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JUNE 21, 2013
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JEAN GILLETTE Small Talk
This is what gets my summer started My goddaughter is in Turkey for six months. The very first thing she missed is the vast selection of fresh, locally grown food that surrounds us here in California. I remember my shock upon moving to New York, after growing up with Fuerte avocado trees right outside my door. I truly missed my guacamole. I try my best to be a locavore and take advantage of our amazing growalmost-anything-yearround location but I only recently have managed to visit the area Farmer’s Markets. I’m afraid my very first experience almost put me off. First, I had to drive through weekend traffic for 15 minutes to get there. Upon arrival, it was like somebody had kicked an anthill. I do not do well with small roads, lots of cars and no parking. After hunting for a parking place amid cars and pedestrians, I almost came to blows with a cranky parking lot attendant. Then I had to hike 100 yards up the road to get the to market. It was bustling and filled with lovely things, but then I had to hike 100 yards back with full bags to my car. I absolutely jumped for joy at hearing that a new farmer’s market was opening just around the corner at my children’s
United States Postal Service Headquarters approves a study Tuesday on the feasibility of closing the Leucadia Post Office. There is no timetable for when the study will begin or how long it will take. Photo by Tony Cagala
Cutting the ceremonial ribbon are, from left, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Anthony Cisneros, Thomas Hurt, Brig. Gen. Vincent Coglianese, Mary Ann Blair, Robert Clelland, Ronald Blair and Kelly Hedges. Photos by Bianca Kaplanek
Marines dedicate cottages By Bianca Kaplanek
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CAMP PENDLETON — The first five handicappedfriendly cottages available to active duty and retired military personnel were dedicated June 18 at San Onofre Beach on Camp Pendleton. Another two dozen units are expected to be put in place. Rental rates have not yet been set but officials hope to allow the first few tenants to use the oceanfront cottages at no charge. The Pendleton Cottages Restoration Project is a communitybased effort established to replace 24 existing cottages that served a recreational need for current and retired military personnel and their families. The new twobedroom units were built with a focus on the special needs of wounded warriors. The old “cottages” were 30-year-old trailers, mostly with only one bedroom, that were crumbling and without handicapped accessibility.
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Saints Constantine and Helen Academy Learn and Grow with Us
Lic #376700976
Robert Clelland, right, points out the handicapped-accessible features of the kitchen.
The San Diego Nice Guys Victory Fund acted as the not-for-profit fiscal agent for the project, with Hedges Construction as the sponsor, said Dino Richardson, general sales manager for Pendleton
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SAT., JUNE 29 • 1 - 3 pm PRESCHOOLERS AGES 3-5 Christian Orthodox Education
• Low student to teacher ratio for individualized attention • Loving, caring, nurturing environment • Morning, afternoon and all day classes Call for a tour or more information 760-942-0920 3459 Manchester Ave., Cardiff-by-the-Sea
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Marketing. Each cottage costs approximately $90,000, including furnishings. They are built to last, using metal roofs, composite siding and TURN TO COTTAGES ON B14
Postal Service will study Leucadia site for possible closure By Tony Cagala
ENCINITAS — The Post Office at 1160 N. Coast Highway 101 is once again going to be studied by the United States Postal Service to determine the feasibility of its closure. The USPS’s CIC (Capital Investment Committee) made the recommendation for the study to Postal Service Headquarters, and was approved Tuesday, according to Eva Jackson, a spokesperson for the USPS. Any timetable for when the study would begin is yet to be determined. In May 2009, the mail facility was put on a list for possible consolidation, though that study was placed on a backburner at the time because other projects took precedence, Jackson said. The study will look at the amount of people using the facility and whether another location nearby, such as the Post Office on Garden View Road, could absorb that
workload if the location did close. The study will also look at the cost of continuing to lease the space. The Leucadia Post Office has been at the current site since October 1956, when the USPS signed their lease, according to Jackson. The current lease is set to expire Sept. 20. The reason for the possible closure isn’t related to government sequestration. Even though the Postal Service is part of the federal government, they don’t receive taxpayer dollars, Jackson said. According to financial numbers the USPS released in May, the mail service ended the second quarter of its 2013 fiscal year (Jan.1 to March 31) with a net loss of $1.9 billion. Some of that is attributed to the drop in first class mail being sent. “First class mail has dropped 25 percent since 2006,” Jackson said. “We run our business off of people mailing things, and TURN TO POST OFFICE ON B14