San Ysidro – where it's cheaper for kids to live in a motelWe pass the Las Americas Outlet Mall, where upscale shoppers and Border Patrol agents coalesce. It’s here, across the street, that a completely …

What am I doing in Eastlake? The western end of the loop consists of a series of shopping centers, all butted up against Eastlake Parkway, and all bearing names that declare their neighborhood allegiance: Eastlake …

San Ysidro – the town that San Diego would like to forget San Ysidro’s Jack-in-the-Box sells more fast food than any other Jack-in-the-Box in California. Its Big Bear market alone sells more eggs than the …

Peace east of Eastlake It was inevitable that there would be development. The Olympic Training Center sits on land donated by Eastlake, the sprawling development to its immediate west. Every time I pass through Eastlake, …

Back in 2013 Wally’s Marketplace, located in Imperial Beach, carried outdated and expired food on their shelves. Two years later, the nearby Save-A-Lot—run by the same owner—sold a customer 90 pounds of spoiled chicken, sparking …

In a political bait and switch, National City council member Jerry Cano pulled papers for mayor on Tuesday, August 7 – exactly three days before the deadline to file to run as a candidate in …

At about 1:30 am on Saturday, April 28th Lizzie Rodriguez heard noises coming from outside her casita in Memorial Park. The next morning, she found an old couch and a bike dumped along the sidewalk …

Preliminary results of the year-long San Ysidro air pollution study came out on Thursday, March 29th. The monitoring program in this border community, which lasted from January 2017 to February 2018, showed an increase in …

Hector Gastelum to run for Chula Vista mayor

Two National City initiatives will face off in the June elections. Both received the necessary signatures to be placed on the ballot. Both are so similar, they may confuse voters. The National City Citizens for …

“Your educators are falling apart,” Christina Benson, president of the National City Education Teachers Association, told district boardmembers this week. The union continues to protest an impasse in negotiations between the district and teachers. On …

The National City Education Teachers Association has not yet declared a strike, but negotiations with their district have hit an impasse. The union cites lack of materials and heavy workloads as the prime issues. Christina …

“The people in Western Chula Vista and National City are getting ice age, prehistoric water that is incredibly good,” said Michael Garrod, the engineering manager at the Sweetwater Authority during a tour of the Richard …

“It’s a political power grab,” says Andrew McKercher, chairman of Citizens for Real Term Limits in National City. His grassroots group formed in October as a response to a proposed ballot initiative that would allow …

Julie Lee, the owner of Beasley Cleaners, said when Albertsons shuttered its doors her revenue went down, even though her rent continued to increase each year. “I’m trying my best, whatever I can do to …

A demolition crew razed the historic Gateway Inn last week. The property, located at 701 East San Ysidro Boulevard, one block from the U.S.-Mexico border, had been a single-room occupancy motel that provided shelter for …

In December 2014, the federal General Services Administration completed Phase 1B of a three-phase San Ysidro Port of Entry makeover. The construction project opened 25 new northbound lanes and 46 new primary inspection booths at …

Chula Vista expects up to 7397 new housing units by 2022, predominantly in the east, but the Sweetwater Union High School District still doesn’t have land or funding for a new high school. The district …

More than 400 students attending Otay Ranch Academy of Arts, a charter school located on the Mater Dei property in eastern Chula Vista, might lose their campus if the Chula Vista Elementary School District refuses …

On Monday, June 26th owner Lucila De Alejandro announced that Suzie’s Farm will close. Having started in 2009 with a mere three acres, the farm offered a CSA (community supported agriculture program) and sold produce …

Veronica Medina sits in an office overflowing with blankets, shoes, and donated school supplies. A native of San Ysidro, she has a perennial smile and wears pink lipstick that accents her jolly laugh. She doesn’t …

For years, schools in the Sweetwater Union High School District have either been severely impacted or under-enrolled. To address the issue, the district held five "Long Range Facility Master Plan" meetings in 2015 and invited …

San Ysidro has three freeways cutting through it. The approximately 29,000 residents also live next to the largest land port of entry in the world — an estimated 50,000 vehicles cross the border daily. It’s …

According to Denise Berrian, president of the Chula Vista Woman’s Club, “The City of Chula Vista signed a contract with the women’s club in 1991 indicating that they were going to take over the maintenance …

Frank E. Beyer, a border baron who co-owned the Sunset Inn and Racetrack in Tijuana, lived in San Ysidro during the Prohibition days. He purportedly drank a bottle of whiskey a day and could be …

