San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

You are here: Home / Archives for John P. Anderson

What’s an EcoDistrict Anyway? North Park prepares to become first in San Diego

by

North Park in the first stages of becoming the first sustainable-focused neighborhood in San Diego following the U.S. lead of Portland, OR.  Tonight (Wednesday, April 10th) there will be an informational meeting for community members to learn about the project.  The meeting will be at Sea Rocket Bistro (3382 30th Street, 92104) from 5:30 – 7:30 PM and $3 drafts and $2 street tacos will be available.

I recently talked with Paulina Lis, who is heading up the North Park EcoDistrict project along with colleague Jennifer Owens, to learn more about the project.  (The North Park EcoDistrict is currently in ‘start-up’ mode and the official website, northparkecodistrict.com, is under construction. In the interim the best source for information on the EcoDistrict is the Facebook page.)  Paulina directed me to the Portland Sustainability Institute (PSI) as a primary source for information on what an EcoDistrict is and what Portland has been doing.   [Read more…]

‘State of Cycling in San Diego County’ – A Snapshot of the Region and Plans for the Future

by

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…]

San Diego For Free: Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala – California’s First Mission

by

Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala

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: 10818 San Diego Mission Road, San Diego, CA 92108 (Mission Valley / Grantville)

Date and Time: 9:00 AM – 4:45 PM Daily are the Visitor Center Museum and Gift Shop hours. To schedule a tour or for tour information call 619-283-7319 or send an email to tours@missionsandiego.com.

Best For: History, culture, religious studies

Website: www.missionsandiego.com

Sited along El Camino Real (The King’s Highway) are the twenty-one California Missions, historic sites that played a major role in the settlement and exploration of the West by Europeans. The chain of missions begins in San Diego and stretches north to Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma and roughly follows the modern Highway 101.   [Read more…]

Fathom Bistro, Bait and Tackle – An Instant San Diego Classic

by

I’ve seen ads in CityBeat for the past couple of months featuring a large pink Lichtenstein-ian tentacle pouring a draft beer and the tagline “San Diego’s Only Tap House on the Water”.  Tentacles, beer, and an address on Shelter Island (1776 Shelter Island Drive, 92106) that I couldn’t immediately place.  Mysterious and involving beer?  I was intrigued and recently made a visit.

The mystery deepened when I arrived at the address (directed by my smartphone navigation app) and saw no bar or restaurant in sight, nor a sign directing me to one.  There was a hotel on one side of the street, a playground on the other, and a pier with a few fishermen on it.  My daughter was with me and insisting that Elmo needed to play on the slides so we headed to the playground.  I agreed under the circumstances that I could continue to search for Fathom on my phone.  (Yes, I use a phone while watching my child.  Distracted dad indeed.)

This was my first time at the Shelter Island playground and it is a great location to enjoy playing outside.  Views of Point Loma and the ocean, gulls and pelicans swooping over the bay just a few feet away, and to the east downtown San Diego with mountains in the background.  I studiously ignored the views and craned my head closer and closer to my phone, trying to solve my puzzle.  Google Maps gave me walking directions: Walk 46 feet along Shelter Island Drive and you will arrive at your destination.  Looking all around, there were clearly no buildings in that proximity to me.   [Read more…]

North Park to Ocean Beach by Bike – The Best Route

by

I’ve only lived in North Park for a couple of months but have been working on finding the best route to get from here to Ocean Beach, my favorite San Diego beach, since I moved in.  The biggest issue is finding a good route from the mesa that North Park is on down into Mission Valley.  Once in Mission Valley the very solid path along the San Diego River takes you comfortably and quickly directly west to the Pacific Ocean.

I’ve tried various routes into Mission Valley – Texas Street in North Park, Fairmount Avenue between Kensington and City Heights, Bachman Place in Hillcrest – but found them all lacking.  Fairmount is very, very intense (read: dangerous) on a bike and Texas only slightly less so.  Bachman Place is a much better alternative although it is a meandering windy road down the hill, not bad for cruising down but quite a long haul back up.  Recently I was informed of a path through Old Town and it is my favorite by far.  After a couple of practice runs I took this trip “in earnest” this week.   [Read more…]

The North Park – Mid-City Project Has More Bike Lanes – Commercial Routes or Residential Streets?

by

The second Community Advisory Group (CAG) Meeting for the North Park – Mid-City Bike Corridors Project took place March 6, 2013 at 6 PM at the Sunset Temple in North Park (3911 Kansas Street, 92104). The project aims to create two or three enhanced bicycle routes from the Mid-City area to Hillcrest and further the city’s bike friendly agenda. Approximately 60 attendees of the meeting were broken into five smaller groups to discuss the three primary route options.

