Cabrillo National Monument: celebration of the 100th birthday of the National Park Service

This post was prepared by Laurie Webster.
For more information please contact: Laurie Webster: laurie_r_w@yahoo.com

She wrote:
Join us on Saturday, April 16 for an exciting day in San Diego 
celebrating the 100th birthday of the National Park Service.  

J


Event Schedule:9:00 am to 1:00 pm @ Cabrillo National Monument1:00 pm to 1:45 pm -

Cabrillo National Monument is located at the southern tip of the Point Loma Peninsula in San Diego, California. It commemorates the landing of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo at San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542.

In celebration of the 100th birthday of the National Park Service in 2016, and National Park Week from April 16 to April 24, we’ll be visiting Cabrillo National Monument, which is overseen by the NPS. We have approximately four hours with our guide at the Monument. He’ll give us some detailed history about the park and the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, and lead us on the 2-mile Bayside Trail.  

After our time at Cabrillo, we will drive over to Little Italy, San Diego’s Italian neighborhood since 1871. We will have lunch at Filippi’s, Little Italy’s oldest restaurant/grocery. Lunch includes the following:

Non-alcoholic beverage of choice.

Wine or beer no host

Giant antipasto salads served family style with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, Sicilian green olives, red cabbage, garbanzo and kidney beans, Imported provolone cubes, Mortadella, Calabrese salami, pepperoncini, Italian dressing.

Gourmet pizza pies served family style (Margherita - no sauce, fresh tomato, basil mozzarella, garlic; Sweet Italian sausage pizza; and Eggplant pizza.

Lunch will be followed by a guided walking tour from 3:15 to 4:45 pm.

We’ll learn about the history of this unique area of San Diego:

“Six thousand families of Genovese and Sicilian origin once called this home. The salty sea air, the ready-made port, the date palms, bougainvillea, geraniums, olive trees and cactus plants reminded many Italians of their sunny fishing villages back home. They painted their tiny wooden bungalow
homes the colors favored by their ancestors. They built their own boats, fished with hand-sewn nets, cultivated fruit and vegetable gardens, made fresh pasta by hand and baked golden loaves of sesame-topped Italian bread in igloo-shaped backyard ovens. Discover hidden neighborhood Little Italy landmarks that chart their story through time, their beautiful church with stunning religious art-frescoes, oil paintings and stained glass,  historic homes from the 19th century, artifacts from the days when the Genovese & Sicilian fishermen dominated the seas, the Prohibition era, when for a brief time the infamous Black Hand intimidated from the shadows, plus a visit to an Italian grocery store built in the 1920's & much more... “

Our day will finish up with some delicious Gelato at Café Zucchero.

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Update of Schedule:

by Jim Mitchell

Sierra Club Members and friends…Saturday, April 16 Laurie Webster has organized a wonderful trip to  celebrate National Park Week with a Saturday morning excursion to Cabrillo National Monument and an afternoon in San Diego’s delightful Little Italy Neighborhood.

 Here is Laurie’s tentative event schedule:

9:00 am to 1:00 pm @ Cabrillo National Monument

1:00 pm to 1:45 pm – Leave Cabrillo, drive to Little Italy

1:45 pm to 3:00 pm – Lunch at Filippi’s; Introduction to Tour Guide; Background History of Area

3:00 pm to 4:30 pm – Walking Tour of Little Italy

4:30 pm to 5:00 pm – Gelato at Café Zucchero

In celebration of the 100th birthday of the National Park Service in 2016, and National Park Week from April 16 to April 24, we’ll be visiting Cabrillo National Monument, which is overseen by the NPS. We have approximately four hours with our guide at the Monument. He’ll give us some detailed history about the park and the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, and lead us on the 2-mile Bayside Trail.  

After our time at Cabrillo, we will drive over to Little Italy, San Diego’s Italian neighborhood since 1871. We will have lunch at Filippi’s, Little Italy’s oldest restaurant/grocery.Lunch includes the following:

Non-alcoholic beverage of choice

Wine or beer no host

Giant antipasto salads served family style with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, Sicilian green olives, red cabbage, garbanzo and kidney beans, Imported provolone cubes, Mortadella, Calabrese salami, pepperoncini, Italian dressing.

Gourmet pizza pies served family style (Margherita - no sauce, fresh tomato, basil mozzarella, garlic; Sweet Italian sausage pizza; and Eggplant pizza.

