A18
OCT. 7, 2011
RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
Top pros bestow high praise upon young up-and-comer By Wehtahnah Tucker
Skateboarding, like most sports, has its own crop of coming of age stories. One local skater, Mitchie Brusco, 14, is making the transition from phenom, pint-size skater to full-blown athlete and competitor. The evolution of the sport is mirrored in Brusco’s career thus far. Despite his amateur status, Brusco’s peers include the most well known figures in skateboarding. Bucky Lasek, 39, started skating when he was 12. He turned pro in 1990 and has been a consistent presence on the winner’s platform at numerous competitions over the decades. Lasek, a local resident, has known Brusco since he was 7 years old. “He’s a pleasure to be around and I enjoy watching him skate,” Lasek said. The two often skate together during demos and competitions and practices. “He’s always learned tricks pretty quickly,” Lasek said.
ON THE RISE Mitchie Brusco and his brother Mikey (far left) hang out with Tony Hawk and his brother Steve. Courtesy photo
“He’s always been pretty consistent.” Lasek has observed Brusco’s growth as both a skater and as a person over the years. “Now he’s going bigger and higher and skating with more power,” he said. “He’s one of the most gifted skaters; he’s got the natural
charisma about him.” His personality has helped him weather the barrage of attention over the last year. In December of last year, Tony Hawk chose Brusco to join a crew of big named skaters for an exhibition tour of Australia. “He got out of his com-
fort zone and with that much of a crowd, I think it got him set up for what was to come,” Hawk said. “The next year he just blew up.” The two met on the set of a Disney show when Brusco was just 8 years old. “I had heard his name before but hadn’t seen him skate,” Hawk said. “I’ve watched him progress and evolve at a rapid pace. He’s not just good for his age anymore, he’s just plain good.” Brusco said the opportunity to travel and skate at such a high level was lifealtering. “It’s amazing, there’s really no other way to explain it,” he said. Both Hawk and Lasek understand what it’s like to hit growth spurts in longtime skateboarding careers and the potential pitfalls that come with exposure at an early age. However, both are confident that Brusco will succeed. “He’s pure, wholesome and humble,” Lasek said in describing Brusco’s personal-
ity. “He’s such a good kid and he’s so talented.” “So much has been offered to him at such an early age but he’s got a really solid foundation,” Hawk said. “He’s going to only get better and make a career for himself.” Much of Brusco’s foundation is rooted in his strong familial support. “He’s got nice parents who have raised him properly,” Lasek said. Brusco thrives on the new experiences skateboarding brings that he shares with his family. “The biggest change is the places I’m going,” he said. “The amount of travel we have now with my mom and the family.” Brusco and his mother, Jen, recently traveled to Brazil for a whirlwind skateboarding odyssey. “ I enjoyed the food and scenery but mostly the people,” he said. “They’re so passionate.” No matter what trick Brusco performed the crowd cheered. “It’s cool when all of those people are yelling for
you and supporting you,” he said. Brusco recently surpassed a milestone set by Hawk as he landed the 900one of only six people to do so. “It’s not really a surprise that he did it,” Hawk said. “But I think the shocking part is the sense of ease he had it when he did it. Anyone else that’s done it, it was a monumental event, but it was more of an afterthought to him.” “He’s the real deal. He’s focused and he knows what he wants; he reaches his goals and then some,” Lasek said. Brusco has no plans to relax into his current level of success. “I just want to keep skating. I don’t ever want to stop for as long as I possibly can,” he said. As for future plans beyond skating Brusco is ambivalent. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” he said.
Heavy machinery clears the way for final lagoon clearing By Bianca Kaplanek
Contractors restoring the San Dieguito Wetlands opened the river inlet for the last time Sept. 29, reconnecting the lagoon to the ocean and marking the near completion of a 15-year project. About 100 people, including residents, city officials, project representatives and passers-by, gathered at 5 p.m. on Dog Beach to watch as heavy equipment cleared sand from a dam that has isolated the wetlands from the ocean for the past three weeks. “This is the last time we’ll do this,” Kelly Sarber, media director for the project, said. “Then we turn it over to Mother Nature.” The $86 million restoration project is funded and managed by Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric to offset negative impacts to ocean ecosystems caused by the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Since construction began in fall 2006, the inlet has been cleared at least twice because of the natural build up of sand. This time workers constructed the barrier so the restoration team could move the river channel 150 feet north. The clearing will allow about 80 million gallons of water to fill the river during each high tide, Sarber said.
Approximately 40,000 cubic yards of sand have been used for beach replenishment in Del Mar. As part of this final phase of the project, which ultimately will restore more than 150 acres of natural preserve in the San Dieguito River Valley, rock will be added to armor the riverbank east of Jimmy Durante Bridge. The project team must return indefinitely to dredge a sand trap built under water to ensure the inlet doesn’t clog. “We’ll continue to monitor the hole in perpetuity and clear it as it fills with sand,” said David Kay, Southern California Edison manager of environmental projects. “That could happen anywhere from 18 months to three years. It BIRD’S EYE VIEW Eighteendepends on nature.” month-old Alex Foley watches from Onlookers watch as heavy equipment clears the final pile of sand to reconnect the San Dieguito Lagoon to dad Kevin’s shoulders.
the ocean. Photos by Bianca Kaplanek
Del Mar City Councilman Carl Hilliard, left, chats with said David Kay, Southern California Edison manager of environmental projects, about Heavy equipment removes a man-made dam on Dog Beach Sept. 29, reconnecting the San Dieguito Lagoon to the ocean as the final phase of the San Dieguito Wetlands restoration project. the San Dieguito Wetlands restoration project.
Construction is underway on a $13.3 million child development center By Promise Yee
Construction is underway on a $13.3 million child development center that will soon serve 250 Camp Pendleton infants, toddlers and school age kids. San Raphael Child Development Center is being built on the south end of Camp Pendleton near the Main Gate. Construction began in January and is expected to be completed by February 2012. When completed San
Raphael Child Development Center will be a 25,000 squarefoot school with 18 classrooms, a 1,100 square-foot kitchen, lobby and administrative offices. Classrooms and offices will open into a central 500 square-foot piazza and atelier. The piazza and atelier provide a multipurpose room and artists studio for children to practice self-expression. “Children are allowed and encouraged to express themselves with art, easels,
tables and display areas,” John Pyjar, principal-in-charge for domusstudio architecture, said. “Interaction between children, sense of community and parental involvement are encouraged in the piazza.” The child development center will be built with environmental friendly recycled tile, carpet and wall finishes, solar panels and low water landscaping. The playground will have natural vegetation, artificial
turf and playground equipment made from recycled materials. There will also be shade structures and nature pathways that will allow children to connection to the environment and explore nature. The design of the child development center supports the Reggio Emilia Approach that will be used for instruction. The Reggio Emilia teaching method focuses on the principals of child self-mastery, responsibility and discov-
ery through teacher reinforcement. “The layout of the school’s administration and classroom buildings is designed to open into a central, secure gathering piazza,” Pyjar said. “The design and massing break down the large child development center building into smaller residential scale masses and forms to create spaces familiar and emotionally safe to the children while providing
rich and varied experiential spaces.” The new child development center will help serve the 45,000 Camp Pendleton families who live on and off base. Currently there are six child development centers on base. All child development centers located on Camp Pendleton are run by the Family Care department of Marine Corps Community Services.