REMEMBERING JEFF BROSBE: The community is invited to an Artist Reception at the San Dieguito Art Guild’s Off Track Gallery from 5 to 7 p.m. June 19, celebrating hand-crafted artworks by the members of the San Dieguito Art Guild.
A cash scholarship award for a promising photography student will be presented in memory of Jeffrey R. Brosbe, a San Dieguito Art Guild board member who died in April.
CHARITY BRINGS TRANSPORTATION TO AFRICA: DoSomethingNow donated 30 bicycles to St. John, a community health service in Cape Town, South Africa in April. The 30 bicycles were made possible by a matching grant with the Tour de France Foundation in conjunction with Qhubeka, a South African NGO.
The bicycles were uniquely developed by the World Bicycle Relief who designed the bikes to match the terrain where the bikes would be used. With these bicycles, health care workers will be able to visit up to four times the number of patients a day having bicycles rather than walking. Typically, the health care workers see patients who suffer from HIV, COVID-19 and other health-related issues.
ENCINITAS PUBLIC LIBRARY’S HALF-PRICE BOOK SALE: It’s time to stock up for summer reading. The Encinitas Friends of the Library Bookstore will hold its half-price sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 19 at 540 Cornish Drive, Encinitas. Visit encinitaslibfriends.org.
FINDING WAYWARD TURTLES: San Diego Humane Society and San Diego Turtle & Tortoise Society partnered for a special microchipping event on World Turtle Day, May 23. A socially distanced, in-person clinic was held, microchipping turtles and tortoises in the care of San Diego Turtle & Tortoise Society, while promoting adoptions. San Diego Humane Society receives an average of 156 stray turtles and tortoises each year.
OCEANSIDE NAMED MOST WATERWISE CITY: The city of Oceanside claimed first place in the 2021 Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, earning Oceanside the Most Waterwise City designation among similarly-sized cities, for the upcoming year.
The annual competition was held during Earth Month to bring awareness to the importance of using water efficiently, especially as California moves into its second consecutive dry year. Mayors nationwide participated in the competition by challenging their residents to pledge to conserve water, reduce carbon emissions, reduce waste, and take other sustainable actions on behalf of their communities.
SAN MARCOS AGENCIES OFFER HELP FOR RENT COSTS: Renters in San Marcos whose income has suffered due to COVID-19 restrictions may now get temporary financial help from a new joint program for short term rental assistance launched by two North County non-profits. For more information or to determine eligibility, San Marcos residents should call (760) 736-6734.
SALE OF BALDESSARI ENDOWS COLLEGE ART GALLERY: The Palomar College Foundation is establishing a sizable endowment fund after the Boehm Gallery at Palomar College sold a long-held work, “Painting and Drawing,” in a private sale last fall.
Created in the late 1960s and considered an important example of Post-War Conceptual Art, the Baldessari was purchased for less than $2,000. The artist, it seems, was a friend of the Boehm’s first director, Russell Baldwin.
The Palomar College Governing Board approved the sale last summer, and the funds were transferred to Palomar in two installments, with the final payment received recently. The Board also approved the arrangement of an endowment fund, managed by the nonprofit Palomar College Foundation, which will ensure significant annual funding in perpetuity for the Boehm Gallery.
BALLET STUDIO BOUNCES BACK WITH ‘SWAN ‘LAKE’: Encinitas resident Sayat Asatryan admits it has been a long journey for Encinitas Ballet and businesses like them, since March 2020.
“I knew that the pandemic would continue, but either way I never gave up giving hope to children. Most of our students were able to return thanks to the amazing dedication of both kids and parents, Asatryan said.
The result was a full outdoor performance of the ballet classic “Swan Lake” on May 22. The performance was kept to a small audience for safety reasons, asking for donations only. They made sure each group had its own location for changing and entrances. Each family had its own folding chairs and sunshade. The choreography was adjusted with distance, so everyone on stage would feel safe, Asatryan said.
PRAISE FOR MIRA COSTA NURSING PROGRAM: Kudos to MiraCosta College’s Registered Nursing Program, it is bringing the spotlight on its students, who have spent the past three months saving lives by administering some 10,000 shots at North County COVID-19 vaccination centers.
42 second- and third-semester students in the Associate Degree in Nursing Program and 15 students in the Licensed Vocational Nursing Program have volunteered at the Palomar Health vaccination site in Escondido. Licensed vocational nursing students also pitched in at a Sharp Healthcare-operated vaccination center at California State University, San Marcos, a center where MiraCosta College Nursing Program alumna Shelby Miller served as a nurse lead.
And some two dozen fourth-semester nursing students secured critical clinical hours working at healthcare centers across the region, providing care to the underserved and homeless.
