By Patricia Mooney
Cannabis nurse Elisabeth Mack, RN, MBA, will be the San Carlos Area Council’s (SCAC) featured speaker on Wednesday, May 1, 6:30 p.m. at the San Carlos Branch Library, 7265 Jackson Drive. All are welcome for free as usual.
Mack will share the story of how she became a cannabis nurse. Her background includes a decade in hospitals where she specialized in psychiatry, diabetes and medical units. After suffering a spinal injury, she reluctantly became a medical marijuana patient then an advocate.
In 2016, Mack formed her company, Holistic Caring, as a concierge medical-cannabis consultation service. There, clinical nurses educate, guide and support patients with product choices, dosages and timing. This fledgling field of cannabis care is really a renewal of ancient practices involving cannabis going back 5,000 years or more. You do not want to miss this meeting, so mark your calendars.
In March, our speaker, Professor Emeritus Rolf Schulze, propelled us all back to when he was a child in late-1930s Germany when Hitler rose to power. He spoke to a rapt audience and later autographed some of his books for interested SCAC members. “Dangerous Delusions” is available on Amazon.com.
Our April meeting featured appearances by our county, city and neighborhood representatives. Local Police Liaison Officer John Steffen reported that San Carlos enjoyed a good month with no violent crimes, six property crimes (two shoplifters at Keils), two proactive arrests and three citations. He mentioned National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is on April 27. You can drop any unused prescription pills off at 9225 Aero Drive with no questions asked. This program saves people from flushing pills down the toilet, affecting our entire water supply.
Mayor Faulconer’s Special Assistant Darnisha Hunter spoke to us about the latest controversy in the city, occupied parking. After numerous complaints from homeowners about inconsiderate auto occupants, the City Council rescinded the order. Mayor Faulconer has conferred with the City Attorney and will issue an ordinance about where one can and cannot park.
Hunter iterated that all people living in vehicles are not homeless. Some are working, and some are students. Some are active duty members of the military and can’t afford rent even though they’re stationed here. If they have a baby or something happens to their car, they are one paycheck away from becoming homeless.
Many different scenarios lead to homelessness. The city is exploring the construction of small units and raising height limitations in certain neighborhoods outside the coastal zone to address the issue of a burgeoning homeless population here in San Diego.
A discussion ensued about our lack of public transportation and the need for zoning to create it. Upcoming generations don’t want to own or drive cars and are more likely to take Uber or Lyft.
Jessica Brown from Rep. Susan Davis’s office announced that high school students can submit their work to the Congressional Art Competition. The winning art will be displayed in the Capital Building for a year, and the winning artist will receive airfare to Washington D.C. The deadline to submit entries is coming up. Go to Rep. Davis’s website for more information.
Brown said that Rep. Davis helped secure funding to help solve the sewage spill issue in Imperial Beach. Davis, along with her peers, is demanding the release of Robert Mueller’s report regarding Russian interference in our elections. Davis is also working to protect net neutrality and to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
Victoria Floyd, from Dianne Jacob’s office, told us the Santa Ysabel Nature Center foundation has been poured. Once the building is up and running, they expect more tourism, which will help the backcountry economy. It will open in 2020. It’s going to be big, maybe as large as the Interpretive Center at Mission Trails, and located near the highway intersection. A parking lot will be constructed near Mt. Woodson so people don’t keep running across the highway, which we all know is dangerous. There will be a charge to park your car there.
Roarke Shanley, from Scott Sherman’s office, announced there will be a new traffic signal installed at the corner of Winding Creek and Jackson Drive. Construction will begin on June 10 and completion is expected within 120 days. A pipeline rehabilitation project is ongoing at Golfcrest near Mission Gorge. Heavy rains delayed it, but the work is back on track.
Easter is coming and along with it the Spring Carnival on April 20. The kids will enjoy an Easter egg hunt and a petting zoo. Family fun!
I would like to sign off by thanking Assembly member Shirley N. Weber and the California state Assembly for honoring me with an award as Woman Leader in the 79th Assembly District in the field of Business. I am deeply honored and thoroughly enjoyed meeting fellow honorees at the ceremony on St. Patrick’s Day.
— Patricia Mooney is vice president of the San Carlos Area Council. Have a San Carlos story to tell? Email [email protected]. Follow SCAC at twitter.com/CouncilSCA.
