Bullish on BizTown: Maryland Avenue School the Next Pipeline to Wall Street?

Look out, Wall Street. Maryland Avenue School fourth- and fifth-graders are heading to Junior Achievement’s BizTown in April. They’ll be running a city with their own mayor, CEOs, technicians and bank employees. It’ll be something to remember for these mini-moguls.

The fourth-graders in teacher Jeanette Newman’s class are already of good stock – they’ve been playing the market using several  tools, including Wally’s Stock Ticker, a website that allows the students to track certain popular stocks. Who needs E*Trade when you’ve got these kids?

TREATING PARK VOLUNTEERS: Anywhere you go around San Diego, you can find La Mesans. Many people attended a retirement ceremony for California State Parks volunteers Frank and June Nuttall at San Elijo State Beach, including Grossmont High School alum Doreen Platis (class of ’80).

Platis just moved back to San Diego with her husband, Chris, after living for around 10 years in Northern California. Chris is with the State Parks system so their family, including four kids ranging from ages 8 to 21, lived in a beautiful park campground near San Francisco.

Although the family lives in Encinitas now, Platis said she has fond memories of La Mesa. And in case anyone is in her new neck of the woods, she highly recommends trying – sweet treats she and Chris used to bring the Nuttalls when he was a state park ranger at Torrey Pines. “They’re the best,” she said. “Better than Krispy Kreme.”

MARVEL AT THE MAGIC: Crazy Fred’s Cards & Comics on Baltimore Drive has a great interactive (albeit underutilized) website for anyone into comics or cards. In addition to advertising the many card tournaments held at the store, Crazy Fred’s boosts artists Gary Montalbano and La Mesa’s own Billy Martinez.

FYI, comics lovers, if you’re waiting for the newest edition of your favorite comic, you may want to mark Wednesday on your calendar—that’s when Fred’s new issues arrive every week.