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Barrio Logan Split Really About Business as Usual (Or Not)

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By Doug Porter

If you want to see a critical difference between Democrats Nathan Fletcher and David Alvarez, look beyond the article posted in today’s Voice of San Diego.

Reporter Liam Dillon does a good job of exploring the opposition to Alavrez’s mayoral ambitions from within his Barrio Logan, starting with Rachael Ortiz’s long standing opposition to the District 8 Councilman.

Her current issue with Alvarez is the contention that he sold out Barrio Logan’s interests by proposing a compromise solution with the maritime industry regarding the Community Plan approved by the City Council.

The headline on the VOSD article suggests this deal could come back to haunt him.   [Read more…]

Multinational Corporations Seek to Rule Over San Diego’s Barrio Logan Community

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“We may be poor, brown folk but we have organized to take on the state, city and industry numerous times and have won. This may be our biggest battle yet, a battle for our very existence.”

By Doug Porter

For thirty years, San Diego’s Barrio Logan community existed without a community plan. There was no law, no order when it came to land use and zoning.  Having prospered in chaos for so many years, nearby maritime industries are threatening the region’s economy unless they get their way.

Historically speaking, in the minds of the downtown-centric elites any regulatory structure was simply not necessary in Barrio Logan. After all, the community was just chock full of “them”, as in people of color, mostly of Mexican heritage.  Children were exposed to toxic emissions, the nearby waters used to dump heavy metals and other pollutants, and the robber barons of the shipbuilding industry looked away.   [Read more…]

Reflecting Upon the First Year of Desde la Logan

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By Brent E. Beltrán

One year ago today, October 12, 2012, my first Desde la Logan column was published here at San Diego Free Press. To date I’ve written forty-nine pieces: forty-four Desde la Logan columns and five articles on Comic-Con. If I had more time I probably could’ve written fifty more.

Like all SDFP writers I do not get paid to write. I write because the stories that I want to share rarely, if ever, get covered by the mainstream press. And the community I live in and write about doesn’t get much positive media attention.

I’ve taken it upon myself to cover the stories and issues that don’t get covered. To unashamedly champion the places, people, issues and causes that are near and dear to my community and myself.   [Read more…]

They Danced in the Barrio

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Trolley Dances Come to La Logan

By Brent E. Beltrán

For the past two weekends three different public sites within Barrio Logan were pleasantly invaded by the light-footed moves of hand-selected dancers. The 15th annual Trolley Dances shared the talents of local dance aficionados with the Logan community and those that came from outside the neighborhood.

Organized by the San Diego Dance Theater, under the direction of Artistic Executive Director Jean Isaacs, and in partnership with the Metropolitan Transit System, the concept of Trolley Dances is to “bring dance to the people using public transportation and introduce people to new neighborhoods and places.”   [Read more…]

Less Popular Than Zombies: Congressional Approval Rating Drops to Single Digits

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Veteran’s Pension Payments and Disability Funding to Dry Up at End of Month

 By Doug Porter

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki is testified today before a House Committee about the consequences of the current government shutdown and the news was all bad for 3.8 million veterans who will not receive disability compensation come November.  An additional 315,000 veterans and 202,000 surviving spouses and dependents will also see pension payments stopped should the logjam not break.

He told the House Committee on Veterans Affairs the short-term effects include disability claims production slowing by an average of about 1,400 per day since the shutdown began Oct. 1, and that has stalled the department’s efforts to reduce the backlog of disability claims pending for longer than 125 days.   [Read more…]

Projected Low Turnout in Mayoral Special Election Favors Faulconer

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By Doug Porter

Two studies released this week appear to validate the decision made by big money Republican donors to boost the candidacy of City Councilman Kevin Faulconer.

A poll by Republican leaning Competitive Edge Research & Communication of 504 likely voters (Sept. 26-29) shows Faulconer running essentially even with Nathan Fletcher (26-27%, with a plus or minus margin of error of 4.4 percent).  Candidate David Alvarez was favored by 13%, Mike Aguirre got 7%, 20% of those polled said they were undecided and while 8% backed one of the seven other candidates in the race.

Following “push” polling questions, wherein surveyors read politically leading statements to respondents, support for Faulconer jumped to 34%, with Alvarez moving into second place with 22% and Fletcher support dropping to 20%.

Probable voter turnout in the Competitive Edge survey was pegged at somewhere between 35 and 40%.   [Read more…]

Teahadists’ Budget Bomb Ticking Down

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Local leaders fly to DC to watch truly dysfunctional government at work

By Doug Porter

There’s only one story that counts today: the confrontation on Capitol Hill over passing a continuing budget resolution allowing the government to function for another 45 days.

