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Thursday, June 25, 2009
www.beachandbaypress.com
SDUSD to scrutinize foundation teachers BY ALYSSA RAMOS | BEACH &BAY PRESS
About ten parents representing foundation organizations from several San Diego city schools gathered Monday, June 15 outside a Scripps Ranch Starbucks to discuss concerns regarding an agenda item slated for a school board meeting the following day aimed at foundationfunded teachers. Parent-teacher organizations (PTO) use school foundations to raise money to supplement shrinking school district allotments, in some cases writing checks directly funding programs such as choral, art, computers and libraries.
San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) board member John de Beck said the board voted at the June 16 meeting to form a committee focused on creating uniform standards and policies regarding teaching positions formed as the result of school foundations’ money. De Beck said the issue was raised because school foundations have paid for many positions through the district. “As soon as they cross over, they run into the issue of unions,” de Beck said, regarding foundations choosing teachers but paying them through the district. “There SEE PTO, Page 5
So long, high school BY ADRIANE TILLMAN & ANTHONY GENTILE | BEACH &BAY PRESS
Mission Bay seniors waved goodbye to high school on June 15 and set their eyes to the future. Beach & Bay Press spoke with four high-flying students (go online to read all four interviews) who took their Pacific Beach education by the horns. Meet valedictorian Megan Upp. She viewed her Advanced Placement classes as a swallow-and-regurgitate
approach to learning but felt her International Baccalaureate (IB) education forced her to understand the significance of an event. Upp was one of seven students to complete the full IB curriculum – and Mission Bay’s second class to graduate from the program. “The IB program encourages you to learn how to think and problem-solve,” Upp said.
RT’s Longboard Grill reels in fame
Sea captain Johnathon Hillstrand, TV personality Ben Bailey and sea captain Keith Harris (left to right) hang out at RT’s PAUL GALLEGOS | BEACH & BAY PRESS Longboard Grill to shoot the finale for the TV show “Deadliest Catch.” BY PATRICIA WALSH | BEACH &BAY PRESS
The Discovery Channel filmed the wrap-up of its fifth season of Deadliest Catch – called “After the Catch” – at RT’s Longboard Grill in Pacific Beach during the second week of June. “Deadliest Catch” is a documentary turned docudrama about the hardcore life of Alaska’s fishermen — modern-day heroes and icons of doom riding the high seas in their relentless quest to catch King crab. A spin-off from the original series, “After the Catch” shows the colorful captains kicked back and celebrating their season at sea. The show takes fishing out of Alaska and off the Bering Sea to ride a wave of popularity in cities steeped in maritime heritage. San Diego is the third city after Seattle and
CASEY DEAN | BEACH & BAY PRESS
Gloucester, Mass. where “After the Catch” has been filmed. RT’s owner Doug Trenton was as surprised as anyone when the show’s co-producers visited unannounced and said the restaurant was the perfect filming location. The Discovery Channel bought out the bar – with its wooden booths, long boards and big screen TVs – and all 63 employees got a week’s paid vacation with tips. RT’s has its own connection to the sea, a back story of love and
loss. The restaurant is named after Doug’s brother, Ron, a well-known San Diego lifeguard and writer who died in 1997 after he set out in his single-engine Piper Warrior on a solo whale watching trip to Catalina. Neither he nor his plane was ever recovered. A 30-year lifeguard veteran credited with saving more than 1,000 lives, Ron dreamt of opening a restaurant after he retired. Brothers Doug and Craig fulfilled his dream and named it SEE CRAB, Page 9
SEE GRADUATION, Page 8
Marijuana shops sprout in PB BY SEBASTIAN RUIZ | BEACH &BAY PRESS
Mission Bay High seniors were all smiles and pictures of victory at DON BALCH | BEACH & BAY PRESS graduation on June 15.
Medical marijuana dispensaries – called collectives or cooperatives – dot the main streets and alleyways of Pacific Beach; at least two have cropped up within the past month. Many members of those collectives are awaiting the County of San Diego to back the 13-yearold statewide medical marijuana ID program. But even as the county’s board of supervisors voted unanimously on June 23 to begin issuing ID cards for doctor-
approved patients, the board also moved to prohibit illegal dispensaries in unincorporated parts of the county. “What’s being addressed here are the dispensaries that would not be a legal cooperative under state law,” said Tom Bunton, a senior deputy counsel for the county. “If you wanted to open up a shop and start selling marijuana [for profit], you can’t do that.” County supervisors struggled to clarify the law for card-carrying collective members since fed-
eral law prohibits the possession of marijuana while state law permits its medical use. “These cards may provide a false sense of security, as the person still may be prosecuted under federal law,” said board of supervisors chair Dianne Jacob. Meanwhile, several beach-area collectives have opened on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear San Diego County’s appeal of California’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (Prop SEE MARIJUANA, Page 4