VILLAGE NEWS LA JOLLA
Scott Appleby & Kerry ApplebyPayne A Tradition of Success and Service
858-775-2014 • tscottappleby@aol.com
LA JOLLA’S PREFERRED SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010
San Diego Community Newspaper Group
Youthful Yogis
DRE#01197544
www.SDNEWS.com Volume 16, Number 4
The grades are in Could this be last year for beach water testing? BY CLAIRE HARLIN | VILLAGE NEWS
Amy Ragen meditates with her 5-year-old daughter Emma at their La Jolla home.
COURTESY PHOTO
La Jolla Yoga Center stresses ‘never too young’ philosophy BY CLAIRE HARLIN | VILLAGE NEWS “Criss-cross applesauce,” Amy Ragen instructed to her sevenmember yoga class as she entered the studio. Ragen, a certified yoga instructor and experienced personal trainer, teaches once a week at the La Jolla Yoga Center, but her audience isn’t your typical one. Her students range in age from 3 to 8, and they eagerly take her class
without their parents at their sides. Just like any adult yoga class, Ragen, a mother of three, started off a recent Tuesday evening class with breathing exercises. “Om shanti, om shanti, om shanti om,” Ragen chanted, after jingling bells to get her energetic students’ attention. As she repeated the classic yogi mantra, meaning “peace,” the kids chimed in one by one. SEE YOGA, Page 4
Come April of next year, the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health is not quite sure where — if at all — it’s going to get funding for routine beach water quality testing. As it stands, the state health and safety code mandates that the department test the water weekly from April 1 through Oct. 31, which is considered to be the peak beach season, and report bacteria levels to the public. But San Diego County’s contract with the state runs out at the end of December, and nobody has stepped up to foot the $300,000-a-year bill, said Mark
McPherson, head of the water quality arm of the county department. The California Water Resources Control Board (CWRCB) is the entity that has previously secured funding, and McPherson said San Diego County officials just got word Sept. 30 — via a statement by CWRCB board spokesman William L. Rukeyser in the Los Angeles Times — that the board will “most likely” hear a proposal in November to use $984,000 in state bond money to continue testing for one more year across the state. But Mike Grimmer, a spokesman for Santa Monica-based environmental SEE WATER, Page 8
SCORING LA JOLLA’S WATERS End-of-summer beach report card SUBJECT
GRADE 2008
2009
2010
Ravina, south of Nicholson Point
A A
A+ A+
A+ A+
La Jolla Cove
A
B
A+
La Jolla, Coast Blvd. gazebo
A+
A+
A
La Jolla Shores, Avenida de la Playa.
A+
A+
A+
Torrey Pines, Los Peñasquitos lagoon
A+
A
A+
Windansea Beach, Playa del Norte
Amy Ragen helps a student with a hand stand at the La Jolla Yoga Center. DON BALCH | Village News
Suns rise in the West: NBA team trains in La Jolla Phoenix camp held at UCSD BY ANTHONY GENTILE | VILLAGE NEWS With the NBA season starting later this month, the Phoenix Suns tipped off their 2010-11 campaign locally. The Suns held training camp at UCSD’s RIMAC Arena from Sept. 28 to Oct. 3, calling La Jolla home for a week. “It gives you a chance to bond with
your team,” said Suns head coach Alvin Gentry. “You’re kind of away from home and the guys eat together and hang out together.” The Suns squeezed in eight conditioning-heavy practices and a full scrimmage in their six days at RIMAC Arena, including two-a-days fromSept. 28 through Sept. 30. The last day of camp was followed by a visit to Qualcomm Stadium to drop in on a pro neighbor also visiting San Diego, the Arizona Cardinals. “It’s team bonding, working hard, having fun and coming out
of camp feeling more comfortable with one another,” said Suns forward Grant Hill. “I think we’re moving in that direction.” Gentry said team unity and the weather — even though Phoenix’s stay included record heat and a day of thunderstorms — were the main reasons Steve Nash and Co. brought their training camp to San Diego for the second year in a row. The return trip, however, also had a superstitious aspect. “We had good luck here in the San Diego area and we hope to
repeat that,” Hill said. After holding camp at the University of San Diego prior to last season, the Suns went 54-28 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in four seasons, losing to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in six games. The Suns are shooting for similar success this year. “We felt like last year with a couple of breaks maybe we could have scared Veteran forward Grant Hill and the Phoenix the Lakers into a seventh game,” Gen- Suns held training camp at UCSD’s try said. “Our goal is to see if we can RIMAC Arena Sept. 28 to Oct. 3. In his 16-year career, Hill has made seven all-
SEE SUNS, Page 9 star appearances.
DON BALCH | Village News