As the La Jolla Town Council gears up to take on 2021, its president, Ann Kerr Bache, looked back on the progress of its various working groups.
The Town Council, established in 1950 as “a communitywide resource to highlight and debate important community issues, problems and opportunities,” has four subgroups to further its work, though only two are currently active.
“I don’t believe in having meetings just to talk,” Kerr Bache said. “These working groups are very targeted; they have a very specific agenda.”
The community working group on short-term rentals, formed at the end of 2017, “is the hottest group right now,” she said. The group, with Kerr Bache as chairwoman, meets to highlight local concerns about short-term vacation rentals and incorporates members from several groups throughout San Diego.
The year 2020 brought more questions than most of us were prepared for: When can concerts resume? Did my favorite restaurant close? Should I wear a mask? The list goes on and on.
We asked the leaders of La Jolla’s civic and cultural institutions two more questions, this time about the new year, 2021. Many of them agree that weathering the COVID-19 storm is paramount, along with supporting local businesses, children, senior citizens and arts and culture organizations.
Here’s what they had to say:
What is the biggest issue facing La Jolla in 2021?
San Diego City Councilman Joe LaCava
(Courtesy)
The San Diego City Council unanimously supported franchise agreement extensions with San Diego Gas & Electric through June 1, 2021, at a special meeting Wednesday, although several council members did so with major concerns about the way the utility is dealing with the city.
If 2020 has proved anything, it’s that La Jollans don’t lose their fighting spirit.
As the world battled the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, locals hopped online or otherwise did what they could for various causes whether it be neighborhood character, racial justice or adapting to ever-changing public health restrictions to keep their businesses open. All of this without in-person entertainment, meetings and events and while staying masked and socially distanced.
Through Dec. 26, residents of La Jolla’s 92037 ZIP code had registered 833 cases of the virus. San Diego County’s cumulative cases stood at 145,779 as of Dec. 27, with more than 1,400 related deaths.
Heart to Hands Food Drive collects 4,618 pounds of food
The eighth annual Heart to Hands Food Drive collected 4,618 pounds of food Nov. 8 to Dec. 14, a 1,200-pound increase from 2019.
Two hundred pounds of the food collected went to the UC San Diego Triton Food Pantry, along with a $200 contribution from an unidentified donor.
Feeding San Diego received 1,140 pounds of donated food and the San Diego Food Bank received 2,758 pounds.
The Heart to Hands Food Drive collected pet food for the first time, donating 520 pounds to the San Diego Humane Society.
Over its eight-year history, the drive has raised 16,543 pounds of food for San Diegans.