La Jolla Lutheran Church celebrates 80 years
A local church “that bees built” is celebrating its 80th anniversary this month.
La Jolla Lutheran Church at 7111 La Jolla Blvd. will mark its eight decades with a gathering Sunday, May 18, featuring new and old photos, a folder describing the history of the church, a luncheon with music and more. The church’s Sunday services begin at 9:30 a.m.
La Jolla Lutheran was founded May 20, 1945, and originally met in a local mortuary for services. The church broke ground on its current location in 1947.
The church, designed in the Spanish Mission style by architect William Stone and originally marked by a golden cross on its steeple, was first led by pastor Leonard Johnson. As it grew, Johnson looked for help in financing a second building.
A large contribution came from Johnson’s friends in Wisconsin — beekeepers and international honey traders Carl and Hazel Aeppler. The church honored the Aepplers’ gift with a plaque in the sanctuary that declares La Jolla Lutheran “the church that bees built.”
For more information, call 858-454-6459 or visit lajollalutheranchurch.com.
1955 Mercedes wins Best in Show at La Jolla Concours
A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing owned by John and Kimberly Word of Newport Beach was named Best in Show in the recent La Jolla Concours d’Elegance.
The April 27 show featured 122 restored automobiles competing across 11 classes and 14 specialty categories.
“Finished in black with a striking red interior, the iconic Gullwing captivated judges with its impeccable craftsmanship and restoration,” organizers said. “Originally purchased by John Word in 1977 for $25,000 — his first classic car — the vehicle was recently restored over four years by Hjeltness Restoration in San Diego.”
For a full list of Concours award winners, visit lajollaconcours.com.
Sierra Club Seal Society helps with Earth Day cleanup
Volunteers with the Sierra Club Seal Society were team captains for the fifth year in a row at key spots in La Jolla for I Love a Clean San Diego’s Creek to Bay cleanup April 26 as part of a countywide commemoration of Earth Day.
The 40-person team picked up 20 pounds of trash and recyclables along with 700 cigarette butts and various items such as a bath mat, snorkels, toys and construction equipment around La Jolla Cove, Scripps Park, the Children’s Pool and the tide pools.
Windansea walking path is resurfaced
A walking path that runs parallel to Neptune Place at Windansea Beach was recently upgraded by Friends of Windansea.
The path previously was topped with decomposed granite, which Friends of Windansea member Melinda Merryweather said gets “grooves that were becoming dangerous … trip hazards” during rains.
A team of volunteers and San Diego city park rangers removed the top layer and replaced it with a material known as Granitecrete over a few days at the end of April.
The resurfaced path is “incredible,” Merryweather said.
Shores home plan to be reviewed without public hearing
An application filed with the city of San Diego to build a new two-story, 2,484-square-foot house with an attached 636-square-foot garage at 7951 Paseo del Ocaso in La Jolla Shores will be reviewed without a public hearing.
The review will consider whether the project complies with previously approved permits. The decision of the city Development Services Department staff will be final unless appealed to the Planning Commission.
San Diego hearing officer Antoinette Gibbs initially approved the project in 2022. At the time, it called for a new two-story, 3,503-square-foot house with an attached garage.
San Diego Unified awarded state funds for zero-emission school buses
The San Diego Unified School District is the largest recipient in San Diego County of a share of a half-billion dollars recently awarded to school districts and other educational agencies across California to help add 1,000 zero-emission school buses and associated chargers.
SDUSD, which includes five schools in La Jolla, will receive funding through California’s Zero-Emissions School Bus and Infrastructure project for 50 buses and chargers, according to the California Air Resources Board. The district currently has 13 electric school buses and recently received a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to add 30 more.
Under requirements for the state funding, for every new zero-emission bus, school districts must drop an old bus powered by an internal combustion engine.
Salk neuroscientist named to National Academy of Sciences
Greg Lemke, a professor emeritus at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies in La Jolla, is one of 120 new and 30 foreign associates elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their achievements in original research.
Lemke, a neuroscientist, is known for discovering the TAM family of cell receptors and their role in brain inflammation.
TAM receptors play a crucial role in telling immune cells how to handle normal cellular debris and infections of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. Lemke’s work showed how problems with TAM receptors or their pathways are associated with drug-resistant cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
“It’s an incredible honor to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences,” Lemke said. “This recognition reflects decades of collaborative effort with brilliant colleagues and trainees, and I’m deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to explore the fundamental mechanisms that govern some of our greatest health challenges.”
The National Academy of Sciences is a private nonprofit institution established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Along with the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, it provides science, engineering and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.
Novartis acquiring Regulus Therapeutics in billion-dollar deal
In a deal with a total value as high as $1.7 billion, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis announced plans to acquire Regulus Therapeutics, whose principal offices are at 4224 Campus Point Court, just north of Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
Under the deal, a subsidiary of Novartis is set to merge with Regulus on work including development of a potential breakthrough treatment for kidney disease. The agreement is expected to close in the second half of this year.
Until the acquisition is finalized, Regulus will continue operating as a separate and independent company. — The San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego Police Department announces new communication tool
“My90,” a new communication tool from the San Diego Police Department, will follow up service calls with automated texts and provide surveys that allow for further community .
Police officials say “My90” will offer additional information to the public, including results of surveys. ♦
