Free Republic

A small plane crashed in a densely populated San Diego suburb Monday, killing at least two people, including a UPS driver, and leaving a trail of destruction that sent neighbors scrambling to help neighbors. At least two others were injured. Witnesses described a retired couple being rescued from one of two homes that were destroyed in Santee, a largely residential suburb of 50,000 people. Ten other homes were damaged. Several vehicles, including a delivery truck, were also torched.

South Carolina's state owned utility paid $9 million in performance bonuses to executives of a private utility for two nuclear reactors that were never finished, according to the public utility and emails turned over to state and federal investigators. SCANA Corp. even billed taxpayer-supported Santee Cooper $3.2 million for bonuses in August, A MONTH AFTER the utilities abandoned 10 years of construction and planning for the reactors, according to the emails released by Gov. Henry McMaster's office on Wednesday.

As federal officials grapple with a crisis-level influx of Central Americans who are showing up at U.S. borders, NBC 7 Investigates found at least three immigrant families released to a Santee shelter kept in deplorable conditions. According to a contract provided to residents of the “House of Hope,” the home is an outreach ministry of the Faith Family Christian Center, run by Pastor David Barrett. Conditions inside the “House of Hope” A resident led us through the shelter on Prospect Avenue, navigating our news crew through piles of bedding visibly covered in flies, fleas and maggots. At least eight, bedraggled...

The American Lung Assoc. gives Santee a failing grade for tobacco control, the Mayor responds. I am writing in response to the American Lung Association's (ALA) March 4 letter (see the letter in the media box) regarding Santee's overall grade of "F" in their annual State of Tobacco Control Report Card. They may see it as a grade of "F" from their perspective, as our being graded a failure; I see this grade of "F" from our perspective as being the highest grade for "FREEDOM" we could earn. In Santee we believe in life liberty and the pursuit of happiness....

SNIPPET: "A citizen dropped off a backpack full of pipe bombs at an East County sheriff's substation this afternoon, prompting the closure of the precinct house along with part of the thoroughfare in front of the building. The bag was brought to the lobby of the Santee Sheriff's Station on Cuyamaca Street about 2 p.m., sheriff's Lt. Mike Munsey said." SNIPPET: "After determining that the seven cylinders in the bag were pipe bombs, an explosives team removed them from the building and used remote-control equipment to safely detonate them in the late afternoon. Authorities re-opened the street about 5 p.m....

SANTEE – Six people were injured Tuesday night, two of them seriously, when a pickup carrying suspected illegal immigrants crashed at state Route 125 and Mission Gorge Road, the Sheriff's Department said. According to witnesses, the pickup never slowed down shortly before 11:15 p.m. as it entered the intersection where northbound SR-125 ends at Mission Gorge Road, sheriff's Sgt. Anthony Ray said. The truck drove over the curb and went through a wooden fence before coming to rest on a dirt mound. Deputies found four people in the back of the truck. Two others ran from the accident but were...