As the year draws to a close — a phrase so familiar it practically writes itself — it’s still hard to resist the pause and reflection that comes with the new year.
In 2025, we told stories of neighbors who showed up for one another, businesses that opened and closed, traditions kept and celebrations held. We also told stories of crisis and concern, of policy decisions that will shape Coronado’s future, and of difficult and divisive opinions.
This year in review reflects on 2025 through the topics that shaped the year, the stories readers followed the most, and the pieces our staff found especially meaningful. Beyond that, it shows the pulse of the city: engaged, opinionated, compassionate, and deeply invested in Coronado.
Thank you for supporting local, independent journalism and for trusting us to tell Coronado’s story, both in the hard moments and the helpful ones.
Topics of the year
As I started to compile this list, I asked our staff for their favorite articles of the year, and I pulled a list of our 100 most-read articles. Looking at the list of staff and reader favorites, several broad topics emerged that shaped the year through multiple stories.
The Tijuana sewage crisis
It’s been a decades-long push to address the untreated sewage from Tijuana that is polluting local shorelines and the Tijuana River, causing beach closures, health concerns, and interrupting military training.
A lot changed this year, and there is a growing sense of hesitant optimism among local leaders. We opened the year covering the rehabilitation and expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant and its ancillary projects. In July, the US and Mexico reached a new agreement to address the crisis, which culminated in a new treaty minute being executed in December. Under the agreement, Mexico will explore potential new infrastructure needs as Tijuana faces rapid population growth.
In July, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would accelerate projects on the US side of the border, including the expansion of the South Bay treatment plant, which is expected to be the most impactful of planned projects. Local leaders have continued to push for a Superfund designation and long-term studies to assess whether lingering soil pollutants may pose a threat to South Bay residents.
Still, the year was peppered with beach closures. There were fewer of them than in 2024, when the Tijuana Slough Shoreline in Imperial Beach clocked 1,000 days of consecutive closures, but the summer was still bookended with beach closures in Coronado on both Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.
Food, culture, and the soul of Coronado
Our readers returned time and again to stories that celebrate place. We covered restaurants opening and closing, profiled neighborhood businesses and nonprofits, and explored all the things that make Coronado feel like home.
We explored Villa Nueva and its unique flair, the deli case at Garage Buona Forchetta (including Anthony Bourdain’s favorite sandwich!), and covered countless new business openings, like Pop Pops Paleta and Bungalow 56’s new retail space. We also followed the top-to-bottom restoration of the historic Hotel del Coronado.
We profiled Grace Dabbieri, who is paving the way for visually impaired students around the world to grow and learn through robotics competitions. (In 2016, we wrote about Dabbieri, then eight years old, who said that blind people can do anything!)
Other stories captured the quieter rhythms of community life, such as our story about Coronado Mahjong and our ongoing “Meet Your Neighbor” series. Events and traditions also drew in readers, from the summer’s Coronado Promenade Concerts in the Park series to the winter’s holiday parade and tree lighting.
We also told the story of Ryan Seggerman, a Coronadan following his dream to Wimbledon, including all the sacrifices required to compete on the world’s biggest stages. And, it’s impossible not to notice the holiday house in Coronado, and we explored how Golsa Brydges finds joy in making others happy through her elaborate holiday decorations on Third Street. All of these stories and more make up the pulse of Coronado and create a record of what makes the community so special.
Student safety in Coronado’s schools
Few topics commanded as much sustained attention in 2025 as student safety. This year, Coronado shouldered difficult but necessary conversations about student mental health, supervision, and safety. In the spring, the community mourned the loss of a middle school student, which later prompted a lawsuit against the district, in which the student’s parents said their child was being bullied. The Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) rejected that claim. In the fall, a police say that a middle school student stabbed a peer. Although it was a heavy year for education news, the community has rallied to push for student safety and support, and CUSD hosted a student safety forum for the community. Coronado is unique in how civically engaged its residents are, and I’m always encouraged to see how the city rallies around its youth and its schools.
Coronado’s development and future
In 2025, Coronado navigated a series of development decisions that will shape the city’s physical and cultural landscape for years to come. At the center of community attention was the ongoing conversation about the Coronado Ferry Landing, whose $20 million development plan was stalled when the Port of San Diego decided not to renew its lease. However, the Port is negotiating to address maintenance concerns and the future of the property is yet to be determined. Another major change with Coronado’s decision to expedite its historic review process in an effort to preserve historic homes without drowning in administrative work and costs. As always, Coronado wrestled this year with the balance between growth and preservation.
Most-read stories
As a community newspaper, we measure success in more than clicks. We tell stories that connect neighbors, explain the minutiae of policy decisions at city hall, and bolster community events. These are the stories that underscore the soul of Coronado.
That said, we also exist to provide quick updates on breaking news stories, before rumors swirl and false information spreads.
As an example, in 2024, a lockdown was called for Coronado schools. I was on vacation in Albania, leaving the paper in the capable hands of our staff, so I was asleep in another time zone when it happened. I woke in the morning, grabbed my phone (a bad habit, I know) and saw a barrage of texts asking about what was happening. I opened social media (bad again, I know) and saw all sorts of rumors about it.
Still groggy, I pulled up the Coronado Times website and saw that, to my delight, our staff had reported quickly and accurately on the situation. This was an important moment for me, because I was on vacation, and got to experience our newspaper the way a reader might: I had a question, and I went to our website to find an answer. With that in mind, here are our most-read articles of 2025:
- San Diego under tsunami advisory
- Hegseth participates in morning physical training on Coronado beach
- ICE raid shakes up Coronado community; four landscapers taken in unmarked cars
- Coronado Community mourns loss of middle school student
- Port to end lease at Coronado Ferry Landing, stalling $20 million redevelopment project
- Coronado Promenade Concerts releases 2025 Concerts in the Park Schedule
- Beloved Coronado resident lost in fire leaves behind legacy of friendship
- Coronado’s beaches are closed again
- 50th annual Coronado holiday parade and tree lighting
- Coronado Middle School student stabbed by another student, police say
- Medal of Honor awarded posthumously to Coronado Navy SEAL
Thanks, as always, to everyone who has read, shared story ideas, and forwarded our coverage along. Local journalism cannot exist without readers, and our entire team appreciates the support that lets us keep doing what we love. Happy 2026!
Well done Coronado Times and staff!