New La Jolla Town Council trustees announced, departing trustees honored
Four trustees were named to the La Jolla Town Council board at its June 11 meeting.
The newly elected members are incumbent Mary Soriano, who has served as president of the group since 2024; Theodore Hiemstra, a registered nurse at UC San Diego; Sandra Acra, a real estate agent and 13-year La Jolla resident; and Hafsa Ammermann, co-owner of La Jolla Automotive Services. They will be sworn in next month.
Per Town Council bylaws, the board must have seven to 12 members. Eligible candidates must be 18 or older, live or work in La Jolla and have attended at least three Town Council meetings.
Kristine Tran, a dentist for more than 30 years, was elected but was not at the meeting and therefore did not qualify under the three-meeting requirement.
Meanwhile, Soriano honored departing trustees Rick Dagon and Kevin Healy for their contributions to the Town Council. Dagon, a trustee the past six years who is termed out, led the elections committee. Healy last year filled the remainder of an expiring term and did not seek election this year.
Cala La Jolla to host grand-opening event
Cala La Jolla, a coffee shop that took the place of the former Peet’s Coffee at 7910 Girard Ave., will host a grand-opening celebration from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 27.
The event for guests 21 and older will include food, drinks and live music.
It will benefit Urban Surf 4 Kids, a nonprofit that provides surf therapy, life-skills programs and mentoring for youths.
Tickets to the grand opening are available for $66 at bit.ly/4oqhhSI.
Summer camp coming to Museum of Contemporary Art
The summer camp program will start next month at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla.
Campers will have the opportunity to create art projects based on the museum’s exhibition “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” and other collections.
The following themes will be offered from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays:
• July 6-10: “The Great Museum Mystery,” including puzzles, riddles and mysteries inside the gallery halls
• July 13-17: “Utopia: Imagining a Perfect World,” composed of community-building and creative projects
• July 20-24: “Mighty Makers and Menders,” featuring painting, patching and lessons on how contemporary artists build community through their work
Admission is $400 for museum members and $450 for non-members. Two people registered together receive 25% off with the code “SUMMERPAIR.” Additional weeks are 25% off with the code “MORECAMP.”
Find out more or sign up at mcasd.org/events/summer-camp-2026.
ArtPower summer lineup coming to UC San Diego
ArtPower at UC San Diego is bringing a globally inspired summer season to the Epstein Family Amphitheater on the La Jolla campus, featuring eight performances that span international music, cinematic scores, flamenco, indie folk and Grammy Award-winning spoken word.
The season runs July 10 to Sept. 19. Here is the lineup (more events may be added):
• Maruja Limón, 7 p.m. Friday, July 10: This female sextet from Barcelona, Spain, is known for vibrant music that blends flamenco, pop and Latin rhythms.
• “Shredding the Multiverse,” 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 21: This concert features rock interpretations of movie and TV scores, including music from “Cobra Kai,” “The Penguin,” “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,” “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” and more.
• “Up Close: A Conversation with Brad Bird and Michael Giacchino,” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 22: Giacchino has scored Bird’s films, including “The Incredibles” and “Ratatoille.”
• Aja Monet, 7 p.m. Thursday, July 30: The surrealist blues poet will present “The Color of Rain,” featuring jazz, soul, hip-hop and R&B music.
• The Cream of Clapton Band, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1: This concert commemorates Eric Clapton’s record-breaking 24 nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall and his bestselling live album from “MTV Unplugged” and features guests who have played with Clapton.
• Siudy Garrido Flamenco Company, “Flamenco Intimo” (or “Intimate Flamenco”), 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9: The performance will feature a flamenco suite crafted by Latin Grammy-nominated choreographer Garrido and award-winning composer and guitarist José Luis de la Paz.
• Helado Negro and Reyna Tropical, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12: The two will present their first collaborative album, “Helado Tropical,” blending Negro’s experimental pop with Tropical’s rhythms rooted in Afro-Indigenous tradition.
• Jose Gonzalez, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19: Gonzalez showcases his album “Against the Dying of the Light,” a meditation on humanity in an age increasingly shaped by technology.
For tickets and more information, visit artpower.ucsd.edu.
La Jolla Playhouse gets ready for ‘The Family Album’
La Jolla Playhouse will present the world-premiere musical “The Family Album” from Friday, July 17, to Sunday, Aug. 16, in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre at 2910 La Jolla Village Drive.
In the production, singer-songwriter Mia Bing (Aury Krebs), who has been struggling for years to break through in the music industry, receives a call that could change her career. But she’s pulled back to her childhood home, where she’s again the “disappointing” daughter of her Asian immigrant parents, still haunted by an unresolved secret.
For more information, visit lajollaplayhouse.org/show/the-family-album.
Application filed for Camino de la Costa home project
An application has been filed with the city of San Diego for permits to demolish an approximately 4,300-square-foot two-story house at 6216 Camino de la Costa in La Jolla’s Lower Hermosa neighborhood and build a new two-story, 13,367-square-foot house, including 7,740 square feet of habitable area, a 694-square-foot covered terrace, a 2,697-square-foot basement and a 2,236-square-foot attached garage, plus a new driveway, a pool/spa and associated site improvements.
