Path of Destruction Occurs on LV's Comstock Street
Plus: Local Valedictorian Interview, Message from Councilmember Campillo, New LV Heroes Program, Coffee with a Cop, LV Mascot Feedback, Needlepoint Event, and Poem Honored
Linda Vista residents were recently reminded of the need to address a long-standing traffic situation afflicting a certain neighborhood. On the night of June 22 a speeding car crashed into several vehicles parked on Comstock Street. The hit-and-run crash occurred at 2:40 am. Police are still looking for the driver and passenger in the car that caused the so-called “path of destruction,” as described by San Diego’s Channel 8 news team.
The September 22, 2022 issue of the LV Update pointed out a problem with traffic experienced by local residents on a segment of Linda Vista’s Comstock Street. In the article, we explained how LV/Comstock Street resident Victor Tocco made presentations at Linda Vista Community Planning Group and Linda Vista Town Council meetings regarding the dangers presented by speeding traffic on a segment of Comstock that goes south from the Osler intersection to the intersection with Linda Vista Road. As explained by Tocco, who is now president of the Linda Vista Town Council, commuters making their way down this road probably don’t mean to speed, but they have long stretches unhindered by stop signs) that allow them to accelerate and pick up speed.
Coincidentally, last week’s late night crash occurred near Tocco’s house.
Residents have previously asked the City of San Diego to install traffic calming measures to make sure drivers maintain safe speeds on the narrow street segment, which has a significant number of parked cars on either side.
The June 22 crash was covered on local TV news. You can read the news local CBS affiliate’s coverage, to include video footage, here.
Spotlight on Francis Parker’s Class of 2023 Valedictorian
Editor’s note: This article marks the debut of our newest reporter Olivia Teates. She is a rising junior at Francis Parker School here in Linda Vista, and is serving as our summer intern. She was able to use her connections at Francis Parker to complete this interview. We look forward to publishing more articles from her in the following weeks.
As June comes to a close, the Linda Vista community can proudly reflect on the academic achievements of several high schools in the area where talented seniors, like Andrew Zhou, the 2023 Valedictorian of Francis Parker School were able to culminate their high school years and begin looking toward the future. The Linda Vista Update was able to interview Andrew and learn more about one of Parker’s most elite students from the Class of 2023. Here is what he had to say:
—Can you share your grade point average (GPA) with us?
My unweighted GPA was 4.23 and my weighted GPA was 4.99.
—What college/ university will you be attending this fall?
University of California San Diego (UCSD).
—What will you be majoring in at UCSD?
Computer Science.
—How long did you attend Parker?
I came in the seventh grade, so six years.
—What is your fondest memory from your time at Parker?
Junior Day of Fun was really fun and I also really liked Discovery Week - basically a week in middle school where we visited other countries. (Ed. note. Junior Day of Fun is a day in which Parker juniors do not attend classes and instead participate in a variety of fun activities to commemorate their transition from juniors to seniors).
—What extracurricular activities did you participate in while in high school?
I was in the software department in robotics. I was doing coding and was the head of that department in my senior year.
—What was your favorite subject at Parker?
Probably math. The AP Calculus BC class was a lot of fun, but I’ve always liked the subject. I took Multivariable Calculus with Mr. Gass last year and that was also a ton of fun. Math has always been a great experience at Parker.
—Do you have a memorable teacher/class from your years at Parker? If so, who or what was it?
I really liked Mr. Esch’s AP Calculus BC class; that was a really good class. I don’t know how we did it, but we finished all the content in around 5 months so we were done by February. Everyone still got really good scores on the AP test. It was a great class.
—Is there a particular place in the Linda Vista community that you enjoyed visiting throughout your high school years? If so, what or where was it?
There is this restaurant down the street called Main Chick Hot Chicken. I went there almost every week in high school.
—Do you have any advice for rising seniors that you wish you knew when you were in their position?
