Enjoying Farmers Market at MV's Civita
Plus: Howard Wayne Street Naming Event, Revisiting Catalina Offshore, Street Art vs Graffiti Commentary, Ulric Street and Linda Vista Road Intersection Commentary, and Pet Adoption Deal
Are you yearning for a new way to spice up your Saturday mornings? Looking for a new place to incorporate a dog walk? In search of fresh fruits and vegetables or other types of interesting food selections? Interested in enjoying that food within the environment of a beautiful park setting? A visit to the Mission Valley Farmers Market at nearby Civita Park ((7960 Civita Blvd, San Diego, CA. 92108) can take care of all those concerns.
The Mission Valley Farmers Market at Civita Park—in the middle of the huge Civita development off of Friars Road—takes place every Saturday morning from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. The Farmers Market includes a variety of over 40 vendors. Most of these vendors are selling food—everything from Mediterranean food selections, to Asian ones, to various types of pastries/desserts, and of course fresh fruits and vegetables. They all make for a wonderful lunch or snack. A couple of our favorite farmers market vendors, to include House of Bao (offering delicious dumplings and steamed buns) and Brothers Hummus and Pita were in attendance, and this Saturday we took advantage of the products they were selling. In general, we found several of the food items at the various booths a bit on the expensive side, but if you are willing to splurge a little and experiment you will enjoy the food variety that this Farmers Market offers.
Perhaps the most appealing feature of this Farmers Market is the locale. Once you buy a food item you have the opportunity to consume it in a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing park setting full of trees, grass and the attractive park structures, with the cool architectural designs of the development’s condos and townhouses in the background. There are benches/tables available in the area, and you also have the option of sitting in the beautiful grassy areas that extend further into the park. On the Saturday we visited, the sun was out and the setting resembled that of a big picnic. If you are feeling energetic after making your food selections, you may also want to take the opportunity to continue walking and investigate more of Civita Park.
The Farmers Market appeared very dog friendly with numerous dogs on leashes accompanying their human parents from one booth to another. The crowd of people and dogs made for a very festive atmosphere. We even saw a couple vendors feeding dogs their wares. A good way to assure a sale.
The parking situation can appear daunting. The parking spaces adjacent to the Farmers Market were full, but there is a vacant lot across the street that provides plenty of space for visitors.
You can check out more details on the Mission Valley Farmers Market at Civita Park by visiting their official Facebook page here.
Upcoming Community Event this Saturday
In the November 9 2023 issue of this newsletter we highlighted the career of distinguished Linda Vista resident Howard Wayne who passed away in October of last year. We are happy to report that Howard Wayne will be honored this Saturday with an honorary street naming ceremony. Check out the flyer below for details. We hope to see you at the ceremony.
Revisiting Catalina Offshore Products in Morena District
Some time ago we wrote a review about this fish market located at 5202 Lovelock Street, off Morena Blvd. We talked about their wonderful fish selection right from the ocean to your home. Everything including many varieties of fish, lobster, clams, sea urchins, scallops, crab, squid, oysters, sashimi and sushi grade fish, and much more is available. They also sell all the tools and fixings to make your own sushi. Well, I have been on their mailing list for a long time and they send out their weekly specials, great recipes and more. Lately, in the past few months, I noticed they were advertising meats as well as fish. As a non-meat eater, I wasn’t thrilled by this, but we thought we should go down and check it out and find out why the change.
When we got there we learned they were under new management. They were started more than 40 years ago by Dave Rudie a sea urchin diver. Dave has now sold his company to Beish, a new company whose stakeholders include both longtime fishmongers and a cattle rancher. In addition to expanding their retail business, they will also be launching a food truck.
