por Jay Wilson

We have certainly had some activity recently in Del Cerro and it has not been good.

“There have been a number of crime-related incidents,” said Mark Rawlins, chair of the Del Cerro Action Council. “Fortunately, several arrests have already been made. In addition, the police and other city staff are in the process of removing the homeless encampment in Chaparral Canyon (the open space canyon below the Lake Murray Dam).”

There are several sites available through the nextdoor.com website for Del Cerro and the Navajo community. That is the best way to stay informed, to post information and to receive it. The program is endorsed by the San Diego Police Department. One thing to remember is that you can only see posts specific to your own neighborhood.

If you have a police or other city-related concern, you need to notify the city. To speak to the police department, call 911 for emergencies, or their business office for non-emergency matters at 619-531-2000. Officer Adam McElroy is the police community relations officer for all of the Navajo community. His email address is [email protected] and his phone number is 858-495-7971. Our councilmember and his staff do not have access to nextdoor.com, so make sure you call Councilmember Sherman’s office with any city-related concerns. Sherman’s office phone number is 619-236-6677. Liz Saidkhanian is the council representative for Del Cerro. Her email address is [email protected].

On a much more positive note, congratulations to Anthony Wagner and the Allied Gardens Community Council for their very successful effort to establish the AG First Fridays Summer Concert Series at the Allied Gardens Community Park. The first concert was held on Friday, June 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. More than 750 people attended and everyone had a great time. The next concert is Friday, July 3, featuring The Ballad Mongers, a rocking, stomping dance band. The band includes vocal harmony, violin, guitars (both acoustic and electric), keyboards, harmonica, horns, bass and drums. A big “thank you” to all the sponsors: Councilmember Scott Sherman, Ideal Plumbing Heating Air & Electrical, Mission Times Courier, Superior Ready Mix, Kaiser Permanente, Windmill Farms, A-1 Storage, Honest-1 Auto Care, Primo Mexican Food, Pepper Coffee Realty, Mission Trails Church, Grantville-Allied Gardens Kiwanis and the Allied Gardens Shopping Center. For more information about the concerts and the Allied Gardens Community Council, their website is alliedgardens.org.

The farmers market in the Allied Gardens Shopping Center continues to grow. It operates every Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. and is sponsored by the Grantville-Allied Gardens Kiwanis Club. If you are interested in becoming involved in a great community service organization, check out this group. They meet every Thursday morning at 7 a.m. at the Allied Gardens Recreation Center. Their website is alliedgardenskiwanis.org.

On Tuesday, June 9, the City Council unanimously approved the Grantville Focused Plan Amendment. This was a 10-year project that will now allow the development of Grantville to move forward with specific guidelines regarding housing density and the amount of retail and commercial use.

At this time, the Del Cerro Action Council does not have any update from SDSU regarding Adobe Falls. In addition to stopping the trespassing and parties at Adobe Falls, a major challenge is removing all the graffiti on the rocks and having the area remain environmentally safe. The rocks can be painted over, but that just provides another canvas for more graffiti. The usual method is to use high pressure hoses, but because of the rocky and narrow terrain, it is virtually impossible to collect the water and paint when it hits the ground.

This past week there was vandalism at the Lake Murray Community Park that included the destruction of one of the large, cement picnic tables adjacent to the new playground. It was tipped over and the result was that the table broke.

The next Del Cerro Action Council meeting will be Thursday, July 23, at 7 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 6299 Capri Drive. The program will include information about the status of our drought and water conservation measures. This is important to all of us. The Del Cerro Action Council website is delcerroactioncouncil.org. Let us hear from you via our website.

—Jay Wilson is the secretary of the Del Cerro Action Council.