Thursday, March 28, 2024

Highlights from the City Manager’s Weekly Update: Police offer tips to avoid vehicle burglaries

Each week, the City of Coronado City Manager’s Office provides an update that includes information on programs, services and issues within the City, as well as news, project updates and follow-up information when applicable. Featured below are highlights from that update. The entire City Manager’s Weekly Update can be found on the City’s website.

Recent Honors/Awards

Coronado received several honors this week, including being included in the list of Top 25 Beaches in the country, Top 5 Most Romantic Main Streets and Top 40 Best Commuter Cities in California. Click on the links to find out more.

  • Coronado’s beach made Tripadvisor’s 2015 Travelers’ Choice Top 25 Beaches in the United States. Coronado was found to have the best sunsets and a popular surfing beach. Here’s a link.
  • Coronado was called out for having one of the Top 5 Most Romantic Main Streets in America by the National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Thanks to Coronado MainStreet for extolling the City’s praises, such as its historic buildings, award-winning median gardens, swaying palm trees, sparking beaches and sunset vistas, to name a few. Click here for a link to the full story.
  • Coronado was included in Obrella’s “40 Best Commuter Cities in California. Coronado was the only city listed located in the heart of a major metropolitan area. Most cities on the list were remote and rural. Coronado was found to have much shorter commute times than the average California community, coming in at No. 19 with an average Coronado commute time of 19.4 minutes. Obrella examined traffic data from the most recent survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau and identified California cities with a population of more than 10,000 residents at the time of the 2013 Census Survey. See the full story here.

Railcar Update

The City Council considered an analysis of potential locations for a historic railroad car display at its meeting Tuesday, February 17, narrowing down the list to two possible sites, and directed staff to 1) develop a financial plan to acquire the historic Railcar No. 2, along with the estimated restoration costs; 2) more closely consider the linear park between City Hall and the Community Center and a location along Nature’s Bridge to Discovery on Silver Strand State Highway as viable locations, with possible meetings to ask for public comment; and 3) bring back the findings for further Council consideration and approval.

Flag Rules

The City had relied upon information from a respected source about how to correctly fly the American, state and city flags. Based on information the city has received recently, the City has discovered that the City has in fact been flying the flags incorrectly. The situation has been fixed and now the flags are being flown appropriately.

Spreckels Park Restroom Project

Save the date. The public is invited to participate in an open forum on the Spreckels Park Restroom project at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, in the Library’s Winn Room. The architect will make a presentation and listen to any ideas or concerns the public may have regarding the restroom. The restroom at Spreckels Park is old and needs a major upgrade to meet growing public demand.

Navy Noise Alert

The Navy has notified the community that it is conducting small boat training during the day and evenings through February 26 on San Diego Bay in the vicinity of Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. Residents can expect to hear blank gunfire. The City has been assured that the Navy makes every effort to reduce noise whenever possible. However, noise complaints can be directed to (619) 545-8233.

Drug Arrest

On Tuesday, February 17, a patrol officer witnessed a vehicle run a stop sign near Tidelands Park and initiated a traffic stop. The driver initially gave the officer a false name but his identity was determined. A search revealed drugs in the driver’s pocket. A passenger admitted having marijuana on him. The search also revealed a bag containing five pounds of heroin with a $44,000 street value. The two suspects were arrested and transported to the Coronado Police Department, where they were turned over to the DEA’s Narcotics Task Force.

Bike Found

Coronado Police are trying to find the owner of a men’s black Firmstrong Urban beach cruiser that was locked in the bike racks at Spreckels Park. Officers were called to the park on Monday, February 16, after a citizen noticed a man using bolt cutters to cut the lock off a bicycle in Spreckels Park. The man was placing the bicycle in the trunk of his car just as officers arrived on scene. The man was unable to provide proof of ownership, but because the bicycle had not been reported stolen, officers were unable to arrest the subject for theft. The subject was released after a field interview and the bicycle was taken as found property. Please call us at (619) 522-7350 if you have any information regarding the owner of this bicycle.

Tips to Avoid Vehicle Burglaries

This week, Coronado Police have had multiple reports of vehicles being burglarized overnight. Most of the cars were ransacked with random items taken. Several victims reported that their vehicle registration and car insurance paperwork were stolen. You may want to consider storing this information in your wallet or in an area of the vehicle that may not be so obvious to a thief. Remember, simply locking your vehicle and removing all property is half the battle to combating crime. Here are a few tips:

FROM THE CROOKS VIEWPOINT:

  • Wide variety of merchandise. A vast array of property can be found inside an unlocked and unoccupied vehicle.
  • Low risk – most vehicle burglaries are misdemeanors.
  • Hard to get caught – often the crime is committed in the middle of the night with no witnesses.
    Items are easy to sell on the streets to other criminals for cash or in exchange for drugs.

DO NOT BE A VICTIM:

  • Lock your vehicle. Yes, criminals can break a window but it takes time and makes a lot of noise.
  • Take all items with you. Even if you think the item is not valuable, it still may attract the criminal element.
  • If your glove box has a lock, use it. You do not want thieves obtaining your vehicle registration and insurance information.
  • Purchase a car alarm.

Upcoming Meetings

  • Naval Complexes Coordinating Group meets at 3 p.m. on Monday, February 23, at City Hall, 1825 Strand Way.
  • The Planning Commission meeting is set for 3 p.m. on Tuesday, February 24, at City Hall.
  • The Design Review Commission meets at 3 p.m., on Wednesday, February 25, at City Hall.
  • The Traffic Operations Committee meets at 2 p.m. on Thursday, February 26, at City Hall.
  • The Golf Course Advisory Committee meets at 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 26, at the Golf Course, 2000 Visalia Row.
  • The RSIP-3 group meets at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 26, at City Hall.
  • The Bicycle Advisory Committee meets at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 2, at City Hall.
  • The City Council meets at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, at City Hall.
  • The Historic Resource Commission meets at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, at City Hall.
  • Coronado Tourism Improvement District meeting will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, at City Hall.



Managing Editor
Managing Editor
Originally from upstate New York, Dani Schwartz has lived in Coronado since 1996. She is happy to call Coronado home and to have raised her children here. In her free time she enjoys reading, exercising, trying new restaurants, and just walking her dog around the "island." Have news to share? Send tips or story ideas to: [email protected]

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