PCPB preparing for new elections in March The Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) is encouraging the Peninsula community to vote in the upcoming PCPB elections slated for Thursday, March 19 at the Point Loma/Hervey Branch Library, 3701 Voltaire St. from 4 to 8 p.m. That day, Peninsula voters should usher in five new members to fill key positions on the land-use and planning advisory board. The all-volunteer board advises the city on a number of issues. “We want Point Loma to be represented in the best light possible. So we want everyone to be aware and have input so that we can draw [resources] from a larger population. There’s so many big issues, large issues looming that require time and effort,” said PCPB member and Election Committee chair Dee Wiley. To qualify, a candidate must be at least 18 years old. He or she must live, work or own a business in the PCPB planning area and must have attended at least one meeting in the last 12 months, Wiley said. The PCPB planning area stretches west from Ocean Beach, east to the San Diego Bay coastline and from the Midway community south to include Naval Base Point Loma. The board meets monthly and addresses complex issues including land development and the San Diego International Airport at Lindbergh Field. The board also advises the city on traffic concerns in the community. City officials frequently give important updates on city matters affecting the Point Loma and Peninsula community at the meetings. The area is made up of several communities, including Ocean Beach Highlands, Point Loma Heights, Loma Alta, Loma Portal, Loma Palisades, Fleetridge, Roseville, La Playa, Sunset Cliffs and the wooded area, according to the PCPB website. To register for candidacy, contact Wiley by visiting www.pcpb.net/ or attend the next monthly meeting today, Jan. 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Point Loma/Hervey Branch Library. Port sets meeting on oversize vehicle parking The Unified Port of San Diego continues to make progress on an oversize vehicle ordinance for the Shelter Island area. A community meeting is set for Tuesday, Jan. 20 at the Bali Hai restaurant Bamboo Room, 2230 Shelter Island Drive, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Port officials plan to present an ordinance regulating oversize vehicle parking along Shelter Island Drive and Shoreline Park. The proposal includes the designation of 25 parking spaces for larger vehicles like recreational vehicles and trailers along Shelter Island Drive. The ordinance would also prohibit parking along the street between 3 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., said Jim Hutzelman, assistant director of the port’s Communications and Governmental Affairs Department. “We want to address the community concerns that we’ve heard about the drive and the large number of vehicles that tend to monopolize the spaces,” Hutzelman said. “We want to make sure [Shelter Island Drive] is opened up to our day users who want to come down and enjoy the tidelands.” Owners of vehicles more than 22 feet long and 8 feet tall park their vehicles legally around the city all the time. However, it’s become a safety and quality-of-life issue for residents in recent years because of the dearth of public parking at parks and beaches and in neighborhoods. Cravens’ sentencing hearing postponed The sentencing hearing for Seth Cravens, convicted of second-degree murder Nov. 18 in the death of professional surfer Emery Kauanui Jr., was postponed from Jan. 12 to Feb. 2. Cravens’ attorney, Mary Ellen Attridge, has filed a motion for a new trial. Cravens, who was one of five La Jolla High School graduates involved in a fight with Kauanui, threw the fatal punch at Kauanui’s head in a May 24, 2007 fight outside the victim’s home. Kauanui’s skull was fractured when his head hit the pavement, and he died four days later in the hospital of blunt-force trauma and brain injuries. Co-defendants Matthew Yanke, 22, and Eric House, 21, both pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and were sentenced to 210 days in jail on Sept. 5. Orlando Osuna, 23, got 349 days in jail after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Henri “Hank” Hendricks, 22, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and received 90 days in jail. All were scheduled to be released by Jan. 3 except Osuna, who will be released Feb. 22, according to jail records. Cravens, 22, of La Jolla, was also convicted of three felony assaults and two counts of making a criminal threat involving earlier instances in which people were punched in separate incidents. Base environmental restoration board created The Department of Defense has created and implemented a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) for Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) and will be actively seeking members to provide input, according to Navy officials. The purpose of the RAB is to stimulate public participation by involving the community in the environmental restoration process, including environmental studies and restoration activities at the base, said officials. Membership terms will be decided by the RAB. Navy officials said interested parties must be residents of Point Loma or San Diego areas affected by NBPL. RAB meetings will be open to the public, said Navy officials. An initial RAB informational meeting will be held Thursday, Jan. 22 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the United Portuguese Hall, 2818 Avenida de Portugal. Forms may be obtained by contacting: Allison Basche, Code ROPME.AB, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, Coastal Integrated Product Team, 2730 McKean St., Bldg. 291, San Diego, 92136. For information, call (619) 556-0193 or e-mail [email protected].