Bank robber targets La Jolla A suspect used a note to demand money from a teller at the Wells Fargo Bank at 7714 Girard Ave. on June 5 at 11:13 a.m., and fled the location with an undisclosed sum. He was described as a white male, 20 to 25 years old, 5 feet 8 or 10 inches-tall, with brown hair, wearing a blue plaid shirt and blue jeans. No weapon was visible, and the Robbery Unit is investigating the incident. Village seeks short-term parking removal The La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) voted to request that the city remove the two-hour parking signs lining the 7400 and 7500 blocks of Olivetas Avenue, upholding a similar recommendation by its Traffic and Transportation Committee. Residents of the League House and elsewhere presented a petition with 90 signatures from their neighbors supporting the removal of the signs. Several senior citizens spoke in the public comment portion of the meeting and said that the time constraints required them to move their vehicles several times per day, often walking several blocks and crossing busy roads to find new spaces. Board member Michele Addington said she had counted approximately 40 parking spots that could be more freely utilized if the signs were removed on those blocks of Olivetas, and Tim Lucas, another board member, said that the parking situation “improved significantly” when the signs were removed previously. Some board members expressed concern that employees of nearby shops would utilize the spots for long periods of time, preventing shoppers and residents from using them. However, the committee approved a motion to request that the signs be removed once again with a 14-2-1 vote. UCSD honors new grads Following several years of hard work, 7,673 graduating University of California, San Diego (UCSD) students will receive diplomas during 11 separate commencement ceremonies. The ceremonies began May 29 and will conclude June 13, and are expected to attract more than 65,000 family members and guests in total. Chancellor Marye Anne Fox will speak at all 11 ceremonies. Before the majority of the ceremonies, students will attend the All Campus Graduation Celebration tomorrow, June 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the RIMAC field. Laren Poole, former UCSD student and founder of Invisible Children, will speak to the audience about her organization. Founded in 2004, Invisible Children harnesses the power of youth and media to help end the Ugandan conflict. Poole recently joined President Obama to sign the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act that will help the U.S. State Department facilitate an end to the war. The last ceremony, held by the Eleanor Roosevelt College on June 13 at 5:30 p.m., will award diplomas to 850 graduates, the college’s largest graduating class to date. Graduating senior Jacob Blanc will address his peers. UCSD to pioneer green energy research The University of San Diego, California (UCSD) has been selected by Sanyo Electric Group as the first United States university to participate in a new energy research collaboration. The partners announced June 3 that Sanyo will contribute $3 million over three years to promote projects spanning multiple disciplines and focusing on renewable energy and energy storage research, development and education. The funds will benefit the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering. The collaboration’s first project involves UCSD mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Jan Kleissl’s attempts to create hourly solar production forecasts using advanced weather stations and sky imaging tools. The findings could help determine how to maximize the distribution of solar energy throughout the day. Both partners in the collaboration expressed confidence that the research efforts will contribute to smart energy solutions that will prove especially useful in California, where population and energy demand continue to grow as budgets shrink. No emergency designated at Children’s Pool San Diego’s city attorney, Jan Goldsmith, advised Mayor Jerry Sanders to pursue a coastal development permit using the normal process to reinstall a rope barrier to remain year-round at the Children’s Pool, rather than declaring an emergency as the City Council requested in a May 17 meeting. The emergency declaration would have quickened the process and allowed the rope to go back up immediately, whereas a standard permit may take months to obtain. The rope was removed May 15 following the designated end of seal-pupping season, in accordance with a previous policy. To declare an emergency, Sanders would have to demonstrate “a sudden, unexpected occurrence … that demands immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss of or damage to life, health, property or essential public services.” Erin Demorest, an aide for La Jolla representative and District 1 Councilwoman Sherri Lightner, said at a June 3 La Jolla Community Planning Association meeting that “the rope won’t be going back up anytime soon.” Lightner voted against the year-round rope barrier at the May 17 council meeting, instead advocating a joint-use policy that would make the beach available both to humans and seals throughout the year.