‘Thumbs up” to patriotic volunteers

THUMBS UP to all the true-blue volunteers in our communities who helped pull off patriotic events for the Fourth of July. They helped give a hometown feeling of pride to the following activities: the fireworks show at Westview High School, the 35th annual parade and picnic in Scripps Ranch, the Old Fashioned Fourth in Poway, plus Rancho Bernardo’s annual “Spirit of the Fourth” parade, activities in Webb Park and the fireworks at Bernardo Heights Middle School.

THUMBS DOWN to members of the Poway Royal Mobilehome Owners Association, who have resorted to personal attacks on city officials while arguing against the sale of the city-owned park on Metate Lane to a nonprofit agency. The PRMOA has lobbied for months to make Poway Royal a residents-owned property. Just last month, the City Council ruled that the park’s current manager, Wakeland Housing, is a more viable purchaser — and now legal wrangling between the city and the PRMOA has ensued. The long drawn-out process has made residents frustrated, and that’s completely understandable. But name-calling and other comments directly attacking other people’s character is counter productive and bound to hurt any chance for an amicable resolution.

THUMBS UP to the Poway Chamber of Commerce’s outgoing board chairman Howard Collins for going above and beyond the call of duty. Collins, who works for GEICO Direct, received a “battlefield promotion” when the chamber lost its CEO and president in early 2004, and he was asked to start his one-year term early to help out while a new day-to-day chamber leader was recruited. During his longer-than-expected turn at the chamber board’s helm, Collins, whose term ended last month, also helped boost membership and make the chamber more financially accountable. His successor is John McIver of 4J’s Ranch, a longtime chamber member whose experience with large and small businesses should prove useful in Poway.

THUMBS UP to Palomar Council PTA members for organizing a town hall meeting on June 17 that allowed government officials to talk about how state budget cuts will affect education. Speakers included Assemblyman George Plescia, Cameron Durckel of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office and a representative of State Senator Dennis Hollingsworth. While they ducked a lot of emotional barbs from a passionate audience, the speakers listened to audience complaints about Poway Unified not getting an equal share of state funds.

THUMBS DOWN to the intruders that not only interrupted a birthday celebration in Mira Mesa but allegedly turned the party mood into a violent disruption that ultimately claimed the life of Tylor Nathaniel Thompson, 22, a 2001 Poway High School alumnus. The San Diego Police Department arrested David Phommachanh, a suspected member of an Asian gang, for the murder. Another young man and a woman were injured, but not seriously, according to the police. While the police don’t suspect the party hosts of being gang members, they do say that the party crashers were members of a local gang.

THUMBS UP to City Manager Jim Bowersox and his staff for turning in a balanced two-year budget last month with a $12.2 million surplus in fiscal year 2005-2006 and a $12.5 million surplus in fiscal year 2006-2007. The $131.8 million two-year budget, which was adopted by the City Council last month, shows Poway is significantly better off financially than other cities in the county and throughout the state. That fact is largely attributed to Bowersox’s smart spending and conservative saving practices during his past 25 years with Poway, and now that he’s retiring at the end of this year, it’s clear he’s leaving behind a big pair of shoes to fill.

THUMBS UP to Palomar Pomerado Health for teaming up with the American Heart Association to promote Go Red for Women, a national outreach program aimed at decreasing heart disease among women. It’s a proven fact that heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death among women, and yet many doctors and patients still believe it is primarily a man’s problem. Go Red fosters physician education about advances in prevention and treatments aimed specifically at women. It also encourages women of all ages to learn their personal risk factors for heart disease based on lifestyle and genetics, and then learn how to reduce those risks. Promoting the Go Red message for one year will cost the district about $250,000, a small price to pay if lives can be saved. To learn more, visit americanheart.org or pph.org.