La Jolla News Nuggets

Village merchants host holiday décor contest

The La Jolla Village Merchants Association is holding its first holiday décor contest. Prizes will be given to the participating store that voters feel displays the most holiday spirit.

Anyone can rate displays in La Jolla on a scale of 1 to 5. Just pick up and drop off your ballot at one of the participating retailers by 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14. For a full list of merchants, and a printable ballot to fill out, visit bit.ly/34IH3Im

County issues

mumps advisory

The County Health & Human Services Agency issued a health advisory to the local medical community to be on the lookout for mumps, following confirmed or probable reports of 60 cases so far this year. That’s more than twice last year’s total of nine and the greatest number in more than 25 years.

Mumps — a highly contagious viral disease spread by coughing, sneezing or close contact with an infected person — causes a fever, headache, earache and inflammation of the salivary glands which results in swelling and tenderness at the angle of the jaw.

“Everyone should get the recommended age-appropriate immunization for measles, mumps and rubella, the MMR vaccine,”said County public health officer Wilma Wooten.

This year’s mumps sufferers range in age from 9 months to 79 years of age, with an average age of 28 years. Though there have been no deaths, six people were hospitalized, two people had hearing loss and five men had swelling of the testicles.

Anyone who thinks that they have mumps should contact their provider before going for care so proper precautions can be taken to prevent exposure to others.

Free events set

for visually impaired

The Braille Institute, 4555 Executive Drive, will host three free events this month.

1-2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6: Alex Glazebrook of Senior Planet will present Streaming and Smart TVs;

2-3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6: Emma’s Gutbucket Band will perform; and

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7: a youth program holiday open house will be held.

RSVP at brailleinstitute.org

PB post office open two Dec. Sundays

Don’t let that locked door on Wall Street curl your eggnog. To ease the hassle of getting holiday shipments in the mail during the week, the Pacific Beach branch, 4640 Cass St., is one of only a few post offices in the County that will be open on two Sundays, Dec. 8 and 15 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.). The branch will also be open on Saturday, Dec. 14 until 4:30 p.m.

The U.S. Postal Service expects to deliver more than 28 million packages a day between Dec. 16 and 21.

BRCC board elections

Barbara Dunbar, Tiffany Chow and Kristin Barret were re-elected to the board of the Bird Rock Community Council (BRCC). Joe Parker, a past BRCC president, also rejoins the organization’s board. Officers for 2020 will be elected by the board in late January. birdrockcc.org

Kelsey Brookes showing at Quint

A new exhibition is on the way from Kelsey Brookes, a favorite artist among La Jolla collectors. “Perception & Hallucination” kicks off Saturday, Dec. 7 at Quint Gallery, 5171 Santa Fe St., with a meet-and-greet with the artist 5-7 p.m.

“These paintings represent my first departure from empirically derived concepts in the last five years,” Brookes said in a statement, explaining that the paintings were inspired by his experiences participating in Insight Meditation.

“At first, (it) had me very confused, and mostly still does,” he said of the mindfulness practice. “I found myself contemplating and feeling things that, as a scientist and a materialist, I was not totally comfortable with. Questioning my existence each morning was a new perspective, to say the least.

“So I decided to make art about it.”

New La Jolla startup

Fulcrum, a La Jolla-based job-placement startup for tech projects, has raised $1 million in a seed round of funding, led by San Diego investment firm Greatscale Ventures. According to Fulcrum, it has automated the hiring of freelancers onto technical projects, scraping the marketplaces they currently use and onboarding them through its own service to match them with tech companies.

‘Last Comic Standing’ winner to appear in LJ

Comedian Alonzo Bodden, grand-prize winner in Season 3 of TV’s “Last Comic Standing,” headlines the Comedy Store, 916 Pearl St., from Friday, Dec. 6 through Sunday, Dec. 8. Tickets at thecomedystore.com/la-jolla/

Local watercolor artist earns recognition

La Jolla artist Sandie Linn won honorable mention for miniatures in the San Diego Watercolor Society’s December Member Show. Artist Charles Henry Rouse called her painting, “Indoor Glare,” a “wonderful example of a transparent watercolor portrait.” It can be seen at the San Diego Water Color Society’s gallery, 2825 Dewey Road, Suite 202, in Liberty Station, Point Loma through Saturday, Dec. 28.

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