Bundle up because the forecast says a winter storm is on its way, but you still wont want to miss a holiday event that is quintessentially San Diego: the 37th annual San Diego Bay Parade of Lights. On Dec. 20, 5:30 - 9 p.m., see over 100 boats, all decked out in lighted glory, cruise a 7.5 mile route on San Diego Bay. This year's theme is a "Christmas At The Zoo" and it promises to be better than ever. Best vantage points from the shore are along the Embarcadero, Seaport Village, Harbor Island and Coronado.

Read more about the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights here.

With families tightening their budgets this holiday season out of necessity, some households might be short on cheer. But nothing brings smiles to entire families better than Christmas light displays. And when entire neighborhoods get into the holiday spirit, it brings whole communities together, with people driving from all points of the county just to get a glimpse of someone else's neighborhood display. Sure, commercial displays might be more grand in some cases, but nothing says Christmas better than a heartfelt lighted residence. Hopefully, the economic woes won't curtail the generous efforts of our local homeowners.

Check out my roundup of neighborhood Christmas lights displays around San Diego.

He was the guy who not only gave us the membership warehouse superstore, but he also inspired Sam Walton to give us WalMart. Sol Price, best known as the founder of Price Club and San Diego philanthropist, died Monday,  at age 93. With a knack for delivering products at attractive prices for the consumer, Price built his San Diego-based Price Club chain into a retail phenomenon until it was merged into Costco in 1993.

But even before the success of Price Club, Price already had shown his retail savvy when he started the FedMart (remember?) retail discount chain. Along with the deep discount prices on a mix of products, FedMart pioneered retail innovations selling gasoline at wholesale prices, in-store pharmacies and optical departments, as well as grocery and food products. Sam Walton saw Price's innovations in a Houston FedMart store and was inspired to start the behemoth retail chain WalMart. Walton wrote in his 1992 biography, "I guess I've stolen -- I actually prefer the word 'borrowed' -- as many ideas from Sol Price as from anybody else in the business."

After the merge with Costco, Price focused on real estate development and philanthropic activities that focused on community improvement, especially in the City Heights neighborhood. Besides his sons Robert and Laurence, Sol Price is survived by five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Not the best timing - in the midst of a rocky holiday season for many San Diegans still feeling the effects of a bad economy, the San Diego City Council this week approved a plan to reduce library hours, scale back maintenance at parks and beaches, eliminate long-standing public-safety programs and lay off 200 workers to help close a $179 million budget deficit.

According to the Union-Tribune, Mayor Jerry Sanders pushed for the recommended cuts now even though the new fiscal year doesn't begin until July 2010 because the city is projecting a $179 million budget deficit. Sanders' plan calls for ending programs such as horse-mounted patrols at Balboa Park, delaying projects like fire sprinklers at City Hall and putting off payments into reserve accounts. He said the cuts are needed now to avoid deeper cuts later.

Sanders has proposed eliminating 81 jobs for nonsworn service officers, investigative aides and code-compliance officers. Police Chief William Lansdowne said those duties would be taken up by sworn officers who currently serve in canine units and boat patrols -- two programs being cut or eliminated. Cuts to libraries calls for hours at every branch to be reduced to 36 from 41 per week and be closed on Sundays and Mondays. Only the downtown library will be open Sundays.

The cuts won't eliminate the projected deficit: with an ongoing gap between projected revenue and expenses, the city still expects a shortfall of $77 million for the fiscal year that will start in July 2011.