Chula Vista news & stories
“It’s go time. This is not a drill. The Zeros documentary is in production,” says Javier Escovedo, who is working with filmmakers Anthony Ladesich and Michael Webber on a movie about his influential 1970s punk …
When a friend of mine started working as an eighth grade teacher, he reported a wave of addiction sweeping through his classroom. The kids, as he told it, were hooked on Flamin Hot Cheetos. The …
A feeling of déjà vu struck John Sears and perhaps his two mules when county sheriffs recently escorted them out of the Poway city limits. "It was about a week ago," Sears said to me …
Tender shredded beef birria, swimming in reddish brown broth that leaves an orange ring ‘round the edges of the Styrofoam cup containing it. That’s the Tijuana-style specialty of National City’s 664 TJ Birrieria. But it’s …
Rancho Santa Fe attorney Paul Jonna maintains that Governor Gavin Newsom and county governments around California favored Black Lives Matter protests over churches when it came to how each of them was allowed to assemble. …
On the patio of the Over the Border nightclub, an accordion player in a cowboy hat led his band through a set of norteño music, while a small crowd of fans danced and drank beer, …
At midnight on August 2, some locals in Imperial Beach woke up to blaring foghorns. “I live two miles away from the beach and the horns [sounded] like the ship was next to my house, …
San Marcos City Manager Jack Griffin begins his annual June letter to the mayor and city council, “It is kind of my pleasure to submit the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Operations and Maintenance Budget.” That “kind …
Though I’m a fan of San Diego’s flourishing influencer scene, I didn’t know that some of them are as young as 15. I reached out to Camila Mendivil to ask how she accomplished her skyrocketing …
For 37 years, Masa and Haru Takeda have made and served Japanese tea cakes in their tiny Chula Vista shop, Hogetsu Bakery. Primarily, they offer mochi, the chewy, glutinous rice cakes enjoyed with tea and …
They're the last soldiers standing in what used to be a packed battlefield of screens, in a city that used to host over two dozen outdoor theaters, spread out all the way from the border …
Rollercoaster 2020 continues to hammer home the message we have little idea what’s coming next. At this writing, San Diego somehow escaped being one of the 19 California counties the governor ordered or recommended bars, …
On June 19, some San Diegans celebrated Juneteenth, while others paid homage to San Diego County’s circa-1982 area code “ ‘619 day’ was more of an unspoken holiday, but it didn’t come to be until …
“Veteran owned,” notes an easy-to-miss sign on the Third Avenue storefront of Chula Vista Brewery. In fact, brewery cofounder Tim Parker retired from the Navy at the end of 2019, following two decades of service, …
As developers see it, Adara is a transitional village, filling empty space between urban Chula Vista and rural Jamul with badly needed housing. The county board of supervisors approved the project a year ago, but …
On May 28, Spring Valley resident Camille Cruz was one of 1.1 million-plus viewers that saw a Chula Vista-filmed skate video on TikTok. “My past self applauds the kids for sneaking into the [Aquatica] waterpark,” …
Because major-brand beer has become almost impossible to find in Tijuana, some crossborder locals have taken advantage of their essential trips to San Diego to take some cerveza back home. “I pick up a little …
At noon on Thursday, May 21, for the first time in more than two months, Mike Hess Brewing opened its North Park, Imperial Beach, and Ocean Beach taprooms to customers, allowing them once again to …
‘Wash your hands!” says Hank. “If he says that one more time, I’m gonna...” growls Jim. No doubt, my buddy’s become a hand-wash missionary. He disappears off into the washrooms. Jim and I head for …
‘It’s on me,” says Hank. “What’ll it be?” “This is a breakfast place, right?” “Closes at two,” says Hank. “Has wicked chilaquiles.” We’ve been hauling down 3rd Avenue into Chula Vista’s Old Town, right by …
When Chula Vista’s longtime lamb barbacoa favorite, Aqui Es Texcoco, moved into bigger digs up the street last year, the folks behind it held on to its 1043 Broadway location to focus on a different …
2920 Gate Five Place, a six-bedroom, eight-bath custom estate with nearly 9000 square feet of indoor living space sits at the end of a cul-de-sac overlooking the Upper Otay Reservoir in eastern Chula Vista. Part …
We came here for fish, but not this sort of fish. Hank brought his rod to this totally cute little pond surrounded by houses. The lake that gives Eastlake its name, he says. But what …
The place opened at 4 pm, and I showed up on the dot. Too late to be first in line though — three other parties were ahead of me. I stopped to snap a couple …
Already the county’s southeasternmost brewery, Novo Brazil Brewing has opened a second location somehow even farther southeast. And it’s not small. The roughly 14-thousand-square-foot brewery and restaurant occupies a corner spot at the upscale Otay …
