Chula Vista news & stories
The Sweetwater Union High School District voted in 2011 to move forward on a university-related project. Superintendent Ed Brand told the Reader in a December 2011 interview that the district was surveying the residents to …
It’s no secret that the allegations of long-term corruption in the Sweetwater Union High School District have roiled the South Bay waters. A recent U-T article even calls on South Bay politicians to discuss the …
The latest round of indictments handed down by San Diego’s criminal grand jury is so extensive, people wonder if corruption is just another name for South Bay. Fifteen defendants from three separate South Bay school …
“We love you Pearl!” shouted several people to Pearl Quiñones inside the lobby of the downtown courthouse on January 7. Handfuls of supporters and opponents in the alleged Sweetwater Union High School District “pay for …
The San Diego Gas & Electric payment and customer service center at 436 H Street in Chula Vista has a habit of closing their drive-thru bill-payment window on the side of the building unannounced. Mothers …
Heymatt: Why is a Mexican flag included at the courthouse at Third and H streets in Chula Vista? Does this mean some courtrooms there follow the “guilty until the level of extortion has been satisfied” …
Friday, December 14, on the eve of his 65th birthday, on the last day of the fall semester, Southwestern College English professor Philip Lopez suffered a heart attack and died. Many people consider Lopez an …
After the fanfare was over at the Sweetwater Union High School District meeting on December 10, after San Diego mayor Bob Filner stood by recently reelected Pearl Quiñones's side as she was sworn in (referring …
Chula Vista residents who have been battling the city and the developer about a proposed 284-condo/apartment complex in eastern Chula Vista were alarmed last week when earth-movers appeared on the scene. Barney Reed, a spokesperson …
Last year, the Sweetwater Union High School District board voted to support a vaguely worded concept about an institution called “Sweetwater University.” The latest gambit for Sweetwater U is online college courses offered to high …
Although the Chula Vista Redevelopment Corporation has come to an end, the legacy of a past redevelopment project continues to play out. In June of 2011, the U-T published an online story titled “City-subsidized building …
Another store in the Otay Ranch Center mall will be closing its doors soon. Coldwater Creek, an upscale women’s clothing store, and Coldwater Creek Spa, a full-service salon, will be going out of business on …
As the San Diego County grand jury opens an investigation this week into allegations of corruption in the Sweetwater Union High School District, new intrigues play out in Calexico with Sweetwater’s former attorney firm, GCR, …
Concerned Sweetwater Union High School District parents and residents lined up to ask superintendent Ed Brand questions at a November 8 meeting. They wanted an accounting of the money they have paid into the 17 …
Though many people want to see corruption and mismanagement cleaned up in the Sweetwater Union High School District, few people stepped into the November 6 election. One interesting candidate who wants to try his hand …
An unprecedented board of ethics meeting took place in Chula Vista on October 24. The audience — which came to the hearing regarding a complaint filed against council member Pamela Bensoussan — was so large …
Ira Aldridge Players' The Gospel at Colonus; The Sugar Witch at OnStage.
Residents angered by the Chula Vista City Council’s vote to change the general plan to accommodate a 284-condo/rental development are gathering forces. At an October 17 meeting, residents opposed to the Lake Pointe development said …
The first meeting that Ed Brand presided over since being appointed superintendent of the Sweetwater Union High School District took place on October 15. Brand sought board approval for a conflict-of-interest bylaw change. His proffered …
Fresh out of the chute as new superintendent of the Sweetwater Union High School District, Ed Brand recently sought to remove all of the members of the Proposition O Bond Oversight Committee, save one — …
The opening of a nude-dancing establishment on Bay Boulevard in Chula Vista has caused many Chula Vista residents worry and embarrassment over the past couple days. In an interview on October 8, owner/operator Randy Welty …
Chula Vista’s bayfront development got a sudden jumpstart October 8 when a new place called EyeCandy opened on Bay Boulevard. The establishment features nude dancers and soft drinks. EyeCandy, visible from the freeway, is located …
Residents who live near a proposed development called Lake Pointe in the eastern part of Chula Vista were stunned that the city council voted last week to change the general plan to accommodate a 284 …
At 3:06 on the morning of September 25, the Sweetwater Union High School District board of trustees voted 3-2 to award Ed Brand a two-year contract with a compensation package higher than the superintendent of …
The Sweetwater Union High School District has been without a superintendent, or interim superintendent, for close to a month now. At the last board meeting, president Pearl Quiñones told the public to direct all district …
Chula Vista’s east side residents pay more school taxes than the west side.
