Robert Tripp Jackson, chairman of the Point Loma Association, received a mysterious message on March 8 asking if he wanted his memorial plaques and notifying him that "there's a whole bunch of trees that we …
March 18, 2016
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Stories by Julie Stalmer
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Rosecrans jacarandas are dead
Teen parrot-killer still loose in Point Loma?
Five wild parrots (one endangered lilac-crowned Amazon and four near-threatened red-masked conures) have been confirmed shot and killed in Ocean Beach/Point Loma within the past two months (February 19 to March 3). Two more deaths …
March 14, 2016
Where hubcaps fly in O.B.
A sign warning of the ultra-slender median on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard (at Voltaire) was run over sometime during the early hours of March 7. Karen Hoffman (not her real name), who lives nearby the intersection, …
March 13, 2016
Roseville pocket park approved
On March 8, the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to fund a new park in Point Loma. The new pocket park will be located on a two-thirds of an acre lot on Avenida de …
March 10, 2016
Parrot sniper on the loose
On the afternoon of February 24, the last of three wild parrots recently shot in Point Loma and Ocean Beach succumbed to its injuries. Brooke Durham, director of SoCal Parrot, said the parrots’ deaths were …
February 26, 2016
A push for decriminalizing homelessness
For nearly a decade, Sam Moore (not his real name) has called Ocean Beach his home. For the past seven months, his abode has been a 1991 Chevy van. His lifestyle choice has not been …
February 23, 2016
Shark of least concern caught off pier
The sun was setting as Elsa Brum neared the left wing of the Ocean Beach Pier during her stroll on February 16. There she saw what looked like a baby shark gasping for air as …
February 18, 2016
The trees had to go
On February 5, signs were posted on the 4600 block of Saratoga Avenue to alert residents of upcoming tree trimming. On February 8, Atlas Tree Service, under contract with the city, severed the large branches …
February 11, 2016
Tecolote Canyon is crappy
"I’ve lived in San Diego since 1973 and I've never seen our roads this horrible," said Clairemont resident Linda Loveland on January 27. "I use Mount Acadia Boulevard every day to go to and from …
January 29, 2016
Can’t blame it all on El Niño
Keith Kezer, program coordinator of the land and water-quality division of the Department of Environmental Health and San Diego Coastkeeper's interim executive director Travis Pritchard discussed the recent contaminations in the waters of Imperial Beach, …
January 25, 2016
Get your butt off the beach
The trash tally for San Diego beaches was released on January 12 by San Diego Coastkeeper and the San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. In beach cleanups hosted by both groups, 197,788 pieces of …
January 21, 2016
Mission Bay users ignore contamination
Erosion causes break in Tecolote Canyon line
January 15, 2016
He used the Force, the Force won
On January 9 at 2:00 p.m., the Wells Fargo Bank located within the Vons at 4725 Clairemont Drive at the Clairemont Square shopping center was robbed. The bank teller told police that prior to the …
January 10, 2016
Wire you sculpting?
On December 30, I.B. Long was doing his weekly assessment of graffiti and other maintenance issues along Newport Avenue for the local business association. Long had seen the wire man in the sky attached to …
January 2, 2016
Windansea shack saved
On the morning of December 24, Mark Bromley, a photographer, was at Windansea Beach in La Jolla with Mark Frapwell and Derek Dunfee. Bromley had just taken the money shot of the Windansea surf shack …
December 29, 2015
Larcenous audiophile crosses Pitbull
Saturday (December 19) at about 1:00 p.m. a thief walked out of Pitbull Audio with a tabletop controller used to record music. The theft occurred at 300 West 28th Street in National City. On December …
December 21, 2015
Clairemont corner eyesore
The corner lot on Clairemont Drive and Balboa Avenue was covered in graffiti again on December 4. It wasn't the first time Stephanie Pfaff of Bay Park had seen the vacant buildings behind the chain-link …
December 17, 2015
Let's call this one the floppy-hatted filcher
On Wednesday afternoon (December 8), Jill Marr of Clairemont was getting groceries at the Smart & Final on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard with her houseguest from Atlanta, Stacy Allen. Marr said on December 9, "We were …
December 10, 2015
Mixed reviews on new Clairemont bicycle lanes
On November 24, the Clairemont Community Planning Group voted to change Clairemont Drive between Balboa Avenue and Clairemont Mesa Boulevard from two lanes into one to accommodate a bicycle lane. The deputy city engineer, Brian …
December 10, 2015
'Tis the season for porch shoppers
Walking her dogs at 6:00 a.m. in Bay Ho on November 19, Stephanie Rosenbaum spotted a package ripped open in the bushes halfway down the 4000 block of Kamloop Avenue. "It was a light green …
December 3, 2015
About 145 more cars can jam into Hillcrest
Parking has been the number-one problem expressed by Hillcrest residents for years. On October 2, Luke Terpstra, chair of the Hillcrest Town Council, talked to me about the problem. "We have a thriving business district …
October 6, 2015
Trader Joe's gets it, Clairemont
Earlier this year, Clairemont Town Council boardmember Steve Innis was told by Trader Joe's real estate manager Doug Yokomizo that calls can help get certain parts of town on their radar. Subsequently, in May, Clairemont …
October 4, 2015
It's fixed. No running, and no peeing in Bud's pool
On Monday (September 28), San Diego's oldest community pool reopened to the public after getting the thumbs up from the County Department of Environmental Health on September 23. The Bud Kearns Municipal Pool was originally …
September 28, 2015
Is that ground rhino horn in your store?
