Mayor-elect announces leadership team
Kevin Faulconer has announced his top-level staff. The mayor-elect is putting a diverse team consisting of three deputy chiefs of staff into place to run his administration; a Spanish-speaking Latino, a respected policy expert and a San Diego native who is also a long-time advisor to the mayor-elect. The three areas the deputies will focus on are as follows: Matt Awbrey, communications; Jaymie Bradford, policy; and Felipe Monroig, community engagement. In a release, the choice of three chiefs of staffs is mean to “provide additional focus on the areas of community inclusion, fiscal reform and government transparency, all of which are top priorities for [the mayor].” All three deputies have city experience. Bradford most recently served as deputy chief of staff and chief of policy for Interim Mayor Todd Gloria. Monroig has served as president and CEO of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association and also as a city council chief of staff. Awbrey has been the spokesperson for the mayor-elect since he was first elected to city council. Faulconer is expected to take over the office of mayor on March 3, when the interim mayor returns to his duties as both council president and district three city councilmember.
‘Camino’ filmmaker brings documentary to Gaslamp
Millions of people from all over the world have taken on a spiritual journey that was first established in the ninth century in Spain. Officially called “El Camino de Santiago” the passage is also known as “The Way of St. James” and generally begins in the Pyrenees, Spain on foot and ends in Santiago de Compostela, at the tomb of St. James near the Spanish coast. Depending upon where participants start, the trip could take weeks or months to complete and hundreds of thousands still make the journey today. In “Walking the Camino: Six ways to Santiago,” filmmaker Lydia B. Smith follows six strangers who make the trek “with only a backpack, a pair of boots and an open mind.” The award-winning film traveled the 2013 film festival circuit and Smith will be on hand when the documentary debuts at the Reading Gaslamp 15 Theatres on Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1. Smith will be introduced before the 5 p.m., 7:25 p.m. and 9:50 p.m. shows and she will available for a Q&A immediately following the 5 & 7:25 p.m. shows. The six individuals profiled in the documentary are filmed coping with “blisters, exhaustion, loneliness and self-doubt to triumph over fears and prejudices that have become roadblocks to living a fulfilled life.” The film will continue at the Gaslamp 15 tentatively until March 6 and could be renewed depending upon attendance. Reading Gaslamp 15 is located at 701 Fifth Ave. For more info visit ReadingCinemasUS.com or call 619-232-0401 or visit CaminoDocumentary.org.
Cabrillo Bridge construction end date pushed back
Caltrans has announced that the completion date for the Cabrillo Bridge Retrofit and Rehabilitation Project — specifically the Laurel Street Overcrossing — will be pushed back from spring 2014 to an unspecified date in the summer. The project team expects to have a more specific deadline before the end of March, according to a press release. The retrofit began in early January and has caused closures to all but foot traffic across the Laurel Street Bridge and created various delays on State Route 163, below. The current construction delay is due primarily to the removal of more debris and water than anticipated from the workspace, and the press release stated the project would certainly be completed prior to the 2015 Balboa
Park Centennial Celebration. For more information about the project, visit dot.ca.gov/dist11/Cabrillo/.
Free rides home on Mardi Gras
The Law Offices of Howard Alan Kitay is offering to pay for 125 rides home from Mardi Gras celebrations around the county on Tuesday, March 4, in an effort to lessen the number of drunk drivers out on the road afterward. Working with the Sober Lift Home Program, the firm will be offering $20 credits when riders enter the code “KITAY” into the rideshare app Lyft, a service which allows you to request rides “on demand” from a smartphone. “Drunk driving is a serious issue in San Diego and, really, all of the United States,” said attorney Howard Kitay in a press release. “If we can help even one person make the choice to arrange a safe ride home and not drive impaired, then we’d be thrilled.” Also according to the release, over 10,000 people died in 2012 in DUI related accidents in the U.S. The average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before their first arrest. Two major local street events celebrating Mardi Gras this year, one in Hillcrest and one in the Gaslamp Quarter Downtown, are expected to draw upwards of 40,000 people. To download the Lyft app and take advantage of your free ride home on Mardi Gras, visit get.lyft.com/lyftoff/ and enter the promo code “KITAY.” For more information, visit kitaylaw.com/sober-lift-home-program.php.
City Council approves dispensary ordinance
On Tuesday, Feb. 25, the City Council approved new regulations of medical marijuana dispensaries, or “cooperatives,” operating in San Diego. The vote was nearly unanimous, with Councilmember Mark Kersey casting the only vote against the measure, citing contradictory rulings on the federal level. The ordinance that appeared before the City Council on Feb. 25 was a revised version that failed to be adopted last year. The revisions provided stricter guidelines for San Diego cooperatives. Along with several other new requirements, the dispensaries must be located at least 1,000 feet from public parks, churches, child-care centers, playgrounds, residential care facilities, schools and other cooperatives. Councilmember Lorie Zapf motioned successfully to limit to four the number of cooperatives per council district. An analysis by SANDAG found that this would limit the maximum number of dispensaries in San Diego to 30. The ordinance also requires approval by the California Coastal Commission, which according to city staff, is expected to adopt the measure within 90 days.
‘Art and Craft Beer Fest’ presale now available
The Bankers Hill Business Group and the San Diego Brewers Guild are holding their second annual Art & Craft Beer Festival, March 28 at The Abbey, located at 2825 Fifth Ave. from 5 – 9 p.m. Featuring some of San Diego’s own craft brew houses, the event will also have art from internationally recognized Bankers Hill artists on display and offer food from locally-renown chefs. Tickets are $20 in advance through March 18, $30 from March 19 – 27, and $35 at the door. More information, including chances to win tickets, can be found on the Facebook.com/BankersHillBG page or at the bankershillbusinessgroup.com website.
