A new message greeted parishioners entering St. Dunstan Episcopal Church for the 8 a.m. service on June 28. A sign advised people to "Get in the Hearing Loop" by turning hearing aids and cochlear implants …
June 30, 2015
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Stories by Liz Swain
Telecoiled around the Lord
Raise the deck, remove the heads
During the past year, the City of La Mesa's water-conservation efforts included removing 351 irrigation heads on Lake Murray Boulevard and Baltimore Drive medians and redirecting spray heads to trees on the medians, according to …
June 25, 2015
Meanwhile, over at Canine Corners...
About four hours before the La Mesa City Council's May 26 discussion of a proposal to raise the number of dogs allowed in a home from two to four, people in Canine Corners dog park …
May 29, 2015
Six stories on Baltimore? No, no, no
The La Mesa Planning Commission on May 20 voted 4-2 against recommending that the city council approve the revised specific plan for Park Station at the Crossroads of La Mesa, a mixed-use development proposed for …
May 23, 2015
Does the Junk House encourage junk art?
In response to concerns about Adobe Falls that Del Cerro residents raised last month, representatives from District 7 city councilman Scott Sherman's office will meet May 13 with San Diego State University staff, Liz Saidkhanian …
May 11, 2015
Allied Gardens gets lucky in produce department
Last October 18, Allied Gardens residents celebrated their neighborhood's 60th birthday in the Waring Road parking lot where original shopping-center businesses included Food Basket. The grocery store became a Lucky store and was an Albertsons …
May 1, 2015
La Mesa drug dog retires at age 49
The La Mesa City Council unanimously authorized the retirement of police narcotic-detection dog Maximus "Max" on April 14. His partner, officer Derek Cox, was allowed to adopt the seven-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever. During their six-year …
April 17, 2015
Will trade my green for your brown
The Miramar Greenery in the Miramar Landfill offers free mulch and compost to San Diego residents, materials that could provide some relief during drought-tightened water restrictions. "Compost when incorporated into soil before planting helps reduce …
April 13, 2015
Where's my green-waste container?
San Diego's automated curbside yard-waste-recycling pilot program expanded to San Carlos in May 2013 when about 5500 green containers were delivered to residents. Last January 7, a woman at the San Carlos Area Council meeting …
March 30, 2015
She didn't like Mondays, they don't want plaque moved
A representative from the company that wants to develop the former Grover Cleveland Elementary School site said on March 24 that there are no plans for the property, which is in escrow. However, the bid …
March 26, 2015
Get it all out now, park abusers
Nearly nine months after a driver crashed through a guardrail at the end of Cowles Mountain Boulevard, residents of the Cottages condominium complex have a timeline from the City of San Diego for the installation …
March 10, 2015
We're not the morality police, but...
After nearly 90 minutes discussing the topic, Navajo Community Planners, Inc., on February 25, voted 14-2 against a motion to recommend that the City of San Diego approve a conditional use permit for SDUG, Inc., …
February 28, 2015
Older than Hell
By 9:30 a.m. on February 25, Collier Park tennis-court nets were lowered for the pickleball games that are played Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings in La Mesa's oldest park. As players with paddles concentrated on …
February 28, 2015
La Mesa's ugly corner
La Mesa resident Linda Johnson walks frequently through her hometown and is on the board of La Mesa Beautiful. The nonprofit organization "works collectively to preserve and increase the beauty" of the city, according to …
February 24, 2015
Something feral this way comes
La Mesa resident Tiffany heard the distinctive sounds of cat courtship in January and knew she would again face the issue of feral cats near her home. "We've been struggling [with it] since we moved …
February 23, 2015
Fix the flooding, fix the roads
Navajo Community Planners, Inc., voted 10-2 last week to support the City of San Diego in certifying the draft environmental impact report for a Navajo community-plan amendment that would add 8275 residential units to Grantville. …
February 16, 2015
Who crashed up Grantville's multi-thousand-dollar sign?
