JMS Kaplan Journal by Steve Plantz
April 17, 2008

Green is in.  More and more businesses are “going green,” and the market is inundated with so-called “green” products.  Awareness of climate change and pollution problems has entered the mainstream and many local San Diegans are doing what they can to help protect the environment.  But some are also beginning to wonder: If a business claims to be green, what does that really mean?

JMS Kaplan Journal by Josh Babin
April 17, 2008

Parents often tell their children not to put something in their mouths if they don’t know where it’s been. If San Diegans followed this advice, it would be hard to find anything to eat.

Consuming locally-grown food is one way to ease the impact of global warming because the food doesn’t have to be transported as far, thereby cutting down on fuel consumption.  But finding food grown in San Diego can be a difficult task.

Garet Hegner, 81, remembers Pacific Beach before it became synonymous with 2 a.m. last calls and late-night dining. She says Garnet Avenue was meant to help residents “keep house” and run errands, not quench tourist and student’s thirst for night life and entertainment. In fact, 30 years ago, Hegner said the neighborhood’s movie theatre welcomed patrons only on the whim of its independent owner and was often closed even in daylight.

Hegner moved to the San Diego beach community in 1968 with her youngest daughter. She stayed for 10 years until development drew in tourists and college students, flooding the housing market with renters and chasing her out of the area.