Chula Vista news & stories
After two rough-and-tumble meetings, on January 13 the Chula Vista City Council settled on Steve Miesen to fill the seat vacated by Mary Salas. Salas’s council seat became available when she was elected mayor in …
Sweetwater Union High School District’s new trustees are picking their way slowly through real estate land mines bequeathed to them by the previous administration. On January 12, the district held a workshop on several items, …
An edgy Chula Vista council meeting on January 8 ended with the council’s failure to appoint anyone to the seat vacated by Mary Casillas Salas when she was elected mayor in November. At the same …
San Diego is among the five United States cities with the lowest number of job opportunities, according to WalletHub, a statistics-compiling organization that reports on cities and states. San Diego is the best of the …
No fewer than five media outlets reported on January 2 that attorney John Moot filed a lawsuit challenging the San Diego Registrar of Voters to count 15 provisional ballots from the November election. In the …
In June, Chula Vista voters approved Proposition B, which allows the city council to appoint an applicant to a seat that “will sit vacant for more than 13 months but fewer than 25 months.” When …
At the regular November 20 Sweetwater Union High School district meeting, lame-duck trustees authorized the district to proceed with entitling 1130 Fifth Avenue in Chula Vista for 135 townhomes. The project, which is called the …
“I’m not leaving the Sweetwater folks $34 million in the hole,” said Marc Litchman, a controversial figure who holds the title to Sweetwater Union High School District land. While Litchman’s statement might appear friendly to …
Membership: 1100 Pastor: Luis Mendez Age: 55 Born: Tijuana, Mexico Formation: San Diego State University; San Diego Church of Christ Missionary Years Ordained: 15 San Diego Reader: What is your favorite subject on which to …
Chula Vista is changing the general plan (again) to increase housing density (again) in eastern Chula Vista. On November 4, the city council passed a resolution amending the general plan to increase the density for …
The Village Club Card Room, located in Chula Vista, was one of two establishments raided by the FBI on October 29. In addition to the card rooms, 10News reported that a federal search warrant was …
On October 23, SANDAG presented its “Border Health Equity Transportation Study” at the San Ysidro Civic Center. The study found that the South Bay has a 17.8% higher rate of asthma, a 25.1% higher rate …
The Chula Vista Elementary School District board has long been viewed as a closed system. Trustees have often been appointed first, elected later; other seats appear to be an inheritance. On October 23, San Diego …
As the Sweetwater Union High School District elections loom closer, Chula Vista mayor Cheryl Cox and county supervisor Greg Cox are flexing their political muscle in the campaign. On October 14, many residents who live …
Last week the Reader made note of a proposal by Chula Vista City Council candidate John McCann to stop collecting tolls on the southern section of SR-125, a highway constructed with the aim of alleviating …
Chula Vista's United States University, which remains on its accreditor's probation until next year, has received a positive report from a team that visited the campus in May. The for-profit university, which specializes in nursing …
Valeria Alvarado, the 32-year-old woman killed by a Border Patrol agent on September 28, 2012, had every right to try to get away from the man who killed her, her lawyer declared last month in …
South Bay campaigning has been getting down and dirty recently, but John McCann, a Sweetwater Union High School trustee who is running for Chula Vista City Council, has chosen another route to the seat, chumming …
GETTING OUT IN FRONT OF THE STORY, CHULA VISTA — "Let's clear something up at the outset," said District Superintendent Harry Mudd at the outset of his press conference. "We are all about keeping kids …
Membership: 280 Pastor: Robert Davis Age: 50 Born: Dunellen, New Jersey Formation: Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA; Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Indiana University-Indianapolis; Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena Years Ordained: 13 San Diego Reader: What …
Campaigns usually don’t get ugly until election day nears, but disgraced Sweetwater former trustee Jim Cartmill, has already come out mud-slinging — against community advocates. Cartmill is running for seat 3 in the Sweetwater Union …
High-density housing developments and master-plan changes often provoke a fuss from residents — but opposition usually evaporates once a city makes a decision. Opponents to the Lake Pointe development in eastern Chula Vista, however, don’t …
Just as well you get a plastic knife and fork. It is a mess — a hot mess at that.
