By Miriam Raftery

September 6, 2024 (La Mesa) – Caleb Carvalho, 14, was riding his bicycle to school yesterday morning when he was struck and seriously injured by a garbage truck at the intersection of University Avenue and La Mesa Blvd. 

A Go Fund Me site has been set up to help the teen, a freshman and football player at Helix Charter High School, with his medical bills as he faces long road to recovery.

His father, David Carvalho, told NBC 7 that Caleb’s pelvis was broken on both front and back. Currently hospitalized, Caleb will need rehabilitation and costly medical treatments. 

Caleb was in the bicycle lane but the trash truck driver didn’t see him, running over Caleb as the truck pulled into a driveway.

By Mimi Pollack

Photo, left: Lauren Botticelli and Alf

August 11, 2024 (La Mesa) -- Nine years ago, I wrote an article on the all-breed dog rescue, the Animal Pad, which was then headed by Rebecca Weinrib and Stephanie Nisan.  A lot has changed since then, and this non-profit dog rescue based in La Mesa has really grown as it continues to save the lives of many dogs. TAP (The Animal Pad) rescues dogs from other shelters, dogs that are owner surrendered, and dogs from various [and sometimes perilous] situations in Tijuana and Baja California.

 Nisan and Weinrib have passed on the torch, with Nisan remaining on the Board of Directors. The present Executive Director and woman of many hats is the formidable Lauren Botticelli, who came in seven years ago. In addition, in 2020, TAP acquired a physical building on Avocado Blvd to run the day-to-day operations and house a kennel for up to 40 dogs.

East County News Service

July 24, 2024 (Alpine) – The Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR), one of San Diego’s largest trade associations for San Diego-area realtors, is applauding the volunteer efforts of PSAR member and Alpine resident Jeff Campbell who is collecting new shoes, newborn to size 13, for foster children until August 17.

By Jonathan Goetz

View video, which originally aired on KNSJ Radio 

July 13, 2024 (Mt. Helix) -- Miriam Raftery, Editor of East County Magazine, recently interviewed Melinda Forstey, Chief Operating Officer of Serving Seniors, (www.servingseniors.org) a nonprofit providing services to help seniors thrive including nutrition, housing, health and social services. Serving Seniors has been around since 1970 and provides wrap around services primarily for low-income seniors, including a nutrition program serving over 1.4 million meals.

In the interview,  Forstey discussed the financial stresses on seniors, the root caues of the growing number of seniors becoming homeless, and efforts to help them--including Serving Seniors' senior housing project in Ramona, shallow rent subsidies for seniors, food program for seniors and more.

By Miriam Raftery

July 10, 2024 (San Diego) – Akeel Robinson will turn 2-years-old in August. He’s made remarkable progress since January, when a wrong-way driver plunged off a freeway overpass in El Cajon, sending a chunk of a concrete guardrail crashing into Akeel’s skull. But his family needs help to fund his extensive rehab therapies, particularly since his mother lost her job caring for elderly patients due to putting Akeel’s needs first for his near-daily therapy appointments, and the bills are piling up. 

“He’s going to need help forever,” Akeel’s grandmother, Jennifer Blocker, told ECM. She is asking for donations at a GoFundMe site, now that the projected costs for Akeel’s care have skyrocketed.  “When the accident happened, my daughter was in the process of moving.  She’s finally gotten into a place, but everything seems to keep snowballing.”  She hopes that the public, who gave generously right after the accident, will help her daughter and grandson assure that his therapy sessions can continue, and help them afford other critical needs.

April 26, 2024 (El Cajon) – Jolyana Jirjees, the new executive director of the Chaldean Community Council, recently sat down for an interview on East County Magazine’s radio show on KNSJ.  She was a winner of San Diego Metro Magazine’s 40 under 40 award, and is also an elected member of the Cajon Valley Union School District board of trustee.

A refugee herself who fled religious persecution in Iraq when she was 19 years old and pregnant, she recalls, ““In my community in Iraq, it was very difficult to travel from one place to another due to street bombings or children being kidnapped for ransom.”

She came to San Diego without knowing English or where to turn for help. Fortunately, she was able to earn a high school diploma at  Diego Valley, learn English, and obtain bachelor’s and master’s degrees from  San Diego State in sociology and counseling.

“After I graduated, my main passion was to help the newcomer refugees as I struggled to find my way when arriving to the US, she recalls.

Blood drive from 2-4 p.m. April 4 in Treganza Heritage Park, Lemon Grove

By Chris Ernest Nelson

March 29, 2024 (Lemon Grove) -- Living in community is humankind’s primary means of survival. Our happiness, our well-being, and our purpose are all sustained by people working together in meaningful sympathy. Long-time San Diego County resident, Mrs. Charlene Waddell, knows from experience the importance of a healthy community, both in our general well-being and in the spirit of sacrifice. In 2006, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer. Her recovery required multiple surgeries that took parts of her colon, her liver, and her entire appendix. She required a lot of blood to survive. Thanks to the San Diego Blood Bank, which is there to help everyone in need of blood, Charlene got the precious blood she needed, and has made a welcome recovery.