Looking back on 2025 in Rancho Santa Fe, part two

July

• Rancho Santa Fe’s 44th annual July 4 parade hit the streets with a patriotic display of decorated bikes and golf carts, vintage cars, equestrians, parade princesses and floats. Longtime community volunteer Nancy Hillgren served as parade marshal.

  

• In regional transportation improvements, new carpool lanes opened to commuters on SR-56. The HOV lanes run 2.2 miles in both directions of the freeway between El Camino Real and Carmel Valley Road. The $28 million project aims to improve traffic flow on the busy thoroughfare and hopefully, keep people from using local streets to get around freeway traffic.
• The village added another new tenant with the Redacted Barber Co. The barbershop, “equal parts clubhouse and old-world grooming parlor,” serves a private, invitation-only membership clientele in its Paseo Delicias spot.
• After 15 years, Dolce Pano e Vino closed in Rancho Santa Fe’s Del Rayo Village. The restaurant had become a neighborhood favorite, sometimes called the “Cheers of Rancho Santa Fe”, since it opened in 2010 by Dr. Tony Smith. Following Smith’s unexpected passing in 2017, his widow Erin Murphy Smith retained ownership of the restaurant and kept it going. San Diego restaurateur Garo Minassian took over the space with plans for a new restaurant concept.
• The RSF Association board selected David Gamboa to serve as the new board president. Gamboa, a 24-year resident of the Ranch, is a golf club member and a founding member of the Rancho Santa Fe Vintners and Growers Association. Skip Atkins was voted in as the new vice president and Courtney Silberberg as board treasurer.
• Preparation is prevention: The RSF Protection District held two informative town hall meetings on wildfire preparation, touching on how local agencies collaborate and stay ready, and providing useful home-hardening tips and tools for homeowners, like the app WatchDuty, which grew in popularity this year.
• Rancho Santa Fe residents joined a growing coalition of North County neighbors who opposed San Diego City Council’s proposed termination of the open space easement and grant deed on the city-owned property currently leased by Surf Sports Park. “If this agreement is gutted and the river valley is allowed to be swallowed up by Surf Cup’s profit-maximizing endeavors, then no open space park is sacred,” said Beth Nelson, a local member of the San Dieguito Planning Group. “Promises made to protect open space land for the public benefit must be honored and not simply thrown out through clever legal maneuvering to benefit a private, for-profit sports organization.”
• Construction finally gets underway on the new and expanded home of the Rancho Santa Fe Pharmacy, on the corner of El Tordo and La Granada. The existing pharmacy building across the street is currently for sale.

  

• Story poles go up for the Silvergate development as it continues through the Art Jury review process. The poles marked the height, bulk and scale of the project, the vacant mansion and adjacent homes offering a height comparison. In response, a group called Protect the Covenant placed signs with messages like “Protect San Dieguito Valley” and “Stop Silvergate” in the surrounding neighborhood. Public discourse reaches a fever pitch in the fall, mixed with strong opposition to increased density, traffic and impact to the rural character of the community, while others support making an improvement to the “eyesore” at the entrance to RSF and having a place to downsize and remain in the Ranch.
• The Horsepark Trail, a popular segment of the San Dieguito River Park’s Coast to Crest Trail, reopened in Del Mar after being closed for a year and a half due to the trail and bridge being washed out by a storm. The trail will eventually link up to the 49 inland miles of the planned 70-mile Coast to Crest Trail that runs from the river’s headwaters in Julian. The trail will eventually connect to the new one-mile Osuna Trail segment through Rancho Santa Fe. The River Park hopes to break ground on the Osuna trail in 2026.

  

• The RSF Rotary holds its annual Demotion Dinner at the RSF Riding Club, celebrating outgoing president Chuck Badger and welcoming new president Andree Meltzer-Hettena.

August

• The new restroom at the RSF Sports Field was completed, an Association-funded infrastructure project that became a priority after swapping out porta potties for permanent facilities at Richardson’s Field three years ago.
• The San Dieguito Union High School District board accepted the results of an independent audit of its high school foundations. spurred by a student report questioning the Canyon Crest Academy Foundation practices. The audit spelled out 17 recommendations, including a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would formalize foundation processes on facilities rentals and on donor transparency. “All of our school foundations are valued partners in our educational community, operating as independent nonprofit organizations,” said Superintendent Anne Staffieri said. “We recognize and appreciate the important role they continue to play in supporting the success of our students.” The recommended MOU was approved in December, following an incident on the CCA campus where the foundation rented out the campus gym for a “highly inappropriate” video event.

  

• The RSF School District board expressed its confidence in Superintendent Kim Pinkerton’s leadership, approving the first amendment to her three-year employment contract, resulting in a 4% salary bump. Effective July 1, her salary will increase to $244,400. “I am pleased with how Superintendent Pinkerton has brought the school community together so quickly in her first year here and has accomplished every goal that was set for her,” said board President Jee Manghani.
• Following a $15 million renovation, Meriwether Companies and Springboard Hospitality celebrated the grand opening of the new Guesthouse Hotel at La Valle, set at the entrance to the La Valle Coastal Club. All three buildings of the original hotel, built in the 1970s, were torn down to the studs and reimagined by San Diego-based firm Hannah Gabriel Wells.
• The Via de la Valle corridor finally got a little bit of love as the busy street was repaved from the I-5 on and off ramps to just past Flower Hill Promenade. The city doesn’t expect to begin repaving the rest of the road for another two to three years. The nearby El Camino Real widening and bridge replacement project is anticipated to begin next fall, with the new bridge opening up in 2030.

