December 2007

El Torito’s Banditos Part Dos

by The Editors on December 21, 2007

The Carlsbad Barrio’s El Torito Market at 3161 Roosevelt St. was robbed for a second time in three weeks at 8:14 Wednesday night December 19, 2007, according to a story on Sign On San Diego.

Two men, at least one with a handgun, held up the clerk, who handed them an undisclosed amount of cash taken from the register. . . When another clerk peered around the corner to see what was happening, the man fired a round from a .38-caliber handgun, Reno said. The shot missed the clerk and no one was injured. The robbers then fled on foot heading west.

On November 30, 2007 the market was robbed by two Latinos. This time it was by two African Americans in their 20s. As usual, the Carlsbad Police department would like any info related to this robbery. Call them at (760) 931-2115.

[Link: Sign On San Diego and North County Times]

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Planning To Rewrite The General Plan

by The Editors on December 20, 2007

At a workshop held last night Carlsbad Community Development Director Sandra Holder said that the City’s general plan should be rewritten, according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times.

“It’s a very old document … it’s time,” Holder said as she discussed why staff members are recommending the overhaul. “The general plan should be a living document — that means it should reflect the current desires of the community.”

Our favorite line:

Several area property owners have been asking the city to create a specific plan for the Barrio that would allow denser buildings. The current standard is six to 11.5 dwelling units per acre depending on the lot’s zoning. The group is proposing a limit of 35 to 40 dwelling units per acre.

Oh yeah, that’s exactly what the Barrio needs: high density. Then we could have the Carlsbadistan Projects.

[Link: North County Times]

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Jefferson 5th Grade Band Christmas Concert

by The Editors on December 20, 2007

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Tonight at the Village Faire Mall in the heart of Carlsbadistan, the Jefferson Elementary School fifth grade band electrified shoppers and parents with a slew of Christmas classics in their first public performance of the year. About half of the program consisted of tunes played on the recorder directed by Carlsbad Unified School District’s Teacher of the Year, Karen Stencil and the other half was symphonic band directed by Steve Ebner.

Now, if we could just get that oh-so-hooky tune Good King Wenceslas out of our heads.

[click to continue…]

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All Alga Norte Park Bids Denied

by The Editors on December 19, 2007

First, the Carlsbad City Council was worried that many of the bids they got for the Alga Norte Park project were too low, now they’ve voted (4-1 according to the North County Times) to reject all six park construction bids and start the entire process over again.

City staff members had recommended the council’s move, arguing that there were multiple problems with the bids the city received. “We felt it was in the public’s best interest to reject all bids and start over,” said Skip Hammann, the city’s municipal projects director, after the council’s vote. . . . Key among the problems was that the lowest bidder — Consolidated Contracting Services of San Clemente, which bid $29.3 million — didn’t submit all the required information about the subcontractors it would be using, he said.

We’re guessing it’s better to weed out the problems now, than wait until the contractors decide to cut corners on the skateboard park.

[Link: North County Times]

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. . . Okay, Here’s The Pipeline Masters Final

by The Editors on December 19, 2007


We said we wouldn’t keep doing this, but we’re going to. Here is video of pretty much every wave ridden in the 2007 Billabong Pro Pipeline Masters finals. It was not pretty, and Pancho Sullivan was the only American in it, but it was a contest and there were small, yet ridable, waves. Bede Durbidge of Australia surfed away in the record books with his first Pipeline win. We promise this is the last North Shore surfing clip for a while at least. If you want to watch all four days videos, click here.

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Invitrogen CFO Sells Stock For Christmas

by The Editors on December 19, 2007

Okay, we don’t know that he sold them because it was Christmas, but David F. Hoffmeister, the CFO of Invitrogen sold 27,909 shares of his company this week at around $95 each, “in a Form 4 filed with the SECIn a Form 4 filed with the SEC. That’s means he freed about $2.6 million. Happy Holidays.

[Link: Motley Fool]

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Power Plant Hearing Draws A Crowd

by The Editors on December 18, 2007

According to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune the hearing and site tour that we mentioned on Sunday was a hit with Carlsbadistan residents.

A standing-room only crowd of more than 200 people turned out at a public hearing Monday night to comment on a proposal to replace the 53-year-old Encina Power Station with a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly electricity-generating plant. . . . Carlsbad resident Ted Viola referred to the 95-acre site owned by NRG Energy as “a profit center” and said he was concerned there is no absolute requirement for the company to retire and dismantle the Encina Power Station and its towering 400-foot smokestack.

While we think the smoke stack is the icon of Carlsbadistan, it’s obvious that NRG should be restricted in how many power plants it builds and be held to a plan regarding the old plant if they are allowed to build a new one.

[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]

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The 2007 Christmas Bird Count

by The Editors on December 17, 2007

Birders from Carlsbad are invited to join the Buena Vista Chapter of the Audubon Society as they perform their annual Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 22.

The Christmas Bird Count is part research and part fun. Participants will be amassing important data on bird distribution in our area while trying to beat last year’s total of 181 different species. After a full morning of birding, we’ll all gather at the Nature Center to trade stories, tally up our numbers, and enjoy a bowl of Annette’s famous chili.

If this sounds like a great was to spend the Saturday before Christmas, then by all means call the Nature Center (760-439-2473), or e-mail Terry (thunefeld@gmail.com) for more info.

[Link: Buena Vista Audubon]

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The $7 Million Parking Structure

by The Editors on December 17, 2007

A new parking structure that the City of Carlsbad says we need will cost nearly $31,000 per parking spot if city estimates are correct. The 200 to 250-space parking structure could cost a total of $6 or 7 million, according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times.

There are two questions now facing Carlsbad officials: The first is whether to raise the in-lieu parking fee Carlsbad charges developers in the downtown in order to add more money to the parking structure fund. The second is whether to go for a shared parking structure project with the North County Transit District, which owns the downtown Coaster train station, officials said.

We’re no experts, but a shared parking structure seems like the best idea, and it would be even better if most of it was underground. Can they do that for us?

[Link: North County Times]

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Agua Hedionda Industrial Zone

by The Editors on December 16, 2007

IndustrialWhat is supposed to be Carlsbad’s “natural lagoon” is quickly turning into an crowded industrial zone.

Let’s see: there is the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute fish hatchery, and the Carlsbad Aqua Farm oyster business. Then Poseidon Resources Inc. got Coastal Commission approval to put in a desalination plant and now NGR Engery is hoping to put in a second power plant over by Interstate 5 with two smaller stacks and a wall that runs down the side of the freeway, but they wouldn’t decommission the old plant for “five or six years” according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The California Energy Commission, which decides on major power plants in the state, will hold an informational tour of the site tomorrow [Monday December 17, 2007 at 3:15 PM] followed by a public hearing [at 5 PM at the City of Carlsbad – Faraday Center, Conference Room 173B, 1635 Faraday Avenue]

At this point it’s like why not just throw in a nuclear reactor and a ship dismantling plant while we’re at it? We’re sure it would mean increased revenue for the city. Please leave your thoughts in the comment section.

[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]

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