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PERMIT NO. 30 JULIAN, CA
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ESTABLISHED
An Independent Weekly Newspaper Serving the Backcountry Communities of Julian, Cuyamaca, Santa Ysabel, Shelter Valley, Mt. Laguna, Ranchita, Canebreak, Sunshine Summit, Warner Springs and Wynola.
Julian News
PO Box 639 Julian, CA 92036
1985
Change Service requested
DATED MATERIAL
The Newspaper of Record.
Wednesday
For the Community, by the Community.
1870
ISSN 1937-8416
www.JulianNews.com
by Michael Hart
YEARS
Available Testing In Back County You can schedule a test through the County's website <coronavirus-sd.com> or by calling 2-1-1 and making an appointment for one of these locations: Friday - July 31 Julian, County Fire - Julian Library 3407 CA-78, 92036 9 AM - 2 PM
Friday Night Fire Near Eagle/High Peak Mine Units from SDFA and CALFire responded to a vegetation fire near C Street and Miners Rd in Julian. Fire was approximately 1/8 acre burning upslope in heavy fuels. The fire was contained within minutes and although no cause was initially reported, neighbors had reported what they thought were fire works being used.
What San Diegans Need To Do For County To Get Off State Watchlist
by José A. Álvarez, County of San Diego Communications Office
On July 3, the County was placed on the state’s Monitoring List after the region’s case rate went above 100 positive cases per every 100,000 people three days in a row. The County has not met that metric since then, and the case rate stands now at 154.5(as of Saturday). What does San Diego County need to do to get off the watchlist? The answer is in San Diegans’ hands. Local health officials continue to urge San Diegans to wear a face covering, avoid gatherings, maintain six feet distance from anyone outside their household, wash their hands thoroughly, and take other preventive measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 and prevent community outbreaks(currently at 11 for the past week). “We hope that the actions we’ve taken in the past few weeks will help us flatten the curve and bring the number of cases down,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “With your help, we expect cases will decrease.” After the County lowers its case rate to the state’s metric for at least three days, it comes off the Monitoring List. If that does not occur, the County will continued on page 8
In a letter delivered to parents last week Julian Elementary School announced its intention to begin the year with distance learning: Dear Parents, As I’m sure most of you have heard, the Governor has required all schools to go to distance learning in San Diego and many other counties until COVID 19 data improves. Our hope and original plan was to have all our students back on campus on August 11, but now we will begin with distance learning on that date. We don’t know how long this will last, but distance learning will be a part of your son or daughter’s education program this school year. Our campus and staff are ready to reopen when the time comes. More details will come home when we know more about when that might be. I know for most of you this is not your first choice. We miss all of our students and look forward to the time when we all be together again. Distance learning will be different from the end of last school year. Our teachers have a robust online program planned and we are working as a district to make this a positive transition. Students will log into their computer daily to work with teachers and get support. We will offer students devices and some supplies on an as needed basis. Lunches will still be available and a schedule will be out soon. Similarly Julian High , Spencer Valley and Warner all confirmed that they would be doing the same. If County Health conditions are met, Spencer Valley would offer school on campus instruction for all students, as was explained at our parent meeting on July 14th. If students cannot return to campus, Spencer will offer a distance learning model with live synchronous instruction as was recommended at Governor Newsom’s briefing today. Thanks. Julie Weaver, Spencer Valley School Warner decided to have a two plan option, 100% back to school, or a 100% online option for parents to choose from. This announcement will delay that choice for parents until the county meets the requirements to get off the watch list. We will shift gears to focus on opening at 100% online option. Sincerely, David MacLeod Superintendent/Principal Warner Unified School District. At the High School, which had previously announced plans for on-Campus learning: I requested the waiver for JHS and was denied. We are planning for Distance Learning until such time we will be able to reconvene in-person instruction. This represents part B of our Reopening plan. Dr. Hefflin All of the schools have been developing the distance learning plans in anticipation of not being able to return campus and have promised a far more robust experience for students than they were able to piece together in the spring when they found themselves between a rock and the pandemic. All of the districts have indicated they are prepared as soon as permission is granted to welcome back students. Cleaning and social distancing that will keep both students and staff safe. Teachers are exploring a variety for face shields and mask options. San Diego County Office of Education will carefully review
Julian, CA.
Volume 35 — Issue 52
Schools Announce OnLine Scheduling For Start
ESTABLISHED
July 29, 2020
the new order regarding the reopening of California schools, and will work with local public
health and our region’s schools to implement the guidance. Welcome to the NEW normal.
Comet NEOWISE Makes a Stunning Appearance
by the Julian Dark Sky Network
Comet NEOWISE as seen from Baja California.
