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Here is what you need to know about architecture in San Diego. Orchids = good! Onions = bad!

When evaluating architecture here in San Diego, one must understand these two important designations. Needless to say, everyone seeks the coveted Orchid designation, and wants to stay away from any connection to the dreaded Onion.

The San Diego Architectural Foundation – a non-profit organization “dedicated to the education and promotion of outstanding architecture, landscape, interior, and urban design to improve the quality of life for all San Diegans” has made these two designations an important part of the architectural scene in this city. The organization, which has a primary goal of inspiring “all San Diegans to discover the value of thoughtful design in the natural and built environment and the effect it has on the quality of our lives,” sponsors an annual Orchids and Onions Awards program to identify local architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and historic preservation to determine the official Orchids & Onions recipients. The official recipients are recognized at an annual gala being held this year on October 2.

This year’s nominees for Orchid and Onion recognition are out, and the Linda Vista area is well represented in both categories. Though some final selection are made by a multidisciplinary jury of professionals, local residents have an opportunity to cast a vote for the People’s Choice Orchids and Onion part of the contest. And voting can be easily done online.

Readers can go HERE to view all nominees and cast their online vote. However, we want to highlight those particular LV area sites to draw your attention and get you motivated enough to vote.

The first LV area site nominated for an Orchid is the new Kearny High Educational Complex’s Welcome Center—Administration and Classroom Building located at 1954 Komet Way (see photo above). This building is nominated in the program’s “public architecture” category.

The second LV site nominated for an Orchid is the Linda Vista Community Garden located on the grounds of the LV Neighborhood Park (located at 7034 Levant Street). It is nominated in the “landscape architecture” category. The half-acre Linda Vista Community Garden is the first community garden built within a City of San Diego public park. It is operated by Bayside Community Center.

The third LV area site nominated for an Orchid is The Brynn at Civita, located at 2525 Via Alta. It is being recognized in the “private architecture” category. This project is seen as a good example of high density housing (200 residents in a five story building).

Unfortunately, there are two local sites nominated in the Onion category. The first is the new Home Depot site located in Mission Valley (located at 1895 Camino del Rio S.). The site has been described as representing “a significant missed design opportunity. A big-box program has been crammed onto a shoe-box site, resulting in the multistory parking structure’s inglorious backside becoming the project’s most prominent public façade, fronting Interstate 8, one of San Diego’s most heavily traveled corridors.”

The other Onion nominee in the area is Broadstone Mission Valley. This apartment project, which consists of 500 units, is described as projecting “the appearance of a supersized movie set (i.e., Grand Budapest Hotel) rather than a building rooted in Mission Valley.”

We encourage LV Update readers to visit the Orchids and Onions website, view all the nominees (at least for Orchids), and then cast their votes for deserving sites, especially for the LV area Orchid nominees. Voting will go on until September 17. So as they say in Chicago…Vote early, and vote often!

Food Review

Selecting the Side Dish Strategy

What exactly is a side dish? By definition it is a secondary food item that accompanies a main course during a meal. But is that all there is to it? Can it be a meal in itself? That is what we have been pondering as we watch the price for any meal continually rise almost to the point of ridiculousness. In a recent New York Times article, I read that Generation Zs can’t afford a dinner date which in NYC may cost as much as $150, and so there is a “dating recession” driven by high inflation, student loans, and menu prices outpacing wage growth. Instead of dinner dates, many people are instead meeting up at coffee shops, cooking at home, or just walking and talking. We have been mentioning the high cost of eating out here in Linda Vista, and our attempts to lessen the cost by reviewing coffee shops and other breakfast venues such as a bagel shop, have not been that successful, and still we are shocked by the prices. We certainly are not Generation Z’s, but retired people on fixed incomes, families, and everyone in between are being met with the rising prices of food, not to mention the recent rise in gas prices. So, what to do?

Back to side dishes We recently discovered that Wendy’s has baked potatoes. That got us to thinking, could we make a meal out of side dishes, and would that be a cheaper way to eat out? My book club regularly meets at Wood Ranch BBQ for lunch. The majority of our group are not meat eaters, and eating at a BBQ restaurant for non-meat eaters could be quite a challenge. But Wood Ranch has a great selection of side dishes which our group invariably orders from. Be it mashed sweet potatoes, asparagus, Cole slaw, corn on the cob, broccoli, baked potato or many others, for about $6.95 each we make a meal out of one or two. That sure beats the cost of ribs, or brisket or pulled pork, although I must say, they do not smell as good. But, we thought, do we have to go to a high-end restaurant to make a meal of sides?

As I said, we knew Wendy’s advertised baked potatoes, and off we went to check it out. There are several Wendy’s, but we go to the one on Rio San Diego, near Ross’s and the new Dollar Tree. They do have baked potatoes, and you can get them plain, with chives and sour cream, with chili cheese and with cheese. The prices are in the $3.50 price range. We ordered two and took them home to try. Anything you add to a plain potato cost extra so if you have shredded cheese or sour cream at home, you can save money by getting a plain one. The potatoes are very nice sized. They were cooked just right, and we added cheese to give us a little protein. They tasted fine and were filling. Armed with our success, we then started looking at other side dishes at other fast-food establishments.

Everyone raves about the Chick-fil-A Mac and Cheese. There is a Chick-fil-A very close on Mission Center Road. Because we don’t eat meat, we have not eaten there, but I had an app, so I ordered mac and cheese online and Steve picked it up. We bought a medium sized tub for $5 and had it for lunch. It was enough for the two of us. The mac and cheese is so creamy with several types of cheese including cheddar, parm and Romano and is broiled to lightly brown the cheese on top. It was so good that I may try to make a copycat recipe.

Our next stop is Popeyes for their beans and rice side dish. Someone had told us how they enjoyed this side. Now I am not a fan of beans or rice even Cajun beans and rice, but we have a lot of readers with different tastes so off we went. There is a Popeyes right near the business center Costco on Convoy, so I ordered with my app. The app advertised a special of two orders of sides for $6, so we thought that was a deal and ordered two red beans and rice (or so I thought). We went through the drive-through and there was no line, so we got our order immediately. We brought our order home and when we got there, it seemed there was a mix-up in our order and there was only one order of rice and beans. That suited me and the biscuit was to be all mine. Steve really liked the beans and rice though it was a small size. He said it was Cajun spicy and had some protein because of the beans. The biscuit was very flaky.

I looked online for other favorite sides, and there are many yet for us to try. Unfortunately, some of them contain meat and we may have to enlist our Carnivore Sidekick to try them. These include mashed potatoes and gravy from KFC, tacos from Taco Bell. I am anxious to try the Animal fries from In-N-Out which include grilled onions and sauce from their secret menu. Please help us out and tell us your favorite side dishes. We promise we will give them a try and report back to you. Our goal is to find somewhat healthy meal items that won’t break the bank. If prices continue to climb, I may have to start publishing recipes for you rather than reviewing restaurants. Of course, groceries are also getting outrageously expensive. That is why we should all take our cue from Bayside and the community garden and start growing our own food.

Speaking of that…one last thing. Bayside is hosting a pesto pasta party at the LV Community Garden on September 2. You can see the flyer below in the News Briefs. I will be reviewing it for the next LV Update. Hope you can join me. It is not too late to get tickets.

Waymo Article in Times of San Diego

We are happy to report that our lighthearted commentary on Waymo driverless vehicles, an article previously published in last week’s issue of this newsletter, was also published in this Monday’s issue of the Times of San Diego. If you missed it the first time around (or if you want to read it again, which we strongly advise) just click HERE. The more clicks the better!

LV News Briefs:

—Adoption Fees at SD Humane Society: To help create urgently needed space, adoption fees for all pets (except horses) are 50% off through August. And this Saturday animal adoption fees are waived!!!! Let’s help Clear the Shelters!

—Kearny High Football: The Kearny Komets varsity football team plays its second game of the season next Friday (Friday September 4). The Komets play an away game at Montgomery High School down in the South Bay area. Kickoff is at 7:00. Last week Kearny lost a close game to visiting Perris High School — score of 27-20. A bright spot for the Kearny football program was the 181 yards gained by Komet running back Jayden Hill.

—El Nino Preparedness Website: The City of San Diego has a website designed to help advise local residents prepare for El Nino weather conditions. You can visit the site HERE.

—Sign Up for Pesto Party: Bayside Community Center is conducting a fun Pesto Party on Wednesday September 2 (from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm) at the Linda Vista Community Garden (located at the Linda Vista Neighborhood Park at 7064 Levant Street).

At this party, participants will master the art of making pesto with fresh, locally grown garden herbs, and then enjoy a light dinner with freshly made pesto. Finally, they will take home two different types of pesto (two 4-ounce jars) and a bundle of fresh herbs to enjoy pesto at home. All of this taking place within the beautiful grounds of the Linda Vista Community Garden!

Space for this unique fundraising event is limited, so register today. Tickets for the event are $75.00. You can register HERE.

Take City Survey Regarding Affordable Housing Plans

In the August 6 issue of this newsletter we featured an article about the City’s Affordable Home Development Master Plan and its possible implications for Linda Vista. As mentioned in our article, the plan involves consideration of an affordable housing project in the area in between, around, and/or on top of the Linda Vista Library and the Skateworld property. Our newsletter article emphasized the vague, non-committal nature of the concept as the City says it is still seeking input from the public.

In order to help plan the possible project, the City is asking the public for input. You can still do so by taking the City survey HERE. Make your voice heard by completing the survey. IMPORTANT…It must be completed by tomorrow August 28 (at 5:00 pm).

Commentary

Stop Messing with the Natural Order

Most readers are familiar with the Biblical saying that goes …“To everything there is a season.” The words signify that life has a natural, purposeful order – a concept that sounds both very reasonable and comforting. But after my last visit to Loew’s Hardware store in Mission Valley, I am beginning to have some serious doubts that those words carry the same weight as they used to, even going back as recently as just a couple decades ago. The contemporary concept of seasons occurring within a certain timeframe has become very unstable, for it seems that society is now demanding that seasons extend far beyond the periods we are accustomed to experiencing. Let me explain.

Last week I headed out to the Loew’s located at Fenton Marketplace (in the same shopping area as Costco and Ikea). While shopping for some garden supplies on a hot mid-August day, I encountered a big surprise—the store already had its Halloween supplies displayed for eager customers to buy. There were skeletons, Halloween lights, bright orange plastic pumpkins, and all kinds of giant Halloween monsters that screeched, screamed and bellowed ready to be placed in front yards and on balconies. Initially thinking I had entered a Twilight Zone situation and somehow skipped ahead in time to mid-October, I whispered to a store clerk in quiet panic… “How many more weeks until Halloween?”

He answered …“Only 10 more weeks, so you better hurry up and stock up on your Halloween products before we are all sold out.”

I replied while wiping the summer heat sweat off my brow…“Isn’t it a bit too early to be worrying about Halloween? After all, it’s still summer, right?”

He looked at me as if I might be a primitive time traveler from the late 20^th century and said…“I recommend you hurry up and make your Halloween choices as soon as possible. Don’t think these Halloween products are going to stay out until October. In a couple weeks, we have to start making room for Christmas shopping. And Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.”

Needless to say, I was shocked. I still recalled the days when one went shopping for a Halloween costume a few days before Halloween – the same for buying Halloween candy and a pumpkin to place on the porch.

I left the store wondering why our society tolerates the upsetting of traditional timeframes. Is it just to make some extra bucks? Does society overly value the idea of speed and urgency? Is tradition now seen as a bad thing?

I sought solace by shopping at nearby Costco, but they too already had Halloween decorations on display.

My mind became even more confused later in the week when I noticed that Kearny High School’s football team was ready to play its first game of the season on Friday August 21. “Who plays football in the summer?” I asked to no one in particular. Football is meant to be played in the brisk autumn air, not in 80 degree/humid weather! If any football is to be played in August, then it should be played in the warm sand of a local beach. I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything different since SD schools have now been in session for a couple weeks. No more going back to school in September! I’m sure “Back to School” sales at local stores now start in June, or maybe even May. That famous song from the 60’s titled “See You in September” about a young couple being separated by the summer break must now be changed to “See You in August”, and that just doesn’t have the same ring to it….(though maybe “Adios Until August” might possess the necessary alliteration).

I know…I am just an aging Baby Boomer complaining about change. In writing this commentary, I will be accused of being a dinosaur who doesn’t want to keep up with the tempo of modern society – someone who wants to depend on the notion of a traditional calendar. They will say World Series baseball games being played in November, and Super Bowl games being played in February, is all perfectly normal. They have no problems with college basketball’s March Madness playoff tournament somehow finishing up in April.

So be it. Call me a dinosaur. I don’t care. I hear back in the day dinosaurs…WAIT A MINUTE… I just heard a local Taco Truck in Linda Vista is thinking of extending its Taco Tuesday special to Thursdays as well.

On second thought, it could be this calendar shifting/expanding concept may not be so bad after all!

Subscribe to the Linda Vista Update

We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

Subscribe now

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Steve and I like to go to New York City in November to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade and see all the holiday decorations. We also like to eat bagels every morning while we are there. There is nothing like a New York bagel. We even had NY bagels delivered to our house for a while until the price didn’t make much sense. I started learning to bake bread like focaccia, Persian bread, brioche and the like, and forgot about bagels, and never even thought to try to make them. Then the other day we got a coupon in the mail for Einstein Bros. Bagels and the pictures of bagels looked so good, that they made my mouth water. I thought maybe we should give Einstein Bros. bagels a try. And with the coupon, it looked like we could have a very inexpensive breakfast.

I checked out their website and learned one can join their club for even further discounts, so I immediately did that. Within a day I received a coupon for a free bagel and a schmear with any purchase, and iced coffee was on sale for $1.99, definitely better than a Starbucks price. On the website I noticed they had a garden avocado egg sandwich, which I thought would be perfect for Steve. They also have many kinds of bagels such as cinnamon raisin, cranberry, everything, garlic, sesame among other classic bagels as well as doggie bagels. They have signature bagels for slightly higher price like asiago cheese, blueberry, chocolate chip and gourmet like cheddar jalapeno, maple French toast and more. So, check out their website prior to going to Einstein. There is something there that is sure to suit your fancy. Another thing I liked about Einstein’s is that the Friars Mission Center location opens very early, 5: 00 am and is open until 2:00 pm. That suits us as we are early risers.

With coupons in hand, we headed to the Friars Mission Center on Tuesday morning. Einstein Bros. was really hopping. There were people who had ordered online and picking up orders, as well as a long line of people waiting to give their orders. The restaurant is very bright and neat, with cases of the different bagels and schmears (which are the cream cheese flavored spreads which come in many flavors like honey almond, garden veggie, onion and chive, jalapeño salsa, strawberry and more). They also serve different egg sandwiches, sweet treats, deli favorites for lunch like turkey, ham and lox sandwiches, pizza bagels pepperoni or cheese.

We ordered the Garden Avocado Egg Sandwich for Steve, which was $8.49 but can be more depending on what you add. It comes with cage free eggs, smashed avocado, tomato, spinach, cheese and roasted tomato spread. He had it on a sesame see bagel. Since I was getting a free bagel, I ordered a cinnamon raisin bagel with honey almond schmear and I got a $1.99 iced coffee. Einstein has many coffee drinks as well as other drinks. They have specials which include a bagel and a drink so check out what is on special while you are there. The coupons we got in the mail also included 6 bagels and a bucket of schmear for $7 and we purchased that also. We got a variety of bagels, and they sliced them so we can freeze them and have a half or whole when we want. All of that for under $20 is pretty good I think.

Steve thought his sandwich was delicious. He said it tasted very healthy and you can see from the picture that it was substantial and very colorful. My cinnamon raisin bagel and honey almond spread was heavenly, and I enjoyed every last bit. It may not be quite the same as a New York bagel, but it was very good and we will definitely go back again – after we finish all the bagels we bought. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. We can’t believe that was our first time there. We thought probably that Einstein Bros. was an old company, but when researching it we learned it was founded in 1995 by Boston Market and opened their first store in Ogden, Utah. The chain opened 500 stores in 1997. Today Einstein operates under Panera Brands. And there are no Einstein brothers; sorry to disappoint you.

We really liked the relaxing atmosphere for an early breakfast. There is outside seating as well. Don’t forget to sign up for their club. If you haven’t been there, or you miss East Coast bagels, give Einstein a try. It’s only a few minutes away and you can pick up a bag of bagels on your way to work and make points with your co-workers.

LV News Briefs:

—Councilmember Campillo Commentary: Read the essay written by Councilmember Raul Campillo (District 7) — published last Friday in the Times of San Diego — that addresses his successful decision to advocate for the opening of restrooms along Mission Bay Park. You can read it HERE.

—Adoption Fees at SD Humane Society: To help create urgently needed space, adoption fees for all pets (except horses) are 50% off through August.

—Kearny High Football: The Kearny Komets varsity football team plays its season opener tomorrow night (Friday August 21). Kickoff is at 7:00. This home game will be played against Perris High School.

—KPBS San Diego Book Festival: This year’s version of the Book Festival will take place this Saturday August 22 on the University of San Diego campus. The Book Festival is a free event for book lovers of all ages. Attendees will enjoy panel discussions with award-winning authors, activities, live entertainment, exhibitors including local authors and independent booksellers, and more.

—El Nino Preparedness Website: The City of San Diego has a website designed to help advise local residents prepare for El Nino weather conditions. You can visit the site HERE.

—Sign Up for Pesto Party: Bayside Community Center is conducting a fun Pesto Party on Wednesday September 2 (from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm) at the Linda Vista Community Garden (located at the Linda Vista Neighborhood Park at 7064 Levant Street).

At this party, participants will master the art of making pesto with fresh, locally grown garden herbs, and then enjoy a light dinner with freshly made pesto. Finally, they will take home two different types of pesto (two 4-ounce jars) and a bundle of fresh herbs to enjoy pesto at home. All of this taking place within the beautiful grounds of the Linda Vista Community Garden!

Space for this unique fundraising event is limited, so register today. Tickets for the event are $81.88. You can register HERE.

—LV Recreation Center Activity: Check out the Art Classes happening at the Linda Vista Park and Recreation Center (7064 Levant Street). Details below.

Cool Off at Kearny Mesa Rec Center Pool

The Linda Vista Neighborhood Park and Recreation Center located at 7064 Levant Street is one of the most popular places in the community. A number of City-sponsored activities and programs keep the place hopping. Different courts, fields, rooms, and a skatepark provide the kind of facilities needed for hosting different recreational sports. However, there is one serious deficiency—the park/center lacks a swimming pool. This deficiency is especially felt during the summer months.

Fortunately, if you live in the Linda Vista area and are willing to travel a couple miles, you can always make your way east to the nearby Kearny Mesa Park and Recreation Center (located at 3170 Armstrong Street, north of Kearny High and the Army National Guard Center). There you will find a swimming pool that can be accessed by the public.

The Kearny Mesa pool is 25 yards long and L shaped with a depth of 3 to 9 feet. According to the City web site, the pool is a designated Arthritis Therapy pool with water temperature near 85 degrees.

The pool operates for recreational swimming Monday through Thursday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and Sunday from 12:30 to 5:00 pm. Lap swimming hours occur on the same days from 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm, and 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm respectively.

Lifeguards are present during those hours.

Facility admission is as follows:

Adults (16 and older) - daily $5:00 passes $96/30 swims or $36/10 swims

Child/Seniors/Disabled - daily $2.25 passes $48/30 swims or $18/10 swims

Questions about the pool’s operations can be referred to the Swimming Pool Manager’s number at 619-573-1389.

Commentary

The Summer of Dramatic SD Reversals

This has so far been a wild summer. National headlines have constantly featured sensational news of wars, fires, heat, flooding and even toxic lettuce and jalapeños. One thing after another! We here in San Diego have not been totally exempt from the kind of calamities experienced in other parts of the country, with us seeing fires in a couple of our canyons, and the summer heat and humidity causing local residents some hardship. However, I think the most dramatic feature of our San Diego summer so far has been what you might refer to as the “Reversal Factor.” Based on what I have observed, I contend this summer of 2026 should be referred to as the “Summer of Dramatic San Diego Reversals.” Let me explain why.

First, the beginning of this summer saw the City conduct a reversal of its highly controversial decision to rely on paid parking in Balboa Park as a way of helping to close the budget deficit. In a unanimous vote conducted on June 8, the City Council decided to repeal paid parking in Balboa effective at the end of this year. The vote was taken after strong disapproval of paid Balboa parking was voiced by so many San Diego residents. In spite of the loss of revenue to the City’s coffers, the decision seemed a no brainer since San Diegans made their opinions very clear to City Council members; however, I was still surprised the City was willing to admit to a mistake and change course.

At the same time, the City also decided to reduce trash fees for single family homes. Though this particular decision did not involve a complete reversal of a prior decision, it did reflect the City Council reversing the notion that they perhaps were originally being completely honest about telling residents what the cost of a “World Class” trash collection service might end up costing in the final analysis.

Then, just last week we saw another dramatic City reversal when the Mayor decided to reopen 13 restrooms closed along Mission Bay Park due to budgetary reasons. Feeling the pressure exerted by protesting San Diego residents and the headlines garnered by District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo, the Mayor suddenly found the money to reopen the restrooms originally closed as way of saving money on maintenance and cleaning.

Finally, in a reversal that has pleasantly shocked local sports fans, the SD Padres have willed themselves into a dramatic reversal of their MLB West Division fortunes. During the first half of the season, the team demonstrated an anemic level of hitting with several star players hitting near or below the .200 batting average standard. There was not too much pop in that lineup, and by being 14 games out of first place at one point, the team seemed to be playing itself out of contention for a playoff wild card spot. Then, in a dramatic reversal that began after the All-Star game break, the Padres got hot and started hitting and winning games. They are now once again strong contenders for a Wild Card spot and batting averages keep going up. Will miracles never cease?

Now, I would still like to see a few more dramatic reversals this summer to include the following examples. For example…

… the summer heat and humidity suddenly reverse back to a comfortable 72 degrees and no humidity.

… lunch entrees at local restaurants reverse prices from $18.00 - $20.00 back to around $12.00

… beer prices reverse course from the $8.00 - $9.00 range back to $5.00.

… gas prices go from $6.00 a gallon back to $4.00.

… the Los Angeles Chargers reverse their dumb decision and return back to San Diego.

I know…I’m asking for too much…but a guy can dream, can’t he?

Subscribe to the Linda Vista Update

We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

Subscribe now

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Are you already concerned about the level of traffic streaming through Linda Vista during afternoon rush hour? Do you worry about the increase in cars on Friars Road once the planned 4000-unit Riverwalk development is finished? Do you often get frustrated when driving through the Midway district traffic congestion while traveling from Linda Vista over to or back from Point Loma? If so, then you might not enjoy what the future holds, because based on the plans for the Midway Rising development project (which will be built around the area presently housing Pechanga Arena) and the NAVWAR facility redevelopment project along Pacific Coast Highway just south of Old Town we are certain to see much more traffic added to our present situation in and around the LV area.

Though Linda Vista residents may be reading about these two controversial developments with distant interest — because they are both outside our community boundaries — they are definitely expected to put the traffic and density squeeze on adjoining Linda Vista as so many additional commuters join Linda Vista Road/Ulric Street/Friars Road rush hour to get back home from work in the Clairemont/Kearny Mesa area, and then clog up any effort by LV’ers to travel through the Midway area or down south on Pacific Coast Highway as an alternate route to SD downtown.

As with the rest of San Diego, most of the LV community’s attention devoted to Midway Rising has been directed at the development’s plans for up to 25-story residential towers (up to 85 feet high) in a 30-foot coastal height limit zone. The controversy has been generated by the fact that the developer is seeking a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption, which would allow the project to bypass the full Environmental Impact Review process, potentially avoiding years of litigation and environmental review. The 30-foot height limit would also go away. State Senator Akilah Weber Pierson introduced Senate Bill 958 to exempt Midway Rising from CEQA review. However, keep in mind that plans for the Midway Rising development include 4250 units, a new 16, 000 seat entertainment center, and new retail and dining. This means more traffic congestion in the area, with some of that commuter traffic inevitably spilling in one way or another over into our LV community.

Current plans for the 70-acre NAVWAR property redevelopment (presently consisting of numerous warehouse-like facilities on land owned by the U.S. Navy) along Pacific Coast Highway and next to the I-5 Freeway, envision a mixed use proposal with numerous high rise building (as high as 35 stories). Plans are envisioned for thousands of residential units and two hotels. The developer working with the Navy has described the redeveloped site as being “a mini-downtown.”

Developers hope to break ground within the next two years.

In summary, these two big planned developments are outside the LV area, but the traffic/congestion generated will certainly affect nearby LV residents in many ways. Accordingly, LV community leaders and concerned citizens may want to more closely follow any City/State plans that affect how ambitious developers approach these two sites because our community will eventually bear some of the consequences. We will definitely experience the traffic/congestion squeeze.

Breaking News on Mission Bay Restrooms

Yesterday, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria reversed his controversial decision on closing 13 public restrooms along Mission Bay. In last week’s issue of this newsletter we commented on the shuttered restroom at Hospitality Point Park and the inconvenience this has caused for park visitors. District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo recently played a key role in drawing attention to the need to open the restrooms. You can read more about the restroom opening decision HERE.

Dragon Chinese at Fenton Marketplace

It seems that lately we have been eating much more Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese food. It is probably because there is such a proliferation of these restaurants in Linda Vista. But sometimes I just get hungry for Chinese food and unfortunately, we do not have Chinese restaurants in Linda Vista. Of course, we could go up to the Convoy District, but then we always have trouble finding parking up there. On one of our recent Costco runs, we noticed a restaurant called Dragon Chinese Cuisine near Ikea and the Mission Valley Library, and so we thought we would give it a try.

We ventured there on a recent Tuesday. We noticed from their unusual website that they seemed to have many vegetarian options as well as a myriad of other foods, and the prices did not seem outrageous.

Parking is not a problem at least it wasn’t at lunch time. The restaurant has adequate inside seating, and it appeared it did a pretty good take-out business. We were told they have been in that location over 20 years. Besides appetizers, soups, egg foo young, fried rice and chow main, classic entrees, they have party trays of whatever size you need, and special combo trays. All selections and prices are available online.

The food is displayed on a very large steam table where you can get a glance at all they have to offer. The folks behind the counter will be glad to tell you of their combo specials and helped us find what vegetarian options were available. They of course had tofu, shrimp, and veggies you could order with any entrée. They had a large selection of sauces you could order and then ingredients you would like with that sauce. The spicy sauces were specifically marked like kung pao, Mongolian style, black pepper, Szechuan, general Tao’s and salt and pepper. The safer ones were sweet and sour, honey flavored, snow peas and more. We decided to get Teriyaki which was available with tofu, veggies, chicken, pork, beef or shrimp We decided on the veggies. We also chose to try the cream cheese wontons, one of my favorites. We thought we could split both dishes. Soft music played and the restaurant was nicely appointed. Staff was very attentive.

