Free Republic

SAN DIEGO – When the Stevens family bought a house in Mira Mesa in 1980, they were told an elementary school would be built in their neighborhood on land set aside by housing developer Pardee Homes. More than two decades later, the site sits vacant. And Mira Mesa residents are unlikely to see a school until the end of the decade, even though the San Diego Unified School District had promised to build one as part of its $1.51 billion construction program funded by a 1998 bond measure. Jonas Salk Elementary School was supposed to open off Parkdale Avenue and...

MIRA MESA – San Diego police jumped on a report of a fugitive kangaroo on Canyon Peak Lane last night. A woman phoned police about 10:35 p.m. saying a 3-foot-tall kangaroo was hopping down the street. Westbound. Then a man called 20 minutes later saying it was back, and it was for real. The three officers who headed that way confirmed her report. Casting about for an explanation, police called the San Diego Wild Animal Park. They were told the park keeps no kangaroos. Park workers suggested calling an animal control officer. About 11:30 p.m. the kangaroo's owner showed up,...

MIRA MESA – A moviegoer was beaten unconscious after he asked others inside a Mira Mesa Boulevard theater to be quiet, police said yesterday. As the 19-year-old man left the movie about 10 p.m. Friday, he was jumped by two men who beat him in the parking lot with a 3-foot piece of wood, San Diego police Sgt. Richard Nemetz said. The assailants fled in a black Toyota Celica. Detailed descriptions of the men were not available. The victim was hospitalized with cuts to the head.