February 28, 2014

YOUR NO. 1 SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS, SPORTS, EVENTS AND MORE F E B R U A RY 2 8 - M A R C H 6 , 2 0 1 4

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VOLUME 7, ISSUE 9

A Cleaner, Greener Festival Dana Point Festival of Whales organizers promote environmentallyfriendly practices E Y E O N D P/ PAG E 4

As California gray whales make their 10,000-roundtrip mile migration from Alaskan seas to Mexican lagoons, organizers of the Dana Point Festival of Whales are gearing up for their greenest event yet. Here, a gray whale breaches outside the Dana Point Harbor. Photo by Carla Mitroff for Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching

www.danapointtimes.com

Mayor Bartlett Stripped of Some Authoritative TCA Powers

It’s a Diamond Anniversary for Hobie Surf Shops

Wavelengths: Cutting Through the Red Tape Blues

EYE ON DP/PAGE 6

DP LIVING/PAGE 17

SOAPBOX/PAGE 8

EYE ON DP

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LOCAL NEWS & IN-DEPTH REPORTING

CITY AND BUSINESS CALENDAR SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, MARCH 1 AND 2 Dana Point Festival of Whales The 43rd annual event opens up Saturday at 10 a.m. as hundreds march, ride and drive down the festival’s Pacific Coast Highway parade route from Selva Road to Golden Lantern. Events at the Dana Point Harbor, La Plaza Park, Lantern Bay Park and the Dana Point Headlands throughout the weekend, and the following one—March 7, 8 and 9—highlight the California gray whales 10,000-mile migration from Alaskan seas to Mexican lagoons.

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D a n a Po i nt

City Council Meeting Cancelled. The city’s five-member governing body will reconvene on Tuesday, March 18 for a regularly scheduled meeting. Stay with www.danapointtimes.com for a look at the agenda and recap of the night’s discussion.

TUESDAY, MARCH 4 OC Board of Supervisors Meeting 9:30 a.m. County leaders gather in the Board Hearing Room, 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd., 10 Civic Center Plaza in Santa Ana. Visit, www.ocgov.com to view the upcoming agenda.

Dana Harbor Toastmasters Meeting 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Participants can practice public speaking skills in a friendly environment each Tuesday at the Dana Point Library, 33841 Niguel Road. Go to http://1707.toastmastersclubs.org for more.

Preschool and Toddler Story Times 10:15 a.m., 11 a.m. Dana Point children’s librarian Ericka Reeb hosts two story times each Tuesday for preschoolers, toddlers and their caretakers. Call the library at 949.496.5517 for more information.

DANA POINT’S TOP 5 HOTTEST TOPICS

What’s Up With...

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…FOW Parade Closures?

THE LATEST: As the California gray whale migrates south to the lagoons of Baja California, Mexico, hundreds will similarly parade down Dana Point’s Pacific Coast Highway on Saturday, March 1 honoring the 10,000-mile trek of one of the world’s largest mammals.

The 43rd annual Dana Point Festival of Whales opening event begins at 10 a.m., but road closures in preparation for large parade crowds will be implemented hours before, according to a city release.

From 8 a.m. to noon PCH, from Golden Lantern north to Selva Road, will be closed to vehicular traffic. Additionally, San Juan Avenue between Violet and Golden Lantern streets will be closed.

Vehicles will not be allowed to cross the parade route on PCH during the closures. Northbound PCH motorists will be rerouted. Southbound traffic on Del Prado Avenue will continue as usual, providing drivers a way out of the area during the road closures.

Thousands travel to Dana Point each year for the two-weekend festival, mostly based in the Dana Point Harbor. While the city and Dana Point Police Services is attempting to minimize local impacts, delays can still be expected throughout the festival, according to the press release.

WHAT’S NEXT: Access to the Dana Point Harbor will be available throughout the parade, as drivers can utilize Dana Point Harbor Drive and Golden Lantern. Access to Niguel Beach Terrace, Chelsea Pointe and various buildings along the parade’s route will be impacted for a time.

FIND OUT MORE: Check out the official Festival of Whales event guide at www. danapointtimes.com.—Andrea Papagianis Dana Point Times February 28-March 6, 2014

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…Yvonne Baldelli?

THE LATEST: Formal murder charges from Panamanian officials came shortly after former U.S. Marine Brian Brimager pleaded not guilty to federal charges of falsifying documents and obstruction of justice in connection to the disappearance of former Dana Point resident Yvonne Baldelli.

In June, Brimager was indicted by a federal grand jury and arrested at his Vista home. Brimager was charged with 10 counts of obstruction and one count of making false statements to a federal officer. Federal prosecutors later added two counts of falsifying documents. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Baldelli’s dismembered remains were found on a Panamanian island in August.

In September 2011, Baldelli and Brimager relocated from Southern California to the Bocas Del Toro region in Panama.

According to the indictment, the couple moved into a five-unit hostel on Isla Carenero, where Baldelli’s remains were found.

The indictment claims Brimager engaged in a cover up to explain Baldelli’s whereabouts after she disappeared in November 2011.

WHAT’S NEXT: Brimager’s attorney has filed a motion to dismiss the charges. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Brimager is currently in federal custody in San Diego.

FIND OUT MORE: Stay with the Dana Point Times for updates.—AP

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…Utility Phone Scams?

THE LATEST: Phone scams statewide are targeting utility customers with San Diego Gas & Electric, the city of San Juan Capistrano and the Orange County Sheriff’s

Department is warning residents to be vigilant with their personal and financial information.

Callers have misrepresented themselves as utility workers by calling customers and threatening to turn off electric and gas utilities if an immediate payment is not made, according to SDG&E. The utility does not contact customers and ask for them credit card information over the phone, SDG&E said in a release.

Similarly in San Juan, a water customer reported that they had received a phone call requesting payment for an overdue account and to provide a credit card number. The call was automated and prompted the caller to enter information through their phone keypad, according to San Juan city spokesperson Lori Doll.

Thus far, the city has received only one report of such a call.

WHAT’S NEXT: Law enforcement agencies throughout the state are reporting similar phone frauds, according to Gail Krause, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department.

“People need to be extra vigilant with their personal information,” Krause said.

FIND OUT MORE: SDG&E can be reached by calling 800.411.7343 and San Juan’s water billing department can be reached at 949.493.1515.—AP and Brian Park

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…Border Patrol Busts?

THE LATEST: U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents apprehended two men Wednesday evening attempting to smuggle 12.24 pounds of methamphetamines at the Interstate 5 checkpoint south of San Clemente, according to a press release.

At about 6 p.m. agents encountered two 32-year-old men in a black Ford F-150, one a United States citizen the other a Mexican national, who admitted to being in the U.S. illegally during a secondary inspection, a

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CBP official said.

A K-9 search of the vehicle resulted in a positive alert and California National Guard officials performed an X-ray and discovered anomalies in the vehicle.

Agents located a tool bag filled with bundles of meth and other bundles of the drug hidden throughout the truck. The drugs weighed more than 12 pounds and have an estimated street value of $122,400.

WHAT’S NEXT: The two men were arrested and along with the narcotics and vehicle were turned over the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.

FIND OUT MORE: Track breaking news on Twitter @DanaPointTimes.—AP

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…Water Worries?

THE LATEST: Although the state as a whole has been facing a major drought, San Clemente is likely going to be fine for the current year due to past conservation efforts, water conservation analyst Andrew Kanzler told the San Clemente City Ccouncil last week.

WHAT’S NEXT: Though the city is still asking for citizens to conserve as much as possible, Kanzler said the city was likely “OK for now,” because it tried to find ways to expand its supplies in case of emergency. Kanzler warned, however, that some of the resources were dwindling, such as the supply from the Colorado River.

FIND OUT MORE: Visit www.danapointtimes.com to read about regional water issues.—Jim Shilander

Have a story idea or topic you would like to read about? Send your suggestions to editorial@danapointtimes.com. www.danapointtimes.com

EYE ON DP

A Cleaner, Greener Festival Festival of Whales partnerships promote environmentallyfriendly practices

By Andrea Papagianis Dana Point Times

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ingle-use plastic bottles, bags, plates, utensils, Styrofoam containers, stickers, flyers and temporary tattoos are among items left off this year’s Dana Point Festival of Whales welcome list.

