June Casagrande Who are the people in...

June Casagrande

Who are the people in your neighborhood? Just ask Jim Fournier.

Or, better yet, log on to www.TalesOfBalboa.com.

Here, Webmaster Fournier has taken his oh-so-community-focused Web

site to new heights. Fournier has added a new section, “Faces of

Balboa,” with the ambitious goal of posting the names and faces of

nearly everyone who lives, works or plays in this seaside wonderland.

“I just thought it would be a way to show people who we are, as a

community, as a neighborhood,” said Fournier, whose site has long

been a source for local news, events and history.

But while the goal is simple, the footwork is heavy duty. Usually

once a week, Fournier positions himself outside the Balboa Market,

camera in hand, to take pictures of passersby.

“I just stand out there taking pictures and getting their names to

post to the site,” he said.

The result: More than 250 locals have already appeared on the

site. But the residents’ presence on the site isn’t limited to their

names and faces. Another new feature, “Your 2 Cents Worth,” lets

residents speak their minds on all things Balboa.

“I learned to swim in this very bay,” one anonymous Web surfer

wrote of her 1950s childhood trips to the peninsula. “My mouth waters

as I remember the lunch we would often get at one of the little food

stands. Deep fried jumbo shrimp and French fries in a basket. In the

past 50 years, I’ve never eaten anything as delicious as what I ate

as a child here on Balboa beach.”

Fournier has also added another Web cam to the site. Now, in

addition to seeing regularly updated images of Balboa Beach, the

Wedge, Balboa Bay at Lido and the Bayfront, visitors can enjoy a view

of the action along Main Street, all the way to the ocean.