The Mission Hills Town Council is beginning to plan the 2^nd Annual Mission Hills BBQ Competition during the 4th of July Celebration in Pioneer Park. If you would like to be on the planning committee, please click here to contact us.  If you are interested in competing this year or being a sponsor please use the links below.

2012-2013 New-Student Enrollment Application: Open Enrollment Period: Feb 1 – Mar 9

Interested in enrolling your child in Old Town Academy K-8 Charter School for the 2012-2013 school year?

New-Student Enrollment Applications and information on charter school admissions procedures are available here: OTA Application_English_2012 [updated]
New-Student Enrollment Applications will then be accepted by fax, email, mail, or in person (between 3:30-5:00 only please) for a 5 week Open Enrollment Period ending March 9. Any new-student applications received during the 5 week open enrollment period will be entered into the lottery for available spaces (applications are not date-stamped so there is no need to rush to get them in tomorrow).

We may hear some possible pile-driving noise in our neighborhood as construction at the airport gears up - read below for the latest on what is happening across the highway from our neighborhood:

Pile Driving to Take Place on North Side of Lindbergh Field

The Airport Authority will begin construction on a receiving and distribution center on the north side of Lindbergh Field in mid-February. Initial construction activity includes pile driving, which will take place over 10-15 working days during daytime hours.

The VA is proposing a “Transitional Housing” facility for homeless veterans that will include mental health programs, medical treatment, physical therapy, and drug and alcohol treatment programs (programs may also include a narcotic Self Medicated Program) in a dormitory styled hospital. The facility is proposed to be located at 2121 San Diego at the former law school building and will include initially 40 patient rooms. The VA states that the residential component of the facility is its "secondary" use (meaning the medical use is primary) -- yet, by designating it as "transitional housing" it avoids regulatory scrutiny as a medical facility.

The scent of Christmas trees wafting from the Mission Hills Nursery and twinkling lights adorning homes and business throughout the neighborhood herald the coming of the holidays in Mission Hills.   There are several events taking place during this festive season, so support your local businesses while you do your holiday shopping and help spread good cheer by participating in the MH Town Council food drive.

The Mission Hills Town Council is participating in the San Diego Food Bank food drive for the 2nd year in a row. The collection bins will be at Mission Hills Fabric Care and The Gathering.  Last year we collected 228 pounds of food  - help us double that this year!

Since late July, there have been at least 24 stolen plaques in Mission Hills; including nine historic plaques (six Inspiration Heights 1909 plaques); community plaques (Grant Elementary School & Pioneer Playground); two individual designation plaques (Griswold and Florence Apt. Buildings along Washington Street) and at least ten individual historic designation plaques from private homes.  There have been some leads as diligent neighbors keep watch in the wee hours of the morning, but no arrests to date.  It is clear that this is not the work of mischievous teenagers, but a brazen effort by scavengers looking to sell the bronze plaques to unscrupulous recycling centers.  Recycling centers in the US are not supposed to accept stolen goods, but across the border these thieves may have no trouble unloading their loot. An "emergency" meeting has been called by several neighborhood organizations for Wednesday, Sept. 14 from 6pm-8pm to discuss what the police are doing about this highly targeted crime wave and what we can do as a community to help stop the stripping of history from our neighborhood.

UPDATE (SEPT 15) FROM THE MEETING - ONE SUSPECT IN CUSTODY!

At a special Community Meeting tonight hosted by Mission Hills Town Council at Francis Parker Elementary School, Capt. Walt Vasquez of the Western Division San Diego Police Department made a welcome announcement: One man, on parole for a previous theft conviction, is in custody and has confessed to stealing some of the plaques. He actually showed police how he had done so with a screwdriver, and then actually took the police to several locations for which he is responsible. He was apprehended with the cooperation of National City Police on a tip from an alert citizen, as yet anonymous to the public. The perpetrator said the plaques had been cut into pieces and melted down before being taken to a recycling location that he named.

Yes neighbors, a pig was indeed spotted in Pioneer Park on July 4^th - he was even seen serving up some of his own kind to hungry crowds before capturing the 1^st Annual Mission Hills BBQ Competition trophy.  It was all part of the MH Town Council’s Annual 4^th of July Celebration in Pioneer Park.  The crowd was estimated at over a thousand, all enjoying the perfect summer weather and live music. The event kicked off with the ever-popular parade of patriotic garbed kids, dogs, and parents.  When revelers got to Pioneer Park they were greeted by the smell of barbecued pork, cooked up by five teams vying for prizes, bragging rights, and a trophy that will be passed year to year.  Teams competing were the Barbecutioner, Team Mission Hills Life, Mission Pork, Smoke Monsters, and the Ascent Real-Toros.  MH Town Council members could taste and eat for free and over 65 new households signed up on the spot.  The competition was fierce, many of the competitors having been up in the wee hours, having slow smoked their pork for up to 12 hours.  In the end, it was the Ascent Real-Toros taking home the trophy with their “asian red bull pork”, Mission Hills Life coming second, and Smoke Monsters third.

A restaurant will finally be moving into the new space in the 1 Mission Building! Victoria McGeath and chef Michael McGeath, of Trattoria Acqua in La Jolla, are opening a new restaurant in Mission Hills.  Brooklyn Girl Eatery will be a casual neighborhood American eatery with a sustainable farm-to-table attitude. They will be open for breakfast, lunch,  dinner and late night with an extensive menu of seasonal and locally sourced organic products at very attractive price points. They will have a  full "artisanal" bar with a great selection of locally produced craft beers on tap and an extensive and affordable wine list. In addition they will have a "chef's pantry" offering daily selection of salads, pasta, sandwiches, pastries and pre-prepared entrees to go. It is a locally owned and family operated business that according to their website wants to be YOUR neighborhood "go-to" restaurant.

