San Diego, CA
John Andrew Dalessandro
John Andrew Dalessandro
OBITUARY
John Andrew Dalessandro (February 24, 1946 – November 13, 2024) passed away in his San Diego area home, surrounded in love by his two daughters. John had suffered heart failure for many years and ultimately succumbed to its plight. John arrived in Del Mar in 1975 and had made it his home with his now-deceased wife of 52 years, Joyce. He had a long and successful career in mechanical engineering.
Originally from New York, John grew up in Maspeth, Queens in an Italian family. His love for engineering and technology became clear at a young age with his constant interest in disassembling, building, and fixing anything he could get his hands on. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School and went on to an undergraduate education at the Cooper Union. John continued on for his Ph.D. from Cornell University. It was there that he met and fell in love with Joyce.
After graduation John was recruited out of New York to California. John and Joyce were enchanted by San Diego on that first recruiting visit, and he began work at General Atomics fusion energy program shortly after. He later worked for General Dynamics on superconducting magnets and the Super Collider. Next he joined Archimedes Technologies to work on electromagnetics and reducing nuclear waste. His career came full circle, ending where it began. He once again was working at General Atomics in magnetic analysis. Projects included the Rail Gun and Aircraft Carrier pulse magnetic launch system. He was quiet and gentle, but proud of the work that he accomplished. John is remembered by his coworkers as the “best of them”–if John could not figure it out, no one could. John retired in 2021, after a long and successful career. After retirement, John continued to spend his free time in his favorite place doing his favorite thing, building and fixing in his garage.
John was an involved father to his daughters and grandfather to his 6 grandchildren. His legacy will live on with his many teachings to the family. His unparalleled strengths were both scientific and creative thinking. He was notorious for encouraging everyone to “think outside the box.”
A small family celebration of life was held over the Thanksgiving holiday time. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, friends and loved ones please consider donating to the Annual Fund for Engineering at his esteemed college, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in his name, the same as he had done for his entire adult life: https://cooper.edu/.
John is survived by his daughters, Amy Kronk (husband Andrew Kronk) and Summer Dalessandro (husband Adam Vincent), as well as his six grandchildren: Audrey, Mia, and Bradley Kronk and Ali, Jack, and Talia Vincent who will uphold his memory by passing on the stories he shared and the values he lived by every day.
San Diego, CA
Multiple San Diego County protests target ICE and corporate ties
Protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement unfolded across San Diego County on Friday, with demonstrations reported in Escondido, El Cajon, Lakeside and Mira Mesa. Protesters called for ICE to leave their communities and urged corporations to stop housing agents in local hotels.
In Escondido, demonstrators voiced strong opposition to ICE activity.
“I want ICE out of my community and I want them out now,” one protester said.
In El Cajon, residents said concerns about ICE presence have been growing.
“Well, there are rumors that it’s coming to our city, and I think it’s only a matter of time. So the sooner and quicker that we all push back, and the harder we push back, the better,” said protestor Gabriel Medina.
In Lakeside, dozens of people gathered, expressing fear and frustration over ICE operations.
“It’s like being punched in the gut. It’s just horrible that our country could come to this. That masked thugs could be on our streets hauling people off our streets. Sometimes they’re American citizens, sometimes they’re children. It’s just deplorable that our country has come to this,” said Suzanne Davis.
Several groups also called on corporations, including Hilton, to stop housing ICE agents at hotels across the country. Earlier this month, Hilton removed its branding from a franchise after it refused to rent a room to an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
“To imagine that our large corporations will not take a position when people are being swept off the streets, when families are being separated, when a woman was murdered in the name of ICE,” said Connie Elder.
Local students joined one of the protests outside a Hampton Inn, a Hilton-branded hotel.
At each location, protesters said they hope the impact of their message matters more than the size of the crowd.
“So maybe people that aren’t paying attention, that maybe drive by and get the message, maybe it inspires them to look a little further into what is happening and to hopefully take action, get educated, and spread the word amongst their family and their communities,” said Medina.
