Endangered Joey leaves pouch

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is celebrating a conservation milestone with the birth of an endangered Matschie’s tree kangaroo—only the second time this species has been born at the Safari Park since they were added to the habitat in 2018. The female joey, named Kikori, was born to mother Arona and father Bek, at the end of August 2022 at the Safari Park’s Walkabout Australia.

Matschie’s tree kangaroos are about the size of a jellybean at birth, after a 45-day gestation period. Once born, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch, where it attaches to a nipple and begins to develop as it gains nourishment. The joey remains in the pouch until around 6 months of age, when it becomes considerably more active—and movement is often seen outside the pouch. By 7 months of age, the joey’s head should be fully visible.

Arona’s joey is now 9 months old, and recently started climbing out of the pouch. She also is showing interest in browse items such as ficus, hibiscus and ferns, and is sampling solid food such as carrots, cucumber and lettuce. The joey will remain in her mother’s pouch for about eight to 10 months, exiting the pouch for extended periods and returning to nurse. Arona will wean her joey when the youngster is about a year old, but the joey will stay close to mom for about a year and a half.

Matschie’s tree kangaroos are native to one tiny part of the world—Papua New Guinea and the Huon Peninsula—and they are sometimes found in the rainforests of Australia. They are listed as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. It is estimated that there are fewer than 2,500 adult Matschie’s tree kangaroos left in their native habitats, and their population is decreasing. They are hunted by humans for food and trade. Habitat loss due to expanding agriculture further threatens their population.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Sunday Funday in Hillcrest

Fabulous Hillcrest is adding a new event to the Hillcrest scene on June 11 from noon to 6 p.m. Come out in Hillcrest for the Sunday afternoon wind-down with music, summer drinks, lawn chairs, and your neighborhood besties all under the Hillcrest Pride Flag. Swing by the Farmers Market and then bop over to Sunday Funday on Herbert St. 

Sunday Funday is a relaxed afternoon party right next to the Hillcrest Farmers Market. This all-ages free event will feature entertainment, a DJ, craft cocktails and brews, lawn games, and a loungy vibe. Think of it as a backyard party in the City right next to your favorite Farmers Market. 

San Diego County Fair announces discounts, promotions

The San Diego County Fair is offering major discounts and deals on admissions, parking, public transportation, rides, and games this summer. 

Online tickets, parking passes, and information are all available at SDFair.com

10th annual Broadway San Diego Awards

Broadway San Diego is thrilled to announce that Tirzah Villareal from Classical Academy High School and Keegan McGowan from San Dieguito High School Academy have been named the winners of the 10th annual Broadway San Diego Awards. The Best Musical award goes to Rancho Buena Vista High School for their outstanding production of Singin’ in the Rain. The celebratory event took place on May 28 at the Historic Balboa Theatre in San Diego. The evening was hosted by Marcella Lee, evening anchor for CBS News 8, and included special guests, former nominees, and winners from previous years. This year, a total of 19 high schools from San Diego participated in the awards and nominated students for the Best Actor or Best Actress categories.

The Broadway San Diego Awards provides students with invaluable experience in the performing arts and promotes theater education in high schools throughout San Diego County. Winners will go on to compete in the Jimmy Awards.

Storytime at the Marston

The Marstons were a family of avid readers and now SOHO is continuing their tradition with their youngest museum guests. Kids aged 2-5 with a guardian are welcome at the historic Marston house each Monday at 11:30 a.m. through July under the big oak tree for a 30-minute program of fun and educational storytelling about history and historic places.

The event is free but participants must sign up ahead of time. For more information call (619) 297-9327 or contact [email protected].

ACTIVISM

Mission Hills Mural gets a refresh

The iconic wall of flowers on Goldfinch Street has come alive again, thanks to the efforts of a team of community members.  Recognized landscape artist and Mission Hills resident Mark Fehlman conceived the rehab of the mural wall, spanning almost the full block between Sutter Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, as Goldfinch becomes Reynard Way.  Following his direction, Girl Scouts from Troop 4875 of Francis Parker School, members of the Mission Hills Garden Club, and others who heard about the event from social media and walking by, pitched in to accomplish the work in just one day on Saturday, May 6.  The Mission Hills Garden Club sponsored and organized the beautification as part of their community enhancement efforts.

Animal rights activists marched to North Park

Nearly 300 animal rights activists marched from Balboa Park to North Park on May 13. The group finished at the vegan food popup in North Park Mini Park. In front of Hillcrest’s Whole Foods, the participants staged a “die-in.” The march followed a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

GOVERNMENT & UTILITIES

Special primary election slated for Aug. 15 for District 4 supervisor seat

The Board of Supervisors called an Aug. 15 special primary election for the Fourth Supervisorial District. Voters will fill a seat that became vacant when Nathan Fletcher resigned on May 15. Nearly 400,000 voters living in District 4 will receive a ballot in the mail the week of July 16 for the election. The official ballot packet will also include an “I Voted” sticker, voting instructions and other important election information.

