The recent construction of a center divider at a busy intersection in the South Bay is causing a significant traffic problem, according to local residents. The median on Coronado Avenue (a half block east of …
February 9, 2017
Back to profile
Stories by Vincent Farnsworth
< Newer
| Older stories >
Coronado Avenue traffic median consternation
Puppy-mill puppies still sold in National City?
Animal-welfare activists are staging an ongoing protest in National City's Bonita Plaza shopping mall against pet stores and to put pressure on government officials over the practice of importing dogs from “puppy mill” animal-breeding factories …
December 1, 2016
You've got Rebel Alliances mail
Over the weekend, Imperial Beach residents received in their mailboxes unsigned election fliers described as "disturbing" and "creepy." The double-sided fliers, which accompanied official Republican campaign material, ask people to join "Rebel Alliances" and contain …
November 7, 2016
Stranded on the Silver Strand in rush hour
Commuters are fed up with the backed-up traffic on the Silver Strand in Coronado. "5 mph for 45+ minutes is pretty damn bad and inefficient for such a sparsely-populated area," Jessie Lee of Imperial Beach …
November 3, 2016
Clown sightings in the South Bay
"I live close to CV [Chula Vista] high school and my husband and I have already been confronted by these stupid clowns," said Egla Cordero Ortiz of Chula Vista in a Facebook post on October …
October 16, 2016
Imperial Beach pulls in its horns
The mayor of Imperial Beach has retracted the Welcoming City proclamation that the city council issued in mid-August after protests at council meetings. "I am retracting the Welcoming City proclamation due to its policy directive …
September 26, 2016
Imperial Beach right-wing backlashed
The Imperial Beach city government's passage of a Welcoming Cities Proclamation in mid August was a positive and benevolent occasion, but it is has generated a backlash among local right-wing voices recently. "This means a …
September 13, 2016
Mystery stunt plane over I.B.
A stunt plane performing loops and leaving trails of smoke in the sky off of Imperial Beach has attracted attention and some grumbling by locals. Most recently seen on Tuesday (September 6th), the small green …
September 6, 2016
Kumeyaay Cemetery, No Bulldozer Welcome
Protests are promised if authorities do not change their plans for the proposed Navy SEAL training center in Imperial Beach. At issue is the preservation of ancient Native American burial grounds at the site, said …
September 3, 2016
Pokémon goes to Coronado and stays there
"I'm sorry but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH," wrote Coronado resident Stephanie Laurel Williams on Facebook on August 23rd. "I am a 49 year old surgeon. I went to Vons to get food for school lunches at …
August 25, 2016
Many players, more talk about I.B. pocket park
Six months after the celebratory announcement of a "pocket park" in Imperial Beach that was supposed to turn an eyesore into a community area for this summer, the local nonprofit organization that donated $10,000 is …
August 18, 2016
Hotel plan surprises Imperial Beach locals
A new resort hotel has been announced as a possible part of the big Breakwater Town Center shopping mall being built in Imperial Beach, and some residents are expressing consternation. Developer Sudberry Properties sent a …
July 25, 2016
Imperial Beach homeowners assert claim to boulders
Imperial Beach residents are displeased with the new "Private Property/No Trespassing/No Climbing/No Sitting on Rocks" signs that have appeared on the beach between the ocean and the Boca Rio condominiums that run from 1590 to …
June 24, 2016
I.B. shopping center a boon or boondoggle?
Ground was broken on the 45,000-square-foot shopping center project at 9th Street and Palm Avenue in Imperial Beach on May 5th. The 4.75-acre vacant lot sat for over four years after the former Miracle Shopping …
May 6, 2016
Adios, Imperial Beach RV park...ello-ello, 184 townhomes
The planned bulldozing of a once-thriving RV park in Imperial Beach by a developer to make way for a housing development and Bayshore Bikeway path has been delayed due to technical issues with the California …
May 3, 2016
A new newspaper for I.B.