Volcan Mountian Foundation
Looking East
by Colleen Bradley (with Jay Evarts)
The map is changing. A series of nearly 1,500 acres of land preservation successes on the east side of the Volcan Mountains brings conservation on the ‘far side’ of the mountain into focus. Accented by the Volcan Mountain Foundation's (VMF) acquisition this spring of 23 acres at the Teofulio Summit, the San Felipe Valley portion of the Volcan Mountains' land preservation map is changing ― for good! The Volcan Mountain Foundation has illustrated the collective land preservation progress for the Volcan Mountains through its Focused Planning Area (FPA) map. A patchwork of colors within the boundaries of Highways 78, 79, and County Route S-2 depicts the conserved lands and reflects the collaborative effort that it takes to preserve the 15-mile long range. Since VMF’s founding in 1988, over 18,000 acres have been colored-in and ADDED to Volcan’s conserved lands ― amounting to over 37,000 acres conserved within the 52,000-acre Focused Planning Area. A mapping effort that literally started with paper maps and colored pencils over thirty years ago evolved into the digital realm that we find with most things these days. While we have a collage of colors of conserved lands on the preservation map today, there was not much color on those earlier maps. With a few exceptions, like the Julian Town site and nearby residential neighborhoods, the goal has long been to color-in and conserve the entire length of the map. Today we have new tools that are helping make that happen! In the sunset of a successful architecture career, VMF Board Member Jay Evarts has turned his skills and preservation passion to bring digital (GIS) mapping efforts “in-house” for VMF, and with just a few months of work, his effort is already paying land preservation dividends! A 23-acre area of unspoiled wildlands on the east side of the Volcan Mountains at the Teofulio Summit (elev. 3, 681’) came back on the market and caught Jay’s eye in late winter. Overlooking the San Felipe Valley, the habitat and connectivity of the property makes it an important piece in the broader vision to protect and preserve the Volcan Mountains. VMF’s land preservation committee weighed-in, donors stepped-up, and as we welcomed spring, we celebrated a gratifying land preservation success! The acquisition builds on two other land preservation wins in San Felipe Valley achieved using a different land preservation tool ― conservation easements. Two private landowners preserved rich riparian and wildland habitat by donating conservation easements on their lands. In 2018, Ann Keenan’s donation protected 684 acres and established the Peckham Keenan Wildlife Sanctuary. That donation inspired Ann’s neighbors, Michael and Meili Pinto, to follow with their own conservation easement donation and permanently protect their 750 acres from development at the end of 2019. In the last two years, nearly 1,500 acres have been added for conservation in the San Felipe Valley ― with more in the works! This collective effort extends the preserved landscape linkage and wildlife corridor already protected by the State of California’s San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area ― the historic Rancho Valle de San Felipe. The protected wildlands of the Teofulio Summit, Pinto Ranch, Peckham Keenan Wildlife Sanctuary, and the San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area also preserve a rich human history in the valley. Thank you to the Volcan Community! Give yourselves a big pat on the back and take a moment to appreciate our collective achievements ― but just for a moment … there’s still much to be done! Efforts are already under way to preserve another 450 acres adjacent to the Teofulio Summit property that is another critical piece of the San Felipe Valley wildlife corridor. Jay Evarts is VMF's Vice President and chairs VMF's Land Preservation and Acquisition (LPA) Committee. Colleen Bradley is VMF's Executive Director.
photo by Bill Phelps Even in the midst of turbulence on Earth, there is still magnificent beauty in the sky above. There has been a lot of stir this July about Comet NEOWISE, the celestial object striking viewers with its radiance. The comet is 90 million miles from the sun and 160 million miles from Earth, and won’t be seen from Earth again for almost 7,000 years. How does a comet get the name “NEOWISE”, anyway? Its official name is comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE because on March 27, 2020 NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission discovered it, and there’s nothing like a good acronym. But what is a comet? Nothing more or less than a Solar System body that gives off gases, a process known as outgassing, when it passes close to the sun and begins to warm. This is why we can see the coma, which is the fuzzy layer around the nucleus, and even a tail. This is caused by solar radiation and then solar wind, which is released from the corona of the sun. NEOWISE is special because it can be seen with the naked eye and is one of the brightest comets seen from our Northern Hemisphere since 1997, when Comet Hale-Bopp was visible. There have been scores of people coming up to The Julian-Cuyamaca area to see the comet under a dark sky, since it can barely be seen from the light polluted city. Members of the community and the Julian Dark Sky Network have been busy viewing and photographing the comet in the last few weeks, with some stunning results. Even during the pandemic, the JDSN has been busy adapting to the widening world of virtual connection. They have hosted three virtual star parties so far, and the fourth is scheduled for August 1 at 9:30 p.m. Simply go to YouTube and type in “Curiosity Peak Observatory”, and you will find the live viewing site where you can see the planets, participate in the live chat and get your questions answered by Doug Sollosy and Vivek Vijayakumar. Don’t miss this chance to connect with other night sky enthusiasts and learn more about our amazing night sky.
The Glorious Night Skies Of August 2020
by Bill Carter
Summer’s best meteor shower peaks the night of August 11-12. The radiant (apparent center) for this shower is the constellation Perseus, which is a string of stars in the northeast just below (toward the horizon) the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia. The best viewing time for the meteor shower is after midnight to just before dawn. Unfortunately, the last-quarter Moon will also rise after midnight and decrease the visibility of the meteors, but this meteor shower is still a “must see” event for August. The Perseids are known as fast meteors often including a good number of fireballs.
M8, also known as the Lagoon Nebula
photo by Bill Carter However, you should not wait until after midnight to begin your night sky observations as August skies are full of exceptional deep-sky objects to observe with binoculars or small telescopes. Let us start with the constellation Sagittarius (the teapot-shaped asterism) in the far south near Scorpius’ tail. The spout of the teapot is on the west side of this constellation, and just above the spout are two “puffs” of steam, M8 and M20. M8, also known as the Lagoon Nebula, is the preeminent nebula in the summer sky. The Lagoon Nebula is so named because of the dark lane (or lagoon) running down the middle of it. This nebula surrounds an open star cluster (designated NGC 6530) containing an estimated one hundred stars. The brightest continued on page 8
New Rock Garden at Town Hall Planter. Please help it grow by adding your painted Rocks!
ESTABLISHED
1870
YEARS