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Business Roundup: La Jolla gets a string of new arrivals, from mattresses to bagels

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Business Roundup: La Jolla gets a string of new arrivals, from mattresses to bagels


November was a busy month for new business arrivals in La Jolla, with a couple of long-anticipated restaurants opening along with other establishments. Here’s a look.

Vispring

This new luxury mattress showroom is at 7464 Girard Ave., replacing Faded Awning, which opened in 2010 and closed in January this year.

Vispring officially ushered in the new business with a grand opening Nov. 4.

Vispring, a luxury mattress showroom, held its grand opening Nov. 4 at 7464 Girard Ave. (J.Dixx Photography)

The location marks “a strategic expansion into one of Southern California’s most affluent markets,” according to the business’s website. It’s one of its many expansions this year, starting with Orange County in January and New York City and Dallas in June. Additional locations are set to open soon in Washington, D.C.

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The company, which sells handmade European mattresses, is celebrating its 125th anniversary. To commemorate the La Jolla opening, Vispring is offering a free Heaven mattress topper with the purchase of a mattress until Thursday, Jan. 1.

Vispring is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Learn more at vispring.com.

Hummingbird Fine Jewelry & Piercing

After a year of planning and building, La Plaza La Jolla’s newest addition is here.

Hummingbird Fine Jewelry & Piercing, a sister location to Enigma Professional Piercing Studios, offers gold and implant-grade titanium jewelry for ear and body piercings. Its focus, co-owner Evan Spencer told the La Jolla Light, is offering “a safe, comfortable and high-end experience” with high-quality jewelry and aseptic technique.

Hummingbird Fine Jewelry & Piercing is open at 7863 Girard Ave. (Jessie Ortiz)
Hummingbird Fine Jewelry & Piercing is open at 7863 Girard Ave. (Jessie Ortiz)

Spencer is the lead piercer and store director, joined by co-owner Didier Suarez and piercer Jenna Bee.

Hummingbird opened Nov. 14 at 7863 Girard Ave. and is slated to host a grand-opening celebration from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6.

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“We are extremely enthusiastic about the quality of our products, the level of our service and experience and the safety and care that goes into every service we offer,” Spencer said.

Hummingbird is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day but Wednesdays. Find out more at hummingbirdpiercing.com.

PopUp Bagels

Breakfast is back at 637 Pearl St., with New York chain PopUp Bagels making its local debut Nov. 21.

PopUp Bagels offers fresh-baked bagels and a rotating lineup of schmears ranging from plain cream cheese to spicy buffalo butter. Rather than offering traditional bagels cut in half with cream cheese in the middle, PopUp encourages customers to grip the bagel, rip off a piece and dip it in a cup of schmear.

PopUp Bagels recommends that customers
PopUp Bagels recommends that customers “grip, rip and dip” their bagels in a variety of schmears. (Jen Goldberg)

PopUp Bagels replaces Breakfast Republic, which left the Pearl Street address in March as part of what a representative called a lease buyout from the property owner.

This is PopUp’s first brick-and-mortar location on the West Coast. Its expansion to San Diego was facilitated by San Diego State University graduates Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman, who secured a franchise deal with the corporate team in New York and are now planning 10 PopUp Bagels locations in San Diego County over the next five years.

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PopUp Bagels is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Find out more at popupbagels.com.

Dora Ristorante

This new southern Italian coastal cuisine restaurant opened Nov. 20 at 9165 S. Scholars Drive in the Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood at the southwest corner of UC San Diego’s campus, across the street from La Jolla Playhouse.

Dora Ristorante comes from chef Accursio Lota and his wife, Corinne Goria, of La Jolla, the owners of North Park’s popular Cori Trattoria Pastificio.

As part of the couple’s partnership with La Jolla Playhouse, the Dora team will design prix-fixe menus and cocktails themed to each playhouse production.

Hours are 4-9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Reservations are available at doralajolla.com.

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— San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Pam Kragen contributed to this report.

La Jolla Business Roundup is published monthly by the La Jolla Light. Send your business news to staff writer Noah Lyons at noah.lyons@lajollalight.com.



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Military bases in San Diego County increase security following Iran attacks

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Military bases in San Diego County increase security following Iran attacks


SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Military bases in San Diego County and nationwide have increased security measures due to last weekend’s U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, prompting traffic delays near base entrances, enhanced ID checks and access restrictions.

The Naval Air Station North Island on Coronado ports three aircraft carriers, including the San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln, which led some of the first-wave attacks on Saturday.

Naval Base Coronado warned motorists of possible traffic delays at all base entry points due to the increased security measures.

Targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.

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The U.S. operation, dubbed “Epic Fury,” and Israeli operation, “Raging Lion,” began striking targets at 1:15 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday.

As of Tuesday, at least six U.S. service members had been killed in action.

The strikes also killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, who had been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, making him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East.

Iran’s offensive forces claimed to have struck USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles, but according to an X post from U.S central Command, “The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close. The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.”

Those with concerns regarding the heightened security can contact San Diego County’s Office of Emergency Services at 858-565-3490 or oes@sdcounty.ca.gov.

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Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.





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SD Unified moves forward with layoffs of classified employees

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SD Unified moves forward with layoffs of classified employees


SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Less than 3 weeks after the San Diego Unified School District finalized a new contract with teachers, the school board voted unanimously on Tuesday to move forward with layoff notices for other district employees.

The layoffs affect classified employees — workers who are employed by the district but are not teachers and are not certified. That includes bus drivers, custodians, special education and teacher aides, and cafeteria workers.

