Advertisement
Featured News
On Feb. 1, just an ordinary Friday, Jim Stewart checked a box of fresh donations.
In my January 2020 update, I reported the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority (SDCRAA) was poised to approve a $3 billion plan to dramatically expand San Diego International Airport. This plan will result in 11 new gates and an undetermined number of “Remain Overnights” (RONS), which are jet parking places for the increased number of late-night arrivals and resulting early morning departures. We thought the additional RONS were going to be eliminated from the plan as a result of Quite Skies La Jolla advocacy, but the Airport Authority has not clarified its intent. As expected, the SDCRAA approved its Development Plan and related Environmental Impact Report clearing the way for an increase in arriving flights from 36 per hour in 2019 to 50 per hour in the not too distant future.
Scripps Research finds path to better drug discoveries In a study with implications for the future of drug discovery, Scripps Research scientists showed that simple chemicals can be turned into unique 3-D structures resembling those found in nature — structures with desirable properties for medicines.
After garnering a 3-1-1 approval vote from the La Jolla Development Permit Review (DPR) sub-committee in January, architect Richard Gombes’ proposed condominium project at 7600 Herschel Ave. was also approved 9-5-1 at the La Jolla Community Planning Association’s (LJCPA) Feb. 6 meeting at the Rec Center.
-
Bird Rock Animal Clinic owner Craig Bender, representing the newly formed Bird Rock Merchants Association, delivered a rather solemn update to the Bird Rock Community Council (BRCC) at its Feb. 4 meeting at Bird Rock Elementary School. -
Meet Mayoral hopefuls at Town Council forum, Monday, Feb. 17 The La Jolla Town Council will host the candidates running for the job of San Diego Mayor in a public forum, Monday, Feb. 17 at La Jolla Community Center, 6811 La Jolla Blvd.
-
What makes 1551 Olivet Lane unique is also why neighbors are complaining about renovations underway on the house.
-
Barbara Bry delivered her third and final State of the District speech at University City High School on Jan. 29. The outgoing District 1 City Council member covered what she identified as her accomplishments in the past year, the critical issues facing the City, and her priorities for 2020. Chief on her list of accomplishments, the La Jolla resident and former dot-com exec said, was publicly opposing what she called “the Soccer City landgrab” of the former SDCCU Stadium site.
-
UC San Diego on alert for students infected with Coronavirus In the wake of the first U.S. case of a pneumonia-like virus that has killed at least 81 people in China, UC San Diego told its students by e-mail to report to a student clinic if they’ve visited Wuhan, China in the past 14 days and develop a fever with cough or difficulty breathing.
-
When Bird Rock resident David Everett, 64, read the tragic news about Kobe Bryant last Sunday, he immediately flashed back to April 27, 1965.
-
Discussion of a moratorium on endorsing new special-event permits at Scripps Park was continued for a second straight month by the La Jolla Parks & Beaches (LJP&B) advisory group on Jan. 27, when the group could not come to enough of a consensus to float a motion.
-
The La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee (DPR) voted 3-1-1 on Jan. 21 to recommend a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) and Tentative Map Waiver for the construction of a 14,817-square-foot condominium building on a 22-space parking lot at 7600 Herschel Ave.
-
“Paintings are People Too” is the latest mural curated and installed by the Murals of La Jolla program. The large-scale, vibrant print of paintings floated against a photograph of a Berlin street hangs at 7661 Girard Ave., created by artist and UC San Diego professor Monique van Genderen while she was living in Germany.
News, features and sports about La Jolla, every Thursday.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the La Jolla Light.
-
Make La Quinta Art Celebration the priority destination for a fun desert road trip. Experience the awesome array of artwork showcased at the stunning La Quinta Civic Center — a short drive from Palm Springs — where 225 world-class artists from 35 states and abroad will exhibit their spectacular creations spanning 12 media categories in styles ranging from classical to whimsical, March 5-8, 2020.
