LeCoq offers James Beard Award countdown menu
Ahead of the James Beard Awards ceremony on Monday, June 16, competition finalist Tara Monsod, executive chef of LeCoq restaurant in La Jolla, is presenting a special countdown menu with a la carte dishes based on the day’s fresh catches and market runs.
Monsod will cook and serve from LeCoq’s bar starting at 5 p.m. each Thursday through June 12, and she will curate the bar’s music playlist as well.
Potential dishes include Hokkaido scallop, cured mackerel and rockfish with vegetables to pair with it. Learn more at instagram.com/p/DI4r7VuToDB.
Several La Jolla institutions to receive $1M grants
A package of $7 million in grants is headed to seven research institutions in San Diego, many of them in La Jolla, the Conrad Prebys Foundation announced.
Each institution will receive a $1 million grant, including La Jolla’s Sanford Burnham Prebys, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Scripps Research and UC San Diego. The Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation and San Diego State University round out the group.
The foundation grants come as a response to a series of executive orders and cuts in federal funding by the Trump istration. Funds will be used to general operations, retain early- and mid-career scientists and key research programs.
Bishop’s student takes Spotlight grand prize for dance
Emma Donnelly, a student at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, won a grand prize in the dance category of The Music Center’s 37th annual Spotlight Performing Arts Competition in May.
Donnelly was selected as one of 14 grand-prize winners out of a pool of 1,600 high school applicants. Each was awarded $5,000 and invited to perform at the public grand-finale showcase at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday, June 6.
The Spotlight program features seven categories — acting, ballet, classical instrumental, classical voice, contemporary instrumental, dance and non-classical voice. Donnelly is ed in the dance category by fellow winner River Novin, a student from Los Angeles.
UC San Diego welcomes new philanthropic initiative
Thanks to a $1 million gift from Brian and Paula Powers, a new philanthropic initiative at UC San Diego in La Jolla will seek to provide expanded backing for the Chancellor’s Associates Program, which provides financial aid and other to high-achieving low-income students across the state.
Since 2013, CASP has provided more than 2,900 scholarships to students, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college.
In the new initiative, named the Brian and Paula Powers Chancellor’s Associates Inspiration Challenge, the two will match eligible gifts to CASP.
For details, visit chancellorsassociates.ucsd.edu/powers-inspiration/index.html.
National Charity League chapter holds senior send-off
Senior celebrations aren’t limited to schools, as the Seaside chapter of the National Charity League recognized high school graduates with a send-off celebration May 20 and a private luncheon for mothers and daughters earlier in May.
NCL is dedicated to strengthening bonds between mothers and daughters through community service and leadership development.
The 17 graduates who were honored this year include students from La Jolla High School and The Bishop’s School. In total, the graduates accumulated 2,500 hours of community service.
To learn more about the National Charity League, visit nationalcharityleague.org/chapter/seaside.
La Jolla Rotary Club gives out $241K in scholarships
The Rotary Club of La Jolla recently gave out $241,000 in scholarships, many of them to students pursuing the sciences.
During its May 20 meeting, the club awarded 18 new scholarships and 23 for reapplicants. The students are from La Jolla High School, The Bishop’s School and The Preuss School. Once students receive an initial award, they can reapply in each of the subsequent four years.
Two categories of scholarships were given out: The Riford Scholarship, for students attending California schools and majoring in science, technology, engineering and math fields, and the Rotary Scholarship, for students going to any college in or out of state, based on need.
Preuss School recognized for voter registration
The Preuss School, based on the UC San Diego campus in La Jolla, is one of three San Diego-area schools honored in the recent Dr. Shirley N. Weber Voter Registration Challenge.
Over the last two weeks of April, nine high schools participated in the challenge to engage students ages 16-18. Staff shared resources and promotional materials to encourage students 18 and older to to vote and for eligible students ages 16-17 to pre-. That will allow them to automatically become ed voters when they turn 18.
In addition to The Preuss School, the area schools that achieved the highest student participation were Crawford High School and the Gompers Preparatory Academy.
Mount Soledad group raises funds to ease impact of San Diego plane crash
In the wake of a May 22 plane crash into a military community in San Diego’s Tierrasanta neighborhood, the Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial in La Jolla has partnered with San Diego Nice Guys to raise $50,000 for those who were impacted.
The funds raised will be used to replace vehicles that were damaged or destroyed.
“Our organization conveys our sincere gratitude for the sacrifices made daily by our military families in service to our nation,” said Mount Soledad Memorial Association Executive Director Neil O’Connell. “We understand the critical roles that our servicemen and women fill in their respective assignments and [how] this catastrophic event will certainly disrupt the family routines, deployment readiness and their quality of life.”
Donations can be made to either partnering organization if specified as “Murphy Canyon Disaster Relief.” Learn more at soledemorial.org or dniceguys.com.
LJI scientists looking at cellular role in vaccine protection
Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology report they have developed a model to analyze why some people have strong responses to vaccines — and therefore protection — and why others don’t.
When a person gets a vaccine or experiences a viral infection, the body churns out specialized immune cells and antibodies. Some of those cells and antibodies stick around for years to provide long-term protection against disease.