Everyone says this but don’t stress too much about college applications. I think you end up focusing on these minute details on your application but, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really make a difference. Senior year felt too short for me after college applications were done; I got to enjoy maybe 4 or 5 months of it and then it was over. I think it is important to just do the best you can and spend time enjoying your last year of high school because it really is a lot of fun.
—What was something unexpected during the college application process?
Probably when Mr. Hurley (one of Parker’s college counselors) went through my college list and, for a bunch of colleges, said, “I would put this as a ‘likely’ for you, but since you’re going for Computer Science, I’m going to put this as a ‘reach.’” I always knew the process was going to be more difficult, or at least more competitive, since I was applying for Computer Science, but I didn’t realize how insane it really is. It kind of set the precedent for the rest of the process for me.
—Since UCSD is a large public university, how does it feel to transition from a small private high school like Parker? Do you have any concerns about that? Was that something you wanted when you were looking for a college?
Yeah, I thought it could be exciting because I have attended private schools my entire life. There will be so many people; I’ll get to meet a ton of people from different places and they all want to study different things, so it will be interesting to meet people and see new perspectives.
—What are you most looking forward to at UCSD?
I think meeting my roommates and the housing in general. I’ve heard the housing is really nice, especially at the specific college that I will be attending at UCSD. They have a system where you don’t just have one or two roommates, you have your own room and are staying in a bigger apartment that has two or three other rooms. I’m also excited to make friends. Also, I’m excited to talk to professors; especially for my focus (Computer Science), UCSD has a lot of really fantastic professors and they’ve done a lot of research. I’d really like to work with them.
—If you could thank someone who helped get you to this point in your academic career, who would it be and why?
Definitely my mom. A little bit about my story is that I moved here from China in 2017 and so my mom came - just her - and supported my brother and me over here. I couldn’t have been here and this wouldn’t have been at all possible if she didn’t move over. She had to leave behind all her friends and her entire life back in China to be with us here, which is really selfless and great of her.
***
The Linda Vista Update would like to thank Andrew for his time and for his willingness to be interviewed. We wish him the best of luck as he enters the next chapter of his academic career at UCSD this fall.
District 7 News
Message from Councilmember Campillo
Dear Linda Vista Update Readers,
City Councilmember Raul Campillo here. Wishing everyone a great start to the summer so far.
You may have seen that the City of San Diego has passed its Fiscal Year 2024 budget, which will go into effect on July 1. This budget has so many wins for Linda Vista, District 7, and San Diego as a whole. To highlight just a few of the most important initiatives and the line items that I’m most excited about:
$1.4 million for John Baca Park in Linda Vista
$140 million to resurface streets, including approximately 1/6 of District 7 streets, which is quadruple the average of past years
509 acres worth of brush maintenance
$85 million for homeless shelters and programs
Fully funding first responders to keep residents safe
$2.6 million for sidewalk repairs
$1.5 million to fix the City’s most dangerous intersections
This budget aligns with our values: housing the homeless, being responsive to constituents, fixing our roads and infrastructure, and keeping San Diegans safe.
I look forward to the benefits that this year’s budget will bring to our neighborhoods.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call me at 619-236-6677 or email me at RaulCampillo@sandiego.gov.
New Program Honors Linda Vista Heroes
Local heroes are usually recognized because they reflect the desired values and habits of their respective community. The accomplishments of these heroes are often honored to set a proper example for others to emulate. Such is the case here in Linda Vista, as a venture developed by a partnership of American Legion Post 731 and the Linda Vista Town Council (LVTC) is seeking nominees for the new Hometown Heroes Banner Program.
This program provides the community with an opportunity to honor Linda Vista natives/residents who are active duty service members, honorably discharged, retired, or who gave their lives in service of our country.
The names and images of selected individuals will be on banners that will hang on Linda Vista Road light poles.
The first 10 names to be placed on the banners will be selected on a first come-first serve basis. Subsequent selections will be coordinated by the LVTC and American Legion Post 731. Expenses for the banners will be borne by American Legion Post 731.
