La Jolla Light
Enlightening La Jolla Since 1913
Vol. 100, Issue 42 • October 18, 2012
Residential Customer La Jolla, CA 92037 ECRWSS
Online Daily at www.lajollalight.com
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN DIEGO, CA PERMIT NO. 1980
Task Force raises additional $1,200 for post office
INSIDE
Village Merchants Association elects new officers, A4
Street Community Center readies benefit for renovations, A6
Art
Six-year-old Isabella Dubiel applies her artistic skills to a Lincoln Navigator during the fourth annual La Jolla Art & Wine Festival along Girard Avenue on Oct. 13. PAT SHERMAN n More photos, A10
FROM STAFF REPORTS The La Jolla Historical Society’s Save Our La Jolla Post Office Task Force raised more than $1,200 in less than two hours Oct. 13 during the La Jolla Art & Wine Festival. The fund-raising event, held in front of the Wall Street post office, raised money for an application fee required SAVE THE by the city to have the POST OFFICE post office considered UPDATE for the San Diego Register of Designated Historical Resources. The designation would provide a layer of protection for the building and WPA-era Belle Baranceanu mural, which has graced the lobby of the post office since the building’s construction in 1935. “The community continues to respond decisively to support our efforts to save the SEE POST OFFICE, A17
Summer sales steady, if not heady, in the Village BUSINESS ANALYSIS
La Jolla Shores considers Neighbor Watch program, A15
The Light offers endorsements for: • San Diego Mayor •D istrict 1 City Council • U.S. Congress
A18
By Pat Sherman La Jolla’s coastal weather helped turn more than Village landscaping green this summer. Village merchants, hoteliers and restaurateurs by and large had a profitable summer, though overall, business may have been down slightly from the previous summer — particularly in terms of local consumer dollars, interviews with business owners reveal. ‘Golden Slumbers’ Hotel tax revenue from June 1 to Aug. 31 in La Jolla was $4,174, 821 — down slightly from the same period in 2011, which was $4,268,288. (A representative from the office of San Diego’s independent budget analyst said this summer’s figure should increase slightly, as receipts are still trickling in for August). Eric Lund, vice-president of community relations for the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau (ConVis), said summer business at
George Hauer of George’s at the Cove said 2011 was his most successful year. Things were down only slightly this summer, which he attributes to the economy and new dining options in the Village. PAT SHERMAN San Diego County hotels was better than in 2010, though he said the region has “a way to go to get back to 2009 levels, when we peaked.” “That’s when we initially lost a lot of group and leisure travel,” due to
the down economy, he said. Lund said hotel occupancy in La Jolla for July — the most recent month ConVis has figures for — was about the same as 2011, though La Jolla hoteliers saw a 6.9 percent
increase in average room revenue (accounting for more expensive rooms and incidentals like room service and spa treatments). “La Jolla was looking really good during the summer, and really good as a sub-group,” Lund said. From July to September, La Valencia hotel on Prospect Street had an occupancy rate of 83.05 percent and an average room rate of $372 — up from 79.35 percent and $353 last summer, or about a 4-5 percent increase each. “We contribute this growth to an increase in leisure travelers this summer, compared to last,” as well as recent renovations to the hotel, La Valencia’s sales and marketing coordinator, Kristen Poole, said. Krista Baroudi, general manager of La Jolla Cove Suites on Coast Boulevard said she saw a boost in occupancy of as much as 20 to 30 percent this summer — an increase she attributes to the exposure the hotel received while appearing on
SEE SUMMER SALES, A7
Charles W. Hartford, CSNA Till, CSNA Charles W. Hartford, CSNAHarrison Charles W. Hartford, Charles CSNA W. Hartford, CSNA
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