Carmel Valley News Headlines

By Karen Billing

The draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for the Interstate 5/State Route 56 connectors project will be released on Friday, May 18. Public input is encouraged and must be sent in by July 2 on the alternatives to make the missing connections between westbound SR-56 and northbound I-5, and southbound I-5 and eastbound SR-56.

The EIR will be available for online viewing at keepsandiegomoving.com and a hard copy will be available at the Carmel Valley Library. A public meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 13, at Del Mar Hills Academy from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Looking at the timeline, Caltrans I-5 Corridor Director Allan Kosup said Caltrans expects to make its decision on the preferred alternative by late 2012. The final EIR would be released in late 2013, with project construction targeted for 2020-2030 if any build option is selected.

“I don’t see this moving ahead until I-5 is widened in this stretch and right now it’s targeted for the 2020-2030 time frame,” Kosup said.

Kosup said that this is the last chance to do the connections here because once the widening project occurs, it will be too cost-prohibitive and expensive to go back and retrofit for some kind of linkage of 5 and 56.

“We’re trying to incorporate into the I-5 project, that’s really the urgency to make a decision on what (the connection) should look like,” Kosup said.

The project’s steering committee met on Tuesday for a “Cliff’s Notes” version of the DEIR findings, the group’s first meeting in almost two years. Very little has changed about the five alternatives that are studied in the document: The no-build option; a direct connector; the auxiliary lane alternative; the hybrid alternative; and the hybrid with flyover connecting east-bound Carmel Valley Road to eastbound SR-56 and the northbound portion of the direct connector.

Kosup said the goal is to develop a project that is sensitive to the community and the environment while addressing local congestion, cut-through traffic and regional connections.

“The DEIR helps us find if the benefit of the project is worth the cost and the impacts,” Kosup said. “There are no perfect alternatives, none perform the best in all the areas. We have to find the balance.”

The DEIR includes nearly 20 technical reports on key issues of congestion relief, noise, visual impacts, right of way, environment and cost-effectiveness. Kosup said that the DEIR is “deluged” with traffic information.

In initial findings, the DEIR reports that in all the alternatives but no-build, the freeway pulls about 9,000 trips out of city streets in the westbound 56 commute in the morning hours. The direct connector pulls about 12,000 trips off the city streets in the eastbound direction during the evening commute, while the same benefits aren’t seen with other alternatives.

In addition to relieving local congestion, the DEIR shows the impacts of the alternatives in travel times.

The report also looks at the “significant” proposed noise abatement program, with sound walls and the possibility of using a new type of pavement to reduce noise. The report also includes options for the Portofino Drive neighborhood above I-5 to attempt to minimize the impacts of the direct connector alternative and attempt to leave it better by increasing the usable space of yards and landscaping.

“If that alternative is selected, we definitely want to sit down with the community and figure out how to best do things,” Kosup said.

In all options the Del Mar Heights bridge will be replaced, so the report also looks at potential improvements to the bridge with bike and pedestrian lanes and plantings.

For more information or to view or download the DEIR, visit keepsandiegomoving.com.

The City of Solana Beach and Solana Beach Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5431 will co-host a Memorial Day ceremony from 11 a.m. to noon on Monday, May 28, at La Colonia Community Center, 715 Valley Avenue.

Camp Pendleton Young Marines will be the honor guard. State Senator Mark Wyland will be the guest speaker, as well as Solana Beach Mayor Joe Kellejian and Randy Treadway, Post Commander for VFW Post 5431.

The Santa Fe Christian School Band will perform patriotic songs. A special “Doves from Heaven” release will be provided by Joe and Leslie Irwin. The Veteran’s Memorial wall, which honors the service of all Solana Beach Veterans of Foreign Wars, will be available for viewing. Docents from the Civic and Historical Society will be on hand to conduct tours of the Historical Museum. Light refreshments will be served. The event is free of charge and open to the public. For more information, please call 858-720-2453.

Fred Schenk

San Diego law firm Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield, LLP, has been appointed by U.S.  District Court Judge Anita Brody to serve on the Plaintiffs Steering Committee which is overseeing national MDL litigation against the National Football League (NFL) alleging that multiple concussions can lead to long-term brain injuries. Casey Gerry is one of only nine law firms in the nation – and the only one in San Diego – serving on the leadership committee.

Firm partner and Carmel Valley resident Frederick Schenk will represent the firm on the Steering Committee, which is charged with overseeing pre-trial discovery; coordinating, submitting and arguing pre-trial motions; deposing and examining witnesses; introducing evidence at hearings; and negotiating stipulations and settlements with defendants. Also playing a role is partner and Carmel Valley resident Robert Francavilla, who will serve on the medicine and science sub-committee, which will retain experts and research the medical and scientific literature to help identify the relationship between playing football and developing head injuries.

According to Schenk, the lawsuits, which earlier this year were ordered to be consolidated in a Philadelphia federal court, are focused on compelling the NFL to provide medical monitoring for cumulative head trauma for former players who are – or could in the future be – victims of the repetitive traumatic brain injury they sustained while playing in the league. “The league has known for years of the inherent dangers of multiple blows to the head, but delayed sharing their knowledge with the players,” Schenk said.

Robert Francavilla

Added Francavilla, who has worked on numerous personal injury cases involving serious head injuries, “we believe it is the NFL’s duty to warn the players of the dangers, to protect them on the field and to educate them about the immediate and long-term effects of concussions.”

The relationship between concussions and subsequent emotional distress has been documented in numerous studies, and these findings have resulted in more than 1,700 players filing suit since 2011 including the most recent on May 3 in the US District Federal Court in Georgia. Fueling the litigation – as well as renewed focus on the consequences of multiple concussions – is the tragic suicide of former San Diego Charger’s football player Junior Seau, although it is yet to be medically determined whether he suffered the kind of head injuries that have led to depression and dementia.

All of the lawsuits contend the league has not done enough to educate players or to protect them from concussions and multiple blows to the heads. The former players also allege that the league failed to care for them afterwards.

About Casey Gerry
Celebrating more than 65 years in San Diego, Casey Gerry was established in 1947, and is the oldest plaintiffs’ law firm in San Diego. The firm’s 14 attorneys practice in numerous areas, including asbestos, personal injury, product liability and pharmaceutical litigation. Located in the Banker’s Hill neighborhood of San Diego, the firm also has a satellite office in Carlsbad, Calif. For more information, call (619) 238-1811 or visit  www.caseygerry.com.

The annual Community Memorial Day Service will be held at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Monday, May 28, at 11 a.m. After a traditional service of hymns and prayer, there will be a Memorial Roll Call, during which names of deceased members of the armed services will be read. The service will conclude with Taps.

The featured speaker for this year’s Memorial Day Service is Lt. Col. Larry G. Brown, USMC. He is currently assigned to Third Marine Air Wing, MCAS Miramar. Larry, his wife, and two daughters are active members of St. Peter’s.

Please contact the church office at 858-755-1616 as soon as possible if you would like to include the name of a deceased military member, so that they may be remembered and prayed for during this important service. St. Peter’s Del Mar is located at 334 14th St. in Del Mar Village, one block east of Highway 101.

By Claire Harlin
editor@delmartimes.net

The Coastal Communities Concert Band is holding a particularly special performance on May 20, which will celebrate the work of longtime band member and Del Mar resident Bruce Warnock, 93.

The award-winning band, directed by Dr. Robert Fleming, will perform Warnock’s original “Del March,” written about San Diego’s Hotel Del, Fleming said. Warnock has played trumpet in the band for nearly 25 years, but now suffers from a post-polio condition. The band will also perform a piece called “Dirty Dish Rag,” also written by Warnock.

Warnock said his musical career dates back to the 1920s in Chicago, where he grew up. He said he remembers riding the streetcar when he was 9 to play at the Paul Rader’s Tabernacle Orchestra on the far north side of Chicago. He also tried out for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour in New York at a young age and continued traveling the country for two years, playing in cities from coast to coast. He traveled by bus and made $35 per week.

Warnock taught public school music for 15 years in Illinois and Michigan, and moved to San Diego to become a real estate broker.

The performance will take place at 2 p.m. at the Carlsbad Community Church, located at the corner of Jefferson and Pine Streets in Carlsbad. The cost is $15 for general admission and $12 for seniors and students. For purchases in advance, contact Kris Sims at (760) 436-6137. Information is available at www.cccband.com.

By Karen Billing

CCA Envision Cinema students Hunter Peterson and Josh Masters will have films screened at the LA Film Festival this year, as well as this weekend’s film festival at CCA.

Canyon Crest Academy’s Envision Cinema conservatory is capping off an extremely successful year with its sixth annual Film Festival, to be held this Saturday, May 19, at 7 p.m. More than 20 films will be screened, all a length of five minutes or less, featuring several comedies, dramas, a “spaghetti western,” sci-fi, documentaries and even two films featuring hand-drawn animation.

“These kids are doing great work,” said visual arts teacher Mark Raines. “It should be a really good show.”

The festival will crown winners in each category and the audience will get to select the audience choice winner.

As a lucky bonus, the festival will feature two student films that were selected to be a part of the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival in the Future Filmmakers category, screened on June 16 and June 23 at LA Live. Senior Hunter Peterson and sophomore Josh Masters are only the second and third CCA students to achieve such an honor with their films, “Binary” and “Whither From Above.”

“It’s really a big deal,” said Raines. “I’m so proud of these guys because it’s one of the largest film festivals in the country and the student work is phenomenal. We’re definitely producing that kind of work at CCA and the festival saw that.”

In addition to CCA’s recognition at the LA Film Festival, six CCA films have been nominated for the San Diego County Board of Education’s iVIE Film Festival in broadcast journalism, nonfiction film and Raines’ own video in the classroom about his experience in Haiti after the earthquake in 2010.

Winners will be announced in June.

Josh’s LA Film Festival-recognized movie, “Whither From Above,” is about a student who has a dream that aliens are talking to him and the next day a UFO comes to get him at school. Richard Liu, Alvin Lin and Justin Bartell also worked on the film.

“I wanted it to be something that was unique visually, with a ‘wow factor’ to it,” said Josh. “I wanted to have fun and create something wild and crazy and cool.”

Mission accomplished on the “wow” factor as Raines said the first time he watched the film in class, seeing a UFO hovering over the CCA campus, he was blown away.

Josh made the film in a regular film class last year before joining Envision conservatory this year, which was the reason he made the choice to attend CCA.

“It’s amazing being able to pursue your interests and have the freedom to do it,” said Josh.

Hunter’s film is called “Binary” and is combination of science fiction and a “feel good film,” with a little nod to his favorite childhood movie “Short Circuit.” He received help on the film from Alexander Powell, Alvin Lin, Blake Johnston and Matt Britt.

“It’s probably one of my favorites that I’ve ever done, I’m very proud of it,” Hunter said.

Starring the young Malachy Martinez, it is about a boy who finds a mysterious box that prints an endless stream of binary paper. The boy and the machine figure out a way to communicate with each other in a very sweet, moving story.

Peterson has come a long way from where he started in the film conservatory when he was into effects-driven things. Now he’d rather build something for the set, like the “Binary” box than have an animated one.

“What I learned this year, I’ll stick with for the rest of my life: That it’s better to do something in production not in post,” said Hunter, who will attend USC in the fall, hoping to be in university’s film school by 2013.

A total of eight film conservatory seniors are graduating this year, the first group that Raines has had all four years and the majority have been admitted into some great film schools and programs.

“They’re a stellar group,” Raines said.

This year’s film conservatory was helped by having two amazing guest artists: Destin Daniel Cretton and Brad Kester. Cretton’s film “Short Term 12” played Sundance in 2009 and won the US Jury Prize. His first feature film, “I Am Not A Hipster,” premiered at Sundance this year.

Kester was an assistant director on “Short Term 12” and a second unit director on “I Am Not a Hipster.”

The guest artists provide a unique, “real-world” education for the students and are fully funded by parent donations.

“It’s getting harder and harder to retain them,” Raines said of the guest artists. “There’s a need for more donations and help.”

Fundraisers like the film festival help give the program the boost it needs.

The students also work very hard to fundraise for their guest artists, putting on the Mini Cine fest earlier in the year and selling various artwork, raising a total of $6,000.

“It gives them a sense of ownership of the program,” Raines said. “They’re saying ‘We value the guest artists a lot and this is our contribution and we’d love it if you’d partner with us.’”

Tickets to the Film Festival are $10 for adults and $5 for students, with all monies going toward Envision film. Donations can also be made online at canyoncrestfoundation.org/donate-online. Donations should be designated to “video/film.”

From left, Girl Scouts Melissa Thomas of Rancho Santa Fe (3,009 boxes), Caroline Sanborn of Carmel Valley (2,012 boxes) and Roni Nelson of Rancho Santa Fe (4,082 boxes).

Girls Scouts celebrate another successful “Operation Thin Mint” cookie drive. San Diego Girl Scouts CEO Jo Dee Jacob is shown in the “flag” blouse. Photo: Paul Nestor

Girl Scout and Rancho Santa Fe resident Veronica (Roni) Nelson was is this year’s Operation Thin Mint’s top cookie seller, clocking in at a whopping 4,082 boxes! Roni — along with Melissa Thomas of Rancho Santa Fe (3,009 boxes) and Caroline Sanborn (2,012 boxes) of Carmel Valley — were honored with other top cookie sellers on May 12, at Girl Scouts San Diego’s 11th annual Operation Thin Mint® Sendoff aboard the USS Midway. As top sellers (defined by those who reach 2,012 or more boxes sold in 2012), the girls had the opportunity to ride in a helicopter at OTM and join other VIPs on stage and at a special reception.

Since 2002, San Diego Girl Scout troops and their cookie customers have sent more than 2 million boxes of America’s favorite cookies and countless notes of support to deployed troops serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, Japan, Korea, and the Persian Gulf, Western Pacific and Indian Ocean.

By Karen Billing

Solana Highlands Elementary School is seeking approval of an all-way stop sign to improve the safety of the students and community. The proposed placement of the stop signs would be at the intersection of Long Run and Candela, where a crosswalk is currently in place.

“This area has been unsafe for many years,” Solana Highlands Principal Jerry Jones said. “Having an all-way stop will slow traffic, create more visibility for our students and drivers, and create an overall safer environment for the community.”

The school hopes to have the item on the June 28 agenda at the Carmel Valley Community Planning Board meeting. If anyone would like to weigh in on the issue, they are welcome to attend. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Carmel Valley Library.

By Joe Tash

Incumbent District 1 San Diego Councilwoman Sherri Lightner has her hands full as the June 5 primary election approaches, juggling the responsibilities of what she called a “more than full-time job” while trying to fend off three challengers for her seat.

Sherri Lightner

Lightner, a mechanical engineer and former La Jolla and University City activist, is running against businessman Ray Ellis, attorney Bryan Pease and retired business executive Dennis Ridz, who is chairman of the Torrey Pines Community Planning Board.

The race is officially non-partisan, but party affiliations may impact the outcome: Lightner and Pease are Democrats, while Ellis and Ridz are Republicans.

Thanks to last year’s citywide redistricting following the 2010 census, District 1 will look a bit different after this year’s election. Rancho Peñasquitos is no longer part of the district, and a sliver of La Jolla has been reunited with the rest of the community.

The district now includes Carmel Valley, Del Mar Heights, Torrey Pines, University City and La Jolla.

If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast June 5, the top two vote-getters will face off in a November runoff.

Among the top issues citywide are city finances, pension reform, expansion of the convention center and a new Chargers stadium, while North City issues include a proposed mixed-use development on Del Mar Heights Road called One Paseo, and planning for the completion of connectors between Interstate 5 and State Route 56.

Three of the candidates — Lightner, Ellis and Ridz — support Prop. B, a measure on San Diego’s June ballot that proposes to reduce city pension costs by providing a 401k-style retirement plan instead of a pension to all new city employees except police officers, and change other city pension rules.

Lightner noted that the city has already transitioned most categories of new hires to a 401k-style plan. The ballot measure would add firefighters, managers, lifeguards and elected officials to that list. Eventually, she said, the choice of pension or 401k will be offered to current employees. Retirees already receiving a pension would not be affected by the changes.

“We have righted the city’s financial ship” through pension reform, managed competition and reforms to retire health benefits, Lightner said. Those efforts, along with an improving economy, have helped the city improve its credit rating and go from an annual budget deficit to a surplus since she took office.

Ray Ellis

But Ellis, a former appointed member of the city’s pension board, criticized Lightner and her council colleagues for failing to increase their own pension contributions, and not moving aggressively enough on managed competition, which is when city employees bid against private companies to provide city services.

Ellis said city voters approved managed competition six years ago, but so far the city has only processed three such competitive bids. In one case, the city’s fleet management department trimmed $4.4 million from its own budget while winning a bid to maintain city vehicles. Ellis said the council should have been scrutinizing the budgets of city departments more closely, and acted sooner to save taxpayer dollars from waste and inefficiency.

“As an oversight body, I think the council has a responsibility to ask some tough questions there,” said Ellis.

Bryan Pease

Pease, who represented supporters of a seal colony in litigation regarding Children’s Beach in La Jolla, questioned Lightner’s Democratic credentials.

“I thought voters needed an alternative to the incumbent, who ran as a progressive Democrat but is looking more and more like the Republican candidates that are running to the point where it’s indistinguishable,” said Pease, regarding his decision to run.

Pease opposes both managed competition and Prop. B, the pension reform initiative.

“Generally, I think privatization is a bad idea, shortcutting labor and environmental regulations, and having a race to the bottom to see who can shortcut the most procedures,” he said.

As for the pension initiative, he said changing to a 401k system would expose employees to risk over their pension benefits, while costing the city more money because fewer people would be paying into the system. He said he does support capping “pensionable pay,” or the pay that is used to calculate employee pension benefits.

Although financial issues dominate much of the conversation around City Hall, in Carmel Valley and surrounding communities, a major issue is the proposed One Paseo development, a mixed-use development that would include some 1.7 million square feet of retail, office and residential space.

Kilroy Realty wants to build the project on a 23-acre parcel at the corner of Del Mar Heights Road and El Camino Real. Currently, a draft environmental impact report for the project is open for public comment, and the project could reach the San Diego City Council for a vote by this fall.

The project is controversial because many residents are concerned about its size and the amount of traffic it would generate.

Dennis Ridz

Ridz, a former financial executive with Johnson and Johnson, and a member of the Torrey Pines planning board for five years, questioned why Lightner has taken campaign contributions from Kilroy executives and people affiliated with the developer.

On the other hand, Ridz said, Lightner has strictly followed a city attorney’s opinion in opting not to attend local planning board hearings in which the project is discussed.

“To me, our voice is being silenced,” said Ridz, who contends that Lightner should recuse herself when the Kilroy project comes before the council.

Lightner said, however, that she fully intends to vote on the project. She said the opinions of contributors — who have fallen on both sides of the issue — won’t influence her vote.

“I have definitely voted against people who have given me money in the past,” said Lightner. “My special interest is the community, and I will support the people in the community.”

Ellis said he shares the concerns of community members who question the density of the One Paseo project and the traffic it would generate.

“I’m worried about the scale. I think it’s too robust and we’ve got to take a good hard look” at the project, he said. He faulted Lightner for not doing more to facilitate a discussion between the developer and residents.

“I’m suggesting she engage and facilitate a conversation with the stakeholders more aggressively than she has,” Ellis said.

However, Lightner cited her ability to bring the concerns of community members to City Hall as one of the key accomplishments of her first term.

“It’s critically important the communities have a voice in what’s going on. We have delivered that voice to the neighborhoods,” she said.

All four candidates said they support restoring operating hours for city libraries and recreation centers that were cut in recent years when the city faced budget shortfalls.

Meanwhile, Ellis was leading in fundraising as of March 17, the most recent campaign finance filing period. Including a $30,000 loan from himself, Ellis had raised $204,515, followed by Lightner with $171,093. Pease reported $11,039 raised, including a $5,000 loan from himself, and Ridz reported a $999 loan from himself to his campaign.

Del Mar sculptor Maidy Morhous works in her studio. Photo: Karen Billing

By Karen Billing

Del Mar sculptor Maidy Morhous expresses herself best with her hands, molding clay into meaningful works that later become coated in bronze.

“Artists want to hide behind their work, they want their work to speak for them,” Morhous said.

“Fukkou” is one of Maidy Morhous’ pieces for Japan to remember the tsunami of 2011.

As such, she’s hesitant to sit down for an interview, even though once you get her started talking about art, she speaks enthusiastically and passionately and could go on forever.

“I get rather excited when talking about art,” Morhous said. “Creating for me is my whole essence.”

A member of the San Diego Museum of Art’s Artist Guild board, Morhous was also recently inducted into the National Association of Women Artists and will have a show of her work in New York in September.

A few years back, Morhous began a program called “Art for Us” as a way to use her artwork to give back. She’s donated pieces to Scripps Foundation (her work is on display at the Carmel Valley clinic), Rady’s Children’s Hospital and The Alzheimer’s Foundation. She picks organizations and places where her art can be enjoyed by the community, not hidden on an office shelf somewhere.

Her next “Art for Us” pieces carry a very emotional meaning, reflecting Morhous’ time in Japan last March during the earthquake and tsunami.

She was in the middle of Sendai, Japan, when the earthquake hit and watched the tsunami from their hotel room TV. They were unable to fly out for three weeks.

She is currently working with a representative to find placement in Sendai for the three sculptures she’s created by March 2013.

The first piece, “Mamoru,” portrays a woman running with a look of terror on her face.

“I would see these photos of women clutching their children and running,” Morhous said. “It was pretty devastating.”

The second, “Sendai,” is a figure crumpled on the ground with water rushing over it, representing how the city felt completely overwhelmed by the tsunami.

“Fukkou,” the last piece, represents resurgence, that the city’s residents will resurrect their lives and persevere. The figure in the sculpture is pushing itself up and rising from the water.

“The Japanese people are phenomenal,” said Morhous. “I dedicated these sculptures to the people of Sendai, so future generations and visitors alike will not forget the devastation the community endured.”

Morhous became interested in creating art at a young age. Her mother was an artist and would always have craft projects for her to do and she got used to making three-dimensional art. Art wasn’t something she necessarily picked or started to do, it was just something in her.

“To me, life is creativity,” Morhous said. “I can’t imagine being in any other field

Morhous received her masters of fine art in sculpture and printmaking, drawn to the challenge of the printmaking technique.

“I thought for sure I would get a job teaching at the college level, but at the time there were no jobs in California,” Morhous said.

With no teaching gigs available she moved directly into a job as a professional printmaker, represented by an international gallery in Beverly Hills that bought every thing she did. She was commissioned for print works, as well, through the gallery.

“I got burned out because with commissions you’re not doing what you want to do,” Morhous said. “I’m an artist’s artist. I want to do what I want to do, I don’t want to do something just to sell work.”

In time, life took over — she got married and had two children, which took her away from her art a little bit, but for the last 10 years she has been seriously devoted to sculpture.

Along with her husband, she’s a world traveler, finding inspiration for her art in different places and cultures.

In addition to sculpture, Morhous also enjoys photography and plays the cello.

“The arts to me are everything,” she said of her dabbling in the different art forms. “It’s just a high, it’s exciting.”

Morhous’ studio in her home is a small space that comes with an ocean view.

She creates all her work in clay and then they go through the lost-wax casting process before they are bronzed. She has a foundry that does all the molds and pouring.

Morhous has to be meticulous about crafting the texture of her clay sculptures because the bronze will pick up any crinkle.

“It’s not the ideas as much as the technique,” said Morhous of what takes the longest.

Most of her subjects are human as she is drawn to the “sensuous curves of the human form.” Her favorite piece is always the last piece she’s done and, these days, Morhous is trying to be more abstract in her work.

She typically spends about a month or two on individual pieces, usually having one or two in play at the same time, stepping back and making sure the sculpture is just right or good enough to be cast and bronzed. Some don’t make it past the clay stage.

Her artwork is in both private and public collections nationally and internationally, and Morhous hopes her fall show in New York is a step toward establishing herself more on the East Coast.

Recognition however, is not what keeps her working.

“The pride of being an artist is not from what one sells but the inner peace one derives from the act of creating,” Morhous said.

To learn more about her work, visit maidymorhous.com

By Marsha Sutton

More than 64 percent of likely voters in the San Dieguito Union High School District would support a General Obligation bond in the November election to improve and upgrade the district’s facilities, SDUHSD board members learned at a workshop May 9.

“This is a strong result,” said Timothy McLarney, president of True North Research, Inc., an Encinitas-based survey research firm. “Voters are seeing your performance and saying this is a good investment.”

What makes these results impressive, McLarney said, is that high school districts typically receive less support than elementary and unified districts.

Relying on three years of staff and committee research, investigation and planning, the SDUHSD school board authorized the district in March to survey local voters to gauge their reaction to a proposed tax that would address facility needs.

The Irvine-based Dolinka Group, hired by the district in Feb. for bond-related financial advisory services, subcontracted with True North Research to conduct the poll.

McLarney said the 17-minute telephone survey conducted between April 20 and April 27 reached about 500 people whose profiles represented a sampling of the district’s demographic make-up. The margin of error was 4.4 percent.

Participants were asked if they would support increased property taxes to repair and upgrade aging schools, improve science labs, classrooms and libraries with modern technology, and boost student safety and security.

Additionally, they were told that the bond money, although required by law to be used only for capital improvements and school facilities upgrades and repair, would free up general fund money which could then be used to hire and retain qualified teachers and save academic programs.

The district’s proposed General Obligation bond measure, for $448 million, would include independent citizen oversight and would need 55 percent to pass. With survey results indicating 64 percent of voter support, the recommendation by the district’s consultants was positive to move forward.

SDUHSD superintendent Ken Noah said he would bring the item to the next school board meeting on May 24 for discussion. At that time, board members can ask questions and share their thoughts, he said, as well as hear from community members on the issue.

Eric Dill, SDUHSD’s associate superintendent of business services, said exact wording for the bond measure must be decided by the July 26 school board meeting, which is when trustees will vote whether to place the bond levy on the November ballot. Wording must be officially submitted in final form to the county Registrar of Voters by August 10.

Dill said the exact amount and terms have not yet been determined. The district has been using the figure of $25 per $100,000 of assessed property value, for 30 years, as a starting point. For property valued at $600,000, this would cost property owners $150 per year. This amount, he said, would raise the needed $448 million.

The maximum taxation allowed under law for this bond is $30 for every $100,000 for 40 years, Dill said.

The Dolinka contract for financial advisory services related to the GO bond is for $85,000, to be funded by campaign donations and future bond issues.

The polling work will be paid to Dolinka by the district and is costing $18,000 when the poll is complete, $2,000 per month for March through July, $1,500 for August 1 to 15, and other expenses related to authorized work.

The poll findings
Benjamin Dolinka of the Dolinka Group said the poll indicates that voters are aware of the district, know its geographic areas, and are favorably impressed, with more than 67 percent of respondents saying the quality of education in the district was good or excellent.

“This is amazing,” he said. “We don’t see this in the state of California. For a high school district to have this type of rating needs to be recognized.”

McLarney said the category of “don’t know” about the district can be as high as 20 to 25 percent in other polls. “But that didn’t happen, so it indicates they know the district,” he said, telling board members that San Dieguito has “more visibility than they might expect.”

When given a choice of options, the poll revealed that 84 percent of respondents were most concerned with maintaining the quality of education in local schools.

The main reason for supporting the measure was that all the money would stay in the district and be used to support local students. A close second was that good schools help protect and improve local property values.

The main reason for not supporting the measure, according to the 27 percent who said they would vote against it, was that there is too much wasteful spending in government.
After hearing negative arguments, McLarney said the one that most resonated was that now is not the right time to be raising taxes.

Yet even after hearing the arguments against the measure, McLarney said most respondents continued to back it. “Support is quite resilient,” he said.

Conclusions of the report were that the bond measure is feasible, there is a high opinion of the district’s performance, the quality of education is important, and the district’s facilities needs are well-aligned with voters’ priorities.

The district has “a very good chance (that) if you move forward you will be successful,” McLarney said.

Newsman and district parent Graham Ledger, speaking from the audience, identified himself as a member of the Tea Party and addressed the group, saying, “I see a lot of backslapping.”

He asked McLarney how many of those surveyed were homeowners and how many renters, saying this matters because renters don’t pay property taxes and would not be affected by passage of the bond. McLarney said about 65 percent were homeowners and 35 percent renters.

Ledger also said the pollsters were “asking questions in a vacuum” since they did not inform respondents of other local bond measures that might appear on the same ballot.

Competing bond measures
MiraCosta College is considering a possible $500 million bond measure this fall, and the Del Mar Union School District’s Board of Trustees at its April 25 meeting voted 3-2 to authorize a bond feasibility study, to be conducted by Dolinka.

San Dieguito trustee John Salazar asked how these measures might affect support for SDUHSD’s bond.

McLarney said competing initiatives are common and that 94 percent of the time the bonds pass if polling indicates that success is feasible.

Nevertheless, Ken Noah said he had concerns about passage if voters are faced with three GO bonds on the November ballot that all ask for increases in property taxes.

“I worry if we are competing,” he said. “When I heard about Del Mar, it caused me to pause a bit.”

After the meeting, Noah said he anticipated state tax initiatives on the ballot, but that troubled him less than the unknown impact of local school tax proposals.

“This is high stakes in terms of what we’re asking our communities to support,” he said.

Pointing out that SDUHSD has been working on the issue of facility needs and planning since December 2008, he said the community expects due diligence and that the district would be prepared with a list of needs and projects that is the result of a “lengthy, exhaustive and involved process” that is “defensible and consistent with … the community’s priorities.”

Noah said he was aware of MiraCosta’s proposed bond to improve aging facilities at the college’s three campuses, which was based on a 20-year comprehensive master plan. MiraCosta’s boundaries include Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar and Carmel Valley.

But Del Mar’s sudden interest in a bond measure last month came as a surprise, Noah said. “I know this was not on anybody’s radar,” he said.

The issue is further complicated, Noah said, by already existing taxes on property owners for school facilities in Encinitas, Cardiff and Rancho Santa Fe.

Noah said he would recommend proceeding with the bond measure, but if board members have “overwhelming concerns” about competing bonds, “then that would certainly cause me to rethink this.”

His other concern is full board support for the initiative. “If I have wavering support, then I think that would cause us to pause,” he said. The GO bond requires a super-majority — 4-1 or 5-0 — for a governing board to place the measure on the ballot.

“It’s important for me to know whether we have sufficient support at this point to move forward,” he said. “I believe we do, but I want to hear that.”

The San Dieguito Union High School District serves more than 12,000 students in grades seven through 12 and encompasses North County’s coastal region from Carmel Valley and Del Mar in the south, east to Pacific Highlands Ranch and Rancho Santa Fe, and north to the southern edge of Carlsbad.

# # #

Twenty-eight members of a San Dieguito Union High School District long-range facilities planning task force, created in 2008, met regularly to review student demographics, economic trends, housing development and other factors to determine district facilities needs for the next 50 years.

In addition to technology, task force recommendations of proposed projects include modernization, capital improvements, demolition, expansion of existing facilities and new school construction.

The district is considering a General Obligation bond to raise about $448 million to fund the projects listed here. In the southern portion of the district the total comes to about $167.3 million, and in the northern portion the total is about $168.4 million — not including new construction and districtwide costs.

Middle schools ($94.9 million):
• Carmel Valley — $8.9 million
• Earl Warren — $35.1 million
• Diegueno — $30 million
• Oak Crest — $20.9 million

High schools ($260.8 million):
• Canyon Crest Academy — $35.2 million
• Torrey Pines — $88.1 million
• San Dieguito Academy — $76.2 million
• La Costa Canyon — $41.3 million

New construction:
• middle school in La Costa Valley — $15.5 million
• middle school in Pacific Highlands Ranch — $71.1 million (includes land purchase)

Other:
• Sunset/North Coast alternative schools — $10.5 million
• Districtwide technology — $18 million

By Claire Harlin
editor@delmartimes.net

The Coastal Communities Concert Band is holding a particularly special performance on May 20, which will celebrate the work of longtime band member and Del Mar resident Bruce Warnock, 93.

The award-winning band, directed by Dr. Robert Fleming, will perform Warnock’s original “Del March,” written about San Diego’s Hotel Del, Fleming said. Warnock has played trumpet in the band for nearly 25 years, but now suffers from a post-polio condition. The band will also perform a piece called “Dirty Dish Rag,” also written by Warnock.

Warnock said his musical career dates back to the 1920s in Chicago, where he grew up. He said he remembers riding the streetcar when he was 9 to play at the Paul Rader’s Tabernacle Orchestra on the far north side of Chicago. He also tried out for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour in New York at a young age and continued traveling the country for two years, playing in cities from coast to coast. He traveled by bus and made $35 per week.

Warnock taught public school music for 15 years in Illinois and Michigan, and moved to San Diego to become a real estate broker.

The performance will take place at 2 p.m. at the Carlsbad Community Church, at the corner of Jefferson and Pine streets in Carlsbad. The cost is $15 for general admission and $12 for seniors and students. For purchases in advance, contact Kris Sims at (760) 436-6137. Information is available at www.cccband.com.

From left, Nancy Harmon, Roger Harmon, Irving Himelblau and Bob Montgomery stand in front of a Hmong story cloth. Photo: Claire Harlin

By Claire Harlin
editor@delmartimes.net

In the 1960s, the United States employed the tribal Hmong people to fight what’s now known as “The Secret War” in the highlands of Laos. And as the Southeast Asia conflict, which coincided with the Vietnam War, wound down in defeat for the native mountain people, they fled refugee camps in Thailand, where many stayed for decades.

Much of what we know of the Hmong people’s experiences comes from detailed story cloths they embroidered while in the Thai camps, and one local couple — Roger and Nancy Harmon — has managed to collect and preserve a variety of them, which will be presented on May 21 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito (UUFSD). The event will also feature a detailed explanation of the cloths by the Harmons, a photo exhibition and a presentation by Bob Montgomery, who has worked for more than 35 years with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and serves as the executive director of the San Diego Resettlement Office. Proceeds from the event will be donated to “My Library,” an education project for underserved Hmong and other youth in Laos.

Roger Harmon’s love affair with Laos and its people dates back to the late 1960s, when he orchestrated a language program there that focused on teaching English to Hmong people who were being brought as refugees to the United States.

In exchange for their mountain know-how and fighting on the side of the U.S., Roger said, the U.S. government gave them rice.

“Eventually they had to flee into neighboring Thaliand because they became targets themselves,” said Roger. “We put them in harm’s way and we had a responsibility to help them rebuild their lives here in the United States.”

While in Thailand, Roger noticed the colorful, intricately-designed story cloths hanging from bamboo poles in front of many houses.

“The knocked me out,” said Roger. “I had never seen anything like them. They were beautiful.”

Nancy added that the Hmong people had always been well-versed in embroidery work and handicrafts, but they didn’t make story cloths until they were pent up for 25 years or more as refugees surviving a deadly war.

“It wasn’t until they were in the camps that they had a story to tell,” she said.

The Harmons are members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito, and were thrilled when the Solana Beach church’s publicity chair, Irving Himelblau, approached them about doing an art exhibit there. Every few months, the church puts on a new exhibit and every month proceeds from church collections benefit a different cause. The church is also very involved in service work such as Habitat for Humanity, via the church’s social action committee.

“If there’s any strong pillar of justice here, it’s with the social action committee,” said Himelblau, adding that the Hmong story cloth exhibit and associated “My Library” cause was a perfect addition to the church event schedule.

“This exhibit just felt really good, especially given the cause and the historical aspect,” Himelblau said.

Refreshments at the two-hour event will be served and Montgomery will be speaking about the contemporary refugee situation here in San Diego. His IRC office is located in City Heights, which, along with Chula Vista, has a large refugee population.

For more information, visit www.uufsd.org or call (858) 755-9225.

By Claire Harlin
editor@delmartimes.net

Affordable housing, safety, traffic calming measures and mass transit were only a few of the issues brought up May 10 at a workshop on the Solana Beach general plan, a state-mandated document that outlines the vision and policies of land use for the future.

Phase 1 of the general plan process is under way, and the workshop sought to give an update and provide input, which will be used to steer the plan. This is the first comprehensive update to the city’s first general plan, which was implemented in 1988, two years after the city’s incorporation. The California Office of the Attorney General recommends that the general plan be updated every 10 to 20 years, and state law mandates that the housing element of the plan be updated every eight years.

Some new states mandates that will be addressed in this update include new housing requirements, climate change initiatives and a San Diego Association of Governments plan to emphasize land use planning and transportation coordination to promote sustainability and offer more mobility options.

For more information on the general plan update process, visit www.ci.solana-beach.ca.us and click the “General Plan” link on the right column.

By Claire Harlin

editor@delmartimes.net

Isabella Konold holds a dance event at the W Hotel last year. Proceeds from the event benefited a Thai shelter for women battling domestic violence and sex crimes. Courtesy photo

When Isabella Konold watched “Born Into Brothels,” a documentary about the kids of Calcuttan prostitutes being born into the red light district, she was so moved that she wanted to do something about the problem.

“The idea of anybody, especially a child, being forced over and over again against their will, I got really passionate about that,” said Konold, a Solana Beach resident. “I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.”

Just as the performances of those in a work of film inspired her, she thought she may be able to utilize performance to spread awareness and inspire others. Being a professional ballroom dancing instructor, she realized about five years ago that she could use her art of performance in a positive way — and that’s how Humanity In Motion was born.

The idea at first was to literally get in motion for humanity’s sake by having ballroom dancing competitions, in which proceeds would benefit organizations helping exploited children. Jump forward several years, and the organization has taken on a new mission and broader cause.

“I didn’t want the scope of what we do to be limited to just children,” said Konold. “That’s not what Humanity In Motion is. It’s really about shifting the global paradigm in terms of how women are treated in the world and, more importantly, how we are treated as human beings.”

The organization is focusing on not only dance, but all types of performance art. The group is putting on the last local production of the Vagina Monologues on Thursday, May 17, at 6 p.m. at the Carlsbad Theatre, and it’s Konold’s second year to host the play. She also held an art and music fundraiser at the W Hotel last year, with proceeds benefiting a domestic violence shelter in Thailand, and she has a dance performance in the works that will shed light on rape. According to V-Day, a global movement focusing on violence against women, one in three women will be raped or beaten in her lifetime.

The proceeds from Vagina Monologues will fund the upcoming dance performance, which Konold said will be an eye-opening work of choreography that will not only depict the world of sexual assault but contain a sister piece illustrating the related healing process women go through.

“Things like dance and film create immediate impact, not only for the audience, but also for the performer,” said Konold. “We’re creating a transformative experience for everyone involved, across the board.”

Not only is the Vagina Monologues part of the global V-Day movement, but this particular performance is special because several of the actresses are victims of sexual assault.

“It’s a healing process for them, just being part of the show,” said Konold, who said she is still healing from experiencing sexual assault as a child. Both healing and spreading awareness also come from the open door Humanity In Motion creates for victims to get involved and become a part of future performances.

Konold said one of the most personally fulfilling aspects of Humanity In Motion is when women approach her to get involved and share stories they’ve never shared with anyone.

“There can be so much secrecy and shame around being a victim of sexual assault,” she said. “To provide a space for women to be totally OK, honored and accepted, and know there is freedom inside of storytelling, it’s an honor.”

To find out more about Humanity In Motion, contact Konold at isabella@humanity-in-motion.org or by calling (858) 876-8232. To purchase tickets to Vagina Monologues on May 17, visit http://vag.ticketbud.com/vag.

