The jurors selected all eight of Finkelson’s entries. The artwork consists of four photographs in the Digital Photography Division, Hobart #1, #4, #5 and #18, and four iPhonorgrapy photographic collages in the Cell Phone Photo Division, Carbon Scare, New Moon, A Prophet’s Dream and She Who Knows the Secret, which were created with the iPhone camera and multiple iPhone apps.

The art works, Carbon Scare and New Moon, are also featured in a new book, “Mobile Digital Art: Using the iPad and iPhone as Creative Tools” by David Leibowitz, published by Focal Press.

Finkelson moved from New York City to San Diego over a year ago. Before leaving for California she had a solo show of her photographic work, Hidden Messages, at The New Art Center in Manhattan. She has recently been accepted into the San Diego Museum of Arts Artist Guild and is serving on its board as the Artists Liaison. In January 2013, Finkelson was in a juried show at the Cannon Art Gallery in Carlsbad juried by Chantel Paul, assistant curator for the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) in Balboa Park, San Diego. Next month she will be exhibiting in a group show in Redondo Beach at the AES Redondo Beach Art Group and also in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art. Finkelson’s photographs are in private collections in New York, Philadelphia and San Diego.

Joslyn is retiring after a 30-year career in education and 20 years at Rowe. Hired by Dr. R. Roger Rowe himself, Joslyn taught every grade from first through sixth at the school. She spent nine years teaching fifth grade, her favorite because of the emphasis on American history — she helped develop the school’s annual Colonial Fair.

Joslyn also played a big role in the drama department, directing two to three plays a year with Maureen Cassarino.

Rancho Paseana, a training facility for thoroughbred horses owned by Jenny Craig, will close its doors on May 31.

Craig, best known for the weight-loss company she founded, was traveling and unavailable for comment.  But a spokeswoman confirmed that the 228-acre facility on San Dieguito Road in Rancho Santa Fe will close its doors.

The property is in escrow to an unnamed buyer, and it is unknown what the new owner’s plans are, the spokeswoman said.

According to online real estate sources, the property was listed for sale in 2010 for $29.95 million, and the price was later reduced to $24.95 million.

The property was originally developed by former San Diego Chargers owner Gene Klein and his trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, in the mid-1980s.  It includes a seasonal stream and 3/4-mile race track.  The Craigs purchased the property in 1995.

Nearly all of the horses that were boarded at the facility have been returned to their owners in preparation for the facility’s closure, the spokeswoman said.

Craig and her late husband, Sid, spent 20 years breeding, training and racing horses together, according to the official Kentucky Derby website.  Their horse, Chocolate Candy, finished fifth in the 2009 Kentucky Derby.  Another of their horses, Candy Ride, won the 2003 Pacific Classic.

Charlotte Mayer, Lexie Rowland

A Lux@Night event was held May 15 featuring acclaimed British textile artist and designer Zandra Rhodes.

The event included the opportunity to meet Rhodes and purchase her designer jewelry, accessories, clothing, and books. Lux@Night also featured British-inspired food, drinks, and music.

For more information, visit luxartinstitute.org.

–Photos/Jon Clark

K. Ann Brizolis

For the first quarter of 2013, K. Ann Brizolis ranked #1 in sales production out of 1,300 Prudential California Realty agents throughout San Diego County. A real estate market leader for 23 years, Brizolis and her associates were also honored recently as the team that ranked eighth in the U.S. out of more than 54,000 Prudential agents for 2012, and were among the top 100 real estate agents nationwide, according to The Wall Street Journal.

When asked about her incredible track record of sales achievements, Brizolis credited her team members for their dedication and professionalism and her clients for their continued loyalty.

“Our strategy for success is simple; we focus upon the needs of our clients, above everything else.”

Brizolis and her team have earned a reputation for ethics, integrity and service.

“We are very proud of the awards and milestones we have achieved. We believe they confirm that our clients value the expertise we provide them.”

With a majority of her business originating from referrals and repeat clients, Brizolis has consistently ranked at the top half of 1 percent of Prudential agents nationwide. Based in Prudential’s Rancho Santa Fe office, she specializes in the sale of fine homes and estate properties throughout “The Ranch” and the surrounding communities.

