Borrego Sun - Since 1949

When I was elected Supervisor four years ago, I made behavioral health a top priority. Behavioral health and homelessness go hand and hand and unfortunately, many of the people who end up living on our streets are suffering mentally and aren’t given the proper medicine or care t... — Updated 12/27/2022

People often ask me how I got into politics. My answer, by volunteering. At an early age, I learned that if you start volunteering, people will give you more responsibility. So, I volunteered at my kids’ school, I volunteered within the community and then eventually ran for San M... — Updated 12/21/2022

On December 5, the Legislature met for a formal organizational session. The main purpose was to swear in members for the 2023-2024 session, which reconvenes on January 4th. Despite the day’s formalities, my Caucus introduced a package of bills to address many significant p... — Updated 12/21/2022

Seniors are the fastest growing population in North County and we must do all we can to help those living on fixed incomes. With the cost of basic necessities continuing to rise, we want to make sure our senior population has resources available to them. I’m pleased to say, t... — Updated 12/13/2022

With the initial votes in, I can confidentiality say, I will be the Supervisor of District 5 for another four years. I have always said, I will do this job if the residents of North County want me to continue and I am looking forward to building on the progress we have made over... — Updated 11/18/2022

Thanks to support from voters like you, I have been re-elected to serve the people of San Diego County’s 75th Assembly District. The boundary lines have changed and I have many new constituents, along with many continuing constituents. The district now includes most of rural n... — Updated 11/18/2022

It’s no secret that opioids are killing Americans at an alarming rate, specifically fentanyl. In 2021, more than 900 San Deigns died from opioid-related accidental overdoses, a 54% increase from the previous year. Over 6,000 pounds of fentanyl was seized in San Diego County l... — Updated 11/10/2022

According to a recent Associated Press story, rural communities across the American west are losing access to groundwater as heavy pumping depletes aquifers that are not being replenished because of the megadrought plaguing the region. In California alone, more than 1,200 wells... — Updated 11/2/2022

You’ve probably heard me say it before, but I must repeat it, One Safe Place is transforming lives. One Safe Place is a center that serves human trafficking victims, seniors suffering from elder abuse and is a place someone that is being domestically abused can go to escape f... — Updated 10/27/2022

The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved my effort to require fentanyl education in our schools and increase Narcan distribution. This is a major step for the Safety of San Diego County as accidental deaths caused by fentanyl is the number one killer of people between the... — Updated 10/20/2022

A lot has happened during my first three years on the Board of Supervisors, but there is nothing that I’m prouder to be a part of than One Safe Place. A few months ago, I got to tour and cut the ribbon for this new building, which will be a life-saver for North County. Located i... — Updated 10/4/2022

We’ve taken many steps at the County when it comes to fire safety, including adding new firefighting helicopters, increasing defensible space, and increasing cameras in the backcountry. Last week, we added another tool, the agricultural pass. During a wildfire or other disaster, t... — Updated 9/19/2022

I have been in Borrego five years and AT&T service goes down for two or more days every year at this time. The first time I called in three years ago, the AT&T rep said someone is working on the tower. I went to the tower at the Fire Station and no one was there. I found out a... — Updated 9/13/2022

Last week, we passed an important action when it comes to the safety of San Diego County. Earlier this year, I docketed a Board letter along with Supervisor Anderson to review the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department staffing and recruitment shortages. Since then, County staff h... — Updated 9/2/2022

I am writing regarding the BSFPD board. I have no quarrel with the current members of the board. I need to make that very clear upfront. My concern is how in the world did two couples end up on a five person board? I have never heard of such a thing. There are many reasons that... — Updated 9/2/2022

“A mother’s worst nightmare,” these were the words from Terrie Kellmeyer, Borrego Springs resident ahead of the trial placement for Sexually Violent Predator (SVP), Douglas Badger. On Aug. 5, I spent the morning with Terrie and her daughter Poppy, doing the media rounds about... — Updated 8/23/2022

Congratulations to the staff of the Borrego Sun and contributor Nikki Symington on an important milestone: A lawsuit filed by the Borrego Community Health Foundation alleging fraudulent activities and criminal conspiracies within the organization these many years. It is a... — Updated 8/23/2022

Water, food, shelter, these are basic needs for people to live. But in the modern world, there’s a fourth item for that list – electrical power. Technology runs almost everything, and most technology requires power. Medical devices, communication devices and connection to the res... — Updated 8/8/2022

On Wednesday June 9, I held a Virtual Town Hall, with District Attorney Summer Stephan titled, “What Every Parent Should Know About Fentanyl.” It was illuminating and I encourage every parent to watch/listen to the meeting and share it with their friends, neighbors, and co-... — Updated 8/1/2022

I would like to respond to the people here in Borrego Springs about the Family Dollar coming to town. They say the don’t want box stores here in town, but we have to of the biggest name stores here in town and they overprice everything – True Value and Napa Auto Parts. Then we... — Updated 8/1/2022

On June 22, while helping snowbird friends pack up some of their belongings as they trek back to Minnesota for the summer, the power goes out. Not ideal given the weather during this time. But our friends told us about the Microgrid that was meant to help when power goes out. Ther... — Updated 7/12/2022

On May 20, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warned that two-thirds of the U.S. could experience blackouts this summer. Earlier in the month, California energy officials warned that summer blackouts may continue for the next three summers. There’s a... — Updated 7/12/2022

Threat actors have successfully breached the computer systems of other water districts, is BWD at risk? To test the water district’s defenses, BWD brought in a team of experts to try to cyber-attack us. And the good news is, that while it’s impossible to be risk-free, BWD got exc... — Updated 7/5/2022

A group called, Let's Go San Diego submitted signatures with hopes of getting a half-cent sales tax on the November 2022 ballot. This would help fund SANDAG's $160 billion transit plan. The group that brought this forward is primarily made up by the unions, which have been... — Updated 6/16/2022

Over the coming weeks, the County of San Diego will receive community input, deliberate and adjust, and adopt the 2022 – 23 budget. I always believe this is one of the most important times of the year, as it’s vital we spend taxpayer dollars effectively, while also mai... — Updated 6/13/2022