City Heights Field Guide | April 16, 2014

City Heights Field Guide | April 16, 2014  Navigating a Changing Community

Take Action   Now to April 25: Crawford High School Prom Drive Donate new and gently used formal dresses, suits, shoes and accessories. Schedule a drop-off appointment at  promdrive@saysandiego.org or (619) 583-2500 ext. 2281. April 16: Second Chance Job Fair 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Balboa Park Club, dress professionally and bring résumés. April 19: 47th Street Canyon Cleanup 1 to 4 p.m. at 46th and Myrtle streets April 25: Taste of City Heights Join the City Heights Town Council 6 p.m. at El Salvador restaurant,   3824 University Ave. April 25: "One Day In San Diego" Information Meeting Are you planning to participate in filming the "One Day In San Diego" documentary? Participants are encouraged to attend an informational session the day before at Platt College. April 26: Creek to Bay Cleanup Help preserve San Diego's watershed by cleaning up the urban creeks that empty into the bay. The event runs 9 a.m. to noon countywide. Click here for locations. April 26: Help Capture "One Day In San Diego" Help gather footage that tells the story of San Diego. Your footage could be used on PBS. No need to be a professional videographer - everyone is welcome More info. April 27: Meet Women's Empowerment International Splash Wine Bar and Bistro in North Park will donate 10 percent of its sales to the nonprofit, which provides micro loans to women, noon to 10 p.m. April 30: Orientation for IRC Farm Training Program The IRC will offer farm training programs in El Cajon and San Pascual this summer. Interested persons must attend a series of informational sessions beginning this month.  Learn more.

Residents Rally to Expand Free Bus Pass Program A pilot program that gave free transit passes to 1,000 high school students in central San Diego last year is reaching the end of the line. Now supporters are campaigning to expand the program. We follow San Diego High School student Thomas Poston, who has been using the pass to get home from after school tutoring.  >>Watch the video. Artist Declares War On 'Peace' Vandals April showers couldn't keep City Heights artist Laurie Carlock inside while her mural at Home and Fairmount avenues stayed vandalized.   >>Hear Carlock talk about the history of the mural in this video by Speak City Heights video journalist Brian Myers. Glitch Holds Up 90,000 San Diego Medi-Cal Applications San Diegans applying for Medi-Cal can expect to wait up to 90 days for health coverage, thanks to a state computer glitch. >>County officials say it's all hands on deck to process applications. County Responds to Link Between Trauma and Health The county committed this month to provide training to people who provide food stamp, unemployment, mental health, Medi-Cal and disability help in the region to be better prepared to work with people experiencing trauma. >>It's also offering voluntary training for teachers. SongStream Brings Joy of Lullabies to Mid-City Families There are some new youth journalists in City Heights. We're welcoming The AjA Project's Youth Advisory Council to the Speak City Heights family this week. They'll be filing reports from the community every couple of weeks. >>Check out their first story on The SongStream Project, which has been collecting lullabies at the City Heights Farmers Market.   Mid-City Rapid v. the Clock A new bus rapid transit line along El Cajon Boulevard will shave between 10 and 20 percent off of travel time from San Diego State University to downtown. Critics who'd rather see a trolley installed say the gain is negligible. >>Click here to read more. Closing SD Unified's Student-Teacher Diversity Gap Teachers and counselors in the San Diego Unified School District are disproportionately white.  >>What the district is doing about it.  Sincerely, Megan Burks Speak City Heights