Over 200 people attended the "peace gathering" at the Church’s Chicken parking lot in Otay Mesa on November 16. The gathering was in honor of the restaurant’s three employees — Mario Rojas, Humberto Ruiz and …
We’re driving south on Broadway when we spot it: a simple, boxy storefront with a banner sign and cartoon graphic depicting a spiky haired toddler in an aloha shirt. Usually, when I’m in this part …
On September 10, Francisco Soto and Xaime Aceves Equihua (stage names “Barbie-Q” and “Raquelita”) presented Drag Queen Story Time to a reported 300 adults and children at the Civic Center Chula Vista Public Library on …
Coronado, one of the county's smallest cities, can't see how it will ever meet its share of the region's housing goals. Home to two large Navy bases, the land-locked, built-out, high-priced city was allocated 1,000 …
Heading south again. Blue Line. Chula Vista. Glaring sunny day. Have to transfer at H Street. I cross the tracks. This is when I notice a pop-up tent right between the northbound platform and the …
‘Salad’s the way to flat-belly health,” says Hank. “And I know the perfect place to make that happen.” Half an hour later, we’re in line with a zillion other people, waiting to pick up our …
They’re still out there. Places that fill your belly without emptying your wallet. I know, because I’m in one now. Once again, all hail to Hank for the find. This is his territory, south Chula …
Gas prices in San Diego County were supposed to go up on 5.6 cents a gallon on July 1, due to a new gas tax. Some stations didn’t get the memo. As of midday July …
This month I attended a backyard BBQ in Chula Vista to celebrate my friend’s graduation. There I met Jaceli, a Chula Vista resident who is originally from Los Angeles. We both griped about our desire …
Got to hand it to Hank. He keeps finding these places that give you more gobbles for your greenback. It’s Friday. I ask where he’s going to eat with the money I give him. (Paying …
‘Hey. Feel like trouser legs for lunch?” This is Hank on the honker. Seeing quite a bit of Hank recently. Forgot how much he’s with it when it comes to getting boocoo nosh for nitnoi …
I was making my way to Punchbowl Social in the East Village for game night with some of my friends when I came across the most colorful mural I had ever seen. It was in …
The debate starts when I come across Henry on the parking lot patio. He’s eating away at a pile of corn tortillas. He peels one off, folds it neatly, eats it. Peels another off. “You …
On March 9, the Chula Vista Police Department arrested three people for providing alcoholic beverages to minors. The operation was called Decoy Shoulder Tap, where a minor under the direct supervision of a peace officer …
The chance for San Diegans to pay $2 a gallon for gas in 2019 appears to be over. Concern over trade tensions with China is the reason being given for the current rise in San …
“I was a professor,” says Rafael. “A licenciado. I taught history, specializing in Persia and Greece. And in 2015, I was named best teacher in the nation.” That nation was Cuba. Yet now he’s a …
Schools in San Diego County have a problem. Many teachers, administrators, and staff are not reporting suspected child abuse to the proper authorities, despite a legal requirement to do so. And some who do report …
The Gulf of Ulloa is south/southeast of San Diego along the Pacific coast of the Baja peninsula. It is vibrant with sea life. Whales cruise and forage the gulf during annual migratory patterns; tuna, wahoo, …
Most breakfast menus tend to be long reads, just not very interesting ones. You’ll find an entire section dedicated to all the predictable variations of eggs, meat, potatoes and toast. Another to pancakes and waffles. …
A glitch within the Uber driver payment system is forcing San Diego drivers off the road, and riders are paying for it with higher charges. Uber drivers earn a commission on each drive that they …
History will only fitfully remember 2018 as the year national pancake chain IHOP changed a P to a B rebrand itself IHOB (International House of Burgers), then quickly bowed to public backlash and restored the …
Carlos Enriquez told a detective that he was contacted by a person in Tijuana who told him, “He had a job for Enriquez.” Enriquez said he crossed the border into the United States, picked up …
It’s Friday night on Third Avenue in Chula Vista, and it’s no easy decision where I’m going to drink beer. Looking south from E Street, I see lots of activity, evidenced by a squadron of …
In the spring of 2017, as word spread of a marketing campaign to promote good feelings about the city of Chula Vista — and amid a bid to persuade Amazon to bring a second headquarters …
San Diego County’s unemployment rate was 2.9 percent in May, the same as the revised number in April. California’s rate was 3.7 percent and the nation’s 3.6 percent during the period. Local leisure and hospitality …
On June 6 at about 10:30 a.m., San Diegans and tourists might've seen the thousands of terns flying around at the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Chula Vista. The refuge is located west …
A couple of young children run past as I walk in the door, chasing each other around the window bar counter where their parents sit, waving, laughing over beers. Inside Thr3e Punk Ales, a Thursday …