Julie Peters loves the Newport Quik Stop store on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. It reminds her of a New York bodega that has everything you need in one place. Earlier this week, Peters saw …
September 26, 2015
Low: Bicycle stolen from dog in Mission Beach
Mike Minnick and his rescue dog Bixby have been on the road for three years. Minnick, a former bartender, said, "I wanted to change my life, so I packed up the truck and just left." …
September 22, 2015
No pool party at Bud Kearns this summer, kids
Kathy Taylor watched her eight-year-old son blossom after joining the swim team at Bud Kearns Municipal Pool last summer. Her son was excited about being on the swim team again this summer…but the "Closed Until …
August 23, 2015
Clairemont and Eastlake softball teams burgled
On Friday, August 14, a softball-team manager discovered that the storage shed for the Clairemont Girl's Fastpitch Softball League had been broken into. League president Marie Wiggins said on August 17 that the theft happened …
August 18, 2015
Old Town's old pepper trees targeted
LuAnn Porter attempted to rally the troops on Facebook to attend the Old Town San Diego Community Planning Group meeting on Wednesday, August 12. It ended up being a small affair with six or seven …
August 15, 2015
O.B. entryway sign tagged
"Our beloved OB Entryway Sign was tagged either last night or this morning," Gretchen Newsom informed Ocean Beach residents on Facebook Monday, August 10. Newsom, president of the Ocean Beach Town Council, said the council …
August 11, 2015
Rattlesnakes percolating from dry Clairemont canyons
A few hours ago, Shannon M. of West Clairemont alerted neighbors via NextDoor.com that one of his Mt. Acadia neighbors had found two different rattlesnakes in his back yard within the past 24 hours. A …
August 8, 2015
Clairemont speeding irks residents
Shortly after hearing about a 77-year old woman who suffered a hit-and-run in La Jolla while crossing the street last Saturday, I saw two Western tow trucks pull up in my neighborhood. I watched one …
August 6, 2015
Zapf's Clairemont swampland
Clairemont Mesa residents have had enough. Joel P. shared on NextDoor.com, "Ever since they redid the entire median on Balboa from Morena to 805 with landscaping years ago, we have been blessed with the only …
August 6, 2015
UPS driver ambushed in Bay Ho
They waited outside so they wouldn't miss the UPS truck. As the truck parked, they were ready and waiting to sign for the package. The only thing is, it wasn't their package. It wasn't even …
August 4, 2015
Burglars rifle cars for remotes
A few weeks ago, eight houses on Black Mountain Road in Mira Mesa were all hit on the same day. A garage door opener previously stolen from one Black Mountain resident's car was used to …
July 31, 2015
Child beggars of Point Loma
Leaving the Sprouts Market in Clairemont last week, I saw a young blonde woman standing at the parking-lot exit with a cardboard sign and a stroller. As I approached the exit, she leaned into the …
July 7, 2015
San Diego Flag Girl, 1921
My paternal grandmother Elizabeth Long was San Diego's Flag Girl in 1921 for a Daughters of the American Revolution event. San Diego had recently decided to preserve Balboa Park after the Panama–California Exposition of 1915. …
July 4, 2015
Neighborhood hood gets a new look
Due to an escalation of criminal and suspicious activity in Clairemont, there has been renewed interest in Neighborhood Watch, a nationwide program introduced by the National Sheriff’s Association in 1972. A press conference was held …
July 4, 2015
Neighborhood Watch, mobilize!
They look like they are checking out sticker prices at a car lot. The thing is, none of the cars they are checking out are for sale. I have witnessed what appears to be cars …
June 30, 2015
That's one nasty rash, Clairemont
Wednesday afternoon (June 17), several homes were broken into or targeted in the Clairemont area. Emma Erlich of West Clairemont warned her neighbors on NextDoor.com that two teenagers hid in their bedroom on Mt. Carol …
June 20, 2015
A sign of rain ahead?
Walking with my dogs at Fiesta Island yesterday, I found what at first glance looked like a toy rubber lobster. Until he or she moved! As I continued walking down the shore, I discovered more …
June 6, 2015