4 South December 2020

4S Ranch, Crosby Estates, Del Sur, The Lakes, Santaluz WWW.LOCALUMBRELLANEWS.COM LOCAL LIFESTYLE PUBLICATION | VOLUME 5 | ISSUE 12

My Holiday Wish

LATEST LISTINGS INSIDE Pages 16 & 17

Brokers Corner Read on pages 2-3

Happy Holidays From the Shay Team Read on page 14

Renovate Now...

Pay Later Read on page 15

Support Local Businesses Read on page 18

Papparazzi Read on page 19

Opinion by Ray Shay As my oldest son Troy and I raced down 4S Ranch Parkway towards Camino Del Norte on Da Molesâ„¢ bright red antique scooter at the blazing top speed of about 20 MPH, we could not stop laughing. As we sped past, Da Mole turned and looked at the stopped cars waiting at the four-way intersection by 4S Ranch Commons Shopping Center.

The people sitting in their cars stared at us in disbelief as they probably thought we were filming a sequel to Dumb and Dumber. Their perplexed looks made us both laugh even harder.

READ MORE MY HOLIDAY WISH Page 2

DRE 01946504

SD MUSIC SCENE Page 28

2

Happy Holidays, San Diego

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

BROKERS CORNER

RAY SHAY BROKER I OWNER DRE 01946504

My Holiday Wish

The simple silliness of it all and the feeling of shared adventure made Troy and I both have the type of deep belly laugh that has been so rare in 2020. As we rode on to Karl Strauss Restaurant to meet our fellow Shay Team members for dinner above, it reminded me of what I wanted to wish each of you during this special and yet very challenging holiday season.

Prior to my wish, let me share some background information. Long before I was ever a Real Estate Broker or started Shay Realtors, I had a much different type of job that required me to wear about eight layers of Kevlar body armor and to pin a gold San Diego Police Department Badge on my dark blue uniform. Even to this day and the current hostile social climate towards police, I recognize their role is vital. I have enormous respect for law enforcement, civilian police employees, and all emergency responders including our amazing healthcare professionals.

A few weeks ago, two doctors from a nationwide psychological association approached me and asked if I would consider writing a chapter for their upcoming book designed to help emergency responders recover after experiencing severe emotional trauma as a result of their job duties.

With 24 years of law enforcement experience including being the former SDPD SWAT Commanding Officer, we experienced more than our share of critical incidents and violent crime scenes where everyone lost.

I initially declined the doctor’s request to write about my police experiences saying, “I’m no writer.” They both assured me their editors would fine-tune it and then one of them added that by writing about the variety of critical incidents I was involved in, it would help the men and women of law enforcement and help me, “heal.” Of course, I immediately stopped and looked at him cross-eyed, and said, “Shut up...I’m fine. That was a long time ago.”

Like most of you reading this article and the cops I worked around for so many years, no matter how tragic or difficult the situation was, those two words, “I’m fine” is what we would always say. While privately, we frequently just put those horrible images, regrets, guilt, and heartbreak into a cement cast and dropped it into the deep, dark ocean where it plummeted down quickly until it landed with a muffled thud on the dark, sandy ocean floor, next to Davy Jones locker.

We all embraced the false belief that those feelings would never resurface.

When my chapter became due to the publisher, I actually left San Diego County and secluded myself in a hotel room to write it. I made the editor’s crummy deadline with two minutes to spare from outside a Starbucks coffee shop in West Hollywood. After I hit the “send” button on my laptop, it made me suddenly realize that after 36 years, I had actually discovered a thin silver lining from a very dark cloud that passed over the San Ysidro Community, SDPD, and the San Diego Fire Department on July 18, 1984.

It also reminded me of several points I always emphasized to younger police officers who were involved in shootings, tragic incidents, or saw something so terrible within the quiet walls of a private home that they would sometimes wonder if there really is a higher spirit.

These thoughts also led me to think that many of my friends and neighbors in our community who are in a similar position, as they struggle to sleep or get clear answers on our world wide pandemic, when there really are none. The suicide rate for Asian youth are currently at an all time high as well as a recent Center for Disease Control announcement that suicide is the second leading cause of death for our youth and and in a recent survey one in four confirmed they had considered suicide during this worldwide pandemic as the COVID-19 virus is proving relentles and deadly.

Please keep in mind that I AM NOT a licensed therapist of any kind, (but I did stay at a Quality Inn Hotel in Bakersfield, California earlier this year). I am just an old cop that thought I would share pointers we emphasize to young police officers in hopes of keeping them healthy after a traumatic critical incident.

?

E M O H A SELLING

R O G N I D 49-7355 N 4 FI 8 5 8 T A ORS

NITIES. REALT Y A OPPORTU E H M S O T H T C E ARK CONTA OUT OFF M ND ASK AB A

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

Here is a brief list of suggestions to help beat the COVID 19 blues:

SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP - OK, I get it. Most people resist counseling. And counseling may not be for you. But let me ask you this. If your car started running rough would you take it to a car mechanic or take a look under the hood yourself? A professional mechanic can fix your car and a Psychologist with Zoom technology is just a click away to help you. I encourage you to at least give it a try once. I can speak from personal experience that going to a professional psychologist, therapist or counselor is a game-changer.

TAKE PRESCRIBED MEDICATION - Are you not sleeping? Are you depressed? I apologize. I am not a good role model for this strategy as I declined medications, but I have talked with countless people who effectively used them temporarily and they swear by it. I honestly think it took me much longer to get well since I refused medications. Again, it is your choice.

PHYSICAL FITNESS - Fitness is vital. To me, it is the most important tool to effectively get through an emotionally challenging situation. Even a walk, jog, yoga, swimming, weight lifting. Honestly, just do anything.

DO NOT STAY HORIZONTAL - OK it could be on a couch or your bed, but if you are simply laying around, get out and connect and/or get professional help.

Believe me, I know that is very hard to do when you are struggling with depression or a challenge. I have been there. Feel free to call me on my cell phone and I am happy to give you a push to get you outside. Of course, it is strictly confidential.

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

3

STAY CONNECTED - This one is easier to say than carry out in real life as you know you are really broken inside. I know some police officers who never reconnected and their lives tumbled into alcohol and substance abuse, and they have left this beautiful planet way too early.

There are other things that may help you and I am not a licensed professional in anything except real estate. This article is just to suggest a few strategies and I hope you read it with my intent to be helpful. I know I will get hater phone calls for whatever I write, but my sincere hope is that this article helps at least one person Zoom in with a licensed professional so they can get the help they so badly need.

Back to my sincere holiday wish. I hope each of you can wrap your hands around this worldwide pandemic and in our shared struggle recognize the dark cloud of COVID-19 has almost passed over us and there really are silver linings.

With the sunrise just around the corner, look for them now. Do not make my mistakes. Maybe you no longer commute to work, you learned to cook a new meal, you slowed down, you spend more quality time with your children, you ride a bicycle, or you simply treasure that hug or kiss from a loved one just that much more.

My son Ryan took the below sunrise photograph last week in Brawley, California. It is only about a two hour drive from our neighborhood. I push all my sons to seek adventure, and I also tell them that life sometimes passes out some unfortunate cards that you can do nothing about, so you need to make the best possible hand you can.

DO NOT RESORT TO ALCOHOL OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE - Many people suffering tend to self medicate to avoid the issues they are confronting.

This strategy will likely exacerbate the problems and/or make the depression worse.

LISTEN TO MUSIC - Now I am going to sound like a real cop. In my first divorce, (LOL) my mom and dad showed up at my little apartment in South Mission Beach with a 6 disc CD Player with AM and FM radio. It was such an awesome gift. I played that all the time. Just another example that our parents are much smarter than we ever give them credit for.

Ever since that day, I realized that silence is not necessarily my friend, and words of a song or the melody can help you get through your challenges.

Get you to the next day. I frequently have my iPhone show the lyrics as the song is being sung.

Severe emotional trauma has many forms and it is very common to rewind and constantly repeat what you saw, felt, or experienced. Yes, it is like a movie in your mind you have seen it over a million times and you cannot turn it off.

It can keep you from sleeping and causes silly mental errors because you feel like you are running that same repeating movie trailer in the background while you strive to handle current situations.

I re-discovered the value of music in healing a few years ago. Some of my favorites musicians are older bands like Social Distortion, Tom Petty, U2, Bruce Springsteen, and yes, even Madonna. Pretty gutsy admitting to that one! I obviously don’t play Madonna when Troy, Raymond, or Ryan are around, but sometimes doing something silly like dancing it out to a goofy song can make a difference.

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

I sincerely wish each of you and your family the best of the holiday season and hopes for a happier and successful 2021.

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

4

Happy Holidays, San Diego

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

He Built This City, She Told the Tale Staff Report

If you’ve lived in San Diego for longer than, oh, let’s say a week, you’ve heard the Spreckels name.

There’s the Spreckels Theatre, the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, and the Spreckels Mansion to name a few landmarks. But few people know about the private life of John D. Spreckels, the man who almost single-handedly transformed the bankrupt village of San Diego into the thriving metropolis we now call America’s finest city.

Author of the new Spreckels biography, Sandra E. Bonura, sat down with us – at a social distance, of course – and told us about her inspiration and research.

Tell us how you came to write about John D. Spreckels.

My journey to writing John D. Spreckels’s biography began when an old house in Berkeley, California, passed from one generation to the next. Tattered steamship trunks that had voyaged on a Spreckels steamer were discovered in the attic. Forgotten for more than a century, the trunks contained valuable scientific papers, rare artifacts, correspondence, photographs, old newspapers, and more. They were donated to Scripps Institution of Oceanography and I was allowed privileged access due to my friendship with the archivist. My heart, mind, and imagination were instantly captured by the hundreds of love letters sent on Spreckels’ steamships, written

in charming nineteenth-century vernacular by a homesick young teacher, Carrie Winter, on a three-year assignment in Honolulu to her fiancé, who would later cofound Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Winter was an important eyewitness to the greatest political turmoil the Hawaiians had ever experienced. Recognizing the historical significance, I got busy and in 2012, I coauthored An American Girl in the Hawaiian Islands: Letters of Carrie Prudence Winter, 1890–1893. During the research for that book, another amazing person captivated my heart. I wondered how in the world had history ignored a small and feisty teacher from Ohio who became a bold social activist, who had inspired, elevated, and ultimately sacrificed her life for an entire generation of Hawaiian women? In 2019, I was humbled when Light in the Queen’s Garden: Ida May Pope, Pioneer for Hawai‘i’s Daughters, won the top Award of Excellence given by the Hawai’i Book Publishers Association to recognize the finest books published in Hawai’i.

Those forgotten steamer trunks gave me one more story to tell: that of the forgotten empire of John Diedrich Spreckels. Both of the characters in my first two books mentioned J.D. Spreckels and being a native San Diegan, my antennae went up.

Being a baby boomer, I knew the significance of that name. Why was the name “Spreckels” well known among researchers in Hawai’i but over-

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

looked in San Diego? I was baffled once again that history ignored this pioneer who almost singlehandedly built the infrastructure and superstructure of modern San Diego after building empires in sugar, shipping, transportation, and development up and down the coast of California and across the Pacific. Off to the computer… I needed to “right this wrong.”

What surprised you most about him?

I imagined Spreckels as an outgoing charismatic businessman before I began to seriously write his life’s story. Imagine my astonishment when my research corroborated his social anxiety.