“Ann has an extensive client network and many years of experience,” said Ron Sparks, manager of Prudential Rancho Santa Fe. “In addition, her knowledge, skills and solid reputation have placed her at the top of the Rancho Santa Fe real estate market for many years. She has worked incredibly hard to get where she is today, so it’s always a pleasure to see her excel.”

Brizolis, a broker associate, completed a degree in Business Administration and Marketing from California State Polytechnic University Pomona. Her proficiency in navigating the upper tier of the real estate marketplace earned her the title of Director for Prudential’s Luxury Division.

K. Ann Brizolis and Associates may be reached at 858-756-6355, via email at ann@kabrizolis.com, or on the web at www.kabrizolis.com.

Dr. Huan Giap

By Joe Tash

Dr. Huan Giap’s path from his native Vietnam to his current job of treating cancer patients with radiation therapy in San Diego took many twists and turns.

As a teenager, Giap was among a group of Vietnamese “boat people” who landed in Thailand, where he spent a year in a refugee camp.  Inspired by an American priest he met at the camp, Giap emigrated to the U.S. at age 18, intending to study for the priesthood, but instead earning a master’s degree in nuclear engineering at Texas A&M University.

Giap then decided to go back to school, earning both a medical degree and a doctorate in a special joint program at the University of Texas Health Science Center.

At 50, the Rancho Santa Fe resident is about to embark on the next chapter of his career, as a member of the medical staff of a new proton therapy center under construction in the Carroll Canyon area of Mira Mesa, which will be operated by Scripps Health. Giap joins the center as chief of breast, gastrointestinal and lung proton beam therapy.

The $220 million center is slated to open at the end of this summer, following three years of construction.  When completed, the facility will have the capacity to treat 2,400 patients per year.

While he has enjoyed all of his various endeavors over the past three decades, which have included working in a nuclear power plant and serving as chief medical officer for the company that is building the new Scripps proton therapy center, Giap said his true passion is treating patients.

“At heart I’m a clinician, I’m a doctor.  That job gives me the most satisfaction,” Giap said.

Giap worked as a radiation oncologist at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla from 1998 to 2008, and served his residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

Throughout his career, he has used both traditional X-ray radiation, as well as proton radiation, to treat patients with different forms of cancer.

The major advantage of proton therapy, said Giap and Dr. Carl Rossi, medical director of the new proton therapy center, is that it can target tumors more precisely than traditional X-ray radiation, thus having less impact on surrounding healthy tissue and organs, and causing fewer side effects for patients.

At the heart of the technology is a device called a cyclotron, which is just six feet wide and nine feet tall, but weighs 90 tons.  Rossi said the machine is basically a large electro-magnet made of steel, which accelerates the protons to great speeds.

The protons are then directed to the center’s five treatment rooms, where they are focused on the patients’ tumors.

Unlike X-rays, which travel through the body, protons can be directed to stop at very precise points, with accuracy to within two to three millimeters.  For example, he said, when proton therapy is used to treat breast cancer, it can stop at the chest wall, and avoid hitting the heart.  A recent study found that women treated for breast cancer with X-ray radiation have a higher risk of developing heart disease later in life, because the heart is often exposed to radiation.

Reducing both the short- and long-term side effects of cancer treatment is becoming more important as medical science advances, resulting in more people being cured and living for longer periods after treatment, Rossi said.  That is especially true for children, who have a longer life expectancy and are also more susceptible to the harmful side effects of treatment.

With proton therapy, Rossi said, “We treat substantially less good stuff (healthy tissue) to treat the bad stuff (cancer).”

The idea of using proton therapy actually dates back to the 1940s, and initially, very small numbers of patients were treated in physics labs.  Today, there are about 12 operating proton therapy facilities in the U.S., with about six more under construction, Rossi said.  The new Scripps center will be the second in California and the third west of the Rockies.

In the past, proton therapy has been used for pediatric cancer, as well as prostate and lung cancer and brain tumors, Giap said. It’s increasingly being used for breast cancer, and tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, he said.  Proton therapy is most beneficial for localized tumors, as opposed to cancers that are widespread in the body.

“Proton therapy is a piece of the puzzle, bringing cancer treatment to the next level,” he said.

“It’s exciting for San Diego County.  I’m so happy to be a part of it,” Giap said.

