Chula Vista news & stories
In 2005, Barry John Johnson left his job as city manager of Solana Beach, where he drew an annual salary of $149,344, to volunteer as a counselor at South Bay Community Services. At the agency’s …
This is a love story. It begins in Guadalajara and is rekindled four times a day in room 1204 of Chula Vista High, a setting that is not romantic. The windows of the band room, …
In an email to faculty and staff, on February 8, Southwestern College vice president Nicholas Alioto resigned from his position. Two months ago the president of the college, Dr. Raj Chopra, resigned. Alioto wrote in …
Since l976, the City of Chula Vista has been slashing the hours of the Norman Park Senior Center. According to Kay Bodge, a Norman Park volunteer, the center was open 78 hours per week in …
Membership: 80–100 Pastor: Melito Barrera Age: 47 Born: Olongapo, Phillipines Formation: San Diego State University, San Diego; San Diego Baptist Theological Seminary, San Diego Years Ordained: 11 years SDR: Can you think of a time …
A rumor began to circulate this week on the Southwestern College campus that Henry Amigable was no longer managing the $389 million construction and reconstruction projects generated from Proposition R. In November 2009, Seville Construction …
An ordinance to suspend development-impact fees in redevelopment-project areas for a period of five years was before the Chula Vista City Council on Tuesday, January 11. Impact fees, often paid by the new developer, assist …
Contact: 1055 Hunte Parkway, Chula Vista, 619-851-6465; harborchulavista.com Membership: 80 Pastor: Russ Kapusinski Born: Akron, Ohio Formation: North Park University, Chicago, Illinois; Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida Ordained: 12 years San Diego Reader: How long …
A controversial program to fluoridate the City of San Diego’s water was postponed last month, but South Bay residents who receive water from Sweetwater Authority, a separate water district, will begin drinking fluoridated water in …
Contact: Chula Vista Campus, 2355 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista; South Coast Campus, 2050 Coronado Avenue, San Diego; 619-370-5005; eastlakechurch.com Denomination: Independent Christian Membership: 5500 Pastor: Mike Meeks Age: 55 Born: Coos Bay, Ore. Formation: …
Buffeted by wind and light showers, Peter Donohue stood on the steps of the Chula Vista police station on the afternoon of December 22 to tell the press that, according to his initial analysis of …
In the closing hours of an earth-spin, we sometimes want more than another round of sheetrock rooms, perfect-density pile carpets, and matching furniture. And so many of us, in the evenings, go to the edge …
It came as no surprise November 30 when Southwestern College’s superintendent Dr. Raj Chopra announced his resignation, effective the same day. Chopra’s contract was not due to expire until June 2012, but according to a …
The City of Chula Vista does not want to be “outgunned,” according to councilmember Steve Castaneda. Following that idea, the entire council voted for a no-bid purchase of a Lenco BearCat armored tactical vehicle at …
On November 15, Stewart Payne went before the Sweetwater Union High School Board and asked for the creation of an independent task force to investigate charges against the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the governing body …
Pastor: Tim Gerdes Age: 37 Born: Flint, Michigan Formation: Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri Years Ordained: 11 San Diego Reader: Can you think of a time when you gave a sermon that completely flopped? Pastor …
How to build an old-fashioned neighborhood.
Three days after election day, when Southwestern College school-board incumbents Yolanda Salcido and Jorge Dominquez were voted out of office, the board called a special meeting. The meeting — called for by the board only …
The Reader reported in May and July of this year that Derrick Roach appeared before the Chula Vista City City Council to accuse former interim councilmember Mitch Thompson of unlawful activity. All complaints filed by …
Anybody heard of Castle Park? I sure hadn’t. Everybody except Thomas Bros. calls this part of town southern Chula Vista. Whatever, Castle Park’s where I am, hoofing it up Third Avenue at around eight at …
During an October 12 Chula Vista City Council meeting, mayor Cheryl Cox gave a statement regarding her thoughts and opposition to the legalization of marijuana. “The potential for criminal action is enormous and threatens the …
Southwestern College, the Sweetwater Union High School District, and the Chula Vista Elementary School District, all located in the South Bay, have several school-board seats up for grabs in a few days. The level of …
Author: Donald Breese Neighborhood: Chula Vista Age: 39 Occupation: Attorney I was standing in line for the big sale. There were about 40 of us there, waiting for the event to begin. I had only …
Southwestern College held a social gathering in May of this year at Frida’s, a Mexican restaurant in Chula Vista. The event was well attended by many local dignitaries, a plethora of contractors, and most of …
On September 27, Southwestern College vice president Nicholas Alioto organized a golf tournament for the Southwestern College Foundation. The tournament raised a great deal of money while utilizing the resources and prestige of the college …
"On July 1, 2011, we have a budget gap of $12.5 million, which depending on the outcome of Proposition H, could grow to $18 million," said Chula Vista City Manager Jim Sandoval during Tuesday's city …