The editors here at OurMissionHills.com have been waiting for news of who was going to take that prime piece of space on the corner of Goldfinch and Ft. Stockton and after several rumors and deals that fell through, looks like we finally have a great new restaurant to look forward to.  They are expected to open in the fall!

Allen Hazard & Janet O'Dea, the co-founders of the first historic district in Mission Hills, are at it again in the name of preserving and honoring history in Mission Hills.  Their latest goal is to have the following text inscribed on a memorial to be placed at the entrance of Pioneer Park, where visitors can reflect for a moment on these hallowed grounds.

Historic Marker (Historic Landmark #5) Proposed Text:

"To the south of the row of eucalyptus trees lies the former CALVARY CEMETERY (1875-1960) – This is the final resting place for between 3,000 to 4,000 San Diego pioneers, including the Arguello, Altamirano, Bandini and Machado families and other important early leaders such as Cave Johnson Couts and Father Antonio Ubach.

While the ravages of time and the march of progress may have taken their toll on even our most sacred, hallowed ground, we shall not forget, at least in passing, the tributes we owe to these early San Diego pioneers and their families."

To help raise funds for this endeavor they are selling Power Walks, a 34 page self-guided walking tours booklet for $10 at Powers Plumbing to raise funds.

The City of San Diego Engineering & Capital Projects Department (E&CP) Utilities Undergrounding Program is well underway in our neighborhood.  Click here for an e-news update to inform you of the construction activities that are occurring in our neighborhood.

For several years, members of Mission Hills Heritage, and more recently the Mission Hills Town Council, have worked to have historic “acorn” style street lighting installed in conjunction with the utility under-grounding project for Underground District, Block 2E.

Now, after several years of planning the “Mission Hills Historic Street Lighting Maintenance Assessment District,” the ballots were counted and the vote was certified by the City Council.

A remarkable 60% of ballots were returned to the City and the maintenance assessment district passed with a landslide 68% voting “yes.” The historic-style lighting will finally become a reality! Lights should be installed by 2011. Thanks for all your support of this important project that will compliment the historic character of Mission Hills.

As a reminder, for anyone interested in having input on the choice of light fixture, please email your contact information to Paul Schulman,  at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , who is forming an interest committee for this purpose. Community input for the final product choice may also be sought at a future MHTC Town Hall meeting. We will notify our membership of any such meeting.

Want to see when your street is slated for undergrounding? Just enter your address on this website: http://citymaps.sandiego.gov/imf/sites/uuc/index.jsp

UPDATE: Meshuggah Shack, Mission Hills' newest espresso bar is now open!  Their hours are 7am - 2ish (closed Mondays) and they are serving espresso, coffee, tea, ice blended and flavored drinks! Check them out and don't forget to pick up your very own "MH" car decal there too!

PREVIOUSLY REPORTED: Many Mission Hills residents have been buzzing about the construction going on at the corner of Ft. Stockton and Goldfinch.  What used to be an ATM has been transformed into a green "shack" with benches on one side and a little deck across the driveway.  We heard that an architectural group had rented out the building next door and that there was now parking available in the lot, but up until a few weeks ago the green shack had been a source of speculation.  On our way back from the Mission Hills Farmers Market one Friday the shack was open and a fellow named John was chatting up the passersby and offering free Cafe Moto coffee.  Turns out John, a Mission Hills resident, is opening a coffee shop in the little green shack called "Meshuggah" - a sugary play on the yiddish word meaning "senseless or crazy". Hopefully the new endeavor disproves the name and he enjoys much succcess.  John said he is not sure when he will open permanently, but he plans to have pastries and such as well.  Could be a great place to stop for people dropping the kids off at school!

UPDATE (January 2011)

Janet O'Dea of Powers Plumbing in Mission Hills just reported that they raised enough money for the nice new metal bench to replace the old plastic one.  Photos on their facebook page here or just stop by on W. Lewis and have a sit!

UPDATE (OCT 3, 2010):

We are very close to our goal of having enough funds to replace the bus bench on West Lewis Street (near Stephens). Thanks to the generosity of our neighbors such as Liz Weems of Mission Hills Artists, those who have purchased her art and the booklets for the walking tours. This has been a wonderful experience because those who have contributed have gotten a great tour booklet of the neighborhood. We are no so very close to meeting our goal to have the funds needed for the new bench. We need to sell about 100 more tour booklets. If you are interested in contributing to this worthy cause -( funds are dedicated to replacing the plastic bus bench for an iron bench), the walking tour booklet features three walks for just $5.00 and may be taken at your leisure. They are great to know more about our wonderful neighborhood and it is a way to support the beautification of the neighborhood! Please stop by for your copy at L.B. Powers & Son 8- 4:30 PM Monday - Friday.

When surveyed in conjunction with the underground lighting project, residents in Mission Hills stated that they wanted a better looking bus bench, instead of the plastic one on West Lewis. MTS was contacted and stated that they will remove the plastic one if Mission Hills wil pay for the new metal bench. To help us with fund raising for this streetscape improvement local historian, Allen Hazard, came to the rescue.

I went to the Uptown Planners meeting last night to get the word on the long awaited redevelopment of the Vons on Washington & Dove St.  Apparently this has been in the works for over 15 years, with long lulls in the planning process.  Last year Vons revived the project and after several back and forth meetings with the various Mission Hills and Hillcrest community groups, are on the cusp of final submission to the city.