Pacific View Update
The deadline for developers to register their interest in submitting a proposal for the closed Pacific View School site is Nov. 18, which is also the day the Encinitas Union School District will host a conference for prospective participants at the district office. According to the district’s request for proposals released last month, the deadline to submit a plan for the historic school site on Third Street is Jan. 4, 2012, with a final agreement ideally reached in April. The school district will consider sale, lease, development, or exchange of the 2.82-acre property, which was closed as a school site in 2003 due to declining enrollment. The school district has , which refused to grant the district’s request to rezone the land for residential use earlier this year. Members of the Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association (DEMA) and many residents have expressed an interest in instead having homes built there. The City Council recently voted to fight the lawsuit; Supt. Tim Baird said last week that a court date had not been set yet.
School Wishes Granted
Three Encinitas Union School District campuses and the private Grauer School received more than $2,200 in grants from the San Diego Chapter of the California Special Districts Association.
The schools and programs funded:
- Mission Estancia, $307.95 for water conservation education in the school garden.
- Olivenhain Pioneer Elementary, $973 for an interpretive nature trail that focuses on native plants.
- The Grauer School, $700 for its water quality testing program at San Elijo Lagoon, part of Surfrider Foundation’s national Blue Water Task Force.
- Park Dale Lane, $190 for a rain barrel in the kindergarten garden, and $100 for drought-tolerant plants in the third-grade garden.
The program promotes awareness of special districts and the services they provide communities; Olivenhain Municipal Water District, San Dieguito Water District, and Leucadia Wastewater District are chapter members and sponsored the school’s grant applications.
Money for Safer Streets
The city of Encinitas has received $331,200 in federal funds, disbursed via CalTrans, for an improvement project in the area around Flora Vista Elementary School as part of the Safe Routes to School program. The plan calls for raised medians and crosswalks, pedestrian islands, and curb ramps. Parents had long lobbied for a traffic calming plan on nearby Gardendale Road, which was approved by City Council earlier this year.
Better than a Keg Party
The Lux@Night event at Lux Art Institute on Nov. 16 is a special college night, where students with valid identification will get in free. They’ll get to see artist-in-residence Emilio Perez and the triptych he’s currently working on, enjoy music from The Heavy Guilt, and buy food from the Bitchin Burgers truck. Lux@Night takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. at 1550 S. El Camino Real. 760-436-6611, luxartinstitute.org.
Write About the Bill of Rights
High school students and their sponsoring teachers have until Dec. 15 to enter the Bill of Rights Institute’s Being an American Essay Contest. The question is “How does the Constitution establish and maintain a culture of liberty,” and the top three winners from each of five U.S. regions will be awarded prizes between $250 and $1,000, with teachers who sponsor student winners earning $100. Essays must be 1,000 words maximum and will be judged on adherence to the question, originality, organization, writing style, and depth of analysis. All essays must be sent to billofrightsinstitute.org/submit; for more information, visit billofrightsinstitute.org/contest.
