GLP-1 Treatments, Semaglutide or Tirzepatide Medical Weight Loss in La Jolla, CA

The La Jolla High School robotics team returned this month from a tournament in Ventura County against more than 40 other schools from across the state with a creativity award and fifth place in the playoffs.

The Vikings’ Minions-themed robot and ball-firing turret were presented by nine members of the team who traveled to Port Hueneme for the FIRST Robotics Competition California district tournament March 6-8.

The La Jolla High team, formed in 2009, currently consists of 20-30 students, with support from coaches Alex Varon and Neal Palmer. The Vikings typically compete in one in-season regional event but this year are participating in two district-level competitions.

The team’s greatest successes so far include winning the 2011 Las Vegas regional and landing semifinal spots in San Diego regional competitions in 2018-19.

The Vikings next will compete at Francis Parker School in San Diego from Friday to Sunday, March 20-22.

Senior Ruby Lind is the second-year president of the group, while senior Sean DeMerchant leads the mechanical team. Sophomore Jasmine Vaughan, who joined the group late last year, handles logistics and communications, including grant applications.

“I feel like there was a sense of camaraderie because we were all going up there together on a big adventure for all of us,” Ruby said of the Ventura County trip. “We had dinner together, we were talking about the competition, just having fun together.”

Jasmine, for whom this was her first in-season competition, said “I thought it was really exciting. Since there weren’t as many of us as [in] … local competitions before, I feel like I got to be more in it and have more responsibility.”

The competition tasked students with programming robots to shoot yellow balls called “fuel” into a bin called a “hub.” Along the way, the robots can travel over bumps, go under trenches and climb a simulated tower to earn higher scores.

Teams competed across two matches with “alliances,” or teams of three.

The Vikings ended up winning the creativity award for their unique turret design. Instead of having wiring atop the turret, the team opted to have it below. Doing so allowed the turret to spin indefinitely and give the robot more versatility.

“Every other team had limited range of motion and had electrical on the turret,” Ruby said. “So we just kind of stood out because that was different. And that’s why we won that award.”

The Vikings had fun with final touches on the design, too.

“We knew we’d have a big clear tank on our robot, and the game pieces this year are the yellow balls,” Sean said. “So when it would fill up, we would go ‘Oh, it’s [all] yellow.’ So we had to go with [a] theme [that] would fit with the color of the game pieces [and] we thought ‘Minions are yellow. Let’s go with Minions.’”

Sean, who operated the robot, had a lot of pressure on him to perform well, but his nervousness didn’t get in the way.

“I was stressed, and I was also psyched and doing really well as a team,” he said.

Co-coach Varon described the competition weekend as hectic at times but praised the team and its ability to finish the robot in time for one of the season’s earlier competitions.

He also commended the students for their progress over the past few years. Just two years ago, he said, the Vikings were near the bottom of the rankings. Last year, they were in the middle of the pack.

Varon attributes the change to viewing the group as more than just a club.

“Thinking of it as a team … was something we started doing last year,” he said. “We suddenly switched, saying instead of going to these competitions and just being happy that our robot will work, or if it doesn’t work, we’ll be spending our time trying to make that one thing work. We said … ‘Let’s be competitors.’

“I think people are starting to think … we can start winning. We can start working on this. Let’s make this better than just ‘throw some stuff together.’”

La Jolla’s Muirlands Middle School recently revived its robotics club, considered a “missing link” after years of dormancy. Campus leaders are eyeing a return to team competitions as soon as next school year.

Muirlands joins La Jolla High and La Jolla Elementary as local schools with dedicated robotics programs. Before Muirlands set out to restore its team, middle-schoolers had to compete through La Jolla Elementary’s program or — for ages 14 and up — La Jolla High’s team.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a preliminary 2.3 magnitude quake shook close to La Jolla Friday night.

At 9:57 p.m., the region was struck by a tremor. The earthquake struck at a depth of just 2 miles, with its epicenter about 29 miles west of La Jolla.

Did you feel it?

If you noticed the quake, you can share your experience using the USGS Felt Report form.

What to know about earthquakes

Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, the U. S. Geological Survey says. It replaces the old Richter scale. Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude are often felt but rarely cause much damage, according to Michigan Tech. Earthquakes below 2.5 magnitude are seldom felt by most people.

Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches. They can happen anywhere, but are most common in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Puerto Rico and Washington, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year. 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 of them cause damage.

What to do during an earthquake

If an earthquake strikes, it's best to protect yourself right away. Here are tips from experts:

If you're in a car: Pull over and stop. Set your parking brake.

If you're in bed: Turn face-down and cover your head with a pillow.

If you're outdoors: Stay away from buildings. Don't go inside.

If you're inside: Stay and don't run outdoors. Stay away from doorways.

The best way to protect yourself during an earthquake is to drop, cover and hold on, officials say. "Wherever you are, drop down to your hands and knees and hold onto something sturdy," officials say. "If you're using a wheelchair or walker with a seat, make sure your wheels are locked and remain seated until the shaking stops." Be sure to cover your head and neck with your arms, and crawl under a sturdy table if possible. If no shelter is available, crawl to an interior wall away from windows. Once under a table, officials say you should hold on with one hand and be ready to move with it.

"There can be serious hazards after an earthquake, such as damage to the building, leaking gas and water lines, or downed power lines," officials say. "Expect aftershocks to follow the main shock of an earthquake. Be ready to Drop, Cover, and Hold On if you feel an aftershock."

Source: The U.S. Geological Survey

This article was generated by the CA Earthquake Bot, software that analyzes structured information, such as data, and applies it to articles based on templates created by journalists in the newsroom. No human journalist was harmed in this experiment. You can report errors or bugs to mcclatchybot@mcclatchy.com.

Whether you're a follower of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visiting San Diego, a curious traveler driving up I-5 in La Jolla who loves architecture or an 8-year-old girl who's a fan of the "crystal palace" just off Nobel Drive, the magnetic pull of the San Diego California Temple is a strong one.

And now, for the first time 33 years, officials will throw open its doors to all visitors, not just the Mormon faithful.

The bleached-white double spires of the temple soar nearly 170 feet into the air, above the 72,000-square feet of floor space in a structure conceived and designed by architect William S. Lewis Jr. Five years in the making, ground broke in 1988, with the last open house welcoming visitors back in 1993.

This year's public open house begins June 18 and runs through July 11, excluding Saturdays, with a dedication ceremony scheduled for Aug. 23, when the building will be formally dedicated. The open house follows a lengthy three-year closure of the edifice for exterior improvements, interior upgrades and landscaping work, as well as efforts to strengthen the structure against the elements and long-term wear and tear, an official told NBC 7. For a time, the familiar facade was obscured in towering scaffolding.

Church officials demurred when asked how expensive the renovations were.

Between the open houses, guests were welcome to visit the site, stroll the grounds and take pictures, but only members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were able to go into the temple.

So, why is the public being invited inside now?

"Latter-day Saint temple open houses invite the public to tour the interior of a newly built or renovated temple before it is formally dedicated," Madi McQuivey, a spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told NBC 7 on Thursday. "These free, limited‑time events foster transparency and understanding by giving neighbors and visitors an opportunity to see the temple, learn about its purpose and better understand its role in the faith."

Mormon meetinghouses, which McQuivey said are also called chapels, are used for weekly Sunday services as well as youth programs, social events and other community events. Temples, though, "are different," she said. "They are sacred places of worship where members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participate in special religious ceremonies to gain a deeper understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Unlike chapels, which are always open to the public, McQuivey said, temples are closed on Sunday, when church members attend worship services.

When it was built, the San Diego California Temple was just the third Mormon temple in the state, while now, 12 are open or under construction around California.

La Jolla will soon welcome a coastal-inspired café and craft coffeehouse from Clique Hospitality. The café will offer a chef-driven menu tailored to the surrounding community. The space overlooks Torrey Pines Golf Course and will feature both indoor and outdoor seating.

Clique Hospitality to Open Playa Kitchen in La Jolla

Playa Kitchen by Clique Hospitality is slated to open soon in La Jolla. It is a coastal-inspired café and craft coffee house located at Torrey Pines Science Park. The café is set to open on March 18, 2026, and will operate Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Playa Kitchen is located at 11011 N. Torrey Pines Road. It overlooks Torrey Pines Golf Course and features a dining room, bar, lounge, and outdoor patio. Founder Andy Masi designed the café to reflect how people work and connect today.

