Vogue Theater for sale — not to be destroyed

Across Third Avenue from the Vogue is one of the historical pedestals put up by the Heritage Museum, and it is an old photo of the Vogue. Playing that day was "The Gang's All Here," starring Alice Faye, a film made in 1943. The Vogue was built in 1945, and this was not the very first film they had, but it is one of the first. They did not get first-one films in those days, either. But you can see what the Vogue looked like when it first opened in 1945.
— December 7, 2015 5:09 p.m.

Chula Vista fetes Seven Mile Casino as FBI investigates it

Dan Hom/Focus.com is no friend of Chula Vista. In the past, he has tried to ram down our throats 550 condo units in the Lower Sweetwater Valley next to the KOA Kampground. Thankfully, he and Bill Ostrem failed. He tried to influence the removal of Jade Bay mobilehome park. He was successful in closing it down, but sadly it has been a vacant property for years, and about 50 families had to move from a lovely park for nothing. Dan Hom was also a big promoter of SR-125, and while he won that battle, we all agree a toll-road was a losing proposition for Chula Vista. In 2006, Dan Hom ran for Chula Vista City Council. He convinced a lot of people that he was a financial wizard, siting how much money he had made in a business start-up. It turned out that was not telling the whole truth -- the business actually terminated in a bankruptcy. When we learned this, many of us threw our support to Steve Castaneda, and thankfully Hom did not get a seat on the City Council. Dan Hom/Focus.com is not a friend of Chula Vista!
— November 19, 2015 11:49 a.m.

Development-crazy on Chula Vista's west side

The WORST evil in this development is the Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The allowed FAR for this property is 1.0. That means that the total floor space of the building can exactly equal the full size of the property, and could cover the entire property if it was one story building, or if it was a 2-story building, the building could cover half of the lot, etc., etc. The developer's FAR for this project is 2.3 (as opposed to the 1.0 that is allowed). That is a monster building, and totally out of character for what the Urban Core Specific Plan calls for. And if this, the first building under the UCSP can have all these deviations, why can't all the rest to come? You don't suppose our Chula Vista City Council will vote 'no,' do you, just because it is bad for Chula Vista??
— October 29, 2015 8:09 p.m.

Big trouble in Eastlake III

In case you have not seen this, a recent "official" release by Councilman John McCann said this: "John McCann Helps Shut Down Illegal Strip Club Chula Vista Councilmember John McCann won another victory for the community. As part of McCann's platform of cleaning up the City, Chula Vista announced a recent victory in the litigation against EyeCandy Showgirls Strip Club." Well, at least he did not remind people that he also cleaned up SUHSD.
— September 27, 2015 9:54 a.m.

Big trouble in Eastlake III

So pleased to see you back, Susan L! This community desperately needs your in-depth reporting on South Bay happenings.
— September 26, 2015 9:11 p.m.

Sweetwater district sued from Texas

Mr. Hargrove -- can you give us the names of all the people named in the lawsuit? While this information is not as tittalating as your reporting that a certain SUHSD teacher, and I think, a relative of Bobby Bleisch called Ms. Luzzaro a"bitch," it does not do much to inform people. You are no 'Susan Luzzaro!"
— September 14, 2015 9:51 p.m.

600 more families for Otay Ranch?

The three main categories of land-use are "Residential," "Commercial," and "Industrial." In Chula Vista, the percentage of "Industrial" as fallen from 17% in 1988 to 5% in 2012. The percentage of "Residential" has increased from 73% in 1988 to 84% in 2012. And 141 more acres were re-zoned from "Industrial" to "Residential" last November. In a city like San Diego, the "Residential" is 76% and "Industrial" is 13%. That is why 80,000 Chula Vistans have to leave Chula Vista every morning to jobs in San Diego and elsewhere. We are becoming a huge "bedroom community," with no job base, no industrial property-tax base, and we are second-lowest city in the County in terms of sales-tax revenue per population. This was just another instance of a developer figuring they could make more money from more residential developments than any other way. And since our City Council is basically a "property rights" group, I have no doubt they will ignore the Planning Commission and vote "aye."
— April 24, 2015 11:48 a.m.

Only a fence between them

I think that the 3-2 vote on the charter high school at Silver Wing is fascinating. I suspect the hidden hand of Cheryl Cox. The two Board members who supported the charter high school have interesting backgrounds. David Barajeno was tapped to fill the seat that Cheryl Cox had to vacate when she became Mayor in 2006. Later, David Bejarano stepped down and his daughter was tapped to fill his seat. When Franky Escabedo made his bid to become the Superintendent of the Chula Vista Elementary School District, he was supported by Russell Coronado who had a seat on the CVESD Board and Glendora Tremper, who was then tapped to fill Russell’s seat when he resigned. Both worked for Franky Escabedo when they worked for the South Bay Union School District. Now, Escabedo with the support of Tremper and Bejarano are trying to sideline the newly elected Board members. We have to support the new Board members, Bunker, Tamayo, and Reyes, to defeat the insider cabal. Dare we to hope that there is, indeed, a new Sheriff in town?
— February 22, 2015 6:14 p.m.

Land sakes, Sweetwater, get it together

Getting the February 5th meeting cancelled was a giant step in the right direction. My thanks to Susan Luzzaro and the READER for exposing this blatant power grab. Thanks also to the activists who helped expose this. Last, and probably most important, is thanks to the newly elected Board of Trustees for stepping in to stop this runaway train.
— February 6, 2015 11:05 a.m.

Land sakes, Sweetwater, get it together

I just don't get it!!! Why is the city of Chula Vista in cahoots with Tom Calhoun, usurping the leadership in what to do with this property. This is the responsibility of the elected Board. The city is meddling with due process. Nothing good is going to come from this.
— February 4, 2015 11:18 p.m.