How could this larger-than-life multi-millionaire be painfully shy? He only confronted his rivals with the written word than with the spoken one, using his newspapers to speak for him. Several anecdotes in the book will surprise the reader!

Never compelled to justify ANY of his actions, Spreckels simply walled himself off from the public, remaining silent until his seventh decade of life making research into his personality a challenge. His introversion explained why there were no published speeches (except one delivered with shaking hands at the end of his life, as tears fell down his face), his refusal to engage in small talk, his sparse words when speaking to people and his inabilities to address his employees when they were grouped for special occasions.

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Was there ever a time during your research when you had objections about his character?

By 1910, approximately one in fifteen San Diegans worked for a Spreckels-owned company and he was at one time estimated to be paying 10 percent of all city and county taxes! Those are astonishing statistics. And because of this, he was a big target for the Industrial Workers of the World Union (IWW) when they came to organize San Diego’s workers in 1911. Spreckels hated the union’s tactics, and he believed he had to defeat them—quickly, unambiguously, and completely—no matter what the cost. He first used his newspapers to sway public opinion against the IWW, whom he viewed as thugs, but what shocked me was what he did next: he supported the use of armed vigilantes to suppress their speech through violence. Locals did not share the union’s aims but they supported the fight for free speech because they felt that if the unions’ rights could be taken away, everyone’s rights were at risk. Most San Diegans know the name of Ellen Browning Scripps, a feminist and philanthropist, who was a bystander to the dreadful attacks by San Diego’s vigilantes. Her assessment: “I think women would have managed the Industrial Workers of the World better, and less to the discredit of the city.” Spreckels’ role as owner of the San Diego Union, and the shocking events of 1912 are rehashed today as topics surrounding the constitutional rights concerned with freedom of speech, press, and public assembly. I must say, I agree with Miss Scripps over Mr. Spreckels when it comes to freedom of speech.

Happy Holidays, San Diego

craning to see the orchestra atop the pavilion. It is this black and white historical photo backdrop that is my Zoom profile when I give virtual book talks today.

If you were casting the film version of the life of Spreckels, who would play him?

Easy --Tom Selleck! Selleck and Spreckels – both high profile men in their era, maintain(ed) a high level of privacy away from the public. Tom Selleck made a choice to lay low instead of having a luxurious and phony Hollywood life and so did multimillionaire John D. Spreckels who could afford to live a luxurious life anywhere in the world but instead chose to work hard and build our city from underground up. Furthermore, they were (are) both athletic and both rocked a sexy mustache.

Were there any things about Spreckels that you could personally relate to?

All my friends and family know that I am an animal enthusiast. My heart is beyond soft for dogs in particular. Spreckels was also an ardent

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

5

and wildcats, and we received with kangaroos, wallabies, Tasmanian devils, kookaburras, emus, water dragons, and, most amazingly of all, the elusive cuddly koalas. “Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie” were named after characters in a popular Australian children’s book at the time. They would become the first koalas ever displayed in the U.S., making them the zoo’s earliest attention-drawing, attendance-driving celebrities.

Last year when I was at the zoo, and I was told by a zoo ambassador, that elderly Australians on holiday to San Diego have been seen crying at our koala exhibit remembering Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie from their youth.

Another area I personally engaged with Spreckels was his German heritage.

World War I stirred an anti-German sentiment that reached into all parts of the United States.

Even though German immigrants had brought to their newly adopted homeland an expertise in farming, education, science, the arts, and more, they were often shunned. German-language newspapers were forced out of business and colleges dropped the German language from the curriculum. Even music by such German com-

If you had John D. Spreckels over for dinner, what would you ask him?

To me, it was shocking that his empire was dismantled quicker than anyone in his era could have ever imagined. But without motivated and ambitious successors among his family, it didn’t have a chance! it appears that both of his sons, John Jr. and Claus Jr. had acquired spendthrift habits early in life as a result of their father’s wealth and generous distribution of it. The sons were also womanizers prone to excess indulgences. Since his boys went wayward, I would certainly ask him to reevaluate his parenting. My first question would be, “Your father put you to work when you were a boy. Were you trying to give your own boys more of a childhood than you had?” “Did you give them too much?” “Do you regret it?” These questions would certainly bum out the dinner party, but I would want to know.

Would you rather spend a few hours at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park or Spreckels Theatre downtown? Why?

Without a doubt, it is the Organ Pavilion!

Many don’t know that Spreckels was himself an accomplished organist. Music was an antidote for stress. I’m particularly impressed with the dedicated people who comprise the Spreckels Organ Society. These are awesome people actively keeping John D. Spreckels’ legacy alive with their continuous preservation, promotion, and programing of the free-to-the-public organ concerts in Balboa Park. I have dear memories of attending the 2pm Sunday concerts with my grandmother in the 1960s. I can still remember the blue “pearls” and smart white hat she wore. These were the days that all females wore dresses and I remember sleeping in curlers the night before she ironed my little dress to attend the “Shpreckels” (her German accent) concerts. In 1915, when San Diego’s Panama–California Exposition opened, the Spreckels organ was the centerpiece of the activities. There were nearly forty-three thousand attendees at the stroke of midnight

Sunrise at Spreckles Park in Coronado, California.

animal lover and this is where I found mutual ground with my subject. There are some captivating stories in my book about his anecdotes with dogs which made me relate on a very personal level. A few of my favorite stories in the book involve the founding of the world-famous San Diego Zoo. I was surprised that he gets no credit today for his contributions to the formation of the zoo. He not only gave massive amounts of money, purchased the elephants and their compounds, he sponsored the very first zoo animal exchange with Australia using his luxurious steamships, leading to a dramatic and harrowing story that gave America our first koala encounter.

Readers will enjoy some of the stories about the twelve-foot alligator that escaped and wandered the decks among shrieking passengers and some other shocking escapades that did not turn out so well. Think about it, we sent coyotes, rattle snakes

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

posers as Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms were removed from orchestras’ programs. Spreckels after World War 1 was forced to “over-prove” his loyalty to America time and time again. Even though his personal yacht and the entire North Island was conscripted for purposes of war, he was made to feel guilty just by virtue of being 100% German. It’s impossible to know his feelings during America’s anti-German delirium, but I only had to look at my grandmother who lived with us and know that it likely saddened him even though great patriotism for America was shown. As a result of this widespread persecution, many German immigrants like my grandmother concealed her ethnic identity by never speaking her first language in public and forbidding my mother to ever speak German outside the home fearing discrimination.

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

6

Happy Holidays, San Diego

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

San Diego All-Star Clown

by Mia Bertelsen

Not all covid news is negative for creative preforming artists. Even though community events have stopped, the San Diego All-Star Clowns are finding new ways to make the community smile. They have a new concept of the drive-by, pop-up clown parade.

I spoke to Kathy Cannon who is a member of the San Diego All-Star Clowns. “We are an organization that has been in existence for over 20 years,” Cannon said. “We have a monthly meeting and one of our other clowns suggested that we do a drive-by. So every month she picks a route and we drive around, dress up and decorate our cars and we honk and wave signs to everybody to spread a little cheer. I just do it as a hobby but a lot of the clowns do it professionally. As a group we go to the Circus Vargas when they are in town. We dress up and we greet all the people as they are coming in.

The first week of August is National Clown week and every day we find something to do. We go to senior citizen places, convalescent homes, and more. We just go all over.”

Their last drive by was in Normal Heights and Hillcrest areas. One of

their very favorite events is to be at the Coronado 4th of July Parade.

“We were very upset that we couldn’t do it this year,” she said.

It takes a special person to be a clown. You are a creative and orig-

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

inal person who loves people. Cannon is an upbeat person and shared her favorite part of making the public smile. Her clown name is Grandma Huggs. “What really touches me is when I face paint kids and they see

themselves in the mirror and they are so happy!,” she said.

If you hear some noise and see some clowns driving by, make sure to give them a wave. The group doesn’t give the area a head’s up on their appearance. Part of the fun is to see the surprise of the people to see a drive-by, pop-up clown parade. She added that they are taking precautions and space their cars apart. “A lot of us are older and we need to be careful,” Cannon added.

From their website: The San Diego All-Star Clowns performs at health related fund raising events. We appear in most parades in the San Diego area. During National Clown Week, August 1st to 7th, we often have two events per day in the San Diego Community. The purpose of National Clown week is to promote the art of clowning. You may find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SanDiegoAllStarClownClub/ The San Diego All-Star Clowns offers clown classes annually. They cover the history of clowning, ethics of clowning, makeup, costuming, types of clowns, character development, hospital clowning, parade clowning, face painting, balloon twisting, mime, face painting, skits and more.

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

7

Local Blood Donor Inducted Into Fresenius Kabi Donation Hall Of Fame Long-time San Diego Blood Bank donor Joe McDonald has been inducted into the Donation Hall of Fame, sponsored by Fresenius Kabi.

The Donation Hall of Fame recognizes individuals nationwide who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to blood donation. A brief induction ceremony was held today where Joe received a personalized award and was honored for his many contributions to people in need of blood transfusions. Joe has donated 99 gallons of blood with the San Diego Blood Bank to date.

Joe, a Marine Corps veteran, chose this as his date for induction, as it is on the 10th of November of every year that our Nation, our Corps and our Marines pay tribute to all the Marine Corps Birthday symbolizes.

Joe is one of 12 inspiring donation stories across the country selected

for the Fresenius Kabi 2020 Donation Hall of Fame. Blood centers across the country submitted nominations for this year’s Donation Hall of Fame. Winners were chosen based on their demonstrated commitment and passion to donating blood and/or encouraging blood donation. Fresenius Kabi (www. fresenius-kabi.com/us) is a global health care company that specializes in medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition. The company’s products and services are used to help care for critically and chronically ill patients.Appointments are required to donate blood and are available at www.sandiegobloodbank.org San Diego Blood Bank Headquarters is located at 3636 Gateway Center Avenue, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92102.

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

8

Happy Holidays, San Diego

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

Local Author Shares 1970s Cross-County Bicycle Trip in New Bestselling Memoir Staff Report It was the early 1970s and 23-year-old David W. Reed felt embittered by political strife and corruption. Our nation was torn apart by the Vietnam War and the massacre of unarmed students at Kent State University. President Nixon was being investigated for criminal activity and Vice President Spiro Agnew had just resigned for bribery and tax evasion. Young David wanted out. So he made two new friends, packed 15 pounds of camera equipment and camping gear on his back, and set out for a cross country bicycle adventure.

Recently, the Del Cerro resident published UPHILL AND INTO THE WIND, a memoir about his life-changing journey. Reed sat down to talk to us about his book, bicycling, and what he learned along the way.

Q: We know it was your disillusionment with the American political landscape that drove you to go off-the-grid for a while and bicycle across the country in 1974. But what made you decide to write a memoir about the trip now?

A: As twenty-somethings, we were simply too busy living to look back. To put together an entire story into a book takes time, a lot of it: it’s a luxury young adventurers think of differently.

The “now” started seven years ago when my Dad passed away. He had written a short memoir about something he did that helped to change the outcome of World War II. When I read it, I thought I should write my story. After almost 50 pages of my earliest memories, I realized, it’s the bicycle trip. I still have all my journals, seven of them, which I kept, on an almost daily basis. I transcribed them, and so it began.

Q: What were some of your favorite memories from the journey?

A: There are so many. We witnessed a butterfly migration and climbed a mountain at night in Shenandoah National Park. Kansas, was one

of the most transcendental places of our trip, where the wheat was turning from green to gold.

Climbing Long’s Peak (elevation 14,256 feet) in Rocky Mountain National Park was a high point.