The café will offer delivery through its website and third-party apps such as DoorDash and Uber Eats. Beer and wine service, along with happy hour offerings, are expected to launch at a later date.

Playa Kitchen will span roughly 3,700 square feet. The layout is designed to accommodate everything from morning coffee meetings to working lunches.

“Playa was created to reflect the way people work and connect today,” said Andy Masi, founder of Clique Hospitality. “More than just a place to dine, it’s an elevated, design-forward café that feels both productive and restorative. It’s a space where you can move seamlessly from morning coffee to a working lunch to an afternoon reset, all while feeling grounded in the coastal environment.”

The café offers a 40-seat dining room, a 17-seat bar lounge, and a 1,100-square-foot patio. The patio itself seats up to 28 guests and will also serve as a flexible extension of the main dining room. The café will offer free on-site parking when it opens to the public.

The menu focuses on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. The breakfast options include a vegetable and egg Think Tank Bowl priced at $17. The menu also includes a ham, cheese, and egg croissant priced at $14 and an acai bowl priced at $14.

For lunch, the café will serve salads, bowls, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, poke bowls, and fish tacos. The beverage menu includes craft coffee, teas, fresh juices, and smoothies. The brewed coffee starts at $2.50, while specialty drinks range from $2.50 to $4.50. Fresh juices start at $6, and smoothies range from $10 to $12.

With its coastal-inspired design and chef-driven menu, Playa Kitchen is positioned as a relaxed yet refined addition to La Jolla’s dining scene. It will also serve as a convenient spot for morning coffee and casual lunches.

Need help deciding which of La Jolla’s seemingly endless beaches to lay your towel out at today? Each little sandy sliver between the neighborhood’s sea cliffs has its own name and character: the Cove for swimming, Children’s Pool for seal-watching, Wipeout Beach for skim-boarding. Head to La Jolla Shores for that wide, sandy, picnic-with-the-family feel, and if you know what you’re doing, go surfing at Windansea or Bird Rock (if you’re a beginner, opt instead for the Shores, where most of San Diego learned to surf).

Of course, beachy isn’t La Jolla’s only vibe. The Village (locals don’t call it downtown anymore, says La Jolla resident and senior editor of lajolla.ca Elisabeth Frausto) is La Jolla’s most walkable area—highlighted by the main drag, Prospect Street—with a wide radius of shop-lined roads sloping down to the coast.

At long standing neighborhood staples like Warwick’s bookstore and Harry’s Coffee Shop, “old-timers still belly up to the counter and talk politics,” Frausto says. Art enthusiasts visit to peruse through its many galleries, including Quint and Joseph Bellows, and check out what’s on at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD). Shoppers wander Girard Avenue, picking out activewear at Lululemon and Vuori and fancier digs at Thread + Seed and Sigi’s Boutique. Friends gossip and sip coffee at locally owned outposts like Flower Pot Cafe and Il Giardino Di Lilli.

Once isolated from the rest of San Diego, La Jolla became a popular resort destination when the San Diego, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla Railway arrived in the 1890s and made the area more accessible to visitors (who wanted to spend time there so badly they stayed in tents during the summer). Some of those tourists got creative, too.

“Our tradition of supporting the arts goes back to the days of the Green Dragon Artist Colony that was founded in 1894,” says Athenaeum Music & Arts Library Executive Director Christie Mitchell. Anna Held started the Green Dragon Colony to attract visiting artists to La Jolla for a weekend getaway; it quickly became a venue for ad-hoc performances and bohemian artists’ salons.

However, it was Ellen Browning Scripps more than anyone who shaped La Jolla into the neighborhood we know today, commissioning buildings like the structure that now houses MCASD. The arrival of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1907 laid the foundation for the establishment of UC San Diego 53 years later at the longtime site of the military base Camp Matthews. All of these developments helped establish La Jolla’s layered identities: high-dollar beach town, arts magnet, academic research hub.

Facts About La Jolla, CA

Locals’ Guide to La Jolla, CA

Athenaeum Music & Arts Director Christie Mitchell is a bona fide La Jolla local, having grown up in the LJ neighborhood of Bird Rock. Her dad still surfs, and Mitchell met her own surfer husband at La Jolla High (their toddler has already tried surfing, too). Mitchell’s mom still lives in Bird Rock, and “it’s gotten a lot livelier and more pedestrian-friendly,” she says.

