It's now June, summer is almost here and the pace isn't slowing down. It never does. That is one reason why I like to update you in my eNewsletter. It is a chance for me to tell you about issues and events and more importantly, for you to send me your thoughts and comments.

In Remembrance on Memorial Day
 

This past Saturday, I along with members of Boy Scout Troop 959, sponsored by San Carlos United Methodist Church, joined hundreds of other Scouts from around the region to honor and place American Flags at over 50,000 gravesites at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.  It was a fitting reminder for us all to recognize those who have paid the price to give us the freedom we enjoy and to remember that every living American is in their debt.

On Memorial Day, over 100 American flags were displayed along Waring Road, Navajo Road and Lake Murray Blvd, thanks to the community service efforts of the Grantville-Allied Gardens Kiwanis Club, Elks Lodge 168 and the Lake Murray Kiwanis Club.

Speaking of Scouts, brothers Alex & Nicholas Esposito display the proclamations they received from me as part of their dual Eagle Scout Court of Honor held in the Amphitheater at the Visitor Center at Mission Trails Regional Park on Friday, May 28. For their Eagle Scout projects, Alex constructed two trailers for transporting musical instruments and equipment for the Patrick Henry Band, and Nick landscaped the northwest corner of the intersection of College Avenue and Del Cerro Blvd. Congratulations to you both for your fine work, service and dedication to our community.

Following the Fires with CERT

The Fireman's Fund Insurance Company is to be commended for their commitment to San Diego. Recently they launched their national philanthropic program called Fireman's Fund Heritage with a $1 million commitment of grant funds for local fire departments and for a partnership with the Burn Institute for fire and burn prevention activities. More than $500,000 was awarded to 16 fire departments throughout San Diego County for much-needed fire equipment, training and fire and burn prevention programs. Our own San Diego-Fire Rescue Department received $250,000 for a regional Community Education Response Team (CERT) program.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program helps train people to be better prepared to respond to emergency situations in their communities. When emergencies happen, CERT members can give critical support to first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims, and organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community.

The scars from the firestorm in October are long and deep; whether on land or with the families and communities that were devastated. My district was also impacted by the loss of homes in Tierrasanta. As last year's devastating fires proved, we need more funds to be better prepared for any type of emergency and disaster. And it's important that we are prepared for whatever disaster comes next - and we know it will, whether an earthquake or another fire - it's all a matter of when and whether or not we were prepared.

I'm very proud of the many residents from Tierrasanta and from the the Navajo communities who enrolled in the current CERT class. Additionally, I'm proud that one of my staff members, Jay Wilson, has completed the CERT training.

Let the Children Play - and Safely

One of the best aspects of my job is to see the results of efforts to better our neighborhoods. It is especially gratifying when our children and young people are the recipients. It was a pleasure for me to participate in the dedication of the brand new Play Area at the San Carlos Recreation Center on May 22nd. When I say new, I mean all new. You wouldn't recognize it. My office allocated $221,000 from the 2000 State Park Bond Measure and $27,000 from park service fees and building permits which enabled us to completed much needed upgrades.

Mary Treadwell, chair of the San Carlos Recreation Center, and Ellen Oppenheim, director of the City's Park and Recreation Department, and I joined more than 100 children and parents in dedicating the site. They could hardly wait for us to cut the ribbon before scampering onto the new rubberized surface and trying out the new play structures. The new surface makes it easier for people with disabilities to access the Play Area. What a great day it was.

Seeing these new and improved neighborhood parks gives folks an idea of today's modern playgrounds. I'm pleased to report we will soon break ground on a similar and all new play area for Grantville Neighborhood Park and we are moving forward with plans for a totally new park and play area in the Fox Canyon area of City Heights.

Friday Means Trash Day in District 7

Did you know that soon all communities in District 7 will have their trash, recycling and yard waste picked up on Fridays? While many in our communities already had Friday as trash day, it used to be that we had various pick up days for different communities. However, beginning the week of June 7th, Fridays will be the day for everyone. The City's Environmental Services Department used the latest technology to map out the most efficient and timely schedule. They can now track each truck to know what street it is on and at what time. This more efficient schedule will save $600,000 taxpayer dollars in the first year and $1 million per year, thereafter.

Recently a resident asked me how our City compares to other cities such as Manhattan Beach in terms of trash collection. He was surprised to learn that Manhattan Beach charges each resident a monthly fee for trash collection. In fact most cities do - including every other City in San Diego County. The City of San Diego is one of the few Cities in the United States that collects your trash without charge. In fact, it's costing the City's budget over $38 million per year to collect our trash.

