La Jolla News Nuggets: White Elephant, ‘Clue’ game, trail bridge, club renovation, more

93rd annual White Elephant Sale set for this weekend

A 93-year-old tradition is returning to La Jolla with the annual White Elephant Sale at St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church at 743 Prospect St.

The event invites people to shop “a very large assortment of housewares, books, holiday and outdoor items,” with all proceeds being donated to local and international charities.

The sale begins Friday, Aug. 22, with a First Choice Night from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

The main sale will be from 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, followed by a half-price sale from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. and a $5 bag sale from 3 to 3:30 p.m. Admission for that day is free.

Learn more about the event, donations and volunteer opportunities at sjbts.org/white-elephant-sale.

People become the pieces in UCSD’s ‘Clue: A Walking Mystery’

An iconic board game is coming to UC San Diego, this time placing players directly into the action.

“Clue: A Walking Mystery” is an “immersive, interactive twist” on the game, in which participants track down missing pieces, solve hidden puzzles and get to the bottom of three questions: Who committed a murder, where and with what?

The event, running Aug. 22 through Sept. 28, begins at UCSD’s Epstein Family Amphitheater and continues onto the rest of the La Jolla campus.

“Investigations” occur in 30-minute intervals, and each accommodates up to 20 people.

From Friday to Saturday, Aug. 22-30, preview week pricing ranges from $25 to $30 per person. The price will increase to $30-$40 from Thursday, Sept. 4, to Sunday, Sept. 28.

Learn more at artpower.ucsd.edu/clue.

Zoo Wildlife Alliance looking for samples from Torrey pine trees

The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is studying the genetic diversity of the iconic Torrey pine tree and is looking for La Jollans’ help.

Those who live within five miles of the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve or Extension and have a Torrey pine on their property are being asked to contribute needles from the tree for the study.

The Zoo Wildlife Alliance is “collecting samples of pine needles (just three to five clusters per tree) over the next two months,” according to the Torrey Pines Conservancy. “You can gather them yourself with materials they’ll provide or have a team member come collect them.”

To learn more, email ciacuaniello@sdzwa.org.

Coast Walk Trail bridge undergoing repair

Friends of Coast Walk Trail this week began work on new decking and railings for the old wooden bridge on the La Jolla trail and repairs to the south stairs. During construction, the walking bridge will be closed and signs will be posted to show detours.

The bridge will be open on weekends. Work is expected to continue through Friday, Sept. 5.

During the construction, trail ambassadors will be on hand to help guide visitors around the work area.

Beach & Tennis Club completes Phase 1 renovations

The La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club recently completed the first phase of its $60 million renovation. Key enhancements in this phase include a new pool deck, new dining options and the Club Market.

The redesigned pool deck features a more expansive and inviting layout, with upgraded seating options including private cabanas, family lounges and sleek chaise lounges, the club says. The centerpiece is the addition of a wood-fired Marra Forni pizza oven that invites guests to partake of handcrafted pizzas baked in an open-air setting.

Anchoring the property’s new culinary offerings is the entirely revamped Club Dining Room, featuring roomy booths, oceanfront tables and breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.

Club members and hotel guests also can now visit an indoor/outdoor market offering an array of grab-and-go meals, house-made dips, artisan snacks, fresh-baked breads and premium cuts of meat. The market also features a curated selection of wines, local craft beers and gourmet provisions inspired by the property’s onsite restaurants.

Application filed to replace La Jolla Shores house

An application has been filed with the city of San Diego to demolish a 1,915-square-foot two-story house and build a new 2,784-square-foot two-story house over a basement with an attached 784-square-foot accessory dwelling unit at 8381 El Paseo Grande in La Jolla Shores.

The project is undergoing environmental review. A decision to approve or deny the application will be made at a public hearing that has yet to be scheduled.

Rotarians create fundraising link for Fire Station 16 remodel

As part of an effort to renovate a small fire station in La Jolla’s Mount Soledad area, local Rotarians have created a website to collect donations: bit.ly/dormremodel.

The work, shepherded by the La Jolla Sunrise Rotary Club, would replace walls and doors in the sleeping areas, as well as make other improvements.

Fire Station 16 at 2110 Via Casa Alta was built in 1982 and has had small upgrades since, but no major renovations, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

As of Aug. 18, $11,000 of the $175,000 being sought had been raised.

Donations also can be mailed to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Foundation, 9325 Sky Park Court, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92123, with “Mount Soledad dorm remodel” in the note section of the check.

500 project applications submitted for possible San Diego funding

As La Jolla planning groups finalize their list of proposed projects to submit to the city of San Diego for funding consideration, several other groups also have submitted proposals.

“We received somewhere in the ballpark of 500 applications [citywide], and now our council administration team is reviewing them,” Joaquin Quintero, San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava’s local field representative, said last week. “In the next few weeks, they will release them to the council offices to review and make our recommendations.”

La Jolla Immunology professor given prize for scientific achievement

T cell biologist and La Jolla Institute for Immunology professor Alessandro Sette has been awarded the 2025 William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement from Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society.

The prize honors Sette’s accomplishments in immune system research, as well as his dedication to communicating the importance of his findings with scientists in other disciplines.

Over the past 40 years, Sette has led groundbreaking research into how the immune system’s T cells fight disease.

He has shown how T cells target key molecular sites (called epitopes) on pathogens, tumors and other threats, and his research has shown that T cells may even play a role in the development of Parkinson’s disease.

Sette also has developed new methods to identify and even predict T cell epitopes on emerging viruses — an important step in the development of new therapies and vaccines that harness T cells to defend the body.

Salk scientists studying microproteins with new tool

Proteins sustain life as we know it, serving many important structural and functional roles throughout the body. But these large molecules have cast a long shadow over a smaller subclass of proteins called microproteins.

Microproteins have been lost in the 99% of DNA disregarded as “noncoding” — hiding in vast, dark stretches of unexplored genetic code. But despite being small and elusive, their impact may be just as big as larger proteins.

Now, scientists at the La Jolla-based Salk Institute for Biological Studies are exploring the mysterious dark side of the genome in search of microproteins. According to Salk, it can be difficult to detect and catalog microproteins, mostly due to their size. Compared with standard proteins that can range from hundreds to thousands of amino acids long, microproteins typically contain fewer than 150 amino acids, making them harder to detect using standard protein analysis methods.

But with the new tool ShortStop, researchers can probe genetic databases and identify DNA stretches in the genome that likely code for microproteins. ShortStop also can predict which microproteins are most likely to be biologically relevant, saving time and money in the search for microproteins involved in health and disease, Salk says.

The recent identification of a lung cancer-related microprotein demonstrates the value of ShortStop and machine learning to prioritize candidates for future research and therapeutic development, according to the institute.