Earlier this month, Hilton released a statement in response to an ICE agent being refused a room at one of its branded hotels, saying it is a welcoming place for all and does not tolerate any form of discrimination. NBC 7 has not heard back from Hilton or ICE regarding the recent protests.
Also on Friday, half a dozen people were taken into custody by police after they locked themselves inside San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s office for several hours, demanding that the city of San Diego stop cooperating with ICE raids. The mayor, both in an executive order and in policy speeches, has previously stated the city does not participate in federal immigration enforcement.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.
San Diego, CA
City making improvements at some of San Diego’s most dangerous intersections
Traffic safety improvements are in the works at some of San Diego’s most dangerous intersections, part of a list released Thursday by the city’s traffic engineering team.
That team annually conducts a review of the city’s intersections to pinpoint where safety measures are most needed. The team looked at city traffic collision data from calendar year 2024 and “evaluated intersections where five or more injury or fatal crashes had occurred,” a city statement read. Engineers also looked at intersections where vehicles had hit pedestrians, where injuries were prevalent and more.
“Our engineers and field operations teams are working hand in hand to ensure these safety upgrades are implemented to maximize safety for all road users,” said Transportation Department Interim Assistant Director Margaret McCormick. “Being able to carry out these projects with our in-house teams is important so the work can be completed as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
The locations prioritized for potential safety enhancements are:
- 15th Street at F Street;
- 8th Avenue at Broadway;
- Bayard Street at Grand Avenue;
- 8th Avenue at University;
- Kettner Boulevard at Sassafras Street;
- 10th Avenue at A Street;
- Otay Center Drive at Siempre Viva Road;
- Garnet Avenue at Mission Bay Drive;
- Fairmount Avenue between Montezuma Road and Talmadge Canyon Row;
- Imperial Avenue between 53rd Street and Jacinto Drive;
- Main Street between the I-5 off ramp and Woden Street;
- Midway Drive between Kemper Street and Duke Street; and
- Mission Gorge Road between Twain Avenue and Mission Gorge Place.
Transportation crews have finished, or are in the process of completing, safety improvements at several locations, including the segments of Fairmount Ave., Main St. Mission Gorge Rd. and Imperial Ave., but some must be completed through the city’s Capital Improvement Program and will require additional funding to implement, a city statement read.
Some of the safety recommendations for the above intersections are additional signs, flashing beacons and crosswalks to increase pedestrian visibility and have a traffic calming effect. The recommendations at other locations call for upgrading traffic signal lights, replacing or adding speed limit signs and installing pedestrian countdown timers.
Additionally, intersections may receive longer red curbs as part of the new “Daylighting Law,” which prohibits vehicles from parking within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk.
A full list and the city’s efforts to combat traffic fatalities are available at sandiego.gov/VisionZero.
San Diego, CA
Indiana man, 71, arrested in connection with 1975 slaying of San Diego waiter
When Edmond LaFave missed two days of work in February 1975, a worried friend headed to his North Park home to check on him.
The friend found LaFave on the bedroom floor in a pool of blood. The San Diego Union reported that the 34-year-old waiter at Little America Westgate Hotel had been badly beaten and stabbed multiple times.
Police investigated, but the case went cold for five decades until DNA and genealogy recently led investigators to a suspect.
On Thursday, approaching 51 years since LaFave was killed, San Diego police announced the arrest of 71-year-old Johnnie Salisbury of Syracuse in northern Indiana, roughly an hour northwest of Fort Wayne.
Police took Salisbury into custody Wednesday, San Diego homicide Acting Lt. Chris Leahy said in a news release. Leahy said he had been booked into custody on a warrant for his arrest in the homicide and is in an Indiana county jail awaiting an extradition hearing.
Leahy said various cold case investigators “have reviewed the case over the years, with no resolution.” He said the “culmination of the investigation” came when investigators used genetic genealogy and other forensic evidence to identify a suspect. He did not elaborate further on the evidence or the case itself.
The idea behind genetic genealogy is to take DNA from a crime scene and enter it into a publicly accessible genealogy DNA database in hopes of finding a close enough match to relatives of the unknown perpetrator. A hit helps genealogists create family trees that can help put a name to the unknown DNA.
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