Eleanor Widmer and the Reader
Willie Shoemaker, Carl Rogers, John Vietor, Michael Copley, Tropic of Cancer
Eleanor Widmer 8:30 a.m., March 23
National City Stories
One barrel at a time at Embarcadero Brewing
It feels like beer history in National City
This past September, National City’s first homebrewing supply shop officially became National City’s first craft brewery. In a number of ways, Embarcadero Brewing and Supply feels like a time capsule out of San Diego craft ...
Nostalgia and sea trout at Goody's Sushi
Go for the fish, stay for the tempura PB&J
Lunchtime on a Saturday, and a Reserved sign was placed before every seat at the sushi bar at Goody's Sushi & Grill. Sitting nearby, I watched as, all at once, customers trickled in to claim ...
Purple cake is just a highlight
Forty years of Filipino baked goods in National City
I’ve been missing out on Filipino baked goods. And considering Valerio’s City Bakery has been making them in National City since 1979, I’ve been missing out for a good forty years. During that time, the ...
Makeover of Paradise Creek and Kimball Park
Solar totem poles along the bridge
“I don’t know if you saw it before, it was not a very nice area,” said Nadia Nunez about Paradise Creek where it runs through Kimball Park in National City. Nunez is community manager for ...
Yo quiero gorditas
Doing better than the “best Mexican restaurant”
If you watched a lot of Taco Bell commercials in the late 90s, you might have been left with the impression that gorditas are large tacos made with pitas instead of tortillas. However, like a ...
National City's Cano accused of Hatch Act violation
Can you run for office if on federal payroll?
Two weeks after being cleared on charges of using his clout to avoid five years' worth of fees and fines for carrying out a dozen projects on his property without the required building permits, National ...
Island Pacific Seafood closes, but cats stay
Kind-hearted Filipinos try to fill gap
“Around 15 cats live behind the Island Pacific Seafood Market on 2720 E. Plaza Blvd,” posted a Paradise Valley resident on her Nextdoor account. “The store is closed and they need food and some water.” ...
National City candidates full of surprises
Jerry Cano pulls papers for mayor, then decides not to run
In a political bait and switch, National City council member Jerry Cano pulled papers for mayor on Tuesday, August 7 – exactly three days before the deadline to file to run as a candidate in ...
Fire and ice
Where is your local cool zone?
We’ve all heard the joke that someday a natural disaster will plunge California into the sea and turn Arizona into beachfront property. But if recent trends continue what would be more likely — the landslide ...
Does your momma's birria taste like this?
The sizzling hot cow platter is just a bonus
When the server placed it on my table, she warned me the platter would be sizzling hot. I appreciated that. And also the fact it was shaped like a cow. It’s place called Not Your ...
Probe clears Cano on building without permits
Investigator: outcome may have been different if Cano cooperated
National City council member Jerry Cano has been cleared of wrongdoing by an outside investigator who looked into whether he used his political clout to escape scrutiny and five years' worth of fines as he ...
National City council member subject of probe
How come Cano paid zero in fines for a dozen violations?
Shortly after midnight on Wednesday (April 18), National City council member Jerry Cano became the subject of an investigation into whether he violated state law by using his official position to influence a government decision ...
Shark fins at Black's Beach and Pacific Beach
“Did I freak out? Yes! Did I get out of the water? No.”
Name: Beth Colton Age: 34 From: National City Location: Ocean Beach Pier Occupation: Staff at the San Diego Humane Society Beth Colton just got done surfing with her nine-foot Sunova board inlaid with balsa wood ...
Squeeze on National City elders
Southern Highland rents climb steadily
Lydia Horne received a free haircut and a toiletry bag – at the Age-Less Beauty (Blessing our Seniors) gathering on March 31. The event happened at about noon in the courtyard of the Southern Highland ...
Grabbing the grilled pork at Villa Manila
"Most Filipinos like eating with their hands when it comes to feasting. It ties them to the old ways.”
“With your fingers, dude?” says Wes. “Hey, what else did people eat with, before you French brought in the fork, right? You invented cutlery! The Curse of the Eating Classes!” Actually, Wes has always been ...
10 bedrooms with their own bathrooms and closets — in National City
Don't need picket fence
The lot is irregular, and so is the proposed housing model; developers see it as lemons to lemonade. Neighbors and some National City planning commissioners, however, see the four-unit communal living style project as a ...
Some in National City want Morrison again
Dueling term-limit initiatives raise specter of 4th term for Mayor Ron
Two National City initiatives will face off in the June elections. Both received the necessary signatures to be placed on the ballot. Both are so similar, they may confuse voters. The National City Citizens for ...
