El Cajon Stories
Members of San Diego County's large Chaldean community are clashing with one another in hopes of gaining power, and naming rights, to a Chaldean business community. On November 27, a group of Iraqi Christians known …
Cruising down Los Coches Road in El Cajon, right off I-8, I would have never guessed there'd be an organic wheatgrass grower in the vicinity. There it was, though, their dirt driveway weaving past a …
When El Cajon Brewing Company opened in 2011, there was some degree of professional brewing experience, but none where it came to operating a craft beer production business. Due mostly to that lack of experience, …
Mark Lewis resigned as Mayor of El Cajon last week, citing cancer, a stroke, a dislocated shoulder, severe halitosis, acid reflux, diabetes, a nasty hangnail, and mild indigestion as his reasons for leaving office. But …
Shortly after the October 17 East County Democratic Club meeting started, president Frank Tsimboukakis asked the El Cajon mayoral candidate to speak. "Not yet," replied 30-year-old Ben Kalasho, a 2012 El Cajon City Council candidate …
El Cajon Foursquare Church pastor Dennis Estill “didn’t want to be a minister. I wanted to be a cop.”
Goody’s Café was Kozak’s Coffee Shop from 1964 till 2000. Briefly a Chaldean restaurant, now they’re serving up classic diner food again. Ed lets greed take over and orders an egg skillet…and biscuit and bacon and coffee and…
"Eat onion in the morning. Give it to friends at noon. Give it to your enemies at night." That's the ancient wisdom on the power of onions from my friend Mr. Sagmani. He's Chaldean, a …
The El Cajon City Council on August 27 unanimously adopted an ordinance to regulate the sale of alcohol that is consumed offsite. The law established a system that starts with a warning, and could lead …
In a letter dated August 16, 2013, San Diego Gas and Electric advised residents of a planned power outage scheduled to commence on August 24, 2013 at 10pm, and last until August 25, 2013 at …
Fire broke out close to the 1300 block of Aurora Drive in El Cajon. The fire started on a open space preserve and burned close to homes. A 100-foot firebreak along the east edge of …
Five four-person teams at the Barking Lot bathed 250 dogs in an hour during an August 11 “Dog Wash-a-thon” that raised more than $4500 in pledges for the nonprofit rescue organization. The fundraiser "shattered" the …
Some Fletcher Hills residents want Gillespie Field airport to consider adopting the Scottsdale Airport pilots’ "Good Neighbor" pledge, a statement that pilots voluntarily sign to declare they are "sensitive" to community concerns such as noise. …
Interview with Grossmont College’s Raul Sandelin, who is near completion of the film A Box Full of Rocks: The El Cajon Years of Lester Bangs. Sandlein: "I'm an El Cajon cheerleader."
The County of San Diego on July 19 published a request for proposals to develop 31.47 acres of industrial property at Gillespie Field, vacant land located at the northwest corner of Cuyamaca Street and Weld …
On July 17 at about 11:30 p.m., the Santee sheriff’s station received a call of a house fire on Cajon Vista Court in the Winter Gardens neighborhood of El Cajon. The first deputy to arrive …
The East County Economic Development Council’s “strategic aerotropolis roadmap” for land surrounding Gillespie Field airport could include proposals for hotels and a facility for veterans to certify for civilian employment, development council president Jo Marie …
Earlier this year, after roughly a year of mismanagement and passable but lackluster-by-San-Diego-standards beer, El Cajon Brewing Company closed its doors, leaving behind a rather appealing skeleton. With a good-sized dining room, serviceable kitchen, and …
Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church parishioners spent two days saying goodbye to Monsignor Michael Gallagher, the priest retiring after serving for 27 years as pastor. Receptions followed weekend services, and 600 people attended the …
Does El Cajon gobble more than its share at the tax trough?
The Gillespie Field Duck Pond? What is it? Where is it? Why? These are all good questions. Rumor has it, the pond was part of a golf course long, long ago, but for decades it …
A man entered the Chase Bank on Avocado Boulevard in El Cajon shortly after 5:00 p.m. and demanded money from the tellers. The man left the bank carrying bundles of cash and went down the …
Heymatt: I grew up in Fletcher Hills. Ever since I was a kid, I have wondered what was going on at the corner of Hacienda Drive and Hacienda Circle. There is a fenced-off area with …
Interviews with alpaca owners, spinners, and weavers who live in San Diego’s East County mountain region.