During the first week of February, more details emerged from the San Diego Police Department about the December 15 hit-and-run incident involving a driver who struck and demolished the cobblestone-and-mortar Grantville/Mission Valley community sign and …
February 9, 2015
Grossmont Center History 101
With the January 10 expiration of Grossmont Center's 50-year lease, Cushman family members are "no longer passive owners" of the property, Stephen Cushman said at the January 27 La Mesa City Council meeting. Cushman said …
February 2, 2015
Wildcats with weed —thanks, Reader and CityBeat
City attorney Jan Goldsmith's January 27 talk about medical marijuana dispensaries in Grantville began with him referring to long-ago election results. He spoke to a capacity audience at the Allied Gardens-Grantville Community Council town hall. …
January 30, 2015
What's new with the ole swimmin hole?
December rain delayed the reopening of the La Mesa municipal pool and spa until February 2. The weather caused a delay in work to replace a portion of the pool deck, according to a January …
January 17, 2015
Kids, crayons, and cookies welcome
Forty-one years after the January 9, 1974, opening of the San Carlos branch library, patrons can eat, drink, and talk in the library. Those activities are allowed, and food and beverages are provided, in the …
January 13, 2015
The fateful free cookie
Navajo Community Planners voted unanimously on December 15 to recommend denial of a conditional-use permit for Living Green, a medical marijuana cooperative currently operating in a 2844 square-foot, two-story building on the 4400 block of …
December 19, 2014
Art was crucified
While 38th District state senator Joel Anderson showed up at the December 9 La Mesa City Council meeting to honor outgoing lawmakers Art Madrid and Ernie Ewin, former San Diego mayor Dick Murphy (a retired …
December 13, 2014
Chips truck and the chief to retire
The new year will bring the retirement of La Mesa police chief Ed Aceves as well as the 1995 Frito-Lay delivery truck purchased in 2002 and converted into a mobile command vehicle. Twelve years ago, …
November 28, 2014
Social media has wrecked Cowles Mountain
A majority of Navajo Community Planners, Inc., on November 17 voted to recommend that the City of San Diego add 17 parallel-parking spaces near Cowles Mountain by removing the red curb on a portion of …
November 20, 2014
This is not another weed ad in the Reader
Since La Mesa voters on November 4 rejected a proposition to authorize and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, the City of La Mesa will notify three dispensaries that they have ten days to "stop their business …
November 17, 2014
Who is Greg Saska?
In the six months since the May 14 Poinsettia Fire destroyed his two-bedroom adobe house, Greg Saska went from sleeping in his 1976 Mercedes 450 SE to living in a tent and then a 576-square-foot …
November 13, 2014
SDSU students and parolees with intentions
The San Diego State University Police Department's efforts to keep trespassers out of Adobe Falls has resulted in "many fewer calls for service," corporal Mark Peterson told the Del Cerro Council on October 23. However, …
November 4, 2014
Shrinkage of La Mesa parcel development
The La Mesa Planning Commission on October 1 voted 6-1 to recommend that the city council deny a specific plan for Crossroads of La Mesa at Park Station, a mixed-use project that would raise the …
October 4, 2014
Here comes the neighborhood
The La Mesa City Council last week unanimously approved a relocation impact report for Jennings Senior Park, a now-closed mobile-home park located on the 7300 block of Mohawk Street. A sign formerly displayed at the …
September 29, 2014
Talking the talk in La Mesa
At a September 18 candidates’ forum sponsored by the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce, two mayoral hopefuls and five candidates for two city-council seats spoke to an audience of about 100 people. Topics included their …
September 22, 2014
Free parking in La Mesa
The La Mesa City Council on September 9 voted 3-2 to temporarily suspend enforcement of parking meters downtown, a move to compensate for disruptions caused by the $5 million Downtown Village Streetscape Improvement Project. Starting …
September 11, 2014
Former mayor Murphy objects to Bat Quarry
The Mission Trails Regional Park citizens' advisory committee on September 2 voted to recommend naming three trails and renaming two quarries and two park entrances. Former San Diego mayor Dick Murphy served on a subcommittee …
September 5, 2014
Entertainment on the way for La Mesa