Since many of these items are used once before being discarded, partnered organizers of the 43rd annual festival are asking event participants and goers to avoid bringing and distributing objects that often have a hard time finding a recycling bin. It’s part of a decades’ long effort to promote a greener and cleaner yearly celebration of the California gray whale migration, through public education and outreach.

“It is a constant educational message to get people to understand what it takes to protect the planet and the receiving waters of the Pacific Ocean,” said festival organizer Penny Elia. “It is a precious commodity and it is up to all of us to preserve it for future generations.”

Each year, thousands flock to Dana Point to witness one of the world’s largest mammals’ 10,000-mile passage to their breeding and birthing grounds in Baja California in the winter and back to the Bering and Chukchi seas, bordering Russia and Alaska, with their pups in the spring.

And over the last four decades, the festival honoring this natural-migratory custom has grown into a two-weekend event, filled with big crowds, interactive activities and educational series, providing an example of community partnerships at their finest.

Green initiatives throughout the Dana Point Harbor’s business and boating sectors, in Dana Point and in surrounding communities have taken root at the festival where large-scale cleanups take place and local organizations are given a chance to share their work. This year a number of established practices will be joined by new initiatives to make this festival one of the cleanest around.

A DAY OF AWARENESS It’s been 14 years since the Dana Point Harbor Association put an idea into action and launched its first Ocean Awareness Day. The event fluctuates in size each year but has grown into an interactive learning experience where local municipalities, Dana Point Times February 28-March 6, 2014

Members of the San Juan Capistrano-based Great Opportunities get ready to launch a stand-up paddleboard made entirely of recycled materials at Baby Beach. The group is working on its fourth such board for a member to race on in the 5th annual Mickey Munoz Mongoose Cup at the Dana Point Festival of Whales on March 8.

Courtesy of Great Opportunities

While the Harbor, the festival’s main location, has received some warnings at Baby Beach from the Orange County Health Care Agency, the nonprofit Heal the Bay’s annual report card has consistently given the port ‘A’ and ‘B’ grades over the past few years, Gross said.

The positive marks are a testament to the Harbor’s underwater cleanups, recycling initiatives, cigarette-butt roundups and community, business and boater outreach measures taken throughout the year, he said.

A number of clean and green events are at the center of the 43rd annual Dana Point Festival of Whales, which opens Saturday, March 1 with a parade down Pacific Coast Highway at 10 a.m. Check out www.danapointtimes.com for the official event guide or pick up a copy at the festival for a look at the festival’s two-weekend-long offerings. utilities, businesses and groups share efforts with the public.

“Groups can come and do public outreach and show what they are doing, both directly and indirectly, to preserve the ocean for our friends like the gray whales,” said DPHA Executive Director Kim Tilly.

The city of Dana Point and South Coast Water District were among the first participants, which has included the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, American Cetacean Society, Orange County Coastkeeper, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, Sea Shepherd—the nonprofit, anti-whaling organization at the center of the “Whale Wars” television show—and more in recent years.

Work being done to clean up Orange County’s southernmost port by encouraging green boating and business practices have filtered into the county’s partnership with the Festival of Whales. Starting five years ago, the county and festival organizers strived for a Styrofoam-free event, as proactive Harbor businesses have already taken the plunge, said OC Dana Point Harbor Director Brad Gross.

“Since then we have worked to reduce the use of single-use water bottles, Mylar balloons and other items that incorporate small pieces of plastic that easily miss the recycling receptacles,” Gross said.

FILLING UP, NOT TOSSING OUT For the first year, Festival of Whales organizers are encouraging guests to bring their own or purchase a new reusable-water bottle to Harbor events.

With nearly 20 water fountains situated throughout the Harbor, organizers believe filling up on fresh water will be a non-issue for festival goers.

Also, The Ecology Center, a San Juan Capistrano-based eco-educational destination, will have a water truck stationed at key Harbor locations throughout the festival’s two weekends for people to top off their bottles.

“It is all about community, and bringing the greater community together to grow the greater green message,” Elia said.

RIDING THE CLEANUP WAVE Repurposing those single-use plastic water bottles for a greater use has become a central part of one San Juan Capistrano nonprofit’s message to underprivileged children living in the southern Orange County cities of Dana Point, San Clemente and San Juan.

Great Opportunities works in high-density, low-income neighborhoods to help youth recognize their potential and understand that by believing in themselves they

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can achieve anything, said organization co-founder Eric Groos.

Known as Great Opps to participants, the volunteer group centers its work around aquatic-based youth programs to teach life skills like swimming to help kids get out of their neighborhoods. Since its inception, Great Opportunities volunteers have taught about 300 kids a year how to swim, before taking them to the beach to fish, kayak, surf and stand-up paddleboard.

On March 8 the lessons continue as young group members embark on the 5th annual Mickey Munoz Mongoose Cup atop donated SUP boards and some specially made water crafts, dubbed El Plastiki. A new El Plastiki model will be unveiled, bearing the name IV, as kids hit the race course on SUP boards made entirely from recycled materials like plastic-water bottles, recycled wood and campaign signs.

Groos said it is all part of the organization’s larger message to inspire youth to take action.

“At my stage in life I have habits already ingrained where I have to make a conscious effort to make a change, but when you teach a kid at 5, 6, 7, 8 years old, it becomes so innate that they don’t think about their choices, they just do it,” Groos said.

Great Opportunities also participates in beach and neighborhood cleanups to get at-risk youth involved in positive changes where they can take ownership of their surroundings, Groos said. A cleanup opportunity is available for all Sunday, March 8 from 9 a.m. to noon at Doheny State Beach, where Park Interpreter Vicki Wiker will present ways community members can maintain coastal resources.

In addition to water activities and neighborhood cleanups, volunteers take kids on bike rides and teach them how to navigate the public transportation system to get them out of gang-injunction neighborhoods and into surrounding communities, Groos said.

A 137 PERCENT INCREASE The Orange County Transportation Authority and Metrolink have once again partnered with the festival to offer environmentally-friendly modes of transportation to and from the festival’s events.

OCTA ridership increased by 137 percent between two years of the Festival of Whales promotion, with 4,313 riders in 2012 compared to 10,222 in 2013, according to OCTA records.

This year, OCTA and Metrolink tickets, as well as toll road transponders make attendees eligible for special deals, such as whale watching discounts at Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching and the Ocean Institute, room discounts at the Dana Point Marina Inn and coffee and appetizer promotions at The Coffee Importers and Wind & Sea Restaurant.

Also, during both weekends of the festival, free shuttle services will be offered at the Harbor and a new water taxi service will take attendees from the Ocean Institute to Dana Wharf for a small fee. DP www.danapointtimes.com

EYE ON DP

Business Beat

COMPILED BY JIM SHILANDER

News and updates on Dana Point’s business community

NEWS BITES

Compiled by Andrea Papagianis

PROPS, RECOGNITIONS AND MORSELS OF INFO Honoring Sacrifice, Foundation Gives to Children of Fallen Camp Pendleton Marines

Mathnasium franchisee Kapil Mathur accepts congratulations from Dana Point Mayor Lisa Bartlett on the opening of his new store in Dana Point. Photo by Jim Shilander

NEW BUSINESS u Mathnasium, 32932 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 22, 888.962.6284, www.mathnasium.com/danapoint Making sense of math for students from preschool to high school in San Clemente since 2006, franchisee Kapil Mathur has expanded operations to Dana Point.

Mathur welcomed the Chamber of Commerce and city officials Friday, Feb. 21 to a ribbon cutting ceremony, formally opening his family’s fourth center in south Orange

DP Sheriff’s Blotter SPONSORED BY

Dana Point Police Services www.HideitLockitOrLoseit.com COMPILED BY ANDREA PAPAGIANIS All information below is obtained from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department website. The calls represent what was told to the deputy in the field by the radio dispatcher. The true nature of an incident often differs from what is initially reported. No assumption of criminal guilt or affiliation should be drawn from the content of the information provided. An arrest doesn’t represent guilt. The items below are just a sampling of the entries listed on the OCSD website.

Sunday, February 23 SUSPICIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCE Street of the Golden Lantern/Pacific Coast Highway (3:06 a.m.) A Circle K employee notified authorities of a man throwing a shopping cart against an outside wall.

Friday, February 21 DISTURBANCE-MUSIC OR PARTY Niguel Road/Pacific Coast Highway Dana Point Times February 28-March 6, 2014

County. With two other shop fronts in Ladera Ranch and Laguna Niguel, Mather said the San Clemente location had attracted students and families from across the area, making the move to Dana Point a logical opportunity.

The Mathnasium program provides individual tutoring to students who are struggling with math and those who need to be challenged, Mathur said. It actually promises a two-letter grade improvement, he added.

“We teach the way the individual student will best learn,” Mathur said of the company.

(12:16 p.m.) Two callers complained an hour apart about loud drumming coming from a nearby protest.

SUSPICIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCE Caribbean Drive, 32500 Block (12:29 a.m.) Dispatch heard a caller set down her phone and walk away after reporting someone had taken her daughterin-law away. No further details were given.

Thursday, February 20 ILLEGAL PARKED VEHICLE Dana Point Harbor Drive/Island Way (2:14 p.m.) A recreational vehicle bearing a mural of President Obama or the White House was purportedly overstaying its welcome in a time-limited street-parking space. The caller said this had become daily occurrence.

WELFARE CHECK Seven Seas Drive, 32400 Block (2:11 p.m.) Authorities were asked to check on a drunken woman who said she “can’t take it anymore.” The caller believed the woman needed to be hospitalized.

SUSPICIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCE Street of the Golden Lantern, 34500 Block (8:44 a.m.) A video camera-wielding man

u The children of four U.S. Marines killed while clearing unexploded arms from a training area on Camp Pendleton in November will receive up to $30,000 in post-high school funds from the nation’s largest provider of need-based scholarships to military children.

Seven children under the age of 10 lost their fathers November 13. Staff Sgt. Matthew R. Marsh, 28, of Long Beach; Sgt. Miguel Ortiz, 27, of Vista; Gunnery Sgt. Gregory J. Mullins, 31, of Bayou L’Ourse, La.; and Staff Sgt. Eric W. Summers, 32, of Poplar Bluffs, Mo., were elite members of a U.S. Marine Corps explosive ordnance disposal team, all with combat experience.

All four killed had deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 and were recipients of the Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and NATO-Medal ISAF Afghanistan.

Now, through the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, their children will be eligible for funds to help them through their community college, university or vocational schooling. Additionally, the foundation has established the EOD Marine Memorial

with a brown dog was harassing employees at The Coffee Importers, screaming at customers and videotaping passersby.

The man was described as being in his 40s and wearing a brown shirt, blue jeans and flip flops.

Wednesday, February 19 SUSPICIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCE Ritz Pointe Drive, 0 Block (5:33 p.m.)

Authorities made contact with a man who reportedly urinated on the caller’s property. No crime was reported, but the man was warned to stay away.

DISTURBANCE Sepulveda Avenue/Domingo Avenue (4:48 p.m.) A woman involved in a physical altercation near San Felipe De Jesus Catholic was uncooperative with a sheriff’s investigation and refused to press charges against the woman with whom she fought.

The other entangled subject was gone when deputies arrived.

DISTURBANCE Pacific Coast Highway/Street of the Violet Lantern (1:09 p.m.) Six men wearing black pants and blue hooded sweatshirts reportedly attacked a 17-year-old boy with his own skateboard, the boy’s father said.

Orange County Fire Authority personnel

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Camp Pendleton. File photo

Scholarship in the fallen Marines’ honor.

“We are overwhelmed with the generosity of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation,” said Andrea Summers, widow of Staff Sgt. Eric Summers. “While my daughter is only two years old, to know that the cost of college is covered is a tremendous burden lifted off our family’s shoulders.”

Since its founding in 1962, the foundation has provided more than 30,000 scholarships to children whose parents have been killed or injured in combat. Find out more at www.mcsf.org.

Have something interesting for the community? Send your information to editorial@danapointtimes.com.

responded to treat the victim. He was transported to an area hospital. Deputies canvassed the area and questioned nearby business owners, but no witnesses were reported.

Tuesday, February 18 INDECENT EXPOSURE Pacific Coast Highway/Palisades Drive (3:45 p.m.) Sheriff’s deputies were alerted to a man in a blue Honda who appeared to be masturbating while watching beach-going children.

WELFARE CHECK Pacific Coast Highway/Dana Point Harbor Drive (3:24 p.m.) Pedestrians were reportedly walking southbound on Pacific Coast Highway in the northbound traffic lanes. A 40-year-old woman with long hair and wearing a T-shirt and jeans kept walking in front of cars, according to the caller.

TRAFFIC ACCIDENT-UNKNOWN INJURIES Pacific Coast Highway/Street of the Ruby Lantern (1:31 p.m.) Orange County Fire Authority officials responded to the scene of an accident where the driver of a white Toyota Highlander had hit a pedestrian.

The man was up and walking when emergency crews arrived and was treated for minor scrapes. www.danapointtimes.com

EYE ON DP

TCA Chair Bartlett Stripped of Contract Approval Authority Toll Road agency closes loophole providing board chair and CEO with certain powers

By Andrea Papagianis and Jim Shilander Dana Point Times

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embers of the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency board unanimously rescinded a 2008 resolution giving the board’s chairperson and CEO special contracting authorities on decisions made outside the public’s eye.

With it, CEO Neil Peterson and Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett were stripped of the authority to cosign contracts outside of the public’s scope. The 6-year-old board statute gave the CEO and chairperson the authority to sign contracts up to $25,000 for legislative support and strategy measures. The CEO could execute such contracts alone, but extensions had to be approved by the chairperson.

The resolution was part of a budget adopted eight months prior.

At the body’s Feb. 13 meeting, Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer criticized the power and highlighted examples of what he considered authoritative abuse.

Spitzer noted that contracts signed in secrecy with the San Diego-based Gable PR were alarming. According to records, an initial $20,000 contract from December 2007 increased to a total $517,793 in approvals by 2014, to provide media relation services in San Diego for the 241 Toll Road Extension.

“Once an elected official is on the record as hiding from the public’s scope trust is lost,” Spitzer said. “Once you lose the public’s trust, as a public agency, it is very hard to get it back.”

On Feb. 13, Dana Point Mayor Lisa Bartlett, chairwoman of the Foothill/ Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency’s board, lost the ability to approve major contracts outside the public’s scope. Here, Bartlett speaks to a crowd. Photo by Andrea Papagianis

The TCA’s effort to extend the 241 south to Interstate 5, south of San Clemente, was rejected by the California Coastal Commission and the federal Department of Commerce in 2008. A modified plan to extend the toll road from its current terminus at Oso Parkway outside San Juan Capistrano was rejected last year by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, a ruling the TCA has appealed.

“The proof is in the pudding,” Spitzer said. “There is no Foothill South.”

San Clemente City Councilman Bob Baker, who serves with Bartlett on the Foothill board, said the city has a similar policy, allowing City Manager Pall Gudgeirsson to sign contracts to spend up to $25,000 without having to report it to the council.

Gudgeirsson said such spending only comes from funds that have already been budgeted by the council. The council also receives a complete warrant register of all money spent by the city each week, which must be signed by the mayor. The failure of the TCA to report those expenditures were, Baker said, his biggest issue, to go along with making payments on a piecemeal basis.

“We probably should have been notified,” Baker said.

“And some of these $25,000 ones (contracts) escalated …

They turned into $50,000 and $100,000. That’s what got people fired up.”

The board voted unanimously to do away with the 2008 resolution. Spitzer noted he believed Bartlett was acting within her authority as chair. The problem, however, was with her authority being given by previous boards and the decision to continue the resolution was “hidden” in budget approvals, he said.

Bartlett could not be reach for comment.

At the Dana Point City Council’s last meeting, Councilman Bill Brough asked an item be placed on the body’s next agenda to discuss the issue. He said the board’s actions were “unprecedented” and with little knowledge of the agency’s inner-workings, he wanted answers.

Bartlett expressed an interest in discussing the Foothill/Eastern TCA board’s decision at the meeting. DP

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Dana Point Times, Vol. 7, Issue 8. The DP Times (www.danapointtimes.com) is published weekly by Picket Fence Media, publishers of the SC Times (www.sanclementetimes.com) and The Capistrano Dispatch (www.thecapistranodispatch. com). Copyright: No articles, illustrations, photographs or other editorial matter or advertisements herein may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, photos or negatives. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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GUEST OPINION: Wavelengths by Jim Kempton

Cutting the Red Tape Blues Civil War history of the term ‘red tape’ provides stark idea of costs

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he expression “red tape” describes the annoying way that bureaucracy prevents things from getting done.