Lunch will be followed by a guided walking tour from 3:00 to 4:30 pm.

We’ll learn about the history of this unique area of San Diego:

“Six thousand families of Genovese and Sicilian origin once called this home. The salty sea air, the ready-made port, the date palms, bougainvillea, geraniums, olive trees and cactus plants reminded many Italians of their sunny fishing villages back home. They painted their tiny wooden bungalow
homes the colors favored by their ancestors. They built their own boats, fished with hand-sewn nets, cultivated fruit and vegetable gardens, made fresh pasta by hand and baked golden loaves of sesame-topped Italian bread in igloo-shaped backyard ovens. Discover hidden neighborhood Little Italy landmarks that chart their story through time, their beautiful church with stunning religious art-frescoes, oil paintings and stained glass,  historic homes from the 19th century, artifacts from the days when the Genovese & Sicilian fishermen dominated the seas, the Prohibition era, when for a brief time the infamous Black Hand intimidated from the shadows, plus a visit to an Italian grocery store built in the 1920's & much more... “

Our day will finish up with some delicious Gelato at Café Zucchero. More details to follow.

GMO-presentation highlights

GMOs, “genetically modified organisms”, are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering (GE).

Cathy Konyn presented a review of GMOs on February 11, 2016, at Sierra group monthly meeting.  

Cathy Konyn, is an active member of the Riverside Master Gardener Program, answering questions for the public at information booths and working the Master Gardener hot-line.  Cathy is a retired clinical laboratory microbiologist and so has an interest in some of the more scientific aspects of plants and gardening.

This summary of the presentation was prepared by Pam Nelson, the Chair of Santa Margarita Sierra Group.  She prepared this summary from her recollection of the presentation.

• Humans are consuming products made from crops that are engineered to produce their own insecticide.  Farm animals have been the “test” subjects for 50 years.  Less pesticide is sprayed, though, since the plant produces its own.

• GMOs promotes the preference for mono-culture agriculture, which is the  historic method in the Midwest. 

• Pesticides are used at high levels since the target weeds are becoming resistant.  Soils can become pesticide-laden.  Native vegetation is whipped out.

• Increasing human population drives many of the GMO creations, such as high-nutrient, drought resistant, insect resistant varieties.

• Saving species that are being whipped out by viruses is another use of GMOs.  Papayas, American Chestnut tree, bananas, citrus, could we save the white pine?

• GMO insects are useful when whipping our human-vector insects.  Oil-based pesticides, aerial spraying can be avoided.

• Pharmaceuticals, vitamins and supplements are produced by GMO microbes more affordably and without the contaminants and dosage issues that were problems when killing animals for extractions.

• No-till farming can be used instead of tilling more readily if the crop is GMO.  This cuts down on erosion, soil disturbance and poor air quality from burning.  But residual pesticides can be a problem.

The term GMO is defined differently because of the different techniques.  How will labeling work?  Genetic engineering can mean many things.  Transgenic GMOs can occur naturally.

Solutions?  Organic farming, requiring multi species agriculture,  requiring native plant buffers.

Pam Nelson, the Chair of Santa Margarita Sierra Group

The Center recently sued the EPA for not releasing public records about its approval of Enlist Duo, a pesticide blend that's highly toxic to a wide spectrum of both terrestrial and aquatic species and has significant effects on human health.
Enlist Duo is a toxic combination of glyphosate and 2,4-D created by Dow AgroSciences for use on the next generation of genetically engineered crops, designed to withstand being drenched with the potent herbicide cocktail. But the EPA registered Enlist Duo for use in 15 states, claiming it would have "no effect" on at-risk species.
The Center first sent the EPA a Freedom of Information Act request two years ago seeking information on the agency's decision to approve this dangerous pesticide for use. We still haven't gotten a response -- so we filed suit last Wednesday.
"The EPA needs to be fully transparent about how and why it approves these toxic herbicides," said the Center's Lori Ann Burd. "They pose a serious threat to people and wildlife."

Regulations and definitions need to be tightened.  See the Center for Biological Diversity’s recent suit.

Suit Challenges EPA's Failure to Release Public Records on Toxic Herbicide

We are interested in  your feedback. Please leave your comment on this page. Would you encounter any problem posting your comment, please contact Michael Momeni at MKHmomeni@gmail.com.