San Diego, with gorgeous weather, an active populace, and much open space won’t be found on the top 10 most bike-friendly cities from CNN. Nor on the top 50 from Bicycling. We can do so much better! San Diego can, and should be the premier bicycling community in the nation and among the top in the world. All it takes is a populace willing to work for healthier, happier, more vibrant lives and to speak up.   [Read more…]

San Diego For Free: Income Tax Preparation

by

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: Various
Date and Time: Various (but recommended prior to April 15th)
Best For: Dutiful citizens, taxpayers, the elderly, working joes and joe-ettes
Website: IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program

April 15th is quickly approaching, much to the dismay of taxpayers across the United States of America. However, the due date for federal income taxes doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I previously wrote about how tax refunds are a good thing and if you’d like to find out if you are due a refund you may be able to do so for free.

San Diego has a number of locations that provide free tax preparation and filing services free of charge via the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.   [Read more…]

San Diego For (Mostly) Free: Second Saturday with Suzie’s Farm and Hamilton’s Tavern

by

A weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free (or ‘mostly free’ as in today’s offerings)! We have a great city and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.

Address:

  • Suzie’s Farm – 2550 Sunset Avenue, San Diego, CA 92154 (Tijuana River Valley / Nestor),

Date and Time: Suzie’s Farm Tours – 2nd Saturday of the month, 10 AM – 11:30 AM.

  • Hamilton’s Tavern – 1521 30th Street, San Diego, CA 92102 (South Park)

Date and Time: Hamilton’s Tavern – 2nd Saturday of the month, 5 PM – 8 PM.

Best For: Organic veggie lovers, farmers-at-heart, beer enthusiasts, weekend warriors

The Second Saturday of each month a couple of San Diego’s finest commercial institutions have unique events that make for a fun day.
  [Read more…]

Gay Sex Remains Illegal in the Great State of Kansas

by

In my home state of Kansas Republican Governor Sam Brownback created the Office of the Repealer in January 2011. Governor Brownback is a proponent of smaller government so to reduce the size of state government he created a new state office by executive order.

The Office of the Repealer accepts suggestions for statutes, regulations, and executive orders that should be repealed, reviews these suggestions, and then submits recommendations for repeal to the Governor. The Governor may then repeal executive orders or propose repeal of statutes or regulations to the state legislature.

In 2011 the Office of the Repealer received 506 suggestions via its website, and also conducted 26 meetings in 24 cities around the state to solicit input. These meetings were attended by more than 250 people. In January 2012 the Office recommended 51 statutes for repeal of 181 suggested. Not included among those statutes chosen for repeal was Kansas Statute 21-5504(a)(1) which makes gay sex a crime.   [Read more…]

Newest Pizzeria in Town – Tribute Pizza – Debuts Today in North Park

by

Today, March 14th, is the debut of Tribute Pizza. This one-man-show, operated by Matthew Lyons, is debuting pop-up style inside of Coffee & Tea Collective at 2911 El Cajon Boulevard. Matthew was formerly the general manager of the MIHO food truck and is now focusing on Tribute Pizza and taking it from the current ‘project’ status to a full-fledged restaurant.

Matthew has over 10 years of experience in the pizza-making world. As part of the first class at UC-Merced, he nearly launched a pizzeria there to capitalize on the newly-created college town demand but was dissuaded from this idea when he saw a headline naming Merced the “Foreclosure Capital of the USA”. Now in San Diego he’s working to move his plan for a pizzeria forward.   [Read more…]

San Diego For Free: The Natural History Museum – Balboa Park

by

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.

The Natural History Museum – Balboa Park

Address: 1788 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101 (Balboa Park)

Free Hours: First Tuesday of each month from 10 AM – 5 PM (Free for San Diego County residents and active-duty military, with ID)

Best For: Children, the naturally inquisitive, the curious, those looking for a break from the computer

The large white museum just off Park Boulevard in Balboa Park houses the San Diego Natural History Museum. If you’ve been to the zoo or museum campus of Balboa Park you’ve probably noticed the large structure and if you haven’t been inside yet you should take a visit. There is sure to be something of interest to you whether you are aged 5 years or 50.   [Read more…]

San Diego For Free: City Farmers Nursery – Plant Paradise in City Heights

by

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.

City Farmers Nursery

Address: 4832 Home Avenue, City Heights CA 92105
Hours: Monday – Saturday 9 AM – 5 PM, Sunday 9 AM – 3 PM

Best For: Gardeners, do-it-yourselfers, fresh produce eaters, learners

Serving San Diego for over 40 years, City Farmers Nursery is a one-of-a-kind destination in the heart of San Diego. The nursery features a wide selection of plants including sections devoted to California native plants, butterfly gardens, fruit trees, garden selections, and many more. All of the plants in the nursery are raised organically and the staff is extremely helpful and knowledgeable. If you are buying a plant at City Farmers you can be confident it will grow in your yard – they test every product on-site and don’t sell plants unless they are proven to be well-suited for the San Diego climate.   [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry