La Jolla Community Center to undergo renovations
Renovations are scheduled to begin in January at the La Jolla Community Center following completion of its capital funding campaign, which secured money for new courtyard doors and furniture, new folding chairs and upgraded audio/visual equipment, according to the center.
“This milestone is a testament to the dedication and unity of our amazing community,” Executive Director Nancy Walters wrote to supporters. These improvements will greatly enrich our community experience, and we couldn’t have done it without you.”
Additional details were not immediately available.
The Community Center is at 6811 La Jolla Blvd.
Community planners unable to vote on hybrid meetings
Lack of a quorum made the La Jolla Community Planning Association unable to have a special meeting last week to determine whether it would allow hybrid meetings (both in person and online).
La Jolla Community Planning Association board member Greg Jackson talks about whether to consider hybrid meetings. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)
The group was to have the special meeting Nov. 7 ahead of its regular monthly meeting. At least 31 LJCPA members needed to be present to vote on the provision. However, only 30 attended, so the discussion will be delayed to next year.
A decision to allow hybrid meetings would not immediately launch them but would give LJCPA the authority to have them if it chooses. Some board trustees and general members have requested that virtual attendance be an option.
Should LJCPA make the change, it also would apply to its subcommittees, including the La Jolla Shores Permit Review Committee, La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee, La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board and La Jolla Planned District Ordinance Committee.
New daylighting parking law to go into effect soon in San Diego
Starting with the new year, a “daylighting” law will prevent parking within 20 feet of “any marked or unmarked crosswalk” in San Diego.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 413 into law in October 2023, joining more than 40 states that have similar laws.
“Daylighting” is intended to enhance pedestrian safety and increase motorists vision of other vehicles by blocking parking near crosswalks and intersections.
There will be a 60-day grace period between Wednesday, Jan. 1, and Saturday, March 1, before enforcement begins. About 60 San Diego parking enforcement officers will be in charge of putting the law into practice.
The city has begun painting red curbs prohibiting parking at affected spots in densely populated areas, but “as a practical matter, not all city curbs will be able to be marked,” according to Heather Werner, the city’s interim director of sustainability and mobility.
At intersections and crosswalks where there are no red zones or no parking signs, drivers can estimate 20 feet as the length of two Mini Coopers, Werner said.
“We recognize that drivers are going to be learning, and we are trying to do a ton of education around this,” Werner said. “It’s always safer to park farther away from the crosswalk than not.”
The city also has moved 164 metered parking spaces out of restricted zones, 97 of them downtown.
For more information, visit sandiego.gov/parking/enforcement/daylighting.
Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (right), a former star at La Jolla Country Day School and the University of Washington, plays in a WNBA game in July. (Ryan Sun / AP)
University of Washington to retire jersey of ex-Country Day star Kelsey Plum
The University of Washington will retire the No. 10 jersey of former Huskies womens basketball guard Kelsey Plum, a former star at La Jolla Country Day School, when the team hosts Purdue on Jan. 18.
Plum, who now is with the Las Vegas Aces of the Womens National Basketball Association, played at Washington from 2013 to 2017. She will become the first Huskies womens basketball player to have her jersey retired, ESPN reported.
She was the consensus National Player of the Year as a college senior and became the leading scorer in NCAA Division I womens basketball history before Caitlin Clark passed her earlier this year.
Plum was chosen with the No. 1 pick in the 2017 WNBA draft by the then-San Antonio Stars, who soon moved to Las Vegas, where Plum was a key part of the Aces championships in 2022-23. The three-time WNBA All-Star also won a gold medal with the U.S. womens team during this summers Olympics.
At La Jolla Country Day, Plum (class of 2013) won multiple CIF section and state titles and scored over 2,000 points.
International pancreatic cancer study finds home in La Jolla
An international study “billed as the world’s largest effort to increase pancreatic cancer survival rates through early detection” has its headquarters at UC San Diegos Moores Cancer Center in La Jolla.
When Dr. Diane Simeone, New York University’s founding principal investigator, became director of Moores Cancer Center this year, her research also came to La Jolla.
The Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection Consortium, or PRECEDE, is a network of 51 pancreatic cancer centers collaborating on detection and treatment of the disease. They seek to increase the typical five-year survival rate from 10% to 50% through sampling and analysis. PRECEDE currently includes 7,000 participants, with hopes to increase the number to 10,000.
Moores is seeking a federal grant to fund its operations as the headquarters of PRECEDE’s studies. Moores’ current grant ends in April.
For more information, visit precedestudy.org.
UCSD scientists to travel to climate conference in Azerbaijan
Students, faculty and staff from UC San Diegos Scripps Institution of Oceanography and School of Global Policy and Strategy are set to attend the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The two-week United Nations climate conference this month will include world leaders, politicians, experts and others. Delegates will have the opportunity to discuss ocean research and engage in other panel discussions and events throughout the conference.
For the first time, Scripps Oceanography will enact a policy of paying the equity-weighted social cost of carbon associated with the travel costs of its delegates. Individual travelers will be encouraged to pay a portion of the cost, with Scripps contributing the remainder. University of California officials say this will help raise awareness of the costs of travel emissions and that many carbon offsets offered to travelers dont provide the benefits they promise. 