San Diego Section Division III girls water polo championship

Moments after the Torrey Pines boys’ basketball team had completed a 74-43 drubbing of visiting Poway in the Friday night’s CIF Open Division tournament opener, the arena speakers were blaring the good time ‘70’s Sister Sledge classic “We Are Family.”

US Youth Soccer is a youth soccer organization that with more than 3 million players between the ages of five and 19.

At halftime of Wednesday’s CIF Girls’ Soccer Open Division quarterfinal, No. 1 seeded Cathedral Catholic had a 1-0 lead over visiting eighth seed San Marcos but Dons’ Head Coach Dawn Lee, owner of over 400 career wins and eight section titles, was not satisfied with what she’d seen in the first 40 minutes.

Top-seeded Cathedral Catholic and second seed Torrey Pines delivered home victories in Tuesday night’s CIF Boys’ Soccer Open Division Quarterfinal action and neighborhood counterpart Canyon Crest, the sixth seed, joined next Tuesday’s semi-final party as the only lower seed to survive the first round of the playoffs.

The girls Del Mar Carmel Valley Sharks G2007 Flex team won the first round of Cal South State Cup in Lancaster on Feb. 15-16.

When it comes to girls’ high school soccer in San Diego, the North Coast is where the action is.

In a game with huge Avocado West League championship implications, the Torrey Pines boys soccer team scored four goals in the first 20 minutes Tuesday night, Feb. 11, en route to a 5-0 runaway victory at Canyon Crest Academy.

Lila Browne didn’t care for field hockey much at first.

Event takes place Feb. 7-9 at Del Mar Fairgrounds

When the robotics team from the Academy of Our Lady of Peace, an all-girl Catholic high school in San Diego, traveled to the national robotics championships in Houston, team members were asked if boys had built their robots.

Encinitas-born activewear brand Vuori continues to strengthen its retail operations with plans for further expansion and the addition of former Lululemon executive Catherine Pike as the new senior director of retail.

With the Girl Scout Cookie season in full swing, the middle-schoolers of Carmel Valley Troop 3070 are gaining business smarts while earning money for upcoming adventures and to make the world a better place.

Fairen Del has been a fixture in the community for 26 years and is now on the move.

Hand to Hand, a giving circle and women’s fund of the Coastal Community Foundation, recently celebrated and awarded grants totaling $30,000 to organizations serving some of the region’s most vulnerable women and girls.

Los Angeles Balalaika Orchestra returns to Encinitas March 1 Encinitas Friends of the Arts will present a concert featuring the internationally-renowned Los Angeles Balalaika Orchestra on Sunday, March 1, 3 p.m., at the Encinitas Community Center, 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive, Encinitas, 92024.

If you’re a beader or a rockhound, you already know Beads, Crystals and More, a shop in the Lumberyard that’s been there for over two decades.

Rich Amooi’s latest novel set in Del Mar and San Diego

Some folks love to spend a leisurely Sunday morning strolling the stalls of a gourmet farmers market, scoping out seasonal offerings from local growers and purveyors, and feeling like part of the community. A couple of Sundays ago, I joined a group of intrepid foodies in a farmers market trip on steroids — an adventure that began in the state-of-the-art Studio Kitchen, San Diego headquarters of Specialty Produce, the glitterati of fruit and vegetable sellers. There, the first in a series of “Food as Medicine Cooking Classes” was launched by Chef Christina Ng, chair of the Berry Good Food Academy, a non-profit that embarks on benevolent food programs.

On the evening of Feb. 8, 2020, almost 1,000 art-lovers and techies turned out for the opening of “Illumination,” at San Diego Art Institute (SDAI) in Balboa Park. Subtitled “21st Century Interactions with Art, Science and Technology,” the show paired 16 local artists with scientists from seven different La Jolla-based research institutions to see what kind of artworks could result from their interactions in the fields of Global Health, Climate Change and Sustainability, and Touch-Screen Technology. The artists and scientists seemed to appreciate the opportunity to connect with each other, and an additional 10 artists were invited to create their own works on similar themes.

