Serving San Diego’s Premier Urban Communities for 21 Years sdnorthparknews.com
Vol. 21 No. 3 March 2013
The Peace Garden of Normal Heights Devotees of Indian spiritual master transform a patch of earth into a tranquil setting for meditation BY DAVE SCHWAB
OLP Wins Court Fight To Expand Its Normal Heights Campus After a protracted battle with some of its neighbors and a legal skirmish with the San Diego City Council, the Academy of Our Lady of Peace has won the right to expand its enrollment to 750 students and to build a two-story classroom building and a two-story parking structure. The victory for the all-girls Catholic school (OLP) came after the school sued the city, claiming that the City Council’s 2009 decision to deny the SEE OLP, Page 6
Pictured, from left: Mahiyan Savage, Gangadhar Rocherolle, Sujantra McKeever, Papaha Gosline and Gayatri Rocherolle with son, Durdam Rochelle.
East meets West at the newly minted peace garden on Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. A bronze statue of peace “apostle” Sri Chinmoy is the centerpiece of the rock- and wood-chip garden that now graces the once-vacant, quarter-acre dirt lot at the corner of Adams Avenue and Arizona. Chinmoy, who died in 2007, was an Indian spiritual master who began teaching meditation after moving to
New York City. A prolific author, artist, poet, athlete and musician, Chinmoy was best known for his association with the United Nations, and for holding public events — concerts, meditations, SEE GARDEN, Page11
NORTH PARK SCENE Community Corner Vol. VIII: Medical Marijuana and Our Community BY OMAR PASSONS
Saint Augustine Juniors Help the Homeless One Red Bag at a time
BYALEXANDER DANILOWICZ
(Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the campus student newspaper, The Augustinian.) St. Augustine juniors Michael McRoskey and Kevin Bitar have teamed up outside of the classroom to change the lives of the homeless, one bag at a time. In 2010 Michael founded The Red Bag Inc., a nonprofit corporation devoted to providing material and spiritual nourishment to those who need it most. Kevin joined the project in August 2012, acting as The Red Bag’s director of ambassadors. What is a Red Bag? The better question: what isn’t a Red Bag? An energy bar, bottled water, raisins, trail mix, beef jerky, chewing gum, and a hand wipe, all packed into one reusable, recyclable, and waterproof drawstring bag. For $5 you get a care package of essentials to have at the ready in your car to distribute to a homeless person in need. Michael and Kevin encourage everyone who purchases a Red Bag to add a personal note or prayer, as well as toiletries, warm socks, fruit or a blanket. Have you ever felt compassion for a beggar on the street, but were SEE AUGUSTINE, Page 6
In about mid-February I saw a medical marijuana dispensary re-open on University Avenue here in North Park. For those who aren’t aware, the voters of the state passed Proposition 215 in 1996, which made it legal in the state to consume marijuana when prescribed by a physician. Our federal government still says its illegal, but that’s a story for another day. I am neither an advocate for the compassionate use of medical marijuana nor an anti-marijuana activist. What I am is someone who cares about whether and to what extent medical marijuana dispensaries are the Red Bag Ambassadors Juniors Kevin Bitar (left) and founder Michael McRoskey.
SEE SCENE, Page 5