Re “Despite missteps, Todd Gloria is the clear choice for mayor” (Oct. 10): If a major corporation with 12,000 employees and an annual budget of $5 billion were searching for a new CEO, it would never consider someone with no similar experience, or who has never been a chief executive of any company.

Yet that is what Larry Turner is asking voters to do in his run for mayor. Although he is accomplished, he’s never been chief executive of a major organization, nor has he served in elected office or as head of a major city department. His platform promises big increases in everything from homeless services to storm drains to policing, but he has no experience in balancing a city budget, let alone juggling competing interests such as trying to site a homeless shelter. Our city’s highest executive office is no place for on-the-job training.

— John Morris, Hillcrest

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The Barrio Logan Cultural District hosted its annual Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, celebration on Sunday.

The holiday originates from Mexico and is meant to honor ancestors.

This year’s theme was called “Barrio Mágico.” Sunday’s event aimed to take all traditions and stories passed down for generations in the Hispanic community and bring them to life again, like magic.

Logan Avenue beamed with bright colors, costumes, decorations, and altar installations throughout the streets.

There were vendors like Juanita Maciel, who participated for the first time at the festival. Her business sells plants, succulents, arts and crafts, and more.

“I wanted to keep my low prices and good products, so I decided to open my own nursery,” Maciel said.

There were also food vendors, including one that stood out for selling spiral potatoes.

Zaida and her parents were working at the Apaa Churros stand, and Zaida shared why this holiday is an important part of her culture.

“It shows the meaning of life is not like death,” Zaida said. “We see it as a good thing instead of a bad thing.”

Barrio Mágico also featured art installations, including one by artist Laureyn Pacheco.

Pacheco called her artwork “The Tree of Life” because it told the story of her ancestors.

“I have pictures of all of my ancestors, and the symbols here represent either different relatives or different parts of my family story and how they got to San Diego,” Pacheco said.

The festival featured a number of performers and dancers, including a duo called Los Guanchinangos.

Jorge Castillo said they were playing traditional music from Veracruz, and he explained why music is such an important part of celebrating Día de los Muertos.

“When people die, we say goodbye to them through music,” Castillo said. “The songs we play celebrate their life and their time in this world, and we send their spirits off full of music.”

Cal Poly Volleyball could not muster any Mott Magic as they dropped their third Big West Conference game of the season to the visiting UC San Diego Tritons 3-1 in Mott Athletics Center on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Despite nine attacking errors, resulting in a .171 attack percentage, and three service errors in the first set from UC San Diego, the Mustangs (14-7, 7-3 Big West) could not hold the Tritons (12-9, 6-4 Big West) back.

UC San Diego overcame the mistakes because of their 11-3 scoring run to end the set. Before the run, Cal Poly was up 20-14 and lost the set 25-23.

New Players, Big Impacts

With redshirt junior Lizzy Markovska out for today’s game, the Mustangs’ newer players had to step up, and they did just that.

Freshman Kendall Beshear, redshirt sophomore transfer Breklyn Pulling and freshman Chloe Leluge all played key roles in the Mustangs’ success against the Tritons.

Pulling and Leluge have been key contributors to the Mustangs this season, as both of them are top 5 in the Big West in terms of attack percentage, but had a heightened role tonight with Markovska on the court. 

Pulling finished the game with 19 swings and Leluge with 13, resulting in 10 kills.

Beshear has been used sparingly this season for the Mustangs, but when on the court, she has been dominant. Against the Tritons, she finished with six kills, eight digs, three block assists and one solo block.

Aggressive Serving and Exceptional Blocking

All day long, the Mustangs took their chances and served very aggressively to back UC San Diego off the net and force the Tritons into worse attacking opportunities. It resulted in four service aces for the Mustangs.

On the other side of the ball, when defending attacks from UC San Diego, the Mustangs recorded 14 team blocks.

Cal Poly is not known for their blocking ability. In this match, the Mustangs were eighth in the Big West in total blocks, with 141 and a single-game high of 11 total blocks.

Redshirt senior Tommi Stockham led the way for the Mustangs with 15 kills, followed by redshirt senior Amy Hiatt, who had a season-high of 13 kills.

Next, Cal Poly will travel south to take on UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. at the Thunderdome before traveling to Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Wahine on Saturday, Nov. 2,  at 10 p.m. at Simpifi Arena.