PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID RANCHO SANTA FE, CA PERMIT NO. 53
BOXHOLDER
RANCHO SFNEWS
.com MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 5, NO. 21
OCT. 9, 2009
THISWEEK Fashion GETTING PARKED & friends Local residents offer their feedback on what improvements to make at Village Park — and how much they 3 will cost
Leaders approve showcase for trees
■ Clothing,
friends and philanthropy at benefit show
By David Wiemers
compensation was not sufficient and the distance from downtown San Diego was too far to justify continued involvement with the project,” explained Welch. “Therefore, it was passed on to the talented associate Ms. Rice.” Rice’s interpretation of Spanish Revival architecture was artfully carried out through public, commercial and residential properties. “I have found real joy at Rancho Santa Fe,” she wrote. “Every environment here calls for simplicity and beauty: the gorgeous natural landscapes, the gently broken topography, the nearby mountains. No one with a sense of fitness, it seems to me, could violate these natural factors by creating anything that lacked simplicity in line
RANCHO SANTA FE — The Forest Health Task Force has been working diligently to find alternative trees for residents to plant to replace the many eucalyptus trees damaged and diseased by the red gum lerp psyllid. In this effort, the committee recommended that an arboretum be established that would showcase trees that are desirable alternatives.The committee felt the site needed to be convenient to community members, be large enough to accommodate at least 60 trees, and have a nearby water supply to provide irrigation for trees for the first 18 to 24 months after they are planted. On Oct. 1, the Association board of directors agreed with the Task Force’s recommendation and took action to provide such an arboretum. The new arboretum will be located near the intersection of San Elijo and Via de Fortuna, adjacent to the 14th hole of the golf course. Staff reviewed several locations and recommended this site, although other sites are also being considered. “Perhaps we can also plant some of these specimen trees in the new Village Parks we’re proposing,” Director Jack Queen said. Other directors agreed and President Bill Beckman also proposed that land be used at the Osuna Ranch, which could showcase trees and be a viable nursery where people could purchase trees. Director Kim Higgins, who serves as the liaison between the board and the Osuna Committee, will make these suggestions at the next Osuna meeting, scheduled for later this month. The board approved funding up to a maximum of $10,000 to purchase and install trees recommended by the Forest Health Task Force. Plants will be sufficiently watered and labeled for residents to easily identify the trees and their requirements. In other Association news, the board approved Chief Financial Officer Steve Comstock’s recommendation to keep the assessment rate for the fiscal year 2009-2010 to $.14 per $100 of property valuation. Despite the rollback in home prices, the San Diego County Assessor’s roll valued the Covenant properties at $4,165 billion, which represented a 1.81 percent increase over last year’s assessment value of
TURN TO BIOGRAPHY ON 21
TURN TO TREES ON 21
By Bianca Kaplanek
TRIPPING OUT
Two court bailiffs set off on a 1,000-mile kayaking expedition that will take them to Cabo San Lucas and raise funds to 8 help fight cancer
INSIDE
ONE SECTION, 32 PAGES
Business Directory . . . . 29 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Coupons . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Eye on the Coast . . . . . . . 4 Healthy Living . . . . . . . . 19 Hit the Road . . . . . . . . . 10 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Lick the Plate . . . . . . . . . 24 Machel’s Ranch . . . . . . . 14 Odd Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Outside Perspective . . . . 4 Pet of the Week . . . . . . . 20 Small Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Sold Homes . . . . . . . . . . 14 Taste of Wine . . . . . . . . . 11 Who’s News? . . . . . . . . . 12
HOW TO REACH US (760) 436-9737 CALENDARS SECTION: calendar@ranchosfnews.com COMMUNITY NEWS: community@ranchosfnews.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: letters@ranchosfnews.com ADVERTISING: advertising@ranchosfnews.com
FREE CLASSIFIED ADS Sell your car at any price, or any one item $150 or less for free! Go online to www.coastnewsgroup.com or call our free ad hot line at (760) 436-1070. Deadline is Monday at 4 p.m.
