San Diego, CA
Our Shtetl San Diego County: Solidarity Ride Marked 100 Days Israelis Held Hostage by Hamas – San Diego Jewish World
SOLANA BEACH, California (SDJW) –Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, former Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman, and Jeffrey Essakow, a founder of the Challenged Athletes Foundation, were among 100 cyclists who were gathered by word of mouth Sunday, Jan 14, to ride in solidarity with the Israeli hostages who have been held captive by Hamas for 100 days.
Faulconer, now running for a seat on the County Board of Supervisors, commented, “It is a privilege today to ride with 100 others in strong solidarity with Israel and our Jewish community in San Diego.” Zimmerman said, “Today is the 100th day since the brutal Hamas attack and for the hostages still in captivity. They must be all be safely returned now. We pedal in solidarity with our sister city Sha’ar Hanegev and all of Israel.” Essakow pointed out that the riders were of all faiths, who pray for the safe return of approximately 130 hostages.
Most of the cyclists rode at a leisurely 2 1/2 -hour pace on a roundtrip route that covered between 32 and 33 miles and which climbed 1,352 feet, according to Zimmerman. The route started at Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach, dipped south, then east to Olivenhain, and then north to La Costa, before returning to Fletcher Cove.
Initially, the cyclists thought they simply would pedal from Solana Beach up the coast to Oceanside Harbor and back, but they changed their plans once they learned that runners in the Carlsbad Marathon would cover much the same route. Some cyclists who had children with them, or were riding tandem, opted to skip the hilly inland portions of the solidarity bike ride, and more or less followed the coast.
Zimmerman said the cyclists were greeted with friendly honks by passing motorists, waves from pedestrians, and shouts of support for Israel. She said they did not hear a single negative comment.
Some of the cyclists donned made-to-order Israel jackets for the occasion. In fact, those in one group wearing the Israeli garb only received it via Fedex the morning of the ride, Zimmerman said.
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The Leichtag Foundation in Encinitas and Impact Cubed are sponsoring a webinar on the needs of IDF families at 10 a.m., Thursday, January 18. Speakers will be Rachel Azaria and Sapir Bluzer. Charlene Seidle, executive vice president of the Leichtag Foundation, explained that “with more than 350,000 reservists and soldiers deployed, many families are suddenly without a parent or key family member. This places extreme stress on the spouse to balance childcare, household duties, financial struggles, and more all while enduring fears about their family member at war.”
Azaria is a former member of Israel’s Knesset and a Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem. She wrote in Hebrew The Guide to Revolution, which teaches techniques for social change. She also chairs Life and Environment, an umbrella organization of 130 environmental groups, and is a trustee of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Bluzer is a senior consultant on economic reforms to Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry. A former CEO of Israel’s National Student Association, she founded and is leading “The Reservist Wives Forum.” She is a former officer in the intelligence branch of the Israeli Air Force.
One hundred percent of the funds that are raised in the campaign “will go to real-time urgent needs for Israelis who have had their lives torn apart – evacuation of families and support for the evacuated; protective equipment; massive triage and logistics; crisis intervention trauma support; and resources to fund funerals and related expenses will be the first priorities,” according to organizers.
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Rabbi Moishe Leider of Chabad of University City will celebrate his birthday with a musical Melava Malka (a festive meal in honor of the departure of the ‘Sabbath Queen’) on 7:30 p.m., Saturday evening, Jan. 13 at his home near the synagogue. “Rachel & Ami” will perform.
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Marking the Jan. 14 birthday of the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, San Diego’s klezmer musician Yale Strom related that he had an opportunity to perform with Rabbi Carlebach on his first visit to Poland in 1988. Strom said that “ I was working on my film At the Crossroads: Jews in Eastern Europe Today (with Oren Rudavsky) when we saw him visiting the famous Krakow Jewish Cemetery. He saw me with my violin and said to follow him into the famous REMUH Synagogue. He asked me to take out the violin and listen. The synagogue was packed with people. Every few minutes Rabbi Carlebach asked me if I could hear the strains of the melody. First, I didn’t understand what he meant but then I realized he was composing a song at that very moment while being spiritually infused as he stood on the very bima Rabbi Moses Issreles stood and prayed. Slowly I could hear a discernable melody coming from Rabbi Carlebach. An hour later everybody in the shul was singing the “Cracower Nign” which Rabbi Carlebach wrote at that moment. Now the melody is sung all over the world often on erev shabes. That evening I joined the rabbi on stage for his concert in the opera house. Both experiences I will never forget.”
