DIA DE LOS MUERTOS IN OLD TOWN
Old Town San Diego will hold an event honoring the historic and cultural celebration, Día de los Muertos. Officially observed on Nov. 1 and 2, the Day of the Dead pays homage to the presence of the dead among the living and is a colorful tribute to California’s own Mexican heritage. Producers of the event are Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) and the Old Town Chamber of Commerce. Forty local businesses, museums and shops will create traditional Día de los Muertos altars and offer a unique free tour of the altars that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Businesses will also provide a variety of entertainment with music, complimentary hot cocoa and other traditional treats. Workshops with everything from sugar skull decoration to mini take-home altars, skull face painting and more will be available. Free lectures and presentations will be held daily at the Adobe Chapel. Contests will be held leading up to the celebration with a grand prize valued at more than $2,000 from Old Town establishments to be awarded. Altars will be up for viewing on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days.

SANDAG APPROVES FUNDS FOR I-5 DEVELOPMENT
The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Board of Directors announced Oct. 17 they had approved the $56.3 million cost to widen the I-5/Genesee interchange. SANDAG was able to move up the schedule for the I-5/Genesee interchange and widening project because of its success in competing for Proposition 1B money to cover the cost of other transportation infrastructure projects in the region. Money from Proposition 1B freed TransNet funds. TransNet is a local half-cent sales tax for transportation projects. The I-5/Genesee project is estimated to cost $94.1 million. The SANDAG contribution to the project will be combined with funding from the City of San Diego, local property owners and Caltrans to cover the full cost.

DANSE MACABRE AT THE OLD TOWN THEATER
Write Out Loud presents Danse Macabre, an evening of stories so frightening a doctor’s permission slip will be required at the door. This evening of irregular heartbeats will be administered to patients daring enough to attend at 7 p.m. on Oct. 31 at the Old Town Theatre, 4040 Twiggs St. Veteran spooks of the San Diego stage will collaborate with writers both classic and contemporary to commit this crime. Albert Park will read The Death of Marat by Young-ha Kim. Rachael van Wormer will read Mama Gone by Jane Yolen. Cynthia Gerber will read Orientation by Daniel Orozco. Francis Gercke and Walter Ritter will read The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell. Reservations recommended. Tickets cost $15 for general admission and $13 for Senior, Student, Active Military and can be purchased online at www.WriteOutLoudsd.com.

SAN DIEGO ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL COMING TO BALBOA PARK
The fifth annual San Diego Italian Film Festival (SDIFF) is coming to Balboa Park. Running Oct. 29 through Nov. 12, the Festival will feature 15 Italian movies, celebrations, famous directors and dynamic discussions.
The SDIFF shows films throughout the year to a continually growing audience, last year filling over 5,000 seats. Almost all films are San Diego premieres, and the SDIFF is practically the only movie bridge between our local scene and Italian culture everywhere.
At this year’s Festival, SDIFF invited directors and experts who have not only studied but also lived and breathed the life to discuss their work with audience members. All showings will be at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park at 7 p.m. unless otherwise stated. For a list of films and venues, or to read reviews or see trailers, visit www.sandiegoitalianfilmfestival.com.

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY HOSTS COMMUNITY FORUM
The purpose of this community forum series, sponsored by the University Heights Historical Society and the University Heights Community Development Corporation, is to provide residents with a very broad overview of some of these recent changes, the basics of community planning in San Diego, and to invite residents to think about what they value about our neighborhood and their vision for its future shape.
Community members can have a voice in the shape of their communities by participating in a variety of organizations, including city-recognized planning groups and other organizations that participate in land use decisions. Representatives from key community organizations in UH will share a brief overview of their organization’s mission, goals, membership and how to get involved.
The next forum, The Role of Community Organizations in Shaping University Heights, will be held Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. at the Grace Lutheran Church, located at 3993 Park Blvd.

JUMPER IN HILLCREST HAD DEMANDS FOR DUMANIS
A medical marijuana advocate demanded attention from San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis Friday, Oct. 14 by threatening to jump from the University Avenue overpass onto SR-163. The man, who initially was speaking with both police and media, had a list of demands for Dumanis regarding medical marijuana laws. He also indicated that Dumanis must drop out of San Diego’s mayoral race. He first gained attention at approximately 2:30 p.m. and police quickly closed northbound and southbound lanes on SR-163 between I-8 and I-5. Although he crossed back over the guardrail at approximately 4:30 p.m., police did not take custody of the man until 8:40 p.m. Dumanis did not comment officially on the incident.

COASTAL RAIL LINE AND DOWNTOWN TROLLEY SUBJECT TO CLOSURE ?FOR CONSTRUCTION
Regional transit riders will still be able to reach their destinations despite construction this weekend on the coastal rail line and in downtown San Diego. Portions of the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) rail line between Orange County and downtown San Diego will be shut down for the second weekend in a row as construction crews work to improve passenger and freight rail services by installing a second main line track and new rail bridges in the corridor. Trolley service also will be affected in the downtown area due to construction on the MTS Orange and Blue lines. Amtrak will continue the installation of a second rail track in the Carlsbad area, south of Cannon Road during the weekend of Oct. 28-30. SANDAG will continue constructing a new rail bridge at Trestles beach, near the Orange County line for two additional weekends, Oct. 28-30 and Nov. 4-6. Additional maintenance work will be conducted on the line in other locations between Trestles and Carlsbad Poinsettia Station this weekend.

