KEN-TAL NEWSA Positive Community Newspaper Created by Locals, for Locals, Supporting Local Businesses

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A good loan officer is pretty easy to find. An extraordinary one is few and far between – and

that’s the person you need behind your loan these days. Many people looking to buy or refinance their homes often think that it should just come down the interest rate. I agree the rate is a pretty important component to the overall loan process. After all, the interest rate will determine what you ACTUALLY pay on the house over the years (which

is why it is a great idea to buy while money is still inexpensive to borrow), but that’s not the only thing to look for in a loan officer’s tool belt. When “shopping” for your loan officer, a few things to keep in mind, once you have narrowed it down to a select few with competitive interest rates:a) compare rates and fees – make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Some lenders will charge more to do the loan. Some will have very low rates and/or fees, but will be more restrictive than others – either with a property qualifying or with you. If you don’t fit in to the typical w-2 worker box, better to look at all options and keep an open mind.b) Make sure the loan officer you decide to work with is available by cell phone and can take calls over the weekend. If you are purchasing a home, the timer does not stop ticking on weekend days and often there are items which need to be discussed in preparation for the following week. Responsiveness and access are extremely important.c) When you select your loan officer, get a full pre approval with current credit report before you write an offer. The biggest mistake I have had to work with is not allowing the loan officer to pull your credit when you are ready to commit. Initially, when interviewing a loan officer,

I always suggest to pull your own credit on one of those free sites (I use freecreditreport.com) so that you can give the loan officer an idea of what your credit score is. This will help him/her determine the rates you would have access to. That said, there are items that show up on a full blown credit report that the loan officer will pull that don’t show up on the one you pull. It’s a sad day when you get the accepted offer on a home only to find out you can’t get the loan because there is an issue you were not aware of that doesn’t get discovered until you open escrow. Don’t let this happen to you.d) Use a referral – use the experience of your friends. You never know what a transaction will be like until you go through it with that loan officer. They may seem great at first, but you don’t typically usually know what to look for and sometimes it’s too late when you realize there are some qualities lacking (organization, communication, experience, knowledge, to name a few). Go with a trusted source from a friend and family member who raves about the service, thoroughness, and ease of the transaction.I have experience with many wonderful loan officers here in San Diego. If you need any referrals, whether for a refinance or a purchase, please don’t hesitate contacting me .

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Meet your neighbors Nancy & Michael Flint of Talmadge! Do they look familiar? Nancy is the owner of Sugar Mamma Caramels. Perhaps you have tried her hand crafted,

all natural, small batch caramels that come in 12 different flavors? Or maybe you have enjoyed one of her sauces that she makes for our local ice cream shops has such as the sea salt caramel, one of my personal favorites! Nancy has a Certified Food Operation Kitchen that she operates out of her home and every one of her products are hand created. Clearly a labor of love, her motto is “Give love, add a little sugar!” Michael is Dr. Michael Flint of Flint Chiropractic located at 3787 Meade Ave. at the corner of Meade and 36th St. about a mile west of Talmadge in Normal Heights. Dr. Flint has a Bachelor's Degrees in Chemistry, Biology and Physical Education, a Master's in Exercise Physiology, and a Doctorate in Chiropractic. Dr. Flint has 25 years of experience and training in eight different adjustive techniques to provide relief from a variety of painful conditions such as headaches, neck & back pain, sciatica and a myriad of other musculoskeletal complaints. His knowledge combined with exercise programs provides

support to the treatment there is less likelihood that the conditions will keep coming back. His philosophy is to apply, “the least amount of force to affect the greatest degree of correction.” I speak from first-hand experience, he is truly one of the best at what he does!The Flints have lived in Talmadge since 1993 and in North Hollywood before that. Wanting to live close to their place of business, they were introduced to Talmadge by in-laws. They both love the charming unique homes, central location and friendly neighbors in Talmadge. Nancy and Michael have two grown daughters, Meagan and Emma that attended Hardy Elementary and had a “perfect” experience there. Nancy homes schooled both girls through middle school and after, Megan graduated from Patrick Henry High School and Emma from Foothills Christian. Both Michael and Nancy are Eucharistic Ministers at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and Nancy donates a portion of her Talmadge Food Truck Nights proceeds back to support the annual Talmadge Block Party. In their free time, they both attend theater productions that their daughter, Meagan performs in, enjoy walks in the neighborhood, eating and drinking in our local Talmadge/Kensington restaurants and currently Michael is working toward a Black Belt in Karate! If you are interested in ordering some of Nancy’s delectable caramels go to www.SugarMammaCaramels.com or she can be reached at sugarmamma62@gmail.com or (619) 301-9956. Dr. Michael Flint’s Chiropractic office is located at 3587 Meade Ave. in Normal Heights. Dr. Flint can be reached at (619) 283-5963. The Flint’s are an excellent example of the wonderful people that live here in our neighborhood. Not only do they live in our wonderful community, both their businesses are based here as well! If you see them out and about, be sure to say Hi!

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Non-perishable goods can be dropped off at the Talmadge Traffic Circle at 49th and Adams from

11-1pm on Saturdays until December 19th. All goods collected will go to the KROC Center and the Salvation Army. A big THANK YOU to the volunteers that took time out of their busy schedules to collect the

donations. Our community always comes through…Thank you!

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Local Postal Customer

MidCityNewspaperGroup.com Vol. 24 No. 12 Holiday Issue 2016

TECHNOLOGY2| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

The Computer Gu-Roo Connecting your TV to your small laptop or desktop computerConnecting your TV to your

small laptop or desktop computeris something everyone should do!Having access to all your media ser-vices, games, and applications fromthe comfort of your couch is some-thing that will change your life.The best part is that it is super sim-ple. A simple video cable fromyour computer to TV is all that isneeded; DVI, D-Sub, or HDMIcable, depending on your comput-er. Hooking up the sound is as sim-ple as connecting an auxiliary cordfrom your sound card on your

computer to either your TV directlyor to a stereo receiver. You willalso want to invest in a wireless key-board and mouse for the best expe-rience.

The newer streaming boxes suchas the Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, canoffer some really neat services, butthey cannot offer everything in onesolution that an entire computercan offer. A computer gives youaccess to everything, including websites, games, e-mail and applica-tions that those standalone boxescannot do.

Sit back on your couch, popopen Netflix, get your popcorn andrelax!

Need help? Call me!

Matt Ruhoff lives in NormalHeights. HIs friends call him “Roo”and his fans call him the "ComputerGu-Roo”! Matt is THE guy to go tofor all you computer needs. HE isfriendly, fast, and guarantees yoursatisfaction. Matt can be reachedComputerGu-Roo@BoxStopCom-puters@gmail.com

ABOVE: Have a computer problem? Call Matt “Roo” Ruhoff today!

LEFT: Typical connection ports found on the back of most modern Televisions

MOVIES MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 3

Christmas time is almost here and we arethinking about movies we want to be sure tosee during this family time. I wish all of youhappy holidays and enjoy the season. We areso fortunate, because we have a large familyclose to us to enjoy all the time. Here aresome of the oldies you want to put on yourlist.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE - JamesStewart and Donna Reed. This is a must seeshowing this regular guy how important hehas been in the lives of his loved ones. We alllove the angel, Clarence. You just can’t helpbut sit down and watch when you hear thismovie coming on.

WHITE CHRISTMAS - Bing Crosby,Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney (George’saunt). Please enjoy this feel good movie.Make sure your young ones watch and enjoythe entire musical. They need to see theseiconic actors and experience a feel goodmovie. Irving Berlin music is among the best.

CHRISTMAS STORY - Talk about icon-ic. All of us remember Ralphie and his desirefor the Red Ryder BB-gun for Christmas. Thisis such a fun movie for all. The story takesmany of us back to our childhood and thesnowy times and joyous season.

THE BISHOP’S WIFE - Cary Grant,Loretta Young and David Niven. The bishopis praying for a way to get money to build hischurch. Cary Grant comes down as an angelto help. They remade this with Denzel Wash-ington and Whitney Houston, but I still lovethe original best.

ELF - with Will Ferrell. I really do enjoythis movie and I think it is one that giveseveryone a little smile on their face and hope-fully gives you the eternal hope of the season.

JOYEUX NOEL - Christmas Eve duringWorld War 1. A beautiful story when bothsides fighting lay down their arms and “SilentNight” was sung by a German soldier. Abeautiful, touching movie.

HOME ALONE - Macaulay Culkin playsKevin, who is accidentally left at home aloneby his family. Culkin turns into a Rambofighting off bumbling burgulars. This is a funseries for all.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all of you and seeyou at the reopening of Ken Video. Winnie

WINNIE’S PICKS!

COMMUNITY4| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

COMING&GOING

Madison Restaurant and Barto Open in University HeightsThe new Madison Restaurant and Barwill bring upscale dining, moderndesign, curated music, and creativecocktails to San Diego’s Park Boule-vard this December.

“We look forward to introducingMadison to the University Heightsneighborhood,” said Madison Man-aging Partner Jeffrey Fink, also ownerof M-Theory Music and managingpartner of FLUXX nightclub. “Locatedright on Park Boulevard and offeringa menu with options for any occasion,Madison will be the type of place youcan enjoy a beer with a friend onenight, and go on a dinner date thenext.”

Chef Mario Cassineri, partner andexecutive chef of BiCE Ristorante, willdesign Madison’s menu. Staying trueto Chef Mario’s Northern Italianroots, the menu will feature severalMediterranean influenced dishes, withclassic Southern California ingredi-ents. Chef Tony “G” (Gutierrez), for-merly of BiCE Ristorante, La Stradaand Opera Café, will helm the Madi-son kitchen. Chef Tony trained underChef Mario for four years at BiCE andlooks forward to bringing his menuto life at Madison. The restaurant willalso feature a full bar with cocktailsdesigned by mixologist Dan Dufek,

local beers, and a tailored wine pro-gram.

“Much like the Madison menu, thedesign seeks to integrate local withinternational design and materials,making the restaurant both a stimu-lating and comfortable place to dine,”says Anna Sindelar, of ARCHISECTS,the industrial design firm responsiblefor Madison’s design, and former Cre-ative Director of FLUXX. Madison islocated at 4622 Park Blvd., San Diego.

— Maria Desiderata Montana

Meet the new Grand Ole BBQ YAsado

Meet Loqui. Cocktail playland Park& Rec, opened earlier this year byWaypoint Public owner John Pani, haswelcomed a Bay Area-transplantedtaco pop-up that operates in the bar’ssnack shack on Tuesdays and Wednes-days from 4 p.m. until closing.