I’ve often wondered where the term comes from. I found the answer while reading Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book titled Team of Rivals.

The common usage of the phrase by Americans today seems to have stemmed from the American Civil War, the most costly tragedy of our nation’s history. It is estimated that well over 600,000 deaths occurred during the four-year period, between the shelling of Fort Sumter in 1861 and the Confederate surrender at Appomattox in 1865.

Combatants were killed in appalling numbers and often in impossibly rough terrain. In the nearly continuous campaigns, with conflict sweeping from Pennsylvania to Georgia, records were difficult to keep.

At now-obscure locations like Shiloh,

Antietam, Chickamauga, Gettysburg and Chancellorsville, as many as 20,000 troops were killed, wounded or missing within a three-day span.

Because many of the major engagements left a WAVELENGTHS carpet of corpses littering

By Jim Kempton the battlefield, they were often buried where they lay or tossed into mass graves near the battle sites.

Tens of thousands of soldiers were never identified during the battles they died in. Thousands more were captured, interred in prison camps and frequently died without any notification to next of kin.

Survivors did their best to find any belongings or keepsakes that might help identify their fallen comrades to their families back home. Often the personal possessions these soldiers were carrying were collected, tossed into a box and sent

back to Washington to be dealt with. The documents were then bound together with a narrow red ribbon before being shipped off to huge warehouse stations where they were organized as best they could.

Families of missing soldiers would travel to Washington by the trainload to try and find anything about the place their loved ones had fallen and how they had died. Many just wanted their sons’ or husbands’ last possessions to bring home for a proper memorial service.

Families would provide names and addresses while the clerks would rummage through acres of boxes. When they found what they thought might be the right one, they had to cut and remove the ribbons before reading the documents that would clearly identify the deceased men.

The process became known as “cutting the red tape.”

Overwhelmed by the sheer volume, confused by often sketchy information

and badgered by impatient, grieving relatives, finding the right box of belongings became a laborious, painstaking and long-suffering process. Frustrated families railed against the seemingly endless, time-consuming bureaucratic exercise that delayed getting the job done. Years went by before some parents and wives finally were able to find out what happened to their sons or husbands. There was almost nothing that cold be done.

In the end, too many soldiers had died.

There was just too much red tape.

Jim Kempton is a Civil War history buff and San Clemente local of 35 years. He is a great fan of the Internet, which has been an amazing assistance to cutting red tape. DP

the next 60 years and possibly forever.

Radioactive contamination could render worthless hundreds of square miles in Southern California.

The San Clemente City Council has voiced its opposition to the NRC’s decommissioning plan, but where is the outrage from mothers, real estate agents and business leaders? Where is the concern of Rep. Darrell Issa who has done nothing to protect his own district?

Radioactive waste must be transferred from cooling pools to transportable casks, and moved far away to a secure and remote “temporary” site until the nation figures out a permanent solution. After a half century of creating nuclear waste, the

government has no solution in sight. It is possible there may never be a permanent solution.

The new plan to make zip code 92672 a long-term nuclear waste dump may be a solution for the nuclear industry, but this is completely unacceptable for those of us who live here.

There are a lot of great things about San Clemente but being designated as a nuclear waste dump is not one of them.

PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, the DP Times provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not reflect those of the DP Times or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at editorial@danapointtimes.com.

Letters to the Editor ‘BEST TOWN’ SHOULD NOT INCLUDE NUCLEAR WASTE ROGER JOHNSON, San Clemente

It is nice to hear happy talk about San Clemente being “the best town in the world,” but in the letter, (“Setting the Record Straight,” Dana Point Times, Jan. 31-Feb. 6, Vol. 7, Issue 5), Andy Jezuitski apparently doesn’t know that the 92672 is also home to one of the worst nightmares any town could have: A nuclear waste dump.

Unfortunately we have enough uranium here to fuel 20,000 nuclear warheads.

Most of it is sitting outside the domes in pools vulnerable to earthquakes, tsunaDana Point Times February 28-March 6, 2014

mis and human error. The rest is stacked openly in a parking lot a few hundred feet from Interstate 5 and the Pacific Ocean.

It would be nice if San Clemente were an ideal place to have children and raise a family, but unfortunately our health and safety will remain in question for many decades to come.

That is why the National Academy of Science is now studying our town (and all others within 30 miles) for cancer streaks possibly caused by the radiation Southern California Edison has been discharging into the ocean and the air we breathe since 1968. Our health and safety is also endangered by the just-released NRC plan to keep the nuclear waste right here for

Page 8

To submit a letter to the editor for possible inclusion in the paper, e-mail us at letters@danapointtimes.com or send it to 34932 Calle del Sol, Suite B, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624. Dana Point Times reserves the right to edit reader-submitted letters for length and is not responsible for the claims made or the information written by the writers.

www.danapointtimes.com

GETTING OUT

3

YOUR SEVEN-DAY EVENT PLANNER

DP

D a n a Po i nt

THE LIST A day-by-day guide to what’s happening in and around town. COMPILED BY TAWNEE PRAZAK

friday

HART & SOUL 5TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW 7 p.m.–10 p.m. The duo celebrates playing for five years at Adele’s. 2600 Avenida Del Presidente, San Clemente, 949.481.1222, www.adelesatthesanclementeinn.com.

28

AT THE MOVIES: ‘POMPEII’ ERUPTS WITH ACTION Every movie genre uses story tropes but none more so than the action-adventure films. In Paul W.S. Anderson’s latest extravaganza, Pompeii, there seems to be every trope known to man, but they aren’t necessarily used a bad way. Some movies you watch for the sake of guilty pleasures when you don’t want to think too hard and just want to be entertained with exactly what you expect for two hours. In 76 A.D., an orphan slave named Milo (Kit Harington) is traded from Britannia to Pompeii right before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The daughter of the ruler of Pompeii, Cassia (Emily Browning) is arranged to marry villainous Roman Senator Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland), but she and Milo fall in love with each other. Meanwhile, Corvus schemes to take over the city and kill off all © Sony Pictures non-Romans. Carrie-Anne Moss and Jared Harris co-star as Cassia’s parents.

Anderson’s previous cult flicks, Mortal Kombat (1995) and Resident Evil (2002), show he can make a movie popular despite criticism, meaning Pompeii might find a following too. Game of Thrones star Harington is fairly awkward in his film debut.

Unfortunately, awkward could describe most of the other performances as well. Unlike P.T. Anderson, P.W.S. Anderson is a director of flashy aesthetics and heavy fight scenes, rather than subtle acting. Pompeii tends to be predictable and corny but not the least bit boring for action fans. —Megan Bianco

WATER-SAVING AND TOMATO WORKSHOPS 10 a.m. Two of Plant Depot’s experienced nursery team members present a short talk on water-saving tips and tomatoes. 32413 San Juan Creek Road, San Juan Capistrano, 949.240.2107, www.plantdepot.com.

VR GREEN FARMS PRODUCE BASKET PROGRAM 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Fresh produce baskets, fruit, gourmet specialties and more every Saturday at VR Green Farms, located at Bella Collina Towne & Golf Club. 200 Avenida La Pata, San Clemente, www.vrgreenfarms.com/basket.

GRUNION RUN 10K, 5K AND 1K 6:30 a.m. Participate in a flat and fast 5K or 10K run/ walk or kids’ 1K in Doheny State Beach as part of the Dana Point Festival of Whales.

Registration online or available race morning. Benefits the Doheny State Beach Interpretive Association. 25300 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point, 949.496.6172, www.festivalofwhalesgrunionrun.com.

02

OLDIES NIGHT: THOSE MAGIC CHANGES 7 p.m.

South Orange County School of the Arts students perform in the Porthole Theater at Dana Hills High School.

Tickets $12-$18. 33333 Golden Lantern, Dana Point, 949.240.1994, www.socsarts.org.

CHELSEA HANDLER 8 p.m., 10 p.m. Comedienne and “Chelsea Lately” host performs at the Irvine Improv.

