La JoLLa Light
Enlightening La Jolla Since 1913
■ ‘Rancho Relaxo’
taxes paid, sale of home is pending Page A7
■ Son discovers
mother’s passion for art after her passing Page B1
Vol. 99 Issue 11 • March 17, 2011
close to fulfilling lofty goals Page A20
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN DIEGO, CA PERMIT NO. 1980
Council redistrict could impact La Jolla By Joe Tash It’s 2011, so it must be time for San Diego City Council redistricting. Every 10 years following the U.S. Census, local and state government entities are required to rebalance their legislative districts to ensure the populations are as equal as possible. The idea
is that if district populations become lopsided, the ballots cast by voters will not carry equal weight. In the city of San Diego, the process of redistricting actually began last year with the appointment — by a panel of retired judges — of a seven-member redistricting commission that will
Close to the Heart
UCSD’s new cardiovascular center set for April opening
■ Country Day
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By KaThy Day kday@lajollalight.com Now that the sneak peek at the UCSD Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center is behind them, the staff and faculty are focusing on the bigger event: opening for patients on April 3. And that’s not a simple task, said the center’s director, Kirk Peterson, M.D., FACP, FACC, who is also professor of clinical cardiology and has been on the faculty since 1970. Six years after Rich and Gaby Sulpizio pledged $10 million to help fund the center and more than two years after construction started, the big day means a lot of last-minute fine-tuning. There are licensing and reliability issues to finalize at the four-story center next to Thornton Hospital just east of Interstate 5 as well as assuring that all the new high-tech equipment and the basics are working. They have to make certain they’ve
have the final say on drawing the boundaries of City Council districts. This is the second time such a commission has been appointed in San Diego, following a 1992 ballot initiative that established the process. Previously, the City Council set its own district boundaries.
The 2010 redistricting commission, which has already started meeting, will have one additional job that its counterpart in 2000 didn’t face — creation of a ninth council district, mandated last year when city voters permanently adopted the strong mayor form of government. “We’re definitely creating
history,” said Anisha Dalal, a high school principal and chair of the redistricting commission. ■ Waiting for numbers Information compiled by the San Diego Association of Governments indicates that
see ReDIsTRICT, a12
Whitneys: Planners violated Brown Act Nursing student shawna Brooks, right, pretends to be a 75-year-old woman with heart problems during training at the sulpizio Center.
By DaVe sChWaB daves@lajollalight.com Kim and Bob Whitney, who want to build a mixed-use, three-story project in La Jolla Shores, are challenging the La Jolla Community Planning Association’s (LJCPA) latest appeal of their project and plan to sue the group for violating the Brown Act — the state’s open meeting law. The Whitneys have proposed demolishing a one-story residence and store at Avenida de la Playa and Paseo Grande in La Jolla Shores and replacing it with 2,300 square feet of street-level retail space with parking underground and two condos above. In July 2010 their project was approved by a city hearing officer, but it has since been subjected to multiple appeals. Some Shores neighbors and the planning group, which
see WhITNey, a10
WaveRunner tours stirring up swimmers all of the equipment, will be 85 percent occupied on opening day. After the ribbon-cutting ceremony — where Rich and Gaby Sulpizio were joined by their daughters and nine grandchildren — and gala evening Rich Sulpizio said he’s excited to see all the effort coming together.
By DaVe sChWaB daves@lajollalight.com Swimmers fear choppy waters ahead should a Mission Bay boat rental company follow through on WaveRunner tours it’s promoting along La Jolla’s coastline. It was announced at La Jolla Shores Association’s monthly meeting last week that Seaforth Boat Rentals in Mission Bay has begun advertising two-hour WaveRunner tours of the La Jolla Coast Fridays through Sundays departing at 8 a.m. for a $299 charge. On top of that, on March 8, the company advertised a half-price deal through Groupon and sold 51 tours. The immediate reaction of swimmers at La Jolla Cove was consternation even though the company’s owner says they should not be concerned.
see CeNTeR, a6
see WaVeRUNNeR, a14
The catheterization lab at UCsD sulpizio Cardiovascular Center has the latest technology. PHOTOS COURTESY OF UCSD got all their personnel needs covered, including hiring new people. ■ Moving-in day And then comes the big one, he added: Transferring patients from UCSD’s medical center in Hillcrest as they centralize cardiovascular patient care and research facility. Petersen predicts the center, valued at $228 million when you factor in