We witnessed the Aurora Borealis – the Northern Lights -- in Glacier Park. Having Avenue of the Giants, in Humboldt Redwoods State Park all to ourselves was surreal. But there are so many more.

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

Q: What surprised you? Did you have any preconceived ideas that were disproven about parts of the country or people who live there?

A: We had not expected the way people opened up their homes and hearts to us along the way.

Good Samaritans all, they gave us shelter, food, respite and friendship, embodying the very best of the American experience.

As for pre-conceived notions, we thought Kansas was flat. Its not: It’s on a giant semi-continental slope. We entered Kansas at elevation 800.

The elevation at the western border is almost 4,000 feet. That’s 3,200 feet of elevation gain in 400 miles, or about 3/16 inch for every ten feet.

We’d come upon small rises in the land, maybe 50-200 feet long inclines of a few to several feet. A few hours later there would be another one, then another, several during the day. We’d go up, but not downhill.

Q: How long did the bicycle trip take?

A: This was 1974, a time when there were not many people traveling on bicycles. From start to finish (including the trip home) the journey took five months. On bicycles we covered 5,420 miles, crossing the Continental Divide 11 times. But we spent almost two months backpacking in the National Parks.

Q: How did you meet your two biking companions?

A; Before planning the trip I did not know Rusty and Susie. When I decided to ride my bicycle across the U.S. I thought it would be better to have a companion. Several friends had told me that there was a guy like me, also into hiking, biking, nature, and metaphysics and I had to meet him. That was Rusty Bird. (And yes, that’s his real name!)

I met Susie at a church potluck, one of those communal gatherings, where we’d hold hands, offer a blessing and break bread. A young girl who sat across from me sat up and listened as I spoke

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

of my planned journey. She said, “Wow, I’d really like to go on a trip like that.” I don’t know what moved me but I said, “Come along if you want.”

Susie was just 19, and had never been away from home before.

Q: Did you ever feel you were in danger?

A: I can laugh about it now, but there were many times. Mad dogs in Maryland, Bears in the Shenandoah, getting run off the road by oversized rigs carrying pre-fab homes, tornadoes in Kansas, sudden lighting and snow storms in the Rockies, hypothermia, a white-out on a mountain climb, a moose encounter in the Teton mountain range. One of the closest shaves with death was from a logging truck on Highway One in Washington. But there was another even closer one on the trip home, which I won’t spoil for you.

Q: Was there any now city or town that you wanted to stay a while longer in?

A: Again, there are so many. In Abingdon, Virginia, we were adopted by a back-to-the-land family who fed us, showed us the ways of wild-crafting and homesteading. I also loved Aurora CO., Jackson Hole, WY, Marblemount and Bellingham WA, and especially Victoria B.C. Q: You recently won the Surfing Madonna Association with a Local Authors Community Arts Award. Tell us a little bit about that.

A; I was thrilled that some North County surfers would single me out. The Surfing Madonna is an inspiring mural, which blends the love of the perfect wave with the iconic, venerated and one of the most sacred icons of Mexican and Mexican American Culture, La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every surfer dreams of the perfect wave, and many a mural and surf photograph highlight that perfect moment. Whenever I’m asked what makes Southern California work so well, I have always felt it was our Mexican American biculturalism.

Happy Holidays, San Diego

Q; Why did you decide to donate a portion of your proceeds to the Environmental Defense Fund?

A: For me, it’s not about the money. After experiencing, through our travels, what a precious temple our biosphere is, I felt I must find a way to help save it. We’re using up this planet like it has no end. The earth is getting hotter, the poles and glaciers are melting, the oceans are rising.

The earth will survive, but will humanity? What

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

do you want for your children, or grandchildren?

Q; Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

A: On our trip I carried 15 lbs. of camera equipment, I have almost 200 Kodachrome slides, which document the sudden and surprising glories of nature, the raw beauty of the land and the majesty of the mountains. I have a link to the color slides at the back of the book.

Reach Over 100,000 Local Homes each month, with local readers right in your neighborhood!

21 SAN DIEGO | 20

NT LIVING AND TO INDEPENDE YOUR GUIDE

DIRECTORY

E LONG-TERM CAR

rcare.com SanDiegoElde m co D. rS ve Caregi

Safer Senior Living

Mission.

Your Goal, Our

sted Certified CarePatrol’s tru are experts, Senior Advisors t finding the bes committed to memory care assisted living, s ion opt are and in home-c cific needs to meet your spe t to you. at no cos on CarePatrol For information and 82 see pages 13 Photo by Kris

Arciaga

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

Assisting The Aging Population

CarePatrol has been advertising with the Local Umbrella Media’s direct mail publications for several months now and we continue to do so.

Brad and his team made it extremely easy to advertise with positive results!

NOTE: Look for CarePatrol on the cover of the new Eldercare directory this Fall!

Julie Derry & Kie Copenhaver

Certified Senior Advisors CarePatrol

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

9

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

10 VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

Neighborhood Publications Reaching Over 125,000 San Diego Area Mailboxes Per Month!

Follow & Like Us Online!

Browse all editions online at @LocalUmbrellaMedia www.LocalUmbrellaNews.com

HYPER-LOCAL COMMUNITY PUBLICATIONS Local Umbrella Media publishes hyperlocal, positive, upbeat, community publications, focusing on supporting local businesses, lifestyle articles, upcoming events, talents and contributions of the locals who live and work in our communities.

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES BRAD WEBER 619-375-2889 BRAD@LOCALUMBRELLA.COM

MEDIA CONSULTANT C. CHRISTIE CRAIG TOM SHESS

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS BRAD@LOCALUMBRELLA.COM GRAPHICS & DESIGN BRAD@LOCALUMBRELLA.COM

CONTRIBUTORS MIA BERTELSEN BART MENDOZA JEN COBURN MANNY CRUZ JENNY WERTH VERONICA TALIA MERILEE KERN KINSEE MORLAN AMANDA PETERSON

FARIMA TABRIZI MARLISE KAST-MYERS RON DONOHO PHOTOGRAPHY JIM CHILDERS FARIMA TABRIZI DAWN SEBAUGH NICKY INCANDELA

Our advertisers have found that when a resident reaches into their mailbox and discovers a large size, full-color publication with the name of their community prominently displayed and local information on the cover, they take it into their home, open it, and actually read it–taking notice of and supporting the participating local businesses inside. If you are looking to build your brand, grow your business and become a household name, Local Umbrella Media has you covered.

DOES PRINT ADVERTISING

WORK? It Just Did!

This could be your ad space.

Lowest rates in town!

For more information contact Brad@Local Umbrella.com www.LocalUmbrella News.com

©2020 COPYRIGHT BY INSPIRED MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Local Umbrella Media Newspaper Publications are printed monthly and distributed freely throughout San Diego County. Opinions expressed in articles or advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. Local Umbrella Media is not responsible for omissions or information that has been misrepresented in the newspaper. Local Umbrella Media Newspaper Publications are produces and published by Local Umbrella Media, and no part of this

publication bay be reproduced or transmitted without permission of the publisher.

DISCLAIMER: Paid advertisements contained herein are not endorsed or recommended by publisher; therefore, publisher shall not be held liable for business practices of advertisers. Publisher not liable for images accepted in good faith.

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

Medical Cannabis Does Not Create Cognitive Decline in Seniors

By Michael Patterson NHA, OTR/L, CEAS

A recent study published in the September 2020 edition of the Drug and Alcohol Review, determined that the use of medical cannabis does not create a cognitive decline in senior citizens. The link to the study is here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1111/dar.13171 The study was performed by Sharon R. Sznitman PhD, Senior Lecturer, Simon Vulfsons MD, Director, David Meiri PhD, Lecturer, Galit Weinstein PhD, Senior Lecturer at Israel’s Haifa University School of Public Health. The study included 125 cannabis users who were 50 years and older. Out of the 125 study participants, 63 had Israeli government permission to use cannabis and 62 did not have permission.

Each participant was put through a multitude of tests consisting of CogState computerized brief battery used to assess cognitive performance of psychomotor reaction, attention, working memory and new learning.

Regression models and Bayesian tests examined differences in cognitive performance in the two groups.

Furthermore, the associations between medical cannabis use patterns (dosage, cannabinoid concentrations, length and frequency of use and hours since last use) with cognition were assessed among medical cannabis licensed patients.

Patients were tested before use of medical cannabis and after use of medical cannabis. The result of the study showed no detectable difference in cognitive ability before or after use of medical cannabis.

Dr. Sharon Sznitman and Dr. Galit Weinstein noted that the results of the study do not show any widespread change on cognition in older chronic pain patients. Considering use of medical cannabis is increasing in older populations, this study could be a first step toward a better risk-benefit assessment of the use of medical cannabis with Seniors. The researchers also noted that “previous studies have shown that medical cannabis can have long-term effects on the brain when consumed at a young age. Those affects are not necessarily the same when consumed in old age.”

Analysis Senior Citizens are the fastest growing demographic of users of medical cannabis in the United States. With over 435,000 medical cannabis patients in Florida and the average age of a medical cannabis patient over 50 years old, many Seniors are currently using medical cannabis. However, these numbers could be considered the “tip of the iceberg.” As more senior citizens

become comfortable using medical cannabis for their diagnoses with less side effects and more relief than traditional pharmaceutical medications, we will see many more seniors starting to use medical cannabis into 2021 and beyond.

Physicians and health care organizations need to educate seniors on the benefits of medical cannabis and begin to track the data related to outcomes of seniors who take cannabis as a medicine. Not only is medical cannabis safer than traditional pharmaceuticals (for most patients), but it is also more cost effective for health care organizations (ACOs) for cost of care per patient. The evidence is in the data. As more ACOs and health care entities start to track the data around use of medical cannabis and see better outcomes and decreased cost of healthcare within their system, you will see more acceptance of medical cannabis as a medicine within the current healthcare community.

Michael C. Patterson, founder and CEO of U.S. Cannabis Pharmaceutical Research & Development of Melbourne, is a consultant for the development of the medical marijuana industry nationwide and in Florida. He serves as a consultant to Gerson Lehrman Group, New York and helps educate GLG partners on specific investment strategies and public policy regarding Medical Marijuana in the U.S. and Internationally. He can be reached at mpatterson@uscprd.com

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

11

Happy Holidays, San Diego

12 VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

Washington DC, USA, 11/06/2020: After the elections, Anti-Trump Protesters make demonstrations near White House. A young man holds a banner that says be Counted referring to vote counting.

How election officials fought fiction with fact

Freddy Brewster And Katie Licari December 2, 2020 Pet videos populate Facebook all the time, but one posted during this frenzied election season stood out: A service dog named Maggie Magoo had voted by mail in Santa Cruz, its owner said.

Not just that, the owner claimed Maggie was registered to vote using her microchip number as a social security number.

The story, like so much misinformation, had more bark than bite. But it was only after the video had been viewed at least 25,000 times and Gail Pellerin, Santa Cruz County Registrar, had checked voter registration and called the county’s district attorney, the local sheriff ’s department, and the Department of Homeland Security that she felt she could definitively quash the rumor.

“For the record, a dog did NOT register and vote in our county,” she tweeted.

“It’s really unfortunate when people just sit behind a camera and put out lies and deceit that just isn’t based on facts or anything real,” Pellerin said. “It really just sort of tarnishes the work that everybody is doing.”

Not all misinformation about the election was as easy to disprove, and there was plenty.

