In April, while preparing for Concours d’Elegance weekend, La Jolla Village Merchants Association vetted ways to capitalize on the signature special event. Merchants also re-introduced Enjoya La Jolla, a new monthly Saturday twilight promotional event debuting in May.  The 15th annual Concours d’Elegance that featured more than 100 classic and exotic cars on Scripps Park lawn April 14-16 headlined discussion at the LJVMA’s April 10 meeting. “This event is hugely important for everyone,” noted LJVMA president Brett Murphy.  Executive director Jodi Rudick said an LJVMA program, Break in the Village, was being held in conjunction with the Concours to promote the Village. “We had 80 merchants signed up to engage in the event, and each of them committed to doing something special in their stores with free refreshments, special discounts, gifts, etc.,” she said. “There are nine places throughout the Village where there’s going to be music happening, along with merchant outreach doing LJVMA-branded balloons and bags.” Following the Concours, LJVMA president Brett Murphy said: “The event, the weekend, and the week were extremely successful for all involved. I was amazed at the participation from our merchants and the turnout at the Concours d’Elegance. It was a huge success.” Added Murphy: “I truly believe it will be an incredible jump-off point for the upcoming Enjoya La Jolla event in May. We have gone to an aggressive offensive approach through advertising, marketing and, most importantly, relationship building to provide tremendous value for our merchants. This past weekend was a first-hand look at what can be done when we work together as a positive and cohesive unit.” Enjoya La Jolla sunset sip, shop and stroll events will be held on second Saturdays. The inaugural event will take place May 11 from 3 to 7 p.m. throughout the Village. Like its precursor, La Jolla Nights, a quarterly celebration of Prospect Street's arts, eats and and shops held in 2015-16, Enjoya La Jolla visitors will receive a “passport” from participating merchants. That passport will grant guests special offers, refreshments and contests. Completed passports will be returned and entered into a contest to win a La Jolla weekend package. Enjoya La Jolla will include street performers entertaining, as well as free parking courtesy of Ace Parking at 888 Prospect St. In other action • LJVMA board member Robert Mackey of La Jolla Golf Carts volunteered to replace Aaron Goulding as the merchant board’s representative on the Traffic and Transportation Subcommittee of the La Jolla Community Planning Association. • Council staffer Mauricio Medina noted District 1 Councilwoman Barbara Bry is hosting a budget town hall Saturday, May 6 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at La Jolla Village Square Community Room, 8657 Villa La Jolla Drive. RSVP required to BarbaraBry@sandiego.gov.  • Pointing out “not more than 10 percent” of a business improvement district’s annual budget can be carried over to the next year, Rudick in her financial report noted LJVMA is in good shape. “We have a lot of budget to work with,” she said.

Shannon Subers always dreamed of being a mermaid.  Like most kids who grew up on classic Disney movies, her fantasy started with Ariel and “The Little Mermaid.” But living in Pennsylvania made it a little difficult to get in the ocean and see if she grew a tail. Now a 23-year-old graduate student and education specialist for San Diego Coastkeeper, she has found a way to make her childhood dream a reality not only for herself but for other people as well. Subers hosts an Airbnb Experience giving out full mermaid-makeovers (tails included) and photoshoots at La Jolla Shores Park guaranteed to make you feel like you're in Disney movie. While it's an idea she’s always had swimming around in her head, it wasn’t until she graduated college and learned about Airbnb’s new Experiences program before the ball really started rolling.  “I almost didn’t apply because I thought they were going to think I was crazy,” she said, looking back. But she made the leap and was one of the 30 people selected out of the 2,000 that applied. More San Diego experiences have been added since, but Subers’ “Play mermaid for the day” was a part of the first cohort. When she was first selected, she had one tail, one top, and no camera. She set out on expanded her tools and inventory with the “no money she had from college,” and started shooting. It was a slow build at first but now she’s almost always immediately booked for any days she marks available through the app. After a date is decided, Subers meets her participants at La Jolla Shores Park – or somewhere else if it’s overly crowded – and takes them to her spot on the beach where all the mermaid accessories you could ever want are laid out to choose from. Once the makeover is complete, she’ll walk you down to the water’s edge and help you get into your tail, which is where you’ll stay during the majority of the photo shoot because “you can’t walk, and your range of motion is pretty limited.” And with the photo shoot taking place at sunset, Subers says the lighting is always good.  While some people are more “into it” then others, once she starts shooting, she says everyone tends to forget any insecurities they may have previously had and starts enjoying themselves. “I really try to make people feel as comfortable as possible, because essentially, it’s a glorified bikini shoot,” Subers joked. “One of the most gratifying parts has been seeing people forget about their insecurities for a bit."  Watching people have fun with it is especially gratifying for Subers because she’s been there.  “I used to never feel comfortable in a bikini in public until I started doing this,” she said. “Because I realized that when you’re a mermaid, kids don’t care. They don’t care if you have a tummy or what size you are or anything like that. You’re a mermaid, and they're obsessed because you’re a mermaid. That’s really empowering.”  Subers’ photoshoots typically last about 90 minutes for 1-3 people (though she can sometimes accommodate larger groups) and cost $85 per person, with the ability to upgrade to a professional-grade tale for $105 per person. The experience includes mermaid attire to use for the shoot and 10-15 edited photos.  For more information about Subers’ mermaid experience, visit airbnb.com/experiences and search for Play mermaid for the day in San Diego.

