by The Editors on October 1, 2007
For the past 55 years if you wanted to stroll the streets of Carlsbad (or hang out in a public park) with an open container it was perfectly legal. Later this month, according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times, all that is going to change.
For the first time in Carlsbad’s 55-year history, the city will prohibit the possession of open containers of alcohol on sidewalks, streets and other public areas in the downtown, except in fenced “beer garden” areas at street festivals or other special events.
And guess who was behind this new ordinance? Carlsbad’s bar owners. Interesting, huh?
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on September 30, 2007
Police opened the North-bound off ramp of Canon Rd on Saturday after a 37-foot-long motorhome that was “heavily painted with San Diego Chargers decor on the outside” burned for 30 minutes.
A North County freeway offramp reopened today after a scorched 37-foot motorhome blocked traffic for an hour and a half, authorities said. . . . Cause of the fire was not available. No one was injured in the blaze.
San Diego Super-Flamers indeed. Not even a sacrificial motor home fire can help the team this year.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on September 30, 2007
Carlsbad’s Dave Ploessel (left) grabs wins at three different lobster contests on opening day according to a story in the San Diego Union Tribune.
“He surfaced with that lobster at 12:03, and right there we knew it was going to be a great night,” said Ploessel’s diving partner, Eddy Borysewicz, 27, of San Diego. Ploessel, 33, who lives in Carlsbad, then rattled off one lobster after another, including a 10-pound, 8-ouncer that won the Big Lobster contest at Werner Kurn’s Ocean Enterprises on Balboa Avenue. It also won two Big Bug contests, one at Sport Chalet and the other at North County Scuba.
We know just where some more are hiding, but we’re not telling anyone.
[Link: San Diego Union Tribune]
by The Editors on September 29, 2007
Last spring when a sewage line owned by the City of Vista (and 10 percent by Carlsbad) ruptured, it dumped 7.3 million gallons of raw sewage into the Buena Vista Lagoon and killed more than 1,700 fish and other lagoon life forms. Now the cities are being faced with a $1.1 million fine from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, according to a story in the San Diego Union Tribune.
The report states the maximum fine that could have been imposed was $73 million. However, even adjusted for inflation, the proposed $1.1 million is higher than a $142,000 fine the board levied on Oceanside in 1994 for a 4.75-million-gallon spill into the same lagoon, which lies between Oceanside and Carlsbad.
Luckily, for Carlsbad, Vista will have to pay the majority of the fine if it must be paid. And we were worried about Oceanside building some condos on the lagoon.
[Link: San Diego Union Tribune]
by The Editors on September 28, 2007
It’s hard to keep a traveling according player tied down. Last January Matt Hensley announced that he was quitting the band Flogging Molly and was going to spend a little more time with his family in Carlsbad. He even bought Squid Joe’s and turned it into Hensley’s Flying Elephant Pub & Grill. But now, with a new album in the works, it appears that the former pro skateboarder is getting back in the band.
Matt says of his return, “The truth is that my life makes sense again, and I feel like I’m where I need to be in this world.” He also ads, “I missed the feeling of ‘knowing where you’re at.’ Being the accordion player in this band is my zone; where I belong. I got emails all the time from people who care deeply about the band. I missed being able to affect people in a positive way.”
While we’re going to miss seeing him around Hensley’s, Flogging Molly fans around the world are going to be much happier that Matt has returned to the band.
[Link: Transworld Skateboarding]
by The Editors on September 26, 2007
Carlsbad-based Aptera Motors is the dream of CEO Steve Fambro and COO Chris Anthony (founder of Epic Wake Boats). According to a story in the North County Times, Fambro’s prototype vehicle gets 300 miles to the gallon.
Made out of strong, lightweight composite materials such as fiberglass, the Aptera is a three-wheeled, hybrid diesel/electric vehicle that looks like something out of the Jetsons. The Aptera weighs 850 pounds, seats two, and the company says, gets 300 mpg. . . Because it has been classified as a motorcycle by California, the Aptera can legally use the car-pool lane —- even if there’s only one passenger.
Fambro has already rounded up $1 million from Idealab and another million from “Esenjay Explorations, an oil and gas drilling company based in Corpus Christi, Texas.” But now, as you might expect, the company needs more money. . . don’t we all.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on September 23, 2007
Sadly, we didn’t take any bets when we made our predictions that there would be no “big winter storm” this weekend. Check out what the San Diego Union Tribune had to say:
The intense, winterlike storm the National Weather Service buzzed about all last week did not live up to its billing, at least not in San Diego County. . . . Most of the region got little rain Friday night and yesterday, and the extreme conditions that were forecast – thunderstorms, hail and possible mudflows – never materialized.
We did, however, see a couple water spouts like these at noon on Saturday.
[Links: San Diego Union Tribune and Carlsbadistan]
by The Editors on September 23, 2007
Leave it to the Oceanside City Council to ignore a recommendation from their own Planning Commission and approve an “82-room hotel, a restaurant and four 3,400-square-foot condominiums” on the northern shore of Buena Vista Lagoon, according to an opinion piece by Judi Wilson in the North County Times.
Buena Vista Lagoon, located on the border between the cities of Carlsbad and Oceanside, was designated California’s first Ecological Reserve in 1969. From far inland, along Buena Vista Creek, this ancient watershed nourishes the only fresh water lagoon in San Diego County, offering shelter, food and nesting habitat to a vast variety of birds and animals.
The Buena Vista Audubon Society along with several other groups is going to appeal Oceanside’s decision to the California Coastal Commission. For more info visit the Buena Vista Audubon Society Thursday September 27, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. at the Nature Center, 2202 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on September 22, 2007
It may have been hidden in a copper box in the wall behind the dedication plaque, but the Carlsbad High School time capsule that was sealed away on September 13, 1957 reveals shocking news about the past: things were cheaper then, especially teachers and school administrators.
Also in the time capsule was the 1957-1958 Employee’s Manual for the “Oceanside-Carlsbad High School and College District” – now three separate institutions. The college district is now MiraCosta College. . . The manual details a salary schedule for teachers; first-year teachers started at $4,200 annually while the most educated teacher, with 14 years experience, pulled down $7,260. Administrator salaries ranged from $5,892 to $10,524. By comparison, teacher pay in Carlsbad ranges between $38,885 to $84,558. Superintendent John Roach makes $200,000 annually.
Small engine repair teacher Mike Cates heard rumors about the time capsule existence and decided to hunt for it.
Cates recruited carpenter Randy Sheldahl, a 1970 graduate of the school, to tear into an interior wall behind the plaque Wednesday night, accompanied by alums Ginny Unanue, Charla Boodry, Marianna Seeley and Clay Wiest, who served double duty as the school’s first librarian and English teacher. . . Using hand tools and an electric saw, Sheldahl cut away the wall to reveal a wood case built between framing studs. He pried away the front of the case to reveal the copper box, encrusted with bits of concrete and bearing what appeared to fingerprints.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on September 21, 2007
Looks like that “big winter storm” went churning right on past us to the West.
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