The City of Chula Vista needs $600 million for infrastructure repairs, according to a report presented by a city employee to the Growth Management Oversight Commission on February 18th inside City Hall. Amanda Mills, the …

“I think there’s a perception out there that literally the majority of students from the west are going east,” Manuel Rubio, director of grants & communications for the Sweetwater Union High School District, explained in …

On Tuesday, October 20, the Sweetwater Union High School District held a community meeting at Castle Park Middle School to receive feedback about the condition of existing schools. Paul Woods, director of planning and construction, …

On Thursday, August 6, the General Services Administration (GSA) gave an update to about 20 community members at The Front art gallery about the ongoing reconfiguration of the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry. Anthony …

The nonprofit organization Casa Familiar held its 17th Safety Walk along the unpaved Otay Mesa Road on Friday, July 31, with about 20 protestors holding signs saying “Sidewalk Promised,” and “Safety For Our Children.” During …

It was standing-room-only at the Thursday, June 4 Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve advisory council meeting, held to discuss the Tijuana River Valley trails located along the U.S.-Mexico border. The advisory council — a …

Chula Vista city councilmember Patricia Aguilar held a town-hall meeting on Monday, May 4, at the Hub inside Otay Ranch Town Center. She wanted to hear public comments about the proposal by developer Baldwin & …

On Wednesday, April 22, Chula Vista planning commissioners deadlocked 2-2 on approving Baldwin & Sons' application to create 600 multi-family units in the Otay Ranch area of Eastlake. At the meeting, held in council chambers, …

It’s a holdover from Baja's Gold Fever days. A hideaway from the bustle of Ensenada. Drive an hour inland through curvy roads, past an ashram and a blue Madonna painted on a boulder, and eventually …

The small San Ysidro group known as Fuerza Amigo de Aztlán invited family members of the missing students from the Mexican state of Guerrero to speak at Mount Carmel Catholic Church on Monday, March 23. …

On February 12, the San Ysidro School District board announced a plan that could save property taxpayers $51 to $71 million over the next 35 years by refinancing the district’s Prop C bond. Trustees convened …

Members of the San Ysidro teacher’s union held signs, “SYSD Needs Velasquez” at the district offices on Tuesday, January 27. Supporters were there before the San Ysidro Elementary School District board voted 3-2 to hire …

After more than two hours in closed session on Thursday, December 18, the San Ysidro School Board President, Antonio Martinez, announced “… by unanimous vote to authorize a substitution of counsel be filed in the …

On October 23, SANDAG presented its “Border Health Equity Transportation Study” at the San Ysidro Civic Center. The study found that the South Bay has a 17.8% higher rate of asthma, a 25.1% higher rate …

At approximately 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 9th, the interim superintendent of the San Ysidro School District, George Cameron, asked picketers of the teachers’ strike who stood outside the office to leave behind their signs …

On Wednesday, October 1st, the nonprofit Hearts & Hands organized a town-hall meeting at San Ysidro Middle School and San Diego city councilman David Alvarez was asked to speak about the planned infrastructure projects for …

On Monday, September 8, Jason Wells, cofounder of the San Ysidro Border Coalition, will head to Washington D.C. to ask the federal government for UETA Duty Free Americas to retain three acres of land at …

Simon Falic, chairman and chief operating officer of Duty Free Americas flew in from Miami on Monday, June 9, to unveil an architectural design for a multiuse structure at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. …

The San Ysidro Smart Border Coalition (SYSBC) held a forum on May 14 in the Willow Elementary School auditorium to discuss the anticipated spring 2016 opening of a new pedestrian border-crossing at Virginia Avenue. The …

The San Diego Unified Port District is embarking on the first phase of a comprehensive master plan for the San Diego Bay, which is expected to take a total of five to seven years to …

Who would think that parts of the desert are full of water? Especially since the Coachella Valley gets only six to eight inches of rain every year. But when I took the Desert Adventures Red …

Forty-eight people sat in the audience as mayoral candidates answered questions about the South Bay on Wednesday, October 16, at San Ysidro High School. The gathering, hosted jointly by the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce …

A few days after its opening, the San Diego Central Library’s board of commissioners met on the ninth floor of the new building on October 2. The monthly meeting, always open to the public, was …

The houses slant sideways and the opium dens are gone, but Locke, California, takes visitors back more than 90 years to a unique Chinese farming community. Thanks to the work of a few locals with …

The San Ysidro Community Planning Group held a special meeting on July 10 at the Colonel Irving Salomon Community Activity Center to receive input from residents and business owners about land-use plans for the border …