HILLCREST BUSINESS ASSOCIATION SEEKING SUBMISSIONS FOR NEXT GUIDE TO FABULOUS
The Hillcrest Business Association (HBA), publisher of the Guide to Fabulous 2012, announced the deadline for inclusion in the Guide is May 4. In 2011, 40,000 copies of the Guide were published and distributed throughout San Diego. There are currently only spaces for basic listings available. With a one-time annual fee starting at $125, business information and a short description will be featured in the Guide. For more information, or to list your business, contact Cassandra Ramhap of the HBA at 619-299-3330.
GIRLS THINK TANK TO HOST GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD GALA
Girls Think Tank will host its third gala to raise funds for programs to enhance the lives of homeless people in San Diego, including a free legal clinic and survival backpacks, as well as other grassroots and policy initiatives. The Golden Age of Hollywood Gala takes place Saturday, April 28, from 7 – 11 p.m. All tickets will be sold in advance and guests will be notified of the precise location of the gala upon registration. Tickets for the main event cost $100 and VIP pre-party tickets are $250. Tickets can be purchased at girlsthinktank.org/gala-tickets.
SAN DIEGO FUTURES FOUNDATION APPOINTS KELLY HENWOOD DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
San Diego Futures Foundation (SDFF) has hired South Park resident Kelly Henwood as director of education and training. Before SDFF, Henwood worked as youth services division manager with Second Chance in San Diego for the last two years. Henwood will work with different community organizations in San Diego County to bring free technology training to young adults with an interest in technology jobs and adults who have been unemployed looking for a career in information technology. SDFF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established to improve lives in San Diego through technology. SDFF provides equipment, software, training, services and technical support to San Diego nonprofits, small businesses and disadvantaged residents.
KIWANIS CLUB HOSTS CINCO DE MAYO CONCERT
The Kiwanis Club of San Diego and San Diego State University School of Music and Dance, together with its sponsors, are hosting the annual, family-friendly Concierto Cinco a las Cinco at Balboa Park’s Organ Pavilion in honor of Mexico’s Cinco de Mayo holiday. On May 5 at 5 p.m., the concert features the SDSU Chamber Choir, directed by Patrick Walders, and the Jazz Ensemble directed by Bill Yeager. The two groups will perform together and individually. The concert is free to attend. For more information on the annual Concert in the Park visit kiwanisclubsandiego.org/wordpressblog/recent-projects.
SAN DIEGO BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS GENERATE $47.4 MILLION IN 2008-2010
The San Diego-based National University System Institute for Policy Research (NUSIPR), a non-partisan organization that formulates economic, policy and public opinion research, recently determined that local Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) generated $47.4 million in economic impact. Originally created more than 40 years ago as a way for shopping districts to compete against suburban malls, BIDs, such as those in Hillcrest and North Park, remain a popular program for San Diego business owners. NUSIPR found that by funding special events, streetscape maintenance and unique services to promote BID merchants, BIDs have generated positive economic effects for the San Diego region.
RALLY AGAINST ‘WAR ON WOMEN’ GATHERING AT BALBOA PARK
On Saturday, April 28, in several cities including Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego, there will be rallies to “Unite Against the War on Women.” Locally, the gathering will be at 10 a.m. at the Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. Assembled in response to recent proposed and passed legislation covering issues including contraception and abortion, organizers have said the Balboa Park rally will be “a day for Americans to loudly denounce the ongoing attacks on women from the extreme right as well as to honor the diversity and continued fight for the freedom of women.” Rally coordinators ask that possible participants RSVP to cover permit issues at facebook.com/WeAreWomenMarchSanDiego.
SPRUCE STREET BRIDGE HONORED AT CENTENNIAL
Local leaders, residents and the great-great-granddaughter of two-time San Diego Mayor, Edwin Capps, celebrated the centennial of the Capps-designed Spruce Street Bridge on Saturday, April 21. Built in 1912, it provides a pedestrian pathway across Arroyo Canyon. City Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer and Councilmember Todd Gloria joined the Bankers Hill Residents Group to declare April 21, 2012, “Edwin Capps Day” in San Diego. Dozens joined the Councilmembers in the middle of the bridge to sing “Happy Birthday” as the bridge swayed back and forth, as is part of its design.
