Pair of suspects robs strip club at gunpoint
Two males walked into the Les Girls nightclub in the Midway area and robbed the business at gunpoint Thursday, Jan. 31, according to police investigators.
The incident occurred at about 11:15 p.m., said police. The suspects fled in a two-door blue Hyundai with an undisclosed amount of cash, said investigators.
One of the men was armed with a shotgun and the other with a silver handgun. The pair walked into the main lobby, confronted the female cashier and demanded cash. Some of the customers in the lobby were ordered to the floor by one of the suspects, said San Diego police Lt. Vince Villalvaso.
“One of the customers became aware that there was a robbery taking place and yelled out that there was a robbery taking place. A lot of people apparently fled the club,” he said.
The suspect carrying the shotgun apparently struck a customer with the butt of the weapon, causing minor injuries.
One of the suspects was described as a black male in his 20s, about 5 feet, 8 inches to 6 feet tall, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt.
The second suspect was described as a male in his 20s, about 5 feet, 8 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall. The second suspect covered his face with a bandana, making it difficult for witnesses to describe him, Villalvaso said.
Residents with information are urged to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-TIPS.
Surplus funds available to OB nonprofit groups
The Ocean Beach Tree Festival Committee, an arm of the Ocean Beach Town Council, is currently seeking local nonprofit groups to which to distribute surplus proceeds from previous fund-raising activities.
Committee officials are asking local nonprofits with specific funding needs to submit a one-page request on the organization’s letterhead stationery ” along with the organization’s identification number ” detailing the organization’s needs and how the funds would be used.
Requests must be postmarked by Wednesday, Feb. 20 and funding will be awarded at the Wednesday, March 26 meeting of the Town Council. The OBTC meets at 7 p.m. on that date at the Masonic Center, 1711 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.
Requests should be sent to: OB Christmas Tree Festival Committee, P.O. Box 7225, San Diego, 92167.
For more information, call (619) 226-8613 or (619) 515-4400.
PLHS alumni launch
recycling fund-raiser
The Point Loma High School Foundation and Alumni Association is currently engaged in an ongoing recycling/fund-raising program involving the collection of used cell phones and empty laser/inkjet printer cartridges.
The used cartridges and cell phones are refurbished for reuse, according to organizers. The recycling effort targets some of the more than 400 million estimated cartridges and 35 million cell phones thrown away each year. Organizers said the drive will help keep such items out of the landfills and helps raise money for programs at Point Loma High.
Items may be dropped off during normal operating hours at the following locations:
“¢ San Diego County Credit Union, 1004 Rosecrans St.;
“¢ San Diego National Bank, 1075 Rosecrans St.;
“¢ Carefree Vacations, 2927-A Canon St.;
“¢ Ocean Beach MainStreet Association office, 1868 Bacon St.;
“¢ Jungle Java, 5047 Newport Ave.;
“¢ Bone Appetite, 4845 Newport Ave.
For more information, call Pat Baker at (619) 223-9363.
ArtReach hosts project at Loma Portal Elementary
All Loma Portal Elementary School students will soon have the opportunity to experience the joy of creating a masterpiece in chalk or oil pastel as part of a collaborative effort hosted by ArtWalk called ArtReach.
The goal of ArtReach, according to organizers, is to offer unique collaborative visual art programs to elementary schools throughout the region. Each program is tailored specifically to meet the needs of a school. Students learn age-appropriate skills in a particular medium and work side by side with peers.
“Learning art-making skills helps to empower children to communicate their feelings visually,” said Patti Fox, ArtReach artistic director and the artist in charge of the program.
“When completed, the mural or ‘dream quilt’ is done in collaboration with peers,” she said. “Each student sees not only their personal expression but, more importantly, the power of what 20 students working together will look like. “¦ This builds their self-esteem, which is an important tool and nurtures their ability to take the risks they need to succeed.”
ArtReach was developed through the combined efforts of ArtWalk managing director Sandi Cottrell, ArtWalk magazine editor Judy Berman Silbert and Fox.
Loma Portal will be the second school to welcome the new ArtReach program. Principal Glenda Gerde said she is looking forward to the experience.
“We are thrilled to be one of the first schools to give students the opportunity to work with ArtReach,” said Gerde. “What a treat to work under the guidance of Patti Fox, a working studio artist, and to create something that every student on campus will contribute to. We are also looking forward to hanging the completed dream quilts throughout the school.”
For more information, call (619) 615-1090, or visit www.artreachsandiego.org.
Peninsula Singers open a fresh, new season
The Peninsula Singers recently began a new season and will continue performances through May 29.
The community chorus, made up of residents ranging in age from 15 to 85, is committed to enriching, educating and entertaining diverse audiences in the region and to building arts awareness through community connections.
The group, which welcomes new members, began its new season Jan. 14 and rehearses at the Hervey/Point Loma Branch Library, 3791 Voltaire St., from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. each Monday.
The group often performs with the Point Loma High School choir.
For additional information, call artistic director Sarah Suhonen at (619) 804-6079 or board president Gary Ewing at (619) 222-0429, or visit www.peninsulasingerssandiego.org.
Dog Beach Dog Wash
celebrates 15 years
Dog Beach Dog Wash, 4933 Voltaire St., is celebrating 15 years of local canine cleaning by giving away the first 15 washes of each day free through Presidents Day on Monday, Feb. 18, said co-owner Jane Donley.
In their 15 years, Donley and her crew have scrubbed 350,000 canine and feline customers alike.
“We’d do it again in a nanosecond,” Donley said, “and we want to celebrate with as many people [for] as long as we can afford it.”
Along with free washes, the Dog Beach Dog Wash will also be giving away gift bags, treats and small toys for both their four-legged and two-legged customers, she said.
An integral part of the dog-lover community in Ocean Beach, the dog wash has always dedicated time and money to keeping Dog Beach clean.
The Dog Wash hands out over 500,000 plastic bags a year to promote picking up after pets as a way to keep beaches and waterways in the region cleaner, she said. The business also hosts a beach cleanup every second Saturday of the month, she said.
“We love dogs. We love Ocean Beach and we love Dog Beach. This is a perfect melding of all the concerns we feel passionate about to make it a better world,” Donely said.
For more information, visit www.dogwash.com.