The Reconstruction Warehouse is changing the face of home improvement by reselling salvaged and reused materials — a concept that not only frees up room at the landfill, but also offers customers some serious savings. Page 14
www.SDNEWS.com Volume 26, Number 19
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012
San Diego Community Newspaper Group
Planners, grand jury pave pitted road for Rock Church’s future
Getting
centered
BY TONY DE GARATE | THE BEACON
in OB
Suzy Lambert of Crystal Visions Rock Shops plays the crystal singing bowls at her shop on Santa Monica Avenue.
Photo by Patricia Walsh I The Beacon
Merchants offer alternatives to customers seeking answers, well-being BY PATRICIA WALSH | THE BEACON
The majority of Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) members agree with a recent San Diego County Grand Jury report, which recommends the city suspend a conditional-use permit for The Rock Church to operate at Liberty Station — its home since 2007. The board last month voted 7-5 in support of the grand jury finding released May 24 that the church is not compatible with local land-use plans. Under the grand jury recommendation, the 3,500-seat church and academy would potentially be forced to close while the city’s Development Services Department reviews whether the church is appropriate in
Liberty Station. The action could leave thousands of worshipers and hundreds of students from prekindergarden through high school in the lurch. Under state law, Mayor Jerry Sanders has until Aug. 22 to agree to implement the recommendation, explain why the recommendation is unwarranted or ask for an extension. The mayor is under no obligation to heed the vote of the PCPB, which has only an advisory role to the city. The July 19 PCPB vote may have been more lopsided than the 7-5 tally would suggest, because even some board members who voted “no” seemed to agree with the grand jury’s most damning finding: “TrafSEE PCPB, Page 24
TE E M I NG WITH LI FE
S
outhern California’s final frontier for small independent businesses, Ocean Beach is also fertile ground for alternative entrepreneurs who specialize in nontraditional physical and spiritual practices. In the 92107 ZIP code, one can get chakras cleansed, tarot cards read and find an energy healer for a pet. But don’t look for a garish neon sign to point the way to a dark alley. In Ocean Beach, alternative businesses are mainstream, mixed in among popular antique shops, restaurants and bars. More than 50 alternative businesses can be found in the Ocean Beach business directory under categories like homeopathy, herbs, astrology and metaphysical practices. “Because of a Bohemian, progressive attitude, OB
Taylor Drye, owner of Mad Monk Tea on Santa Monica Avenue, grounds himself Photo by Patricia Walsh I The Beacon in the art of the tea ritual.
SEE HEALING, Page 7
Unrelated accidents kill woman, 24, and toddler on same night
Blue whales, the Earth’s largest creature, have been spotted in increasing numbers Photo by Mike McCarthy I The Beacon off the coastline and even from the shoreline in La Jolla.
Two Point Loma neighborhoods were left reeling after separate traffic accidents roughly a mile-and-a-half apart left a 3-year-old toddler and a 24-year-old woman dead in the span of less than two hours on Aug. 2. In the first instance, the toddler, reportedly visiting from New Mexico to attend his older brother’s graduation from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, darted in front of a Toyota Tacoma near his parents’ hotel at the intersection of Nimitz Boulevard and Rosecrans Street shortly before 7:30 p.m. The boy, identified as Arthur Roan, was struck by the truck and whisked by emergency officials to UCSD Medical Center before being transferred to Rady Children’s Hospital.
Summer marine life unusually active; beachgoers, boaters feeling awestruck
The toddler died of his injuries just hours later. In the second case, a 24-year-old woman lost control of her Volkswagen Passat while driving in the 3300 block of Cañon Street near Willow Street in the Roseville/Fleetridge area shortly before 9 p.m. The vehicle traveled to the opposite side of the street, jumping the curb and smashing into a stand of palm trees, according to police. The victim, who authorities said was seatbelted and alone, was identified as Taylor Alexandra Vasquez. She died at the scene. The cause of the accident is unclear, according to police. — Staff report
2 0 1 2
A single bouquet of yellow flowers lies among debris in the front terrace of a house in the 3300 block of Cañon Street, where 24-year-old Taylor Alexandra Vasquez of San Diego died in a single-vehicle accident on Aug. 2. Photo by Scott Hopkins | The Beacon
Local beaches and offshore waters appear to be teeming with greater numbers of crowd-pleasing — and even rarely seen — marine life this summer. July boasted sunny skies and warmer water, attracting heavy crowds to the beaches and unusual numbers of sea life for this time of year, according to experts. Killer whales that typically prefer colder waters have been sighted enjoying the nearby ocean for several weeks. Rare giant jellyfish, known
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as black sea nettles, have drifted into San Diego Bay and onto Point Loma beaches in large numbers. Bottlenose dolphins have also been spotted enjoying the surf along Sunset Cliffs and Ocean Beach. The Risso’s dolphin species, another a rare visitor to local waters, has lately been entertaining boaters out in deeper water. Blue whales, the largest animals on Earth, are typical visitors for this time of year. Even these behemoths SEE SEA LIFE, Page 24
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