City News Service

The San Diego Association of Governments' (SANDAG) board of directors on Friday unanimously elected Solana Beach Mayor Lesa Heebner as its chair for a two-year term.

Some communities in Vista, Rancho Del Rey, Eastlake and the Otay Reservoir have active planned outages underway.

Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre Thursday told the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to continue its effort to get a Superfund site designation the Tijuana River Valley despite a rejection by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The dangerously high winds will strengthen and spread southward through San Diego County over the day Thursday, reaching their zenith overnight and into Friday morning.

The alert status for heightened combustion hazards in the county's inland valleys and mountains went into effect at 4 a.m. Wednesday and will last until 6 p.m. Friday.

Nearly 9,000 San Diego Gas and Electric customers were without power Wednesday afternoon due to Public Safety Power Shutoffs, with more than 69,000 others at risk of being shut off due to weather conditions.

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive-heat warning, effective from 10 a.m. Tuesday to 8 p.m. next Monday.

The department is looking to fill over 400 positions, and willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in signing bonuses to attract new employees.

It's going to feel a lot like summer across much of San Diego County starting Wednesday.