Community Planning Association brings on new trustees, reelects officers
The La Jolla Community Planning Association brought on some new board members but reelected its entire slate of officers for another year during its meeting April 2.
Four recently elected trustees were sworn in by Joaquin Quintero, field representative of San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla. They are incumbents Harry Bubbins and Janette Williams and newcomers Kevin Veno and Cameron Etienne.
Ryan Amos and Michael Sacks, who also were elected in March, will be sworn in at the next meeting.
Officers who were reelected are LJPCA President Lisa Kriedeman, Vice Presidents Bubbins and Greg Jackson, secretary Adrian Feral and treasurer Glen Rasmussen.
Kriedeman said all of the past year’s officers expressed willingness to continue and no other candidates came forward.
Application proposes White Sands La Jolla renovations
An application has been filed with the city of San Diego’s Development Services Department to renovate part of the White Sands La Jolla retirement community at 7450 Olivetas Ave. A March 23 notice detailed the possible changes.
The notice states that coastal development and site development permits are sought “to convert the existing grade-level storage area of [the] five-story multifamily building into a residential unit with a new elevator and access from the basement.”
City project manager Robin MacCartee told the La Jolla Light that the planned work is within the building’s existing footprint and no expansion is proposed. If there are any significant alterations, the project would have to be re-noticed, MacCartee said.
A decision on whether the application is approved or denied will be made at a public hearing.
Coastwise Spelling Prize returns April 29
Registration is open for the fifth annual Coastwise Spelling Prize, which invites students from La Jolla schools to compete in a spelling bee for awards.
This year’s event will be Wednesday, April 29, at the La Jolla Shores Hotel. Second- and third-graders will compete at 4 p.m. and fourth- and fifth-graders at 5:30 p.m.
The competition is open to students from La Jolla, Bird Rock and Torrey Pines Elementary schools, La Jolla Country Day School, Gillispie School, The Children’s School, All Hallows Academy, The Evans School and Stella Maris Academy.
The top three spellers in the 2025 Coastwise Spelling Prize in the fourth- and fifth-grade division were winner Levi Pancer (center) of Bird Rock Elementary School, Bird Rock Elementary student Diana Zhu and Torrey Pines Elementary School student Raphael Gelber. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)
Bird Rock Elementary School student Levi Pancer has won the Coastwise Spelling Prize three years in a row.
Learn more or register at coastwisespellingprize.com.
Two Salk scientists are named AAAS Fellows
Molecular biologist Gerald Shadel and neuroscientist Tatyana Sharpee of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla have been elected as 2025 American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows.
The honor recognizes scientists with distinguished scientific and social accomplishments. AAAS Fellows become national and global science spokespeople for the rest of their lives.
Neuroscientist Tatyana Sharpee of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla is among the 2025 American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows. (Salk Institute)
Shadel and Sharpee are among nearly 500 scientists, engineers and others chosen as 2025 Fellows.
“Both of these distinguished scientists have advanced science and exemplified the impact of foundational research,” said Salk President Dr. Gerald Joyce. “Tatyana’s research has contributed to deep mechanistic understanding of brain function, and Gerald’s work has provided important insights into the complex inner workings of mitochondria. This recognition reflects the creativity, rigor and vision that drive their discoveries.”
UCSD shares $15.8M in NIH funding for study of Latino health
The National Institutes of Health has awarded researchers at UC San Diego and UC Davis a $15.85 million grant to support the next phase of one of the nation’s most extensive studies on brain aging in Hispanic and Latino communities.
Latinos are one of the fastest-growing groups in the United States and have a higher risk of heart and vascular diseases and are more prone to developing mild cognitive impairment or dementia than people from other groups, according to a news release. Still, Latinos are underrepresented in research of aging and dementia, the release states.
The grant will support creation of the most comprehensive long-term dataset on Hispanic and Latino brain aging to date by tracking brain and cognitive changes in Latinos from diverse backgrounds.
“Our goal is to identify the factors that matter most for healthy cognitive aging and ultimately reduce the burden of dementia for millions of families,” said Charles DeCarli, a UC Davis professor of neurology and the study’s principal investigator. “Our new study will give us an unprecedented ability to understand how the brain changes over time in Latino communities.”
UCSD School of Medicine maintains strong NIH funding numbers
UC San Diego’s School of Medicine still ranks highly among public institutions in National Institutes of Health funding awards, according to UCSD Health Sciences.
In the 2025 fiscal year, the School of Medicine garnered more than $425 million in grants, placing it fourth among public institutions and 14th overall.
UCSD ranks first in neuroscience with $40.28 million, second in dermatology at $8.54 million and third in pharmacology at $24.31 million.
The data was reported in the 2025 Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research rankings. See the full list at brimr.org/brimr-rankings-of-nih-funding-in-2025.
Nobel laureate to deliver commencement address at UC San Diego
Fred Ramsdell, a UC San Diego graduate who shared last year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, has been chosen to deliver the La Jolla university’s main commencement address on Saturday, June 13.
Ramsdell and researchers Mary Brunkow and Shimon Sakaguchi won the Nobel for discovering that T cells help prevent the immune system from attacking the body’s healthy tissues, an insight that could lead to new therapeutic drugs.
Nobel laureate Fred Ramsdell will deliver the main commencement address at his alma mater UC San Diego in June. (Sonoma Biotherapeutics via AP)
Ramsdell earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and cell biology at UCSD in 1983 and went on to obtain a doctorate at UCLA, where he came to specialize in immunology.
He now is chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board for Sonoma Biotherapeutics, which he co-founded in 2019.
Athenaeum seeking artists for Juried Exhibition
La Jolla’s Athenaeum Music & Arts Library has issued a call for art entries for its upcoming Juried Exhibition.
Artists may enter up to three different works for jury consideration through Tuesday, June 30. The entry fee is $15 per artist for Athenaeum members and $20 for non-members.
To qualify, artists must live, work or exhibit in San Diego County or Tijuana. Two-dimensional work must be framed and ready to hang and must not exceed 60 inches in width or height. Three-dimensional work may not exceed 8 feet in height. Pieces must have been completed within the past five years.
The exhibition will be on view Saturday, Aug. 1, through Saturday, Oct. 10, at 1008 Wall St.
All entries must be submitted online at ljathenaeum.org/juried-exhibition.
The Lodge at Torrey Pines appoints three new chefs
The Lodge at Torrey Pines resort in La Jolla has appointed three new chefs to its culinary team.
Eric Sakai has been named executive chef, Owen Beatty chef de cuisine of A.R. Valentien restaurant and Michael Moritz chef de cuisine of The Grill at Torrey Pines.
“The trio of accomplished chefs come from Michelin-starred kitchens, renowned fine-dining restaurants and leading world-class resorts, strengthening The Lodge’s long-standing commitment to exceptional California cuisine rooted in seasonality and craftsmanship,” according to a statement from The Lodge at Torrey Pines. ♦