On weekends, she makes sure to hit Wayfarer Bread for “the gooiest, heaviest, stickiest cinnamon loaf—definitely preorder because there’s always a line,” she advises. Friday and Saturday are pizza night at Wayfarer, and the bakery’s industry collabs produce some unique pies. For coffee, head to Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, of course, where you can grab a cup and hang out in the open-air seating or stroll to La Jolla Hermosa Park for ocean views (and a skate park and bike paths for little ones to tire themselves out on).

One of Mitchell’s favorites for lunch with coworkers in the Village is Peruvian-inspired Pepino, owned by one of her high school classmates. “The sweet potato bowl is really good,” she says.

She also cherishes La Jolla institutions. The Ascot Shop, a longtime men’s clothing boutique, is a go-to for gifts; founded by a local fisherman, El Pescador Fish Market is the place for the freshest seafood and fish tacos; and The Marine Room is for special occasions, with on-point service against a backdrop of crashing waves. “And nothing says ‘La Jolla’ like George’s at the Cove,” Mitchell adds. “With the John Baldessari mural and the view, it’s a great mix of the arts and the ocean.”

There’s a surprising amount to do on the weekdays in La Jolla, Mitchell says, with free live music every Monday at the Athenaeum (and weekly ticketed events), late-night DJ sessions at Le Coq, acts at The Comedy Store, concerts at the The Conrad (home of La Jolla Music Society), and the monthly First Friday Art Walk.

What’s About to Happen

The biggest talk of the town for La Jollans? Possible secession from the city of San Diego, Frausto says. Proponents want to separate so La Jolla can maintain its own infrastructure and make decisions about development (critics say La Jolla should contribute taxes to the rest of the city). If the initiative advances, final say would come down to a city-wide vote.

Additionally, locals and visitors alike are witnessing a genuine culinary explosion. Restaurateur Sami Ladeki’s Roppongi, a Japanese fusion and sushi favorite that closed in 2015, reopened in December 2025 under returning chef Alfie Szeprethy. Michelin-starred chef Elijah Arizmendi launched tasting-menu-only restaurant Lucien last year, and chef Accursio Lota of North Park’s Cori Trattoria Pastifico opened his new spot Dora in November. Local designers Paul Basile and Jules Wilson are building Roseacre, 5,000 square feet of culinary concepts on Girard Avenue. And one of La Jolla’s favorite restaurant families is opening a completely new eatery near Torrey Pines Golf Course in summer 2026: From the guys behind Puesto and Marisi comes an Eastern Mediterranean spot called Ikaria.

Back in the Village, a new boutique hotel by Orli is landing in the old nurses’ quarters (now condos) next to the original 1924 Scripps hospital (the institution moved to Genesee Avenue in 1964). La Jolla is also getting in on the thrifting trend—Goodwill opened a shop on Herschel Avenue in early 2026.

Pedestrian-friendly changes are afoot in two of LJ’s walkable areas. At La Jolla Shores, look for enhancements to Avenida de la Playa from El Paseo Grande to Calle de la Plata, where the street has been closed to vehicles since 2020 for outdoor dining. The Village Streetscape Plan is coming to Girard Avenue between Silverado Street and Prospect Street, bringing expanded walking areas, corner parks, improved lighting, new seating, public art, and landscaping to create shade canopies and gathering spaces.

Also look for beautification projects along the coast. The 1920s stairs leading down to the tide pools at Whale View Point are finally getting a redo; Ellen Browning Scripps Park will receive fresh sod and much-needed widened sidewalks. And ADA trail improvements and a new restroom facility are on their way at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, making the beloved natural area more accessible.

As for housing, Frausto says, affordable units are hard to come by, and that probably won’t change soon. Most new homes and apartments are geared toward the luxury market, like La Jolla’s first new gated community in 40 years, Foxhill, which broke ground in October 2025 on the site of a former golf course—with empty lots selling for more than $8 million.

Where to Eat in La Jolla

Where to Shop in La Jolla

More Things to Do in La Jolla