On September 5, the U-T reported that former Sweetwater Union High School District superintendent Jesus Gandara was released from jail on August 26. Gandara was sentenced to seven months in the county jail on June …
Several years ago, the Reader published an article on cell-phone towers, safety concerns, and the Sweetwater Union High School District. This old story has a new twist. When the story was published three years ago, …
The San Diego Lincoln Club, which defines itself as a pro-business political action group, has endorsed two Chula Vista candidates for the November general election: Jerry Rindone for mayor and John McCann for city council. …
Congressman Duncan Hunter has jumped into the fray between U.S. Fish & Wildlife and the people who frequent the Sweetwater Park area: he has told the agency that its plan, which will potentially shut down …
NerdWallet, an organization that keeps statistics on metropolitan areas, says that Chula Vista is the 12th best city in the nation in which working parents can raise children. The study was done in conjunction with …
Sweetwater Union High School District called an unscheduled meeting August 13 to review its “asset utilization plan” for selling district-owned property and purchasing a new administrative building. The district has three properties that it is …
Several years ago, Forbes magazine panned Chula Vista as one of the most boring cities in the country. The city has few attractions to lure tourists or entertain residents — and now faces the possibility …
The district hopes to turn a profit on three pieces of property it owns by making them “shovel ready” for high-density residential developments. One property, located on Third Avenue, was put on the market; July …
In 2012, voters in Chula Vista overwhelmingly passed Proposition B, a proposition that amended the city charter. At an August 5 council meeting, mayor Cheryl Cox, supported by councilmember Pamela Bensoussan, proposed putting a portion …
New information obtained by the Reader confirms critics’ worst fears about the Sweetwater real estate deals. E2ManageTech, hired by the district to make several pieces of Chula Vista shovel-ready for high-density housing has reiterated to …
Remember Sweetwater Union High School District’s dalliance with the Christian University -- Grand Canyon, in January 2013? Remember when the district made a bid to take over part of the National City Adult Education Center …
Last week, I stopped by the new waterfront park at 1600 Pacific Highway with the kids and had a picnic by the enormous fountain and its “interactive” water arches. My little ones got drenched and …
San Diego County has the weather for recreation but not the amenities. That's the inevitable conclusion of a study by WalletHub, a group that gathers statistics and ranks metro areas. WalletHub rated cities on on …
On April 24, former Sweetwater trustee Jim Cartmill pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Cartmill had accepted gifts over the limits set by the Fair Political Practice Commission from contractors doing business with the district. As …
Diane Ince, a Castle Park Middle teacher, spent her summer trying to raise the awareness of interim Sweetwater trustees regarding the expansion Stephen Hawking charter school. Ince attended the May 28 board meeting, a meeting …
When I catch wind of a new brewery project, I feel a jolt of electricity shoot through me. I realize this speaks to the near-obsessive depth of my craft beer enthusiasm, but it is what …
Sweetwater Union High School District is selling off the family jewels — the district property — but where is the transparency? And is former superintendent Ed Brand still the prime mover on property deals? Sweetwater …
The Sweetwater Union High School District came out of closed session on June 30 with two stunning reports. First: Superintendent Ed Brand has been place on administrative leave as of the end of the day …
Plans are in motion to replace the Sweetwater Union High School District office and corporate yard in western Chula Vista with 135 townhouse units called the Cove. The district has three pieces of property they …
The Sweetwater Union High School District corruption case crescendoed in the South Bay courthouse on June 27. Former Sweetwater superintendent Jesus Gandara was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. He was sentenced to 220 …
The corruption cases from three South Bay school districts — Sweetwater Union High School, Southwestern College, and San Ysidro Elementary — are wrapping up. On June 20, Greg Sandoval, former Sweetwater trustee and former Southwestern …
The Starlight Parade may be returning to western Chula Vista. For many years, thousands of families lined the sidewalks of Third Avenue waiting for Santa Claus to arrive; however, when economic times got tough, the …
“When I woke up this morning, I never thought I’d be enjoying live accordion music with my dinner tonight,” David said. “Droplets running down a window,” I said, taking his hand. That’s something we say …
"Death Café" may sound like Goth night at a local dive bar, but it's an open event being sponsored by the City of Chula Vista to facilitate a public discussion about death and dying. Presented …
When the Sweetwater Union High School District held its May 28 meeting, three County Board of Education trustees were sworn in to fill seats vacated by indicted Sweetwater trustees. A fourth county trustee, Lyn Neylon, …
Chula Vista’s election primary has been low-key. Most candidates have compiled modest campaign contributions and campaign mailers have been, for the most part, innocuous. One factor in the minor-key campaigning is that a candidate can …
"’ll meet you at the Galley,” says Joe into his cell phone. This was during one of the heat waves. He lives way east of El Cajon, so I knew he was pitching for the …
Whether it was during his time on the Chula Vista City Council or during his current residency as school-board trustee for the Sweetwater Union High School District, John McCann's list of political opponents has grown. …