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Good morning, San Diego ☀️
Here’s what we have for you today:
- Mountain View residents have been fighting for years to restore the Black Family statue in one of the city’s oldest parks. They’re finally getting their wish, with an unveiling of the piece at a Juneteenth celebration today.
- Take a trip back to see some of San Diego’s lost restaurants.
Andrew Keatts
General manager and editor
Top story
‘I found life’ — stateless, queer dancer makes San Diego — and the world — his home through ballet
Ballet dancer Ahmed Joudeh calls now calls San Diego home, but it’s a long way from the Syrian refugee camp in which he was raised.
Despite being raised in Syria, Joudeh does not have citizenship there. His mother was a citizen of the country, but in Syria women cannot pass their nationalities on to their children. And since his dad was a Palestinian refugee, Joudeh was destined for statelessness before he was even born.
Still, the Yarmouth refugee camp taught its residents English as a second language and exposed them to music and arts. His parents, both educators, relied on musical instruments as his toys.
Joudeh could sing from a young age. When he was 8, he was selected to perform in Damascus, where he first saw a ballet performance. He danced in secret for years, until he secured a position in a dance company. For the first time, his father saw him dance — and saw him in stage makeup, too. His dad gave him a choice: study, or dance. Not both.
“I would tell him I would dance or die,” Joudeh told our Brooke Binkowski in a new feature on a dancer who says he “found life” when he found ballet.
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Stories you should know about
🙅 The county’s volunteer citizen watchdog group slammed the Grossmont Union High School district for leaving students without mental healthcare for months: The district in 2023 canceled a contract for mental health services over false claims about services for LGBTQ+ students.
🎸 Restless David J keeps following sparks of inspiration, long after Bauhaus and Love and Rockets fame: Hear from the 69-year-old, Encinitas- based bassist on his old-but-new album.
🗳️ Key California elections are being decided on a new divide: It’s not red or blue, but Millennials versus boomers in some of the state’s most pivotal races.
👷 California is scrambling to offer new financial aid grants for short-term job training: The president of Southwestern College is lobbying state and federal officials for new Pell grants that he says could serve about 1,500 students at the Chula Vista school.
What else we’re reading
Production note: This is a flex section. Delete it when you don’t need it or if the newsletter is running long.
🚔 The abrupt departure this year of Chula Vista’s police chief has left the city divided, and residents searching for answers. (Voice of San Diego)
🚉 MTS is freezing fares for low-income riders ahead of the agency’s expected decision to raise fares for everyone else. (Union-Tribune)
Times of San Diego thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.
What to do this weekend
Need weekend plans? We’ve got you. ⭐ = free
☀️ Juneteenth Kickoff, Marie Widman Memorial Park (Today, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.) ⭐️
🎨 Summer Arts Fest, Liberty Station (Today, 2 p.m.–8 p.m.) ⭐️
🍷 Love Local, Fallbrook Winery (Today, 2 p.m.–6 p.m.) ⭐️
🛍️ Pride Market in Encinitas (Sunday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.) ⭐️