Loqui hails from San Francisco’sMission District, where it ran as aweekend pop-up from a window adja-cent to the famed Tartine Bakery.Owner/chef Cameron Wallace, whogrew up in San Diego, worked as abaker at Tartine; at Park & Rec, he’llbe cooking up a menu of fried fish,shrimp or fried zucchini tacos, avail-

able on a corn tortilla with onion,cilantro, crema, cabbage and salsa for$3 or on a handmade flour tortillawith onion, cilantro, crema, cabbage,salsa, avocado and cotija cheese for$4.

Royale with Cheese will continueto serve its grilled cheese and burgermenu, plus weekend brunch, at Park& Rec Thursday through Monday.

Park & Rec, 4612 Park Blvd., SanDiego

Rose Wine Bar TakeoverThe Rose Wine Bar + Bottle Shop

has taken over the 1,000-square-footspace where Stone Brewing Co.’s satel-lite tasting room used to be.

Partner and executive chef ChelseaColeman told Eater that the wine barwill be using the site as an event spacefor such things as movie nights, paint-ing and wine sessions, pre-brunch

yoga classes and more.It will also be available to rent for

private events and function as an over-flow seating area for the wine bar onbusy weekends. Meanwhile, in frontof The Rose’s original spot, a new side-walk patio was installed that addsanother 12 seats.

The Rose Wine Pub, 2219 30th St.,San Diego.

Put a Little Something Local inYour Glass

Hillcrest is the new headquarters ofVinavanti Urban Winery. Winemak-er/owner Eric Van Drunen, who relo-cated his eight-year-old winery fromits Sorrento Valley facility into a thor-oughly-renovated 3,300-square-footspace on University Avenue that’s nowopen Monday through Friday from 4to 11 p.m. and Saturday and Sundayfrom 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.Made with grapes sourced from SanDiego County, the natural, unoakedand unfiltered wine under the Vina-vanti label include San Diego’s firstcertified organic wine, “The Maverick,a 50/50 field plend of Petit Verdot andMalbec, plus a 2012 Mourvèdre, a2014 Rosé of Grenache and Cinsaultand its popular 2011 GSM (2011

Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre). VanDrunen also produces wine for LosPilares, and will feature Los Pilares’“BPN,” a sparkling Cabernet Sauvi-gnon made “pét-nat” style. There arealso four wines on tap, available inrefillable “litro” bottles, and a rotatingassortment of guest wines; the open-ing list features local Vesper Vineyards.All wines are available by the glass,bottle or flight, which range from prixfixe selections to build-your-ownflights of five wines.Other beverages include craft beer ontap and in bottles, plus house cocktailsthat include red vermouth with tonicand mint and applejack stirred withorange bitters and agave syrup. Thewine-friendly food menu consists oftoasts topped with everything fromsea urchin with sherried onion andcilantro to sous vide pork tenderloin,yellowtail crudo, roasted beets andwarm brie with pickled peppers andraw honey; each variation is availablein sets of three or seven pieces.Vinavanti plans on holding cellartours which will include guided tast-ings, as well as hosting movie nightsand special events to benefit localcharities; its official grand opening,scheduled for Saturday, December 5from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., will donate aportion of proceeds to support thenon-profit San Diego Roots Sustain-able Food Project.

— Candice Woo, Eater San Diego

DIGGIN' IT Construction is underway for St. Augustine High's new gym and per-forming arts center near 32nd & Nutmeg Sts. Completion is set for mid-2017.PHOTO: STEVE CHIPP

San Diego property owners cancontinue to assess themselves as away to pay for neighborhood main-tenance and improvement pro-grams, California’s Fourth AppellateDistrict Court of Appeal ruled onNov. 23.

The Court of Appeal dismisseda suit filed by San Diegans for OpenGovernment and attorney CoryBriggs against the city and its 57 vol-untary Maintenance AssessmentDistricts (MADs).

In so doing, the appeals courtaffirmed an earlier San Diego Supe-rior Court ruling that dismissed thecase “for lack of standing and failureto state a cause of action.”

The city has approved ordinancessince 1969 that form MADs andenable them to impose assessmentson district property owners to payfor community improvements andmaintenance programs beyondthose provided by the city.

Typical enhanced services provid-ed by MADs include: parkway land-scaping and maintenance; sidewalkcleaning and litter removal; land-scape and hardscape medians; graf-fiti removal; public right-of-wayimprovements; tree trimming; dec-orative streetlights, and security ser-vices.

SDFOG, in its lawsuit, claimedthe council resolutions were flawed.

The Court of Appeal noted thatSDFOG provided no “support inthe record” to substantiate thatclaim.

The Court of Appeal alsoaffirmed the lower court ruling thatSDFOG had no legal standing tobring a lawsuit -- saying thatSDFOG’s “novel theories on stand-ing” in the case were not legally sup-portable, as it had no “concrete andactual” interest in the MAD assess-

ments, only a “conjectural or hypo-thetical” one.

Had SDFOG prevailed in thecase, the 57 assessment districtswould have been invalidated, andthe City would have been requiredto issue refunds to their members,potentially involving tens of mil-lions of dollars.

“Maintenance Assessment Dis-tricts are legal and popular, and onlyproperty owners, who benefit from

the enhanced services, are assessed,”City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said.“By this ruling, 57 neighborhoodscan continue to voluntarily assesstheir properties in a way that main-tains and improves the communi-ty.”

The case was argued for the cityby Deputy City Attorney CarmenA. Brock.

Architect and developerJonathan Segal has been namedrecipient of the 2015 AmericanInstitute of Architects HousingAward and Builder Design Awardsfor his groundbreaking 27-unitThe North Parker mixed-use,live/work and affordable housingdevelopment in North Park.

Segal, co-chair of the Master ofReal Estate Development Programat Woodbury University’s Schoolof Architecture in Barrio Logan,was honored for designing anddeveloping The North Parker atthe corner of 30th and Upasstreets. The development includestwo restaurants, a beer-tasting barand an architectural office in addi-tion to the 27 units.

“The national AIA awards juryhit it on the nose when they

referred to The North Parker as‘clean, light and fun,’” Segal said.“From the outdoor gatheringplaces and street-level commercialspaces to the open, airy residencesaccessible by sweeping stairways,the whole structure has an openfeel and lots of room for peopleto move around. It was a fun pro-ject from start to finish.”

Rather than rely on others todevelop and finance the projectshe designs, Segal relies on a verti-cally integrated business model,essentially managing the entireprocess (and the cost of the pro-ject) from start to finish. Today,the firm has been responsible forthe design and development ofmore than 300 medium- to high-density urban residential, mixed-use and live/work units totaling

more than 300,000 square feet ofconstruction.

“Woodbury’s School of Archi-tecture is extremely fortunate tohave access to the talents and busi-ness acumen of Jonathan Segal,”said Catherine Herbst, chair ofarchitecture at the San Diego cam-pus. “His unique approach todesigning, developing and man-aging projects inspires his studentsto think beyond architecture.There’s no limit to the kinds ofthings an architect can do.”

Over the last two decades, Segalhas received more than two dozenlocal, state and national AIAawards for residential and urbandesign.

COMMUNITY MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 5

Architect/Developer Jonathan Segal Honored BY THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS

A section of the North Park Maintenance Assessment District.

Court of Appeal Rejects Attempt to End Neighborhood Improvement Programs

The North Parker

NEWS6| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

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ADAMS AVENUE NEWS

Crystallizing the Mysteries of the CellSDSU biologist Manal Swairjosought out crystals for fun as ayoungster, but now uses crystallog-raphy to better understand cells andimprove medicine

Growing up in the Hawallyneighborhood of Kuwait City,Manal Swairjo was a bit of an out-sider in two ways. She belonged toa refugee family that fled Gaza,Palestine, when she was a baby, andshe, her parents and five siblingswere sometimes treated like second-class citizens. But she was also anoutsider in that she spent much ofher childhood outdoors, exploringthe Arabian Desert. Her parentswere both science teachers, and hergeologist father would show herhow to dig up fossils and petrifiedwood, how to determine the hard-ness of rocks and minerals.

“In a way, I grew up without acountry,” she said. “Instead, we hadour education to count on.”

Giant excavators used to buildnew freeways out into the desertwould unearth geodes big enoughfor the young Swairjo to sit inside.She fell in love with exploring thenatural world and, above all, withcrystals.

Today, Swairjo works on crystalsof a much, much smaller nature.Earlier this year, she joined SanDiego State University as an associ-ate professor of biochemistry andbrought with her a rich researchprogram looking into the micro-scopic crystalline structure of a par-ticular piece of cellular machinerycalled transfer RNA, or tRNA.

Following her starsAt Kuwait University, Swairjo

double-majored in math andphysics and at first wanted to studyastrophysics. She was accepted intoa program at Boston University andin 1989, she moved there to starther life in the United States.

“Cowboy movies and Star Trekwere the extent of my exposure toAmerican culture,” Swairjo said. “Iwas a huge Trekkie.”

So Boston came as a bit of ashock to her. She experienced snowfor the first time in her life duringher first Halloween there, andcaught some light teasing for her

excitement about it. But with thehelp of a close group of other inter-national students, she soon foundher place. It was also during this firstyear that she decided to give upastrophysics and pursue biophysicsinstead. Swairjo hadn’t studied biol-ogy since high school, but she rel-ished the idea of challenging herselfand doing work with more terres-trial impact.

“My personal motto is, if you cando physics, you can do anything,”she said.

Within biophysics, she gravitatedtoward crystallography, using X-raysto explore the atomic architectureof parts of the cell. Looking back,she sees how her childhood spentdigging up geodes with her fathershaped her career, but she neverrealized it at the time.

“My father had an immenseinfluence on me, but I didn’t evenrealize that until after I had earnedmy Ph.D.,” she said.

Working with “nonsense”After earning her doctorate,

Swairjo worked as a staff scientistat The Scripps Research Institute inSan Diego, then as an assistant pro-fessor at Western University of

Health Sciences in Pomona. At thelatter institution, she beganresearching tRNA, an adaptormolecule that links messenger RNAsequence with amino acid sequenceduring the creation of new proteins.

She’s particularly interested innaturally-occurring modificationsto the tRNA’s building blocks callednuncleosides. Without these modi-fications, the decoding of the genet-ic information can go wrong, result-ing in “nonsense proteins” that areresponsible for several neurodegen-erative diseases, as well as mitochon-drial disease.

Interestingly, the series of chem-ical reactions that leads to thesemodifications is also similar to theenzyme pathway used by harmful,drug-resistant bacteria such asMRSA and Neisseria gonorrhoeaeto produce a vitamin called folate.If you can prevent the bacteria frommaking this vitamin, you can kill itin its tracks.