71 Fortune Drive, Suite 841, Irvine, 949.854.5455, www.improv.com.

OC ELVIS 8 p.m. Dinner and music at Wind & Sea Restaurant. 34699 Golden Lantern, Dana Point, 949.496.6500, www.windandsearestaurants.com.

saturday

THE ARK OF SAN JUAN RESCUED PET ADOPTIONS 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Dogs and puppies available for adoption will be shown at PetsPlus, 32022 Camino Capistrano. Noon-4 p.m. see cats at PetSmart, 33963 Doheny Park Road. San Juan Capistrano, 949.388.0034, www.arkofsanjuan.org.

01

Dana Point Times February 28-March 6, 2014

HOUSE AND GARDEN GUIDED TOUR 11a.m.– 1 p.m. Join The Ecology Center for a docent-led tour of their historic home and the Eco-Labs, outdoor learning gardens. Free. 32701 Alipaz Street, San Juan Capistrano, 949.443.4223, www.theecologycenter.org.

sunday

POUL PEDERSEN 6 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Classic rock and wine tasting at DaVine Food & Wine. Get a flight of five wines for $20. 34673 Golden Lantern, Dana Point, 949.493.4044, www.davine-wine.com.

TROUBLE BUBBLES AT THE HOT SPRINGS 8 p.m.

Annual melodrama at Camino Real Playhouse, based loosely upon San Juan Capistrano history. $18-$24. Shows through March 22. 31776 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano, 949.489.8082, www.caminorealplayhouse.org.

DANA POINT FARMERS MARKET AND CRAFT FAIR 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Fresh produce, crafted goods, flowers and much more at La Plaza Park in Dana Point every Saturday. 949.248.3500, www.danapoint.org.

Parade participants rev up the crowd during last year’s Dana Point Festival of Whales parade. Photo by Andrea Papagianis

EDITOR’S PICK: DANA POINT FESTIVAL OF WHALES The 43rd annual festival kicks off today featuring events and activities like whale watching, a parade, carnival style street fair, arts and crafts, the Grunion Run foot races, concerts, sand sculpting, SUP events, food and much more at the Dana Point Harbor and throughout the city. Parade starts at 10 a.m. and runs southbound on Pacific Coast Highway beginning at Selva Road. The festival runs for two weekends: March 1, 2, 8, 9. 888.440.4309, www.festivalofwhales.com.

MARDI GRAS GREEK-STYLE FESTIVAL 6 p.m.– midnight. Celebration at Mission Grill with live music, food, costume contests and more. Tickets $15-$50 including dinner. 31721 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, 949.543.3445, www.missiongrillsjc.com.

ASTRONOMY NIGHT 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Gaze into the night sky through telescopes learn the constellations with astronomy experts at The Reserve/Richard & Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy. Adults $10, kids $5.

949.489.9778, www.rmvreserve.org.

Page 10

VILLAGE ART FAIRE 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Shop and stroll downtown San Clemente at Avenida Del Mar where over 60 artisans will have fine arts, crafts and more. Free. 100 block, Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente, 949.395.7008, www.villagesanclemente.org.

THE SERRA CHAPEL TOUR 11:15 a.m. Tour at the Mission in honor of Father Junipero Serra, who was born 300 years ago this year. Offered Sundays. Admission $6–$9. 26801 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano, 949.234.1300, www.missionsjc.com.

MIKE DE BELLIS SATIN EXPRESS JAZZ DUO 12:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Jazz on the Patio every Sunday at Ciao Pasta Trattoria. 31661 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, 949.496.5002, www.ciaopasta.net.

SUNDAY GARDEN WORKSHOP: SPRING PREP AND PLANT 1 p.m.–3 p.m. The Ecology Center hosts a workshop on tools and techniques for preparing and planting a healthy garden. Free. 32701 Alipaz St., San Juan Capistrano, 949.443.4223, www.theecologycenter.org.

HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR 1 p.m. Meet at the Depot Platform for the Historical Society’s guided tour of San Juan Capistrano. Every Sunday. Cost $2-$4.

949.493.8444, www.sjchistoricalsociety.com.

(Cont. on page 15) www.danapointtimes.com

GETTING OUT (Cont. from page 10) TRAIL CLEARING & WEEDING 7:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m.

Spend time in the beautiful outdoors and volunteer to clear/ maintain trails at The Reserve/ Richard and Donna O’Neill Conservancy. Free. 949.923.2210, www.rmvreserve.org.

monday

03

wednesday

KIDS STORY TIME AT THE CASA 10 a.m.–11 a.m. Stories for kids at Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens every Wednesday. Free admission. 415 Avenida Granada, San Clemente, 949.498.2139, www.casaromantica.org.

05

thursday

GARDEN ANGELS 8:30 a.m.– 10:30 a.m. Volunteers meet every Thursday in front of the Montanez Adobe at Los Rios Park to help maintain the garden and more. Bring gloves and wear close-toed shoes. 949.606.6386, www.goinnative.net.

COUNTRY DANCIN’ WITH PATRICK AND FRIENDS 6:30 p.m. Every Monday at Swallow’s Inn. 31786 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, 949.493.3188, www.swallowsinn.com.

06

SMOKEY KARAOKE 8 p.m. It’s your turn to get onstage at BeachFire. 204 Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente, 949.366.3232, www.beachfire.com.

ALGONQUIN QUARTET Noon. Free concert at Saddleback College featuring Alex Iles, Scott Whitfield, Joey Sellers and George Thatcher. 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo, 949.582.4656, www.saddleback.edu/arts.

BOTTLE PAINTING AND WINE 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Class at San Clemente Wine Company. Call for reservations.

212 ½ Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente, 949.429.7067, www.scwinecompany.com.

tuesday

FAT TUESDAY AT IVA LEE’S 5 p.m.–10:30 p.m. Special Mardi Gras party at Iva Lee’s with live music by the Bayou Brothers, Creole food specials, contests, prizes, costumes contest and more. Music starts at 7 p.m. 555 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente, 949.361.2855, www.ivalees.com.

04

DUSTIN FRANKS 7 p.m.–10 p.m. Live music at The Cellar. 156 Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente, 949.492.3663, www.thecellarsite.com.

GOURMET FOOD TRUCKS 5 p.m.–8 p.m. An array of food trucks gathers every Wednesday at San Clemente High School in the parking lot near Triton Center. Take dinner to go or eat there and enjoy live music. Proceeds benefit the SCHS Marching Band. 700 Avenida Pico, San Clemente, 949.492.4165, www.sctritons.com.

Fresh, local produce is on the ticket at this weekly farmer’s market in San Juan Capistrano. Photo by Andrea Papagianis

EDITOR’S PICK: SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO FARMERS MARKET 3 p.m.–7 p.m. Fresh flowers, produce and specialty foods for sale every Wednesday at Yorba Street and Camino Capistrano. 949.493.4700, www.sanjuancapistrano.org.

CHERYL SILVERSTEIN AND OPEN MIC 6 p.m.– 8 p.m. Jazz and blues vocalist at OC Tavern, with open mic from 8 p.m.-9 p.m. 2369 S. El Camino Real, San Clemente, 949.542.8877, www.octavern.com.

VOCAL COMPETITION 7:30 p.m. Saddleback College’s vocal competition featuring student singers at McKinney Theatre. The audience chooses the winner. Tickets $10 general admission. 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo, 949.582.4656, www.saddleback.edu/arts.

WINGS BAND 8 p.m. Tribute band at The Coach House.

Tickets $20. 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, 949.496.8930, www.thecoachhouse.com. *For our full calendar, visit the “Event Calendar” at www.danapointtimes.com.

Have an event?

Send your listing to events@danapointtimes.com

DP LIVING

4

PROFILES OF OUR COMMUNITY

DP

SUDOKU

by Myles Mellor Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9x9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3x3 squares. To solve the puzzle, each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult. Level: Medium Last week’s solution:

SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION

D a n a Po i nt

See today’s solution in next week’s issue.

Hobie Turns 60

GUEST OPINION: On Life and Love After 50 by Tom Blake

Overcoming Adversity

California’s quintessential surf shop celebrates its diamond anniversary

Finding positives in hardships, pursuing opportunities

By Andrea Papagianis Dana Point Times

A

S

ince 1954, Dana Point’s own Hobie Surf Shop has embodied innovation and the importance of community.

Those values have carried the shop and its founders’ messages for six decades down the Southern California coastline, across the Pacific and beyond.

