Mike Bresnahan
Hello! Welcome to Fall in San Diego, the Summer went by very fast!
There are a few items I want to talk about in this report. First, parking in the Zoo lot next to the War Memorial Building (WMB). We had the understanding that people would have to pay to park in that lot as early as our October meeting. It turns out that that will not be the case. As you may have read in the newspaper, the city has deferred the initiation of paid parking in Balboa Park so you should NOT have to pay for parking at our October meeting. However, at some point the City will start their new paid parking program. In response, the Zoo, which controls the parking lot next to the WMB, will also start to charge for parking in their lot. I understand that the amount they charge will be up to the Zoo. I have been in touch with the Zoo and have been informed that the best site to get updated information about the Zoo’s plans is zoo.sandiegozoo.org/city parking. The REA board will be reviewing options to respond to paid parking. We will keep you informed as quickly as we can about our conclusions.
Second, REA is about to kick off our annual food drive. There are unfortunately too many people in San Diego that are challenged to pay for the food they need. Our REA food drive strives to help fill that gap. It will begin on October 1, 2025, and run for two months. To start donating click on the following link and follow the prompts https://fooddriveonline.org/sandiegofoodbnk/REA. Our goal is $6,000. Through the volunteer efforts of the many food bank supporters and the buying power of the Food Bank organization they are able to convert that into 20,000 meals for our neighbors who need help. Please give generously if you can do so. We will send more information about this effort over time.