With funding from both theNational Institutes of Health andthe National Science Foundation,Swairjo and her colleagues are usingX-ray crystallography to learn moreabout the microscopic constructionof tRNA in hopes of designingdrugs that can target the folate path-way, offering new weapons in thefight against bacterial disease. It’s abit like designing a dummy key tofit into a lock so the real key won’tfit.

“When you know the structureof the active site of the enzyme, youcan try to put a small molecule inthe active site to block it,” Swairjoexplained. “It’s easier to design aneffective inhibitor when you havesome knowledge about the shape ofthe active site.”

Dream bigEven though she’s relatively new

to campus, Swairjo is already find-ing her groove. She has implement-ed a problem-based learning modelinto her classroom teaching and hasseen students respond with enthu-siasm to what might otherwise beyawn-inducing lectures. She is alsoan investigator with SDSU’s highlyproductive Viral Information Insti-tute, helping to introduce structure-based drug design to antiviralresearch.

In a few years’ time, Swairjo hopesshe will have made her mark in sev-eral different ways. One way wouldbe to develop an enzyme inhibitorthat becomes a promising drug can-didate. Another would be to discov-er a novel protein fold or some newchemical property in the ocean. Andthe last would be to continue thecrystalline legacy she inherited fromher father.

“I would like to graduate a crys-tallography Ph.D. student,” she said.“That’s also been a dream.”

Katherine Faulconer in front of One San Diego’s office in Golden Hill. (Photo by Chris Jenenewein)

BY MICHAEL PRICE | SDSU NEWS CENTER

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 7

BUTTERFLYS & INSECTSTwenty-four award-winning wildlife

photographers come together to dis-play works that celebrate the gift offlight and depict majestic creatures intheir natural habitats in a new exhibi-tion at the San Diego Natural HistoryMuseum.

These 70 images in “Butterflies andInsects” capture the detail of the bilat-erally-symmetrical butterfly, as well asother insects and their arthropod rela-tives.

The exhibition opened Sept. 19 andcloses Jan. 11, 2016.

Butterflies are seen as a multiculturalsymbol of beauty. Insects, on the otherhand, are often met with slight preju-dice and annoyance, but most areharmless and actually beneficial.

Insects make up one of the mostdiverse groups of animals on the plan-et, including more than 1 milliondescribed species and representingmore than half of all known livingorganisms.

These photographic works capturethe beauty and splendor of nature’ssmallest citizens. Enjoy what these tal-ented photographers have done withnature’s genetic paintbrushes, trulyworks of art.

Butterflies and Insects is presentedin the Ordover Gallery on Level 4 ofthe San Diego Natural History Muse-um.

‘Black Swallowtail’ — Barbara Swanson ‘The Resting Queen’ — Barbara Swanson. ‘Nectar for Lunch’ — Mark Whitbeck. ‘Butterfly Abstract’ — Rex Short. Archival pigment print image — Will Gibson.

‘Spring Pile Up’ — Caroline Brown. ‘Floating’ — Abe Ordover.

‘Nymph Katydid Spit Shining its Antenna’ — Michael Shane. ‘Winged Green Beauty’ — Michael Shane.

8| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

Alan Mulally, former executive vicepresident of Boeing and CEO of Boe-ing Commercial Airplanes, andFrank Pace of General Atomics Aero-nautical Systems, were among hon-orees enshrined in the San Diego Air& Space Museum’s Pavilion of Flighton Nov. 19.

Since 1963 the International Air &Space Hall of Fame has honoredmore than 200 of the world’s mostsignificant pilots, crew members,visionaries, inventors, aerospace engi-neers, business leaders, preservation-ists, designers and space pioneers.

The Distinguished Class of 2015includes:

• Alan R. Mulally joined Boeing in1969 and progressed through a num-ber of significant engineering and

program-management assignments,including contributions on everyBoeing commercial airplane from the727 through the 787.

• William F. Chana was involvedwith many key aeronautical projectsduring his lifetime, including duringWorld War II when he worked as aflight test engineer on numerousConvair aircraft. He later gained fameas the developer and test pilot of “theworld’s smallest plane,” the Wee Bee.He was a flight test engineer for Con-solidated Aircraft in San Diego, whichbecame Convair. Helped developmany kinds of aircraft like the Lib-erator and Dominator bombers andthe Convair 340 airliner. Died in2012. Tested exotic aircraft, like theSea Dart, world’s only supersonic sea-

plane.• Rear Adm. Tom Cassidy, (USN

Ret.) and Frank Pace. Under theleadership of Cassidy and Frank S.Pace, San Diego-based GeneralAtomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.took bold steps in the field ofUnmanned Aerial Vehicles and isnow in the top tier of a short list ofcontractors building defense industryremotely piloted vehicles.

• Lt. Col. Bob Ferry (USAF Ret.)Although Robert Ferry began hiscareer as a fighter pilot, he becamean expert in helicopters, where hemade profound contributions in 24years of flight testing, including onthe still widely used Apache AH-64helicopter.

• Vice Adm. Fred Trapnell, (USN

Ret.) Frederick Trapnell was the firstU.S. Navy pilot to fly a jet aircraft. Hewas considered the best, most expe-rienced naval test aviator of his gen-eration and co-founded the Navy’sfirst test pilot school.

• Experimental Aircraft Associationand The EAA Young Eagles. Foundedin 1953, the EAA has grown from ahandful of home-built aviationenthusiasts to an international avia-tion organization. The Young Eaglesprogram has provided first flights formore than 1.9 million children.

• Kenneth Friedkin, founder ofPacific Southwest Airlines. Kenneth(Kenny) Giles Friedkin was an Amer-ican aviator and businessman. Heobtained his pilot license at the ageof 17. As a pilot and instructor, Fried-

kin opened a flight school in 1945,called the Plosser-Friedkin School(later named the Friedkin School ofAeronautics). Pacific Southwest Air-lines was created by Kenneth and hiswife Jean in 1949. Their experienceand background led to PSA’s success.

• Texas Congressman Sam John-son, (Col. USAF (Ret.). A decoratedwar hero and native Texan, SamJohnson ranks among the few mem-bers of Congress to fight in combat.During his 29-year career in the U.S.Air Force, Johnson flew combat mis-sions in both the Korea and Vietnam.He endured nearly seven years as aprisoner of war in Hanoi.

Air & Space Museum Enshrines Aviation Leaders into Pavilion of Flight

Alan Mulally Frank Pace

Frederick Trapnell

Bill Chana Thomas Cassidy

Kenneth Friedkin

PSA stewardesses during the early years of the airline.

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 9

By Bart Mendoza

December 26Eve Selis — Catch Her LivePowerhouse singer Eve Selis performs at Croce’s Park West on Dec.26. One of San Diego’s best vocalists, Selis can do it all, roadhouseblues to torch song, with emotion in every note. Now a well estab-lished veteran of the San Diego music scene, Selis has been makinga big splash in the UK during recent tours supporting her latestalbum, “Family Tree,” scoring BBC Radio play in the process andperforming on the festival circuit. As good as the disc is, Selis is def-initely a performer you want to catch live, her stage presence a perfectmatch for her vocal talents. www.crocesparkwest.com

January 13, 2016Music Legend Dave Mason Comes AliveLegendary rocker Dave Mason performs at the Music Box onJan. 13. He’s had a truly amazing career. As a musician he’s beena member of Traffic, Derek and the Dominoes and FleetwoodMac. As a songwriter he’s scored with his own hit, “We JustDisagree,” also penning such classics as “Feeling Alright,” coveredby everyone from Joe Cocker to Michael Jackson. Meanwhile,he’s been heard on recordings by a rock ‘n’ roll who’s who,including the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Paul McCartney.Sadly, as time marches on, true music legends such as Masonare leaving us. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear one of mod-ern rock’s pioneers in person.www.musicboxsd.com

December 20San Diego Troubador’s Annual Holiday FestGrassroots Oasis will be the site of local music journal the San DiegoTroubadour’s annual Holiday Open House and Fundraiser on Dec.20. The night will feature an open mic stage as well as an outdoorfire pit, acoustic jam session area. What makes the night special isthe fact that the music journal is acclaimed for its coverage of roots,folk, jazz, bluegrass and other Americana, so it’s natural that thenight will feature many well-known local all stars and surprise guests,with a three song limit keeping the turnover high. The open micwill be emceed by singer-songwriters Jimmie Lundsford and AlanLand.www.facebook.com/grassrootsoasis

December 26Strangelove in a Class of Their OwnThere are some really good tribute bands out there, but few matchtheir namesake as well as Strangelove, a tribute group to electronicadance favorites Depeche Mode. Appearing at the House of Blues onDec. 26 as part of a night of tribute acts dubbed “The Holiday Hang-over.” Also on hand will be the Cured, Planet Earth and Idolized —doppelgangers for The Cure, Duran Duran and Billy Idol, respectively.All are excellent, but Strangelove is in a class of their own, truly thenext best thing to the real deal. It’s amazing just how much they lookand sound like Depeche Mode, no wigs or prosthetics here. If you’rea fan of Depeche Mode, rest assured you’re going to love every secondof Strangelove’s set. www.casbahmusic.com

January 4, 2016The Gloomies — Masters of the PenPysch-pop band The Gloomies has a free Monday night resi-dency at the Soda Bar kicking off on Jan. 4. Barely around for ayear, the band has had major success already, with their debutsingle, “LSD” / “Groves,” just issued and The Gloomies beingnamed “Buzz Band of the Week” by influential British musicpaper, NME. They are a terrific live act and as their new singledemonstrates, they are also masters at penning catchygarage/surf-tinged tunes, full of melody and reverb. Easily oneof the best and most unassuming bands to emerge from SanDiego’s fertile music scene in recent memory, these free showsgive everyone a chance to see and hear what the buzz is all about.www.sodabarmusic.com

December 24A Christmas Gift from the CasbahChristmas Eve might seem like the least obvious of times for rock‘n’ roll, but for the last several decades, savvy music aficionados havebeen heading to the Casbah for Exile on Kettner Blvd. Originally agathering of musicians on what is generally a slow night for enter-tainment, the night has now become a beloved local institution.Fans can expect the night to feature a combo of local all stars per-forming an evening of Rolling Stones covers, with a focus as thename implies on songs from the Stones classic “Exile on Main Street”as well as incendiary live trio, Schizophonics performing a specialR&B-driven “Stone Soul Christmas Show.” Best of all, the wholething is free, a holiday gift from the Casbah. www.casbahmusic.com

COMMUNITY10| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

Tips for Better Holiday Photos of Your Pet Be patient, and keep it simple

Taking photos of our animalfriends can be challenging under anycircumstances; add the distraction offestive headgear or other holidayprops and capturing something“card worthy” has debacle written allover it. Here are a few tips to makethe process less stressful for you andyour pet.

