Podiatrist in Rancho Bernardo, CA

Get a feeling of what Bethlehem looked like 2,022 years ago during a free event hosted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Attendees can walk through various village and Biblical scenes, including a live Nativity. There will also be more than 100 crèches (nativity scenes) from around the world on display.

The event will be offered from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15 and Friday, Dec. 16; and 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Stake Center, 15750 Bernardo Heights Parkway in Rancho Bernardo.

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“This will be a very nice display. We are trying to get it to be very authentic,” said Mike Christensen, the planning committee’s chairman and member of the church’s Twin Peaks Ward in Poway. “There will be live animals in the environment and little fire pits. It will feel like you are back there at the time of Christ, when he was born.”

Chickens, sheep, goats and a donkey are among the animals in the display.

Church members of all ages have volunteers to play Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the Wise Men, shepherds and Bethlehem villagers. Some will also serve as tour guides for the attendees, divided into small groups. Others are involved with the set construction and other aspects. In all, around 100 volunteers are involved.

“It will be a wonderful event that will focus on Christ,” Christensen said.

While being hosted in RB, the event is being organized by members of the church’s Rancho Bernardo and Poway wards. It has been 22 years since they put on this event for the community.

“Why this year? Because we are getting out of the COVID lockdown and people want to be with their families a little more,” Christensen said. “We also want there to be more emphasis on Christ as we get out of our houses.”

He said the Bethlehem event will be similar in scale to the Moses Tabernacle event offered to the community by the church in April 2019. That event had large set displays, live animals like sheep and goats, and church members as actors to represent the Biblical-times characters.

Walking through the entire outdoor Bethlehem display should take around 15 minutes, Christensen estimated.

Following the outdoor portion, attendees can go inside the church’s cultural hall where more than 100 crèches will be displayed. They are on loan from church members who have collected them while traveling or during their mission trips to various countries, according to committee member Darlene Dunn, who belongs to the Rancho Bernardo Ward.

Dunn said her 3-week-old son Dallin Dunn portrayed baby Jesus 22 years ago.

“It was such a great event,” Dunn recalled of the 2000 display. “Thousands came over the three days. It was a whole lot of work, months in planning. This is a blest time of year.”

Opening the event to the entire community is part of the church’s outreach efforts. Dunn said the congregation is very involved with the area’s interfaith community.

“We embrace, love and support each other,” Dunn said of those who participate in interfaith events.

There will be a charitable component too. Attendees are asked to help those in need in the community by donating new pillows, towels or hygiene kit supplies such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, body soap and deodorant. Dunn said these will be distributed through various organizations.

Because part of the event will be held outdoors attendees are advised to dress warmly. Refreshments will also be served. For questions, call 858-487-7922.

Fireworks start at 9 p.m. at Bernardo Heights Middle School

A full day of Independence Day activities will be offered in Rancho Bernardo on Monday as the 53rd annual Spirit of the Fourth festivities resume in full for the first time in two years.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a cancelation in 2020 and limited activities to just the fireworks show in 2021. But this year organizers are bringing back all events, including the community fair and its events, the afternoon parade and evening fireworks with pre-show musical entertainment.

The admission-free community fair, in Webb Park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., will feature at least a couple dozen vendor booths plus other activities. The park is accessible from Avena Place off Bernardo Center Drive.

First up will be the 12th annual Patriotic Pet Contest. All sorts of well-behaved pets in festive attire are welcome, including dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, rabbits and hamsters. Entrants are encouraged to get creative with their costuming to show off their patriotic spirit.

There is no fee to enter the contest sponsored by the Rancho Bernardo Community Council. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. near the stage in Webb Park. Judging starts at 9:30 a.m. with Jeff Zevely from CBS 8 picking the prize winners.

At 10:45 a.m. a patriotic ceremony will be held at the Rancho Bernardo Veterans Memorial in Webb Park. It will feature members of the Military Order of World Wars Gen. J.P. Holland Chapter and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Maj. Abraham J. Baum Post 7766.

4S Ranch festivities

The only activity being held in 4S Ranch on Monday is an event to celebrate its homeowners association’s 21st anniversary.

The noon to 8 p.m. event will be held in Linear Park near Monterey Ridge Elementary, 17117 4S Ranch Parkway. Admission is free. Costs vary for food and activities.

