates to Fill Governing Board Trustee Area 1 Vacancy

Printer-friendly versionSource:  Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District August 20, 2025 (El Cajon) – The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (District), which includes Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges, is inviting community members to apply to serve in the position of Board Member of the Board of Trustees in Trustee Area 1, which comprises the cities and communities of Santee, Winter Gardens, and Lakeside. Once an

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Heat Warnings Today Through Saturday, Monsoonal Rains May Soak Region Starting Friday

Printer-friendly version   By Miriam Raftery   August 20, 2025 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning for desert areas including Borrego Springs, where temperatures could soar to 116 degrees today through Saturday. In addition, a heat advisory is in effect for San Diego County’s inland valleys, where temperatures could hit 103

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Deadly Carfentanil, 100 times stronger than Fentanyl, found in fake M-30 Oxycodone pills locally

Printer-friendly versionBy Miriam Raftery August 19, 2025 (San Diego) – Carfentanil, a synthetic opioid that is 100 times stronger than fentanyl, has been found in the San Diego in fake M-30 oxycodone (pain killer) pills. District Attorney Summer Stephan warns, “Even tiny amounts can be deadly.” Just one pill can kill.  Fentanyl test strips may not detect carfentanil, which was

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La Mesa seeking finance director

Printer-friendly versionEast County News Services August 18, 2025 (La Mesa) – The city of La Mesa is seeking a finance director to take the place of interim Director of Finance John Herrera. The city has an advertisement running in California City News. The full-time position with a salary range of $178,672 – $217,193 is being advertised by Koff Associates and

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Sheriff’s Dept. holding guns for gift cards event

Printer-friendly versionEast County News Services Aug. 18, 2025 (La Mesa) — As part of a broad effort to get unwanted firearms off the street, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is holding a “Guns for Gift Cards” event in La Mesa. The sheriff’s department is partnering with the city of La Mesa for the event, set for 9 a.m. until

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Robert F. Kennedy cuts $500 million in MRNA vaccine devleopment funds

Printer-friendly versionHealth experts slam action as irresponsible, putting Americans’ health at risk    By G. A. McNeeley    Photo: mRNA vacines help prevent diseases such as COVID-19; cc via Bing   August 17, 2025 (Washington D.C.) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, recently announced that the government would cancel at least $500 million of federally

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HIGH TECH SYSTEM TO SUPERCHARGE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION IN COUNTY

Printer-friendly version  September 18, 2009 (San Diego)– During an emergency every second counts, each tick of the clock can reduce survivability; each tick of the clock can allow a small fire to grow into an inferno, each tick can allow a criminal to do more harm. Under the technical restraints of current dispatch systems, getting critical information to First Responders

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HATE CRIMES SUMMIT OCT. 1 IN EL CAJON SEEKS TO STEM VIOLENCE IN OUR AREA

Printer-friendly versionMost Local Hate Crimes Are Committed by Youths Under 21   United for a Hate Free San Diego, a coalition of faith and community leaders, presents the 2nd annual Hate Crimes Summit on Thursday Oct. 1 from 6-8 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Community Center, 195 E. Douglas Ave, in El Cajon. A series of violent, hate-motivated incidents in East County and elsewhere

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SDSU GETS RECOVERY ACT FUNDING FOR CARBON CAPTURE RESEARCH

Printer-friendly version  September 19, 2009 (San Diego)–Congressman Bob Filner (D-San Diego)  announced that a $299,993 Recovery Act grant has been awarded to San Diego State University (SDSU) Research Foundation through the U.S. Department of Energy. Funds will be used for a web-based carbon dioxide (CO2) subsurface modeling project and will create training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to develop skills for

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GROSSMONT HOSPITAL COMPLETES CONSTRUCTION ON TOP 3 STORIES OF EMERGENCY & CRITICAL CARE

Printer-friendly version  September 18, 2009 (La Mesa)– Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD) and Sharp Grossmont Hospital, East County’s largest hospital, have jointly announced that construction is now completed on the top three floors of the Emergency and Critical Care Center – the first infrastructure improvement project that was financed by voter-approved bonds at the publicly owned hospital.   A ribbon cutting

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SCHOOL BOARD LEARNS A LESSON, FACES WRATH OF PUBLIC: HUNDREDS CONFRONT LMSV BOARD OVER CENSORSHIP OF LIVE OBAMA SPEECH

Printer-friendly version  3 BOARD MEMBERS APOLOGIZE, BUT TAPED SPEECH STILL NOT SHOWN TO MANY STUDENTS   “If you were students in my class, you would not pass.”—Maureen Paolini, teacher and graduate of the LMSV district “My father marched with Dr. King…I do not appreciate that you told my child that the President, because he had a black face, was not

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SHERIFF REVISES ACCOUNT OF KARDIAN MURDER: MANHUNT NABS SUSPECT RICHARD DEAN NEFF; EYEWITNESS TELLS HER STORY

Printer-friendly version UPDATE: NEFF ARRESTED:  The suspect was apprehended this afternoon(Sept. 17)  by the San Diego Fugitive Task Force, the Sheriff’s Department reports. He was arrested at 425 W. Beech Street in the Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego and will be booked into Central Jail. San Diego News Network reports that Neff surrendered peacefully.Below is our story including interviews with an eyewitness

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CONGRESSMAN FILNER HOSTS SMALL BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE SEPT. 18

Printer-friendly version  September 17, 2009 (San Diego) — Tomorrow, Congressman Bob Filner (D-San Diego) will be joined by key federal, state, and local officials, as well as government agency and business leaders, for a roundtable discussion on overcoming obstacles to access Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding.   Roundtable event will provide a brief overview on finding solutions to benefit local small businesses.

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TEA PARTIES & MAD HATTERS TAKE TO STREETS IN EAST COUINTY

Printer-friendly version Political protesters and counter-protesters raise voices at Sept. 12 rallies September 17, 2009 (El Cajon and Ramona)—Last Saturday,  conservative  supporters turned out at T.E.A. (Taxed Enough Already) rallies nationwide, including East County. About 150 to 200 attended a T.E.A. party rally  in El Cajon, where Republican Senate candidate Chuck DeVore addressed the crowd and a debate among Sheriff’s candidates

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2 MOTORCYCLISTS KILLED IN EAST COUNTY

Printer-friendly version September 18, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) – A pair of motorcycle accidents this week have claimed two lives in East County. The County Coroner’s office has released the names of the victims, who died from crashes in Ramona and Descanso.   Mark Anthony Taylor, 46, of Ramona died after his motorcycle was struck by a vehicle that

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SALAS SENDS SEVEN BILLS TO THE GOVERNOR

Printer-friendly version Bills address education, water, crime-fighting, and veterans needs Sesptember 15, 2009 (San Diego)–Assemblymember Mary Salas (D-San Diego) last week sent seven bills to the Governor’s desk as the Legislature completed its work of the first year of the 2009-10 biennial legislative session. Assemblymember Salas and fellow lawmakers worked all night Friday and into the early morning Saturday to tackle

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