San Diego International Film Festival Hosts La Jolla Tribute Event
The San Diego International Film Festival, which takes place online and in theaters in La Jolla and San Diego through Sunday, October 23, is to honor actor and director Andy Garcia with the annual Gregory Peck Award during a tribute event on Thursday, October 20. , at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla.
Other winners are actress and producer Regina Hall, Cinema Vanguard Award; actor, producer and author Tony Hale, Fairbanks Award; actress Lisa Ann Walter, Virtuoso Award, songwriter and actor Colson Baker, Spotlight Award; and author and justice advocate Brook Parker-Bello, Humanitarian Award.
Wines from the tip of the encachea Walla Walla, Washington-based winery is honored with the 2022 Impact Award for donating more than 5% of its lifetime earnings to causes and organizations.
For more information, visit sdfilmfest.com.
La Jolla Congregational Church to Feature Blessing of Animals
The La Jolla Congregational Church will perform its annual Animal Blessing at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 23 at 1216 Cave St.
Pastor Tim Seery will lead the ceremony as part of the traditional outdoor Sunday service on the church’s courtyard patio. Visit lajollaucc.org.
Street Vending Order to Get SD City Council Hearing
San Diego City Councilman Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, said last week that a long-awaited order allowing enforcement of new street vending regulations in the Coastal Zone will be heard at the City Council meeting on Monday, November 14.
The sale ordinance took effect in most of the city on June 22, but was awaiting review and approval from the California Coastal Commission before it could take effect in the coastal area, including La Jolla. . But the Coast Commission review was deemed unnecessary on August 26.
LaCava told the La Jolla Shores Association on Oct. 12 that the Coast Commission not hearing the case “forced us to come back and make some changes to the order.”
The amendments remove language that the ordinance is not effective in the coastal zone until the Coast Commission certifies it, LaCava said.
He added that “the Coastal Commission [also] I wanted a few sentences to say that the priority should be coastal access, which I think we all agree is a great addition.
The November 14 board review will be a first reading due to the new language. A second reading will take place on Tuesday 6 December. If approved, the order will come into effect in the coastal zone 30 days later.
However, LaCava said that due to the city’s lack of personnel, “I don’t know how quickly they’re going to jump on it and start trying to enforce it.”
La Jolla’s “Witt Wolfpack” raises money for research during the Walk to End ALS
La Jollans Ed, Todd and Betsy Witt speak to participants of the San Diego Walk to End ALS Oct. 16 at De Anza Cove on Mission Bay.
(Taylor Dunfee)
Members of the “Witt Wolfpack”, a group of La Jollans and others raising money for ALS research in San Diego after La Jollan Todd Witt was diagnosed with ALS last summer, raised more of $109,000.
The team, which includes Todd’s wife, Betsy Witt, and father, Ed Witt, along with other family, friends and more, participated in the Walk to End ALS San Diego October 16 at De Anza Cove on Mission Bay.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and, over time, prevents the brain from initiating and controlling muscle movement. Patients may lose the ability to speak, eat, move and breathe. The average survival time is two to five years, although some people can live five to ten years or even longer, depending on the ALS Association. There is no remedy.
Todd, Betsy and Ed Witt spoke to the marchers gathered at the October 16 event about their reasons for walking and their struggle with ALS.
“We are truly overwhelmed, humbled and grateful for everyone’s support, generosity and love,” Betsy said.
For more information, visit web.alsa.org/goto/wittwolfpack.
Two La Jolla schools among 18 in SDUSD named America’s Healthiest
La Jolla Elementary Schools and La Jolla High Schools are among 18 schools in the San Diego Unified School District to be named among “America’s Healthiest Schools.” SDUSD operates five public schools in La Jolla.
The annual honor, presented by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, recognizes schools for their efforts to prioritize the health needs of their communities.
This year, schools were recognized in nine categories, including Strengthening Social-Emotional Health and Learning, Cultivating Staff Well-Being, and Increasing Family and Community Engagement.
San Diego Unified Schools who received an award meet or exceed best practice standards in one or more areas related to the physical, mental and social-emotional health of students, teachers and school staff, according to officials.
UC San Diego researchers find that more information means less fear
New to research from UC San Diego sheds light on how people perceive risk, indicating that detailed knowledge of probability can make risk less dangerous, the researchers said.
The results, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychologyare based on results that have been replicated in over a dozen different experiments with over 1,500 participants across the United States.
In one experiment, 390 subjects who participated in the study were divided into three groups. All groups were told that “each person has a 58% chance of getting a flea bite that causes a newly discovered bacterial infection.”
Then two groups received more specific information. One group saw that the bites could come from different types of fleas, which made them think a flea bite was more likely.
A different group saw the different types of fleas and the likelihood of a bite from each type. Receiving the explicit probability information led them to perceive the initial warning as less likely to occur.
La Jolla Community Center Executive Director Nancy Walters (left) welcomes the community center’s newest board member, Symphony Moussighi.
(La Jolla Community Center)
The La Jolla Community Center has added Symphony Moussighi, owner of the La Jolla business, to its board of directors. The center is also looking for additional members for the 12-person council.
Moussighi is the founder and managing director of Symphony’s Hospitality, an international design and import company for commercial textile products.
She has also held other community leadership roles, including the PTA at San Diego French American School in La Jolla.
For more information, visit ljcommunitycenter.org.
Kiwanis Club of La Jolla Hosts Annual Leadership Installation
Kiwanis Foundation President Bart Calame (left) and Kiwanis Club President Craig Gagliardi display the club charter.
(Kiwanis Club of La Jolla)
The Kiwanis Club of La Jolla held its annual Club Officer Installation on October 7 at the La Jolla Community Center.
Twelve new club members were inducted and Don Hodges, past club and foundation president, was named Kiwanian of the Year.
The Kiwanis Club of La Jolla, founded in 1925, is a group of volunteers that produces local events including the half marathon and 5K, the Junior Olympics, seaside concerts, breakfast at pancakes and swimming at La Jolla Cove.
The club meets weekly at the community center. Interested community members are welcome. Visit kiwanisclublajolla.org.
UCSD’s Alexander Khalessi named to head Congress of Neurological Surgeons
Dr. Alexander Khalessi of UC San Diego has been named the 2023 president-elect of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the premier academic society for neurosurgical professionals.
Khalessi specializes in complex cranial and endovascular neurosurgery for the treatment of cerebrovascular and oncological conditions. He became chair of neurosurgery at UCSD in 2018.
Khalessi served the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, which has more than 10,000 members worldwide, for nearly a decade in multiple executive committee and officer roles. He also represents Neurosurgery on the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Sharona Ben-Haim, a neurosurgeon at UCSD Health, will join Khalessi in a leadership role for the congress. She was elected a full member of the group’s executive committee and was recently named president-elect of Women in Neurosurgery, a group dedicated to the advancement of female neurosurgeons. — city news service
– Compiled by the staff of La Jolla Light ◆