There will be no fireworks show at Del Norte High School.

Other activities in the park throughout the day will include the Wheels of Freedom Motor Show sponsored by the Poway Cruisers, the Quilts of Valor Quilt Show, and games for kids. There will also be food vendors selling refreshments.

The Spirit of the Fourth parade will start at 3:30 p.m. in downtown Rancho Bernardo with Lucia Capital Group as the parade’s grand marshal.

The parade will travel north on Acena Drive, west on Rancho Bernardo Road, south on Bernardo Center Drive and then go east on Lomica Drive, concluding near the post office. Parade viewers can bring blankets and lawn chairs to line the route.

No one will be able to enter or exit the parking lots in the RB Town Center (Vons) and The Plaza from 3 p.m. until the parade ends, which could be 4:30 or 5 p.m., according to parade organizer Myrna Estremera.

As of Tuesday, there were at least 55 entries, she said, including five high school marching bands, community organizations, elected officials and pageant queens.

Those of all ages who would like to participate in the parade are welcome to join its Wheels of Freedom segment. Check in at 3 p.m. in the parking lot near Round Table Pizza in The Plaza, 16761 Bernardo Center Drive.

The Wheels on Parade is open to anyone who dresses up in patriotic colors and uses some type of wheels — roller skates, roller blades, skate boards or wheelchairs — or patriotically decorates their bicycles, tricycles, unicycles and other similar devices. Participants will be given a red, white and blue safari hat, Estremera said. They are to wear appropriate safety gear, such as bicycle helmets, elbow pads and knee pads.

The festivities will conclude with evening entertainment from 6 to 9 p.m. followed by the fireworks show. The requested donation for admission to the grass practice field at Bernardo Heights Middle School is $10 per person or $20 per family, who are advised to bring blankets or lawn chairs.

Parking is in the student lot at Rancho Bernardo High School, accessible from Avenida Venusto, and along nearby streets. Those with a disabled parking placard and Freedom Club members can park in the staff lot, 13010 Paseo Lucido.

Evening event organizer Lynn Ewing said three musical acts have been booked.

“We are highlighting local talent,” he said.

First will be country singer/songwriter Barbra Green from 6 to 6:45 p.m. She is a soloist and Rancho Bernardo resident who will perform her original patriotic-type music, he said. Her new album, “I’ve Arrived” is set to be released this summer.

From 7 to 7:45 p.m. will be Not Quite Right, a rock band based in Poway. It features guitarist/lead vocalist Bill Sharp, bassist Gary Fletcher, guitarist Steve Horvath and drummer Rick Smith. The music of Not Quite Right is upbeat with a retro California feel containing infectious melodies and hooks that will leave the audience yearning for more, according to the band.

The final band, taking the stage from 8 to 8:45 p.m., will be Shark Jones. The four members — guitarist Chuck Knight, drummer Chip Holz, bassist Peter Ballantyne and songwriter/guitarist Rock Hunter — will be playing their original rock and roll music from their recently released album “Dream Come True.” The San Diego band has played together for 33 years.

For more details on the Fourth of July festivities, go to SpiritOfTheFourth.org.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture has declared a new citrus quarantine in a 95 square-mile area of Rancho Bernardo after detecting a potentially threatening citrus tree disease during routine inspections.

The bacterial disease, known as Huanglongbing (HLB), is a major threat to San Diego’s $115 million annual citrus crop. Trees infected with HLB can produce mishappen, bitter fruit and the disease can eventually kill the tree.

This new quarantine comes after HLB was found in a residential lime tree in the area and is in addition to the existing HLB quarantine in the city of Oceanside. It covers the area bordered on the north by the intersection of I-15 and Auto Park Way; to the south by Poway Road; to the west by Via De Las Flores; and to the east by Lake Ramona. The maps for this HLB quarantine are available here.

The intent of the quarantine is to protect the region’s food supply and support the agricultural economy and environmental sustainability by restricting people and businesses from moving citrus nursery stock, plant parts and fruit outside the quarantine boundaries and off their properties. The only exception is for agricultural businesses that must adhere to specific requirements for treatment, cleaning, and packing commercial fruit prior to movement.

