Chula Vista news & stories
Lyrical Groove’s Kendrick Dial, a Dallas native, came to San Diego in 2000 with the Navy. Since then, he’s called Chula Vista, Spring Valley, Downtown, and North Park home, and noted how each district boasts …
The daughter of pianist, composer, and conductor André Previn and jazz singer Betty Bennett, Alicia Previn is a classically trained violinist who studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She has played with …
Perhaps you know that the official beer of the National Football League is Bud Light. The NBA has Michelob ULTRA. Major League Baseball’s official beer is Budweiser, but its official cerveza is Corona. And wrestling? …
I asked fifteen teenagers at school and virtually from schools across Chula Vista to share some reasons why they are choosing to wear masks. At Mater Dei, Haylee, 18, said she is "absolutely terrified of …
It’s unclear at what point it became my sacred duty to collect the complete works of Robert De Niro on DVD, but the alignment of these three less-than-stellar middle period offerings — shelved side-by-side in …
A clatter against the window of my second-story room in Golden Hill awoke me. Then, shouts. What the hell? “Eh, Miguel.” “Miguelito.” “Barba de Chivo, levántate, cabrón.” Only Rodolfo called me Barba del Chivo, followed …
Music worth saving History, geopolitics, and social sciences are my fields, but as a young boy growing up on Long Island, I was the organist of our parish and even joined the AFM in my …
We may live in uncertain times, but I’d still call it a fair assumption, in 2022, that any meal priced under ten dollars will either be served on a tortilla or bun. So how is …
During the pandemic, open days at the county's 24 reservoirs were slashed, prompting a petition to restore the only water access available to many backcountry residents without a long drive. Last November, the county agreed …
Asked for his most colorful stories about gigging around town, singer-songwriter BJ Jezbera gives the impression that he knows just a little bit more than he’s telling. “I feel like a question like this,” he …
They say a lot of Americans took up baking, roughly two years ago this month. I’m not one of them, but during the pandemic I did start paying closer attention to the bakeries doing business …
As Pamela Sophia exited the Home Depot on Saturn Boulevard in the morning of March 10, she noticed people in the parking lot gazing up at the sky behind the home improvement store. She then …
Say what? As my 929 stretch limo (read: bus) hauls me through National City, we pass a big ol’ sprawling furniture place that I remember used to take up most of the block here at …
The Reader’s editorial staff was gratified and frequently delighted by the response we got to our writing contest: 347 non-fiction stories, 31 pieces of fiction, and no less than 199 poems. It’s good to know …
Founded in Chula Vista, rock trio Los Saints features first-generation Mexican-Americans, including frontman Angel Mariscal, guitarist Gianluca Exposito, and drummer Emiliano Garcia. Their debut singles “I’m In Need” and “As Bad As the First” were …
In the days before Covid, piano virtuoso Irving Flores was one of the busiest cats in town. “Yes, I was playing every day,” recalls Flores. “But, just like that, it all collapsed from all that …
UCSD’s uncontrolled substances An audit completed last fall but just recently released to the public following a request to the university under the California Public Records Act calls out UCSD Health for being out of …
Hit piece late fees In what appears to be a much-belated post-election payoff, two Los Angeles-area Democrats forced from office amid sexual harassment scandals came up with big money in 2021 for a 2020 campaign …
You can slap just about anything between two slices of bread and call it a sandwich, but that doesn’t mean all sandwich making arts are equal. I pointed the car south toward Chula Vista this …
Academy Award-nominated Andra Day began singing at Chula Vista’s First United Methodist Church, then studied music at the School of Creative and Performing Arts. Her 2012 cover of Jessie J’s “Mamma Knows Best” peaked at …
Not that I need encouragement, but the late year rain and chill reminded me that New Year’s is the traditional time of year to feast on pozole. Which meant the thing to do was aim …
The green islands break up the windblown sheets of water. It looks like an archipelago seen from a plane. But we’re only on a bridge, 15 feet above the Sweetwater River. That’s just the start …
When it comes to housing, many Chula Vista workers find themselves stuck in the middle, earning too much to qualify for affordable housing, yet unable to pay the higher-end rents. Facing a dearth of suitable …
The Michelin Guide has cast its latest cursory glance at our city, and a handful of quite good restaurants across town are now basking in attentions bestowed by a car tire manufacturer. I know it’s …
At about 4 a.m. on September 11, a De Anza Cove visitor called in about a Prowler fifth-wheel trailer RV that caught on fire. Firefighters from San Diego Fire-Rescue Station 21 pulled up with two …
On August 26, a driver of a yellow Kia Rio crashed into a tree in front of Top Gun Wash & Groom on Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. "I had just crossed the street," Jonathan …