National City teachers protest the lack of supplies
Meanwhile, administrators spend on meals and conferences
“Your educators are falling apart,” Christina Benson, president of the National City Education Teachers Association, told district boardmembers this week. The union continues to protest an impasse in negotiations between the district and teachers. On ...
National City teachers turn up heat
But district staff diss teacher numbers
The National City Education Teachers Association has not yet declared a strike, but negotiations with their district have hit an impasse. The union cites lack of materials and heavy workloads as the prime issues. Christina ...
Reddish-brown water not so sweet
Sweetwater Authority says supply discoloration from sediment and/or algae
“The people in Western Chula Vista and National City are getting ice age, prehistoric water that is incredibly good,” said Michael Garrod, the engineering manager at the Sweetwater Authority during a tour of the Richard ...
Community garden to grow in National City
Residents seek more access to healthy food amid fast-food landscape
Old Town National City will build a community garden after more than a decade of collaboration between the city, residents, and the Environmental Health Coalition. Mundo Gardens, a “National City–grown” nonprofit, will operate the Paradise ...
National City says yes to beer
New rules make tasting room permits a sure thing
By unanimous vote of its city council, National City has made itself more welcoming to beer manufacturers. The December 19th vote amended its municipal code to allow breweries and tasting rooms to open in mixed-used ...
Amazon overload
Unidentifiable vans and overworked employees bruise the season
Lately there’s been a rash of theft in the Chula Vista neighborhoods, from home burglaries to Christmas-mail porch thieves. Although neighbors try to be vigilant, the recent use of unmarked vehicles by FedEx, UPS, and ...
National City power grab suspected
Allies of Mayor Morrison maneuvering to get him back into office?
“It’s a political power grab,” says Andrew McKercher, chairman of Citizens for Real Term Limits in National City. His grassroots group formed in October as a response to a proposed ballot initiative that would allow ...
God uses a clay pot such as I am
Unbelievers will go to eternal hell
Membership: 120 Pastor: Ed Gonzalez Age: 40 Born: Bulacan, Philippines Formation: Febias College of Bible, Valenzuela, Philippines; The Master’s Seminary, Los Angeles Years Ordained: 13 San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your ...
Granger Hall's dying for an encore in National City
"No one of authority seems to care" about leaky Irving Gill structure
On October 31, Save Our Heritage Organisation released their annual list of the most endangered historic sites in San Diego. Granger Music Hall was one of three new sites added to the top-ten list this ...
Mass grooming in National City
"All the ladies kept talking about how handsome the barbers were."
“I do think the elderly [people here] are in need,” said Brooke Ortiz. “There were people that lived [at Southern Highland] that said this was the best day they have ever had.” Ortiz is a ...
Justice for Jacob protest draws cops
Police say they’ve exhausted all leads in youth’s murder
On Friday, October the 13th, around five in the evening, a group of about 30 protesters gathered in front of the National City Police Department headquarters on National City Boulevard holding banners and signs reading ...
Bernie Sanders pays National City campaign bill
Secret Service declines to spring for candidate's security costs
More than a year after Bernie Sanders led a high-spirited rally in a public park in National City during his run for the presidency, he's finally paid his bill of more than $28,000 in municipal ...
Crispy Fried Chicken — almost unreasonably cheap
Vietnamese-owned Louisiana style
It's been a fine summer for fans of fried chicken in National City. In June, City Heights favorite Crispy Fried Chicken opened a second location on East Plaza Boulevard, between the 5 and 805 freeways. ...
Not the typical roadside memorial in National City
"Yeah, eight years. We come out every year on the night it happened."
In the drug and gang world of National City, street memorials are not uncommon. For a time, vases of flowers and religious candles will bloom on the street or sidewalk where a killing took place, ...
National City puts Perry Ford under "green" spotlight
Push is on for dealership's chemical-use details in toxic territory
Over the next two weeks, the National City Council will make a list. A green list. It will include, among other conditions, the "certified biodegradable" products Perry Ford can use at its auto shop across ...
Man gets $1.5 million in accidental police shooting
National City detective misfired during traffic stop
Elected officials in National City have agreed to pay 22-year-old Jesus Flores a $1.5 million to dismiss the lawsuit he filed after a National City police officer accidentally shot him during a March, 2015 traffic ...
It's a rap shop, not a thug thing
“Being unaffiliated, people feel safer here," says Jay Wat
Singer/songwriter Justin Watson, known to most local rappers as producer Jay Wat, says the fact he didn’t grow up around San Diego was a good thing. “I’m from Detroit, so I have a neutral presence,” ...
National City — in reversal — moves closer to sanctuary city
Opens services to all immigrants and restricts police
On Jun. 19, the National City Council voted unanimously to adopt a Compassionate City resolution in support of its immigrants. While no one opposed the designation, the special meeting was a re-hearing on the issue ...