The wontons arrived first and included 5 wontons and sweet and sour sauce. We thought they were very good. I admit I ate most of them. The Teriyaki Veggies arrived and as you can see from the picture there were plentiful veggies and a large amount of rice. The veggies included broccoli, zucchini, carrots, snow peas, mushrooms, onions, in a very tasty teriyaki sauce. We both enjoyed the entrée but had way too much rice, so we took about half of it home. The display case of food looked very appetizing. I imagine the meat dishes would be a good bargain. Our Carnivore Sidekick was not available, but if he gives it a try, I will let you know his opinion on those meaty dishes.

Our meal satisfied our craving for Chinese food, and I would like to go back when the weather is cooler and try some of their soups. Give it a try yourself! Let is know what you think. The prices seemed reasonable but might depend on how many items you take from each category. White rice came with most entrees, but brown rice or noodles would be a bit more. I am sure a party tray would be great for any party situation.

DRAGON CHINESE CUISINE AND TEA

2159 Fenton Parkway #102

Open 7 days a week 10 AM to 9 PM

LV News Briefs:

—Adoption Fees at SD Humane Society: To help create urgently needed space, adoption fees for all pets (except horses) are 50% off through August.

—Two Foster Kittens Adopted: We are happy to report the two foster kittens we featured in last week’s newsletter issue were quickly adopted. We are so happy our two fosters have found their forever homes!

—LVTC Meeting: The Linda Vista Town Council’s August meeting will be held August 19 at the Ba’hai Center (6545 Alcala Knolls Drive). Representatives from SD County’s Live Well San Diego will be making a presentation. Representatives from Pure Water will also provide an update. Social time begins at 6:00 pm. The official meeting agenda begins at 6:30 pm. The public is invited to attend.

—E-Bike Safety: Last Friday, San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo (District 7) was joined by the San Diego Police Department), the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Police Department, and local Girl Scouts troop 4343 to officially launch the City’s public education and outreach campaign on e-bike safety. The newly approved e-bike regulations impose an age limit of 12 years for class one and two e-bikes, essentially making a pedal bike the only bike approved for ages 12 and under. Class three e-bikes already require individuals to be 16 years or older to operate. You can view a video of the E-Bike press conference HERE.

—Sign Up for Pesto Party: Bayside Community Center is conducting a fun Pesto Party on Wednesday September 2 (from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm) at the Linda Vista Community Garden (at the Linda Vista Neighborhood Park located at 7064 Levant Street).

At this party, participants will master the art of making pesto with fresh, locally grown garden herbs, and then enjoy a light dinner with freshly made pesto. Finally, they will take home two different types of pesto (two 4-ounce jars) and a bundle of fresh herbs to enjoy pesto at home. All of this taking place within the beautiful grounds of the Linda Vista Community Garden!

Space for this unique fundraising event is limited, so register today. Tickets for the event are $81.88. You can register HERE.

—LV Recreation Center Activity: Come meet fellow senior adults at the Senior Social Club gathering. Check out the below flyer for details.

A Somewhat True Story

The Fashion Hills Waymo Parking Mystery

We watched from afar, not knowing what to think of our strange visitor.

The mysterious blue driverless car did not move from its parking spot on Fashion Hills Road for five consecutive days. After suddenly appearing in our townhouse development one day, it just sat there along the curb – though what really stimulated people’s curiosity was that its sensors continued to whirr, as if it might be spying on our community, conducting some form of surveillance, looking to catch somebody doing something wrong. “But why us,” some of the Fashion Hills neighbors were quick to ask? “What did we ever do to deserve such treatment?”

Sure, we had all heard of these hi-tech Waymo vehicles, and one or two of them had recently entered our townhouse development to drop off passengers, but this one fascinated us with its inability or unwillingness to drive away and instead remain in the neighborhood like a motionless ghost haunting the premises.

Speculation began to run rampant. After day two, growing crowds of Fashion Hills residents, most of us aging Baby Boomers, gathered a safe distance away from the motionless vehicle and began throwing out the following questions…

· Was the car broken, awaiting a Waymo tow-truck?

· Was it just resting?

· Did robotic cars need rest?

· Are Waymo tow-trucks driverless too?

· Was this autonomous driven car the victim of a software error?

· Should we call Waymo and tell the company that one of its vehicles was lost?

· If we got too close, would we possibly provoke it into taking some form of defensive action?”

· Was the rumor true that some Waymo vehicles can dispense tear gas?

We were in a quandary, not knowing what to do, as if we were a collection of 20^th century people trying to figure out an answer for a 21^st century situation.

And then perhaps because many of our residents had recently seen The Odyssey at the movie theatre, a certain series of questions began to be asked aloud, questions like…”What if this is a modern day version of a Trojan horse?”… and … “What if there is something or somebody inside the car biding its time to get out and wreak havoc on the neighborhood?”

Knowing that Waymo’s parent company is Google, someone spouted out…”Beware of geeks bearing false gifts,” and those of us gathered distantly from the car nodded our heads in agreement. Some star-struck Fashion Hills movie fan thinking this might be a Hollywood publicity stunt asked…”What do you think the chances are that The Odyssey star Matt Damon himself is hiding inside that car?”...and…”If Matt Damon is in there, does that mean his buddy Ben Affleck might be in there as well?” And “What about Jennifer Lopez?” asked another.

Then someone said, “What if this is like a Stephen King movie and the car is going to rev up and methodically run us down?”

The whole situation had a very Twilight Zone or X-Files aura about it.

At the end of the fifth day, the Fashion Hills Homeowners Association scheduled an emergency meeting to help figure what to do about this situation. Naturally, our HOA board of directors was eager to get lawyers involved and either fine the parked vehicle or sue it in court and spend lots of money to prove it was somehow breaking HOA rules or maybe criticizing board member decisions.

But then as mysteriously as it first appeared, the Waymo vehicle disappeared sometime in the dark of night. No explanation given.

Now that our neighborhood Waymo parking crisis is over, we find ourselves missing the mysterious driverless car and its whirring sensors. Though the vehicle appeared somewhat sinister at the time, many of us now think it had benign intentions.

We hope it comes back one day to visit. If so, we promise not to stare at it and cast wild aspersions. We will accept it as one of our own, just like the coyotes that patrol our slopes, the new trash cans that we now pay for, and all the other numerous cars parked on our curbs.

Bayside Hands Out School Backpacks

This past Thursday, Bayside Community Center and their Linda Vista Leaders in Action distributed 153 backpacks with school supplies to local families. The Backpack Giveaway was held at the Love, Linda Vista Farmers Market. An additional 50+ backpacks are also available through Bayside for students in need throughout the school year.

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We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

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Certain battle cries and speeches have resounded loudly throughout history to help inspire an aggressive fighting spirit. For example, there is “Remember the Alamo” from Texas history; “We will never surrender” from one of Winston Churchill’s wartime speeches; and “There’s always next year” from the Padres. However, Linda Vista residents have their own version which goes something like this…”Hey City, keep your hands off of Skateworld.” This refrain was voiced repeatedly back in 2019 —including at City Council meetings — which is when the City last attempted to get rid of Skateworld (a longstanding LV favorite venue located at 6907 Linda Vista Road) and replace the business with a mini-Target store. on the City owned property. That attempt was successfully met by stiff resistance from Linda Vista residents. But it seems residents may want to start loudly repeating those words as the City of San Diego is in the process of once again floating the vague concept of getting rid of Skateworld, this time to make way for an affordable housing project.

This concept was one of several “possible” ideas presented this past Tuesday at a City Engagement Meeting (held at the Mission Valley Library) to address affordable housing projects at different sites throughout San Diego. There were a total of 11 sites mentioned as being part of this overall conceptual plan, which is referred to as the Affordable Home Development Master Plan. One of the components of the plan included looking at the Linda Vista Library and Skateworld property sites.

The plans as presented were extremely vague in terms of what building possible affordable housing projects would mean for Skateworld and the LV Library (i.e., would the plans involving building around the two LV structures, or on top of them, or perhaps replacement of them). This vagueness on the part of the City was not met in a favorable way by many of the Engagement Meeting attendees who expressed a common sentiment of deep skepticism regarding not only the Linda Vista sites but those in areas such as Allied Gardens and Clairemont.

Readers can look at the overall plan/concept by clicking HERE at the City’s website.

For those readers unfamiliar with the Skateworld situation, the business is located on City owned property. In spite of Skateworld owner desires to negotiate a long-term lease, which would make further improvements to the site economically reasonable, the City has refused to allow the business to work off more than a month-to-month lease.

The City’s presentation on Tuesday night did not include a typical informational briefing with residents listening to City officials standing at a podium and talking authoritatively to PowerPoint slides, but took on the format previously used a year and a half ago for briefing local residents about the City’s proposed changes to trash service (and you know how that turned out) in which City officials stood at several stations and let residents move about the room to ask questions and provide feedback on the barebones information provided by the City officials. City officials were quick to point out that no decisions have been made about what the plan will look like at each site. Nothing has apparently been ruled out.

However, many probing questions and comments offered by highly interested San Diego residents about what the plan’s possibilities could mean about the fate of Skateworld and the LV Library and such things as parking capacity were met by vague and unreassuring City staffer comments such as…

• “Nothing is in concrete.”

• “This is just a concept.”

• “Don’t worry. Nothing is happening tomorrow.”

• “We are just here to give information and solicit input.”

• “Our aim is to not remove any libraries.”

• “We want to hear what you have to say.”

• “There are opportunities to keep Skateworld.”

• “These are just potential site opportunities.”

• That would depend on the ultimate design.”

LV residents interested in providing timely feedback regarding this City plan for building affordable housing are encouraged to take the City survey located HERE.

Returning to Tid Din on Linda Vista Road

We previously reviewed Tid Din restaurant not long after it opened back in December 2025, replacing Taco Bomb which replaced Super Bronco at 6725 Linda Vista Road #7033. We enjoyed it at the time and noted it was heavy on meat. We had not gone back to it until recently after a few people told us they had gone there and they thought the food was excellent. We thought we would give it another try and see what was new. They are open 11AM to 10PM seven days a week.

You might have noticed the Carnivore Sidekick and his Sidekick have not been mentioned much in our food reviews lately. The reason is not that we have stopped associating with them, the reason is much simpler – they decided to stop eating meat, so they immediately lost their significance to our restaurant reviews. Who wants to read about 4 meatless meals? We have been on the lookout for replacements, but could not decide amongst the many applicants for the positions. However, things improved somewhat in that they decided to now eat meat in moderation. They reapplied and were once again selected for their former positions.

At Tid Din they ordered tofu Pad Thai, chicken yellow curry and grilled chicken basil rice bowl. Everything is made to the spice level you want. They thought service was good and observed a lot of take-out orders. The Pad Thai included tofu, stir fried thin rice noodles, garlic, egg, bean sprouts, green onions, shredded carrots, cilantro and of course peanuts. Base price with no meat is $14.99, add $1 for tofu, chicken or pork, $2 for beef, and $3 for shrimp. The basil chicken bowl contained chicken, tomato, cucumber, red bell pepper, carrot red and green onion, basil, garlic, peanut, egg and rice. Really a fresh, tasty dish! They said they would get the pad Thai and curry again; they were so good. They like more spice in their dish than we do. Since we also got the yellow curry, we will review it below.

We did use Tid Din’s online order system and found it to be very efficient and easy to use. Everything is very clear as to what add-ons you want, level of spice and what protein. We noticed they now had shrimp as a protein among others. We ordered Thai Coconut Yellow Curry. This includes coconut curry with potato, chopped red onion and green onion. With no meat it is just $10. We ordered it with veggies including cabbage, broccoli, and carrots which was an added $5. With 8 pieces of shrimp, it would have been $18.99, but we stuck with the veggies. You can also add tofu, chicken, pork, beef, or calamari. Although we ordered no spice, it still had a slight kick and was just excellent. It is served with a large container of rice, or you can substitute rice noodles. We had quite enough for the both of us to share for a light meal with rice left over. All their foods tasted really fresh, are beautifully presented, are colorful, and the prices reasonable.

Tid Din has quite an extensive menu including starters, salads, soups, rice bowls, curries, noodles, stir-fry, desserts and more. Larb lovers have lots of choices so be sure to check it out online. Prices are in the $10 to $19 range.

There was adequate parking the times we have been there or passed by. Although there is indoor seating, I think much of their business is pick up. You will find Tid Din very helpful if you have a special request.

We are happy that they seem to be doing well and adjusting their menu from time to time Give it a try if you haven’t and if has been a while, go back and see what is new.

LV News Briefs:

—Adoption Fees at SD Humane Society: To help create urgently needed space, adoption fees for all pets (except horses) are 50% off through August.

—Sign Up for Pesto Party: Bayside Community Center is conducting a fun Pesto Party on Wednesday September 2 (from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm) at the Linda Vista Community Garden (at the Linda Vista Neighborhood Park located at 7064 Levant Street).

At this party, participants will master the art of making pesto with fresh, locally grown garden herbs, and then enjoy a light dinner with freshly made pesto. Finally, they will take home two different types of pesto (two 4-ounce jars) and a bundle of fresh herbs to enjoy pesto at home. All of this taking place within the beautiful grounds of the Linda Vista Community Garden!

Space for this unique fundraising event is limited, so register today. Tickets for the event are $81.88. You can register HERE.

—Crafts for Kids with Mr Luan at LV Library: On Tuesday August 11 (4:00 to 4:45 pm) kids can stretch their imaginations and discover the artist within they’ve always knew existed! Create fabulous crafts! In this program, get detailed instructions on how to make a craft they’ll be able to take home! The library provides the supplies! For kids 4 to 8 years old. No need to register for this class. Walk-ins are welcome.

—Bayside Offering Free Backpacks: Bayside Community Center will hand out free backpacks for school age kids at tomorrow’s August 6 Love, Linda Farmers Market. Check out the below flyer for details.

A Brief Shining Moment

Chargers Return to San Diego/Linda Vista

It was just like old times! Fans were dressed in blue and gold, rooting for the Chargers, and hoping for a successful season.

The Chargers football team was in town this week as the NFL’s training camp session opened for business in this 2026-2027 season. In fact, the Chargers conducted practice on Tuesday and Wednesday right here in Linda Vista, on the University of San Diego campus.

Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Chargers were only here for two days and then returned to their home base in the L.A. area. Nevertheless, on Tuesday and Wednesday the stands at USD’s Torero Stadium were full of local Charger fans. The Tuesday practice session was packed full of active duty and retired military as the Chargers recognized that day as Military Appreciation Day.

The Chargers were conducting the practice at Torero Stadium for the second straight year as a result of the Head Coach Jim Harbaugh — USD football connection, which came about as a result of Harbaugh serving as coach of the USD Toreros football team from 2004 to 2006.

Foster Siamese Kittens Available for Adoption

We want to let all of our readers that two beautiful Siamese lynx point kittens we have been fostering for the past couple weeks will soon be up for adoption. The kittens are named Caraxes, ID # 1000788 (male) and Vhagar, # ID 1000789 (female), but we just call them Marco and Cleo. They are currently in training to be outstanding feline members for any family. In spite of their projecting a fancy, “I am very special” persona, both are very friendly, sociable and active kittens who will want to play and then sit on your lap when tired. They are also great with kids. Let us know if you have any questions about them. They will undergo surgery (spay/neutering) at the SD Humane Society this Monday August 10, and then will be available for adoption the next day. If you inquire about them at the SD Humane Society, refer to their ID numbers. (Reminder: adoption fees for all animals (except horses) are reduced 50% during August).

Commentary

“Hospitality” Deficient at Hospitality Park

Let’s talk definitions.

I think we are facing a rather sad version of “irony” in this community/City.

What makes me think so? Because I have recently looked up the definitions of a couple key words.

According to one online dictionary, “irony” can be defined as “the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.”

The other definition I looked up was for the word “hospitality.” The definition I found for “hospitality” was the “act of being hospitable, which includes showing warmth, kindness, and generosity toward guests or strangers, often through providing food, drink, accommodation, or entertainment.”

This leads me to the ironic situation I encountered this past weekend. On Sunday my wife and I drove out to “Hospitality Point Park”, which is adjacent to Mission Bay Beach (separated by the bay channel). It is a stretch of land that sits across from OB’s Dog Beach. We like going there to enjoy lunch or to just relax. We once wrote about it long ago in the July 22, 2021 issue of this newsletter. The park provides a soothing, scenic place one can visit when the rest of San Diego seems too hectic or hostile. It can be easily accessed from Linda Vista by bike or on foot by following Friars Road west and then taking Old Sea World Drive –practically a straight line from our own LV community. It is also easily accessed by car via Friars Road west, then Sea World Drive, and then Quivira Way. Once there, you can park near the water, or sit on a bench, and take in the beautiful views of the water. You can also fish there, or enjoy a picnic at one of the benches or at the park’s small picnic pavilion. Unfortunately, the one thing you can no longer do there is use a public restroom. As we found out, the park’s restroom building (a relatively new facility) was closed.

And so this is where the definition of hospitality and irony converge. As it turns out, so-called Hospitality Park is one of the Mission Bay Park sites suffering from the City’s restroom closure measure taken to close the budget deficit. This action has resulted in the City closing 13 of 28 restrooms along Mission Bay, and the removal of 7 of 14 portable restrooms on Fiesta Island as a way of saving $546,000 in maintenance/cleaning costs.

What strikes me as odd is that according to the definition of “hospitality,” this park should be required to change its name. How can one be hospitable to guests if the guests are denied restroom access? It appears to me that restrooms are such a basic feature of hospitality – restrooms are, in fact, a key “accommodation” one expects to provide for guests. Things can get messy really fast without such an accommodation. How ironic then, that Hospitality Point is no longer hospitable to visitors/guests.

Going back once more to the dictionary, I suggest the City acknowledge the bitter irony of the situation and adjust park visitor expectations by referring to the park by one of “hospitality’s” antonyms. Until the City opens up the Mission Bay park restrooms, Hospitality Point should be known as (pick one) “Unneighborly,” “Unpleasant,” “Disagreeable,” “Highly Inconvenient” or “Ill-will” Point Park.

I believe that if we can get Bruce Springsteen to sing a protest song titled “Unpleasant Point Park” (it will be a dark, dirge-like protest song in the finest Springsteen tradition) perhaps we can shame the city into re-opening these park restrooms and thus bring “hospitality” back to our city way of life. By the way, I recommend we discuss with Springsteen the possibility of eventually using a portion of the song’s royalties to pay for the restroom maintenance/cleaning.

El Nino is Coming!

LV Poetry Corner

Are you prepared for El Nino? According to the weather experts, we can expects lots of rain in the upcoming late fall/early winter months. This kind of heavy moisture can mean disaster for many people in the San Diego area. In the LV area we can expect at the very least flooding of the San Diego River and nearby streets, erosion of slopes leading up to the mesa top, and maybe some leaky roofs. and downed trees. Now is the time to prepare for such a weather onslaught. However, it seems like summer is already occupying all of our attention. As a look at recent headlines reveals, there is so much going on right now (much of it rather dramatic), that we can’t even begin to start thinking of what El Nino might bring in the future. Here is a poem that conveys that sentiment, using the sport of boxing as an extended metaphor to explain what is going on.

WEST COAST WAITS FOR EL NIÑO

Warnings of warming ocean waters
flood media reporting. Dramatic headlines
predict disaster developing just beyond
the horizon. Forecasts say late fall, early
winter will surely bring heavy rainfall
to Pacific states. News articles too enthusiastically
threaten extensive calamities – mudslides,
overwhelmed rivers, bursting dams. 

Pushing the hype, zealous meteorologists
sound more like bombastic fight promoters;
thus, easy imagining us occupying a boxing ring,
standing in one corner
with Mike Tyson staring across the way
ready to inflict unsparing pain.   

Nothing to do but brace ourselves; patch
the roof, steady eroding slopes, clear drains
of debris. No one yet displays worry
regarding the impending matter, though
we may appear blasé only because constant alerts
of current wars, fires, smoke, inflation,
ICE agents and intense summer heat
already stand in line to wield mighty punches.
Hence, we currently bob and weave, attempting
to avoid the sting from today’s punishing repertoire. 

Under such circumstances, prognostications 
of further pandemonium hardly rate attention
as even now Muhammed Ali dances inside
the ropes. A fierce Roberto Duran stalks us
as his prey. As for Iron Mike, he aims to bite off
our collective ear, but finds himself
forced to take a number.

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We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

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GRAZE CRAZE

Charcuterie Boards and Boxes

Steve and I get excited when we are driving around Linda Vista and we see the words “Coming Soon” on the front of any building because it signifies some new business will be opening in the near future. We had long been watching that very sign on Linda Vista Road in The Presidio Shopping Center in the space between Home Brew Mart and Cafe 88. That could only mean one thing – that we would eventually have the opportunity to write about a new LV business. Well, last week the “Coming Soon” sign was replaced by a “Now Open” sign for Graze Craze, Charcuterie Boards and Boxes. And so off we went on Tuesday to see what it was all about and if it was something we could write about for hungry Linda Vista Update readers.

I think most of us know about the Charcuterie board concept. It is sometimes seen on menus in upscale restaurants, and you often see them at parties and celebrations and the like. They are usually very pretty arrangements of meats and cheeses, or fruits and vegetables. Sometimes you hate to start eating because you know you will mess up the pretty pattern. Now, if your attempt of a charcuterie board looks like mine, you kind of hope that someone will mess it up so people don’t think that was the best you could do. Let’s face it, a great charcuterie board is a work of art, and if you are not artistic, it is just a mishmash dish of finger food.

Well folks, now your worries are over. If you have been tasked with furnishing snacks for a party, or assigned a veggie tray for an office function, Graze Craze is the place to go. Graze Craze features charcuterie boards and boxes that are beautiful to look at, healthy and delicious to eat and come in various styles. From individual char-cutie cups for one, to trays that serve up to 20 people as well as boxes in small medium and large sizes. They have different dietary styles with fun names like grazey for keto, vegegrazian, and more.

We decided to try two of their offerings, both vegetarian. The Char-Cutie Cup and a Grab and Graze for One. The prices were $11 and $17 respectively. We also could have purchased the sweet offerings but went the healthy route. Your best bet is to order online because each tray is made up fresh and meant to be eaten the same day. We wanted to take some pictures and introduce ourselves, so we went to the shop and ordered there. Parking was not a problem on Tuesday about noon. We met staff members Pilar and Denise and welcomed them to the neighborhood. They were very friendly and explained their various offerings We gave them our order and were told it would be about 30 minutes, so we left and returned later. There is a very nice front area with lots of pictures so you will know exactly what you are getting. I would imagine if you were ordering a large amount, you would want to order well in advance so it will be ready when you need it.

We returned to pick up our order and took it home to take pictures and eat it for a healthy lunch. Each item was wrapped beautifully with a raffia ribbon and a tag containing a witty description of the items. You can tell from the pictures how pretty each item turned out. We also got a bag with a couple of sauces like ranch and cranberry jam. Both were really delicious by the way.

Steve took the board which included blueberries, blackberries, carrots, cucumbers, several kinds of cheese, hummus, crackers, assorted nuts, dried cranberries, red pepper slice, olives, strawberries cauliflower, broccoli, and chocolates. Steve absolutely loved everything. “Very healthy and tasty” he commented, and enough for a light lunch. He used the ranch dressing to dip his veggies. He devoured everything, but did generously give me a small piece of cheese.

My Cutie Cup was very cute. It had very large strawberries, two different cheeses, blackberries, cucumbers, crackers, some chocolate pieces. I dipped my fruit in the cranberry dip, and I enjoyed that very much.

Graze Craze is open on Mondays by appointment only, and Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sunday 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. They advertise pickup and delivery.

As described on their website, they believe every moment is worth celebrating and their high-quality food is sure to bring everyone to the table. They say, “No cooking, no cleanup, no stress.” I can attest that their attractive arrangements have that “wow” factor.

So go welcome our new neighbors to Linda Vista. Try a charcuterie or two. I’m sure you will like not only the way they taste, but also the way they look. Sure to brighten your day!

Bayside Pesto Party Coming Up

Crazy about pesto? Are you so enamored with this popular and delectable Italian sauce that you are interested in making your own but lack a good recipe? If so, then you are in luck. Bayside Community Center is conducting a fun Pesto Party on Wednesday September 2 (from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm) at the Linda Vista Community Garden (at the Linda Vista Neighborhood Park located at 7064 Levant Street).

At this party, participants will master the art of making pesto with fresh, locally grown garden herbs, and then enjoy a light dinner with freshly made pesto. Finally, they will take home two different types of pesto (two 4-ounce jars) and a bundle of fresh herbs to enjoy pesto at home. All of this taking place within the beautiful grounds of the Linda Vista Community Garden!

Space for this unique fundraising event is limited, so register today. Tickets for the event are $81.88. You can register HERE.

Peruvian Spot Offers New Coffee/Drink Menu

It’s not often I get to write about two local eateries in one week, but a special opportunity presented itself last weekend. We have written about the Peruvian Spot at 7510 Mesa College Drive in previous issues. However, we recently got an invite from the owner, Guillermo Carranza, to attend the grand opening of their new coffee shop inside their restaurant. The Peruvian Spot is open 10:00 am to 8:00 pm every day but Monday, and this past Sunday we went to try some of the Peruvian drinks. We have mentioned before what a happy place this restaurant is, and how I am in love with the life sized beautifully decked out llama in the dining area. There were quite a few families there on Sunday and the small children were really enjoying the play area. The restaurant was also celebrating Peruvian Independence Day which occurs on July 29.

There was a treat in store for us as there was live entertainment. The Peruvian singer had a beautiful voice; the songs were in Spanish and the diners all seemed to know the words and sang along. A very festive atmosphere.

We looked at the coffee menu but since it was a warm day, I ordered an iced Matcha Latte. Steve decided to live dangerously and ordered an Emoliente – an Incan Super drink. It is packed with superfoods and medicinal herbs (i.e., toasted barley, flaxseeds, horsetail, boldo, cat’s claw, and chamomile. It is a powerful blend known to support digestion, detoxify the body, boost immunity, and promote overall wellness. All that for only $5.15. Steve liked it and said it tasted like a fruit juice. We really don’t know what most of those things are, but he said they tasted good. I will let you know if he develops any visible superpowers.

The drinks were refreshing and we relaxed on the lovely living room style comfy chairs, while listening to the beautiful music.

If you haven’t yet been to the Peruvian Spot for their delicious food, we hope you will soon try it and have a Peruvian coffee or other drink while you are there.

