WINE-TASTING TO BENEFIT PLHS MUSICIANS The Point Loma High School music boosters are teaming with a local gourmet grocer to raise funds for the school's talented student musicians. The group has planned a wine-tasting event in cooperation with Jensen's Foods that will feature over 70 wines from dozens of wineries. All wines tasted will be offered at special one-day-only prices for those wishing to place orders. The event will be held on Oct. 17 from 5-7 p.m. in the Jensen's offices located across the parking lot from Jensen's Foods in the Loma Plaza building. Tickets are currently on sale at Jensen's of they may be purchased at jensensfoods.com/winetasting. All funds raised will go directly to the highly successful Pointer music program which includes concert band, winds ensemble, jazz band, orchestra, guitar group, choir and color guard. School district funding pays only for the teacher's salary and provides no money for instrument purchase or repair, buses for travel to competitions or other costs. OB OKTOBERFEST The 15th annual OB Oktoberfest featuring a beer garden, live music and fun contests Oct. 11-12 on Newport Avenue and Abbott Street. The two-day festival kicks off Friday with a 21-and-over beer garden from 4 p.m. to midnight. Guests can enjoy live music featuring Jose Sinatra and fun contests.  The beachside festival continues Oct. 12 with food, merchandise booths and a beachside stage featuring musicians. Festivities continue at 11 a.m. when the beer garden in the pier parking lot opens with traditional bratwurst-eating, stein-holding, and Ms. Oktoberfest contests, as well as the outrageous balloon blow. The Brew Fest will take place Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. featuring local breweries including OB Brewery, Belching Beaver, Culture Brewing Co., Hodad’s Brewing Co., Kilowatt Brewing, Mike Hess Brewing Co., Pizza Port, Two Roots Brewing Co., and Bay City Brewing Co. Each brewery will feature one style of beer.  BEYOND BRIDGE MUSICAL CELEBRATION The Third Annual Beyond Bridge Musical Celebration will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Loma Club in Liberty Station. Attendees will gather to listen to all-acoustic performances from nine bands, participate in a celebrity golf tournament, and raise funds to benefit the Pioneer Foundation, an Ocean Beach organization whose mission statement is to “support individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities to live a fulfilled life and integrate in society through innovative community collaboration.” The Pioneer Foundation supports the Pioneer Day School, a non-public school with three “campuses” in Ocean Beach, where dedicated teachers create high-quality programs, including music therapy programs, that maximize the potential of kids from all over San Diego who area who are underserved in mainstream public schools. HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL The Sunset View Elementary Halloween Carnival will take place 3:30-7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19. Family entertainment for everyone and all are welcome. There will be laser tag, dunk tank, haunted house, DJ, games, food trucks, and more. REPUBLICAN WOMEN LUNCHEON Republican Women of California-Point Loma's monthly luncheon meeting will take place 10 a.m. on Oct. 16 at Point Loma Cafe, 4865 Harbor Drive. Program: District 7 City Councilmember Scott Sherman. No host lunch follows. Call Marilyn at 619-222-9532 for additional information. LA JOLLA ART & WINE FESTIVAL  The La Jolla Art & Wine Festival (LJAWF), a free event featuring 160 artists, 30 wineries and breweries, gourmet food, live music, a silent auction, and a family art center, hosts its 11th annual celebration on Saturday, October 12th and Sunday, October 13th along La Jolla’s Girard Avenue. This curated fine art show boasts a collection of internationally recognized talent, as well as fresh up and coming artists that are yours to be discovered! The dynamic and selective group of artists represent a variety of mediums such as painting, sculpture, jewelry design, fine glass, ceramics, woodwork, mixed media, and photography. WHEELCHAIR REGATTA Silver Gate Yacht Club’s 59th annual Wheelchair Regatta – with members and community volunteers joining forces to give disabled guests a “day on the bay” – will take place Sunday, Oct. 20, at the club on Shelter Island Drive. The event requires careful coordination of all volunteers to ensure a safe and enjoyable day for hundreds among San Diego’s disabled community. Volunteers are still needed for a number of positions. Also needed are powerboats, which can accommodate a minimum of four guests, preferably 10-12 guests. For more information, email Lisa Clements at lkclements97@gmail.com or call the club office at 619-222-1214. BLOOD DRIVE Ocean Beach Community is holding a blood drive in partnership with the San Diego Blood Bank from 1:30‑7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 4840 Niagara St. Anyone 17 and older, who weighs at least 114 pounds and is in good health may be eligible to donate blood. A good meal and plenty of fluids are recommended prior to donation. All donors must show picture identification. Donors are encouraged to schedule an appointment to donate, but