Traffic Improvements in Navajo
April 15, 2008

My office consistently works with the Mayor’s Office to make improvements to our neighborhoods through better traffic engineering. We have completed enhancements in many areas, including speed limit management, new and updated signage, striping and parking management.

Please view the memo (PDF: 25K) outlining the most recent improvements in the Navajo communities.

Last Pole Out on Cowles Mountain Boulevard:
April 10, 2008

Residents and motorists on Cowles Mountain Boulevard, between Navajo and Acuff, are now enjoying clearer views with the removal of the last utility pole, taken out on the morning of April 8, 2008 by crews from AT&T. This pole was the last of a total of 44 poles that were part of an almost 6,500-foot utilities undergrounding conversion project that began in 2000.

The City's Utility Undergrounding Program was approved by the San Diego City Council in 2001 and expanded the concept behind the State of California's long-standing 20A program, which undergrounds utility lines along major thoroughfares. The City's program, the first of its kind in California, has a goal of removing nearly all of the the utility poles throughout the city by extending utility undergrounding into neighborhoods and smaller residential streets. Projects delays were encountered until the PUC determined that AT&T should be allowed to collect a fee from customers on behalf of the City of San Diego to cover the cost of the project. The surcharge collection process began in July of 2007, and in January 2008, AT&T began dedicating crews for the process of expanding the utility pole removal project.

Easter in San Carlos: March 22, 2008

On Saturday morning the San Carlos Recreation Center was full of young children and parents participating in a variety of activities for a total of over 305 delighted children in five age groups.
Activities included Easter Egg hunts, llama rides, train rides around the Recreation Center, face painting and entertainment from members of Slow Jam.
Rosemary Billburg, the Center Manager for the San Carlos Recreation Center, produced another outstanding event along with her staff and volunteers.

Boy Scout Troop 950 Celebrates its 44th Anniversary
By Chuck Eglin, Scoutmaster, Troop 950

Boy Scout Troop 950 at Pershing Middle School celebrated their 44th year on February 27th. There are 27 registered Scouts in Troop 950 and many are dual registered in Crew 950. In 2004 a tradition was started; a birthday party for the troop inviting former Scouts from the troop, all the parents and siblings, and the Lake Murray Kiwanis. Great Fun and true Spirit! Troop 950 is active in the community as well as having a camping spirit, having a campout once a month with a specific theme, fishing, climbing, riding , hiking, cooking, It is always varied and interesting as well as educational.

The Lake Murray Kiwanis chartered Troop 950 February 28th 1964. The Lake Murray Kiwanis clubs commitment to the children of community has provided the boys of Troop 950 many opportunities to perform community service by doing graffiti paint outs, park clean up, service to the elderly, and to support to the Special Olympics by working as participant support buddies, time keepers, and serving meals at award dinners for the participants. The scouts average 40 hours of service a year this includes helping at Clean up MTRP, tree planting on Arbor Day at Mission Trails Regional Park, Recycling and Snow cone booth at the Annual Allied Gardens Spring Fest and the Annual 4th of July Community Picnic at Lake Murray; The Troop has 106 Eagles Scouts during its 44 years. We are very proud of this achievement. After scouts achieve the rank of Eagle, they work for "palms" which also is an advancement requiring merit badges, work and leadership commitment and participation. The troop has several Scouts working on Palms at this time, one Scout with two Palms and a second Scout with 10 palms.

San Carlos Residents Win First Place in Annual San Diego County Landscape Contest

Congratulations to San Carlos residents Ralph Roullard and Callie Mack for winning the top prize of $250.00 in San Diego County's Annual California-Friendly Landscape Contest. They placed first in the Best Native Plant Division for 2006 for their home landscaping efforts. (l-r) Philip Roullard, John Bagnasco with Graden Compass, Callie Mack, Sharon Asakawa with Garden Compass, and Jana Vierola, a Water Resource Management Analyst with the City of San Diego. Philip is holding a proclamation from Councilmember Jim Madaffer congratulating Philip and Callie for their award. Callie is holding the $250 check.

Grand Prize Winners of the Friends of the Library Annual Citywide Essay Contest

Congratulations to the three students who received Grand Prize Awards at the 9th Annual Citywide Friends of the Library Essay Contest. Each student received a proclamation from Councilmember Jim Madaffer. The topic of all three winners was, "If stranded on a desert island, what book would you like to have to read?" (L-R) 8th Grader Suzanna Osuna selected Isabelallende, Daughter of Fortune; 4th Grader Travis Lamke selected Top Wing; and 8th Grader Alyssia Aguirre selected Little House on the Prairie. Suzanna attends Pershing Middle School , Travis attends Benchley-Weinberger Elementary, and Alyssia attends Lewis Middle School.

Gage Elementary School Teacher Wins School Teacher of the Year Award

April 2006
Congratulations to Cindi Elrod who oversees the physical education programs at Gage Elementary. She been selected as the Elementary School Teacher of the Year by the San Diego Unified School District. Two years ago Rae Riner, a third grade teacher at Gage also won this honor. Cindi has develped exceptional physical education programs for all the students at Gage. In the past eight years, the students have logged enough miles to go to the moon and half-way back to earth. This is another outstanding example of the fine teachers we have within the Patrick Henry Cluster schools.

The Navajo Community - La Mirage and Rancho Mission Apartment Complexes Note Increase in Car Prowls

April 17, 2006
Car Prowl and Home Burglary issues are on the rise. There has been a noted recent rise in car prowls in the Navajo Community and the La Mirage and Rancho Mission Apartment Complexes located at the south end of Tierrasanta. My officers on Third Watch are aware of this problem and are increasing their patrols as time permits.

We are currently working on the planning and implementation of an Operations Plan to attack this problem using officers and undercover detectives. . This proactive project will start soon and will finish when the crime trend decreases. In addition, I recommend that if you currently keep your garage door opener in your car, and it is not in a secured garage take your garage door opener in the house. We have had some recent incidents where the garage door opener has been used to raise the garage door and then entry has been gained into the house through an unlocked door from the garage to the house.

I also urge you to report any suspicious activity to the police department. If it is an emergency situation call 911. If it is not an emergency please notify our non emergency dispatch at 619.531.2000. Keeping your police department aware of issues/concerns in your community helps us. Do not wait until there is a major incident to let us know

Some thing is happening in your neighborhood. There is a strong tendency to not report something if it is a small issue. Whenever something is missing, or you believe your car or house was broken into, and even if nothing appears to nothing has been taken, CALL 619.531.2000. Captain Michael Cash, San Diego Police Department, Eastern Division.