RANCHO SANTA FE — The weather was hot, but the outfits on the runway were hotter when The Country Friends once again fused philanthropy and fashion for the 2009 Art of Fashion fundraiser Sept. 24 at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. The 54th annual event will benefit Voices for Children, a nonprofit agency that promotes the rights of foster children in the courtroom, school and community through the use of courtappointed special advocates. These trained staff members and volunteers
FASHION MEETS FUN Poway resident Tina Howe and Connie Stevenson from Cardiff-by-the-Sea enjoy the Art of Fashion fundraiser show from their seats at the end of the runway during the event Sept. 24. See more photos on Page 30. Photo by Bianca Kaplanek
support youngsters who are dependents of the county’s juvenile court. For the fifth consecutive year, South Coast Plaza sponsored the fashion show, which featured designers such as Donna Karan, Emilio Pucci, Marni and Michael
Kors. For the first time, men’s fashions were included in the runway show. KUSI’s Sandra Maas served as the mistress of ceremonies for the event, which is considered one of the largest outdoor fashion shows in the country. The
day began with luncheon on the lawn, was followed by the fashion show and concluded with an “après affaire” wine tasting and boutique shopping featuring clothing and accessories TURN TO FASHION ON 30
Famous female architect finally gets a biography By Lillian Cox
Editor’s note: This is the final of two installments about Diane Y. Welch’s book about Lilian Rice. RANCHO SANTA FE — The year 1910 heralded the debut of the song,“Let Me Call You Sweetheart” and the invention of the rubber girdle which liberated women from the corset. It would be another 10 years before women would finally get the right to vote. That spring, 21-year-old Lilian J. Rice returned to her home in National City after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in architecture. Her yearbook described her as, “the very model of serious young womanhood fulfilling the promise of education and professional status so long denied her sex.” Rice would go on to become a defining figure in San Diego, architectural and women’s history. Her authorized biography titled “Lilian J. Rice: Architect of Rancho Santa Fe, California” written by Diane Y. Welch will be published spring 2010 to celebrate her graduation centennial from Berkeley. Welch worked on the book for three years. “Rice’s story is still shrouded in mystery because so little has been written about her; no diaries or journals or letters,” she said. Instead, Welch relied on newspaper and research archives as well as oral histories from sources that
HARD-WORKING WOMEN In 1923, a truckers strike would have halted construction of Rancho Santa Fe had it not been for the willingness of women, working in more comfortable jobs on the property, to get behind the wheel of a truck and begin moving building materials. From left, Bertha Kreuziger (secretary, Santa Fe Irrigation District), Lilian J. Rice (architect), Virginia Smith (hostess, the Guest House which later became known as La Morada, then The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe) and standing, Floris McLean (secretary, project manager Leone G. Sinnard). Photo courtesy of Bob McKenna
included Miriam Sellgren, Rice’s step grandniece. Rice spent the summer after graduation competing at the ZLAC (Women’s) Rowing Club in Pacific Beach and caring for her invalid mother, Laura, an artist who painted miniature landscapes in oils. The two often traveled to the San Jacinto and Warner Hot Springs. In the fall, Rice returned to Berkeley for the school year to earn a teaching certificate to supplement her work as architect. She was influenced by her father, Julius A. Rice, who worked as a school administrator during bad economic times and as a real estate sales agent and developer during better times with son, Jack. Afterward Rice came home to National City where she taught math for several
years while working as a draftsperson. She also received rave reviews as a theater actress. In 1921, she was teaching descriptive geometry at San Diego State Teacher’s College when she was recruited by celebrated architect Richard Requa to join his firm as a parttime associate. Requa & Jackson had been contracted by the Santa Fe Land Improvement Company, an arm of the Atchison,Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, to build a masterplanned community that would ultimately become known as Rancho Santa Fe.The following year, Requa turned the project over to Rice. “An oral history by Samuel Hamill who also worked for Requa told historian Harriet Rocklin that the