www.SDNEWS.com Volume 15, Number 34
THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2010
San Diego Community Newspaper Group
La Jolla skate park voted down Board rejects proposed facility, but some members cry foul
UCSD study shows mom’s daily hours with kids have spiked BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | VILLAGE NEWS
BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | VILLAGE NEWS A mother’s campaign to build a skateboard park at the recreation center in La Jolla was voted down by Parks and Recreation, Inc. board members April 28. Some of the board members cried foul, however, calling the vote inappropriate because no project was actually presented to the board to vote upon. Marnie Gavit, the mother who has campaigned for the skateboard park, had not yet formulated specific plans about the exact location or design of the proposed skate park. Board member Mary Coakley said the board should wait until it had more information and received a proposal before voting on a skate park. “I’m not pro or con for the skate park at the recreation center, but we don’t have enough information to make a decision at this point,” said Coakley, who abstained from voting on the issue. Parks and Recreation, Inc. provides recommendations specifically on the recreation center to the city. Council president Chip Rome said most of the board members who voted against locating a skate park at the recreation center have been on the board for a few years as opposed to proponents of the skate park who joined the board in recent months. He said the public had four months to provide input and that everyone had the opportunity to voice their opinions. Rome personally believes the recreation center is not the appropriate location for a skate park; although, as president, he did not vote on the matter. “While a skate park might be a good idea in La Jolla, at a historical, mixed-use facility across from churches, a preschool, museums, a women’s club and residences, it’s
Allocating motherhood time
The Parks and Recreation, Inc. board voted against a proposed skateboard park at the La Jolla Recreation Center, which might have provided skateboarders with ramps and jumps such as this.
Board member Melinda Merryweather disagreed with Rome. She believes the Parks and Recreation council needs to broaden Marnie Gavit, the mother who is campaignits vision of the recreation center. ing for a skateboard park, estimates it will “They don’t get it,” Merryweather said. cost between $500,000 and $1 million to “They think it’s all about little kids and older build the skate park, depending on the locapeople. They’re not willing to give up any of tion. She has partnered with the Winthe recreation center to what the recreation dansea Surf Club to raise funds through its of the day is. And the recreation of the day 501c3 foundation. Gavit is seeking archiis — guess what — skateboarding.” tects and professionals to donate their time Merryweather said she is resigning from to craft detailed plans for a skate park. She the board because she feels the board did also welcomes monetary donations. For not follow due process on the skate park more information, e-mail Gavit at skateparkissue. mom@gmail.com. Gavit, a skateboarder herself, believes skateboarders need to be respected, brought just a poor choice,” Rome said. into the community fold and not treated as Board member Michele Addington said outcasts. she agreed with public comments that the “We need to honor our kids’ passions,” recreation center was not the appropriate SEE SKATE PARK, Page 6 place for the skate park.
SKATE PARK DETAILS
Women armed with college degrees and career opportunities have increasingly morphed into soccer moms, dedicated to carting their children from activity to activity over the past two decades. University of California, San Diego (UCSD) economist Valerie Ramey discovered she was falling into this description until her family asked her to dial back the stress. Interested in the way parents allocate their limited resource of time, Ramey, along with her husband, Garey, began researching the amount of time parents nationwide spent with their children from the 1960s to the present and found the number of hours have skyrocketed in the past two decades. Parents were gradually spending less time with their children from the 1960s through the early ’90s before the trend reversed. College-educated mothers began spending nine hours more per week with their children than in the previous decades, while non-college-educated women spent four to five more hours per week with their children. Fathers also began spending more time with their children, although the increase was less. “Nine hours per week is a quarter of a full-time job,” Ramey said. “That’s just the increase that [mothers] experienced.” The Rameys searched for answers to explain the data and discovered evidence points to one factor: parents are worried about their children getting into top universities and are on a mission to cultivate them into standout individuals from an early age. The Rameys dismissed the following theories because they couldn’t be corroborated with the data available: a) Parents spend more time with their children now than in the decades before because they are more worried about their safety; b) people have more say in becoming parents and only people who love children chose to have them; and c) parents have more flexible work schedules than in the past. Ramey delved into the college hypothesis. She found more people were graduating from high school and heading to college in the mid-’90s but prestigious colleges were not increasing their acceptance rates. “People perceived that there was much more competition for slots at good colleges like the Ivy League, UC schools and good liberal-arts colleges,” Ramey said. Ramey checked her hypothesis against time spent by parents with their children in Canada, where the culture and language are SEE MOTHERS, Page 6
Cruise puts thrill of nature in your sights BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | VILLAGE NEWS There’s a whole other world to explore at the Los Coronado Islands where bluefooted boobies nest, where Elephant seals come to mate and where pods of dolphins race alongside fishing boats. Capt. Ben Griffith knows the four islands well. For the past five years, he’s ferried people to these small Mexican islands on his fishing boat in a six-hourlong excursion called the Nature Cruise. During the trip, Griffith narrates the history of the San Diego harbor and the Los Coronado islands, and points out the var-
ious bird species and marine mammals. On the way to the islands, it’s common to spot the back or tail of a migrating gray whale, as well as pods of dolphins — from bottlenose to Risso’s — playfully riding the waves alongside the boat. “I think the whole idea is that the dolphins aren’t going to perform for you,” Griffith said. “They’re looking at the people as much as the people are looking at them. The idea is that you can see these animals in the wild.” As the boat approaches the islands, scores of sea lions belly flop down the rocks and into the water to greet the fish-
ing vessel in anticipation it will attract fish. Waves crash onto the steep rock of the islands and into caves hollowed out over the years. The American oystercatcher walks along the rocks, drilling its long, bright-red beak into mussels and shellfish for food during low tide. Thousands of brown pelicans and three varieties of cormorants live on the rocks. At times, the rare Xantus’s Murrelet is seen. Only a few fishermen live on the island, raising bluefin tuna for a private fishing company. A humpback whale breaks the surface of the water during a boat excursion known as the
SEE CRUISE, Page 6 Nature Cruise.
COURTESY PHOTO BY BEN GRIFFITH