This isn’t Mira Mesa Boulevard or Black Mountain Road.” Some Rancho Peñasquitos residents who were pleased to see yellow wheelchair ramps put in at the corner of Rife Way and Sparren Avenue were astounded days …
April 17, 2023
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Stories by Marty Graham
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Rife Way and Sparren Avenue get chains on sidewalk
The planes that pollute Serra Mesa
As aviation-gas lead drops over Serra Mesa... Usually when people complain about small regional airports, the issue is noise. But Serra Mesa resident Gary Keller is worried about lead poisoning, and a California health coalition …
April 3, 2023
Poolside shooting near UTC involving Selis and Wilf clans
University City massacre done by developer family donor They are the crème de crème of San Diego business and political society, giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to both Democrats and Republicans, and in turn …
March 20, 2023
How to get wildlife across Highway 67 safely
Where time, nature, and rush hour collide As dangerous as Highway 67 is for drivers, it is even trickier for the wildlife that live in the rich habitat on either side, so when Caltrans looked …
March 19, 2023
Descanso shelters Border Fire animals
Behind the Border Fire fire wall Behind the lines at the Border Fire, neighbors, volunteers, county animal-control crews, and Border Patrol agents are caring for the animals left behind during the fire's sudden spread. By …
March 6, 2023
Piecemeal expansion of Del Mar Highlands
The Carmel Valley battle for square footage The bell has sounded in a heavyweight battle between two Carmel Valley developers and the City is caught in the middle of it all. Kilroy Realty, the Los …
February 27, 2023
Scripps Ranch seems so peaceful
San Diego’s secret missile-testing sites While hardly Death Valley, Scripps is hot in August, with any errant ocean breezes conditioned by their journey over industrial parks and tract homes on the intervening mesas. And no …
January 23, 2023
The last of Highway 101's eucalyptus grove
Leucadia funk-removal machine to start up soon Leucadians rallied against the issues of the day on Coast Highway, a proposed 7-Eleven, a drive-thru Jack in the Box, and the terminus of proposed Highway 680 — …
January 16, 2023
Bay Park wants its own status
Bay Park remains a mere neighborhood Bay Park was around long before there was any movement in Clairemont. Bay Park has history going back to 1877. Clairemont wasn't developed until the 1950s. Ocean Beach lives …
January 2, 2023
Border Field park closed tighter than a drum
Six years after the legislature set aside $6 million for the damaged road at Border Field State Park, the road remains closed — not repaired or replaced. Instead, cyclone fencing blocks all access to the …
March 22, 2021
After 10 years, Gold Coast Drive finally to be fixed
Mira Mesa locals are looking forward to the complete reconstruction of Gold Coast Drive after years of trying to get the street fixed. The street, running east-west about a quarter of a mile south of …
March 15, 2021
Council sneaks in vote on 30th Street bike lanes at last minute
North Parkers found a buried meeting Change Order on the debated 30th Street bike lines one day before the vote. But a last-minute push by the locals found no traction, and the plan to remove …
November 23, 2020
Borderland Beat shut down
Borderland Beat, one of the best resources for current and accurate information on Mexico’s bloody drug wars – and its key players – has shut down its website in response to a lawsuit apparently filed …
November 9, 2020
San Diego's Chamber of Commerce caught in a bind
Jerry Sanders, chief executive officer of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, has come out against the property tax increase, Proposition 15, so describing the mission of the chamber’s political action committee becomes easier. …
October 12, 2020
Todd Gloria gets money from 101 Ash
The 101 Ash Street building is turning into a major player – and the players have been major payers in the coming – and past – mayoral elections. While Todd Gloria’s campaign has gained tens …
October 5, 2020
No delay for deletion of parking on 30th Street
When is a project not a project? That’s what lawyers for North Park dwellers who have sued to maintain access to their homes on 30th Street want to know. Maybe it’s when you add a …
September 28, 2020
How to make Hillcrest and El Cajon Blvd. mad
More than 800 San Diegans have petitioned San Diego City Councilmember Chris Ward to step into a tug of war that pits Hillcrest and El Cajon Boulevard business districts against what they see as a …
August 18, 2020
North Park – the prime quartier
Say goodbye to 30th Street as it is “You guys are just thinking about North Park residents shopping here and eating at your shops,” she said. “You’re not thinking about the people coming from down …
August 10, 2020
Miramar – Naval air station and a trash dump
FAA okays 150 fixed wing and 115 helicopter flying from Miramar For the first time since the 1978 PSA plane disaster over North Park, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) is changing San Diego's air traffic …
July 27, 2020
San Diego point system could produce some worthless parks
In the city’s quest for park space, mid city neighborhoods Kensington, Normal Heights and City Heights are among the least served, according to the San Diego Foundation’s 2010 Parks for Everyone report. The report defines …
