April 8
Mark the
date (Three
Weeks from Today! ) Uptown Sunrise Rotary Club will hold a
Rummage Sale to benefit Florence Elementary on “Rotarians at Work” Day
On Saturday, April 29 fifteen local community activists will be holding a rummage sale at Florence Elementary to benefit the school as part of the district-wide “Rotarians at Work” Day. This fundraiser is the culmination of a month’s long school beautification project which has included raised beds for a student vegetable garden and installing plantings on their grounds.
“We are proud to work together to aid and improve our communities and the lives of our neighbors,” said Chris Chase, San Diego Uptown Rotary Club President. “The Florence Project exemplifies our Club’s motto, ‘Think Big,’” said Chase. “It initiated our very soon-to-be five year old club into collaborations that have been beneficial for all concerned, one of the four-way test principles behind all that Rotarians say, think and do,” adding, “Our club, which meets at Terra Restaurant each Thursday morning at 7am, is a small, but mighty source of ongoing service to our community, and we welcome all who are interested in seeing us in action to visit us at our meetings.”
For more info about Rotarians at Work Day, email Scott Borden.
April 7
The National Repubican Congressional Committee is rightly scared of Francine Busby getting enough votes (50%+1) and winning next Tuesday’s 50th District race in the primary. If you’ve had your televisions on the last few days...you’ve seen their ads blasting Busby and saying she has received big bucks from lobbyists and government contractors. The L-word might describe some of these folks, but it sure ain’t “Lobbyist.” Interestingly enough the Republican getting the most endorsements is Brian Bilbray — a real live lobbyist. Isn’t it time the North County conservatives get representation from someone that is not self-serving?
April 6
“It’s a hard one, because Hillcrest needs the parking badly. On the other hand, it’s really going to impact the community.”
A followup letter from Steve Satz (Vice Chair of Uptown Planners) regarding 301 University —
First:
The building is 14 stories high. Not counting the parking decks is a
common trick that developers use to make their buildings seem smaller.
It’s 148 feet — 14 stories, not 12.
Second: I don’t remember any affordable housing. These condos will start at one million dollars.
Third: The developer had many meetings with the community. At every meeting they were told “The building is too high and too big for Hillcrest.” At each subsequent meeting they came back with a larger building. They may have attended these meetings, but they obviously did not listen. Is Hillcrest ready for a 14-story tower?
I love how they spin things. We always ask for upgraded materials on higher buildings. They advertised that after listening to the community they decided to use stucco. We view this as a negative, and have stated so to the developer. Once more they did not listen to the community.
(HQ note: Steve has been a resident of University Heights for four years.)
April 5
From today’s Fifth Avenue Gazette...
Yesterday I ran the story of the closure of San Diego’s only emergency shelter programs that was scheduled for today at noon. I was mighty pissed about it at the time, but pissed don’t feed the bulldog. It’s one thing to get angry – it’s another thing to do something about it. Bob (McElroy, founder and founder and president of Alpha Project) was angry, too, and he did something about it.
After extending an offer to the City to continue to operate the shelter at Alpha Project’s expense...McElroy heard third-hand from a city bureaucrat that “if it’s raining I guess you can stay open but we’re not paying for it.”
But with the door thus cracked, Bob shoved his big foot in it. He went on the air this morning on KUSI and announced that the shelter will not be closing today as planned. He has pledged to keep the shelter operating at a net cost of $2,400 per day (that’s $12 a head for shelter, meals, restrooms, showers, treatment, counseling, housing placement assistance and myriad other wrap-around services) until the city forces him to close.
There is no telling how long a reprieve Bob’s act of heroism will buy for the 203 people (who slept at the shelter last night) – five of whom are pregnant women, nearly half of whom are over 50 years of age, another half of whom are severely ill and/or permanently disabled. The trend in our fair city is to focus on progress at the price of humanity. Many of the shelter’s residents would not be there in the first place had downtown redevelopment not meant the destruction of more than 400 units of low-cost SRO housing without replacement. The story of how much the city saves by not having those same senior citizens and amputees on the sidewalks collecting illegal lodging tickets from San Diego’s finest is lost on the mainstream media. Still hope for the homeless? Read it all here. (Photo: senior hardluck woman panhandling today along Robinson Avenue in Hillcrest.)
April 4
April 3
Welcome to the neighborhood!
A new business will be opening soon on the corner of Fifth Avenue at Pennsylvania. Vivian Rose features vintage and modern apparel and gifts. With so many businesses moving out of Hillcrest, it’s wonderful to have someone new moving in! We wish you a long life in 92103, Ms. Vivian. Come on, Hillcrest, let’s be supportive!
April 2
It was a beautiful morning in the neighborhood as a small group of community-minded volunteers swept the streets and gutters. Come on, the rest of you! Hillcrest is in need on your help. We’ll be doing it again on the third Sunday of April (that will be the 16th). Big thanks to City Deli for once again donating cookies to the hardy members of the Hillcrest Clean T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Achieves More).
April 1
“It is with sadness but a strong sense of accomplishment that we end our 27-year contribution to LGBT San Diego. We were fortunate to cover a pivotal time in our struggle for civil rights, a heroic response to a devastating plague, a maturation of our community that seemed incredibly distant nearly three decades ago. Where once there were few voices for our community, there are now thousands in the internet age. So we will step aside with a sincere thank you to all who helped make it possible.”
— A note from Ad Ink Advertising (home of HillQuest)... it saddens us greatly to post the above news. We’ve worked with Update since 1983 and will miss the integrity and responsible approach to journalism they shared weekly with our community for over 27 years — putting 1,266 issues on the street. It’s not easy running a newspaper these days. Tom Ellerbrock put up a valiant effort under adverse conditions. Founding publisher Don Hauck’s legacy has now ended, but the people behind the paper will live on forever...they include Pat Burke, Ron Padilla, Queen Eddie, Erin West, Erik Siwak, Ren Petty, Norman Bricker, Benny Cartwright, AJ Davis, Richard Wood, Bob Fox and Neal Putnam.
