Source: San Diego County Sheriff
February 6, 2025 (El Cajon) -- Several people have been arrested due to criminal activity at a homeless encampment near Willow Glen Drive in unincorporated El Cajon on a variety of charges.
On Tuesday, February 4, around 2 p.m., a small fire broke out at the encampment. Firefighters quickly knocked down the flames. Fortunately, there were no injuries or property damage.
“Deputies with the Sheriff's Homeless Assistance Resource Team (HART) have conducted multiple outreach operations at this location over the past month, offering services and resources to those experiencing homelessness. Despite these efforts, deputies continued to respond to reports of criminal activity at the encampment,” says Sergeant Aaron Montan.
On Wednesday, February 5, Sheriff's HART performed an enforcement operation at the encampment. Several individuals were arrested on various charges, including drug-related offenses, outstanding misdemeanor warrants and identity theft.
East County News Service
February 5, 2025 (El Cajon) – Sarhad Yawsip Jammo, the Bishop who led the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle for the western U.S. from 2002 until his retirement in 2016, has died at the age of 83. Born in Iraq and later based at St. Peter’s Chaldean Cathedral in El Cajon, Bishop Jammo was a noted scholar, author and religious leader who guided the diocese through turbulent times, including wars ravaging his homeland and terrorists targeting Chaldean Christians in Iraq.
By Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters
Photo: The Eaton Fire burns in the community of Altadena. Firefighters were unable to get water from hydrants that ran dry, as homes and businesses burned, on Jan. 8, 2025. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters
February 4, 2025 (Los Angeles) - State Farm, the largest insurer for California homeowners, this week asked the state to approve “emergency” rate increases for insurance policy holders, saying the recent Los Angeles County fires have imperiled its finances.
By Miriam Raftery
Photo: Elon Musk and Donald Trump in Nov. 2024, via Speaker Mike Johnson
February 4, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – Donald Trump authorized Elon Musk’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to take total control of the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment system, locking out federal employees. DOGE’s young tech workers gained access to the private data of nearly every American including taxpayers, Social Security and Medicare recipients, government employees, student and SBA loan recipients and federal contractors in direct violation of laws intended to protect sensitive data. The information accessed by Musk’s team includes Social Security numbers, bank accounts, addresses and other data that if in the wrong hands, could lead to identity theft and looting of accounts.
By Michael Howard
February 3, 2025 (La Mesa, CA) - The La Mesa City Council, during its Tuesday January 28, 2025 meeting, voted unanimously to increase city fees by 24.7%.
"Some fee schedules are increasing higher than normal,” Assistant to the City Manager Lyn Dedmon admitted to the Council members when the increases were presented for their vote.
City “user fees,” which are the fees charged to the users of certain city provided services, are not meant to be a source of revenue, per the city’s policy. Rather, the purpose of the fees are to recover the costs of providing the services that the city provides.
City services range from building permits to city-owned community pool swim passes, along with countless other engineering, planning, public works, and community services in between.
According to a report commissioned by the city to study the fee schedule, La Mesa only recovered 59% of the cost it takes to provide its services in fiscal year 2023-2024. Total costs were $7,626,128, but the city collected only $4,469.581.
East County News Service
Update Feb. 4, 2025 -- Supervisor Joel Anderson has launched a petition to oppose Snavely's placement in Julian. You can sign his petition here.
February 1, 2025 (Julian, CA) – San Diego County Superior Court has ordered the conditional release of Gary Snavely, a sexually violent predator (SVP) at 3452 Wynola Road in Julian. The public can submit comments from Feb. 3 through Feb. 16; hearing set for March 7.
Snavely was convicted of molesting two girls ages 8 and 9 in Orange County back in 1987. In 1996 he was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender in San Diego County and went back to prison. After his release, he was placed in Jacumba in 2008 but after he abused his psychotropic medication and lied to his supervising staff he went back to Coalinga state hospital, though he was not accused of committing new crimes. Violations included failing to remain appropriately clothed at all times on his property while in public view, and failing to report any and all instances of sexual thoughts and fantasies involving sexual deviance to treatment staff.
By Miriam Raftery
Photos by Lakeside Fire Department, which has sent firefighters to battle the Palisades wildfire
January 11, 2025 (Los Angeles) – After days of massive destruction and widespread evacuations, firefighters are finally making progress on four remaining wildfires in the Los Angeles area. At least 13 people have died in the fires, which have destroyed an estimated12,000 structures, the Los Angeles Times reports.
At least 90 firefighters from San Diego County have been dispatched to help fight the L.A. fires, including Lakeside Fire Department, which posted photos on social media of the Palisades Fire that their firefighters have been battling since Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands remain evacuated, as firefighters slowly make progress toward controlling fires fueled initially by hurricane-force winds.
Here are the latest updates from Cal Fire and L.A.-based news outlets:
East County News Service
January 31, 2025 – Annette Smith, 58, of El Cajon has been arrested on suspicion of mailing a narcotic-laced greeting card into a San Diego County Jail.
In December 2024, deputies assigned to the Sheriff's Mail Processing Center intercepted a greeting card intended for Alicia Abungan, 52, who is in custody at the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility in Santee. While inspecting the card, deputies noticed it had the appearance of being soaked in narcotics.
The Sheriff's Detention Investigations Unit began a criminal investigation, which identified Smith as responsible for mailing the greeting card containing narcotics.
By Miriam Raftery
January 31, 2025 (San Diego) -- A two-count indictment was unsealed in federal court today charging San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah Manuyag Flores with violating the civil rights of a man in pretrial custody at the San Diego Central Courthouse. Flores is accused of using excessive force that caused a spinal cord injury, then writing a false report to cover up his illegal actions.
He is charged with depriving the individual – identified in the indictment as 57-year-old J.P. – of his right to due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and of falsifying a record in a federal investigation. If convicted on both counts, he could face up to 30 years in prison and be fined up to $500,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
By Miriam Raftery
Photos by Robert Gehr
January 31, 2025 (El Cajon) – After voting to repeal a long-unenforced ban on dog walking downtown, the city of El Cajon has installed “doggie pots” and poop disposal bags to help dog owners cleanup after their pets.