{"id":253585,"date":"2018-08-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/uptown-news-briefs-aug-24-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-08-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T07:00:00","slug":"uptown-news-briefs-aug-24-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/uptown-news-briefs-aug-24-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Uptown News Briefs: Aug. 24, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLAZA DE PANAMA PROJECT MOVES FORWARD<\/h3>\n

On Aug. 21, Superior Court Judge Gregory W. Pollack determined that the Balboa Park\u2019s Plaza de Panama project\u2019s proposed funding mechanism was legal, clearing it to move forward.<\/p>\n

This ruling follows Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer\u2019s decision in 2016 to revive the dormant project, which faced many legal challenges. It was originally proposed by former Mayor Jerry Sanders and approved by the City Council in 2012.<\/p>\n

Balboa Park, a nationally recognized landmark, attracts more than 12 million visitors every year and a majority of these visitors arrive by car. The project aims to remove traffic from Balboa Park\u2019s center; create 6.3 acres of parkland, gardens and pedestrian-friendly plazas; and increase parking.<\/p>\n

It will be financed through a combination of paid parking revenues in the new underground garage, city funds earmarked for major capital projects, and private philanthropy led by the Plaza de Panama Committee and its chairman Dr. Irwin Jacobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter years of costly delays, the city can begin the work of transforming Balboa Park into the cultural center and economic driver it is meant to be,\u201d San Diego City Attorney Mara W. Elliot said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project will mark the largest investment in Balboa Park in decades and transform the plaza to its original grandeur with acres of new park space for San Diegans to enjoy,\u201d Faulconer said.<\/p>\n

City officials will lead the construction and work with the Plaza de Panama Committee on the project\u2019s design. Contractors will be selected through a competitive bidding process with a projected groundbreaking in 2019.<\/p>\n

HILLCREST FIRE STATION NOW UP-AND-RUNNING<\/h3>\n

Fire Station No. 5 officially swung open its doors this week.<\/p>\n

The Hillcrest fire station is the fourth to open this year, joining the neighborhoods of City Heights, Little Italy, Mission Valley and Point Loma.<\/p>\n

\"Uptown
(YouTube)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The new, two-story facility is located on 3902 Ninth Ave. and replaces the original station first built in 1951. The 10,731-square-foot building includes two-and-a-half apparatus bays, nine dormitories, a kitchen, a day room, a watch room, an exercise room, and a lounge. The bays house a fire engine, a battalion chief vehicle and a utility vehicle. The dormitories sleep one battalion chief, two captains and six firefighters.<\/p>\n

The station\u2019s crew handled more than 2,500 service calls in 2017 and responded to more than 1,600 calls from January to July 2018, according to Fire-Rescue Chief Colin Stowell.<\/p>\n

\u201cFire Station 5 will provide Hillcrest and the greater Uptown community with much-needed and deserved public safety resources and personnel,\u201d City Councilmember Chris Ward said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. \u201cWith the addition of this state-of-the-art facility, residents will have access to excellent neighborhood services that will ensure the quality of life of the community as it continues grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with Stowell and Ward, Mayor Faulconer and Assembly member Todd Gloria also attended the ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new fire station in Hillcrest is just the latest example of this surge in community projects that will benefit our neighborhoods for generations to come,\u201d Faulconer said during the event.<\/p>\n

To view video footage of the grand opening held on Aug. 20, visit bit.ly\/hillcrest-fire-station<\/a>.<\/p>\n

PIGMENT OPENS NEW LOCATION<\/h3>\n

Pigment, a North Park retail store, debuted a second location in Liberty Station on Aug. 21.<\/p>\n

\"Uptown
(Courtesy of Pigment)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The store is known for its offering of locally made goods, unique gifts, and furniture. It aims to cater to both women and men with its products.<\/p>\n

The new 5,000-square-foot building is located on Sims Road in the heart of the Arts District Liberty Station.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransforming Liberty Station\u2019s historic Building 11 (a former naval post office and quartermaster\u2019s store), Pigment\u2019s new outpost serves as both an experiential concept and as a haven for product launches, community events, family-centric meet-ups and more,\u201d according to a press release.<\/p>\n

New elements include a larger plant and succulent section \u2014 including an indoor\/outdoor plant lab and interactive terrarium bar \u2014 and a wrap-around patio deck with picnic tables for private events. The family-friendly establishment will still host its Toddler Time series, where parents and children gather for story time and sing-alongs.<\/p>\n

Its original Uptown store opened back in 2007. For previous coverage about Pigment and Amy Paul, visit bit.ly\/uptown-pigment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RADY CHILDREN\u2019S HOSPITAL PARTNERS WITH UNITEDHEALTHCARE<\/h3>\n

San Diego and UnitedHealthcare established a new network relationship, giving Californians enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medi-Cal plans access to Rady Children\u2019s Hospital, facilities and physicians in Southern California. Rady\u2019s facilities, physicians and care providers share United HealthCare\u2019s commitment to improving access to quality care, enhancing clinical outcomes, lowering the costs of care and creating an exceptional patient experience.<\/p>\n

UnitedHealthcare of California serves more than 3 million people enrolled in Medi-Cal, Medicare, and employer-sponsored and individual health plans with a network of 403 hospitals and approximately 100,000 physicians and other care providers statewide.<\/p>\n

ANNUAL SUFFRAGE PARADE RETURNS TO BALBOA PARK<\/h3>\n

The Women\u2019s Museum of California invites the community to celebrate Women\u2019s Equality Day this Sunday in Balboa Park. The annual Suffrage Parade commemorates the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on Aug. 20, 1920.<\/p>\n

\"Uptown
(Courtesy of Women’s Museum of California)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Participants are encouraged to dress up in white, wear sashes and buttons, and wave Suffrage, Equal Pay, #MeToo, Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and feminist movement signs to celebrate the journey of women’s rights from 1848 to today.<\/p>\n

The event will commence at 4 p.m. in the lawn area across from the Organ Pavilion, located at 2125 Pan American Road East. In addition to the Suffrage Parade through the Prado and Organ Pavilion areas, the day will also feature reenactments of famous women\u2019s rights activists.<\/p>\n

For more details, visit bit.ly\/WomenParade13<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PLAZA DE PANAMA PROJECT MOVES FORWARD On Aug. 21, Superior Court Judge Gregory W. Pollack determined that the Balboa Park\u2019s Plaza de Panama project\u2019s proposed funding mechanism was legal, clearing it to move forward.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":244735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Uptown News Briefs: Aug. 24, 2018","_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-253585","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\/253585","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=253585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}