By Shain Haug and Tommy Thornton
Town Hall Meetings
We had good attendance at the May 23 Allied Gardens/Grantville Community Council (AGGCC) Town Hall Meeting where representatives of SoccerCity gave us a look at the Qualcomm site development initiative that will go to the City Council in June. The minutes of that meeting will be published in the July newsletter.
Our next Town Hall Meeting will be on July 25 at 7 p.m. at Ascension Lutheran Church. This meeting will feature a presentation by the San Diego Police Department’s Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP). You have seen these folks on patrol in our neighborhood. This will be an opportunity to find out more about their mission and to consider joining this important civic organization.
First Friday Concerts
The first of five free concerts took place on Friday, June 2. If you missed this one, you really missed a great one. Neighbors of all generations could be seen enjoying themselves, while children made good use of the playground.
High Tide Society performed to a large and groovy crowd (we finally learned what “Yacht Rock” is), with many of Allied Gardens residents dancing for the entire performance. The group received many large ovations throughout their set featuring soft rock hits from the ’70s and ’80s, and thanked the crowd with an encore of two additional songs.
Blankets, camping chairs, and picnics are once again expected to be the backdrop for the next concert scheduled for July 7 and featuring Pop Vinyl — a seven-piece band that will cover many genres with a twist of hits from the ’70s to present.
Stand Down sock drive
State Senator Toni G. Atkins’ office will gather socks to benefit veterans in the 30th annual Stand Down event.
Stand Down – for those not familiar – was started in 1988 by Veterans Village of San Diego and is a three-day event to provide coordinated, comprehensive services to homeless veterans.
Deliver your donations of socks to the senator’s office at 1350 Front St., Room 4061, San Diego or contact Ryan Trabuco at [email protected] or 619-645-3133.
Welcome
Welcome to Gay and Chris Holbrook, the independent owner-operators of the Grocery Outlet that they will open this August in the location previous occupied by Albertson’s.
It seems like forever since we had a grocery store in the neighborhood and we are so glad to have you join our community.
Board of directors meetings and activities
The AGGCC board of directors meets on the first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Ascension Lutheran Church. Our next meeting will be on Aug. 7. The public is welcome.
As we increase the membership of the AGGCC board of directors, we are able to expand the scope of our service to the community. We are concerned with how parks and open spaces are being used in our neighborhood.
We would also like to attend the San Diego River Foundation monthly meetings so we can participate in and keep the community informed on the river development in Grantville. We will investigate the possibility of a dog park in the area. Urban forestry is another hot item throughout the city and it is possible that trees can be planted along the main streets such as Zion.
Suggestions for Town Hall Meetings and council action will be much appreciated and your participation in these activities will be helpful.
—Shain Haug is the President of the AGGCC. Reach him at [email protected]. Tommy Thornton is a council member and a member of Allied Gardens Community Events, the organization that produces the concerts.