Wolfram Kalber has big ideas for Carlsbadistan. And he’s not one who simply dreams things up and lets them sit. Through his company Wolf Design Build he has designed and built homes in many different styles, but they all feature a creative groove that makes them quite unlike anything that’s been done before.
Kalber’s most recent work in Carlsbadistan is the $17 million Kiko Beach House on Ocean St. which we last featured in our 12 Days of Carlsbadistan Christmas. Now, Kalber and David Evans have some ideas for the Encina Power Station property. It’s called The Peoples Sunset Terrace Pavillion & Amphitheater. The structure which houses a Carlsbad Cultural Center and Recreation Center, looks somewhat like Denver’s DIA airport.
Kalber says he is meeting with the Mayor to discuss this and another design for the triangle lawn at Offshore, but we’re guessing this will fly well over Mayor Lewis’ head. Everything else aside, it’s good to know someone is thinking way, way outside the box when it comes to Carlsbadistan’s future.
According to a new study commissioned by the City of Carlsbad the “number of Carlsbad residents happy with the job their city is doing dipped slightly last year,” according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times.
The number of people who described themselves as confident in their city government declined for the third year straight, Williams said. In 2007, the confidence figure was 79 percent, while in 2009 it came in at 74 percent. . . Williams said he expects Carlsbad residents’ recent dissatisfaction is due in large part to the national economic recession. There’s also “a frustration with government in general,” he said. . . It’s something he has seen in surveys in other California communities of late, he added.
Fine, but we think it’s because the City Council refuses to build a swimming pool and a skateboard park. Just think how happy everyone would be with just two simple additions.
North County Times writer Sarah Gordon reported yesterday that Carlsbadistan could have a new police chief real soon.
Spokeswoman Kristina Ray said 113 people applied for the job, some from within the department, but she said she could not disclose any details about the final field. . . A consultant hired by the city to conduct the search, Dave Morgan, a retired city manager from Anaheim, interviewed 20 candidates by phone in November. . . On Dec. 18, seven of those applicants were interviewed at the Carlsbad Safety Center by a panel of city and regional leaders, Ray said.
The Carlsbadistan City Council took a step in the right direction by voting not to add any amendments to the No Skateboarding laws that would include inlines and “similar forms of transportation,” according to a Randy Kalp story in The Coast News.
Jim Young, a 20-year resident of Carlsbad, told the council inline skating in the city is part of his lifestyle. The 51-year-old said restrictions on any type of skating or anyone outside exercising seem to be punishing people for getting outdoors and trying to take care of their health during a time when obesity is a national issue. . . “I feel a little disheartened that somebody from Oceanside comes to my city and tells me that I can’t take care of my health,” he added.
We agree. Next step for the council is to repeal the “no skateboarding” laws.
Pete Biltchik, a resident of Oceanside who claims to regularly walk the Carlsbadistan Seawall, has asked the City of Carlsbadistan to amend all the skateboard restrictions to include Rollerblades as well, according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times.
City officials are proposing to amend the city’s existing skateboarding restrictions to add Rollerblades, roller skates and “other similar forms of transportation.” The proposed amendment is tentatively scheduled to go before the City Council for a final vote next week.
Guess the only way to legally get around in Carlsbadistan will be in gas-guzzling, pollution spewing cars. What kind of message is the City Council trying to send?
Pictured from left: Carlsbad City Council Member Matt Hall; Mayor Pro Tem Ann J. Kulchin; 2009 Citizens of the Year Bobbie Hoder; Jim Hansen and Pat Hansen; Mayor Claude A. “Bud” Lewis; and Council Member Keith Blackburn.
At a special City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 Bobbie Hoder, and Jim and Pat Hansen, were honored as Carlsbad Citizens of the Year for 2009 for their dedication to the arts in Carlsbad.
“These three Carlsbad residents have given countless hours of their time to help make Carlsbad a better place to live. We are proud to call them friends and neighbors and applaud their selection as Citizens of the Year,” said Mayor Claude “Bud” Lewis.
The City of Carlsbadistan has awarded $25,000 arts grants to 16 different groups, according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times.
“It used to be the maximum grant amount was $1,000, and they moved it up to $1,200,” Peter Gordon, the city’s cultural arts manager, said Thursday.The recipient are selected by a committee that includes two members of the city’s arts commission and three people with expertise in the arts business. . . Recipients are selected based on several factors. For example, their projects must be Carlsbad-based, Gordon said. . . “Even if there’s an outside artist, (that person) has to partner with a Carlsbad group,” he said.
Mayor Bud Lewis and the rest of the Carlsbadistan City Council (Ann Kulchin, Keith Blackburn, Matt Hall, and Mark Packard) wish you and your’s a most wonderfully happy elfing holidays from the world’s best City.
Proving that they occasionally spend money on the right projects, the City of Carlsbadistan City Council on December 8, 2009 approved a grant program that will help businesses in The Village upgrade their store fronts.
City staff estimate that, depending on the amounts of the individual grants, the initial allocation of $300,000 will pay for 16 or 17 façade improvements in the downtown Village area, which encompasses some 200 acres in central Carlsbad. Based on the success of the initial allocation, the program could be expanded in the future. . . Funding for the program will come from the Village Redevelopment Operations Fund, which must be used for improvements within the redevelopment area. Only businesses located with the boundaries of the Village area are eligible for the grants.
If only we had a store with a front in The Village. . . For more information on the grants contact the Carlsbad Redevelopment Agency at 760-434-2810 or visit their web site at www.carlsbadca.gov/redevelopment.
The Holiday at the Leo Carrillo Rancho, held Saturday December 5, 2009 seemed a little smaller and more subdued than last year, but that didn’t stop those who attended from kicking off the holiday season with smiles.
Kids frosted cookies and built crafts, while parents gathered on the faux lawn in front of the Rancho to listen as the Carlsbad High School Chamber Orchestra played classic Christmas songs.
Face painters transformed kids into fairies, sprites, and creatures of all kind. Christmas movies played in the barn, horse and carriage rides took visitors for a night ride through the Rancho, and in La Cabaña down by the pool Miss Carlsbad and her court helped Santa meet and greet all the kids brave enough to sit on the old man’s knee.
Follow the jump for more scenes from Holiday at The Rancho 2009. [click to continue…]
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