On the west side of Chula Vista, passage of Prop E stands to further bisect the community.
Sweetwater Authority, the South Bay water agency, voted on August 22 to add fluoride to areas the district serves — they include National City, western portions of Chula Vista, and Bonita. According to general manager …
Many people believe a 10News report broadcast at 5 p.m. on September 12 deliberately misinformed the public. On September 10, the Sweetwater Union High School District held a special meeting with an ambiguous agenda that …
The 2012 San Diego Senior Games are now under way. Games will continue through the month of September. On Sunday, September 9, the Chula Vista Elks Lodge hosted three tournaments: bocce ball, “cornhole,” and ladder …
The Sweetwater Union High School District board room was packed to the gills again on September 10. Frustrated parents, teachers, and community activists demanded to know why a special board meeting was called with an …
After 6:00 p.m. on September 7, the Sweetwater Union High School District posted on the district website that there will be a special closed-session meeting on September 10 at 6:30 for the purpose of “public …
Although no meeting notice has been posted on the Sweetwater Union High School District website, several reliable South Bay community members are passing around the information that the Sweetwater board will hold a special meeting …
Craig Wayne Hartman, "Tiny,” a Chula Vista High School alum, class of '72, was found dead in the bathroom of the Food 4 Less on Palomar Street in Chula Vista on August 13, apparently stabbed...that …
Last February, the Sweetwater Union High School District moved forward with a controversial initiative to buy 6300 iPads for its seventh-graders. The iPads cost $4.3 million. Several months later, the district purchased iPad covers, spending …
The dirt pile on Southwest High School’s athletic field will be gone by Monday, August 20, but the mound of questions raised about the Sweetwater Union High School District’s leadership remains undiminished. On Friday, August …
Sweetwater Union High School District had unhappy parents lined up out the transportation-services door on August 6. The district is facing a $27 million budget shortfall. As a result, last March the board voted to …
Sweetwater Union High School District’s dirt story continues to be significant. Potentially contaminated soil dumped at Southwest High School poses questions that many would like to have answered: Why have district leaders sought to mislead …
Sweetwater Union High School District students return to campus July 25. Some people might wonder what the district has done with the 10,000 tons of dirt on the Southwest High campus, reported on by Channel …
Southwestern College has gone through a series of upheavals in the past few years and is still the subject of a San Diego County district attorney investigation. Southwestern’s former vice president of business and finance, …
The California Coastal Commission will meet in Chula Vista on Wednesday, July 11; however, the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan will not be addressed until their August meeting, which will be held in Santa Cruz. …
At the June 28 Chula Vista City Council meeting, the council reviewed a plan to consolidate the library and the parks and recreation department — the decision to do so was made last week. The …
A large pile of contaminated dirt was reportedly deposited on the Southwest High School campus in the spring of 2010. After 10News.com reported the story last week, the district shrouded the dirt pile in plastic …
The Sweetwater Union High School District board is beleaguered. Two trustees, Arlie Ricasa and Pearl Quiñones, and former superintendent Jesus Gandara are under indictment. Two additional boardmembers, John McCann and Jim Cartmill, are the subjects …
At the June 11 Sweetwater Union High School District’s board meeting, Fran Brinkman and other members of her group (which reported corruption concerns to the district attorney) will ask trustees: What is going on with …
It’s been only a few months since controversial South Bay water board president Jaime Bonilla stepped down from the Otay Water District, but it’s easy to see that his former position is just a speck …
Asking some South Bay voters to approve a school bond measure is a risky proposition. Bond-related corruption charges for Southwestern College and Sweetwater Union High School District have muddied the waters, but the Chula Vista …
Students graduate feeling ready for their new careers, and they hit the ground running once they’re employed.
The May 14 U-T editorial titled “A Circus In Sweetwater” — referring to the ongoing turmoil within the Sweetwater Union High School District — makes some incorrect and undemocratic assertions. The editorial acknowledges that the …
For weeks, activist Stewart Payne has had headlines written that pertain to him: “Violent Threats By Occupy Sweetwater Result in Restraining Order” (San Diego Rostra), “Keep Payne Away” (The Star News), and “Court Protects Sweetwater …
JDS Exclusive Security Services was contracted by the Sweetwater Union High School District to provide guards for the May 7 board meeting. The company also provided guards for the April 16 meeting, after which John …