City intends to repair six coastal stairways The City of San Diego has begun the permitting process to repair beach access stairways and walkways in six locations. “Most of them are old. It’s old concrete. Saltwater and erosional forces just take their toll on them,” said Helene Deisher, project manager with the city’s Development Services. “There’s some walkways that have been undermined a bit.” Repairs in La Jolla are intended for the south Casa De Mañana stairway west of Coast Boulevard between Jenner Street and Ocean Lane. The areas identified as needing work in Pacific Beach are the Diamond Street walkway and the Capri by the Sea walkway/stairway west of Ocean Boulevard between Chalcedony and Missouri streets. Locations on the list in Ocean Beach are the Old Salt Pool stairway at the terminus of Narragansett Avenue at the ocean, the Orchard Avenue walkway and the Pescadero Avenue lower stairway. The process to gain permits is in the very beginning stages and a project date has not been established. A source of funding has not been identified and the cost has yet to be determined, Deisher said. The project is for repairs and maintenance only and no new design work will be included. Sammy’s brings back Valentine’s Pizza Kits Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza is giving a little love of its own this year with the return of its Valentine’s Day Pizza Kits. The lover’s day-themed pizza kits are filled with all the ingredients needed to make a Sammy’s-style pizza at home. Ingredients include freshly made pizza dough, Sammy’s homemade tomato sauce, creamy mozzarella cheese and a special blend of herbs — along with baking instructions for a creative Valentine’s option. The kits are available from Feb. 12 to 14 for $5. Whole-wheat pizza crusts are available for an additional $1 and gluten-free pizza crusts may be purchased for an additional $3. The pizza kits can be purchased at any of the 10 Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza locations throughout the county, including La Jolla (702 Pearl St.), UTC/Costa Verde (8650 Genesee Ave.), Point Loma (2401 Truxtun Road, Suite 102) and downtown/Gaslamp Quarter (770 Fourth Ave.). For more information, call (858) 456-8018, or visit www.sammyspizza.com. Soledad Association spruces up monument The view from atop Mount Soledad is breathtaking and the granite plaques to honor veterans are tasteful, but the Mount Soledad Memorial Association continues to make small improvements to improve the scene. Six weeks ago, the association installed bronze railings to help steady visitors as they climb the stairs to visit plaques. A directory was also built to enable visitors to better find plaques honoring their family and friends, and to learn more about the other veterans honored. “Where’s Uncle Charlie? Well, he’s on the wall somewhere. There are only 3,000 plaques so he must be around here somewhere,” Carl Dustin joked about the need for the directory. Dustin is a volunteer with the association. Six concentric walls currently display 2,700 granite plaques, which depict a veteran’s photos and his or her career and achievements. Ultimately, the walls will be able to host 3,200 plaques.   In the future, the association plans to install electricity to illuminate the plaques at nighttime, finish paving the sidewalks, seed grass and install a sprinkler system. In March, the memorial association will present the French-American School nearby with an American flag to replace its “shabby” one, Dustin said.      For information, call 459-2314. 2010 California Open Wildlife Art Festival set More than 150 artists and carvers from the United States, Canada and Japan will converge on Liberty Station the weekend of Feb. 13 and 14 to compete for awards and exhibit their work during the 2010 California Open Wildlife Art Festival. The event, which features a popular wildfowl and fish carvers’ competition, takes place at the NTC Promenade’s Corky McMillin Event Center, 2875 Dewey Road, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. The 37th annual festival is sponsored by Pacific Southwest Wildlife Arts (PSWA), Inc. PSWA is a nonprofit organization founded to support and promote wildfowl art, particularly the traditional hunting decoy. The show has gained a national reputation as one of the best decoy competitions and wildlife art shows in the country. The entry cost is $5; children under 12 are admitted free. This show is funded in part by the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture. For more information, visit www.pswa.net, call (619) 421-1034 or e-mail [email protected]. Seniors can volunteer for RSVP duty The San Diego Police Department is in need of seniors willing to volunteer their time to patrol the streets as part of the Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP). Candidates for RSVP must be in good health, fluent in English, possess a California driver’s license and pass a background check. Volunteers will attend the RSVP academy for five days of basic training and three days of specialized training in traffic direction and control. For more information call (619) 446-1012.