Groups sponsor meeting on building incentives
Residents concerned about a change to the city’s affordable housing rules will hold a meeting on the subject at 6 p.m. this evening, March 15, at the Christ Lutheran Church, 4761 Cass St.
Amendments to the city code would allow developers proposing a percentage of affordable housing units to receive incentives such as increased building height. Many fear that the changes could trump existing rules such as the 30-foot coastal height limit.
District 6 City Councilwoman Donna Frye and State Assemblywoman Lori Saldaãa are slated to attend. According to Saldaãa’s office, she will address the statewide implications of the proposed changes.
The town hall-style meeting is sponsored by Friends of San Diego, the San Diego Coastal Alliance, the San Diego chapter of the Sierra Club, VOTE and the Center for Policy Initiatives.
For more information, call (619) 531-0773 or visit www.sdcoastal.org.

City gathers input for flood mitigation plan
The city of San Diego is utilizing funding received last year from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to implement a flood mitigation plan for its three most vulnerable flood zones: La Jolla, Mission Valley and areas of the Tijuana River Valley.
Several La Jolla properties have experienced repetitive loss, and a community flood mitigation plan workshop was held March 5 to gather inout from residents, according to Christy Villa, project manager for the city’s Engineering Capital Projects Department.
“We did gather quite a few comments from residents who did attend, but we are always open to gather more,” she said. “We will be accepting input all the way up until we’re ready to prepare the final draft, which is toward the end of May.”
Additional workshops in La Jolla will be held before the draft is submitted for City Council approval, Villa said. If it is passed by council, the plan will then be submitted to the county’s Office of Emergency Services and ultimately to FEMA.
At the March 5 workshop, Villa explained the details of the plan, which lists options for reducing flood hazards and will provide the city with information to request federal funding for specific projects aimed at preventing further losses in at-risk areas.
The final draft of the plan will be posted on the city’s Projects and Programs Web site and should be completed by April. At that point, it will receive further feedback at community workshops, Villa said.
For more information about the city’s flood mitigation plans or to learn more about FEMA funding, visit www.sandiego.gov/engineering-cip/projectsprograms/floodmitigation.shtml or e-mail Christy Villa at [email protected].

Jewel will turn green for March 17
Calling all leprechauns ” La Jolla has several activities lined up to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
The annual St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon and Card Party at Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church kicks off the festivities on Friday, March 16, starting at 10:30 a.m. Hosted by Our Lady’s Guild, the event features bridge and other games, a grand raffle, door prizes and lunch for a $15 donation. The party will continue until 2:30 p.m. at the parish hall, 7727 Girard Ave. For information or reservations, call Leslie, (858) 456-9272, or Fran, (858) 456-2853.
On Saturday, March 17, the fun begins at noon with St. Baldrick’s Day at Cendio, 909 Prospect St. San Diegans ” including Cendio owner Brett Miller ” will shave their heads to raise money for childhood cancer research. The public is invited to watch while listening to live music and deejays. Tickets are $20, or $25 the day of the event. For information, visit www.stbaldricks.org.
Later that day, lads and lasses can kick up their heels at the St. Patrick’s Day Dinner and Dance at La Jolla Presbyterian Church, 7708 Eads Ave. The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with a dance lesson by Balboa Park dance instructor Russell Maples. A catered dinner will be served from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by dancing. Tickets are $20, or $10 for the dance alone; call (858) 729-5546.
Meanwhile, the 28th annual St. Patrick’s Day open reading of Irish poetry and prose will just be getting warmed up at D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Ave. Attendees are invited to drop by anytime from 7 p.m. on to read from their favorite Irish writers, such as Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Sean O’Casey and more. The casual gathering usually spills outside the bookstore and often features some Irish music as well. As always, “Messrs. Guinness and Harp will officiate the proceedings.” For information, call (858) 456-1800 or visit www.dgwillsbooks.com.

Muirlands MS to host information meeting
Muirlands Middle School will hold a meeting for parents of students who will be attending the school starting in the fall.
The meeting will take place next Thursday, March 22, from 6 to 7 p.m., in the school auditorium.
The evening will include presentations by sixth-grade teachers, the PTA and the Muirlands Foundation, an overview of the school demographics and school tours.
Muirlands Middle School is located at 1056 Nautilus St. For information, call (858) 459-4211.

Experts get cooking in a healthy way
Those seeking some sound advice in the ways of good eating may want to try “Food for Thought: Healing Foods to Savor,” a cookbook and nutrition guide recently published by the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), 9500 Gilman Drive.
“The book was adapted from materials we created in the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Study, the largest clinical trial on the effects of diet on recurrence from breast cancer,” said Vicky Newman, one of the authors. “We created the book as a gift for the WHEL women as a thank-you for their participation, and we also wanted to share this valuable information and the recipes with a larger audience.”
Newman, Associate Clinical Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine at the UCSD School of Medicine, received assistance on the book from Susan Faerber, project director of WHEL, as well as Sheila Kealey, M.P.H., and member of the Cancer Center’s Prevention and Control Program.
“We here at the Healthy Eating Program at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center believe that food nourishes the body, nurtures the spirit, and is essential for health and healing,” Newman said. “We would like to think the information and recipes in our book will inspire folks to eat a more nutritious diet.”
The book costs $20 and is available at the UCSD Bookstore and at UCSD Thornton Hospital or by visiting www.healthyeating.ucsd.edu.

Information seekers find answers
Anyone interested in fighting cancer can find advice, assistance, guidelines, information and services now that the American Cancer Society (ACS) has launched an interactive Web page at www.cancer.org.
“The society started it to assist patients, their families and the public in their quest for accurate information about cancer, and to help them learn more about the patient services, advocacy and our research program,” said Ron Brown, director of marketing and communications for the San Diego ACS chapter. “It has proved to be an amazingly efficient means of information delivery.”
Although the national ACS maintains 3,400 offices in communities across the United States, not everyone has access to one. Now the Web site opens up opportunities for the ACS to reach out further to help more people.