This week’s edition of Looking Back at the Week contains articles, commentaries, columns, and other work by San Diego Free Press regulars, irregulars, columnists, cartoonists, at-large contributors, and locally and nationally sourced writers on Summer Stephan’s shady campaign, shady political ads, shady placement of campaign signs by law enforcement groups, shady Trumpets Gaspar and Abed, shady gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigoza, the shady Janus Supreme Court case, a shady move to raise height limits in Midway area, and lots of other grassroots news & progressive views from San Diego’s feisty, all volunteer, slightly funky, community news site. [Read more…]
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Looking Back at the Week: November 1-7
This week’s edition of Looking Back at the Week features articles, commentaries, columns, and other work by San Diego Free Press regulars, irregulars, columnists, at-large contributors, and sourced writers on: the fall of Haggen, the end of Keystone XL, Prop 47 fear mongering, the fight for $15, surviving sudden poverty, Big Brother coming to OB, border life, no justice for Anastasio Hernández Rojas, and lots of other grassroots news & progressive views from San Diego’s friendly, neighborhood, all volunteer, slightly funky, community news site. [Read more…]
SDFP Turns Two: Celebration Time!
A growing SDFP community continues to write the people’s history
By Anna Daniels
On Sunday June 1, San Diego Free Press editors, contributors and supporters celebrated our second year anniversary. There was much to celebrate. Since our inception on June 4, 2012, we have published over 3,000 articles and provided original content seven day a week through an all volunteer effort. New writers with unique perspectives and interests have joined us in the past year and editor Doug Porter of The Starting Line fame published his 500th article. Our growing readership tells us that we have been able to consistently provide relevant content.
The articles we publish run the gamut of news, analysis, opinion, personal interest stories and the arts. What sets SDFP apart from other media is that these articles are all provided by citizen journalists. These citizen journalists often provide information about communities that are ignored, stereotyped and marginalized. We are essentially writing a people’s history of San Diego in which we are not only observers but becoming agents of change too. [Read more…]
Take Back the Alley!
by Avital Aboody
Alleyways are a defining feature of older urban neighborhoods. Such extensive networks of passageways and open spaces that offer easy access to homes and businesses with minimal car interference should be celebrated and utilized. Yet rather than developing alleys for the benefit of the community, they have become the forgotten public spaces.
Years of neglect have turned alleys into prime locations for dumping, tagging, drug dealing, sexual activity, physical assault, loitering, and almost every other type of criminal activity you could imagine. The excessive trash, lack of adequate lighting, and poor maintenance contribute to an environment that is unsanitary and unsafe for residents, business owners, and employees that live and work around alleyways.
It is bad enough that alleys are public health and safety hazards, but when you take into account the fact that low-income urban neighborhoods are also severely lacking in parks and public gathering places, improving alley conditions becomes even more essential. [Read more…]
Out to Lunch in City Heights: Awash Ethiopian Restaurant
AWASH Ethiopian Restaurant
4947 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92115
619) 677-3754
By Judi Curry
For someone that has not had Ethiopian food for many years, I wondered the wisdom of having dinner last night at “The Red Sea” and lunch today at “Awash.” While pondering what to do, I called my friend Joe and asked him if he would like to have lunch with me and he readily agreed. (Of course, we had discussed this already before I ate at the Red Sea.)
The outside of the restaurant is non-nondescript. It almost looks like a store front rather than a restaurant. Upon entering, the image changes dramatically. The first thing that you smell is incense – a pleasant odor, not over-powering. There are two sections to the dining room – one by the window that is very bright; the other in a more secluded area, and consisting primarily of individual booths rather than table.
[Read more…]
Seen Around Town: Horton Plaza Demolition and Yarn Bomb in South Park
By A Guy with a Cell Phone
Horton Plaza is falling down! Actually, the old Robinson/Planet Hollywood section of Horton Plaza facing Broadway is being bulldozed to accommodate a new public park. According to Civic San Diego, “Westfield will demolish the former Robinson’s May building and convey the land at the proposed plaza valued at $25.8 million in exchange for being relieved of profit-sharing payments through 2035.” In case you haven’t noticed, there is no longer free three hour parking. [Read more…]
‘State of Cycling in San Diego County’ – A Snapshot of the Region and Plans for the Future
by John Anderson
Last Saturday, April 6, the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition (SDCBC) hosted a ‘State of Cycling in San Diego County’ event in the Balboa Room of the historic Lafayette Hotel on El Cajon Boulevard in North Park.
This event was held to mark the one-year anniversary of the 5-Year Strategic Plan the group adopted in 2012 and discuss progress and goals for the coming years. Every seat in the room was taken, plus some standing in the doorways. I counted approximately 60 people. A bicycle valet service was provided outside the hotel for attendees – a service the SDCBC also offered at the Padres home opener on Tuesday, April 8. [Read more…]
Awash Ethiopian Restaurant: A Home Away From Home for African Immigrants
In 1980, Aster Keleta arrived in San Diego. It was just three months before the United States began granting Ethiopians refugee status. Seeking citizenship was more arduous, but it allowed her to settle in and be of assistance to other incoming Ethiopians, a passion of hers that has continued on for over 30 years.
With the stability she has gained in her professional career, she recently decided to plunge back into the restaurant business once again. Aster and her partner Dr Carrol Waymon are now the new owners of Awash, an Ethiopian restaurant on El Cajon Boulevard at 50th St. Aster admits that she has missed having the creative freedom of running her own business, which also allows her the opportunity to reconnect with her identity and culture. [Read more…]
San Diego Free Press Staff
Editorial Board Doug Porter – Archive of Doug’s posts… Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the […]