A survey by CalMatters of 54 of California’s 58 registrars of voters found that misinformation in all forms was rampant during the recent election.

Voters were subjected to everything from wrong or misleading claims from the White House to social media posts discrediting the integrity of the voting process. Registrars in both urban and rural counties said they often spent hours each day trying to get the correct information out to anxious voters.

Kimberly Grady, the registrar for Amador County, said her office fielded “numerous calls daily” about “whatever was talked about on social media or the news. It was usually about fraud.”

“The phones were out of control this election,” said Gregory Diaz, registrar for Nevada County, adding that his office dealt with misinformation “all the time. Every day.”

In fact, much of the registrars’ time was spent addressing voters’ confusion over new election rules rather than malicious disinformation. Apart from their choice of candidates and propositions, voters had a lot to think about in this election.

Not only was this California’s first year to use vote-by-mail statewide, but in a number of counties voting centers and dropboxes had replaced familiar polling places. “We had a lot of people who were upset and angry” about the move from polling places to mailed ballots, said Donna Johnston, Sutter County’s registrar. “People did not want their choice taken away from them.”

Bottom of Form

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

Many voters displaced by wildfires in counties like Santa Cruz needed assistance finding replacement ballots or locating a place to drop their ballot. And BallotTrax, a new system designed to assure mail-in voters that their ballots had been received and recorded, often instilled more confusion than confidence when it failed to provide prompt feedback in some counties.

Still, even issues that would have been relatively straightforward in simpler times were complicated by President Trump’s false claims about a “rigged” election and the integrity of mail-in voting. Much-publicized cost cutting and mail delays by the U.S. Postal Service led voters to worry that they couldn’t count on their ballots being delivered safely or on time. They expressed doubts about the security of drop boxes, or poll workers’ ability to match signatures on mail-in ballots or the threat of illegal electioneering — advocates distributing or wearing campaign propaganda at the voting centers. “Everything prevalent in the national narrative has been questioned locally,” said Janna Haynes, Public Information Officer for Sacramento County.

To combat the flood of confusion and misinformation, the largest counties deployed armies of workers. Between its phone bank and its social media team, “you’re talking about 35, 40, 45 people,” said Neal Kelley, registrar for Orange

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego County, which has more than 1.6 million registered voters. The Orange County website also posted 30-plus “myths” circulating about voting.

Some examples: Voters should put a stamp on their prepaid return ballot envelope for faster delivery (actually, this could slow it down); it’s okay to photocopy one’s ballot (it’s not); ballots that don’t check all the boxes will be voided (they won’t).

Anticipating problems, the Secretary of State’s office had set up a dedicated email account, voter hotline and media monitoring tools well ahead of Election Day to help combat concerns about misinformation. State officials led county public information officers through a presentation on crisis communications and best practices, and equipped them with a tool kit for possible scenarios the week prior to the election, said Jenna Dresner, senior public information officer for the Office of Election Cybersecurity. “We always see an influx in misinformation around elections, but this year it was louder than ever.”

For Kammi Foote, the registrar of Inyo County, the problems began during the summer, with messages coming out of the White House undermining the integrity of the postal service. She said she had to routinely deal with voter phone calls about possibly intentional slow downs of the mail and the removal of U.S. mail collection boxes.

“That did not reflect the reality happening behind the scenes,” Foote said about the situation in Inyo County. “We probably had the strongest partnership with the United States Postal Service that I have ever experienced in my 14 years as a registrar.”

In an effort to combat confusion, Inyo’s elections office expanded its social media reach to

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Foote said she posted at least twice a day during the busiest days of the election to deal with each new conspiracy theory. One day a number of people called her office to ask how she was preventing people from urinating in the ballot drop boxes.

“I had never previously received those kinds of questions and I thought it was odd that multiple people would ask me that same question,” she said.

Normally, the registrar’s office could have reached out to a wide audience by advertising on Facebook. But Facebook had imposed a ban on new political ads in the week before the election, in an effort to combat misinformation, so Foote was limited to posting only on the county’s page. “I went through so many hoops and so many hours and I even got through to real, live Facebook people and we still weren’t ever able to advertise,” she said. (The registrar for Orange County took the precaution of being certified

by Facebook as an official source of election information, Kelley said, so his office was able to circumvent the ban.)

“The most important thing the voter should know is that, not everything they read on social media is always true and they need to do a little research.”

DEBORAH BAUTISTA, TUOLUMNE COUNTY REGISTRAR In Sonoma County, Registrar Deva Proto found herself dealing with rumors that grew out of photos taken in September of recycled materials from previous elections. “Somebody took pictures of it and started spreading misinformation, saying that they were worried that we were dumping ballots from this election, even though our ballots haven’t been sent out yet,” said Proto. “And so

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12 13 that took quite a bit of time, just responding to phone calls, and then media requests.”

In Tuolumne County, Registrar Deborah Bautista spent time every day scrolling through Facebook groups that were spreading misinformation.

One individual, she recalled, posted an obviously false claim that in-person voting had been canceled. She responded that some polling places were closed due to consolidation efforts but that there was still, in fact, in-person voting. “But the good news is that there were a lot of people that said that [the claim] wasn’t true and to contact the [elections] office,” she said.

Bautista said she is lucky, because Tuolumne County is a small area where people tend to know each other. She said she was often tagged on some of the misleading posts and was able to rebut them before they were able to take root.

“The most important thing the voter should know is that, not everything they read on social media is always true and they need to do a little research,” she added. “If it doesn’t sound right, it probably isn’t right.”

Requests for interviews with Facebook went unanswered as of publication time.

This story has updated to reflect additional counties responding to the survey.

Freddy Brewster and Katie Licari are reporters at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Votebeat reporters Lewis Griswold, Michael Lozano, and UC Berkeley Journalism School reporter Aaron Leathley contributed to this story.

This coverage is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. In California, CalMatters is hosting the collaboration with the Fresno Bee, the Long Beach Post and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

”Simple. Secure. Trustworthy. Counted.” A sign reads in Spanish encouraging voters to vote by mail Off I-5 on November 3, 2020. Photo by Clara Mokri for CalMatters

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

14 VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

Happy Holidays From The Shay Team

Ray, Troy, Ryan, & Raymond Shay

Sean, Grace, Anna, Colin, & Louie Whitty

Tristan, Tina, & Tyra Wu

Evie, Archer, Mandy, & James Rahm

Sarah, Archer, & Kevin Koch Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

Tyran, Dylan, Keirsney Nguyen

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

BROKERS CORNER:

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12 15

Let Shay Realtors Help You Flip Your Own Home for Maximum Net Proceeds!

KW Refresh Renovate now... Pay Later Through my partnership with KW Refresh, we can prepare your home for sale with no upfront costs, intrest, or hidden fees; payment is collected when your home sells

Call Ray to maximize your net proceeds!

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

16 VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

YOUR 92127 YOUR 92127 COMMUNITY EXPERTS

TM

SOLD 4S RANCH NEIGHBORHOOD

STYLE

ADDRESS

BED BATH EST SF

BRIDGEPORT

Townhouse

16934 Laurel Hill Lane 167

2

2

THE SUMMIT

ATT

17161 Alva Rd Unit 611

2

SAN MORITZ

Townhouse

16917 Vasquez Way 71

3

RAVENNA

ATT

10416 Whitcomb Way 100

TANGLEWOOD

DET

VERIDIAN

DAYS ON SOLD PRICE MARKET

DATE

965

11

$436,000

2

968

4

$465,000

12/4/20

3

1389

4

$626,500

11/18/20

3

3

1642

5

$727,000

11/30/20

9716 Fieldhorn St

3

3

1410

5

&778,000

11/10/20

Townhouse

16337 Veridian Circle

3

3

1765

3

$780,000

11/18/20

VERIDIAN

ATT

16308 Veridian Circle

3

2

1974

4

$780,000

11/9/20

VERIDIAN

Townhouse

16257 Verdian Circle

4

3

2295

5

$937,500

11/25/20

LEGACY

DET

10236 Lone Dove St

5

4

3424

14

$1,220,000

11/16/20

CAMEO

DET

16713 Santanella

5

3

3392

4

$1,280,000

11/13/20

BERNANDO POINT

DET

17018 Patina street

4

4

3732

6

$1,330,000

11/30/20

PALOMINO

DET

16168 Palomino Valley Road

5

5

4632

10

$1,580,000

11/20/20

HERTIAGE BLUFF

DET

15078 Verdot Court

5

4

3450

8

$1,605,000

11/9/20

Median Sales Price – Single Family Rolling 12-Month Calculation

$1,400,000

All MLS — 92127 —

$1,200,000

Median Sales Price – Townhouse-Condo Rolling 12-Month Calculation

$600,000

12/4/20

All MLS — 92127 —

$500,000

$1,000,000 $400,000 $800,000 $300,000

$600,000 $400,000

5-2013 3-2014 1-2015 11-2015 9-2016 7-2017 5-2018 3-2019 1-2020 11-2020

$200,000

5-2013 3-2014 1-2015 11-2015 9-2016 7-2017 5-2018 3-2019 1-2020 11-2020

Call Today For your FREE Home Market Valuation Sold properties taken from Sandicor from 8/24/2020 to 9/24/2020 and may represent listings from other brokerages. Information accurate but not guaranteed.

