VILLAGE NEWS
Scott Appleby & Kerry ApplebyPayne
LA JOLLA
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San Diego Community Newspaper Group
THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2012
DRE#01197544 DRE#01071814
www.SDNEWS.com Volume 17, Number 14
Whale watching returns The prodigal art dealer returns for yet another season Alexander Salazar returns to La Jolla with downtown gallery experience under his belt
BY KENDRA HARTMANN | VILLAGE NEWS Every year, San Diego plays host to an event that provides tourists with another reason to envy locals. In addition to beaches and parks and the weather that (sort of) cooperates enough to enjoy them year-round, San Diegans get to take advantage of living in an area boasting incredible biological diversity. One of the most impressive environments in which to see mother nature at her best is that property-value-increas-
BY MARIKO LAMB | VILLAGE NEWS
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n three short years, Alexander Salazar has become a trailblazer in the San Diego art world, wearing many hats, including those of art collector, gallery owner, art critic and consultant for private collectors and museums. Salazar, a Harvard graduate with more than 15 years of experience as an art dealer, owns 30,000 square feet of dedicated art space downtown, including two art galleries, two artistin-residency studios and a 20,000square-foot five-level building to house the gallery’s inventory. Salazar is hoping to launch up-andcoming artists into the realm of living legends by opening his sixth space — Salazar Contemporary Art Exhibits La Jolla, located at 1162 Prospect St., with rotating solo exhibits by emerging local artists each month. “La Jolla was good to me when I first came here,” Salazar said. “It only made sense to me to come back to La Jolla and continue what I’m doing, but in a different way — and that’s by supporting local artists.” The temporary gallery will focus on one local artist at a time, giving them most of the gallery to showcase their work, with some of the gallery’s staple artists and sculptors’ work dotting the gallery as well. “Sometimes you go into a gallery and there’s so many things going on that you don’t get to focus,” he said. “Here we encourage people to come in, look at the entire collection so they make a selection based on looking at
ing expanse of blue to the west, and this time of year, it is home to a truly fascinating natural phenomenon. The gray whale migration is once again upon us. To provide a first-hand account of what one can expect when becoming an amateur whale watcher for an afternoon, the La Jolla Village News took to the high seas aboard the Hornblower Adventure to observe the California gray whale as the species makes its annual
SEE WHALES, Page 5
Film screening inspires parents, teachers to do their homework, too BY MARIKO LAMB | VILLAGE NEWS
Alexander Salazar sits in one of his downtown gallery spaces. Salazar worked at Madison Gallery in La Jolla for years before striking out on his own to open several spaces downtown. Now, he returns to La jolla with his own gallery. Courtesy photo
Bird Rock Elementary School (BRE) is transforming into a movie theater for two days to highlight the struggles of raising children in America today. The school will host two film screenings of the highly-acclaimed film “Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture” — a documentary complete with compelling real-life stories of students, parents and educators and their struggles with issues like the prevalence of cheating in schools, the rise of stressrelated illness and depression among teens, disengaged students and ill-prepared high school graduates who enter college. “We decided to show ‘Race to
Nowhere’ at Bird Rock Elementary School because we feel that it is important to raise awareness and generate dialogue among parents, students, teachers and school administrators regarding the current assumptions on how to best prepare American youth to become healthy, bright, contributing citizens,” said Ronit Austgen, BRE PTA member and parent. The documentary was produced by a concerned mother-turned-filmmaker who illustrates the high-stakes, high-pressure culture that has become a reality for students across the nation. By the end of the film screening, the hope, Austgen said, is that parents, teachers and students can take a numSEE FILM, Page 5
SEE SALAZAR, Page 7
New state laws grow teeth
SB 332 says landlords may prohibit smoking in apartment buildings and other rental properties.
Changes abound for smokers, bullies, workers, animal protectionists BY PATRICIA WALSH | VILLAGE NEWS
Fasten your seats belts (properly) and leave those unloaded handguns at home. A slew of new state laws that took effect Jan. 1 are sure to make life’s ride a little more interesting in 2012. What’s in: recycling for renters and revised standards for use of car seats for children. What’s out: smoking for renters, open carry of unloaded handguns and self-service check out of alcohol at retail stores. In the realm of technology, out-ofstate online businesses will be subject to a California use tax, and digital readers won’t have to worry about Big Brother watching. California will also become more
than 8 — or who are not yet 4 feet, 9 inches tall — to use a booster seat securely fastened in the back seat of the car. The revised California Child Restraint Law, twice vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October. It replaces the old law that required children who were 6 years old or younger — or who weighed at least 60 pounds — to be secured in an appropriate child safety seat or booster seat. The fine for violating the new law (California Vehicle Code section 27360) is $100, plus penalty assessments, which could add up to more than $400. Car safety • California has a new booster-seat A first offense may be reduced or law that requires children younger waived if economic disadvantage is equal for all with a gay-bullying law and a gay history law — the first state law of its kind in the nation. Animals are also the source of greater protection, with laws shielding sharks and cracking down on abusive pet owners. Every employer and employee will want to read the fine print of a compendium of new workplace-related laws that will help the world’s eighthlargest economy going for another year. Here’s a look at just some of the new laws for 2012 that took hold Jan. 1.
demonstrated. If the fine is reduced, the court will require the violator to attend an education program. The fine for a second or subsequent offense is $250, plus penalties. According the California Highway Patrol, thousands of children are injured or killed every year by safety
seats that are improperly fastened by parents or caretakers. The CHP cautions parents that most collisions occur within a mile of the home. • There is also a change to the standard seat belt law, which defines propSEE LAWS, Page 4