Kim Peretz is a 10th-grade author who attends Canyon Crest Academy.

Here comes “Fly,” a new Wendy-centered musical opening at La Jolla Playhouse Feb. 18. And it’s offering a whole new Pan-orama, with a re-imagined Wendy taking center stage. Book-writer (and co-lyricist) Rajiv Joseph is a playwright best known for his Pulitzer Prize-nominated “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” and “Guards at the Taj,” which had a controversial production at the Playhouse in 2016. (I loved it.) “Fly” is an offbeat take on J.M. Barrie’s “Peter and Wendy,” a 1911 novel that was the Scottish-born, London-based writer’s follow-up to his hugely successful 1904 play “Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Would Never Grow Up.”

Le Macaron French Pastries has arrived in Carmel Valley’s One Paseo, a new sweet shop serving up authentic French macarons.

Sidecar Doughnuts Say it with doughnuts!

San Diego International Jewish Film Festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and Feb. 13-23, 2020 will show 35 films in four different venues: Reading Cinemas Town Square in Clairemont, Garfield Theatre at Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla, Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) in Balboa Park, and La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas. There’s a lot to choose from, with dramas, comedies and documentaries about the arts, history, sports, family conflicts, and Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Phil Blair has spent four decades in the employment industry

Gen819 is determined to become the solar roofing partner of choice for local communities.

If you’re looking for “fashion forward” locally, look no further than MJH Studios, located in the newly renovated Polo Plaza on Via de la Valle.

Since setting up an estate planning practice in San Diego, local attorney Daniel Weiner said he’s been on a mission to educate businesses, parents and others about some of the misconceptions of estate planning, and guide them through the arcane process of making sure they keep their families out of court and conflict and preserve their wealth.

Polo Plaza, a North County landmark property, is getting a new look and feel, thanks to LPC West, the West Coast operating platform for Lincoln Property Company.

Local nonprofits and industry experts prepare residents for a new decade of clean energy

The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch’s expansion is nearly complete and almost fully-leased.

The Del Mar Carmel Valley Sharks, a nonprofit, volunteer organization, has been developing youth soccer players of all ages and skill levels in North County since 1970.

Now that it’s the New Year and the rapid succession of fall-to-winter holidays has passed, it’s time to get more organized and properly store holiday decorations away. Most people enjoy breaking out decorations to add a little festivity during the holidays. But sometimes that trip to the garage can leave you scratching your head — like where did you store the holiday decorations or that special set of holiday place settings? Or who put the big tabletop turkey in with the Halloween costumes? There are simple ways to get more organized, and Solana Beach Storage and Morena Storage have some strategies for getting organized in the New Year — and storing things properly to help take some stress out of 2020 holidays to come.

Jackson Design and Remodeling’s award-winning team of designers and architects have compiled their annual list of the top design trends for the new year. Continuing an evolving movement toward expressing individuality in home design, 2020 trends range from the humble to the bold. Organic handmade elements, “lived in” minimalism and “Japandi” design connect with an emphasis on simplicity and wellness. On the other end of the (decidedly retro) spectrum are bold geometrics, 3-D walls, and nostalgia for colors and materials from the 1970s and 1980s.

Visions of Mary Poppins and Bert, the chimney sweep, come to mind when you think about Steven Carter. He is a real-life, present-day chimney sweep of the highest order. In fact, he’s called a Master Sweep in the old English tradition, and he’s swept more than 40,000 chimneys during his career. Chim Chim Cheree indeed. Carter is founder of Chimney Sweeps, Inc. He started the company in 1985, and is based in Lakeside, although the company services chimneys across San Diego County. He has more than 30,000 customers. His philosophy is simple: “Your chimney is part of your house. If the chimney goes, so goes the house. We take care of your chimney thus we take care of your home.”