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Serving San Diego’s Premier Urban Communities for 21 Years

BALBOA PARKCENTENNIAL

2015Celebration to focus oninnovation, culturalheritage, outdoorlifestyle, entertainment

As president and CEO of the DowntownSan Diego Partnership, Kris Michell isoverseeing the Downtown organization.

BY ANDREW KEATTS | VOICE OF SAN DIEGO

Bethel Nathan officiates at the ceremony of Carrie Dunnagan and Alynn Silliman of North Park. (Photo by She Wanders Photography)

Vol. 21 No. 7 July 2013

Hillcrest Wind Ensemble Plays the Lafayette HotelThe Hillcrest Wind Ensemble celebrates “The Big Apple” at the Mississippi Roomin the Lafayette Hotel, 2223 El Cajon Blvd., on Saturday July 27. Music fromBroadway and of the Big Band era will fill the historic ballroom. Among theBroadway musicals featured, the 45-piece ensemble will perform music from “LesMisérables” and “Chicago.” The Mississippi Room will be transformed into a1940s cabaret with food and drink available. Music of Benny Goodman, DukeEllington and other greats will be featured in a salute to thebig bands, some of which actually played this venue. The ball-

The Rise of the DowntownPartnership

A yearlong celebration of BalboaPark’s centennial in 2015 will focus onSan Diego’s innovative contributions,cultural heritage, outdoor lifestyle andentertainment, according to a presen-tation delivered to the City Council’sNatural Resources and Culture Com-mittee.

The “Innovation Station” will under-score San Diego as a creative citythrough exhibitions, forums and inter-active displays, said John DeBello, aprincipal with marketing consultantLoma Media.

“Celebration Plaza” will be an inter-national village that celebrates “the cul-tural fabric of today’s San Diego,”

SEE PARTNERSHIP, Page 6

Getting married? Looking for a newand different twist to an old and tradi-tional ceremony? You’ll want to talk toBethel Nathan. Within 10 seconds she’lltell you, “I’m not your typical clergy byany stretch.”

Though she emphasizes she is notreligious clergy, Bethel, a North Parkresident, was ordained online throughthe Church of Spiritual Humanism andthe Universal Life Church, meeting thestate of California requirements. There’sno Justice of the Peace in California.“I’m the closest you can get to one.”

“Couples come to me when theywant something about them, abouttheir commitment to each other. They

want something that is fun, personal,meaningful and non-religious,” saysBethel. They want something celebrat-ing who they are together, in front ofpeople who mean the most to them.

Bethel does as many commitmentceremonies for gay couples as possible.“The day it’s all legal again I will spendall day at the county offices signinglicenses. That will be one of the happi-est days of my life — being able to signlicenses for couples I couldn’t do sobefore.” No charge!

She calls her business Ceremonies byBethel.

Bethel spends 15 to 20 hours on eachceremony. This doesn’t include any of

the planning; she leaves that up to thecouple and the wedding planners. Shedoes, however, make recommendations,if they would like.

“By the time the ceremony comesaround we’ve gotten to know each otherso well it looks like they have a friend upthere. Not a random minister.”

Bethel starts the process by giving thecouple individual homework assign-ments to prepare for the wedding cere-mony. And if a couple doesn’t want todo it, she doesn’t accept them.

Using what each has written, shepulls their stories together to create thepersonalized ceremony.

Most couples are raised with some

sort of religion but don’t feel connect-ed to it — they don’t have a traditionalvoice such as a pastor or a rabbi. Somecouples prefer to say their vows andspeak for themselves, others prefer forher to be their voice and they justanswer questions. “That’s why I do whatI do. I love being the voice for them inthis entire process.”

If couples want a little religion she’sOK with that; usually it’s to make themoms and grandmothers happy.

Later, she loves hearing from the cou-ples that the ceremony was their favoritepart of the day, not the party afterwards.

SEE SCENE, Page 5

NORTH PARK SCENE

WEDDED TO HER JOB

Bethel Nathan offers non-traditional wedding ceremonies that are fun,personal and meaningful

SEE WEDDINGS, Page 10

When the Downtown San DiegoPartnership finishes reinventing itself,it’ll look like a Chamber of Commercewith certain government powers.

And that’s exactly what its chief has inmind.

“Some of the things we’re gettinginvolved in, 20 years ago I never wouldhave said private organizations shouldbe getting involved in,” said the organi-

zation’s president and CEO, KrisMichell.

Until now, the organization has hadtwo primary functions.

One is economic development. It’s anonprofit group with paying membersthat advocates for Downtown. It’s craft-ing a neighborhood brand and trying toattract businesses.

The other is as the manager of the

SEE CENTENNIAL, Page 12

BY DELLE WILLETT

2 | sdnorthparknews.com | July 2013

(619) 889-5420 | www.aftonmiller.com | amiller786@aol.com

AFTON SELL S SAN DIEGOSpecializing in North Park and Metro Area since 1986

IN ESCROW - $665,000

4215 Alder | 3br 1ba

IN ESCROW - $299,000

3611 Ray | 1br fixer

SOLD - $845,000

3415 Villa Terrace | 3br 2ba

SOLD - $441,000

4615 Altadena | 2br+den 2ba

SOLD - $469,000

4677 Winona | 3br 2ba

SOLD - $458,000

3412 32nd D, 2br+loft

IN ESCROW - $389,000

3585 Redwood St. | 2br 1ba

IN ESCROW - $589,000

4780 49th | 3br 2ba

NEW - $399,000

4490 47th | 3br 1ba

SOLD - $665,000

4654 Natalie | 3br 2ba

IN ESCROW - $519,000

4535 49th | 3br 2ba

SOLD - $750,000

3795 Alabama | 4 units

SOLD - $682,500

4806 Sussex | 3br 1.5ba

SOLD - $429,000

5621 Adelaide | 2br 2ba

SOLD - $632,000

4624 Lucille Dr | 3br 2ba

SOLD - $339,000

2504 54th | 3br 1ba

*BUYER

SOLD - $510,000

3788 Park #4 | work/live

SOLD - $640,000

3210-12 Felton St | 2br units

SOLD - $565,000

4365 Alder Dr | 3br 2ba

SOLD - $460,000

2515 30th St. | 2br 1ba

IN ESCROW - $349,000

1445 32nd | 1br fixer

NEW LISTING! $599,000 | 3448 Palm Street, North Park

2br 2ba Beautiful Tudor Revival! Hardwood floors, fireplace, lots of light, gumwood trim galore, coved ceilings. Re-modeled kitchen, breakfast room, laundry room, double garage. Remodeled master bath, hall bath features clawfoottub. Many upgrades and a great combination of taste and excellent craftsmanship.

SOLD - $692,000

2914 Redwood St | 3br 3ba

IN ESCROW - $439,000

3521 Nile | 2br 1ba

SOLD - $387,000

4502 Euclid Ave | 2br 1ba

SOLD - $746,000

2735 33rd St | 4br 4.5ba

SOLD - $153,000

4545 Collwood #57 | 1br 1ba

SOLD! - $605,000

4632 Marlborough | 2br 1.5ba

SOLD - $800,500

4165 Middlesex | 3br 2ba

SOLD - $530,000

4720 51st | 3br 2ba

SOLD - $550,000

4912 Lorraine Drive | 2 br 1.5ba

SOLD - $452,000

2320 Landis | 2br 2ba

IN ESCROW - $695,000

4488 41st | 3br 2ba

IN ESCROW - $629,000

3256 N Mtn View | 3br 2ba

SOLD - $559,000

4812 50th | 4br 2ba *

SOLD - $545,000

3687 4th #408 | 2br 2ba *

AVAILABLE! $689,000 to $715,000 | 2736 Teresita St.

Charming and beautiful 3br 2ba 1,468 ESF St. Augustine area Spanish home on one of the quietest streets in NorthPark! Inset ceiling, hardwood floors, fireplace, dual-paned windows, art deco hall bath. Remodeled kitchen andlarge breakfast room. Forced air heat and AC. New landscaping, lovely flagstone patio and arbor covered patio.

SOLD - $746,000

4604 Edgeware | 3 units

IN ESCROW - $469,000

1044 Edgemont | 2br 2ba

NEW - $419,000

4351 E Overlook | 3br 2ba

AVAILABLE - $789,000

4850 E Alder | 3br 2ba

July 2013 | sdnorthparknews.com | 3

4 | sdnorthparknews.com | July 2013

Ask Dr. Z(Editor’s Note: South Park’s Dr. Tara Zandvliet -Dr. Z — answers common — andnot so common — health questions for our readers.)

