Serving San Diego’s Premier Urban Communities for 20 Years sdnorthparknews.com
Vol. 20 No. 6 June 2012
NORTH PARK SCENE
FINAL COUNTDOWN ON PLAZA DE PANAMA PLAN City Council to vote on controversial project in July
Taste of Adams Avenue Finger-lickin’ good should be the theme of the 12th annual Taste of Adams Avenue, the annual culinary offering served up by the Adams Avenue Business Association. It takes place on Sunday, June 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. along Adams Avenue and will feature samples of food and drink prepared by more than 20 restaurants, coffee houses, pubs from Normal Heights to Kensington. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of. Purchase advanced tickets online at tasteofadamsavenue.com. Tasters can visit the shops either on foot or complimentary trolley service along Adams Avenue. Businesses offering their specialties include Bleu Boheme, Blind Lady Ale House, Burger Lounge, Café Cabaret, Cantina Mayahuel, Di Mille’s Italian Restaurant, El Zarape, Farmhouse Cafe, Hanna’s Gourmet, Incredible Cheesecake Company, Kensington Café, Kensington Grill, Lestat’s, Ponce’s Mexican Restaurant, Proprietors Wine Reserve Wine Bar, Rosie O’Grady’s, Sabuku Sushi, Senor Mangos, Star-
Holley Berkley has her hands full of chicks.
BACKYARD CHICKS The Berkley Household has a pecking order Quiet evenings around the dining room table, leisurely neighborhood strolls and . . . the cackle of backyard chickens? While the latter may not complete your picture of the ideal home setting, raising chickens is increasingly becoming a part of many residents’ lives, including that of the Berkleys. Holly Berkley, Internet marketing consultant, author and former San Diego State University lecturer, husband, Keith, and their two boys, Calvin and Charlie, have been raising chickens in the backyard of their South Park home for the past three years.
“It makes us slow down and appreciate things . . . appreciate where our food comes from,” Holly said. She thought it would be a fun experience “for the kids” to collect eggs in the morning, she said, before admitting that the chickens “get quite addicting.” “The kids and I love it. We’ll have them in our laps when we watch TV.” “Yeah, that’s weird,” Keith said. The little fancy ones (silkies) come in the house sometimes and have names like “Spiderman.” The kids name them. The growing
SEE SCENE, Page 11
SEE CHICKS, Page 5
Preservationists of the Year
PHOTOS BY SANDÉ LOLLIS
SOHO presents its 2012 People in Preservation Awards The North Park Historical Society has been presented the Neighborhood Preservation Award by Save Our Heritage Organisation for its efforts to establish the Dryden Historic District, named for David Owen Dryden, the master builder of 20 homes in the district. The Historical Society — led by Steve Hon, George Franck, Katherine Hon and Daniel Marks — was one of several groups, individuals and agencies honored by SOHO as part of the 2012 People in Preservation Awards program. The Dryden Historic District was approved by the city’s Historical Resources Board in 2011. The six-block neighborhood on Pershing Avenue and 28th Street from Upas to Landis streets encomSEE SOHO, Page 17
BYBY CECILIA BUCKNER
The controversial Plaza de Panama project, a proposal to rid cars from the center of Balboa Park in time for the park’s centennial in 2015, is nearing a crucial City Council vote in July amid a chorus of voices both praising and condemning the plan put forward by Qualcomm Inc. co-founder Irwin Jacobs and promoted by Mayor Jerry Sanders. The Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO), a group that has rallied opposition to the multi-milliondollar proposal over the past few months, claiming it will ruin the historical character of the park, has noted that the city’s Park and Recreation Board, the Historical Resources Board and the House of Pacific Relations each has voted to oppose the Jacobs plan. Other objections have come from the National Park Service and the state’s historic preservation officer, M. Wayne Donaldson, claiming the plan would jeopardize the park’s status as a National Historic Landmark District. The central argument against the Jacob’s plan is its proposal to build a bypass bridge from the Cabrillo Bridge — the so-called Centennial Bridge — that would direct vehicle traffice to a three-level parking structure in the interior of the park. Supporters of the Plaza de Panama SEE PLAZA, Page 4
MUSIC IN THE PARK Bird Park Summer Concert Series will bring a variety of music to the stage Nikki Berdy, president of the North Park Community Association, is a big fan of the summer musical concerts that take place at Bird Park, the small, bowlshaped grass and tree-studded acreage that sits just west of 28th and Thorn streets. “What a great evening for families, friends, and neighbors to come together to enjoy the beautiful park setting while listening to local bands perform,” she says. “People of all ages are encouraged to get up and dance, which is BY MANNY CRUZ
North Park Historical Society leaders, from left, are George Franck, Gabriela Marks, Steve Hon, Katherine Hon and Daniel Marks.
SEE MUSIC, Page 18