La Valencia Hotel featured in 50 Best Discovery guide
The La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla has made its debut in the 50 Best Discovery guide as the only San Diego-based hotel featured.
50 Best Discovery features more than 3,700 hospitality establishments worldwide on a digital platform. Each venue, including the La Valencia, is selected after receiving a certain number of votes from the expert academies that create 50 Best’s global and regional lists.
50 Best Discovery uses digital travel guides, features and video content to help promote the locations.
Six La Jolla students named Presidential Scholars Program candidates
Six La Jolla students were named candidates in the 2025 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, which recognizes the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors for their success in and outside the classroom.
Finalists are selected by the 32-member Commission of Presidential Scholars. The winners will be announced in May.
Here are the local candidates:
• Carley Chen, The Bishop’s School
• Emma Donnelly, The Bishop’s School
• Hao Liang, The Bishop’s School
• Muping Wang, The Bishop’s School
• Elena Grilli, La Jolla High School
• Sarah Lehman, La Jolla High School
Donnelly also was named a candidate in Presidential Scholars of the Arts for dance.
Application filed to build hotel across from La Jolla Rec Center
An application has been filed with the city of San Diego to convert a 16,683-square-foot house at 484 Prospect St. into a 20-room hotel across from the La Jolla Recreation Center.
The proposal is undergoing environmental review. A decision to approve or deny the application will be made at a public hearing that has not yet been announced.
Coast Walk cleanup coming April 5
The Friends of Coast Walk Trail in La Jolla will hold its fourth annual weed-pulling party from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 5, to remove invasive mustard plants and other weeds along the trail. Volunteers will meet at Goldfish Point, 1325 Coast Blvd.
The trail runs between Coast Walk (a short street west of Torrey Pines Road between Prospect Place and Amalfi Street) and Goldfish Point and has undergone major renovations under Friends of Coast Walk Trail’s care. In addition to weed-pulling events, FOCWT has implemented slope stabilization projects, vegetation removal and restoration, pathway leveling, drainage upgrades, fence and stairway repairs and more.
For more about the weed-pulling event, visit friendsofcoastwalk.org/weedpullingparty.
Outdoor concerts returning to The Conrad
The La Jolla Music Society’s free outdoor concerts in the Wu Tsai QRT.yrd at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center will return in the spring with a series titled “Local Voices,” featuring native San Diego musicians of varying genres, most with a vocal element.
“After the success of ‘World Strings’ in the fall, we’re delighted to present ‘Local Voices’ in the spring, welcoming new audiences to The Conrad and shining a spotlight on some incredibly talented local artists,” said Allison Boles, the Music Society’s director of learning and engagement.
The new series will open with Finnegan Blue playing bluegrass, Irish and New Orleans sounds at 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 4. The concert also will feature a performance by Kumeyaay bird singer Blue Eagle Vigil along with singers from various tribes of the Kumeyaay Nation.
To learn more about the series, visit theconrad.org.
La Jolla scientists looking at new target to treat Parkinson’s
Scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology say they have found a potential new target for treating Parkinson’s disease — and a possible explanation for why the neurodegenerative disease is about twice as common in men as in women.
A recent LJI study in The Journal of Clinical Investigation says a protein known as PINK1 appears to mark some brain cells for attack by immune cells. The researchers found that some people with Parkinson’s have T cells that mistakenly see PINK1 as a red flag. The T cells may then target brain cells that express PINK1, contributing to inflammation and brain cell death.
The LJI team found that men with Parkinson’s had a sixfold increase in PINK1-specific T cells, compared with healthy men in the study. Women with Parkinson’s showed only a 0.7-fold increase in PINK1-specific T cells, compared with healthy women in the study.
The PINK1-targeting T cells also may prove valuable as a biomarker of Parkinson’s disease, allowing for earlier diagnosis in patients at risk of developing it, the researchers said.
Curebound awards grants to La Jolla cancer researchers
The nonprofit Curebound recently announced it had awarded two new grants to cancer research by scientists at La Jolla’s Sanford Burnham Prebys.
Recipient Brooke Emerling and her collaborators will work to optimize compounds that break down lipid enzymes known to affect the growth of cancers with a common mutation. Their goal is to develop cancer drugs that are strong candidates for clinical trials.
The recipients of the other grant, Michael Jackson and Changlu Liu, will work with Dr. Pandurangan Vijayanand at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology to identify agents that boost tumor immune responses. The team’s work has the potential to identify a new class of immunotherapy drugs for patients with lung cancer.
UCSD surgeon leads letter to Senate committee
As the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee met for a confirmation hearing of the next National Institutes of Health director March 5, a coalition of leading medical researchers — led by Dr. Alexander Khalessi, chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and a neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health — issued a formal letter urging policymakers to reconsider proposed NIH funding restrictions.
The proposed 15% cap on indirect cost rates would force institutions to absorb much of those expenses, straining budgets and threatening the long-term sustainability of critical research efforts, the letter stated. Indirect costs cover expenses that research institutions incur to sustain scientific work, including istration, facilities, equipment and regulatory compliance.
UCSD Health lends Palomar Health $20 million
UC San Diego Health in La Jolla has lent fellow health care group Palomar Health $20 million to help shore up its flagging finances.
The move also helps prevent the strain that other facilities would experience if any health care system fails, according to a statement. It comes as the university and other public institutions face possible federal budget cuts.
Financial statements showed Palomar Health suffered a $165 million loss in fiscal 2024, and that trend is continuing in the new fiscal year.
San Diego approves fee increases
Facing a projected budget deficit for the next fiscal year of more than $250 million, the San Diego City Council last week finalized steep increases in a wide variety of city fees.
The increases average about 20% and are estimated to generate roughly $25 million a year. In addition, the council voted March 3 to start raising fees once a year instead of once every three years.
City officials dropped a plan to elevate the fine for parking at an expired meter from $42.50 to $67 and made it so nonprofit organizations planning special events do not have to pay higher police and fire service fees.
Joe Day returns to Shore Rider
For the third year, charity organization ConnectMed and La Jolla’s Shore Rider restaurant collaborated to put on Joe Day, a fundraiser dedicated to helping children with physical differences.
The event, held March 2, celebrates the life of Joe Ebner, a local business owner and ConnectMed er, and raises money for the four-day Camp Cosmos in July.
Travel and accommodation costs for the weekend’s activities ranging from La Jolla Shores to SeaWorld and Mission Bay are covered by the Joe Ebner Scholarship. This year there were 10 scholarship winners ranging in age from 10 to 14.
Shore Rider donated 25% of event proceeds toward the fund.
The summer camp events are free and specially designed for children and teenagers with physical differences and their families. ♦
