Mission Beach Town Council meeting, Nov. 9 • The Mission Beach Town Council (MBTC) is urging residents to place locks on their recycle bins to help keep scavengers from rummaging through bins. The MBTC wants residents to know that scavenging is illegal and can be used as a way for criminals to disguise their intentions, like casing homes to potentially break into. To report scavenging, residents are urged to call police at (619) 531-2000. • Capt. Brian Ahearn has taken over the new role as the commander of SDPD’s Northern Division, replacing Capt. Al Guarderrama, who served in the position for the last nine months. Ahearn has experience with this community. He served as Lieutenant at Northern Division from 2005-08. Ahearn returns to Northern Division from his most recent post with Eastern Division, where he spent the last three years. “The goals are to keep violent crime down and assess the property crime issues and to make sure the quality of life is at the standard the community expects,” Ahearn said. Guaderrama will now be leading the SDPD’s Investigations Unit. “He [Guaderrama] was selected to a great position and that’s a credit to him,” Ahearn said. “It has to do with his skill level. It’s a position that’s well deserved.” • Representing District 2 City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, Katherine Miles said the city has removed the entertainment fee all restaurants had been previously been required to pay for a permit to provide entertainment. Now, restaurants that close before 11 p.m. will no longer face the burden of the $3,000-$5,000 yearly fee. • Miles said Faulconer’s office is still looking into ways to secure funding for repairs or replacement of the sea wall in Mission Beach. The city has hired an engineering firm to assess the repair process before moving forward. • Miles said she believes The Plunge will reopen before the end of the calendar year. Former master leaseholder for Belmont Park Tom Lochtefeld disagreed with Miles’ assessment saying he doesn’t think the pool’s repairs will be completed in that time. • Lochtefeld said he has “come to a settlement with the bank,” regarding his ongoing bankruptcy court proceedings that led to his departure as master leaseholder of Belmont Park this year. Lochtefeld said he is still managing the Wavehouse and Soundwave, “for the moment.” Lochtefeld also said the $12 million reported price tag for a new investor to buy and take over operations of Belmont Park will be a tough sell, saying it, “makes no economic sense to me.” • The newest proposed site for an AT&T cell phone tower is on top of The Plunge. A previously proposed site in the grassy area of Belmont Park was met with strong opposition from the MBTC. • Bill Bradshaw, chairman of the Mission Beach Neighborhood Watch, said crime in the community has risen more than 40 percent overall this year. Bradshaw said assaults are up 33 percent, burglaries are up 18 percent, auto break-ins are up 136 percent and vandalism is up 16 percent within the various categories. — Lee Cornell

Pacific Beach Town Council (PBTC) general meeting, Nov. 16 The meeting included monthly reports from Joanna Moya, representing county Supervisor Ron Roberts; Deanneka Goodwin, speaking on behalf of Congresswoman Susan Davis; San Diego Police Department Lt. Paul Rorrison; Katherine Miles, a designee of District 2 City Councilman Kevin Faulconer; Ron Lacey of the office of Mayor Jerry Sanders; and Terri Winbush, a deputy city attorney. • The PB Town Council’s Police and Emergency Services Appreciation Night (PAESAN) Police Bicycle Light Program has raised $2,000 in its efforts to augment equipment for the police beach patrol units and needs another $1,000 to match the $3,000 Faulconer’s office has pledged if the total $3,000 sum can be raised through merchant and community donation. Miles, representing Faulconer, said the councilman has extended the matching-fund deadline until the end of November. • Susan Wilding presented an update on the latest news regarding the San Diego Unified School District’s (SDUSD) realignment proposal that includes a possible consolidation of Pacific Beach Middle School and Mission Bay High School by the 2013-14 school year to help bridge the district’s projected budget gap. • Capt. Brian Ahearn, the new commander of police department’s Northern Division, formally introduced himself during the meeting. Ahearn also announced the arrests of three people suspected of violent robberies in the Pacific Beach, Hillcrest and University Heights areas between Sept. 21 and Oct. 4. Ahearn said that on Sept. 7, a police bike unit spotted a white Toyota at Dawes and Missouri streets that was reported in three previous robberies. The suspects were arrested, including two men and one woman. • Sara Berns, director of Discover Pacific Beach, confirmed the date of the annual Christmas Tree Lighting event on Saturday, Dec. 3 at Crystal Pier. • The PBTC election results were announced. Joe Wilding was re-elected as president, Jerry Hall was voted vice president, Michael McQuarry earned a spot as secretary, and Lou Cumming, Susan Lowary, Richard Pyle, Ed Reay and Marcella Teran will serve as directors. The PB Town Council’s treasurer position remains open. — Keith Antigiovanni