-
San Diego International Jewish Film Festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and Feb. 13-23, 2020 will show 35 films in four different venues: Reading Cinemas Town Square in Clairemont, Garfield Theatre at Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla, Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) in Balboa Park, and La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas. There’s a lot to choose from, with dramas, comedies and documentaries about the arts, history, sports, family conflicts, and Israeli-Palestinian relations.
-
Best Bets for Events: Jan. 9-15, 2020 in La Jolla and San Diego include Japanese brush painting classes; J Company Youth Theatre presents “Mamma Mia!” musical; San Diego Early Music Society presents the ensemble Concerto Italiano; Salk Science & Music Series concert and talk; preview of San Diego International Jewish Film Festival; and screening from San Diego Italian Film Festival.
Advertisement
A Bird Rock business is revolutionizing the wine bar business, creating craft wines and pouring innovation into every glass. Lowell and Anne Jooste, the married owners of LJ Crafted Wines on La Jolla Boulevard in the heart of Bird Rock, explained how they’re helping to improve the community, one beverage at a time.
Here comes “Fly,” a new Wendy-centered musical opening at La Jolla Playhouse Feb. 18. And it’s offering a whole new Pan-orama, with a re-imagined Wendy taking center stage. Book-writer (and co-lyricist) Rajiv Joseph is a playwright best known for his Pulitzer Prize-nominated “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” and “Guards at the Taj,” which had a controversial production at the Playhouse in 2016. (I loved it.) “Fly” is an offbeat take on J.M. Barrie’s “Peter and Wendy,” a 1911 novel that was the Scottish-born, London-based writer’s follow-up to his hugely successful 1904 play “Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Would Never Grow Up.”
From changing financial incentives for solar+storage, to new promising programs like Community Choice Energy and the growing importance of battery backup power during frequent blackouts, there is a lot for residents to prepare for in the new decade. For this reason, the San Diego Solar Experience is back for the fourth consecutive year, taking place on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020 with five solar+storage seminars across the county followed by a celebration at AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego. All events are free and open to the public.
La Jolla Historical Society’s next exhibition, “Tijuana 1964: The Photography of Harry Crosby,” opens Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020 with more than 60 black-and-white photographs. The La Jolla Historical Society presenting an exhibition on Tijuana? Yes indeed, Historical Society executive director Heath Fox says: “There is a stereotype of what a ‘historical society’ is, focused on reporting the past of a defined geographic area ... but a 21st century museum cannot be so static. It must be dynamic, presenting programs that are fresh, thought-provoking and forward-thinking. We don’t think of La Jolla as a cultural island. We consider it in context to the City of San Diego and part of the Southern California/Northern Mexico megalopolis.”
Peter Yarrow — of the popular 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary — will perform a benefit concert in La Jolla on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. The concert, to be held at a private home whose address will be identified only to ticket-buyers, benefits One Story at a Time and littlemercies.org, two non-profits that bring humanitarian aid and hope to refugees detained at the Mexican border. As you are about to read, the 81-year-old author of “Puff the Magic Dragon” — who spoke to the Light from his home in Manhattan — remains as committed as ever to his ’60s idealism, and has some very strong beliefs about what’s right for the future of this country.
It’s not often that married couples choose to work together in the time they spend not living together. But the lines between personal and professional were blurry for La Jolla Dental Boutique co-owners/Drs. Erez and Irene Nosrati since the day they met at a Starbucks at Indiana University School of Dentistry in 2008. Dr. Irene was completing her dental degree and Dr. Erez was a resident in periodontics and oral implantology.
Before a highly interested audience of community leaders and merchants at the Rec Center, Jan. 16, La Jolla Community Foundation chair Phyllis Pfeiffer and architect Mark Steele presented the first phase of a proposed project to create a new public plaza at “The Dip,” located at the north end of Girard Avenue at Prospect Street. The presentation, titled “La Jolla Village Streetscape Plan,” included a myriad of fresh ways these overdue changes could enhance the community.