On Valentine’s Day, Hobie celebrated its diamond anniversary, marking the day 60 years ago that founder and namesake Hobie Alter set eyes on a vacant Pacific Coast Highway lot.

Alter began shaping surfboards out of his parents Laguna Beach garage. But as orders grew and surfing planted its local roots, Alter’s father urged him to branch out. An ‘A’ on a 20-page college paper, laying out Alter’s plan to manufacture and sell surfboards, set the foundation for Hobie Surf Shop.

Hobie established his shop on a basic idea, “Instead of trying to figure out what we might do, let’s first make a list of what we don’t do, and go from there,” Alter said. No suits, ties and underselling of products topped his list and he set out to create the highest-quality boards that people would pay full-price for.

Courtesy of Hobie Surf Shop

Dana Point Times February 28-March 6, 2014

Sixty years after Hobie Alter set his sights on a vacant-Pacific Coast Highway lot, Hobie Surf Shops continue to embrace the innovation and community roots they grew from. Courtesy of Hobie Surf Shop

With the addition of long-time friend and surfer Dick Metz to the mix, Hobie Surf Shop grew to multiple locations in Hawaii and Southern California.

Metz added Hobie merchandising, like logoed T-shirts and posters, and helped transform the surf shop into what it is today, said Jake Schwaner, managing partner with Mark Christy of Hobie’s retail operations. “Metz was truly the founder of the retail part. He took it to the next level,” Schwaner said.

The stores go back to the days before surfing exploded on the world scene, back to when Quicksilver founder and CEO Bob McKnight would bring boardshorts in by the dozen, Schwaner said. And as the sport’s popularity grew, Hobie and today’s big surf vendors grew right along with it.

Today, the shop still promotes the same values instilled in its founding.

“People would go to the Hobie store to spot the trends, today it is the same,” Schwaner said. “Our stores are a beacon of fashion trends and industry innovation.”

DP

s a columnist and a retail business owner, I hear about hardship that happens to people between the ages of 50 and 90 nearly every day.

Some of the news is brutal. People lose their loved ones, pets, jobs or homes.

They develop health issues. These things are a part of life and growing old, and my heart aches for them.

When adversity hits us personally, it can be a huge downer, almost more than we can stand. But somewhere in the darkness, sooner or later, a flicker of light will appear. And it’s up to us to seek that light and gather the strength to go on and not give up hope. It may take a long time to get through the grief or to take action to change our lives, but that is easier said than done.

Dee emailed, “Your articles have gotten me through a very difficult time in my life.

Eighteen months ago, I left a marriage after 37 years of verbal, emotional and physical abuse.

“In July, I had a coffee date with someone I met online. He is wonderful, fun and so many other things my husband never was. We laugh and talk for hours and I feel so lucky to be with him. Please tell all the ladies out there not to give up. You never know where life may lead you.”

Glen wrote, “I had been in a marriage for more than 23 years when my ex suddenly decided to file for divorce. Although it came as a huge shock to me and all or our friends, I still held out hope that she might come back.

“I went to counseling and did my best to try and understand what was going on and how I would move forward at age 51.

I can’t tell you when it happened, but I slowly began to understand that I needed to take charge and make a new life for myself. It took 39 months to complete my divorce, although there were no compli-

Page 17

cated issues.

“During that time period, I met the absolute love of my life. Thanks for the articles that help people make sense of the sometimes complicated world of dating after 50.”

For a third example, ON LIFE AND LOVE AFTER 50 meet Linda. She and I

By Tom Blake have known one another for close to a quarter of a century. Soon after I opened Tutor and Spunky’s Deli in 1988, Linda and her husband, Joe, started coming in for sandwiches. They owned a produce brokerage business with an office just down Pacific Coast Highway from my shop.

I was impressed with them as a couple: smart, fun, friendly and handsome. Over the years, I lost track of them.

A few weeks ago, I saw Linda at the deli.

We had a chance to catch up. She said her life had been difficult recently. I was stunned when she told me Joe suddenly passed away four years ago at age 63. She had moved to a nearby city.

Three years after losing Joe, Linda started to realize that she had to take initiative to change her life. Six months ago she met Pete, a widower, online and they are now a couple, involved in a long-distance relationship. Last week, she brought Pete into the deli to introduce him to me. They have plans for a future together. Both followed the light at the end of the tunnel—and found each other.

Adversity, as tough as it is, often leads to opportunity. It’s up to us to recognize it and pursue it.

Email Tom at tompblake@gmail.com. DP PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, the DP Times provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not reflect those of the DP Times or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at editorial@danapointtimes.com

www.danapointtimes.com

DP LIVING

Presenting His Ocean Odyssey Dana Point artist showcases abstract, graphic pieces at Casa Romantica

By Andrea Papagianis Dana Point Times

L

ocal artist John Hall has painted the ocean since his days as a U.S. Naval Aviator.

Now, the more than 40-year Dana Point resident opens his first-solo showcase at San Clemente’s historic Casa Romantica on Tuesday, March 11, highlighting his relationship with the world’s vast liquid spaces and the journey he’s embarked on capturing his life-long experiences.

“All my life I have either been on the water or very near the water,” Hall said. “The water has always appeared in my paintings in some way or another, and I have built this show’s theme around the ocean and my experiences with it.”

Showcasing 30 works, both long established and newly commissioned, Hall’s

Dana Point artist John Hall opens his show “An Ocean Odyssey” at Casa Romantica March 11. Courtesy photos

Casa show will focus on contemporary designs, like waves crashing at the shore, which he transformed into abstract and graphic works of art. In one piece, titled “Marine Mosaic,” Hall has stepped outside of his traditional painting realm and into the world of graphic presentation, utilizing different shapes, colors and designs to depict the ocean in a patterned way. And it’s all a part of his journey he said.

Hall was an art major at Redondo Union High School and studied at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles prior to entering UCLA’s business program as a scholarship recipient in the Naval Reserve Officer

Training Corps.

Before finding home in Dana Point, Hall lived throughout the county in 17 different locales when he and wife Barbara married.

He was 24, she 22. Barbara was a Los Angeles native, and John, a recent graduate, was about to enter naval flight school when their parents arranged a meeting.

After one UCLA dance and another six, or eight, dates the pair was engaged, and the rest, as John says, is history.

Hall spent a few years as an active duty pilot in the Pacific before the couple, and their only child, settled in Pacific Palisades. He would return to school to

receive an MBA, leading him on an aerospace career path and bringing the young family to Dana Point.

“You get used to moving around, but once you find a spot like Dana Point you stay,” Hall said of his home of 42 years.

Throughout his schooling and professional career, Hall kept his interests routed in art. He became active in the Niguel Art Association, later the Dana Point Fine Arts Association, and since 1998, he has been a part owner—with 14 other artists—of the Cove Gallery in Laguna Beach. From his wandering early days to his established roots in south Orange County’s art community, Hall said it’s all part of the process.

“Art is an open end journey, and you never get there, no matter where, there is, because you are always on the journey,” Hall said. “There is no absolute perfection in art because there is always something new when you turn around.”

Hall’s “An Ocean Odyssey” runs through Sunday, April 13 and opens with a free reception from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on March 11.

The Casa Romantic gallery, located at 415 Avenida Granada, will then be open Tuesday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost of admission is free to members after the reception. Nonmember admission is $5. Find out about other upcoming programs by visiting, www.casaromantica.org. DP

DP BUSINESS DIRECTORY

DSaan n Cl a em Poenintet

CLASSIFIEDS Submit your classified ad online at www.danapointtimes.com

FOR SALE 10 PIECE LANE FORMAL MEDITERRANEAN DINING SET. 1970 solid Cherry Wood.

Hexagonal pedestal dining table, 2 leaves, six cane-backed chairs. Hutch, China Cabinet, Buffet Server. Sold as a set. $1,900 or best offer. Cannot deliver. Must be picked up. Call MaryLou at (949) 366-2464.

GARAGE SALES HUGE RUMMAGE SALE!! Something for Everyone!! 3/15. NCL Monarch Chapter@ Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. 33501 Stonehill, Dana Point 8:30AM – 2PM. Proceeds benefit our local charities

GARAGE SALE LISTINGS ARE FREE! E-mail your garage sale to classifieds@danapointtimes.com DEADLINE 5PM MONDAY. No phone calls please.

