Chula Vista news & stories
I’m sitting alone in the Chula Vista library, reading a book about Jimi Hendrix, when an old man approaches me and begins to stare. He’s one of the library’s morning regulars. Most of them are …
During their April 20 meeting the Chula Vista City Council approved the posting of signs prohibiting the use of alcoholic beverages at Rienstra Park. The issue first came forward from members of the South Bay …
During last week’s mayoral debate, a potential problem for developing Chula Vista’s bayfront was revealed. In June, Chula Vistans will vote on Proposition G. Proposition G is supported by the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. …
Dozens of Chula Vista residents gathered inside a small auditorium at the Chula Vista Civic Center Library on April 12 to witness the three candidates for mayor -- incumbent Cheryl Cox, councilmember Steve Castaneda, and …
A massive proposal for Chula Vista’s bayfront will leap forward on May 4, when an amendment to the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan and final environmental impact report go before San Diego port commissioners. The …
At 3:39 a.m. on January 7, 2007, Columbia Street was almost deserted. Little Italy had been plagued with car burglaries — “It got where you couldn’t drive too many of the streets down there without …
A controversial streetscape project for Chula Vista’s downtown will come before the city council April 13. The project involves narrowing a portion of Third Avenue to a single lane and removing trees in cement planters. …
“This is what, again?” asks Carla. Her fingers rustle suspiciously through the pile of fried smelt sitting stiff, gold, and cold next to the crispy, deep-fried chicken skins and the pot of vinegar. “These,” I …
In a complicated land deal, the financially strapped City of Chula Vista borrowed from Peter to pay Paul. The Chula Vista City Council voted on March 2 to purchase 14.4 acres of redevelopment land in …
The Chula Vista Police Department hosted a March 13 meeting at Hilltop Middle School. They presented crime information about the city to approximately 200 community members, including parents, teenagers, and young children. Police chief David …
Pay cuts and pink slips were the hot topic at the Chula Vista Elementary School District board meeting on March 9. Teachers, parents, and students waved signs with slogans such as “Cuts Hurt Kids” in …
People drove away from DMV offices statewide after waiting in line for several hours on March 8. A computer-system malfunction was blamed for the longer-than-usual lines. The DMV at 30 N. Glover Avenue in Chula …
A female jogger was attacked during an evening run in McCandliss Park on March 3. Chula Vista police were called just before 8 p.m. to investigate the incident in which the victim was struck in …
A South Bay ATM was targeted by thieves on March 4. Workers arrived at 5:24 a.m. at La Bella's Pizza Garden (located at 373 Third Avenue in downtown Chula Vista) and found that the restaurant …
The Chula Vista City Council unanimously approved a resolution to adopt a community garden policy on Tuesday, February 23. The program will designate a portion of city-owned land that can be cultivated collectively by a …
“2010: A New Beginning” reads the label on the binder in the ministry booth set up in the church hall. The table surrounding the decorated cardboard triptych is strewn with candy. Other, similar booths advertise …
Artists in the South Bay are facing extinction. Schools have eliminated art classes. There are no galleries or art events taking place. Yet, there is a thriving community of artists that call the South Bay …
When the housing market crashed, wreckage was scattered throughout Chula Vista. In 2007, 12 to 15 homes out of every 1000 went into foreclosure. Many of those thousands of homes that fell vacant as a …
Communication at a Chula Vista city council meeting hit an all-time low on December 15. The council was besieged when one resident threw plastic eggs at the dais, claiming that councilmembers had “no backbone, no …
A cheerful, creamy glow filled the broad church; it matched the cheerful, happy buzz of the congregation. A timer warned that the service was about to begin, but it had to be rolled back a …
On Thursday, November 19, residents on the eastern side of Chula Vista received a letter in the mail from the San Diego Association of Governments concerning a new rapid transit project. The South Bay Bus …
Conflict has surrounded the South Bay Expressway, the southern extension of State Route 125, since its inception. Prior to groundbreaking in 2003, the privately held four-lane toll road was opposed by community and environmental groups. …
The Padres earned no invite to baseball’s Fall Classic this year, but San Diego already had its 2009 global champs in Chula Vista’s Park View Little League Blue Bombers, who beat Taiwan in the Little …
BALBOA PARK Another Perfect DayBy downtownphotoguy, June 26Today we were in Presidio Park in the morning and Balboa Park in the afternoon. We were shooting with a variety of lenses and techniques…. It seems everybody …
A subsidiary of a company run by an Aleut shareholder-owned Alaska Native village corporation based on remote Saint Paul Island in the Bering Sea, 800 miles west-southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, is being sued by U.S. …
The results have been tallied and the Chula Vista City Council has spoken -- through a two-paragraph press release dated September 9. The top three finalists to replace Councilmember John McCann during his yearlong deployment …