Foster Kittens Getting Ready for Forever Home

We at the Linda Vista Update are hosting royalty this week and next. These two beautiful, refined, regal-looking foster kittens from the SD Humane Society are staying at our place as they prepare for eventual adoption. The two lynx point kittens are named Caraxes, ID # 1000788 (male) and Vhagar, # ID 1000789 (female), but we just call them Marco and Cleo. They are currently in training to be outstanding feline members for any family. In spite of their projecting a fancy, “I am very special” persona, both are very friendly, sociable and active kittens who will want to play and then sit on your lap when tired. They will be available for adoption beginning on August 10 or 11. If you think you might be interested in adopting one or both, let us know if you have any questions. We can ensure an adoption hold is put on them.

LV News Briefs:

—Friends of the LV Library: Interested in advising/helping the LV Library? Come to the Friends of the LV Library monthly meeting being held this Saturday August 1 from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm (at the LV Library).

—City Engagement Meeting Regarding Affordable Housing: The City Planning Department will conduct a meeting on Tuesday August 4 (5:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the Mission Valley Library) to address possible plans for building affordable housing. One of the sites to be discussed will be the Skateworld/LV Library area. The public is invited to attend. You can register to attend the event HERE.

—Update on Mission Valley Road Connector: The Times of San Diego published an interesting story about the controversial Mission Valley Road Connector that runs under SR-163 and connects Hazard Center with the Fashion Valley Mall. You can read the article HERE.

—CBS8 Archive Footage of Fashion Valley Mall Opening: Go back in time to 1969 and view some archival TV news footage of the opening of the Fashion Valley Mall. You can hear old department store names like the Broadway, Robinson’s and Buffums. View the footage HERE.

—Bayside Offering Free Backpacks: Bayside Community Center will hand out free backpacks for school age kids at the August 6 Love, Linda Farmers Market. Check out the below flyer for details.

Local News

Comic-Con Comes to LV

I have long resented the fact that Linda Vista has never appeared to engage with or benefit from Comic-Con. Every year during Comic-Con I fantasize that our community might get into the Comic-Con spirit and allow large Hollywood studios to wrap some of the local buildings in splashy, colorful movie or TV show advertisements similar to what happens with the buildings in the downtown San Diego area, and maybe hold press conferences where famous Hollywood actors get interviewed and photographed within the backdrop of a prominent Linda Vista locale. The truth is I would settle for just seeing a few out-of-state Comic-Con tourists walking around the Linda Vista community wearing colorful Superhero costumes. Before this past week, the closest I ever saw any evidence of Comic-Con anywhere near Linda Vista was in MV’s Hotel Circle where I often see cosplaying tourists get off buses returning to their hotels after spending the day at the San Diego Convention Center.

However, all that changed a few days ago when I finally caught sight of a fierce looking cosplaying out-of-towner at a Linda Vista bus stop. I spoke to the Comic-Con visitor, who eagerly identified himself dressed as “The Lupine Sentinel”, a little know comic book superhero. I learned from him that The Lupine Sentinel’s character origins can be traced to a scientist exposed to a mysterious serum in the wild that transformed him into a vigilant guardian of nature. Apparently, Hollywood is on the verge of giving the green light to a Lupine Sentinel TV pilot that will star either Matt Damon, Ryan Reynolds, Robert Downey, Jr., or Ryan Gosling in the starring role.

Unfortunately, the Lupine Sentinel cosplayer admitted that he ended up in Linda Vista solely because he took the wrong bus and got hopelessly lost. When we spoke, he was waiting to get back on a bus that would return him to his Gaslamp hotel.

But this is a start. Perhaps next year, the entire Lupine Sentinel cast can conduct a press conference at Skateworld or John Baca Park and our community will finally benefit from the Comic-Con experience.

Commentary

Robots Make Further Incursions

In previous issues of the Linda Vista Update we have discussed the growing influence of robots in our society, and especially around the Linda Vista area. For example, we recently noted the introduction of Waymo driverless cars as seen lately on LV roads. Waymo began experimenting with “driverless” cars in San Diego this past year, but started with accompanying “safety drivers” in each vehicle. The latest news, however, is that the autonomous driving company will soon do away with these safety drivers and go full bore driverless in our city.

Furthermore, one of our previous food reviews mentioned the robot servers used at the Pho Ca Dao restaurant at Fenton Marketplace. Their presence added a certain spice to our meal experience. And tipping them was not required.

A few days ago we spotted one more example of the transition of our society into one in which robots will play a vital role. On a recent visit to the local Ralphs supermarket in Mission Valley, we saw a robot roaming the aisles. We found out the robot has the name of “Tally,” and is assigned the task of conducing inventory of different products at Kroger owned stores. When we caught Tally working it was moving down an aisle taking inventory of dairy products. We understand the robot can check aisles looking for empty or low stock, and look for pricing errors and misplaced items on shelves. It uses cameras and sensors to read inventory. It can send real-time reports to human workers so they know what to re-stock.

The robot was created by a company called Simbe Robotics.

What is next on the LV robot front? Could these robots eventually replace all the rest of the Ralphs employees? Will they staff the checkout registers and pack our shopping items? Who knows what the future holds?

Will barbers, manicurists and masseuses be next to be replaced? How about your doctor? Or maybe teachers? In fact, a local San Diego charter school network -Altus Schools - recently spent $500,000 to purchase two ChatGPT-powered humanoid robots named “Ameca” to act as pilot “teaching partners.” I can’t imagine the teachers lounge full of robots.

The thought of robots may sound scary or crazy. However, I suggest we in San Diego embrace the future and set the example for the rest of the country by officially recommending the employment of a robot batting instructor for the Padres. After all, with the team being 14 games out of first place in the West Division, what have we got to lose?

Better yet, perhaps robots can be employed to tell people along Mission Bay where the nearest open public restroom is located. Of course, the money saved in closing the restrooms will in all likelihood be spent on purchasing the robots, but such are the kind of sacrifices to be made in the name of progress.

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Steve and I attended the Family Day sponsored by Bayside Community Center this past Saturday at Kelly Street Park. It was a very nice event, and we were enjoying watching the families play games and help clean up the park. Kim Heinle the Bayside Executive Director asked us to stay while she went for pizza. Who can resist pizza? She came back with some of the biggest pizzas I had ever seen. She said she got them at Giant Pizza King at 6585 Osler Street. I remember passing this business, but had never actually been there. She said they had a great Greek Salad and many other things besides pizza, so Steve and I thought we should give it a try since it is truly in the heart of Linda Vista. We decided on lunch on Monday after our physical torture session, I mean workout at the Y. In the meantime, we looked at the Giant Pizza King website and found they had a very extensive menu with many meatless items we could try, including calzone, salads, fish and chips, shrimp to name a few. They also have wings, hamburgers, Philly Cheesesteak, subs, gyros, and more, and desserts such as baklava, brownies and sides including mozzarella sticks and onion rings. Sounded like a plan.

We drove up around 1:00 pm on Monday. They are open 7 days a week from 10:00 am to 9:30 pm except Sunday when they open at 11:30 am. There is adequate parking. We were surprised when we walked in as to how large and open it was. Very colorful and sparkling bright with cool posters on the walls advertising their menu items. There is plenty of space to eat inside, but we decided to get our food to go. We met Andy who was behind the counter; he was very friendly and helpful. I told him the restaurant had been recommended to us by Kim at Bayside and we enjoyed his pizza on Saturday. We talked about our favorite things to cook and we compared bread recipes. Although they have a large menu they are happy to customize your order. Steve ordered a calzone without meat. Since Kim had raved about the Greek Salad, I ordered a small (they also have other sizes) without tomatoes. They chopped the vegetables right there and it included plenty of lettuce, red onions, cucumbers, and olives with a creamy dressing on the side.

They had many Italian menu items besides pizza such as lasagna, spaghetti, rigatoni, ravioli and chicken parmesan pasta. From his knowledge of Italian food, I would have sworn Andy was Italian but found he was not.

Steve’s calzone was truly amazing. It was so big that when we got home, we divided it into a few slices. It had no meat in it, but was loaded with several kinds of cheese, including parmesan, ricotta and melty mozzarella and full of Italian herbs. It came with a side of pizza sauce. The crust was delicious and just reminded you of an inside out pizza. Steve ate less than half, I had about a quarter and there was plenty left over for another whole meal. That was quite a steal at $11.99. We also split the salad which was very tasty and fresh. I really liked the olives and the dressing was excellent.

Andy said that everything is made there fresh and it really tasted that way. The pizzas go up to very large sizes and are great for a party. They do a lot of take-out and also deliver.

We were very happy the Bayside folks told us about Giant Pizza King. We enjoyed the food and the friendliness of the staff. I hope you will give it a try if you haven’t already. Tell them you read about them in the Linda Vista Update.

A Fun Summer Saturday in Linda Vista

Summers are meant for fun. And this past Saturday, there was plenty of fun for Linda Vista families to enjoy. On this warm weekend day we observed three fun activities held by Linda Vista organizations. These activities were designed mainly for kids, but also involved participation of the entire family. The activities demonstrated the commitment of these organizations to wisely invest time, money and energy in our families, and at the same time build a greater sense of community

Bayside Family Fun Day

First, during the noon time period on Saturday, two groups belonging to the Bayside Community Center held a Family Fun Day at Kelly Street Park. The two groups consisted of Linda Vista Leaders in Action (a group mainly composed of local adults who have graduated from Bayside’s Resident Leadership Academy) and LV Youth Leaders (a group of young people aged from eleven to twenty years old). They organized a number of activities for kids and adults at the neighborhood park. The activities included a clean-up of the park, along with games, painting, and lunch time food. As explained by LV Youth Leader members Lyzeth Gonzalez and Jenny Juarez, the Family Fun Day was designed “to allow kids at home this summer to not feel isolated. They need to get out and have fun.” They added that the Family Fun Day was also meant to address the image of the controversial park by countering the “fear of Kelly Street Park” that some local residents maintain due to past instances of occasional gang presence and park vandalism. The Family Fun Day turned out to be a great success as a number of families were able to enjoy the great weather, the comforting shade of the park’s trees, the scenic views of Tecolote Canyon, the company of other local residents, and the good food.

Summer Library Activity for Kids

Later in the afternoon, kids could be found laughing and reacting in amazement at the Linda Vista Library as they participated in one of the library’s Summer Activities; in this case, the Comedy/Juggling/Variety Show put on by guest performer Michael Rayner from Los Angeles. Local kids thoroughly enjoyed the antics of Rayner, whose act has been described online as “preposterous brilliance,” and “wacky jugglement” with a combination of funny tricks, stunts and stand-up comedy. He definitely captured the attention of the kids in attendance, who were captivated by his balancing numerous objects on his chin, his juggling of balls and tennis rackets, and his funny jokes/one-liners. There was plenty of crowd participation as kids were continuously asked to come up on stage and be part of his act, and they did so with great enthusiasm.

Rayner’s act is one of several summer library activities for kids being held in July. The previous week saw a wildly popular Pony Ride activity, while this coming Saturday involves a Ventriloquism Puppet Show and a separate Art Workshop. You can go to our July 9 issue of this newsletter to get library activity details/view the schedule.

Parks After Dark

Finally, Saturday night saw the San Diego Parks Foundation sponsor a School Back Pack Giveaway at the Parks After Dark event held at the LV Neighborhood Park and Recreation Center. This family event also saw kids enjoy free food, and such activities as games, music, inflatables and rock climbing. The Parks After Dark program continues through August 1 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (5:00 to 8:00pm).

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We at the LV Update commend the above organizations for their efforts to make the LV community a better place to live in.

LV News Briefs

— Hope Lutheran Church Community Activities: This Saturday, July 25, 2026 from 10 am to 12 noon, Hope Lutheran Church (located at 6749 Tait Street in Linda Vista) will be giving away backpacks and school supplies for children going into kindergarten thru 8^th grade. The day will also include a Fun Day for All filled with crafts and refreshments from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The public is invited for both events.

Summer Reading Options

LV Book Reviews

Plenty of reading gets accomplished during the summer months. People like lounging by the pool, traveling on a plane, or sitting at the beach with a good book. Accordingly, we asked our two prolific book lovers —Marla M. and Martha B. — to give us some recommendations.

Here is what Marla M. had to say…

Former football star Silas Tucker returns to his rural hometown of Cross Rivers, North Carolina, after a career-ending injury, hoping to rebuild his life on the family farm. Instead of finding peace, he discovers a community living under a cloud of fear. A series of mysterious deaths involving young women, along with unanswered questions surrounding his own father’s death, draws Silas into an investigation that uncovers corruption, drug trafficking, and the grip of a ruthless crime family.As Silas searches for the truth, he finds himself confronting dangerous enemies while relying on family, loyal friends, and his own determination to seek justice. Patterson and Lupica keep the story moving with short chapters, plenty of suspense, and unexpected twists that make it difficult to put the book down. The pacing is fast, the characters are engaging, and the mystery kept me guessing until the very end. If you enjoy crime fiction with memorable characters, small-town intrigue, and nonstop suspense, The Country Road Murders is a book well worth reading.

And here is what Martha B offered…

Careless People is one of the most compelling books I have read in years. Sarah Wynn-Williams takes readers inside Facebook during the years it became one of the most powerful companies in history. Whether or not one agrees with every conclusion she draws, her firsthand account paints a fascinating picture of a culture driven by growth, influence, and extraordinary confidence in its own technology.

Her description of Facebook’s sophisticated targeting during the 2016 presidential election is particularly eye-opening. The book captures a pivotal moment when social media became a powerful political tool, and her account of Mark Zuckerberg’s initial dismissal of concerns that Facebook had influenced the election is striking in hindsight. Ironically, Meta’s attempt to limit her promotion of the book only made more people want to read it, turning it into an even bigger bestseller. The book is ultimately about much more than Facebook. It is about the opportunities and dangers that arise when immense technological power is combined with very human ambition, judgment, and fallibility. It left me thinking long after I finished the last page.

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The Linda Vista Update wishes to thank our two literary intellectuals for taking the time to offer their reading recommendations.

Commentary

We’re Number 2! We’re Number 2!

The Linda Vista area (if you count our border with Mission Valley) was recently “honored” with being the home of the second most dangerous road in all of San Diego County. You can read a SD Union-Tribune article about it HERE.

What did we do to deserve such a dubious distinction? Who in the state government did we supposedly anger? Is this all part of a karma-like plan to pay for sins we might have committed in another life?

Where is this road? It shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of us who have traveled on SR-163. According to a study completed by San Diego-based company Lytx, SR-163 at Friars Road is the second most dangerous road in SD County.

I don’t need to look at the data compiled by Lytx to know that I feel as if I am taking my life into my own hands each time I get on or off SR-163 at this Friars Road intersection. With heavy on and off ramp traffic merging into the same lane for that short distance required to get on or off SR-163 (between the Ulric Street on-ramp and the off ramp to Friars Road), I always feel like my driving skills are being unfairly tested by CalTrans. I say unfairly tested because drivers much worse than me are also being tested (and seemingly failing the test) as they ignore the presence of my vehicle, or the speed at which they are driving, or the fact that they don’t understand the term “watch for merging traffic.”

Of course, I can’t blame the entire problem on other drivers. The CalTrans people who several decades ago originally designed this tricky on-off ramp operation are really the ones who deserve some form of punishment. I can’t actually believe they once looked at this hellish on-off ramp merger configuration and said “Yes, this is perfectly safe.”

And then there are the planners who were involved in the extensive remodeling of this Friars Road/SR-163 intersection that occurred just a few years ago. They had a chance to re-do this horrible design, but chose to ignore it…apparently thinking “LV area drivers need a few dangerous thrills in their boring lives, so let’s leave things alone and keep the same traffic merger configuration for them to perversely enjoy.”

I am not a soccer fan, but after watching a few matches of the World Cup and contemplating the data in the Lytx report, I am highly disturbed by the possibility there is a much better chance of my being in an accident on SR-163 at the Friars Road intersection, than a soccer team has of scoring a goal. I can only hope in the future our autonomous driving cars will have much better luck at navigating this stretch of road. Let us hope the robots can come to our rescue!!

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We had such a fun time at our Happy Hour excursion a couple weeks ago, we thought we would try it again. We used to go to a great restaurant in Old Town called La Piñata, which had been there for 90 years. It closed about 2018 and according to the website, the replacement – El Sueño (located at 2836 Juan Street) – became the restaurant brainchild of Pietro Busalacchi and others, inspired by the lush, hidden villas of Mexico City’s Polanco neighborhood. It certainly has that jungle vibe with all its greenery and although more dramatic at night (we went in the bright sunlight) it is still lovely during the happy hour timeframe.

Their hours are 11:00 am – 9:30 pm Monday thru Thursday, and 8:00am - 10:30pm Friday and Saturday, and 8 am – 9:30 pm Sunday. Their happy hour is 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm daily with 10 drinks under $10 and half off Tequilla. Tacos are featured on Tuesdays with $3 and $5 tacos. This, of course, suited us, so off we went just outside the LV borders. Old Town is only a few minutes away and parking at El Sueno did not prove a problem at 2:30 pm in the afternoon. We decided a late lunch would give us a chance to try a few things. Their menu was developed by Gustavo Rios and according to their web page it is a “vibrant Mexican journey that soars from the coast of Baja to the Huasteca region in the Gulf.”

The restaurant has a very large main area, an outside eating area and an upstairs which also consists of a speakeasy. At 2:30 pm on a Tuesday it was not very busy and our very friendly server seated us immediately. There is a bar but we chose to sit at a table. The happy hour menu consisted of items like Guacamole & Chips for $9 and Elote for $6 and Queso Fundido for $9. Taco specials were $3 carne asada, pollo asado, carnitas, al pastor and more. The $5 included shrimp, fish, shrimp diablo and steak.

Steve is a taco person so he ordered the shrimp taco and avocado taco. I ordered the Queso Fundido because I didn’t know what it was and the picture looked good. A bowl of chips and a couple of salsas were delivered to our table immediately, which seems unusual these days. The homemade chips were warm and crisp and there was a spicy as well as a milder salsa.

My Queso Fundido was a bubbling skillet of melted Oaxacan cheese/crema/pickled onion, cilantro with 2 large warm flour tortillas. You can add chorizo to it, but there was no need for any additions. It was so scrumptious and a very large serving. It would have easily served two or more as an appetizer and it was more than I could finish but Steve helped out. I found myself using the corn chips to scoop it up which was easier than the flour tortilla, but both were delicious. The normal price is $13.99 so the $9 happy hour price is a steal. I loved it and it broke my heart to leave some behind but even with Steve having some, we had leftovers.

Steve’s two tacos did not resemble typical street tacos as you can see from the pictures. They were more each like a meal. He said the shrimp taco was the best he ever had. It consisted of sautéed shrimp, grilled peppers, grilled onions, red cabbage, chipotle crema and lime. The avocado taco had fried avocado, black beans, pico, mango salsa, Oaxacan cheese and cotija. He enjoyed both tacos very much.

Our lunch was very reasonably priced and lots of food. The music was very nice and of course the World Cup was on the TV. All in all, it was a very pleasant time and our server told us a little about the different spaces being used for private parties and such. It would be very beautiful at night but you would not get the great prices you get at happy hour. Give it a try. I think you will like it. It so conveniently located to Linda Vista — just across the San Diego River. The food was Mexican food taken to a higher level. We hadn’t been to this restaurant since La Piñata closed, which was one of our favorites, but we will be going back to El Sueño.

Sustaining Googie Architecture Style

Though we all look forward to the many benefits of progress, there is no getting around the fact that moving forward can often result in the loss of things that bring to mind great memories. As our Linda Vista community continues to change and evolve to handle the demands of the future, long time residents will often be the first to speak up about what is lost in the name of progress. One of those common losses is frequently seen in the area of architectural style. Reaching back to the decade of the 1950’s and 60’s, and as a Baby Boomer, I mourn the loss of what is known as Googie architecture.

This style (also known as Futurism) seems to typify the American optimism of those years — a time when the future looked bright and the country embraced such concepts as space travel, fast cars that ran on cheap fuel, and the use of atomic power which would propel us to a pleasant state of modernity — all this before the Vietnam War, Watergate and other such negative events permanently changed the American zeitgeist. In my opinion, each time a local building reflecting that architectural style is torn down and replaced with something far more bland, I feel one more chunk of old fashioned American optimism is removed from our day to day existence. Fortunately, there are still remnants of Googie architecture surviving in and around our community.

For those unfamiliar with Googie architecture, the style has been described as “a type of futurist architecture that emerged in Southern California in the 1940s and was popular in the United States from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. It is heavily influenced by car culture, jets, Atomic Age and Space Age concepts. The term "Googie" comes from the now-defunct Googies Coffee Shop in Hollywood, designed by John Lautner.” The style is often characterized by swept roofs sloping at an upward angle, curvilinear and geometric shapes such as boomerangs, flying saucers, the bold use of glass, steel, and neon, Space Age designs symbolizing motion, and free-form designs including "soft" parallelograms and artist's palette motifs.

Many of the old buildings in this area sporting this prominent style are gone, but while driving around recently I was happy to see there are some building that continue to survive, and there is an effort being made to preserve the style in some newer buildings.

First, the old Scottish Rite Temple in Mission Valley (formerly a bowling alley) used to be an excellent example of Googie architecture (as shown in the above link), but was torn down and replaced by the Home Depot building currently under construction along Camino del Rio S. However, part of the deal in Home Depot buying that property required an attempt be made to preserve some sense of Googie architecture, and such is the case as seen in the new building’s facade facing the I-8 freeway. The building’s facade sports the kind of geometric shapes used in the 50’s and 60’s. Yes, the new Home Depot will probably mean more traffic congestion, but at least an element of Space Age optimism will remain in the Mission Valley air.

Second, though the once very popular Perry’s Cafe in the Old Town area has been torn down in favor of a 200+ condo development, the distinctive Googie-style roof that once housed Perry’s is being preserved as part of the development. You can barely see it in the photo above as it is currently surrounded by construction equipment and fences. Once that construction clears up, and the distinctive roof can be clearly seen, I will think of 1960’s pre-Vietnam America, as well as the great pancakes that used to be served by Perry’s.

Finally, we we still have a very dramatic example of Googie architecture in the Canyon Ridge Baptist Church located at 6866 Linda Vista Road, near the intersection of Linda Vista Road and Comstock Street. This modernistic church building was completed in 1961, the same year that Alan Shepard became the first American astronaut to travel into space. This building possesses several characteristics of Googie architecture, including lots of glass and geometric shapes. Definitely a very futuristic look for its time.

LV Update in the Spotlight

We are happy to report that in the July 8, 2026 issue of the digital newsletter Explore Clairemont, Tanja Kropf wrote a very nice article about the Linda Vista Update called “Linda Vista had No Local News Source. So They Built It.” We think the article did a good job of capturing our vision, and we thank Tanja for her kind words. You can read the full article HERE.

LV News Briefs:

—Parks After Dark Backpack Giveaway: The San Diego Parks Foundation is sponsoring a backpack giveaway for school kids this Saturday July 18 during the Linda Vista Neighborhood Park and Recreation Center’s Parks After Dark event. 100 school backpacks will be given away beginning at 5:30 pm on a first come-first serve basis.

— Adopt an Animal at SD Humane Society. If you are in search of a new furry family member, the SD Humane Society wants you to know that it is offering a reduced $50.00 adoption fee for cats and dogs (7 months and older) from July 5 to July 31st. You can view available pets HERE.

— Hope Lutheran Church Community Activities: On Saturday, July 25, 2026 from 10 am to 12 noon, Hope Lutheran Church (located at 6749 Tait Street in Linda Vista) will be giving away backpacks and school supplies for children going into kindergarten thru 8^th grade. The day will also include a Fun Day for All filled with crafts and refreshments from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The public is invited for both events.

—Bayside Summer Family Fun Day: Bayside Community Center will hold a Summer Family Fun Day this Saturday July 18 at Kelly Street Park. Check out the details below. See you there!

Local Retail Trends

The Store-in-a-Store Concept

We first noticed the concept many years ago when Federal Express opened up a shop inside the once busy Kinko’s store at Mission Valley’s Hazard Center. Customers could presumably make copies of documents and then conveniently ship them to intended destination all on one trip. A shop-in-a-shop concept was born. However, before you knew it, Federal Express bought Kinko’s and the business was soon converted to FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print Center, and then when Kinko’s disappeared, eventually just FedEx Office.

We have recently noticed other examples of this store-in-a-store concept popping up in Mission Valley. For example, the Party City Store once located off of Rio San Diego Drive closed several months ago. However, fans of the store can still purchase Party City products because the business now operates a store-in-a store at the nearby Staples located at 1880 Camino de la Reina in Mission Valley. If you are going to have a party —perhaps an office party — you can still get balloons, cards, festive paper plates and cups, etc., while shopping for office products or getting personalized party invitations or banners designed and printed at the same time. This reflects a strategic partnership that Staples has formed with Party City at 700 stores throughout the country (instead of buying the company).

We have also seen the store-in-a-store concept at Ralphs Supermarket. While shopping in the store’s deli section, you will find Murray’s Cheese, an artisan cheese shop located there that sells over 150 domestic and international cheeses. Murray’s Cheese began years ago as a popular business in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City (where the business housed custom underground cheese caves to store their cheese, which eventually became a tourist destination). In 2008, Kroger (the parent company of Ralphs) started a wholesale partnership with Murray’s Cheese. Then in 2017. Kroger bought Murray’s Cheese and began the introduction of dedicated Murray’s Cheese stores in Kroger-owned stores. The employees behind the counter are Ralphs employees who are handpicked by Murray’s Cheese experts to be retail cheesemongers.

Finally, just last week we heard from a Container Store fan that Bed, Bath, and Beyond had opened a store-in-store at the Container Store located at the far east end of the Fashion Valley Mall. As you may recall, before the company declared bankruptcy, Bed, Bath and Beyond was once located in a huge store at the Mission Valley Mall. We went down the hill to check out what was happening at the Container Store and definitely saw the influence of Bed, Bath and Beyond products there. However, it turns out this is more than a store-in-a-store concept. The two companies have actually merged, and will be co-branded. As explained by Bed, Bath and Beyond CEO Marcus Lemonis, “Our customers don’t think about their homes in categories. For decades, customers have had to visit multiple retailers, websites and service providers to complete a single home project. One company for bedding, another for storage, another for closets, another for installation. That model no longer works,” he added. “We believe the future belongs to businesses that solve complete customer problems.”

So who knows what other store-in-a-store activity we will see in the near future? Perhaps Firestone stores will house Jack-in-the-Box franchises and you can eat and have your tires changed at the same time. Or, Pizza Hut will open stores in Home Depots. I’d like to see Costco open a small warehouse inside a Starbucks. The possibilities are endless.

Subscribe to the Linda Vista Update

We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

Subscribe now

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In our quest for a quality meal in nearby establishments which are reasonably priced, we have tried dinners, lunches, breakfast, and are now even looking for snacks. While at Ralphs in Friars Mission Center the other day, we noticed Nékter Juice Bar and thought that sounded intriguing. We checked it out on the internet and found Nékter was the first juice and smoothie concept to introduce Acai bowls as a fully menu category. We found that fascinating as Acai seems to be ubiquitous. Try to find a place that does not sell Acai bowls. Nékter claims they did it first and did it best with real ingredients, never pre-made and always made to order. They claim to top their bases with fresh fruit and fun and delicious superfood add-ons for light and nourishing meals.