Mini-Mayor Todd Gloria, along with members of the City Council and a Chamber of Commerce delegation headed by former Mayor Jerry Sanders are on the Hill this week “to advocate for policies vital to the region.”  This trip has been on the books for some time—in fact it’s the same outing that former Mayor Bob Filner was uninvited from by Sanders back when reports of bad behavior surfaced.   [Read more…]

César E. Chávez Continuing Education Campus Breaks Ground

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College Courses Coming to Barrio Logan

By Brent E. Beltrán

On Wednesday morning (September 25) local community college dignitaries, area politicians, city administrators, business people and community members came together to break ground on the César E. Chávez Continuing Education Campus in Barrio Logan.

The facility, on the site of the first and third incarnations of Chuey’s Restaurant, will provide almost 68,000 square feet of space including 22 classrooms, a multi-purpose room and space for small business development, as well as a student lounge that will pay tribute to Chuey’s.

The school will focus on providing career training in allied health as well as job training/certificate programs, English as Second Language, Adult Basic Education, General Education Diploma preparation, business, computers and IT, parent education and older adult education programs.

These are all programs that will serve the community of Barrio Logan and surrounding neighborhoods well.   [Read more…]

Barrio Logan Community Plan Update Alternative 1 Passes

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Not All Stakeholders Are Pleased With Compromise

By Brent E. Beltrán

I have never been to a San Diego City Council meeting before. Never had a need nor did I ever care about the goings on inside the council’s chamber on the 12th floor of City Hall. But that changed on Tuesday, September 17. That was the day that the council was to vote upon the Barrio Logan Community Plan Update.

For five years the Barrio Logan Community Plan Update Stakeholders Committee held meetings to create a new community plan for Barrio Logan. A plan that would change the mixed use zoning that has been detrimental to the health and welfare of the residents of this predominantly working class, Mexican neighborhood. The Stakeholders were to create a plan that would delineate industrial areas from residential ones and create a barrier of sorts between the two.

For five years the various Barrio Logan Stakeholders met time and time again to create this plan. It was a democratic process. Votes were cast overwhelmingly in favor of Alternative 1 yet the maritime industry that has been polluting this community for decades kept holding out hope that their plan, Alternative 2, would ultimately be voted on and implemented by the San Diego City Council.   [Read more…]

Barrio Art Jam and Barrio Film Festival Set to Go Off this Weekend

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Barrio Logan at the Epicenter of Grassroots Arts & Culture Movement

By Brent E. Beltrán

Word is out that Barrio Logan is a thriving, happening community that treasures its art and culture. Not a week goes by without some type of artistic happening taking place within this predominantly Mexican neighborhood.

Places like Chicano Park, Voz Alta, The Roots Factory, Glashaus, Bread & Salt and even the placita at Mercado del Barrio feature a variety of arts and culture events that showcase the desire to create and present. This weekend is no different.

The first annual Barrio Art Jam and the second annual Barrio Film Fest are going down simultaneously. The neighborhood may be relatively small but there is plenty of artistic space for both of these grassroots ventures to thrive.   [Read more…]

Support the Barrio Logan Community Plan Update Alternative 1!

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San Diego’s Maritime Industry Doesn’t Care About Barrio Logan

By Brent E. Beltrán

I come before you today not as a paid employee of Continental Marine or of the other ubiquitous polluting industries that mar the streetscape of Barrio Logan. Nor do I come as a high paid lobbyist or lawyer of these same businesses. Neither am I a CEO or manager of said industry.

I come before you today as a relatively new resident of Barrio Logan. I’ve lived in Logan Heights for two years and am now finishing my first year as an apartment dweller in the new Estrella del Mercado complex. Though for the past 20 years I have participated in various ways in the life and activities of Barrio Logan.

For decades my community has struggled with neglect by the political players, power brokers and industries that have never cared about the residents of this barrio.   [Read more…]

Rebuilding Barrio Logan Begins on Tuesday – And You Can Help

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A Call to Support Alternative 1

By Environmental Health Coalition

When you think of a healthy community, what comes to mind? Maybe you picture a park where children play, sustainable local businesses or tree-lined paths winding through clean neighborhoods. This is realistic for most of San Diego, unless you’re in Barrio Logan. Intermingling land use patterns designate parks, paths, businesses, schools and homes to share streets with heavily polluting industries. This incompatible mix not only makes residential neighborhoods feel more like industrial zones, but contributes to air quality so poor that children who breathe it go to the emergency room three times more than the rest of San Diego County.

These circumstances beg the question: What happened to this neighborhood, which was once one of the most thriving areas in San Diego? Full of legends, heroes and rich culture, Barrio Logan seems to have caught the short end of the stick since the 1950s. It helps to remember Barrio Logan (once known as Logan Heights) was once a flourishing local community, fostering a culture of musicians, artists, local businesses and a strong workforce, contributing to San Diego’s overwhelming success as a national destination.

Now it seems San Diego has forgotten its own history. While other neighborhoods have improved community plans to keep residents healthy and happy, Barrio Logan’s community plan hasn’t’ seen an update in over thirty years.   [Read more…]

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