Good morning, San Diego ☀️
Here’s what we have for you today:
- San Diego FC’s highest paid player, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, is officially on loan to the LA Galaxy.
- Three orphaned raccoons graduated — with high honors, might I add — from the Humane Society’s new nursery and were released into the wild.
Tessa Balc
Audience engagement producer
Top story
Stairway to aquatic heaven: How San Diego’s first and only ‘surfing coordinator’ brought stairs to Garbage Beach
Once upon a time, there was such a thing as a “Surfing Coordinator” at the city of San Diego.
For all of you saying, “How do I get that job?” — before you get your hopes up, I must say this is no longer a position at the city. It wasn’t around very long due to a lack of funding (Sounds familiar, eh?), but if you surf at Sunset Cliffs, there’s a good chance you’re still reaping the benefits of it. Namely: the stairs at the end of Ladera Street.
Doug Smith — the only man to hold this ever-esteemed title of Surfing Coordinator — was behind the staircase.
Back in the 60s, when Smith took this title, San Diego had the great surf it has today but no way to access it other than scaling the cliffs. One day he was thinking about that particular area, and the fact of it having two breaks side by side. It was a great place to surf, but took a dangerous journey to reach.
He was finally in a position to do something about it to make it more accessible. So, he put in a formal request for a staircase to be built there — and it happened.
Smith is now 91 years old. Not many people know he is responsible for those stairs, but the people who do want to let him know how much they appreciate it while he’s still around to receive the praise.
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Stories you should know about
📚 San Diego Unified doubles its summer enrollment goal: But what this means for overall declining enrollment levels is not known. The official district census on Oct. 7 will determine whether the new registrations will amount to a net positive for overall enrollment compared to last year.
⚾️ San Carlos Little League’s 9-11 boys team’s historic run: The local team placed third in the Southern California state tournament, which they qualified for by going undefeated in district and section play.
🏈 Indoor football’s Strike Force once played before 75 people. Now they attract thousands and have a shot at the IFL title game: A win in Oceanside last week sends the team to the opening round of Indoor Football League playoffs.
🌊 La Jolla planning group moves to grant public access to beach and popular walking trail: Two proposals to protect public access to the Coast Walk Trail and southern La Jolla Shores were approved, including a narrow passage along the Marine Room restaurant’s southern side, allowing access from Spindrift Drive, and removing signs signaling private property at the Coastal Walk Trail.
🗳️ Opinion: Which Gavin Newsom will voters see if he runs for president?
What else we’re reading
⚡️ Activists rallied in front of the downtown headquarters of SDG&E’s parent company Sempra, after the company posted its latest “strong” quarterly earnings report while SDG&E proposes to raise customer rates on average 8.6%. (KPBS)
💨 A jury convicted a man of two misdemeanor counts related to driving under the influence of nitrous oxide and will he face five years probation. “Laughing gas,” also known as “whippets,” has seen a sharp rise in recreational use and this is the first DUI conviction related to its use in San Diego County. (Union-Tribune *paywalled & KESQ)
What to do this weekend
Need weekend plans? We’ve got you. ⭐ = free
🎨 Barrio Logan Verano Art Festival (Today, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.) ⭐️
🍺 San Diego Brew Festival, Liberty Station (Today, 12 p.m.–4 p.m.)
🖼️ San Ysidro Archive Launch Event (Today, 2 p.m.–4 p.m.) ⭐️
🎶 Hillcrest CityFest (Tomorrow, 12 p.m.–11 p.m.) ⭐️