News

Upperdeck’s New Year Layoff Effects 33

by The Editors on December 4, 2009

Carlsbadistan based trading company Upper Deck Co. LLC will lay off 33 employees according to a story in the North County Times.

The company is laying off five associate game designers, two game designers and two information technology product managers, along with 24 other individual positions, according to the notice, posted on the department’s Web site.

Sadly, it looks like they’re not going to get cut until January 2010.

[Link: North County Times]

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The Riehl World: Mark Packard & Rail Safety

by Richard J. Riehl on December 4, 2009

1240150488Is Carlsbad city councilman Mark Packard really more interested in political grandstanding than public safety?

As a member of the North County Transit District board, he cast the only “no” vote to fund a study to install a federally required safety system on our local commuter trains. He said he did so because the feds weren’t funding it. Upon hearing from their attorney that failure to comply with the law would mean there’d be no commuter rail service here after 2015, the eight other members of the board voted to fund the study.

Follow the jump for the rest of the column. . .
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Carlsbad Chamber Launches New Website

by The Editors on December 3, 2009

Chamber SiteThe Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce is apparently happy to announce the launch of their entirely redesigned website.

The new, clean look offers improved navigation and better organization, adding to the already outstanding aspects of the Web site, such as the business directory, which is the most utilized feature. The site also has a new section for attractions and a new calendar that makes it easier to find and register for events, workshops and seminars hosted by the chamber.

The site was designed and built by Carlsbadistan based Lynch Interactive and we have to agree that Jeff Lynch and his crew did a great job getting a lot of information into the site, not to mention putting some social media connections up front and center. Follow the jump for all the details.
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Legoland’s Parent Buys SeaWorld And More

by The Editors on December 1, 2009

Blackstone GroupLegoland California owner The Blackstone Group (owners of Merlin Entertainment) has purchased 10 amusement parks from Anheuser-Busch InBev in a deal worth up to $2.7 billion according to as story on MSN’s Money Central.

Busch Entertainment Corp., the second-largest entertainment park operator in the United States after Walt Disney Co. with 25,000 employees and 25 million visitors a year, is now known as SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. . . The deal includes three SeaWorld parks in Orlando, Fla.; San Antonio, Texas; and San Diego, Calif.; and two Busch Gardens parks in Tampa, Fla., and Williamsburg, Va. It also includes Discovery Cove and Aquatica in Orlando; Sesame Place near Philadelphia, and water parks Adventure Island in Tampa and Water Country USA in Williamsburg.

We first mentioned this back in September. Guess this means we can say goodbye to cheap locals season passes at SeaWorld and hello to biometric profiling at Legoland. Epic.

[Link: Money Central]

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Coates Hired For Carlsbad Parks And Rec Job

by The Editors on December 1, 2009

CoatesThe City of Carlsbadistan has announced yesterday that they have hired John W. Coates as director of the City’s Parks & Rec department. He will start January 4, 2010. The position has been open since July 2009 when Brian Albright resigned.

Coates brings more than 30 years of professional experience in the field, including serving as the director of community services for the City of Santee, a position he has held since 2002. . . Other experience includes serving as the director of parks and recreation for the City of Roanoke, Va.; the superintendent of recreation maintenance for the City of Norfolk, Va.; and a parks district supervisor for the City of Virginia Beach, Va.

Coates only recent lapse in judgement appears to be that he lives in Encinitas, but we won’t hold that against him. Follow the jump for all the details.
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Snake Captured In Batiquitos Lagoon

by The Editors on November 30, 2009

Burmese-Python T352Two hikers who were cruising the shores of Batiquitos Lagoon in the shadow of the Four Season’s Aviara spotted a five-foot long “Burmese python” today, according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Troy Keenan (pictured right), a volunteer for the Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation, was working in the foundation’s nature center at the west end of the lagoon when the hikers reported their find. . . “I kind of tiptoed into the pickle weed and saw it stretched out,” Keenan said. He grabbed the snake’s tail, put his baseball cap over its head and grabbed the reptile behind its neck. In a few moments, the python was in a trash bag and animal control was on its way. . . “It got my adrenaline up, let’s put it that way,” he said.

