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Candidates Summary for Chula Vista’s Struggling District 4

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By Barbara Zaragoza

I’ve been covering South Bay elections all week, but the most important in the June 7 primary is Chula Vista’s City Council seat for District 4.

In July 2015, the City Council approved 4 Districts for Chula Vista. That means Chula Vista residents will only be able to vote for people running within the boundaries of our specific districts. It also means our council representative must live in the District for which they are running.

Two District Seats are up for election in 2016: District 3 and District 4. Because only two candidates qualified for the District 3 elections–Steve Padilla and Jason Paguio–they will go directly to the November ballot.

That leaves District 4.   [Read more…]

South Bay Local Elections: A Primer

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San Diego Dist. 8, National City, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista

The June 7th election is coming soon and we in the South Bay want to know who will be on our ballots. Here’s a primer for your local elections:   [Read more…]

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and Improv Street Theater in San Diego

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“We’re here to comfort those who are disturbed and disturb those who are comfortable.”

By Barbara Zaragoza

The Sisters, above all, are a spiritual group. Their work has a calling. As Sister Kali explains, “We function within our community as the sacred clown. We go out and by acting contrary through our various means, we give the community an opportunity to find its own answers, their own questions even…We can define the extremes so that people know where the middle ground is and that way they feel a little bit more comfortable in that space.”   [Read more…]

South Bay, San Diego’s California State & County Representatives

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By Barbara Zaragoza

The June 7th Primaries are almost here. Yesterday, I covered our candidates for the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. Today, I take a look at our California races.

The California Secretary of State Alex Padilla predicts a major surge in voter turnout. That’s good news for getting our voices heard. The most important races to understand for the June primary are: the State Assembly and Proposition 50. Here’s a little primer:   [Read more…]

South Bay! Do You Know Who Your Federal Candidates Are?

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The June 7th election is coming soon and we in the South Bay want to know who’s running our government. First up, our federal government. Who will you see on the ballot?

Here’s a primer for the federal candidates…   [Read more…]

Father Wakes Up To Vandalism, Includes Racial Slur

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San Ysidro Has Only 40% Of The Parks They Need, and Sweetwater Union High School Denies Transfer For Student In Eastlake, Despite Promises

By Barbara Zaragoza / SouthBayCompass.com

CV Community Group Crossroads II came out with their 4-page annual report. They wrote, “Crossroads II believes that over the last several decades, the Chula Vista City Councils have mismanaged the affairs of Chula Vista, particularly with respect to land-use issues… Chula Vista City Councils have consistently encouraged more land devoted to residential and less land available for commercial and industrial. We have become a giant “bedroom community.”   [Read more…]

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, San Diego Chapter

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By Barbara Zaragoza

They’re witty. They’re irreverent. Their fully professed Sister names range from Sister Hungry Bitch to Sister Hysterectoria. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, San Diego Chapter seek “to promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt.”

They’ve been called drag queens. They’ve been called a sorority of gay men. As a matter of fact, to be a Sister is a calling and their focus is on helping community members who have been marginalized or ignored.   [Read more…]

Chula Vista’s Taxes May Skyrocket To Fund Bond Measures For Infrastructure, Schools

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Government and organizations must prime themselves now to get measures on this year’s November ballot. You may remember that residents are complaining about the lack of infrastructure in Chula Vista. The western part sees crumbling roads and schools. The eastern part sees too much housing, but not enough amenities like retail stores, public transportation and schools to accommodate the growth. According to the San Diego Reader, the city is considering either a half-cent sales tax on certain items or a $200 million bond measure, which would come from an increase in property taxes.   [Read more…]

Four Men Run For Southwest Chula Vista’s District 4 …

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… Attendance Boundary Debate Still Rages, and Townhomes Replace RVs in Imperial Beach

Last year, a seven member commission created four districts in Chula Vista. Prior to that, elections for all 5 of the city council seats were determined at large. In this election cycle, three council members are not up for re-election: Mayor Mary Salas, Councilman John McCann of District 1 and Councilwoman Patricia Aguilar of District 2.

District 4, or Southwest Chula Vista, is often considered the most underserved part of the city. Four men are running for the position: Mike Diaz, Rudy Ramirez, Eduardo Reyes and Emanuel Soto. The Chula Vista Star News posted their bios. Only residents of District 4 will be able to vote for the candidates in the June 7, 2016 elections. If you are a Chula Vista resident, you can find out more about the candidates and register to vote here.   [Read more…]

Lorena Gonzalez Supports Bill to Nix Daylight Savings…

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… SUHSD Apologizes To Parents, and 4,400 Homes May Be Built Next To U.S.-Mexico Truck Crossing

Assemblywoman for the 80th Assembly District, Lorena Gonzalez, posted on her Facebook page that she will support AB2496 that proposes to establish a “United States Standard Pacific Time” within the state for the entire year.

The Assemblywoman wrote on her Facebook page on Saturday, March 12th: “Tonight, we will lose an hour of sleep. As a result, there will be an increase in traffic accidents and workplace injuries. Parents will struggle to get their kids out of bed, and students will be less alert. Time change is outdated, and needs to be changed. I’m happy to be co-authoring a bill with Assemblyman Kansen Chu to look at doing just that.”   [Read more…]

Border Activists At Friendship Park: John Fanestil’s Christian Service Turns Into Civil Disobedience

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By Barbara Zaragoza / South Bay Compass

“I think Americans project onto the border their fear and phobia and racism and then construct policies that are predicated on fear and phobia and racism. And so, in the long haul, apart from any legislative fixes for immigration reform, culturally and at a more existential or spiritual level, the only solution is to construct an alternative narrative. To construct a narrative of the border as a meeting place, the border as a place of encounter, the border as a place of friendship, the border as a place of communion where people actually figure out, despite their differences, how to get along.”   [Read more…]

Parents Angered By Attendance Boundaries Change In Chula Vista …

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… Humpback Whale Washes Ashore and Latinos Have a ‘Rage Deficit’

As Chula Vista expands, an East-West divide has developed along the I-805. In the West, elementary and high schools tend to be old and under-enrolled. In the East, where homes are newer, elementary and high schools tend to be state-of-the-art. Those newer schools are also bursting with too many students. Back in January, the Sweetwater Union High School District addressed the issue by approving new attendance boundaries.

The attendance boundaries created what some are calling an “East-West Divide along the I-125”. Last week, some parents received emails explaining that their children might go to a different school than the one they had expected.   [Read more…]

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