December 2012

Get Riehl: Sandy Hook Could Happen Here

by Richard J. Riehl on December 19, 2012

It could happen here. In fact, it did happen here two years ago, on October 8, 2010, when a mentally ill gunman jumped a fence, entered the Kelly Elementary schoolyard and began firing at kids ranging from 7 to 11 years old. Two seven-year-old girls were struck in their arms. It was a miracle nobody died. Had the shooter been carrying the same semi-automatic rifle used by the Sandy Hook Elementary School killer the result would have been a tragedy of the same magnitude.

Yesterday, after several days of grieving for the families who lost loved ones in that small town in Connecticut, we were greeted by a press release from the Carlsbad School District reporting that a high school student had “threatened to cause harm” to other students on December 21. The threat had been made “prior to” the Sandy Hook tragedy. The student has been identified, and school officials say there is “no reason to believe the student has the means to act on this threat” and that they’re keeping in “close contact with the family and school authorities to determine the appropriate next steps in keeping the campus safe.” [click to continue…]

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Get Riehl: Charter School Flunks Again

by Richard J. Riehl on December 14, 2012

A San Bernardino County charter school failed for the second time this year to win approval to open a campus in North County. Carlsbad school district trustees voted unanimously last week to reject the Oxford Preparatory Academy’s charter proposal. In January the Oceanside school board took the same action on OPA’s bid for a school there.

Charter school supporters often claim school district opposition is driven more by union and administrative protectionism than what’s best for students. On December 6 the newly politicized version of the North County Times, for example, reported the charter school proposal had been turned down mostly because it contained overly-optimistic enrollment and budget projections and a lack of interest shown by local teachers.

But closer look at the facts shows how rejecting the school’s proposal was clearly in the best interests of Carlsbad students. It was not a matter of school district protectionism. In fact, a review of OPA’s curriculum and the students it already serves at its Chino and Capistrano campuses reveals how the school fails to live up to the legislative intent of California’s 1992 Charter School Act. Carlsbad and Oceanside school officials were right to give it a failing grade. [click to continue…]

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A 6.3 Earthquake Hits Pacific Ocean

by The Editors on December 14, 2012

Usc000E9Sl CiimEarly in the morning (2:36 AM) of December 14, 2012 a 6.3 earthquake rattled the Pacific Ocean. The epicenter was located 250 km southwest of Catalina, according to the US Geological Survey.

The December 14, 2012 M 6.3 earthquake . . . occurred as a result of shallow normal faulting within the oceanic lithosphere of the Pacific plate. This event is located some 400-450 km west-southwest of the plate boundary between the Pacific and North America plates – the San Andreas fault system in southern California – and is not associated with that fault system. Instead, this earthquake represents intraplate faulting along northeast-southwest trending normal faults within the crust of the Pacific plate, just to the west of California’s continental shelf. The causative fault is not known at this time. At the location of this event, the Pacific plate moves to the northwest with respect to the North America plate at a velocity of approximately 54 mm/yr.

Now you know.

[Link: USGS]

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New Village Arts Adds Plaid Tidings Shows

by The Editors on December 12, 2012

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Carlsbadistan’s New Village Arts Theatre has added six more shows to their Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings holiday show. It now runs through December 30, 2012. They’re also offering group discounts.

Looking for the perfect venue for your holiday party? We’d love to host your group at a performance of PLAID TIDINGS, with generous group discounts for parties of 10 or more. Contact the box office for more info on these special discounted tickets at 760.433.3245.

If you haven’t been to New Village Arts Theatre, this would be the perfect time to visit. Tickets for Plaid Tidings are $27 – $33. Click here to buy them online. The New Village Arts Theatre is located at 2787 State St, in the heart of the Village of Carlsbad, California.

[Link: New Village Arts]

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Bob Soven On The Carlsbad Lagoon

by The Editors on December 11, 2012

Spy’s Bob Soven gets busy taking care of business right in our backyard. Yeah, that dock looks familiar. So does that street. Carlsbadistan has it all!

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Support Carlsbad Schools With Caroling

by The Editors on December 7, 2012

Carlsbad Carols

Join the Carlsbad Education Foundation this Saturday evening (December 8, 2012) at the La Costa Resort & Spa as they ring in the Holidays with live musical performances from students from the Carlsbad Unified School District.

You and your family will enjoy these lively performances plus refreshments, holiday arts and crafts, and group caroling.

Admission to the event is free and donations to the Carlsbad Education Foundation are welcome. The event kicks off at 3 PM, Saturday, December 8, 2012. The La Costa Resort and Spa is located at 2100 Costa Del Mar Road, in Carlsbad.

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Get Riehl: Confessions of a News Addict

by Richard J. Riehl on December 4, 2012

My name is Richard and I’m a recovering newspaper junkie. After trying the more fat, less filling version of U-T San Diego’s North County Times Lite, I canceled our subscription last month.

They didn’t make it easy for me, continuing to deliver the ad-bloated pages of self promotion posing as a newspaper at our front door for two more weeks in hopes I’d fall off the wagon.

I now get my regional news fix from sources free of U-T San Diego’s political agenda: San Diego NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates, Voice of San Diego and San Diego Reader; and neighborhood news from The Coast News, Carlsbadistan.com and Carlsbad Patch.

I’ve kept my withdrawal symptoms under control by succumbing to the sensual pleasure of what the New York Times calls “the tuck,” “the delivery,” and “the crinkle,” with a subscription to the Sunday edition. [click to continue…]

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