Slow-speed-chase driver may net nearly 5 years An auto thief who led police on a low-speed chase through Ocean Beach on Dec. 13 will be sentenced March 13 after he pleaded guilty to evading police officers with reckless driving and auto theft.
Neil Alan Blount, 33, pleaded guilty on Feb. 11 before San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Walsh. He faces a maximum sentence of four years and eight months in state prison, according to court records.
He was ordered to stand trial on Jan. 2 at his preliminary hearing. A detective and another officer testified about the 20-minute chase and a map of Ocean Beach was entered into evidence. The incident started when Blount allegedly took a 1999 black Honda from its owner. An officer spotted the stolen car being driven on West Point Loma Boulevard and radioed it in to confirm it was stolen. The officer followed, but Blount refused to pull over near Abbott Street. By the time the car reached Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, five patrol cars were following it, although its speed averaged about 30 mph. Spike strips placed in front of it at the corner of Abbott and Saratoga streets punctured two left tires.
Blount continued to drive, but he turned westbound in the 5100 block of Narragansett Avenue, which ends at the ocean. Officers arrested him at gunpoint. Blount has two prior convictions for burglary in 2010 and 2011, according to records. He remains in custody without bail.
—Neal Putnam
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Forecast forces OB Kite Festival to be grounded Faced with the forecast of a powerful storm punch this weekend, the Kiwanis Club of Ocean Beach has rescheduled the Ocean Beach Kite Festival from Saturday, March 1 to Saturday, May 10 at Dusty Rhodes Park.
The kite festival will still feature free kite making and kite flying for children, awesome demonstrations by professional kite flyers, carnival rides and a craft fair. The new date is much less likely to be rainy, and organizers said they are looking for creative ways to tie the festival in with Mother’s Day weekend. This is the first time in memory that rain has threatened the Ocean Beach Kite Festival. The late Marion Miller (a.k.a. the Kite Lady), who organized the event for decades, always guaranteed it would be a nice day for the kite festival, saying she had “a special understanding with the Man Upstairs.” The Ocean Beach Kite Festival is in its 66th year, having been founded in 1948. It is purported to be the oldest kite festival for children in the United States.
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PLHS calling all artists, crafters and customers Local artists and crafters are invited to participate in a first-ever event at Point Loma High School.
The Spring Arts & Craft Faire is being held March 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the school campus.
The event is one in a series of fundraisers created to raise funds for Protect Our Pointers (POP), an effort to provide certified athletic trainers to assist over 800 student-athletes at every practice and competition. 
Currently, the school’s head athletic trainer, Megan Skelton, supervises a group of undergraduate training students from Point Loma Nazarene University. They attend as many events as can be funded, but some events are uncovered.
POP operates under the PLHS Pointer Association, a 501 (c)(3) corporation.
Persons interested in the event should contact POP at [email protected].
— Scott Hopkins
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Future Pointers get chance to get on fast track Local elementary and middle schools are being invited to attend the second annual Future Pointers K-8 Track & Field Meet on May 3.
The event will be held on the all-weather track surface and turf field at Pete Ross Stadium on the PLHS campus.
A contingent of PLHS coaches and members of the school’s track and field team will be on hand to conduct the events exactly like the meets they participate in during the Spring.
In last year’s inaugural event, schools in the PLHS cluster formed teams, some practicing extensively for the event.
Included will be sprint and long-distance races, relays and field events like high jumping, long jumping and more.
The event is under the auspices of Protect Our Pointers and is a fundraiser to pay the cost of certified athletic trainers who prevent and treat injuries to over 800 athletes at PLHS.
For more information, contact [email protected].
— Scott Hopkins
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Peninsula planners seek board candidates The Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) has five board positions opening in March and is welcoming candidates to run for election to get more involved in the governance of their community. 
The planning board will hold a candidates’ forum Thursday, March 6 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Point Loma/Hervey Branch Library on Voltaire Street. The election will be held at the same location on Thursday, March 20 from 4 to 8 p.m.
To be eligible for election, interested candidates must be at least 18 years old, live in or own a business within the PCPB boundaries, be able to commit to a three-year term (shorter for unexpired terms) and have attended at least one regular meeting within the last 12 months (attending the candidates’ forum qualifies for this requirement). The Peninsula Community Planning Board is a volunteer community planning group citizen organization that advises the city on land- use-based community goals and development proposals.
The PCPB meets on the third Thursday of each month at the Point Loma Library. Various subcommittees also meet on regular basis.  
For more information or to obtain an application, email [email protected].
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‘Bite of Point Loma’ slated for April 22 Tuesday evenings are often slow nights for restaurants, but April 22 looks to be a major exception for eateries in the central Liberty Station area.
That is the date selected for a major walking tour of many of the area’s popular dining choices who will offer samples of their finest fare for patrons of “Bite of Point Loma.”
The palate-pleasing tour is the brainchild of a group of creative Point Loma High School parents whose goal is to see the local high school campus’ gathering spot shine as it never has. They envision a complete “makeover”of the central quad area, where there is currently a need for additional tables and benches and other amenities to provide a more welcoming environment for the nearly 2,000 students. Ticket prices and further information will be announced soon.
— Scott Hopkins