East County Magazine
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: MONSTERS IN THE EAST COUNTY?
Printer-friendly version April 5, 2014 (Jacumba) – Tom Lemon sent this surreal looking shot of a buffalo sculpture and man-made caves at the Desert View Tower, long a favorite roadside stop of travelers in Jacumba. Visit it while you still can – word is its long-time proprietor may be set to retire in the near future. Printer-friendly version
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: WHO’S TOP BANANA ON LET’S MAKE A DEAL?
Printer-friendly version By Miriam Raftery March 31, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) — Kathleen Hedberg is best known locally as an outspoken advocate for ratepayers on the Helix Water Board. But in February, Hedberg’s outgoing ways–along with a bright yellow banana costume–caught the eye of Let’s Make a Deal’s host. Hedberg was chosen as a contestant on the popular
MISSION TRAILS PHOTO CONTEST ANNOUNCED
Printer-friendly version March 28, 2014 (San Diego)–Attention, shutterbugs! Mission Trails Regional Park invites you to enter its 22nd annual Amateur Photo Contest. The deadline for entries is September 6th. All entries will be on display form September 13 to October 10, and an awards presentation will be held for winners. All photos must be taken from inside Mission Trails
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: “STREAMING” PHOTOS FROM CIBBETS FLAT
Printer-friendly version By Miriam Raftery; photos by Tom Lemon March 16, 2014 (Cibbets Flat) – Tom Lemon sent in these these idyllic photos with a subject line, “East County has a stream!” These images were taken at Cibbets Flat in the Kitchen Creek area. Lemon writes, “I drove to a favorite place this morning hoping the two or three
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: KUMEYAAY WIND REPAIR
Printer-friendly version March 1, 2014 (Campo) – Donna Tisdale forwarded these photos taken on February 25th with the following description. “Today, Infigen was taking down their fried Kumeyaay Wind turbine from the Dec 16th turbine fire that sparked a small brush fire on the land they lease from the Campo tribe. The 25 Gamesa 1.5 MW turbines were first
VIDEO: THE OCOTILLO SUITE
Printer-friendly versionFebruary 28, 2014 (Ocotillo) — An Ocotillo resident has prepared a poignant video dramatically illustrating the scope of destruction done by Pattern Energy to build its Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility. The video details the beauty of the desert with closeup images of birds and other wildlife amid the ocotillo forest mowed down on 12,500 acres of public lands, then
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: FIRE IN RANCHO SAN DIEGO
Printer-friendly version February 23, 2014 (Rancho San Diego) – Jennifer Hanna snapped these images of a brush fire behind her home on Sunday, February 16. The blaze, near Fury and Wieghorst in the Rancho San Diego area of El Cajon, was swiftly dowsed by firefighters. Printer-friendly version
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: DRY TIMES AT LAKE CUYAMACA AND MOUNT LAGUNA
Printer-friendly version By Miriam Raftery; photos by Tom Lemon February 23, 2014 (Cuyamaca) – “The meadows should be green, Cuyamaca Lake full. Not so,” Tom Lemon writes after a trip to the mountain area. “The area is tinder dry and the lake down six or eight feet.” Still, he found some interesting sights,
SOMETIMES NEWS HAPPENS OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW
Printer-friendly version By Nadin Abbott Photos by Tom and Nadin Abbott February 21, 2014 (San Diego) There is nothing like a romantic evening outside by the porch with a fire. Well, it was not quite that. Over the last two months we have had a good dozen fires in the Fashion Valley area in
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: WALLS RISE TO PROTECT MOTORISTS
Printer-friendly version Photos by Eldonna Lay and Meghan M. Lay February 15, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Motorists along Fuerte Drive at Mt. Helix drive and on Chase Avenue near Fuerte in the unincorporated areas of the County will soon be safer, thanks to two new retaining walls under construction. The walls are being built to halt erosion
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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting — not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine’s local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: PALISIDES FIRE IN LOS ANGELES
Printer-friendly versionEast County News Service January 8, 2025 (Los Angeles) – No, that’s not a tornado or mother ship descending. Henri Migala snapped this apocalyptic image of the Palisades Fire which is devastating Los Angeles. This photo was taken from the Westin Hotel near Los Angeles International Airport. As of today, the fire has burned 15,832 acres, has destroyed many