The People's Ordinance of 1919 prohibits the city from collecting trash fees in San Diego. If San Diego did charge $10.05 a month per home from the 315,000 homes currently services, the City would generate over $38,000,000 in new revenue.

Click here to find out more about your recycling and yard waste collection day and other valuable information.

New Green Collection System

Under the new green collection system approximately 35,000 additional homes will be added to the system. This will increase the green service program by about 20 percent. What is accepted as clean green waste? The list includes grass, leaves, shrub clippings (less than four feet long and no one piece that is more than six inches in diameter) and bundles (four feet long, tied with string on both ends and weighing no more than 40 pounds). Click here for more information on the City's greenery program.

New Trees in the area

Fifteen Jacaranda trees (the official City tree) were recently planted in the Medians at College Avenue & Lambda Drive, and Del Cerro Blvd. between College Ave. and Capri Drive. They were planted as part of the City's tree planting program (established by Mayor Murphy)

Six Tipuana's have been planted as shade canopies for the new Play Area at the Princess Del Cerro Neighborhood Park. They were paid for by the Del Cerro Action Council. Although small now, they grow up to 10 feet a year and will ultimately have a shade canopy of more than 30 feet in diameter.

Slow Down Signs

Residents are helping the San Diego Police Department by displaying a large number of my SlowDown Signs that can be seen by south bound traffic on College Avenue as you approach Del Cerro Blvd. This stretch of College Avenue has quite a speeding problem and if you receive the e-watch crime updates from our Police Department, you will note quite an increase in citations issued by the Police Department for this area. Additional SlowDown signs are available by visiting the Navajo Community Service Center at 7381 Jackson Drive.

High Tech Turf at Pershing proceeding

Last week I visited Pershing Middle School to check up on the progress of the five acres of new youth sports fields we broke ground on several months ago. I was joined by (from left to right in photo) Manny Aranda - Area Manager for Park and Rec, Michael Stoff - Active member of the Pershing Middle School Foundation Field Fund Raising Committee, Brent Cooper - General Manger of Superior Ready Mix, Jay Wilson - Council Rep for Councilmember Jim Madaffer, Bill Wilson - Chair of the NCPI Youth Sports Field Committee, and Sarah Sullivan - Principal of Pershing Middle School.

The project is well underway and sometime in July, community leaders along with Mayor Murphy and I will dedicate these new playing fields for our youth. The best part about these new grass fields is they require no water, no mowing and no fertilizer - saving lots of money while providing a very safe and modern play surface.

City Council Office Budgets

A recent article in the Union Tribune about the Mayor and City Council office budgets may have left some readers with the impression that in these tight fiscal times, my Council office along with the others, were increasing expenses despite the many budget cuts within City. What the article did not make clear - was that for the last two years we have held the line on our budget, limiting any increases to mandated higher insurance and retirements costs, as well as negotiated salary increases that all City employees are receiving. 

Many departments increase their staffing each year while ours has remained static. While the article mentioned we have held the line on costs by keeping a position open, it did not mention in the last two years, we have returned an estimated 4% of our budget as savings back to the general fund and my staff voluntarily each took 5 days of unpaid leave.
 

Euclid Avenue

District 7 includes about one-third of City Heights including the Euclid Avenue area. I'm always happy to partner with residents in ways to improve our quality of life. An item of good news that I'm pleased to share with our City Heights residents is that the Planning Department was awarded a grant to pay for analysis of needed pedestrian improvements for Euclid Avenue. The goal is that the grant will result in a comprehensive master plan, block-by-block streetscape drawings based on community input and cost estimates for construction of a pedestrian circulation system. The creation of a comprehensive master plan for Euclid Avenue will also tie into ongoing improvements and revitalization efforts already linked to the corridor. For example, I allocated Community Development Block Grant funds of $40,000 for new sidewalk, curb and gutter improvements along the eastern portion of Euclid Avenue from Dwight Street to Myrtle Street and along the eastern portion from Dwight Street to Isla Vista.

As you may know, I'm very supportive of the Euclid Revitalization Action Program that residents created several years ago which identifies revitalization strategies for Euclid Avenue and the surrounding communities.