Ray Shay REALTOR®

BROKER ASSOCIATE CALDRE#01354548 Ray@ShayRealtors.com Ray.ShayRealtors.com

DIRECT 858.449.4970

OFFICE 858.449.7355

KELLERWILLIAMS Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

INTERNATIONAL /LocalUmbrellaMedia

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

COMMUNITY EXPERTS™ YOUR 92127 COMMUNITY EXPERTS

TM

SOLD GATED COMMUNITIES BED BATH EST SF

DAYS ON SOLD PRICE MARKET

NEIGHBORHOOD

STYLE

ADDRESS

SANTALUZ

DET

14630 Caminito Lazanja

5

5

3570

6

$1,888,000

11/10/20

SANTALUZ

DET

7768 Doug Hill Court

4

5

4800

12

$2,600,000

11/24/20

SANTALUZ

DET

8057 Entrada De Luz E

4

5

4624

8

$2,710,000

11/23/20

THE CROSBY

DET

17002 San Antonio Rosa Court

4

5

3605

0

$1,550,000

11/20/20

SANTALUZ

DET

7835 Doug Hill

4

4

3706

130

$1,625,000

11/30/20

THE CROSBY

DET

16670 Sweet Leilani

4

5

4204

24

$1,749,000

11/20/20

THE LAKES

DET

16231 Sunny Summit Dr.

5

6

4283

15

$1,565,000

11/13/20

SANTALUZ

DET

14445 Caminito Lazanja

5

5

3861

117

$1,330,000

11/30/20

THE CROSBY

DET

8179 Lazy River Rd

3

4

3861

18

$1,499,000

11/20/20

DATE

SANTALUZ

DET

7717 Briza Placida

4

5

4288

6

$2,350,000

11/13/20

THE CROSBY

DET

16664 Sweet Leilani Lane

5

5

3799

83

$1,699,000

12/3/20

SANTALUZ

DET

7823 Doug Hill Ct

4

4

3706

8

$1,895,000

11/13/20

STERLING HEIGHTS

DET

16417 Crescent Creek Drive

4

5

4283

40

$1,982,348

11/23/20

THE LAKES

DET

16288 Sunny Sunnit Dr.

5

6

4283

60

$1,484,299

11/24/20

SALVIATI

DET

17046 Castello Circle

7

7

5753

6

$2,150,000

11/19/20

THE CROSBY

DET

8159 Lazy Road

3

4

3396

3

$1,365,000

11/18/20

SANTALUZ

DET

8463 Run of the Knolls

2

3

2924

2

$1,949,000

11/23/20

STERLING HEIGHTS

DET

17004 Rendezvous

4

5

5162

35

$2,793,000

11/13/20

SOLD DEL SUR BED BATH EST SF

DAYS ON SOLD PRICE MARKET

NEIGHBORHOOD

STYLE

ADDRESS

DATE

KINGSTON

DET

16340 Nicole Ridge Rd

6

6

5,042

4

$2,605,000

11/12/20

DESCANSO

DET

15447 Tanner Ridge Circle

4

5

3,423

7

$1,330,000

11/17/20

AVONDALE

DET

16497 Edgehill Road

4

5

3,884

6

$1,875,000

12/4/20

PRESIDIO

DET

8483 Warden Lane

4

3

3,137

6

$1,380,000

11/20/20

STRATFORD

DET

15918 Wilkes Lane

4

3

3,020

17

$1,225,000

11/24/20

PASADO

DET

15655 Paseo Montenero

4

3

2,360

6

$962,000

11/25/20

CARRILLO

DET

15555 Tanner Ridge Road

4

3

2,494

4

$1,091,000

11/16/20

CARRILLO

DET

15711 Tanner Ridge Road

4

3

2,817

2

$1,120,000

11/30/20

BRIDGEWALK

DET

8305 Katherine Claire Lane

3

3

1,730

5

$829,000

12/4/20

ALCALA

DET

8205 Katherine Claire Court

4

3

2,478

4

$1,035,000

11/16/20

CABILLO

DET

8383 Kern

4

3

2,781

8

$1,158,000

11/23/20

CASSERO

ATT

15870 Paseo Del Sur

3

3

2,079

7

$871,000

11/12/20

SKYE

ATT

16750 Coyote Bush Dr. #73

2

2

1,544

38

$690,000

11/16/20

SKYE

ATT

16755 Coyote Bush Dr. #63

3

3

1,732

15

$706,500

11/10/20

MADEIRA

DET

15752 Via Montenero

5

4

2,316

7

$1,035,000

11/30/20

Current as of December 7 , 2020. All data from the San Diego MLS. Report © 2020 ShowingTime. Percent changes are calculated using rounded figures.

Ray Shay REALTOR®

BROKER ASSOCIATE CALDRE#01354548 Ray@ShayRealtors.com Ray.ShayRealtors.com

DIRECT 858.449.4970

OFFICE 858.449.7355

KELLERWILLIAMS Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

INTERNATIONAL @LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

17

Happy Holidays, San Diego

18 VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

Ask The Dentist

First Office Visit Questions

What are some signs I need to see a dentist?

Bad Breath Pain or sensitivity Bleeding gums from brushing or flossing Aching or throbbing Chipping or fracturing of tooth structure If it’s been longer than 6 months!

What is the benefit of having a CT scan done?

A CT scan is a three-dimensional scan that shows all of the skeletal structure in the head and neck area. It allows the dentist to see things that traditional dental X-rays can’t detect. Tumors, infections, and other anomalies may be detected with a CT scan that could otherwise be left undiagnosed. It’s recommended that everyone gets a CT scan every 3-5 years.

Why do I need to take x-rays?

A lot of dental decay and infections are asymptomatic so it’s imperative that the dentist can see all of the dental tissues. Dental X-rays need to be updated annually because cavities may form within that time period.

What all is being evaluated during a comprehensive exam?

Exterior muscles used for chewing are evaluated Temporal-Mandibular Joints are checked for any abnormalities due to grinding or clenching Oral cancer screening on the tissues inside the mouth and outside of the mouth Assessment of the medical history and blood pressure are taken Periodontal charting of all of the teeth to see what type of preventative care treatment is necessary for the patient.

Tooth structure and integrity is assessed to see if there are any cavities, breaking down fillings, crowns, or prosthetics.

Evaluation of dental structures with the dental X-rays and CT scans to find any infections, tumors, pathology

Dr. Timothy Garofolo, DDS

Call Today For Your Reservation 858-257-3413 www.TheDentistryCollective.com

What should I expect on my first visit in the office?

Office Tour and introduction of the patient to our office Patient interview and assessment of concerns Complete dental X-rays and CT scan Intra-oral photographs Detailed explanation of treatments with alternative options if needed Detailed explanation of Dental benefits and payment options Complete transparency with costs and coverages.

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

TOP RATED SAN DIEGO DENTIST

Take a look to see what others have to say about The Dentistry Collective

FIVE-STAR

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12 19

Support Local Business This Holiday Season

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

20 VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

MEET THE ARTIST

 Seasonal Decorator Gabriela Ferrara

By Mia Bertelsen Tis the season to make your house look merry and festive. The sales of Christmas trees and decorations have increased almost 30% this month.

Economists predicted that with the crippled economy from the COVID-19 shutdown, all areas of Christmas sales would suffer. But our desire to be festive and have beautiful homes has not died

during this season. I have heard of people complaining that they can’t find the pre-lit, artificial trees in the stores anymore. All Christmas decorations are going fast.

I am not sure if you are like me. I am not good at home decoration and when the Christmas season is on us, I try to find excuses to not drag out the boxes and boxes and try to make some-

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

thing wonderful happen in my house. Mostly it turns out okay. I do end up having fun putting it all together, but honestly it just feels like another thing on my never-ending to do list.

I was thrilled to learn that there are solutions for people like me. I sat down and talked with the most talented seasonal decorator Gabriela Ferrara. She has always liked art and she grew

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego up taking all kinds of classes and learning. Her professional career was very different than what she is doing today. In Mexico she studied to be a lawyer. Good for us, she found her true inspiration in decoration and hasn’t looked back.

“I have been decorating professionally for three years now. My friends encouraged me to do this because they told me that I have so much talent,” Ferrara said. “At first I thought that no one would want to hire me. But then I got excited about it and started to promote my services on Instagram. I posted pictures of my tables, flower arrangements and the decorations I made in my house. Then people started to look for me.”

As a seasonal decorator and she stays busy all year long. Ferrara is hired to go into people’s homes and create a beautiful scene or theme. It could be for a special holiday or a party. Her services are in high demand right now to decorate Christmas trees. To decorate a tree the price begins at $150 for a 7-foot tree. If you would like her to bring decorations with a certain theme, the client pays for the decorations as well. “My last client didn’t have any decorations for her two trees nor an idea of what to buy,” she explained.

“I went and bought everything and she was so happy with the result.”

She really enjoys decorating dining room tables with varied themes. If you go to her house, there is always a new theme for every month of the year. In the Summer time you will find a beach theme, picnic theme or 4th of July.

Once a client explains to her what theme of decorations is needed, she will go out and buy all the items to create the experience, or she will make them herself and then Ferrara arrives at their house to set it all up. She is a Chula Vista resident and works all over San Diego county.

Her services are so valuable for people who have busy schedules and don’t have the time to dedicate to planning, purchasing and setting it all up.

Even some people who are in the decorating industry call her because they appreciate her work.

After it is all over, the people generally keep the items and put it away themselves at their own leisure.

Her passion is to study the trends of decoration and find out what is the latest style. She follows many famous decorators on Instagram and in return they follow her too. She especially admires Jennifer Houghton from Turtle Creek Lane and gets feedback from Houghton on her own posts. “They are decorators who have more than 500,000 followers and they have put likes and comments on my posts and pictures,” she beamed. “I am very proud. My Fao Schwarz inspired Christmas tree was even liked by the actual store’s Instagram. I had the good luck to be trained by a celebrity stylist who I met at my daughter’s preschool. Her name is Sarah Eaton and she is a professional florist and is part of Jeff Leatham’s team. They do all of the floral arrange-

ments for the Kardashians.”

Another important teacher for her was Brad Schmidt who is a celebrity designer in West Hollywood and Hong Kong. She was one of his students. Currently Schmidt is featured in People Magazine this month.

She leaves us with a tip for those of you who haven’t decorated your tree yet. “To decorate your pre-lit tree, first start with ribbons, next place the tree topper, then place the big ornaments and next the small ornaments.”

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12 21

Her favorite stores are Hobby Lobby or Michaels to find everything you need to decorate.

“This year I have been more busy than past years,” she explained. “People wanted to put up their Christmas decorations earlier and in the stores all of the decorations are sold out.”

Ferrara is all smiles this season. Business is good and it is fills her spirit to create beauty in this world.

You can find her on Instagram at: decorbygabyferrara

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

22 VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

Medical tourism- a lower-cost option for patients who cross the border

By Mia Bertelsen

The border with San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico is the world’s busiest border crossing in the world. Many of the thousands and thousands of people who cross the border daily are medical tourists. They are patients from the US and some from Canada who have decided to seek medical care in Mexico. The doctors on the border are very prepared to help these patients. They speak perfect English and cater to the needs of these unique patients in their modern clinics and hospitals.

Some of the more popular medical procedures performed are plastic surgery, bariatric surgery, dentistry, cancer treatments, aesthetic procedures, hormonal treatments and much more. Patients are pleased to find a high level of care, doctors with excellent training, and a much lower cost than what you can find in the U.S. Some patients report a savings of over 50 percent. With the ever-rising costs of the U.S. health care system, it is not a surprise to learn that more and more patients are willing to cross the border to seek other options. However, it is not without its risks, especially when a patient is considering surgery. One should research extensively the doctor and his or her reputation.

The Corona virus has hit the medical tourism industry hard too. Many patients have elected to wait until the virus in under control before venturing down south. This article features two doctors who treat medical tourists and gives tips on how to safely cross and enjoy the discounted services.

Knowing how to navigate the border is the first step. You need a valid U.S. passport. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are able to

cross back into the U.S. from Mexico during the COVID-19 restrictions. Most patients drive to the border area and park their cars on the U.S. side. They cross the border on foot and once in Mexico, they call an Uber to get to the medical office. The majority of the medical offices are located close to the border and only require a quick Uber ride. Once patients have a better feel for the locations of the doctors, some will drive their personal cars to their offices where there is secure parking.

If you drive your own car, it is best if you have the Sentri border crossing card to avoid long lines when you return to the U.S. The Sentri program prescreens applicants and their vehicles with an extensive background check. Once approved you are allowed to cross the border northbound into the U.S. in special lanes that are more efficient.

Crossing by car in the normal border crossing lanes can take hours at peak times. If you don’t have the Sentri, the fastest way to cross back to the U.S. is in the pedestrian border lanes at the San Yisdro Port of Entry. There are no guarantees of wait times at the border. Always plan ahead and give yourself a cushion of time to get home.

Periodically the U.S. Department of State will issue travel advisories for Mexico due to crime and violence. The doctors I interviewed have never had a patient who has reported to them of any problems with their safety in Mexico. They feel that since their offices are located in a safe area of Tijuana, it makes a difference.

I spoke with Dr. Paola Rosales who is a doctor of regenerative medicine, anti-aging and is a sexologist. Her clinic is located minutes from the border in the Cosmopolitan Tower in the Zona Rio area of Tijuana. She was born and raised

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

in San Diego and completed medical school in Tijuana. Her training includes the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and general education with anti-aging in the U.S. She is completing her master’s degree in sexology to combine regenerative medicine with regenerative sexology.

