La Jolla News Nuggets: Historic cottage, Community Center closes, no State of the District, more

Historic Lillian Lentell house prepped for move

The historically designated 1913 Lillian Lentell cottage is a step closer to being moved after it was hoisted onto risers.

The house was designated historic in 2012 as a resource that exemplifies La Jolla’s early beach cottage development, with a period of significance of 1913-15. It will be moved from Bishops Lane to an adjacent property to make way for a new home development.

A 3,603-square-foot single-family residence with a lower-level accessory dwelling unit will be built in its place at 7762 Bishops Lane in The Village.

“We’re moving the cottage 30 feet to the adjacent property in the alley closer to Silverado,” property owner and applicant Taal Safdie of Safdie Rabines Architects previously told the La Jolla Light. “It will be more visible from the street than it is today.”

La Jolla Community Center closes to in-person activities through Feb. 4

The La Jolla Community Center is closed to in-person programs, classes and events through Friday, Feb. 4, in response to the region’s rising coronavirus case numbers.

Select in-person classes may be moved to a virtual format. The Community Center announced it would send a revised calendar to its members with the changes.

LJCC staff is continuing to work onsite to answer questions or provide other assistance to members. For more information, visit ljcommunitycenter.org.

LaCava won’t hold State of the District address

On the heels of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria presenting his virtual State of the City address Jan. 12, City Councilman Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, announced he would not hold a State of the District address like his predecessor, Barbara Bry.

“In the interest of public health, my office will not host an in-person State of the District this year,” LaCava told the Light. “I will release a 2021 recap and 2022 vision via social media at the end of the month, so stay tuned. I look forward to a State of the District in person in 2023.”

During a State of the District address, council members often outline their accomplishments from the previous year and their priorities for the coming year.

La Jolla/Riford Library part of San Diego’s ‘My First Library Card’ launch

The San Diego Public Library launched “My First Library Card” on Jan. 18. Children can receive their own library card along with a plush Odi the Coyote and book while supplies last.

(Elisabeth Frausto)

The San Diego Public Library system launched “My First Library Card” on Jan. 18, a program in which children 5 and younger can receive their own library card featuring Odi the Coyote, San Diego Public Library’s new mascot.

The program is available at all locations, including the La Jolla/Riford Library at 7555 Draper Ave. Children who receive their first library card will receive a plush Odi the Coyote and book while supplies last.

Children also will have an opportunity to take their picture in an Odi selfie frame to share with family and friends.

For more information, visit bit.ly/SDPLMFLC.

Appeals court declines rehearing in challenge to SDUSD vaccination mandate

A student’s federal legal fight to block the San Diego Unified School District from barring teenage students not vaccinated against COVID-19 from in-person learning suffered another blow Jan. 14 when an appeals court declined to rehear the case.

The request came after a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued and then quickly lifted an emergency order to stop the mandate late last year.

According to the ruling Jan. 14, a majority of active 9th Circuit judges voted to deny the request for a rehearing en banc, or by a larger panel of 11 judges.

The lawsuit was filed in October by a Scripps Ranch High School student identified in court records as Jill Doe, who was 16 at the time, alleging she was being discriminated against by being denied in-person education because her religious beliefs precluded the vaccination.

The decision is the latest development in a legal battle surrounding a mandate that would restrict in-person learning and on-campus activities among SDUSD students 16 and older to those who are fully vaccinated. The policy was to take effect Jan. 24.

But as of Jan. 11, the district is temporarily blocked from enforcing its vaccination mandate by a San Diego County Superior Court judge in another lawsuit challenging SDUSD’s authority to impose the requirement. — The San Diego Union-Tribune

Home kitchen businesses legalized in San Diego County

Local cooks who have produced food for sale in their neighborhood informally will soon be able to do so with the blessings of San Diego County under an ordinance authorizing them to sell freshly cooked meals from home kitchens.

The Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance Jan. 12 that allows the micro-businesses to sell up to 30 takeout meals per day or 60 meals per week and establishes the food safety conditions they must meet.

“Microenterprise home kitchen operations,” or MEHKOs, already operate unofficially. In 2018 the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 626, which set statewide rules to legalize their operations.

Since then the program has been adopted by eight other California counties, including Riverside County. In September, San Diego County Supervisors Nora Vargas and Joel Anderson proposed introducing a MEHKO program here.

Supporters say a home food business helps many families make ends meet and provides a low-cost first step toward launching costlier businesses, such as food trucks or brick-and-mortar restaurants.

The Jan. 12 board vote authorized the program for two years, allowing one home kitchen business per residence. The board is expected to finalize the approval Wednesday, Jan. 26.

Under the new rules, cooks who wish to open home kitchen businesses must earn a food safety certificate, pass an inspection at start-up and once a year afterward and prepare, cook and serve food the same day.

Other rules prohibit them from producing or serving raw milk products or raw oysters and from working as a caterer or event vendor. They also specify conditions for food storage and well-water testing. — The San Diego Union-Tribune

Museum of Contemporary Art receives award to support reopening La Jolla location

The National Endowment for the Arts announced Jan. 11 that the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego has been approved for a $25,000 Grants for Arts Projects award ahead of the April reopening of MCASD’s flagship La Jolla location.

The NEA grant will provide support to ensure the opening exhibition, “Selections from the Collection,” is mounted safely in its newly renovated and expanded facility.

The exhibit will include about 120 of the more than 5,600 works in its permanent collection, displayed in three separate spaces.

This is the third NEA grant received by MCASD.

Scripps Research sees growth in technology licensing revenue, philanthropic donations

Scripps Research in La Jolla announced record funding for the 2021 fiscal year of $146 million from technology licensing and philanthropic donations.

In addition to funding from the National Institutes of Health and other government sources, support from philanthropic foundations, private donors and industry licensing partnerships has grown more than tenfold in the past five years, Scripps Research said.

In recent years, Scripps Research has amplified its investments in basic science through its success in the development of medicines based on discoveries made in institute labs.

Scripps Research broke ground in November on a new building that will house chemical biology and translational sciences investigators and endowed 100 training fellowships for students in its Skaggs graduate program.

— La Jolla Light staff compiled this report ◆