Honoring our Police Officers

Last year we lost two police officers who were killed in the line of duty. As a tribute to them, on May 24th the Mayor, Councilmembers along with Police Chief William Lansdowne, presented plaques to families of fallen officers Jerry Griffin and Terry Bennett who died in the line of duty. These plaques were placed in remembrance on the memorial wall outside of Council Chambers on the 12th floor of the City Administration Building. Earlier in May the annual Police Officer Memorial Service took place at Balboa Park. Officers Griffin and Bennett were honored in memory as well as officers from around the county. It was a sad reminder of how much our police officers sacrifice in serving us. The San Diego Police Department has and continues its commitment to working together as a problem-solving partnership with communities, government agencies, private groups and individuals to fight crime and improve the quality of life for the people of San Diego. The San Diego Police Department has more than 2,000 sworn officers serving the 1.7 million citizens in San Diego. The San Diego Police Department was established on May 16, 1889.

Del Cerro Fire Station Construction Soon

You may have recently noticed that Fire Station 31 in Del Cerro is closed. Actually, it's a temporary closure while a new replacement fire station is built at the same location. Del Cerro and the surrounding area has a new temporary fire station at the top of Pasatiempo which will serve the area over the next two years during construction. Mayor Murphy and I will hold a groundbreaking on the new Del Cerro fire station soon.

Students Welcome

There were 15 excited members of the Hearst Elementary School Student Council who attended the afternoon session of the May 24th City Council meeting. It was an eye opening experience for them to see the meeting firsthand. Their tour of the City Administration Building also included the City Clerk's office and my office. It was an honor to host them and I encourage other school students to visit City Hall.

Mini Dorms

With the high price of housing and limited supply, Minidorms have been an ongoing problem in the College Area, along with other areas of District 7. I know there is a need for relief in residential neighborhoods and helped fund Safe Streets Now. This organization is run by Bob Heider, and is an advocate for residents. Bob will work with community members and send correspondence to the owner of mini dorm. The letter will suggest that problems associated with the home stop, or Safe Streets Now will file a law suit against the property owner. The owner can then be held liable for up to $5,000 for any neighbor that would like to be part of the suit. Normally the problems go away, and it is rare when they actually go to trial. Bob can be reached at 619-229-5408.

In addition, at my request, the Development Services Department is looking into creating new codes to deal with these problem houses. One suggestion is to impose bulk and scale requirements on new developments. Doing this could limit the size and future additions (which I'm not too excited about). Another suggestion is to reconsider regulations related to boarders and lodgers. For example, we could create an ordinance prohibiting the operation of a boarding house or rooming house business in a low density residential zone. Finally, the department is looking to amending the City's regulations relating to floor space and facilities; noise; traffic and parking as discussed by staff previously.

Happenings in the District

From time to time I include a few community events taking place throughout the District. Here are a few you may be interested in:

June 5 - Mark the date for the 12th annual International Village Celebration (IVC) in City Heights with a theme of Around the World in a Day. There will be live music, booths of things to see and buy, refreshments and free wireless internet access. Click here for more information http://www.cityheightscdc.org/ivc/

June 10 - The Grad Nite Committee for 2004's Patrick Henry High School is having their "All Around the World...Oh, the Places We'll Go!" preview on Thurs. June 10 from 7 to 10 pm. Everyone except senior students are welcome and encouraged to join us for this showing of what is to come for our 2004 graduates at their "Once in a Lifetime" all night party.

Dinner begins at 6 pm in the cafeteria for those of you who wish to eat and view or view and eat. The monies from the dinner will benefit the class of 2005 next year. The winner of the opportunity drawing is announced during the preview and will win a $500 gift certificate to the shopping center of their choice.

June 12 - The 15th annual Chollas Lake Country Fair (click on link for more info) takes place from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. It's free and it's fun. There will be live entertainment, llama rides, great stuff to buy, a petting zoo, paddle boats and more. There will be shuttle parking from Sam's Club south parking lot. For more information call the park office at (619) 527-7683.

June 20 - The Young Actors Theater will present "Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at 7 p.m. at St. Therese Social Center located at 6026 Camino Rico. There is an admission charge. The event is sponsored by the St. Therese Council Knights of Columbus as a fund raiser for the Council Charities. Young Actors Theater is a non-profit organization located in Spring Valley that teaches young people the finer points of acting, dancing and singing. For more information call (619) 465-5265 or 582-9429.

I wish I could include every single community event but unfortunately I have to limit it to a few each issue.  We welcome submissions. For upcoming events you would like to see in the next eNewsletter, please email information to Leslie Webb on my staff.

Thanks for reading the eNewsletter.  If you have any suggestions or comments, please email me at JMadaffer@SanDiego.gov