Shopping made easier is what Albertsons is all about, and San Diego area residents in four communities will soon discover the finest and freshest products, relevant to their local neighborhood, available in new, environmentally friendly stores right in their own backyard. Built with state-of-the-art clean energy technology, these stores will further demonstrate Albertsons strong commitment to environmental stewardship while offering the finest in premium meats, seafood, bakery, produce, floral and spirits. San Diego regional and city officials joined community members, customers and associates for four major grand opening ceremonies on Wednesday, September 1st.

North Park’s 27,309 square-foot remodeled Albertsons store will boast a new hot wing bar and new gluten-free natural foods. Key environmental amenities include LED lighting in the dairy and frozen food doors as well as in the cases and on the sales floor.

Residents shopping the 18,980 square-foot Hillcrest Albertsons store will discover more of their favorite departments. This remodel includes an expanded gourmet cheese section, a new floral department, a produce department with new organic offerings, a wine and liquor section featuring local microbrews and dairy department. The store’s interior includes a new paint job, cases and flooring. Exterior changes include a new parking lot and new exterior elevation. Environmental upgrades include photo sensor skylights, LED ceiling case and sales floor lighting, a new Glycol refrigeration system and an energy efficient air handler.

Albertsons was built upon the foundation of giving back to the communities it serves and is proud to continue that tradition with these four San Diego store grand openings. In celebration, the company’s San Diego operators will donate a total of $18,000 to the following organizations: Bayside Community Center, Discover Pacific Beach, Edison Elementary School, I Love a Clean San Diego, 4-H of San Diego County and YMCA of San Diego.

The San Diego Food Bank is giving away free food on September 7th from 9:00 a.m. until supplies are gone. This takes place the first Tuesday of every month to needy individuals, families and seniors in the area. Provided are fresh fruits, vegetables and other food items. They are distributed and available to anyone. No proof of income or ID needed. Please bring bags for your items. Food is distributed in the Center’s parking lot. There is no parking available as the parking lot is used for the distribution, so arrive early to find parking on the street. The line begins to form around 8:00 a.m. For more information, contact Jane Schmoll at (619) 692-2077, ext. 121, or families@thecentersd.org.

Sunday, September 19, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

The Annual Big Family BBQ will be held at the beautiful and completely secure Mariner Park, located on south 32nd Street between Main Street and Norman Scott Road across from the Naval Exchange Complex. This event is for kids, parents and all other relatives and friends who wish to participate. Ensure you bring blankets, chairs, sunscreen and a tent or canopy if you own one. Entertainment and activities will include music by DJ Laura Jane, karaoke, face painting, balloon art, unlimited playtime on jumps and slides, family wheelbarrow races, potato sack races, three legged races, kick ball for the older kids, prizes and lots of social time. Children five and under are free. Admission for everyone else is $10 pre-sale or $15 at the event. Lunch includes hamburgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers, salads and more. To RSVP or for more information contact: Jane Schmoll at (619) 692-2077, ext. 121, or families@thecentersd.org. To buy tickets online go to www.thecentersd.kintera.org/BigFamilyBBQ.

Family Matters will have a booth at the Gay Rodeo in Lakeside September 11th and 12th from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. both days of the event. Family Matters will be selling cotton candy, snow cones and popcorn as a fundraiser for the Big Family BBQ! There will be cowboys and cowgirls competing at barrel racing, calf roping, wild drag, bull riding and goat dressing. Tickets are $10 per person, kids 17 and under are free and parking is $5.

This event will be held Saturday September 5th from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. at Brick By Brick, located at 1130 Buenos Avenue in San Diego. It will be a night of fun, music and laughs to raise money for the Music and Art Programs at Albert Einstein Academies Charter School. Musical guests will include Bitter Sober, Tori, LDR, Ladwig and the comedy of Star Dellera.

Who doesn’t love a cozy movie night with the girls? Join the WRC for a screening of the lesbian drama “Lianna” on Friday, September 24th at 7:00 p.m. in The Center’s library. Entrance is free and refreshments are available for a small donation. The film is about a happily married woman who comes to realize she is a lesbian after she has an affair with a female college professor, and then tries to come to terms with her new life.

Republican Lorie Zapf has said some very questionable things about the GLBT community. In March 2010 she wrote emails to James Hartline expressing how she feels about homosexuals. It is important to understand that this affects not just those in the real estate business but all of those who have or plan on purchasing a home. The Realtor imprimatur cannot be applied to a candidate with views like these especially when there is a strict Code of Ethics and the Equal Housing Opportunity that guides everything that Realtors do.

“I absolutely want to keep homosexuals out of public office and not be allowed to influence our schools, textbooks, altering marriage, children and on and on.”

“...I do believe homosexuality is a sin. I have three homosexual first cousins. I love them all and would ‘be seen’ in a photo with them. I believe they all live in sin and frankly all are very unhappy people and had horrible childhoods as well.”

“...for whatever reason God allowed people to choose homosexuality. So there must be a reason for it, although I don’t get it, like so may (sic) other things that don’t make sense.”

For those who would like to contact SDAR CEO Mike Mercurio he can be reached at mmercurio@sdar.com or President of SDAR Mark Marquez can be reached at markm@weichertelite.com.

CORRECTION TO ISSUE 1183: Last week’s (August 26th) editorial, a portion of the editorial was unfortunately cut. The following is the portion that did not make it into last week’s issue:

Like Lucy though, the only sound I’d love to hear from Zapf is the telltale “wah-wah-wah” of her November defeat. In addition, perhaps SDAR will get serious and sharpen its political act, because right now it is as if the Keystone Cops crashed a paddy wagon into a KKK all-nighter and then mismanaged the ensuing 2-car funeral. Aargh!