HIGHEST HONOR
U.S. Naval aviator E. Royce Williams, 97, of Escondido, who survived — and prevailed — in perhaps the longest aerial dogfight between a lone American fighter pilot and enemy combatants in history, received the Navy Cross, the Navy’s award for valor Jan. 20. Williams has been the subject of a campaign by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Temecula, and others seeking to ensure his feats are fully recognized and honored.
MINI DONUTS
The Mini Donut Company, with locations in Liberty Station and Little Italy, opened in Windmill Food Hall in Carlsbad Jan. 16. Like its other locations, you can choose your flavors in-person or order ahead online. The store is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day at 890 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad.
HOUSING GRANTS
Mission Fed Credit Union received $25,000 in grant funding from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco‘s 2022 Access to Housing and Economic Assistance for Development (AHEAD) Program. Locally, the grant was awarded to The(Urban Corps) to provide direct financial assistance to its Corps members.
FUNDING FOR FOOD
+BOX (PlusBox) – a nonprofit program that delivers solutions to food insecurity that improve nutrition, expand access, and support sustainability – receives funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The grant will increase food insecure families’ access to and availability of locally grown produce in low-income/low-access communities.
TOP OF THE HEAP
• Kendal Cliburn, Anna Harris, Kelly Iwasaki, Paige Hokunson, Ethan Landes, Kaelen Frye and Lillian Evans, all of Carlsbad; Olivia Montgomery of Del Mar; Tyler Anders, Lauren Littlejohn, McKenna Leasure, all of San Diego; Kennady Tracy of Encinitas and Anna Hatala of San Marcos achieved the dean’s list at Belmont University for the fall 2022 semester.
• Lordwens Dumerand was named to Upper Iowa University’s fall 2022 dean’s list.
• Paolo Martino of Encinitas was named a presidential scholar at Clarkson University.
• Jeremy Joerger of Carlsbad and Damon Woods, Destiny Lindzy, Zachary Cleaves and Lindsay VanDenBerg, all of Oceanside, were named to the fall 2022 dean’s list at Southern New Hampshire University.
• Emma Goodwin of Oceanside was named to Pennsylvania Western University dean’s list for the 2022 fall semester.
• Colgate University named Olivia Ralph, Alexander Pistorius and Tejas Gupta, from Del Mar, as recipients of spring 2022 dean’s award for academic excellence.
• Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, welcomed Arizona State University students Abdul Mack of Oceanside and Carl Reed of San Marcos.
• Bailey Rossenfeld of Carlsbad was initiated into the University of Richmond Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society.
• Anna Brooker of Carlsbad, Madeline Fait of San Marcos, Charlotte Sears and Rachel Wang of San Diego and Erik Woolsey of Encinitas were named to the dean’s list for the 2022 fall semester at the University of Iowa.
• Haley Johnson of Oceanside was named to Harding University dean’s list for the fall 2022 semester.
• Grady Birk and Rachel Medina, both of Carlsbad, were named to the Castleton University dean’s list for the fall semester of the 2022-23 academic year.
TRYING KINDNESS
Jan. 23, San Diego County schools will kick off The Great Kindness Challenge. Presented by Kids for Peace, a Carlsbad-based global nonprofit, this positive program provides all students the opportunity to actively create a culture of kindness, compassion, unity and respect at their school, home, community and world.
COFFEE HOUSE OPENS
Ascend Coffee House celebrated its grand opening Jan. 20 at 1080 W San Marcos Blvd., Ste. 176 in San Marcos.
ALRSD SCHOLARSHIPS
Graduating seniors from the San Dieguito Union High School District can now complete applications for the Assistance League Rancho San Dieguito scholarships for school year 2023-2024, for seniors planning to enter technical, vocational school, community college, or four-year colleges. Further details at ALRSD.org. Completed applications must be submitted by March 31.
REALTOR KUDOS CENTURY 21
Masters announced that Michelle Ferry-Cronin, sales associate with the Oceanside office, recently added the Short Sales and Foreclosures Resource to her professional offerings.
GUERIN OMWD PRESIDENT
Christy Guerin assumed the position of president of the Olivenhain Municipal Water District Jan. 18 and will serve as president for the 2023-2024 term. Guerin represents Division 3 of OMWD’s service area, which includes portions of the cities of Encinitas and Solana Beach.
HERO NAMED
The Vista Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Vista Education Foundation and Tri-City Medical Center named Rudy Moreno as the recipient of the Heroes of Vista Veteran of the Year award for the 12th annual Heroes of Vista event. The announcement of all winners will be at the Heroes of Vista Gala at 4 p.m. March 10 at The Vistonian, 306 S Santa Fe Ave. Trudy Bronner from Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
DISTINGUISHED SCHOOL
This January, JCS Mountain Oaks School in Encinitas, was one of the 21 schools in San Diego County and one of 350 public elementary schools in California awarded the honor of being a 2023 California Distinguished School. The exceptional elementary schools recognized this year are illustrative of the hard work, dedication, and resilience shown by educators and schools.
SCHOLARSHIPS
The San Diego Foundation has opened applications for its Common Scholarship, with $3.5 million available. Through one online application at SDFoundation.org/CSA, students can access nearly 150 scholarships, including to attend four-year universities, two-year colleges, graduate schools and vocational schools. Scholarships are available for graduating high school seniors, undergraduates, graduate, medical and professional school students and adult re-entry students. Students can apply through March 8.
GREEN GOLFING
Torrey Pines Golf Course was host for an innovative educational outreach program that uses golf courses as environmental learning labs. The San Diego Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, welcomed 70 seventh graders from Millennial Tech for a First Green event Jan. 23. That included water conservation/irrigation; soils; wildlife/habitat management/environment; and cool tools on the green.
GOOD RACE YEAR
Both Santa Anita Park and Del Mar saw no horse deaths during live races at both tracks in 2022, the Thoroughbred Daily News reported.