Good thing they got it when they did as Burmese pythons will eat anything and can live almost anywhere. Ever heard the story from the Florida Everglades about the 13 foot python that tried to eat a six foot long alligator? It didn’t go well for either animal.

[Editors’ Note: As a commenter has pointed out, the snake in the above photograph is a boa constrictor and not the much more dangerous “burmese python” as reported by the Union-Tribune.]

[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]

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Marie Callender’s Sewage Pie Shutdown

by The Editors on November 30, 2009

Carlsbad’s Wastewater Division today Carlsbadistan’s Marie Callender’s manager Juan Garcia to shut down the restaurant or the water would be turned off after a Thanksgiving Day diner smelled sewage in the kitchen, according to a story in the North County Times.

Problems for Marie Callender’s began when newly-minted Carlsbad resident Pete Dimiceli smelled sewage as he sat down to order his Thanksgiving feast at the restaurant on Thursday night. He’d moved to the area three months ago after moving from Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn. . . . “I got up —- y’know a New Yorker —- I got up and talked to this guy Michael, he said, ‘No, one of the bathrooms backed up,'” Dimiceli said. “I take three steps, look right into kitchen. As sure as God made apples, there was sewage on the floor.” . . Dimiceli said the spill ran approximately 15 feet in length and seemed to be about 3 inches deep. He said waitstaff had to slosh through the puddle in order to bring people their food. He got up and left, and promptly registered a complaint with the Department of Environmental Health.

Does this mean no more “sewer pies” for dessert this week?

[Link: North County Times]

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Carlsbad’s New Mrs. Southern California

by The Editors on November 30, 2009

Msc TaraintCarlsbadistan’s Tara Hooper, owner of Tara’s Hair Studio on State Street was crowned Mrs. Southern California 2010 at The Grand Long Beach Event Center on Sunday November 15, 2009.

In addition to being a wife, mother of one, homemaker, and business entrepreneur, Tara devotes her spare time to making a difference in her community. . .“I still can’t believe I was crowned Mrs. Southern California 2010,” said Tara Hooper, “What an honor to be part of a Justin Rudd Production. The venue was chic, fab and glitz. Photographers were everywhere, and I felt famous even if it was just for the evening. But the best part is I get to help promote the causes that are important to me.”

Hooper will be launching a “Purple for Prosperity” hair ribbon campaign on December 17 at the Carlsbad High to help raise funds for Women’s Outreach Club at Carlsbad High School. Follow the jump for the rest of the details. [click to continue…]

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Tamarack Parking Closure

by The Editors on November 27, 2009

We’re not sure exactly what this means yet, but the Tamarack parking lot being closed from November 30 to December 5, 2009 probably isn’t good.

Is this the end of free parking?

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Candlelight Vigil For Kenneth Gram Tonight

by The Editors on November 27, 2009

GramFamily and friends of Carlsbad High School graduate Kenneth Andrew Gram, 22, will gather tonight (November 27, 2009) at Moonlight Beach, in Encinitas for an “informal celebration and vigil for peace” from 7 – 10 PM.

Gram was visiting friends in Annapolis, Maryland last week when his body was discovered by police on a sidewalk at 2:20 AM Wednesday, November 18, 2009 with multiple stab wounds to his neck and upper back, according to a story in the Baltimore Sun.

The North County Times reports that Gram was walking alone at the time of the attack.

At about 2 a.m. on Nov. 18, one day before he was supposed to come home, Kenneth got into a argument with his girlfriend and decided to walk by himself to a nearby diner, his father said. . . . Police found Kenneth’s body shortly afterwards about two blocks from a housing project . . . He still carried his cell phone and his money. John Lee, the Annapolis detective handling the case, said the investigation is ongoing.

Gram’s sister Danielle is the co-founder of the Carlsbad-based Kids for Peace.

[Links: Baltimore Sun and North County Times]

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