Pacific Beach News Briefs February 2020
PB’s Farmers Market expands to Hornblend
The Pacific Beach Tuesday Farmers Market has literally turned the corner. The market, sponsored by Discover PB (which has contracted San Diego Markets to manage it), has expanded onto Hornblend Street from Bayard Street to Mission Boulevard. The farmers market began in July 2011 and since then has occupied Bayard Street from Garnet Avenue to Grand Avenue. The additional street space allows for 80 more vendors, taking the market from 60 to potentially 140 vendors, solving a long-time spacing issue. Shopping takes place 2-7 p.m. every Tuesday, rain or shine. Farmers and food makers interested in participating should e-mail vendor@sandiegomarkets.com
8 seats open on PB Planning Group board
The Pacific Beach Planning Group (PBPG) will conduct its annual election 1-4 p.m. Saturday, March 7 and 4:45-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 at the Pacific Beach/Taylor Library. There are five seats available for residents and three seats available for business owners/operators. Candidates must reside or operate a business within PB and have attended at least two PBPG meetings prior to the election.
Voting is by individual ballot, and participants may vote for as many candidates as there are seats available. Proof of residence or property ownership is required to vote (drivers license or utility bill). The results of the election will be announced during the PB Planning Group meeting 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 at the library.
To run for an open seat, contact Steve Pruett, PBPG election committee chair, at swimski55@gmail.com
Lime electric scooters backs out of San Diego
Just weeks after San Diego City Council banned e-scooters from popular beach spots, one of the biggest players in the industry withdrew from the market altogether.
Lime, the first e-scooter operator to launch in San Diego in early 2018, has pulled all 4,500 of its vehicles from the City, blaming excessive red tape and declining ridership.
“As part of our path to profitability, Lime has made the difficult decision to exit San Diego and focus our resources on markets that allow us to meet our ambitious goals for 2020,” said Brad Bao, CEO of Lime, in an e-mailed statement.
“We appreciate the partnership we’ve enjoyed with San Diego and remain hopeful we can reintroduce Lime back into the community when the time is right.”
Lime — which also quit 11 other U.S. cities, although it continues to operate in 120 markets worldwide — follows Uber’s Jump and San Francisco’s Skip, both of which also complained of City regulations, out San Diego’s door.
Bird, Lyft and Spin are now San Diego’s remaining e-scooter operators.
School district sues vaping manufacturer
Claiming that teen vaping leads to absenteeism, attorneys for the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) filed suit against JUUL Labs on Jan. 7 for “its role in cultivating and fostering an e-cigarette epidemic that disrupts the education and learning environment across the district,” according to an SDUSD press release
“Our district is in the business of educating students in a healthy and safe environment,” said SDUSD superintendent Cindy Marten. “This lawsuit supports district goals by holding JUUL accountable for its harmful marketing practices and unsafe products.”
Filed in San Diego Superior Court, the suit follows similar actions filed by school districts in Los Angeles, Glendale, Compton and Anaheim. All districts seek compensatory damages to provide relief from financial losses as a result of students missing school, to establish anti-vaping outreach and education programs, and to enforce anti-vaping policies.
According to a recent survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 9.5 percent of eighth-graders, 14 percent of 10th graders and 16.2 percent of 12th have vaped within the previous month.
New vaping-related injury confirmed in San Diego County
A new local case of vaping-associated lung injury was confirmed Jan. 8, by the County Health & Human Services Agency.
To date, 43 cases of vaping-associated lung injuries have been reported among San Diego County residents, while an additional three cases are under investigation. While there have been no local deaths, all patients had to be hospitalized.
The CDC currently recommends that e-cigarette, or vaping, products should never be used by youths, young adults or pregnant women. Adults who do not use tobacco products should not start using e-cigarette, or vaping, products.
Poll workers needed for March 3 elections
Poll workers — especially those who are bilingual — are needed for the March 3 presidential primary. (The Registrar’s office is required by federal law to provide bilingual speakers and voting materials to voters who speak Spanish, Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese.)
To become a poll worker, applicants must be a U.S citizen and registered to vote in California, or lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the U.S. Poll workers must have transportation to their assigned polling location, have access to the Internet for online training, and attend a two-hour class in person.
Stipends range from $100 to $175, depending on the assignment. Bilingual workers receive an additional $15 if they are assigned to provide language assistance to voters.
Apply online at sdvote.com or call (858) 565-5800.
City Tacos debuted Jan. 31 at 4516 Mission Blvd., with owner Gerry Torres opening his sixth location in the San Diego area. House favorites include Pollo City taco alongside a signature salsa bar, a rotating selection of aguas frescas and Mexican beers on tap. The PB location also offers vegan and core paleo menu selections, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
City’s outreach for 9-member redistricting commission underway
The start of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Census signals the need for the City of San Diego to convene the Redistricting Commission (Commission). The nine-member Commission, with two alternate members, is selected by a local appointing authority comprised of three retired judges. The Commission will have the exclusive ability to adopt plans specifying City Council district boundaries.
The redrawing of district boundaries is designed to ensure local legislatures are representative of the City’s population and are used for all elections.
Although the application submission period is between May 1 and June 30, outreach for potential Redistricting Commission applicants begins now.
The Office of the City Clerk will visit Community Planning Group meetings and other civic gatherings to inform the community of the opportunity to participate in the Commission. To receive a presentation, call (619) 533-4000 or e-mail cityclerk@sandiego.gov, or visit sandiego.gov/city-clerk
Half-off museum admissions in February
San Diego residents and visitors are invited to pick up a Museum Month discount pass at Pacific Beach/Taylor Library, 4275 Cass St. to enjoy 50 percent off admission to more than 40 San Diego Museum Council member museums. The pass is free and can be used throughout February.
For a list of participating museums, visit bit.ly/museummonthfebruary
Public Info & Passport Services Counter opens
The Public Information & Passport Services Counter, inside the City Administration Building, 202 C St. in downtown San Diego, will now serve as a full-service resource hub, providing services to members of the public and other City departments.
This resource center will offer the public: City services and department directory information, passport application processing, City Council meeting information, Public Notary services, appeals processing, and City documents online and microfiche research.
Services offered to City departments will include processing over-the-counter City documents research requests, processing of Council Actions (e.g. maps, deeds, agreements, etc.), and checking out/checking in City records.
5 unprovoked shark attacks occurred along Pacific Coast in 2019
According to the Shark Research Committee, there were five authenticated unprovoked shark attacks reported from the Pacific Coast of North America during 2019, including two from Southern California, two north of Santa Barbara County and one in Oregon. None were fatal. Four victims had been surfing and one kayaking. The Great White Shark was positively identified or highly suspect in all 5 of the attacks.
The five cases reported for 2019 brings the total number of unprovoked shark attacks occurring along the Pacific Coast during the 21st Century to 113. This is ‘six times’ the Twentieth Century annual average of slightly more than one shark attack per year.
From 2000 to the present, 56 (50 percent) of the 113 confirmed shark attacks occurred during the three-month period of August (17), September (15) and October (24). Victim activity for the 113 shark attacks reported from the Pacific Coast since 2000 were: surfing 66 (58 percent), kayaking 19 (17 percent), swimming 9 (8 percent), diving 8 (8 percent), paddleboarding 7 (6 percent), outrigger 2 (1 percent), windsurfing 1 (1 percent), fishing 1 (1 percent) and boogie boarding 1 (1 percent). sharkresearchcommittee.com
Have a PB news tip or story idea? Call PB Monthly at (858) 875-5950 or e-mail editor@lajollalight.com