Editorial: ‘Thumbs’ for December
THUMBS UP
to the Poway City Council for its continued commitment to provide housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income families. Meeting on Nov. 14, the council began the process of updating the housing element to the city’s General Plan. By the time the process ends in April, several new parcels may be identified as good sites for affordable housing projects. While the city is no longer in a good financial position to develop the parcels, the hope here is that private and nonprofit interests will step up in coming years.
THUMBS UP
to retired Poway residents Janice and David Katz for pledging to leave $2 million of their estate to the UCSD Center for Pain Medicine. The center’s state-of-the-art methods relieved Janice Katz of debilitating pain and allowed her to playing golf and tennis and traveling around the world.
THUMBS UP
to 15-year-old Sammy Lizarraga, a Poway resident and Rancho Bernardo High sophomore, who is collecting filled Christmas stockings for military personnel stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. This is the second time she has organized the project inspired by her brother who is serving overseas. Three years ago 639 filled stocking were donated by locals.
Her goal this year is more than 800 stockings. The deadline to donate a filled stocking and/or supplies such as hygiene items, snack foods and playing cards is Saturday, Dec. 8. Bring to 15135 Amso St. in Poway. For questions about what is or is not acceptable per military regulations or to make a monetary donation to cover shipping costs, contact her at SammysStockings@cox.net or 858-602-6336.
THUMBS DOWN
to the idea of starting the holiday shopping season on Thanksgiving night. Several big box chains opened their doors as early as 8 p.m. Call us old fashioned, but 12:01 a.m. Black Friday is soon enough to start the shopping frenzy.
THUMBS UP
to Poway Unified School District board member Linda Vanderveen, who steps down this month after 12 years following her Nov. 6 election defeat. The Poway resident was passionate in her belief that all PUSD students should have access to quality facilities. However, as board president, she was out front in her support of the controversial capital improvement bonds used by the board to finance the school campus improvements she felt were badly needed. Vanderveen was well liked and respected among her peers in public education and her presence on the board will be missed.
THUMBS UP
to chairman Scott Lawn and all involved with organizing the Rancho Bernardo Thanksgiving Luncheon. The 23rd annual event was a success by all accounts, not only in regard to participation, but fundraising. Proceeds from the luncheon go to Rancho Bernardo’s endowment, which funds various community projects and organizations.
If you have never attended the luncheon before, seriously consider attending next year. The date is easy to remember — per tradition, the luncheon is held on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. Rancho Bernardo is the only community in the city to hold such an event and it is well-worth supporting.
THUMBS UP,
with reservations, to the Rancho Bernardo Community Council on its efforts to create a community calendar so groups can post their events and avoid scheduling on the same day and time. The calendar is on the council’s recently redesigned website at www.RBCommunityCouncil.com.
Our reservations are due to the site’s layout. It is hard to navigate and requires knowledge of the council in order to find council-related items. For an example, try to find from the home page the page giving instructions on submitting a utility box art design. While the intent is good — there is not only council-related information, but community information for both residents and prospective residents — it needs to be simplified with easy to find links. It’s a nice try, but tweaking is needed.
THUMBS DOWN
to the continued disruptive and unpleasant behavior by Rancho Bernardo Planning Board member Joe Dirks. He was removed from the board last year for such conduct and clearly has not modified his actions upon rejoining. While Dirks maintains he is just trying to get the board to follow procedure and reveal “the truth” all he accomplishes, as was evident at the November meeting, is creating a hostile environment that leads to raised voices and intimidation. This is not productive nor a benefit to the community. The board members are all volunteers and deserve to be treated with respect.