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We have breaking news at this hour!
Five simple words…
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A couple of years ago – with the assistance of legal counsel – the Point Loma Association and Clear Channel Communications arrived at a binding agreement for removal of the billboard on the Dolphin Motel property by November 2019.
However, the new owners of that property – PLA business members who plan to replace the infamous Dolphin with the boutique Monsaraz Hotel – have enticed Clear Channel to remove the structure sooner!
Hotel construction should begin about October 1st.
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STVR
Short Term Vacation Rentals
Long Time Waiting for Regulations
For several years, City officials have struggled to craft rules protecting family neighborhoods while still allowing occasional (appropriate) short term home rentals. Last December, the City Council advanced some ideas. But they fumbled at the goal line. Next, Mayor Kevin Faulconer will take a crack at it. But not until July. So the wide open wild west lives on.
Is this the future
Of the old Midway Post Office?
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Click on the photo to be amazed…
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When you see this historic NTC building at Liberty Station, do you think, “Wow! Wouldn’t this be a spectacular place for a restaurant?!” Probably not.
You might stand in awe of the Navy recruits who worshiped here from WWII through Korea to Viet Nam and the first Gulf War.
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You might have fond memories of a wedding inside this chapel. Perhaps yours.
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North Chapel is a quiet, sacred counter point to the clamor of crowded streets and constant activity surrounding it.
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That’s a problem. It is too quiet. Too often empty and unused.
It is underperforming for its owner. You never thought of it as having an, “owner”, did you?
It does. And the owner would like a better ROI:
The owner of the North Chapel in Liberty Station, Liberty Station Marketplace Investors, is in the process of seeking a long-term tenant for this historic building. For the last several years, the North Chapel has been operated as an event/short-term use venue. It is used for two church services on Sundays and occasional special events, but according to the owner it sits vacant most of the time.
“Our goal is to find a tenant that would use the building throughout the week, increasing the vibrancy and utility of the property and increasing community access,” said Joe Haeussler, Executive Vice President of Liberty Station Marketplace Investors.
No plans for the property have been finalized and any new tenant would be for a use that is approved as part of the NTC Precise Plan. The Precise Plan lists several approved uses for the Chapel, including assembly and entertainment, eating and drinking establishments, retail, social service institutions, and office uses.
The North Chapel, like many buildings throughout Liberty Station, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Haeussler indicated that any future plans for the building will follow all applicable guidelines for the adaptive reuse of a historic property to protect the historic resource.
“We are proud of our efforts to make Liberty Station one of San Diego’s premier communities, and our success with adaptive reuse of historic properties is a large part of that success,” said Haeussler.
The NTC Precise Plan seems broad enough to allow North Chapel to house anything from a police storefront to a Hooters to a Target Express.
But what it may no longer be used for is your “special day.” Not after the end of next month.
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That the owner wants to maximize financial return on the property is understandable. That people with an emotional attachment to the chapel oppose drastic changes is also understandable.
Want to learn more? Want to speak up? There is a golden opportunity tonight…
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Maybe “JK 73” is a tiny clue.
Maybe it’s not.
Maybe there’ll be a big clue if we keep reading.
What do you think?
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As the table tent says, Marcus Turner is the (relatively new) President of the Ocean Beach Town Council. He was one of the outstanding panelists in our recent PLA Peninsula Community Conversation, which is featured the June edition of Point Loma OB Monthly. It should have arrived by mail at your house this week. Hope you didn’t pitch it along with all the political flyers!
Here is more you should know about Marcus.
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Is your boat on a trailer in front of your house, waiting to slip into the water at Shelter Island?
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Has the City notified you that boat needs to move because they’re gonna tear up the street to install new water pipes?
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Fun times.
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Did you know the Port of San Diego is a little behind schedule in upgrading the Shelter Island Boat Launch? Maybe eight months behind.
Fun fact. After work began, they discovered they needed to remove all kinds of “preexisting construction debris” in the water. Who’da thunk that?!
But if there’s a silver lining, remember, this is not costing us anything…
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If you want to launch your boat somewhere else, click here, then select: Where are alternate launch facilities?
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The boys (and girls) of spring are taking the fields for playoff action, as they have for more than 60 years in the Point Loma Little League.
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What began with a handful of players in 1995 has grown to 40 teams, nearly 450 players and 120 volunteer coaches.
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There are five divisions from T-Ball to Intermediate Division. Each one provides joy and frustration for players, coaches, parents, brothers and sisters. But as Ted Leitner used to say, “It’s only a game.”
(Actually we’re not sure he ever said that. It might have been Charles Schulz.)
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Safe (at first) to say, Point Loma Little League is a big deal to a lot of us.