On Wednesday we felt the need to be nourished and a desire to keep it light, so off we went. The Nékter website is very colorful and the pictures are beautiful, and we were anxious to see what they had to offer. Since many of you are concerned with parking, the shopping center parking lot is very large and free. Nékter is a couple doors to the right of Ralphs. There are some outside tables and upon entering we saw regular table seating and bar height seating along the windows. The space is large and very inviting. We told the staff it was our first visit, and they were very accommodating telling us about their various offerings. The work area is all open so you can see your order being prepared.

Steve ordered the Acai Banana Berry Bowl which is advertised as one of the Iconic Bowls. The base is made with acai, banana, strawberry, and house made cashew milk and it is topped with hempseed granola, strawberries, bananas and blueberries. It was fairly large and looked so colorful and almost too pretty to eat. The price was slightly over $11.00. There are several other bowls such as dragon fruit, acai peanut butter, acai mango and supercharged bowls for about $1.00 more including radiant Raspberry, PB&J, and a couple others. You can customize your selection in various ways. In addition to bowls, they have smoothies, both iconic and supercharged, fresh pressed juices, wellness shots, and protein waffles. I thought the protein waffles looked promising, and they were only 2 for about $4.00 so I went with the Go Bananas. They also had Berry Shortcake, Jam Slam, and Waffacado (you guessed it, avocado waffle).

The Go Bananas included two small waffles topped with banana, peanut butter, with a chocolate cashew drizzle. I really liked it and the protein waffle was filling. The peanut butter kind of stuck to the roof of my mouth, so maybe I should have asked for whipped cream but with 290 calories, I was very pleased with my choice. Steve really enjoyed his bowl. Very refreshing were his words, and he ate it all to the very last drop. It was quite a lot.

We were told their busiest time is at lunch and the most popular bowl is the one Steve ordered, the Acai Banana Berry. The most popular smoothie is the Health Nut, with 27 grams of protein, peanut butter, banana, date vanilla protein, house made cashew milk, agave nectar. We really enjoyed our choices and not only did we feel lighter, but our wallet was only lightened by less than $15.00 which was amazing. I think you will like this cute juice bar for a quick stop for a smoothie, wellness shot, or a supercharged bowl. Enjoy.

NEKTER JUICE BAR

Friars Mission Center

5694 Mission Center Rod, Unit 604

Unique Approach at 24-Hour Animal Hospital

On those troubling occasions when pet owners require urgent services from an emergency veterinarian’s office, they usually find themselves waiting nervously in the office lobby as their pet is taken into a secluded room to receive valuable treatment. This separation can sometimes cause great anxiety for both owner and pet. However, there is a local emergency veterinarian’s office that exercises an entirely different approach to treating pets while offering pet owners the opportunity to lessen their anxiety levels and allow pets to stay attached to the comforting presence of their concerned owners. This is the approach followed by VEG ER for Pets, a 24 hour animal hospital (open everyday including holidays) that is located at 980 Camino De La Reina Suite C in Mission Valley (across the street from Best Buy). it has been in business here at this site for almost a year. (VEG stands for the original name of the company, Veterinary Emergency Group)

What you will find at this animal hospital is not the usual big reception counter and waiting room with medical rooms in the back. Instead, the hospital offers a unique open layout that gives pet owners a chance to observe their pets while they are receiving treatment. According to the VEG ER for Pets website, this animal hospital offers:

• An open floor plan hospital with room for you to stay with your pet the entire visit, even if they’re hospitalized overnight.

• The latest tools and technology to perform endoscopies, ultrasounds, x-rays, and more

• A surgery suite with a large viewing window, should your pet require an operation

• Seamless collaboration with your primary care veterinarian

What this means is that pet owners can be with their pets even while they undergo surgery, and remain in constant communication with the veterinarians so there are no surprises about the kind of treatment the pet receives. As mentioned on the web site, “We do whatever it takes to take the scary out of a stressful situation. With your pet more at ease, we can have an open conversation about diagnosis, treatment options, and costs.”

Although VEG ER for Pets mainly treats cats and dogs (often times for bite wounds and ingestion of foreign objects), the animal hospital also treats exotic pet animals like monitor lizards, birds, and snakes. Good Samaritans also bring in injured wildlife like possums and birds. In fact, VEG ER works with SD Humane Society s Project Wildlife to treat injured wildlife that after mending can eventually be returned to their natural habitat.

You can review the kind of specific service they provide for various ailments/conditions and animals by clicking HERE.

In addition to the Mission Valley site, VEG ER has sites throughout the United States and Canada, and has SD County sites in Encinitas, Chula Vista, and Oceanside. What you will find at the Mission Valley site is a pleasant, helpful staff (called VEGgies) that understands the special bond between pet owner and pets.

So if you are ever faced with that unfortunate situation of having a pet that requires emergency care, you may want to think of paying a visit to VEG ER for Pets in Mission Valley. While there you will have the opportunity to stay close to your pet and help calm its fears as he/she undergoes treatment.

LV News Briefs:

— Adopt an Animal at SD Humane Society. If you are in search of a new furry family member, the SD Humane Society wants you to know that it is offering a reduced $50.00 adoption fee for cats and dogs (7 months and older) from July 5 to July 31st. You can view available pets HERE.

— Blood Drive on July 10: The American Red Cross is conducting a blood drive at the Linda Vista Library on Friday July 10 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Photo ID with birthdate required. If you have questions about eligibility, call 1-866-236-3276.

— Hope Lutheran Church Community Activities: On Saturday, July 25, 2026 from 10 am to 12 noon, Hope Lutheran Church (located at 6749 Tait Street in Linda Vista) will be giving away backpacks and school supplies for children going into kindergarten thru 8^th grade. The day will also include a Fun Day for All filled with crafts and refreshments from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The public is invited for both events.

Commentary

LV People Don’t Need Restrooms?

People in Mission Bay are in an uproar regarding the City of San Diego’s plans to close several public restrooms located along Mission Bay Park. A total of 13 out of 28 public restrooms used by tourists, runners, joggers, cyclists, walkers, dog walkers, and local picnickers/sunbathers are now closed (since the end of the July 4 weekend). The closures are the City’s response to the current budget crisis and are expected to save $546,000 in cleaning and maintenance costs. No date has been given regarding when they might re-open. In addition, seven of the 14 portable restrooms along Fiesta Island will also be temporarily removed.

The closures mean that park visitors will have to travel a bit farther to frequent a restroom. Such is the sort of sacrifice that we must all make in order for the City to balance its budget.

However, it seems this concern with the closure of restrooms in Mission Bay is being met with an unconcerned yawn by most Linda Vista residents. They say “What’s the big deal?” After all, Linda Vista people are used to going without public park restrooms. As any frequent LV park visitor already knows, a public park restroom is a luxury that only more affluent neighborhoods like Mission Beach can afford. Turns out there is only one park in Linda Vista with a functioning restroom. Mission Heights Neighborhood Park, Silver Terrace Park, and Edward Taylor Cramer Park do not have any restrooms, and Kelly Street Neighborhood Park has a non-functioning restroom that has been long closed. Linda Vista Neighborhood Park and Recreation Center is the only park in Linda Vista with functioning public restrooms.

What does this say about Linda Vista people? Could we claim to be made of sterner stuff than the people of Mission Bay? Are we possessed of stronger bladders? Why no uproar about this LV restroom shortage?

The truth is public restrooms in Linda Vista are viewed as highly problematic by local residents. Mention of installing a restroom in the Mission Heights Neighborhood Park will instinctively result in loud complaints from nearby residents who claim “restrooms” means “people residing in the park.” You will hear comments like “Just spend a little time in the park and then please leave. You can then go to the restroom at your house,” or “That’s why God invented bushes.” Needless to say, they are a no-nonsense group up there in Mission Heights.

And the people living near Kelly Street Park are not much different. They have seen that rundown restroom facility destroyed by vandals and other assorted individuals. The much graffitied restroom is viewed as unsafe and an eyesore, so much so that at a local “Coffee with Campillo” event hosted by District 7 council member Raul Campillo, someone asked “Why not just demolish the restroom?” and be done with it. The idea was met with a number of affirmative nods from the audience.

Some may resent the perceived “restroom gap” between us and Mission Bay, but I sort of admire the LV approach to public restrooms — it features a somewhat stoic attitude that practically says “We can practice self-discipline and hold it in for long periods of time.”

This is an approach all of us in Linda Vista can be very proud of — I bet the people in La Jolla or Scripps Ranch couldn’t match us in will power.

LV Library Activities for Kids

School is out but that doesn’t mean that kids have to miss opportunities to read and learn. The LV Library is the place to go for reading and other fun learning activities (and even events like pony rides this Saturday). Below is a list of upcoming activities:

— Summer Reading Program Events for July:

• Summer Reading Program Event: My Little Pony Rides and Petting Zoo (Saturday, July 11, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m) For kids 2 to 11.

• Summer Reading Program Event: Michael Rayner Comedy/Juggling/Variety Show (Saturday, July 18, 2 p.m.) For folks 4 and up.

• Summer Reading Program Event: Marc Griffiths Ventriloquism Puppet Show—Reach for the Stars (Saturday, July 25, 2 p.m.) For kids 4 to 11.

• Colorful Nature Art Workshop: When Cherries Meet Banana Leaves (Saturday, July 25, 3:30 p.m.) For folks 6 and up. Adults may participate as long as they accompany their participating child. Register at https://sandiego.events.mylibrary.digital/event?id=358183

— Recurring Programs:

• Live Interactive Video Preschool / Kindergarten Storytime with Mr. Luan

  (Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m.) Email lpham@sandiego.gov for information on how to access this online program.

• Live Interactive Video Preschool / Kindergarten Drawing Class with Mr. Luan

  (Thursdays, 10:30 a.m.) Email lpham@sandiego.gov for information on how to access this online program.

• Craft Time with Mr. Luan (Tuesdays, 4 p.m.)

• Preschool Storytime with Mr. Luan (In-Person) Alternating Fridays and Saturdays (7/11; 7/17; 7/25; 7/31) 10:30 a.m.

— The Summer Reading Program: Read books, win prizes. Runs through August 15. For all ages. Sign up at https://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/kidsandteens/summerreading

Spotlight on Summer Gardening

LV Poetry Corner

Long summer days, warm temperatures and abundant sunlight means peak garden activity for local gardeners. They happily greet the sight of growing vegetables and flowers each bright morning. However, they must still deal with certain garden interlopers bent on destroying the fruits of their labor. We thought the story of such a “growing” conflict should be expressed in a poem.

ROOKIE GARDENING MISTAKE

Bending over to admire burgeoning cucumber
plants, a colorful caterpillar is spotted attached
to one of the stems. With bright green body,
this odd creature appears plant-like itself, 
a natural garden accessory. I find myself pleased
providing the visitor a welcoming sanctuary.
  
Closer look reveals unnatural white V-shaped
stripes on a weird chunky body, red dots
mixed in along the sides. Such a bizarre design. 
In fact, the green seems a near florescent shade – 
like makeup applied to an evil clown’s face,
if that clown was from an irradiated Planet X. 

No avoiding tiny protrusions on top of grotesque
head, resembling perhaps alien antennae. Glancing up
at sunny sky, I question whether this is a close 
encounter with an E.T. advance scout, arrived
here across the universe via a Stephen Hawking-like
galactic worm hole. Diminutive space invader
in my organic midst. Still, I hesitate taking action
against what must surely be one of God’s creations.  

Next morning I find the plant’s leaves damaged.
Eaten away. Like a carcass left over
from a midnight coyote feast. And after relating
my experience at the next gardening class,
I learn of the ravenous tomato hornworm caterpillar. 
“Pick them off the plant, flick them on the ground,
and crush them with your shoe,” attendees advise with cool
enthusiasm. “Little bastards will destroy your garden.”  

Days later I read an article referencing the late
Dr. Hawking, detailing his warning – that we should
avoid seeking out alien civilizations because
they may not be friendly. Another look at what was once
my thriving cucumber plants tells me the famous
physicist had the makings of an effective gardener.

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Fast Times is a restaurant near Bay Park in Clairemont, close to Mission Bay. It is near Clairemont High School which we all know was the setting for the book “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” on which the movie of the same name was based. The writer Cameron Crowe (a graduate of University of San Diego High School which was once right here in Linda Vista) posed as a high school student at Clairemont High for a year and wrote the book which became the movie. Steve has always been a fan of the movie and as we were looking for another Happy Hour establishment to review, conveniently ran across “Fast Times” which advertised happy hour prices for drinks and $3.50 tacos on Taco Tuesday.

We noticed that it is located in Clairemont Village (at 3065 Clairemont Drive), normally only about 10 minutes from our home. So off we went. Unfortunately, we picked the day to go when unbeknownst to us a standoff was occurring between the police and a suspect in the riverbed which necessitated closing off many roads. We first encountered police at Friars Road at Napa Street, which we thought was because of the construction. Morena was a parking lot which took over a half hour to navigate and finally get us on our way along the Bay, and we arrived at Fast Times quite a bit later than expected. We will tell you about the return trip down the line.

The parking lot is very big for the shopping center, so parking is ample and free.

Fast Times is a large, relaxed vibe restaurant with indoor and pet friendly outdoor dining. We were invited to sit anywhere and although not by any means empty, there was adequate seating to select from when we got there. Reservations can be made. There were about 10 television sets with various sporting events being shown.

In perusing the menu, we saw they have a wide selection of foods including appetizers, entrees, salads and seemingly something for everyone. They have a full bar with a dozen craft beers and happy hour prices were tempting. The wait staff were very friendly and helpful. An LV Update reader had previously sung the praises of their elote, so that is what I wanted to try. We were told in addition to the meat filled tacos, they had veggie tacos, but not fish at the Taco Tuesday price.

I ordered the elote on the cob ($8.00), but you could get it in a dish. Steve ordered two veggie tacos ($3.50 ea.), and we ordered a calamari appetizer ($6.00). Steve also got a beer (at Tuesday happy hour prices). His tacos came quickly and looked very appetizing. They were very full of veggies and included cabbage, tomato, lettuce, avocado, cheese, beans on corn tortillas, and an excellent salsa accompanying them. He liked them very much and said they tasted very fresh and healthy and two were all he could eat. My elote took a little while, but it was worth it. If you don’t know, elote is a popular Mexican street food featuring grilled corn on the cob slathered in a creamy sauce, dusted with chili powder and cheese and finished off with fresh lime juice. This elote was excellent. The corn was charred in spots which made it all the more sweeter. The creamy coating made from mayo, mixed with crema, crumbled, salty cotija cheese, chili powder and whatever else they included was just delicious. It was a large ear, but I think if pressed, I might have been able to eat another one – or at least a half.

We shared an order of calamari in order to get some protein in our meal, and they were plentiful and flavorful. Rather than cut in circles, they were cut in strips served with celery and carrots with ranch dressing and a sweet and sour dip for the calamari. I had never had calamari before and found them to be sweet and meaty, and the dip was great with just a bit of heat. We left prior to Trivia Night starting and by then the restaurant was filled to overflowing so Trivia Night must be a popular event.

Fast Times also has live entertainment. They appear to have great bands such as classic rock from 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, and cover bands, British ska and more. Check their website for the schedule and plan your visit accordingly. Trivia is every Tuesday 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Surprisingly, we didn’t see any decorative evidence of some of the Fast Times at Rodgemont High movie characters…no life-size cut outs of Jeff Spicoli, or Mr. Hand, or even Mark “Rat” Ratner. Steve was a bit disappointed, but as he is famous for saying…. “All I need are some tasty tacos, and I’m fine.”

Now, to our trip home. In order to avoid the way we came, we decided to do the freeway so we entered I-5 to get on 8-East. To our surprise, traffic was still horrible and Steve noticed police snipers on the highway overpass. The entrance to 8E was barricaded closed as well as Rosecrans Avenue. It was such a mess. We finally made our way to the Old Town exit and came off, through Old Town and home up Linda Vista Road. All in all, a very long and tiring road trip. We didn’t learn until we got home about the standoff with police that started in the morning and resulted in many freeways and road closures that tied up traffic in the whole area for many hours. Not such a short trip away this time, but hopefully next time will be much quicker.

I think you will enjoy Fast Times. Great food and laid back atmosphere. A neighborhood bar vibe. Learn it, Know it. Live it.

Mission Valley Mall Goings-On

Imagine being the sibling of a much bigger, more popular, and classier brother or sister. That’s the situation the Mission Valley Mall finds itself in competing for customers with the Fashion Valley Mall.

In order to upgrade its capability to draw customers, the often overlooked Mission Valley Mall is currently in the process of reinventing itself, desiring as its website states, to be a “reimagined destination for art, food and culture.”

We recently paid a visit to the Mission Valley Mall to see what changes have been made and identify what is coming up in the near future.

The most obvious change has been made in the center of the mall, right in front of the AMC theatre complex, in an area now referred to as the Oasis. In the area that used to host Ruby’s World of Tomorrow Diner, the mall now features a made-over area for leisurely relaxing in between shopping forays. This area has artificial turf, a number of Adirondacks chairs, benches, and even a fire pit that fits in with the common beach theme of San Diego. During one of the times we were there, we noted the advertisement of a summer program of activities called “Valley Vibes” that includes a summer concert series in this area. The concerts are scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays (from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm). You can see a schedule of performers by clicking HERE. The area makes for a pleasant summer time setting for listening to various types of performers (i.e. folk, rock, pop, etc.).

The Valley Vibe summer program also includes a Farmers Market on the last Saturday of each month through October 31. In July, August and September the Farmers Market will be held from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm. In October it will held from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

You can also enjoy Goal Post Garden outside of NOVO Brazil Brewery. There kids can display their talent attempting to kick goals in the soccer activity area while the rest of the family eats and drinks and watches World Cup matches streamed live at the restaurant. During yesterday’s match between the U.S. and Bosnia-Herzegovina, this was the busiest and loudest place in the mall as many people were there to root on the winning U.S. team while watching them on the extra large outdoor patio screen.

Other developments coming for the Mission Valley Mall include a new restaurant called The Stand, next to the Oasis and AMC theatre complex. The Stand, which bills itself as offering American classics redefined, is expected to open sometime this summer. We promise to review it.

Later next year, a new sporting goods store called Dick’s House of Sport will open. Many people are familiar with Dick’s Sporting Goods, but the House of Sport is “an immersive, experiential retail concept featuring a massive product selection and interactive attractions like a climbing wall, golf simulators, and batting cages.” Though there are 22 such locations throughout the U.S., this new location in Mission Valley will be the first one in California.

Little brother/sister is working hard on keeping up with the Fashion Valley Mall. We as customers eager to spend our money should benefit from the competition.

LV Update Poem Published

We are happy to report that a poem written by co-editor Steve Rodriguez and first published in this newsletter was recently published in “A Year in Ink, volume 19” an anthology of poems and prose compiled by the organization San Diego Writer’s Ink. The poem titled “Mission Bay Laager*” can be read HERE

LV News Briefs:

— Update on Perry’s Cafe 7-Story Development: Check out an article in the OB Rag that details progress being made on the 223-unit project taking the place of Perry’ Cafe on nearby Pacific Coast Highway. You can read the article HERE.

— Adopt an Animal at SD Humane Society. If you are in search of a new furry family member, the SD Humane Society wants you to know that it is offering a reduced $50.00 adoption fee for cats and dogs (7 months and older) from July 5 to July 31st. You can view available pets HERE.

—Blood Drive on July 10: The American Red Cross is conducting a blood drive at the Linda Vista Library on Friday July 10 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Photo ID with birthdate required. If you have questions about eligibility, call 1-866-236-3276.

— Segment of Ulric Street Looks Brand New: Linda Vista drivers have reason to rejoice! A problematic segment of Ulric Street (between Fashion Hills Boulevard and Tait Street intersections, on the way from/to Friars Road) was recently the recipient of a City slurry seal project. This segment of Ulric Street was in great need of improvement. How much improvement was needed? Let’s just say that over the past year this newsletter has offered the premise there were portions of the street that looked like they had been the target of several hard hitting meteors. It was so rugged that race official were thinking of including the street as part of the Baja 500. NASA officials planned to use the street to have astronauts conduct moon walking simulation training. Archeologists were beginning to theorize that giant dinosaurs had actually left their fossilized foot imprints on this road. X-Files fans believed the giant gashes on the street showed evidence the mythical Big Foot used Ulric Street as a major thoroughfare. But that’s all now in the past. As a result of the slurry seal work, the street segment is now as smooth as can be with bright new lanes painted white and yellow and even green. However, now the clock starts ticking. People are already placing bets as to how soon it will be before the City digs up the pristine street in order to work on broken sewer lines, or when the next rain will cause the slurry seal to crumble and create giant T-Rex size pot holes.

— City E-Bike Regulations Approved: As explained in an official press release from his office, e-bike regulations proposed by District 7 Council representative Raul Campillo aimed at improving public safety for children and families across the City of San Diego were approved by the City Council this past Tuesday. The e-bike regulations will go into effect 30 days after the second reading of the ordinance on June 30, 2026. Here are the main details of the regulations.

· The e-bike regulations will increase safety for children and reduce reckless riding by:

· Imposing an age limit of 12 years for class 1 and 2 e-bikes.

· Reinforcing helmet requirements and passenger restrictions (passengers are only allowed if the e-bike is specifically designed to accommodate multiple riders with a permanent second seat).

· Providing option for cited individuals to complete an e-bike safety course in lieu of a $25 fine.

· Requiring 30-day public outreach before enforcement.

· Establish a 60-day warning period before citations are issued.

Once approved, a comprehensive public outreach campaign will be launched to promote an education-first enforcement while strengthening parent and youth training and accountability.

—Parks After Dark Continues After July 4 Weekend: This summer’s version of the City’s popular Parks after Dark program has been a great success so far this summer. The program takes places on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights (5:00 pm to 8:00 pm) at the Linda Vista Neighborhood Park and Recreation Center. Free family fun is provided with games, inflatables, pony rides, face painting, and music. Kids get to eat for free. The organization Feeding San Diego has always provided food giveaways for numerous families. Though Parks After Dark will not be held this holiday weekend, it will return July 9, 10 and 11 and continue through August 1.

Yes Virginia, there is free validated parking

Clarification Regarding Monkeybar Parking

We received several questions from LV Update readers regarding the parking situation at the Town and Country Monkeybar. As you may recall, in last week’s issue we wrote about Happy Hour at this bar. A number of our readers wanted to know about the cost of parking there. We forgot to mention there is free validated parking for the Monkeybar.

Of course, you can also walk down Ulric Street (or use the bike lane) and then maneuver through the Fashion Valley Mall if you want to get in some exercise before eating and drinking at Happy Hour prices. It’s up to you. Either way is free!

LV Update Readers Offer All-Time Favorite Songs

As part of our country’s 250th anniversary celebration, CBS News Sunday Morning complied an Essential American Songbook of 250 American songs (songs written and performed by Americans of any musical genre). The top five songs consisted of the following:

• This Land is Your Land – Woody Guthrie

• Blowin’ in the Wind – Bob Dylan

• A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke

• America the Beautiful – Ray Charles

• Respect – Aretha Franklin

You can check out the other 245 songs HERE.

As part of our own 250th anniversary celebration, we decided to ask a certain number of LV readers to identify their favorite American songs. We strove to get a good cross section of individuals. Here is what they came up with - in no particular order:

• The River – Bruce Springsteen

• Take Five – Dave Brubeck

• Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys

• Signs – Five Man Electrical Band

• Orange Juice – Noah Kahan

• Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen

• Stand By Me – Ben E. King

• Animal Bar – Red Hot Chili Peppers

• Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond

• God Bless America – Kate Smith

• Begin the Beguine - Artie Shaw

• Don’t Stop Believing – Journey

• Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers

• Respect - Aretha Franklin

• Born in the USA – Bruce Springsteen

• American Tune – Paul Simon

• Long, Long Time – Linda Ronstadt

• Country Roads – John Denver

• What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

  Thanks to all LV Update readers who responded to the survey request.

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We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

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Hello again after our week away. We were looking for a restaurant to review this week when Steve came up with a great idea. Since dinners were proving very expensive, and our thought that lunch or desserts could be cheaper did not pan out, he thought maybe Happy Hours would be the way to go. In looking up the history of Happy Hour, I learned the modern Happy Hour developed from a 1910’s Navy morale boosting program into a Prohibition-era secret gathering. After WWII, restaurants and bars adopted the term as a marketing strategy to attract patrons during the slower afternoons by offering discounted drinks and appetizers. Apparently because of COVID, remote work, and a change in drinking habits, there has been a recent decline in Happy Hours. However, we thought this sounded like a golden opportunity to re-explore the contemporary Happy Hour concept. Maybe Happy Hours are offering cheaper fares in order to win back customers, and we would be happy to oblige, so we went looking for a conveniently located Happy Hour in our neck of the woods.

As luck would have it, Steve found what we were looking for right in our own backyard – almost. Just down the road from Linda Vista. The Monkeybar at the Town and Country Resort has a Happy Hour every evening from Sunday through Thursday 4:00 to 6:00 pm. The Monkeybar is located in the hotel lobby of the newly renovated Town and Country Resort (500 Hotel Circle North). They also have lunch specials which are served until 3:00 pm. We have previously visited Arlo, the luxury restaurant at Town and Country, and enjoyed it, and were anxious to try Happy Hour at the Monkeybar. Their website advertised $13.00 wood fired pizza and $7.00 draft beers with many other reduced-price items on their online menu. Their Happy Hour prices in addition to any pizza for $13 included crispy Brussels sprouts, pretzel bites, and monkey fries all in the $9 to $10 range. So off we went.

The lobby and bar area of the Town and Country is very beautiful. It opens up to the swimming pool and has a vivid mid century modern vibe to it. The bar area has a number of sitting areas with wonderfully comfortable leather barrel chairs. The giant palm trees and colors in the pool area make you think of Palm Springs or some tropical island. It gives off a very relaxing atmosphere and conducive to a small bite and perhaps a beer. You could easily imagine the TV character Dan Draper from the 60’s era Mad Men show sipping a martini at this bar.

We decided to order a pizza and a side. Their wood fired pizzas include pepperoni with hot honey, margherita with buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce and basil, funghi which includes mornay sauce, forest mushrooms, goat cheese, caramelized onions and truffle oil. Of course we chose the Funghi. We also selected Crispy Brussels which included lime ponzu, tograshi (Japanese 7-spice blend), and cotija cheese (see photo above). Steve also ordered a pale ale draft beer at the Happy Hour price.

