VILLAGE NEWS
Scott Appleby & Kerry ApplebyPayne
LA JOLLA
A Family Tradition of Real Estate Success
858-775-2014
LA JOLLA’S PREFERRED SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS
THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012
San Diego Community Newspaper Group
La Jolla’s
Photos by Paul Hansen
secret gardens
revealed Dramatic coastline views, flowers in full bloom, musicians filling the afternoon air and artists creating original masterpieces were all part of the scene at the May 19 Secret Garden Tour, hosted by the La Jolla Historical Society. The tour featured a variety of gardens, some ethereal and understated, others grandiose and majestic — all secluded from the public eye during the rest of the year. Guests wandered among succulent arrangements and tropical blooms as they ogled lavish al fresco dining areas and sweeping views of the coast. What began 14 years ago with the goal of raising public awareness for the historical society and its preservation efforts has turned into a beloved and much-anticipated event attracting thousands of guests and generating financial support for the La Jolla Historical Society’s goal of discovering, collecting and preserving La Jolla’s heritage. — Kendra Hartmann
DRE#01197544 DRE#01071814
www.SDNEWS.com Volume 17, Number 34
Mathis testifies in trial of University City home invasion BY NEAL PUTNAM | VILLAGE NEWS Last week, Harry Mathis told a judge that the day he turned 79 years old “was the best birthday I ever had — I lived to see it.” It was the day after two men beat him during a home-invasion robbery. Mathis, chairman of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System Board and a former District 1 City Councilman, testified in the preliminary hearing about the Jan. 11 incident in his University City home. Only one suspect, Harvey Henry Duson, 45, has been charged in the incident. The identity of the second assailant is unknown. Duson’s DNA was found in four places of the Mathis home, a witness told San Diego Superior Court Judge John Einhorn. After hearing testimony for a second day on May 18, Einhorn ordered Duson to stand trial on charges of kidnapping for robbery, residential burglary, robbery, three counts of false imprisonment, arson and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Mathis was led violently from his car in the garage into the home, after which the men demanded money from Mathis’ safe. Mathis and his wife, Mary, and a neighbor were then held against their will in a bathroom. Duson was also ordered to stand trial on two unrelated robbery counts involving the Nov. 9 holdup of a Sprint store on Rosecrans Street in Point Loma, during which cash and cell phones were taken. An employee, Franklin Aytes, told Einhorn two men entered the store and tied him and another employee up at gunpoint. He said the men’s faces were covered, and he could not identify Duson. The two workers were tied up with nylon, but managed to free themselves with scissors and called 911. Mathis testified he had just driven home from Mayor Jerry Sanders’ State of the City address and got out of his car in the garage when he was attacked by two men. “They ran into me and knocked me down. It was a very violent hit, like from a linebacker,” he said. “They were shouting, ‘Where’s the money?’” Mathis said he pulled out his gun — for which he has a permit — but “I couldn’t get a clear shot.” He said he fired twice in the air, hoping neighbors would hear the shots and call police.
For more scenes from the tour, turn to Page 2
Life is an unpredictable marathon for UC High’s Teacher of the Year View from52 SANDY LIPPE Life is often compared to running a marathon. The early excitement is sometimes replaced by unexpected bumps in the road that temporarily sidetrack a person. At other times, the joy of the moment promises a runner’s high. Ellie Vandiver, a biomedical teacher at University City High School and this year’s San Diego
Didyouknow? The La Jolla Fashion Film Festival, one of the largest gatherings of fashion film professionals in the world, is preparing to take La Jolla by haute couture storm July 26-28. Check back here often for interesting facts about the festival and the fashion gurus who will come through our seaside community — and maybe even get a chance to win tickets to some of the events!
City Schools Teacher of the Year, would concur. When she was 10 years old, Vandiver’s Navy pilot dad died in a car accident. As a twin and one of seven children, she was devastated by the loss. Her mother moved the family to San Diego and they eventually settled in U.C. Before UCHS was built, Vandiver graduated from Clairemont High and went on to SDSU as a sociology major. After she marSEE VANDIVER, Page 6
SEE MATHIS, Page 3
Festival event:
ELLE VANDIVER
been on the front lines of the American independent film scene before the Sundance Film Festival and any of the current indie Sydney Levine and Peter Belsito will companies even existed, and they continue headline a festival seminar on one of the to know what's going on before anyone else most important skills for any director or producer: pitching as a business skill. Levine does. The web they cast is wide, their conand Belsito, who work around the world as tacts are unparalleled, their stature enormous, their services indispensible.” film consultants, are two of Hollywood’s A Q&A will follow the seminar, time and most elite insiders. As Todd McCarthy, location TBA. Visit www.ljfff.com for more senior film critic of The Hollywood Reporter said, “Sydney Levine and Peter Belsito have information.