Alan Alda appeared in the auditorium at Scripps Research in La Jolla on Jan. 16 to announce a partnership that will teach scientists how to communicate more effectively to the public and to other scientists. The Emmy-winning actor is making Scripps the West Coast home of Alda Communication Training, a Long Island-based program that sharpens the communication skills of people who spend much of their days staring at computer screens and microscope slides and speaking in the language of their academic papers.
In 1992, the mail received by La Jolla native Coleen Jan Paderewski drove her postal carrier insane with curiosity. He had never delivered an actual envelope from the White House to anyone before, much less two dozen in two weeks. Finally, the guy just blurted it out: “Who are you?!!” It can be safely assumed that the carrier was neither a big fan of classical music nor an American of Polish descent.
Now that it’s the New Year and the rapid succession of fall-to-winter holidays has passed, it’s time to get more organized and properly store holiday decorations away. Most people enjoy breaking out decorations to add a little festivity during the holidays. But sometimes that trip to the garage can leave you scratching your head — like where did you store the holiday decorations or that special set of holiday place settings? Or who put the big tabletop turkey in with the Halloween costumes? There are simple ways to get more organized, and Solana Beach Storage and Morena Storage have some strategies for getting organized in the New Year — and storing things properly to help take some stress out of 2020 holidays to come.
Yearning for a mid-winter getaway to Italy? The La Jolla Community Center is offering the next best thing — an Italian Film Series, arriving Jan. 23, 2020 and departing Feb. 14 at 6811 La Jolla Blvd. “There will be a four films shown, all with English subtitles,” said Barbara Burton Graf, the center’s marketing director. “A social will precede the screenings at 6:30 p.m., and the films will begin at 7 p.m. on four consecutive Thursdays.” She added that film curator Giuseppe Annino selected the titles from the vast number of memorable Italian films, and “each captures the culture of Italy, the character of its people, and tells a story of people dealing with difficulty, but with the element of humor.”
Mellifluous holiday tunes have quickly been replaced by a cacophonous chorus of sneezing, coughing and retching. And wherever you turn, someone is wearing an ominous blue surgical mask — to either shield themselves from airborne illnesses or prevent the spread of their own. Whether the threat is seasonal colds and flus, viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu), or the many strains of Coronavirus, especially the current COVID-19, causing respiratory infections — they are all nothing to sneeze at.
The recent locavore soiree with sweeping views of the blue Pacific aptly titled, “Fishing for the Future,” drew a lively, packed-as-sardines crowd that started at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) Sumner Auditorium, and then flowed to the Robert Paine Scripps Forum. The UC San Diego philanthropic event hosted by SIO benefited the state-of-the-art Marine Conservation and Technology facility currently under development. Speakers, panelists, culinary talent and guests read like a Who’s Who of sustainable rock stars.
If you want to view masterpieces from tomorrow’s Picassos to Kahlos, there’s no need to leave La Jolla.
Only the Trying opens with the assassination of a man swimming from The Cove to The Shores.
Two new exhibitions have opened at Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla — “Christine Oatman: Stories of Innocence and Experience: Altered Mid-20th Century Children’s Books in Pedagogic Tableaux” and “Artists’ Books from the Steven Leiber Catalogs.” The exhibits are on display Jan. 11-March 7, 2020.
Byron Dorgan (U.S. congressman and senator from North Dakota for 30 years before retiring in January 2011) will discuss his book “The Girl in the Photograph: The True Story of a Native American Child, Lost and Found in America,” 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 at D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Through the story of Tamara, an abused Native American child, Dorgan describes the plight of many children living on reservations and offers hope for the future.
“The Great Leap,” a basketball-centric play, is coming to Old Town San Diego’s Cygnet Theatre Jan. 22, 2020. Written by multi-award-winner Lauren Yee, it was one of the 10 most-produced plays in the United States in 2019, along with her “Cambodian Rock Band,” recently staged at La Jolla Playhouse. “The Great Leap,” which premiered in Denver in 2018, is about an American basketball team going to China for an exhibition game. There’s more than a game at stake; there are long-buried personal histories, a clash of dreams and ambitions, and the main setting is Beijing in 1989, when student protesters were about to be massacred in Tienanmen Square. With all this going on, there’s still plenty of humor — one of the playwright’s conspicuous gifts.