On September 2 — one week after Caltrans activated the meters on the Telegraph Canyon Road onramp to the 805 — they activated the meters on the Olympic Parkway onramp. Traffic congestion in and around …
On Wednesday, August 26, Caltrans activated the meters that allow traffic onto to I-805 north from Telegraph Canyon Road. The stoplights have been in place for some time now, but it was not until this …
As I write this, Transformers 2 has just finished taking in over $200 million in five days. One of the main characters in that film is a robot who disguises himself as a 2009 Chevy …
The fight rages on for Myssie McCann, the wife of Chula Vista councilmember John McCann. For the past three weeks, ever since her husband left for a yearlong deployment to Iraq, McCann has been critical …
August is going to be a busy month for the city clerk of Chula Vista. On August 7, the clerk's office began accepting applications to fill the vacant council position left after councilmember John McCann's …
For years, Chula Vista City Council Chambers has served as the battleground for many political wars. The latest battle continues more than a month after Deputy Mayor McCann’s deployment to Iraq. During last Tuesday’s city …
Local solar power activist Bill Powers is crashing the pages of Natural Gas and Electricity. The industry journal’s August edition will feature an argument by Powers that photovoltaic arrays can be as effective and cost-competitive …
Chula Vista councilmember Steve Castaneda was late getting to the July 21 city council meeting. The second-term councilmember showed up just in time to join his three colleagues as they considered placing a 45-day hold …
On Saturday, July 18, I went to the Submarina sandwich shop on Otay Lakes Road, near the intersection of East H Street, and discovered that the shop had been closed permanently. A handwritten sign posted …
One day after Dustin Vogel went to Chula Vista city hall and submitted an application to open a medical marijuana collective (where patients go to purchase marijuana from growers at no profit to the business), …
According to San Diego County assessor/clerk/recorder David L. Butler, the assessed value of all taxable property in the county has dropped to a 25-year low -- an overall decrease of 2.3 percent from the previous …
San Diego County is putting the brakes on spur-of-the-moment marriages. Beginning Monday, July 6, marriage licenses and civil ceremonies will be offered by appointment only. “The walk-in marriage services are being discontinued due to budgetary …
Chula Vista Deputy Mayor John McCann wants the San Diego Chargers to build a new stadium in Chula Vista. During the past few years, the councilmember has gone on the offensive to get the team …
Its hard find a good place to drink in Chula Vista. I don't know what scheme the city planners enacted to kill the night life, but it worked. Finding a nice bar in Chula Vista …
Still upset over last week’s decision to include car allowances for top-level management into their base pay and looking for new ways the city can save money, despite already passing a balanced budget, Chula Vista …
At approximately 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, Chula Vista police observed what they thought was a narcotics sale, according to police radio traffic. CVPD officers got behind a suspect car at East Palomar and …
“Service?” asked the smiling man at the entrance to the AMC Theatres in the Otay Ranch Town Center. I was a little surprised — it’s 10 in the morning — but he had reason to …
Chula Vista’s financial department is trying to get the city’s finances in shape. A $3.5 million budget deficit for this year and a $20 million budget shortfall for the following three to four years have …
On April 1, hours after Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano outlined new plans to bolster border security by spending $400 million for new surveillance technologies, 60 Chula Vista residents gathered at the city’s main library …
On March 5, the South Bay Union School District voted to eliminate 80 teaching positions, but it was not the slam-dunk many expected. District superintendent Carol Parish addressed those attending, saying, “We had to start …
On Monday, March 9, Ed Herrera and 10 other Chula Vista residents were on the front steps of Chula Vista City Hall, chanting “No Way on Prop A!” Fifty of their fellow community members sat …
On Friday, February 20, Albertsons corporate parent Supervalu Inc. closed the Albertsons store at East Orange and Melrose Avenues in Chula Vista. On April 9, the Clairemont store at Balboa Avenue and Clairemont Drive will …
At Chula Vista City Hall in early December, this correspondent attended a special budget hearing on ways the city could slash $4 million from this fiscal year’s budget and $20 million from the budgets of …
In October 2007, Michael Varga, a police officer assigned to the Chula Vista Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, began interviewing women about the abortions they had received at a local clinic, Clinica Medica para la …
Tenika Garteiz of High Tech High in Chula Vista is on a quest for gold, the Girl Scout’s Gold Award that is. Yet it’s really her school that will reap the reward, in terms of …
Can Chula Vista afford the costs of a tax increase? A lone member of the city's five-member council doesn't think so. Councilman (also current Deputy Mayor) John McCann said "this is not a good time …