Bob Gerber

By Karen Billing

Carmel Valley lawyer Robert Gerber passed away in his sleep on May 11 at the age of 49.

“I am deeply honored to have shared a small portion of his life,” said his wife Shelley. “He was a loving and devoted husband and father. Our family will miss him more than I can possibly express.”

Gerber is survived by his wife and children Alex, Taylor, Paige and Alyssa. A memorial service will be held on Monday, May 21, at 10 a.m. at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church. A reception will follow the service. (A viewing will be held on Sunday, May 20, from 1:30-5 p.m. at El Camino Memorial Park.)

Bob was an equity partner with the law firm of Sheppard Mullin in its Del Mar Heights office. He joined Sheppard Mullin in 1989 after he graduated from Harvard Law School cum laude. He spent his entire career with the firm and was recognized by his peers as a Super Lawyer from 2007-12, a Best Lawyer in America in 2012 and a Top Attorney in San Diego in 2008, 2009 and 2011.

His professional involvements included: co-chair of the Trade Secrets Subcommittee of the ABA Litigation Section’s Intellectual Property Litigation Committee; chair of the litigation section of the State Bar of California; vice president and on the board of directors of the San Diego Bar Association; a commissioner for the State Bar of California Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation; and was involved in the Louis M. Welsh Inn of Courts and a director of the American Inns of Court Foundation.

He was also a former chair and active member of the San Diego County Bar Association’s legal ethics committee.

Generous and caring, Bob was the founder of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee.

“Bob was always thinking of ways to help others,” said partner Guy Halgren.

He donated thousands of hours to free legal services to the indigent, including the representation of a Mexican teenager in a precedent-setting immigration case Hernandez-Montiel v. INS. In 2010, he was recognized as the firm’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Decade.

One of Bob’s mantras was “practicing law will earn you a living but doing pro bono work will give you a reason to live.”

“I am proud of his many achievements and kind, selfless acts,” said Shelley. “Bob was a wonderful man.”

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Bob can be made to Children of the Night, an organization committed to stopping child prostitution. Bob supported the organization through his pro bono work.

“This is a terrible shock for our family and we would love to use it to do some good for others in need,” Shelley said.

Checks can be mailed to 14530 Sylvan Street, Van Nuys, CA 91411 or directly through their website at www.childrenofthenight.org. Note on the donation that it is in memory of Bob Gerber.

Mark Johnson rides through cobble sector 27 in Inchy, France, during the 2011 Paris-Roubaix.

By Kathy Day

Del Mar resident Mark Johnson shares an insider’s view of professional cycling’s Team Garmin-Cervélo in his new book “Argyle Armada.”

And it’s not just a tiny peek — it’s 11 months worth of being on the road with some of the world’s best riders as they train and race from California and Colorado to the Tour de France.

Mark Johnson at stage 9 of the Tour de France in Albepierre-Bredons on July 11, 2011.

“Being with athletes of this caliber for nearly a year … people so underestimate what they are capable of,” said Johnson, a graduate of UCSD who holds a Ph.D. in English literature from Boston. “They plumb the depths of their physical and psychological capacity.”

It’s that strength and the story behind the sport that drew him to writing the book, which gets its name from the classic argyle on the team’s jerseys. It’s a book written about the team, not for it, he emphasized.

When asked which came first, riding or writing, he said his interests in both developed about the same time while he was at UCSD.

Now 47, he has written about and photographed cycling since the 1980s. He’s also a cyclist himself, although never a professional rider like those in his book, and he’s spent time working with the management of the Garmin-Cervélo team, handling its internal and external communications. (For the 2012 season, the team has a new sponsor and name — Garmin-Barracuda — but the team will still ride Cervélo bikes.)

So when the team members asked if they could license some of his photos, he said he started talking to the team’s founder, Jonathan Vaughters — a former member of Lance Armstrong’s U.S. Postal team — about the possibility of “embedding” with the team for its 2011 season.

Vaughters liked the idea enough to give Johnson unlimited access to the team, from meetings to the bus to hotel rooms. He was there for strategy and training sessions, there for post-race briefings, and there when the cyclists were eating and relaxing.

Because of that, he is able to tell stories of the individual challenges and triumphs, and the politics and business of world-class cycling.

He was also there to see them tackle such races as the Amstel Gold in Holland, which has 32 climbs over the equivalent of 162 miles.

“That’s like going up Torrey Pines 32 times at 20 mph,” he said, adding that for the cyclists it’s just another day at work.

“It’s like joining a monastery — it’s all that they do.”

While the term “embedded” normally connotes a reporter’s involvement with the military during war, Johnson said his agent used the word appropriately in this case.

“I was living and traveling with them. It’s just that the blood oozing from their bodies was from crashing, not weaponry.”

Vaughters quit riding after 2002 because of his “disgust with doping,” he said, and formed a development team to train younger cyclists to “compete at a high level without doping.”

That grew into the team that won four stages of the 2011 Tour de France, wore the yellow jersey – signifying the day’s winning rider – for seven days, and won the overall team title.

“France validated Vaughter’s belief that they could win without cheating,” Johnson said. That the time for one of the toughest mountain stages was three minutes slower than the year before was an indication that there was less doping going on, he added.

But while the race across the mountains and valleys of France is the world’s premier race, for Johnson, a few of the other events along the way were more exciting or more scenic for a variety of reasons.

Among his favorite racing moments was when Garmin- Cervélo’s Johan Vansummeren won the spring classic, Paris Roubaix, one of cycling’s oldest races first held in 1896.

A domestique — a rider who works for the others on the team — he won because he was able to attack and because teammate Thor Hushovd sacrificed his chance of winning for Vansummeren, Johnson said.

“It was a team effort, a poignant moment … a bit melancholy,” he added.

The emotions of that victory are just a small piece of what Johnson was able to capture in words and photos because he was aboard the team bus when Vansummeren came in after the race.

The unique access Johnson was given is something that couldn’t have happened 10 years ago, he said.

Back then a lot of teams were using illegal means to their advantage, but Vaughters had nothing to hide, he added.

For him the 224-page book is a “story about more than the dream. It’s more about the changing culture of cycling.”

It’s also about an economic shift in the sport and the fact that cycling has done more than other sports to eliminate doping.

“The fans would like to know they are truly honest heroes,” Johnson said.

Keeping track of his work while on the road with the team was a challenge. At the end of each day — at whatever hour that was — he wrote on his notebooks a few identifying details and downloaded and tagged his photos. His background in English literature was helpful with his writing and his ability to follow through on the narrative and the overall project.

For a brief time, his wife Melinda — also a cyclist — and sons Nico and Sammy joined him in Spain, staying for a couple of weeks to take Spanish lessons. After that they joined him for a stage of the Tour de France.

He spent most of December and January writing the final draft; the book was published in early March.

When he got down to meeting with his editor in November, he had 100,000 photos that they culled to 250. “They were critical because they affected the narrative,” he said, as he showed how the copy flows with the imagery on each page.

Because the coffee table-style book is laden with such a wealth of photos, Johns said he fears that people may not read it.

But the story is as important as the pictures, he said.

Johnson didn’t just pick up a pen and start writing. He’s a student of sport, who counts among his reading list Christopher Thompson’s “Tour de France: A Cultural History” and Marvin Miller’s “A Whole Different Ball Game,” which tells the story of how baseball changed when players unionized.

He’s also read Terry Lovell’s “Bernie Ecclestone: King of Sport” to learn about “how Formula 1 became a $2 billion dollar business.” And sitting on his nightstand is Terry Pluto’s “Loose Balls,” which is about the rise and fall of the American Basketball Association, which he plans to read “for insight on how not to run a sports league.”

Johnson says he has “become fascinated by how other major sports have evolved as businesses, because in many respects pro cycling never did.”

Professional cyclists do not share in television revenues as other athletes do, he added. “They survive by going to sponsors.”

