Serving San Diego’s Premier Urban Communities for 20 Years sdnorthparknews.com
Vol. 20 No. 4 April 2012
Sitting Pretty! Councilman Todd Gloria has a free ride to a second term BY MANNY CRUZ
‘The whole vibe of North Park is being reimagined into a vibrant, booming area. We want to be part of that scene,’ says Mike Hess.
Hess Brewing to Open in North Park Canned beer will be a specialty A home brewer since 1995, Mike Hess will bring his wealth of knowledge of craft beer to North Park in late August — opening the second location of his award-winning nanobrewery, Hess Brewing. Situated at 3812 Grim Ave., this forthcoming Hess Brewing location will add to North Park’s growing repertoire of social establishments, following the recent BY COLETTE MAUZERALLE
Illustration by Jason Luper.
SEE HESS, Page 11
NORTH PARK SCENE To Hell In A Handbag As a celebrity stylist, Ashley Carattini has styled Chelsea Handler and Chuy Bravo on the set of “Chelsea Lately,” dressed Will Ferrell for the cover of Wired Magazine and worked again as a stylist for Handler for a Forbes magazine piece. Last month she branched off from being a fashion stylist to open a new accessories boutique at 32nd and Thorn streets that offers one-of-a-kind jewelry and a host of other designer products — scarves, hats, dog collars, handbags and the like — all American made.
ou don’t have to go to a lot of trouble to find Todd Gloria. The man who has occupied the District 3 seat on the San Diego City Council for nearly four years seems to be everywhere. In coffee shops, holding informal talks with consituents. Attending meetings of local community groups. Chatting it up with folks attending festivals and open houses. Or attending to city business at City Council meetings and meetings of City Council committees. He is, as one admirer puts it, forever on the go. “He’s been there whenever we’ve needed him,” says Judy Elliot, executive director of the Adams Avenue Business Association. “I
Y
don’t know when he finds a moment to himself.” Indeed, the councilman’s ubiquitous behavior around the district and his achievements in office are primary reasons why he has encountered no opposition in his pursuit of a second term at this year’s city elections. (Dempsey McGibbony, an Arkansas native newly arrived to North Park took out nominating papers to run, but failed to qualify for the ballot.) Gloria will be sworn into his second term on Dec. 3 of this year. You would think that a past foe of Gloria’s would have some criticisms to make of the councilman’s behavior over
SEE SCENE, Page 4
SEE GLORIA, Page 6
Reinventing Lindbergh Field Airport Authority puts a new spin on Lindbergh’s future
Thella Bowens, president and CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
Five years have elapsed since county voters rejected an advisory ballot measure for the relocation of Lindbergh Field, a long-festering issue that has been fiercely debated for the past four decades. A year after that vote, Alan Bersin, then the chairman of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority — the agency overseeing the airport — sought to put the issue to rest once and for all. “Our job,” he said, “is to end the San Diego airport con-
troversy, this 40-year endless debate. “We’re building a new airport — at Lindbergh Field.” In fact, the Airport Authority is reinventing Lindbergh Field, casting off the controversies of the past and moving ahead to expand and streamline airport operations, attract new air carriers, create new concession opportunities for local companies and ease the airport experience for the thousands of passengers who utilize the airport
each year — currently at 17 million. The push to improve airport operations stems from studies indicating that Lindbergh Field (San Diego International Airport) — the busiest single runway airport in the nation — will reach its maximum capacity some time after 2015 which, if not addressed quickly, could result in automobile traffic congestion surrounding the airport, long lines for tickets and security checks, higher ticket prices, difficulties
BY MANNY CRUZ
in obtaining flights in and out of San Diego and airline defections. Studies also have shown that San Diego’s tourism industry would suffer and businesses that rely on air transportation services would relocate elsewhere. The ambitious airport expansion and improvement program is being handled under the tutelage of Thella Bowens, president and CEO of the AirSEE AIRPORT, Page 18