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SD For Free: Free Mulch for Greener Yards and Gardens

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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: Miramar Greenery / Landfill – 5180 Convoy Street, San Diego, CA 92111 (Miramar / Kearny Mesa)

Date and Time: Monday – Friday 7 AM to 4 PM, Saturday – Sunday 7 AM to 4:30 PM

Best For: Reducing water usage, increasing plant life, healthier neighborhoods

It’s officially spring on the calendar, although in San Diego the type of weather associated with spring can be found in any month of the year. Spring is known as a time of planting and renewal of life. If you’re adding tomatoes and peppers to your garden or planting shrubs or trees you may find the use of mulch to be a helpful tool to increase your success rate. In San Diego residents can pick up free mulch at the Miramar Greenery (part of the Miramar Landfill).   [Read more…]

SD For Free: Coffee Cupping at Cafe Virtuoso and Bird Rock Coffee Roasters

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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.   [Read more…]

Take 20 Minutes (or less) to Reduce Junk Mail by 90%

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By John P. Anderson

Want to reduce the amount of trash and recycling you have each week?  Reducing the amount of junk mail you receive is a good place to start.  Below I’ve compiled a convenient list of the websites and companies you should contact to most effectively reduce the junk mail you received.

Here are a few figures from a post by NYU Law School that highlight the environmental impact of junk mail:

Bicycle Weekend – A Summary of Great Cycling Activities for this weekend

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By John P. Anderson

Today, Friday May 17, is Bike to Work Day and there are pit stops all over the county for cyclists to stop, enjoy a bite to eat, meet some fellow riders, and generally start the day on a good foot.  I enjoyed the morning at the 30th Street & Upas Street corner with fresh coffee and pastries and some conversation with neighbors.

If you weren’t able to join the festivities today (or did but want to keep the party going) there are a number of great cycling activities going on this weekend.

Sunday, May 19

Bike Local Sundays – South Park – All Day

The second edition of this program from the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition rolls into action on Sunday in South Park.  The Bike Local Sundays program is held in a different neighborhood every third Sunday of the month and South Park follows the Hillcrest debut in April.  Per the SDCBC:

“Bike Local Sundays started with a goal to get more people riding bikes to support business in San Diego. Trends show that more people riding bikes versus driving improves community health, air quality and traffic congestion, as well as boosts business by relieving residents of the costs of owning and operating a vehicle, transferring those savings to the local economy.”   [Read more…]

SD For Free: Golden Hill Recreation Center

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By John Patrick Anderson

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.

Golden Hill Recreation Center

Address: 2600 Golf Course Dr, San Diego, CA 92102

Date and Time: Monday – Friday 2 PM – 9 PM, Saturday – Sunday 10 AM – 3 PM

Best For: Exercise, relaxation, walking, getting outdoors

Increasingly, when you mention the neighborhood of Golden Hill you will get a reaction that indicates the person you are talking to either knows where it is or has a pretty good idea (e.g. “Somewhere south of Balboa Park, right?”) instead of a blank stare. However, even those who know where the neighborhood is likely don’t know where, or what, the Golden Hill Recreation Center (GHRC) is.

Located on the south-east portion of Balboa Park (just east of Golden Hill Park), the GHRC is nestled between 26th Street and the Balboa Park Golf Course, just north of Russ Boulevard.
  [Read more…]

Pershing Drive Bicycling: Let’s Make It Safe

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By John P. Anderson

Pershing Drive is one of the best examples in urban San Diego of what well planned and executed bicycle infrastructure can be.  The road has few stops (basically just one, at Florida Drive), goes through an enjoyable area of Balboa Park with many nice views, and has full-width bicycle lanes on both sides of the road.

Additionally, Pershing connects North Park and other neighborhoods like City Heights and Normal Heights with Downtown – an ideal route for those commuting to work Downtown or headed there for entertainment or other purposes.  It is also a great example of how an ideal situation can be squandered.   [Read more…]

Hawaii for Cheap: Camping in Paradise

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By John P. Anderson

Hawaii – land of honeymoons, idle thoughts, and sitcom ultimate vacations since the mid-1970s.  Also a land frequently visited by residents of Southern California due to the (relatively) close proximity and frequent flight deals.  I have been fortunate to visit Hawaii twice – my first trip, to Oahu, followed my junior year of high school and included my first flight, first time seeing an ocean, and many other firsts.  The second visit was a ‘babymoon’ in November of 2010, visiting Hawai’i, also known as ‘The Big Island’ since the state is commonly known by the same name as the largest island in the archipelago.