Be patient and take your time. Itmay require a number of attemptsover several days, giving your pal abreak after 10 minutes or so. Chancesare he or she is eager to please you,but has no idea what you want. Con-fusion quickly becomes fear; youdon’t want to impose that on yourfriend and you don’t want to sendout photos of him or her lookingmiserable. If you’re aggravated, that’sonly going to make it worse. Keepyour demeanor upbeat and fun; ifyou can’t do that, you BOTH need abreak.

No surprises. If you’re going to putfuzzy antlers, a collar with bells, or aSanta hat on your buddy, get himused to it well before you try to takephotos. Leave it on a few seconds thefirst time and build up slowly (it maytake weeks) so that he’ll tolerate itfor several minutes. Help him devel-op positive associations with the item— a treat or play time can turn theexperience into something he likes.The “no surprises” rule applies notonly to props, but to locations aswell. If your pal has never or rarelybeen to the place in which you’re tak-ing the photos, you can’t expect himto be relaxed and focused. Cats areeven less tolerant of change thandogs; stay within their comfort zone.

Create your “set” ahead of time.Have everything ready BEFORE youbring the star in for her glamourshot. She’s not going to sit aroundpatiently wearing an elf costumewhile you get organized.

No on-camera flash. If your cam-era has a built-in flash, turn it off.Using the red-eye reduction featureisn’t going to help; your fur-kid’s eyeswill still show up as either a ghostlygreen or white. If you need morelight in the room, open all the win-

dows for daylight or turn on everylamp in the room and use a whitesheet behind and beneath your petto reflect that light back toward thecamera.

Attention is fleeing. Whatever youuse to get your pet to look your waywill only last a few moments andprobably will only work a few times.Be prepared with several options;dogs tend to respond to sound, catsare more likely to react to motion.

If you’re trying to photographyour dog, don’t call her name andthen duck behind your camera.Chances are she’ll try to come to youand then be confused when you sayNo!! Go back, stay!” and then call hername again. Instead, when you’reboth in position, try making a gasp-ing sound or let a soft squeak comeout of your throat. If you have helpin this process, have someone behindyou knock softly on the wall orscrunch an empty plastic bottle.

If a cat is your subject, having ahelper is even more valuable. Some-one to dangle a ribbon or flit a feath-ered toy back and forth can do won-ders. Failing that, pick a time of daywhen your feline is snoozy andrelaxed — then place a prop next tohim, step back, and snap away.

Don’t bother trying to get any ofthem to look at you when they’rescratching an itch or suddenly needto investigate something. Let themfinish that, then start over.

Don't overwhelm your pal oryourself. Putting Spot into a full-onSanta costume and plopping him ina sleigh surrounded by presents andminiature decorated tree is probablynot the way to go if this is your firsttime taking a holiday pet photo. Keepit simple — an over-sized ornamentor a stuffed toy with a holiday themetucked next to her while she coziesup in her favorite bed gets the mes-sage across just fine.

Colleen Carnevale, a San Diego-based pet photographer and ownerof Colleen's Custom Pet Photogra-phy, has been named one of theregion’s best in the San Diego A-Listrankings for the past five years. Shecan be reached at www.custompet-photo.com.

BY COLLEEN CARNEVALE

All photos by Colleen’s Custom Pet Photography custompetphoto.com

AUTOS MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 11

GM still has two “near luxury”brands — Buick and GMC — whichis double what other car companieshave. They have the mass-market line(Toyota, for example) and then theluxury line (Lexus). Theres nothingin the middle.

With GM, you can go incremen-tally up two steps from the mass-mar-ket brand (Chevy) before getting tothe top-of-the-line brand (Cadillac).

Or down a step. Or, sideways.As a case in point, consider GM’s

full-size/three-row crossover SUV. Itis sold three ways, with prices that areless…or more…and sometimes,overlap.

There is the Chevy-branded Tra-verse - which starts at $31,205 andtops out at $44,145. Next up is theGMC Acadia, which actually startslower than the Chevy at $30,975 buttops out much higher, at $49,890.From there, you can go down or upto a Buickized version of the samebasic vehicle, the Enclave, subject ofthis write-up.

It starts higher than either theChevy or the GMC at $39,065 buttops out a few hundred bucks downfrom the GMC, at $49,515.

Mechanically, these are all basicallythe same rig.

They differ slightly in terms ofstyling and (nominally) the Buickand the GMC are positioned as the

“nicer” versions but as the pricingstructure reveals, this can get confus-ing. A loaded Traverse is arguably“nicer” — and pricier — than a baseEnclave. And is a loaded Enclave anyless (or more?) “nice” than a loadedAcadia Denali?

GM retorts that the Buick versionis the softer/quieter version, a kindof seven-passenger ermine slipper,while the GMC is more “rugged”(though also “nicer” than the Chevy,which is also “rugged.”)

What’s is it?The Enclave is the Buick-badged

version of GM’s full-size crossoverSUV. Its big sell is that it has moreinterior space (especially cargo room)than an Acura MDX, a Lincoln MKT,an Infiniti QX60 or an Audi Q7 —but isn’t as huge on the outside assomething like a Chevy Suburban (orInfiniti QX80). It shares mechanicalswith its Chevy and GMC-badged sib-lings but, being a Buick, it comes withluxury features such as three-zone cli-mate control, leather trim and 19-inch wheels standard whereas theseare available optionally in the Chevyand GMC. The Buick also has exte-rior styling that’s more “Buicky.” It’srounder and softer-looking than itsmore “trucky” and squared-off look-ing siblings.

Base price (as mentioned up

above) is $39,065 for the Conve-nience trim, which is only offered inFWD form. Next up is the Leathertrim, which is available in both FWDand AWD forms ($43,660 and$45,660, respectively). The top-of-the-line Premium trim is likewiseoffered with either FWD ($47,515)or AWD ($49,515).

All Enclaves come standard withthe same 3.6 liter V6, six-speed auto-matic and three rows of seats.

What’s New Like its Chevy/GMC siblings, the

Enclave (all trims) gets 4GB in-carWi-Fi and the latest version of GM’sOn Star concierge system. Premiumtrims can be ordered with a Tuscanpackage that adds 20-inch chromewheels with bronze trim accents. Thiswill be the final year of the current-generation Enclave; an all-new model(three all-new models, actually) is ondeck for the 2017 model year.

What’s GoodThird row is more than just a

jumpseat for kids, as in smaller rivalslike the MDX and QX60. Supersmooth, super quiet. Class-best cargocapacity behind third row and withfirst and second rows folded down.Get one for a couple thousand lessthan Acura asks for an MDX or Lin-coln wants for an MKT. Final year of

this generation Enclave probablymeans you’ll be able to negotiate asweet deal on one as dealers try toclear inventory to make room for thenew/2017 Enclave.

What’s Not So GoodIf you want AWD, the price jumps

by $4,595 (the difference between thebase FWD-only Convenience and thebase AWD Leather trim). It’s kindaslow for the money, very thirsty anddoesn’t pull as much as most of theothers in its class. Wide-load turningcircle (about two feet more thanMDX). Getting long in the tooth.Current model is about eight yearsold (first year, 2008) and the 2016 willlook really old when the-all new 2017Enclave comes out.

Under The HoodAll trims come standard with GM’s

3.6 liter V6, an engine that is used ineverything from Camaros to Cadil-lacs (as well as Traverses and Acadias).It is direct injected, has variable valvetiming and, in the Buick, makes 288hp. A six-speed automatic is standardand you have the option of FWD or(in all but the base Convenience trim)AWD. The six isn’t weak but theBuick is heavy: 4,724 lbs. for the FWDversion and 4,992 lbs. for the AWD-equipped version. Which explainswhy it’s kinda slow,and very thirsty.

Zero to 60 takes about 8.5 seconds,about two seconds slower than theslightly more powerful (290 hp) butmuch lighter (3,960 lbs. ) AcuraMDX. This would probably be okayif the Buick were easier on gas, butit’s not. The FWD version only man-ages 17 city, 24 highway while theheavier AWD model’s mileage is just16 city, 22 highway.

On The RoadIt has no kick. That’s what one of

my country friends said after I flooredit for her, to demonstrate the Buick’spassing prowess. Or lack thereof. This$53,000 ride (as tested) acceleratedabout as quickly as the Toyota CorollaI was also test-driving the week I hadthe Enclave. But the Corolla’s aneconomy car, with a base price justover $17k. People don’t expect muchto happen when they firewall the gaspedal of a car like that ... but at leastyou get good gas mileage out of thething (32.3 MPG, about twice whatthe Buick averaged).

It’s kind of deflating, on the otherhand, to be driving a $53k vehiclethat cannot out-accelerate a just-over-$17k vehicle. And which drinksabout twice the gas, too. The V6 tries;it’s just not strong enough. The beefyBuick weighs a pavement crushing

NEW CAR REVIEW 2016 Buick Enclave BY ERIC PETERS

SEE BUICK, Page 12

AUTOS12| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

764 pounds more than an MDX (and 22pounds more than Lincoln MKT — whichhas 77 more hp).

Once you get up to speed, though, theEnclave recovers its poise, which is as goodor better than that of its rivals, almost all ofwhich are tuned for “sporty” handling.Which inevitably means firmer riding.

The Enclave’s ride is super smooth andsuper quiet, even though the Buick rides on19 (or 20) inch wheels, with the short/stiffsidewall tires that go with them. It's obviousmuch thought went into suspension tuningand sound deadening. The latter probablyaccounts for a good portion of the Enclave’sbulk.

At The CurbLet’s start with the Enclave’s objective

charms. The thing is immensely roomyinside. Even with all three rows in place,there’s 23.3 cubic feet of cargo capacitybehind the third row. Lower the second andthird rows and the Enclave can house amariachi band plus a few trays of margaritas:115.2 cubic feet of open space.

Getting to the seats requires manhandlingthe second row forward, then clawing andcrawling your way back there. Many of these“three row” crossovers would do better

chucking the useless third row and openingup the space for more cargo room.

The Buick is among the few that has thirdrow seats adults can get to without pullingsomething - and sit on without sterilizingthemselves. There is 33.2 inches of legroom- comparable to the second-row legroom inseveral mid-sized cars and enough to makethem comfortable for even a six-footer likeme.