Claude Anthony Marengo presents plans for a new residence on La Jolla Boulevard to the La Jolla Planned District Ordinance Committee on Oct. 14. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)
The project is undergoing environmental review. A decision to approve or deny it will be made at a public hearing that has not yet been scheduled.
Hearing officer to review Bird Rock residential development
A city of San Diego hearing officer will weigh in on a Bird Rock home project that went through several local reviews in recent months.
The hearing officer review will begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 24, and will be livestreamed at youtube.com/@cityofsandiegopublichearin5234.
The proposal would add a 2,016-square-foot two-story residence over an existing parking area at 6794 La Jolla Blvd. near Bonair Street, where there currently is a dentist’s office with a second-story residential unit above it. Nothing would be added to the existing building. The project’s overall height is 29½ feet, while 30 feet is allowed.
The project was heard twice by the La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee and once by the La Jolla Planned District Ordinance Committee, ultimately getting support from both.
Students recognized in La Jolla for highlighting Jewish history, fighting anti-Semitism
High school students from across San Diego County were recognized for their efforts to explore Jewish American history and combat anti-Semitism on June 9 at the “Remember Us the Holocaust,” or “RUTH,” exhibit at the La Jolla/Riford Library.
The event came on the heels of a Jewish American Heritage Month scholarship competition sponsored by the Combat Antisemitism Movement and PeerK12.
PeerK12 co-founder Tamar Caspi, scholarship winner Isabel Vann, Holocaust survivor Ben Midler, scholarship winners Jack Norman and Abigail Weisman and PeerK12 co-founder Nicole Bernstein gather at the La Jolla/Riford Library on June 9. (PeerK12)
The competition winners were Isabel Vann, who wrote poems celebrating scientist Jonas Salk; Abigail Weisman, who wrote an essay that connected former San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg to Jewish values of tikkun olam, chesed and pursuit of justice; and Jack Norman, whose essay explored former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman’s part in repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the military.
Restaurant Week to feature handful of La Jolla establishments
At least four La Jolla restaurants will participate in the upcoming San Diego Restaurant Week, including Duke’s, The Shores, Beeside Balcony and Haidilao Hot Pot.
San Diego Restaurant Week, presented by the California Restaurant Association, will return Sept. 13-20, with participating eating establishments offering exclusive two-course lunch and three-course dinner menus starting at $30.
Reservations are recommended but not required. A full list of participating restaurants, menus, updates and other details will be available at sandiegorestaurantweek.com.
UCSD physician to be chairwoman of American Medical Association board
Dr. Toluwalasé “Lasé” Ajayi, a UC San Diego-based pediatrician and palliative care physician, recently was reelected to the American Medical Association’s board of trustees and will serve as chairwoman.
“I am deeply honored to be reelected to, and now serve as chair of, the AMA board of trustees so I can continue working on behalf of physicians to help improve our health care system and improve health outcomes for our patients,” Ajayi said.
In 2023, then-state Sen. Toni Atkins recognized Ajayi as a Woman Making Herstory.
Naturally occurring molecule may help outsmart melanoma
Melanoma is considered one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer, due largely to its ability to rapidly develop resistance to treatment. Now, researchers at UC San Diego in La Jolla have identified a naturally occurring peptide — a small protein fragment composed of linked amino acids — that may help counter it.
The researchers say they found in a study that a bioactive peptide known as catestatin significantly slowed melanoma growth, reduced its ability to spread and restored sensitivity in drug-resistant melanoma cells.
The findings suggest that catestatin could serve as the foundation for a new class of peptide-based therapies aimed at treating advanced and therapy-resistant melanoma.
The team also is exploring catestatin’s potential roles in heart disease, metabolic disorders and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Moores Cancer Center director named inaugural holder of chair position
Internationally recognized pancreatic cancer surgeon Diane Simeone, director of UC San Diego’s Moores Cancer Center, is the first person to hold the Koman Family Presidential Director’s Chair, created by Bill and Amy Koman, longtime UCSD supporters and co-founders of Curebound.
According to UC San Diego, the chair’s priorities are supporting Moores Cancer Center leadership and “reinforcing the university’s commitment to advancing transformative cancer research, clinical care and education.”
“Cancer research is one of the most meaningful investments we can make to save lives,” Bill Koman said in a statement. “Breakthroughs in prevention, early detection and treatments only happen when talented scientists have the resources to pursue bold, transformative ideas. We are honored to … have Dr. Diane Simeone at the helm, guiding discovery and mentoring the next generation of scientists.”
Simeone is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and founder of the international Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection Consortium.
Salk scientists uncover new clues into how the brain learns
The brain has a dense network of neurons that receive, process and relay information. The synapse, where neurons meet, is the epicenter of that communication. Neurons that send information hold tiny packages of neurotransmitters, waiting for a chemical signal from the brain to be released.
But how the brain regulates this system during periods of learning has been out of reach until now.
Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla discovered that the density of synaptic vesicles is regulated by the brain during long-term potentiation (LTP), a process widely regarded as key to learning and memory.
Synaptic dysfunction is thought to be the cause of a wide range of neurological diseases and age-related neurodegeneration. However, scientists have lacked the tools necessary to pinpoint what goes wrong at the structural level.
Understanding how the regulation of synaptic vesicle clusters differs between healthy individuals and those with aging-related or neurological conditions could help researchers pinpoint the specific mechanisms driving disease and potentially point toward new therapies. ♦