by The Editors on June 20, 2011
This Friday (June 24, 2011) it’s time to pack up the picnic basket with crackers, cheese, and alcohol and head east to Carlsbadistan’s Stage Coach Park (click the link for directions) as road-worn blues diva Janiva Magness belts out her songs with “earthy, raw honesty.” As USA Today has reportedly said, “Magness is a blues star.”
Janiva Magness is among the premier blues and R&B singers in the world today. Charismatic, gutsy and known for her electrifying live shows, she won the Blues Music Awards’ B.B. King Entertainer of The Year in 2009 – only the second woman ever to win the coveted award.
The truth is it doesn’t matter who is on stage. We all know the main reason most people go to Jazz in the Park is to drink with friends, kick back, and there’s not much that can ruin that, right? So play your Friday night right and blues out with Javina. For more info, click the link.
[Link: Jazz In The Park]
by Richard J. Riehl on June 16, 2011
At the June 7 city council meeting we learned the yearly rent for a plot in the community garden is slated for a 400 percent increase, from $60 to $250. After council member Farrah Douglas questioned the steep hike, Mayor Matt Hall observed it was only a monthly increase from $5 to $20. That reminded me of the life insurance ads on TV that boast of affordable premiums—“less than a dollar a day!”
Hall’s flippancy shows how far removed he is from those relying on social security alone for their monthly income. It also may explain his willingness to cut pay and benefits of city employees least able to afford them.
Carlsbad’s elected officials like to say the city has been able to dodge layoffs and deep cuts in services because of their careful planning and fiscal prudence. But a closer look reveals another side of the story.
The city’s proposed budget for 2011/2012 projects a $600,000 surplus, bringing the accumulated general fund balance up to $54 million, a whopping 47% of the $113 million budget. There’s even room enough for another $1.4 million bailout of the golf course. Previous yearly million dollar subsidies since its opening have been in the form of loans. But now that it’s clear the debt will never be repaid, and with hopes fading the course will ever pay for itself, it will now be a part of the regular operating budget, just like the city’s other recreational facilities.
Follow the jump for the rest of the story. . . [click to continue…]
by The Editors on June 10, 2011
For the past few months, on days when it was too rainy for City of Carlsbad maintenance workers to do their real jobs, employees were sent out to the Carlsbadistan seawall suited in rain gear and armed with cordless drills and glue guns. Their mission: to install skate stopper devices on every handrail, on every set of stairs on the seawall from Pine Ave. to Tamarack.
By the time the work was completed in May, City workers had installed 104 of the aluminum stoppers at a estimated cost of nearly $800 in materials and an unknown amount of labor. All of this work was reportedly to “keep skateboarders, bikers, and inline skaters from damaging the handrails or possibly getting injured.”
Sounds like a great idea, right? While the stoppers may deter skateboarders (and inline skaters) from grinding the handrails, they will certainly not keep them from jumping over the rails as skateboarder Kenny Hoyle did recently on the January cover of Transworld Skateboarding magazine.
More serious, however, are the injuries these new handrail additions could cause Carlsbadistan’s ubiquitous elderly pedestrians who swarm the seawall most mornings. Pedestrians in need of handrails can no longer simply slide their hands down the railing as they descend the stairs. Now, they’re forced to raise their hand every four-to-six feet and then place it back down on the rail to get a new grip on the other side of the stopper. On some of the stairs they’ll be required to do this at least 15 times. Who will be responsible when someone trips and falls thanks to getting their hand caught on one of these obtrusive, ugly skateboard deterrents? The City of Carlsbad, of course. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on June 5, 2011
by The Editors on June 5, 2011
As if we needed another reminder that all the crosswalks on the beach section of Carlsbad Boulevard need flashing lights, we have this four-car pile up near the corner of Carlsbad Blvd. and Juniper Ave. at 5:15 PM, June 5, 2011. The Carlsbad Fire Department and Police were on the scene, but luckily, no one was injured. . . this time.
by The Editors on June 5, 2011
When the bands were done jamming, the runners recovered, and the beach all cleaned up all that was left of the 2011 Carlsbad Beach Fest was the tremendously huge sand sculpture by Archisand. Shaka, Carlsbadistan.
by The Editors on June 2, 2011
Big Time Operator swinging the crowd at Stagecoach park, July 9, 2010. Click here for photos.
Carslbadistan’s Jazz In The Park is getting a fresh start for its 26th season. Not one of the bands who performed last summer is returning. There may be a reason for that, but it’s certainly has nothing to do with the energetic, friendly crowds that flocked to Stagecoach, Poinsettia, and Calavera Hills Parks last summer.
The all-new season of Jazz In The Park kicks off on Carlsbadistan’s Eastern Front at Stagecoach Park Friday, June 24, 2011 as the electrifying blues singer Javina Magness returns after a two-year absence.
Janiva Magness is among the premier blues and R&B singers in the world today. Charismatic, gutsy and known for her electrifying live shows, she won the Blues Music Awards’ B.B. King Entertainer of The Year in 2009 – only the second woman ever to win the coveted award. Her voice possesses an earthy, raw honesty and beauty born from teen homelessness and deep experience. USA Today declared, “Magness is a blues star,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Magness sings superb, potent soul-blues with a scorching intensity.”
Better get out the picnic basket and start collecting all that wine and cheese because you”ve only got three weeks. For the complete Jazz In The Park schedule click the link. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on June 1, 2011
This Saturday, June 4, 2011 from 8 AM to 3 PM we’ll be joining the City of Carlsbad Beach Preservation Committee. California State Parks, the Friends of Cardiff & Carlsbad State Beaches, and the Carlsbad Village Athletic Club for the 4th Annual Carlsbad Beach Fest at Frazee State Beach at Pine Ave. You probably should, too.
“The goal of the event is to highlight our coastal playground as an irreplaceable resource, and to show appreciation for its beauty and value,” said Tammy Urie, special events director for the Carlsbad Village Athletic Club which is helping to organize this year’s event.
Click here for photos from last year (and a story) or follow the jump for all the details on the 5K, live bands, and more. [click to continue…]
This Friday (June 24, 2011) it’s time to pack up the picnic basket with crackers, cheese, and alcohol and head east to Carlsbadistan’s Stage Coach Park (click the link for directions) as road-worn blues diva Janiva Magness belts out her songs with “earthy, raw honesty.” As USA Today has reportedly said, “Magness is a blues star.” 
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Riehl World: City Fiddles While Workers Burn
by Richard J. Riehl on June 16, 2011
Hall’s flippancy shows how far removed he is from those relying on social security alone for their monthly income. It also may explain his willingness to cut pay and benefits of city employees least able to afford them.
Carlsbad’s elected officials like to say the city has been able to dodge layoffs and deep cuts in services because of their careful planning and fiscal prudence. But a closer look reveals another side of the story.
The city’s proposed budget for 2011/2012 projects a $600,000 surplus, bringing the accumulated general fund balance up to $54 million, a whopping 47% of the $113 million budget. There’s even room enough for another $1.4 million bailout of the golf course. Previous yearly million dollar subsidies since its opening have been in the form of loans. But now that it’s clear the debt will never be repaid, and with hopes fading the course will ever pay for itself, it will now be a part of the regular operating budget, just like the city’s other recreational facilities.
Follow the jump for the rest of the story. . . [click to continue…]
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