por Jay Wilson

Much to the delight of the students at Hearst Elementary and the hundreds of children who participate on youth sports teams that practice or play at Hearst, the grass sports fields are scheduled to be renovated this summer.

It has been over a decade since the grass fields were first constructed as part of a joint-use project that included funds from the city of San Diego through former Councilmember Jim Madaffer, the San Diego Unified School District, donations from parents that included a major donation from Tom Stall (a Hearst parent at the time), and the donation of countless hours by landscape architect David Reed. Since the initial construction, the fields have never been fully renovated.

Hearst parents recently contacted Councilmember Scott Sherman and he was able to allocate the necessary funds to thoroughly renovate the upper and lower fields. These will be the eighth and ninth fields renovated in the Navajo Area with funds from Sherman’s office. Between January and August of last year, the Park and Recreation Department renovated The Peanut, Lower Lewis, and Skunk Hollow fields at the Allied Gardens Rec Center, the two fields at Princess Del Cerro, the large field at Lake Murray Community Park, and the large grass field at the San Carlos Rec Center. The Hearst fields are scheduled to be closed for a minimum of four weeks — after the Little League and Navajo Fast Pitch Girls Softball seasons, and before the Crusaders Soccer season.

A number of people have contacted me about the “For Sale” sign posted on the property just south of the Chevron station on College Avenue. It is my understanding a developer is talking with the city of San Diego’s Planning and Development Services Departments about the feasibility of developing the property for single-family homes with ingress and egress from College Avenue. A decision by the developer is anticipated by the end of March. There are many hurdles confronting any developer for the property in question. There will be plenty of time for public input. If the developer decides to move forward, he will be invited to make a presentation to the Del Cerro Action Council.

The holiday season is upon us and it is time to be extra careful on several fronts; the city’s Fire-Rescue Department urges everyone to follow safe practices when hanging decorative strings of lights outside and inside the home. Do not overload electrical circuits and make sure all electrical cords are safe to use; the Police Department is reminding everyone to use good judgment when shopping and not to leave packages in your car in plain sight. Women should be especially alert regarding their purses. Don’t give someone an opportunity to remove something from your purse when you are in a crowded store.

If you are interested in the Winter Solstice guided hikes at Mission Trails Regional Park, there will be three such hikes to the “solstice observatory” on Cowles Mountain beginning at 6 a.m. on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, Dec. 20 – 22. Hikers should meet at the Cowles Mountain Staging Area at Navajo Road and Golfcrest Drive. Mission Trails Volunteer Trail Guides will lead the hikes on Dec. 20 and 22 and the San Diego Natural History Museum Canyoneers will lead the hike on Dec. 21. The solstice observatory area is about a mile up Cowles Mountain.

The next quarterly meeting of the Del Cerro Action Council will be held on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. at Temple Emanu-el.

On behalf of the Del Cerro Action Council Board of Directors, we want to wish everyone safe and happy holidays! View our website at delcerroactioncouncil.org.

—Jay Wilson is president of the Del Cerro Action Council.