Q. What is the most common blood type?Red blood cells have proteins on them that make them unique to each individual per-son. The most common and important proteins belong to the ABO group, and thenext is the Rh group. The A and B proteins are equal in strength, and the O meansthat neither protein exists on the red blood cell. You inherit one protein from eachparent. So you could have AA, BB, AO, BO, AB or OO. The O is absence of a pro-tein, so it is “silent” unless you have OO. So we end up with four blood types : A, B,AB and O. Of the proteins, O is most common, followed by A, and lastly by B. The Rh is another protein, and you get one from each parent also. Positive meansyou have the protein, even if only one copy, and negative means you don’t have anycopies. Positive is way more common around the world and in the U.S.So the most common blood type, then, is O positive, with 38 percent of the U.S.population having this. Around the world, it is also the most common, reachingalmost 100 percent in Central and Latin America. AB negative is the rarest bloodtype around the world, and less than 1 percent in the US. These blood types vary depending on geographic location and race. To find outmore, go to http://anthro.palomar.edu/vary/vary_3.htm

Q. Why does popcorn stick to your tongue?Corn kernels have a large amount of protein and starch. Starch naturally has anaffinity for water. When a corn kernel pops, it lets out a great deal of stored wateras steam, leaving the starch in the popcorn very dry. This starch then will readilyabsorb moisture, including that on your tongue, or on a wet table or finger. Thenit sticks! Interestingly, if you leave popcorn out for a while, it loses the ability tostick to all things wet because it absorbs water from the air. For an experiment, popthe corn in a covered pan, where the steam can’t escape, and let it sit awhile — itwill be spongy and won’t stick to your tongue because it will have reabsorbed thewater from the pan!

Q. How do we grow taller?You grow taller when the individual bones in your body grow longer. They add newbone onto the ends of the bones, at growth plates that are made of cartilage. In thegrowth plate, the cartilage cells are arranged in stacks in the direction of growth.The cells first divide rapidly and then get much bigger, expanding up to 15 timestheir original volume. As the cells multiply and enlarge, the cartilage gets thicker,and the bone gets longer. Next, the cartilage begins to mineralize, and the carti-lage cells die and leave holes that get invaded by bone cells. Finally, the bone cellsentirely replace the cartilage with bone. This happens over and over in child-hood, and occurs very rapidly in adolescence, until finally the cartilage no longerelongates, and the growth plate completely mineralizes. At that point, you havereached your full height.

Dr. Tara Zandvliet welcomes your questions. Send them to questions@southparkdoc-tor.com. She practices at 2991 Kalmia St. Phone: (619) 929-0032.

My mom used tocomplain how diffi-cult it was to makefriends at her retire-ment home. Thenone day, she steppedinto the elevator andsaid hello to some-one she had unsuc-

cessfully been tryingto befriend.

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Momtold her. “It looks like you’ve put on someweight.”

The woman glared at her and left theelevator without even saying good-bye.

“See what I mean?” Mom said to me.I suggested, between giggles, that next

time, she tell the woman how great shelooked.

Recently, a student in one of my writingclasses at a senior center also mentionedthe difficulty of making friends. He com-plained that not a single person had invit-ed him to do something in the two yearshe’d been at the center.

I asked how many people he had invit-ed to coffee or anything else. “None,” heanswered, just beginning to understand.

Close relationships are vital to our phys-ical, mental and emotional health. Accord-ing to the Mayo Clinic, friends “preventloneliness, increase your sense of belongingand purpose, boost your happiness, reduce

stress, improve your self-worth, help youcope with traumas….”

Friends provide us with companionship,conversation and caring. They give us areason to do things we might otherwisedetermine isn’t worth the trouble.

Unfortunately, chances are that many ofyour parents’ long-time friends have movedor died or simply lost touch. And it’s defi-nitely tough making new friends in laterlife. Let’s face it: Skills can get rusty afteryou’ve counted on the same people fordecades and haven’t had to venture out tocreate new relationships.

If your parents sit at home watching TV,it’s time you stepped up and encouragedthem to take action and help them planhow.

The first step is connecting with oldfriends. My sister and I went through Mom’saddress book and turned to the Internet totrack down some of them. She had a balltalking to the son of her once-best friend,although she never got a call back from herfriend. Oh well, at least we tried.

To make new friends, your folks need toovercome the idea that everyone else theirage already has enough friends. Nobodyhas enough good friends.

Your parents need to go somewhere theycan meet people: a senior center, activitiesin their retirement facility, lectures, con-certs and adult-education classes. If they’reup to it, getting a part-time or volunteer job

can provide a great opportunity to meetothers. Even taking the dog for a walk or thegrandchildren to the park will put them incontact with others.

Sure, there are junior-high-type clicks inclubs, retirement homes and senior centers,even at the ripe old age of 80 and 90. Yourparents need to learn to ignore them andgraciously ask if they can join a group. If thegroup answers negatively, your parents needto learn to move on; they don’t need thosepeople anyway.

Your folks need to learn not to wait forsomeone to make the first move. Waitingnever got anyone anywhere. Again, theyneed to change direction if that person isn’tinterested. Not everyone is willing to take achance on a new relationship. Their loss!

But if someone invites your parents todo something, they need to say “yes,” evenif they’re not particularly interested in thatperson or activity. Actually, they might sur-prise themselves and end up having fun.They might even meet other interestingpeople at the activity. Even if it’s a bust, it’sonly a few hours out of their life and worththe gamble.

Once they meet people, they need to beprepared with a topic of conversation:“Where did you meet your spouse? What’sthe best trip you even took? What do youthink of the way kids dress today?”

Remind your folks that it’s importantnot to talk exclusively about themselves.

Nobody wants to hear someone else’swhole life story or repeated stories of howgreat the grandchildren are. t’s also impor-tant to be upbeat; nobody wants to listen tocomplaints.

Like my mother never seemed to learn,it’s important what you say. A friend mightbe someone who knows your faults and stillloves you, but you have to cultivate thefriendship first. Saying the wrong thing —nobody wants their weight gain pointedout — could cost them a potential friend.

Remind your folks to listen with com-passion. Most people enjoy an attentiveaudience.

Offering to help a new acquaintancewho is sick is a great way to spark a friend-ship. Just a simple phone call to check onthem will endear your folks to someone

they might barely know. Your parents also need to understand

that building a strong friendship requirestime, effort and patience. They can’t justextend themselves once and expect the rela-tionship to bloom.

If you can help your parents make justone or two good friends, you will haveimproved their lives — and your own aswell.

Sponsored by Right at Home, In-Home Care& Assistance, www.rahlajolla.com, (858)277-5900, info@rahlajolla.com. ContactMarsha Kay Seff at mkseff@gmail.com.

room still has its scalloped-shaped bandshell and after a $6 million renovationand restoration, the hotel really shines asit did when the Hollywood stars wouldstay for a weekend getaway.The ensemble celebrates over 25 years ofperforming and is a program of theLGBT Center and acts as a musicalambassador to the community. For thisconcert the band welcomes back localjazz vocalist Andrea Sperling, who willperform two songs including a specialPride piece. Concert time is 7 p.m. withhors d’oeuvres starting at 6:30 p.m. andno-host bar throughout the night. Tick-ets are $15 in advance, available at TheWindsmith on Granada Avenue, and$20 at the door. For more info go towww.hillcrestwindensemble.com.

City Deli Getting New Owners and NewName

City Delicatessen — or City Deli aspatrons call it — is getting new ownersand a new name. And a new interior.The prospective new owners are Tom

Brown, Frank Lechner and MikePhillips, who will rename the populareatery Harvey Milk’s American Diner.

Michael Wright opened the restau-rant with partner Alan Bilmes in 1984.The owners plan to close the place to dosome interior renovations and open theplace by August or September.

The owners apparently have the sup-port of the Harvey Milk Foundation,named after the late San Franciscosupervisor who was assassinated in 1978along with Mayor George Moscone.According to U-T San Diego, theprospective owners have worked out alicensing agreement with the founda-tion that requires them to pay a quarter-ly fee tied to a percentage of the grosssales.

The restaurant’s 24 employees havebeen told they will be kept while therestaurant stays as City Deli and will be

considered for hiring under the newownership.

Owner of Hillcrest Interior DesignFirm Honored Nationally

Robert Wright, president ofBast/Wright Interiors Inc. of Hillcrest,has been honored as 2013 Designer ofDistinction by the American Society ofInterior Designers (ASID). the honorrecognizes an ASID professional memberwho has created an extraordinary bodyof work, exhibited a solid commitmentto social concerns, and significantlyadvanced the profession. Wright, whohas served as the national president ofASID and as president of the San Diegochapter, is the first designer from SanDiego County to receive the award. Hewas honored as an ASID fellow in 2004.

