Forum will introduce Area I Superintendent
Carol Barry, the new San Diego Unified District Area 1 Superintendent of elementary and middle schools in UC, Clairemont and Point Loma, will be introduced during a community meeting on Thursday, Sept. 28, 6 to 8 p.m. at Standley Middle School, 6298 Radcliffe Drive.
A short overview of the new district organization structure will be followed by an open forum with parents and community members. For information, call Nancy Gray, (619) 725-7222.

EdUCate! launches Dollar A Day fund-raiser
One dollar doesn’t go far ” maybe a bottle of water, a cheap taco or a couple of stamps. For schools in University City, however, it could go a long way.
The EdUCate! Foundation is calling on every family to donate one dollar per school day ” or $180 per year ” to raise funds for the five public University City schools. With approximately 3,000 families in the system, EdUCate! estimates that if everyone contributes, it could raise more $500,000 this year. Since the A Dollar A Day campaign launched with the start of the new school year, more than 300 families have joined.
EdUCate! is a nonprofit foundation that garners funds for the five University City schools, including Curie, Doyle and Spreckels elementary schools, Standley Middle School and University City High School.
“We wanted to make it something that is very accessible to all of our educational community and where every kind of donation was valued, so that everyone could feel like they had a role in investing in our children’s education,” said Elaine Hanson, EdUCate! president.
Hanson said that the fund-raiser is crucial since the five schools have suffered massive cuts in the past few years. EdUCate! aims to invest 100 percent of the dollars raised back into the schools. For more information about A Dollar A Day, call (858) 622-0989, visit www.uc-educate.org or e-mail Hanson at [email protected]. Checks can be made to EdUCate! and sent to PMB 154 F, 3368 Governor Drive, San Diego, CA 92122.

Coastal Cleanup Day needs volunteers
Coastal Cleanup Day, the largest statewide beach and shoreline cleanup in the nation, is taking place on Saturday, Sept. 16, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Last year, 4,685 volunteers participated in Coastal Cleanup Day, presented by the County of San Diego. The volunteers removed 209,789 pounds of garbage while covering nearly 60 coastal and inland sites.
“It’s a great event,” said Danielle Miller, outreach director at San Diego Coastkeeper. “It gives the community a sense of responsibility about keeping their neighborhood clean, and educates them about pollution.”
A study by researchers at UCLA and Stanford University found about 1.5 million people are sickened by bacterial pollution from beaches in Southern California. Marine life is also affected ” 650 gray whales have washed up sick or dead along the West Coast in the last seven years, according to the San Diego Coastkeeper Web site.
“Our goal this year is 5,000 volunteers,” Miller said. “The more people participate, the cleaner San Diego can be.”
Team captains will lead cleaning expeditions at 50 to 60 sites in San Diego. Gloves, bags and water will be provided. For more information, call (619) 758-7743 or visit www.cleanupday.org.

Groups opposed to joint-use airport merge
Activist groups opposed to moving San Diego airport to MCAS Miramar are merging. “Taxpayers for Responsible Planning” and “Support our Military “” No on Miramar” are now operating under the banner “No on Prop. A.”
The organizations will leverage their pro-military, public safety, economic and quality-of-life messages against a joint-use airport at MCAS Miramar.
In support of the coalition’s campaign, District 3 County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price hosted a cocktail fund-raiser on Sept. 6 at Andiamo Restaurant in Tierrasanta.
For information about No on Prop. A, call (858) 459-7707 or visit www.noonpropA.com or www.savemiramar.org.

Four groups sue city over Rose Canyon Bridge
Four environmental groups have sued the City of San Diego over the City Council’s decision to build the Regents Road Bridge. Friends of Rose Canyon, the San Diego Audubon Society, San Diego Coastkeeper and the Endangered Habitats League filed suit on Sept. 1.
The plaintiffs allege that the city failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by ignoring city data, using wrong data, dismissing a state contract and approving the least environmentally sensitive alternative.
According to attorney Marco Gonzalez with the Coast Law Group, the city is breaching a 1997 state contract in which Rose Canyon received a grant for restoration that stipulated use of the canyon would not change without legislative approval. Gonzalez claims that the city did not seek nor receive state approval to build the bridge.
According to Michael Beck, director of the San Diego Endangered Habitats League, the government is required to adopt the “least environmentally damaging alternative.”
“We believe that this is one of the most egregious violations we’ve seen out of the city in a number of years,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez expects that settlement discussions with the city will occur in October, and that a hearing will not take place until spring 2007.

UC Girl Scouts host Peace Day carnival
University City Girl Scouts will celebrate UC Peace Day this Saturday, Sept. 16, with a carnival from 1 to 4 p.m. in Standley Park, 3585 Governor Drive.
The Carnival in the Park will include games, crafts, a jumper, food concessions and balloons. Activity tickets will be 50 cents.
UC Peace Day commemorates the installation of a Peace Pole in the park last year by Girl Scout Troop 3045.