SURF STUFF MENS SMALL WETSUIT Mens Rip Curl Wetsuit, short-arm, full suit. New condition. Size small $85. Call or text 949.533.9761.

Do you want to reach 10,000+ people in the Dana Point area every week?

Then you need to be in the Dana Point Times. Call us today!

949.388.7700 ext. 102

LOCALS ONLY BUSINESS LISTINGS AIR CONDITIONING & HEATING Oasis Air Conditioning & Heating 949.420.1321 31648 Rancho Viejo Rd. Ste. A, www.oasisair.com

ARCHITECTURE - PLANNING

DERMATOLOGY

EDIBLE LANDSCAPING

Nona Associates-Raymond J. Nona A.I.A 949.496.2275 Organics Out Back 26901 Camino de Estrella, www.raynona.com www.organicsoutback.com

ART INSTALLATION

PRO ART INSTALLATIONS Erik Van Leight, 212 Avenida Victoria, Erikvl81@gmail.com

310.597.9991

AUTO REPAIR Dana Point Auto 949.496.1086 34342 Coast Hwy., Unit B, Dana Point, Ca 92629

CAFE - DELI Coffee Importers Espresso Bar 949.493.7773 34531 Golden Lantern, www.coffeeimporters.com

COFFEE SHOP Coffee Importers Espresso Bar 949.493.7773 34531 Golden Lantern, www.coffeeimporters.com

CONSTRUCTION/REMODELING Mills Construction 949.212.7699 Dana Point, www.millsbuilds.com: CA # 973483

PSYCHOTHERAPY

LANDSCAPING

Vorteil Dermatology and 949.276.2600 Aesthetic Science 33971 Selva Road, Ste. 200, www.vorteildermatology.com

949.354.2258

ELECTRICAL

949.488.2648 Organics Out Back 949.354.2258 Corinne Rupert PhD, PsyD, MFT 33971 Selva Rd. Ste. 125, 449 Avenida Crespi, www.organicsoutback.com www.danapointpsychotherapy.com

LOCKSMITH

Dana Point Lock & Security www.danapointlock.com

949.496.6916

MUSIC INSTRUCTION

PSYCHIATRY Dr. Robert Dobrin, M.D. 949-707-4757 Child/Adolescent/Adult Psychiatry/Behavioral Pediatrics 33971 Selva Rd. Ste, 125

Kenny’s Music & Guitars 949.661.3984 REAL ESTATE - RESIDENTIAL delta G electrical 949.360.9282 24731 La Plaza, www.kennysmusicstore.com Dream Team Properties 949.481.1788 CA #657214, www.deltagelectrical.com Danman’s Music School 949.496.6556 Mike Rosenberg, Broker 24699 Del Prado, www.danmans.com GRAPHIC DESIGN Capistrano Beach, www.FindMyOCHome.com IMAGES/Creative Solutions 949.366.2488 117 Del Gado Road, www.imgs.com

ICE CREAM Coffee Importers Scoop Deck 949.493.7773 34531 Golden Lantern, www.coffeeimporters.com

INSURANCE SERVICES Patricia Powers 949.496.1900 24551 Del Prado, Ste. 364, pat.powers@cox.net State Farm/Ted Bowersox 949.661.3200 34085 Pacific Coast Hwy., Ste. 204 www.tedbowersox.com Statefarm/Elaine LaVine 949.240.8944 34080 Golden Lantern, www.elainelavine.net

PET GROOMING Dawgy Style 34085 Pacific Coast Hwy, Unit 112, www.alphadoggroomshop.com

PLUMBING A to Z Leak Detection www.atozleakdetection.com Chick’s Plumbing www.chicks-plumbing.com

UPHOLSTERY 949.496.3315 Jeddy’s Yacht & Home Interiors 949.240.9569 34118 Pacific Coast Hwy, www.jeddys.com

WINDOW & DOOR INSTALLATION Offshore Construction 949.499.4464 www.offshoreconstruction.org 949.496.9731

POOL SERVICE & REPAIR Palisades Pool Service & Repair 949.542.7232 Capistrano Beach, allenesommo@cox.net

949.444.6323

LIST YOUR BUSINESS IN “LOCALS ONLY” Call Debra Wells at 949.589.0892 or email dwells@thecapistranodispatch.com

SPORTS

5

& OUTDOORS

OUTDOOR SPOTLIGHT

SC CITY MANAGER HOSTS HALF-MARATHON

STORIES, SCORES, SCHEDULES & MORE

DP

D a n a Po i nt

Participants in the fifth annual Run Pall Run half marathon before the start of the Feb. 9 event. The event was created by San Clemente city manager Pall Gudgeirsson. Courtesy photo

On Feb. 23, San Clemente city manager Pall Gudgeirsson hosted the fifth annual Run-Pall-Run halfmarathon stretching from Dana Point to San Clemente. The half-marathon was started by Gudgeirsson, an avid runner, five years ago to get his friends, and people in the community, interested and excited about running and to celebrate his birthday. This year’s run had 20 participants, which was a new high.

The run started at the top of the hill near the Dana Point Interpretative Center. Runners then looped around the Dana Point Harbor, down Pacific Coast Highway and to Califia. After turning around at Califia, the runners completed the 13.1-mile course by crossing the finish line at Marine Safety Headquarters, just north of the San Clemente Pier. —Dana Point Times

Dana Wharf Fish Count

Dolphin Report

By Steve Breazeale

The Dana Hills High School winter sports season is coming to an end, which means the spring season is just around the corner. Make sure to follow us all season long on Twitter @SouthOCsports for in-game updates, news and more. Also, you can pick up our 2014 Dana Hills High School spring sports preview in our next issue.

GOMEZ FUELS INGLEWOOD PAST DOLPHINS IN PLAYOFF OPENER The Dana Hills boys basketball team had a definite height advantage heading into their CIF-SS Division 1AA first-round matchup with Inglewood on Feb. 21.

Three of the Dolphins starters checked in standing 6-feet-5-inches or taller while Inglewood had only one player above that mark. But given all that height, it was the smallest player on the court who made the biggest impact.

Inglewood’s sophomore point guard Terrell Gomez, who is listed at a generous 5-feet-10-inches tall, wreaked havoc on the Dolphins, dropping a game-high 25 points, including 18 in the first half, to seal a 62-51 win for the Sentinels and send them into the next round.

The loss ended the Dolphins (21-6) season, one that saw them finish as co-Sea View League champions with Trabuco Hills, who are still alive in the playoffs.

The Dolphins held the early advantage and rode senior Eric Matheis’ hot first-quarter shooting to a 14-12 lead after eight minutes. Matheis scored 10 of the Dolphins first-quarter points. He finished the night with a team-high 14.

In the second quarter, Gomez began to take over. He drove to the rim, challenging the Dolphins frontcourt and pulled up from mid-range often. Gomez’s 18 first-half points put Inglewood up 30-24 at the half.

Dana Point Times February 28-March 6, 2014

Dana Hills’ sophomore guard Parker Romo and the boys basketball team lost to Inglewood in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 1AA Championships. Photo by Steve Breazeale

The Dolphins began taking chances guarding Gomez in the second half, putting senior Jack Sheffield on him almost exclusively in an attempt to deny him the ball. With the focus on their point guard, Inglewood’s Javon Bernum (13 points), who had two big 3-pointers in the quarter, and Darae Elliot (eight points) knocked down shots and increased their lead to 49-41 heading into the fourth.

“We played them straight up. But then, obviously with Gomez, we had to do something,” Dana Hills head coach Tom Desiano said. “We had to roll the dice because they could put it on the floor and get to the basket so we didn’t want that, we didn’t want them to play above the rim.

And they made their 3-pointers, they made their shots. Once they do that, they’re really hard to guard.”

Dana Hills got within striking distance in the fourth, but after a Gomez jump shot in the paint and a 3-pointer on the next possession, the Sentinel’s took a commanding 57-43 lead with the game clock running down.

“I’m proud of our guys, we had a good year and tonight they were just the better team,” Desiano said.

SECOND HALF SURGE NOT ENOUGH TO PUT DOLPHINS PAST CHARGERS The Agoura girls water polo team held the advantage in the first half of play against Dana Hills on Feb. 20, but found the tables turned on them in the second.

The Dolphins came back, outscoring their opponents by four goals in the final two quarters, but it was not enough, as the Chargers held on to claim a slim 11-10 win in the CIF-SS Division 2 second round.

