City council to evaluate height ordinance in Hillcrest, Mission Hills
On July 26, San Diego City Council voted 7-0 regarding how to extend the Interim Height Ordinance for 180 days. The ordinance limits how high new buildings can be constructed in Hillcrest and Mission Hills.

A new height ordinance will come before the City Council this fall, said Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, who made the motion to extend the current ordinance that was first enacted in July 2008.

The ordinance limits new buildings to 65 feet in Hillcrest and 50 feet in Mission Hills. It came following a furor in 2008 after the City Council approved plans for a tall building on University Avenue that was eventually never built.

The ordinance is actually an amendment to the Mid-City Communities Planned District Ordinance that limits building heights in Hillcrest and Mission Hills. It also established a discretionary process for buildings that would exceed 65 feet in the Bankers Hill area.

On Jan. 25, the City Council approved an 180-day extension of the Interim Height Ordinance. It allows for only a second temporary extension, which is why the council will consider a new height ordinance in the fall.

City staff have reviewed public input on the issue so far and have received comments from neighborhood
community groups in the Uptown area.

Final Bird Park concert of the Summer
On Aug. 13, the last Bird Park summer concert will be held on 28th St. around Thorn, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This will be the last of the four free concerts in this series, featuring Latin-A-Go-Go, playing a fusion of Latin, jazz and salsa music.

Hosted by the North Park Community Association, this concert series has been going strong since 2002 as a free neighborhood event, where members of the community can interact, picnic, dance and just enjoy the music. Donations from community members and local businesses make the concerts possible, and nine years after its inception, the series continues to grow.

For more information, visit northparksd.org/concerts.

13th annual LGBT Film Festival at Birch North Park Theatre
FilmOut San Diego is presenting its 13th annual LGBT Film Festival at the Birch North Park Theatre from Aug. 19 through Aug. 21 and Aug. 26 through Aug. 28. The festival will feature more than 50 international, documentary, feature and short films. Opening night will feature “Going Down in La-La Land” at 7:30 p.m., with an opening night party at Top of the Park. The cost is $30 for both.

Times and prices vary for all six days of the festival, ranging from noon to 10:15 p.m. and $5 to $10 for individual films. Access to all films and parties is $150.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit filmoutsandiego.com or birchnorthparktheatre.net.

Summer Organ Festival in Balboa Park
All summer long, the Spreckels Organ Pavilion is hosting concerts featuring a different, renowned organist each week. Every Monday, through Aug. 29 at 7:30 p.m., these free concerts invite guests to bring a picnic dinner, blankets or just themselves to enjoy music as the sun goes down.

Aug. 8 will feature San Diego Civic Organist Emeritus and International Concert Organist Robert Plimpton playing “Music For Organ and Percussion.” Aug. 15 will feature Duke University Chapel organist David Arcus.

For more information or to view the full schedule, visit balboapark.org.

DeMaio launches “Pathway to Prosperity” initiative
District 5 Councilmember Carl DeMaio has announced he will unveil seven major policy proposals that he says will constitute a “starting point” for job creation in San Diego.

“We need to get San Diegans back to work and these cutting-edge ideas will make San Diego the leader in innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation,” DeMaio said Wed., Aug. 3, in a release.

In addition, DeMaio will soon announce the creation of a 15-person Jobs Task Force comprised of San Diego business leaders and thinkers, and unveil several vehicles whereby the public can offer their own ideas for job creation, the release said.

“We’re going to be holding a number of forums to ask the public and leaders in the business community [about their job creation ideas],” said Jeff Powell, DeMaio’s communication advisor.

The forums, which will be held throughout the fall, will focus on economy-wide strategies, discussing: regulatory reform; workforce of the future; transitioning to a sustainable economy; affordable housing and infrastructure; r&d and innovation. Forums will also feature discussion about sector-specific strategies such as: military; life sciences/bio-tech; tourism; clean-tech; and communications.

For more information, call (619) 236-2655.

SDMA announces docent lecture series
The San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) Docent Council recently announced its 2011-2012 lecture series schedule. This nine-lecture series will begin on Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. with a lecture on “Spanish Art: From the Golden Age of Sacred Painting to Modernity” by SDMA Director Roxanna Velasquez.

Lecture admission is $12, $15 for non-members and $8 for students, seniors and military, and includes museum admission and a special docent-led tour afterwards.

The SDMA Docent Council is also offering an hour-long lecture and PowerPoint presentations brought to your business or facility for an $100 donation. Lectures on the following topics are available: “From El Greco to Dali: Great Spanish Masters,” “Talouse Lautrec’s Paris,” “Dreams and Diversions—Japanese Woodblock Prints,” “Gainsborough and the Modern Woman” and “Old Masters in New Light—The Art of the Renaissance and Baroque Eras.”

For more information, call 696-1953 or e-mail [email protected].

Theft watch: Mission Hills historic markers
During the week of July 25, a total of seven historic marker plaques throughout Mission Hills have been stolen. Mission Hills resident Janet O’dea said four Inspiration Heights historic plaques, along with three individual designation plaques, one from the 1912 Grisworld Building and two others on Fort Stockton Street, have gone missing. Residents are requesting the markers be returned, no questions asked, on the Power’s Plumbing doorstep, located at 1705 W. Lewis Street. Anyone who might have information regarding the thefts is asked to contact the San Diego Police Department at (619) 531-2000.