Best of Times, Worst of Times in LV?
Plus: Chinese Fusion Food at Farmers Market, LV News Briefs, and Linda Vista and Halloween
No doubt about it. We live in interesting times. Just look at the national and state headlines.
On the one hand, there is a very low U.S. unemployment rate. But on the other hand, we hear reports of many workers refusing to come back into the work force.
At the same time we hear that flocks of residents are fleeing California for places like Texas, and yet there is a tremendous demand for new housing in this state.
And we smirk in response to the silliness of TV reality shows, especially any show that has the name “Kardashian” in it, yet, we have to live with the irritating fact that Kim Kardashian is a billionaire!
As the famous opening from Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, reads…”It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Those lines of 19th century prose certainly apply to today’s news.
You could say the same thing about the news in Linda Vista.
As we’ve reported in previous issues of this newsletter, many good things are happening. Unfortunately, some unsettling things are happening as well.
As we at the Linda Vista Update roamed the streets of Linda Vista this past week in search of newsworthy items, we figured that LV residents too have reached the conclusion that these are both the best of times, and the worst of times.
Let us explain.
First, on the one hand, we were pleasantly shocked beginning last week to see that so many of our Linda Vista streets were getting repaved as a result of the Mayor’s “Sexy Streets” infrastructure program. Like a liberating army, a wave of city workers suddenly appeared to take care of those jarring pot holes and crude repave jobs produced by previous construction digs. Whether your street needed it or not, it probably got paved! Now, we can all enjoy a smooth driving experience. I’m not so sure how the new roads will hold up after the first good rain. And I’m willing to bet that it won’t be long before we see city construction workers digging up these very same roads to install new pipes or fiber cables, but we can enjoy our smooth, pristine streets while they last.
On the other hand, gas prices have shot up so high that we can’t afford to drive much on our newly paved roads. Is $8.00 a gallon next on the horizon?
Second, on the one hand, we commend the County Office of Education for their new landscaping project at the parking lot entrance that aligns Linda Vista Road, right next to the Via las Cumbres intersection. As you can see, the project involved the planting of new saplings. What a great thing for the environment. We can always use more trees.
On the other hand, the pepper trees that stood for ages along Friars Road and the Riverwalk Golf Club course were unceremoniously removed last week. That segment of Friars Road now looks so bare. I guess that’s what progress looks like. Let’s hope the Riverwalk development plan includes the eventual planting of many, many trees.
Third, on the one hand, I was happy to see the City and County team up with the non-profit group Lucky Duck Foundation (and several other non-profit groups) to set up a shelter for the homeless. The shelter (consisting of a giant tent provided by the Lucky Duck Foundation) is located just outside of the Linda Vista boundaries, on Rosecrans Street, across the street from the Old Town trolley station. This shelter has 150 beds and will assist homeless people with on-site behavioral health services. 150 beds may seem small in comparison to the number of homeless in San Diego, but maybe this kind of problem can only be handled in incremental steps. In any event, we appreciate the bold action taken.
On the other hand, it’s very frustrating and sad to see the LV homeless population continuing to congregate along Linda Vista Road and in John Baca Park. We all want to do something, but we are not sure what will work to remedy the situation.
Finally, we are happy to see the Padres have made it into the National League playoffs. What a great accomplishment! After last year’s end of season collapse, Padres fans in Linda Vista are breathing a sigh of relief.
On the other hand, we can expect to feel crushed if they don’t make it past their first playoff opponent, which will be the Mets. And what if they make it past the Mets only to end up getting beat by the Dodgers? Yikes! This playoff business can be very problematic.
Yes, folks. It’s the best of times, and the worst of times (or at least the not so best of times), and all we can do is press forward and do the best we can.
LV News Briefs
—Ulric Street Light Problem Make Local TV News: Several LV residents appeared on last night’s CBS8 local evening news in a segment about the City’s “Get It Done” App. This news feature highlighted the cluster of 18 defective street lights on a stretch of LV’s Ulric Street. We commend the LV residents who appeared in the news segment for voicing their community concerns. If you missed watching last night’s TV broadcast, you can view it by clicking here. The Linda Vista Update first reported on this problem back in August. You can read that article here.
—Free Financial Webinar: The office of State Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber (District 79) will conduct a Youth Money Skills webinar on Thursday October 13 at 5:00 pm. The webinar is designed to help your kids prepare for the future with financial fundamentals and real-world skills. You can register for the event at https://usecu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_H7ushkApSo6HaEAD49dSXw
LV Farmers Market Update
Try SOLNOS Chinese Fusion
We keep singing the praises of the Love, Linda Vista Farmers Market and for good cause. They have great farmers with fresh fruits and veggies, and many diverse food booths. But this past week it got just a bit better with the addition of two new vendors, Solnos Chinese Fusion and Tamale Café. Since I couldn’t eat Chinese Fusion and Tamales on the same day, I will first review Solnos for you and next week, Tamales Café.
SOLNOS is owned by Jainting Li (aka JT). Their menu includes Shrimp Chow Mein, Garlic Shrimp, Cajun Shrimp and Angus Back Rib. They will expand the menu in the future. We were so happy to discover a vendor with non-meat options that we ordered Shrimp Chow Mein and Garlic Shrimp. What isn’t better with garlic in it? The servings were very nice sized and the garlic shrimp came with rice. The shrimp in both these dishes were very large and just delicious. Steve could only eat half his chow mein and saved the rest for lunch the next day. I ate all my shrimp but had half the rice left over. The Chow Mein was $10.00 and the Garlic Shrimp $15.00.
