Web Content will give you access to news stories and features that get squeezed out of the print newspaper each issue. Even if you relish the feel of paper in your hands, don’t forget to visit “Web Content” online to read stories that only premiere virtually. This week’s stories include: • Music writer lists his top five music picks • Woman accused of bilking charity may have done it again at Catamaran • City will charge higher fees for special events • Lifeguards warn crowds to obey the latest laws Bart’s top five music picks By Bart Mendoza Few jazz bassist start out inspired by punk bands such as Sonic Youth and Bikini Kill but Evona Wascinski isn’t your standard musician. Born in Poland, Wascinski, relocated to San Diego in 1986. Finding kindred spirits in the local punk scene, she began learning the electric bass to emulate her heroes, but was soon intrigued by the standup bass. Her discovery of the jazz bassist Ray Brown convinced her to switch instruments, and she eventually studied in UCSD’s prestigious music program. Today, there’s not a trace of her earlier punk roots in her sound, but fans of Latin Jazz will find much to appreciate. While Wascinski is a superb musician, her real strength is in her songwriting. Particularly noteworthy in her set is the plaintive ballad “Volver,” but all of her material is top notch. The Evona Wascinski Trio: Thursday, 7 p.m., April 30. Turquoise Café Bar Europa, 873 Turquoise St., 21 and up. www.myspace.com/evonawascinski Though it’s almost six year since country music icon Johnny Cash left this mortal coil, the popularity of his songs shows no sign of diminishing. While fans no longer have the opportunity to see Cash in concert, there are a number of tribute acts touring North America and one of the best, Cash’d Out, is based locally. The band is adept at getting authentic country and rockabilly sounds out of their vintage instruments, particularly guitarist Kevin Manuel. But it is front man Douglas Benson’s uncanny vocal resemblance to Cash that makes Cash’d out the next best thing to the man in black. This show is part of the 710 Beach Club’s Cinco de Mayo festivities. The pairing isn’t much of a stretch when you consider that Cash’s 1963 classic “Ring of Fire” was the first exposure many had to mariachi music. Cash’d Out: Tuesday, May 5, 710 Beach Club, 710 Garnet Ave. 21 and up. No Cover www.myspace.com/cashdout Perhaps the quintessential California sound, instrumental surf music continues to thrive. The Secret Samurai is part of a wave of new artists in the genre. The group recently released the album, Gun-Sho-Gun, and their song “L’Ultimo Basamento” was included on a recent compilation with The Continental Magazine. This band must be experienced live for full effect with virtuoso performances that can border on prog-rock. While the band acknowledges roots in surf music, the key to their success is in their expansive mix of influences. Song titles such as “Don’t Fear The Reverb” and “Sink or Swim,” give a clear indication of the band’s direction, which blends elements of spaghetti western soundtracks, middle eastern riffs and space age sonics. It all adds up to a modern take on a classic sound. The Secret Samurai: Saturday, May 9, 9 p.m., Brick By Brick, 1130 Buenos Ave. 21 and up. $12. www.myspace.com/secretsamurai While cover bands get very little respect, some of the best are ironically now as big a draw as some of the bands whose material they perform. One of the pioneering acts in the field, Tainted Love, is a case in point. Specializing in ’80’s music, the San Francisco-based group now tours the West Coast regularly, packing clubs with their renditions of favorites like the B-52’s “Love Shack” and Devo’s “Whip It.” The band avoids the silly period costumes and gimmicks that other bands employ and instead concentrate on getting the music right. Tainted Love is a veritable human juke box. The group has built a huge fan-base through its eclectic song list that ranges from rock (The Scorpions) to electronica (The Buggles), every one of them a dance floor filler. Tainted Love: Saturday, May 9, 9 p.m., Cane’s Bar & Grill, 3105 Ocean Front Walk. 21 and up. $15. www.taintedlove.com One of the area’s best indie-pop bands, Bill, performs at the PB Bar & Grill on May 13. The group has a piano-based sound that falls somewhere between Ben Folds and Todd Rundgren with songs that are clever, melodic pop gems, seemingly custom-made for radio play. This is “pop” in the best sense of the word; incessantly catchy melodies and deft lyrical word play topped with a cheeky performing style honed from years of road work. It’s no wonder the group has begun to draw attention on a national level. A serious contender for breaking out of the regional market, the quartet, none of whom are actually named Bill, were winners of the 2008 San Diego County Fair’s Battle of