It’s not an inexpensive sport, he said, detailing some of the expenses: Each team has about 30 riders, who have three or four bikes each. It costs about $250,000 per team in wheels alone, although the gear comes from equipment sponsors. Add in the flights and hotels and staff of, on average, two per rider.

Vaughters, he said, “has figured out a way to introduce change into the way the sport is managed.”

But until the riders organize or until “someone recognizes a lot of money is being left on the table,” he doesn’t see the economics of cycling changing.

“There are as many cyclists as there are tennis players, golfers and snow skiers combined,” he said to make his point about the popularity of the sport. “The market is there, but there’s limited exposure because cycling is organized by different people in different countries.”

Today, Johnson is busy traveling to market the book. He spent recent days along the route of the Tour de California, holding book signings and talking about the project. He’s entertaining thoughts about another book, perhaps about professional triathletes, and continues to work for the Garmin-Barracuda team and write for a broad range of cycling publications.

And when he’s not doing all of those things, chances are he can be found on the waves in Del Mar.

Quick Facts
Name: Mark Johnson, 47

Distinction: Author of “Argyle Armada: Behind the Scenes of the Pro Cycling Life,” an insider’s view of professional cycling’s Team Garmin-Cervélo.
Johnson has a Ph.D. in English literature from Boston University and graduated from UCSD (BA in English and American literature) with honors. He has also bicycled across the country twice and surfed Jeffery’s Bay, South Africa.

Family: Wife, Melinda Johnson, physical therapist at Pluta Movement Therapeutics in Solana Beach; sons Sammy, eighth-grader at Earl Warren Middle School, and Nico, fifth-grader at Del Mar Heights Elementary.

Interests: Surfing, bicycle racing, photography, “trying not to fall too far behind on my New Yorker subscription,” reading.

Reading: Last book I read was Marvin Miller’s autobiography, “A Whole Different Ball Game” … I’m also reading Terry Lovell’s “Bernie Ecclestone: King of Sport.” All-time favorite book is Melville’s “Moby Dick.” That’s the one book I’d take to a desert island — every time you read [Moby Dick], it seems just as provocative, fresh and surprising as the first.

Favorite films: “Pulp Fiction,” “In Bruges,” “The Triplets of Belleville”

Favorite getaway: Ericiera, Portugal, for its food, wine and waves. And for cycling, it’s hard to beat the scenery and roads of Girona, Spain.

Philosophy: As far as I can tell, we only live once, so might as well try.

‘Argyle Armada: Behind the Scenes of the Pro Cycling Life’
Text and photos by Mark Johnson, published by VeloPress
Hardcover, $39.95
Autographed copies available at ironstring.com.
Also available at some area bike shops, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, velogear.com.

By Jeanne McKinney

She was just a child in Bangkok, Thailand, when she was exposed to a shocking scene during the Vietnam War. Her father, an American Air Force officer, was stationed at Dong Muang Air Base and would take her and her brother into the office with him. One day, a plane landed and she watched as body bags were unloaded, one after another. Her father told her to never forget that “young people are the ones who bear the brunt of war.”

Rear Admiral Pittman and Rebecca Feaster-Pittman (Courtesy of Rebecca Feaster-Pittman)

This distinctive childhood memory was present years later, in 1993, when she answered a handsome young officer’s proposal with, “Ask me to marry you again when we’re not in a war zone.” Earlier, in 1990, they had met in Puerto Rico — she on a drug interdiction assignment for the Air Force and he, her Navy counterpart.

“I didn’t particularly like him at first — he wasn’t my type.” However, she admired that he was hard-charging and had a plan and soon began to fall in love. For Lieutenant Hal Pittman, it was immediate attraction for this dark-haired beauty. “She was outgoing, fun and adventurous.” Another assignment called her away from Puerto Rico and Hal. Ahead, a noble legacy was to continue.

Rebecca Lynn Feaster is a descendent of generations of American military service members, starting with the Continental Army, to later include Confederate forces, and she is African-American. Rebecca says, “If you really love your country, you serve it. With greatness comes sacrifice. It’s not just about taking and taking.” Because she’s spent so much time overseas — her entire life entwined with the military — she believes, “This is the greatest country on the planet. To be born in the United States, you’re in the top 5 percent of the world’s population in relation to accessible resources and opportunities.” With this, she considers, “How do you give and live your life so it’s an exemplary one?”

Rebecca’s father, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, joined the military because he was a black man in the 1950s who had a college degree and few chances to use it in civilian society. Her sister Hilary is an Air Force Lt. Colonel on the rise, currently serving in Afghanistan. Rebecca and her siblings learned from their father to do the right thing, work hard, and to pursue something they had a passion for.

After attending middle and high schools in Wethersfield, Conn., Rebecca considers herself blessed to have received her commission through an ROTC scholarship that helped her earn an economics degree at Tufts University. From there she joined the Air Force as a munitions officer, but it wasn’t her passion. Thankfully, a senior officer allowed Rebecca to change career fields and get into public affairs.

Rebecca and Hal’s careers crossed again during deployments to the Gulf and Saudi Arabia in 1992. “Our paths were going to collide, no matter what geography was between us.” So after a two-and-a-half-year courtship, when somehow they knew “the time was right,” she left the Air Force and became a Navy wife.

Rebecca has been with Rear Admiral Pittman most of his career. She tells young women, “If you’re thinking of marrying someone in the military, this life is not for everyone.” There are career and school shifts, quick moves, financial cutbacks, months of separation, and daily frustrations. She adds, “You’ll often be a single parent. You won’t hear from them every day and when they come back you have to step into a secondary role on how to run things and that takes huge adjustments.”

Rebecca and Evan Pittman (Courtesy of Rebecca Feaster-Pittman)

The October 2000 suicide bombing of the guided missile destroyer, the USS Cole, was a refining fire in more ways than one for Rebecca. “My husband called from the Pentagon saying, “There’s been a terrible accident. Sailors are dead. I’ve got to go.” I was in grad school, we had a newborn that was teething and replied, “You’ve got to be kidding me?”
Rear Admiral Pittman was sent to the grizzly bombing scene in Yemen with the Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST) when he got a call at his hotel. Rebecca relates, “I was having an extremely frustrating day telling him, ‘I don’t like the military. I hate the Navy and I can’t believe you’re there.’ He said to me in the calmest voice, “Listen, you’re doing a great job at home. Now, there’s a potential suicide bomber threat in this hotel and we have to put mattresses on the windows. Can I call you back?”

“He was so kind and sweet and loving,” which made her think, “Oh no, the last thing this man’s going to hear from me is this horrifying rant.” She hung up the phone and was scared.

In 2004, Hal, then based at Central Command, was with General Abizaid’s team visiting an Iraqi police station in Fallujah when a handful of snipers attacked. Rebecca heard from one of Hal’s mentors at the Pentagon, “We think everything is fine. If there were [American] injuries, we’d know about them.” But there were hours wondering if her husband was safe. Later, Hal emailed asking if they had enough life insurance on him. Rebecca says, “We [in the military] have to prepare for doing this life without our soul mates.” Rebecca’s own mother has been a role model on making the most of hard situations.

Rebecca has turned trials to triumphs with a self-made business. Utilizing her master’s degree in international public policy from John Hopkins University and years working in public affairs, she works with executive and community groups across the U.S. on how to handle crises. She delivers more than a dozen courses and her personal favorite (which is often requested) is about understanding Islam, backed by her studies and having lived as a Christian in Muslim countries such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Her love and joy is being part of the Feaster-Pittman team in support of their 13-year-old son Evan, unusually gifted in music and athletics. He’ll answer his mom’s question about his day at school with, “Let’s not talk about school. What happened in the world today?”

The former young Navy Lieutenant describes his wife, the reluctant former Air Force officer as, “warm, open and kind, yet practical. I don’t know anyone I’d rather hang out with.” She says marrying her persistent suitor was, “the very best decision I’ve ever made. I’m blessed to have him in my life.” They’re moving on to the next challenge as Rear Admiral Pittman retires. “We still have a son to get through college.”

From a shocked little girl overseas to a woman contributing much to her country, Rebecca advises, “The way you live your life is important because you don’t know when it will be over.”