National City students least fit out of 42 school systems in San Diego County
39 fast food joints nearby
The schoolchildren of more affluent parents not only do the best on standardized academic tests, they also do better on measures of physical fitness, a recent report on obese children in San Diego County suggests. ...
National City mayor and two councilmembers sued for changes to sanctuary city resolution
Lawsuit accuses them of Brown Act violations
A last-minute decision by National City's mayor Ron Morrison, and two councilmembers to water down a resolution to certify National City as a "welcoming community," is now the subject of a new lawsuit. South Bay ...
On the cerveza to craft beer transition
Horchata and hibiscus flavors fine, but Hispanic segment not so simple
A Texas company has compiled market analysis suggesting craft-beer producers have been missing out on a potentially valuable market segment: Hispanic millennials. Gerry Loredo, director of business analytics for Houston advertising agency Lopez Negrete Communications, ...
National City and McDini's all lawyered up
"It's like two octopuses fighting over a clam."
The fight between the bar owners of McDini's and National City continues unabated, according to Benjamin Adler, whose father's family trust owns the bar once known as a place to find SEALs and Special Warfare ...
Craft beer and local produce
Maybe the smallest farmers' market in the country?
When Machete Beer House opened two years ago, there weren't many places to get craft beer in National City. There weren't many opportunities to buy organic produce either. On Monday nights, Machete offers both. The ...
Goat is my game
Bleat-worthy meats in National City
"Se habla English!!” That’s what it says on the menu I’m checking out, here in National City. It also says “Birrio de Chivo, Guadalajara-style, perfected in Tijuana and imported into the USA.” Perfect. Because tonight, ...
Let’s just stick with beef and onions
But we could try the lechon kawali or the sinigang na baboy or the...
When I sat down at Zarlitos Family Restaurant and looked over the menu, I found lots of wonderful-sounding dishes. By that I mean the words themselves sounded wonderful: sinigang na baboy, tortang alimango, daing na ...
Puppy-mill puppies still sold in National City?
Mayor: “If you have a healthy business you should allow people to have a choice."
Animal-welfare activists are staging an ongoing protest in National City's Bonita Plaza shopping mall against pet stores and to put pressure on government officials over the practice of importing dogs from “puppy mill” animal-breeding factories ...
National City Marine Terminal redevelopment action
"We really want to give it a 'wow' factor."
On October 13, the Port of San Diego board finally gave staff permission to proceed with the environmental review for the redevelopment of the National City Marine Terminal. Staffers said it will take nearly a ...
Bernie Sanders dunned by National City
The downside of getting picked by populist
National City has asked former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and his campaign to pay a $28,340 bill for the rally the candidate held there in May. "We sent a demand letter today (Tuesday)," said Armando ...
Feet, not commercials or mail, decide the vote
"I hear a lot of people saying, 'Oh, my vote don't count.'"
Saturday, October 8, served as the one-month marker before next month's general election. Precinct walkers — wooing for candidates and favored propositions — will begin to pound the pavement in earnest. But for one group ...
Korean War dogfighter recognized
Retired Navy captain Royce Williams rolls in for presentation of painting
On Saturday morning (August 20), while walking around Sweetwater Harley Davidson with Marine veteran and salesman Bobby Bradshaw, we stopped by a poster depicting the cover of the January 2016 edition of Homeland Magazine, which ...
Corporate (park) jams
Pitbull Audio puts its gear where its parking lot is...and lets bands play it
Pitbull Audio opened their National City storefront in 2014. They’re an independent musical instrument and pro-audio retailer that has to compete with big-box chains, such as Guitar Center and Sam Ash. One of the methods ...
Burger war in National City
Fast-food employees protest unhealthy working conditions
Unsafe working conditions are causing ailments for workers at a Burger King restaurant in National City, protesters claim. "They don't have adequate staff to provide relief [for workers] to take their legally protected ten-minute breaks ...
Pupusa ceremony
“These foods we cook are ancient and more healthful than Mexican or American food.”
"You can sit over here if you like,” says this guy over in the booth. He’s noticed me craning my head to catch the Costa Rica game. Against mighty Colombia. Copa América. David and Goliath. ...
Teen's October 11 murder remains unsolved
Justice demanded for Junior — Juan Carlos Muñoz Jr.
On Sunday, May 29, at least 50 friends and family members of 18-year-old Juan Carlos Muñoz Jr. gathered at Highland Avenue and 30th Street in National City to press for justice for the teen, who ...
Hit Cabo Wabo #2, scarf a big burger
Yes! Dive bar
Fish tacos, 99 cents? With all the taco talk this week, how come I missed this place? I should have seen the taco deal on the signs outside. But I was busy trying to figure ...