Dr. Rosales found her love of anti-aging medicine while being trained in a clinic in Costa Rica. “Doctors get taught that you have to think of medicine as a square and you can’t go out of there,” she explained. “And then you are reading all these articles about preventative medicine and how we can make a better quality of life. I love this and I have been practicing regenerative medicine for five years now and most of my patients come from the U.S.” Anti-aging and regenerative are terms that work together. Anti-aging is preventing the damage from starting or continuing. Regenerative medicine is healing the damage that is already present.

A typical patient who sees Dr. Rosales complains of being tired all the time. She examines their diets, hormones, menopause and more. “Fatigue is the main complaint,” Rosales said. “They have to take naps when they never had to before.

Naps are good, but these patients have never had the need to take a nap and they need to refuel. If they don’t rest, they don’t want to do anything for the rest of the day.”

Most of her patients find her on-line by googling hormone replacement therapy or growth hormone replacement therapy. They come from the San Diego and Los Angeles areas and also from Arizona or even Texas.

Dr. Rosales explained that, “Growth Hormone replacement therapy has the ability to regenerate

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego cellular damage. It gives you sense of well-being, better concentration, better memory, quality of skin, better hair, even less gray hair and boost your metabolism. The goal for the patients is to keep the hormones at the correct levels to regenerate cellular damage throughout the whole body.”

Dr. Rosales explained that many of her patients are frustrated with doctors in the US because they are not offering help with their hormones.

“With men you have to be below the lowest

Knowing how to navigate the border is the first step. You need a valid U.S. passport. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are able to cross back into the U.S. from Mexico during the COVID-19 restrictions.

range in testosterone before they will help you in the US,” she said. “Between 250 and 900 is the range in the lab. Most of the patients below 600 already have symptoms of low testosterone. And they need to be below 250 before insurance will cover it.”

There are many studies that show how replacing testosterone in women will help with concentration, memory, muscle mass, motivation and sex appetite. Many people think that testosterone is just for men. Women need it too.

A general consultation costs $40. Hormone treatments range from $150- $350 for women for about 3 to 4 months. It includes creams, pills or pellet therapy. The pellet therapy is bioidentical, which uses the same chemical structure as the one found in your body. The small pills are inserted under the skin on the buttock area and they last 3 to 4 months and the body absorbs it as needed. Not everyone is a candidate for the pellets, so Dr. Rosales does a complete clinical history of the patient first.

For men, the hormone treatments can run between $300-$900 for 3 to 4 months. Men have more hormone options with creams, injections, or pellets.

She also offers IV therapies that can help with autoimmune diseases and degenerative diseases and stem-cell therapies to her patients.

Dr. Rosales works with a local pharmacy and can get the patients the needed prescriptions during their visit. Patients pay with credit cards or PayPal so they don’t have to carry cash on them.

Dr. Leticia Harrison is a Gynecologist and an Aesthetic Doctor who runs Harrison Medical Spa in Tijuana. Dr. Harrison’s original medical training was in Mexico in Morelia, Monterrey and Mexico City. She also attended UCSD and earned a specialty in lactation. She has been practicing medicine for more than 20 years. Dr. Harrison’s spa is very busy treating patients from all over the United States and Canada. Due to the strict quarantine in Canada, she hasn’t seen Canadian patients for a while though.

The majority of her patients come to see her for esthetic medicine. This can include botox, fillers, Venus Freeze (a machine that uses radio

frequency to tighten skin and reduce fat cells), liquid facelifts, facial, chemical peels, Iip fillers, monothreads, acne treaments, IV treatments and massages.

Her favorite treatment is the liquid facelift. “It is very beautiful and it is a rejuvenation for patients who don’t want to go under the knife,” Dr. Harrison explained. “It involves botox in several areas and fillers for cheekbones, chins, laugh lines and lips.”

A starting price for a liquid facial at her spa is around $1,200. It depends on how many syringes the doctor uses. Patients who fly in to see her will get all the treatments done at once. But if you are local, you can do it in parts.

“I love liquid facials because I love to see the transformation,” she said. “The patients will often tell me that they look sad, they lost volume and they have wrinkles and sun damage. One patient even did a happy dance when she looked in the mirror after the treatment was done.”

Patients of all ages are seeking treatment from her. “Right now people are so informed and they already know what they want,” Dr. Harrison added. “But we do guide them because sometimes they have an unrealistic expectation. The youngest patient I have had recently was 16 years old and she came in with her mom. She had a non-surgical nose job. Patients are getting preventive botox too. They don’t want to wait until the wrinkle is deep. They prefer to treat it now.”

Treatments for esthetic medicine can be pricy, especially in the Los Angeles area. Fillers for the cheekbones, lips and chins are sought-after to restore volume. A syringe of Juvederm averages around $350 in her office and could be $600 or more in other cities of the U.S. Dr. Harrison explained that it is the same product from the same lab as you could buy in the US. Patients get to

enjoy the discounted prices because the labs sell to Mexico at a better price point.

Dr. Harrison’s facials are very popular. A patient who comes to see her will often get multiple services done and maybe even a massage too.

She sells quality beauty products from France and Spain that are reasonably priced.

Getting to Harrison Medical Spa is easy. She is located on the 6th floor of the Cosmopolitan Tower just below Dr. Rosales. They collaborate together and many patients visit both doctors in the same day. If you drive your car to see them, there is affordable valet parking at the entrance to the building. Patients pay for their treatments at the spa with cash, credit cards and Zelle.

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12 23 Mexico is taking COVID-19 precautions seri-

ously all over. When you are out on the street or in a business, masks need to be worn at all times, your temperature is taken before entering buildings and shoes are disinfected at the doors.

One of the best ways to end your day is to eat at one of the Tijuana’s amazing restaurants. Tijuana is full of creative, fresh talent across the culinary scene. Some of the best chefs in the world have created one-of-a-kind restaurants in Tijuana.

Please stay tuned for more about entertainment and good deals to be found in Tijuana.

More stories are coming about patients who save on dental care and veterinary treatment for their pets.

To contact Dr. Rosales: 1(888)458-4325, tj@ antiagemedical.com To contact Dr. Harrison: (619) 409-2319, lharrison_09@yahoo.com, Instagram: harrisonmedspa

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

24 VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

newsbriefs San Diego State University faculty lead collaborative COVID-19 research efforts

By Kellie Woodhouse | SDSU

San Diego State University has become the site for dozens of COVID-19 research projects, an urgent response to the pandemic that is probing its impact on individuals, health care professionals and communities while looking ahead to possible interventions and solutions.

More than 40 COVID-related projects span all seven of the university’s academic colleges as well as SDSU Imperial Valley.

Much of the work draws upon SDSU’s deep roots in the community, allowing investigators to collaborate with local government agencies, health care providers, medical companies and nonprofits and ensure their work has the widest reach and greatest impact possible.

“During the pandemic SDSU faculty have risen to the occasion and leveraged their expertise, connections, scholarship and research interests to shed light on the coronavirus and support vulnerable communities, especially those here in San Diego,” said Hala Madanat, interim vice president of research and innovation and the leader of multiple COVID-19 research endeavors.

The vast array of projects considers how the virus affects the body and lingers in the environment; how the pandemic has affected health care, under-resourced communities and mental health; and how schools, government agencies and individuals have responded to the crisis.

Meet California’s state dinosaur

By Emily Hoeven | CalMatters If you’re looking for a fun — and quirky — holiday gift for someone who loves California, look no further than this figurine of Augustynolophus Morrisi, California’s state dinosaur. (As my editor joked, “the first Californian.”)

Custom-designed for the California State Capitol Museum’s gift shop, the figurine can be purchased individually or as part of a set with a sticker and keychain. Proceeds from sales help the Developmental Disabilities Service Organization, the gift shop’s parent company, said manager Stacey Hilton.

Augustynolophus Morrisi was a duck-billed, plant-eating dinosaur apparently exclusive to California, clocking in at 10 feet tall, 30 feet long and around 6,000 pounds. Its fossilized remains were first discovered in Fresno County in 1939, according to an accompanying fact sheet.

Port of San Diego approves Harbor Park Coastal Development Permit As part of the transformation of the Chula Vista waterfront on San Diego Bay, the Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners has approved a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) for the future Harbor Park.

Planned for the central portion of the Chula Vista waterfront as an expansion and improvement of the current Bayside Park, Harbor Park will provide signature amenities and recreational opportunities.

Harbor Park, along with the previously-approved Sweetwater Park, will account for more than half of the new park space planned for the Chula Vista waterfront. The parks design teams are KTU+A and Petersen Studio who were selected for their extensive urban park and waterfront design expertise – with an emphasis on local landscape architecture and natural resource management experience.

Anticipated financing for the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center will include funding to complete the design for and construct the first phase of Harbor Park.

Construction for the first phase is tentatively scheduled to begin in early 2023 and completion is anticipated in early 2024.

San Diego MTS approves $911 million bus service contract with Transdev Services

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Board of Directors approved a new bus services contract agreement with Transdev Services

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

Inc. The six-year agreement includes two two-year options that could bring the total value of the contract to $911 million over 10 years. The contract was awarded after a competitive bidding process.

Under this agreement, Transdev will operate 52 of 95 bus route services from MTS bus divisions in Chula Vista and El Cajon, using MTS buses and branding. In FY 2020, 19.5 million passengers were carried

by MTS out of these two divisions.

Transdev has been under contract with MTS to provide similar services for the past 13 years.

“This is great news for MTS and for our riders,” said Nathan Fletcher, MTS Board Chair and District 4 County Supervisor. “The Transdev team is a reflection of the diverse communities we serve in the South Bay and East County.”

As part of the new contract, MTS will provide 332 buses and two stateof-the-art Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified facilities for operations, maintenance and fueling. The contract also includes funding for more than 750 Represented and 65 Non-Represented employees in the San Diego region.

Nonprofits may qualify for share of $4 million from County of San Diego Nonprofit organizations that serve low and moderate-income people may qualify for a share of $4 million from the County Housing and Community Development Services’ Community Development Block Grant.

The funds are available for projects in the following areas: • Public services such as grocery delivery, food pantries, rent or mortgage assistance programs, diagnostic testing and health care job training.

• Construction or rehabilitation of testing or treatment community facilities.

• Acquire or rehabilitate housing related to isolation and quarantine.

All activities must benefit residents in the unincorporated areas of the region, as well as the cities of Coronado, Del Mar, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, Poway and Solana Beach.

Projects or programs funded with CDBG funds must benefit at least 51 percent of residents whose incomes are at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income.

Additionally, the project must

serve people and families who have been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Applications are now open online and will be available through Jan. 8, 2021 at 5 p.m.

Completed applications can be sent to: County of San Diego Housing and Community Development Services Community Development Division, 3989 Ruffin Road, San Diego, CA 92123.

USD ranked among top green MBAs in nation

The University of San Diego offers one of the nation’s top green MBAs, according to The Princeton Review.

The education services company chose the USD School of Business for the list Best Green MBA, appearing at #7 in the nation and #1 in California.

The ranking is based on a survey of 17,800 students at 244 business schools in the U.S. USD was included as a Best Green MBA based on students’ assessments of how well the school is preparing them in environmental/sustainability and social responsibility issues, and for a career in a green job market.

The USD School of Business requires master’s in business administration students to take three courses focused on ethics, corporate social responsibility and/or sustainability.

The program also offers research opportunities in sustainability and a concentration in Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Enterprise. All students must complete 15 hours of community service helping a local non-profit solve a business issue.

Platt/Whitelaw Architects promotes Rick Strickland to CFO

Platt/Whitelaw Architects Inc., a San Diego-based architecture firm, has promoted Rick Strickland to chief financial officer. His duties include management of all financial and human resources activities.

