La Jolla Cove Swim cancelled
Following a site inspection on Sept. 8, organizers behind the La Jolla Cove Swim cancelled the annual event, which was planned for Sept. 13.
Race director Aaron Brennan told supporters, “high tides combined with significant beach erosion from all of the tropical storm and hurricane activity in the Pacific Ocean the past month mean there is effectively no rock free beach available at race time for you to safely enter and exit the water.” San Diego Lifeguards agreed, leading to the event’s cancellation.
Entry fees for the La Jolla Cove Swim are non-refundable. In an email to participants, Brennan wrote that participants can either defer their entry to 2027, or donate their entry fee to the Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego County.
Would-be participants are also invited to pick up their t-shirts for just the shipping cost. Additional details are expected at a later date.
“I am deeply sorry,” Brennan’s statement continued. “As a former lifeguard myself, I do not make this call lightly, and I know how disappointing this is after your training and preparation. But safety has to come first, and this isn’t a risk any of us should take. I cannot in good conscience risk someone being seriously injured during this fun event.”
Village merchants weigh in on sidewalk vendor changes
The La Jolla Village Merchants Association unanimously approved a letter in opposition to the lack of enforcement on street vendors at its Sept. 9 meeting.
Recent court rulings have forced the city of San Diego to halt a crackdown on vendor operations in areas from the Gaslamp Quarter to city beaches, and limited the city’s ability to enforce certain terms of its sidewalk vending ordinance.
The recent ruling — spurred by the complaints of a vendor who had operated for years outside Petco Park and a state appeal claiming the city of San Diego was illegally impounding the carts and other property of sidewalk or streetside vendors — declared the city’s geographic no-vendor zones and limitations on vending hours as “overly restrictive.”
Since the court decision, vendors have returned to many areas where they’d been before the city’s street vendor law took effect in 2023. That includes much of Ellen Browning Scripps Park, La Jolla Shores and the La Jolla Cove area.
LJVMA is the latest community group to weigh in on the issue of vendor ordinances.
At its Aug. 24 meeting at the La Jolla/Riford Library, the La Jolla Parks & Beaches board unanimously voted to send a letter to city of San Diego staff urging the city to resume enforcement of sidewalk-vending rules and any related San Diego Municipal Code violations along the shoreline.
At La Jolla Town Council’s Aug. 13 meeting, group president Mary Soriano proposed the idea of gathering signatures on a petition and delivering it to the city to demonstrate robust community opposition throughout the court proceedings to follow. Though no motion was taken, Soriano said she would begin the petition process.
The LJVMA’s letter of opposition to growing sidewalk vending was swiftly approved by the board with minimal discussion.
La Jolla Coastal Conservancy does El Nino preparations
La Jolla Coastal Conservancy is readying the area surrounding Coast Walk in La Jolla for El Nino weather patterns that are expected in the coming months.
According to Scripps Institution of Oceanography — which launched an El Nino Resource Hub in recent weeks — the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting that the 2026/2027 El Nino could be among the strongest on record.
To get ahead of potential issues, SoCal Outdoor Solutions will be conducting preventative soil-erosion and water damage mitigation on Coast Walk Trail through Sept. 18. Work began at the north end of the trail near Torrey Pines Road and will conclude south toward the Cave Store, according to a newsletter sent out by LJCC.
Coast Walk Trail will be closed intermittently as work is conducted.
“Our goal is to first get the trail safely through the winter and restore and improve the walking surface once the rainy season has passed,” wrote LJCC chair Brenda Fake.
Moving forward, LJCC plans to “undertake a more comprehensive refresh of the trail surface including the installation of new decomposed granite in the spring,” the newsletter further explained.
Permit reviewers ask for second look at Camino de la Costa project
A preliminary review of a development at 6126 Camino de la Costa yielded multiple comments from the La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee, prompting project applicant Stuart Stielau of Island Architects to return to the board again at a later date for a vote.
The project would construct a two-story, 17,124-square-foot house over a basement. Plans include a new driveaway, a pool/spa and a 2,236-square-foot attached garage space.
