On September 10, 2018 APR Construction Inc., a small business from La Mesa, won a $202,000 jury verdict against the City of San Diego, which fired them from the Central Avenue Mini Park and Skate …
October 17, 2018
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Stories by Eric Bartl
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Jury awards contractor $200K in Central Avenue Mini Park fight
Susan Davis debates GOP challenger almost 1/3 her age
At 26 years old Morgan Murtaugh is one year above the constitutional minimum age requirement for U.S. Representatives. The Times of San Diego and Huffington Post reported she is the youngest Congressional candidate this election …
October 12, 2018
Good Samaritans chase hit-and-run driver
I found Austin trembling next to his bicycle on Douglas Street in front of the El Cajon library Sunday afternoon, September 16. He was bruised and cut up. A few minutes earlier he was hit …
September 20, 2018
Dem, GOP? It's the farmers market, stupid.
Two East County cities are showing it’s possible to cross party lines to work on common goals. At the El Cajon City Council meeting August 14 Democratic activist Mark Lane apologized to the city of …
September 7, 2018
Spit at in Del Taco
On Friday (August 24) I had lunch at Del Taco on C and 11th downtown. I used the restroom and came out to see a tall middle-aged homeless man yelling at the restaurant’s security guard. …
August 31, 2018
San Diego veterans of World War II, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan
Chief Stuart Hedley United States Navy World War II and Korean War Public speaker Clairemont It was Sunday morning at 5 o’clock. Hedley jumped out of bed below deck on the battleship USS West Virginia …
August 29, 2018
Does sexual orientation change go only one way?
On Thursday, August 16, the California Senate passed Assembly Bill 2943 with a 25-11 vote. The bill would make “sexual orientation change efforts,” also known as “conversion therapy,” an unlawful business practice under the state’s …
August 23, 2018
Headlock on man with hammer
On Wednesday, August 8, 30-year-old Robert Daniel Dille went to Jack in the Box on West Main Street and Van Houten Avenue in El Cajon. Witnesses say he and his female companion approached the counter …
August 17, 2018
Fire and ice
We’ve all heard the joke that someday a natural disaster will plunge California into the sea and turn Arizona into beachfront property. But if recent trends continue what would be more likely — the landslide …
August 13, 2018
Malibu attorney forces Poway into district elections
As the candidate filing period opened July 16 for elected offices across the county, including seats for two new Poway council districts, a lawsuit filed to stop the new districts went back to court. The …
July 27, 2018
Santee townsfolk want Dirty Chris dealt with
Some homeowners on Carefree Drive, Peaceful Court and Restful Court in Santee aren’t getting the tranquility they bargained for. The Carefree condominium complex off Magnolia Avenue and across the street from Santana High School, say …
July 24, 2018
Reporter accuses Ben Kalasho of assaulting him with dog
“Keep making me famous,” responded El Cajon city councilman Ben Kalasho to 10 of the 14 public speakers at the July 10 city council meeting. Calls for Kalasho's resignation made up most of the meeting …
July 17, 2018
Build the Wall sign attracts Waterfront Park scuffle
When 75-year-old Dan Russell isn’t cleaning up trash from the side of highways he participates in civil demonstrations, mostly holding his “Build the Wall, Enforce the Law” sign. On June 30 brought his sign to …
July 13, 2018
GOP gov. candidate Cox was major donor of gas tax repeal
California’s gas tax repeal constitutional amendment initiative will be on the November 6 general election ballot as Proposition 6. “The initiative needed 643,948 projected valid signatures to qualify by random sampling, and it exceeded that …
July 13, 2018
Advocates for Youth gets the boot
Oceanside Unified School District suspended sexual health instruction for grades K-6 Monday (June 18) after getting feedback from parents and community members through an online and written survey. Acting Superintendent Reggie Thompkins announced, “The district …
June 25, 2018
Never mind
The San Diego City Council rules committee had a special meeting at city hall Wednesday (June 13) to conduct an initial review of proposals to place measures on the November 6 general election ballot. Eight …
June 19, 2018
El Cajon is my city
Black and white at The Grand Three large black men sat squished together in the back seat of my rental car as we headed east on I-8. The ping of my Uber app brought us …
June 13, 2018
Would Amaze videos get you arrested elsewhere?
San Diego Unified School District and Oceanside Unified School District have come under fire because of the sexual education curriculum they adopted from Advocates for Youth. Advocates for Youth is based in Washington D.C. where …
June 13, 2018
Last sandwich standing
The Quiznos sandwich shop in El Cajon at Main Street and Magnolia Avenue closed down Saturday. The last San Diego area Quiznos standing is in Ramona at Main Street and Ramona Street. Quiznos shops have …
May 31, 2018
Local Dems and GOP beat back the edges
Clairemont resident Danny Smiechowski says he's being bullied by local Democrats and shunned by the media. He is an official candidate for San Diego city council in district 2. He’s running as a Democrat, but …
April 24, 2018
Who can save San Diego's airport from drowning?
There is a “very real threat of sea level rise that could leave our airport literally under water,” stated Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (CA-80) in a March 30 Union Tribune commentary. Gonzalez Fletcher wants to …
April 13, 2018
Who’s about the kids and who’s about the money?
On April 3 the San Diego Unified School Board granted the charter school petition of National University Academy 1001 STEAM, the first approval of a charter school new to the district in over four years. …
April 12, 2018
Springtime incivility
On March 21 a man pounded on the door outside the military recruiting office next to the Santee trolley station. He yelled through the door as he pounded: “Open the f’n door! I want to …
April 3, 2018
Local litter
Every Friday in Hillcrest an advertisement circular is tossed from a delivery van to driveways and sidewalks around the neighborhood. The publisher calls it Local Community Values. Some from the community call it litter. The …
April 2, 2018
The wild west is back in San Diego
Sunday afternoon in El Cajon I unsuccessfully tried to find an ofo dockless rental bike to help me get around town. I traveled to five locations where the ofo app listed an available bike, but …
March 30, 2018
Google maps lead to closed Lemon Grove road
The Lemon Grove Avenue Realignment Project broke ground in August 2016 and was scheduled to be finished July 2017, but local businesses and residents are still waiting for its completion. Tuesday (March 20) the Lemon …
March 27, 2018
Chicano Park conflict solvable with carne asada?
On January 17th, San Diego city attorney Mara Elliott weighed in on an upcoming event at Chicano Park called “Patriot Picnic 2.0.” She issued a statement implying the groups planning it are hate groups, a …
January 29, 2018
Bridge over Chicano Park's language barrier
After visiting Chicano Park for a “patriot picnic” on September 3, Arthur Schaper wrote about the “Varrio Si, Yonkes No” mural in his blog along with his account of being driven out of the park …
December 7, 2017
Jihadists threaten San Diego's Mormon temple
On November 29 a jihadist media group published an image suggesting San Diego could be in the crosshairs of terrorists this holiday season. The San Diego California Temple in University City appears to be their …
December 4, 2017
Local protest of child marriage in Iraq
A local imam, a city councilman, Iraqi-Americans, and their American friends protested child marriage Friday evening (November 17) in El Cajon. They gathered to speak out against a proposal in the Iraqi Parliament that would …
November 21, 2017
Five white men walk into Chicano Park...
“Why wasn’t I allowed in Chicano Park?” That was the question Kristopher Wyrick asked the San Diego City Council on Tuesday (November 14th). Wyrick and four others were driven out of Chicano Park by a …
November 19, 2017