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Aug 05, 2023

La Jolla News Nuggets: Kids raise money for Maui; hillside repair; Alzheimer's study; 'The Outsiders'; more

Lily Bothwell and Caroline Shou, both fourth-graders at The Evans School in La Jolla, have raised more than $3,500 to help victims of wildfires on Maui. When Lily learned about the devastation that

Lily Bothwell and Caroline Shou, both fourth-graders at The Evans School in La Jolla, have raised more than $3,500 to help victims of wildfires on Maui.

When Lily learned about the devastation that the fires in Lahaina wreaked and how an elementary school burned down, she and Caroline, who both have visited Lily’s grandmother in nearby Napili-Honokowai on Maui, teamed up to raise money to help replace school supplies and buy books for the library at the school.

Lily and Caroline started baking cookies and Rice Krispy treats using new skills acquired at a summer baking camp.

Then they added lemonade and plumeria hair clips.

On Aug. 19, the girls set up a “Lemonade for Lahaina” table outside Warwick’s bookstore in La Jolla and plan other local fundraisers.

To donate, visit gofund.me/474f2054.

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A plan to repair a slope next to a house in the Country Club area got the La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee’s approval after two hearings this month.

Applicant representative Michael Kinnear said the slope surrounding 1641 Crespo St. is unstable and that the homeowner is looking to protect the house.

“There is a section next to the home that slid … so we are proposing to do two short walls — a 5-foot wall in the front and a 5-foot wall in the back,” he said at the committee’s meeting Aug. 8. “We don’t want to disturb the existing slope, but we want to provide additional protection.”

Kinnear said the walls would not be visible from the street and that the house is at the bottom of the hill in question.

A week later, he presented requested drawings that showed the proposed repair in relation to surrounding properties. With that, he got the board’s approval 4-1, with trustee Angeles Leira opposing without comment.

The La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee next meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, at a location to be determined. Agendas are posted 72 hours in advance at lajollacpa.org.

One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is disruption to the body’s circadian rhythm, the internal biological clock that regulates many of our physiological processes. Nearly 80 percent of the more than 6 million Americans with Alzheimer’s experience that issue, including difficulty sleeping and worsened cognitive function at night. However, there are no treatments for Alzheimer’s that target that aspect of the disease.

But a new study from researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine has shown in mice that it is possible to correct the circadian disruptions seen in Alzheimer’s disease with time-restricted feeding, a type of intermittent fasting focused on limiting the daily eating window without limiting the amount of food consumed.

In the study, published Aug. 21 in Cell Metabolism, mice that were fed on a time-restricted schedule showed improvements in memory and reduced accumulation of amyloid proteins in the brain. Compared with mice that were provided food at all hours, mice fed on the time-restricted schedule had better memory, were less hyperactive at night, followed a more regular sleep schedule and experienced fewer disruptions during sleep. The test mice also performed better on cognitive assessments than the other mice, demonstrating that the time-restricted feeding schedule was able to help mitigate the behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

The authors said the findings likely will result in a human clinical trial.

“The Outsiders,” a musical that made its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse in March, will open on Broadway next spring. Opening night will be April 11.

The musical — by bookwriters Adam Rapp and Justin Levine and composers Levine and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) — is based on S.E. Hinton’s 1967 young-adult novel of the same name. The coming-of-age story is about 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis, a smart but directionless orphan in Tulsa, Okla., who is fighting to survive and find purpose and connection in a harsh world of poverty, class division, gangs, guns and pocket knives.

The musical was a smash at La Jolla Playhouse last spring and its creators’ quest to take the show to Broadway got a major push last month when film star Angelina Jolie joined the list of producers.

Many musicals go through several out-of-town tryout productions and many rounds of fundraising before their producers can afford to mount a Broadway production. But “The Outsiders’” positive reception in the spring and Jolie’s high-profile support have made its transition to Broadway particularly speedy. — The San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego City Councilman Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, is looking for nominees to join the recently created Climate Advisory and Resiliency Advisory boards. Nominations are due Thursday, Aug. 31.

According to the council office, the boards’ goal is to amplify public participation in the execution of the city’s Climate Action Plan and Climate Resilient SD Plan.

“The city’s dedication to climate action through mitigation and adaptation requires the expertise and experience of local leaders,” LaCava said in a statement. “We will expedite our climate action and resiliency progress by fostering a collaborative atmosphere that is informed by the public and with local expertise.”

The Climate Advisory Board is an advisory body to the mayor and City Council on policies and issues related to climate, sustainability and energy policy and is intended to assist the city in implementing the Climate Action Plan.

The Resiliency Advisory Board is an advisory body on natural resource conservation, climate resiliency and adaptation, wetlands, habitat preservation, biodiversity and the Climate Resilient SD Plan.

Learn more at sandiego.gov.

La Jolla resident Mary Gendron, a longtime advocate for San Diego’s older adults, has been named to a two-year term as board chairwoman for Serving Seniors, a nonprofit services organization for low-income adults 60 and older.

Gendron previously served as chair of Serving Seniors’ philanthropy committee and as a member of the executive committee. She also is former senior vice president and chief information officer at Qualcomm.

Before her retirement in 2021, Gendron led a global IT organization including Qualcomm’s cybersecurity initiatives and served as a member of the company’s ethics committee.

“Serving Seniors and I share a commitment to supporting our community’s low-income and homeless older adults,” Gendron said. “The far-reaching impact of this well-run organization is built on its efficiency, dedication and financial solvency. Its impressive half-century of service provides the foundation for achieving even more ambitious goals in the years to come.”

— Compiled by La Jolla Light staff ◆