An employee of the firm for more than six years, Strickland was promoted from chief financial manager.

Previously, he served for seven years as controller for another San Diego-based architecture firm.

“We’re elevating Rick’s position to reflect the value he brings, his years of experience and his unwavering commitment to our firm,” said Platt/ Whitelaw co-owner Sandra Gramley.

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12 25

newsbriefs NASA picks 4 San Diego university graduates to train for missions to the moon

UCSD graduate Jessica Meir has been chosen to train for a NASA mission to the moon.

By GARY ROBBINS NASA has included 4 San Diego university graduates in a group of 18 astronauts who will train to fly to the moon and land on its rugged, alabaster surface by 2024.

The space agency on Wednesday formally named Kate Rubins, Jessica Meir, Matthew Dominick, and Jonny Kim members of Project Artemis, the first effort to place Americans on lunar soil since Project Apollo ended in 1972.

The announcement came as Rubins, 42, was conducting research aboard the International Space Station and while Meir, 43, was training for a return trip to the orbiting outpost. Kim, 35, and Dominick, 39, are training for their first missions in space.

Rubins, who earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology at UCSD in 1999, is in the midst of her second mission aboard space station. In 2016, she spent 115 days there and became the first person to sequence DNA in space.

Meir (pronounced Meer) travelled to the space station in September 2019 and became part of the first all-female team of astronauts to walk in space.

She earned a doctorate in marine biology at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 2009.

The news stirred pride at UCSD, where Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said, “Astronauts Meir and Rubins embody the Triton spirit, quintessential explorers planting flags of firsts and lifting all of humanity further and higher. ” Of the nine men and nine wom-

en chosen by NASA from across the United States, two are UC San Diego alumnae, and I’m not surprised. UC San Diego is first in the nation for enrolling and graduating the most women with majors in science, technology, engineering and math. In addition, UC San Diego’s proportion of STEM graduates is three times the national average.”

Kim earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of San Diego in 2012 and a medical degree from Harvard in 2016. He also served as a Navy SEAL and was awarded the Silver Star.

Dominick also attended USD, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 2005. He was a Navy test pilot before joining NASA. NASA said the Project Artemis astronauts also include: Joe Acaba, Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, Matthew Dominick, Victor Glover, Woody Hoburg, Christina Koch, Kjell Lindgren, Nicole Mann, Anne McClain, Jessica Meir, Jasmin Moghbeli, Kate Rubins, Frank Rubio, Scott Tingle, Jessica Watkins, Stephanie Wilson.

The team members were announced by Vice President Mike Pence, who said, “It is amazing to think that the next man and first woman on the Moon are among the names that we just read. The Artemis Team astronauts are the future of American space exploration – and that future is bright.”

Astronaut Megan McArthur, who earned a doctorate in oceanography at UCSD in 2002, is scheduled to fly to space station in 2021.

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

San Diego MTS approves $911 million bus service contract with Transdev Services The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Board of Directors approved a new bus services contract agreement with Transdev Services Inc. The six-year agreement includes two twoyear options that could bring the total value of the contract to $911 million over 10 years. The contract was awarded after a competitive bidding process.

Under this agreement, Transdev will operate 52 of 95 bus route services from MTS bus divisions in Chula Vista and El Cajon, using MTS buses and branding. In FY 2020, 19.5 million passengers were carried by MTS out of these two divisions. Transdev has been under contract with MTS to provide similar services for the past 13 years.

“This is great news for MTS and for our riders,” said Nathan Fletcher, MTS Board Chair and District 4 County Supervisor. “The Transdev team is a reflection of the diverse communities we serve in the South Bay and East County.”

As part of the new contract, MTS will provide 332 buses and two state-of-the-art Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified facilities for operations, maintenance and fueling.

The contract also includes funding for more than 750 Represented and 65 Non-Represented employees in the San Diego region.

Nonprofits may qualify for share of $4 million from County of San Diego Nonprofit organizations that serve low and moderate-income people may qualify for a share of $4 million from the County Housing and Community Development Services’ Community Development Block Grant.

The funds are available for projects in the following areas: • Public services such as grocery delivery, food pantries, rent or mortgage assistance programs, diagnostic testing and health care job training.

• Construction or rehabilitation of testing or treatment community facilities.

• Acquire or rehabilitate housing related to isolation and quarantine.

All activities must benefit residents in the unincorporated areas

of the region, as well as the cities of Coronado, Del Mar, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, Poway and Solana Beach.

Projects or programs funded with CDBG funds must benefit at least 51 percent of residents whose incomes are at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income.

Additionally, the project must serve people and families who have been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Applications are now open online and will be available through Jan. 8, 2021 at 5 p.m.

Completed applications can be sent to: County of San Diego Housing and Community Development Services Community Development Division, 3989 Ruffin Road, San Diego, CA 92123.

Port of San Diego approves Harbor Park Coastal Development Permit As part of the transformation of the Chula Vista waterfront on San Diego Bay, the Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners has approved a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) for the future Harbor Park.

Planned for the central portion of the Chula Vista waterfront as an expansion and improvement of the current Bayside Park, Harbor Park will provide signature amenities and recreational opportunities.

Harbor Park, along with the previously-approved Sweetwater Park, will account for more than half of the new park space planned for the Chula Vista waterfront. The parks design teams are KTU+A and Petersen Studio who were selected for their extensive urban park and waterfront design expertise – with an emphasis on local landscape architecture and natural resource management experience.

Anticipated financing for the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center will include funding to complete the design for and construct the first phase of Harbor Park. Construction for the first phase is tentatively scheduled to begin in early 2023 and completion is anticipated in early 2024.

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

26 VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

Celebrating with Seniors During Covid-19 If you turn on the radio, you can hear it. When you switch on your television, you can see it. The holidays are upon us! And this year is going to be drastically different. The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted our way of life since mid-March when we were first asked to quarantine in place.

What does it all mean for this holiday season? More specifically, what can we do for our senior family members who may reside in assisted living, memory care or in the skilled nursing setting? And how about our aging neighbors who may not have family visiting this year - or may not have family at all? We are learning that isolation and loneliness are having increasingly negative health implications in our aging population; and with the holidays right around the corner, we could see a dramatic worsening of our senior loved ones’ mental and physical health and wellbeing. Additionally, our aging population is at the greatest risk for severe illness and/or death caused by Covid-19. This increased risk is what is currently causing assisted living, memory care and Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) resident to have to quarantine in place with limited opportunities to get out of their immediate environment. So how can we “be with them” without really “being with them”? Here are some suggestions for celebrating this holiday season with senior loved ones:

☑ Send cards and photos to your senior loved

ones; let them know you are thinking about them.

If you have young ones, put them in charge of making cards and holiday decorations for your senior loved one to enjoy.

☑ Arrange a virtual gathering (i.e., Zoom, Face-

time, Skye and Google Hangout) to include your senior loved one in the festivities; reading a classic holiday tale, a bible verse or a passage from a special book may be the perfect way to start the festivities.

☑ Create a CD or cassette tape with their

favorite holiday music; music stirs the soul and brings back fond memories of days gone by. Reminisce with them if they feel like talking.

☑ If you have a special holiday movie tradi-

tion, send your loved one the movie so they too can enjoy it. Better yet, share your screen during a virtual visit and you can watch it together.

☑ Create a schedule of calls to your loved one–

have members of the family call at prescribed times throughout the days or weeks to maintain ☑ Have a holiday meal delivered to your loved that feeling of connection. one if they are in assisted living, memory care or ☑ Go virtual caroling – send a holiday singing a SNF; many of these places will be preparing message to Grandma Rosie so she can hear your special meals for the holidays yet it may be missvoices or have a virtual sing-along with your family, ing Aunt Mattie’s secret ingredient mashed potafriends, and neighbors alike. toes and Uncle Joe’s favorite huckleberry delight. ☑ Create a photo album using a service like Check with these places to ensure they will allow Shutterfly or Costco; include photos of holiday you to bring in outside food and drink (and make sure you won’t be breaking dietary restrictions your meals and traditions from years past. loved one may have).

Get creative. Think outside the box. We all may be facing hurdles and challenges when it comes to the holidays this year – likely, most of us have never dealt with anything quite like this. Give yourself and others grace. Love on your friends, family, and senior neighbors just a little extra this year. It has been a doozy of a year; let your love and some creativity light the way. Hopefully, we are close to the end of this tunnel.

We assist seniors in finding independent living, assisted living, memory care and in-home care to fit their unique care needs.

Julie Derry MBA, CSA

Kie Copenhaver

MA, RHIA, CSA, RCFE, SHSS

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

619-378-6895

We are a FREE community service. /LocalUmbrellaMedia

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12 27

Know your worth.

Know. Your. Worth.

What if that was a universal slogan that we used in direct response to what's broken? Or better yet... to who’s broken…

Imagine a world where when a daughter of God—a woman; a sister; a girl—walks into a behavioral health practitioner’s office, or a psychiatric hospital, the number one goal for each team member, from the highest paid doctor down to the intern, is to remind her of her incredible value!

For example, she walks in after yet another load of intake paperwork is filled out. Same questions as the last breakdown, and the one before that...and the one before that... The doctor closes the door. She's a new client of his. This doctor is married.

He's held his beautiful wife’s hand through twenty-five plus years of the natural struggles and pains of navigating womanhood. He's seen her lose sight of reality through her grief after miscarriage. He's witnessed her pain through a live birth. He's intently succored her through a major episode of postpartum depression. He's genuinely loved the shape of her body through every phrase it's sustained, in all its miracles it has performed! And he's always made sure she knows he's her number one fan. Imagine that he's promised himself, as a man so close to witnessing the preciousness of womanhood— what women can do; what women can endure—and as a doctor who has women of all walks and all ages and all backgrounds of life come into his office— Imagine he's promised himself that each morning when he rises, he gets on his knees, and in his routine morning prayers, after thanking the Lord for all his blessings—his wife, his children, his clients—he commissions, “And Lord, please bless me that I may see Your Daughters with perfect eyes, so I can express to them just how divine they truly are... Amen.”

Now, having said that prayer, he is prepared and qualified to warmly and properly greet each one of his clients. And today, as this valuable young woman walks into his office, he sees her—not as a “client”, but as a woman of great worth . And after closing the door she takes her seat, seizes ample time to express in pain where she’s currently at, and then she pauses for him to respond…

“May I ask you just one question?” he humbly petitions. Puzzled at how pleased and certain he appears in this unexpected response, she waits for his query. “Do you know your worth!?”

Confused still—and a bit taken aback—at the question, she is anxious to understand where this is leading. She's never had a session like this before. And he continues.

“Has anyone ever bore firm witness to you, personally, of the incredible value you have just by being a woman?” “Did you know that you are capable of impeccably remarkable things?”

“Did you know that?”

And for the first time in her life, she is hearing a different story. A new conceptual framework is being constructed. Her first of many pertinent paradigm shocks with her new doctor is already underway. So, a long awaited tear wells up in her right eye, and the session continues in a forward direction of incredible hope, validation, and—for the first time in years—peace. This woman walked into the office feeling broken; and she walked out feeling truly empowered, enriched and enlivened.

My name is Tiana Swank; Founding Director and President of The Symone Foundation. I felt broken for so long. I've been homeless, I've been abused, and I have suffered. Luckily for me, the right people came into my life at the right times to introduce me to a new schema (conceptual framework). These “right people” simply were genuinely good humans who understood the value we have as women ! Powerful people who understood the infinite and equitable value of each human soul. Their belief and contagious certainty rubbed off on me and I caught hold of that fire—that knowledge; that power .

