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La JoLLa Light
Enlightening La Jolla Since 1913
Vol. 99 Issue 35 • September 1, 2011
Online Daily at www.lajollalight.com
Pay attention to those traffic signs
■ Redistricting
map unifies La Jolla in District 1 Page A10
Residential Customer La Jolla, CA 92037 ECRWSS PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN DIEGO, CA PERMIT NO. 1980
Go surfing, be careful to watch your wallet By Dorian hargrove San Diego Reader Editor’s note: This story was first published by the San Diego Reader on Aug.24. They were kind enough to share it with the Light.
Honoring those lost on 9/11 ■ Videographer s
host undersea film festival Page B1
■ La Jolla field
hockey wants more success this season Page A21
As the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks approach, a number of special events are planned. Here are details on a few of them. ■ Salute to Local Heroes Sally and Greg Ricchiuti will host their annual 9-11 fundraiser to support Fire Station 9, from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday Sept. 10 at La Valencia Hotel. Firefighters will be in attendance to meet and greet guests. Tickets are $175 per person, and include dinner and dancing to music by Wayne Foster. kindtonine.org. (See A15 for details) ■ Rabbi Remembers Rabbi Yael Ridberg (of Congregation Dor Hadash in Kearny Mesa who moved from NYC a year ago and who, 10 years ago, had just
See 9/11, a4
By Dave SchwaB daves@lajollalight.com Ever get that feeling of déjà vu? A lot of drivers in La Jolla probably have: You know, that feeling of the red lights blinking behind you. And, for sure, the police who patrol our streets have, seeing the same offenses over and over at key spots. Looking over the Crime Maps Incident Reports on the Automated Regional Justice Information website, a handful of locations repeat themselves time and again. From July 1 to Aug. 20, the report shows a whole lot of citations issued at the following locations: ■ La Jolla Scenic North Drive and Moonridge Drive — 135 citations; ■ 6400 La Jolla Scenic South Drive — 56; ■ 6400 La Jolla Boulevard — 48 citations, and ■ Cardeno Drive and La Jolla Scenic Drive South — 21 citations. In all, police and parking officers logged 495 traffic citations during that month and a half. As it turns out, the most often ticketed
spot — listed as Scenic Drive North near Moonridge Drive — is a traffic island above La Jolla Parkway. (There’s also a sign prohibiting left-hand turns at the exact intersection of the two streets between 7:30 and 10 a.m. ) The ARJIS report shows most of the tickets there are in the morning drive time between about 7 and 10 a.m. Police Lt. Rick O’Hanlon of the Traffic Division said it appears motorists backed up on the parkway heading into the Village are making U-turns to try and shave a few minutes off their commutes. Problem is, it’s illegal to make a U-turn “over a divided highway at a simulated island,” he said. So instead saving time turns into a short-cut to an expensive traffic ticket. The next most ticketed spot is 6400 La
Do you hear that? Is that my car alarm?” Gus Neves asked as we walked up Naga Way to La Jolla Shores Drive after an early-morning surf session at Scripps Pier. We rounded the corner and saw a young man in a dark hoodie and baggy jeans standing in a pool of shattered window glass and rifling through the backseat of Neves’s 2011 Volkswagen Jetta. Barefoot and in full suits, we ran toward the car, yelling. The thief looked at us, then bear-hugged as many items as he could fit into his arms and ran to a blue Saturn. He jumped in the passenger seat. Before the door closed, the car peeled out, nearly clipping a sports utility vehicle. We ran the remaining 30 feet and stopped in the road to watch the crooks drive south on La Jolla Shores Drive. The car alarm continued to blare, but passing drivers just looked at us. A small red and black screwdriver lay on the ground next to the shards of glass.
See SignS, a9
See ShoreS, a14
More inside
Drive like you don’t want to get a ticket on West Muirlands. See Page A9.
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