  

• Rancho Santa Fe’s Naomi Pruzansky became a first-time author at 99 years old, self-publishing her children’s book “A Jet Set Pet Named Penny”. During her book launch, she signed books with  sweet sentiments and good advice like: “Never lose your love of reading.”

September

•  The Country Friends’ Art of Fashion takes to the runway on The Inn’s lawn.
• Local grassroots group Raise Lake Hodges continues to seek support to raise the state-restricted water level at Lake Hodges to refill what has become an exposed, dry lakebed and potential wildfire risk. “We have hundreds and hundreds of acres of flammable brush where there used to be lake,” said Raise Lake Hodges member Dr. Paul Bernstein. “It’s created this basic blowtorch.” The group advocated with the Association and local representatives.
• The RSF Historical Society unveils the new centennial wall at the La Flecha House, with donor tiles in the recently refreshed courtyard honoring contributors to the nonprofit. “Proud to belong to our town of Rancho Santa Fe” read one tile from Ayyad family.

  

• Golfer Ryan Burgess won the 2025 Trans-Mississippi Mid-Master and Mid-Amateur Championship at the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club, the course the Rancho Santa Fe native grew up playing. “I thought it was really fun to come and play a tournament at Rancho and to do it so many years later was really a treat,” said Burgess, 30. “And to win it was the cherry on top.”
• Shanon McCarthy is named the new general manager of the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club after serving several times in the interim role during leadership transitions. The first woman to hold the position, McCarthy has been at the club for more than 17 years. “Shanon’s promotion to general manager is a proud moment for the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club,” said Mick Marks, president of the RSF Golf Club Board of Governors. “She has earned the trust and respect of our members through years of steady leadership and a heartfelt commitment to the traditions that make this Club so special.”
• The fifth annual Rancho Santa Fe Open brought professional women’s tennis to the Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club. “The RSF Open continues to grow in stature — not just as a world-class competition, but as a community celebration,” said RSF Tennis Club General Manager John Chanfreau.

  

• The Frostys, a charity group made up of local elementary and middle school students, perfomed The National Anthem at Petco Park.  The Frostys spread joy all year, providing happy sing-a-longs to seniors living in memory care communities.

October

• Foodies delighted in the RSF Rotary’s  Taste of Rancho Santa Fe. The event generated record-breaking funds to support local and global causes, fulfilling the Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self”.

  

• Torrey Pines High School lacrosse players rallied in support of Coach Jono Zissi, whose contract was not renewed for the upcoming season due to alleged CIF violations regarding improper pre-enrollment contact with a high school lacrosse player. In his 15 seasons at Torrey Pines, Zissi has led the Falcons to 12 CIF championships, including its seven straight title in the spring.
• The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved new turf and a new Padres Park name for The Miracle League baseball field at San Dieguito County Park,  specifically built for people with disabilities.  “Padres Park will be a field where every child and adult — no matter their ability — can feel the joy of the game, the pride of their team, and the support of their community,” said Terra Lawson-Remer, chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. A grand reopening is planned for February 2026.
• San Diego City Council voted in favor of rewriting the terms of the decades-old grant for Surf Sports Park. A hearing in the Fairbanks Polo Club Association’s lawsuit over the city’s compliance with the original lease and ongoing events is scheduled next month. The Sierra Club additionally sued the city in December over the Surf Sports Park decision.
• Moonlight Longevity opens in the village, a new locally-owned clinic offering injectables, fillers and IV therapy.
• The RSF Association hosted a festive Halloween in the Village event, with a corn maze, pumpkin patch and trick or treating with village vendors.

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November

• The RSF Association receives its Firewise recognition, reflecting a community-wide commitment to reducing wildfire risk through defensible space, emergency planning and public education.
• The Whispering Palms Community Services District board voted down what had become a controversial proposal to install a flagpole to fly the American flag at the entrance to the residential community. Proposed as a way to recognize next year’s United States Semiquincentennial, the board majority felt that despite their love for their country and support for veterans, the flag’s placement was not appropriate.
• Smart schools: The Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe and San Dieguito Union School District, well outperformed both the county and the state, in California assessment tests.  Rancho Santa Fe recorded the  highest scores in San Diego County in both the elementary and middle school levels and R. Roger Rowe was named the  #1 middle school in the county and 18th in the state by U.S. News and Patch.San Dieguito also has one of the largest participation rates in the county for the Advanced Placement (AP) exams, with 10,324 exams taken with a 91% pass rate.

  

• New restaurant Paseo opens for patio dining, with a complete renovation continuing in the former Rancho Santa Fe Bistro space. Next year, the neighboring unit will also open as Paseo’s market and bakery.

December

• The Association approves a funding plan for the $9.4 million clubhouse and restaurant renovation project, and hosts a well-attended kickoff party. The party was one of the last opportunites to be together in the building before the remodel, as the eight-month construction is slated to begin on Jan. 15, 2026.
• The SDUHSD board selected Jane Lea Smith to serve as the new board president. Jee Manghani was chosen to continue serving as the president of the RSF School District board for another year.

  

• The RSF Tennis Club’s $1.3 million expansion project is approved. The project will add two new tennis courts to the award-winning club.“These improvements aren’t just about courts—they’re about preserving the spirit of play, connection and excellence that define the Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club,” wrote RSF Tennis Club board president Jill Ruzich in a letter to the membership.
• The RSF Faculty Association begins contract negotiations with the RSF School District. The year ended on a note of gratitude for Rowe students’ successes in 2025 and for the teachers: “Whether it’s nurturing curiosity, fostering discovery and learning, guiding students through challenges and celebrating their growth and successes, they make our schools a place where students feel known, supported and inspired,” said Superintendent Pinkerton.