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Micah Parzen, CEO of the Museum of Us, is supporting the San Diego Public Library’s efforts to encourage more people to read books. Anyone who shows a library card, with matching photo identification, will be admitted to the museum for free on Saturday, January 27, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. During the first hour of that event, museum goers are invited to “bring a gently used book that deserves a new home and leave with a new-to-you book of your own.” Participants wrap their books and write a brief description of its contents, then “engage in facilitated discussion about your book – while keeping the title a surprise!” They then choose a wrapped book to take home.
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SDJA staff report
San Diego, CA
Silver Alert activated for woman, 79, in San Diego County
CHULA VISTA (CNS) – The California Highway Patrol activated a Silver Alert today to help locate a 79-year-old woman last seen in Chula Vista.
Evangeline Rodriguez was last seen about 5:55 a.m. Thursday at Wildbrook Place and Woodspring Drive in Chula Vista. She is believed to be driving a white 2018 Honda CRV with California license plate 9JBS786.
Rodriguez is Hispanic, 5 feet, 2 inches tall, 130 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, last seen wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans.
Anyone who sees Rodriguez, or knows where she is, is urged to call 911.
The CHP activates a Silver Alert when an elderly or developmentally or cognitively impaired person is missing and determined to be at risk. It is
hoped providing immediate information to the public will aid in their swift
recovery.
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
San Diego, CA
Local bestselling author Jim Dutton to speak at DMCC in-person meeting in Del Mar
Jim Dutton, local bestselling author, will discuss his legal thriller Path to Revenge at an in-person meeting at 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 23. hosted by Del Mar Community Connections Page Turners. The meeting will be held at St. Peter’s Parish Hall, 334 14th St. in Del Mar. The discussion occurs in partnership with the Del Mar branch library. Registration is required. DMCC has reserved a limited number of complimentary copies of the novel for 92014 residents who want to get in on the discussion.
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and in this explosive sequel, it’s lethal. Path to Revenge is a gripping psychological legal thriller that dives into government corruption, internal affairs investigations, and grand jury drama. Haunted by his past and driven by a relentless need for justice, Nick Drummond finds himself torn apart by an organized crime vendetta and his actions to bury the truth. If you love unreliable heroes, hard-boiled detectives, and high-stakes litigation, this is your next binge-worthy read, a news release states.
Dutton was a career prosecutor in California. National television shows 48 Hours, Cold Case, and Forensic Files have featured his murder trials. He prosecuted numerous child molestation and rape cases. He was the chief of the California Attorney General’s Money Laundering Program for 20 years and testified before the U.S. Congress several times on that subject. Dutton was the representative for human trafficking for the San Diego-based California Attorney General’s Office and incorporated a human trafficking analysis in his Money Laundering Manual for law enforcement, the news release stated.
Dutton is an avid outdoorsman, photographer, and traveler. He has written numerous travel and legal articles over the years. He lives with his wife, two sons, and their incorrigible, skunk-seeking dog, Wylie Coyote, in Del Mar.
Del Mar Community Connections (DMCC) is an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization with a mission to support and serve the older adults of Del Mar so that they may age independently at home. DMCC helps seniors live active, vibrant lives by providing transportation, education, and social activities, including cultural discussions like Page Turners. Those interested in attending the discussion will find the registration link at www.dmcc.cc/PageTurnersRegistration, or call the DMCC office at (858) 792-7565 to receive assistance.
San Diego, CA
Padres lose lead late, drop below .500 with loss to Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — Adrian Morejón made the pitch he was supposed to and got the result he was supposed to.
But that pitch might have begun the Padres’ final minute of relevance in 2026.
Because 58 seconds later, as Teoscar Hernández’s grand slam cleared the wall in left-center field, Dodger Stadium was literally rocking and the Padres were clearly shaken.
“Games like this, games like the last six nights, it’s not great,” second baseman Jake Cronenworth said late Friday night. “We’ve got to somehow turn it around, and me not making that play doesn’t help.”
He referred to a 4-3 loss to the Dodgers that ran the Padres’ losing streak to seven games, and he referred to his booting a double-play grounder in the seventh inning that immediately preceded Hernández’s homer.
“I lost this game,” Cronenworth said. “Simple as that.”
It was a bitter ending to a night that showed the potential of the Padres’ No.1 starter and their offense to keep the team contending.
Michael King worked six scoreless innings in the most economical way, and the Padres built a 3-0 lead by scoring in the first, fourth and sixth innings against Shohei Ohtani.
Then King’s command faltered at the start of the seventh inning, and the Padres’ season continued to slip away with it.
Two innings later, they were officially a sub-.500 team.
The Padres did not reach base against Edgardo Henriquez in the eighth or Tanner Scott in the ninth, meekly finishing off their 26th loss in the 40 games since they beat the Dodgers on May 18 to move into first place in the National League West.
The Padres were 29-18 at that point. They are now 43-44 and sit four games out of the final NL wild-card spot.