“Robert has been an inspiration to theentire design community and this awardis richly deserved,” said Robin Carrier,president of the San Diego chapter ofASID. “Robert is a brilliant designer whogenerously shares his creative vision andpassion for design with clients, students,and the less fortunate. His work demon-strates the power of design to changelives.” Wright has been a professionalinterior designer for more than 30 years,first in Texas and, since 1986, in San

Diego. In 1991 he formed Bast/WrightInteriors with Jan Bast, FASID, a notedinterior designer and design educator.The seven-member firm, which special-izes in high-end residential interiors, haswon numerous major design awards.

Gloria Donates Funds for Neil GoodDay Center

San Diego City Council President

Todd Gloria has contributed $13,549 toupgrade the Neil Good Day Center. Theupgrades consisted of installation ofsynthetic landscape grass and clean upof the entire outdoor space. “The NeilGood Day Center was in need of phys-ical improvements to support its mis-sion of providing a safe place for ourhomeless neighbors to spend the dayoff the streets, shower, do laundry, andobtain necessary services,” said Gloria.

“This center is a critical piece of oursystem to solve homelessness, and I’mproud of the contribution I was able tomake through savings in my office bud-get.” The center, located on 17th Streeteast of Downtown, is operated by theAlpha Project and provides case man-agement, medical and counseling ser-vices, legal assistance, veterans services,laundry, showers, free storage, a com-puter lab and other supportive assis-tance to the homeless.

Supercuts Store Celebrating 30 YearsThe Supercuts shop at 3024 El Cajon

Blvd. is celebrating 30 years in business.The salon is locally owned and operat-ed by Supercuts franchisee SusieGonaver. The salon has been a part ofthe business community since openingin 1983, and prides itself in hiring localstaff and stylists. The salon is one ofmore than 2,200 Supercuts in the coun-try. In San Diego, services include adultand children/senior haircuts, as well asstyling, hair coloring and facial waxing.The shop is open Monday through Sat-urday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundayfrom 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The phone: (619)280-1133.

July 2013 | sdnorthparknews.com | 5

BY MARSHA KAY SEFF

SCENECONTINUED FROM Page 1

The Caregivers’ Journey Sibling harmony imperative

Neil Good Center after improvements.

neighborhood’s property and business improvementdistrict, or PBID. The partnership calls the district its“Clean & Safe” program. It charges property ownersand businesses a fee to pay for services like tree trim-ming, sidewalk cleaning and graffiti removal within itsboundaries.

The program is approved by the city, which thencontracts its management to the Downtown San DiegoPartnership. In 2009, the city overcharged certain prop-erty owners on their property tax bill. The city hassince reimbursed all the residents they determinedwere overcharged.

The new and improved partnership will continuetaking care of those tasks, but a consultant from Den-ver helped it build a new organizational blueprintthat’ll bring on new responsibilities including, per-haps, managing new public transportation.

The organization’s leader is a familiar power in theDowntown sphere. Almost three years ago, a Voice ofSan Diego story referred to Michell as “the most pow-erful person in San Diego you know nothing about.”She served as chief of staff for both Mayor Jerry Sandersand Mayor Susan Golding. She managed the Republi-can National Convention, the Super Bowl and thecampaign for Petco Park.

When she took over the partnership, Michell said,she recognized the shrinking capacity of governmentat all levels meant her organization was no longer suit-ed for Downtown’s long-term needs.

“I was with (Golding) for ’93 to ’97, and then with(Sanders) in ’05 and ’06, and the contrast was stark,”she said. “I could see what government was unable toprovide given how resources were so diminished. So Iknew the old model didn’t match up well for the next20 to 30 years.”

Michell answers to the partnership’s board of direc-tors, composed mostly of high-profile business leadersfrom companies like Bridgepoint Education, the IrvineCompany, Cox Communications and WalMart.

In May of 2011, the board took a retreat to sketchout a new role for the present market.

By the end of that year, the train of government-funded neighborhood reinvention in California hit awall, when the state Supreme Court upheld the gover-nor’s decision to end the redevelopment program.

So the partnership hired Brad Segal, president ofDenver’s Progressive Urban Management Associates, toput together a program that would allow it to carry themantle of urban renewal.

“Out of every crisis comes the need to reinvent anddo things differently,” Segal said. “The San DiegoDowntown Partnership is ahead of the game and whatwe’re doing could certainly set the path for the rest ofthe state, for how to operate in a post-redevelopmentworld.”

A New ModelThe new set-up would include a single nonprofit

holding company that would centralize the organiza-tion’s administration and leadership.

Its tasks would then be conducted by six affiliateentities, each with its own board of directors and bud-get. Then two members of each individual boardwould serve on the overall board.

The Downtown San Diego Partnership wants toretain control of the entire operation, while extendingitself into different roles with a revenue stream and legalmechanism attached to each one

For instance, the membership-based advocacy anddevelopment organization that exists today will be oneof these independent entities. It’ll operate as a 501(c)6organization with its own board of directors.

And the clean and safe program will be anotherindependent operation, set up as an assessment districtwith money coming in through fees and going outthrough services, just as in other neighborhoodsthroughout the city.

The partnership has also set-up the Downtown SanDiego Partnership Homeless Foundation, a 501(c)3organization that administers homelessness servicesin the Downtown area. Private donations, including redmeters collecting change for homeless residentsinstalled throughout Downtown, feed the organiza-tion’s budget.

It spends the money on programs like “Movin’Home,” which among other things provides residentswho just located housing with basic utilities like dish-es, linens and pots, and “Work Your Way Home,” whichlast year helped 37 residents return to their originalhomes in 20 different states.

In maybe the most expansive increase in the partner-ship’s scope, the reorganization would, by Septemberof 2015, set up a special authority for transportationand mobility in the Downtown area.

It wants to launch a Downtown-only bus service, ora circulator, similar those popping up in other cities.

“The Downtown circulator will be one of the biggestgame changers in Downtown,” Michell said. “We havea geographically large Downtown that makes it hard toget around. It’ll have a spur going up to Balboa Park.And we needed a solution to the perception that there’sa parking problem.”

Final decisions will need to wait on the outcome oftwo project studies, but Michell suspects the partner-ship will outsource maintenance and operation of thebus to the Metropolitan Transit System while it focus-es on securing a long-term revenue stream to fund it.

The new organization has also formed a 501(c)3dedicated to parks and outdoor space managementand development. It’s still working to identify ongoingfunding streams, beyond basic fundraising. Michellsaid she imagines each community having the abilityto schedule events in the parks closest to it.

The reorganization also calls for a nonprofit dedicat-ed entirely to pursuing development projects. It woulddo some of the things already being done by Civic SanDiego, like pursuing federal tax credits to help buildlocal projects.

Michell said the partnership will eventually formthat entity, but doesn’t expect to do anything with it inthe foreseeable future, because that task can be betterhandled by Civic San Diego, the organization formedwhen the city’s former redevelopment agencies wereended by the statewide end of the program.

Both Michell and Jeff Graham, president of CivicSan Diego, said the organizations complement eachother in a post-redevelopment world.

“It’s now incumbent on the private sector, throughgroups like the Downtown Partnership, to create thefunding sources to implement things like an arts andculture district, a business retention program. Gov-ernment isn’t always best at these things.”

One way the organizations would work together, hesaid, is for Civic San Diego to design and build parks,which would be programmed, managed and main-tained through the Downtown San Diego Partnership.

“Civic San Diego is policy, process and infrastruc-ture,” Segal said. “Clearly, our focus is on a privateinspired, public-private partnerships. It’s a springboardfor the city.”

A Privatized Local GovernmentIt’s a difficult time for a Downtown organization

that’s mostly known for its advocacy for Downtownbusinesses to begin taking over roles traditionally han-dled by public agencies.

Mayor Bob Filner ran his campaign as a chance torecapture the city from Downtown insiders. He wastalking about organizations like the partnership, andfigures like Michell.

But Michell said she isn’t concerned with the percep-tion that the group is overstepping its bounds.

“We’re not trying to supplant government, becausewe never could and we don’t want to. But I also don’twant us walking out of a board meeting and com-plaining about things that we don’t like or aren’t hap-pening but then nothing gets done because we didn’tdo anything.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story said SanDiego had yet to reimburse Downtown residents whowere overcharged on their tax bills for the improve-ment district. Residents scheduled for reimbursementshave received the full amount the city plans to givethem.

Andrew Keatts is a reporter for Voice of San Diego.andrew.keats@voiceofsandiego.org.

