Face it! World Class Trash Service is Expensive!
Plus: LV News Briefs, King's Fish House in MV, Kearny Soccer Update, and LV Multi-Cultural Parade Announcement
We San Diego citizens are used to accepting trash pick-up as a fairly routine event. Sure, there is always the general complaint that the City of San Diego trash trucks cause undue damage to our trash bins, ripping holes and gashes in them and generally mistreating our plastic containers bad enough that we are eventually forced to pay for another trash can. And then there is the weekly dilemma of deciding whether to put out the blue recycle can or wait until the following week because we are too lazy to look at the trash collection schedule published by the City. However, trash pick-up has suddenly become a far more controversial issue as a result of the City proposing a monthly $53.00 trash collection fee. This proposal is currently undergoing analysis by City officials and will eventually be decided upon by the City Council in coming months.
Understandably, local residents are protesting what is being referred to as a “bait and switch” tactic employed after City officials originally encouraged voters to approve the trash collection fee ballot measure last year because such a trash collection fee would only be about $23.00. At the time, Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera of the 9th District assured us a $23.00 trash collection fee was needed to enjoy a “world class (trash) service.” I realize that inflation continues to rage, with egg and gas prices continuing to soar, but San Diegans cannot understand why a 100 % inflation rate in the projected cost of trash collection fees has occurred in the space of one year.
In the face of this controversy, I suggest to San Diego residents that we should think twice about protesting a monthly $53.00 trash collection fee. At first glance, this dollar figure may seem exorbitant—in effect, a burden on many people who are already struggling to balance their budgets. But we are not talking about just any kind of trash collection…we are talking about a world class trash service! That’s what we taxpayers deserve! It’s just that world class trash service can indeed be a little expensive.
So, what is world class trash service? Words like luxury, prestige and brand names come to mind. Since I had a little time this past week, I drew up a list of possible world class trash service features the City of San Diego could employ (and they are free to take up my suggestions for a small commission paid to “The Steve Rodriguez Institute for Great Ideas.”) I think if you read over this list, you’ll soon find yourself saying “If this is what world class service looks like, then I am more than ready to pay the $53.00 each month.”
Here is my list of suggestions:
Once a quarter, trash pick-up will be accompanied by the delivery of free “wine and cheese” box lunches to each member of your household. Residents can select from a variety of options (to include vegetarian and gluten-free) offered ahead of time on a City website.
Current trash/recycle bins will be replaced by fast, highly maneuverable luxury class trash bins made by Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Ferrari.
The City of San Diego’s Department of Sanitation will make available for purchase to all residents, compacted, freeze dried samples of trash from such world class locations as Monaco, St Tropez, Paris, London, Tokyo, La Jolla and Ibiza. You can then add these samples to your own trash to capture the prestige of these world class locations.
For rainy days, residents will be issued custom Burberry trench coats to place around their trash bins to keep them both dry and world class fashionable.
Residents will receive a year’s supply of household trash can liners made from recycled Versace, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci shopping bags.
Residents will get the opportunity to audition for the City of San Diego’s Trash Bin Synchronized Marching Drill Team, which will perform at world class events like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Rose Bowl Parade, Mardi Gras, the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, and the Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Fair Parade.
·Once a year, residents will be invited to attend a black-tie City of San Diego Trash Gala that will serve as a fundraiser to raise money for San Diego sister cities that cannot afford “world class trash service.”
In the next few weeks, the City of San Diego will be conducting community open houses to learn more about the proposed plans for trash and recycling collection. You can check out the open house schedule HERE. Feel free to bring up the above suggestions should you attend.
LV News Briefs:
—Congresswoman Jacobs Town Hall: Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (51st District) will hold a telephone Town Hall tonight Thursday February 27 at 6:00 pm. You can listen to the Town Hall on her Facebook page or on her website.
—USD Baseball: The University of San Diego baseball team plays a three-game home series this weekend against CSU Bakersfield beginning tomorrow (Friday) at 6:00 pm. Saturday’s game starts at 5:00 pm, and Sunday’s at 1:00 pm. After opening the new season with an extremely tough opponent schedule, the Toreros are currently 0-8.
—39th Senate District Senior Advisory Council: The office of State Senator Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson (39th Senate District) is looking for volunteers to serve on her Senior Advisory Council. The Council will provide a forum for seniors to learn more about their state government and how it relates to their communities and to other levels of government, and provide a forum where seniors can express their perspectives, and develop concrete proposals, on issues that affect them.. Applications are due by February 28. Please go HERE to apply and learn more details about the program.
