{"id":247898,"date":"2014-10-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-24T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/uptown-briefs-october-24\/"},"modified":"2014-10-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-10-24T07:00:00","slug":"uptown-briefs-october-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/uptown-briefs-october-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Uptown Briefs \u2013 October 24"},"content":{"rendered":"

City leaders unveil Balboa Park Centennial plans<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Plans for the highly anticipated Balboa Park Centennial Celebration appear to be back on track.<\/p>\n

After months of controversy and confusion following the disbandment of the Balboa Park Centennial, Inc., a nonprofit previously responsible for planning the yearlong celebration, city leaders gathered in mid-October to outline a plan for the upcoming series of park events and improvements.<\/p>\n

Festivities now center around three key words, with all plans are now aimed to \u201celevate,\u201d \u201ccelebrate\u201d or \u201cpromote\u201d Balboa Park. The 2015 celebration marks the 100-year anniversary of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, a momentous tribute to the opening of the Panama Canal and San Diego\u2019s emergence as an international port city.<\/p>\n

According to plans outlined by the city, the centennial celebration will elevate the park by making several improvements, such as expanding the Japanese Friendship Garden and providing free public Wi-Fi throughout the park; celebrate the park with events such as December Nights and\u00a0 museum exhibit debuts; and promoting the park with a new website, high-definition cameras to broadcast events and a new long-term strategic marketing plan.<\/p>\n

The Centennial Celebration officially kicks off with December Nights on Dec. 5.<\/p>\n

Rapid transit bus now running on Park<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The MTS Mid-City Rapid Transit Bus debuted on Park Boulevard in early October, offering a speedier bus route with its own dedicated traffic lane. The \u201cRapid 215\u201d will run from San Diego State to Downtown San Diego.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Voice of San Diego reported that while a rapid transit bus system is considerably less expensive than other \u201chigh-end transit,\u201d the mid-city line only reduces travel time by 10 to 22 percent during peak hours, which equates to shaving four to 11 minutes off a rider\u2019s daily commute.<\/p>\n

SANDAG eventually plans to turn the route into a light-rail transit line by 2035, according to its Long-Term Transportation Plan, but the agency is currently fighting a lawsuit that claims the plan does not meet state-mandated greenhouse gas-reduction targets.<\/p>\n

The \u201cRapid 215\u201d runs seven days a week from 5 to 1 a.m., picking up every 10 minutes during rush hour.<\/p>\n

CicloSDias returns for third year<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Modeled after the Ciclovia events of Bogota, Colombia, this free open-street event will take place in San Diego on Sunday, Nov. 9. CicloSDias is \u201call about connecting communities and giving people a break from the stress of car traffic,\u201d according to the event\u2019s press release.<\/p>\n

The route for this year\u2019s event includes areas of Hillcrest and Bankers Hill with the \u201cbookends\u201d at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street and at the intersection of Normal at Harvey Milk streets.<\/p>\n

Participants are invited to walk, bike and skate along the two-mile route in a counter-clockwise direction and stop into businesses as they travel. The free-flowing slow-paced traffic allows for entry at any intersection during the event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.<\/p>\n

There are three \u201chubs\u201d along the route, which include information booths, bike repair stations, portable restrooms, vendors and more. Participants can check-in at each hub to receive entry into a bike raffle.<\/p>\n

Visita ciclosdias.com<\/a> for a detailed route map and more information.<\/p>\n

Nan McGraw Day proclaimed<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Native San Diegan and 40-year resident of University Heights, Nan McGraw, was honored with a day proclaimed in her name by the San Diego City Council. The proclamation, presented by Council President Todd Gloria on Oct. 21, cited McGraw\u2019s many contributions to the community. She was one of the founding members of the University Heights Community Association (UHCA) and has held various leadership roles with the organization, including president.<\/p>\n

Notable accomplishments during her tenure in the community association include the opening of Trolley Barn Park, advocating for the Vermont Street Bridge reconstruction and helping to improve infrastructure along Park Boulevard.<\/p>\n

Still an active member of the University Heights neighborhood, McGraw currently coordinates the distribution of UHCA newsletters each month and participates in community events including Caroling in the Heights. Currently, McGraw is working to find new ways to improve the University Heights Library.<\/p>\n

California Tower in Balboa Park to re-open in 2015<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"California<\/a>
Balboa Park’s California Tower (Courtesy Museum of Man)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The city of San Diego has granted the San Diego Museum of Man (1350 El Prado, Balboa Park) permission to reopen the historic California Tower to the public. The museum and tower are part of the California Building, constructed for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. The tower has been closed for almost 80 years, but will reopen for public tours on Jan. 1, 2015.<\/p>\n

A website (CaliforniaTower.org<\/a>) has been established to raise funds for the renovation project with a total of $3 million needed. The Legler Benbough Foundation has already committed $1 million, leaving $2 million to be raised through donations through the website. Large sponsorship opportunities will include permanent messages on plaques, benches or steps. The money is needed for remodeling, safety improvements and a long-term fund for ongoing care of the tower.<\/p>\n

For more information on the history of the California Building visit museumofman.org\/california-building<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Malashock returns with fifth season of \u2018RAW\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Malashockweb\"<\/a>
Dancers from Malashock RAW (Courtesy Malashock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Malashock Dance Company, a local dance troupe founded in 1988 by Artistic Director John Malashock, will return Nov. 7 and 8 for three new installments of its \u201ccutting edge\u201d dance production, RAW.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis program allows our dance company to investigate provocative themes in a \u2018safe place to do unsafe work,\u2019\u201d Malashock stated in a press release.<\/p>\n

Producers also said RAW\u2019s innovative performances feature \u201cbrazen athleticism and dramatic emotionalism.\u201d The troupe encourages active community participation through attendance at open rehearsals, preview performances, and facilitated and interactive panels with the performers throughout the period.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe enthusiastically want our audience to provide feedback because this direct interaction with the artists only deepens their connection to the work,\u201d Malashock said.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s performances take place at the Lyceum Theatre, located at 79 Broadway Circle, Downtown. Tickets are now available through Lyceum\u2019s box office at 619-544-1000 or lyceumevents.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Para m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n visite malashockdance.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Send news tips and press releases to <\/em>hutton@sdcnn.com<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City leaders unveil Balboa Park Centennial plans Plans for the highly anticipated Balboa Park Centennial Celebration appear to be back on track.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":247899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Uptown Briefs \u2013 October 24","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}