July 20, 2020
12-story buildings sprinkled around San Diego
Imagine a near-future trip to a central San Diego neighborhood reshaped by the zoning plans proposed by Mayor Kevin Faulconer. 12-story buildings line 30th Street, University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard – and up to …
June 1, 2020
During pandemic San Diego bicyclists push street closures
The initial push behind the Slow Streets project launched by Mayor Kevin Faulconer on Wednesday evening – at the behest of a coalition of cycling and climate change lobbyists – was opposed by all but …
May 4, 2020
Mission Beach – true character
Tiny Island Court has 31 short-timers Bayside Walk listed 121 rentals spread out between 15 blocks, with 50 rentals on just two blocks. Mission Boulevard listed 81 rentals on 17 blocks. It then dropped to …
April 20, 2020
San Diego's border dogs are our kryptonite
The first time I saw Biggie, she was sitting next to the Border Patrol Yukon parked at the K rail at the east end of Spooner’s Mesa looking down into Smuggler’s Gulch and south into …
April 15, 2020
San Ysidro – America's last gasp
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 …
March 23, 2020
Solana Beach: artists and developers
Solana Beach seeks electricity options Last month, Solana Beach announced the hunt for a service provider to help launch the county’s first local power program, which aims to curb greenhouse gases. This month, a war …
March 16, 2020
Lorena Gonzalez law damages local workers
Assembly Bill 5 continues to shake San Diego’s — and California’s — independent contractors, even as state lawmakers scramble to amend it. Many people have been hurt by the bill and are saying it loudly …
February 19, 2020
Lakeside – not rednecks
Lakeside turns out “I don’t know if you noticed, but the whole town of Lakeside is here,” said local resident Barbara Sessions, pointing to over 500 people who recently filled up a 250-seat room at …
February 10, 2020
SDSU profs rub shoulders with Mission Valley's homeless
The homeless who camp near the San Diego River live differently than the homeless who live on downtown streets, according to two San Diego State University professors who have been studying them. Many of the …
December 30, 2019
Otay Mesa – so unsettled
Feds plan to make pond of Tijuana sewage Just how smelly are thirteen acres of raw sewage? Soon, very soon, we shall find out. Next Monday a federal agency is planning to start building an …
December 23, 2019
Surfrider to IB residents: Shut up or get sued
A group of IB locals who have organized opposition to Surfrider's plan to manage sewage and toxic flows from TIjuana's failed infrastructure have received a letter threatening them with legal action if they don't stop …
December 3, 2019
Jamul – last bastion of civilization on the 94
Jamul Residents Wage Indian Blood Battle over Gaming Site The Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is asking a lot of questions about the Jamul Indian Village. The government agency has launched an investigation to determine …
October 28, 2019
Don't let Linda Vista fool you
Butt out, Clairemont, says Linda Vista "I have a lot of respect for the Clairemont planning group and the other planning groups — they're citizens like us who are investing in their community," said Howard …
October 14, 2019
You won't recognize new UCSD hospital
Change is coming to the UCSD Health hospital campus in Hillcrest, change so sweeping that the campus will look completely different when it’s over. Instead of the sprawling, built-as-needed mish mash of 37 buildings and …
October 2, 2019
Bucolic Bonita
Not so pretty: Bonita’s sign replacement cost Though Bonita's welcome mat has been pulled, the South Bay community is hardly discouraging people from coming by. The “Welcome to Bonita” sign, designed to convey a warm …
September 16, 2019
Rancho Peñasquitos, barely suburban
Beaner bashers They identify themselves as the border patrol. They demand money. The Mexican stranger drops the grocery bag and sprints into the valley. The teen-age boys shout taunts as the shadow disappears around a …
September 9, 2019
Trail cancellation shocks mountain biking association
After nearly three years of planning, paying and preparing to build a trail on Orosco Ridge, the San Diego Mountain Biking Association was stunned to learn their work with the U.S. Forest Service was cast …
September 6, 2019
Serra Mesa – outsiders easily get lost
New generations in Serra Mesa That first southbound walk home from Wegeforth Elementary, back in '68, was long and hot, each shadow on Mobley Street a refuge. For a transplanted fourth-grader, it was an arduous …
August 26, 2019
University City – UCSD's bedrooms
No trolley in my backyard A group of neighborhood conservationists in University City are hoping to put the brakes on a plan to extend trolley service from downtown San Diego's Santa Fe Depot to a …
August 12, 2019
Marty Graham and the Reader
How Graham cam to write for the Reader: As dementia began to take my mom, she confided that her big brother wanted to be a journalist when he came home from the war. Instead, he …
August 11, 2019
Encanto slated for about 8000 low-income apartments
About 100 Encanto and Southeastern attendees gathered at the Malcolm X Library July 10 to learn about the unique lawsuit filed by longtime locals demanding the city and county stop jamming the neighborhood with poor …
July 30, 2019