By Shiloh Ireland

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August 1, 2024-- East County Magazine met Trader Joe’s Captain Keith Miller for a behind the scenes interview and tour Thursday of his new store in Santee. The store, located at 9680 Mission Gorge Road, opened this morning.

“We’ll have some samples for everyone to try, and we’ll have some fun games we’ll be playing in the store. We’ll have a store mascot, a big-mouthed bass that the kids can find,” he said of the opening day plans. “We’ve been waiting for a long time to come to Santee, and we know the community’s been waiting.”

The new store will have 70 to 80 crew members, including 20-30 transfers familiar with Trader Joe’s culture.  New hiring will continue. He added.

By Bransen P. Harper

Photo:  Sam Ash store in College Grove

June 2, 2024 (San Diego) -- Among the many places in East County for musicians to let out their creative juices, Sam Ash, a family-owned music store, has long been a fan-favorite for a musician like myself. With its wide array of musical gear such as synthesizers, guitars and drum sets, Sam Ash also possesses some of the friendliest staff around that are always welcoming and willing to help you find any accessory that a shopper may be looking for.

But troubling news has appeared for any patrons who might enjoy shopping there . Sam Ash is officially closing all stores down nationwide. In the post-COVID economy, many smaller companies have shared similar struggles for recovery, further challenged by consumers shift to online buying.

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

May 14, 2024 (Sacramento) -- Dozens of union members rallied last week in Sacramento, calling on lawmakers to pass a set of bills called the California Worker Climate Bill of Rights. The bills are intended to integrate worker's rights into the clean-energy transition.

The Climate Resilient Schools Act would create the first master plan to make sure our schools have clean, cool air, adequate shade and energy-efficient buildings and buses.

County and City provide major support for landmark project

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Supervisor Joel Anderson presents half million dollar check to kickstart the incubator business center, joined by El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells and Dr. Noori Barka, Chaldean Community Council.

May 1, 2024 (El Cajon) – Opening an incubator business center to help refugees and immigrants start new businesses has been a dream of Dr. Noori Barka for more than a decade.  On April 11, that dream came to fruition at a ceremony launching the Chaldean Community Council’s new incubator business center at 405 East Lexington Avenue in El Cajon. The center will provide help for low-income and underserved refugee communities.

Supervisor Joel Anderson called the occasion a “joyous day” as he presented a check for a half million dollars from the County to the Chaldean Community Council to kickstart the incubator business center. He also issued a proclamation declarring April 11 El Cajon Small Business Incubator Day. Funding was through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Small Business Stimulus Grant program, and the County’s Community Enhancement program.

 “For years, I’ve said we need an incubator to kick start businesses,” the Supervisor said. “In East County, we’ve got enterpreneurial spirit to be tapped,” he added, predicting that the enterprise will produce new entrepreneurs, “bringing wealth and opportunities to East County.”

He praised El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells after the city agreed to lease office space for the incubator business center for just a dollar a year, over the next five years.