—Friars Road Lane Reconfiguration: The westbound Friars Road lane (between Napa Street and Sea World Drive) which has been closed for over two years due to Pure Water Project construction will reopen on March 1. Unfortunately, the east bound lane will now remain closed for the foreseeable future. In preparation for this lane reconfiguration, this segment of Friars Road will be closed both ways from Friday, February 28, at 9 pm. to Saturday, March 1, at 9 pm.
—Fashion Sale at Holy Family Church: A Fashion Sale will be held on Saturday, March 1st from 8:30 to noon at Ave Maria Hall, corner of Tait Street and Ulric Street. Clothes, household items, Easter baskets, jewelry and more. All proceeds go to assist the needy in the Linda Vista area. The prices are very low, $3.00-$6.00 for shirts, pants, dresses etc.. Many are new, some gently used. If you have any questions, please call Terry Clark at 619-517-4293.
—Community Involvement Opportunity: The Linda Vista Planning Group has identified two opportunities to engage with the community. First, if you are interested in helping to make our streets safer, the City of San Diego wants to hear from you. The City is hosting Focus Groups to get your thoughts on how to improve streets for everyone—walkers, bikers, drivers, and more! Bonus: Everyone who joins a Focus Group will receive a $30 VISA gift card for their time! Apply now at the links below to be considered.
English application: https://bit.ly/SDSS4A
Spanish application: https://bit.ly/SDSS4AES
Second, the San Diego Association of Governments is working on a plan to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the San Diego region. Take their 5-minute survey before Wednesday, March 26 to tell them what types of projects you want to see in your community. Take the survey today and enter to win a $20 gift card. Email Kim Heinle at kheinle@baysidecc.org confirming your participation once you've completed the survey.
—SD County Fair Banner Program: The Linda Vista Town Council is working with the San Diego County Fair to recruit local family members for participation in the community banner program. Want to see your face, or the face of a family member on a banner that will hang on a Linda Vista street? If so, read the flyers below and apply.
Restaurant Review
Enjoy King’s Fish House in MV
With Mardi Gras and Lent fast approaching, we decided to review a New Orleans style venue. We immediately thought of Bud’s Louisiana Café on Viewridge Ave. near Ruffin Road and Balboa. It’s not Linda Vista, but not too far off. So to celebrate the Carnivore Sidekick’s birthday and get in a restaurant review we went there for dinner. We ordered things like catfish – blackened and plain, Crawfish etouffee, Seafood Bisque (crab, crawfish, shrimp, sweet corn, sherry and rice). For the birthday boy, we got beignets warm and sugared. Everything was so delicious. It wasn’t until we left that we realized we had become so engrossed with the food, we hadn’t taken any pictures and didn’t concentrate on ingredients, just eating.
So, not to worry. We decided to find a similar restaurant to review properly and selected King’s Fish House Mission Valley in the same shopping center as Trader Joe’s, at 825 Camino De La Reina. We figured the food would be somewhat similar. So off we went for lunch.
King’s Fish House has been around since 2000 and features a large selection of live oysters, seasonal catches, shellfish, and sushi. Take a look at the menu online to see their large selection of appetizers, sandwiches, entrees, soups, salads, From the Grill, and of course many types of oysters.
There is indoor and outdoor seating and we chose indoors. We made a reservation, but it probably would not have been necessary at lunch time. The interior is much as you would expect of a seafood restaurant. Lots of wood planks, pictures of fish and fisher people, sort of rustic and although it is not on a large body of water, the San Diego River is not far.
Steve again ordered catfish as he did at Bud’s but this time not blackened. As sides he chose cauliflower and grilled zucchini. I ordered the King’s Spicy Seafood Chowder and a side of grilled Zucchini. The server was very friendly and helpful and mentioned the seafood chowder was tomato based and spicy and contained fish of the day and no clams or shrimp. She also delivered a large portion of sourdough bread with butter for us to chomp on while waiting for our order.
Steve said the catfish was more lemony flavor, unlike the blackened catfish he had at Bud’s and was excellent. He also said the sides he chose were grilled just right and tasty. There was ample food as you can see from the picture.