Giap and his wife, Anna, moved to Rancho Santa Fe about 10 years ago.  Their two children, Fantine, 20, and Bosco, 19, attended R. Roger Rowe School.  Both are now in college, and plan to follow their father into the field of radiation oncology, Giap said.

Rossi, who worked with Giap at Loma Linda, said the new center is fortunate to have doctors such as Giap on staff.

“He was the most brilliant person we had come through in the 20 years I was at Loma Linda,” Rossi said of his colleague.

Fast Facts

Professional: Chief of breast, gastrointestinal and lung proton beam therapy at the new Scripps Proton Therapy Center, now under construction in Mira Mesa.

Education: Medical degree, University of Texas Health Science Center; doctorate, medical physics, University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Science; bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nuclear engineering, Texas A&M University.

Family: Wife, Anna; daughter, Fantine, 20, and son, Bosco, 19

Residence: Rancho Santa Fe

Current Book: “Cha: A biography of Father ‘Joe’ Devlin, SJ,” by Raymond Devlin

Favorite movie/book/musical: “Les Misérables”

Philosophy: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”  — Steve Jobs

By Karen Billing

The first all-girls Rancho Santa Fe Little League team is holding its own in the rookie division. Named the Angels, the girls are currently in fourth place with their eyes on the playoffs.

Last year many of the Angels girls made up the first all-girls T-ball team in the league, distinguishing themselves with a sunflower affixed to their caps. This year, moving up to the “big boys league” of machine pitch, they have no such feminine touch and, according to Coach Jason Stafford, are not phased in the slightest to be the only pony-tailed players on the field.

The team of 8-year-old second-graders includes Jewell Perry, Veronika Stafford, Ava Wehlage, Ashley Bediakian, KT McVeigh, Tara Trabucco, Danni Dehaven, Stella Mikolajewski, Sydney Lee, Lucy Loretta and McKara Sweeney.

“We’re doing really well,” said Coach Stafford, noting they had ranked third out of seven teams until last week when they dropped a couple of games and settled into fourth place.

A highlight of the year was handing the number one team in their division, the Yankees, their first lost. Until the Yanks met the Angels, they were undefeated.

“The first win is always the sweetest because we lost the first couple of games but then we went on a five-game winning streak, starting with beating that number one undefeated team,” Stafford said.

Stafford said the girls are very engaged in the game, they get excited to learn they’re winning and they always ask how many outs there are in an inning, just in case it has changed since the last game. Skill-wise, they’ve all added tools to their Angelic arsenals.

“The girls are very competitive, it’s been awesome to watch them grow,” Stafford said.

Moving from hitting a ball off a tee to taking 38-mile per-hour pitches from a machine is a big change, but the girls have adapted well. Stafford prepped the girls for the step up by putting them through “spring training” batting practices.

“It’s great because they all have progressed so much in fielding, hitting and just their confidence,” Stafford said. “It’s pretty awesome to see the growth in their confidence and self esteem.”

Stafford said he has really enjoyed coaching the girls this year and will relish the last three regular season match-ups next week. The Angels will get one last crack at the first place Yankees on May 30. Photos/Jon Clark

Taylor Sims, Karen Noble, Chris Benassi

Estate Management Group in Rancho Santa Fe  recently held an Open House at the Mille Fleurs patio.

Deborah Sims is the principle of the Estate Management Group. She began her career with Dean Witter 25 years ago in downtown Los Angeles. Within five years, Sims was named Vice President of Great Western Financial Services, an acclaimed Wall Street firm. For the last 15 years, Sims has been practicing as an Independent Financial Advisor.

While using her unique approach, founded on providing personal service, her mission has been to educate her clients with the knowledge to simplify a complicated subject.

Currently, Sims and the Estate Management Group provide financial guidance to clients of wealth, women, business owners, and foundations to help them plan their financial future and protect their family legacy.

Sims’ Estate Management Group is comprised of locally renowned estate planning attorneys and Certified Public Accountants. By structuring a team with outside specialists, Deborah is able to provide her clients with access to a variety of services.

Estate Management Group is located at 16906 Via de Santa Fe,
Rancho Santa Fe, 92067.

For more information, call 858-756-0004;
email dsims@estatemanagementgroup.com or visit www.estateinvestmentgroup.com.

–Photos/Jon Clark