A rendering from Island Architects shows a proposed development at 6126 Camino de la Costa in La Jolla. (Screenshot by Noah Lyons/rendering by Island Architects)
Board member and architect AJ Remen, who recused himself as a committee member and commented on behalf of a nearby client, said neighbors to the north were concerned about the house’s setback and how far the pool extends toward the ocean. Remen said neighbors to the east of the property were content with the applicant lowering the roof height by seven inches.
A handful of items were requested for a follow-up presentation: a clear description of how much dirt will be removed, brought to or relocated on the site; an illustration of what the view corridors look like from the sidewalk; a montage of how house and landscaping will look in the context of the neighboring properties; drainage plans; and details on excavation, fill or support structures.
La Jolla museums to participate in Kids Free in October program
A handful of La Jolla institutions will be a part of a San Diego program offering free access to museums, aquariums, gardens, historical sites and more next month.
Kids Free in October, a program of the San Diego Museum Council, offers free admission to visitors under 12 years old in San Diego County and now, across the border in Tijuana, to various cultural and educational institutions.
Birch Aquarium, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial and the Museum of History and Culture La Jolla (formerly known as the La Jolla Historical Society) are the local participants this year. The latter two already offer free access.
Learn more and see participating locations at sandiegomuseumcouncil.org/specials/kidsfree.
Birch Aquarium releases new batch of endangered frogs to their original home
The La Jolla-based Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego recently crossed another milestone in its efforts to save the endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs.
This summer, the aquarium conducted its second successful reintroduction of mountain yellow-legged frogs, sending 223 of them back to their home in the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County after “rewilding” them locally.
Birch Aquarium and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance researchers release the latest batch of mountain yellow-legged frogs into a creek in Southern California. (Birch Aquarium)
The original effort was part of a collaboration among the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, UCLA and Big Bear Alpine Zoo. Of the more than 350 frogs that were released into the wild in total, 220 were raised at Birch Aquarium. It was one of the largest releases of the frog species as researchers try to renew its population in the wild.
The species has been considered endangered since 2002 because of drought, infection, human recreational activities and introduction of non-native species, such as trout, that eat the frog.
“It was incredibly exciting to be part of another successful release of mountain yellow-legged frogs. After watching these frogs grow from tadpoles into healthy juveniles, there’s something especially rewarding about seeing them take that final leap back into their native habitat,” shared Sean Bruce, assistant curator of fishes and invertebrates at Birch Aquarium, in a press release.
Paddleout pays homage to San Diego surfer
A paddle out was held at Windansea Beach earlier this month to honor a San Diego surfer and La Jollan who died this summer.
Patrick Phillips, 56, passed away on June 19 due to injuries he sustained while surfing in Teahupo’o, Tahiti.
Hundreds of community members gathered on the sand at Windansea beach before paddling onto the beach in his honor.
Village Garden Club welcomes new batch of members
The Village Garden Club of La Jolla continues to grow, with 19 new members that were welcomed to the group last month.
Marilyn Dronenburg, Christy Wilson, Janet Evans, Maureen McMahon and Margaret Dudas at the latest Village Garden Club of La Jolla meeting. (The Village Garden Club of La Jolla)
Newcomers were introduced to the group at a new member event on Aug. 27, which included remarks from co-presidents Christy Wilson and Janet Evans and lunch.
The club handed out $11,000 in grants to 20 schools last year, and has planted a total of 3,000 trees throughout San Diego.
La Jolla area groups in play for Circulate San Diego 2026 Awards
Two La Jolla area groups have a chance at Circulate Planning & Policy’s Momentum Awards next month.
The Momentum Awards is an annual event “celebrating leadership in safe streets, transit and sustainable growth,” according to organizers, who will hand out seven awards this year.
Respect Bird Rock, a local safe streets advocacy group, is nominated for the Advocacy Award. UC San Diego’s Ridge Walk North Living and Learning Neighborhood, meanwhile, is nominated in the category of Transit Oriented Development.
The other categories are as follows: Housing Innovation, Safe Streets, Public Transit, Planning, Transit Oriented Development and Public Servant.
The event will take place at Nova SD at 454 Sixth Ave in downtown San Diego. Visit circulatesd.org/awards2026 to learn more.