La Jolla Village News, April 18th, 2014

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FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014

LJTODAY.COM | VOLUME 18, NUMBER 15

Beach lifesavers ask for budgetary boost for staff, equipment needs By DAVE SCHWAB

A LITTLE HELP? The city’s Lifeguard Services is looking to boost its budget over the next five years to, among other things, bolster staff, maintenance and equipment in Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, South Mission Beach, Windansea and Mission Bay.

Photo by Jim Grant

SPIRIT OF THE RENAISSANCE In no way does this oil painting resemble an entry from classical Western Europe — but its creator is no less a Renaissance man. Composer and artist Mark Kostabi was the central figure at a reception, April 11, at La Jolla’s Martin Lawrence Galleries, his own compositions punctuating the conversation. His “The Thing I Sing” is shown above and is part of Kostabi’s collection at Lawrence. The venue is located at 1111 Prospect St. in La Jolla. COURTESY PHOTO

Birch Aquarium to party down for Earth Day By MARTIN JONES WESTLIN Planet Earth is home to 7 billion people, which translates to an increase of 3,500 percent over the last 500 years. That kind of growth can’t help but put a crimp in nature’s resources, which is what the organizers of the first Earth Day were thinking when they launched their rallies on April 22, 1970. Forty-four years later, one of every seven of those billions will be attending some kind of Earth Day speech, activity or rally on behalf of their host. And since the place’s surface is 70 percent water, La Jolla’s Birch Aquarium thought it would be nice to hold a Party for the Planet as part of its weekly SEA Days series, focused on educating visitors on the importance of marine life and how to help preserve our oceans and waterways. Hands-on activities, exploration and

crafts will be featured at the Earth Dayoriented event, planned for Saturday, April 19, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The party’s free with admission of $17 for adults, $12.50 for kids 3 to 12, $14 for those 14 to 17 and $13 for those 60 and over. Be sure to visit the aquarium’s booth at this year’s EarthFair in Balboa Park on Sunday, April 27. The aquarium is located at 2300 Expedition Way in La Jolla. For more information, call (858) 534-3474 or see aquarium.ucsd.edu. Meanwhile, UCSD has mapped out what it calls its Earth Week events, scheduled from April 21 to 25. Events include a Trash Sort, wherein participants are invited to glean recyclables from waste, and a seminar on the very rare Torrey pine tree, its history and how it figures into our area’s personality. For more, call (858) 246-0730 or visit earthweek.ucsd.edu.

The lifeguards responsible for the lives of 20 million-plus beachgoers along San Diego’s 17-mile coast who made more than 5,000 water rescues in 2013 are asking for a little more than $5 million over the next five years from the city during budget deliberations. “The main thing is to look ahead and have a plan ready so that, as funding is available, we know where we want to be (operationally) and can act on those opportunities,” said San Diego Lifeguard Services Chief Rick Wurts. “We recognize the city is still going through its recovery in the budget and that there are many important needs throughout other departments like police and fire. The list of needs we’ve submitted are our top

priorities.” Wurts’ recent budget proposal to the city asked for about $5.28 million over the next five years. This includes $1.77 million in fiscal year 2014-15, to add personnel and address maintenance and equipment needs. Wurts said his department’s budget proposal was projected over five years “to take a comprehensive look at areas where we felt we could augment operations to be able to continue to provide even better service in all aspects of our operations.” On Monday, April 14, Mayor Kevin Faulconer released his proposed budget, which will be vetted

SEE LIFEGUARDS >> PG. 4

Veteran lifeguard tapped to finish out remainder of Faulconer’s term

By DAVE SCHWAB

It took two ballot rounds for the San Diego City Council to select Point Loma resident Ed Harris, a longtime lifeguard and former ED HARRIS Marine, to fill the District 2 seat vacated by nowmayor Kevin Faulconer over the next eight months. “There were numerous highly qualified and inspiring candidates in the field, and I’m very humbled by the council’s decision,” said Harris after his April 7 appoint-

ment. “I look forward to working directly with community leaders to strengthen District 2 neighborhoods.” The diverse field of candidates for the temporary District 2 post included a TV producer, a retired judge, a disabled-persons advocate, an attorney and an architect, among others. Harris was immediately sworn in after being selected by the council. His candidacy drew the support of councilmembers Sherri

SEE HARRIS >> PG. 4


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