And as with anything baseball, we have statistics to prove it!
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600 Jerseys & Coaches shirts
1 Ton of soil conditioner
2 tons of red dirt
1 Ton of chalk
2,000 game day baseballs
1,000 practice balls
600 games
120,000 pitches
40 Home Runs
30,000 outs
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Talk it over.
“Are you going to Jimmy’s or Miguel’s after the game?”
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Pop (Fly) Quiz!
Which of these fans are watching their first kid play baseball and which have been here many, many times before?
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Now, more stats…
Managers and coaches will administer 350 ice packs and nearly 500 band aids this season.
About 150 baseballs will go missing. A hundred will be found.
Coaches will pitch more than 110,000 baseballs this spring, and their muscles will remind them of that until September.
This is the most important message…
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(borrowed from another league)
Here’s good news. Little League provides 15,000 hours of outside team physical activity, 165,000 individual kid hours being outside and physically active. Take that X-Box and iPad!
Good to see Point Loma Association business members supporting the League!
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Playoffs continue most weeknights and Saturdays in May, with a break over Memorial Day. Closing ceremonies are Saturday June 2nd at noon.
Whether you have a child or a grandchild in the game – or just a field of dreams and memories – immersing yourself in the atmosphere is a wonderful reminder that there is a lot of good in our world. We need that.
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The League is compiling their history – stories, people, events.
Do you have Point Loma Little League memorabilia to donate? Are you still storing trophies for your adult children?
(That’s a personal problem we can’t help with.)
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Last year someone donated a pennant from the mid-80s. It’s now in the Snack Shack, always one of the most popular spots in the park.
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We have one of these. But, before we give it up, we want to know if it’s worth a hot dog or Skittles maybe.
Anybody know?
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Play Ball!
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PLA Mean Green Team
They’re everywhere
And not nearly as mean as they seem.
Point Loma Park, surrounding the Little League Fields, is a multi-week maintenance project several times a year. Soon after baseball ends, Summer Concerts in the Park begin!
This year, the PLA-sponsored concert is the finale, August 17th. Hope you’ll be there! Wait ‘til you see the great prizes we’re giving away that night!!!
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This area of the park is near the new Fire Station.
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Our Green Team volunteers work hard to make Point Loma Park comfortable and inviting for families and friends at official events and casual recreation.
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Fasten your seatbelt! Compared with the serenity of PL Park, Nimitz Boulevard is the Indy 500!
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It takes steely nerves and extreme caution to work on the medians, as cars whiz by at 50+ miles per hour.
The speed limit is 45.
Be honest. How often do you look at the speedometer on your way to the freeway?
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Soon, near here, this will appear…
Perhaps by our next newsletter we will know exactly when.
Cross fingers!
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Where Am I Clue
Giddy Up!
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Your New Plus One
Unfortunately this is not a social invitation. It is a communication necessitation.
Just as land is limited in populated areas and we must build up instead of out, telephone number combinations are limited and we have to build up (add more digits) to identify specific phones.
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Beginning Saturday (May 19), phone users in 619 and 858 area codes will need to press one plus the area code to connect. Yes. Even within your area code.
(Boy. That's an old phone.)
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The change should be a minor shift that most smart phones will learn if they are not already trained for it. Landlines will take some manual massaging if your phone stores numbers of friends and families.
That’s pretty simple, but as always…wait, there‘s more!
Life safety systems, medical monitoring devices, alarm and security systems and other equipment that communicates over phone lines also may need reprogramming! And if you publish your phone number anywhere (stationery, Pet ID tags) it will need to include the area code or calls may route to wrong numbers.
Please pass along this information to E.T. if you see him.
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messy, messy, messy
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“Hey! You ought to be on the stage! And the next one leaves in ten minutes.” (rim shot)
For ten fabulous years, Point Loma Playhouse has been a venue for budding actors, directors, playwrights, comedians, singers & dancers – a safe harbor to reach for reach stars.
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Earlier this month, avid fans, leaders of the Playhouse and folks just discovering the magic gathered at the Assembly on Talbot Street to celebrate!
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The Assembly building is 100+ years old, and now Point Loma Playhouse, which calls that building “home”, is celebrating a decade of theatrical productions.
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Artistic Director David Sein is a founding member of the Playhouse, as is Board President Dorothea Laub. New Board Member Nikki Semanchik personifies the future.
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They have a wonderful scholarship program and allow schools and other organizations to use the hall free of charge.
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If you attended the party (fabulous o’re d'oeuvres) and were only vaguely aware of its heritage, you probably learned a lot about the past and the future.
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If you did not attend, click on “Anniversary 10” to the right to learn much more.
And please support our Point Loma Playhouse!
