La Jolla Village News, July 12h, 2012

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VILLAGE NEWS

Scott Appleby & Kerry ApplebyPayne

LA JOLLA

A Family Tradition of Real Estate Success

858-775-2014

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www.SDNEWS.com Volume 17, Number 41

THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012

San Diego Community Newspaper Group

‘Protecting and preserving the character’ of University City

Piering

Residents are eager for protection, but some wonder: will the government help?

into the night

View from52 SANDY LIPPE

Photo by Kendra Hartmann

Scripps icon opens up for another season of full-moon walks BY KENDRA HARTMANN | VILLAGE NEWS Many San Diegans have lived near Scripps Pier their entire lives, visiting the beach in the shadow of the iconic structure but never being given the chance to know what it would be like to set foot on the research station. Fortunately for them, this season marks the start of a special time: the beginning of Birch Aquarium’s guide-led full-moon pier walks. Typically closed to the public and serving as a research platform for scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier has long been a thing of mystery for visitors and residents. During the summer months, however, the aquarium opens up the pier to small groups of guests for two nights each month, giving the public a chance to explore the 1,090-foot concrete pier and all its scientific splendor. Guests of Birch’s full-moon pier walks will be led by an aquarium naturalist, first around SIO’s campus — which includes a brief historical account of how the school

came to be on prime La Jolla real estate — and then out on to the pier. Not only is the experience extraordinary for its rarity, it’s educational, too. Watch the sun set on La Jolla from the end of the pier — an uncommon sight for those not involved in Scripps research — and then watch a Birch biologist dissect a squid. Providing more than merely a good view of the coastline, the walks lead guests of all ages through the groundbreaking exploration that takes place on the pier, from marine biology to climate-change research. Even children will find something to be fascinated by during the two-hour tour, provided they are sufficiently awed by getting up-close-and-personal with some denizens of the deep (and even the little ones who aren’t will get to make a beaded key chain with a shark’s tooth, so everyone leaves happy). Originally built of wood in 1915 (its first incarnation burned down, after which a more sturdy concrete struc-

Adrienne Bledsoe is like a lot of young moms doing the balancing act: wife, mother and professional. She and her husband moved to University City three years ago to raise their children in a safe community, where the schools are good, the parks are close by and the crime rate is low. Five months after she moved into a home she and her husband remodeled, Bledsoe found a business card on her driveway that read Practical Recovery. She learned from the website that two residences on the west side of U.C. served as six-bed rehabilitation facilities, where clients come to stay typically 30 days to detoxify and rehabilitate from drug and alcohol addictions. One of the houses — which is situated next to the Bledsoe family — is leased and the other one is owned by Practical Recovery president and CEO Dr. Tom Horvath. On a quiet evening in June, the University City United Church of Christ opened its sanctuary doors to a noisy crowd of nearly 200 residents for a two-hour informational meeting organized by a group called Protect UC. The steering committee, all volunteers (including Bledsoe), gathered to inform the audience about Practical Recovery. A panel of five addressed the audi-

ence: District 1 City Councilwoman Sherri Lightner; Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher’s chief of staff, Erik Caldwell; state Sen. Christine Kehoe’s representative, Laura Hein; Bledsoe and Francisco Von Borstel, steering committee members and U.C. residents. Several community members expressed concerns about bringing patients with addiction problems into the residential neighborhood. Concerns included safety; a potential increase in traffic; a possible increase in drug- and alcohol-related crimes; and a potential decrease in home values. Bledsoe said she was shattered when she discovered the house next door was an all-male recovery home

SEE UC, Page 6

A look back at the patriotic Fourth of July happenings in Bird Rock and La Jolla Cove

BY KENDRA HARTMANN | VILLAGE NEWS

nite scope of topics in Long Beach for the annual spring conference. As TED began to grow on a global scale, however, an unusual thing began to happen. The 18-minute pre-

TOM HORVATH CEO, Practical Recovery

SEE PIER, Page 4

TEDx offers a glimpse of San Diego’s future — in 18 minutes or less A quarter-century ago, a nonprofit started up with the goal of promoting what organizers called “ideas worth spreading.” Originally billed as a fourday conference bringing together innovators in technology, entertainment and design, the event, known as TED, has since grown exponentially, with speakers traveling from all over the world to present ideas on an infi-

“I think [Adrienne Bledsoe] is right to be concerned about drugs and crime, since those who purchase illegal drugs often resort to burglary and theft ... but those wouldn’t be our patients, because they’re in treatment. We haven’t been affiliated with any crime statistic in U.C. It’s a legitimate concern, but it’s not relevant to us.”

sentations that came out of the TED events became increasingly popular (they’re available to watch for free at www.ted.com), and some viewers SEE TEDX, Page 6

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