The Bands, and were also recently cited by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the “Top 25 Bands on Myspace.” Bill: Wednesday, May 13, 6 p.m., PB Bar & Grill, 860 Garnet Ave. 21 and up. No Cover. www.myspace.com/bill ———————————————– Woman accused of ripping off charity skipped out at Catamaran By ALYSSA RAMOS A woman accused last summer of throwing a benefit fashion show and silent auction in La Jolla and then allegedly skipping out with goods before paying the charity held a similar event last month at the Catamaran Hotel Resort. Vanessa Sweatte of Sweatte Productions allegedly bilked La Jollans, local merchants, fashion designers and a New York children’s charity called Kids in Distressed Situations (KIDS) of funds and goods in July 2008 after producing “Fashionably Lounging” at Prospect Bar & Lounge with merchandise provided through La Jolla merchants. Sweatte allegedly left with some gifts and one-of-a-kind clothing, the show’s designers said. And KIDS representatives said they never received a cent. Now, representatives from the Lupus Foundation — the charity Sweatte said was the beneficiary of a Feb. 21 event at Catamaran Resort Hotel called Fashion by the Bay — say they are waiting for Sweatte to return their calls. “There was a signed agreement between our office in California and Miss Sweatte,” said the Lupus Foundation’s Maggie Maloney. Maloney said she contacted representatives from San Diego’s Catamaran Resort Hotel regarding last month’s charity event. Amber Kelly, catering manager for the Catamaran Resort Hotel coordinated Fashion by the Bay. “[Sweatte’s] numbers were lower than she expected. She had families and friends who had donated gift baskets toward the silent auction and there were non-tangible things she was trying to auction,” Kelly said. “There was no music for the event, so finally the designers pulled out of the show because it was taking too long to get started.” According to Kelly, once the designers left the Catamaran, Sweatte asked a model to announce that the fashion show was canceled. Only the silent auction took place. Maloney said representatives from the Lupus Foundation, based in New York, began investigating the Feb. 21 event. “It does appear the event ended abruptly,” Maloney said. “Because of this, we decided to reach out to Vanessa and asked her to do three things: Cease and desist in using our logo; provide us a report on the outcome of the event; and the third was to turn in any proceeds she may have received from the event.” But Maloney said Sweatte has not returned the Lupus Foundation’s calls or e-mails. “No, we have not heard from her. We are hoping that she will reach out to us and it will turn out to be positive,” Maloney said. “There’s a certain amount of trust and faith you put in people when doing these fund-raising events.” Sweatte also did not return calls from the La Jolla Village News. Statewide Seating owner Amanda Daniels donated a catwalk to Sweatte for Fashion by the Bay. Daniels said her sister provided clothing for the fashion portion. Sweatte promised each company placement inside Fashion by the Bay’s print program, which she never printed, according to Kelly. “In the beginning, she says she is going to create a program to give to people and she’s going to hand it to people at the door,” Kelly said. “But she didn’t because she said she didn’t get enough sponsorship.” According to Daniels, Sweatte also promised the designers a DVD of the show. “There was supposed to be a program with all the designers’ info and a CD at the end of the show or sometime after it was over,” Daniels said. “Every designer was supposed to get a professional CD with models wearing their stuff.” Both Kelly and Daniels said they began to worry about Sweatte’s behavior one week before the event. Daniels, who owns the Statewide Seating staging company with her family, said she contacted Sweatte regarding the event and thought her sister would benefit by showcasing her designs, she said. “I had a very bad feeling… I’ve been dealing with special events a long time — normally they don’t contact you a few days before,” Daniels said. “This is not like any special event I’ve ever worked on. If you’re coordinating the event, you have your thumb on everything.” Daniels said she continued to provide staging for the show. “I didn’t want to do the project, but everyone here thought we should do it, so we said we’d do it,” Daniels said. After a string of mishaps, Daniels said she didn’t feel right leaving her sister’s silk clothing unattended, so she decided to pull the clothing from the show. According to Kelly, the Catamaran donated the hotel’s ballroom and seating for the benefit. “The week prior, up until that point, there was nothing she was doing wrong since nobody was paying for the event,” Kelly said. Then, Kelly said she was told about Sweatte’s