Rope barrier will stay The rope barrier separating seals from humans will stay put until mid-May at the Children’s Pool since the Coastal Commission rejected an appeal to the barrier on March 10. John Leek, with the Friend’s of Children’s Pool and The San Diego Council of Divers, had made the appeal. The city’s Planning Commission also upheld its decision to install the rope barrier during pupping season in January. The commission agreed with the staff report that the rope barrier is intended to separate humans from the seals during pupping season and is not intended to prevent public access to the beach. A 3-foot opening in the rope barrier allows the public to access the beach and the city signage indicates the beach is open, the report noted. “… in implementing the public access policies of the Act, the commission must take into account the need to regulate the time, place and manner of public access depending on the facts and circumstances in each case,” stated the staff report, written by Lee McEachern with the San Diego office. “This is one of those circumstances where it is appropriate to rope off a portion of beach in order to provide a buffer between people and seals.” The Coastal Commission also upheld the definition of the pupping season as being from mid-December to mid-May, which Leek had challenged. McEachern cited support from National Marine Fisheries Service officials for the timeframe in his report. Congressional candidate C. Mason Weaver visits LJ Republican Congressional candidate C. Mason Weaver met with a group of local residents and members of the business community to share his background and political aspirations over coffee at the La Jolla home of Lance Pelky and his wife, Eileen, on March 3. Weaver is running for Congress in the 53rd District, a seat currently held by Democrat Susan Davis. He will vie for the Republic nomination in the primary June 8, and if he wins that race, he will go up against Davis in the general election Nov. 2. For more information about Weaver and his platforms, visit www.cmasonweaverforcongress.com. Students raise money for earthquake victims Three fifth grade students from the Stella Maris Academy recently raised more than $500 for Haitian earthquake victims by holding a bake sale at La Jolla Cove. Camilla Zanetti, Hamilton Allport and Kristina Vu learned about the earthquake in school and wanted to find a way to make an immediate contribution, said Florence Galvani, Allport’s mother. The students met several times at school to decide on a plan of action, then called American Red Cross representative Ellen Agey during a break for recess to confirm that the Red Cross would accept their donation, so they could authenticate the fundraiser on their fliers. They didn’t inform their parents of the sale until three days before it was to take place. “They told us they were doing a bake sale, so basically we just had to start cooking,” Galvani said. “I was a bit taken aback by the short timeline, and I was concerned that we wouldn’t have enough time to get it done, but I was really proud of how organized they were.” LJTC members seated The La Jolla Town Council has welcomed 12 new members who were elected to the board to fill 12 open spots on March 11. Only three trustees had termed-out and one member resigned. The board is now running at full capacity with 24 trustees. Trustees serve two-year and three-year terms so that the board never completely turns over at once. Nearly 100 people voted in the election. The new board members are Rick Wildman (president of Promote La Jolla), Glen Rasmussen (secretary for Promote La Jolla), Dan Courtney (a trustee for the La Jolla Community Planning Group), Steve Haskins, Mike Dershowitz, John La Raia, Pancho Dewhurst, Ellen Wayne, Jennifer Van Galder Clark, Ruth Yansick, John Frangos and Ed Ward. The outgoing trustees are Michele Addington, John Beaver and Robert Collins. Cindy Thorsen resigned from the board.