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If you’ve got a camera, we’ve got an opportunity for you.
On Saturday, Dec. 1, our readers will fan out across Balboa Park to take photos at 3 p.m. sharp. The goal is to capture the park in all its glory at one moment in time.
The inspiration for this project comes from our Kelly Bennett: “What if we could see what’s happening at one particular moment all across Balboa Park? What if we could see what’s happening in the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, the international cottages, the Prado restaurant and The Old Globe’s rehearsal rooms all at the same time?”
This post has the details about how to take part. This is a sort of second part of our Nov. 28 special event (which looks like it’s going to packed, by the way, please let us know if you’re coming).
Start thinking now about where you’ll find the perfect photo that will shine in what we’re hoping will be some golden afternoon light. No need to declare dibs, though. (Otherwise, I would have declared mine hours ago.) Just show up and shoot.
• We’ve been asking readers and park mavens about their favorite places in Balboa Park. One of them is Betty Peabody, one of the founders of the nonprofit Friends of Balboa Park.
Check out our photos of Peabody and her bench.
In City Heights, Remembering a Slain Young Man
In conjunction with the Speak City Heights media project, we’ve been following a City Heights community’s efforts to reclaim itself after the shooting death of a young man named Rickquese McCoy. Our latest story looks at the community’s efforts to remember McCoy by planting a tree in his memory — and spreading his ashes — in a canyon that was off limits to him as a kid.
“His spirit is right here on the block,” his sister says.
Fact Check TV: Switching It Up
Scott Lewis is explained why Poway’s school superintendent received our worst fact check rating and how a local political consultant’s comments blew his mind in the latest edition of Fact Check TV.
VOSD Radio: Campaigning’s Done? Not So Fast
Here we go again: As VOSD Radio explains, there’s yet another election coming down the pike. We’ve also got the Hero and Goat of the Week.
Something Stinky This Way Smells
Our story about the stench at La Jolla Cove, which has worsened in recent months, made the top of our weekly most-popular-stories hit parade.
By the way, reporter Lisa Halverstadt revealed that she faced some challenges covering this story because she has no sense of smell. Since then, she’s been comparing notes with San Diego Reader reporter Dorian Hargrove, another local journalist who has a similar limitation.
He suffered a horrific brain injury two years ago in a skateboard accident and lost both his sense of smell and his sense of taste. You can read the amazing story of his recovery here.
Sanders Says His Political Days Are Done
The U-T bids farewell to Mayor Jerry Sanders in a lengthy exit interview. A surprising tidbit from Sanders: “I have to tell you the recession was actually helpful for us. And I know it hurt a lot of people. But we would not have gotten a lot of the concessions that we were able to get the council to agree to had we been in good times.”
And while you can’t always bank on promises from politicians, Sanders does sound pretty firm about his future: “I’ll never be in politics again. I want to be very clear about that. My wife has said if we want to continue a loving relationship, politics is not in the future.”
Quick News Hits
• County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price, who’s stepping down, zinged fellow Republicans on her way out the door. At a celebration of victories of local candidates who support abortion rights, she said to GOPers: “What are you doing in my bedroom and telling me how to run my life?” (Patch.com)
• Slater-Price’s replacement, Democrat Dave Roberts, is keeping her chief of staff, John Weil.
• The Reader’s cartoonist, Neal Obermeyer, mocked labor leaders who got over their concerns about environmental and tax legal issues surrounding the proposed Convention Center expansion when they struck a deal on unrelated matters.
• A group of local technologists and software developers are looking for a project to help the city. What would you do if you could build anything on the web and help make the city more transparent or efficient? Tweet at this guy or reply to this and we’ll pass it along.
• Perhaps mercifully, the Chargers look like they may, once again, be blacked out on local television this week. They need to sell 10,000 tickets. Worth remembering that even the Jacksonville Jaguars, who notoriously cannot fill their stadium, committed to getting all the team’s games on TV.
• Remember the 2010 legal battle that broke out when protesters wanted to ride their bikes nude through San Diego to protest oil dependency? They said they had a free-speech right to go clothes-free, but the city won after several rounds of wrangling in court. The cyclists stayed covered.
Now, a similar legal battle is brewing in San Francisco over the rights of locals to walk around au natural. Reflecting the unsuccessful arguments in the case here, one plaintiff says her clothing (or lack thereof) is a form of political speech. (Courthouse News Service)
• The co-CEO of the Chipotle burrito chain has bought the former La Jolla house of the famed scientist Roger Revelle for $8.5 millon, the U-T reports.
No word on whether he paid $1.80 extra for a side of guac.
Please contact Randy Dotinga directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.