So far, City Councilwoman Monica Montgomery-Steppe, veteran leader Janessa Goldbeck and Republican small business owner Amy Reichert are campaigning hard for the open seat.

Local Democratic clubs are hosting a candidate forum on Saturday, June 3 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Attend via Zoom – https://bit.ly/3MZn3bZ
Watch FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/3333704293558821

Engagement efforts for citywide cultural plan

The City of San Diego will kick off June by hosting its first public events that will help shape the development of Creative City, the City’s cultural plan, which aims to align arts and culture with key priority areas including housing, mobility and infrastructure, sustainability and regional prosperity.  

Development of the cultural plan kicks off with a robust community engagement process to hear what San Diegans envision for their creative lives and to set a strategic framework for guiding the arts and cultural sectors.

All San Diegans are invited to attend the first family-friendly Creative City forum at the Soap Factory, located at 2995 Commercial St., on Tuesday, June 20, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. with music, activities, refreshments, art-making experiences, and information from Mayor Gloria on the cultural planning process.

San Diegans can also stop by pop-up events to learn more about the Creative City cultural planning process, share insights on what they want for the future of arts and culture in their neighborhood and surrounding communities, enjoy refreshments and participate in a unique hands-on art-making experience. Pop-up events will be held at four locations on two dates in June:

• Wednesday, June 21, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. 

  • Light Box Theater, 2590 Truxton Road, #205.

  • Ocean Air Recreation Center, 4770 Fairport Way.
     

• Thursday, June 22, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. 

  • City Heights Performance Annex, 3795 Fairmount Ave. 

  • Mission Trails Visitor Center, 1 Father Junipero Serra Trail. 

Additional cultural planning events will take place in July.

County’s Little Free Libraries win Outstanding Achievement Award

San Diego County Library was among this year’s winners of the Little Free Library nonprofit organization Todd H. Bol Awards for Outstanding Achievement. The award announcement came during the celebration of Little Free Library Week, which ran from May 14-20. Little libraries are mailbox-like structures put up in communities to create neighborhood book exchanges where people can freely borrow or leave books for others to read. They can be found all around San Diego County.

Navy veteran appointed to San Diego Housing Commission board; Melinda Vásquez reappointed

The San Diego City Council confirmed Mayor Todd Gloria’s appointment of Antoine “Tony” Jackson, a U.S. Navy veteran who works in business development, to the San Diego Housing Commission Board of Commissioners, and reappointed attorney Melinda K. Vásquez to her second term. 

Jackson works as a business development and inside sales manager for a company that provides realistic training exercises for military, law enforcement and first responders. His professional experience also includes service as vice president of sales and business development of a medical software company and business development manager for a technical solutions company.

Vásquez has been an attorney since 2015. She practices in real estate, labor and family law.

 Her volunteer experience includes serving on the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls for San Diego County and as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) for children in the foster care system with nonprofit organization Voices for Children.

County approves plan to offer Alternatives to Incarceration

People accused of low-level, non-violent crimes will be redirected away from jails under a plan approved by the county Board of Supervisors. The Alternatives to Incarceration plan addresses those with mental health issues, substance use disorder, and homelessness by working to meet the needs of at-risk individuals with services instead of sending them to jail.

County supervisors approve Workplace Justice Fund

Local victims of wage theft can turn to a County Workplace Justice Fund for help while trying to regain their lost wages. The Board of Supervisors approved the introduction of an ordinance Tuesday which would put $100,000 into the new fund. The board will meet on Tuesday, June 13, to consider and adopt the ordinance which will then formally establish the Workplace Justice Fund.

Payments of $3,000 or $4,000 would help wage theft victims get by while waiting for their claims to make their way through the legal system or waiting for employers to pay the wage theft judgments against them.

Locally, nearly 1,000 workers in the past six years have suffered from unpaid wages or wage theft judgments that were not paid out. Lost wages amount to nearly $13 million dollars.

Sempra ranked No. 1 employer for diversity among U.S. utilities

Sempra has been named the top-ranked utility company in the U.S. for diversity, beating out its peers to earn the No. 1 spot on DiversityInc’s Top Utilities list for 2023. Recognized as an industry leader for its commitment to cultivating an inclusive and high-performance culture and for its dedication to advancing programs that support historically underrepresented communities, Sempra also earned spots on DiversityInc’s Top Regional Employers and Top Companies for Philanthropy lists.