The Leadership Team

www.sdnorthparknews.com

Serving San Diego’s Premier Bungalow Communities

Chairman/CEOBob Page

BobPage@sandiegometro.com

Publisher Rebeca Page

RebecaPage@sandiegometro.com

EditorManny Cruz

Manny@sandiegometro.com

Art DirectorChris Baker

cbaker@sandiegometro.com

------------------------------

Writers/ColumnistsTodd Gloria

Ann JarmuschJennifer Kester

Donna MarganellaBart Mendoza

Katelyn O’RiordanSandy PasquaDavid RainesDelle Willett

PhotographyManny CruzSande Lollis

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6 | sdnorthparknews.com | July 2013

PARTNERSHIPCONTINUED FROM Page 1

Kris Michell, president/CEO

Janelle Riella, executive vice president

Ryan Loofbourrow, executive director, Clean & Safe program

John Hanley, director of finance

July 2013 | sdnorthparknews.com | 7

Neighborhood NewsNeighbors in North

Park are strong advocatesfor your community. Iappreciate the ongoingcommunication and col-laboration many of youhave with my office thathelp me to focus myefforts to get results forour neighborhood.

This was demonstrat-ed most recently through

my contribution offunds to two localprojects and through

the passage of two items by the City Council.The North Park library, and all other branches in San Diego,

will soon be open four additional hours per week, thanks toamendments the City Council made to the budget. We havemade steady progress restoring this core service, and I amproud we agreed that libraries are a true core service.

When you visit the North Park library the next time, youmay notice the parking lot there now resembles the sexy streetswe all love. It has been repaired and resurfaced, using an allo-cation of Community Projects, Programs and Services (CPPS)

funds, which are generated through savings from my officebudget.

I also recently contributed $1,800 of CPPS funds to the NorthPark Citizens Patrol to support its community policing effortsand empower the neighborhood to prevent crime.

Your voice continues to have a positive impact at City Hall,and the recently approved city budget reflects the priorities youset for me. In addition to the restored library hours, I’m partic-ularly glad that my council colleagues agreed to fund an assess-ment of sidewalk conditions and needs throughout the city.

We’ve made great headway since 2008 with increased invest-ment in our public infrastructure. Our attention must turn toour sidewalks and the policies that currently govern their main-tenance. I look forward to the results of the assessment so wecan include the greatest needs in our long term infrastructurefinancing discussions.

I thank each of you who have participated in communitymeetings, communicated with me and my staff, and worked onbehalf of the neighborhood. Together, even more progress ispossible.

Councilman Gloria can be reached at ToddGloria@sandiego.gov;(619) 236-6633; 202 C Street, MS 10A, San Diego, CA 92101;and on Facebook and Twitter. Visit his website atwww.sandiego.gov/cd3.

BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT TODD GLORIA

Gloria contributed $1,800 to the North Park Citizens Patrol.

The North Park Library will soon be open four additional hours a week.

8 | sdnorthparknews.com | July 2013

If your idea of a tattoo studio includesa bunch of noisy bikers hanging outsideand smoking, you haven’t been to SouthPark.

Instead, most of the studios that haveopened for business in the last three yearslook more like art galleries, with a twist.The paintings and drawings, many by thetattoo artists themselves, can vary fromthe macabre to the abstract, while curiosi-ties — such as Buddha sculptures, tearvials, skulls and stuffed animals (no, we’renot talking about teddy bears) — deco-rate the shelves. And it’s no wonder. Eachbusiness owner is an artist.

Ryan of The Vishuddha, who goes byhis last name only, studied art at UC SanDiego and even ran art therapy groups asa behavioral counselor. UC San Diegoalumna Diana DeAugustine of Diego Tat-too went on to get a Master of Fine Artsfrom the California Institute of the Arts.Longtime artist Turk, who also goes by hislast name, displays his work and that ofother artists in the large gallery space ofLeft Hand Black, the studio he runs withhis wife, Crystal.

The surge in South Park tattoo studiosstarted in 2010 when The Vishuddha(thevissudtha.com) moved in to what wasonce the Burlingame Garage at 2226 FernSt.

Full Circle Tattoo, near VagabondKitchen, opened next, followed in 2012 byLeft Hand Black (www.lhblk.com), nearFern and Grape, and Diego Tattoo(diegotattoogallery.com), close to Fernand Cedar.

This growing number of businesses

dedicated to body art reflects the rise inAmericans who have tattoos. A 2013 pollby Harris Interactive found one in fiveU.S. adults (21 percent) has a tattoo, upfrom 14 percent reported in 2008.

As the trailblazer, Ryan chose SouthPark for two reasons — nobody else hadopened a tattoo business in the area, andthe neighborhood appealed to him. “Ithas a small-town feel in a big city,” hesaid.

South Park was also DeAugustine’s firstchoice when she decided to open her ownstudio after working at Buju Tattoo inMission Hills. “I liked all the unique store-fronts,” she said. And in dog-friendlySouth Park, you’ll be pleased to know thatDeAugustine named her business afterher Chihuahua.

Turk said he and his wife are “superstoked” to be in South Park. “The devel-opment of this area really fits where ourheart is. It’s the kind of neighborhood wewant to be in.” The two of them own ahome five blocks away from the studioand are expecting their first child.

These studios are a far cry from a“street shop,” according to Turk, wherenothing but stencils (known as tattooflash) cover the walls and customers can“pick it and stick it.” Instead, South Park’stattoo artists hold consultations with theirclients to discuss the work in detail.

“A tattoo is a lifelong commitment,”Ryan said. “You don’t want to trust that toanyone.”

Still, these business owners have had tocombat misconceptions of their trade.

To appeal to her landlord, DeAugustine

put a whole packet together that includ-ed her resume, her mission statement andher approach as an artist. She assured himthat “it’s not going to be that noisy tattooshop with shirtless guys smoking in thefront.”

Turk had to approach his landlordtwice, a few years apart, to seal the deal.The first time the landlord said, “Tattoos?I don’t think so.”

So Turk opened a studio in Escondido,but two negatives prompted him to finda new space: tattoo studios in that areahad a “gangster feel” and the city lacked anart scene. The next time he approachedhis South Park landlord, he got a lease.

There’s a “stigma that it’s all bikers organgster guys,” he said. “Those guys stillexist, but the cream is rising to the top.”

Many of the business owners attractclientele based on word-of-mouth andreferrals. “You do a decent job and that’syour advertisement,” Ryan said.

But marketing and promotion don’thurt. Both Turk and Diana hold period-ic art shows at their studios, not only tocelebrate art, but to get potential cus-tomers in the door.

You’d think that four tattoo studios inSouth Park would breed competition. Butthat’s not the case here. Each studio has itsown vibe; the artists at Diego Tattoo, forexample, are all women. Also, each artisthas his or her own style. They even refercustomers to each other.

“I think it’s really cool,” Ryan said,adding that his fellow tattoo artists are “avaluable resource that’s really close by.”

TATTOO STUDIOS SHOWCASE ART

Left Hand Black on Fern Street features a dramatic art gallery along with the tattoo studio. (Photoby Bonnie Nicholls).

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Business owners have had to combat misconceptions oftheir trade BY BONNIE NICHOLLS

Turk and Crystal operate Left Hand Black, a gallery and studio, near the intersection of Fern andGrape.

July 2013 | sdnorthparknews.com | 9

Seems that love beads and tie-dye are popular with theSouth Park customers. Last year’s “Summer of Love” walka-bout theme met with such an enthusiastic reception that themerchants are reprising it on July 20. The Summer of Love2013 Walkabout is set for 6 to 10 p.m. that evening.

As always, a free trolley will operate from Juniper to BeechSt., providing a convenient transportation option. UrbanSafaris offers a free walking tour of the historic neighborhoodand its retail communities, starting at 6:30pm from the InfoTable near The Grove on Juniper St.

For those new to these quarterly events, South Park’s pop-ular Walkabout evenings are an opportunity to visit the

neighborhood’s shops and eateries, which stay open late andoffer refreshments and specials. A complete guide to what isoffered where is published by the South Park Business Groupon Facebook (Facebook.com/southparkbiz), on their website(SouthParkScene.com), and is available at the Info Table andon the Trolley the night of the event.

Later this year, the SPBG will host the ArtOberfest Walk-about (on Saturday, Oct. 5), and the Holiday Walkabout (onSaturday, Dec. 7). Also in the planning stages is a neighbor-hood tree-lighting ceremony and party on Sunday, Decem-ber 1st. More information will be available in coming months.

Summer of Love WalkaboutReturns July 20 — 6 to 10 p.m.

Diana DeAugustine’s Diego Tattoo Gallery is the newest in South Park, located in a for-mer flower shop near the corner of Fern and Cedar.

Ryan of The Visshuddha opened his tattoo studio in the restored Burlingame Garage build-ing between 30th and Fern three years ago.

10 | sdnorthparknews.com | July 2013

“That’s one of the best compliments Ican get.”

