The plethora of news boxes scattered across the village continues to irk the Streetscape/Beautification Committee, which would like to see the newspapers condensed into one large dispenser and the trade magazines disappear. The committee met Jan. 25. “I don’t think the city should subsidize what is essentially a billboard on our streets,” Glen Rasmussen said of the trade publications. Rasmussen is president of the Streetscape/Beautification committee and a trustee of Promote La Jolla. Last year, Promote La Jolla had earmarked $6,000 to purchase a few of the community news racks as pilots to gauge community reaction to the bulky structures. That money is no longer in this year’s budget, considering Promote La Jolla’s financial missteps and investigation by the city. Still, the Streetscape/Beautification Committee plans to ask news vendors to voluntarily place their newspapers into a community news rack. “We want to have a strategic place for legitimate newspapers and not have them be like tumbleweeds across the village,” said Egon Kafka, a committee member. Hanging baskets The Street/Beautification Committee continues to hammer out details for replacing hanging baskets on lampposts. The group has agreed the hanging baskets should conserve more water by using thicker pots and more drought-tolerant plants, and should use recycled water if possible. Sidewalk planters are still being considered as an alternative or addition to the hanging baskets. The group agreed different-sized pots may be appropriate for certain locations, since the 24-inch pots hanging outside Hotel Parisi, for example, may be too large for the entire village. Promote La Jolla has earmarked $25,000 to replace the hanging baskets in its budget through July. Each pot will cost approximately $250 to replace and maintain for a year for a total cost of $59,000. The committee will continue to finalize details before seeking bids. The Streetscape/ Beautification Committee will next meet Monday, Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m. at 1150 Silverado St. For information call (858) 454-1444. n
