President's Letter: April 2014

Garden Tour: Online Tickets Available April 1!

Beginning April 1st (no, this is not an April Fools' Joke), tickets for the 18th Annual Clairemont Garden Tour will be available online at GardenTour.ClairemontOnline.com.

Online ticket prices will be: $12 for general admission, and $10 for Seniors (55+). However, tickets sold in-person and day-of will be $15. So, if you want tickets at a better price, please purchase them online in advance!

A key feature of our previous tours has been the Garden Tour Expo which will be held at the Energy Innovation Center (EIC) at 4760 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., San Diego, CA 92117.

The Expo will include booths from our Garden Tour sponsors and will feature a cooking demonstration by Chef Palma sponsored by the Clairemont Produce Cooperative, and workshops in the EIC's demonstration kitchen, residential smart home, California friendly landscaping, and rain water catchment/grey water recycling.  At 3pm, there will be a reception and awards for the best garden and visitor favorite will be presented.

WANTED: Director-at-Large

Hi, all! As Secretary of the Clairemont Town Council, it is my duty to inform everyone that we have a Director-at-Large vacancy on our Board of Directors.

We hope to interview potential candidates at our upcoming Board Meeting on Thursday, March 27.

To be eligible for Director-at-Large, you must be a CTC member in good standing for the last three (3) months. If you're interested in applying, please e-mail us at Contact@ClairemontOnline.com.

Joanne Phillips
Secretary

Government Officials' Attendance at CTC Meetings (March 2014)

Council Connection: March 2014

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The 18th Annual Clairemont Garden Tour

One of the most popular springtime events in Clairemont is the Clairemont Town Council’s Annual Garden Tour. Now in its 18^th year, the CTC’s Garden Tour showcases beautiful private gardens throughout the Clairemont Community made up of the unique neighborhoods of Clairemont Mesa East, Clairemont Mesa West, North Clairemont, Bay Ho and Bay Park.

This year’s Garden Tour will be held on Saturday, May 17^th, 2014 from 10am until 4pm.

The self-guided tour includes 12 gardens, no two the same. You will see a variety of water features, drought tolerant gardens, gardens that attract butterflies and birds, vegetable gardens and much, much more.

First time attendees are often very surprised by the gardens they see on the tour. It’s not uncommon to hear comments like “Wow! Who knew there was a gem like this tucked away here!” or “I had no idea a backyard could look like this!”

President's Letter: March 2014

On behalf of the Clairemont Town Council, we would like congratulate some of our elected officials on a few significant milestones that were achieved recently.

First, we want to congratulate District 2 City Councilman Kevin Faulconer on his election last month to be our city's 37th Mayor. The significance of this milestone is that Mayor-Elect Faulconer has become the first person who has represented Clairemont to be elected Mayor of San Diego.

Second, we want to congratulate Assemblywoman Toni Atkins who has been elected Speaker of the California State Assembly. Speaker-Elect Atkins represents parts of South Clairemont and Bay Park in the 78th Assembly District, and becomes the first legislator in our state's history from San Diego to wield the powerful Speaker's gavel.

Finally, we want to offer a special congratulations to our Interim Mayor (iMayor) Todd Gloria. Through some crazy times at City Hall, Todd Gloria came in and helped our city heal and moved us forward with the dignity and professionalism that we needed at this time. Todd graduated from our own James Madison High School and became the first Clairemont graduate to become Mayor of San Diego. Thank you, Todd!

Distracted Driving, A Menace

Distracted Driving, A Menace

DR has three components; cell phones, texting and the excessive and dangerious use of dashboard technology such as navagation and internet-connected infotainment systems. All these pull a drivers attention away from the raod and lead to crashes.

In 2011, 3000 people were killed and 385,000 were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver. The National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued guidelines for automakers on built-in distractions. The goial is to limit the times a driver must take their eyes off the road to perform a task to 2 seconds and no more then 12 seconds total.

Car companies are also urged to disable manual texting, web browsing etc. until the vehicle is stopped and in park. Other actions being considered are controlling phones, tablets and other portable devices while driving in the vehicle.

These and other technology solutions, driver education and stepped up law enforcement are critical to reduce the deaths and injuries caused by distracteddriving. Our schools must take an assertive and continuing educational program on this subject.

Marvin Gartenbaum
Co-Chair,
Public Safety Awareness Committee