Both dishes were outstanding. I love wood fired pizza and especially the char on the crust. The caramelized onions were sweet and plentiful as were the plump meaty mushrooms and cheese. It was topped with arugula and large enough for us to have a couple pieces each and bring half home for another meal. The crispy Brussels sprouts were delicious. The ponzu sauce along with the spice mix were pleasant in my mouth and the crispiness and addition of cotija cheese made these some of the best Brussels I have had. It was a plentiful dish and we had leftovers to take home.

Happy Hour is in the afternoon, so we didn’t have an opportunity to see the venue in the dark, but I imagine it is beautifully lit with the swimming pool glimmering in the moonlight. Of course, the Happy Hour prices wouldn’t be in effect.

We had a very relaxing time and there seemed to be a good number of hotel guests and/or businesspeople enjoying the lounge area, and the pool was also buzzing with vacationing people. So if you are in need of being happy, I suggest you give it a try. Hop down to Hotel Circle for Happy Hour and enjoy the ambience, good food, and low prices.

LV News Briefs:

—Coffee with Campillo: Councilmember Raul Campillo (District 7) will hold his next Coffee with Campillo event on Saturday June 27, 2026 at 9 AM at Bayside Community Center. If planning to attend, please RSVP HERE or email VVettiyil@sandiego.gov

Checking Out Unique LV Area Front Yards

Some people take great pride in making sure their front yard lawns, flowers and shrubbery always look as sharp as possible. It’s usually a matter of personal pride and the pursuit of aesthetics; green, well manicured grass, colorful flowers, and perhaps clever topiary skills are often the trademarks of these well displayed front yards.

However, there are other people who find more unique ways of demonstrating pride in their front lawns. They eagerly think outside the box to come up with ways to express themselves and demonstrate pride. This past week we cruised around the Linda Vista area looking for those types of unique front yard expressions. This is a summary of what we found.

First, we saw two flamingos perched outside a townhouse in Fashion Hills (see photo above). We are used to seeing standard pink flamingos, but these two flamingos offered a refreshing take on the traditional concept. According to one internet site, pink flamingos started appearing in the 1960’s but didn’t become popular until the 70’s. The site theorized that having pink plastic flamingos in one’s yard is a way to show off your sense of humor or quirky personality. It’s a way of saying “I’m not like everyone else” and embracing your uniqueness. I believe having silver flamingos is like saying one is even more unique than most, without the need to draw too much attention to yourself—an understated form of uniqueness.

Next, we saw a front yard in the heart of Linda Vista with a large baseball batting cage. We also saw a number of baseballs inside the cage and around the makeshift home plate. We interpreted this batting cage as a serious effort to do something about the lack of hitting currently being demonstrated by our San Diego Padres. With superstar Manny Machado hitting below a .200 batting average, and others like Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts and Gavin Sheets hovering in the low .200’s, it is good to see someone in San Diego is still trying to improve their hitting skills. Maybe the owner of this house should send the Padres an invitation to spend some practice time inside this front yard batting cage.

Just a couple doors down from this house we caught sight of a relaxing, meditative scene comprised of several small rock formations. According to an internet site we researched, a front yard zen rock formation blends Japanese dry garden (karesansui) principles with modern landscaping to create a calm, meditative space that welcomes visitors and invites mindfulness. We all certainly need a calm meditative space in these turbulent times, and so we commend this homeowner for providing his/her neighbors with this service.

Over on the other side of town, in fact, just over the north side of the Bay Park/ Linda Vista border we spotted a front yard with a comical dolphin (or porpoise) statue. We thought the artwork demonstrated a proper combination of whimsy, patriotism and aloha spirit. It’s not often you see that combination, much less as part of a front yard.

Finally, back in Linda Vista we encountered a front yard with what appeared to be a distinct nautical theme. Looking at all the odd, ocean-related artifacts like anchors ropes, and boat moorings artfully displayed on the front yard, we became intrigued about what the homeowner was intending to express. Turns out the homeowner was a scuba diver and all the artifacts were objects he had found at the bottom of the sea on his dives. Some were quite big and heavy, like the big boat propeller, which he still was able to retrieve from way below with the assistance of air bags.

We commend these LV area residents for their creativity and unique front yard expressions. A thick green lawn is always nice to see, but sometimes we need to expand our horizons and see the world through a different type of lens.

Commentary

Corporate Sponsorship for City Trash Service?

Of course no one is happy with paying for our new “world class” trash service. Yes, City Council recently agreed to roll back the monthly service fee from $55.00 to $38.75, which certainly makes the pain to our pocketbooks less severe. But I think the overwhelming majority of property owners still have reason to complain about having to pay even this amount.

Fortunately, I have a solution that possesses the potential to lessen the trash pick-up service fee even more. The answer lies in corporate sponsorship, to include professional sports and the entertainment industry. As I envision it, getting big corporations, along with professional sports teams and Hollywood celebrities involved can alleviate the pain of us spending our hard earned money while furthering corporate America’s aims.

Here is the plan: corporations and professional teams/athletes and entertainment celebrities would bid to get City approval to have their names, images and/or likeness advertised on our City trash bins. Property owners would, in turn, select from a long list of City- approved decals representing these corporate/sports/entertainment entities and then place the decals on their respective trash bins, agreeing to keep the decals applied to the trash bins for one or two year terms (depending on the contract signed). In doing so, they would get their monthly trash service fee reduced by the amount subsidized by the corporate/sports/celebrity entity. As a result, these business entities would get the benefit of advertising each week (every other week in the case of recycling bins).

Of course, the City would have to hire “subsidized trash bin program” inspectors who would go around the blocks checking to see that property owners actually displayed the decals on their bins, but that’s the cost of doing business (hopefully the City wouldn’t hire too many middle manager inspector supervisors as they are prone to do). For sports fans, imagine having a big LA Chargers decal on your trash or recycling bin (see above). Beer drinking property owners might want a Budweiser decal on their trash bin (see below).

I think this is a big win-win situation for everyone involved. We should do this before other big cities decide to implement their own version of this plan and we run out of available corporate sponsors. Are there still some details that need to be hashed out? Certainly, but that’s where the City’s bureaucrats come in — I trust they will refine the plan and make it better, as they always do.

Is this plan a big sell-out to greedy corporate America? No need to quibble about morals or values. Life is all about compromise. After all, one person’s sell-out is another property owner’s reduced trash service fee.

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We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

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We want to let you know that due to circumstances beyond our control we will not be publishing an issue of the LV Update newsletter this week.

We will, however, be back next week!

See you then.

Steve and Betty Rodriguez

Co-Editors, The Linda Vista Update

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We decided to continue our hunt for dessert cafés so as to minimize the cost of our outings. Our first attempt last week was a taste success but not so much on cost. Steve found another place we had not yet tried that seemed to specialize in desserts so off we went to Café Hue in the Sunrise Town Center (3860 Convoy St Unit 106). It was a little after lunchtime, so parking, though sparse, was available. There are many restaurants and places of business in this plaza, so the parking lot does fill up.

Café Hue is a very cute place. They don’t have a website but have social media presence you can look up. Their extensive menu consists of Sweet Crepes, Savory Crepes. Belgian Waffles, many coffees including Vietnamese, and a large variety of teas. They also have a case full of various gelato flavors.

In looking at the prices, we decided we were wrong again in thinking we could get away with a smaller tab than with a lunch. The crepes were in the $11 to $14 range, and the waffles $9 to $11. The flavors were all so tempting such as brown sugar butter, Nutella smores, cookie butter and many other sweet flavors, and ham egg and cheese, healthy veggie, spicy crab among the savory. The waffles included mixed berries, strawberry cheesecake, and peanut butter. We decided we would try one savory crepe and one sweet waffle. The staff were all friendly and helpful and told us the biggest seller is the pistachio crème crepe.

The restaurant is spacious and there is indoor and outdoor seating. It was such a beautiful day we opted to sit outside. We ordered the Spicy Crab Crepe for $13.75 and the Mixed berries and cream Belgian waffle for $10.95.The Spicy Crab Crepe was huge. It would have been impossible to eat the whole crepe so we cut it in half. We were told the crepe was not too spicy and the sauce was served on the side. It was chock full of spicy shredded crab, lettuce, herbs, and to offset the spicy siracha mayo on the crepe, we had a side of honey mustard sauce which sweetened it up a bit. It was excellent and I had been craving crab so it hit the spot.

The mixed berries and cream Belgian liege waffle was delicious. The waffle was thick and fluffy with just the right amount of blueberries, strawberries and raspberries, and topped with powdered sugar and whipped cream. We also cut that in half, and honestly, it was so decadently tasty, and reminded us of the waffles we ate on our trips to Brugge and Brussels many years ago. We could have added gelato but it was quite enough with the whipped cream.

We failed again to keep the price down, but about $25 for lunch was not that bad. We thought we might have some to take-home, but it didn’t work out that way. They were both so good, we had no leftovers. We will go back again because the Nutella was calling to me as was the pistachio gelato. Give it a try, I think you will enjoy it. We were told they have been in that location over 10 years although they have changed hands occasionally.

Hours 11:30 – 9:30 Sun – Thu

11:00 – 10:30 Fri-Sat

LV News Briefs

—Parks After Dark: The City’s popular Parks After Dark program will continue this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Linda Vista Neighborhood Park (7064 Levant Street) from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm each night. This event includes a number of free activities for all family members. Kids get to eat for free.

—Read About Mission Valley Dairy Days: Believe it or not, busy Mission Valley was once home to a number of dairies. Yes, instead of millions of cars and condos and shoppers, there was a time when cows dominated this area. You can read an interesting article about that era in a Times of San Diego article titled “Mission Valley’s milk lines: When the valley ran on cows and morning routes”. You can read the article by clicking HERE.

—Linda Vista Town Council Monthly Meeting. The LV Town Council will hold its June monthly meeting on Wednesday June 17, 2026 at the Baha’i Center located at 6545 Alcala Knolls Drive. Guest speaker for the meeting will be Sou Fang who is with the USD TRIO Upward BoundProject. Meet and greet begins at 6:00 pm with the official part of the meeting agenda beginning at 6:30 pm. A previous issue of the LV Update featured the USD TRIO Upward Bound Project and the important work it does with local students.

—Coffee with Campillo: Councilmember Raul Campillo (District 7) will hold his next Coffee with Campillo event on Saturday June 27, 2026 at Bayside Community Center. If planning to attend, please RSVP HERE or email VVettiyil@sandiego.gov

—Miramar Greenery Open House: Learn about Landfill and Compost Operations being held this Saturday. Check out the flyer below.

Female Monsters Get Their Chance to Scare

When thinking of memorable monsters, several names come to mind. We can imagine classic monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, and the Mummy, and in terms of more recent scary creatures there is Freddie Krueger and Stephen King’s Pennywise the Clown. However, these monsters all have one thing in common that limits their universal appeal – it turns out they are all male monsters. For those of us who believe women should be given equal opportunity to frighten the general citizenry, I am happy to report the Linda Vista Library is currently featuring an exhibit called “¡Monstras!” which features female legends of Latin America.

The “¡Monstras!” exhibit consists of several displays made up of panels that describe female monsters, to include their origins, characteristics, and cultural significance. The panels also feature interesting original artwork that depicts how the monsters have been imagined or visualized over the years.

As explained by one of the exhibit’s panels “The Spanish word for monsters is the masculine monstruos, but we all know that women can be monsters too! More than just an invented word for ‘female monsters,’ Monstras represents feminine power and anger.”

Some of the monsters included in the “¡Monstras!” exhibit include the Siguanaba, La Pisadiera, Loogaraoo, and la Llorona.

The “¡Monstras!” exhibit will be at the Linda Vista Library till mid-July, so newsletter readers have plenty of time to visit the library and get educated on the kind of monsters that are used by parents in Latin America to frighten their kids into behaving correctly. Bring your young daughters along to let them know they can take pride in the existence of female monsters.

Local Roomy Parking Lots

A few issues back we addressed the well-known problem of parking in the Linda Vista area by featuring what we considered the top three problematic parking lots often used by LV drivers. We measured “problematic” by the size of the lots, general parking space availability, the degree of claustrophobic atmosphere induced, the size of the individual parking spaces, and the space available to easily maneuver your car (i.e. conveniently and safely backing out of parking spaces without bumping into another car). Of course, there were many nominees for this honor.

This week we attempted something more difficult…attempting to find the “best” parking lots in the LV area. Needless to say, the possibilities were few and far between, but we did succeed in finding some lots that offer at least a modicum of convenient space.

First, we rated the current state of parking in the Linda Vista Plaza Shopping Center as extremely roomy. This may just be because the Rite-Aid store closed and the upcoming Grocery Outlet has not opened yet. This leaves quite a bit of space available, except for Thursday afternoons when the LV Farmers Market eats up some space. In any event, the individual parking spaces are spacey, and there is always plenty of room to back up out of a parking space without feeling you are in danger of a collision.

The second parking lot we noted was the large parking lot at the Costco warehouse at Fenton Marketplace. Some people may readily disagree with this pick. After all, it can be somewhat alarming to enter the lot because there are always plenty of drivers of questionable ability and lacking in good manners eager to get started on their shopping, and so they ignore red lights and stop signs to enter the lot, but once inside the lot you will find an adequate number of parking spaces that are large enough to easily accommodate even large SUVs. You do have to sometimes watch out for those overly eager shoppers who have trouble maneuvering the long/wide Costco shopping carts full of goods and guide their shopping carts in the middle of the road, but we believe that’s more a reflection of ugly American consumerism than it is of ugly parking issues.

The third parking lot of notable distinction is the far west parking lot at the Fashion Valley Mall – the area directly adjacent to the west entrance of J.C. Penney. As you may have noticed driving on Friars Road, some drivers attempting to enter the main mall entrance near the Cheesecake Factory will run red lights, block opposing traffic on Friars Road, and challenge innocent pedestrians, all for the purpose of getting a parking space in this always overcrowded section of the mall. I guess there must be something very prestigious about entering this part of the mall. But if you are willing to park your car in a less prestigious but less congested lot, then I recommend parking in the west JC Penney lot. I rarely get the feeling of congestion while parking there. It is rarely completely full. Much less claustrophobic. Drivers using this lot seem less anxious. Yes, you must walk through JC Penney to get to the rest of the mall, but that’s always good exercise. Caution…you only have a limited time to enjoy this lot – there are plans for a condo development to replace JC Penney as well as this lot in the not-too-distant future.

To paraphrase Captain Kirk’s words at the beginning of each Star Trek episode…”Parking Space…the Final Frontier!”

Good parking, everyone, and good luck in your parking search.

Local Voices Speak Up

Thinking About Summer

Though the official start of summer is not until June 21, most people mark the unofficial start as Memorial Day Weekend. With most schools already having started their summer break, we can safely assume summer time is here in LV.

Accordingly, we journeyed around the community this past week and interviewed local residents and business people to get their impression of summer, asking the questions…”When thinking of summer here in San Diego, and/or specifically here in Linda Vista, what thoughts come to mind?”

Here is what we found out:

Maria at Bayside Community Center answered…”I think of San Diego beaches, and the LV Community Garden, and skating at Skateworld.”

Joseph at Comstock Market commented…”Going to the beach, Coronado Beach mostly, drinking, being out with friends.”

Cam at the Boys and Girls Club said…”Clear skies. Sunny weather. Everyone trying to get their kids outside.”

Betty at the Linda Vista Neighborhood Park explained…”Visiting Dog Beach at OB with my dog as much as possible.”

Kaleb at Skateworld remarked…”Long hot days, looking for something to do, since I don’t have air conditioning.”

Amy at the LV Community Garden articulated…”LV Garden Summer Camp, getting kids outdoors, planting vegetables.”

Kylie from Friars Road offered…” I think of beach days with my friends, snacking on chips and fruit, the smell of sunscreen…with a burrito for dinner.”

We hope all of our readers have a great summer and form new pleasant summer memories.

Councilmember Campillo Comments on Signed City Budget

Councilmember Raul Campillo (7th District) released these comments on the unanimous City Adoption budget signed on June 9.

“The question I asked at the beginning of the budget season was this: does the final budget protect the basics for people to live safely now, while investing in the future for this city to flourish later? In large part, the answer is yes. While no budget is as good as we all want, this unanimously approved budget is significantly better than the original proposal, thanks in large part due to public input. We were able to come together to significantly reduce the City’s budget deficit while maintaining vital public safety services and community programs. I fought hard for critical restorations to the parks, libraries, and arts and culture programming in my district and across the city because we all deserve a safe, prosperous city.

“Through continued advocacy and persistence, my colleagues and I helped ensure restorations to the team that works to install safety improvements at intersections that need them most, keeping our children and families safe each day. I will continue to advocate for common sense solutions that help us find an optimal balance between today’s needs and our vision for tomorrow.”

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We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

Subscribe now

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We thought we would try a different dining concept this week. For a while we have been trying to find reasonably priced lunch venues and it worked for a while. However, we notice that even lunch meals are getting pricey – upwards to $17 for a lowly sandwich. So, we said to ourselves, “Let’s switch gears and go for dessert. How much can that cost?” And as luck would have it, as I was reading the paper on Tuesday morning, I saw an article about a San Diego scoop shop — An’s Dry Cleaning — that has been named number 1 in USA Today’s 10 best ice cream shops in America in both 2024 and 2025 and is hoping to win for a third time in 2026.

What a way to start our dessert quest! Try the best ice cream shop in America, right here in San Diego. A little background – An’s was founded in 2018 by lifelong best friends in Normal Heights and over the past 8 years has expanded to four stores in San Diego County, each with décor and ice cream flavors inspired by the shop’s location. The original store, An’s Dry Cleaning took over a former dry-cleaning shop. Their store, An’s Hatmakers, is near Del Mar Racetrack, and An’s Electronics opened in a former phone repair shop and is in Ocean Beach. Well, you get the picture. They will be opening another in Oceanside in the Top Gun House.

You can ask AI for the difference between ice cream and Gelato, but as a proud Italian-American I will tell you that Gelato is much better than ice cream. Gelato is lower in fat because it uses milk rather than cream, but don’t let that fool you. They are both full of sugar and therefore high in calories, so go slowly. Gelato is churned slower, and I don’t even know what that means, but I do know that it is delicious in general and An’s has taken Gelato to a whole new level.

Their menu changes every two weeks so you can check the website for the current flavors. This week in celebrating the Filipino culture, many of the flavors contained ube. They had Tubaw – ube, Saigon coffee, whipped cream; Malong – ube, coconut; T’nalak - ube, chocolate honeycomb toffee; Jusi – ube, black sesame; Sagada – ube, toasted coconut, caramel; Leather – Brown butter, chocolate chip cookie; Cypress – midnight chocolate. You can get small, tall cups, waffle cones and pints. Pints are $13.50. Small cups $6.55, large cups $7.75.

All Gelato is made from scratch, not from a bag. They use local ingredients and create very interesting combinations of Gelato flavors for you to love.

Steve ordered a small cup of the Sagada and he loved it. He said the coconut was the primary flavor but the caramel and ube came through for an exciting combination. I had the Leather because I wanted to taste the brown butter flavor and I love chocolate chip cookies. It was so very good that I probably could have eaten the tall cup. Every flavor comes through in a delicious way. We purchased the T’nalak for the Carnivore Sidekick and his sidekick. They thanked me for the sweet treat and said it was delicious. They thought the texture was rich and the ube flavor was subtle but perfect because they could taste the honey and chocolate bits. They would definitely try other flavors.

We hope An’s wins the title this year. They urge you to vote, which I did. An’s is only 8 minutes from Linda Vista, and only 2 1/2 miles. Of course, parking is a problem unless you are a bike, but worth a drive around the block. Maybe they will open a store in Linda Vista. The old Rite Aid spot is already taken, but maybe there is another place for them. I can hope. Give it a try, I am sure you will love it, or visit one of their other locations.

Back to my premise of finding something cheaper with only eating dessert. Well, it didn’t happen as the price of Gelato has risen along with everything else. But, if you eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at home and then go out for Gelato, I guarantee you it will be well worth the money.

LV Provides Setting for New Murder Mystery Novel

In the literary world, cities like Los Angeles and New York have often been the setting for what is referred to as “noir” murder mystery novels. However, a newly released novel by Cassandra Neyenesch titled A Little Bit Bad attempts to place our community of Linda Vista on that list of prominent settings. The author, who currently lives in Brooklyn but who has family here in San Diego, was recently in town as part of a book tour and appeared on a KPBS Midday Monday interview broadcast and a reading at South Park’s Book Catapult store. The book is described as being “a love story involving a married woman and younger man, and a murder, with San Diego (and Linda Vista) as the backdrop.” One review described it as “… wholly original and compulsively readable. It’s fresh, dark, subversive and wildly compelling. I can’t stop thinking about it. Neyenesch turns the suspense genre on its head in the best way.”

According to Wikipedia, the noir murder mystery genre is usually characterized by stories set in gritty, often corrupt urban environments, with a sense of institutional decay. There is usually a sense of moral ambiguity running through the pages, with the main protagonist often flawed, self-destructive, or complicit in wrongdoing. The great author Raymond Chandler, with his private detective character of Phillip Marlow, made the noir literary genre famous which led to many noirish movies. A more recent spate of popular Nordic noir novels have come out of countries like Sweden and Norway.

San Diego’s warm, sunny weather and laid back attitude doesn’t usually qualify this town (much less Linda Vista) for a noirish murder mystery setting, however as explained by Neyenesch, she believes San Diego’s many canyons are the kind of places where a character can hide out after being involved in a crime. She maintains that in scouting out a setting for her novel, Linda Vista’s proximity to canyons, as well as its many cul-de-sacs and narrow streets and isolation from lots of commercial activities all contributed to providing a potentially effective noirish atmosphere. As far as the perfect weather goes, she commented “I like the feeling that the bright sun is hiding darkness.”

Since the book (published by Simon and Schuster) was only recently released, we haven’t had a chance to read it, however, a cursory scan drew our attention to page 52 which offers a couple of interesting descriptions of Linda Vista. You may or may not agree with those descriptions, depending on your perspective of our community.

We attended the book reading at the Book Catapult store, where we listened to the author read a passage from her novel and answer questions from the audience. She kept the audience entertained with her spirited reading and witty, interesting answers to questions about the book, San Diego, and the writing/publishing life.

This is the author’s first published novel. In addition to this murder-mystery. Neyenesch has also been published in The Guardian, The New Yorker, Brooklyn Rail, HuffPost, Public Books, The International Herald Tribune, and Art in America.

We look forward to reading the novel and hope to have one of our staff’s intellectual book reviewers provide us with an interesting analysis to share in a future edition of this newsletter.

***

The LV Update wishes to thank one of our readers —Jeremy B — for letting us know about the release of the new book.

LV News Briefs:

—Adoption Fees Waived This Saturday: In observance of California Adopt-a Pet Day, San Diego Humane Society is waiving adoption fees for all animals this Saturday, June 6, 2026.

—Sign Up for INSIDE SDPD: Community members are invited to sign up to attend INSIDE SDPD on June 20, 2026. INSIDE SDPD is a dynamic, behind-the-scenes experience that allows community members to walk in the shoes of a police officer for a few hours. Led by San Diego police officers, you will have the unique opportunity to participate in de-escalation, use-of-force, vehicle stops, and simulated firearms training activities. You'll also see the K9 Unit in action and experience first-hand what it's like to be a cop! You can sign up HERE.

—Summer at Boys and Girls Club: The Boys and Girls Club (Ron Roberts Family Branch), located at 2230 E. Jewett Street, offers Summer Day Camp and Adventure Camp Programs for kids. Check out the below flyer for details.

—LV Summer Parks and Recreation Activities: Check out the summer schedule of activities being offered by the Linda Vista Parks and Recreation Center. Click HERE to see a collection of summer program flyers.

—LV Library June Activities Schedule: Check out the schedule of LV Library activities being held this month by clicking HERE.

—Thursday Nights at Skateworld: Linda Vista’s own Skateworld will hold Adult Skate Night each Thursday (8:30 pm to 11:00 pm) during June. A DJ will be turning up the music for skating. June 4 will be 70’/80’s Old School Funk; Legends Skate will be June 11; 90’s Hip Hop and R&B will be played on June 18; and a Pop2K theme will be held on June 25. Go HERE for more Skateworld details.

Parks After Dark 2026 Commences

The popular Parks After Dark summer program returns for its fifth year beginning this Saturday, June 6 at the Linda Vista Neighborhood Park and Recreation Center (7064 Levant Street). During subsequent weeks, Parks After Dark activities will be held each Thursday, Friday and Saturday (5:00 pm to 8:00 pm).

As advertised by the San Diego Parks Foundation, “Parks After Dark is a free family-friendly summer series that transforms neighborhood parks into lively hubs of activity, entertainment, and connection. From movie nights under the stars to live music, games, and community resources, there’s something for everyone.” All activities are free and kids get to eat for free.

The program is sponsored by the San Diego Parks Foundation and the City of San Diego, and is supported by partners such as the Preybs Foundation, Price Philanthropies, Come Play Outside, Albertsons-Vons-Pavilions Foundation, County of San Diego, Live Well San Diego, and US Bank.

This Saturday’s Parks After Dark activities will include a “Movies in the Park” showing of The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants. Bring your own chairs/blankets.

Older Adult Resource Fair Held for District Residents

The Office of County Board Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe (District 4) sponsored an Older Adult Resource Fair yesterday June 3 at the Taiwanese American Community Center in Kearny Mesa. The Fair was a free event designed to equip adults aged 50 and older with the tools and knowledge needed to stay safe, prepared, and empowered.

The Fair included three presentations on the following subjects: (1) The County’s Aging and Independence Services Call Center, (800-339-4661); (2) Internet Safety for Seniors; and (3) Medicare 101 (presented by Elder Law and Advocacy).

Agencies present at the Fair to provide information about available services for seniors included:

• AARP

• Meals of Wheels

• Jewish Family Services

• Live Well San Diego

• Nursing Home Rights Enforcement Project

• Southern Caregiver Resource Center

• Caregiver Coalition

• Serving Seniors

• Access to Independence

• St. Paul’s PACE (Program of All InclusiveCare for the Elderly)

• FACT (Facilitating Access to Coordinated Transportation)

The Fair was held in recognition of the growing senior population demographic; it is projected that by the year 2030 over a million seniors will be living in San Diego County.

Subscribe to the Linda Vista Update

We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

Subscribe now

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We were recently reminiscing about restaurants that have come and gone over the years we have lived in the area, and I mentioned Boudin which used to be at the Fashion Valley Mall. We really liked the place with its great sourdough bread and soups. Steve reminded me they still have a restaurant at the corner of Genesee and Balboa, but strangely we had never gone there. As we were looking around for a place to review, we thought why not Boudin SF? It is certainly not far and after perusing their online menu, we found plenty of things we could eat that had no meat. So, off we went in search for a reasonably priced lunch.

In looking at their website you will learn Boudin is the original San Francisco sourdough.It is baked daily using the same mother dough cultivated from a gold miner’s sourdough starter. Wow, that seems hard to believe. I can’t even make mine last a month. If you’ve traveled to San Francisco, you will see Boudin’s bread everywhere starting at the airport.