past event history so she confronted Sweatte during the dress rehearsal. “The story written about her got forwarded to me,” Kelly said. “We had a sitting a week prior, so I asked her who her contact was at the Lupus Foundation, and that she should contact them to make sure they were on board.” Sweatte didn’t seem to “waiver at all and we went on with the fitting,” Kelly said. Kelly said Sweatte was disorganized and showed up late to rehearsals but didn’t falter until the event. “There was no run-through with sound or I would have known there was no sound. It’s not uncommon for fashion shows to run late, but she was pushing everything back and that’s what got the designers upset,” Kelly said. “Then she had a quick silent auction and took a five-minute break, one of the designers pulled out and the rest went with her.” According to Kelly, after a model announced there wouldn’t be a fashion show, “the girl working registration handed everybody their money back.” How much money did Sweatte raise for the Lupus Foundation? According to Maloney, Sweatte signed a contract promising she would hand over 100 percent of the event’s proceeds to the organization. “She shouldn’t be making any money off this,” Maloney said. “If she were able to provide an accounting of her expenses she incurred, such as gas, then she could deduct that.” According to Sweatte’s electronic invitation, she asked businesses to donate from $25 to $500 in advance. In return, donors would receive their business logo inside the event’s program. Sweatte charged $25 at the door but she allegedly never printed or dispersed programs. Kelly said about 100 people attended Fashion by the Bay, including the silent auction. But February’s event wasn’t the first time Sweatte threw a charity bash and then allegedly disappeared. In addition to the July 19, 2008 La Jolla fashion show and silent auction Sweatte held at Prospect Bar and Lounge for KIDS, Sweatte hosted a benefit at the Fleetwood in San Diego in January 2008, said Fleetwood owner Aaron Phillips. Sweatte claimed the Fleetwood event would benefit Children’s Hospital, Phillips said. “We still have a check she forged for all the models. It was supposed to be for a charity, but the charity didn’t know about it,” Phillips said in a previous interview. Meanwhile, Maloney said the Lupus Foundation will investigate Sweatte’s event. “We may or may not decide to reach out to these other groups [affected by Fashion by the Bay],” Maloney said. “I think at this point, we haven’t made a decision on [legal action]. We need to wait and see what happens. “Nonprofits count on these events for fund-raising. It’s a shame that events like these can tarnish good works that so many people are doing.” ———————————————– Nonprofits will pay more to host special events By Sebastian Ruiz City Council has approved approximately $4 million in fee increases to help close an estimated $60 million budget shortfall the city faces in the coming year. District 2 Councilmember Kevin Faulconer joined colleagues April 20 in eliminating $1,000 in city service discounts for nonprofit groups that host special events like the Ocean Beach holiday parade. At the same time, the City Council raised the cost private companies pay for extra police officers during those special events, hiking the cost from $75 to $96 per hour. The decision to raise special-event staff fees saves the city an estimated $500,000, according to city officials. The council approved a slate of fee increases running the gamut of city services, including a $50 increase in business fees, a small increase in dump fees, late fees for library books and an added $1.06 to pay for parking tickets online, according to city documents. Most of the fee increases will become effective July 1. The council also approved a $5 fee increase to maintain a newspaper rack per year effective in January. At the moment the council was voting downtown to raise fees, Mayor Jerry Sanders presented his budget plan to about 20 residents at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center. Fee increases affect special events, like the Ocean Beach holiday parade, the Mission Bay Thunderboat Regatta, and OMBAC Over-the-line tournament, among other events that require the presence of police and public safety staff, Sanders said. Asked whether raising fees would result in fewer public safety staff at special events, Sanders said: “[W]e need to look at staffing of special events so that maybe we can use volunteers … to keep costs down.” Private security or volunteers could support police and public safety during special events, said Carolyn Wormser, director of special events for the city. Police department officials decide on a case-by-case basis how many officers may staff an event, she said. Sanders said other fee increases allow the city to recover costs of administering various