During the interactive portion of the May 30 community workshop on La Mesa's Downtown Village Specific Plan Update, about 100 people spent an hour visiting five stations devoted to issues related to the update. The …
June 3, 2013
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Stories by Liz Swain
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La Mesans gather to discuss village plan
La Mesa City Council meeting minutes: awards and crime report
At the May 28 La Mesa City Council meeting, police chief Ed Aceves joined vice mayor Mark Arapostathis in distributing school safety-patrol awards to fifth- and sixth-graders in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District. The …
June 2, 2013
Birding Basics at Mission Trails Regional Park
Winona Sollock, a Mission Trails Regional Park trail guide and resident birder, used to collect parrots and moved with 65 birds in 1988 to "the last house on a hill" east of Temecula. Sollock bred …
May 31, 2013
Large apartment complex approved by La Mesa City Council
After a nearly two-and-a-half-hour hearing, the La Mesa City Council on May 28 voted 4-1 on actions to allow the construction of a 198-unit apartment complex on an 8.64-acre site located at 7834 Parkway Drive. …
May 30, 2013
San Diego City Council meeting minutes, May 22
The San Diego City Council wrapped up this month's budget hearings with a May 22 evening meeting. The agenda included mayor Bob Filner's revisions to the proposed 2014 budget. Public comment lasted nearly two hours …
May 24, 2013
Help! say Allied Gardens SpringFest organizers
The Allied Gardens SpringFest board will meet later this month to discuss the future of the two-day celebration, SpringFest president Sherry Kelly said in a May 21 interview. The 14th annual SpringFest, held last weekend, …
May 22, 2013
La Mesa sewer rates to jump 7% in 2014, 7% in 2015
The 48 protest letters from property owners fell short of the 6451-majority needed to block the sewer-rate increase that the La Mesa City Council approved unanimously on May 14. Provisions in Proposition 218, which voters …
May 17, 2013
Cowles Mountain trail repaired, ready to open on May 18
The main trailhead leading to the peak of 1591-foot-high Cowles Mountain is scheduled to reopen May 18, a date coinciding with Explore Mission Trails Regional Park Day, a celebration for the park that includes Cowles …
May 14, 2013
Citizens practice for budget hearings in Chollas View
After a presentation on the City of San Diego's proposed 2014 budget, participants at a May 4 Community Budget Alliance event learned how to write and give testimony of two minutes or less during the …
May 7, 2013
No 2013 fireworks over Lake Murray?
Plans for a Fourth of July fireworks display at Lake Murray Reservoir are "on hold" until a court of appeals decision is announced, San Carlos Area Council president John Pilch said at the May 1 …
May 4, 2013
San Carlos Area Council meeting hosts Carl DeMaio
Carl DeMaio referred to a defeat and some victories during his talk at the May 1 San Carlos Area Council meeting. He also weighed in on the proposed City of San Diego budget and discussed …
May 3, 2013
Del Cerro Action Council gets answers
Speeding drivers and the undergrounding of overhead utility lines were among the top concerns of the 38 Del Cerro residents who responded to the Del Cerro Action Council’s recent eight-question survey. Residents desire more dining …
April 29, 2013
Graffiti grief in Serra Mesa addressed by SDPD detective
At the Serra Mesa Library on April 16, SDPD detective Bryan Hewitt of the Gangs Unit spoke about some of the graffiti problems in the department’s Eastern Division. The meeting attracted about 50 people. Residents …
April 18, 2013
Planners vote to nix commercial, add residential in Allied Gardens
The Navajo Community Planners, Inc. (NCPI), on April 15 voted 13-3 to support H.M. Coleman Inc.'s request to "initiate" a community-plan amendment to change the designation of a 4.5-acre triangular site at 7811 Mission Gorge …
April 17, 2013
Paddle-out in Cardiff for surfer Buzz Sutphin
The March 30 memorial for surfing champion Douglas "Buzz" Sutphin at Cardiff State Beach featured his favorite surf song and a paddle out where people on the ocean and those on the shore threw flowers …
April 3, 2013
Allied Gardens to re-make itself, but how?
About 50 people attended the March 26 Allied Gardens Community Council Town Hall meeting where a panel discussed issues related to updating the 1982 Navajo Community Plan, a document focused on the neighborhoods of Allied …
April 1, 2013
Does intersection warrant stop signs in San Carlos?