The La Mesa Planning Commission on August 20 approved conditional-use permits for "performance entertainment" at two businesses: the Venetian Lounge (a hookah bar in a shopping center on the corner of Baltimore and Parkway drives) …
August 23, 2014
When horseless, bike
Navajo Community Planners, Inc., on August 18 voted unanimously in favor of developing a 12.5-acre bike-skills park in Mission Trails Regional Park, creating an adjacent 2-acre park, and upgrading the 4.3-mile portion of the San …
August 22, 2014
La Mesa fed up with ad circulars dumped on driveways
The La Mesa City Council on August 12 voted unanimously in favor of vice mayor Ruth Sterling's request for city attorney Glenn Sabine to investigate and report back on legal options to regulate the unsolicited …
August 13, 2014
Violence a world away protested in El Cajon
About 150 people and a light rain showed up at Prescott Promenade on August 2 for an evening rally to protest violence against Christians in Iraq and Syria. The rally, organized by the San Diego …
August 5, 2014
Harshed mellow at “A Doobie Falls”
To stop incidents of vandalism, drug use, and fires at Adobe Falls, SDSU authorities have posted "No Trespassing" signs and increased patrols on the land owned by the university. Campus police community liaison Briana Drost …
July 26, 2014
Consider sales of Fritos and bean dip
Grantville Navajo Community Planners, Inc., on July 21 voted 9-4 to delay a decision on the proposal to operate Grantville Greens, a 623-square-foot medical marijuana cooperative on the 4400 block of Glacier Avenue. The vote …
July 24, 2014
La Mesa councilwoman stands up for vaping
After the La Mesa City Council on July 8 heard assistant city manager Yvonne Garrett's report recommending a ban on electronic smoking devices in locations where tobacco smoking is prohibited, vice mayor Kristine Alessio produced …
July 10, 2014
Cowles Mountain rescue report
Cowles Mountain was the site of 22 rescues during 2013, San Diego Fire-Rescue battalion chief Dan Froelich said in a July 6 interview; 32 rescues were conducted in Mission Trails Regional Park last year. The …
July 8, 2014
La Mesa council preps for November
The La Mesa City Council voted unanimously on June 24 to let people other than councilmembers write ballot arguments for the following measures set for November: to allow medical marijuana dispensaries, to set term limits …
June 26, 2014
Ten-story building for La Mesa?
The La Mesa Planning Commission on June 18 tabled a decision on the Park Station specific plan after a co-applicant spoke against the mixed-use proposal. The proposal includes raising the height limit to 110 feet …
June 20, 2014
Seems everyone’s going green in Grantville
After Navajo Community Planners, Inc., heard a presentation on June 16 about progress on the Grantville-focused community-plan amendment, the planning group received an update from two men who applied for a conditional-use permit to operate …
June 18, 2014
Another wild night at the dead end
The June 10 rescue of a woman driver who drove through a metal guardrail at the end of Cowles Mountain Boulevard and landed in a ravine happened three weeks after Navajo Community Planners’ May 19 …
June 14, 2014
An eye on teens, and no pythons allowed
The La Mesa City Council on June 10 unanimously approved a special-event permit that allows the La Mesa Village Merchants Association to stage a modified version of the annual Oktoberfest. Changes to the event (scheduled …
June 13, 2014
An end to the Dead End party in San Carlos
Navajo Community Planners, Inc., on May 19 voted unanimously to support the installation of a barrier north of the intersection of Cowles Mountain Boulevard and Rainswept Way. The Cottages condominium complex is accessed from Rainswept, …
May 22, 2014
La Mesans to lose right to vote?
The La Mesa City Council on May 13 voted 4-1 to place a measure on the November 4 ballot that asks voters to change the city clerk from an elected position to an appointed one. …
May 16, 2014
Chief Zimmerman talks pot
San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman answered residents' questions about the medical marijuana law and the homeless, among other topics, at the May 7 San Carlos Area Council meeting. John Pilch, council vice president, said …
May 9, 2014
District attorney candidates face off
The three district-attorney candidates at the April 24 debate sponsored by the Del Cerro Action Council and San Carlos Area Council answered questions about medical marijuana, whether the DA's office is politicized, and the "peace …
April 28, 2014