The RestIf it had been my call to make, I’d have

made it possible to order the Conveniencetrim with AWD for another $2,000 or so(what it costs to go from a FWD Leathertrim to an AWD leather trim) instead of the$4,595 kick in the soft parts it takes to movefrom the FWD-only Convenience to theAWD Leather. The Enclave’s primary appealsare its space and its value. As the price goesup, its deficits, relative to newer rivals,become more apparent.

Bottom LineThe old gal still has some life left in her.

But you might want to wait and see what2017 brings.

Eric Peters is the author of “Automotive Atroc-ities” and “Road Hogs” and a former editorialwriter/columnist for The Washington Times.

BUICKCONTINUED FROM Page 11

Base price: $39,065 as tested (Premium AWD) $53,515Engine: 3.6 liter V6, 288 hp.Transmission: six speed automatic.Length: 201.9 inches.Width: 79 inches

Wheelbase: 118.9 inchesCurb weight: 4,724 lbs. Luggage capacity: 23.3 cubic feet EPA fuel economy: 17 city/24 highway (FWD)Where assembled: Lansing, Mich.

2016 Buick Enclave specifications:

POLITICS MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 13

Candidates vying for the San DiegoCity Council District 3 seat squared offat a forum organized by the San DiegoPolice Officers Association and held atthe historic Old Globe Theatre in Bal-boa Park on the evening of Dec. 7.

Contenders Anthony Bernal andChris Ward stated their cases aboutwhy they should be elected to succeedtermed-out councilman Todd Gloria.

The event was open to the publicand drew a small crowd of around100 to listen to the candidates answerquestions regarding rising crime,crumbling infrastructure, policerecruitment and retention problemsand Proposition B, which eliminatespensions for new city hires.

The candidates also answeredquestion about the San Diego Con-vention Center and whether theysupported a continuous or contigu-ous expansion, entertainment permitfees, raising the minimum wage to$15, homelessness, street and side-walk repair, parking problems, anddividing resources between bikes,cars, walking and transit vehicles.

Ward is drawing on his experienceas chief of staff for state Sen. MartyBlock (D-San Diego), while Bernal isdrawing upon his experience workingat City Hall as Gloria’s director ofbusiness and community projects.

“I’ve been going door-to-doorspeaking directly to residents for thepast 15 weeks and they sound veryhappy with the way things are oper-ating at City Hall,” Bernal said. I’mfeeling very confident about my can-didacy. My experience working forCouncilman Gloria for the past sevenyears is a really big strength that Ihave going into this election, as wellas my track record of deliveringresults for the city on communityprojects since 2008.”

Ward said that he’s excited aboutany opportunity to talk to votersabout his background and ability tohandle the job on day one.

“A lot of the public don’t evenknow that there is an election comingup and others ask me why I wouldrun against Todd Gloria,” Ward said.

“This is a very engaged communitywith a lot of history and neighbor-hoods that sometimes have compet-ing needs. But as a councilmember,you need to be able to understand,respect, honor and promoteimprovements and meet the needs ofmembers of all parts of the district.”

Thom Senzee, an award-winningjournalist, founder of the “LGBTs InThe News” panel series and a recentlyelected board member to the SanDiego Press Club, moderated theevent.

“I think that the discussion had avery strong San Diego ethic or style,which was civility, courtesy and therewas plenty of substance to be found,”Senzee said. “I’m sorry that the publicwasn’t able to ask questions, but thatwas the way that the organizers decid-ed to do it.”

As the discussion was ending, sev-eral audience members stood up andcomplained about the voting publicnot being able to pose questions tothe candidates in public.

After the meeting, Brian Marvel,president of the SDPOA said, “I getwhere they’re coming from, but ourformat has always been the same forother forums. Our goal was to be ableto have the questions that we wantedbrought up discussed, which werecommunity issues and public safety.”

The forum began with a twominute opening statement by eachcandidate. Each of the sponsoringgroups had a chance to ask two ques-tions. Candidates were given 90 sec-

onds to respond to each question. Ifone candidate attacked or criticizedthe other, the candidate that wasattacked or criticized was given theopportunity to respond for 30 sec-onds.

Additional sponsors included theLGBT Weekly, North Park Commu-nity Association, Hillcrest TownCouncil, Gaslamp Quarter Associa-tion, San Diego Downtown Partner-ship and San Diego Regional Cham-ber of Commerce.

Communities in District 3 includeBalboa Park, Bankers Hill, Down-town, Golden Hill, Hillcrest, LittleItaly, Mission Hills, Normal Heights,North Park, Old Town, South Parkand University Heights.

Christina Chadwick, vice presidentfor the Downtown San Diego Part-nership, a leading advocacy group foreconomic growth in Downtown SanDiego, said that the event was a greatopportunity for the community tocome learn from the candidateswhere they stand on issues, anddecide who is best qualified to repre-sent their neighborhood.

“The District 3 councilmember willbe the representative for the Down-town area,” she said. “For the Down-town Partnership it’s critically impor-tant to have a leader that we sharemutual interests and common visionswith and that we’re able to worktogether to really move projects for-ward for the city, so we clearly have avested stake in helping to get elected acandidate that is best suited.”

Marvel said that he was happy withthe results of the discussion and hopesto have more debates down the road.He pointed out that there is still 26weeks left until the primary election.

“Hopefully people that were heretonight will be able to talk to theirfriends and community members todiscuss what they heard,” Marvel said.“They’ll be able to see how maybethe candidate’s positions will evolveover time or if they will stick to whatthey’ve said.”

For more information on the SanDiego Police Officers Association, goto www.sdpoa.org or call (858) 573-1199.

City Council Candidates ForumAnthony Bernal and Chris Ward seek District 3 seat

Anthony Bernal speaks to the forum audience while Chris Ward (seated) watches. Forum moderator Thom Senzee is at the podi-um. (Photo/Manny Lopez)

BY MANNY LOPEZ

Chris Ward addresses the audienceas Anthony Bernal takes a seat.(Photo/Manny Lopez)

HEALTH14| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

To achieve impressive and defin-ing results in the client/athlete, theremust be not just a time-tabled goal,there must also be an effective pro-gram that is designed and writtenusing proper program design.

Program Design:Individualized, structured train-

ing to help the client/athlete achievea specific goal. You must have anend goal to write an effective train-ing program. If the goal is to simplyachieve or maintain a specific fitnesslevel, then periodization needs to beused. I will typically use a 3 monthperiodization platform in this case.

Strength QualitiesWhen you are working towards

an athletic or fitness goal, strengthqualities of the program must beassessed. This simply means youneed to choose which form of exer-cise to use to tap into the muscle-system/nervous-system for thedesired result. The four main typesare: Relative Strength, Hypertrophy,Functional Hypertrophy, andStrength and Endurance.

Relative Strength

Relative Strength is simply:strength that increases throughenhanced neural drive. Athleticslike: sprinting (100 M or less), box-ing, MMA fighting, gymnastics, etc,are examples of athletes that musthave high levels of relative strength.Relative strength is vital to allow theexplosive propulsion of ones body.A long distance runner or triathletedoes not exemplify relative strengthqualities. Relative strength is type 1muscle fiber dominant.

Hypertrophy/FunctionalHypertrophy-Myo-Fibular vsSarcoplasmic

When you are talking about

hypertrophying muscle fibers(growing and developing muscle)there are 2 main types: Myo-Fibularand Sarcoplasmic. Myo-Fibular isthe hypertrophy of muscle in thesize and diameter with a relativestrength carryover. Sarcoplasmic isthe hypertrophy of muscle with littleor no relative strength carryover.Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy increasesextra cellular energy substrates andnot the fibers. An example of sar-coplasmic hypertrophy in an athletewould be a bodybuilder: a bodybuilder is full of massive muscle butwould have zero performance qual-ities. Another example is the personthat has a well developed physiquebut cannot not do pull-ups orpushups.

If you are an athlete, or want togain muscle size and strength, work-ing into the Myo-fibular system ispreferred. Using a machined- basedstrength and conditioning programwould be a major detriment to thisprogram design.

Strength and Endurance: Pre-ferred for the Endurance Athlete

If you are an endurance athlete:

Tri-Athlete, Cyclist, Sculler,Marathon Runner, etc, utilizing themuscle fibers that are conducive tothese repetitious sports will properlybuild the strength and endurancequalities of the muscle fibers, appro-priately, to allow this type of athlete,success. The preferred muscle fiberdominance for endurance strengthis type 2b. This is preferred by theaerobic energy system because itsustains nutrient intake and detox-ification of metabolic waste buildup,which accommodates these types ofathletics. You will not make musclesize or relative strength gains utiliz-ing this strength quality/programdesign.

Intensity

Intensity is not defined by the dif-ficulty of the exercise. Intensity isrepresented by exercise scientist andresearchers as the amount of loadyou can lift as close to you one rep-max. This is representative of theamount of neural drive needed toexecute said lift.

PeriodizationPeriodization is simply: the struc-

ture or training variable to reach anathletic or fitness goal. This soundssimple enough, but requires techni-cal and practical knowledge by theinstructor/coach that can allow theclient/athlete to ultimately reachtheir objective. There are manyways to periodize a program andeffectively tap into the client/athletesnervous-system and muscle-system.Understanding how to do this willbe one of the greatest determiningfactors in a success or failure.

For example: staying in alinear periodization scheme whereyou are only and always increase theload or intensity, will eventually leadto neural burnout and injury. Thebody will find a way to rest, whethervoluntary or through injury.

Female and Male/ Rest andRecovery Considerations.

Writing a program for a femaleshould not be the same as one for amale. The female/male differencesin hormones greatly influences thetype and timing of exercise. Estro-gen is naturally damaging to con-nective tissues; training females hardduring their monthly cycle willgreatly increase the chance of injuryand poor neural input. Also,because of natural hormonal differ-ences, females naturally dominateslow-twitch muscle fibers, whichallows them to tolerate differentexercise stress then males.

Recovery and rest periods are alsogoing to be different because of this.In general, the more neural demand= more recovery time. Rest periodscan vary from 30 sec, all the way to5 minutes plus. ATP (adenosinetriphosphate) is the bodies preferredenergy source. Our muscles storeapproximately 2 seconds of energy

in the muscle in the form of ATP.This naturally replenishes after theexercise set according to the: gender,repetition load, and size of the per-son. Understanding how much resttime is needed in between sets toallow optimal recovery will make amajor impact on responsiveness andperformance.

Its very easy to see that achievingyour ultimate result is completedependent on the written program,

and knowledge of proper programdesign.

