life
CITY
HEIGHTS
AZALEA PARK•FAIRMOUNT VILLAGE•HOLLYWOOD PARK•SWAN CANYON•CHEROKEE POINT•RIDGEVIEW•CHOLLAS CREEK
BUSINESS
A special birthday
AUGUST 2012 • FREE •
LA VIDA
Volume 2 • Issue 3
CORRIDOR•FAIRMOUNT PARK•COLINA PARK•CASTLE•FOX CANYON•ISLENAIR•BAYRIDGE•TERALTA EAST•TERALTA WEST
The City Heights Farmers’ Market celebrated its 4th anniversary on July 14. The market sells fresh produce and more from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday, rain or shine.
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NEIGHBORHOODS
Change the world
Monroe Clark Middle School students are partnering with the AjA Project’s PhotoCity Program to tell their story through pictures. Check out some of their samples..
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EDUCATION
On the Sea of Cortez
An Ocean Discovery Institute effort took a group of Hoover High School students focan fishing town off the Gulf of California.
[ P9] EVENTS
Lantern Festival
San Diego Lantern Festival and its food, music and culture come to City Heights on Aug. 17 and 19. The event takes place at Hoover High School.
City Heights breaking ground nationally with school-based health centers Families walk from Edison Elementary to Central Elementary as part of an awareness activity to let them know about their access to health care.
By David Ogul City Heights Life
Central Elementary is like a lot of campuses in the San Diego Unified School District. It is staffed with a caring principal and caring teachers. The folks in the office know all of the kids by name. And lunchtime is filled with a mixture of conversation punctuated by shrieks of laughter. But one thing that sets the campus apart from most others in the country is the Central Elementary School Based Health and Well-
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ness Center, a full-service medical clinic staffed by doctors and nurses that treats students and their siblings before, during and after classes – and during vacations. They also treat the uninsured at no cost. A doctor’s office at a school? “Our mission is to create the conditions where our children become actively literate, contributing, participating members of a democratic society who make a difference in the world,” said Prin-
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Familias caminan desde la Primaria Edison hasta la Primaria Central como parte de una actividad de concientización para conocer más acerca del acceso a cuidados de salud
City Heights pionera nacional de los centros escolares de salud Por David Ogul City Heights Life
La Primaria Central es muy parecida a las demás escuelas del Distrito Escolar Unificado de San Diego. Cuenta con un buen director y comprometidos maestros. El personal de la oficina principal conoce a cada estudiante por su nombre y durante el almuerzo se
escucha una mezcla de conversación acentuada por risas. Pero algo que separa a la escuela de las demás del condado es que cuenta con el Centro Escolar para la Salud y Bienestar de la Primaria Central, una clínica completa con doctores y enfermeros que atiende a los estudi-
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BUSINESS
Loan program creating jobs, helping those starting businesses At least one business is doing well in the face of a sputtering economy. Elizabeth Schott, the executive director of Accion San Diego, reports business has increased 70 percent over the first half of 2012, when compared to the first six months of last year. Accion is a nonprofit micro lender supported by government, corporate, foundation, and individual grants. Because it’s a nonprofit whose mission is to increase income and job stability through self employment, it’s able to take
on much riskier loans than traditional lending institutions. Schott says high unemployment has encouraged many people to start their own businesses, but tightened bank lending standards have left many people struggling to secure loans. That has positioned Accion as a much sought-after provider. Thomas Nguyen, owner of Deluxe Auto Body in City Heights, says he was unable to secure funding from local banks because of his past credit history. He needed cash
to hire two new employees to help him fill a Navy contract to repair military owned vehicles. He was referred to Accion San Diego by the government operated United States Small Business Administration and was able to borrow more than $20,000, which he will repay over four years. “For people like me, Accion is the best solution,” says Nguyen.
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Programa de préstamos crea empleos y ayuda a las personas que están iniciando negocios
City Heights resident Isha Webb designs swimsuits and wedding wear from her home. Check out www.etsy.com/shop/loveybyisha and www.etsy.com/shop/CherriesSwim Isha Webb, residente de City Heights, diseña trajes de baño y trajes y a accesorios para bodas desde su casa. Visite www.etsy.com/shop/loveybyisha y www.etsy.com/shop/ CherriesSwim
Por lo menos una empresa está prosperando en medio de esta difícil situación económica. Elizabeth Schott, Directora Ejecutiva de Acción San Diego, reporta que la organización creció un 70% durante la primera mitad del 2012, en comparación con los primeros seis meses del año pasado. Acción es una organización sin fines de lucro que se dedica a proporcio-
nar micropréstamos gracias a subvenciones del gobierno, empresas privadas, organizaciones y personas particulares. Como la misión de esta organización sin fines de lucro es aumentar los ingresos y la estabilidad laboral a través de empleos autónomos, puede aprobar préstamos más riesgosos que las instituciones de préstamo tradicionales. Schott dijo que la alta tasa de des-
empleo ha motivado a muchas personas a abrir sus propios negocios, pero los estrictos estándares de los bancos han hecho que muchos tengan problemas para conseguir préstamos. Por esto es que Acción se ha convertido en un indispensable proveedor de préstamos. Thomas Nguyen, dueño de Deluxe
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