A new community newspaper, the IB Connection, will be published in Imperial Beach, filling a void left when the IB Local News stopped publishing late last year. The IB Connection, which plans for its first …
March 14, 2016
Real estate moguls stand their ground
The real estate moguls of Imperial Beach who were accused of involvement with financial irregularities in 2014 have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of grand theft and embezzlement in San Diego criminal court. Cheryl …
March 11, 2016
Alleged thieves nabbed with bait bike
On Monday, February 22nd, Coronado police officers nabbed two people who allegedly attempted to steal the department’s bicycle, according to officer Lea Corbin. "It's a bicycle with a tracking device in it," said Corbin. "When …
February 25, 2016
Zapped in Imperial Beach
Imperial Beach resident Sarah Teck said she got shocked in the early evening on Saturday, January 23rd, when she stepped on a metal plate imprinted with the words "TRAFFIC SIGNAL" on Seacoast Drive near Encanto …
January 28, 2016
Dirt flies at Bikeway Village
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Bikeway Village, the latest improvement on the San Diego's Bayshore Bikeway, took place on January 25th in Imperial Beach. Located at the north end of 13th Street, the Bikeway Village …
January 26, 2016
South Bay teachers get squeaky wheel rolling
Teachers and supporters marched through Imperial Beach on January 21st to protest the South Bay Union School District budget plans, which include a pay raise for the superintendent that would reportedly make her salary higher …
January 23, 2016
Mr. Mayor, tear down this fence
Imperial Beach held a fence-destroying ceremony last week in a vacant lot on the city’s shoreline street to announce a new temporary pocket park, but some community members are questioning whether the focus on the …
January 22, 2016
Sewer creep: IB vs. Coronado
Imperial Beach has accused Coronado of jeopardizing the War on Terror by suing Imperial Beach over who has the right to provide sewage services to the new Navy SEAL training facility proposed for the south …
January 15, 2016
Cheap rents fleeting in Imperial Beach
"I lived there 15 years,” a former Imperial Beach renter said about his apartment complex at 642 Ocean Lane. “When it sold, the new owner gave everyone 60-day notice that the rent was going to …
January 14, 2016
Expansion continues on Bayshore Bikeway
Construction began in December on an extension of the Bayshore Bikeway that will cut across Imperial Beach on 13th Street and reach the Naval Outlying Landing Field (NOLF) helicopter training base on the other side …
January 11, 2016
Imperial Beach, polluted again
The rain that started on January 4th closed the beaches in south San Diego due to water contamination. These beach closures continue long after rainstorms because of inaction at the sewage treatment plant in Mexico, …
January 7, 2016
Competitive yoga in Imperial Beach
Three days after moving to a new location, Imperial Beach's IB Yoga studio found itself homeless on Christmas Eve. The studio had moved on the weekend of December 19th into the location of Clube de …
December 31, 2015
Imperial Beach real estate office raided
Sheriff's deputies and San Diego police officers raided the office of One Source Realty in Imperial Beach on the morning of December 21st. The raid added to the recent troubles of well-known local property managers …
December 24, 2015
Paved alleys for Imperial Beach
Imperial Beach residents celebrated the completion of an alley-paving project at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 9. About 40 residents and government officials attended the nighttime ceremony in an alley off 12th Street and Ebony …
December 11, 2015
Tough to be a drunk in El Cajon
El Cajon's efforts to combat public drunkenness include a "Do Not Sell Alcohol List.” The lists — with names and photos of what authorities refer to as "serial inebriates" or "habitual drunkards" — have been …
December 11, 2015
Wagon Man hit the final trail
Imperial Beach lost one of its celebrated locals last month — Kermit Brown, known as the "Wagon Man" for the advertising-covered Conestoga wagons he used to pull around the beach town with his motorized wheelchair. …
December 7, 2015
14% alcohol in a can? That's Loko
An Imperial Beach church is holding a "community conversation" on December 10 to discuss a ban on the Four Loko alcoholic beverage, which has been linked to deaths and binge-drinking problems. The action comes a …
December 3, 2015
Dead dolphins aren’t much fun
Three dolphins washed up dead on the shores of Imperial Beach in the past month — a fourth on Silver Strand State Beach — and officials are investigating at least two of them to determine …
November 16, 2015
Another newspaper bites it
It has been almost two months since the last issue of the muckraking bimonthly newspaper, which started publishing in April of 2014, was seen on the streets of Imperial Beach. In early October, publisher Ed …
November 9, 2015
That's no useless salt flat in Imperial Beach
In a process that has taken 19 years, the former salt flat in the southern part of San Diego Bay near Imperial Beach is finally going to be developed in a plan that combines economic …
November 5, 2015
Muertos season kicks off in Sherman Heights
It's officially Muertos Season. So proclaimed the Sherman Heights Community Center on October 22 concerning the Mexican celebration called Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos). "It's our kickoff of the celebration" which is …
October 29, 2015
Accounting and accountability awry in I.B.
For over 20 years, real estate managers Richard and Cheryl Schaumburg have been a well-respected couple in Imperial Beach, with their photos on placards posted in front of properties that they managed listing them as …
October 2, 2015
Save-A-Lot no more
Ten days after an angry public protest in front of the Save-A-Lot supermarket in south San Diego, the store has taken down its sign, leaving a big blank spot on its façade, and is changing …
September 26, 2015
Surf and dye in Imperial Beach
Morning beachgoers in Imperial Beach on September 23rd found surprising colors in the ocean after bright pink tracer dye was released by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in an experiment to study the movement of …
September 24, 2015
Funky chicken protest in Imperial Beach
Upset over what they say is rotten food and an unwillingness to address their complaints, angry residents of Imperial Beach and south San Diego held a protest in front of the Save-A-Lot grocery store on …
September 15, 2015
Marian Catholic High School in pieces
Demolition of the abandoned buildings of the former Marian Catholic High School in South San Diego began in late August, and by September 7 there wasn’t much more than rubble. The campus, which was shut …
September 8, 2015