LV Documentary at SD Asian Film Festival
Plus: Community Clean-Up Happens at Kelly Street Park, LV News Briefs, and Three Dessert Suggestions at LV Farmers Market
How to best describe the community of Linda Vista? What words, images and people come to mind? If you were to ask a number of people for their respective descriptions of the community, you might end up with a number of common features, and you would definitely end up with quite a few different takes, angles, or interpretations on what constitutes this unique area. It goes without saying that effectively describing our community might be a difficult task, what with there being so much to include in the description, along with the challenge of finding the proper forum for expressing that description .
There is, however, one young Linda Vista resident who recently took on the challenging project of describing Linda Vista. He decided to do so using the forum of a 7-minute documentary. Césaire José Carroll Dominguez—a 16 year-old student attending the San Diego School of the Creative and Performing Arts, a public magnet arts school in Paradise Hills—has produced a documentary titled Logging Linda Vista, which will be shown this Sunday November 6 (12:00 pm) at the Ultra Star Theatre Mission Valley as part of the San Diego Asian Film Festival.
As described by Dominguez, the documentary is “an experimental poetic documentary in the style of filmmakers like Chris Marker and Chantal Akerman that attempts to speak to Linda Vista's past, its present and its future. In it I examine questions of colonization, intergenerational trauma, and gentrification.” On the Festival website, the film is described as “a meditative time capsule of a documentary, exploring the physical and emotional landscape of an often overlooked San Diego neighborhood at a key moment of change.”
When asked about what inspired him to produce the documentary, Dominguez said that he made it “because I had only moved to Linda Vista recently and wanted to take an opportunity to further explore my neighborhood. Also because I feel like most people in San Diego don't know Linda Vista exists, and those who do have a really negative perception of it. It's like a ghost, it's either invisible or people are scared of it, so I felt like someone needed to shine some light on the neighborhood and present its really interesting history in an accessible way, kind of like what you all do at the Update.”
During the summer, Dominguez received a fellowship to attend a documentary filmmaking program with 12 other high school students. He produced Logging Linda Vista during this 8-week long program.
Though only a junior in high school, Dominguez maintains a busy schedule. As he explained, “In my spare time I like to write and edit, act in plays and read books and watch movies. Right now I'm in my school's production of She Kills Monsters and have a play that I wrote going up at a theater festival in Marfa, Texas. I also manage a post-punk no wave band called “the shirley temples” who played the Linda Vista fair last year and I'm currently on fellowship at UCSD to study community policing initiatives under measure B.”
Readers interested in viewing the documentary can go to this site and obtain ticket information for the Shorts: Reel Voices portion of the SD Asian Film Festival. Tickets are free but are available on a first come, first serve basis.
The Festival runs from November 3 to November 12.
Hope to see you there on Sunday for the viewing of Logging Linda Vista!
Community Comes Together for Kelly Street Park Clean-up
This past Saturday morning an enthusiastic group of Linda Vista volunteers teamed up with members of the San Diego Police Department’s Gang Intervention Unit and the County District Attorney’s office to conduct a clean-up of Kelly Street Park and the park’s surrounding community. Kelly Street Park is located at 6626 Kelley Street. During the busy two hour clean-up, young people picked up trash and assorted debris from the park, and the near-by sidewalks and streets, while adults picked up roller brushes to paint over graffiti and other markings on the park’s restroom facility walls.
The small, picturesque park, situated on the rim of Tecolote Canyon, has been the frequent target of vandalism from graffiti gangs and the homeless population.
Local volunteers participating in the clean-up included representatives from the Linda Vista Town Council and Ebenezer Church, as well as young people (and their parents) who regularly attend SD Police Officer Ricardo Pinon’s sports program activities that take place weekly at the park. Several of these youngsters live close to the park. As explained by Officer Pinon, by participating in the community clean-up, “the kids are gaining neighborhood ownership.”
Volunteer Melissa Musicha, who regularly helps Officer Pinon with the youth sports program at Kelly Street Park, offered, “The clean-up was another unifying step of progress in our community to make it better and bring people together.”
To help ensure a successful clean up, Montgomery Middle School offered Saturday school credit for any of its students who chose to participate.
Beverages and snacks were provided for clean-up participants by Queen Yasmine Personal Injury Law.
Also participating in the clean-up was SDPD Chief of Police David Nislet.
One volunteer, Linda Vista resident Becky Hunt, commented “The Kelly Street Park Clean-Up was a well organized event. There was plenty of supplies, as well as community members to help. Volunteers picked up trash as the restrooms got a fresh coat of paint. It was gratifying to help beautify the park for the Linda Vista community”.
Melissa Musicha added, “We were all very excited and honored to have the Chief of Police join us. He was supportive, encouraging, personally engaging and kind.”
Janet Kaye, another volunteer, explained, “This was a successful clean up and graffiti abatement. With about 20 soccer team kids and parents, and donated supplies, the park was improved and refreshed. The kids had fun, worked hard, ate some pizza and learned about contributing to their community. A big Thank You to everyone.”
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The Linda Vista Update wishes to thank all the volunteers and city/county officials who attended Saturday’s clean-up.
You can read a previous Linda Vista Update article about the problems associated with Kelly Street Park by clicking here.
