LIFE
LIFE
SCHOOLS
Poway Backpackers indelible experience
Parents Night Out annual fundraiser
PHS Winter Music Festival
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THE POWAY EAGLE
Volume 1 Issue 6 • February 2020
www.www.EagleSD.com
Soroptimist Club is making a difference By Terry L. Wilson
“T
he Poway Soroptimist Club is part of a worldwide organization of volunteers providing women and girls with access to the education and training to achieve economic empowerment,” said Julie Bendinelli, club president. The Poway club is 50 women strong and it has a positive impact on countless others through the organization’s unique programs. “Within Soroptimist International we have two signature programs,” Bendinelli said. “One of the programs is Live Your Dream, which provides financial grants to the head of household women who are trying to further their education,” she explained. “The second program is Dream It, Be It, which runs six or seven weeks at Meadowbrook Middle School. It is an afterschool program designed to get young women thinking about career paths, independence and self-esteem. We want to help them to recognize what is and what isn’t a healthy relationship. This program has been making a difference and is very rewarding for both the girls and our volunteers.” The Poway club partnered up with the North County club and Crisis House to provide transitional hous-
Participants enjoy a fun day of golf at last year’s Mickey Cafagna Golf Tournament. (courtesy Poway Chamber of Commerce)
Chamber of Commerce holds big events in March
T
By Hoyt Smith
he Poway Chamber of Commerce bookends the month of March with two of its most popular annual events, beginning with the Mickey Cafagna Golf Tournament on March 6, and ending with the Poway Americana Festival on March 29. The golf tournament honors the late Mickey Cafagna who served as mayor of Poway from 1998 until he passed away in 2009. He distinguished himself as a civic leader and supporter of numerous local nonprofit organizations. Accomplishments during his tenure included the construction of Poway’s City Hall and the South Poway Business Park. There will be a shotgun start to the tournament at 8:30 a.m. at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. Registration starts at 7 a.m. The event includes a lunch afterward with an auction See POWAY CHAMBER, Page 4
Poway Soroptimist Club members attending a past Hats and Heels fundraiser are Abby Boretto (left) and Cindy Spilman. (courtesy of Poway Soroptimist Club)
ing for women and their children who have suffered domestic violence. “This program helps them to launch into self-reliance. To date, we have helped 65 moms and 153 children reclaim their lives,” Bendinelli said. “Our Poway club is unique in that not only do we participate in a signature program for Soroptimist, we also stepped out and – along with the North San Diego club – provide transitional housing for women that are coming out of The Crisis House. … Together, our clubs collaborate, giving us the ability to provide for
these women when they’re coming out of a bad situation and they just need time to catch their breath, get a job, get child care for their children and eventually be able to afford their own apartment.” The Poway Soroptimist Club is also part of S.T.A.T. (Soroptimists Together Against Human Trafficking). “As you can see, we have a very active group and are making great strides in alignment with our mission to help educate and empower women,” Bendinelli said. These local volunteers know how to work hard, but once a year they prove they also know how to party at their Hats and Heels fundraiser. “Our Hats and Heels is a fundraiser we do in conjunction with our sister club in North County. Last year, we had over 400 women attending, and we made $120,000, which goes to support the programs we work with,” Poway club public relations officer Mary Mitchell said. “It’s held at the Fairmont Grand in Del Mar on April fifth, from noon till 4 p.m.; and we have the Fifth Dimension for entertainment. It should be a great time for everyone, and it isn’t just for women – men are invited, too.” Individual tickets for the Hats and Heels event are $150. For more information about the event, visit sihatsandheels.org.
Improvements lead to shorter waits at the Poway DMV By Hoyt Smith
R
ecent changes in customer service implemented by the California Department of Motor Vehicles seem to be making a difference at its Poway office, 13461 Community Road. For the most part, citizens registering their automobiles, renewing their drivers licenses, or applying for a newly mandated Real ID for air travel expressed high levels of satisfaction on a busy weekday in February at the DMV facility near the Poway Walmart. “Today was good,” said R.L. Cook of Rancho Penasquitos, who was picking up new tags for his truck. “I think we were here 55 minutes from start to finish. No complaints at all.” Spending an hour in line will never be at the top of anyone’s wish list,
NEWS, Pages 2-4
Customer service has improved at the Poway DMV. “It’s a little better I guess,” said Jonathan Marentes of Mira Mesa, who was there to take his driver’s license exam. (photo by Hoyt Smith)
especially around lunch time. But considering there were more than 60 customers waiting at the Poway DMV around 12:30 p.m., business appeared to be proceeding steadily and efficiently. Most of the 20 ser-
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POWAY LIFE, Pages 5-6
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vice windows were open and staffed. Results of a DMV audit by the Department of Finance, ordered by the California Governor’s Office and released a year ago this March, noted “significant deficiencies” and an “outdated” organizational structure leading to poor customer service and a failed implementation of the new ID program. The audit report also cited employee absenteeism, misleading wait times, outdated technology and a “reactive culture that has adversely impacted the field office customer experience.” In response to the critical report, the state agency has taken action. “The DMV is making great strides to improve public access and increase its ability to serve the public more efficiently,” said Anita Gore, deputy director of the office of pub-
SPORTS & FITNESS, Pages 8-9
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lic affairs for the California Department of Motor Vehicles. As of December 2019, Gore said, the California DMV had hired an additional 926 temporary employees and that wait times, once exceeding several hours, have returned to standard levels at most field offices throughout the state. Additionally, Gore said that the DMV has made improvements to its training program, once closing all its offices for half a day to train more than 5,000 front-line staff on field office processes and improved customer service. “The lines are definitely shorter,” said Aki Jose of Poway, who came to the DMV to replace his expired drivers license. “It feels like it will be quicker this time.” As for the improved customer serSee DMV, Page 4
HOMES, Pages 10-11