Their Balboa Mesa location (5407 Balboa Avenue) is very convenient with plenty of parking. They have an extensive menu that you can view online. At the restaurant, you order at the counter and are given a number and the food is delivered to your table. The restaurant has beautiful pictures of San Francisco scenes and maps and I got a cable car vibe sitting there. Among their fare is pinsa pizzas, sandwiches, salads, soups and chilis, melts, mac and cheese, desserts and more. They serve beer, wine and Peet’s coffee. Their hours are 10 to 9 Monday thru Saturday and l0 to 8 on Sunday. They serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, kids’ menu and family meals. They also do catering. While we were there we observed Uber Eats making pickups for delivery. There is an awesome display of breads behind the counter and the desserts looked scrumptious.

After checking the menu, Steve settled on a California Veggie Sandwich and I chose a butternut squash soup in a sourdough bread bowl. Both items were about $10 and the sandwich came with a choice of one side. Take a look at the menu online and you will see pictures of all the wonderful items. Steve’s sandwich consisted of smashed avocado, Havarti cheese, red peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, red onion, tomatoes, sun dried tomato spread, balsamic vinaigrette on sliced multi-grained bread. It was piled high as you can see from the picture. Steve said it was delicious, very fresh and healthy tasting and filling. He had chips as a side.

My butternut squash soup was wonderful. It was so pretty to look at, in a bread bowl with toasted walnuts, and dried cranberries. They cut out the top and give that to you on the side, so there is quite a lot of bread. The soup was smooth, creamy, and steaming hot. I ate all the soup and most of the top of the bowl. I did not eat the whole bread bowl, but I was tempted.

We were not able to eat one of their tempting desserts because we were too full, but will go back perhaps for tea and a cookie in the future. If you haven’t tried it, you should. I think you will like it and the prices are very reasonable. It’s just up the road from Linda Vista.

Sports Commentary

Wishing the Padres Would Start Hitting

You know how the familiar story goes…a person encounters a magical genie, and the genie grants the lucky person three wishes, but the wishes granted don’t turn out the way the person intended, and dramatic ironic in the form of horror, comedy, or tragedy ensues.

Here is how the story would turn out if a San Diego resident/baseball fan was to find a genie. As a fervent Padres fan who sees him/herself as a great baseball strategist and thinks he/she knows what’s best for the Padres baseball team, the lucky resident/fan would wish to be on the team’s coaching staff for the purpose of guiding the team to a victorious season that involved defeat of the Dodgers and a trip to the World Series. Unfortunately, the story line would require the necessary ingredient of horror, comedy, or tragedy. Accordingly, the unlucky protagonist of this story would end up as the Padres hitting coach, which based on recent Padres history, just happens to be one of the worst jobs in all of baseball.

As many of you readers know, the team has gone through 9 managers since 2000. This is a high number for a typical MLB franchise, but what is even more remarkable is the number of hitting coaches the team has hired and fired in this same amount of time – a total of 13. Since 2000, no Padres batting coach has lasted more than two years. It has to be one of the unluckiest jobs in sports. In fact, they no longer refer to the position as “batting instructor” – instead, it is now called the team’s designated “sacrificial lamb.” Apparently, the Padres hitting instructor gets all the blame for the Padres not hitting well enough to win a World Series. With good pitching, all it would take for the Padres to finally win a World Series is to find the “perfect” hitting instructor—someone who could enable the same players making millions of dollars to hit better than the Dodgers hitters (who make a little more). Sounds easy, but I guess finding that “perfect” hitting instructor is much more difficult than it seems.

And it’s not getting any easier. In preparation for this season, the Padres hired a new manager who in turn brought in another new hitting coach…Steven Souza Jr….and he is having some difficulties. The Padres have the worst team batting average in all of baseball (.219), and superstars like Manny Machado (batting average of .170) and Fernando Tatis (zero homeruns) are having a lousy year at the plate so far. Maybe this new hitting instructor will eventually turn things around, and we will all look back humorously on the first part of the season, but if I were him I wouldn’t get too comfortable and buy a house in the San Diego area. Based on recent history, he may be packing his bags by the end of the season. The only think he will be hitting is the road. If the lack of good hitting continues, someone will have to pay for the poor results, and it’s not going to be the players—most of them have multi-year contracts.

In the meantime, what about those two other wishes granted by the genie? I suppose the San Diego version of the storyline would go like this…the unlucky San Diego resident wishes to get a pass entitling him/her to free parking privileges at the new paid parking City lots at Balboa Park, only to find out after the wish has been granted that the City Council decided to come to their collective senses and vote to get rid of paid parking at that location. And then for his third wish the San Diego resident would be more idealistic and considerate of others and ask for Peace and Happiness throughout San Diego, but is then told such a wish has to be submitted via the City’s “Get It Done” app, and only after submitting the wish finds out from the app the bad news that due to staffing shortages brought about by the budget deficit, the City wait time for such a “Get It Done” wish is 700 years.

More Commentary

Let’s Hear It for Community Activism

We paid a visit the other night to Ocean Beach to attend a celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Ocean Beach Planning Group. The celebration, held at Dirty Birds in OB, and hosted by the OB Rag (publisher: Frank Gormlie), was attended by a number of community activists who have played a role in improving the quality of life in that fun, quirky beach town. The celebration served as an inspiring reminder of how important community activism can be in ensuring City officials (both elected officials and those comprising the City bureaucracy) pay attention to the opinions of local residents.

Though the idea of community planning groups advising the City on important land use and zoning issues is now a common feature of San Diego civic life — there are currently 41 such planning groups throughout San Diego, to include our own Linda Vista Planning Group — back in 1976 the City was not so receptive to receiving community input for use in City Hall decision-making. Why was Ocean Beach the first community to propose and get approved a planning group? There is no denying that there is something about Ocean Beach that allows the community to perpetuate a 1960’s spirit of bold activism, but what also distinguishes the community is its location which places it under the constant threat of greedy, out-of-control development. As mentioned by one of the night’s speakers, had it not been for the Ocean Beach Planning Group, the area would look today like Miami Beach with numerous high rise resorts dominating the shoreline.

Ocean Beach has other major concerns that continue to be regularly addressed by their citizens, to include densification, the environmental health of the coastline, and construction of a new OB Pier.

Which brings us around to the major issues confronting our own community of Linda Vista. These include the threats posed by densification (to include pressure placed on infrastructure), the shortage of affordable housing, ADU’s, and the preservation of Tecolote Canyon. OB’s activism is a reminder that volunteer citizens and organizations must remain ever vigilant to ensure the City hears resident input and that as many residents as possible can be mobilized to loudly voice concerns when the City appears to ignore or not completely understand the input.

We need to make sure volunteer organization like the Linda Vista Planning Group, the Linda Vista Town Council, and the Linda Vista Community Recreation Group are always stocked with plenty of concerned citizens unafraid to make their community-focused concerns known to City Hall. The City’s current budget controversy is another reminder of how community input is integral to the decision-making process, and how loud voices are sometimes necessary to make an impact.

Saving Plans Fight Fright of College Costs

Are you the kind of person who enjoys a good fright? Do you like being scared while watching a horror movie? Or are you someone who prefers getting heart-stopping thrills from riding a roller coaster? Well, if that’s the case, here is one more way of being frightened. Take a look at the rising costs of attending college! As you drive past the beautiful University of San Diego campus, consider the fact that according to its catalog for the 2026-2027 school year, the costs associated with tuition, room and board, fees, books, and health insurance costs is expected to be approximately $88,000.

The price to be paid for attending San Diego State University or the University of California at San Diego isn’t as much, but it will still sound quite alarming to most families. There is no getting around the fact that college has become a very expensive proposition.

Fortunately, the federal government does provide at least one way for families to help save for college, and the upcoming arrival of May 29, which happens to be National 529 Day, can play a role in making people aware of the benefits provided by saving for college via the 529 Plan. National 529 Day was established by the College Savings Foundation in 2021 to encourage families, friends, and communities to invest in a child’s educational future. A 529 plan allows contributions to grow tax-free at the federal level, and withdrawals used for qualified educational expenses are also tax-free. These plans can cover tuition, fees, room and board, books, computers, and even certain K-12 expenses or registered apprenticeships. Funds can also be used for qualified institutions abroad or to pay up to $10,000 in student loans per beneficiary. Contributions can be made by parents, grandparents, friends, or other family members, often starting with as little as $10 through online gifting tools or crowdfunding platforms. There is no annual limit to what can be contributed to an account.

National 529 Day serves as a reminder that even small contributions today can significantly impact a child’s ability to pursue higher education without excessive debt. It emphasizes the value of planning ahead and making education more accessible and affordable for future generations.

Over $471 billion is invested in 529 plans across 16.4 million accounts nationwide

You can learn more about the plan by going to the College Savings Foundation page.

You can also go to California’s Scholar Share 529 page to enroll in the program.

***

As an aside, one of our newsletter readers recently recommended local residents be made aware of what is being referred to as the Trump Account. This new government plan allows parents, guardians and other authorized individuals to establish a new type of individual retirement account for their children, called Trump Accounts. The account is for a child who has not turned age 18 before the end of the calendar year in which the election is made and has a valid Social Security number.

The account features a pilot program contribution of $1,000 for children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, and who are U.S. citizens with a valid Social Security number.

The account is fully in your child’s name, and you are the sole custodian until they turn 18.

No contributions are necessary—but you can deposit up to $5,000 per year to maximize growth.

Upon reaching the age of 18, the child is free to continue letting it grow, or they can withdraw funds right away to use for things like education or a home—with all the tax advantages of a traditional IRA.

Unlike the 529 Plan, money in a Trump Account doesn’t have to be used for educational purposes.

Enrollment in the program begins July 4, 2026.

To get started, sign in to your IRS account with ID.me and submit Form 4547.

Weeds Run Wild on Ulric Street

LV Poetry Corner

Everyone is familiar with the saying “You can’t fight City Hall” but when it comes to the segment of Ulric Street just north of Friars Road (one of the major approaches to the heart of Linda Vista), you might prefer to say “You can’t fight Mother Nature.” Despite the City’s recent attempts to get rid of the brush/weeds overflowing on to the sidewalk and curb, enlisting both City workers and individual residents to clean things up, Mother Nature continues to do its thing. Here is a poem that makes observations on that Spring phenomenon.

Reprieve for Spring Sidewalk Rioters 

Spiky foxtails defy the City’s
best laid plans for Ulric Street.
No stopping the spreading rebellion.
Wild grass stems shoot up fast
from cracks along sidewalks and curbs. 
They completely void recent
eradication efforts aimed
at cleaning up this busy 
rush hour traffic approach.  

This unruly mob conducts
a takeover – Spring uprising
by these resilient weeds is intent
on dominating the landscape,
offering entropy as 
replacement for straight edged
exactness. Silver flower 
head growth in part an
element of seasonal celebration – 
acknowledgment of rebirth –
mixed in with a taunting tease,
practically provoking 
brush abatement crews
to return and suppress
the brazen insurrection.  
   
Yet, no such response is forthcoming.
Expect the length of this 
foxtail disobedient display
to rely on civic budget cuts, 
staffing shortages,
and more urgent priorities,
surely delaying the next 
noisy whacking visit, 
guaranteeing a prolonged
period of wayward, 
in-your-face existence. 
  

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Editor’s note: In the May 7 issue of this newsletter we discussed recently seeing Waymo driverless vehicles being driven on at least one Linda Vista Road. We mentioned that Waymo is owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google. It seems we can’t escape Google’s influence – in today’s issue we address the opening of a Google store at the Fashion Valley Mall. Who knows, maybe by next week the ubiquitous Google brand name will appear on a local restaurant or bar, and then we can write about that too.

It’s the clash of the titans. The battle of the trillionaires. The Super Bowl of high tech nerds. And it’s all taking place at the Fashion Valley Mall.

A couple weeks ago all powerful Google opened up a store at the Fashion Valley Mall (located on the second level). It’s only one of ten Google stores in the entire country, and it’s meant to provide the public with a showcase of many of the company’s products. It arrived with great fanfare, to include a cheery article in the business section of the SD Union Tribune to celebrate its grand opening. In the article, a Google spokesperson explained that Google picked San Diego as a store site because the city is “a world-class hub of innovation.”

Ordinarily, we might assume this extremely popular, gargantuan company with its many tentacles spread all over the world would inevitably slay business at the mall.

However, long present at this mall is the Apple Store, which has already established itself as the go-to place for its wide customer base.

Is it possible both competitors can thrive in the same mall? We were left wondering if there is only room for one digital Godzilla at the mall? Only time will tell.

Last week we took a trip to the mall primarily to check out the new Google store, but to also see how business was going at the Apple Store.

We found the Google Store to be a very aesthetically pleasing experience. The store’s interior has a modern, minimalist look that casts a Zen meditative tone. It is a bright, airy interior that displays various Google products like its Pixel phone models (to include a new folding model), Pixel watches, earbuds, as well as Fitbits, and Nest security cameras and smart home items like learning thermostats. There was plenty of space to comfortably roam around and browse at the various products. The store staff members seemed very friendly, enthusiastic and eager to answer questions, or to show how you can get the best out of your Google products. They are also there to troubleshoot product problems and repair cracked phone screens.

During the time we spent in the store, we saw a few curious customers drop in to browse, or ask questions. As word gets out about the new store, we figure the number of customers will grow.

We then dropped down to the first floor to see what was happening at the Apple Store. Unlike the Google Store, the Apple Store was crammed with customers. They were being assisted by a large crew of green shirted assistants helping to answer questions pertaining primarily to lap tops and phones, while some were selling products. As an Apple user, we are familiar with the service and technical expertise provided by this Apple Store, and we know that to get that service one must make online reservations in advance. On the day we visited, it looked like quite a few had done just that and were eagerly awaiting their scheduled appointment. The place seemed like a hotbed of intellectual activity, or just very anxious Apple customers wondering how to best use or fix their products before they lose any data.

In any case, it looks right now that Apple is far ahead in attracting customers to it store. But perhaps it’s just a matter of time before Google’s store –with all of its Google product fans --becomes a similar hub of activity. Maybe they will both thrive; after all, luxury stores like Gucci, Versace, Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, and Coach seem to coexist, draw customers, and make lots of money while all situated right next to each other at the Fashion Valley Mall.

Return to the Peruvian Spot

We all know what serendipity is, right? An occurrence of fortunate, pleasant or valuable events by chance. A happy accident of finding something wonderful when you are not looking for it. Well, that is what I attribute this week’s review to — let me explain. Steve heard from a reader after our last issue who said she enjoyed our newsletter, and would we consider doing a review of The Peruvian Spot at 7510 Mesa College Drive as she had gone there and liked it very much. As it happened, we had eaten there and had written a review only a week or so after it opened at the early part of 2025 and we also liked it very much – but hadn’t thought about reviewing it again. Then I had a medical appointment at Scripps and while talking to the very lovely young nurse about various things, the subject of food came up. I told her about the LV Update and our food reviews, and she was so interested she asked where my favorite place was and said that she and her BF had wanted to go to a Peruvian Restaurant near Linda Vista. I told her we had gone there and told her that we really enjoyed it. She asked what we had to eat, and of course I did not remember. It made me think that it had been about a year and a half since we ate there, and since I could not think of another place I wanted to go, we decided to revisit The Peruvian Spot and see how they were faring and if the menu had changed at all.

The Peruvian Spot is co-located with Homestyle Hawaiian and Cascatlan Salvadoran restaurants on Mesa College Drive at the corner of Ashford Street (just east of Kearny High School). It is as pretty as I remembered it, and the owner Willy actually remembered us and even what we had ordered. He and his wife are the nicest people. The restaurant is large and bright with Peruvian paintings by Willy’s mother-in-law who had just returned from a trip to Peru. The paintings are colorful renderings of Peruvian scenes, llama and more, and are for sale. Be sure to check them out - they are lovely. There are large TV screens projecting beautiful scenes of the Andes and other Peruvian sites.

The menu has changed and is more extensive. They have lunch specials as well as a kids’ menu. Their hours are now Tuesday thru Sunday 10am to 8pm. They also have a catering menu. Willy said business has been good and we were pleased to hear that news.

Many of their menu items include meat – beef, chicken and pork, but mushrooms are the protein on some of the dishes, and you know I love mushrooms. Of course everyone raves about their Chicharron Sandwich, but that is off limits to us. We decided to order the Tallarin Saltado, which is stir fried noodles with onions and tomatoes and seasoned with soy sauce and a blend of spices, with mushrooms as our protein, although you had a choice of beef or chicken. The lunch special price was about $14. We decided to split that and also tried the fried plantains which are $4.95. The Saltado was delicious. Penty of delicious mushrooms with noodles which had definite Japanese overtones. This is probably because of the large influx of Japanese immigrants to Peru in the late 19^th century. Peru was the first Latin American country to establish formal diplomatic relations with Japan. One of their entrees Tallarin verdes with lomo saltado has an Italian twist from when Italian immigrants who came to Peru and brought their love for pesto. You can visit a Peruvian restaurant and even touch on another country’s cuisines. What’s not to love? The fried plaintains were excellent. There are so many interesting entrees, I urge you to look at the online menu to try to decide what you want before you get there as you will surely change your mind several times. They have many lovely desserts, but we went for the Alfajores which is a traditional Peruvian shortbread cookie filled with homemade dulce de leche. I remembered Silvana, the co-owner, is a well known pastry chef, so we knew it would be delicious. We were too full to eat it there, but we brought it home and split it and it was melt in your mouth scrumptious.

Give the Peruvian Spot a try if you haven’t already. And if you have, go back. I know we won’t wait another 18 months. Business was steady while we were there and we hope it continues. And we hope our lovely nurse and her BF will try the Peruvian Spot and say hello to Willy.

River Days 2026 and Birds of Prey Workshop

After living in this area for a long period time, it can be easy to fall into the habit of taking the 52 mile-long San Diego River for granted. While living our fast paced lives, we often find ourselves prone to overlooking this interesting natural feature of our geography, to include all of its wild life, trails, native plants, and benefits provided to the local ecosystem; we grow accustomed to driving over or past this scenic waterway, often high above on freeway lanes, and rarely focus our attention on what the river offers until those times when rainfall causes flooding and the river suddenly attracts news cameras to capture foolish drivers caught in overflowing Mission Valley currents.

Fortunately, the events associated with the annual River Days, organized by the San Diego River Walk Foundation, encourage us to take the time and appreciate the many wonders of the San Diego River. This past week saw the 22^ndannual River Days which occurred from May 10 to May 18 with a number of different activities involving a variety of local groups who improve the health of the San Diego River, educate people about our River, and engage community members in River-friendly recreation or action. These groups planned and conducted a series of scheduled events to give the community a sampling of their exciting work.

Some of the events making up this year’s version of River Days involved Ranger Led Hikes, Habitat Restoration, a Mission Trails Regional Park Bike Ride, an Art Reception, a Guided Walk to Observe Bats and Moths, and a Bird Walk at Grant Park.

This year we took the opportunity to attend a Sky Hunters workshop held at nearby Grant Park in Mission Valley. Grant Park is a relatively new venue located off of Camino Del Rio North that hosts the River Center. We first discussed the River Center in the May 16, 2024 issue of this newsletter. The Sky Hunters workshop, held at the River Center’s attractive amphitheater/stage, provided attendees with the opportunity to get a close up view of two rescued birds of prey. Sky Hunters is a non-profit organization dedicated to informing the public about raptors, birds of prey, and promoting raptor conservation.

During this workshop the handler from Sky Hunters wowed the crowd by showing both an American Kestral ( a small hawk) and a Barn Owl. She educated the crowd about the birds by letting us know about their diets, how they go about feeding/hunting, and some of their unique physical characteristics. She threw in a few interesting facts, to include identifying the speed of a Peregrine falcon (the fastest bird of prey) as being 200 miles per hour when diving, the terrible detail that some small falcons will lose a couple claws when hunting squirrels (because squirrels will fight back and reach back and bite the falcon’s claws) and the surprising news that falcons are biologically much closer related to parrots than to other birds of prey.

During the workshop, the handler emphasized the wild nature of the animals, pointing out that both birds had once been owned as pets and now could not be returned to the wild. She also mentioned that in order to emphasize their wild nature, Sky Hunters does not give them names.

In addition to enjoying the workshop, we also appreciated the development of the River Center, which in addition to the amphitheater/stage includes an impressive hands-on nature center used to educate local school kids, grassy areas for picnics, observation points next to the river, and a Monarch Butterfly Waystation that contains plants to support Monarchs during their migration cycle.

If you missed out on this year’s River Days celebration, make sure you find the time to attend one of next year’s activities. In the meantime, you can make it over any time to Grant Park/River Center and enjoy the venue, or take a walk along the river’s pathways in Mission and Fashion Valley or along the estuary approaching Mission/Ocean Beach.

LV News Briefs:

—Sign Up for INSIDE SDPD: Community members are invited to sign up to attend INSIDE SDPD on June 20, 2026. INSIDE SDPD is a dynamic, behind-the-scenes experience that allows community members to walk in the shoes of a police officer for a few hours. Led by San Diego police officers, you will have the unique opportunity to participate in de-escalation, use-of-force, vehicle stops, and simulated firearms training activities. You'll also see the K9 Unit in action and experience first-hand what it's like to be a cop! You can sign up HERE.

Francis Parker School Celebrates the Arts

Approaching the end of the school year, Francis Parker School recently celebrated the work of upper and middle school campus students with its annual Spring Arts Night held this past Monday. Students displayed their many musical, dance, and visual art talents in a festival type format of activities for parents and the public to enjoy. In attending the event, we focused on the many works of art displayed at the school’s Rose Art Gallery. The walls and floor displays were full of various art mediums that included everything from acrylic portraits, to engineering and wood shop class products, to ceramics, and silkscreen prints. We were impressed by the work of the students. Here are just a few of the works of art and craftsmanship that we enjoyed.

The above art work reminded me of all the festive carp banners that are seen throughout Japan on Children’s Day (each May 5th).

I believe my appreciation for this art piece may have something to do with my recently watching all 30 episodes of HBO’s “The Pitt.”

I never displayed much skill in my own junior high wood shop class, so I greatly appreciated the craftsmanship (as did many other people strolling through the gallery) expressed in this 10th grade wood shop product. The chair just invites you to sit down and relax.

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We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

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It was Taco Tuesday and it seemed to us as if we had eaten tacos at about every place in Linda Vista that has them. Where to go, we thought? Fortunately, we remembered a place so close to Linda Vista. When you think of Mexican food, you often think of Old Town. And while Old Town is not Linda Vista, it is certainly very close to the southwestern border of Linda Vista and a popular location where everyone goes at one time or another, be it tourists or locals. So what better place to get tacos than across the San Diego River to Old Town? One of our favorite restaurants which we had not yet reviewed is Rockin’ Baja Lobster at 3890 Twiggs Street. It is a great place for a pescatarian, having many seafood choices including lobster, shrimp, crab, oysters, octopus, cod and probably more. And we knew they have a Happy Hour from 3 to 6 each weekday, so in keeping with our quest for a bargain meal and honoring the eating requirements of Taco Tuesday, off we went to Rockin’ Baja Lobster.

As you would imagine between 3 and 6 on a weekday the place was not too crowded and parking was not a problem. We had our choice of where to sit and service was very good. We were given regular menus as well as the Happy Hour menu. Although we were going to order from the Happy Hour menu, I couldn’t resist a sneak peek at the regular menu, and the pictures made my mouth water. Buckets of shrimp, lobster, crab, and many more scrumptious looking pictures along with prices upwards to well over $100, forced us back to the Happy Hour menu.

The Happy Hour menu was quite extensive. Not just tacos, but included such items as fries, calamari, and corn ribs. As you may remember, we once mentioned corn ribs available at Trader Joe’s. We just love them but the last time we were there, they were out of them, and I have been craving them ever since. So when I saw them on the menu, I knew I had to order them. Steve really wanted tacos, but he couldn’t decide on which one, so he ordered a Fried Lobster Taco Del Mar, a Fried Avocado Taco, and a Blackened Mahi Taco. Actually, I had ordered the last one, but they put all three on his plate, so I lost out.

The Mexican corn ribs were delicious. There were eight large ribs and they were tossed with mayo, lime, chilies, cilantro, cojito cheese and Tapatio drizzle for just $8.00. They were so yummy. I could not eat all of them, so Steve had a couple and he also enjoyed them. I always eat the Trader Joes corn ribs plain, but maybe I will try to dress them up next time I cook them.

Steve raved about his tacos, especially the lobster one. It was on a corn tortilla with cabbage, Pico, Cotija cheese and ranch crema and was only $7.00. What can you say about lobster? He also liked the avocado taco. Besides the regular, it had cheddar jack cheese, and boom-boom sauce and was $4.00. The third, which was supposed to be mine was blackened mahi mahi with similar accouterments but with “kick-ass sauce” so it is probably better that Steve ate that one $5.00. He thoroughly enjoyed each of the tacos as well as a couple of corn ribs. The prices were very reasonable, and we certainly had plenty to eat.

We had not been to Rockin’ Baja Lobster in a while, and although the prices were much higher for the seafood entrees, we were not surprised as prices have been steadily rising everywhere. They do tack on a surcharge to your meal. And, when we win the lottery, we plan on going back and ordering the Killer King Crab Leggs Bucket ($119 each).

If you want a good deal on a Taco Tuesday, then head on down to Old Town and Rockin Baja Lobster. I know you will enjoy it. In addition to the food selection, there is a Happy Hour selection of margaritas and beer. And remember, it’s not too far away.

Problematic Parking Lots in LV Area

It’s no secret…parking is a serious problem in the Linda Vista area. Narrow streets, many older homes without garages requiring the parking of cars along the curb, and the addition of ADU’s and apartment complexes in neighborhoods already short of parking spaces, have all combined to create a parking space shortage on our residential streets.

However, parking is also a problem in many of our local commercial parking lots. Though local merchants want us to drive over to frequent their businesses, they are sometimes hampered by the space allotted by the shopping mall developers/owners who often skimp on the amount of space devoted to parking.

We recently conducted a survey of local commercial parking lots to determine those most problematic in terms of available parking spaces, the amount of space devoted to each parking slot, and the space available for comfortably backing in and out of spaces and maneuvering to and from the entrances/exits.

Here is what we came up with.