LV News Briefs:
—LV Farmers Market: The Harvest Health Fair will be held in conjunction with today’s (Nov. 3) Love, Linda Vista Farmers Market. The Harvest Health Fair will provide free COVID and flu vaccines, free TB and health screening, and free health education material. The Farmers Market operates every Thursday from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The Harvest Health Fair will run from 4:00 pm to 7:00. Check out the below flyer for more details. You can also read here our special Monday newsletter issue that focused on the Harvest Health Fair.
—Francis Parker School Football: The Lancers football team plays Hilltop High in the first round of the CIF Division IV playoffs tomorrow (November 4) at 7:00 pm. The game will be played at Hilltop High (Chula Vista).
—Bayside Community Center Changes: The Bayside Community Center recently added four new individuals to its Board of Directors. The new new board members are: Lorenze Legaspi, Vice President of Administrative Services, San Diego Mesa College; Justin Polidoro, Business Banking Relationship Director, U.S. Bank; Blake Harper, retired lawyer; and, Mariela Brambila, Director of Development, EJE Academics. The following individuals stepped off the board: Dr Pamela Luster, recently retired president of Mesa College, and Danielle Hartman, U.S. Bank, whose term on the board ended in June. You can read more details about these changes by clicking here.
—Town and Country Wins Award: Town and Country San Diego in Mission Valley was recently recognized by the San Diego Architectural Foundation, receiving the professional organization’s coveted “Orchid” award for architectural excellence. The Foundation’s Orchids and Onions program annually recognizes the best and worst of San Diego architecture. Town and Country San Diego, one of 14 Orchid recipients, was recognized for its “Historic Preservation”; the award acknowledged the effectiveness of the resort’s renovation efforts. You can see a picture of the resort below. Local should keep in mind for next summer that the resort offers day passes for its pool area.
Three Delicious Dessert Item Suggestions at LV Farmers Market
Okay, so the Love, Linda Farmers Market works hard to get certified farmers with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables to show up each Thursday afternoon, all for the purpose of selling healthy items to local residents. Everyone wants the Linda Vista community to eat nutritiously, right? And on top of that, the Farmers Market is holding the Harvest Health Fair in conjunction with today’s operation. A number of health agencies will be providing free vaccines, health screening tests, and educational material for everyone attending the Farmers Market. Apparently, a healthy lifestyle for all residents is a primary concern of the Love, Linda Vista Farmers Market
Nevertheless, I still believe Farmers Market attendees can make room for some tasty treats—the kind not necessarily associated with traditional notions of health and nutrition. Now, I’m not recommending you overdo it with buying and eating lots and lots of sugary confections—as the Greeks were famous for saying…”All things in moderation.”
Accordingly, using “moderation” as a reasonable guideline, I want to bring to your attention a trio of delicious and interesting dessert items that I have enjoyed at the Farmers Market. Each of these items, from three different vendors, are guaranteed to serve as a stimulating indulgence for your taste buds. They may not be as healthy as a basket of strawberries, but everyone is entitled to an occasional sugary delicacy. Remember, the key word here is “moderation.”
Keeping that word in mind, here are three treats found at the Farmers Market that I keep going back to, and that I recommend readers try out:
First, Bethany at Argos Baking continues to offer new items at each Farmers Market. The latest item is an Apple Cinnamon Babka. This bread is sticky and gooey, and it tastes just like you would imagine—sweet and yummy. It’s great served warm, cold, or at room temperature. I’m always torn between slicing it, or just tearing pieces apart to eat. According to Wikipedia, Babka is a traditional sweet bread that originated in Eastern Europe) and has been around for centuries but has become really popular on a global level over the last few years. Babka hit the mainstream in the 1990’s when it was featured in a Seinfeld TV show episode. I think it’s about to hit the mainstream in Linda Vista.
The second sweet item I recommend is the Pandan Cheesecake offered at Mhanette’s Sweet Whisking booth. As you may have read in a previous Linda Vista Update article, Pandan is a tropical plant that is widely used in South and Southeast Asian cuisine. As explained on one website, “Pandan leaves are used to lend a unique taste and aroma to flavor desserts and drinks as well as savory dishes.” This website further describes Pandan leaves as having “a naturally sweet taste and soft aroma. Its flavor is strong, described as grassy with hints of rose, almond, and vanilla, verging on coconut.” Sweet Whisking offers a number of Pandan desserts, but my favorite is the Pandan Cheesecake. I like the fact this cheesecake doesn’t taste too sweet—the level of sweetness is just right. And I find the green color interesting; it makes me think I am taking a bite of something very exotic.
Finally, Big Al’s Cookies serves a variety of baked goods at his booth, and I like trying out different ones during each visit. His Magic Brownie Bars are fantastic, but lately I have been relying on his cookies to satisfy my sweet tooth. The latest one I tried was his Chocolate Fudge Cookie (see below). If you are worried about the amount of calories or sugar level in one of those big cookies, remember, no one says you have to eat the entire cookie in one sitting, and you can always share half of the cookie with another person who you think is deserving of such a treat. Keep in mind that word…moderation. It will keep you focused on your goal of eating healthy, with only moderate doses of sweets in your overall diet.
If you are attending today’s Farmers Market (or one in the near future), I hope you can try out at least one of these treats. And I trust you will practice moderation in doing so.
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I hope the babka makes a return next week! Fall flavors should be year round flavors