Whether or not you ought to be on the stage, we applaud you for keeping the lights on and the curtain calls coming!
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Mother’s Day
Sure. That was last Sunday. But if you really want to impress a favorite mom, take her out to brunch or dinner this weekend.
That’ll make her feel extra special! (Unless you totally dropped the ball on everything – even flowers – last Sunday)
Make nice with someone you love this weekend at Bay Club Marina Bar & Grill. They are a PLA Silver level Business member.
Bay Club is easier to find now, after its recent haircut.
Before
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After
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Yeah. Spring came on a little strong. We think it looked better before grooming. But you could hardly see the name of the place. Can’t miss it now!
Here’s the other thing to look for…
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It’s a super spot to kick back, dine a bit and sip a sip with someone special. Breakfast? Lunch? What’s your pleasure?
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Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign*
It’s crazy sign season.
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Mean Green Team member Jim Southerland points out that political signs are popping up like weeds.
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Several dozen side by side (like Lime Bikes?) must be way better!
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We assume Dr. James did not plant all of these. Someone supporting him did. Question. Does seeing this array make you more or less likely to vote for Jim?
Election day is just two and a half weeks away. We can put up with the sign blizzard until then. Of greater consternation is how long after that Tuesday many of the signs are likely to stay.
*Yes! That is a song title.
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Cyclists
Across the nation, tomorrow is National Bike to Work Day.
In San Diego, it’s today. Huh? Who knows why?
But May is National Bike Month, so just roll with it.
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Festa do Divino Espirito Santo
Festa (for short) starts tomorrow! Actually, it’s a weeklong event, with activities beginning last Sunday, the 13th.
Here is the full itinerary.
This Sunday, May 20th, at 10am, the colorful Festa parade steps out from U.P.S.E.S. Portuguese Hall headed up the gentle hill to St. Agnes Catholic Church.
Many of our PLA Green Team members join the procession each year.
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There is much to do to get ready for this annual springtime celebration.
Preparations continued midweek at St. Agnes Church.
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The Village decorated this parade float.
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Then the wind picked up, and the parade float decorated the Village with sparkly souvenirs!
Glitter wants to be free!
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To learn more about Festa, click on the gold.
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Looking Good!
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Although that sign is a little wimpy for such a hefty facility.
Maybe it’s a work in progress?
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Here is an opportunity…
utility boxes begging for Point Loma artwork!
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May 5, 1918, at Ocean Beach, a massive rip current drowned thirteen people. Eleven went missing. But sixty people were rescued. It’s a major event in the founding of the San Diego lifeguard program that serves us today.
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The official release of the book by Michael Martino is Wednesday, May 23rd, at 5pm, at the Ocean Beach Lifeguard Station at Santa Monica and Abbott Street, followed by a reception at Wonderland.
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“My daughter loves horses. Build me a big horse!” Mark Finfer spoke those words to artist John Kearney forty-five years ago on a blustery day in Chicago.
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A few months later the “big horse” appeared.
Isn’t it beautiful? “You don’t have to feed it. It won’t grow old. It never will die.”
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The horse and the Finfer family lived in the Windy City a few more years. Eventually they chucked the bluster for sunny California.
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Not that the horse cares much about the weather. His shiny coat is made of chrome automobile bumpers.
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For many more years horse seemed happy (we’re guessing) at home in Brentwood. That Bay Area community was known for growing cherries, corn and peaches before it became mostly residential. But again, horse doesn’t eat – not even corn – so, no problem.
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As the Finfer family grew, children became successful and moved away. One day Mark realized there were only three of them living in Brentwood – Mark, his wife and the big horse.
Earlier this year they fell in love with Point Loma – specifically Fleetridge…specifically a beautiful home on Garrison Street. In March the Finfers moved in and the big horse took a place of honor in the courtyard for all to enjoy.
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Artist John Kearney, passed away in the summer of ’14, in Chicago. His sculptures are on display in many public places and were collected by folks like Brigitte Bardot, Norman Mailer, Kirk Douglas, Johnny Carson, and…Mark Finfer.
Car bumpers were Mr. Kearney’s medium until bumpers changed and chrome disappeared. But the big horse with the artist’s “signature” will outlive us all.
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We can hardly wait for this year’s holiday displays!
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Archived we are!
Here’s a great way to turn back time and check out previous editions of our Point Loma Association e-Newsletter.
It's also an easy way to send a link to a friend.
Visit our PLA e-News Archives.
Thanks for letting us into your day. Have issues, comments, suggestions or story ideas? Please let us know.
YOU ARE THE POINT!
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PLA Membership - Join Us!
Are You A PLA Member? Need To Update Your Membership?
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