programs. User fee increases to Park and Recreation Department programs, including youth sports, result in about $1.1 million in annual revenue, according to city documents. In addition, Sanders proposes tapping library improvement funds to close some of the budget gap. This puts some library improvement projects on hold until funding becomes available, he said. The Ocean Beach library has been on a list slated for improvements since 2005. The library improvement fund contains about $4.5 million, Sanders said. “[The budget proposal] takes about $3.8 million of that, so we hope to replace it,” he said. Library improvement funds come mostly from Transient occupancy taxes (TOT) on hotel rooms. But less consumer spending because of the national and local economic recession means less TOT revenue to the general fund, according to city officials. Faulconer said holding off on capital and library improvements during tough economic times will keep recreation centers and libraries open. Sanders’ budget also keeps about 150 city positions vacant without the need for additional layoffs. Sanders also presented possible long-term budget solutions to close an estimated $1.3 billion in unfunded retiree healthcare costs that are to be paid over about 20 years. He said negotiations with unions over the next two years should help restructure the health benefits program. “What we’ve talked about is a defined contribution system,” Sanders said. “[Employees would] put into a 401(k) account and [the city would] put into a 401 (k) account,” Sanders said. He added that employees nearing retirement be required to pay into a new program because they may not be able to afford it. Betty Peabody, a Point Loma resident, attended Sanders’ budget presentation in Ocean Beach on Monday. She said Sanders’ has brought the city along way from just a few years ago. “I think he’s doing the best job we can ask,” Peabody said. ———————————————– Beach crowds head our way By Sebastian Ruiz Spring break attracts thousands of sandal-clad college students and visiting families to the beach communities every spring and summer. As crowds trickle through, local authorities are issuing reminders about the beach rules. “[San Diego police] are working closely with bar managers and the community to ensure that everybody has a safe and enjoyable time,” said San Diego police Capt. Shelly Zimmerman. Police will be on patrol looking for scofflaws breaking the new beach alcohol ban and other rules, Zimmerman said. Periodic police checkpoints along main beach area thoroughfares will target intoxicated drivers, she said. Just barely into the first spring break season since the start of the city’s beach alcohol ban, things are so far a little calmer and safer, according to San Diego Lifeguard Services Lt. John Greenhaulgh. “We’ve had a good three weeks,” he said. “But we’re still seeing a good spring break crowd.” Mike Soltan, owner of Kojack’s restaurant in Mission Beach, said neither the beach alcohol ban nor the slumping economy has hurt business. “We’re doing a little better than last year,” he said. As spring break hits full tilt, city officials have issued the following reminders about rules that apply to beaches and bays: • Glass containers are prohibited if used to carry liquid for drinking purposes. • Drinking alcoholic beverages is not allowed on city beaches. • Beach fires are permitted only in city-provided fire pits or in elevated, personal barbeques. Coals must be removed or deposited in hot-coal containers. • Smoking is prohibited on San Diego beaches and parks. • Dogs are permitted on beaches and in adjacent parks only from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. and must be leashed at all times. Dogs are prohibited at other hours of the day, except at Dog Beach near Ocean Beach and on Fiesta Island at Mission Bay, where dogs are permitted 24 hours a day unleashed. At all locations you must clean up after your pet. • Observe signage for water activities. Water areas along major beaches are divided into swimming and surfing zones to separate these uses. A black and yellow checkered flag will normally be posted between zones. Check signs or ask a lifeguard if you are in doubt. • Regardless of the area of use, it is unlawful to use any water recreational device — such as a surfboard or boat — in a manner that endangers others. • Overnight camping and sleeping are prohibited on city beaches. • On the Mission Beach/Pacific Beach boardwalk, the maximum speed limit is 8 miles per hour or 13 kilometers per hour. • Jumping into the ocean from cliffs or other heights higher than five feet is prohibited. • It is a misdemeanor to fail to follow the lawful order of a lifeguard or to provide false information to a lifeguard. • Any person who intentionally injures a lifeguard in the state of California may be convicted of felony battery.