Agoura advanced to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Murrieta Valley 11-7.

Dana Hills (18-13) found themselves trailing the Chargers 8-3 at halftime, which proved to be too big of a hole to get out of.

The Dolphins were led by Molly Wilbur and Madison Baba, who netted four goals each. Kelcie Pourzanjani scored twice and goalie Blaire Borisoff recorded six saves.

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Dan Albright from Irvine shows off a 10-pound halibut. Photo courtesy Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching

Dana Point Times

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ere is the latest fish count out of Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching 2/26 • 2 boats, 36 anglers: 19 calico bass, 6 sculpin, 3 sand bass, 1 blue perch.

2/25 • 2 boats; 38 anglers: 69 sculpin, 51 sand dabs, 16 sand bass, 12 calico bass, 2 blue perch.

2/24 • 3boats; 25 anglers: 20 sand dabs, 19 sculpin, 18 calico bass, 8 sand bass, 3 blue perch.

2/23 • 4 boats; 82 anglers: 20 spider crab, 15 rock crab, 10 calico bass, 5 sculpin, 3 sand bass.

2/22 • 5 boats; 115 anglers: 57 sculpin, 56 sand dabs, 15 calico bass, 13 sand bass.

2/21 • 1 boat; 33 anglers: 18 mackerel, 10 calico bass, 4 blacksmith perch, 1 sand bass.

2/20 • 2 boats; 20 anglers: 14 calico bass, 4 sand bass. DP www.danapointtimes.com

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SCOOP ON THE LOCAL SURF COMMUNITY

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D a n a Po i nt

GROM OF THE WEEK JIMMY WYNNE

Age: 10, Concordia Elementary For Jimmy Wynne growing up in a surfing family—mom, dad, step-mom and sister all surf—and learning to surf while barely out of his toddler years was only natural. And with that much family support, and near daily practice, he is becoming a formidable competitor in both longboarding and shortboarding. He is also thankful for the support of sponsor Chris Schroeder of Schroeder Surfboards, his longboard shaper. Jimmy’s most recent victories include wins at the San Onofre Surfing Club event in September and the San Clemente Seafest contest in October. He is in his first season in the Western Surfing Association Championship Tour where he is the No. 2 ranked surfer in the Jimmy Wynne. Courtesy photo Boys U14 Longboard and No. 23 in Boys U12 Shortboard. Jimmy is a bright fourthgrader who has received academic awards in math and writing. Jimmy likes the idea of someday having a pro surfing career but would really like to go to college and become a marine biologist. “I got the idea from always being in the ocean and snorkeling in Hawaii,” he said. “I love being in the water so much and I think I could have a lot of fun doing the job.” For now he is focused on school and his amateur surf career. “I love competing because I get to test my abilities,” Jimmy said. “It’s a bummer when I lose but it makes me try harder next time. I’m bummed for like 10 minutes then I go out and surf and I’m having fun again.” —Andrea Swayne

Prepping for Gold

SURF FORECAST Water Temperature: 60-62 degrees F Water Visibility and Conditions: 5-8’+ poor+

Members of the Surfing America USA Surf Team attend training camp in San Clemente

Immediate: A west-northwest swell, offering chest-overhead surf for many of the better exposures, backs down some into Friday, while the southwesterly windswell gradually rises up with breezy southerly wind. Standouts will produce occasional well overhead sets (strongest overall through northern Orange County). Smaller surf overall through South OC.

By Andrea Swayne Dana Point Times

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embers of the U18 Surfing America USA Surf Team from across the country assembled in San Clemente Tuesday for training camp to prepare for the 2014 International Surfing Association World Junior Surfing Championship.

With ISA World Juniors coming up April 5-13 in Ecuador, team officials and coaches are looking to finalize the travel team roster and bring the team of surfers together as a well-prepared unit ready to go for the gold.

“Aside from rigorous training, one of the most important things is bonding,” said Greg Cruse, Surfing America’s executive director. “We’ve made a lot of progress in putting together a cohesive team from a bunch of athletes who day-to-day are used to surfing individually for personal reward, sponsorships and media exposure. We now have a group of kids who pull for each other, hold each other up and realize the magnitude of representing their country on the world stage.”

The national team is chosen from among the best competing in amateur surf series that are members of Surfing America, the ISA recognized governing body for surfing in the United States. The San Clemente-based nonprofit organization—with a generous housing donation by the owner of a T Street area vacation rental—is hosting the team for three days of physical training, mental training and bonding. The team is practicing at a variDana Point Times February 28-March 6, 2014

DP SURF IS PRESENTED BY:

Surfing America USA Surf Team members (L to R) Ryland Rubens, Colt Ward, Luke Gordon, Tia Blanco, Malia Osterkamp and Steffi Kerson take a break during a competitive game of Ping-Pong at the team house in San Clemente on Tuesday. Photo by Andrea Swayne

ety of south Orange County surf breaks, working out, attending a talk by a sports psychologist and learning to cooperate, compromise and live together.

Local San Clemente surfers said they feel lucky to be joined by teammates from across the country for training on their home turf.

Tia Blanco, 16, said she is enjoying the camp because it brings together so much talent and lifts up her game by making her more determined to succeed.

“Working here with my teammates is special because surfing really is an individual sport and it is really empowering to feel a part of something greater,” Blanco said.

Colton Ward, 16, agreed, adding that he feels honored to host his fellow team members in his home town and share with them all the places he trains every day.

“We are also getting used to staying in a house together, pulling together and getting ready to take on the best teams from around the world,” Ward said. “We don’t always get to practice together so when we do it reminds me that I’m part of something bigger outside of my own individual career goals.”

Ward and Blanco are joined by California surfers Malia Osterkamp of San Clemente; Jake Davis, Capistrano Beach; Kylie Loveland, Carlsbad; Steffi Kerson,

Thousand Oaks; Ryland Rubens, Pacific Beach; Nic Hdez, Santa Cruz and Thelen McKinna-Worrell and Frankie Harrer, both from Malibu. Team members who have traveled from the East Coast include Florida surfer Daniel Glenn, Luke Gordon from North Carolina and Maddie Peterson from New Jersey.

Individual performances during the camp will help head coach Ryan Simmons fill open travel team slots in Girls U18 and Boys U18 divisions.

“ISA World Juniors is a long and grueling eight-day event so preparation is key,” Simmons said. “We’ll be running heats, breaking down technical stuff, working on each individual’s strengths and weaknesses and working on our game both in and out of the water. The talent is there but we cannot hope to win a medal without the support of the athletes for each other. Forming the bonds and friendships needed to make it through in top form will boost our chances at winning gold.”

The team brought home a bronze medal at last year’s ISA Juniors in Nicaragua, its best result since 2004. The head coaching team, made up of ex-pro surfers Simmons and Micah Byrne, are in their second year at the helm of Team USA. Visit www.isasurf.org and www.surfingamerica.org to find out more.

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Longer Range Outlook: On Saturday, a larger dose of west-southwest storm swell pushes in, offering overhead waves for many areas, with sets running up to double overhead for standout exposures (again, strongest overall through northern Orange County). This is still pending development.

With that said, there will be a short window from when this swell actually develops to when it hits the coast, as the storm will be just offshore. Also, wind conditions are looking problematic for most areas with continued breezy southerly flow, but possibly a few select locations may offer some moments of decent surf. Check out all the details at Surfline.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS March 1-2: WSA Championship Tour, Event No. 8, Oceanside Harbor, South Jetty March 1-2: NSSA Open, Event No. 8, Ventura, C Street March 22: SSS, OC Middle School and High School, Event No. 5, Huntington Beach, Goldenwest Street March 22-23: NSSA Explorer, Events No. 9 and 10, Oceanside Harbor, South Jetty March 29-30: WSA Championship Tour, Event No. 9, Dana Point, Salt Creek Beach March 29-30: WSA Championship Tour, Event No. 9, Dana Point, Salt Creek Beach April 19-20: NSSA Open, Event No. 9, Oceanside Harbor, South Jetty April 26-27: NSSA Open, Event No. 10, San Onofre State Park, Upper Trestles May 10-11: WSA West Coast Championships, San Onofre State Park, Church Beach May 15-18: NSSA West Coast Championships, Huntington Beach, Pier

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