National City Stories
At a special National City council meeting held on May 11, members of the public participated in surveys about the city’s finances and services. National City faces a $6.7 million dollar deficit, and the trial …
National City residents crammed into council chambers on Tuesday, March 16, for a meeting of the city council. An additional 40 residents sat in a lobby to watch the meeting on a large flat-screen TV. …
A multi-agency DUI and driver's-license checkpoint conducted during the late hours of March 5 and 6 in National City was a success, according to a Chula Vista Police Department news release. Law enforcement from San …
Mary Louise Wilson was sentenced to nearly 20 years in state prison on February 8. The 54-year-old admitted to setting fires at the two nursing homes she stayed at briefly during 2009. According to state …
I’ve got to thank the MTS for this find. They canceled the 962 night-bus service on weekends from the Eighth Street trolley to Spring Valley and back. Who knew? And I’ve just missed the last …
The Chargers’ 31-23 win over the Philadelphia Eagles led National City police to close off some streets on Sunday, November 16, at about 5 p.m. Fans cruising the streets had Chargers flags waving and horns …
Seven months of countywide conflicts, calamities, and curiosities, part 2.
Westcal Construction company owner Richard Chidgey arrived at a job site in National City early on the morning of July 28 and discovered that someone had unsucessfully tried to steal a copper fitting from the …
Josh Johnson was playing a video game in his home near the intersection of Allegheny Street and Calle Tortuosa on Monday, July 6, at around 5 p.m. when he heard a loud crash. He said …
I covered a hundred miles driving to three different parties on one recent Saturday. The first party was up in Murrieta. I would’ve blown it off, but it was for an old high school friend …
According to National City Police Department radio traffic, at approximately 10:10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12, two men walked into the GameStop store in Plaza Bonita Mall and tied the employees up, placing posters over …
History’s in the air. Talk about hidden jewels. Turns out that here in National City they have the only original transcontinental railroad terminus in the United States still standing. Since 1882, the depot has been …
Relatively speaking, despite a 3.3 million-dollar structural deficit, National City’s finances are in pretty good shape -- that’s what mayor Ron Morrison told nearly 40 residents during a special city-council-sponsored “strategic planning and budgetary workshop” …
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 …
Sunday at Cornerstone Church of San Diego was bright with promise. It was also bright with spotlights and searchlights, glowing now white, now green, now pink during the opening half-hour of praise. The lights matched …
This month and in early February, city managers and finance directors in cities across San Diego County are appearing before their respective city councils to report significant budget deficits. Of the county’s 18 municipalities, 14 …
The Sunday service in the well-used sanctuary at Highland Baptist ran the gamut of the Christian experience. Well, maybe not the gamut — the gamut is pretty huge — but a fair swath of it. …
“You don’t argue with a calling,” said Pastor Matt Ortiz before the service in the refurbished school auditorium. “We started out in west Chula Vista, but God called us into National City. I was talking …
Another day, another Chula Vista City Council budget meeting. Over the past three months, the city’s held meeting after meeting trying to resolve a $4 million deficit for this fiscal year and a $20 million …
"End Times Christian Soldiers Mission," says the church near Oak Park School. Lord, why does everyone love this "end is nigh" stuff? I'm aboard the 955 bus, heading south toward National City. On the other …
In San Diego’s hemorrhaging real estate industry, it’s better to be upside-down and rich than upside-down and poor. That may sound axiomatic — it’s always nicer to be rich than poor — but carriage-trade folks …
What’s the difference between National City and Rancho Santa Fe? Well — er, uh — money comes to mind. Last year, median household income in National City was $44,130, according to figures provided by the …
I got a call about a party in Stockton but thought it was too far to drive. I was tempted, however, when I heard the warehouse was going to be decorated as a brothel. Ken …
Shnops and Sheriff Don Amos at Lucky Waller Park in National City, 1974. San Diego County sheriffs have employed dogs for 40 years. The San Diego Police Department's K-9 unit -- the largest in the …
Depending on who tells the story, when Captain Charles Fitzallen sailed from Cardiff, Wales, aboard the Challenger in 1887, he had a bald spot either the size of a monk’s tonsure or the Great Globe …
Mario is a recent immigrant from Mexico, and he's typical of homeowners facing foreclosure. He doesn't want me to use his surname; he's ashamed of getting behind on his payments. He thinks he's been irresponsible, …
Shocked shoppers see a woman fall to her death from a parking structure at Parkway Plaza in El Cajon. Was she pushed? In Chollas View, a mother loses the second of her two sons to …