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

In good time, I asked the daring question, “Where do I go? Who do I serve? Who needs this message the most?” In persisting, our vision got clearer, and we understood that it was women in crisis and deep emotional need who we were called to help. Thus, The Symone Foundation was born. Symone: deriving her roots from listening, being in tune , becoming polished, of a community, Sisterhood, and oneness. And no sooner did we expect than one day, on a candid jaunt—just months after laying the foundation for our nonprofit—my guided daughter would lead me directly to it: a shelter by the bay, right here in downtown.

We retrieved the necessary contact information, and as excited as ever, I shouted to our outside-seated neighbors without homes, “I've been homeless too . I believe in you! ” And within a few weeks’ time, something truly powerful was formed…

Over the past couple months, we have been working with a handful of women who are an active part of programs sponsored by the shelter we found ourselves at over the summer.

And in listening to these women, and

others alike, the blocks that contorted their path began at a young age, in homes where the concept of love was a convoluted principle at best. Thus, the question was shaped, “What these women need is a new story, a new schema, a new paradigm.

How can we do that for them?” And inspiration took over.

What anyone in pain needs—especially if in the backseat while their deeply wounded inner child is still in command, lamenting for help—is play ; and some colorful creation for added fun. For, we...are... creators!

These women I’ve had the recent opportunity of getting to know on a beautiful level could have easily been the young woman in the vignette at the beginning. They could have walked into the right place at the right time and heard from someone who knows , that they have value ; that they are beings worthy of great things by divine nature. Unfortunately, their stories of visits to psychiatric hospitals and behavioral health practitioners' offices over the years didn’t head in that direction. But, we have found each other, and we have faith in a new chapter being written, with unbridled possibilities.

Know Your Worth . That is the name of this program. It reminds our houseless neighbors just what they are capable of when received with eyes that can see value in everyone .

They have taken their own vignettes, memoirs, pains, unique experiences and personalities, and they have layered them, slathered them and poured them onto a 40”x30” stretched canvas for the purpose of paying their own way to this paradigm shock: a retreat built to gently and lovingly walk each individual woman through a new sense of what it means to be alive.

This is just the beginning—not only of a paradigm shock for them, but a paradigm shift for us all . Visit symone.org/gaslamp or scan the code below to seize an important role in a program that starts at the grassroots, and succors some women I can bear firm witness of have inestimable worth .

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

28 VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

BY BART MENDOZA © MUSICSCENESD // MUSICSCENESD.COM

DECEMBER 2020

TOP TEN SAN DIEGO

HOLIDAY MUSIC GIFTS 2020 With the current state of the world, never has it been more important to shop local.

Here are ten fun options that any music fan would be thrilled to find under their Christmas tree, with something for just about any price range.

1 - Look Out! The San Diego Scene 1958-1973 – Rock & Roll, Garage, Psych, and Soul From America’s Finest City: Album of the year for San Diego music fans, this terrific compilation collects rare gems from our scenes early days.

An essential listen with top notch packaging, the foundations of our modern day music community can be heard here. https:// thesandiegoscene.bandcamp.com 2 - RSSM Guitar: Want to sound like Paul McCartney? San Diego’s Taylor Guitars can help a little.

McCartney has recently been photographed and video’d playing their Richie Sambora Signature Model Acoustic Guitar, notably in GQ Magazine, as well as his collaboration with Rhianna and Kanye West, “FourFiveSeconds”. www. taylorguitars.com

1

2

3 - Ugly Things Magazine T-shirt: Let other rock fans know you read one of the best music mags on the planet with this stylish shirt http://webstore. ugly-things.com/uglythings-t-shirt-women-scardinal-red-p440.php

3

6 - Alicia Previn isn’t just an acclaimed violinist. She’s also the writer of children’s books. Her latest, What Paradise Found helps youngsters deal with moving and relocation. www.amazon. com/What-Paradise-FoundLove-Nature/dp/0984710736

6

7

7 - Padres / Switchfoot Jersey: Two San Diego legends team up for this limited edition shirt https://switchfoot. com/collections/all/products/ sf-collectors-jersey

8

8 - Blink 182 Cube – for puzzle fans who also enjoy pop punk https://blink182merch. com/products/blink-18cuberubiks-cube

4

4 - Jason Mraz Cord Organizer: A great stocking stuffer, help your favorite musician keep their cables in order with this nifty avocado shaped organizer. https:// jasonmraz.shop.musictoday. com/product/JZAM068/avocado-shape-cord-organizer?

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

5 - Whitney Shay Coffee – How to beat the blues in the morning? How about with a cup of Whitney Shay Coffee? Issued just in time for the virtual album release show on December 20 for her latest album, Stand Up, which entered the Billboard Blues chart at #1. https://entertalkmedia.com/product/ whitney-shay-organic-coffee

5

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

9 - A Casbah Coffee Mug – Our venues could also use our support. This cup is designed

by Rick Froberg (Hot Snakes) and pairs well with #5 https:// casbahmerch.com/products/ froberg-mug 10 - Theory Thursday Strings: It doesn’t matter the genre, guitarists need strings and Curt Mangan is amongst the finest makers, including a stocking stuffer worthy series for Mike Ruggirello’s Theory Thursday program. https:// www.curtmangan.com/theory-thursday-with-mike-ruggirello-10-46 @LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

9

10

Happy Holidays, San Diego

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12 29

Chris Leyva’s Hard Day’s Night There’s prolific and then there’s Chris Leyva. Hot on the heels of his band Falling Doves recent Pacific Records single, “Be My Lover” from their upcoming album, Skylark 69, Leyva has already recorded a new album, Liverpool, at legendary studio, Abbey Road.

Working with noted engineer, Chris Bolster (The Beatles, Kate Bush, Oasis), Leyva laid down ten basic tracks in one session “I came to Liverpool in late September to just relax and one thing led to another,“ Leyva said.

Long headquartered in Ocean Beach, Leyva has strong connections to Liverpool; he’s an Ambassador for the Beatles Liverpool Museum, working directly with Roag and Pete Best and is also curating an special exhibit celebrating The Beatles early days at The Sefton Park Hotel , a former home of original Beatles bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. Meanwhile, the album’s title comes from a remark made by a friend and staff member at the Cavern Club, drummer Connor Colford. Noting Leyva’s love of the bands who have recorded in Merseyside, “You ready to make a Liverpool record yet?” he remarked. When Leyva replied he didn’t have anything prepared, “… Connor said just ‘write something and well see where it goes,” Leyva recalled. A recent European publishing deal with Sony, got him two days at Abbey Road. Before the end of the session, everything was in the can.

“We demoed the whole album with him engineering,” he said.

Additional overdubs were done remotely, including keyboards by San Diegan James Ferguson and production Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

work

by Skyler Lutes. Keeping the Beatles connection strong, those overdubs were done at The Sefton Park Hotel.

“The owner let me do some additional music in there without disturbing the tenants,” Leyva said. “I put a studio together with Warm Audio’s help and then finished everything up at the Liverpool Sound Distillery and Motor Studios. No release date for Liverpool is set, but photo realistic cover art by acclaimed artist Shannon, has been commissioned.

While Leyva is a seasoned studio pro, he admits he initially felt intimidated by the Abbey Road date. “You have to understand that this is like going under a microscope sitting in at a university going for your doctorate degree,” /LocalUmbrellaMedia

he said good naturedly. “Throw in mixing and it’s kind a like getting graded in front of your professor.”

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

30 VOL. 5 ISSUE 12

SAN DIEGO

Music for the Holidays

Anyone familiar with music in December knows holiday music has no expiration date.

Most of the songs we love to sing this time of year are from decades, if not occasionally, centuries past. That said, it’s always nice to hear some new gems amongst the evergreens and several San Diego based performers have released music for the season.

“I like the idea that if you write a good one or even do a good cover it kinda becomes timeless,” said bassist Sol Turpin of beach rockers, Safety Orange. The trio recently issued a new single, “Christmas With Friends,” with other new Christmas based releases this year also including Josie Day’s single “I Can’t Wait For Christmas,” and Garden MSC with their album, “In Case You Didn’t Hear,” which includes indie rock versions of classics such as “Joy To The World.”

Meanwhile, anyone looking for instrumental music will want to hear The Tourmaliners whose Surfin’ Christmas Carols is just about the perfect soundtrack for a California Christmas. The surf-centric combo have issued their latest, Surfin’ Christmas Carols, on the Altered State of Reverb label, available on white vinyl. What inspired the band to release an album of Christmas album?

“I’ve always loved Christmas albums like The Ventures Christmas Album,” said guitarist Deven Berryhill. “Hearing some of my favorite artists like U2 doing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” or The Pretenders with “2000 Miles” made me want to record our own Tourmaliners versions of some of the holiday classics.” Their choice of cover tunes was pragmatic. “We choose all the public domain Christmas songs we could find. It turns out that most of the old classic Christmas carols like “Joy to The World,” “Silent Night and “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” are public domain, so there were no publishing fees.”

With no lyrics a good hook was needed. “Since the album was going to be a completely instru-

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

mental album, we needed songs that had very strong melodies. Songs like “Greensleeves (What Child Is This)” have extremely iconic melodies that go way back to the 60’s…I mean the 1560’s,” he joked.

Also this year, singer Audrey Callahan has released a five track EP, The Magic of Christmas.

Wonderfully produced, arranged and orchestrated, it includes covers such as “You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch,” but focuses on her originals, including lead track “My Christmas Wish For You.” “This has always been my absolute favorite time of year,” she said. “Watching all of the Christmas parades and specials on TV through the years cemented it in me early on that I’d love to one day have my own Christmas music.” Why did she choose to release an album like this now? “This year just felt like the right time” she said. “With so many hurting around the world this year, I wanted to do my best to add some happiness back into the world.”

Berryhill considers the opportunity to release holiday music to be special. “I love how the Christmas brings people together,” he said.

“Christmas music in particular has a way of bringing people together on an emotional and personal level that is magical. Christmas time still seems to be that one time of the year that we all are a bit kinder and loving to one another.”

Callahan concurs on the season. “I like the joyful nature of it,” she remarked. “It’s hard to be in a bad mood with so much beautiful lighting, festive decorations and nostalgic music on the radio.

It just feels like a kinder time of year.”

Additionally, anyone who’d like a round-up of local holiday tunes is directed to Cathryn Beeks Listen Local Podcast, which has two new episodes devoted to seasonal favorites for area performers. https://soundcloud.com/listenlocalradio/listen-locals-holiday-show-2020

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Happy Holidays, San Diego

PAPAR A ZZI --------------

Local News > LocalUmbrellaNews.com

/LocalUmbrellaMedia

VOL. 5 ISSUE 12 31

@LocalUmbrellaMedia Advertise? Press@LocalUmbrella.com

Featured Property

17507 Cumana Terrace, San Diego 92128 3bed/2bath home; 1831sqft

Fabulous home in the 55+ community of Oaks North!

One of the larger models with a 3rd bedroom, sits on a private corner lot that is just over 1/4 acre!

Beautiful hardwood floors, 2 fireplaces, extended garage - perfect for a golf cart Located across from the winery & has access to all of the Oaks North Community amenities

listed at $748,888

Remember, you do not need to be 55+ to purchase in a 55+ community!

858.449.7355 DRE 01946504