It’s just after noon on a Thursday at Escondido’s TJ Tacos. The place is surprisingly uncrowded, with only about six people in line for the taco stand’s signature adobada tacos, a spicy blend of marinated …
Chula Vista native Zachary O’Hara, an 18-year-old surf instructor at the San Diego Surf School, talks about nearby Ocean Beach as well as his local break in Imperial Beach. While his go to spot since …
Last October, when Chula Vista beer-maker Novo Brazil Brewing Co. took over the Ocean Beach taproom previously operated by Culture Brewing Co., it had a branding decision to make. The company has been brewing beer …
Chula Vista Presbyterian Church Contact: 940 Hilltop Dr., Chula Vista 619-426-2211 www.chulavistapres.org Membership: 145 Pastor: Emily McColl Age: 64 Born: Boulder, CO Formation: Stanford University; Princeton Theological Seminary-Princeton University, NJ Years Ordained: 25 San Diego …
I spotted the photo in a friend’s Twitter feed, and almost scrolled past. Another photo of a San Diego-rolled burrito, nothing new about that, right? But then the word lumpia caught my eye, and I …
I’d gotten word about a spot in Chula Vista where food trucks gather daily outside a third-party DMV registration shop. And, sure enough, one day I found myself just a couple blocks away from the …
Community Congregational Church of Chula Vista Contact: 276 F Street, Chula Vista, 619-422-9263, chulavistachurch.com Neighborhood: Chula Vista Membership: 187 Pastor: Elizabeth Aguilar Age: 53 Born: Chicago Formation: North Park University, Chicago; Andover Newton Theological School, …
“It’s go time. This is not a drill. The Zeros documentary is in production,” says Javier Escovedo, who is working with filmmakers Anthony Ladesich and Michael Webber on a movie about his influential 1970s punk …
When a friend of mine started working as an eighth grade teacher, he reported a wave of addiction sweeping through his classroom. The kids, as he told it, were hooked on Flamin Hot Cheetos. The …
A feeling of déjà vu struck John Sears and perhaps his two mules when county sheriffs recently escorted them out of the Poway city limits. "It was about a week ago," Sears said to me …
Tender shredded beef birria, swimming in reddish brown broth that leaves an orange ring ‘round the edges of the Styrofoam cup containing it. That’s the Tijuana-style specialty of National City’s 664 TJ Birrieria. But it’s …
Rancho Santa Fe attorney Paul Jonna maintains that Governor Gavin Newsom and county governments around California favored Black Lives Matter protests over churches when it came to how each of them was allowed to assemble. …
On the patio of the Over the Border nightclub, an accordion player in a cowboy hat led his band through a set of norteño music, while a small crowd of fans danced and drank beer, …
At midnight on August 2, some locals in Imperial Beach woke up to blaring foghorns. “I live two miles away from the beach and the horns [sounded] like the ship was next to my house, …
San Marcos City Manager Jack Griffin begins his annual June letter to the mayor and city council, “It is kind of my pleasure to submit the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Operations and Maintenance Budget.” That “kind …
Though I’m a fan of San Diego’s flourishing influencer scene, I didn’t know that some of them are as young as 15. I reached out to Camila Mendivil to ask how she accomplished her skyrocketing …
For 37 years, Masa and Haru Takeda have made and served Japanese tea cakes in their tiny Chula Vista shop, Hogetsu Bakery. Primarily, they offer mochi, the chewy, glutinous rice cakes enjoyed with tea and …
They're the last soldiers standing in what used to be a packed battlefield of screens, in a city that used to host over two dozen outdoor theaters, spread out all the way from the border …
Rollercoaster 2020 continues to hammer home the message we have little idea what’s coming next. At this writing, San Diego somehow escaped being one of the 19 California counties the governor ordered or recommended bars, …
On June 19, some San Diegans celebrated Juneteenth, while others paid homage to San Diego County’s circa-1982 area code “ ‘619 day’ was more of an unspoken holiday, but it didn’t come to be until …
“Veteran owned,” notes an easy-to-miss sign on the Third Avenue storefront of Chula Vista Brewery. In fact, brewery cofounder Tim Parker retired from the Navy at the end of 2019, following two decades of service, …
As developers see it, Adara is a transitional village, filling empty space between urban Chula Vista and rural Jamul with badly needed housing. The county board of supervisors approved the project a year ago, but …
On May 28, Spring Valley resident Camille Cruz was one of 1.1 million-plus viewers that saw a Chula Vista-filmed skate video on TikTok. “My past self applauds the kids for sneaking into the [Aquatica] waterpark,” …
Because major-brand beer has become almost impossible to find in Tijuana, some crossborder locals have taken advantage of their essential trips to San Diego to take some cerveza back home. “I pick up a little …
At noon on Thursday, May 21, for the first time in more than two months, Mike Hess Brewing opened its North Park, Imperial Beach, and Ocean Beach taprooms to customers, allowing them once again to …
‘Wash your hands!” says Hank. “If he says that one more time, I’m gonna...” growls Jim. No doubt, my buddy’s become a hand-wash missionary. He disappears off into the washrooms. Jim and I head for …