A wide range of musical styles carried a wide range of religious sentiments during the first half of the Sabbath service. Old-timey hymn piano, keeping the beat under the opening songs: "Majesty, worship His majesty/ …
"This is one of the best churches that I've ever been to," said congregant John. "It's kind of like God's little secret. If you come here at nine o'clock, you'll see the other room set …
'One of my pet peeves right now is the school educational system," says Susan Walter, education chair for the National City Living History Farm Preserve (informally known as the Stein Family Farm). "Kids are taught …
In France, a common mini-scandal is the ménage à trois, a person with two lovers, sometimes under the same roof. The San Diego Chargers, secretly and lustfully eyeing the Los Angeles market, may outscandalize the …
Pastor Misael Zaragoza was a Navy Seal in the Vietnam War, and it was his idea to hold a patriotic celebration service, which bore a strong military emphasis. But it opened with straightforward praise: Eddie …
Tiffany was turning 30 and hosting a party in the clubhouse of her Mission Valley apartment complex. I got there a few minutes after 7 p.m. as she was setting up, so I shot pool …
That's odd. Here it stands, right in the hub of Little Manila. On one side is that outpost of the venerable Filipino Ma Mon Luk noodle empire, Asian Noodles. On the other, across East Plaza …
It turns out that National City mayor Nick Inzunza, recently the subject of a Union-Tribune exposé about his plans to take an extended holiday vacation from his mayoral duties, owns a getaway in the San …
Few legislators have had as great an impact on San Diego as former state senator James R. Mills. Recently, in a Coronado café, he sat down for an interview. Today there is a proposal to …
Down in National City, Mayor Nick Inzunza, who recently announced he's running for the 79th District state assembly seat being vacated by Juan Vargas, has ramped up his campaign with an anti-fat theme. "Mayor Inzunza …
"Today's passage tells us about a slave girl that was pimped twice over. She was being pimped by her master and she was being pimped by Satan," said Pastor Andrea King. King's sermon, The Art …
The election isn't until 2006, but the campaigning, at public expense, seems to have already begun. Late last week, a slick, full-color brochure, headlined "Fly into the Future," showed up as an insert in the …
Some three decades in the making, the bicycle route encircling the south end of San Diego Bay is nearing completion. The past decade has seen the construction of new bicycle paths along the bay shore …
Moonlight on the Sea/ Club 13 640 Civic Center Drive, National City 619-477-2851 They say Club 13 is the second-oldest bar in town. The building dates from 1934. It's been Club 13 since 1943. Hell's …
Mary J's Café 1930 Cleveland Avenue, National City 619-477-6645 This is real National City, with mile-long freight trains passing right behind the place, and Mary J. serving up biscuits and gravy as she did when …
Even in a town where every month some major or minor political figure is caught with a conflict or an unreported loan or a few unpaid bills or some back taxes, Tony Inocentes stands alone. …
UFO (Upholstery Fabric Outlet) 1919 Hoover Avenue, National City 619-477-9341 1120 N. Melrose, Vista 760-941-2345 At UFO's two warehouse locations, every material you could ever hope to weave into your world exists. And, at a …
Kid's Outlet Retail & Wholesale 5971 University Avenue, northeast San Diego 619-582-1676 Other locations in National City, Chula Vista, and San Ysidro The rate at which children outgrow or ruin clothes is startling. At Kid's …
Hot Topic Plaza Bonita, 3030 Plaza Bonita Road, National City (619) 472-8772 Mastodon 4638 Mission Boulevard, Pacific Beach (858) 272-1188 You want it but you don't. Or at least you want to see how it …
Hot Topic Mission Valley Center, 1640 Camino del Rio North, Mission Valley (619) 542-8450 Other locations in National City, El Cajon, Carlsbad, Escondido www.hottopic.com This store brings rave, goth, punk, and retro attire together like …
Da Kine's Plate Lunches 4120 Mission Boulevard, Pacific Beach (858) 274-8494 1635 Sweetwater Road, Suite H, National City (619) 477-8494 For a real Kalua pig, you have to cook it imu style -- in the …
The Barbecue Pit 2888 University Avenue, North Park (619) 298-2400 2388 Fletcher Parkway, El Cajon (619) 462-5434 920 East Plaza Boulevard, National City (619)262-0331 727 Center Drive, San Marcos (760) 432-0177 Say "barbecue" and people …
The California bungalow had its origins in India, another crackling-hot destination in need of cheap, cool housing. The bengalas, as the conquering Brits called them, were small, open, one-story huts with wide verandas.
As I drove through the small maze of ramps leading from 805 to Holy Cross Cemetery, I realized again how much San Diego has changed. On every corner of the intersection, facing every possible direction …
Once a week Cathy Elkin has the unlikely task of educating 500 new sailors about the dangers of their first liberty. The Navy calls it “Liberty Lecture,” and Elkin, who is director of public affairs …