And as much as she enjoys being partof the ceremonies, you won’t see heraround when they are over. “I need to gohome to nurture my own marriage!”

Bethel officiated at her first weddingseven years ago, and since starting full-time four years ago, she has officiated at

352 weddings. Working alone, she does100 to 120 a year and is already bookedsolid for the rest of 2013. She also hasbooked 21 ceremonies for 2014 and onefor 2015. Anyone hoping to schedule herneeds to contact her early; on averageher couples book 10 months out. Hercurrent fee is $595.

Bethel has turned down 10 requests,not the right fit for each other. She onlycelebrates couples she adores. “If I don’tadore them I can’t marry them.”

Bethel Nathan

WEDDINGSCONTINUED FROM Page 1

Sharon and Will DeBeauchamp share smiles with Bethel Nathan at their wedding. (Photo by LaVida Creations Photography)

She has also done “reverse weddings”or a second wedding: after a weddingthat makes the mothers happy, the cou-ples will do a ceremony with her thatmakes them happy.

Couples married by Bethel range inage from 20/21 (a military couple) to late60s, (second marriages).

Typical couples are in their late 20s tomid 40s, and she has lots of late 40s and50s. 25 percent are from out of town. 5percent are gay.

“Their most common denominator isthat they all have a feeling of gratitudethat they have each other.”

Bethel does as many commitment cer-emonies for gay couples as possible. “Theday it’s all legal again I will spend all dayat the county offices signing licenses. Thatwill be one of the happiest days of mylife—being able to sign licenses for cou-ples I couldn’t do so before.” No charge!

She expects to have an increase ofabout 20 percent same-sex weddings inthe future when marriage equality is backin California.

Her favorite moment is seeing the cou-ples connect during the ceremony, hear-ing the words that they created together,remembering why they are getting mar-ried. “Seeing a natural smile, a smile thatgoes to their eyes. All the focus is on eachother. They aren’t aware of who is aroundthem.”

About 10 percent of Bethel’s cere-monies are elopements. They still planahead and do their homework; they justhave very few or no one else there exceptBethel and a photographer. She charges$325 for these types of ceremonies.

She will also occasionally do a babyblessing or a celebration of life, but thoseare usually for her wedding customers,when their families grow, or they lose a

family member.Bethel has been an active member of

the San Diego Women’s Foundation for10 years, on the board for eight of those,working on many of the committees. Sheis also a past member of the board ofdirectors of the San Diego affiliate ofSusan G. Komen for the Cure, and stillinvolved with them.

“When people get involved in philan-thropy there are three ways they can do it:give money, give time or give talent,” shesays. Bethel has chosen to use her excellentvoice and speaking skills to be aspokesperson for these philanthropies, inaddition to money and time.

Looking ahead, Bethel and husbandJason are starting a new business that hewill eventually run: They are writing andpublishing “Asked to Officiate,” a com-prehensive workbook on how to do cer-emonies like she does, with the idea thata lot of couples are asking friends or fam-ily members to officiate their weddingand they don’t have a clue what to do. “Iwant people to have better weddingseverywhere, and a better experience for allinvolved.”

She is also seriously playing with

“Voiceovers by Bethel,” selling her excel-lent speaking voice to all types of mediathat are looking for the perfect pitch.

“For me it’s about finding what makesyou happy,” says Bethel. “You can’t betruly great at something unless you love it;find the intersection between where yourtalent is and where your passion is.”

For her it’s either running a philan-thropy or marrying people. Right nowit’s marrying people and volunteering fornonprofits.

“It’s a huge honor and a lot of fun to bedoing both.”

Born in Philadelphia in 1970 andraised in Cape Cod, Mass., until she was13, Bethel came to San Diego in 1983,lived in La Mesa and went to Helix High.Then she was off to UC Berkeley for adegree in political science and Asian stud-ies (emphasis on Japan), and on to Thun-derbird College where she got her MBAin international finance and Japanese.

She worked on Wall Street for nineyears in Tokyo, New York and London,and then walked away at age 33, back toSan Diego, realizing she “had no life.” Shewent to work for six years for her parentswho own “Initial Impression,” a promo-

tional products and engraving company.She still helps on occasion.

She and Jason, her husband of 6 and ahalf years, live in North Park after movingfrom Downtown. They met through amutual friend. They don’t have childrenby choice. But “I love being an aunt andI love giving them back,” says Bethel.

Wanting to like what she sees in thecouples’ wedding photos, she has lost 83pounds in the last 20 months and has 17pounds more to go, which may be goneby the time this article is printed.

(Contact information: www.cere-moniesbybethel.com. bethel@cere-moniesbybethel.com.)

Delle Willett has 30 years’experience in marketingand public relations: 15years as the co-owner ofO’Shaughnessy and Wil-lett Marketing Communi-cations (San Diego) and15 as Director of Market-ing and Public Relationsfor the Missouri BotanicalGarden and the San Diego Natural HistoryMuseum—two of the three oldest scientific/edu-cational institutions west of the Mississippi.She can’t leave home without her Nikon cam-era, running shoes, sunglasses, ChapStick,Tums and cell phone.

July 2013 | sdnorthparknews.com | 11

Bethel Nathan weds Lauren and Todd Manlove. (Photo by Laura Christin Photography)

April and Pat are wed in a picturesque setting with Bethel Nathan. (Photo by Chana and Don)

12 | sdnorthparknews.com | July 2013

MOST ENDANGERED LIST OF HISTORIC RESOURCES 2013

In a call for more responsible historic preservation action, the SaveOur Heritage Organisation has announced its 2013 Most Endan-gered List of Historic Resources.

“Historic buildings, landscapes and sites contribute to a distinctsense of place and provide a priceless record of our shared her-itage,” says SOHO in its announcement. “Historic places in ourcities, the backcountry, and the desert or across the border, arethreatened each year, or worse, lost forever. SOHO has significant-ly reduced the number of major losses in our region through pre-emptive negotiations, advocacy, public awareness and education.The Most Endangered List, now in its 26th year, has proven to be avaluable tool in encouraging urgently needed preservation action.”

Twelve of the 13 items on the Most Endangered List are buildingsand sites that embody the diversity and richness of San Diego Coun-ty history. The 13th item: the municipal trend toward overturninghistoric designations for the owner’s convenience could easilybecome a preservation nightmare, both legally and culturally. As asociety, we need to be able to see, smell, and touch significant his-toric sites, buildings, and landscapes that reflect our common her-itage, intellectual development and sense of humanity.

Newly listed sites for 2013:• Overturning Historic Designations Trend• 1907 Collier Park Spring House• 1924 Spreckels Warehouse• 1897 St. Luke’s Chapel• Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Sites remaining from previous years:• 1927 California Theatre• 1960s Caliente Racetrack Advertising Mural

• 1911 Star Builders Supply Company Building• 22,000-acre Rancho Guejito• 1840s Marrón Adobe• 1939 La Jolla Post Office Building• 1910 Teachers Training Annex #1• 1887 Villa Montezuma• 1894 Red Roost and Red Rest Bungalow

Newly listed sites1. SOHO has identified a disturbing trend that puts all our historic

resources at risk. Historic designations are being overturned byunlawful appeals to city councils and city officials. Owners of historicsites are hiring lawyers to argue, falsely, that their properties do notmerit landmark status and should be removed from the historic reg-ister. This has happened most egregiously recently in Coronadowith one major home being demolished and another of that city’sgrandest Spanish Revival masterworks being cleared for demoli-tion or remodeling, and in San Diego false testimony and lobbyingturned the City Council to rule against their own legal best interest.While these reversals placate property owners, they come fromunqualified and sometimes irresponsible administrators or CityCouncils. This trend reflects decision makers’ blatant disregard,sheer ignorance or willful misunderstanding of the arduous desig-nation process and preservation law.

2. La Mesa city plans call for the senseless demolition of the 1907Spring House, which is part of Collier Park and Landmark Number3 on La Mesa’s historic register. It’s also one of the few buildings inthis city deemed eligible for the California and National Registers.The springs that bubble up here would have been known to theKumeyaay, and in 1869, attracted rancher Robert Allison, who is con-

sidered La Mesa’s founder. Later, D. C. Collier, a San Diego civic lead-er and pioneering developer of communities such as La Mesa,bought the land with the springs and built the Spring House as a bot-tling plant. That venture didn’t materialize and Collier gave thebuilding and some of the land to the people of La Mesa. It soonbecame known as Collier Park, the city’s first public park. Twodecades ago, the city closed and boarded up the Spring House. Nowcity planners are preparing to revamp Collier Park and they want toreplace the Spring House with a new building for interpretiveexhibits. But a restored or renovated Spring House would make a fineexhibit space with the priceless advantage that La Mesa’s history ispart of the package.