The district says it is eliminating 221 positions — 133 that are currently filled and 88 that are vacant — to save $19 million and help address a projected $47 million deficit for the next fiscal year.

Preliminary layoff notices will go out on March 15, with final notices by May 15.

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The district estimates about 200 classified employees will receive preliminary notices, but of them, about 70 are expected to lose their jobs based on union-negotiated bumping rules.

Bumping allows employees with more seniority to move into another position in the same classification, thereby “bumping” a less senior employee out of that role.

Lupe Murray, an early childhood special education parafacilitator with the district, said the news came as a shock after the teacher strike was called off.

“When the strike was called off, I’m like, ‘Yes!’ So then when I got the email from the Superintendent, I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ So, I think everyone was shocked,” Murray said.

The district says it sends out annual layoff notices, as all districts in the state do.

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Before Tuesday’s board meeting, classified employees rallied outside, made up of CSEA (California School Employees Association) Chapters OTBS 788, Paraeducators 759, and OSS 724. They were joined by parents, students, and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Miguel Arellano, a paraeducator independence facilitator with San Diego Unified and a representative of San Diego Paraeducators Cahpter 759.

“What do we want? No layoffs! When do we want it? Now!” the crowd chanted.

Arellano said he felt compelled to act when he learned about the potential layoffs.

“The first thing that went through my mind was that I need to speak up. I need to protect these people,” Arellano said.

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Inside the meeting, the board heard emotional, at times tearful testimony from classified employees before voting unanimously to move forward with the layoff schedule.

Superintendent Fabi Bagula said the district has tried to protect classrooms from the cuts.

“We have tried our best to only, I mean, to not touch the school. Or the classroom. But now it’s at the point where it’s getting a little bit harder,” Bagula said. “What I’m still hoping, or what I’m still working toward, because we’re still in negotiations, is that we’re able to actually come to a win-win, where there’s positions and availability and maybe even promotions for folks that are impacted.”

Arellano warned the layoffs could have a direct impact on students.

“We are already spread thin, so, with more of a case load, it’s going to be impossible to be able to service all the students that we need to have,” Arellano said.

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Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on InstagramFacebook, and Twitter.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.





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Scripps Oceanography granted $15M for deep sea, glacier science

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Scripps Oceanography granted M for deep sea, glacier science


The Fund for Science and Technology, a new private foundation, granted Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego $15 million for ocean science Tuesday.

FFST, funded by the estate of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, was started in 2025 with a commitment to invest at least $500 million over four years to “propel transformative science and technology for people and the planet.”

“Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego is pushing boundaries for exploration and discovery across the global ocean,” Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said. “This visionary support from the Fund for Science and Technology will enable Scripps researchers to advance our understanding of our planet, which has meaningful implications for communities around the world.”

The grant, the largest of its kind since Scripps joined UCSD in 1960, will go toward research in three areas: monitoring of environmental DNA and other biomolecules in marine ecosystems, adding to the Argo network of ocean observing robots, and enhancing the study of ocean conditions beneath Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, often referred to as the “Doomsday Glacier.”

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Scripps Institution of Oceanography has used Argo floats for more than two decades to track climate impacts in our oceans. NBC 7 meteorologist Greg Bledsoe reports.

“The Fund for Science and Technology was created to support transformational science in the search of answers to some of the planet’s most complex questions,” said Dr. Lynda Stuart, president and CEO at the fund. “Scripps has a long tradition of leadership at the frontiers of ocean and climate science, and this work builds on that legacy — strengthening the tools and insights needed to understand our environment at a truly global and unprecedented scale.”

Scripps Director Emeritus Margaret Leinen will use a portion of the grant in her analysis of eDNA — free-floating fragments of DNA shed by organisms into the environment — in understudied parts of the ocean to collect crucial baseline data on marine organisms, according to a statement from Scripps.

“In many regions, we know very little about the microbial communities that form the base of the ocean food web or that make deep sea ecosystems so unique,” Leinen said. “Without data, we can’t predict how these communities are going to respond to climate change or what the consequences might be. That’s a vulnerability — and this funding will help us begin to address it.”

Using autonomous samplers that can collect ocean water for eDNA analysis, as well as conventional sampling, scientists will use tools to “reveal the biology of the open ocean and polar regions.”

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According to Scripps, the international Argo program has more than 4,000 floats that drift with currents and periodically dive to measure temperature, salinity and pressure. Standard floats can record data up to depths of 2,000 meters (6,560 feet), while newer Deep Argo floats can dive to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet).

The grant funding announced Tuesday will allow for Scripps to deploy around 50 Deep Argo floats along with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.

Sarah Purkey, physical oceanographer at Scripps and Argo lead, said this leap forward in deep ocean monitoring comes at a crucial time because the deep sea has warmed faster than expected over the last two decades.

Thwaites Glacier is Antarctica’s largest collapsing glacier and contains enough ice to raise global sea level by roughly two feet if it were to collapse entirely. According to Scripps, prior expeditions led by scientist Jamin Greenbaum discovered anomalously warm water beneath the glacier’s ice shelf — contributing to melting from below. Greenbaum now seeks to collect water samples and other measurements from beneath Thwaites’ ice tongue to disentangle the drivers of its rapid melting.

This season’s Antarctic fieldwork will “test hypotheses about the drivers of Thwaites’ rapid melt with implications for sea-level rise projections,” the statement from Scripps said.

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“The ocean holds answers to some of the most pressing questions about our planet’s future, but only if we can observe it,” said Meenakshi Wadhwa, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and vice chancellor for marine sciences at UCSD. “This historic grant will help ocean scientists bring new tools and approaches to parts of the ocean we’ve barely begun to explore.”



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