CELEBRATING
100 YEARS
Vol. 101, Issue 28 • July 11, 2013
INSIDE
ENLIGHTENING LA JOLLA SINCE 1913
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN DIEGO, CA PERMIT NO. 1980 Residential Customer La Jolla, CA 92037 ECRWSS
Online Daily at lajollalight.com
Appeals Denied
Postal Service will sell La Jolla’s post office building Parking board seeks ideas for easing Village traffic, A8
Bird Rock Council considers waste water recycling, A10 Several customers waiting in line at the Wall Street post office on July 8 glanced down to view USPS’s three-page ‘final determination’ notice taped to the counter that it will sell the building. Pat Sherman
By Pat Sherman The day after La Jollans celebrated their country’s independence with a fireworks display at the Cove, the United States Postal Service (USPS) taped a three-page notice to a counter inside the Wall Street post office that many La Jollans consider decidedly unpatriotic — USPS’s “final determination” of plans to sell the historic building at 1140 Wall St. Community members, who have been working for more than a year and a half SAVE THE POST OFFICE UPDATE to prevent the sale and keep postal services in the building, reacted swiftly to the announcement, which comes at the conclusion of the USPS’s review of more than 70 appeals filed in response to the planned sale of the building, and relocation of its services. Leslie Davis, chair of the La Jolla Historical Society’s Save Our La Jolla Post Office Task Force, called the announcement “a frontal assault on communities across the United States.” She said communities without the funds to fight the USPS through legal means will suffer the same fate as La Jolla. “The systematic destruction of the postal system continues,” Davis said. “The USPS has been effective in silencing the
Future of Seal Cam monitoring in limbo New guide sheds light on post-disaster scams, A12
La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest to open with free concert, B1
Head injury leads Hannah Johnson on crusade for helmets
By Pat Sherman As the city prepares to demolish the old, condemned lifeguard tower at Children’s Pool beach, questions remain about the future of the Seal Cam mounted atop the old tower — particularly, who will be tasked with monitoring the streaming video used to file reports on the harbor seal colony there? And how much money will the city allocate for this service? At the June 24 La Jolla Parks and Beaches meeting, Board Chair Dan Allen reported that in July the City of San Diego Park and Recreation department would assume operation of the Seal Cam at Children’s Pool beach, as stated in a monitoring plan issued by the city in May. The city’s partner in the project, Sara Wan of the WAN Conservancy (which paid for the Seal Cam, its installation and some hired camera monitors) told La Jolla Light she believes her nonprofit See Seal Cam, A7
See Post Office, A4
By Ashley Mackin Until recently, Hannah Johnson was a very active 12 year old. She liked to skateboard, surf and run every day. When out riding, she always wore a helmet. But on May 3, while skateboarding with friends, she couldn’t find a helmet and decided to go without wearing one — just this once. That one time, she fell and cracked her skull from the base of her left ear to the top of her head. Though slowly on the path to recovery, at one point, doctors weren’t sure she was going to make it. Now, she’s on a mission to make sure all children wear a helmet every time they go out on a board, bike or blades. With her parents, Paul and Celeste Johnson (owners of Sushi on the Rock in La Jolla) she Celeste Johnson and her daughter Hannah
See Helmets, A5
Ashley Mackin
GREG NOONAN
LaJollahomes.com
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