Love participating in your library’s summer reading program? The San Diego Public Library is offering a new winter version that is only available i January 2020. “Litera-SEA” is the theme for the inaugural Winter Reading Challenge, with prizes and reading suggestions for all ages having a maritime and ocean theme. Of course, participants are welcome to read anything to qualify for prizes.
We do have some powerful self-protective weapons at our disposal — food selection and handling being the most effective. Ancient cultures relied on that for their health; even before old Hippocrates advised using food as medicine. So, while you arm yourself with tools provided by personal trainers, meditation gurus and other healers, I’ll provide the edible components of your healthy lifestyle to keep you vibrant for years to come.
Put sushi on the menu and Nak Joon Kim behind the bar and you have Haru Sushi, La Jolla’s “neighborhood” sushi bar since fall 2018. “I don’t want a big restaurant,” he said. “I prefer a smaller, quiet one (it seats 60) where we’re part of the neighborhood and our customers are our friends.” Kim believes that good food makes you comfortable and 90 percent of Haru’s patrons are locals: “They come in and enjoy the environment, the experience and the food.” They must. Kim claims that 50 percent of first-time customers come back. One customer told Kim he enjoyed Haru because he “didn’t like to feel like a mackerel in a can.”
Advertisement
-
La Jolla Youth Baseball (LJYB) is getting ready for the 2020 baseball season — its 68th season at Cliffridge Field. Registration is open for players ages 4-14 at ljyb.org. The league consists of five divisions; Shetland, ages 4-6; Pinto, ages 7-8; Mustang, ages 9-10; Bronco, ages 11-12; and Pony, ages 13-14. Each division is designed so players can develop their baseball skills while having a great time in a fun and positive environment. The league continues to enjoy consistent growth with year-over-year increases in registration of 10 percent for the past four seasons.
-
An estimated 400 people dipped into the slightly chilly Pacific Ocean on New Year’s day 2020 for the annual Polar Bear Plunge in La Jolla Shores beach.
-
According to a 2015 Nielsen survey, the most common New Year’s Resolution is losing weight/getting in shape. Since the biggest gym in La Jolla history just opened a couple of weeks ago — with more square feet than an average Whole Foods — we asked Life Time, and the nine other cardio and strength-training facilities in town, for their advice on how to shed holiday pounds. What follows are the answers from those who responded to the Light’s e-mails and phone calls over the holidays.
-
This report provides a snapshot of La Jolla’s Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) operations for the first three months since maintenance work began. It has taken MAD and its vendors all of this time to finally get a handle on so much deferred maintenance in The Village. But, we have turned the corner and are now focusing on the routine activities that will ensure a visibly cleaner and fresher look in town. As work progressed during this period, we noticed two issues that became more and more evident as time passed.
-
Not all New Year’s resolutions are about losing weight. We asked nine La Jolla community leaders to share the top three goals for their organizations — and for La Jolla — in 2020. Here they are in alphabetical order by organization: Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, Bird Rock Community Council, Enhance La Jolla, La Jolla Community Center, La Jolla Community Planning Association, La Jolla Parks & Beaches, La Jolla Shores Association, La Jolla Town Council, and La Jolla Village Merchants Association.
-
Funds and support needed to continue fight against jet noise over La Jolla
-
The Village Garden Club of La Jolla hosted its annual Holiday Luncheon at The Marine Room in La Jolla on a sunlit Dec. 12, 2019. Organized by VGCLJ members Carolynn LaPierre and Roz Bradley, the luncheon was a time “to get together with friends and make new friends,” LaPierre said. After a welcome speech by LaPierre and remarks of gratitude from VGCLJ co-president Sue Kalish, members and guests began dining and relaying what sets VGLC apart from other area clubs.
