Local physician joins emergency team in Haiti Pacific Beach resident Colleen Buono, M.D. is part of a five-member team of doctors and nurses that took medical supplies to Haiti on Jan. 16 to provide emergency services for survivors of the recent devastating earthquake there. The group is part of San Diego-based International Relief Teams (IRT), an international humanitarian and healthcare nonprofit organization. IRT selected the team members based on their prior experience working on disasters. Buono was previously deployed to Louisiana to provide help for victims of Hurricane Katrina. PB Planning Group looks for new members The Pacific Beach Planning Group (PBPG) is now accepting applications for new members. The PBPG is composed of 20 community volunteers (15 residential and five commercial seats). The group advises the city on land use and new development, traffic, parking, alcohol licensing and other issues of importance to the community. Candidates must be residents of, or own a business in Pacific Beach. New member elections will take place on March 24, but all candidates must have attended at least one PBPG meeting during the period of January 2009 through January 2010. Applications can be found at www.pbplanning.org or by attending the next PBPG meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the Pacific Beach Library, 4275 Cass St. For more information contact Marcie Beckett, (858) 483-8908. Man shot on boat A 38-year-old man was shot once in the stomach during an altercation on a boat at Seaforth landing Jan. 17, according to a police report. The suspect, Thomas Corning, 53, was taken into custody and a weapon was found at the scene. The victim’s wounds were not considered life-threatening. San Diego Police Northern Division is handling the case. Man sentenced for possessing machine guns A federal judge on Jan. 12 sentenced a Lake Elsinore man who was driving a truck in Pacific Beach with machine guns in it to 6 1/2 years in federal prison for unlawful possession of the unregistered weapons. It still isn’t known why Jason Ray Hilliard, 36, was driving around with weapons. He crashed into a parked car in Pacific Beach after driving erratically and was arrested on May 6, 2009. Hilliard was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns. Burns sentenced him to 80 months for each of four counts, but ordered the 80-month terms to run concurrently with each other. His attorney said Hilliard had no criminal record. Hilliard pleaded guilty to three counts in October 2009, and had a non-jury trial on two other weapons charges that he disputed. Burns acquitted him of one weapon charge and convicted him on a fourth charge. — Neal Putnam Gunman sentenced to 24 years in prison A gunman who randomly wounded a man outside a Pacific Beach taco shop in 2007 has been sentenced to 24 years in state prison and ordered to pay the victim’s medical expenses of approximately $7,000. Aaron Sung-Uk Park, 25, was also fined $4,800 by San Diego Superior Court Judge Francis Devaney on Jan. 7. Park was convicted July 15, 2009 of attempted manslaughter and felony assault of Eric Joseph, 27, who was shot in both legs and his right hip on Sept. 23, 2007, around 2 a.m. on Garnet Avenue at Bayard Street. Park was given consecutive terms that included 10 years for using a gun in a crime, and five years consecutively for being convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in 2003. The jury acquitted him of attempted murder, a charge that could have resulted in a life sentence. Park, of Las Vegas, was in Pacific Beach to see his brother. The shooting occurred after a woman complained of being injured and Park yelled to people passing by “who pushed me?” Park pulled out a gun and shot randomly, hitting Joseph, whom he did not know. — Neal Putnam Teen wins contest Teen actor and model Eartha Hubbell, a Pacific Beach resident, won the Clinique/Teen Vogue Fresh Faces modeling contest. Eartha and two other finalists finished first in a field of more than 6,000 contestants. As a winning contestant, Eartha will be flown to New York City; featured in two photo shoots for Teen Vogue Magazine; lunch with the editors of Teen Vogue Magazine; receive $1,000 in Clinique products; and be treated to a Broadway show. This ends a great year for Eartha, having begun last January with the short film “Letters Lost,” directed by Dorian Iribe, co-starring Eartha, winning first place and audience choice awards at the Com-Col Film Festival. —Jerry Calburn Event raises funds for youth shelter The yoga community participated in a charitable event to raise money for homeless youth on Jan. 10. The event, held at The Haven Yoga, 4170 Morena Blvd. In Clairemont, raised money for PhotoCharity, the largest donor to the Storefront program. Only one shelter provides housing to youths who are homeless. This shelter, Storefront, is a source of hope for youths 12 to 17 years of age who are homeless without resources or familial support. These youths do not qualify for county programs, largely because they haven’t broken the law. “It is our intention to raise awareness of the youth who are in need and on the streets. Once attention is raised I know the community cannot close its doors on our children,” said Susan Griego-O’Connor, owner and yoga instructor at The Haven Yoga,