Chula Vista Deputy Mayor Rudy Ramirez is opening his office doors on Monday, October 4, inviting Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to ride shotgun in a discussion about the high rate of underage, under-the-influence drivers …
Chula Vista residents will have to pick their poison when they go to the polls November 2. Proposition H, a utility users’ tax, is posited by the mayor and city manager as a vital source …
Jim Cartmill has been a Sweetwater Union High School District board member since 1990. This November, he’s running for a seat against Karen Janney. As the incumbent, Cartmill’s campaign donors have predictable associations. Sweetwater is …
When big business was selling the public on the need to approve multimillion-dollar school bonds, whose needs were they talking about? In 2008, a majority of South Bay voters agreed to open their wallets for …
“It was a struggle to get the permits from the City of Chula Vista,” says Mikey Hernandez. “They rarely issue permits for live music that goes beyond 11 p.m., but I was adamant about getting …
What does it mean when a public lobbying firm says that a key objective is to “isolate and expose extremists”? Public records recently obtained from Southwestern College offer a rare peek into the strategies of …
At the August 10 city council meeting in National City, councilmembers and the mayor reduced hours at the city's library, senior center, the swimming pool, and eliminated a full-time position on the neighborhood council program …
“La Nueva Tijuana” (the new Tijuana) is the name given to a section of Chula Vista known as East Lake Terrace. An explosion of growth there and in Bonita has been brought about by the …
In 2008, voters approved Proposition R, a $389 million bond for Chula Vista's Southwestern College. As construction plans begin to take shape, contractors, subcontractors, and consultants are lining up before the Southwestern Governing Board. Some …
“Councilwoman [Pamela] Bensoussan, what planet do you think you are on?” asked Derrick Roach at the Chula Vista City Council meeting on July 27. Roach is a San Diego–based private investigator and Republican candidate for …
Like many community colleges, Southwestern College, located in Chula Vista, had to severely cut course offerings in the spring and summer of this year. At a June 2010 press conference, California Community College chancellor Jack …
Some norteamericanos view Mexico as a romantic destination — aah, the wide beaches, the colorful villages, the open-air markets, the cute guys/gals, etc. On my initial trip to Mexico, my romance was with a fish …
On July 27, the Chula Vista City Council will revisit four potential ballot propositions to consider placing them before voters in November. The items to be considered are: (1) term limits for the mayor and …
Days after Dynegy Energy Incorporated filed an application to extend its water discharge permit an additional five years at the 47-year-old South Bay Power Plant, Chula Vista deputy mayor Rudy Ramirez reached out to residents …
In the spirit of this census year, we offer this unofficial, informal, and unscientific census of daily life in San Diego. (No census workers were lynched or faked their own lynchings while gathering the following …
Complications for the City of Chula Vista and police chief David Bejarano have begun to pile up like cars on a rain-slicked San Diego freeway. In early April, Art Moreno, head of Presidential Security Services, …
On June 22, the Chula Vista City Council suspended a campaign-enforcement ordinance that has troubled the City every election cycle since its inception. According to city attorney Bart Miesfield, the stated purpose for this campaign …
Slap, slap, slap. Joanna’s whipping those dough balls into tortillas. “Busy day today,” she says. She’s working right here with her tables and pans, out on the Astroturf entrance to Don Diego’s, a red, orange, …
On June 15, the Chula Vista City Council postponed passing a resolution that would potentially affect anyone driving in the city of Chula Vista. After many residents expressed concern about the consequences of passing the …
It was a beautiful April Sunday. Today was the big day. We, meaning my friend Kent and myself were making a small trip today out of the city hopefully not to far. We decided to …
On May 24, at around 9:30 a.m., police had to subdue a seemingly deranged man at the Palomar Street trolley station. When I came upon the scene, police were restraining the man. Two people told …
On May 25 at noon, city councilmember and mayoral candidate Steve Castaneda called a press conference on the steps of city hall to announce his exoneration…again. In 2006, the district attorney’s office, acting on an …
On May 18, the San Diego Port Commission, the Chula Vista City Council, the Chula Vista Planning Commission, and the Chula Vista Redevelopment Agency met in back-to-back meetings to approve the Bayfront environmental impact report …
Last Tuesday, May 11, Derrick Roach spoke to the Chula Vista City Council during public comments. After introducing himself as a private investigator that investigates “business fraud and public government agencies,” Roach called for the …
Chula Vista police caught a Wells Fargo bank robber red-handed — almost. The robbery took place at the Third Avenue branch at around 2 p.m. on May 13, according to a press release. Witnesses said …
On June 8, Chula Vista will go to the polls to elect a mayor, two city councilmembers, and for the first time since voters passed a 2008 ballot measure, a city attorney. And while the …