In speaking with JT, he told me this is the first market they have gotten involved with, but hope to be doing more in the future. He was working with family members and friends at the market. He said he and his wife were self taught and watched a lot of You Tube videos. He said they both love food (I can relate) and that is why they wanted to open a food establishment.
They currently rent a commercial kitchen and prep their food there. JT said the fish is local as he is very concerned about the freshness of the food.
Steve and I can attest to its freshness and tastiness. Please come up and give them a try and tell they you read about them in the Linda Vista Update.
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Reminder: The Love, Linda Vista Farmers Market operates every Thursday from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Linda Vista Plaza Shopping Center. Come out and enjoy the fresh fruit and veggies, and all the other interesting vendors. It’s a chance to meet your fellow Linda Vista residents and take in the fresh air and sense of community.
Commentary
Linda Vista and Halloween
Halloween is fast approaching. Though we are still a few weeks away, I believe we in Linda Vista need to take a little time and make some extra effort in 2022 to adequately prepare for this festive holiday event. Based on recent Halloweens, I contend that we need to put a little more effort into the more scarier aspects of what many consider to be the most frightening/fun filled day of the year.
Quite frankly, I’ve generally been a bit underwhelmed by the way LV residents approach Halloween. Sure, local kids go out and trick or treat, and they dress up as ghosts and skeletons and stuff like that, and some imaginative residents do succeed in decorating their front yards in truly frightening fashion, but it’s all fairly routine—no different from other San Diego neighborhoods. Think about it…some cities are synonymous with certain days or events; Boston and St. Patrick’s Day, Munich and Octoberfest, Rio de Janeiro and Carnival. It’s safe to say that Linda Vista is not exactly synonymous with Halloween.
In contrast, I read on a travel website that some of the most special places in the country for celebrating Halloween include such cities as Salem, Massachusetts, Sleepy Hollow, New York, and New Orleans, Louisiana. There’s no secret why this is the case. Each of these three cities has famous (and very scary) stories or legends attached to them—tales about witches, headless ghosts, gothic vampires and exotic voodoo zombies. Of course, this leads to these places having the right settings or atmosphere for people to enjoy a spooky Halloween in spectacular fashion.
Alas, that is one of Linda Vista’s major weakness. Our community doesn’t have any scary legends or stories to tell. When is the last time you heard stories about Linda Vista witches, or ghosts, or blood sucking creatures of the night, or even haunted houses? You have to go over to Old Town for any legends associated with haunted houses. And as for blood sucking monsters, I was bitten by a few mosquitoes this summer, but I don’t think that was a ghoulish enough experience worthy of Halloween.
This past week I took matters into my own hands and pondered the possibility of somehow manufacturing a few local legends or scary stores to help better associate Linda Vista with Halloween. I figured on utilizing some classic movie monsters as examples, and applying the essentials of their stories to the setting of our own community.
Readers, this mental exercise wasn’t as easy as I thought. For example, what if the setting of the Frankenstein monster was changed to Linda Vista? I quickly concluded this wouldn’t work. After all, the Frankenstein monster was created by Dr. Frankenstein robbing cemeteries for different body parts. If Linda Vista was the setting for the story, chances are good the Frankenstein monster, made up of different body parts found around the neighborhood, would turn out to be a very multi-culturally diverse monster. Instead of scaring people, the monster would be celebrated for his ethnic/racial diversity. He would be a symbol of pride, feted during Asian-Pacific Islander month activities, and then during Hispanic Heritage Month, and once again during African American History month. Yes, a very popular monster! But there’s nothing very spooky about that!
What if we took the Wolfman story and set it here in Linda Vista? Again, I don’t think this would work out either. When talking about scary wild animals, Linda Vista is more associated with coyotes coming out of the canyons each night. A monster called Coyote Man doesn’t sound that scary. This monster would be seen as a threat to cats and small dogs, but humans would just consider him a nuisance. Instead of yelling “Beware everyone, it’s the Wolfman. You better run for your lives,” they would just say things like “Look at that mangy Coyote Man. He looks so pathetic. Why don’t we give him some garbage to eat?” or “We don’t need a silver bullet to get rid of him, just bang some pots and pans and Coyote Man will scamper away.”
And what about Dracula? Forget it. The idea of some guy going around the neighborhood biting people on the neck sounds dangerous but not in a Halloween kind of way. There are far too many communicable diseases circulating in the air these days. No self-respecting vampire is going to take on the frightening risk of catching COVID, Monkeypox, Shingles, the Flu, or Hepatitis.
On a more whimsically scary note, I thought we could maybe set the story of Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin here in Linda Vista? However, we can’t even think of any large pumpkin patch in this locality until Bayside Community Center’s eagerly anticipated Community Garden gets built on the grounds of the Linda Vista Community Park, and that won’t happen until sometime next year, or until all the required city permits get approved at City Hall (though in terms of striking monster- like fear into the hearts of residents, some think that there’s nothing scarier than struggling with the city bureaucracy to get city permits approved).
On second thought, I’m figuring we need more time to work on developing some legitimately scary legends for our community. Maybe by Halloween 2023 we can come up with something good. Does anyone know if either the Rite Aid or the Linda Vista Library is haunted? Is there such a thing as the Creature from the LV Skate Board Park? In the meantime, we’ll just have to settle for having the usual Linda Vista type of Halloween this year.
Boo!
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There was a legend of a woman wandering through Tecolote Canyon in the early 60s looking for her dead daughter. Sometimes when the wind blew at night you could hear her crying.