PCPB still accepting applications for election The Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) will continue to accept candidate applications during the next regular board meeting Thursday, Feb. 19 for the March 19 election. The March election will be held at the Hervey/Point Loma Branch Library on Voltaire Street to fill five vacant seats on the PCPB. A candidate forum is tentatively slated for Thursday, March 5 to allow candidates to field questions from residents. The regular meeting on Feb. 19 takes place at 6:30 p.m. at the library. For more information, visit www.pcpb.net. MTS plans meetings on mass-transit cutbacks Funding for public transportation in San Diego may get cut as much as $14 million this year as the state moves to reduce or eliminate its transit assistance. The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) must battle once more with reducing services and increasing fares to handle the lack of state funds. The bus company is holding open houses throughout February to discuss proposals to restructure or eliminate routes and reduce frequency of service. The public is invited to submit comments for public hearing. For more information visit www.sdcommute.com. Hearings will be held at various locations throughout the city, including: • UTC Transit Center Wednesday, Feb. 18 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Westfield University Town Center 4545 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego • America Plaza Station Thursday, Feb. 19 1 to 7 p.m. 1050 India St., San Diego (West C Street & Kettner Boulevard) • Euclid Transit Center Saturday, Feb. 21 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 450 Euclid Ave. in San Diego • Old Town Transit Center Saturday, Feb. 21 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 4009 Taylor St., San Diego • Fashion Valley Transit Center Saturday, Feb.. 21 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 1205 Fashion Valley Road, San Diego (Friars Road & Fashion Valley Road) • Iris Avenue Station Sunday, Feb. 22 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 3120 Iris Ave., San Diego (Iris Avenue & 30th Street) New signal may snarl Sports Arena Blvd. traffic Traffic accidents and careless drivers have prompted state traffic engineers to propose the installation of better traffic signals and a median on southbound West Mission Bay Drive as it crosses under Interstate 8 and becomes Sports Arena Boulevard. Traffic officials hope to start the $1.2 million project in summer 2010. Drivers exiting the I-8 westbound on Mission Bay Drive/Sports Arena Boulevard often dangerously cross over to the far side of the street to get back on the eastbound I-8. This puts pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers in danger, said Richard Estrada, a California Department of Transportation engineer. “[Caltrans] staff have actually seen people cross lanes,” he said. “[Drivers] will get into that free-flow lane and cut across, driving over the delineators (small plastic poles).” City of San Diego staff, however, is concerned the change could back up traffic along West Mission Bay Drive as motorists try to leave Pacific Beach and the Mission Bay area. Traffic currently flows freely on the West Mission Bay Drive lane leading to the eastbound I-8. City traffic engineer Julio Fuentes said agencies will meet in the coming months “for them [Caltrans] to consider our comments,” Fuentes said. According to a preliminary Caltrans staff report, the area has been the scene of 105 collisions between April 2000 and March 2006. OB brew venture scouts tasty new opportunities The Ocean Beach Brewing Co., a new venture based in OB, provided preview tastes of its new beer at Crave’s Café on Newport Avenue on Feb. 5. Brew partners Kip Coleman, Michael Lukacs and Steven Lombardi invited friends and press members to the exclusive tasting. Coleman, an architect in Ocean Beach, said he hopes the local hospitality, bar and restaurant community will eventually serve his self-described Belgian-style India Pale Ale. Coleman has been brewing for about 10 years — longer than he’s been in architecture, he said. “I brew my own beer [and] I drink it because it makes me proud,” Coleman said. Lombardi, also an architect in Ocean Beach, said he helped design some of the bottle labels. One label features the Peace Rockers’ Peace sign currently sitting atop the Ocean Beach International Hostel on Newport Avenue. The Ocean Beach Brewing Co. doesn’t have a license to sell or distribute the beer commercially so the owners are giving it away during quiet, brew party-style taste tests. The trio is tentatively calling the seasonal ale OB Brew, or OBrew, Lukacs said. Same-sex couples tout Freedom to Marry Day At marriage counters nationwide, same-sex couples will request marriage licenses on National Freedom to Marry Day today, Feb. 12, to raise awareness of the negative effects these couples and their families experience through not being able to legally marry. Local couples in San Diego are participating as well by requesting marriage licenses at the County Clerk’s Office from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. The office is located within the San Diego County Administration Building complex at 1600 Pacific Highway Downtown. The event is co-sponsored by the Marriage Equality USA San Diego and the San Diego Equality Campaign. Marriage Equality USA chapters have been engaging in the annual Freedom to Marry Day since 2001, alleging discrimination by various state and national legislation banning same-sex marriage. A number of faith leaders will be present on the lawn of the County Administration Building on the morning of the event to marry couples. For a list of events across the United States, visit marriage ­equality.org. For more local information, go to sdequalitynow.com. Census office opens for 2010 population count Massive job recruitment is expected prior to the once-a-decade U.S. Census Bureau population count — and the bureau is marking the fuss with the opening of a census office in San Diego. Meanwhile, the bureau has launched an outreach campaign with local officials, community leaders and businesses to ensure an accurate count of the population. This new local office, one of 12 opening in San Diego, will be the hub of operations for the surrounding communities. During peak operations, the office will employ roughly 1,500 people from the surrounding areas. The office is located at 1370 India St. in San Diego. For more information, call (619) 684-6100. Wildfowl art, hunting decoys, carvings on exhibit More than 150 artists and carvers from parts of the U.S., Canada and Japan will compete for awards and exhibit their work during the 2009 California Open Wildlife Art Festival’s Wildfowl and Fish Carvers Competition this weekend at Liberty Station. The event is the 36th annual festival and is sponsored by Pacific Southwest Wildlife Arts, Inc. (PSWA). The event takes place on Saturday, Feb. 14 and Sunday, Feb. 15 at the NTC Promenade’s Corky McMillin Event Center, 2875 Dewey Road. According to organizers, PSWA is a nonprofit organization founded to support and promote wildfowl art, particularly the carvings of traditional hunting decoys, considered a truly American art form. The event times are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 on Sunday. Admission is $5; children under 12 are admitted free. Soccer tryouts are just around the corner Tryouts are set to get under way for the Barca Point Loma soccer teams — both boys and girls divisions. Signups for U8-14 girls take place Monday, Feb. 16 and Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Liberty Station For the boys, tryouts in the U8-14 category also take place at Liberty Station on Tuesday, Feb. 17 and Thursday, Feb. 19 from 4 to 6 p.m. For more information on tryouts, call (619) 838-3877.