As explained by LVTC president Victor Tocco, “We need a minimum of 10 applications to begin the program. As more applications come in, we will decide on a maximum number….Individual banners will be rotated out at an interval (1-2 years) decided on by the committee.”
Please check out the below flyer for more details about the program and how you can nominate an individual. The program application can be accessed here.
Upcoming Community Event
Coffee with a Cop Returns to Linda Vista
Mark your calendar. On July 13, Linda Vista residents will have the opportunity to participate in a Coffee with a Cop event. If you have questions to ask members of the SDPD, here is your chance to do so and get answers. Check out the below flyer for details. The Linda Vista Update will furnish the coffee and donuts. We hope to see many of our readers there!
Progress on LV Mascot Concept
Our Linda Vista Update issue of two weeks ago, asked the important question…Should Linda Vista have a mascot? While pointing out the popularity of civic mascots in Japan, the commentary article tried to make the case that a civic mascot might enhance a sense of community spirit, increase marketing opportunities for LV civic organizations and small businesses, and help Linda Vista develop its own brand by distinguishing us from other San Diego neighborhoods. The article also proposed a list of 10 possible optional names and images for a Linda Vista mascot, and welcomed readers to offer up their own ideas for possible mascots.
The reception we received from our loyal readers was mixed.
One loyal reader suggested that LV Man be appointed the community mascot. In case you are not familiar with LV Man, we profiled this unique community fixture—a stucco figure created several years ago by longtime LV resident Don Prihoda and positioned outside his house on Ulric Street—in both our March 3 2022 and March 10, 2022 issues. We strongly endorse this recommendation as a possible candidate for Linda Vista mascot, and we apologize for not originally recommending the little guy for this esteemed honor.
On the other hand, one other of our more enthusiastic readers suggested we seriously re-evaluate the entire premise of a Linda Vista mascot. She stridently commented… “I’ve lived here all my life. If you want a mascot, it better be a good one and something that represents Linda Vistas long history. Nothing funny or inappropriate. Long time Linda Vistans are proud of where we live and don’t need the acceptance of others.”
We will continue to keep our readers informed of any other mascot recommendations offered up by our newsletter readers.
Upcoming Community Event
This event will take place at the Access, Inc. facility in Linda Vista.
Poem Honored by San Diego Writers, Ink
The Linda Vista Update usually publishes news articles, feature articles about places and people, food reviews, and commentaries/opinion pieces. However, we also publish the occasional poem that focuses on some aspect of our Linda Vista community. You may recall that last summer, Steve included a version of his poem titled Late August Clouds in the August 25, 2022 Linda Vista Update issue. The poem described the big monsoonal clouds that form over San Diego’s East County every August as seen from Linda Vista.
For years Steve has been a member of San Diego Writers, Ink. which includes writers of poetry, fiction and non-fiction in the San Diego area. For the past fifteen years, Writers, Ink. has published an anthology called A Year in Ink, which includes submissions of poetry and prose submitted by local writers and judged by a panel which selects those to be published. This year, Volume 16 included 38 selections from over 300 submissions. I am happy to report Steve’s poem was one of the selections.
On this past Monday night, there was a reading of the poems and prose by the authors at Art Produce Gallery in North Park. Each reader also received a copy of A Year in Ink, San Diego Writers, Ink, Anthology Volume 16.
We are very proud that this poem was selected for the Anthology, and especially proud that an earlier version of this poem was first published in the Linda Vista Update and enjoyed by our many readers. LV Update readers obviously have good taste!
San Diego Writers, Ink, is a 501©(3) non-profit organization. They offer classes, workshops, readings, and other literary events at The Ink Spot and other locations throughout San Diego. The organization is based out of Liberty Station.
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Good morning. I must say that mascot that is pictured is very ugly. I do not believe it represents the multi cultural feel or vibe. Please let's not use that. What about that football statue in the San Diego Bakery? Or maybe a contest to find the best mascot?