Front Pages

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Tour de Force

SEVEN-TIME Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong (also known for beating cancer, dating Hollywood starlets and, most recently, staging a pro cycling comeback) and the world’s best professional cyclists pedal through North County for the final part of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California road race, which finishes February 22 in Escondido. The eight-stage race, the largest cycling event in the country, begins February 14 with a time trial in Sacramento and covers 750 miles in nine days.

Stage eight, which starts on Bernardo Center Drive in Rancho Bernardo February 22 at noon, is considered by many the toughest final stage in the history of the Amgen Tour of California, with four climbs, including the highest point ever reached in the race, and two sprints. Riders (two-time defending champ Levi Leipheimer among them) climb Palomar Mountain before sprinting to the finish line at the intersection of Broadway and Grand Avenue in downtown Escondido.

Last year’s race attracted 1.6 million spectators, so you’ll want to claim your roadside cheering spot early. amgentourofcalifornia.com. ——JULIA BEESON POLLORENO

Reflections of a Refugee

NARGIS ALIZADA was 10 when she, her mother and two sisters fled Kabul in the middle of a winter’s night. Her father, a teacher who had already been forced to flee to neighboring Azerbaijan (after the Taliban learned he was challenging their authority and working with an aid organization), decided to smuggle his family out of Afghanistan to a place where his daughters could get an education. Nargis and her family eventually landed in El Cajon, where they were welcomed by a supportive Afghani community.

At Cajon Valley Middle School, Nargis discovered the AjA Project, an afterschool program for immigrant and refugee youth that encourages them to reflect on their transition experience through photography. With camera in hand——and the support of her new refugee friends——Nargis was finally able to process and share her journey with others.

“Before AjA became a part of my life, I had been living where I couldn’t express my feelings or bring my voice to others,” says Nargis. “By taking photos, not only did I find a new voice, I found a new family.”

Her photos and writings were exhibited at the National Geographic Explorers Hall in Washington, D.C., and she toured the country speaking about her experience. After teachers at Francis Parker School heard her story, Nargis was invited to attend the private school on a full scholarship. After graduation, she enrolled at Fairfield University in Connecticut, where she’s studying international relations.

In November, the AjA Project received the Coming Up Taller Excellence in Youth award. Nargis was on hand to help accept the award, presented by Laura Bush at a White House ceremony.

More information: ajaproject.org or 619-223-7001. ——J.B.P.

Wave Therapy

ASK SERIOUS SURFERS what they get out of their beloved sport, and most will note——among many other benefits——its calming, therapeutic qualities. But thanks to one of surfing’s more esteemed local families, the sport has proven to be literally therapeutic.

Former pro surfer Izzy Paskowitz, son of Dr. Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, discovered early on that the one place his son Isaiah found relief from autism’s debilitating sensory overload was in the ocean. Another parent brought his autistic son to Isaiah’s surf sessions, and before long so many kids were showing up that Izzy, whose family (featured in the documentary Surfwise) has been running Paskowitz Surf Camps since 1972, started Surfers Healing, a series of free, nationwide summer surf camps for autistic kids.

Since 1997, Izzy has run Surfers Healing with the help of instructors and legendary surfing professionals, along with the financial generosity of corporations and ordinary charitable folks. Six sessions take place each year in San Diego, at Tourmaline Canyon Surfing Park. “It’s unfortunate they fill up so quick,” says Izzy. “It’s cool, but it’s not.”

For more on Surfers Healing, visit surfershealing.org or call 866-647-HEAL. ——ADAM ELDER

MAKING HIS MOVE from the airwaves to the World Wide Web, waterman Chris Cantore has joined the sandiegomagazine.com family as our surfing editor. Visit our Web site in the coming weeks and months for ever-expanding surfing coverage.

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