They are now carrying good grade cuts of beef including fillet mignon, Wagyu, New York steaks, and Ribeye from their ranch in Sonora, Mexico. In addition, we were surprised to see that they had installed a lunch counter, and included in their display cases were items you could purchase to eat on-site or take home, like various kinds of sushi, poke, salads like calamari. They also seem to have increased their inventory of products both frozen and pantry items. A pound of mixed crab meat was $39.95. They had frozen and fresh clusters of crab legs. In the cases were various types of sauces, caviar, salmon dip and lots of other related items. Everything looked so good. They have a selection of smoked fish like trout and salmon. We purchased a couple of sushi rolls and some smoked honey salmon. The prices were very reasonable and I think they also sell wholesale. We ate the sushi and you could taste the freshness. The salmon we will have another day.
Since I don’t know much about meat prices, I can’t comment on the price, but the quality I am sure is great. If you haven’t been to Catalina for a while, you might want to go take another look. Their hours are Tuesday thru Friday 10 am to 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 3 pm. Their staff are very friendly and will answer any questions you may have about fish. Their website includes recipes and their newsletter lets you know what is fresh off the boat and details regarding their latest specials.
Commentary
More Street Art, Less Graffiti
Back in the February 3, 2022 issue of this newsletter we highlighted the colorful artwork that graces the tunnels that extend from the western edge of Tecolote Canyon and under Genesee Boulevard (on the border between Linda Vista and Clairemont). In the article we wrestled with the idea of whether to label this artwork as either street art or graffiti. Though they both share commonalities, we went the official dictionary definition which defines street art (i.e. murals) as officially and legally sanctioned art work, and graffiti as “unauthorized” marking of public space and hence a form of vandalism. Unfortunately, this posed a dilemma since much of the so-called graffiti adorning the Tecolote tunnels happens to be interesting and fun—much like official murals—and not anything like the unsightly gang graffiti that occasionally graces walls and fences in our LV community.
We recently found another example of questionable graffiti/street art in Fashion Valley, in the overpass structures that lay underneath CA-163, just outside the western edge of the Fashion Valley Mall property. One of the tunnels includes the walking/bicycle sidewalk path that goes from the Hazard Center area to the Fashion Valley Mall parking lot. We are not sure how long this graffiti/street art has been there, but it is surely a unique collection of images with meanings that can only be understood by the respective artists. Yes, the renderings are illegal and some may consider them eyesores, but I believe the concrete facades underneath CA-163 do offer these illegal artists a viable outlet for their expressive needs. After all, no one would even notice that these facades even existed if it weren’t for the colorful images that have been added on. Under such circumstance, it is easy to dismiss the illegality aspect by saying “No harm, no foul.” As previously mentioned, these examples of art work are not far off from the kind of art work seen in officially sanctioned murals.
But that brings us to the far less worthy gang graffiti that Linda Vista residents have to take in when walking around Linda Vista. We are talking about the kind of gang graffiti that is painted over by concerned citizens whenever there is a Linda Vista clean-up day or campaign. A frequent target of this type of graffiti has been the facade of the building that is located at 6959 Linda Vista Road, right next to Filiberto’s Mexican Food. There seems to be an on-going battle to keep that facade free of gang graffiti. It is a shame that this spot is so frequently targeted because it is so prominently visible to people commuting through this busy area of town. Such highly visible gang graffiti is definitely distracting in terms of expressing a friendly LV tone.
When we took the below photo this past week, someone had recently painted over the latest gang graffiti attempt.
In light of hopefully winning this battle once and for all, I propose that some well intentioned LV civic organization or group of citizens find an artist (and some money) and commission him/her to paint a mural in this location. Have prospective artists submit their ideas and pick a winning submission. Will this entirely end the threat of gang graffiti in this area? Not likely, but there is a chance these juvenile delinquents with paint spray cans will become discouraged by the presence of attractive artwork. Murals in Linda Vista have been defaced in the past, but it doesn’t happen very often. In the meantime, a beautiful mural or other form of street art in this heavily trafficked area would keep things looking beautiful year-round. No matter what form the art work takes, remember that if it is officially sanctioned, it must be considered street art, and not graffiti.