Martin Alonzo is a Certified Nutri-tionist, and strength and condition-ing /corrective exercise specialist. Heowns and operates a private trainingloft in Kensington. To find out moreinformation you can visit www.per-formcenter.com

Stop Wasting Your Time:The Science of Program Design for Clients and Athletes.

Martin Alonzo-CNC, SCS,CHEK Practitioner

BY MARTIN ALONZO-CNC, SCS, CHEK PRACTITIONER

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 15

COMMUNITY16| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

Exit Peevey JewelersThe popular Kensington shopwill close for good in February

Victor Vallejo pulls out a grainyphoto of himself to show one of thevisitors to Peevey Jewelers, theAdams Avenue shop that he and hiswife, Sylvia, have operated for closeto 35 years.

The picture shows a muchyounger Victor sitting in front of ajeweler’s work bench crowded withtools of the trade — pliers and cut-ters, soldering equipment and otherinstruments that have been part ofthe jeweler’s trade for many years.

With his long, curly black hair,bushy moustache and easy smile,Victor looks to be what he was atthat time — a young man gettinghis start in the jewelry and gem busi-ness.

Many years later — on the eve oftheir retirement — Victor and Sylviacan look at that picture and sharememories of their years in business.

Victor and Sylvia, married for 45years, will close Peevey Jewelers inFebruary — 35 years after takingover the store in 1980.

Peevey Jewelers was launched byJoe and Clyde Peevey in 1946 inDowntown San Diego. Victor start-ed working at the shop in 1971, get-ting the job through a veteran’s pro-gram which paid half of his salary.In the succeeding years, Victorbecame a certified gemologist.

Victor and Sylvia first met whenthey both worked at FoodmakerCorp. They have two children andfour grandchildren.

Victor does business the old fash-ioned way. He has served many sec-ond and even third generation cus-tomers for weddings, engagementsand other special occasions.

Customers shower the Vallejo’sand Peevey Jewelers with highpraise, as exemplified by theseremarks from the store website:

“These are some of the nicest

people you’ll ever meet. They arelovely, gracious people who lovinglycare for their clients. If you need apiece of jewelry repaired? Go toPeevey. Ready to pop the question?Peevey will get you set up with anengagement ring that she’lllove. Need a custom piececreated? No problem. They havebeautiful jewelry that goes from ster-ling silver charms to stunning dia-monds.” — Christine

“I have had a few things appraisedand repaired at Peevey,very nicepeople to deal with, fast service andmore than fair prices, will be backagain and again!” — Jennifer

“Victor and Sylvia Vallejo take thetime to make sure you get exactlywhat you want, not what they wantto sell you. If they don’t have whatyou want they’ll either make it orrefer you. Their prices and servicesare very reasonable with many freeservices.” — David

“What a great place. This store hasbeen in the same family for I believeThree generations. I came in to havea lovely stone put in a necklace andthe owner personally worked withme to design it. He had excellent rec-ommendations and I went with hissuggestions.” — Robyn.

The Vallejo’s say they are lookingforward to retirement, relaxing,spending time with their grandchil-dren and traveling the world. Beforethen, though, customers can get 50percent off any item in the store.

We are so thankful to have suchgreat and loyal customers and friendsin the community who made comingto work every day a joy.

Peevey Jewelers has been a central Kensington business for more than three decades.

A younger couple at the same counter years ago.

Peevey Jewelers has been a central Kensingtonbusiness for more than three decades.

Undated photo shows young Victor Vallejoat a jewelers workbench at the beginning ofa long career in the trade.

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 |17

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MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 19

Small businesses significantlyimpact San Diego’s economy, asfirms with fewer than 50 employeesmake up 95 percent of all establish-ments and account for nearly one-half of the workforce.

To better understand the work-force needs of small businesses, astudy by the San Diego WorkforcePartnership analyzed survey respons-

es from 347 small businesses acrossSan Diego County’s Priority Sectors— Advanced Manufacturing, HealthCare, Advanced Transportation, LifeSciences/Biotechnology (Biotech)and Information and Communica-tion Technologies.

Small businesses are essential tothe region’s economy and workforcebecause of their significant impact in

all industries. Within the five PrioritySectors, small businesses account formore than 90 percent of all business-es in each sector.

On average, small businessesreported employing nine workers.Within the next 12 months, the aver-age number of employees is expectedto grow to 10. Employment growthis expected across all employment

size categories.In 2015, small businesses (includ-

ing owner-operated firms) employedapproximately 568,000 workers. By2016, total employment in smallbusinesses is expected to grow by 15percent, or 87,800 positions.

Challenges for Small BusinessSmall businesses in San Diego

County face a number of regulatory,economic and workforce challenges.These challenges include legislativemandates, rules and regulations gov-erning businesses, a lack of resources,the inability to find skilled workersand more.

While San Diego is consistentlychosen as a prime location for high-tech startups, the region lacks in over-all friendliness toward small businessowners. An online hiring service,Thumbtack, conducted a survey in2014

of 12,000 small business ownersacross the country and ranked SanDiego at number 78 out of 82 – oneof the nation’s least business-friendlycities.

The 212 small businesses in SanDiego that participated in theThumbtack survey found that start-ing a business in San Diego was dif-ficult and time-consuming, present-ing an array of unfriendly licensingand regulatory requirements includ-ing zoning rules and tax code, laborlaw and environmental regulations.

While many service professionalsdid value the ability of licensing and

regulatory requirements to protectconsumers and keep lower-quality

competitors off the market, problemsnavigating onerous requirementsremained a top concern for smallbusiness owners.

The decision of small businessesto operate in San Diego is signifi-cantly affected by their perception ofgovernment relations. Smaller firms(fewer than three employees) tend tobe less optimistic about the future,and there is a perception that gov-ernment is becoming less businessfriendly.

Union Bank’s annual Small Busi-ness Economic Survey found that,despite an overall boost in confidenceregarding the economic outlook, 26percent of San Diego business own-ers plan to move out of state becauseof tax burdens.

Governments that provide train-ing and incentive programs, easy tonavigate tax and regulatory systems,and pro-growth environments aremost likely to attract small businessesto their cities.

Based on analysis conducted bythe San Francisco-based technologycompany Radius, the next generationof small business owners will beattracted to areas that provide strongcommunity engagement and accessto resources, as opposed to growingjob rates and income levels.

Small businesses typically lack theefficiency and resources that largercompanies have. Financing is a majorchallenge leading to low survival ratesfor small businesses. Just 70 percentare estimated to survive the first

two years and only 25 percent for15 years or more.

Knowing that businesses face thesetypes of challenges and more, thesmall businesses surveyed for thisstudy were asked about the chal-lenges they expect to face in the nextone to two years. The top challengesincluded ongoing/continuousimprovement (51 percent), identify-ing growth opportunities (44 per-cent), and cost reduction strategies(28 percent). About one in four smallbusinesses indicated employeerecruitment and retentions was animportant challenge as well.

Workforce NeedsAccounting, IT and social

media/marketing were most com-monly ranked as useful for startinga business. Accounting was the skillthat most business owners alreadypossessed. Small businesses requireworkers, especially

the owner, to have strong compe-tencies across all fields to maintainbusiness operations.

Top Skills for New HiresSmall businesses placed the highest

value on previous work experienceand technical skills in the applicants

SMALL BUSINESS20| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

Workforce Needs of Small Businesses in San DiegoAgency unveils major survey BY THE SAN DIEGO WORKFORCE PARTNERSHIP

SEE SURVEY, Page 21

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 21

they hire. Interestingly, while business-es ranked soft skills as third in impor-tance, further analysis shows that top-ics such as critical thinking, problemsolving, communication and leader-ship ranked highest in terms of usefulworkshop topics.

Recommendations:• Build better awareness of resourcesavailable to small businesses to helpthem prepare solutions for upcomingdifficulties.

• Develop strategies to connect smallbusinesses to employees who have the

skills needed, and provide training tobusiness owners and managers oneffective approaches to employeeretention.

• Incorporate training that enhancesskills such as social media marketing,IT and accounting for small businesstraining programs.

• Ensure that small business modulesare incorporated into community col-leges’ curricula so that graduates areprepared to enter the workforce insmall business fields.

• Teach entrepreneurship modulesacross various disciplines at highereducation institutions from commu-

nity colleges to universities.

• Incorporate subject areas that smallbusiness owners found most necessarywhen they started their business,including accounting, socialmedia/marketing, HR/recruiting andIT in entrepreneurship programs.• Customize college offerings toinclude soft skills training topics thatbenefit small businesses’ workforce,either through stackable certificateoptions, addition of modules to exist-ing programs or a nationally-recog-nized work-readiness certificate.

For this and other reports by the SanDiego Workforce Partnership, visitwww.workforce.org.

Deanne Cervantes has been amember of the McKinley commu-nity for the past 20-plus years. Sheserved as a volunteer, involved par-ent with her daughters Rachael andDanielle, and librarian at McKinleyElementary.

She has touched the lives of thou-sands of children and shared herlove of books with them to create

life-long readers. Deanne currentlyis sharing her gifts at Adams Ele-mentary.

On Nov. 27, Deanne was celebrat-ing Thanksgiving with her treasuredfamily and friends and fell off a 20-foot cliff, suffering a broken backand multiple injuries. She might beunable to walk again.

Please share any donation to help

Deanne and her family cope withthis terrible tragedy and make theirhome in North Park wheelchairaccessible to help bring Deannehome where she belongs.

Donations may be made on-lineat: GoFundMe.com/deannerecov-eryfund.

Thank you for your generosity!

PLEASE HELP DEANNE CERVANTESBeloved Member of the McKinley Community 

Steve and Deanne Cervantes

SURVEYCONTINUED FROM Page 20

SPORTS22| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

TOP PLAYERS —Saints Quarterback Rodney Thompson is trailed by #20 Elijah Preston on a rollout pass play. Preston is one of the CIF’s all-time leaders in yards gained for a career.

To use a well-worn phrase, the 2015 CIFOpen Division championship played just lastweek between Helix and St. Augustine HighSchools was a classic see-saw affair early on.

Played before 10,000+ at Southwestern Col-lege stadium in Chula Vista, the San Diego Sec-tion title match between two 10-win teamsended 44-30 with Helix High rolling to a two-touchdown victory.

To use another cliché, it was a David vs.Goliath game pitting Helix, a perennial La Mesapublic school powerhouse, versus the Saints, arising North Park private school team that wasplaying in its first ever Open Division champi-onship.

