Lightner prefers shared use at Children’s Pool District 1 City Councilwoman Sherri Lightner has announced her plan for the Children’s Pool: keep the existing arrangement of joint-use between the seals and swimmers. Lightner agreed the beach should continue to be partially roped off during pupping season from Dec. 15 to May 15. Lightner said the city should hire a full-time city ranger or lifeguard to patrol the beach to ensure visitors can access the water and to protect the seals from harassment. She also wants the city to set up a volunteer docent program. Lightner said the city should not have to pay for the plan. She hopes to identify private funding as well as set up a system for visitors to donate to the cause. The City Council will ultimately vote on a plan for the beach. Meanwhile, the creation of a plan for the Children’s Pool stalled last week at the city’s Natural Resources and Culture Committee. The committee will take up the issue again at a special meeting Monday, April 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Fire damages retail, office building on Girard A fire swept through the basement of a three-story, brick building at 7722 Girard Ave. — a landmark known for its slanted, steel beam that runs across the façade — at around 6 p.m. on March 29.?Flat-screen televisions and other appliances were ruined at the ground-floor retail store Bang & Olufsen, according to Deborah Marengo, who works at Marengo Morton Architects, located on the second floor of the building. Smoke damaged the Marengo Morton Architects office on the second floor and the Interwest Capital Corp. office on the third floor, Marengo said.?Marengo said the phone line went down around 5:45 p.m. and that the elevator stopped working. She saw smoke curling out of the tiled ground floor. “I called the fire department and met them on Girard Avenue,” Marengo said. “I looked back at Bang & Olufsen and saw it totally engulfed in smoke.”?Marengo said none of the firm’s drawings or files were lost in the fire. Eight fire trucks responded to the call at 6:30 p.m., fire officials said. The basement was full of materials, debris and a maze of passageways, and it took firefighters two hours to get the fire under control, said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.?The fire breached the walls and burned into the ceiling of the basement. The blaze caused an estimated $200,000 in damage to the building and contents, Luque said.?Electrical wiring in the basement is believed to have caused the fire, Luque said. Nearby buildings were not affected.?Recreation center hosts egg hunt Children can hop on over to the La Jolla Recreation Center for a free egg hunt on Saturday, April 3. Spring basket decorating and photos with Peter Rabbit takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Egg hunts are arranged by age group: 2 year olds at 10 a.m.; 3-4 year olds at 10:30 a.m.; 5-6 year olds at 11 a.m.; 7-9 year olds at 11:30 a.m.; 10-12 year olds at noon. Bring your own basket. For more information call (858) 552-1658. Birch Aquarium features marine eggs Spring has arrived and the eggs are hatching at the Birch Aquarium. Children are welcome to view shark eggs, squid eggs, fish eggs and snail eggs now through April 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the aquarium with paid admission. Visitors will be able to touch the eggs, inspect them through microscopes and may see some hatch. Children will make their own shark eggs during craft time, and can hear a story from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. “I think it’s really interesting to learn that there are so many different types of eggs in the ocean and they may not all look like your typical chicken egg,” said Charina Layman, public programs coordinator for the aquarium. “The eggs are as small as a grain of rice to even larger than you’re hand. They range in so many sizes and shapes and it’s fun to see the diversity.” Birch Aquarium is located at 2300 Expedition Way. Admission is $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and $8.50 for youth. For more information call (858) 534-3474. The Children’s School lands matching gift grant The Children’s School, an independent school for toddlers through seventh graders in La Jolla, received a matching gift grant to support its new Nelson Middle Years program for sixth and seventh graders. The gift from the C and M Nelson Foundation will match at least $250,000 annually in donations made to any of the school’s operating and capital fundraising efforts that benefit the program. In the spring of 2009, The Children’s School secured about $2 million in its first capital campaign and used the money to launch the Nelson Middle Years program and upgrade Early Childhood program facilities. Funds from the matching gift grant will be used to support the facilities, programs and personnel needed to continue to run the program. Salk-UCSD consortium receives $4 million award A consortium of four research teams from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California, San Diego was selected by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation to receive a $4 million grant over five years to study brain circuitry. The consortium is lead by UC San Diego professors Anirvan Ghosh, Ph.D. and Massimo Scanziani, Ph.D., as well as Salk researchers Edward M. Callaway, Ph.D. and John H. Reynolds, Ph.D. The team will focus on creating and using genetic tools that can manipulate specific types of cells in the brain and help researchers better understand the complex neural mechanisms that guide higher brain functions such as visual perception and attention, according to a joint news release from UCSD and the Salk Institute. Vans loaned to The Preuss School On March 25, South Bay Volkswagen loaned two vans to The Preuss School UCSD through a one-year, no-cost lease arrangement. The school will use the vans to transport student athletes to off-campus sporting events and matches. The school previously relied on volunteer drivers to transport students to their meets. The Preuss School provides “intensive college preparation for motivated low-income students” in middle and high school, according to a press release. Scripps hospitals win awards Two Scripps hospitals in La Jolla have earned recognition from the California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Task Force (CHART) for having “superior and above-average quality scores.” Scripps Green Hospital and Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla both received Certificates of Excellence from CHART, which ranks hospitals on 50 different performance indicators, including cardiac care, pneumonia and maternity services. In order to earn a certificate, a hospital must score “above average” or “superior” in five of eight measure sets and not receive a “below average” or “poor” designation in any category, according to the release. The rating is based on February 2010 CHART update, which is available online at www.calhospitalcompare.org. Camp Jaycee turns 65 Camp Jaycee will kick off its 65th year when its 2010 session begins June 14. Registration is now open for all day camps, serving children from nine months of age to 12th grade. The camps take place on the Jacobs Family Campus at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center. Participants can choose from sports and theater camps, arts and crafts classes, aquatics lessons and science and computer classes. For more information, visit www.lfjcc.org/campjaycee or call (858) 362-1132.