More Commentary
The Ulric Street and Linda Vista Road Intersection
There are a few Linda Vista traditions that local residents truly enjoy. The LV Multi-Cultural Parade and Fair, held every April, is one such popular tradition. The summertime Park After Dark nights at the Linda Vista Recreation Center have quickly become a fun tradition for families. And skating at Skateworld and the Linda Vista Skatepark are two traditions that many people in the LV area have long appreciated.
However, there is obviously one long-lasting tradition that is not appreciated at all…by any LV resident… at any time whatsoever. In fact, we wish this tradition would immediately vanish. The tradition we are referring to involves the number of accidents that occur at the intersection of Ulric Street and Linda Vista Road. As many people know, back in 2017 this intersection was listed as one of the top 15 most dangerous intersections in all of San Diego. The list, put together by Circulate San Diego, actually ranked this intersection as number 4 on the list! This list, referred to as the “Fatal 15”, was promulgated throughout various media sources; not exactly the kind of publicity that Linda Vista was seeking. Nevertheless, the list did succeed in advertising what many in the community already knew—that the busy intersection was indeed a dangerous place.
During that same year, a study compiled by the local law firm Estey & Bomberger listed the Ulric Street/Linda Vista Road intersection as the third most dangerous San Diego intersection for pedestrians, based on crash volume and injury severity.
The intersection’s notoriety, first earned seven years ago, continues to regularly pop up when conducting online searches about our community. Put in the words “dangerous intersection” and “Linda Vista” in a search engine and news articles about this dangerous intersection readily appear.
We recently thought there was good reason to think Linda Vista had finally shed this worrisome tradition. After all, a new list of 15 most dangerous intersections was recently published by Circulate San Diego, and nowhere on the list were the words “Ulric Street” or “Linda Vista” mentioned. The list came as welcome news for our community. We thought this meant the Ulric Street/ Linda Vista Road intersection had somehow been rehabilitated in terms of no longer being dangerous.
Unfortunately, in the past few weeks we at the Linda Vista Update have seen a couple major accidents occurring at the controversial intersection. The most recent one happened just a couple days ago and involved at least four cars (see photo above). There may have been other recent accidents at this intersection we did not personally witness. Accordingly, instead of celebrating the fact that this intersection was not on the latest 15 most dangerous intersections list, we should wonder if perhaps it merely missed the publicized Top 15 cut by being assigned a slightly less ignominious ranking. Due to Linda Vista’s growing rush hour traffic, and the constant traffic that occurs there during the rest of each day and night, there is no doubt this intersection possesses the potential to quickly get back on the Fatal 15 list. A cursory glance at SD Police Department statistics for 2023 indicates a traffic collision at this intersection is at least a monthly occurrence (not including pedestrian accidents). This may be considered normal for such a busy intersection, but we would hope the proper authorities could strive for a greater level of safety.
We believe the City of San Diego needs to continue looking at this intersection to determine if anything can be done to alleviate whatever it is about the traffic and pedestrian flow that contributes to its long-standing dangerous nature.
Should this result in any major safety improvements, Linda Vista residents certainly won’t miss this one particular dubious and dangerous tradition.
Pet Adoption Deal this Weekend
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is responding to San Diego Humane Society’s animal capacity challenges by sponsoring the 7th annual #Gloria100 adoption promotion for all pets. From Thursday, May 23, through Sunday, May 26, 2024, adoption fees will be waived for the first 100 pet adoptions. After 100 adoptions have been reached, all pets will be $25 ($10 for small birds, mice, rats and hamsters, and $5 for red eared sliders).
San Diego Humane Society is open for walk-in adoptions Tuesday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at its campuses in Escondido, El Cajon, Oceanside and San Diego (5500 Gaines Street). To view animals available for adoption, visit sdhumane.org/adopt<http://www.sdhumane.org/adopt>.
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