Bird Rock Elementary School will welcome prospective kindergarten parents as well as the public for a tour of the school on Feb. 16 at 9:30 a.m. Participants will have a chance to meet Principal Sally Viavada along with teachers and parent volunteers, and will be able to observe classrooms in each grade and see the school library and computer lab. Kindergarten teacher Lorene LaCava announced at the Feb. 1 meeting of the Bird Rock Community Council that the tour is a chance for community members to get up to date on the latest happenings at the school. For more information, call (858) 488-0537. Tour for adults only. The Bird Rock Community Council (BRCC) meets every month on the first Tuesday. Here is a list of highlights from the Feb. 1 meeting: • San Diego Police Department Northern Division’s new captain, Al Guaderrama, introduced himself to the audience, along with colleague Lt. Jim Filley, also of Northern Division. Guaderrama told community members he wants to work closely with the public and “focus on the quality of life” in the area. • Michelle Fulks gave the audience a recap of the Bird Rock Home Tour, which took place Jan. 29. Fulks said the turnout for the tour was better than expected, with at least 315 participants (though a final count had not been done). Proceeds from the event went to Bird Rock Elementary. • BRCC President Joe Parker reviewed the annual budget for the Maintenance Assessment District (MAD). Parker announced that the district received a clean bill of health from the city auditor over how MAD handles its books. He discussed possibilities for how to spend the roughly $300,000 reserve that MAD controls. Options included improving traffic and safety conditions, beautification and minor capital improvements. • Parker addressed the issue of Calumet Park, where he said off-leash dogs have become a major problem. He said he had received regular complaints from residents who had visited the park and were upset by the number of dogs that were being allowed to roam. Parker described the situation as “out of control,” and said he personally had experienced difficulty having a picnic with his family in the park because of off-leash dogs. He said the way to solve the issue was through education and law enforcement. “When animal control starts issuing tickets, which are about $450 and a misdemeanor, by the way, it will get people’s attention,” he said. • Parker also discussed the current state of the La Jolla Recreation Center, which he said is in financial trouble. The center, which survives off of donations from community members, has not received enough funding and may have to cut back on its opening hours. Parker, who described going to the center for “hours every day” when he was a child, said he was “dismayed to learn that unless the center receives more donations, the hours will likely be cut from 55 hours per week to 40 hours per week.” He said any kind of fundraising effort was in the very early stages, but he wanted to introduce the issue to the council members.








