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. …
November 17, 2016
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Stories by Julie Stalmer
Dear candidates: your signs are now trash
Council close to firing up Balboa Park revamp project
After numerous meetings and an epic amount of public rankling about a bridge bypass and parking garage, the San Diego City Council is about to decide whether or not to finalize plans for Balboa Park’s …
November 13, 2016
How tall is too tall in Point Loma?
On October 24, the city council voted 7-1 in favor of amending the Land Development Code to get developers in line with the intent of 1972's Proposition D. The amendment will take the form of …
October 30, 2016
O.B. parking problem to continue into perpetuity
“Parking in Ocean Beach is always two bitches and a rabid dog,” a Yelp review read about finding parking when visiting the South Beach Bar & Grille at 5059 Newport Avenue. What the Yelper probably …
October 22, 2016
Shark Tank survivor helps take bite out of blight
The 55-foot storefront at 1253 Garnet Avenue has had plastic, wood, and graffiti-covered windows for a long time, said everyone I asked. Those who have been doing business on the same block say the building …
October 18, 2016
More apartments across Gila Avenue
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 …
October 13, 2016
Alzheimer's patients to time-travel in Chula Vista
The Glenner Center is breaking ground on a new kind of adult day-care center that could help change the way patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia are treated and also to prepare for what CEO Scott …
October 1, 2016
Sandag members checking phones, whispering to each other
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 …
September 23, 2016
A plan for the College Area mini-dorm glut
Originally built in 1951, the house on 5545 Hardy Avenue has been in the possession of the SDSU Delta Upsilon Fraternity since 1998. In May, the fraternity applied to demolish their one-story fraternity house and …
September 19, 2016
Mira Mesa braces for mega population growth
The decades-old Vulcan mining operation on nearly 300 acres of Carroll Canyon will be a huge housing project if developers' lobbying efforts are successful. Bordered by Mira Mesa Boulevard, Miramar Road, Camino Santa Fe, and …
September 16, 2016
Clairemont’s home day-care shuffle
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 …
September 14, 2016
30-foot coastal height limit slips a peg in Point Loma
On August 24, a public notice for a September 8 hearing at San Diego's planning commission was posted online. (Update 9/8, 7:55 a.m.: On September 7, the notice was removed and the hearing postponed until …
September 6, 2016
One year to replace Clairemont grocery store
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 …
September 4, 2016
Red Sails Inn takes sunset cruise
The Red Sails Inn served its last diners last night (August 31). A staple in San Diego since the 1920s, the restaurant was first located at the Embarcadero on G Street and then in its …
September 1, 2016
Hunger striker for and against Trump
On August 19, Jim Dillehay put the word out via his Facebook page and blog (HungerStrike4DonaldTrump) that he was going on a hunger strike on August 22. Why? He’s hoping to get Trump’s attention long …
August 23, 2016
Australian blubber jelly invades harbor
While taking a maritime tour of the San Diego Harbor the afternoon of August 16, Neisa McMillin and her tour guide William Moss (aka “Captain Bill”) spotted a dozen brown jellyfish covered in white spots. …
August 22, 2016
Campus at center of "I Don't Like Mondays" shooting to move
On August 18, a hearing with the city’s planning commission will decide if a proposed residential block development gets the green light. The project application proposes to build 50 homes where a charter school (Magnolia …
August 17, 2016
Georgia Street Bridge restoration begins
After decades of back-and-forth about whether to demolish or restore the Georgia Street Bridge, restoration of the 102-year-old structure began on August 3. The project was supposed to break ground in the fall of 2015 …
August 11, 2016
East Village sign to hover over Tenth Avenue
Downtown’s East Village will soon join the Gaslamp Quarter by having their own landmark community sign on Market Street, midblock between 10th and 11th. On July 27, East Village Association members met at Tod Firotto’s …
August 1, 2016
Don't worry, old-timer, cell phones don't cause cancer
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 …
July 26, 2016
Clairemont Coco’s out, Chick-fil-A in
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. …
July 23, 2016
Screws put to City Heights market's booze permit
On July 20, a public hearing was held to decide the fate of My Market’s (4111 Home Avenue) Type 21 liquor license, which permits the sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits for offsite consumption. …
July 22, 2016
It was a perfectly healthy tree in Clairemont
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 …
July 15, 2016
Preservationists not done fighting for California Theatre
Built in 1927 and historically designated in 1990, the California Theatre on Fourth Avenue has been owned by Sloan Capital since 2008. Sloan recently won non-historic designation for the attached Caliente sign but still has …
July 11, 2016
City Heights needs a mural, not a wrecking ball
"The most activity the Sally Wong building has seen in the last decade was when a car crashed through a wall last year,” said Brian Myers. “I've lived in City Heights since 2007 and I …
July 8, 2016
Aggressive transients put Ocean Beach on edge
On April 29, Blair Aeria’s father was doing what he does several times a week, spending time with his two grandchildren, aged one and three, at Cleator Community Park in Ocean Beach. “My dad had …
July 6, 2016
Gripes over Clairemont's new bike-lane barriers
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 …
July 4, 2016
Protesters warm up to tear down Cabrillo Bridge plan
David Lundin, cofounder of the Balboa Park Heritage Association, was there when Mayor Faulconer announced the resurrection of Qualcomm billionaire Irwin Jacobs's Balboa Park plan on June 30. Known as the Plaza de Panama Project, …
July 3, 2016
Historic Resources Board hot for Caliente sign
On June 23, the City of San Diego's Historic Resources Board met to decide the fate of three painted murals on downtown’s historic California Theatre at 1122 Fourth Avenue. Bruce Coons, executive director of Save …
June 28, 2016
Roseville neighbors protest towering duplexes
Madison Bartz lives on Emerson Street next to where two extremely tall duplexes are being constructed in the Roseville neighborhood of Point Loma. On June 21, she recorded video of construction workers as she talked …
June 25, 2016
Point Loma block dominated by new four-story duplexes
On June 20, a land surveyor taking photos on the corner of Emerson and Evergreen streets in the Roseville neighborhood of Point Loma was interrupted by a middle-aged couple driving by who asked, "Are you …
June 21, 2016
Future of Clairemont Keil's grocery store undecided
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 …
June 19, 2016
Condo dwellers put the kibosh on smoked meat
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 …
June 10, 2016
O.B./Point Loma McMansion plans spark border war
On May 26, a proposed project at 2257 Froude Street was appealed by the Peninsula Community Planning Board in front of the city’s planning commission. The residents on the block — where one side of …
May 27, 2016
For sale: Dolphin Motel. Includes billboard.
