SCHOLARSHIPS FOR WOMEN
The Philanthropic Educational Organization offers women grants, scholarships, awards and loans for ongoing education. To apply for these and other financial opportunities for next academic year, contact Sharon Gher at [email protected] or Marsha Ostertag at [email protected]. To learn more about P.E.O. and additional educational opportunities visit peointernational.org or California State Chapter visit peocalifornia.org.
FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING
For January’s Human Trafficking Awareness Month, North County Lifeline encourages taking the Pledge at https://form.jotform.com/203645848682164 and joining a community of activists working to end human trafficking. North County Lifeline and REACH Coalition partners launched an “Ending Human Trafficking is Within Reach” pledge in an effort to increase human trafficking awareness and prevention efforts.
CYCLOVIA STILL ROLLING
The Encinitas Virtual Cyclovia kicked off online Jan. 17, with social media content and a webpage, with interactive media, materials and resources in the categories of: Just For Fun, Health and Safety, Skills, Education and Advocacy, Maps/Routes and Resources, Bikes Mean Business and more. Check it out and get involved at EncinitasCA.gov/Cyclovia.
GRANTS FOR MINORITIES
The San Diego Foundation announced Jan. 13, the San Diego COVID-19 Community Response Fund has granted an additional $300,000 to uplift Black, Latinx and Asian businesses amid continued stay-at-home orders. The grants were announced by The San Diego Foundation in partnership with the Central San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce, Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Asian Business Association of San Diego.
HIGH GRADE POINTS
• Cal State San Marcos Athletics raised the bar once again as the Cougars topped their previous fall’s departmental grade-point average record by posting a 3.22 for Fall 2020. Another milestone CSUSM achieved in the fall was to have 41 student-athletes earn Mangrum Award honors with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
• Alexander Tran, of north San Diego, was named to the Siena College President’s List for the Fall 2020 Semester.
• Grace Laliotis, of San Diego, was named to Shenandoah University President’s List for Fall 2020.
• Bradley University in Illinois, named to its Fall 2020 Dean’s List, Cynthia Castaneda of Vista, majoring in nursing; Phoebe Harris of Encinitas, majoring in communication, and Sierra Miller of Rancho Santa Fe; majoring in nursing.
• Neleh Coleman of Oceanside was named to the Lone Star Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the fall 2020 semester. Coleman is majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies at Texas’ Angelo State University
• Local students named to the University of Utah Fall 2020 Dean’s List includes Alec Gettinger Kowalski and Maximilian Heiskell of San Marcos; Brian Zavala, Katie Prince, Ciro Valdez Garcia and Krystian Fichat of Encinitas; Annie Pugmire, Isabelle Curran, Colleen Haggerty, Maddie Bowman, Nina Okawa, Jake Curran, Brooke Garvin, Tahra Nakhai, Garrett Lawler, Alex Bye, Kasey Spencer, Jon Ulrich, Billy Ohara, Harper Hughes, Logan Acosta, Raja Caruso, Jaden Ferguson, Drew Green and Mikayla Morris of Carlsbad; Ella Abramson, Taylor Mesa, Siera Gants, Micah Schnadig, Jenna Brown, Bella Carmona, David Seidel, Omid Ghazi, Peter Gagne and Katie Prince of Encinitas; Clinton Alden of Del Mar; Tommy Schouten of Rancho Santa Fe and Buffy Howe of Oceanside.
THORNER REP FOR OMWD
Olivenhain Municipal Water District General Manager Kimberly Thorner was seated Jan. 14 at her first board meeting as OMWD’s representative on the San Diego County Water Authority board of directors. OMWD’s board unanimously appointed Thorner Nov. 18 and she was sworn in on Jan. 6. Thorner will complete the term left vacant by the resignation from SDCWA’s board by OMWD Director Christy Guerin.
WATER DISTRICT WIN
The San Francisco Superior Court has ruled the San Diego County Water Authority is the prevailing party in the agency’s first two lawsuits to be heard challenging rates and charges set by the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The order entitles the Water Authority to recover its attorneys’ fees and costs in those cases, in addition to a $44 million damage and interest award made earlier. The Water Authority filed lawsuits between 2010 and 2018 challenging water rates and charges as they were set and imposed by MWD on San Diego County agencies and their ratepayers.
SBA WANTS YOUR OPINION
The U.S. Small Business Administration invites public comment on a proposed rule designed to remove regulatory provisions that exclude certain faith-based organizations from seven business loan and disaster assistance programs. These programs include the Intermediary Lending Program (ILP), Business Loan programs (7(a), Microloan and 504 programs, Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan (MREIDL) program and Immediate Disaster Assistance Program (IDAP).
BIRCH OFFERS EDUCATION
Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego is offering 600 free virtual programs to local schools in need this year. Registration is now open for Virtual School Group Programs for the 2020/2021 school year. More information on scholarships, as well as the scholarship application and instructions for booking programs can be found online here. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or call 858-534-7336. In response to the K-12 loss of learning created by recent school closures, Birch Aquarium’s Education Team adapted their Next Generation Science Standards-aligned Discovery Lab programs into new 30-and 45-minute virtual opportunities for pre-K through grade 12 students.
ENDING PLASTIC WASTE
INDEVCO Plastics, of Longview, Texas, has innovated print-grade shrink bundling film for multi-packs that delivers a circular plastics solution. Using 50% post-consumer recycled resin, the collation shrink is fully recyclable at store drop off locations across the US. The low-gauge, high-strength collation shrink film — available as plain or print-ready rolls — passed an array of tests for mechanical, optical, and processing properties. The unprinted film is devoid of ink, allowing the package design of products within to advertise themselves, or the film can be printed by packaging converters. INDEVCO Plastics co-developed the film with Dow, a fellow member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, for food and beverage manufacturers who bundle products in multi-unit packages.
