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OCT. 3, 2014
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small talk jean gillette
You can’t do this with an email I know a lot of you like to take potshots at the greeting card companies. In the midst of any given holiday madness, I have searched for a handy scapegoat, myself. But truth be told, I am one of the reasons that the greeting card companies continue to thrive. I am a card junkie and have been since college. My devotion may well predate that, but my fondest card-giving memories came from my coed years. My best memory is of standing in the San Diego State University bookstore, howling with laughter. It had the absolute best selection of funny cards, back in the day. I really should drop by there one day soon and see if the tradition has held up. As I stood there giggling, I recognized a similar laugh on the other side of the card rack. It was my sorority sister and ever-since dear friend Stacey. We immediately began falling down in the aisles of card stores everywhere and swapping cards. We have probably invested our retirement in stamps doing that same thing ever since. Of course, Stacey isn’t my only card-swapping friend. Now that I think about it, I realize that all my closest friends are the ones who appreciate the same cards I do. It is something of an acid test of friendship and could really have helped me do a better job of selecting men to date back in my youth. It is probably the first stop you should make on your way to the wedding planner. Never mind the ring, cake or flowers. Take him to the card store. If your future spouse TURN TO SMALL TALK ON B16
The late Gary Taylor, journalist and club president in 1987 and 1992. Photo by Jim Pigeon
Rising from the ashes Standing in L’Auberge Del Mar’s outside restaurant area are Jim Watkins, left, and General Manager Mike Slosser. When Watkins built the inn 25 years ago, there was no ocean view from the lobby, a change Slosser made during a 2007 renovation. Photo by Bianca Kaplanek
L’Auberge turns 25 By Bianca Kaplanek
DEL MAR — Like the fine wines poured for its guests, L’Auberge Del Mar seems to get better with age, continuously attracting celebrity, local and international visitors. With the iconic ocean view resort celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, many still remember the efforts to rebuild the landmark inn nearly failed. The property on the corner of Camino del Mar and 15th Street was originally home to the Stratford Inn, built in 1909 for approximately $75,000. Its unique features included the two-story enclosed “plunge” with heated ocean water and the lobby’s brick fireplace inspired by Shakespeare. The Tudor-style hotel underwent a $250,000 remodel in 1925 and was renamed Hotel Del Mar a year later. Since its opening, the inn regularly attracted the wealthy and the famous. But that trend exploded in 1937 when Hollywood celebrities Bing Crosby and Pat O’Brien brought horse racing to the
nearby Del Mar Fairgrounds. A short list of those who frequented the hotel includes Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Mickey Rooney, Jimmy Durante, Jackie Cooper and Liberace. Like all good things, however, prosperity at Hotel Del Mar eventually came to an end. When the doors closed in 1963, the inn fell into disrepair and was eventually condemned by the city and torn down in 1969. The 5-acre lot remained vacant for 20 years. Resident Jim Watkins, a resort industry pioneer, had moved to Del Mar in 1967 and had thoughts of restoring the site to its original glamour. He first bought the property in the early 1970s, but traded it in a real estate deal with his partner, who ultimately lost it in bankruptcy. Watkins repurchased the land in 1986. “My dream was to build a great TURN TO L’AUBERGE ON B16
This is the sixth in a series of articles on the Swami’s Surfing Association, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. By Ian Thompson
Special to The Coast News Rising from the ashes of the anti establishment ‘70s, the Swami’s Surfing Association woke up to the new reality of the ‘80s. Surf goods were now being sold on main streets from Doheny to Dallas, Hollywood had started to invest in surf movies, and families out for a day at the beach were often seen negotiating their way to the sand sporting newly minted soft surfboards for dad and the kids. The leaders of the club returned older and wiser and brought with them a broader agenda. While the core focus would still be on hot surfing, contests and fun, they were also witnessing the pressure on local beaches from pollution, development, and trash. To help fight this deg-
radation, the club decided to pursue a core value of all surfers, clean beaches. Armed with plastic bags and a determination to do their part, club members would choose a weekend and descend on Swami’s to comb through the driftwood and dry seaweed plucking out trash left by beachgoers or brought in by the tide. This pride in the beach led to the club courting an unusual bedfellow in the form of the City of Encinitas. Puzzling to the TURN TO SWAMIS ON B16
Scripps reaches milestone with cancer treatment option By Aaron Burgin
ENCINITAS — Scripps Health reached a unique milestone in cancer treatment this month, as it completed its 100th treatment using a special type of radiation therapy that targets cancer cells with laser-type focus. And an Encinitas man is playing a major role in guiding the hospital’s efforts. Tim Collins is a corporate vice president at Scripps and oversees the Scripps Proton Therapy Center in Mira Mesa. He has called Encinitas home for eight years. Previously, while serving as the chief operating officer of Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas, Collins played an integral role in the hospital’s expansion plans, which
were realized earlier this year. The proton therapy center, which opened seven months ago, is one of 14 such locations in the nation, and one of three west of the Rocky Mountains. It provides a special type of radiation that kills cancer cells while preserving healthy surrounding tissue, as opposed to traditional radiation, which penetrates into both normal tissue and tumors and increases the risk of side effects and secondary tumors. Scripps officials said the center in its first seven months have treated a greater variety of cases Tim Collins, an Encinitas resident and a that it takes some centers as long corporate vice president at Scripps, over- as two years to be able to treat. sees the Scripps Proton Therapy Center Originally treating straightforin Mira Mesa. Photo courtesy Scripps Health ward cancers, such as prostate
cancer, the center has now treated patients with tumors in the lung, brain, spinal column, base of skull, head and neck, central nervous systems, pancreas, rectum, esophagus, breast, and testis, among others. Collins said the center gives the region’s patients — including those in Encinitas — to a higher level of care. “With proton therapy, Scripps Health now offers patients the complete spectrum of cancer treatment options in San Diego County, based on what is best for each individual situation,” Collins said. “I’m proud to live in a community where great medical care is being TURN TO TREATMENT ON B16