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: BOBCAT ON THE PROWL
Printer-friendly versionEast County News Service January 6, 2025 (Deerhorn Valley) – Jordan Valladares snapped this close-up portrait of a bobcat near his home on Deerhorn Valley Road south of Jamul on Sunday. “I spotted the little guy sneaking about while I was enjoying some warm morning sunshine,” he writes. “So I ran in, grabbed my camera and a 300mm
VIDEO OF THE WEEK: NAVY ASSOCIATION TAKES DOGS DAY OUT TO PACK LEVEL
Printer-friendly version By CNC TV, County of San Diego Communications Office Video by Alex Aguirre December 14, 2024 (San Diego) – A dozen smiling dogs with wildly wagging tails led by Navy officers headed out to a Bonita trail for some exercise and fun Friday. When the Navy’s Second Class Petty Officer Association reached out to the County’s Department of Animal

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: INTERVIEWS WITH FIRE CHIEFS AT BARONA CONTROLLED BURN
Printer-friendly version Click here to view video full screen, or scroll down: https://youtu.be/n_au8Pk7gCM December 5, 2024 (Lakeside) – Shiloh Ireland interviewed Barona Fire Chief Ken Kremensky and Cal Fire Division Chief Eric on December 3 during a 160-acre controlled burn on the Barona reservation in Lakeside. Burning old brush has ecological benefits, also protecting communities from wildfires since it’s far
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: A BIPARTISAN BIRTHDAY BASH FOR COUNCILMAN KENDRICK
Printer-friendly version By Miriam Raftery November 30, 2024 (El Cajon)–El Cajon Councilman Gary Kendrick celebrated his 70th birthday on October 26 with a poolside party at his home. The guest list read like a who’s who of East County, with bipartisan comunity leaders turning out to honor the long-serving East County Councilmember. Current or former

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: EAST COUNTY MAGAZINE’S ROARING ‘20s PARTY CELEBRATED JAZZ AGE IN LA MESA
Printer-friendly version By Miriam Raftery November 28, 2024 (La Mesa) – Thanks to all of you who turned out in style at our Roaring ‘20s party on November 17 at Wineworks in La Mesa. We appreciate your support, which is vital to sustain our independent news reporting as well as our wildfire and emergency alerts. The event recreated the era

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: WATER CONSERVATION GARDEN ABLOOM FOR ANNIVERSARY EVENT
Printer-friendly versionBy Miriam Raftery Photo, left: Mark Robak, chair of the Water Conservation Garden’s joint powers authority November 21, 2024 (Rancho San Diego) – The Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College celebrated its 25th anniversary on November 9 with a free celebration commemorating a quarter century of educating the public on water conservation and more. Visitors filled the garden to

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: RESTORED FISHING FLOAT RETURNS TO LOVELAND RESERVOIR
Printer-friendly versionBy Miriam Raftery November 26, 2024 (Alpine) – Nearly two years after a severe storm damaged the floating fishing dock at Loveland Reservoir in Alpine back in January 2023, a restored fishing dock is back. When Sweetwater Water Authority drained the reservoir to dead pool status in late 2022, the fishing dock was left on dry land, subsequently torn

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: CONTROLLED BURN IN CAMPO
Printer-friendly versionEast County News Service November 24, 2024 (Campo) – Eileen Martinez of Boulevard took these photos of controlled burn conducted by Cal Fire in the Cal Fire area on November 22. She wrote after receiving our alert, “Thanks for keeping us up to date! I was driving thru Campo this evening and this fire was visible all

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: MT. HELIX SUNSET
Printer-friendly versionOctober 27, 2024 (Mt. Helix) — Karen Pearlman stopped atop Mt. Helix with her dog, Charlie, last weekend and captured some stunning sunset shots. The Mt. Helix Park Foundation maintains the preserve atop Mt. Helix and has several events coming up including a Turkey Trot Nov. 29 and Christmas on Mt.
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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting — not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine’s local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.