Poway High’s ‘Hello Dolly’ opens Friday
Poway actor in Morrison adaptation
Gallagher an emerging soccer star
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Celebrating
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2013
50 cents
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VOL. 58, ISSUE 35
Ridgeline reviews on council agenda
POWAY DIGEST Student Art Exhibit
The 22nd annual Student Art Exhibit, sponsored by the Poway Woman’s Club, will be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2 and Sunday, Feb. 3 in Templar’s Hall, Old Poway Park, 14134 Midland Road, with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday.
BY STEVE DREYER
Chamber Mixer
14023 Midland Road Poway, CA 92064
or Current Resident
Presorted Standard US Postage PAID San Diego CA Permit No. 2551
Sportsplex USA, 12349 McIvers Cour t, Poway, hosts the Poway Chamber Mixer 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31. The networking event is open to the public. Dress is business casual. Admission is free to chamber members who pre-register online at www. poway.com. Member admission is $10 at the door. Non-member admission is $25.
Valley Elementary School kindergartners Maritza Valle Ramirez, Amanda Flores and Shara O’Donnell work on a Spanish-language worksheet. Ninety percent of their class time is spent entirely in Spanish. Photo by Emily Sorensen
City Council members on Tuesday night are scheduled to debate, and perhaps decide, whether the council should continue to have the final word on the design of homes overlooking the city from hillside ridgelines. Deputy Mayor John Mullin is proposing that the council go back to a pre-1985 policy that leaves the review and final approval of such applications at the staff level. Doing so, he said, would not change any of the design requirements but would save the applicant both money and time. There have been 19 such council-level reviews in the past seven years, including six last year, according to Bob Manis, the city’s director of development services. In each case, the staff’s recommendation for approval was routinely approved by the council. The council was scheduled to discuss Mullin’s suggestion at the Jan. 15 meeting, but the matter was delayed See COUNCIL, Page A8
Valley’s dual language program thrives WHAT’S YOUR (LOVE) STORY? BY EMILY SORENSEN Now in its 11th year, the dual language program at Valley Elementary School is going strong. The program, which begins kindergartners in a nearly entirely Spanish language classroom, gradually works up through the grades until fifth, when classes are held half in English and half in Spanish, with the goal of students being entirely fluent in both languages when they move on to middle school. Since beginning in the 2001-2002 school year, the program has gone on to not only see enrollment and participation swell, but has been able to see the fruits of its labor, as
the first participants are now in high school. “The program’s first first-graders are now seniors,” said principal Andy Johnsen. Johnsen said the program has paid off, with the original participants getting a definite boost to their language skills. “The students were too skilled for Spanish 1-2, and had to be skipped to 5-6 or higher,” said Johnsen. “It’s nice validation for the work we do.” Beginning with 60 students, Valley now has 420 students in the dual language program, nearly 60 percent of the student population. Valley also draws from 19 schools in the district, with parents transferring their students to Valley to participate in the program, which See LANGUAGE, Page A8
O
ur annual “Love Stories” feature will appear in the Thursday, Feb. 14 issue. This is when we ask our readers to share their stories, and photos, of how they met the love of their lives. The rules are simple: keep the story under 300 words and write in the first-person style. We would like two high-resolution photos for each story; one of the two of you when you met (scanned photos are fine) and one showing how you look now. Entries can be emailed to editor@ pomeradonews.com and photos should be sent as jpg attachments. Entries and photos may also be mailed to Love Stories, 14023 Midland Road, Poway, CA 92064. The deadline is Friday, Feb. 8.
PAM REIFEISS JOINS OAKWOOD ESCROW Pam Reifeiss Escrow Officer/Branch Manager Ph: (858) 217-5264 Fax: (858) 412-1577 PamR@oakwoodescrow.com
Escrow officers Kitty Toft, Maureen Healy and Shelley Wells welcome her to the team.
Shelley Wells 858-217-5241 Swells@oakwoodescrow.com Kitty Toft 858-217-5251 ktoft@oakwoodescrow.com
“IT’S NOT A NEW WAY, IT’S JUST CALLED YOUR WAY” 16855 West Benardo Drive Suite #300 San Diego, CA 92127 www.oakwoodescrow.com
Maureen Healy 858-217-5253 mhealy@oakwoodescrow.com