The coronavirus pandemic forced the City of Escondido’s Water Quality Laboratory to rethink its lab operations without compromising community health or employee wellbeing while ensuring the clean, safe, and efficient operation of the city. Through teamwork and creative thinking, the lab found success in maintaining its essential work, according to the San Diego County Water Authority. “Whether we have a pandemic or not, people still…
Mother’s Day was a special day at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. That’s when 1-month-old giraffe calf got her name after more than 18,000 fans cast their ballots in a week-long online voting campaign. Voters were asked to choose between two names – Zeena and Zahara, and by popular vote, the female youngster will now be called Zahara, which is derived from Arabic origins….
More than 1 million older Californians are receiving postcards in the mail chock full of information about COVID-19. About 1.2 million California seniors are receiving this postcard to help them during the pandemic.(AARP) AARP has teamed up with the California Department of Aging and Gov. Gavin Newsom to offer tips on how to get basics, like food and medicine, delivered if needed. Patricia Perez, state…
(Editor’s Note: We will be updating coronavirus information on a regular basis. This report is for Thursday April 23, 2020. It is not intended as a comprehensive source, but aims to highlight resources and news of interest to the community.) San Diego County cases rise dramatically The angel of death descended on San Diego County yet again as the local death count hit 96 person…
In an unusual move necessitated by last week’s prodigious record-setting rainfall, Lake Hodges Reservoir this week opens its valves sending millions of gallons of water down the San Dieguito Riverbed towards the Pacific Ocean. The city of San Diego, which owns the reservoir and dam, is sending about 923 million gallons of water from the reservoir down the old riverbed through Saturday. And, as they…
Coronavirus fighting came home to roost Sunday, April 5 as San Diego County officials announced plans for a 250-bed federal temporary hospital to open at Escondido, helping expand the local capacity to treat patients during the viral pandemic. The pop-up “hospital within a hospital” will be installed on the 10th and 11th floors of the Escondido facility as a fully functioning hospital and will add to the…
Desperately seeking new Escondido city council member The City of Escondido is accepting applications for a potential appointment to the Escondido City Council to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Council Member John Masson, effective March 10, 2020. City Council members decided to appoint during a strange, virtual night meeting Wednesday, March 25 with most of the members and city staff teleconferencing in…
California’s hospitals thought they were ready for the next big disaster. They’ve retrofitted their buildings to withstand a major earthquake and whisked patients out of danger during deadly wildfires. They’ve kept patients alive with backup generators amid sweeping power shutoffs and trained their staff to thwart would-be shooters. But nothing has prepared them for a crisis of the magnitude facing hospitals today. “We’re in a…
Looking for some good news? Due to coronavirus, along with the nasty crude oil spat between OPEC and Russia, gasoline prices have plummeted throughout Escondido, San Diego County and America. Unfortunately, this so-called good news is fairly off-putting, since pretty much all the places to go are closed. Escondido gas prices Monday dropped to their lowest levels since January 2016 when prices dipped to the…
Due to fears of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, some local governments and property owners in California have temporarily ceased farmers market operations, while other markets remain open after bolstering safety measures to prevent spread of the virus. Abruptly closing markets, affected organizers say, hurts farmers and market customers, especially when access to fresh fruits and vegetables is a must to boost…