At the beginning of 2016 the city of Chula Vista saw a small part of its history relocate as the Chula Vista Heritage Museum moved from its storefront on Third Avenue between Madrona Avenue and Park Way to the main Chula Vista Library branch on Fourth Avenue.
The Friends of The Library, a nonprofit organization dedicated to support the Chula Vista Public Library, had funded the old hamburger stand turned into a museum throughout the years. The move to the civic library is said to save The Friends of Library about $6,000 to $ 15,000 a year in staffing and utilities, said Library Director Betty Waznis.
Waznis said the move allows the museum to be open more, about 53 hours a week as opposed to the 11 hours a week that it was open at the last location.
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The Chula Vista City Council also in February laid the groundwork for purchasing the Olympic Training Center in the east side of the city.
The city will take ownership of the Olympic Training Center on Jan. 1, 2017, under a proposed new name: The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Facility, USOC Olympic and Paralympic Training Site.
The council’s approval came a day after the United States Olympic Committee board approved the transfer of the 150-acre complex to Chula Vista. The USOC will transfer to the city the land, facilities and equipment comprising the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center for $1.
The city must operate the facility as a USOC training site. The USOC agreed to be the main tenant at the site for four years with options to extend the agreement.
Deputy City Manager Kelley Bacon said the estimated operational cost for the Olympic Training Center is $7 million. The USOC has agreed to commit a minimum of $3 million annually for a guarantee of 60 beds and related services for their athletes.
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The city of Chula Vista also agreed to revive the Fourth of July Fireworks show, following an eight year hiatus.
Local Media San Diego, a San Diego-based broadcasting company compromised of local radio stations, paid for some of the costs for the all-day event.
Chula Vista resident and Magic 92.5 radio personality Xavier The X-Man said he pitched the idea to his bosses about forming a partnership with the city to resurrect Fourth of July fireworks in Chula Vista.
“I’ve seen fireworks when I first moved here and when they went away there wasn’t really a place to see fireworks,” he said. “It’s a homegrown thing; living in Chula Vista you kind of missed that.”
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In March The Sweetwater Foundation hired Martha Juarez to be the organization’s first executive director as it transitions from an entirely volunteer-board to having a paid employee lead the strategic and daily operations of the organization.
Juarez, 39, left the affordable housing nonprofit Community HousingWorks, to work full-time for the Sweetwater Foundation starting March 1.
The Sweetwater Foundation was formed in 2006 during the economic downturn to provide financial contributions and resources that benefit students at Sweetwater Union High School in National City.
Juarez, a Sweetwater High School alumna from the class of 1995, said the foundation’s main objective continues to be giving graduating Sweetwater students scholarships as they enter a four-year university.
Juarez estimated that nearly 70 scholarships worth about $500,000 were awarded by the foundation since 2006.
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The Sweetwater Union High School academic decathlon team made history when it qualified as a wildcard team to the California Academic Decathlon competition in Sacramento.
The 17-member Sweetwater team became the most decorated team in the high school’s history, scoring 43,019 points, a new school record, and were the top scoring team in four events. The team was recognized for having 45 medals as well as four of the top overall scores in the county.
As a Division III team they joined 65 other elite decathlon teams at the California Academic State Competition.
“We’ve had amazing teams in the past, but this team has eclipsed everybody,” said Meg Garcia, academic decathlon coach and AP art history teacher.
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A woman who was named as the party contesting the election of John McCann over Steve Padilla in their 2015 Chula Vista City Council race was ordered to pay nearly $100,000.
San Diego Superior Court judge Eddie C. Sturgeon stuck to his tentative ruling and awarded Councilman John McCann $99,918 in attorney fees. Sturgeon, however, in his ruling, encouraged both parties to try to settle on a lower amount.
The January 2015 lawsuit brought on by Chula Vista resident and poll worker Aurora Clark challenged the legality of the election because, Clark said, she felt that not every vote was counted in McCann’s two-vote victory over campaign rival and former mayor Steve Padilla.
A recount was conducted and later suspended by Padilla’s campaign, certifying the election win for McCann with 18,448 votes to Padilla’s 18,446.
McCann also said in an emailed statement: “We won the election, the election audit, the election recount, the election lawsuit, unanimously won the appeal with the three-judge Fourth District Court of Appeals and now we won our children’s college money back.”
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In National City, school district boss Chris Oram said it was time to move on.
After serving the National School District in various capacities for 37 years, including the last seven as superintendent, Chris Oram said it is time to enjoy life with his family.
