After 37 years of service to the Grossmont Union Highs School District, Superintendent Mary Beth Kastan announced she will resign at the end of the 2023.34 school year. Kastan began her career with GUHSD in 1987 as a Social Science Teacher at Mount Miguel High School. She then served as…
La Mesa California
The City of El Cajon announces the annual State of El Cajon address, to be hosted by Mayor Bill Wells and the El Cajon City Council. This event will take place at the Courtyard by Marriott, located at 141 Magnolia Ave., on Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m. The State…
On Jan. 17, Assembly member Dr. Akilah Weber, 79th Assembly District, held a virtual town hall meeting to discuss the governor’s proposed 2024/25 proposed budget with a looming nearly $38 forecasted billion deficit. She said this is about $30 million lower than reported by the Legislative Analyst’s Office in December.…
At its January meeting, the Otay Water District board of directors elected new officers to lead the District’s board for 2024. The board elected director Jose Lopez, who represents division four, as president. The board also elected board member Ryan Keyes, serving division two, as vice president, and Mark Robak,…
Mama’s Kitchen CEO Alberto Cortés is retiring after 21 years on Jan. 26, and under his leadership has grown Mama’s Kitchen from a $1.7 million to a $5.5 million nonprofit, expanding the organizations HIV-focused mission to serve San Diegans with other critical illnesses. Now, Mama’s Kitchen works with more than…
On March 7 local firefighters will take their boots to the streets for the 25th Burn Institute Annual Firefighter Boot Drive. Hundreds of uniformed firefighters will be stationed at intersections across the county to collect donations for the Burn Institute’s fire and burn prevention education and burn survivor support services.…
To shed light on the multifaceted issue of homelessness and the implications of recent state legislation, the City of El Cajon Police Department released a 35-minute documentary film. “Documentary on the Frontlines of Homelessness and Enforcement” takes an in-depth look at the day-to-day operations of the Special Enforcement Unit as…
By Cassie N. Saunders County of San Diego Communications Office The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved today a pilot program to create housemate matches between lower-income older adults and locals with a spare bedroom. The two-year pilot program was created to address growing homelessness among older adults. The…
The nonprofit conservation groups Cleveland National Forest Foundation and the California Native Plant Society filed suit in San Diego County Superior Court against the County of San Diego for the Alpine County Park proposal; concerns over imperiled wildlife populations, and increased wildfire risk on Friday, Jan. 5. According to the…
At a December San Diego Association of Government Board of Directors meeting, SANDAG Chairwoman Nora Vargas, Vice Chair Sean Elo-Rivera, and Second Vice Chair Lesa Heebner announced the next steps to ensure all SR-125 toll road customers are protected. “Ensuring the public’s trust is paramount. The Board and I are…
In December San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced that a 46-year-old Abdulhannan Alrawi, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for shooting and killing his wife, Fathem Alrawi, 37, in their El Cajon home last year. Alrawi pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on Sept. 14, 2023, and admitted…
By Cassie N. Saunders COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE The County of San Diego has awarded $42 million to nine affordable housing developments that will provide about 872 new homes. Those selected developments came from a pool of 24 proposal requests totaling more than $89 million for affordable housing…
In January readers learned of an East County judge who donated a kidney to the wife of a friend after a chance conversation. “One night I was talking to a friend, Simon Gounder, and we were just talking. We have done a lot of work together. We worked in groups…
2023-24 Miss Lakeside Equine Events Sophia Gillenberg is heading to the 2024 International Finals Rodeo in Guthrie, Oklahoma, competing for Miss Rodeo USA who will be crowned on Jan. 14 during the rodeo competitions. Gillenberg represents Equine Event Services that currently manages events at the Dianne Jacob Lakeside Equestrian Park,…
The La Mesa-El Cajon Branch of American Association of University Women will celebrate the contributions and donations given this year to the branch FUND, the heart of the AAUW on Jan. 13, 2024. The Fund committee, under the leadership of Vicki Spilkin has selected fellowship recipient Paula Kirya as this…
At over 35 feet high, and 20,000 pounds the tallest steel cross in San Diego recently was placed atop a Rancho San Diego-Jamul hill by a Chinook helicopter. With its pedestal, reaching nearly 38-feet, the large Chaldean cross rises 900 feet above sea level and will serve as symbolic memorial…
In a Dec. 12 press release, the Padre Dam Municipal Water District announced it filed a lawsuit against the Grossmont-Cuyamaca College District in California Superior Court San Diego to resolve a dispute over necessary water system upgrades on the Grossmont College campus and transferring ownership of the water system to…
By Alvin Plexico Navy Office of Comm unity Outreach PANAMA CITY, Fla.- Seaman Dylan Norris, a native of La Mesa, California, serves the U.S. Navy assigned to Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, the largest diving facility in the world. Norris graduated from Valhalla High School in 2016. The skills…
The Volcan Mountain Foundation received a gift of the 684-acre Peckham Keenan Wildlife Sanctuary from the estate of Ann Peckham Kennan. The late Keenan, of La Mesa, purchased the property with her late husband, Tom Keenan, in the 1990s. In 2018 Keenan acted to place a permanent conservation easement to…
The San Diego Association of Governments Board of Directors unanimously approved the appointment of SANDAG’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Coleen Clementson, to lead the regional agency as the interim CEO on Dec. 8. Clementson will begin serving as interim CEO in January 2024. The current CEO, Hasan Ikhrata, has led…
