City planners will hear Eruv line proposalOn Thursday, May 25, the City of San Diego Planning Commission will hear Congregation Adat Yeshurun’s proposal to install 12 poles throughout La Jolla and University City to create an Eruv line.The Eruv line, comprising poles, existing fences and natural canyon boundaries, will transform the area into a private domain under Jewish law, allowing orthodox Jews to carry items on the Sabbath within the boundary.The poles will join to one another across the streets via thin wire, secured at the top of the pole. The boundary line will extend from La Jolla Village Drive to the North, Interstate 5 to the east, La Jolla Parkway to the south and Torrey Pines Road to the West.The La Jolla Shores Advisory Board voted to approve the project, while the La Jolla Community Planning Association denied it. The planning commission hearing begins at 9 a.m.For Adat’s proposal, see the agenda at www.sandiego.gov/planning, click on Boards & Commissions and click under Planning Commission, or call Sarah Osborn, (619) 533-5931. Save gas & cash during Bike to Work Day With the price of gas hovering around $3.50 a gallon, Bike to Work Day is offering commuters the perfect opportunity to step out from behind the wheel and hop on a bicycle this Friday, May 19.Organizers point out the numerous benefits of bicycling rather than driving, such as exercising for health, lowering pollution, reducing traffic congestion and saving money.Volunteers will also man pit stops set up around the city where cyclists can stop for bottled water, fresh fruit and energy bars.”Locally, we expect at 5,000 bicyclists to visit one of our pit stops, but of course more people will actually be commuting by bike that day,” event coordinator K.C. Butler said.Butler said the idea behind the event is to encourage people who drive to work to discover the benefits of bike commuting. The biggest hurdle for bike commuters is the distance between the home and the workplace, according to Butler.”You can’t really use weather as an excuse,” he said. “The problem is people might have a 30-or 40-mile daily commute. That’s why we’ve incorporated mass transit. You can cut the time in half. Another solution we promote is driving partway and riding partway.”Traffic doesn’t get to heavy until you’re in certain areas, and sometimes it’s easier to park before reaching heavy congestion and avoid it by biking.”Bus and trolley service is free for bicyclists participating in Bike to Work Day. In the La Jolla area, there are several pit stops that will be open from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m., including Amylin Pharmaceuticals, 9360 & 9390 Towne Centre Drive by Reflecting Pond; San Diego Credit Union La Jolla Colony/UC, 7708 Regents Road; San Diego Credit Union, 3366 N. Torrey Pines Court; University of California, San Diego, northeast corner of Gilman Drive and Villa La Jolla; and the La Jolla post office, 1140 Wall St.For more information or pit stop locations, call (800) 266-6883 and select option 3 or visit www.ridelink.org.
Volunteers clean up a passel o’ trash
I Love a Clean San Diego (ILACSD) announced that approximately 4,000 volunteers removed 102,656 pounds of trash and recyclables during its fourth annual Creek to Bay Cleanup on April 29.The most common item collected across the county was cigarette butts. ILACSD representatives said 14,289 butts were collected at two sites alone. Some of the more unusual items found were bowling balls, a gun holster and a phone booth.Of the more than 51 tons of materials removed from 66 miles of beaches and waterways, from Oceanside to the border, approximately 4,169 pounds were recyclable items, such as aluminum cans, glass bottles, metals and organic debris.According to the California Coastal Commission, 60 to 80 percent of the trash found on beaches originates from inland sources.For information, call ILACSD at (800) 237-2583 or visit www.cleansd.org.