La Jolla students win leadership scholarships, WindanSea Beach walkway replaced and more in La Jolla News Nuggets March 2-9

Irish Deputy Prime Minister to lead parade

Frances Fitzgerald T.D., Tánaiste and Minister for Justice & Equality in Ireland, will serve as Executive Grand Marshal for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Irish Festival, which begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 11 in Balboa Park. The 2017 theme is “Mná an domhain,” which is loosly translated in Gaelic as “Celebrating women of the world.” Other honorees include Chula Vista Chief of Police Roxanna Kennedy as Grand Marshal, and Jeanne Thornton from Clan Rince School of Irish Dance as “Irish Woman of the Year.”

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade will proceed North along Fifth Ave. to Upas, where it then heads back south on Sixth Ave. to Laurel. The Irish Festival lasts until 6 p.m. and features music, food, crafts and a beer garden. stpatsparade.org

‘Family’ photos sought for library art exhibit

The La Jolla Library Art Gallery committee is preparing summer’s One Subject exhibit, “FAMILIES: A Juried Show of Photographs,” and is seeking participants. The deadline for submissions is April 14.

The exhibit challenges photographers to take the subject “families” and create an image that represents that idea within their own personal context. “Families exist in broad interpretations from a pet rabbit adopted by a cat to a night shift group of dedicated nurses or a neighborhood established over the years,” the committee suggests. “Photographers may submit up to five images for the show, black-and-white or color — no smaller than 8x10 or larger than 30x40.”

Accepted photos must be framed simply in black or wood frames. The artists must live, work or exhibit within San Diego County and their submissions must have been created within the past five years. Questions? E-mail pjasper@sbcglobal.net and application forms may be downloaded from lajollalibrary.org The La Jolla Library Art Gallery is run by volunteers and proceeds from the sale of exhibited art include a 20 percent donation to Friends of the La Jolla Library, 7555 Draper Ave.

Girl Scouts raise $27K to learn programming

The San Diego Girl Scouts have raised $27,178 through the Kickstarter.com online fundraising platform to develop a computer game based on the Scout experience: “Marshmallow Run.”

With characters inspired by the cookies Girl Scouts used to sell door-to-door, the platform game promises loads of fun for developers and users. The game’s basic idea — “a bunch of marshmallows hanging out with chocolate, graham crackers and other friends” — has been set, but the platforms and code are yet to be written by Girl Scouts of different troops and ages throughout San Diego.

Participants will learn skills like physics programming, gameplay scripting and data analytics. For more details, visit bit.ly/mrungame

Enhance La Jolla receives 501(c)3 designation

Enhance La Jolla — the organization that will manage the Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) for The Village, has received its 501(c)3 designation from the Internal Revenue Service, reports Phyllis Pfeiffer, board member and chair of the La Jolla Community Foundation. “The next step is to negotiate a contract with the City of San Diego to become the local manager of the MAD. Once the contract is finalized, the board of Enhance La Jolla will need to develop a budget for the first year of operation, which needs to be approved by the City Council. A competitive bid process will then occur to select contractors to perform the maintenance functions spelled out in the contract and budget,” she said.

The Village MAD was approved by voters and ratified by the San Diego City Council in November.

The assessments — which will mean about half a million dollars a year for maintenance in La Jolla — will start to be collected via a property tax bill beginning in late 2017 for use in 2018.

These assessments will be used for (according to the Enhance La Jolla mission) ongoing efforts to enhance the community, including landscape maintenance, street and sidewalk cleaning, litter and graffiti abatement, and additional trash collection. Enhance La Jolla also has the ability to use private donations to implement projects, which could include: new and upgraded trash cans; benches; enhanced signage; traffic calming projects, such as roundabouts; park improvements, in partnership with La Jolla Parks & Beaches Committee; La Jolla Recreation Center improvements, in partnership with La Jolla Park & Recreation, Inc.; tree canopies on main thoroughfares; and public art. Learn more at enhancelajolla.org

WindanSea Beach walkway replaced

To spruce up the walkway above WindanSea Beach along Neptune Place, volunteers gathered Saturday morning (March 4) to replace the decomposed granite (DG) on the pedestrian path overlooking the beach. Friends of WindanSea organized the project. The previous foundation was uneven, with grooves in the sand, so the replacement makes the scenic pathway more stable.

La Jolla students win leadership scholarships

La Jolla High School student Jacob Ohara is the recipient of a San Diego 2017 Global Leadership Connection (GLC) Scholarship and will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington D.C. to attend the GLC Experience in October.

The winner to of Dr. Richard Kelly Leader of Excellence scholarship, Jacob will receive $500. There were also 20 “ambassador scholarships” of $100 distributed, five to La Jolla students. The winners are: Alexandra Backlund and Maverick Becker (La Jolla High School), Vivian Dinh and Jonathan Ventura (Preuss School at UCSD) and Kelsey Chodorow (The Bishop’s School).

The GLC brings together youth leaders dedicated to ethical conduct, academic excellence and compassionate service. Students had to complete the GLC application (including a resume and essay questions), be interviewed and participate in leadership activities. More at: glcleadership.org

Gillispie raises record $3,139 for blood bank

Gillispie School students in third grade (and their teachers) raised a record amount of money during this year’s blood drive and bake sale, which will be donated to the San Diego Blood Bank: $3,139.60 and 33 pints of blood.

On Wednesday, March 1, a representative from the San Diego Blood Bank visited the Gillispie School for a check presentation ceremony.

This annual event began in 2011 in response to a former student who survived leukemia, thanks in part to a life-saving blood transfusion.

Over the years, the event has resulted in a total of 280 pints of blood collected and more than $15,000 in donations to help support the San Diego Blood Bank.

Student writing workshop set for Saturday

The sixth annual Canyon Crest Academy Writers’ Conference for high school students is a free, full day of speakers from various fields (including graphic novels, TV, essays, publishing and more), writing workshops and take-home resources, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 11 at Canyon Crest Academy, Proscenium and Media Center, 5951 Village Center Loop Road, near Carmel Valley. Registration required at bit.ly/ccawriters

Country Day grad recognized by Hall of Champions

Kelsey Plum, a La Jolla Country Day School grad and current University of Washington women’s basketball standout, reached the pinnacle of individual success by setting the NCAA all-time career scoring record.

The accomplishment earned her an amateur Hall of Champions Star of the Month award for February — among 15 professionals, amateurs and high school athletes (including La Jolla Country Day basketball player Alaysia Styles).

Plum’s recognition comes after a Pac-12 game against Utah, in which she scored a college personnel-high of 57 points, giving her 3,397 for her career with the Huskies. She added to the record with games in the Pac-12 tournament and the NCAA Tournament.