Like the Mission Bay Park Committee before it, the City Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of one of two options for reconfiguring 470-acre Fiesta Island. Unfortunately, for off-leash dog owners, the City Planning Commission’s preference wasn’t theirs. On April 11, the Planning Commission voted 6-0 in favor of Option A, which would divide the manmade island with a road and reduce access for off-leash dog park users.  The dog owner’s camp, and Mission Bay Park Committee before it in January, preferred Option B, which would keep the island intact and undivided while increasing the fenced, off-leash area. The turf battle on Fiesta Island pits non-motorized boat users, such as kayakers and paddle boarders, against dog owners represented by FIDO, Fiesta Island Dog Owners. The issue will ultimately go before the City Council for a final decision, likely in June. Water recreationalists argue water-dependent, non-motorized boating use should be a higher priority than the off-leash dog park, an activity that can be done elsewhere on land. They contend Option B would leave them without appropriate spots on Fiesta Island from which to launch their watercraft. “Of course we are disappointed that the commissioners ignored the unanimous recommendation of the Mission Bay Park Committee for Option B,” reacted FIDO president Carolyn Chase. “We believe the City Council will be interested in finding a location for the paddling groups that doesn’t displace thousands of existing, and future, off-leash users, and that would be faster and cheaper for them and for taxpayers. “Option B remains, and the Planning Commission comments confirmed, that Option B is the lower-cost, lower-impact alternative,” Chase said. Noting the City’s opening position “was to eliminate off-leash use on Fiesta Island,” Chase added FIDO “has had to crawl our way on to the plan.” She disputed the claim that FIDO is unwilling to “share” space with other uses. “It is the paddlers who are seeking to take over acres of currently open, multi-use public park land for their private storage of gear and equipment thereby reducing access for all other users … in the process that is supposed to be planning for growth in all uses, it is instead planning to reduce the single largest existing use today.”  At issue is an amendment to the Mission Bay Park Master Plan and Local Coastal Program to update the land uses and vision guiding future uses and improvements to Fiesta Island. The amendment includes recommendations for island-wide improvements to recreation facilities, access and circulation, parking, soft-surface trails and paved multi-use paths, grading and landscaping, habitat areas, water quality, eelgrass bed plantings, and enhancements to directional signs and utilities upgrades. At least three planning commissioners, who had been leaning the other way, changed their minds after being swayed by public testimony April 11. Noting there are no other designated areas for paddling outside of Fiesta Island, Planning Commission chair Susan Peerson said. “That to me is really compelling. Though Option B is less impactful, Option A is accessible to everyone. We need to provide equal access to all.”  Planning Commission vice chair William Hofman said he, too, had been leaning toward favoring Option B. “It’s nice to listen to testimony and be convinced to change,” he said. “With Option B, paddling is precluded. I think sharing is important, which is why I went with Option A.” “I was ambivalent going in,” concurred commissioner Vicki Granowitz, adding, “Almost the entire island is still available to dog owners to walk their dogs on-leash.” A crewer herself, Granowitz pointed out, “Paddlers on the bay have grown exponentially. We need to find a permanent location for them.”