3. A century ago in San Diego, the super wealthy John D. Spreck-els was a leader in regional development and a civic booster extraor-dinaire. In part, we remember his impact through cultural landmarksthat remain in constant use, such as the Spreckels Theatre andSpreckels Organ Pavilion. These buildings represent Spreckels’ highaspirations for advancing culture in San Diego. By contrast, the util-itarian, modern Spreckels Warehouse, built in 1924 on J Street by theSpreckels Brothers Commercial Company, represents the work-a-dayremnants of a once busy warehouse district.

So that we have a tangible record and understanding of historicdowntown development, SOHO negotiated fiercely to save ware-houses along J Street and nearby, for restoration and reuse as shops,restaurants and sports bars surrounding the new downtown ball-park. Since then, J Street has been recharged with new energy andpedestrian traffic; the urban texture is richer for having these build-ings filling several blocks.

Elsewhere downtown we’ve lost a host of simple, vernacularindustrial buildings, along with the Fifth Avenue wharf and rail

1907 Spring House

DeBello said.He said San Diego Alive! will focus on

the city’s outdoor lifestyle.The Spreckels Organ Pavilion will be

transformed into the Centennial Stage,a setting for live performances by enter-tainers, he said.

“It all looks very, very exciting,” com-mittee member Marti Emerald said.

The presentation represents some-thing of an about-face by organizers,who have dumped a brand name ofEdge 2015 that numerous city leaders,including Mayor Bob Filner and Coun-cilman David Alvarez, the committeechairman, didn’t like.

Tourism officials are hoping for aninflux of U.S. and international travelersto celebrate the 100 years since the Pana-ma-California Exhibition in 1915.

DeBello said organizers of the cen-tennial would begin to approach spon-sors after Labor Day. The marketingeffort over the next year will also includea website and heavy use of social media.

Like the 1915 exposition, whichopened San Diego to the world, the cen-tennial two years from now could be “agame-changer” for the city, DeBellosaid.

He said the event will be “unprece-dented in size, scope and duration,” andoffer 700 event opportunities to showoff the “intellectual capital and culturalresources” of the city.

DeBello said Mexico and Panamahave been invited to participate, and theSmithsonian Institution — which oper-ates the national museums in Washing-ton, D.C. — has expressed interest inbringing exhibits to San Diego.

The museums and other institutionsin Balboa Park are setting up their own

programming for 2015, he said.“We are at the point where we’re dis-

cussing final plans because 2015 is rightaround the corner,” said Nicki Clay,member of the Balboa Park CelebrationCommittee. “This is a signature event.It’s going to be a year-long premier des-tination event.”

Adam Burke is an event producerworking with Autonomy, the companyhired to put on the year-long celebra-tion.

“We’re throwing a very broad net thatwill really look to incorporate the best ofSan Diego,” said Burke.

It’s a world-class event that comeswith a world-class price tag, but exactfigures have yet to be revealed.

Majority of the funding will comefrom the Tourism Marketing District.The Centennial Celebration festivitiesare estimated to bring an additional400,000 room reservations to San

Diego-area hotels bringing in between$3 million to $6 million in revenue tothe city.

The TMD has agreed to allocate 10percent of the available funds spent eachyear on promoting the year-long cele-bration. Additional funds will comefrom the city of San Diego, donationsand local sponsors.

“We’re locking in plans. We’re bring-ing in partners from the local commu-

nity and we’re moving very fast,” saidBurke.

The hope is the Centennial Celebra-tion will draw tens of thousands of peo-ple from America’s Finest City andbeyond.

“We’re pretty confident people fromthe region, the rest of the country andalso from the rest of the world willcome, visit and see what happens – justlike they did in 1915,” said Burke.

CENTENNIALCONTINUED FROM Page 1

SOHO CALLS FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACTION

Spreckles Warehouse Luke’s Chapel

yards associated with the working porton San Diego Bay. These losses make itall the more imperative to recognize thehistoric socioeconomic and architec-tural significance of the Spreckels Ware-house, J Street’s western anchor.

Its board-formed concrete walls sup-port lightweight steel roof trusses, sothere’s no need for interior columns. Itslarge, open interior makes the ware-house flexible for accommodating dif-ferent uses, as it has done for more than90 years. Yet this warehouse may be indanger of demolition due to economicpressure to demolish and build a resi-dential tower on the site, pressure that’scompounded by the owner’s indiffer-ence, so far, to its modern design andpedigree. Its fate now lies with the city’sHistorical Resources Board. We encour-age the board to declare the SpreckelsWarehouse a historic landmark and tosteer its owner toward a buyer withpreservation and adaptive reuse inmind.

4. St. Luke’s Chapel, the oldest build-ing in North Park, is also threatened.Historians maintain this small 1897Mission Revival-style building wasdesigned by the prominent San Diegoarchitecture firm of Hebbard & Gill forAll Saints Episcopal Church based ondesign hallmarks and the men’s churchmembership. All Saints moved thechapel from Hillcrest to North Park in1924 to serve as a mission (or satellite)for its rapidly expanding congregation.During the 1950s, St. Luke’s Church wasbuilt next to the chapel, which nowstands boarded up, deteriorating anddark.

The Diocese, and not the localchurch, is responsible for the site andmay be considering razing the chapeland a few other old buildings on theirproperty to make way for likely use as aparking lot or other development.SOHO urges the Episcopal Diocese totake the boards off this chapel andrestore it and make it a vital part of anynew plans.

5. Once unthinkable in this desertpreserve, ugly, massive and dangerouscommercial wind farms are nowencroaching on the rugged beauty, trailsand wildlife habitats of Anza-BorregoDesert State Park. This gift to the pub-lic from George Marston and his con-temporaries has always been an alluringmagnet for nature lovers, artists, scien-tists, campers, and explorers, and mostimportantly for those who seek respitefrom the city.

But in recent years, the federal Bureauof Land Management has orders to gen-erate clean energy on public land,regardless of any negative impact onirreplaceable natural and cultural

resources, wildlife, and the public’sexperience. A new wind farm of over90 towers, with plans to add more,shares a five-mile boundary with Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, severelyintruding on formerly pristine skies andheart-stopping vistas that sweep acrossdesert and mountains. Like SDG&E’scontroversial Sunrise Power Link tow-ers, you can’t skirt the unsightly andnoisy wind farms. Typically, the com-mercial owners install one hundred or

so, 450-foot steel towers with spinningblades, which have proven lethal to birdsas large as eagles and threaten to harmpeople as well. While there may be prop-er places for these, it is not here in oneof our most scenic and culturallyimportant regions. This hazardousblight must be stopped. Wind farms areremovable and that’s what the BLMshould enforce.

Sites remaining from previous years

1927 California Theatre has sufferedfor far too long. Its demolition byneglect is a tactic that is only costingthe developer owner when it couldinstead rival the Balboa Theater or servea multitude of other purposes. SanDiego’s premier movie palace, the Cal-ifornia Theatre was heralded as the“Cathedral of the Motion Picture” whenit opened in 1927. This grand SpanishColonial Revival style building is listedon the local Register of HistoricalResources.

Also in Downtown is the 1911 StarBuilders Supply Company Building, a

city of San Diego landmark. In 1996,the building’s owner, the county of SanDiego, spent $1 million taxpayer dol-lars on a fine restoration of this digni-fied concrete building designed in theEdwardian Commercial style. It standsalone, one of the last sentinels of anearly 20th-century warehouse andindustrial district near San Diego Bay.But now county officials would ratherhave a parking lot instead of a landmarkbuilding. SOHO recently won a lawsuitagainst the county for attempted illegaldemolition of the Star Builders ware-house, but the county has given noguarantee they won’t try to get around

July 2013 | sdnorthparknews.com | 13

SEE PRESERVATION, Page 14

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park 1927 California Theater 1911 Star Builders Supply Company Building

Rancho Guejito

14 | sdnorthparknews.com | July 2013

COMING IN AUGUSTWomen have practiced landscape architecture for over a century, sincethe founding of the profession in the U.S. in the 1890s. And we havesome of the best in our own backyard. Vicki Estrada, Kathleen Garciaand Robin Shifflet have been designing some of the best landscapes inthe San Diego area, including many features at Balboa Park. Read about them next month.

the process to remove the building.

Near Escondido, the breathtakingly pristine, 22,000-acreRancho Guejito is the last, most intact example in San DiegoCounty of an original Mexican land grant, and it’s underconstant threat of major development, as many as 10,000new homes, if the owner gets their wish to develop the land.This vast ranch includes an early California adobe house ina setting little changed from when its sun-baked bricks firstformed the walls, along with adobe ruins and numerousNative American heritage sites and other historic and natu-ral resources.