The billboard brouhaha continues in Point Loma. It all started in February 2013, when the owner of the Dolphin Motel, H.D. Murdock, went seeking community support for his motel expansion sans the parking requirements. The …
May 22, 2016
Who's ready to hit the urban trail?
On May 12, the final public workshop was held before plans are finalized to transform 11 blocks in downtown’s East Village into a linear park for pedestrians and cyclists. The streetscape revamp originated with Civic …
May 20, 2016
Weird start for O.B. bar under new ownership
On April 28, Eugene Gallagher hosted a farewell party at his Newport Avenue pub. The next day, after 11 years, he handed over the keys to new owner Steve Yeng, a local who also owns …
May 3, 2016
Botanical Garden — heck, Balboa Park itself— in desperate need
The Botanical Building in Balboa Park is one the largest lathe structures in the world, according to David Lundin, cofounder of the Balboa Park Heritage Association. The association was formed in 2014 to help create …
May 1, 2016
Mary's Donuts closes...but reopened down the street
Terry Thompson remembers going to the dump with his father and brothers in the early 1970s. He fondly recalls what they did afterward. “The dump and donuts — it doesn't get much better than that …
April 29, 2016
Crappy Earth Day, Ocean Beach
On Earth Day (April 22), Joel Kalmonson was checking on the Ocean Beach Native Plant Garden when he found all 24 of the plant identification markers knocked over. Kalmonson is a lead volunteer who regularly …
April 26, 2016
Downtown Caliente sign destined for doom?
Enrique Limón is on a mission to save the Caliente mural on the west façade of the nearly 90-year-old, decades-abandoned, California Theatre (1122 Fourth Avenue). Limón started a petition on April 22 when he caught …
April 26, 2016
Suicide in Clairemont
At 1:00 p.m. on April 19, I witnessed an elderly woman with short dark hair sitting on an overturned shopping cart in the Clairemont Village parking lot. She was crying and distraught and being comforted …
April 19, 2016
Good ol' fashioned barn savin' in Santa Ysabel
The Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) is in the midst of restoring one of the largest barns in San Diego. In spring 2015, the group bought the land the barn sits on for $30,000 from …
April 12, 2016
Polly wants a cease fire
On April 3, SoCal Parrot set up a booth at All Souls' Episcopal Church on Catalina Boulevard after being invited to do so by reverend Joseph Dirbas. Dirbas extended the invitation after learning of the …
April 7, 2016
People's market empire expansion in phase I
According to Nancy Casady, People’s food market general manager since 1997, there have been dreams of expanding the organic-food co-op ever since the building they’re in now was paid off in 2013. The home of …
April 5, 2016
Fender not bent, failed scam
On March 29 at 11:00 a.m. Tess Donaldson was driving to Fashion Valley when she spotted a note on the window of her 2008 Prius. “I stopped off on Frazee Road to remove it,” said …
April 4, 2016
Burglary suspect's behavior "fishy"
On March 30, Abbey Knight (not her real name) saw two young men in a white Chrysler minivan circling her cul-de-sac at about 1:00 p.m. as she loaded her kids into her car. “They looked …
April 2, 2016
More dead Point Loma parrots
On March 27, two near-threatened red-masked conures were found dead at All Souls' Episcopal Church on Catalina Boulevard in Point Loma. While it’s too early to tell if these are the latest parrot sniper victims, …
March 29, 2016
Billboard banishment on Rosecrans at stalemate
The squabble continues between the owners of the Dolphin Motel and the Point Loma Association over the removal of a billboard. Robert Tripp Jackson of the association said on March 24, "The Point Loma Association …
March 26, 2016
Bay Park remains a mere neighborhood
On February 18, city traffic engineer Gary Pence gave Dave Potter the long-awaited news that neighborhood signs for Bay Park had been ordered. I met with Potter on March 15 at Tecolote Road and Morena …
March 21, 2016