HLB is not harmful to people or animals but could be devastating to the county’s citrus industry. The disease is spread by the Asian citrus psyllids, tiny insects that can carry the bacterium when they feed on citrus trees.

“Unfortunately, Huanglongbing is fatal to citrus,” said San Diego Agricultural Commissioner Ha Dang. “Our goal is to prevent this disease from spreading any further. By working together, we can all protect our food supply, local agriculture, and environment from this devasting disease.”

The County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures is partnering with state and federal regulators to limit the impact on the public and help prevent the spread of the disease. County and state officials will work with residents in the affected area to arrange for treatment of citrus trees as a protective measure against the disease.

County officials are also proactively notifying local citrus growers, plant nurseries and other related businesses.

Samples from trees on the affected property and the surrounding area are undergoing tests for HLB. If HLB is detected in additional citrus trees in the quarantine area, state agricultural officials will follow up with treatment and removal of the infected trees.

Residents in the quarantine area are urged to take the following steps:

SAN DIEGO — The community of Rancho Bernardo is under a citrus quarantine after a citrus tree tested positive for what can be a catastrophic bacterial disease among citrus trees. The disease is called Huanglongbing, or HBL.

“It clogs up the vascular system of the tree, prevents the nutrients moving from the roots up to the tree and eventually kills the tree,” Victoria Hornbaker, director of Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention, told FOX 5 Wednesday.

It can take 3 to 5 years for the tree to die, but in the meantime, another insidious little insect will feed on the tree, spreading bacteria far and wide.

“There’s a tiny little insect called the Asian Citrus Psyllid that feeds on the vascular system of the tree, so it’s sucking out the juices from the tree,” Hornbaker said. “And when it does that, it picks up the bacteria in its body and then it can fly to another tree and when it feeds there, it spreads the bacteria.”

The State of Florida has been dealing HLB since 2005. The disease wiped out half of its orange tree production.

In order to stop the spread, the California Department of Agriculture along with the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention program are asking residents to be vigilant, to not take any citrus fruit out of the quarantine zone and report anything that seems amiss.

“Anytime we find a positive tree, we’re going to remove that positive tree to remove the bacteria from the environment,” Hornbaker said. “We’re also going to survey a 250-meter area around that positive detection site and we’re going to do a treatment to prevent the Asian Citrus Psyllid from spreading.”

In Oceanside in 2021, nine citrus trees tested positive. The trees were removed and the area was treated. They haven’t had any other issues, but the area remains under quarantine.

Anyone who suspects their plant is infected, is asked to call the CDFA’s toll-free pest hotline at 800-491-1899 or visit the CDFA website.

Few home features are considered as luxurious as having your own swimming pool. Not only can a pool be enjoyed by both children and adults (and some pets, too!), but it can also transform any old backyard into a fun and relaxing oasis.

As a homeowner, installing an in-ground pool is one home improvement project that you can’t DIY. But thanks to Thumbtack — a convenient home services app used by millions — you can hire a professional to build your dream pool for you.

Thumbtack makes it easier than ever to find a professional pool builder in the Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranch area. Each pro on Thumbtack has their own profile with price information, allowing you to find a pool builder who works within your budget.

Find out what's happening in Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranchwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

While prices for building a pool can be affected by numerous factors — including the pool’s dimensions, depth, finishes, the type of water (saltwater vs. chlorine) and more — the average fixed cost to construct an in-ground swimming pool in the greater San Diego-Carlsbad, CA region is $17,500, according to data obtained by Thumbtack.

Ready to dive in and give your backyard the luxurious pool it deserves? Here are some top-rated in-ground swimming pool construction professionals in the Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranch area.

Find out what's happening in Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranchwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Once your backyard’s in-ground pool is built, you can use Thumbtack to connect with other pros in the Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranch area to complete virtually any home task. You can hire a pool cleaning service, house cleaner, electrician, plumber, landscaper and pretty much any other professional you can think of to help you tackle that to-do list. Thumbtack pros even have reviews, so you know exactly what other Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranch community members thought of their services.

Related: What goes into building a pool?

Pricing data is based on projects requested on Thumbtack in the past 24 months as reported directly by the independent service professional or individual consumer.