The oldest house in Carlsbad, the Marrón Adobe is also inthe path of relentless development. Even though members ofthe Marrón family still own and live in the house and despiteserious objections voiced by Native Americans, environmen-talists, wildlife experts and preservationists, the CorkyMcMillin Co. plans to build a massive housing tract on thearea’s last piece of unspoiled open land, which brushes upagainst the historic site. McMillin cited the need for profit astheir reason for building over 500 homes versus the commu-nity’s consensus for 260 homes. If legal actions being takenby the Preserve Calavera group are not successful, this unnec-essary project will decimate the natural and cultural landscapesurrounding this important landmark and block historicviews of the Marrón property and forever irreparably impactthe neighborhood.

The La Jolla Post Office Building has been a focal point andneighborly crossroads for several generations living in the“village.” The attractive Spanish Colonial Revival building,built by the Federal Works Progress Administration duringthe Great Depression, also contains an art treasure in itslobby, a stunning mural of La Jolla Cove painted in 1939 byone of San Diego’s most accomplished, early 20th centurywomen artists, Belle Baranceanu. The post office is now apotential casualty of U.S. Postal Service downsizing. So far,widespread community opposition has stalled the process ofclosing and selling the building, but its future remains precar-ious.

In University Heights, the 1910 Teachers Training Annex #1

is listed on the National Register and stands out as a promi-nent, distinctive landmark. It’s the last remaining buildingfrom the 1897 San Diego State Normal School campus, theforerunner of San Diego State University. The San DiegoUnified School District, which now owns the building, haswillfully allowed this superb Italian Renaissance Revival-stylebeauty to deteriorate visibly for years, despite concerted com-munity-based proposals for its preservation and adaptivereuse. For now, the building is being misused for recordsstorage, when it could be a handsome neighborhood library,foreign language school, or art studios, or any number ofother ideas that have been put forward.

The 1887 Villa Montezuma is a high-profile example of thecity of San Diego’s continuing neglect of its historic resources.City officials have ignored SOHO’s willingness to operatethis beloved Victorian and return it to active use for the com-munity and visitors. One of the state’s finest ornate, QueenAnne-style homes, with its important lessons of the city’shistory to tell, remains empty and vulnerable to weather andvandalism. A house this intricate requires specific profes-sional oversight. Recently, funds were acquired to do somework, but SOHO has yet to see the plans, or know the scopeof work. SOHO should be involved with this significant city-owned landmark as much as possible, as the region’s preser-vation organization who fortuitously count among theirboard, staff, and membership, the city’s leading experts onVictorian architecture, the city should be welcoming SOHO’sparticipation.

The last of the sites remaining on the 2013 Most Endan-gered List from previous years is also the focus of SOHO’slongest running battle. The 1894 Red Roost and Red RestBungalows, which stand on a hillside overlooking La JollaCove, are emblematic California-style redwood, single-wallconstruction cottages. They were built when La Jolla was justbeginning to court tourists and was attracting art colonies.For more than a quarter of a century, SOHO has advocatedfor the preservation of these simple cottages, through restora-tion and adaptive reuse. SOHO also has repeatedly urgedthe city of San Diego to enforce its own preservation laws,which require maintenance of designated landmarks suchas these. Still, the owners persist in letting the cottages dete-riorate, cloaked in huge tarps covering their leaky roofs.Nothing seems to deter the owners from their shameful andillegal process of “demolition by neglect.”

PRESERVATIONCONTINUED FROM Page 13

Marron Adobe La Jolla Post Office

1910 Teachers Training Annex #1

1894 Red Roost

Marron Adobe

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More than 20,000 rare and significant materials from BalboaPark museum collections are now freely available to the pub-lic to access anytime, anywhere via the Balboa Park Com-mons, a new online resource that waslaunched at www.balboaparkcom-mons.org.Developed by the Balboa ParkOnline Collaborative (BPOC), theCommons offers unprecedentedaccess to digitized photos and arti-facts from Mingei InternationalMuseum, Museum of PhotographicArts, San Diego Air & Space Muse-um, San Diego Museum of Man, SanDiego Natural History Museum, TheSan Diego Museum of Art andTimken Museum of Art.“This is the first time you can look atthe collections across the museumsand make relationships that havenever been made before,” said Christina DePaolo, BPOC’sdirector of digital media. “The interdisciplinary aspect is what’sreally exciting. Commons visitors can get images related to art,history, and science at once, which opens up new ways oflearning about topics.”BPOC began the project in 2010 with support from the LeglerBenbough Foundation and the U.S. Institute of Museum andLibrary Services. Having already digitized more than 100,000museum objects, BPOC and partner museums aimed toexpand public access by creating a web-based resource for stu-dents, teachers, scholars, and the general public to access.“Teachers told us they wanted to take images from the collec-tions and use them in the classroom, tailored to what they’reteaching. We created a feature to allow teachers to select anddownload image files for use in the classroom however theywish,” DePaolo said.A Creative Commons Non-Commercial license applies to allof the collections included in the Commons. This means thatthe materials can be downloaded and used for non-commer-cial educational purposes such as teaching, scholarship,research, criticism, and news reporting.Joaquin Ortiz, interim director of education and public pro-

grams at the Museum of Photographic Arts, emphasized theimportance of opening public access to the museum’s collec-tions:“The Balboa Park Commons is a powerful tool that allows usto share the images from MOPA’s collection to a much greateraudience of educators and enthusiasts. The Commons allowsus to reach out to new people and get them interested in whatwe do,” said Ortiz, who also serves as a BPOC board member.During the next few months, the project team will refine theCommons using feedback received from users during this betalaunch period. BPOC will also expand the Commons throughpartnerships with other San Diego cultural institutions. Thenext collection to be added will be an archive of historical Bal-boa Park images and documents from The Committee of OneHundred, an organization that works to preserve Balboa Park’shistoric architecture, gardens, and public spaces.While many Balboa Park organizations have materials ofnational and international importance, the Commons empha-sizes collections that have historical or cultural connections tothe greater San Diego region.

Key Features Encourage ExplorationThe Balboa Park Commons makes it fun for visitors to searchand browse museum collections. Using the keyword search, vis-itors can find materials from multiple museums at one time.For example, a search for “horse” brings up 19th century pho-tographs of horses from the Museum of Photographic Artsalongside digitized images of carousel horses from the MingeiInternational Museum.By browsing sets of images that the museums’ staff have cre-ated, Commons visitors can discover curated, thematic groupsof images, e.g., “Asian Art.”Visitors can create and share their own sets. Sets of up to 12images can be saved, shared via social media, and download-ed as PDF files or Powerpoint presentations.Through the Commons API (applications programming inter-face), web developers can create different ways to interact withthe materials. BPOC is also exploring partnerships with large,national online library initiatives to give greater exposure to themuseums’ collections.

Rare Museum Collections Now Free to Access OnlineCommons visitors can get images related to art, history and science at once

From the Museum of Photographic Arts: portrait ofVictor Hugo. Etienne Carjat.

From the Mingei International Museum: Dale Chihuly, ‘Enlighten-ment.’

From the Timkin Museum of Art: Peter Paul Rubens’ ‘Portraint of aYoung Man in Armor.’

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Believe or not, Dr. Seuss (a.k.a. Theodor Geisel) began creating fanciful mixed-media sculptures, using realhorns, antlers and beaks from deceased animals, before he ever wrote any of his best-selling children’s books.Examples of these are now on display inside the San Diego Air & Space Museum’s blockbuster exhibition“Ripley’s Believe It or Not.” Also joining Ripley’s this month are displays on Wadlow, the tallest man to everlive, and Lawn Chair Larry, who ascended 16,000 feet by attaching balloons to his lawn chair.

The Sensual Sculpture of Donal HordSan Diego History Center is the recipient

of eight sculptures created by celebratedartist Donal Hord (1902-1966). The artworkis a donation from the estate of local art col-lectors, Richard Dyson—who passed awayin January 2013—and his partner, RobertRoberson of La Mesa (1999). The two wereearly advocates of Donal Hord’s work andthe collection represents some of the sculp-tor’s most acclaimed privately-held workswhich the History Center is displayingthrough Sept. 20.

Donal Hord was considered one of themost preeminent American sculptors bymany in the national and local art commu-nity during the early to mid-20th century. Atthe time Hord was the only local artist tobecome a full academician of the NationalAcademy of Design and a Fellow of the

National Sculpture Society.Hord preferred Direct Carving, a process

which involves only the carver, the tools, andthe medium and shuns the use of workingfrom a drawing. The carver takes inspirationfrom the medium’s lines and angles, allowingthe material to dictate the form and repre-sents a return to the direct approach used inprimitive art. Hord worked mainly with hardmaterials like jade, onyx, and granite in stoneand rosewood, mahogany, and lignum vitaein woods.