UPTOWN PLANNERS TO DISCUSS TWO NEW FACILITIES
The Uptown Planners Committee will discuss two new proposed facilities, a Veterans Rehabilitation Center in Mission Hills and a new Fire Station in Hillcrest. These will be informational items on the agenda for their Nov. 1 meeting at the Joyce Beers Community Center at 6 p.m. The proposed Veterans Rehabilitation Center use will provide medical care and rehabilitation services in a residential and therapeutic setting to eligible ambulatory veterans challenged by medical conditions, psychiatric disorders, and mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) and physical injuries who do not need hospitalization or nursing home care. Regarding the new fire station, the existing fire station will be replaced with a facility that will house nine fire personnel, and be approximately 10,500 feet in size. Project will include two and one-half bays with mechanical exhaust system; 18 crew parking spaces in fenced secured area and three public parking spaces.

AIR AND SPACE LEGENDS TO BE HONORED WITH HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
On Nov. 5, the San Diego Air & Space Museum will honor national and international air & space legends at its 48th Hall of Fame Induction Celebration. Each honoree was selected for their historic contributions to aviation, space or aerospace innovation. Of those to be honored in the “Distinguished Class of 2011” are: Jerry Coleman, World War II and Korean Marine Aviator & baseball legend; Dr. Irwin Jacobs, Qualcomm founder; Walter Cunningham, Apollo 7 astronaut; James Raisbeck, aerospace engineering entrepreneur; Dick Rutan, combat pilot & aviation record setter; Bill Gibbs, aviation living legend; TOPGUN (the squadron), Captains Dan Pederson, first TOPGUN Commanding Officer and Rick Ludwig, former Operations Officer and Commanding Officer representing; Naval Aviation, on its100th anniversary, invited guest Chief of Naval Operations and Commander Naval Air Forces; Tom Poberezny, Experimental Aircraft Association and Airshow Pilot.

CALVARY CEMETERY HOSTS WALKING TOUR ON HALLOWEEN
Come celebrate the Spirit of Halloween with a rare examination of the true history and buried memories of Calvary Cemetery, also known as, Pioneer Memorial Park in Mission Hills on Saturday Oct. 29, 2011. The Halloween Walking Tour at Calvary Cemetery (1875-1970) will provide a glimpse into the controversial histories of one of San Diego’s oldest and most haunted cemeteries. Calvary Cemetery was the premier burial site during the early 20th century; years later during the 1960s it was declared “abandoned”, and then promptly declared a historic landmark then converted into a community park (with nearly all of its 3,000 to 4,000 souls remaining on site). Several of its tombstones were unceremoniously dumped in a ravine at Mt. Hope Cemetery, while 142 nicer tombstones were saved and stuck in a distant corner of park with little honorable or historical perspective.

THRIVE WELLNESS TO OPEN NEW LOCATION
Thrive Wellness is opening a new location at 4080 Centre St., and hosting an open house on Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Free activities at the open house will include: acupuncture demonstrations, body fat testing, postural alignment and core strength assessments, healthy food and recipes, raffles, and supplementary health education. The new clinic has seven treatment rooms and a large fitness and postural alignment training studio.

SCRIPPS HEALTH UNVEILS MOBILE MEDICAL UNIT
Union Bank has partnered with Scripps Health to sponsor the Mobile Medical Unit. The Scripps Mobile Medical Unit is a 40-foot motor coach equipped with two examination rooms, a nurse’s station, state-of-the-art ?telecommunications and interior and exterior television screens providing patient education. The mobile unit will be constantly traveling all around San Diego and will not be anywhere long term. The official launch of Union Bank’s sponsorship of Scripps’ Mobile Medical Unit took place in front of the downtown Union Bank office on Oct. 27. The Mobile Medical Unit offers a variety of? community-based screenings and health services and is also equipped for? disaster preparedness and response.

USPS CONSOLIDATES MAIL ROUTES IN HILLCREST
The U.S. Postal Service announced the 40 current routes in the Hillcrest area have been reduced to 30. The same area is still being covered. The 10 carriers that covered the routes that were consolidated into the remaining 30 now have the option to bid on other routes in San Diego not fully covered by a regular, full-time carriers. If the 10 carriers removed from the Hillcrest routes do not get the specific Postal Service routes they bid on, it usually means a senior carrier bid on the same route, said Eva Jackson, communications program specialist for the Postal Service San Diego district. In this case, the 10 carriers may bid on the routes left by the senior carriers or ones held by part-time employees.

LYRIC OPERA ANNOUNCES BANKRUPTCY
The Lyric Opera San Diego announced Friday, Oct. 17 that it intended to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Saddled with a large mortgage, board of directors President Roberto Cueva said in a statement, “the sale of the Birch North Park Theatre venue…is not moving as quickly as we had expected.” The arts organization was integral in the restoration of the historic theatre, located at 2891 University Ave. in North Park. Taking over the lease in 2005 upon completion of the restoration, Lyric Opera San Diego ultimately sought to sell the property in January 2011 to help stave off bankruptcy. “Like most arts organizations in San Diego, it has been a challenge to maintain a professional level of operations and production value…,” Cueva said. “We are hopeful that our restructuring period will be brief and that soon we will be offering even more entertainment for San Diego,” he added. Until then, most of the company’s staff have been released, including General Director Leon Natker and Artistic Director J. Sherwood Montgomery.