# 1: Las Cumbres Square Parking lot at the corner of Friars Road and Via Las Cumbres:

This parking lot serves popular businesses like Mr. Peabody’s, Round Table Pizza, Sk Nail Spa, and Los Panchos, and this popularity means many customers and their many vehicles. This parking lot is small and almost always full; unfortunately, there isn’t much space left to comfortably maneuver in and out of the few spaces available. When backing out, you have to be extremely careful to not back into another car attempting the same thing. Further complicating this situation in recent days has been the reduction of parking spaces available in the shopping center’s upper parking lot. This easily maneuverable supplemental upper lot used to handle the overflow of the lower lot, and though most people much preferred not having to climb up and down the stairway to the lower level, it did provide adequate extra parking. However, the owner of the shopping center recently handed over most of the upper parking spaces to a new business (11:11 Pilates Studio) located on the second floor of the building. This has made the lower lot spaces even more of a rare commodity. And believe me, there is nothing worse than being extremely hungry for a couple of Mr Peabody’s shrimp tacos, but having to drive around aimlessly on an empty stomach while looking for an available parking spot.

# 2: Trader Joe’s parking at Mission Valley West shopping center (off of Mission Center Road):

Trader Joe’s sits in a shopping center with such popular restaurants as Puesto and Lazy Dog, which means a constant fight for open parking spaces. The store offers some great grocery selections. Many other people think the same way, which makes it a busy place for shoppers who drive from all over the area to spend their money on such Trader Joe favorites as scallion pancakes, and double chocolate croissants, and maple pecan granola. It’s too bad the parking space in the shopping center parking lot is extremely tight. Not only is the parking lot always full, but the individual spaces seem too narrow, as if they all deserved a “compact car only” designation. Though I enjoy the trip once I get inside Trader Joe’s, the parking lot itself makes me feel a bit claustrophobic, and always gives me the feeling there is an overeager, impatient driver stalking me from a close distance, waiting for my quick exit.

# 3: Parking at Arrive Mission Valley at 5395 Napa Street

Finally, I sometimes get that same claustrophobic feeling when parking at the small Arrive shopping/apartment complex located at the corner of Napa Street and Linda Vista Road. This place too is a very busy shopping center with some popular eating establishments, and partially surrounded by apartments, which means a tight, dense fit when it comes to parking. I believe the developers originally skimped on the size of each parking space – each one seems like it’s lacking a couple inches on both sides of the white lines. They are great parking spaces if you drive a mini-Cooper. The one saving grace is that there is some extra parking space located in the area adjacent to the condo/apartment parking spaces. Fortunately, some of the eating venues, like Urbane Café and Pita Grill make the parking hassle worth it.

In the next upcoming issue or two we hope to highlight three of the most roomy parking lots in the LV area.

LV Update Guest Author Column

The Case for Bike Lanes in LV

Editor’s note: In last week’s edition of the LV Update, in an article about Waymo driverless vehicles on Friars Road, we made a satirical reference to “bikeless bike lanes”. One of our enthusiastic readers — Steven Gelb — took us to task for making that comment, sending us a few thoughts on the matter. Knowing that he is a serious bike lane advocate, and the District 7 representative on the City’s Mobility Board, we offered the retired University of San Diego professor an opportunity to formally express his thoughts on bike lanes. He took us up on the offer. Here is what he had to say.

I’m a 78 year-old Linda Vista resident who uses an e-bike as my primary mode of transportation. In the last 5 years I’ve ridden 13,500 miles, including recent trips to Kaiser Vandever for a Covid booster, the Bayside Community Garden to volunteer, the Ocean Beach Food Coop for groceries, and downtown for a meeting of the City’s Mobility Board, where I represent District 7.

San Diego has a severe air pollution problem and most of it is due to exhaust from our tailpipes. Providing alternatives to driving benefits everyone. Each potential car trip made by walking, cycling or riding transit reduces air pollution and road congestion. I own a car and am not suggesting people give up driving. But I’m pointing out that providing viable alternatives to driving-whether by improved transit, pedestrian safety measures, or new bike lanes-- improves the quality of life in San Diego for everyone.

There are many who cannot drive, because of age, disability, suspension of license, or because they cannot afford the expense of buying and maintaining a car. In When Driving is Not an Option, author Ana Zivarts documented that up to 30% of citizens can’t drive due to age, disability, license suspension, or lack of sufficient income to purchase and maintain a car. As a result, they have limited access to employment, medical, educational, and recreational opportunities.

I’m a bike rider by choice, but there are many who ride because of necessity, especially in poorer communities. When safe infrastructure is lacking, fear keeps others from cycling who would like to.Unfortunately, that fear is realistic. Each year Families for Safe Streets holds a memorial service for San Diego residents killed and injured in traffic crashes. Laura Keenan founded the organization after her husband Matt was killed while riding his bicycle in an unprotected bike lane on Camino del Rio South.

In Linda Vista crashes are too common. Jeremy Bloom of Circulate Planning and Policy reported that between 2021 and 2025 there were 23 crashes at the intersections of Genesee and Linda Vista Road, and 14 each at the intersections of Comstock and Linda Vista, and Ulric and Linda Vista. In the entire 92111 area there were 1,050 crashes and 1,399 people were injured or killed in these crashes. Forty-four victims were age 14 or younger

Many see bike lanes as a waste of the City’s resources. What they don’t realize is that bike lanes save lives. Cyclists are safer in the bike lanes on Linda Vista Road, Friars Road, and Ulric Street than on similar roads without bike lanes. Cycling infrastructure induces more cycling which reduces congestion and improves air quality. Protected lanes on 30th Street doubled cycling to 130,000 annual trips. The Rose Canyon bike path recorded 162,052 rides in 2024.

In addition to building bike lanes the City is making other safety improvements including lowering posted speeds on some roads and adding needed daylight space at intersections to improve drivers’ visibility. We should support all these efforts to save lives.

***

We at the LV Update wish to thank Mr. Gelb for his essay. We always enjoy seeing local residents so interested in improving life here in the LV community.

LV Update Poetry Corner

Our City’s controversial (and expensive) trash service has once again made the news in recent days. And though some residents may find the subject of trash bins too messy for any literary pursuit, we want to draw your attention to a quirky San Diego trash bin-related poem that was originally destined for this newsletter, but subsequently diverted to a digital literary journal called The Beatnik Cowboy. The poem is titled “Suburban Outlaw (Mildly) Terrorizes the Block” It contains our usual sardonic tone reflecting interesting aspects of life here in Linda Vista suburbia. So in the name of undisguised self-promotion, we invite you to read the poem — just click HERE. We also encourage you to leave a comment (hopefully a favorable one) on the poem’s site. If you leave such a comment, we promise to do the following:

• Renew your free subscription to the LV Update (free of charge).

• Say good things about you to strangers.

• Forever consider you a literary person with good taste.

• Go back and talk to your high school English teacher and tell him/her that you really deserved an A in that class.

• Put your name at the head of the list for any future giveaways of LV Update merch.

LV News Briefs

—Adoption Fees Reduced: SD Humane Society has reduced adoption fees for adult dogs and cats (7 months and older) to $50 from May 1 through 17, 2026. It’s all part of Bissell Pet Foundation’s national “Empty the Shelters” initiative. Right now, there are 1,585 animals in care at all SD Humane Society campuses, including 668 dogs and 777 cats. Dog capacity levels have reached staggering highs: 152% at the El Cajon Campus, 155% in Oceanside, 129% in Escondido and 150% at the San Diego Campus. All campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside and San Diego are now open for walk-in adoptions Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m..

—Carport Sale at LV Village: Linda Vista Village will hold its popular Carport Sale on Saturday May 16th. There will be plenty of interesting items for sale with many families participating.

—Fun Dog Adoption Event: Bree Partington — Mission Heights resident and local realtor — invites everyone to the annual Porsche, Pours & Pups event, where people can check out exotic Porsches, enjoy craft beer, and see what dogs are available for adoption. Check out the below flyer for details.

Foster Kittens Adopted

We are happy to report the two foster kittens (Maude and Alfred) we featured in last week’s issue of the LV Update were adopted two days ago. And we are especially happy to report they were adopted together! Though we were sad to see them go when our foster assignment ended, it’s great to know everything worked out fine for them, and that they found their forever home.

Subscribe to the Linda Vista Update

We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

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Readers, I am both proud and shocked to say that I have seen the future…and I saw it right here in little old Linda Vista!

Though I consider myself a person who appreciates advancements in technology that can benefit us all, I must admit I don’t know what to think of the future I caught a glimpse of while recently traveling on one of our main Linda Vista thoroughfares. This future appears both very cool and somewhat frightening.

Here is what I saw….while driving east on Friars Road on two occasions, I spotted a Waymo car. For those of you unfamiliar with Waymo, the name refers to a company that many think represents a major technological trend pertaining to the way we will travel in the coming decades. Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company owned by Alphabet (Google’s parent company) that operates a fully driverless, commercial robotaxi service. Its Waymo One app allows people to hail electric cars –much like Uber and Lyft – but uses driverless cars.

Waymo currently operates in major cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, and the company has recently established limited operations here in San Diego. According to one newspaper article, the company is currently test-driving on San Diego streets – with drivers – as part of a possible broader plan to fully operate throughout our city. The cars come equipped with Waymo’s logo and its sensors on the roof and above each tail and head light. Right now testing is occurring in Bankers Hill, Mission Hills, Little Italy, Balboa Park, Cortez Hill, East Village, and the Marina District, while also on Interstate 5 and SR-163. I assume the Waymo vehicles I saw on Friars Road were probably working on getting on to the nearest Interstate 5 on-ramp.

Waymo cars are a common site in San Francisco (the home of Google), but that city is full of tech nerds, geeks, and hipsters. They are well accustomed to seeing the latest in technological wonders. Of course, driverless cars have not been without their controversy even in San Francisco. Waymo driverless cars have been involved in accidents, and Waymo was the recipient of negative headlines when in October of last year a Waymo driverless car killed a beloved cat named KitKat in San Francisco’s Mission District.

I’m not so sure what will happen if/when Google-owned Waymo goes fully operational in San Diego and Linda Vista streets are then commonly trafficked by driverless vehicles. After all, Linda Vista is a very traditional community and doesn’t take kindly to change. For example, just mention the word “gentrification” and the majority of LV residents freak out. Cool hipster types are still eyed with a bit of suspicion. There are plenty of older residents who still frequently mention those golden days of their LV youth (50’s, 60’s and 70’s) when they used to play in the same LV canyons that are now full of townhouse and condo developments, and they still fondly recall when Mission Valley was full of dairies. And believe it or not, there are still residents who remember back to when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt paid our community a visit back in 1942 to help open the Linda Vista Shopping Center. Change comes slowly in this community. For example, long-time Linda Vista residents were just barely getting used to bike-less bike lanes, and now they will soon be asked to make a much bigger jump to driverless driving lanes. It’s a lot to ask for!

Furthermore, many Linda Vista drivers (including myself) thoroughly enjoy honking horns and waving fists and yelling curse words at those errant drivers who drive too slowly up Ulric Street, who don’t know which lane to get into when getting on or off the SR 163/Friars Road interchange, who speed down that narrow stretch of Comstock Street, and who drive erratically in the parking lot of the Linda Vista Plaza Shopping Center. What good is all that honking, waving of fists, and cursing going to do when dealing with a driverless car? Algorithms and sensors don’t pay any attention to such insulting behavior, and that’s no fun.

I think we in Linda Vista have some work to do regarding the acceptance of driverless cars in our neighborhoods. The thought of a spooky looking car moving with no one behind the wheel is indeed a scary one. We are placing our safety in the hands of big tech and someday we will all have no choice but to accept getting into a driverless car to get from one place to another. Face it, it’s inevitable. In preparation for this scary future, I suggest we all recite the following comforting mantra each morning when we get up and before we fall asleep…
“I place all my faith in Google technology, for Google is all knowing and therefore knows what is best for me.” (repeat at least three times and you will feel better)

LV News Briefs:

—Adoption Fees Reduced: SD Humane Society has reduced adoption fees for adult dogs and cats (7 months and older) to $50 from May 1 through 17, 2026. It’s all part of Bissell Pet Foundation’s national “Empty the Shelters” initiative. Right now, there are 1,585 animals in care at all SD Humane Society campuses, including 668 dogs and 777 cats. Dog capacity levels have reached staggering highs: 152% at the El Cajon Campus, 155% in Oceanside, 129% in Escondido and 150% at the San Diego Campus. All campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside and San Diego are now open for walk-in adoptions Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m..

—Carport Sale at LV Village: Linda Vista Village will hold its popular Carport Sale on Saturday May 16th. There will be plenty of interesting items for sale with many families participating.

—Fun Dog Adoption Event: Bree Partington — Mission Heights resident and local realtor — invites everyone to the annual Porsche, Pours & Pups event, where people can check out exotic Porsches, enjoy craft beer, and see what dogs are available for adoption. Check out the below flyer for details.

San Diego Mesa College Playoff Softball Games this Weekend: The SD Mesa College Women’s softball team (sporting a very successful 28-13 season record) will play El Camino in a best of three series this weekend. The winner will advance to next week’s eight team, double elimination state championship at Bakersfield College. The first game will be held Friday at 2:00 pm. The second game will be held Saturday at 2:00 pm. If a third game is required, it will be played after the second game.

Comfort Food a Bargain at IHOP Fenton Marketplace

We were feeling pretty stressed out the other day and in bad need of some comfort food. Keep in mind that we are also continuing on our quest to find reasonably priced meals while trying to stay in the healthy category. Quite a chore, especially in these days of rising inflation. We decided that we would have to be satisfied with two out of three. And which two did we choose? Comfort food in the reasonably priced category. The heck with healthy. Comfort first. We thought about looking for a place we had not reviewed before and which seemed to be advertising something reasonably price. We chose IHOP (International House of Pancakes) conveniently located on Fenton Parkway near Costco, the MV Library and IKEA. Off we went for a late brunch or early dinner.

IHOP has much more than pancakes, including French toast, crepes, omelets and other breakfast items but also items like salmon, steak, burritos, burgers, chicken and much more. You can see the entire menu online and I’m sure you will find something. They have an over 55 menu (should you admit to that fact) and a kid’s menu. But we came for comfort food even though it was not breakfast time. The menu showed a short stack of pancakes for $9.99 and there is nothing more comforting than a stack of pancakes and four is not really so short. Steve chose that dish. I chose French toast, which consisted of one thick slice of French toast and either pork sausage or bacon, and they were nice enough to substitute hash browns for the meat for $9.99.

The staff were very nice, and it was not crowded at that time, so service was good. You can see from the pictures that our meals came with a big dollop of butter and there was a variety of syrups including blueberry, sugar free and a couple of others. The serving was just right to ease our comfort without making us uncomfortable. The French toast was thick, fluffy, and scrumptious. Steve really liked the pancakes and was happy they had sugar free syrup as we know he is calorie conscious. We enjoyed our meal very much and although it was in no way the healthiest choice at least it was not excessively unhealthy - and very good for our mental health.

So, if you haven’t had breakfast in the middle of the day lately, or just in need of comfort food anytime, we advise you give IHOP a try. We don’t normally have pancakes or French toast at home, so this was a treat. The restaurant is open 6:00 AM daily and till 10:00 PM except Friday and Saturday when it is open till midnight. Parking is not a problem, and you can go to the library and pick up a book while you are up there, or pay a visit to Costco.

Two Fosters Kitten Available for Adoption

We are currently fostering two awesome kittens for the SD Humane Society and we want to let all of our readers know these two will soon be available for adoption (as early as this Saturday afternoon/no later than Sunday morning). They are both extremely friendly, active, and full of personality. They will grow up to be great lap cats. The calico kitten (Maude) is a female and has a SD Humane Society ID number of 987508. The bluish gray and white kitten (Alfred) is a male and has a SD Humane Society ID number of 987510. Did we mention they are also very smart? If they were kids, they would in all likelihood be enrolled in a school’s Gifted and Talented Education program!

If you or someone you know is interested in adopting a kitten (or two), I recommend visiting the SD Humane Society at https://sdhumane.org/adopt/available-pets/ to check on the availability of these two (use their names or ID number to find them), or pay a visit to the SD Humane Society’s facility at 5480 Gaines Street, which is open Tuesday-Sunday. Feel free to contact us if you have questions about these two kittens.

Cheapest Gas in Linda Vista

Let me state the obvious….we all hate inflation and how it affects our spending value. Though rising costs in food, cars, housing and utilities have significantly impacted our lives in recent years, we Californians are now also suffering the effects of the Iranian War which means putting up with a horrible rise in gas prices. We already had some of the highest prices in the country before this war started, and now the new prices are really taking a toll on our family budgets. Though the national average is approximately $4.50 a gallon, California prices are outrageously higher.

In order to help our readers figure out where to purchase the cheapest gas possible within the Linda Vista borders, we went on a quick tour of our community to see which gas station had the cheapest prices. We found one gas station that stood out. Though most gas station prices hovered in the $6.25 to $6.40 range for unleaded gas, the Valero gas station at 1083 Morena Boulevard was selling unleaded gas at $5.99 a gallon.

I guess $5.99 isn’t really cause for jumping up and down with joy, but it’s the best possible news considering everything else that’s going on.

So head on over to Valero, save some dollars, and use that money to buy a $20.00 hamburger at your local LV restaurant, or to buy $16.00 beers at Padres games..

Subscribe to the Linda Vista Update

We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

We wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there in the LV area!

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This year’s theme for the Annual Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Fair and Parade being held this Saturday is “Rooted in Community”, and so what better representative to serve as the Parade’s Grand Marshal then Brijette Peña, the founder and owner of San Diego Seed Company.

As mentioned on the company’s website, San Diego Seed Company is “a unique, sustainable urban producer of hand-harvested seeds, producing seeds in creative growing areas in San Diego County.” The company sells its seeds online and at local retailers. Located in the San Diego community of Mount Hope, it is driven by a mission to provide Southern California with organic local seeds that have been acclimated to the range of microclimates in our region so that growers can be as successful as possible.

Pena founded the company in 2010 when she realized that few companies were producing regionally adapted seeds for Southern California climates. She thus aimed to produce dependable organic, regionally adapted seeds for gardeners, farmers, and market growers. Her company now offers over 160 varieties of vegetable herbs and flowers for the home gardener and small-scale farmer. She came up with the idea for the San Diego Seed Company while taking a seed class at San Diego City College. She saw a need, according to a SD Union Tribune article, “to serve urban farmers and small-scale growers, and each of their microclimates.”

As noted in an article in SDVOYAGER, “her work with the Organic Seed Alliance and community farmers focuses on sustainable and regenerative farming. Brijette currently farms on a 1 acre certified organic urban farm in the Mt. Hope area of San Diego.” She is proud that her company is the only seed producers for southern California, and is also very proud that they are certified organic and in an urban setting. She believes that urban farmers are the wave of the future.

Peña elaborated on her passion for growing in that SD Union Tribune article, explaining that “Subsistence growing is important to me because that is the core of how farming started: to feed one’s family. If you grow just to enjoy some delicious home-grown tomatoes, great. If you grow to make money at the farmers market, great. The idea is just to grow. When you have your hand in the dirt, you are more likely to care about the dirt. That is a slippery slope to caring about other things like pollution, climate change and more.”

In addition to selling seeds, San Diego Seed Company also conducts in-person gardening classes, online courses, and provides other resources to support the gardener.

As for serving as Parade Grand Marshal, Peña commented to us that she is “Extremely honored. I can’t believe it.” Of course, in addition to her seed company connecting perfectly with the fair/parade theme of “Rooted in Community”, she also happens to be married to Roger Peña — a native of Linda Vista — which makes her a more than appropriate representative for Saturday’s festivities.

***

The Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Parade kicks off at 11:00 am along Linda Vista Road. The Parade grandstand will be located alongside Linda Vista Road between Ulric Street and Comstock Street. The fair begins at 10:00 am.

Which Wich at Hazard Center (soon to be The Landing)

If you have been to Hazard Center lately, you have no doubt noticed the amount of construction and advertisements for The Landing HZRD. What is The Landing HZRD? It is the new concept planned for this shopping center site. According to the website, it is a reimagined lifestyle center, nestled in the heart of Mission Valley. It will feature luxury retail, health and wellness, entertainment, upscale dining experiences and community gathering spaces. In addition to Wood Ranch, BJs Brewhouse, Negihama Sushi Bar and Grill, and Which Wich, another unnamed restaurant is planned for the site. You can read about the other categories of establishments on the website.

We were wondering if the construction was impacting negatively on any of the current eating establishments. Wood Ranch BBQ and BJ’s do not seem to have been impacted. On the other side, Negihama Sushi Bar and Which Wich seemed the most likely to have suffered because of the parking situation. We decided to go to one of them, Which Wich, in order to show support for a local business and to inquire about the construction.

Upon finding a parking space not too far from the Restaurant, we walked under and around the construction to the corner location of Which Wich. The restaurant was empty but in truth, we did not go at a peak time like lunch or dinner, but rather in between. Steve did ask if their business had suffered and they indicated it had slowed down. They were told the project would take 6 months, but lately they are being told it could be 4 or more than that.

We hadn’t been to this sandwich shop in a long time but remembered it for the fact you pick your sandwich on a bag and fill in everything you want on it, turn the bag into the worker who then prepares your order and calls your name for pickup. They have made some upgrades in that you put your order into a computer along with type of sandwich and all the add-ons - and there are plenty of things you can add on. You pay at the kiosk. The sandwiches include turkey, ham and pork beef chicken, seafood, vegetarian Italian, breakfast and kids. You can see the entire menu on their website. They feature a special sandwich every day and that price starts at $7. The sandwiches are about $11.75 and feature many free add-ons although some you must pay for.

Because we don’t eat meat, Steve chose from the vegetarian menu, and I chose Krab Salad from the Seafood menu. I could have had tuna or a Cali roll, but Krab sounded good to me although I know it is not real crab, I kind of like imitation crab. On my Krab I chose wheat bread, provolone and mozzarella cheeses, deli mustard, mushrooms, caramelized onions, spinach, and crushed chips. $11.75. Steve chose the Caprese under the vegetarian list which also included hummus, tomato avocado or black bean patty, so lots of choices. On his Caprese he added provolone and mozzarella cheeses, pesto sauce, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, red onions, parmesan, and oil and vinegar. Again $11.75.

There is not too much to say about deli sandwiches. We bought the regular size, and they were cut in half. I could only eat half, but Steve ate the entire Caprese. He really liked the pesto sauce and thought all the veggies tasted fresh and healthy. My sandwich also was very good. I liked that I selected so many add-ons and they made the sandwich hefty. We sat outside in the beautiful sun, as the restaurant was rather cool inside. The on-going construction does not do anything for the ambience but hopefully when the work is done, we will have another choice of where to go for a nice afternoon or evening. The visual plans for the Landing HZRD do look appealing. Perhaps they are trying to make it more of a destination like Fashion Valley with some upscale establishments. I like it because it is so close.

I hope the businesses on that side can withstand more months of construction. Help them out if you can by going over on Italian Monday, Wicked Wednesday or one of their other special days and get a sandwich starting at $7.

LV News Briefs

—Bayside Community Garden/LV Community Garden News:

• Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Parade/Fair: Bayside Community Center will have a booth, this Saturday April 25th at The Linda Vista Multicultural Fair. Warm weather seedlings and seeds will be available while supplies last. There will also be special gifts for anyone who participates in Bayside’s Earth Month Campaign taking place at their booth.

• Resident Leadership Academy Opportunity: Are you passionate about creating change in your community? Join Bayside’s 10 week Resident Leadership Academy that kicks off in the Linda Vista Community Garden on Mondays, 4:30pm-6:30pm ** May 4 - July 13, 2026. The Resident Leadership Academy is a 10-week program designed to develop community-driven change and action. Plus it will take place outside in the beautiful Linda Vista Community Garden. To sign up or ask questions, you can contact Tyana Ortiz - tortiz@baysidecc.org.

• Volunteer in the Linda Vista Community Garden: The Linda Vista Community Garden is open weekly (during the times below) for Volunteer and Visiting Hours! It takes a village to take care of the gardens, so lend a hand, make some new friends, or just visit and say hello. Regular weekly days below;

  • Monday afternoon - 4:00 pm to dusk (General Garden Maintenance Tasks)

  • Friday morning - 9:30 am - 12:00 pm ( Harvest and Bundle Produce )

  • If you plan on attending Volunteer Hours please RSVP to Amy Zink azink@baysidecc.org

—SD Humane Society Hours Change: Until September 13, SD Humane Society will extend adoption hours until 6:00 pm Tuesday through Sunday. The change is being made to address a significant increase in the number of animals awaiting homes. SD Humane Society currently has 1,470 animals in care, and the average length of stay for dogs has jumped 22% , to 67 days since last year.

—Coffee with Campillo and Ward: City Councilmember Raul Campillo (District 7) and State Assemblymember Chris Ward (District 78) will host a joint Coffee to hear your ideas, concerns, and questions. The Coffee will be held Saturday, April 25, from 9:00 am to 11:30 a.m. and requires an RSVP for the location. If you would like to attend, you can RSVP here. We hope to see you there!

__Linda Vista Community Planning Group: The LVCPG meets this Monday April 27 at 6:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Kearny Recreation Center. The public invited to attend.

—LV Multi-Cultural Fair and Parade: The popular Fair and Parade will be held this Saturday April 25, 2026. See you there!

Celebrating Civic Volunteerism

The Linda Vista Community Planning Group (LVCPG) recently held its annual election and installation of new/incumbent members for group positions. These two-year term volunteer positions are filled by Linda Vista residents and/or individuals who regularly conduct business in this community. While serving on the LVCPG, they play a role in advising the City government on important LV-related land use and zoning issues.

The entire board conducts monthly meetings on the 4th Monday of each month, and individual members also assemble during the month in various LVCPG sub-committees such as the Affordable Housing Task Force and the Maintenance Assessment District committee.

Serving on a civic board like the LVCPG can be both a great educational experience and a satisfying one for those willing to devote some time to the community. In the recent election/installation cycle, the LVCPG said goodbye to three long-standing group members who each served 10 years as dedicated volunteers for this organization. These three dedicated citizens included Kim Heinle, Jennifer Carroll , and Felicity Senoski. Their willingness to serve the community for such a long time was noteworthy and sets the example for others to follow — as such, we at the Linda Vista Update want to use this forum to recognize their dedication in the hopes it will inspire more LV residents to pursue the same unselfish sense of volunteerism. In this issue we focus on Kim Heinle, who also serves as executive director of Bayside Community Center. In the next couple issues we hope to also follow up by featuring the reflections of volunteers Jennifer Carroll and Felicity Senoski.

Here is what Kim Heinle had to say about volunteering with the LVCPG:

How long did you serve on the LVCPG?

—I started attending in 2014 and joined in 2016.

What motivated you to initially join?

—I joined as a representative of Bayside to (1) ensure our organization’s voice was included in community-based conversations and (2) to serve as a liaison between Planning Group (and ultimately the City) and the community members with whom Bayside works. We wanted to make sure the voices of the community are heard, and that includes non-English-speaking residents, community members who may work 2nd and 3rd shifts and cannot attend PG meetings, and individuals who are intimidated by the PG and civic body process. Their voices matter and should be heard at the meetings even if they cannot attend.

What did you enjoy most about serving on the LVPG?