walk-ins are welcome. To schedule an appointment or for more information, visit sandiegobloodbank.org or call 1-800-469-7322. SD HUMANE SOCIETY OFFERS DISCOUNTED MICROCHIPS During October, San Diego Humane Society is offering discounted microchips on select days in anticipation of Halloween – when shelters typically see a substantial increase in lost pets. The holiday can be scary for pets. Opening doors for trick-or-treaters provides plenty of opportunities for spooked pets to flee, resulting in a higher number of stray animals entering the shelter after Halloween. San Diego Humane Society will offer $10 microchips at vaccination clinics at the following times at San Diego Campus, 5500 Gaines St. every Thursday in October at 8-10 a.m. Vaccine clinics are limited to the first 75 animals, so arrive early. San Diego Humane Society also utilizes a facial recognition app, Finding Rover, to quickly reunite lost dogs with their owners. Be sure to register your dog's photo on Finding Rover. It’s free! CRAFT FAIR DATES The Ocean Beach Town Council recently announced the fair dates for the Craft Fair as Oct. 25, Nov. 16, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, Dec. 14 and Dec. 21. The Craft Fair will be held on the grass of the Veterans Plaza and will feature local craft vendors, a “Kid’s Corner” with activities and more. All proceeds support the OBTC’s Holiday Food Drive, Holiday Parade and Community Grants. For more information, visit oceanbeachsandiego.com/community-group/ob-town-council. WOMEN'S MUSEUM SPEAKERS SERIES The Women's Museum of California will present their Speakers Series. The second speaker in the series is author Eve Ensler (“Vagina Monologues” and “The Apology”) on Dec. 8 Museum of Photographic Arts.VIP reception will take place from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Prado, with the event starting at 7 p.m. For more information, visit womemsmuseumca.org. TRAGEDY STRIKES HIGH TECH HIGH TEACHER This summer, Dustin and Sofia Tannenhaus, an instructor at High Tech High in Liberty Station, were traveling abroad in Europe. The couple were celebrating precious milestones in their life: Dustin had earned a month-long sabbatical, and Sofia had just finished a successful year as a teacher at HTH. Four weeks into their vacation, on Saturday, July 20, everything changed. Dustin dropped Sofia off at a local gym and went for a run near the water, just like any other day. When he finished his intense workout, he became ill. As it turned out, he was suffering from heat exhaustion from a heatwave that culminated in heatstroke.  With the help of locals Sofia met at the gym that morning, they rushed Dustin to the hospital. But by the time he reached the hospital, he had fallen into a coma, which ended in cardiac arrest, five days before his 34th birthday. After returning from their tragic trip, Sofia discovered she was with child. While Sofia is excited, she never anticipated being a single mom, and raising a child on her teacher's income will be extremely challenging. A GoFundMe drive has been set up for Sofia Tannenaus, gofundme.com/f/DustinTannenhaus,  organized by Tin Lib. LYFT LAUNCHES NEW SCOOTERS IN SAN DIEGO Lyft has launched its first scooter model built from the ground up specifically for scooter-share in the San Diego area, which is one of the first markets for these new scooters, distinguished by their iconic pink wheels. Just like all of Lyft’s other scooter markets, the company offers its Community Pass for low-income San Diegans to ensure transportation options are equitable and accessible. Eligible residents can sign up to pay only $5 per month for unlimited, free 30-minute rides within the service area. Lyft designed this model with a wider base, thicker, air-filled wheels for a smoother trip, a more durable build, a more powerful battery that can charge faster and last longer, and a hand brake, similar to a bike brake. “The new Lyft scooters take the rider experience to the next level,” said Kyle Zuvella, market manager for Lyft Bikes and Scooters in San Diego. “For the first time, Lyft scooters will also feature our iconic pink wheels, making it undeniably clear that scooters are central to Lyft’s vision for a future where cities are built around people, not private cars.”  JONAS BROTHERS TO PLAY PECHANGA ARENA Grammy-nominated multiplatinum powerhouse trio the Jonas Brothers recently announced the details for the 40-city “Happiness Begins Tour.” Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas will hit the road, stopping at Pechanga Arena in San Diego on Thursday, Oct. 17. They’ll bring along with them special guests Bebe Rexha and Jordan McGraw. SAN DIEGO NO. 5 CITY FOR FOOD LOVERS San Diego has been ranked fifth in Yelp’s list of the “Top U.S. Destination for Food Lovers.” According to Yelp, the ranking was determined by comparing cities’ new restaurants, ratings, and reviews as well as cuisine diversity and the percentage of food photos.  Some of the dishes to note – according to Yelp – included Pork Belly Benedict at Werewolf in downtown San Diego, the Kimchi Dumpling Hot Soup at TastyPot in Kearny Mesa, and the Hot Chicken at Common Stock in Hillcrest. San Francisco took the No. 1 spot, followed by St. Louis and Honolulu.