I ordered a cup of the soup and it came with oyster crackers. This will probably not surprise you if you read above, but it was very spicy. There was plenty of fish, carrots, tomatoes, greens – perhaps spinach in a nice tomatoey broth. I wanted a change from clam chowder which I usually order, and this was really a change. The grilled Zucchini was delicious. It was good that we had the bread as it came in handy to offset the spice of the soup, and I drank all the water. The server indicated they guarantee their food and I could have returned the soup if I found it too spicy, but the menu said spicy and she said spicy, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. Steve would have loved it, but he did not offer to switch his catfish for the soup.
If you haven’t tried King’s Fish House and you have a hankering for some of the freshest seafood you will ever get, then take a trip down to Mission Valley. If you love raw oysters, this is the place for you. And, give Bud’s Louisiana Café a try also. Lent is 40 days – lots of fish to eat.
Sports Commentary
Brightly Burning Komets Fade in Playoffs
For anyone who has played a high school sport, and has been fortunate enough to qualify for the post season California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs, you very well may know the feeling of defeat and utter finality of the end of the season. Very few of you may know what it feels like to raise the trophy on top as CIF Division Champions. Out of the 117 high school boys soccer teams who participate in the CIF San Diego Section, which includes teams from El Centro, Oceanside, San Ysidro and everywhere in between, 100 will make the playoffs. Only 6 will hoist the trophy as champions in just a week’s time in their respective Divisions from the Open Division to Division 5AA. Those 6 teams will feel invincible in that moment and will carry a feather in their cap as CIF champions for the rest of their lives. For the other 94 teams, their season will abruptly end with a sense of overwhelming defeat. It may sound dramatic, but this is the scene that we ask our young men and women to learn and grow from each year.
With the first round of playoff wrapping up two weeks ago, the Kearny Komets were one of the first teams to feel this sense of pain. The team traveled down to the South Bay last Wednesday to face San Ysidro the Division II 8th seed Cougars, with the Komets being the 9th seed.
The first 15 minutes belonged to the Komets, missing by inches on a couple of shots in the early minutes. In the 16th minute, Freshman Christopher Pelon went down in what looked like a scary injury. After staying down for a minute, he pulled himself up and battled on. Just a moment later, in the 17th minute, the Cougars pounced on a crossed ball in the box to open the scoring.
As the game grinded on, the teams exchanged blows, but no one found the back of the net again until the 73rdminute, when a long set piece through traffic found its way behind the Kearny defense for a Cougar goal. A frantic final few minutes left the Komets with chances but no goals as they dropped the first-round matchup 2-0.
The highs and lows of playing high school sports are surrounded with drama, excitement, tears and joy, as these young men battle to represent their schools and neighborhoods, learning more than just skills and tactics about a specific sport. They learn about leadership, camaraderie, pride, and how to be a good winner and loser. In the moment of defeat, at the end of the season, the overwhelming sense of failure is a lot to comprehend and deal with, but when looking at the accomplishments of the team as a whole over the years, it’s important to keep these moments in perspective and have an eye on the big picture. Ending the season with an 8-6-4 record, the Komets finished with another winning season, the sixth winning record in the last seven campaigns. They have also jumped from Division V up to Division II in that time, added two league titles, and won four tournament championships in the preseason Parker Cup.
Needless to say, the senior Komets who are graduating this year, may not play another year at Kearny, but they have left the team in a much better place than when they arrived, while creating unforgettable memories over the years that will last a lifetime. The returning players, and those currently in middle school at Montgomery, Taft and other local schools are left with the challenge of continuing greatness at Kearny for many years to come, and following in the footsteps of those who came before them.
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The LV Update wishes to thank John Winter-Nolte for contributing this article.
Upcoming Community Event
Get Involved with LV Multi-Cultural Fair/Parade
If interested in becoming involved with the LV Multi-Cultural Fair and Parade, which will take place on Saturday April 26, please read the below flyer and then contact the fair director at LindaVistaFair@gmail.com.
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Your information for Friars Road closure is backwards. Eastbound will now be closed, while westbound will now be open. I appreciate the sarcasm in the trash segment for luxury service, but you might also have mentioned there will be a flyer sent to each resident asking for comment. If everyone is made aware of this opportunity to respond to the issue, we might get a better feel for what is really needed. Personally, why not keep the same service, at the same price? Thanks, Brandie Woodfill