Following my typical travel planning routine we arrived in Hawai’i with no plans or reservations (other than a rental car).  Fortunately we discovered that the county of Hawai’i (which covers the entirety of the island) runs a spectacular set of nine beach parks located all around the island.  Camping is available at all the locations, although the associated amenities vary greatly at each park.   [Read more…]

San Diego’s Favorite Bicycle Rides #1 – Ocean Beach to National City

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By John P. Anderson

A few weeks ago I wrote up one of my favorite bicycle routes, from North Park to Ocean Beach.  I got some good feedback and suggestions in response and decided to continue this idea.  However, I’m still a relatively new to cycling in San Diego and there are many areas of the city and county that I haven’t ridden.

To address my lack of personal knowledge I’ll be reaching out to cyclists across the county to profile some of their favorite rides and hopefully connect readers with some new places and routes to check out and enjoy.  I hope this series will be on a monthly basis, but we’ll see where things go.

The inaugural installment of this series features a ride from Jamie Ortiz.  Jamie recently won the 2013 Commuter of the Year Diamond Award from SANDAG for her earth-friendly cycling habit.   [Read more…]

San Diego For Free: Brews & Views at Alcohol-Friendly Public Spaces in San Diego

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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.
By John P Anderson

Address: Many locations across the city

Date and Time: Varies but generally either 8 AM – 8 PM or 12 PM – 8 PM

Best For: Beer drinkers, coping son-in-laws, well-behaved college students, responsible citizens and visitors of all stripes

San Diego is known for many things. Some prominent ones are sun, surf, an ideal climate, and beer. (If you enjoy reading about beer, read this article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that is the best list of top U.S. beer cities I’ve read.)

Once upon a time you could enjoy all of these things together but today we inhabit a safer, tamer, lamer, more responsible world and despite the love many San Diegans have for our local (and non-local) breweries it is not advised to consume their offerings whilst lounging on the golden sand of the Pacific. A ban on beach drinking was passed in San Diego a few years ago.   [Read more…]

Parts of Barrio Logan Have No Sidewalks – Does Anyone Care?

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Voice of San Diego doesn’t want to make judgment calls on that issue

By John Anderson

Voice of San Diego (VOSD) has been operating a Tumblr site featuring the damaged state of sidewalks across San Diego coined The Stumblr.  San Diegans are encouraged to send in photos from their neighborhood and the images are added to the site.  It’s a great idea to bring a public issue to light and has even received some love nationally including a nod from The Atlantic.

In preparation for our SDFP focus on Barrio Logan, fellow writer Brent Beltran noted the poor (read: non-existent) status of sidewalks in parts of the neighborhood, specifically along Harbor Drive.  Brent has a young son and mentioned he, and other Barrio residents, would like to be able to walk up to Seaport Village, the bayfront, Convention Center, and other destinations in the south-western part of Downtown.  No surprise – that area of Downtown is popular with locals and visitors alike and is a great place for a stroll, picnic, or throwing a frisbee.

I was already familiar with the area, but am usually on my bicycle and not paying particular attention to sidewalks.  I went out to specifically check out the area and take some photos.  There are large distances with nary a bit of cement sidewalk.   [Read more…]

SD For Free: Chicano Park Day – Saturday, April 20

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By John P. Anderson

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.

  1. Address: Map for directions here (intersection of Dewey Street and National Avenue in Barrio Logan, 92113)
  2. Date and Time: Saturday, April 20 from 10 AM – 5 PM
  3. Best For: Good food, good fun, families, historians, artists
  4. Website: chicano-park.org/

This year Barrio Logan and Chicano Park have a lot of reasons to celebrate.  This Saturday, April 20th, at the annual Chicano Park Day from 10 AM – 5 PM presents an opportunity to do so.  Local residents and visitors will gather to celebrate the history and art of the park, as well as to enjoy time with friends and family.  Live dance and music performances will be on display and food and crafts will be available for sale as well.

This year’s Chicano Park Day will be the first since the park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 23, 2013.  The 7.4 acre park was created in 1970 after local residents protested against a planned California Highway Patrol substation that was to be built on the site.   [Read more…]

SD For Free: A Tree! For Free! Whee! Yippee! For Who? For You! And Who? You Too!

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By John P. Anderson

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.

  1. Address: Your house
  2. Date and Time: Soon – if you send in your application. Don’t delay, apply today!
  3. Best For: Tree huggers, tree lovers, bird lovers, people lovers (Basically anyone that doesn’t own a parking lot)
  4. Website: http://www.urbancorpssd.org/FreeTree.pdf

Like trees? Love trees? Indifferent to trees but your spouse or children like them?  Have I got news for you! If you live in the City of San Diego and own property, you can have a tree planted in your yard for free.  Yes, 100% free.  The tree itself, the digging, calling the utilities, putting it in the ground, everything.  All you have to do is agree to provide a bit of water each year and try to keep it living and healthy.  The cost per year for the watering is estimated at $3.  $3 a year for a beautiful, living addition to your yard and street.   [Read more…]

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