San Carlos Navajo Community Planners, Inc. (NCPI) on March 18 voted 8-1 to take an alternate method of requesting a four-way stop at Cowles Mountain Boulevard and Boulder Lake Avenue, a San Carlos intersection that …
March 22, 2013
DA Bonnie Dumanis addresses San Carlos community
At the March 6 San Carlos Area Council meeting, San Diego district attorney Bonnie Dumanis asked if anyone in the audience was the victim of identity theft. One woman raised her hand; another said, "A …
March 9, 2013
Plans for Fairmount Avenue to become a “superior street”
All but two Navajo Community Planners, Inc. (NCPI) members voted February 25 to send a letter stating they supported the Kensington-Talmadge Planning Group (KTPG) and the City of San Diego applying for a Caltrans grant …
March 4, 2013
San Carlos pump station slated for replacement
The City of San Diego's plan to demolish and replace a pump station that has served San Carlos since 1967 received unanimous approval from Navajo Community Planners, Inc. (NCPI), on February 25. The estimated $7.5 …
March 1, 2013
Archaeological study of finds at Whaley House, Nate Harrison’s home
Based on a study of the bottles found during the archaeological excavation of an Old Town home built in 1857, prescription drugs accounted for much of the medications used by the Whaley family. The Whaley …
February 23, 2013
La Mesa organizers plan early for Oktoberfest
La Mesa's 2013 Oktoberfest will remain a one-weekend event, but organizers want to eliminate carnival rides and stink bombs, according to statements made at last week’s La Mesa City Council meeting. The Oktoberfest, sponsored by …
February 19, 2013
La Mesa police chief Ed Aceves delivers crime report
Two homicides were among the 226 violent crimes committed in La Mesa during 2012, according to the quarterly crime report that police chief Ed Aceves gave at the February 12 La Mesa City Council meeting. …
February 17, 2013
Preservationists speak up at La Mesa town hall meeting
At a La Mesa town hall meeting last week (January 17), two residents urged the council to preserve the Spring House in Collier Park. The park on Palm Avenue was named for David Charles Collier, …
January 23, 2013
La Mesa residents seek to stifle 7-Eleven
At a January 17 town-hall meeting in La Mesa, Ted Crisostomo, Neighborhood Watch captain for the Dalhart Avenue and Dallas Street area, objected to the possible opening of a 24-hour 7-Eleven near the Big Lots! …
January 22, 2013
SDPD Eastern Division crime report from Capt. Andy Mills
San Carlos was among the neighborhoods where residential burglaries increased during 2012, San Diego Police Department captain Andy Mills reported at the January 2 San Carlos Area Council meeting. Mills is commanding officer for the …
January 9, 2013
Mayor Bob Filner to address SDG&E issues
Mayor Bob Filner announced at the January 2 San Carlos Area Council meeting that he will "take on" San Diego Gas & Electric. Filner also said that he was interviewing to hire an energy advocate …
January 3, 2013
Billboard image of Bonnie Dumanis defaced
On December 3, drivers on Interstate 8 west saw an addition to the picture of district attorney Bonnie Dumanis on the 14-foot tall, 48-foot wide billboard near the El Cajon Boulevard exit. On the billboard …
December 7, 2012
Median magician marvels motorists in La Mesa
Wearing a gray fedora and dressed in a white T-shirt, vest, shorts, and black shoes with bright white laces, Joe Spelton performed magic tricks at on Thursday, November 29, for a temporarily captive audience. The …
December 3, 2012
La Mesa to Vote on Pot Shops; Council Reviews Crime Stats
A ballot item approved in a 4-1 vote at the November 13 La Mesa City Council meeting means voters will decide in November 2014 whether medical marijuana dispensaries will be allowed in the city. Mayor …
November 14, 2012
Vancouver's Japadog – Taste the Strange
“Japadog” sounds like a word David Letterman would say for comic effect. In actuality, Japadog is a Vancouver street vendor that sells grilled hot dogs, both Japanese style and those referred to as “regular hotdogs” …
June 21, 2012
Happy Birthday, La Mesa...What’s Wrong?
A century after 249 East County residents voted on February 7, 1912, in favor of incorporating as the City of La Mesa, more than 150 people turned out two days ago for a town-hall meeting …
February 9, 2012
San Diego County Board of Supervisors Accused of Neglecting Social Services
About 40 people attended the June 7 San Diego County Board of Supervisors' public hearing on the 2011-2012 budget. Four women at the 2 p.m. session urged supervisors to fund social services, salaries, and staffing. …
June 8, 2011
Who Cares If La Mesa Post Office Closes?
During the first week of May, the U.S. Postal Service delivered notices informing La Mesa residents that the retail portion of the La Mesa Carrier Annex at 6055 Lake Murray Boulevard was “being considered for …
May 11, 2011
San Diego Library Budget Cuts Discussed
Councilmember Kevin Faulconer reportedly left the May 5 city council library budget meeting to speak at a National Day of Prayer event, so he missed public input that included a woman brandishing a spatula. Valorie …
May 6, 2011
Neighborhood Watch Among Topics at La Mesa Town Hall Meeting
Unfunded pension liability was the first issue raised at the January 20 La Mesa Town Hall Meeting held at Maryland Avenue Elementary School. Other concerns voiced by residents ranged from crime and traffic to the …
January 22, 2011
Bob Wilson Cookbook Art Included GOP Elephant in a Sombrero
While it’s easy to imagine Mamie Eisenhower baking a pumpkin chiffon pie, it’s hard to picture Nancy Reagan (or anyone else) slicing the ends off lemons, scooping out the contents, and filling the rinds with …
October 20, 2010