I have reported for the La Jolla Village News and University City Golden Triangle News for more than a year, and I regret to inform the community that I am leaving San Diego to pursue journalism in New York City.
Within the past 14 months, significant, ongoing issues have come to a head in the community but will likely continue indefinitely. I am honored to have covered such sensitive topics, and I hope that I adequately informed the public with fair and complete reporting.
I have witnessed the passion, determination and organizing power of La Jollans and University City residents when issues rile them. I have also discovered their untiring commitment to their neighborhoods ” from endless planning board meetings to dynamic school foundations.
In their zeal, issues divide groups and neighbors just as they unify them. Last fall, Bird Rock residents differed on whether they would be willing to pay for a maintenance assessment district to landscape the new roundabouts on La Jolla Boulevard.
At the beginning of the year, La Jolla grappled with its zoning codes, and Bird Rock residents rallied against a local architect’s proposal to allow three-story buildings throughout the commercial districts.
This summer, city council finally made a decision to build the Regents Road Bridge, a topic that has pitted neighbors against one another for years.
And so the issues continue. Bird Rock is back at the drawing table to hammer out its development codes. The community is now pursuing a form-based code that encourages a type of physical outcome instead of focusing on specific regulations.
Within University City, opponents of the bridge are suing the city over its decision to build across Rose Canyon.
I have also seen the community truly rally together and pitch in. Patrons at La Jolla Shores now enjoy not just new bathroom stalls but a carefully planned comfort station that blends seamlessly into the environment. A map detailing La Jolla’s unique ecological reserve is also on its way to brighten the adjacent dirt lot.
And nothing is more unifying than the prospect of relocating Lindbergh Field to La Jolla’s backyard.
Our new reporter, Kailee Bradstreet, will take the torch and follow the issues that affect and concern our neighborhoods. Bradstreet studied journalism at the University of Maine.
I am saddened to forgo my coastal beat, and I wish the best for La Jolla and University City.