Urban Corps members got paid while earning their high school GED equivalency and the environment got cleansed. That was the trade-off recently when Urban Corps of San Diego County workers recently spent several days restoring Famosa Slough at 4275-4283 W. Point Loma Blvd.  “We received a $15,000 grant through SDG&E’s Environmental Champions Initiative to restore the slough along with some Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) students from Correia Middle School,” said Lauren Welch, Urban Corps development manager, and grant author. “They put in some new trails, barbed wire, removed invasive plants, cleared brush and provided water-quality improvements: restoration activities.” A slough is a wetland, usually a swamp or shallow lake, often a backwater to a larger body of water. Famosa Slough is a 37-acre wetland between Ocean Beach and the Sports Arena arena bisected by West Point Loma Boulevard and bordered by Famosa Boulevard on the west.  Famosa Slough is flushed with salt water from the river channel and also collects rainwater from the surrounding neighborhood. Its 12-acre channel portion and the 25-acre southern portion are owned and maintained by the City. Both portions are accessible by the public, and benches are located at view areas. Urban Corps serves as a bridge to a better life for young adults ages 18-26. The program provides paid job training, support services, and a second chance to earn a high school diploma for participants, while simultaneously offering a variety of professional services to the community, which also helps train and employ corps members. Corps’ youth gain job skills on environmental, construction, and community projects, whether planting a tree, removing graffiti, working in the San Diego River, improving a park or rehabilitating low-income homes.  “Urban Corps is giving me a chance to help the community and the environment through this project at the Famosa Slough, restoring the wetland and the surrounding area,” said corps member Hernan Partida. “Like today, we installed new posts for the trail around the slough. I am grateful to have this opportunity to learn hard work and give back through the Urban Corps.” “It has always been a part of our mission to care for the environment and the community around us,” said Kyle Kennedy, Urban Corps’ CEO. “The Famosa Slough is an important wetland in our community and right down the street from our operations (3127 Jefferson St.). We are thrilled to partner with SDG&E, Correia Middle School and Friends of the Famosa Slough to restore the slough through this community project.” Welch said about 30, eight-member crews from Urban Corps work eight-hour days on community projects from Oceanside to the U.S.-Mexico border. There are presently about 220 San Diego Urban Corps members, who can be easily identified by their uniforms. “They have button-down olive dark green safety vests and wear hard hats,” Welch noted. Urban Corps roots go back to Gov. Jerry Brown’s creation of the California Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1976 as a legacy to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps founded in 1933.  Over time, Urban Corps has given thousands of underserved, low-income young adults the opportunity to finish high school while earning a paycheck, while improving themselves and advancing their own communities.  After completing the program, youth are more employable, have the skills and confidence needed to succeed in the workforce, and know the importance of resource preservation and giving back to the community.

In what is a first for Point Loma High School, two senior boys were elected as "homecoming royalty" instead of the traditional "king" and "queen." The two students were introduced at halftime of last Friday's football game and walked under sword-holding members of the school's Naval ROTC unit to the cheers of students. Similar developments have been taking place at high schools across America in recent years. ASB advisor Amy Denney said this year's election was a gender-neutral event with no designations of king, queen, prince or princess. "We created a final ballot with the most often listed nominations for each grade that simply read, 'Vote for two,'" Denney said. The student vote created a boy and girl winner for the freshman, sophomore and junior classes, but two male students topped the seniors. Denney added that the same outcome (two boys elected) happened at the recent homecoming dance The alumni parade at halftime featured a large contingent of former Pointers led by a "Golden Pointer" with a unique past. Patricia Goulart, Class of 1949, was the earliest grad in attendance. As a student, she traveled to Point Loma High daily from the Point Loma lighthouse, where her father was the last lightkeeper at the facility. He retired in 1952. Also popular at the parade was the debut of Zip, the new official living Pointer dog. Wearing his special letterman sweater, he happily greeted alumni as they gathered for the parade and drew repeated smiles and "Awws" as he passed the packed stands on leash with his owner Lee Brown, Class of 1959. The class competition was a battle between the junior and senior classes, both presenting spirited music-dance numbers as class members screamed their support from the stands. The freshman and sophomore classes were significantly less prepared. Prior to the football game, boosters held a "Tailgate" buffet adjacent to the field catered by Adalberto's Mexican Food on Rosecrans Street. The Pointer football team put an exclamation mark on the evening's events with a decisive 41-7 victory over visiting Olympian High School of Chula Vista.