By Jim Miller
It’s easy to miss, tucked away at the elbow of 19th and E streets just above Interstate 5: the Japanese American Christian Church in Golden Hill. You’d most likely drive past this humble place of worship on the way up Broadway without noticing it, but if you happened to be on a stroll down E Street looking at the nice old houses, you’d stumble upon it after the bigger homes give way to a series of California bungalows. It’s there before E turns right into 19th. Across the street from the church, a chain-link fence lines the sidewalk above the 5 where the homeless set up camp on a regular basis before they are swept out and relocated only to return again when the police shift their attention elsewhere.
Historically, the church itself is a product of a relocation of a different sort. As my City College colleague, historian Susan Hasegawa informed me, it was originally founded as the Japanese Holiness Church by Christian Nikkei (immigrants and their descendents) in 1930 and located on Newton Avenue. Sponsored by the Oriental Mission Society, the church focused its efforts on outreach to Issei (first generation immigrant) farmers.
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By Jay Powell
“An unarmed Minuteman-3 intercontinental ballistic missile was test-launched (on April 7, 2006) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The missile’s single, unarmed re-entry vehicle traveled approximately 8,200 km (5,100 miles), striking a pre-determined water target near Guam in the Northern Mariana Islands. The launch was part of a developmental test to demonstrate the weapon’s effectiveness at an extended range. The Minuteman-3 missile originated from the 564th Missile Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.” (from various news releases including “The Mercenary Missileer’s Missile News”).
It is a little under 5,000 miles to the Marianas (just above the equator between Longitudes 145-165 E to Brooklyn Heights, San Diego (Lat 32.724, Long – 117.129 W). But more about that later. Now, about this “Do I live in Golden Hill or South Park?” controversy. As the old Americana saying goes: “you can call me Jay or you can call me Ray, just don’t call me late for dinner. “ For a variety of political and geographic and geologic reasons, place names evolve. Sometimes it is very much a matter of branding for real estate purposes.
This name of place issue kind of parallels the name of the community of City Heights which was taken in 1981 by the Community Development Corporation founders led by Jim Bliesner from the name of the largest subdivision in what had been the “Golden Rule” city of East San Diego. Later there were some residents of the City Heights neighborhood of Cherokee Point who thought they ought to be a part of North Park because they had a 92104 zip code. But it was still in the officially adopted community plan area of City Heights. Regardless of what the real estate salesperson or the post office, or the subdivision map or the City says, the people who live in their neighborhood get to call it whatever they want.
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By Judi Curry (aka the Widder Curry)
As the “mother” of my household – put the emphasis wherever you think it should be – I do all of the grocery shopping. My feet are not anchored in cement, and I shop at a variety of stores – CostCo; Barons; Stumps; Vons; Ralph’s, etc. I like various things at different stores. (I used to shop at Sprouts until they fired an employee I liked.)
My main shopping store is Ralph’s, for a variety of reasons: I use their pharmacy and all my prescriptions are on file there; the items that I purchase are lower there than at other stores; they have the variety of items that I frequently look for. I seldom buy my produce there because I think they are over-priced, under-ripe, and outdated. I shop there at least once a week; sometimes twice.
Today, when I did a relatively large shopping trip, I noticed that the checkout area had a new configuration. An annoying one.
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A weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free! We have a great city and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.
Address:
- Cafe Virtuoso – 1616 National Ave, San Diego, CA 92113 (Barrio Logan),
Date and Time: Friday mornings at 8:30 and 10:30, respectively
Best For: Sleepy, Happy, Grumpy, and Bashful
San Diego has a number of coffee roasters and you can try their goods at area restaurants, farmers markets, and in the on-site cafes that accompany most of the roasting locations.
Two of my favorite roasters, Cafe Virtuoso in Barrio Logan and Bird Rock Coffee Roasters (BRCR) in Bird Rock, also offering complimentary cuppings on Friday mornings for those interested in learning more about coffee and roasting.
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By Doug Generoli
The release of Mayor Bob Filner’s initial 2014 budget proposal caused quite a storm in the past several weeks with politicians and the media finding much to criticize. In large part their attention was focused on big ticket issues – use of one-time funds, cuts to the City Attorney’s office, and delays in infrastructure repair – but there was one item that went largely unnoticed … except by the small business community.
Small business in San Diego is thriving. Vacant storefronts are being filled. Businesses are expanding and relocating into larger venues. New construction is occurring.
San Diego small business is even receiving national attention. In late 2012 North Park was rated by Forbes magazine as one of the top 20 hipster neighborhoods in the nation. Just last month Adams Avenue made it into the travel section of the New York Times, which named it as a worthy stop on a short San Diego visit, with specific mention of Lestat’s and Mariposa Ice Cream and Viva Pops.
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