-
Continuing the annual St. Barbara’s Feast Day celebration — Dec. 4, 2019 the actual Feast Day of St.
-
The interests of La Jolla Newcomers Club members are quite diverse, with a variety of weekly and monthly activities and meetups. If you’ve moved to La Jolla (within the 92037 ZIP Code) within the last three years, you are eligible to join.
-
Vikings from the La Jolla High School’s Class of 1979 gathered at La Jolla Country Club for their 40-year reunion on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019.
-
The 24th annual Symphony at Salk gala, Aug. 24, 2019 was an unforgettable night of music featuring Broadway hits performed by Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti, accompanied by the San Diego Symphony under the direction of guest conductor Michael Krajewski.
-
The 26th annual “Surfing for a Cure” Luau & Legends of Surfing Invitational took place Aug. 18, 2019 near Scripps Pier to raise research funds for the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health.
-
Upon pre-arranging memorial services for her own parents, Rachel Bennett said she felt “tremendous peace of mind.”
-
Jackson Design and Remodeling’s award-winning team of designers and architects have compiled their annual list of the top design trends for the new year. Continuing an evolving movement toward expressing individuality in home design, 2020 trends range from the humble to the bold. Organic handmade elements, “lived in” minimalism and “Japandi” design connect with an emphasis on simplicity and wellness. On the other end of the (decidedly retro) spectrum are bold geometrics, 3-D walls, and nostalgia for colors and materials from the 1970s and 1980s.
-
You can probably count on two hands the number of La Jolla businesses that have been in continuous operation for more than 70 years. Add to that operating from the same location and it’s a very small club. That’s the story of La Jolla Veterinary Hospital — La Jolla’s oldest and largest — with four full-time veterinarians and 18 to 20 support staff members.
Advertisement
-
I’ve long since given up on New Year’s Resolutions, but for years I’ve kept a somewhat varying list of 10 Rules to Live By. At the end of the year, I look at it and give myself a grade. Some stuff should just get dropped from the list because I get an “F” every time. But where it’s health-oriented, I feel morally obligated to at least pretend I’m going to do better next year.
-
As a dog owner, it turns out there are worse things than your dog rolling in poop. And that’s your pet contracting a truly nasty bug or eating something in your yard that she really, really shouldn’t have, and inflicting massive intestinal mayhem all over your beds, furnishings and floors for two weeks.
-
Welcome to Auntie Inga’s Curmudgeon Hour. Grab your preferred beverage and sit down while I whine again about why life has just gotten too perplexing for me. Recently, for example, I wanted to attend a fundraiser only to discover when I went to buy a ticket online that the only type of payment accepted was PayPal. I e-mailed the agency in charge of the fundraiser whose solution was that they would help me set up a PayPal account. This was not what I had in mind.
-
Is it just my imagination, or do I spend an inordinate amount of time getting stuff fixed? Something is always broken, whether it’s a computer problem, a funny noise the car is making, a cracked sprinkler head, or an ice-maker that isn’t making ice. Even our security cameras decided to fog up for no known reason. Of course, I couldn’t help but notice that a lot of the stuff I’m getting fixed wouldn’t have needed fixing in my youth because it didn’t yet exist (like computers). Or didn’t exist at my house (like ice-makers, sprinkler heads and security cameras). There was a lot to be said for the era of manual typewriters, hand-washed dishes, ice cube trays, and a climate where it actually rains.
-
At the supermarket produce aisle, I befriended a shopper choosing assorted leafy greens and venting about how she must pay the piper for an indulgent holiday food orgy. She grumbled about the light, airiness of salads, and how “rabbit food” was hardly a satisfying meal. Looking outside the bowl, you can easily find an exciting bounty of roots, fruits, seeds, grains, gourds, greens, succulent seafood and other lean proteins to beef up an otherwise anemic salad, giving it a nutritional and gratifying oomph.
Advertisement
Advertisement