—It was really important to see the long-term work that can be done through Planning Groups if you just stick with it. Civic engagement can be slow, grueling, and tiring. But being able to see projects come to fruition or the community’s voice heard on big initiatives and elevated to the City... that’s really empowering to be a part of and to witness throughout the process. Selfishly, I also loved learning more about regional planning and local initiatives, as those interest me professionally. Most importantly, though, is working with dedicated community members and seeing the love people have for their Linda Vista community. Even if we don’t always agree (and we definitely don’t!), it’s a beautiful process when the community can collaborate and work together.

What committees/group officer positions did you serve on?

—Member and then chair of the Traffic and Transportation Subcommittee

—Chair of the Affordable Housing Task Force

What did you see as some of the major accomplishments of the LVPG during the time you served?

—Launching the Affordable Housing Task Force in 2020

—Substantial leadership on and input to the Riverwalk and Morena Corridor projects

Why should LV residents volunteer to serve on the LVPG?

—Because your voice matters! How cool to have access to a civic body that represents your neighborhood and advises the City on what the Linda Vista community wants and needs? The Planning Group’s focus areas and committees have direct impact on your day to day lives. The weight of the world can be overwhelming, but you can make an impact right here in your neighborhood. Even if you don’t serve on the LVCPG, attend meetings, participate in public comment, or join a committee.

***

The Linda Vista Update wishes to thank Kim Heinle for taking the time to answer our questions, and especially for making the effort to serve 10 years on the LVCPG. If you are looking for civic volunteer opportunities in the community, the following organizations (besides the LVCPG) are looking for volunteers: the Linda Vista Town Council, Friends of the Linda Vista Library, and the Linda Vista Community Recreation Center.

Ready, Set, Grow

LV Poetry Corner

As a result of a 10 million dollar grant received from the U.S. Forestry Department, the City’s “Ready, Set, Grow” initiative is in the process of planting over 5000 trees throughout San Diego. The planting will be conducted by the Transportation Department and will involve the planting of approved tree species based on community input. The City will assume responsibility for watering the trees for the first three years. The planting of 400 trees in Linda Vista is taking place within two of the community’s census tracts. Many of the trees have already been planted and can be seen, for example, along such streets as Ulric Street, Linbrook Drive, and Acari Street. A previous LV Update article provided news of trees being planted alongside the Montgomery Middle School campus.

Since April is National Poetry Month, we thought it appropriate to celebrate the planting of these trees with a poem.

URBAN FOREST EXPECTATIONS

Imagine in years to come walking
these same streets, tall trees 
furnishing a steady spread of shady 
comfort while we ascend the mesa
or climb up to Mission Heights Park. 
Canopy cover accompanying
a warm afternoon trek, cooling 
the pavement, reducing sunshine’s 
radiance to tolerable levels. 

Like an artist’s brush adding deeper 
texture to a scene’s contours, young 
Pink Trumpets recently planted, 
along with Desert Willow
and Canary Island Pine. Upon maturity, 
teaming up with older trees, 
brown brush, craggy gangs of cactus
to better decorate well-traveled routes – 
this team, in turn, adding more depth
to the larger San Diego green network.
  
Patience required, and water too.
City bureaucrats guaranteeing 
the latter for critical first three years.  
Difficult picturing these small, 
bare branches one day looming high 
above. And so citizens’ supple vision
must be supplied in the interim
for appropriate stewardship mind-set; 
help monitor the slow moving magic.    
 
Forest Service grant monies
embedded in the hard soil, expected
to begin paying dividends in a decade or two.
Young trees lining bright
avenues of approach, staked 
at both sides, strapped for support, 
expected to stand up against
the elements and flourish. As they
root, we root for their success.

The stage is set. 
    Instructions issued.  
                          Ready, Set, Grow.

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We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

We will be taking next week off. Our next issue will be published on May 7, 2026.

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We are continuing on our quest to find reasonably priced lunch items on menus around town. Every week the prices seem higher, and yet the restaurants all seem to be full. I don’t understand it. At the same time, you probably know Steve checks each week to see if there are any special days being celebrated and worth writing about. There always seems to be something. He noticed earlier this week that today April 16 is National Eggs Benedict Day. So my challenge was to find something reasonably priced while also honoring National Eggs Benedict Day. What makes this trickier is that Eggs Benedict traditionally consists of an English muffin topped with Canadian bacon, a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. And with the Carnivore Sidekick unavailable for lunch, I didn’t know if we could we do this without meat.

First, a little lesson on where Eggs Benedict came from. Not Benedict Cumberbatch, and not Benedict Arnold. No, the most common story is that it was invented in New York City in the late 19^th century when stockbroker Lemuel Benedict ordered the combination at the Waldorf Hotel in 1894 to cure a hangover. Others credit a chef at Delmonico’s Restaurant in the 1860’s.

In thinking about the dilemma of no meat eggs benedict, we remembered eating at Arely’s French Bakery Café in Clairemont and seeing Salmon Eggs Benedict on the menu. We checked their website and there it was at a price of $18. Well, if we got that, we would need to find another item much cheaper in keeping with our goal to find reasonably priced lunches. Nevertheless, off we went to Arely’s.

We really love this little gem of a restaurant (located at the Clairemont Town Square). Their pastry displays are enough to make you forget you are trying to lose weight. The pastries are so beautiful, they are hard to pass up. But we had a mission and meant to stick by it. The restaurant’s inside dining area was full on a Tuesday morning (does anyone work anymore?), so we sat outside on a sunshiny morning. In looking at the menu, we observed the Salmon Benedict, but it was a little difficult to find a second dish that was fairly inexpensive. The best option seemed to be a small stack of pancakes (1 pancake) for $5.00. So, when our server approached us, we ordered the Salmon Benedict for Steve, and I ordered a small stack blueberry pancake.

You can see from the pictures how beautifully the items are served. Steve’s dish consisted of two English muffins each topped by a tomato slice, a piece of salmon, a perfectly poached egg and hollandaise sauce dripping over the whole thing. And there were two, so we probably could have just split one entrée. He ordered hash browns as a side but had other choices. My short stack was also presented beautifully with a very large blueberry pancake accompanied by a large vat of butter, syrup, and a good helping of whipped cream dotted with more whole blueberries. I was worried there wouldn’t be enough for a meal, but I was wrong.

Steve loved the Salmon Benedict. The salmon was flaky, the poached egg oozing yolk and the hollandaise adding the perfect touch. However, with the generous heap of hash browns, he found he could only eat one, so we boxed the other for another meal. I on the other hand, had no problem eating the whole short stack pancake although I did go light on the whipped cream. Can’t say the same for the butter and syrup. It was tasty and so worth the $5.00.

We had accomplished our mission. Celebrated National Eggs Benedict Day and found an inexpensive breakfast/brunch item in the short stack. And though a Salmon Benedict is probably not what Lemuel Benedict had in mind in 1894 with his hangover, I think he would have liked the slight deviation. And since it made two meals, it was also not that expensive.

Arely’s is a great place and very popular. If you haven’t been there, give it a try if just to partake in the feast to the eyes of their pastry display.

Follow-Up Article

Positive Update on LV Tiny Tot Playground

Things are looking up for the Linda Vista Community Park and Recreation Center! In a recent issue of the Linda Vista Update, we once again addressed the problematic condition of the Tiny Tots playground located at the LV Community Park (7604 Levant Street), reflecting a concern that the City was not sufficiently addressing the condition of the aging playground in a timely manner. We originally covered news of this playground back in April of last year when long-time LV resident and community activist Margarita Castro first brought the issue to this newsletter’s attention, citing the poor condition of the playground surface (caused mainly by a poor drainage system that runs under the playground) as well as the playground equipment. She recommended that the playground area be totally remodeled, using new playground equipment such as that found at Mission Bay’s Tecolote Shores Park.

Fortunately, as a result of this newsletter’s recent article, the issue of the playground caught the attention of people associated with the City’s Parks and Recreation department, and as a result, it appears the City is beginning to move in the right direction in regard to improving the playground.

At this week’s meeting of the Linda Vista Community Recreation Group, City officials confirmed the Parks and Recreation Department will attempt an interim solution by digging up the playground surface to both replace the surface with similar engineered wood fiber chips, and then have engineers determine what can be done to improve the drainage system that runs under the playground. In addition, the City will make a commitment to power wash the playground equipment on a weekly basis in order to keep it clean and free of mildew. The surface and engineering work will be accomplished once funding can be secured.

In the meantime, the City’s Parks and Recreation Department will also aggressively seek to find funds to totally remodel the park as part of a capital improvement project.

Prior to the LV Community Recreation Group’s meeting, Margarita Castro was able to meet with several City Parks and Recreation representatives, to include Parks and Recreation area managers, Ira Patron (Recreation Center Director III), Jeremy Bloom (District 7 representative to the San Diego Parks and Recreation Board), and Andy Fields, Director of the City’s Parks and Recreation Department. Together, they reviewed the City’s plan to improve the playground area and discussed reasons for selecting certain options.

By the end of evening, everyone in attendance was able to leave both meetings feeling optimistic about the future of the playground, as well as satisfied that the City’s plans were sufficient to remedy the current condition of the playground, thus allowing LV kids with the opportunity to play in a safe environment

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The Linda Vista Update wishes to thank Jeremy Bloom (District 7 volunteer representative to the City’s Parks and Recreation Board) and one of our newsletter’s enthusiastic readers for taking the initiative and ensuring this playground issue was brought to the proper attention of the City’s Parks and Recreation Board.

Get Ready for Lumpia Challenge at Upcoming LV Multi-Cultural Fair

Calling all lumpia lovers, competitive food eaters, and gluttons! The LV Multi-Cultural Fair is once again asking people to compete in the second annual Lumpia Challenge. The Fair will be held on Saturday April 25. For the Lumpia Challenge, competitors be given a plate of lumpia, a bottle of water, and 3 minutes to finish. Hands will not be allowed. First to finish wins. Judges will monitor for fairness. Check out the below flyer for the Lumpia Challenge details. You can sign up HERE.

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Speaking of lumpia, as long-time readers of the Linda Vista Update are well aware, our newsletter staff includes the Carnivore Sidekick, who we frequently employ to accompany us on food review visits. Since we are pescatarians, we take advantage of his meat eating habits to taste those menu items we are prohibited from eating. Restaurant owners love it when he shows up because they know he will go “hog wild” and eat whatever meat is being served on the menu, no matter the price.

Needless to say, the popular Carnivore Sidekick is looking forward to the Lumpia Challenge. He absolutely goes crazy at the mere mention of pork lumpia. His plans to participate in last year’s Lumpia Challenge were foiled because he trained so hard in preparation for the contest that he pulled a hamstring muscle. But this year, he is ready.

We are not kidding when we refer to his fanatical obsession with pork lumpia. He turns from average, mild mannered Linda Vista resident to savage Carnivore in a matter of seconds. In fact, through the magic of time lapse photography we were able to document that transition as displayed below (from left to right). As you can see, once the words “pork lumpia” were mentioned the dramatic transition began until he achieved full Carnivore beast status. He personifies that old Duran, Duran song…”Hungry like the Wolf.” Then again, after suffering from severe indigestion a few days ago after eating too much pepperoni and sausage pizza, he was more like that old Los Lobos song…”Will the Wolf Survive?”

LV News Briefs:

—Coffee with Campillo and Ward: City Councilmember Raul Campillo (District 7) and State Assemblymember Chris Ward (District 78) will host a joint Coffee to hear your ideas, concerns, and questions. The Coffee will be held on Saturday, April 25, from 9:00 am to 11:30 a.m. and requires an RSVP for the location. If you would like to attend, you can RSVP here. We hope to see you there!

—SD Humane Society Hours Change: From April 17 to September 13, SD Humane Society will extend adoption hours until 6:00 pm Tuesday through Sunday. The change is being made to address a significant increase in the number of animals awaiting homes. SD Humane Society currently has 1,470 animals in care, and the average length of stay for dogs has jumped 22% , to 67 days since last year.

—Rummage Sale: The Linda Vista Recreation Center’s Theatre Arts Program is sponsoring a rummage sale this Saturday April 18 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The rummage sale will be held at the LV Recreation Center (7064 Levant Street). Various props/supplies used in the program’s latest production of Clue will be available for purchase. All proceeds will go to the LV Theatre Arts Program.

LV Update Spring Time Book Reviews

According to one reputable online source, the average American reads only 12.6 books per year, including the books they started reading but haven’t necessarily completed. If we count only fully-read books, the average American adult reads just over 5 books per year. That doesn’t sound like a very impressive amount. However, we have a hunch that the audience that comprises the Linda Vista Update — people who obviously enjoy reading every week about our community — is prone to reading far above the national average. And to help you remain above average, we have once again called on our two resident intellectuals — Marla M and Martha B — to provide us with some recommended reading. Here is what they recommend:

Marla M. says this about Judge Stone, a novel by James Patterson and Viola Davis: A brisk and engaging novel that combines courtroom tension with a strong and resilient central character, Judge Stone, draws readers into the high-pressure world of the judicial system.

Judge Stone is a respected and composed presence on the bench. She is known for her fairness and strength under pressure. Set within a Southern community shaped by longstanding traditions and underlying racial tensions, her role carries added weight. As a Black woman in a prominent judicial position, she faces heightened expectations and scrutiny.

At the center of the novel is a high-profile criminal trial involving serious allegations. The case draws significant public attention and divides opinion within the community. It exposes differences in social, moral, and religious viewpoints. As the case unfolds, questions of credibility, responsibility, and fairness come into focus.

As tensions rise, the impact extends beyond the courtroom. Judge Stone faces intense scrutiny. Following a key turning point, her life is threatened, highlighting the risks tied to her decisions.

The novel moves quickly, carrying the reader through courtroom exchanges and moments of tension, making it an engaging read from start to finish.

Martha B. had this to say about Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden: This book is a compelling and unsettling memoir about the sudden collapse of a long, seemingly stable marriage. Although Burden comes from a level of wealth and social status that may feel distant to many readers, the core experience she describes is universal. The idea that a marriage that appeared happy and enduring could end almost overnight is both mysterious and disturbing, and the book never offers a fully satisfying explanation. As readers, we may believe we would have seen warning signs—but Burden quietly challenges that assumption, leaving us to wonder if we really would have.

What makes the story especially difficult to comprehend is the behavior of her husband, who not only leaves the marriage but distances himself from his children in ways that are hard to reconcile with the father he once seemed to be. Burden shares intimate details of her divorce and her efforts to understand how someone she knew so well could become, so quickly, a stranger. A financial element—central but best left undisclosed—adds another layer of tension. Throughout, an unsettling question lingers: how well do any of us truly know the people closest to us?

This is a well written, best-selling page turner of a book, which I would recommend to anyone who finds the subject matter interesting.

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The Linda Vista Update wishes to thank Martha B and Marla M for their intellectually stimulating contributions. Now it’s up to you, fantastic LV Update readers, to find keep reading and stay above the national average.

Easter Egg Hunt Held in Mission Heights

Mission Heights resident and realtor Bree Partington held her 4th annual community Easter Egg Hunt on March 22 at beautiful Mission Heights Neighborhood Park. As reported by Bree, about 30 kids from the community were there to participate. All the kids found plenty of eggs and enjoyed all the snacks and drinks. Parents said the the had a great time too.”

Here are a couple photos from the event.

The Linda Vista Update thanks Bree Partington for consistently exhibiting her community spirit and establishing fun party traditions for kids not only for Easter but also such other occasions as Valentine’s Day and Halloween.

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Everyone familiar with Mission Valley knows the busy area hosts three major movie theatre entertainment complexes at Hazard Center, Fashion Valley Mall, and Mission Valley Mall. However, if you are a fan of live theatre, you may not yet know of a small theatre company intent on producing fun performances. Trinity Theatre Company (a non-profit entity), located in the Mission Valley Mall (just a few feet east of the Target Store), is focused on producing “impactful performances that foster unity among friends, family, and community.” According to its web site, the company believes “everyone wishing to engage in the performing arts should have a venue where they can inspire others and be inspired in return.” The Company’s shows merge “the talents of seasoned performers as well as spirited newcomers, jointly engaged in both performance and technical aspects of theatre.”

The Trinity moniker and logo refers to the trinity of “friends, family and community” which the company hopes to connect through their productions. The Company partners with various schools, youth organizations, and libraries to support theatre education that is in accordance with national teaching standards.

This past weekend we paid a visit to the Trinity Theatre Company to enjoy the world premier musical production of True Shot Jean. We were made aware of the show (playing at the theatre for only three shows this past weekend) and the venue by one of our LV Update readers who happens to also be a live theatre enthusiast. We quickly read up on the play, which was about a farm girl from Kansas who heads out to California during the Gold Rush to save her father.

Unfamiliar with the venue, we were not quite sure of what to expect, but ended up pleasantly surprised with what we eventually found. The theatre provides a small, intimate experience with only about 50 audience seats. This means there wasn’t a bad seat in the house. The show’s author, Aaron Fields, was in attendance, and the company’s artistic director, Sean Boyd gave a quick presentation explaining that the play was still in the development stage, with the actors only having rehearsed for a couple weeks. He also informed the audience that the play was intended to eventually tour for 4^th grade school classes.

We found the play – only about an hour long – very entertaining. The production mixed in plenty of fun music and dancing, along with lots of humor. The music’s lyrics and melodies were high quality, and there were plenty of outrageous characters designed to keep 4^th graders (and everyone else) laughing. The lead character, Liza Jean, was played by Rachel Dillon who did an outstanding job of acting and singing. Olivia Barnes, as Liza’s inspiring grandmother, also stood out in her performance. Madcap characters played by Rene Borr (Doc Parsons) and Tim Barran (Dirty Dan) produced plenty of guffaws. All the actors pitched in between scenes to keep the stage props moving and the action flowing. In doing so, the small stage was used to maximum effect.

We recommend LV Update readers check out the Trinity Theatre Company website to see what coming attractions will be playing there in the weeks to come, and to check out what summer youth programs will be available for sign up.

LV News Briefs:

—LV Library Science Fair: Come to the Library SUPER SPRING SCIENCE SATURDAY this Saturday April 11 (12:00 pm to 2:00 pm) where tables will be set up, each with its own experiment for kids to do! Dig in; mix some chemicals; play with fun materials; shake things up! Because, on this day, kids are the scientist! Brought to you by the University of San Diego! Among the exciting experiments kids can make include balloon-powered cars and, of course, Slime, the Spring season version! For kids grades 3 through 5. Younger kids welcome if accompanied by an adult. No sign-up necessary. No reservation necessary.

Lunch at Outback Steak House in MV Mall

Why, you might ask, would two non-meat eaters go to a Steakhouse to review a meal for the Linda Vista Update? Well, there are a couple of reasons. When you read the above story you will see that Steve and I attended a play at the Trinity Theater which is next to the Outback Steakhouse. We hadn’t been to the MV mall for a really long time, preferring the Target in Kearny Mesa, and did not know a theater was in the mall at that end. There were many new stores we had not seen before, but the Outback Steakhouse was still there, and we were happy to see that not everything changed.

Secondly, if you have been a reader of the Update for a while you probably occasionally heard us mention our somewhat dysfunctional Homeowner’s Association. Well, recently there have been some welcome changes and one came in the form of our new Board President, who happens to be originally from Australia. So, because we were in proximity of Outback Steakhouse and to acknowledge our new HOA board president, we figured an Australian Steakhouse was just the ticket. (And also, we did check the internet to make sure they had non-meat menu items, which they did).

Outback Steakhouse looks like a steakhouse should look. Lots of wood, a large dining area as well as a large outside eating area and a large open air bar. It was after lunchtime, so not very crowded, but the fact that it has been around so long must mean they are doing well. We were seated at a booth, and the server was very friendly and laughed when we said we didn’t eat meat. The menu is very extensive with signature steak, steak combo, chicken ribs, seafood, burgers, entree salads, soups, sides and more. They have lunch specials also, with ahi and shrimp as non-meat options.

We wanted to feel like we were honoring Australia, so Steve ordered Shrimp on the Barbie. I went with an appetizer of Sydney Shrooms, but Bloomin’ Onions would have been a good choice also. Our server brought us out some warm dark molasses bread and butter. Steve ordered a beer, but I went with just water, then proceeded to eat most of the bread.

Our food came rather quickly and you can see from the pictures that the portions were generous. The mushrooms had a tasty breading and were fried. They were served with a homemade ranch dressing which was very good. There were too many for me, so I shared them with Steve. Steve’s shrimp was delicious. It was seasoned with a special blend of spices and grilled to perfection and served on garlic toasted bread. A side of broccoli completed it. Steve was nice enough to let me taste one and it will be what I order the next time I go there.

You can look at their complete menu online which also includes prices. Although prices are not what they would be at a high-end steakhouse, I think you can find whatever you want in the steak category and will be satisfied with the quality, quantity and price.

Give it a try if you want something Australian themed. The mozzarella boomerangs looked interesting, and if you are hungry enough to consume 1900 calories, you can always order the classic Bloomin’ Onion.

LV Recreation Center Adds Security Measure

The Linda Vista Community Park and Recreation Center is one of the most popular/heavily used public facilities in the area. So many local residents rely on the aging facility for any number of social, exercise and learning activities. However, security and safety at this venue has long been an issue, mainly due to the many unhoused individuals who congregate and camp out overnight in certain outdoor areas.

One of the areas used for camping overnight includes the courtyard located next to the Recreation Center’s main building. This camping activity has caused the area to become a sanitation problem, with people leaving trash/garbage and often using the courtyard as an open air bathroom space. In addition to causing unsanitary conditions, this activity has caused much more work for an already understaffed park and recreation crew, while raising safety concerns for various families using the park facilities. The situation is one in which compassion for the unhoused competes with the need to protect local residents that yearn to enjoy the park for its intended use.

As a result of this concern, the Recreation Center area recently took on a new feature — the addition of wrought iron fencing around the courtyard—as a way of eliminating use of the area for overnight camping and loitering.

Though the fencing cannot prevent people from climbing over, the soon-to-be- installed “No trespassing” signs will enable the Parks and Recreation staff to officially identify trespassers and then call police to assist in their removal.

Unfortunately, the fencing did not come cheap, costing the city $20,648.80 in much coveted funds. This is money which, under different circumstances could have gone to investing in quality playground equipment for young children.

Without a fence, the same security/safety issues continue to plague another part of the park, the Melinda Appling Memorial Pavilion which usually plays host to quite a few unhoused individuals who have essentially taken over this area for daytime loitering and overnight camping, producing the same kind of unsanitary conditions and safety concerns as previously found in the Rec Center courtyard area.

Commentary

New Creative Tax Proposals Offered

San Diegans are following news of the City’s desperate quest for more tax revenue. Various solutions have been either implemented or planned in order to come up with the cash necessary to balance our local government’s balance sheet. Paying for parking at Balboa Park, and special event parking rates around the Petco Park area are already in the implementation phase, while the idea of taxing homeowners who own vacant second homes (vacant for more than 183 days) is still being debated, and will probably be placed on the June 2 ballot for a City-wide vote. This “vacant second home” tax proposal, advocated by Councilmember Sean Elo Rivera (4th District) is based on the concept that threatened by more taxes, homeowners will be more likely to rent out these homes and thereby help alleviate the rental home shortage. This may seem like an unfair tax to pay, but as Councilmember Kent Lee (District 6) has said…”If someone can afford to own a second home and not use it for any purpose, they can absolutely afford to pay that tax, and they should.” (If you think that’s a wild concept, wait till you read our suggestions listed below)

We at the Linda Vista Update understand the importance of tax dollars. In the January 29, 2026 issue of this newsletter we offered some rather wild and crazy outside-the-box ideas for bringing in more revenue. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you felt about those ideas, the City didn’t adopt any of them. However, we don’t give up easily. Accordingly, we spent the past week hard at work in numerous brainstorming sessions, coming up with even better ways to reach into our San Diego citizens’ wallets and take their hard earned money. We took the underlying idea of taxing homeowners with “vacant” homes, and the concept of penalizing citizens for leaving things empty or unused, and blended this into our own proposals, which are ready to be shown to our readers to get their opinions. While keeping an open mind, we invite all readers to take a look at these tax revenue proposals and imagine how effective they might be. Pick your favorite ones and then write your elected representatives and advocate for their adoption.

Tax Idea # 1: Vacant Space in Garage – Property owners who do not park their cars in the garage and leave vacant space, or who only have one car and a two-car garage will be taxed. It is hoped this tax will encourage property owners to stop using their garage space to store clutter, and free up parking space on the street.

Tax Idea # 2: Vacant Space in Car – Car owners who drive to work alone will be taxed for every empty car seat. This tax should encourage drivers to start car pools and thus alleviate rush hour traffic congestion.

Tax Idea # 3: Vacant Space in New Trash Cans – Property owners who do not completely fill up their new City furnished trash cans to the brim on each weekly trash pick-up day will be taxed. A tax rate will be developed per trash can cubic inch space left unfilled each week. This tax threat doesn’t alleviate any shortage or congestion, but since the City has provided these new trash cans, they might as well use them to collect more money from us—that’s called efficiency!

Tax Idea # 4: Vacant Space in Refrigerator – Property owners who leave too much vacant space in their refrigerators (more than 50% empty rate) will be taxed. NOTE: Property owners who leave vacant space in refrigerators located inside vacant second homes will be taxed at a special luxury tax rate. Every property owner will be required to install a computer chip in their refrigerator that will measure vacant space on a real time basis and report the data online back to the City Treasurer.

Tax Idea # 5: Empty Pinata Tax – Property owners who display empty decorative Mexican pinatas without any candy inside will be taxed. WARNING: This tax may disproportionately impact Mexican restaurants.

Tax idea # 6: Unused Pelotons or Treadmill Exercise Machines Tax – According to a NY Post article, approximately 25% of the 4.5 million Pelotons and Treadmills made since 2019 go unused. This tax could motivate people to get in better shape.

Tax Idea # 7: Unused Paid Parking Time: If you pay for parking at Balboa Park and there is unused time when you are ready to depart the premises, you will pay a 5 cents a minute tax on any unused time. This tax will serve as a “two-fer” for the City’s tax revenue stream.

Tax Idea # 8: Vacant Space at SDSU Football Games – We don’t think property owners, drivers and Mexican restaurants should entirely bear the brunt of paying additional taxes for vacant space. Accordingly, we propose San Diego State University pay a tax for every vacant seat at Aztec football home games. Based on attendance during the past few seasons, this should be a big moneymaker for the City.

Okay, readers. Take some time and think about these proposals. Select the best ones, and then email your councilmember/mayor with your thoughts. The City needs money and creative ideas for getting that money, so do your patriotic duty and contact them. And remember, if you are rich enough to own two empty pinatas, you can afford to, and should pay that tax.

Subscribe to the Linda Vista Update

We invite everyone to subscribe to the Linda Vista Update. It’s free! Just click on the “Subscribe now” button located below. The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.

Subscribe now