News Nuggets

Village Subway closes

The Subway sandwich shop at 7514 Girard Ave. closed without notice shortly before New Year’s Day. According to a report on BusinessInsider.com, the sandwich chain has seen customer traffic decline 25 percent over the past five years. The report blamed consumers seeking “healthier, fresher food,” as well as the 2015 scandal involving former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, who is currently serving more than 15 years in prison on underage sex charges. Subway’s U.S. store count dropped by 909 locations in 2017 (3 percent), almost three times as many closures as in 2016. La Jolla’s two other Subway stores — at 2206 Torrey Pines Road and 9500 Gilman Drive — remain open.

Young at art: Gallery’s immersive after-school program

Misfit Gallery, 565 Pearl St., has begun art lessons for ages 12-17. From 3-5 p.m. weekdays, students (16 per instructor) of the LJ Arts After-School Program receive professional instruction and actual art gallery experience. Every month, they’ll also get to showcase their work during the Village of La Jolla Art Walk.

“We welcome the opportunity to catapult these artists into the real world and inspire their art to the next level,” said Misfit Gallery owner Pierce Kavanagh. Tuition and materials are $40 per class, or $25 per class with a monthly pass. The gallery also has a $7k GoFundMe page to provide four free scholarships per class. Contact (858) 291-8553, misfitpictures.com

Monsanto helps La Jolla Elementary do the robot

Friends of La Jolla Elementary has received a $10,000 grant from the Microbial Discovery & Testing team at the Monsanto San Diego Facility. Funds from the grant will help expand the school’s robotics program to kindergarten through second grade. (A 2016 Monsanto grant enabled robotics education for students grades 3-5.)

“Students were so enthusiastic about working with robotics and learned so much that teachers were anxious to expand the program,” said Principal Donna Tripi. “We hope this exposure to engineering practices will inspire our students to pursue careers in areas of computer science, science, and engineering that they may not have considered previously.”

Enberg memorial March 10 at Petco Park

A public celebration Dick Enberg’s life will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, March 10 at Petco Park. The longtime sports broadcaster, whose 60-year career included announcing for the Padres, died at 82 at his La Jolla home on Dec. 21. The public is invited to submit 60-second videos about Enberg, to be considered for inclusion in a tribute compilation screened at the event, to Tom Catlin (tomcatlin37@gmail.com).

Grand jury not grand enough

San Diego Superior Court reports a “record low” submission rate for the 2018/2019 grand jury, with only 56 county residents applying to serve. “It has gotten harder and harder each year to interest San Diegans in serving on this important panel,” says Michael Roddy, executive officer of San Diego Superior Court. “We are trying determine why that is and how best to show people how important the grand jury is to a functioning democracy.”

Grand jurors investigate citizen complaints and act as watchdogs over government agencies. The 19-member body works four days a week, approximately six hours a day, July 1-June 30 and receives a small daily stipend, mileage and free downtown parking. Applications are available by telephone (619) 450-7272, from the grand jury wbsite (sdcounty.ca.gov/grandjury) or in person at the new downtown Central Courthouse, 1100 Union St.

$5k Meals donation is wheel nice

La Jolla Meals on Wheels recently received a $5,000 donation from the Granger Foundation, a private Illinois concern. The grant will pay for meals delivered to low-income seniors. “We are grateful to the Granger Foundation for its generosity,” said La Jolla Meals on Wheels program director Jane Semelsberger. “These meals are subsidized 100 percent by the organization due to the inability to pay by the clients.”