Both teams battled in a contest that saw thescore knotted at 7-7, 14-14, 21-21 before theScotties grabbed a 37-27 lead at the top of thefourth quarter. With six minutes to go in thegame, Helix hung on to a 37-30 lead.

Then something remarkable happened.Saints lost its only game of the year to a San

Diego county team. In the final quarter, Helixdistanced itself with two touchdowns late inthe game. Helix High’s Nate Stinson’s five rush-ing touchdowns were too much for the Saintsto overcome.

Helix’s win over Saints puts the Scottiesamong the best high school football teams inthe state. MaxPreps, a website that tracks highschool game nationwide, places Helix eighth inCalifornia behind Concord de la Salle, CoronaCentennial, Bellflower St. John Bosco, Folsom,Mission Viejo, Elk Grove and Santa Ana MaterDei.

But in its loss, Saints Varsity won the praiseof a legion of new fans, who now know theNutmeg Street college prep school is a legitimate

high school gridiron powerhouse. It belongsup there with the best teams in San DiegoCounty.

Coached by Richard Sanchez, Saints won lastyear’s CIF San Diego section division I footballcrown and this year cemented itself in the topthree open division teams. The Open Divisionis considered the best of the best in high schoolfootball wars. Division I is the second-best.

In fact, Saints 2015 run through the OpenDivision playoffs was more of a steamrolleragainst a skateboard. Saints dominated big-time high school football programs like East-lake, Mira Mesa, Cathedral and Mission Hills.In fact, the 2015 season ended with Saints notlosing a game in San Diego County until itslast game vs. Helix. Saints’ only losses came atthe hands of dominant L.A. (Loyola) andOrange County (Murrieta) high schools andthose losses were only by one and three points.Saints’ season ends 10-3.

The game ended brilliant three-year careersfor Saints running back Elijah Preston, quar-terback Rodney Thompson and defensive endMichael Alves.

Preston’s career yardage gains as a runningback is among the best in CIF San Diego Sec-tion history. Preston gained more than 7,000yards, which earns him third place in the list ofall time top runners.

Thompson scored three TDs in the champi-onship game. Alves will play football for UCLAnext fall.

Bottom line is Saints had never ever been insuch rarified air of an Open Division in football.The team is loaded with underclassmen in keypositions, which bodes well for the 2016 sea-son.

St. Augustine Prep Football Rises to Elite Status BY TOM SHESS | PHOTOS BY BILL HILL

UCLA BOUND —Versatile Michael Alves #76, who will be playing football for UCLA in the fall, starred as adefensive end, offensive guard and blocking fullback in his four-year Saints career.

PRO STYLE — Saints Varsity Football Coach Richard Sanchez has fine- tuned a NFL style run option attack thatin the past three years produced championships in San Diego Section CIF’s elite I, II and Open divisions.

PERFORMING ARTS MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 23

Finest City Improv Bestows Spirit of Improv AwardsSeven San Diegans honored

Finest City Improv, a local improvisa-tion company dedicated to laughing, per-forming and spreading joy, recognizedseven San Diegans at its second-annualSpirit of Improv Award Celebration. Allawardees were honored for remarkablededication to empowering their commu-nities with improv on and off the stage.

“Each of our awardees really under-stand what it means to spread joy withimprov, the power of laughter and howto live the principles well after the showis over,” said Finest City Founder andCEO Amy Lisewski. “Finest City Improvhas become a family thanks to the con-tributions and spirits of these awardees.”

2016 Spirit of Improv winners include:

Christine Fairfax: Resident of South Park and professionalactor, Fairfax develops and stars in themost shows at Finest City Improv, includ-ing 2014’s “Some Magnificent Thing” and“Thawed” and 2015 ‘s “President Hillary”and “Twistered!”

Danny Deuprey:Resident of North Park and local actor,Deuprey has dedicated himself to morethan 50 hours of teaching improv classto new students.

Erica Clermont: City Heights resident and an improviserin life, Clermont cut back on her job in asearch for lifelong happiness and todaydedicates her time to teaching improvand advocating for living life with a “yes”attitude.

Jewel Karinen:Resident of Chula Vista and SDSU alum-nus, Karinen recently brought her zealand fervor to a starring role in Finest CityImprov’s “Redneck Romeo and Juliet.

Kasey Pearl Lee: One of Finest City Improv’s newest mem-bers, Kasey complements her law degreewith a passion for acting and comedy,bringing her talent and smarts to thestage. Full of fire and fun, she stars in sev-eral shows at Finest City Improv.

Kevin Langdon:An Apple computer specialist by day andimprov performer by night, Langdonquickly fell in love with improv afterattending a local show with his wife. Hisbreakthrough performances include thefirst-ever holiday show, It’s “F**kingChristmas.”

Simon Pond: Finest City Improv’s most prolific sketchwriter, Pond has been an integral part ofthe company’s success, including the “31/2 Star Musical,” which is a farce aboutfinding love in the times of Yelp!

To learn more about or get involvedwith Finest City Improv, visitwww.finestcityimprov.com.

Amy Lisewski, Finest City Improv founder.

Christine Fairfax of South Park.

Danny Deuprey of North Park.

Erica Clemont of City Heights.

Jewel Karinen of Chula Vista.

BACK COUNTRY24| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

The Armchair Hiker

With the holiday season upon us, weenjoy indulging ourselves with anabundance of tasty sweets and toomuch food in general.

However, now is also a great time toget outdoors and hike some of thosecalories away.

San Diego County is unique in thatit exhibits several different life zoneswithin a small area. The weather isalways suited for hiking. Whether youare a serious hiker or merely a casualwalker, get up off your chair, moveaway from your computer screen andenjoy the sights and sounds that naturehas to offer.

Winter is the time to explore theeastern reaches of San Diego Countywhich are too hot to hike in the sum-mer. The mountains of Cuyamaca andLaguna offer some great high-altitudehiking. When local trails are overlyfilled with an abundance of studentson winter break, you can head east tothe more remote parts of our county.

Few people visit these beautiful spotsdespite the fact that the mountains areonly 45-60 minutes from DowntownSan Diego and the desert is only a littlemore than an hour away. An addedbenefit is the fact that I-8 is devoid oftraffic eastbound in the morning sothere is never a reason to delay headingout.

At Cuyamaca you will find trails ofall abilities with rolling hills, peaks toclimb and an abundance of wildlife.Laguna will treat you to huge pinetrees, oaks, meadows, desert views andlakes. Anza Borrego has almost 500miles of 4X4 dirt roads, peaks, canyonsand sandy trails to explore.

Each location offers easy to difficulttrails to suit all abilities. See you there!

About the AuthorJeff Toff lives in Kensington but

you’ll more easily find him on the trailsthroughout San Diego County andbeyond.

Jeff resided in the Lake Tahoefoothills in Nevada City, Calf., for over30 years. He retired from his practiceof law and moved to San Diego in 2011with his wife of 37 years.

Jeff has been a long-term memberof the National Oregon-CaliforniaTrails Association and Trails West,which are responsible for mapping outand obtaining federal and state protec-tion for the 19th century EmigrantTrails west including the Donner Trail.

Jeff also volunteered with the TahoeForestry Department in helping tomonitor historic Native American rockart sites. He has engaged in day hikesfor most of my adult life.

“The Armchair Hiker” will be a reg-ular feature in this paper.

Jeff ’s blog: http://mountain-man-60.blogspot.com/

BY JEFF TOFF

Anza-Borrego

Pond in the Lagunas.

With backpack and hiking boots, Logan is ready to hit the trail. With backpack and hiking boots, Logan is ready to hit the trail.

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 25

The Gingrich-DeanRoad Show

The Newt Gingrich, Howard Dean “road show” came to San Diegoin October, the unlikely pair appearing at an event at the University ofSan Diego.

Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker of the House (1995-1999),and Dean, former presidential candidate (2004) and former chairmanof the Democratic National Committee, are the faces of the new publicpolicy team of the Dentons law firm, which merged with McKennaLong & Aldridge in July. Dentons sponsored their USD appearance.

A Dentons spokesman said in September that the firm was sendingGingrich and Dean on a “road show” from New York to Los Angelesand more cities where they will speak their views on the latest policyissues.

Gingrich also used the San Diego visit to appear — along with hiswife, the former Callista Bisek — at a book signing at Warwick’s Book-store in La Jolla. Gingrich wrote “Duplicity” with Pete Earley, a formerWashington Post journalist. It is a thriller that tells the story of a masterterrorist hiding somewhere, controlling and coordinating radical Islam-ic groups around the globe.

Callista also a writer, penned the “Christmas in America” book series,books for children.

Q&A With Newt Gingrich

Q. Why do you like zoos? A. I like animals. I like nature. I’m interested in the natural world. Themore we understand about nature, the more you understand aboutyourself. (Gingrich has visited more than 100 zoos around the world,including one of his favorites, the San Diego Zoo and Wild AnimalPark where he enjoyed the “Roar and Snore” event.)

Q. Do you still see former President Clinton? A. No. (Gingrich talks to him very rarely on the phone.)

Q. Which global leaders do you admire?A. “Lee Kuan Yew (former prime minister of Singapore who was“extraordinary”). John Paul II and Nelson Mandela, former presidentof South Africa, “who communicated an aura of dignity that wasastounding.”

Q. How do we understand Russian President VladimirPutin? A. KGB-trained Russian who maximizes opportunities.

Q. Which authors do you admire? A. Alan Drury (“Advise and Consent”), Michael Shaara (“The KillerAngels”) and Gore Vidal.

Q. Do you have pets?A.No. We travel too much.

Q. Where do you go?A.We both like historic sites such as Italy and Greece, and exotic sitessuch as Machu Pichu in Peru. I don’t see a lack of civility when I trav-el.

Q. How do we end the standoff in Washington today? A. There is a very, very deep gap between the two sides that could

end with one side standing.

Q. How significant is today’s migration into Europe? A. These are population migrations and they are going to keep com-

ing.

Q. How many speeches do you give a year? A. About 200, paid and unpaid. (Gingrich Productions — www.gin-

grich productions.com — is a “very successful for profit think tank”of 12 people, including Newt and Callista. “We like what we do.”

Martin Kruming (martin@kruming.com) is an attorney in SwitzerHighland who’s involved in neighborhood partnerships with Baku,Azerbaijan; Riga, Latvia, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

BY MARTIN KRUMING WITH PHOTOS BY BARRY CARLTON

Newt Gingrich and Howard Dean converse and share a laugh during an appearance at the University of San Diego.

Cover of Newt Gingrich’s book. Cover of book by Callista Gingrich

Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista at book signing event.

26| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

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TRAVEL MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 27

JOURNEYTO THE

ENDOF THE

EARTHPerched atop Cape Horn Island, poking the salty

air of earth’s edge, is the half silhouette of an albatross.Fierce winds toppled the other half of the 22-foot steelsculpture erected in 1992, sending it southward towardAntarctica.

Still, the purpose of the giant seabird— a memorialto sailors who died attempting to round the horn—is not lost on visitors to the famous peak. Survivingthe climb up and down the 1,400-foot pathway, where

gusts top 100 miles per hour, is sheer knowledge ofthe wild weather at the bottom of South America.

“Get down,” commands a guide. “Stay low.” Or get blown into the 40-degree waters where the

Pacific and Atlantic converge. Where Portugueseexplorer Ferdinand Magellan endured violent stormsin 1520 during the first circumnavigation of the globe.Where Charles Darwin analyzed the plant life, theanimal life and the indigenous people. Where chaotic

seas sank more than 1,000 ships over 400 years. It is March, the last days of summer in lower Patag-

onia, when our curious band of contemporary adven-turers sails the uncertain seas aboard the Stella Aus-tralis and hikes the forests made famous by fearlesspathfinders and buccaneers in search of trade routesand treasure.

SEE TRAVEL, Page 28

BY BILL KETTER | CNHI NEWS SERVICE

What they also found were nakednatives living in huts and fishing inbark canoes, surviving on giant crab,seal meat and sea bass. They protect-ed themselves against the elementsby slathering their bodies with sealoil. Once they began wearing clothesto conform with foreign custom, theywere decimated by disease. Today, theYamana Indians no longer exist.

There remains, however, the spiritof the lost Yamana. You see it in thehardy souls who occupy Argentina'ssouthernmost city of Ushuaia andChile’s port city of Punta Arenas.Fishing remains a way of life, but eco-tourism, sheep herding, and oil andgas exploration provide the economicfuel.

An effort to introduce the Cana-dian beaver to stimulate commercialfur trading failed miserably. The ecol-ogy of Patagonia is so different fromCanada’s that the beavers of the Tier-ra del Fuego archipelago hardly growfur and what little they do lacks theluster needed for coats, hats and handmuffs.

But they quickly populated theislands. Twenty-five pairs introducedin 1946 blossomed into more than200,000 beavers, chewing up forestsand damming streams and springs.Efforts to eradicate them provedfruitless.

“Any idea on how to get rid ofthese pests?” asks our guide.

One suggested solution: Put abounty on them so trappers can tradehides for cash and trim the numbers.

“We tried that approach,” repliesthe guide. “It didn’t work. Locals werebreeding them to get rich.”

Clearly visible is the consequenceof the eager beavers during a hikethrough the Alberto De AgostiniNational Park, named after a wel-coming 19th century Catholic mis-sionary. Tree stubs with sharp toothmarks and despoiled landscape inter-rupt what otherwise is a paradise ofwiry plant species and conifers, beechand evergreens framed against thebackdrop of the towering Andes.

Winter is over the horizon thistime of year in the Southern Hemi-sphere. That's the season when nearlyeverything comes to a halt becauseof the cold and frequent snows. Ski-ing and sleigh rides replace sailingand hiking tours.

Winter tides can be difficult,admits the night manager of the cozyLos Yamanas Hotel overlooking Bea-gle Channel. The rest of the year isspecial. People from all over comehere for adventure and for the amaz-ing scenery. Both are plentiful.

Signs of winter are present no mat-ter the season. Glaciers cascade fromthe mountain sides; icebergs float inthe sea, stark-walled fjords separateicy waterways. Condors, cormorantsand black-necked swans circle frigidlakes.

A Zodiac trip to Magdalena Islandat dawn reveals colonies of penguinsstrutting about with newborns, prep-ping for their winter migration northto warmer waters. They will returnin the spring to mate again in under-ground burrows, male and female

remaining monogamous throughouttheir lifetime. They separate eachother from the look-alike throngs bythe distinctive shriek of their mate’svoice.

The white stomach adult Magel-lanic penguins are 2-to 3-feet tall —and they bite if you agitate them. Twoblack bands between head and breastaccent their features. They can livefor 25 years, if the sea lions and ele-phant seals don't get them. Officially,they are classified as an endangeredspecies. Witnessing their numbers,that seems unnecessary.

There's little doubt, however, whythe scruffy landscape of Ushuaia andits mountainous background houseda penal colony for dreadful criminalsand political saboteurs from 1902 to1947.

Known then as Argentina's Siberia,the region’s main prison has beenconverted to a museum featuring life-size statuary of famous prisoners —such as Mateo “The Mystic” Banks.He shot dead his three brothers, a sis-ter-in-law, two nieces and two ranchworkers in 1922. The motive: money,of course. A gambler and investmentguerrilla, he was deeply in debt andstood to inherit the family estateabsent other heirs.

Banks insisted he was innocent,offering as evidence his superior edu-cation, spiritual connections and fer-vent daily prayers. Fellow prisonersconsidered him crazy, according toprison history. Surprisingly, he wasfreed on parole 20 years after his con-finement, though he died shortlythereafter.

Compassion, it seems, is not a con-temporary Argentine trait. Or soprotested veterans of the 1982 Falk-lands War seen during a two-day stopin Buenos Aires prior to flying toUshuaia. They encamp daily on themain Plaza de Mayo, petitioning thegovernment for pension benefits fortheir service in the fateful invasion ofthe British islands off the east coastof lower Patagonia.

The war over the disputed islands,called the Malvinas by Argentines,lasted 10 weeks, ending with theinvaders surrendering to theBrits. The veterans of the conflictcontend Argentina’s politicalupheaval and economic turmoil thatfollowed did not treat them kindly.

Paradoxically, the country’s fore-most military hero, General Jose deSan Martin, resides in saintly settingacross the plaza, entombed in anornate marble mausoleum in theMetropolitan Cathedral, where PopeFrancis presided as cardinal and arch-bishop before his elevation to the Vat-ican. San Martin is considered theGeorge Washington of Argentina,having freed it from Spanish rule inthe early 19th century. Two armedguards stand stiffly in front of the 10-foot black sarcophagus holding hisremains aloft.

There are no guards, only concretebarricades, in front of Buenos Aires’AMIA Jewish community center, thesite of the 1994 suicide van bombingthat killed 85 and injured hundreds.The names of the dead are scribbledin white on a black panel across thefront of the building. Visitor entry isby appointment only.

Strife over the terrorist attack still

dominates the news. In January, thechief prosecutor of the most recentinvestigation, Alberto Nisman, diedat his home of a gunshot to the headon the eve of his appearance beforethe Argentine Congress. He was toexplain his report suggesting Presi-dent Cristina Fernandez de Kircher’sinvolvement in covering up Iranianparticipation in the bombing. Kircherdenounced the report and accusedNisman of attempting to destabilizethe government in full-page newspa-per ads.

The unanswered question: DidNisman kill himself or was he mur-dered?

1,500 miles south of Buenos Aires,in Patagonia’s “Land of Fire,” localfolk seemed to care little aboutnational politics. They are survivalistswho stand as the few thousandhumans between earth and Antarc-tica 600 miles south. The only thingthat appears to concern them iswhether they are Argentine orChilean citizens. Lower Patagonia issplit nervously between the twocountries.

Naturalist Darwin found theregion and its ecology so fascinatinghe spent several months here in theearly 19th century while circling theworld, gathering data that informedhis theory of evolution. A museumdocumenting his time in the regionprovides an entry to mountain hikingtrails. The pathways are narrow androcky, lined with hip-high ropes andhandrails at the steepest points. Rainand chilly temperatures greet ourgroup. The reward is the descent, cel-ebrated with hot chocolate spikedwith Scotch whiskey.

Darwin’s evidence included fossilsof extinct sea and land mammals,and observations of the indigenousFuegian Indians, and wild relatives ofthe llama known as guanacos. Hesailed the strong winds and roughseas aboard the barque HMS Beagle.The history of the one-time Britishwarship so impressed the Argentinesthey named a channel, a bay and abeer after it. The highest mountainin the range of snow-capped domesis known as Mount Darwin, with a6,600-foot peak.

But the explorer Ferdinand Mag-ellan gets most of the historic creditfor opening the world's eyes to SouthAmerica’s southernmost swath. In theearly 16th century, he became the firstexplorer to round Cape Horn anddiscover a key shipping route, theStrait of Magellan. It remained criti-cal to sailors and cargo transportbetween Europe and the Far Eastuntil the Panama Canal created ashortcut in 1914.

As a first time visitor to Patagonia,you are swallowed by the details ofthe sea, the mountains, the islands,the ice and the morning mist. Thejourney mixes extreme natural beau-ty with culture and history. It is aplace I’ve yearned to visit since firstlearning of it during grammar schoolgeography.

The takeaway now that I’ve beenthere: Everyone should visit the endof the earth before leaving it.

Bill Ketter is senior vice presidentof news for Community NewspaperHoldings Inc. Contact him at wket-ter@cnhi.com.

TRAVEL28| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

TRAVELCONTINUED FROM Page 27

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30| DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

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dankeyes@loanstohomes.comwww.loanstohomes.com

San Diego Funding2468 Historic Decatur Rd 160 | San Diego | CA | 92106

We also have loan options for condo complexes in litigation!

WE FIX YOUR COMPUTER!FAST; Low Prices; Guaranteed!Call Matt – The Computer Gu-Roo631-759-1448boxstopcomputers@gmail.com

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 | 31

STORE CLOSINGSALE

40-50OFF%

( S O M E E X C L U S I O N S A P P L Y )

4085 ADAMS AVE, SAN DIEGO, CA 92116

LOCATED IN KENSINGTON

(619) 282-2347

32 | NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2015 | MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP

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IN ESCROW4544 49TH St | Talmadge

3bd/3ba | 1,800 esf$699,000-$739,000

4533 Highla3bd/2

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IN ESCROW2609 Root St | Serra Mesa

3bd/2ba | 1,769 esf$549,000-$579,000

SOLDand Ave | Talmadge2ba | 1,260 esf$589,000

SOLD4475 Dale Ave #208 | La

1bd/1ba | 673 esf$170,000

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SOLD3115 Dove St | Mission Hills

3bd/4ba | 2,223 esf$993,000

3940 Den3+bd/2

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SOLD4865 Winona Ave | Talmadge

3bd/2ba | 1,650 esf$850,000

SOLDnver Dr | La Mesa.5ba | 2,077 esf$641,300

SOLD5249 Lewison Ave. | Allied

3bd/2ba | 1,275 es$512,000

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