Their five losses on this road trip included a 23-3 drubbing Wednesday in Chicago and a 12-7 loss Thursday in a game they led 6-0 after two innings.
“They’re testing how we can handle the failures of the season and if we can come back,” manager Craig Stammen said of the recent results. “And I like the attitude of this team. I think we will come back. Right now, it stinks. It feels very awful. It’s a gut punch, but we’ve got to bounce back tomorrow and play our best game.”
That was what especially stung Friday. They played well.
King’s outing was the first in seven games by a Padres starting pitcher that lasted longer than 4⅔ innings. It was the first time in 10 games that a Padres starter made it through six innings.
But he began the seventh by walking Mookie Betts and yielding a soft single to Max Muncy.
Morejón was brought in to face Kyle Tucker and got him to hit what seemed to be a double-play grounder directly at Cronenworth, who hurried a bit too much and had the ball come out of his glove as he went to transfer it to his hand.
“Morejón coming into the game, I know a groundball is coming to me,” Cronenworth said. “I was anticipating it the whole time he walking in from the bullpen and I didn’t make the play and lost the game for us.”
That and the slider Morejón left thigh high and over the middle of the plate.
“Obviously, it’s frustrating,” Morejón said through interpreter Jorge Merlos. “You’re talking about a bullpen that everybody relies on, and unfortunately today it was my day that it hit me. We’re going through a rough spot. And it just feels even more difficult, not just for myself but especially the outing that Michael had out there and the way he was throwing. They call on me for those situations that I’ll be able to get out of it, and unfortunately it didn’t happen tonight.”
The normally loquacious and candid King was in no mood to discuss the outing in depth. For the first time in his three seasons with the Padres, his postgame answers were clipped and terse.
His pitches were doing what he wanted and going where he wanted for six innings, perhaps on par with his best outings of the season.
“Fine,” he said of his outing. “Didn’t win the game.”
While King frequently is of the opinion he should be left in a game, it seemed readily apparent he did not think he should have been taken out after 75 pitches.
“I wanted the next batter,” he said.
Stammen had other plans. He decided to try to ride Morejón and closer Mason Miller for the fional nine outs.
“Dominated,” Stammen said of King. “Great outing by him. One of his best. He had a tough one the last one, and he bounced back with one of his better ones. He knew we needed it, and he gave it to us. We just weren’t able to finish it off for him.
“It always makes it tougher when you have a lead late in the game and aren’t able to hold it and finish the game. He was very efficient with his pitch count and probably had more in the tank, but at that point we felt really good about going to our bullpen and using one of our best guys to get some of their left-handed hitters.”
Instead, after Morejón got through the seventh, Bradgley Rodriguez worked the seventh.
Where the Padres’ offense failed at the end, getting runners on first and second with one out in the seventh before making the final eighth outs in succession, it started well against Ohtani, who shut them out over five innings last month and entered the game with a 1.58 ERA.
The Padres scored the first run Ohtani surrendered in the first inning this season when Fernando Tatis Jr. and Cronenworth walked to start the game and Gavin Sheets drove in Tatis with a one-out single.
That hit also got Cronenworth to third, where he was stranded when Ty France and Jackson Merrill struck out.
All three pitches to Merrill were fastballs — the first and last at 100 mph, the middle one at 101.
Ohtani threw 29 pitches in the first and then retired the next eight batters on 34 pitches before Merrill came up with two outs in the fourth and homered to center field on a 100 mph fastball — on a 2-0 pitch that immediately followed Merrill winning an ABS challenge.
The Padres scored in the sixth on a two-out single by Merrill and Xander Bogaerts’ double.
King got through MLB’s most dangerous lineup in 30 pitches and without anyone reaching base before allowing his first hit — a two-out single by Freddie Freeman — in an eight-pitch fourth inning.
Against the Dodgers five days earlier at Petco Park, King navigated four innings having allowed a run on two hits and thrown strikes on nearly three-quarters of his 61 pitches. Then, in his words, he “fully lost it.”
He retired one of the six batters he faced, walked three, hit one and allowed a single as the Dodgers scored three runs and ran him from the game.
On Friday, King struck out two and added just 12 pitches in a 1-2-3 fifth inning and was at 68 pitches after stranding runners at first and second in the sixth.
Then came the end, with the Padres’ best starter unable to get an out and one of their best fielders making an error and one of their best relievers making a bad pitch.
“It’s a tough game and good opponent,” Stammen said. “Sometimes, things you think should always happen — it’s a game of failure and bouncing back, and tonight that kind of hurt us there in just that one inning, but we played eight other good innings. … It adds to the frustration of this last week of baseball for us. Those guys are very dependable players.”
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