Jamul tribe denies casino imploding
Penn National removes Hollywood sign
Marty Graham 4:24 p.m., June 20
Clairemont Stories
Maybe it wasn't woodshop after all
"There's an alert out on us? That's okay, you don't need to sign this."
Lenny Swanson heard a knock at his front door on June 11 at 7:00 p.m. He looked out his window to see a 20-something, Hispanic male, heavy build. "He said, 'we're gathering signatures to bring ...
Bus rider pet peeves: walking and waiting
What will get more riders to saddle up?
Metropolitan Transit System or MTS has been hanging Choose Transit posters at bus stops around town. Plus they reached out to ask public opinion in April and May. Shorter commute times, more transit options, and ...
Property crimes low, worries still high
Transients, theft, reckless driving, vandalism/graffiti, and illegal dumping
San Diego is one of the safest regions in the U.S. according to a report released by the county in April. Data from 2017 reflects the fourth-lowest violent crime rate since 1980 and the lowest ...
Local Dems and GOP beat back the edges
Smiechowski, Kirkman, Hidalgo — skunks at the garden party
Clairemont resident Danny Smiechowski says he's being bullied by local Democrats and shunned by the media. He is an official candidate for San Diego city council in district 2. He’s running as a Democrat, but ...
Just keep toilet out of the title
Pure Water gets unanimous city council approval
Tuesday was a big day for water projects in Southern California. The Metropolitan Water District's board of directors authorized $10.8 billion toward Governor Jerry Brown's effort to fix the state's aging water delivery system, one ...
Clairemont: Touch and Go needs to go
Residents want Montgomery Field to get the lead out
"It's a constant barrage of planes sputtering and buzzing," said one resident that lives under Montgomery Field's flight path. Eden Yaege, Clairemont town council president said, "Many people have noticed that over the last few ...
Baby rattler at my door
"The whole thing was so frustrating, as there weren't any clear options."
A baby rattlesnake was found by Veronica Alcaraz's sister at her front door on February 12th. "Can you believe it?! My sister was taking things to and from her car when she spotted it. It ...
Traffic circles coming to Moraga Avenue
Some Bay Ho residents thrilled, some not
A topic of conversation for years has been the speeding, traffic, and accidents on Moraga Avenue. The city plans to remedy the situation by installing traffic circles (mini-roundabouts) on Moraga at Idlewild Way and Fox ...
Eyewitness: Clairemont plane crash
"The tail of a burning Beechcraft was hanging over my fence."
It sounded like a bomb went off on the afternoon of December 9th. I was inside my house on Chandler Drive when I felt and heard the sound of a powerful impact followed by an ...
Short-term renters’ neighbors’ gripe tool
Reporting website claims PB anti-pot activist is "operator" of problem house
There have been protests, meetings, petitions, and lots of blowback directed at the City of San Diego for allowing the proliferation of short-term vacation rentals in residential zones and the lack of enforcement of current ...
Clairemont farmers' market gets the boot
Sprouts opening pushes vendors down the block to yoga studio lot
Clairemont's farmers’ market got two weeks’ notice on October 5 that their last day in the Clairemont Village shopping center would be October 19. They had to vacate before the new Sprouts opened on October ...
Not only about the clean cars in Clairemont
Car-wash businesses get more attention than they want
A Bay Park resident stated his opposition to unpermitted business signs at Victor's Tire Shop and Car Wash (3030 Clairemont Drive) on Nextdoor in late June. He asked others to complain to the city. A ...
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The pet-friendly housing problem
"No friends, no music, no smoking — but you can have your dogs here."
A pet-friendly bill hit the governor's desk on September 21. The bill (AB 1137) would mandate that new multi-family housing developments allow tenants to have pets if those developments receive financing through state programs. Former ...
Cheetahs scandal: the novelization
Ex-city councilman publishes fictionalized take on federal prison time
Ralph Inzunza — the only one of three San Diego city-council defendants in the notorious Cheetahs strip-club influence-peddling case to go to prison — is out with a novel said to be based on his ...
Hope for winds of change at Miramar Landfill
Beginning September 30, the city will use tarps to cover the garbage
With the post-summer wind direction about to shift from east to west, the city and county are working overtime to solidify a plan to quell odor complaints that skyrocket between November and April against Miramar ...
Breaking Bad: Clairemont edition
"Do you know Theresa?... That's all I need to ask."
On July 10, an East Clairemont neighborhood was faced with a vandalized SUV asking people to "Call Turko" because "This neighborhood is a meth op." Michael Turko said no one ever did "Call Turko." On ...
Debate on community choice for electricity heats up
"Choice under a monopoly is not a choice."
The city's goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy by 2035 is kicking in to high gear with a new study that explores the feasibility of community choice — a program that would hand over ...
Orthodox priests attracted attention in Coronado
"Who are you guys?"
