East County News Service

February 5, 2024 (Jamul)—Charges against Travis Bodle, 53, have been upgraded from attempted murder to murder after the victim, his mother, 77-year-old Vicki Bodle, died of her injuries. A memorial for Vicki Bodle will be at the Jamul Community church at 11am on Saturday, February 17.

Deputies responded on January 19 at 1:33 p.m. to the 14400 block of Hillside Estates Drive in Jamul at the request of firefighters because Vicki Bidle showed signs of a physical assault. Shew was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died.

Source: County News Service

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

February 3, 2023 (San Diego) --  The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 30, 2024, took new actions to help people in communities flooded by the Jan. 22, 2024, torrential rains, including putting into place temporary additional tenant protection measures. The approved ordinance prohibits people who were affected by the floods from being evicted without just cause. The ordinance also restricts certain rent increases on eligible properties from January 22, 2024, to March 30, 2024.

The flood affected areas specified in the ordinance include residential units located in the following ZIP codes: 92102, 92104, 92105, 92111, 92113, 92114, 92115, (San Diego); 91977 (Spring Valley); 91950 (National City);91945 (Lemon Grove); and 92118 (Coronado).

East County News Service

January 27, 2024 (Spring Valley)—A Local Assistance Center for those impacted by recent flooding will be at the Spring Valley Library,836 Kempton St. in Spring Valley.  Hours for the two-day center will be Sunday, Jan. 28 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Monday through Wednesday, Jan. 29-31 from 10 a.m.to 7 p.m.

No appointments are needed. Flood victims can walk in for help with services such as:

By Miriam Raftery

Updated January 23, 2024 to include city and county of San Diego declaring an emergency

January 22, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – Heavy rains during today’s storm caused widespread flooding, road closures, power outages, and inundation of vehicles and structures including an East County school. Flooding also prompted numerous rescues including motorists trapped in vehicles in Spring Valley and Lemon Grove, as well as homeless people stranded by rising waters along the San Diego River in Santee.

Richard Attaway took dramatic  photos  (left) of Mission Gorge Road in Santee just east of  Carlton Hills Boulevard, where he said “there are homeless clinging on trees for their lives in the river bed.” One video showed a woman stranded on an island surrounded by swift-flowing currents. Numerous emergency crews were on hand and at least one person was rescued from the floodwaters.

By Miriam Raftery

January 21, 2024 (Alpine, CA) – Tamara Newton, a Granite Hills High School alumni and daughter of Alpine resident Carlette Anderson, is hospitalized after suffering a brain hemorrhage from a suspected tumor. She is paralyzed on her left side, cannot walk, and requires full-time care.

“The family has been very generous, but now we need some extra help with her expenses and recovery,” Anderson, founder of CPR PROS,  told  East County Magazine. A GoFundMe account has been setup to help pay for surgery and other medical needs.

The family posted on the site, “There is no doubt that it will be SO much easier for her if you join us in showering her with blessings and support in this time of need. She cannot work at this time, has limited savings and many new expenses. AND all this happened within days of moving from New Jersey to California with her youngest son.”

Facility will house migrants,  serve as control center for enforcement  

By Michael Howard

An artist rendering of the new Dulzura Border Patrol facility slated to open in September 2024. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Border Patrol

January 20, 2024 (Dulzura, CA) –  A new $74 million U.S. Border Patrol station has begun construction and is slated to open in Dulzura next year, spokesperson Michael Scappechio said in an emailed statement this week.

“This new station will provide CBP law enforcement personnel with much-needed facilities, technologies, and other infrastructure carefully designed to meet the demands and challenges of an ever-evolving border environment,” Scappechio wrote.

The station will be used to process and house migrants short-term, as well as serve as a control center for border patrol enforcement activities. The facility sits on an approximately 9-acre plot of land and will include a helipad for air support, fuel stations, and dog kennels.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos:  Screenshots of loose dog photos posted on Deerhorn Valley social media

January 17, 2024 (Jamul) – Residents of Deerhorn Valley, a Jamul community, are speaking out to warn neighbors about loose dogs posing threats to people, pets and livestock.

By Miriam Raftery

January 11, 2024 (Alpine) – Two environmental groups filed a lawsuit in Superior  Court on January 5 against San Diego County. The suit filed by Cleveland National Forest Foundation and California Native Plant Society contends that the county failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act when supervisors approved an environmental impact report in December for Alpine’s first community park. The Alpine Community Park, adjacent to Cleveland National Forest and Wright’s Field, would include a sports complex and more.

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By Miriam Raftery

Photo via WTVT pool video: Donald Santini is led into a Tampa courtroom before pleading guilty in the 1984 slaying of Cynthia “Cindy” Ruth Wood.

December 28, 2023 (Lake Morena, CA) – A Florida judge has sentenced Donald Santini to 50 years in prison, with 15 years parole, after he pleaded guilty to the 1984 strangulation murder of Cynthia Wood, the mother of three young children, the Tampa Bay Times reported in November. A fugitive for 40 years, Santini 65, lived under the alias  Wellman Simmonds in Campo’s Lake Morena community and even held public office. He served on the Campo-Lake Morena Community Planning Group and as president of the Lake Morena Views Mutual Water Company.

His arrest in June by federal marshals for the murder of a Florida woman decades ago since shockwaves through the Lake Morena Community, as ECM reported.

East County News Service

December 20, 2023 (Jamul)—"We’re shell-shocked!” CalFire San Diego posted on  Instagram. “A family who was missing their pet, ‘Mr. T’, for approximately one month, was ecstatic when staff from #CALFIRE San Diego found him while completing fuel reduction work near Hollenbeck Canyon Wildlife Area.”  The preserve is located in Jamul.

By Jessyka Heredia

Watch full video

 Friends of Loveland Reservoir invite public to meeting, hike Dec. 28

December 17, 2023 (Chula Vista) – Monday, the Sweetwater Water Authority held a public workshop to see how the community would like to use the $750,000 in state funding recently awarded by Assembly Bill 102 (AB 102) to Sweetwater Authority for Loveland Trail Improvements.

Carlos Quintero, General Manager of Sweetwater Authority, started off the workshop stating, “It’s very rare to get a grant with very few strings attached. So, we are looking at the community, certainly the East  County community and our rate payers to give us feedback.”

By: Jessyka Heredia

December 7, 2023 (San Diego County)—Tomorrow the newly formed Association of Planning Groups-San Diego County will find out if SANDAG will allow the group, comprised of all 18 Planning Groups in the unincorporated areas, to have an advisory role on the SANDAG board. Currently there is no representation for the unincorporated communities.

East County News Service

November 27, 2023 (Dulzura) – A San Diego man, 29, sustained fatal injuries in a collision that occurred yesterday at 10:29 a.m. in Dulzura. The man was driving a 2004 Suzuki GSXR motorcycle eastbound on State Route 94, west of State Route 188 (Tecate Road) when he crossed double yellow lines and crashed into a 2015 Kia Sorrento.