Carl Hilliard

Editor’s note: This is the second article in a weekly series profiling the candidates in the District 3 county supervisor race. The candidates for the District 3 seat include Carl Hilliard, Dave Roberts, Steve Danon, Stephen Pate and Bryan Ziegler.

By Claire Harlin
editor@delmartimes.net

When Carl Hilliard’s application for endorsement came across the desk of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the statewide political organization’s board didn’t have to think twice about backing the Del Mar Mayor in his county supervisor campaign.

“Hundreds of people apply and aren’t considered,” said Kris Vosburgh, the association’s spokesman. “He didn’t even need an introduction. They already knew Carl; they’ve known him for more than 30 years, and they know he’s a taxpayer ally … The reason for our existence is to advance taxpayer rights, and he’s totally consistent with our mission.”

Hilliard is running for District 3 County Supervisor against Dave Roberts, Solana Beach’s deputy mayor; Steve Danon, chief-of-staff for Congressman Brian Bilbray; and local residents Bryan Zeigler and Stephen Pate.

Hilliard’s campaign rides much on a reputation of fiscal know-how and dedication to treating the “public purse” with respect. That goal is a product of his colorful past as a telecommunications lawyer who successfully negotiated and arranged the launch of numerous space satellites worldwide, a former businessman who started a large telecommunications company from the ground up, and an electronic countermeasures officer in the Navy, among a long list of other titles and achievements.

Hilliard said one of his biggest fiscal achievements is improving the fiscal climate of Del Mar during the time he has been in office, making the city one of only two in the county to have an “AAA Standard & Poor’s (S&P)” bond credit rating.

“We watch every penny, nickel and dime,” said Hilliard in a recent interview at the L’Auberge Hotel’s Kitchen 1540 restaurant. “It’s easy to forget that those pennies, nickels and dimes aren’t yours; they belong to the taxpayers. I never forget it’s somebody else’s money I’m responsible for.”

He added that he and his colleagues always do a cost-benefit analysis before making monetary considerations.

Hilliard’s fiscal responsibility and knack for numbers was already evident with his very first job as a teenager working as a “print monkey,” he said, at a local paper supply company. It took hardly any time for Hilliard’s boss to pick up on his abilities and hand him more prudent responsibilities.

“My job was to make sure the ink boxes were filled on the printing press, but one day my boss yelled at me, ‘Hey college kid! Can you add?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ and he said, ‘OK, get payroll out by tomorrow,’” Hilliard recounted, adding that he has been meticulous with numbers from a young age.

A streamlined budget was key in Hilliard’s creation of telecommunications firm Via/Net Companies without a nickel of outside investment. He ran the company successfully with his wife, Sharon, for more than 26 years.

Hilliard has enjoyed his successes that have come from his budgetary expertise, but he said he holds close to his heart a belief he inherited from his father and grandfather — that one should devote 10 percent of their earnings and time to others. He said this generosity grew from the hardship of living through the Great Depression.

“They strongly believed that if you are privileged by virtue of your education and experience, then you are in a position to help others,” he said.

That’s how Hilliard feels about holding office. After a decades-long business career, he’s not running to further a political career, he said, but to give back to the community and be in a “position of service.”

He said serving since 2004 on the Del Mar City Council — and being elected by a 72-percent majority — is a good example of this.

“The council is like a board of directors, and the city manager is like the president of the corporation,” said Hilliard, pointing to his dedication to the interests of the community — or in this scenario, the “consumers.”

“The elected officials have to respond to the people they serve,” he said, adding that he gets anywhere from half a dozen to a dozen phone calls or emails per week from residents of Del Mar who have a problem with the city government process and seek to bypass city staff.

“Sometimes it’s a view complaint from someone who doesn’t even live in Del Mar, and we still fixed it,” he said. “I try to make everyone realize that we work for the public.”

Hilliard is a Del Mar resident, but he said his experience on numerous regional boards and committees has developed important contacts and increased his familiarity with all the cities in District 3. He’s served as vice chairman of the San Diego Association of Governments planning committee, vice chairman of the League of California Cities legislative committee, and he’s a member of the North County Transit District Board of Directors.

Ensuring clean water, combating childhood obesity, improving air quality, providing public transportation and creating jobs are only a few issues that Hilliard prioritizes, but he said his biggest asset is knowing how to exercise careful, effective spending.

“There is great temptation when a group comes before you with a very worthy project,” he said. “But improving the public’s health, well-being and safety — that’s where the money needs to be spent.”

For more information, visit www.hilliardforsupervisor2012.com.

Canyon Crest Academy student Thomas Swayze with CCA teacher Brian Shay. Photo: Rob McKenzie

By Joe Tash

For many high school students, the two most dreaded words in the English language are “math test.”

Not so for Thomas Swayze, 17, a junior at Canyon Crest Academy. Thomas gets so much satisfaction from figuring out complex math problems that he voluntarily takes grueling math tests in his spare time, for fun.

Last month, Thomas competed in the USA Mathematical Olympiad, a nine-hour test given over two days, containing only six math problems. The results were announced on Wednesday, May 9: Thomas was one of 12 winners nationwide, and one of only five students to earn a perfect score. He was also chosen for the U.S. national mathematics team that will compete this summer in an international Olympiad to be held in Argentina, which will include teams from about 90 countries.

Thomas is the first San Diego County high school student to win the prestigious U.S. math contest, said Brian Shay, his teacher and math team coach.

“It’s basically the Olympics for math,” said Shay of the national contest. “Like Michael Phelps is to swimming, Thomas Swayze is to math.”

The competition centers on “proof-based problems,” in algebra and geometry, which are on par with work that college undergrads or even graduate students might be expected to master, Shay said.

“It’s deeper and more theoretical than math students are used to in high school,” said Shay.

Before heading to Argentina, Thomas will participate in a three-week math training program at the University of Nebraska, the headquarters of the Mathematical Association of America, which sponsors the Olympiad competition. He’s attended the training program the past two summers. Olympiad winners will also be honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in June.

Thomas said he first knew he was interested in math at a very young age, when he would count anything he saw, including sand bags at a construction site near his family’s home. By elementary and middle school, he had begun competing in math contests.

“I just liked doing the problems, that’s how I got into this,” Thomas said. “I like the connections and relationships that I can see. It just has an appeal to me.”

For the Olympiad, Thomas and 17 other San Diego County contestants gathered at UCSD. The test was broken into two four-and-a-half hour sessions, and contestants had to maintain complete silence during the entire event.

In order to successfully solve the problems, Thomas said, contestants not only had to come up with the right answer, but they had to explain why their answer was the only possible solution to the problem. Competing in the Olympiad requires both math and writing skills, he said, because much of the exercise involves the written explanation of how the problems were solved.

Thomas said he is driven less by the competition with other students than the challenge of solving complex mathematical problems. “I just want to solve it. I don’t want to get beat by the problem,” he said.

Although he doesn’t focus as much on the competitive aspect of the Olympiad, he said, “It’s pretty cool to know there’s five perfect scores and I’m one of them.”
Shay said the Canyon Crest math club has 20 to 30 active members, who gather twice weekly to polish their problem-solving skills, and also compete in a variety of math contests with other schools. Another student, Paolo Gentile, won this year’s junior math Olympiad, Shay said.

The Olympiad is intended to build on students’ interest in math, and discover math talent that can be developed into tomorrow’s professors and theoreticians, Shay said.

Thomas said he’s not sure yet what field he’ll pursue, whether he wants to be a professor or researcher or use his math skills in a more practical field, like the stock market. But he’s interested in attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and seeing where his interest and aptitude in numbers can take him.

“I’m most interested in the pureness of math itself. But the nice thing about math is that it’s so broad it can take you in a lot of directions,” he said.
Below are links to the six problems — and their solutions — featured in this year’s USA Mathematical Olympiad:

http://amc.maa.org/usamo/2012/2012USAMO_Day1_Final_P.pdf

http://amc.maa.org/usamo/2012/2012USAMO_Day2_Final_P.pdf

http://amc.maa.org/usamo/2012/2012USAMO_Day1_Day2_Final_S.pdf