Looking specifically at the flu shot, LJI researchers used their machine learning model to spot trends across 20,000 antibody responses from influenza studies conducted between 1997 and 2021.
The researchers concluded that the best way to predict a person’s response to an flu vaccine (containing the currently circulating flu strain) is to measure the person’s immune response to the flu vaccine strain used in past years.
Because influenza mutates quickly — and flu vaccine formulations change each year — scientists said they can distinguish between antibody responses to viruses from this year, last year or even earlier. By measuring all of the strains, researchers can assemble a reliable chronological record of a person’s immune responses to the flu each year.
Four performing groups to begin residencies at The Conrad
The La Jolla Music Society has launched a Resident Companies @ The Conrad program, welcoming four top San Diego performing arts organizations into an inaugural three-year residency at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center beginning with the 2025-26 season.
The first resident companies will be Art of Elan, Bach Collegium San Diego, Camarada and Mainly Mozart.
“With the launch of our new resident company program, we’re proud to welcome four outstanding organizations … into deeper partnership,” said La Jolla Music Society Artistic Director Leah Rosenthal. “Each contributes a distinct and compelling voice to the chamber music tradition. Together, we’re not only enriching what happens on our stages but also broadening the cultural impact and visibility of The Conrad as a home for exceptional music-making.”
La Jolla High School honors senior baseball players
The senior players of the La Jolla High School varsity baseball team were honored before the team’s game against cross-town rival La Jolla Country Day School on May 15, the Vikings’ last game of the regular season.
Seniors Adams Lafever, Hank Hansen, Ryan Kestler, Abel Delgadillo, Luke Fazio and Travis Lancaster, along with family , were recognized for their performance and commitment to the team in a ceremony before the first pitch.
La Jolla Youth Baseball player Jaden Shepanski, 12, threw out the ceremonial first pitch, which was caught by his brother Zoran, a junior on the Vikings.
The Vikings defeated Country Day 7-6.
‘World’s Fittest Man’ to give UCSD commencement speech
Mark Allen, whose six victories as Ironman world champion earned him the nickname “World’s Fittest Man” from Outside magazine, will deliver the keynote address at UC San Diego’s all-campus commencement Saturday, June 14.
Allen, 67, earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at UCSD in 1980 and went on to a long career as a triathlete, during which he won the Olympic Distance World Championships in Avignon, .
He currently is a triathlon and performance coach and the author of books such as “The Art of Competition.”
The university said Allen will be presented with the UC San Diego Medal for his leadership and commitment to serving others.
UCSD and LJI scholars named to Academy of Arts and Sciences
Six UC San Diego scholars working in areas as different as economics and physics have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the prestigious honorary and research society that John Adams and John Hancock founded a few years after the United States became a nation.
Also elected was infectious-disease scientist Shane Crotty, chief scientific officer at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology.
The elected UCSD scholars are linguist and School of Social Sciences dean Carol Padden, economist James Hamilton, cell and developmental biologist Randy Hampton, education expert Amanda Datnow, condensed-matter expert M. Brian Maple and molecular biologist Suresh Subramani.
Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival coming to La Jolla
La Jolla venues will help host this year’s Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival, which will gather some of the nation’s top musicians June 18-28.
Two concerts will be at UC San Diego’s Epstein Family Amphitheater and four will be at the La Jolla Music Society’s Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center.
All six performances will be conducted by Michael Francis, Mainly Mozart’s longtime music director. Francis — who also is music director of the Florida Orchestra and ’s Rheinland-Pfalz Philharmonie — is known for his lively and sometimes humorous explanations of musical pieces.
At the outdoor Epstein Family Amphitheater, guests will be able to bring food and non-alcoholic drinks for picnics on the grass or at their seats. Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra ensembles will provide pre-concert music.
The four performances in the Baker-Baum Concert Hall at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center will feature mini concerts and pre-show Mozart-themed talks in The JAI, a cabaret-style venue within the complex.
For more details, visit mainlymozart.org/allstar.
La Jollans honored by Jewish Family Service for philanthropy
La Jolla residents Susanna and Michael Flaster were recognized for their philanthropic work in the San Diego area during the Jewish Family Service of San Diego’s 2025 Heart and Soul Gala at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park on April 26.
Funds raised at this year’s event will benefit Jewish Family Service programs and services, including assistance with nutrition, economic opportunity, children and youths, adults and families, refugees and immigration, the Center for Jewish Care and ive housing programs for homeless people with disabilities.
Golfers wonder whether bots are behind problems in getting tee times
Local golfers are raising concerns that hackers might be using bots to snatch up tee times at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla and other area courses, making it increasingly difficult for many golfers to get in.
The city of San Diego online reservation system makes tee times available at 7 p.m. a week in advance and awards them on a first-come, first-served basis. But, as reported by KPBS, “many golfers report finding a vast majority of tee times vanishing within seconds of logging into the system.”
Then, some suspect, the times are being sold online at a higher cost.
However, KPBS reported that the city’s golf division contended the squeeze on tee times is mainly a result of a surge in golf’s popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic, not bots. ♦
