Thanks for supporting the Canine Carnival!
Thank you, Ocean Beach, for supporting the first-ever Ocean Beach Canine Carnival last Saturday! We in the Kiwanis Club of Ocean Beach have thought for a long time that there ought to be a special event to celebrate the love affair between OB residents and their dogs. You certainly proved us right. You showed up by the hundreds, bringing your dogs “” in costume or without. You browsed the street fair booths and played the games (my favorite was the tail-wagging contest). You applauded your neighbors who had created Halloween costumes for their dogs.
And what costumes they were! A whole family showed up in Egyptian costumes, with their dog as the Queen of the Nile serenely riding on a barge. There were several Elvis imitators, including a couple of “hound dogs” riding a surfboard. Little Bo Peep was keeping her sheep (or were they dogs?) safely on a leash. The judges handed out prizes ranging from the predictable Best Costume to the more whimsical Best Crustacean or Dog Better Dressed Than Owner.
Thank you, Dog Beach Dog Wash, for being not just a financial supporter, but a full partner in developing and staging this event. Thank you, Ocean Beach Recreation Center, for your invaluable help. Thank you, Peninsula Beacon, for the front-page story to let everyone know about this brand new Ocean Beach event.
Thank you all for being such a responsible crowd. You kept your dogs on leashes and made sure that they played nicely with the other dogs. You cleaned up after them and left the place as clean as a whistle.
Thank you for your helpful comments and constructive suggestions. We heard you and we will follow up. Next year we will start later so that there isn’t such a long wait between registration and judging. Next year we will try to get the costumed dogs up on some kind of stage so that people can see them better.
There will certainly be a next year. Your support made it clear that this should be an annual event, and it will be. Next year it might be in a different location or on a different date, but Kiwanis will make sure that the Ocean Beach Canine Carnival becomes an annual tradition.
Melanie Nickel, President, Kiwanis Club of OB

San Diegans should care about Trestles
The area in San Diego County where the toll road is being proposed is the business of all San Diegans, including the City Council. I grew up on Point Loma and now reside in San Clemente, though my parents still live on the peninsula.
The area where the toll road is proposed is a pristine riparian forest not found in too many places. It is a beautiful beach with three cobblestone point breaks in a relatively small area. The creek comes out of the mountains to the beach breaks through the sand berm in the winter time and deposits literally tons of sand out into the ocean and onto the reef. Not only is the area for surfers, there are many different species of birds for the bird watchers. Beavers, snakes, deer, bobcats and salmon also inhabit this area. But foremost, it is a place that is seemingly away from it all. A giant freeway loop, split and merge would destroy that feeling.
Matt Russell, San Clemente

Surprising marks for Faulconer
Congratulations to Councilwoman Donna Frye for earning her A+ grade for environmental votes from Coastkeeper. Obviously, Donna’s votes come from her heart, and not looking to score political points.
It’s ironic that the representative from our coastal communities, District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer, didn’t score so well. Certainly not all of his votes were bad, but his going along with Orange County on putting a new freeway through Trestles and San Onofre is very disappointing.
I won’t judge Faulconer on a single vote, but hopefully he’ll listen more to his constituents in the future when we ask him to follow through on the statement he had in The Peninsula Beacon last December: “In good times and bad times, you have to take care of and protect our environment. It’s so special.”
Maria Aranda, Pacific Beach