Residential Customer Del Mar CA, 92014 ECRWSS
Volume XVI, Issue 13
www.delmartimes.net
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN DIEGO, CA PERMIT NO. 1980
March 29, 2012 Published Weekly
SB superintendent Fausset retires
HillsFest — ’80s style
Educator made mark at local and state levels during distinguished 40-year career BY MARSHA SUTTON When Leslie Fausset retires on March 30, she will have concluded a remarkable career in public education spanning four decades. After seven years as superintendent of the Solana Beach School District, Fausset ends her career with a long list of awards and accolades all around. She is widely praised for her extensive knowledge, depth of experience, gentle style, collaborative approach and calm demeanor – and unanimously applauded for her ability to keep the interests of students front and center in every debate. “At the local level and the state level, she’s been a wonderful champion for all kids and for education, and exemplifies what a superintendent and what an educator should be,” said former state Senator Dede Alpert. “I am personally forever in her debt and believe she is an unsung hero in one of
■ Stay-at-home mom debuts on bestseller list with humorous novel. Page 8
■ Hard work earns Canyon Crest junior Eagle Scout distinction. Page 10
Above, Elaine Sapiro, Juli Oh and Michelle Sargent and, right, Tim and Jennie Pellegrino donned their best ’80s gear March 24 for HillsFest at the Del Mar Marriott. The event is the Del Mar Hills Academy PTA’s biggest fundraiser of the year. See page B12. PHOTO: ROB MCKENZIE
DM business owners weigh in on Village revitalization • Environmental Impact Report to be discussed April 2
BY CLAIRE HARLIN EDITOR@DEMARTIMES.NET
■ Cirque du Soleil pops up in S.D. — and they’ll be back. Page B1
Matthew Bergman, owner of Folio Design, doesn’t live in Del Mar, but he said downtown Del Mar is like his living room — and he’s ready to see it get renovated. “There will be immediate hardships, and the construction period is going to be a challenge,” said Bergman, comparing the city’s proposed streetscape improvements to the home interior overhauls he oversees at his Del Mar Plaza design
business. “But the long-term improvements will be so much greater than that.” The City of Del Mar is the closest it has been to implementing changes meant to reflect the community plan goals set forth in 1976, which outlined a need for a pedestrian-friendly, vibrant downtown. Revitalization is no new concept for Del Mar — parking, traffic and aesthetics have been much-discussed for years. But this month the city finally released its first draft of a Village Specific Plan, along
the toughest and the most important fields of endeavor in our state and nation, education,” said Delaine Eastin, former state Superintendent of Public Instruction. Born and raised in Ojai, Fausset, 64, began her career in public Leslie Fausset education in 1972 as a first-grade teacher in the Poway Unified School District, where she worked for 26 years. After six years as a teacher, she became a reading specialist, then project coordinator for state programs, then assistant middle school principal, elementary school principal and middle
SEE FAUSSET, PAGE 6
Oversized vehicle parking debate rolls on BY KAREN BILLING After complaints at last month’s Carmel Valley Community Planning Board meeting about oversized vehicles parked in residential neighborhoods, officials from the San Diego Police Department were invited to discuss efforts taken to help alleviate the problem. It’s a complicated issue that the police have dealt with for a long time in the city, said Joe Arway, parking enforcement supervisor. Some residents see the oversized vehicles as a blight, but the owners might like seeing their vehicle parked outside their
Carmel Vista Road in Carmel Valley home. As long as they are moved within 72 hours, they are parked legally. “This is not just a Carmel Valley issue, it’s a citywide issue,” said Arway, noting he drove around
Carmel Valley to gauge the issue locally and reported that he got an “eyeful.” Per San Diego Municipal Code, no vehicle can be
SEE PARKING, PAGE 7
See VILLAGE, page 4
JOHN R. LEFFERDINK
619-813-8222
www.johnlefferdink.com
ANGELA MEAKINS-BERGMAN
LISA KELLY
VERONICA MOORE
858-405-9270
858-880-5242
619-250-5076