Oram, 59, notified district staff about his plans to retire, ending his tenure as superintendent where he led the school district to two Golden Bell awards, navigated the district through the recession and upgraded the district’s technology infrastructure.
Oram said retirement plans include preparing for his daughter’s wedding, spending more time with his wife of 31 years and finding a part-time instructional job at a local college or university.
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The National City Police Department moved closer to outfitting their patrol officers with cameras by the summer of 2016.
During a presentation to the City Council about their progress with instituting body-worn cameras Lt. Robert Rounds, who has spearheaded the body-worn cameras program at the department, told council members that cameras are a win-win for both the officers and the public because they hold officers accountable for their actions and protect officers from false citizen complaints.
Seven police officers tested out Taser cameras, which appears to be the industry standard among agencies in the county. The Chula Vista Police Department last year outfitted its entire police force with Taser body cameras.
The estimated cost of the pilot program is $125,000 for the first year and then about $46,000 every year after that for storage and maintenance.
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District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis lauded Josiah McGuire of Chula Vista for being a hero.
The 13-year-old scored with what he said is the biggest award he has ever received, the San Diego District Attorney’s Citizens of Courage Award.
For the past 26 years the District Attorney’s Office has recognized San Diego County residents who have responded with great courage in the face of a violent crime. This year there were five recipients including Josiah.
The teenager helped identify thieves who were behind a string of robberies after they robbed him of his school-issued iPad.
“I didn’t want to elevate the situation,” he said. “It was a dangerous situation so I had to keep calm, keep them from doing anything crazy.”
As the suspects sped off, Josiah kept repeating in his mind the license plate number.
“Without Josiah calling that (license plate) number in and stopping that robbery and drawing attention to himself, that crime spree would have not ended,” said Deputy District Attorney John Dunlap.
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After nearly a two-year fight, a settlement was reached in an open government case involving the process used in the appointment of Chula Vista Councilman Steve Miesen.
The settlement signed by Chula Vista resident Chris Shilling in March and by the city of Chula Vista says Miesen will get to fulfill his appointed two-year term on the City Council.
In exchange, the city of Chula Vista has agreed to pay $125,000 in attorney fees to Coast Law Group LLP, the firm which represented Shilling.
In a joint statement both parties said they settled the case because it was in the best interest of the city.
“Neither plaintiffs nor the city concede the validity of each other’s legal positions by entering into the agreement to dismiss the lawsuit. The city denies that it violated the Ralph M. Brown Act in any way. Plaintiffs believe the changes to the city’s appointment process are necessary to bring it into compliance with the Brown Act.
“However, in an effort to end the cost and expense of the litigation and to move the city forward, the parties have agreed to end the case.”
Shilling and his team of lawyers had initially sought to remove the councilman from office because they argued his appointment was unlawful.
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South County was the epicenter of a political battleground when former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was in National City for a campaign stop and former president Bill Clinton appeared at Bonita Vista High School on behalf of his wife and candidate Hillary Clinton.
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Southwestern College President/Superintendent Melinda Nish officially stepped down from her position during the summer.
Nish was at the helm for four and a half years before resigned in a June 16 letter to the college’s governing board, making her resignation effective June 30.
Nish’s brief resignation letter did not detail why she chose to resign, as it only thanked “Everyone I’ve worked with in creating an educational team that accomplished remarkable success” during her years serving the college.
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Southwestern College’s new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion department was created to equally meet the needs of all students on campus, regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.
Dr. Guadalupe Corona is the director of the state funded program to support a student equity plan by providing tutoring, book service and other services to students.
Corona’s work at SWC includes enhancing the cultural competency awareness on campus amongst students, staff and faculty.
She trains faculty members how to have safe zones on campus, areas on campus where Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender students can go and feel supported. Corona has a $1.8 million budget to operate with.
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Chula Vista Police Chief David Bejarano notified city officials in an email last week that after seven years on the job he would retire Dec. 30.
Bejarano, 59, said the decision was based on a “personal and family decision,” and that he thought about holding off retirement until next July, but said “it just feels right,” to retire now.
Bejarano has had a 35-year law enforcement career, including the last seven as Chula Vista’s chief, which he says has taken a toll on him and it’s now time for him to spend more time with his family.
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Steve Padilla and Mike Diaz were the first candidates elected to represent specific districts in Chula Vista’s first ever district-only elections.
Padilla, a former Chula Vista mayor and councilman, will represent District 3.
Diaz represents District 4.