Despite the best efforts of many in the city of El Cajon and others to help the struggling business stay afloat, the brewing company folded. The Craft Brewing Business website noted "to get off the …
At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12, the normal traffic pattern at Gillespie Field was interrupted when a coyote decided to take a tour of the field. Six aircraft were ordered by the control tower …
I was sitting in the engine warm-up area at the end of Gillespie Field's runway 27R at 10 a.m. on February 26, getting ready for takeoff on a flight to Camarillo. Four other planes were …
At 7:00 in the morning on November 6, on a quiet block of houses in Lemon Grove, three pit bulls escaped from their yard. They attacked a seven-year-old, tan "cha-weenie" mix named T-Bone, who was …
Thom Beebe, owner of Guitar and Bass Land/Skin City Drums in El Cajon won’t deal in used musical equipment anymore due to an increase in secondhand/pawnshop permit fees.
Just the other evening, my husband and I were walking through the business area of El Cajon, on our way to a steakhouse, when a rat ran right in front of us. Doesn't that just …
There are some places that you kinda take to heart. They’re more than the dish or the deal. Something clicks about the people and the place, and you want to come back and be a part of it. These are just some.
I thought it would take more than the promise of seeing a few dogs to incentivize making a trip to El Cajon in the middle of a heat wave. The temperature climbs one degree for …
“Iraqis love big entrées. It’s the Lebanese who like to snack on different small tapas.”
Author: Jake Peterson Neighborhood: El Cajon Age: 26 Occupation: Student I awoke from my daily nap a little later than usual that fateless Wednesday evening. It was pushing 6:00 p.m., and my tummy was howling …
Membership: 310 Pastor: Kevin Womack Born: Melbourne, Florida Age: 40 Formation: Bethel Seminary, San Diego; Talbot School of Theology, La Mirada Ordained: 11 years San Diego Reader: What is your favorite subject on which to …
Membership: 300 (and 130 Chaldean) Pastor: Steve Forsythe Age: 51 Born: Cape May, NJ Formation: New Brunswick Theological Seminary, New Brunswick, NJ; Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena Years Ordained: 26 San Diego Reader: How long do …
"Look. Look! They took our money! Ten thousand dollars, from some. They came in with their shotguns raised. ‘Down on the ground!’ They cuffed me, hands behind my back, threw me on my face on …
The missus had decided on the destination for our yearly vacation: it was to be Greece. From a little kernel of an idea in my wife’s head comes a locale, in this case Athens, along …
Membership: 140 Pastor: Deron Higgins Age: 51 Born: San Diego Formation: Point Loma Nazarene University (Point Loma College), Point Loma; Bethel Seminary, Bethel University, San Diego Years Ordained: 25 years San Diego Reader: How long …
Denomination: nondenominational Bible-teaching Membership: 500 Pastor: Jack Forness Age: 64 Born: Olean, NY Formation: St. Bonaventure College, St. Bonaventure, NY; National University, San Diego Years Ordained: 15 San Diego Reader: How long do you spend …
Russell, Russell. This was your idea. Now I’m here, but you’re not. Russ died last month, you may have read. Pretty young. He was the Reader’s chief proofreader, which means he was a cross between …
At approximately 11:10 p.m. on March 7, a fire tore through and destroyed a residence in the 100 block of North Westwind Drive. The El Cajon Fire Department responded with two full crews, which knocked …
The cookie monster’s calling. You know me and my sweet tooth. Having apple-strudel dreams again. ’Specially now, as night comes on, and you feel like a little reward for having gotten through the day. Trouble …
De La Fuente Cadillac car dealership, located on Main Street in El Cajon, proposes to erect two 35-foot-tall, 12- by 24-foot billboards between Blackthorne Avenue and Hillside Way along Interstate 8. El Cajon, however, has …
"Yoo-hoo! Hello?” I’m back behind the gas station here, next to the tire shop…in Mr. Sagmani’s place. Yes, his eatery takes a bit of finding. But, for me, it came just in time. Was getting …
Two years ago, Thomas Weller, San Diego's "Highwayman," decided not to get behind the wheel at night because he was worried he'd pose a danger on the road. Weller, who has spent the past 40 …
Shortly after 7:00 a.m. on July 12, flames erupted in the attached garage of a three-bedroom home in the 1000 block of South Mollison Avenue. Heartland Fire & Rescue (an association of El Cajon, La …
In the spirit of this census year, we offer this unofficial, informal, and unscientific census of daily life in San Diego. (No census workers were lynched or faked their own lynchings while gathering the following …
Membership: 80 Families Pastor: Father Simeon Corona Age: 45 Born: Los Angeles Formation: Lutheran Bible Institute, Seattle, WA; Concordia College, St. Paul, MN; Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA; Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, …
A petition requesting increased security for El Cajon’s Westfield Parkway Shopping Center is circulating online. The petition had a slow start, with only a handful of signatures in its first few weeks, but the number …
I had just finished the engine run-up and instrument check in a Cessna 172 and pulled up to the hold line for Gillespie Field's runway 27R at about 10:30 this morning, June 2. I switched …