ASCENT REAL ESTATE HOST E-WASTE RECYCLING
On May 5, three of Ascent Real Estate’s Mission Hills community Realtors – Megan Beauvais, Jen Rix and Sabine Steck – along with All Green Electronics Recycling, will host an e-waste recycling collection from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Grant Elementary School, located at 1425 Washington Pl. The event is free and open to anyone interested in disposing of their e-waste. Items that will be accepted include computers, monitors, printers, TVs, VCRs, stereos and other electronic equipment. Furniture, household hazardous waste or kitchen appliances will not be accepted. For more information, visit allgreenrecycling.com.
OFF-DUTY FIREFIGHTERS PLEAD NOT GUILTY IN NORMAL HEIGHTS ASSAULT
San Diego firefighters Capt. Vadid Cisneros, Gregory Econie and Andrew Brennan plead not guilty to charges of robbery, assault, making a criminal threat and intimidating witnesses, stemming from a Feb. 26 Normal Heights incident. Just after 2 a.m. on Feb. 26, two brothers were involved in an altercation with the off-duty firefighters near the corner of Adams Avenue and 34th Street. The firefighters eventually walked away, after allegedly striking one of the brothers on the head, taking their wallets and a cell phone and making a threatening remark. If convicted, each face up to nine years in prison.
LOCAL PRACTITIONER JOINS GLOBAL GROUP TO RAISE FUNDS FOR ALTERNATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH
Bankers Hill Chiropractor Thy Dinh, of Shui Chiropractic & Wellness, is joining fellow practitioners of complementary medicine from around the world in donating their proceeds earned on May 1 to benefit The ONE Research Foundation (ONE). The Foundation raises funds for alternative health research to validate the Bio Psycho Social Model (BPS) and Neuro Emotional Technique (NET). The ONE Research Foundation is a non-profit organization, with the mission of raising funds to advance scientifically based BPS and NET research.
CALIFORNIA CONDOR CHICK NAMED
The California condor chick that hatched live on the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy’s Condor Cam, has been named, with the help of the community. Once hatched, community members submitted over 93 name suggestions in the Chumash language through Facebook and Twitter. The San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s condor keepers picked three names that had special meaning. For the first time, people around the world had the opportunity to vote on the name. In total, 4,113 people voted during a one-week period. The winning name is Saticoy meaning sheltered from the wind.
MEMORIAL BIKE RIDE HELD FOR SLAIN BICYCLIST
On Wednesday, April 25, local bicyclists organizing a memorial bike ride in honor of Chuck Gilbreth, who was killed while riding his bike on April 18. Bicycling across Balboa Park, riders then outlined “bodies” in sidewalk chalk and used yellow caution tape to make the area look like a crime scene. They then rode to the City Administration Building downtown and laid down with their bicycles with the message of making roadways safer for bicyclists. Gilbreth’s death marks the 14th bicycling fatality in Southern California in 2012.
UPTOWN THEATER STUDENTS CAST IN PILOT PRODUCTION OF ‘PETER PAN’
Eleven students from across San Diego have been cast in the pilot stage production of “Disney’s Peter Pan Jr.,” presented by San Diego Junior Theatre. Students include Isabelle Pickering of South Park; Dakota Berkley of North Park; Emery Campen of Talmadge; Trystan Colburn and Graziela Damian of Normal Heights; Ruby Ross, Nathan Cooper, Charly Montgomery, Camille Fundingsland, Gabriela Villafranca and Eliana Villafranca. The celebrated tale of a boy who never grows up and whisks friends away on an unforgettable adventure runs April 27 through May 13 at Balboa Park’s Casa del Prado Theatre on Fridays at 7 p.m. and weekends at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $8 and are available online at juniortheatre.com or by calling 619-239-8355.