The Veterans Administration clinic in Mission Valley will close its pharmacy tomorrow, the San Diego VA Healthcare System has announced.
Beginning next week, veterans will be able to receive their prescriptions by mail with no charge for postage, said Cindy Butler, spokeswoman for the VA Medical Center in La Jolla.
If a medication is needed quickly, she said, a veteran can pick it up at a nearby commercial pharmacy or take a free shuttle from the Mission Valley clinic to the center in La Jolla.
“If patients need the medication that day, they'll have it,” Butler said.
The VA clinics in Chula Vista, Escondido, Imperial Valley and Vista use the same system for prescriptions, she said.
The Mission Valley pharmacy's closure will save about $400,000 per year, Butler said.
“Down the line, if Congress gives enough money to the VA, we'll reopen it,” said Scott Langhoff, state service officer for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, who assists veterans at the Mission Valley clinic.
– Steve Liewer
Tax filers can mail up to late Monday
With the traditional income tax filing date falling on a weekend this year, the payment deadline has been extended until Monday, and some post offices will be open late to accommodate last-minute filers.
Returns can be deposited for postmarking until midnight at 2535 Midway Drive in San Diego, and until 9 p.m. at three other offices: 750 Third Ave., Chula Vista; 401 W. Lexington Ave., El Cajon; and 1895 Avenida Del Oro, Oceanside.
Retail services will be available until midnight on Midway Drive, until 5 p.m. in Chula Vista and El Cajon and until 6 p.m. in Oceanside.
– David E. Graham