Membership: 670 families Pastor: Father Bratso Krsic Age: 46 Born: Crnojevic, Serbia Formation: The Holy Three Hierarchs Seminary, Southern Croatia (five-year high school); St. Sava Serbian Orthodox School of Theology, Libertyville, IL; Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, ...
24 years of martians, murder, magic, and mayhem
In the back room with the grande dame guardian of the Mysterious Galaxy
Eat. Sleep. Read. Local. For years these edicts have presented themselves in the form of a bold red-and-white poster gracing the entryway of Mysterious Galaxy, an independent bookshop specializing in science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and ...
What they brought for Mark Hamill to sign
Empire Strikes Back VHS tape. Star Wars costumes, Yoda game, Return of the Jedi book, Star Wars Campbell’s Soup
“We don’t have a crowd size,” said Lt. D. Crubbs, “we normally do that [assessment] from a helicopter.” No Star Wars motif drones flew above either (at the Castleton Drive and Mount Abernathy Avenue cross ...
What lies in Clairemont's future?
Single-family paradise resistant to change
The update of the Clairemont community plan is in full swing. How this plan shapes up will determine the future of Clairemont and Bay Park until at least 2040. Senior city planner Marlon Pangilinan gave ...
What are those easterly winds blowing to Clairemont?
What happened to Miramar Landfill to change things?
On May 25, the Air Pollution Control District hearing board ordered the city to return on July 27 with a diagnosis and a concrete plan to deal with the smells that are vexing residents downwind ...
High Tech High requests permit for 1636 students instead of 1110
Clairemont neighbors get hot
The first official public meeting for the High Tech High project was held on May 10. It was the first meeting for the new Clairemont subcommittee planning group since electing a new chair. The meeting ...
Fewer burritos, more Mediterranean
International market has tarama, sangak, and mast`o musir
A buddy of mine recently made a shift in his eating habits: fewer burritos, more Mediterranean. Even though I didn’t imagine finding the ingredients for a Mediterranean diet would prove challenging — it is what ...
Bay Parkers praise Highway 101 signs on Morena Blvd.
But one old-timer says 101 was where I-5 is now.
The last stop for Dave Potter, before ordering historic Highway 101 signage to put up along Morena Boulevard, was to get one last final thumbs-up from the Clairemont community planning group on April 18. Potter, ...
High Tech High to take over Horizon Christian Academy Clairemont site
Horizon parents worry, but San Diego Unified needs the money.
Time is running out for Horizon Christian Academy. The K-12 private school that has called 5331 Mt. Alifan Drive home since 1985 has until the end of June to relocate. High Tech High, a K-12 ...
Grace Brethren Church in Clairemont to subdivide property
Eight 5000-foot houses on Atlas Street
On March 21, Sam listened to an engineer from Leppert Engineering present a project to the Clairemont community planning group. The project proposes to build eight houses on what is currently a one acre church ...
Will Chris Cate make things right at Clairemont and Balboa?
Sharok Eslamian’s former gas station still painful for neighbors
“The city has been sitting on their hands doing nothing. They did nothing until I complained."
Butt out, Clairemont, says Linda Vista
Affordable housing and cyclist groups don’t like neighborhood planning groups
Linda Vista should have a neighborhood voice in planning how the neighborhood is developed and maintained, the neighborhood's planning group voted unanimously Monday night. "I have a lot of respect for the Clairemont planning group ...
About those bombs dropped on North Clairemont...
Residents told WWII ordnance investigation scheduled for 2085
Janet Lancaster came armed with questions for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers program manager Jeff Armentrout on March 2. The town-council meeting had a modest turnout but all eyes and ears were at full attention ...
Clairemont seniors anticipate crosswalk upgrade
"I’ve also seen yellow police tape when I wasn’t sure what happened.”
Sometime during the 2016 winter holidays, the city posted notices on Cowley Way (between Field Street and Iroquois Avenue) residents’ front doors. The notices stated that work would commence within a couple weeks to install ...
Standing Rock protest movement re-gears up
"This is not the last time we'll be here."
"We knew these attacks were coming, and now more than ever we must grow the resistance," opened Abel Macias, reading a statement from tribal leaders at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota, where ...
Balboa Avenue trolley-stop talk
"It's not enough to get a mile away from your destination."
Although it's not yet funded, project managers for the planned trolley station at Balboa Avenue (just east of I-5) have started gathering information for what people want to see there — what will compel them ...
Farmers return to Clairemont
Will the latest weekly outdoor market have lasting power?
A new farmers' market is opening up in Clairemont. The community repeatedly says they want one but once it appears, they don’t seem to support it in numbers big enough to make it viable for ...
No affordable housing on Tavara Ridge
Clairemont project on former school site to include 52 homes
Fifty-two mini-mansions are planned for a recently demolished 17.5-acre elementary-school site (4520 Pocahontas Avenue). The new neighborhood (being sold as Tavara Ridge) of two-story homes will have two- to three-car garages with up to five ...