Hord’s public art can be seen today at Bal-boa Park’s House of Hospitality, in front ofthe entrance to the Prado restaurant, at theCounty Administration Building, the cur-rent San Diego County Library, San DiegoState University, and in Seaport Village.

The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss Added to Ripley’s Exhibition

The Balboa Park Trust, a family of endowment funds managed by The San Diego Foundation, commemo-rated the completion of the irrigation system at the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden at a June 19event. The Lilyan B. Frank Memorial Rose Garden Endowment Fund provided more than $101,000 to pre-serve and protect the Rose Garden and Japanese Friendship Garden. The Balboa Park Trust, which has pro-vided more than $1.7 million for the preservation, maintenance, and beautification of Balboa Park, was estab-lished 28 years ago with a donation from Florence Christman, who entrusted The San Diego Foundation tocarry out her wishes. “Mrs. Christman’s service with the San Diego Historical Society inspired in her a greatinterest in Balboa Park,” said Bob Kelly, president and CEO of The San Diego Foundation. “Wanting to pre-serve the park’s beauty and splendor, she donated her house to the city, specifying that the proceeds go to afund for the beautification of Balboa Park. That was the first step in what would become the Balboa Park Trustof The San Diego Foundation.”

June Ceremony Commemorates RoseGarden Irrigation System Completion

Balboa Park Conservancy and BalboaPark Central Talk MergerThe Balboa Park Conservancy and Balboa Park Central, two nonprofit organizations working on behalfof the city-owned park, are working toward a merger sometime next year. The Conservancy, formed in2010, is primarily responsible for raising funds for capital projects and park maintenance. Balboa Park Cen-tral provides services to visitors and park institutions and operates the visitors center in the park. “Theongoing working relationship between the Conservancy and Balboa Park Central revealed a naturalalignment between our organizations in regards to caring about the whole of the Park and the quality ofthe visitor experience,” said Carol Chang, the Balboa Park Conservancy’s board president. “It became read-ily apparent that combining our organizations would not only greatly benefit one another, but the futureof the Park as well.”

Donal Hood carving Angel of Peace.

Step back into the psychedelic ’60s with the San DiegoGay Men’s Chorus as they present “Feelin’ Groovy—Songs of the ‘60s,” the greatest hits of that free-spiritedyet socially charged decade. Tickets are now on sale atwww.sdgmc.org for the July 27 and 28 shows at theBirch North Park Theatre.“This concert is jam-packed with amazing ’60s music,”said Artistic Director Gary Holt. “We’ll be singing, danc-ing and yes —groovin’— to Motown soul, the Califor-nia hippie scene, the British Invasion and everything inbetween.” Feelin’ Groovy showcases music that defined not just ageneration, but represented a cosmic shift in Americanculture and civil rights. Songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind,”“The Sound of Silence,” “The Age of Aquarius” and “Letthe Sunshine In” symbolize the combined influence offolk music, the California “flower power” scene andsongs of political protest. Yet, the ’60s wasn’t all serious. The Feelin’ Groovy showpromises the high-energy, upbeat music audiences havecome to love like “Dancing in the Street,” “Twist andShout,” “Spinning Wheel,” “Stop! In the Name of Love”

and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Also featured will be anappearance by the ensemble group “The Mood Swings”with their precision harmonies, dancing and occasion-al frivolity as they present a lively look at “The ’60s onTV” including TV commercials and theme songs. Feelin’ Groovy is directed and choreographed by JoeyLandwehr, the award-winning artistic director of SanDiego’s J*Company Youth Theatre. He joins Holt fortheir eleventh collaborative production.The opening night show is Saturday, July 27 at 8 p.m. fol-lowed by two shows on Sunday, July 28 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.Tickets are $25 to $40 and may be purchased atwww.sdgmc.org or by calling (877) 296-7664. A $5 dis-count is available for seniors, students, military andgroups of 10 or more. The theater is located at 2891 Uni-versity Ave. The San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus is one of the largestand oldest choruses of its type in the world, havingentertained audiences for 28 years. Its 150 membersembrace a mission of creating a positive musical expe-rience through exciting performances.

San Diego’s Gay Men’s ChorusRocks to Songs of the ’60s

Performances July 27-28 at the BirchNorth Park Theatre

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Rendering of the USO building.

By Bart Mendoza

A Rare Appearance by Ian McClaganA lynch pin of ’60s and ’70s, British rock ‘n’ roll piano player, IanMcClagan, appears at AMSD Concerts on July 20, 7:30 p.m. Amember of legendary 1960s UK mod band, The Small Faces of“Itchycoo Park,” he went on to later fame as a key part of the Facesand such classic rockers as “Stay With Me,” before joining up withthe Rolling Stones. Currently a member of Billy Bragg’s band, hecan also be heard through session work for everyone from BruceSpringsteen to Chuck Berry. If you’re a fan of music history, thisshow is an absolute must, but fans of superb piano playing willalso be thrilled by this rare appearance.

Ian McClagan: Saturday July 20 at AMSD Concerts, 4650 Mansfield St. 7:30 p.m. All ages. $20 - $47. www.amsdconcerts.com.

Boisterous Fun With Ugly BoogieSan Diego may not seem like a hotbed of bluegrass activity, but fromthe Scottsville Squirrel Barkers, with future Byrd Chris Hillman in the1960s, to Alison Brown in the 1980s and Nickel Creek in the 1990s, thearea has made major contributions to bluegrass music. Now comes thelatest in that lineage, Ugly Boogie, who perform at the Soda Bar on July11, 9 p.m. Theirs is an updated take on their Americana sound, some-thing akin to what the Pogues did to traditional Celtic music. Live iswhere they excel , but regardless, the music of Ugly Boogie’s, as featuredon their new album, “Train of the Damned,” is a lot of boisterous fun.

Ugly Boogie: Thursday, July 11, at The Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd. 8:30 p.m. 21 and up. $5. www.sodabarmusic.com.

Take Your Lumps Fans of punk rock will want to check out the Lumps,who perform at the Tower Bar on July 13, 9 p.m. Loud,brash and in your face, the trio is the perfect soundtrack for this venue, one of the best dive bars in SanDiego. Featuring the voice and bass guitar playing ofMelissa LaFara, the band’s song titles, such as “Home-work From Hell” and “I Don’t Wanna Be You Friend,”tell the tale: This is basic rock and roll, high on energy,volume and youth. While the sound itself isn’t partic-ularly new, in the Lumps passionate hands, punk rockis still something that thrills and gets the adrenalinpumping.

The Lumps: Saturday, July 13 at The Tower Bar, 4746 El Cajon Blvd. 9 p.m. 21 and up. Cover TBD. www.thetowerbar.com

Supurb Songs from Crooner JeffBerkleyWhat would San Diego’s music scene be like without JeffBerkley? A lot less interesting, that’s for sure. Over the pastseveral decades, Berkley has emerged as one of the top acous-tic musicians in town, as well as one of the top producers andoccasional concert promoter. Perhaps best known musical-ly as one half of the duo Berkley Hart, his studio workincludes albums for such artists as Gregory Page, Tim Flan-nery and Barbara Nesbitt. Best of all, he writes superb songstopped with a rich, smooth voice that makes you believeevery word he croons. Ubiquitous in the local music commu-nity, it’s easy to take a guy like Berkley for granted, but he’sin fact one of the town’s unsung heroes, providing the townwith great new music and aspiring artists with a helpinghand.

Jeff Berkley: Wednesday, July 10, at Rebecca’s Coffeehouse, 3015 Juniper St. 7 p.m.All ages. No cover. www.rebeccascoffeehouse.com

Heartfelt Tunes From Singer-Songwriter Tolan ShawOne of the best singer-songwriters in town, Tolan Shaw, will host a CD release show for his self-titled debut at Lestat’sCoffeehouse on July 12, 9 p.m. Local rock fans may know him from a stint with indie group the New Archaic, winners

of the “Best New Artist” category in the 2009 San Diego Music Awards. Now a solo performer, he’s more recentlytaken the first place trophy home from the San Diego County Fair’s Singer-Songwriter contest in both 2011 and 2013.

With a fistful of terrific songs, movie star looks and wonderful stage presence, it’s clear that Shaw is poised for anational breakthrough, it’s just a matter of time. More than just a guy with a guitar, Shaw’s heartfelt tunes should be

the envy of other local tunesmiths, he’s that good.

Tolan Shaw: Friday July 12 at Lestats, 3343 Adams Ave. 9 p.m.

All ages. Cover TBD. www.Lestats.com

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