Clairemont real estate up for grabs
San Diego Association of Governments may be doing the grabbing
On September 9, the San Diego Association of Government’s board of directors voted in favor of taking a prime corner lot above Mission Bay Park by eminent domain for a new trolley Park & Ride. ...
God can be found in a gay bar as well
Pastor Dan Koeshall on preaching
Membership: 200 Pastor: Dan Koeshall Age: 56 Born: Pipestone, MN Formation: Evangel University, Springfield, MO; Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena Years Ordained: 25 San Diego Reader: What’s your favorite subject on which to preach? Pastor Dan ...
No huge demand for Tecolote Canyon crosswalk
"I don’t know if our design is in sync with city regulations...."
Clairemont resident Stephanie Rabelo put out the call to her neighbors to show up November 19 between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. to support the idea of a proposed crosswalk on Mt. Acadia Boulevard from the ...
Dear candidates: your signs are now trash
Congressional campaign of Denise Gitsham singled out in Clairemont
Residents of Clairemont have been playing a game of “Where’s Waldo” — except it’s not much of a challenge. In this scenario, Waldo is the campaign signage of Denise Gitsham, a former candidate for U.S. ...
More apartments across Gila Avenue
Neighbor worries about crime
According to neighbors, the house at 4591 Gila Avenue was an eyesore. Neighbors lodged complaints about hoarding — the back yard looked like a construction site, complete with a forklift, Bobcat, trucks, and trailers. Edward ...
Cheetahs strip club faces closure
Appellate court ruled in favor of city's decision to revoke club's permit
The City of San Diego's decision to revoke a popular strip club's permit stands, ruled an appellate court. On September 28, California's Fourth District Appellate Court found that the Kearny Mesa all-nude club had a ...
Sandag members checking phones, whispering to each other
Forget the public on Clairemont shopping center plans
On September 9, the Sandag board voted to take a high-profile corner lot, directly above Mission Bay Park and off the I-5, by eminent domain. The former shopping center on Clairemont Drive between Morena Boulevard ...
Pork knuckles and duck necks?
Don’t worry, there’s something for everyone
Everyone has that one friend. You know the one. The guy who likes to nibble at pickled duck feet. The girl who crunches slices of cold pig ear and offers to take yours “if you’re ...
Clairemont’s home day-care shuffle
One center cited, closes, reopens two days later
On August 10, a day-care center at 6816 Boxford Drive was closed after being open for less than four months. Two days later, it opened up again under a new name. Janet Lancaster lives next ...
One year to replace Clairemont grocery store
Keil's moving out, Sprouts moving in not fast enough
After 26 years, Keil’s grocery store is leaving the Clairemont Village shopping center in mid-October. Clairemont residents have been waiting for some sort of written-in-stone news since January when Keil’s lease ran out. A teary-eyed ...
Don't worry, old-timer, cell phones don't cause cancer
Low-income seniors misinformed about rooftop work?
A little before 7:30 a.m. on July 23, a crane as well as eight commercial and flatbed trucks were parked in the middle of the street in front of Sorrento Tower, a 14-story low-income senior ...
Clairemont Coco’s out, Chick-fil-A in
Some satisfied, some dismayed at approval of "another fast-food joint"
On July 19, representatives of the Chick-fil-A fast-food chain gave a presentation to the Clairemont Community Planning Group with the latest rendition of the drive-thru proposed to replace the Coco’s Restaurant at 5955 Balboa Avenue. ...
Biker accident victims win $375K settlement
Claim says city failed to "designate, place, situate, sign, stripe, mark, paint, delineate, illuminate, design, construct..."
On Tuesday, July 19, city councilmembers will approve a $375,000 settlement for a couple who were injured in a 2013 motorcycle accident that occurred at an intersection outside of a Walmart in Clairemont Mesa. Garrett ...
It was a perfectly healthy tree in Clairemont
Mature jacaranda chopped down in error
Henrietta Valens (not her real name) left Clairemont for Vegas with friends on June 28. On June 30 at 8:46 a.m., her 90-year-old mother called to tell her that some guys were getting ready to ...
Gripes over Clairemont's new bike-lane barriers
“The dividers have provided pedestrians with a false sense of security."
On May 24, the city installed white plastic barriers along the bike lane on one side of Balboa Avenue (east on Clairemont Drive heading toward Genesee Avenue). Within a few days, the barriers started getting ...
Future of Clairemont Keil's grocery store undecided
“We are all just kind of figuring it out as it goes.”
After 26 years, in January the lease expired on the Keil’s grocery store located on Clairemont Drive (there's another in San Carlos). An extension was granted until April by Kleege Enterprises, which purchased the Clairemont ...
Condo dwellers put the kibosh on smoked meat
Mike's BBQ shuts down rather than face costly penalties
Not long after Mike’s BBQ opened their second location at 3055 Clairemont Drive, residents in the condos next door started complaining about the smoky smell. The first complaint was lodged on July 5, 2015. According ...
