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NCT Editor Kent Davy Canned By Manchester

by The Editors on October 1, 2012

523967 122417281233732 832970956 N T250Turns out North County Times editor Kent Davy could have let Carlsbadistan.com columnist Richard Riehl tee off on [new NCT owner Doug] Manchester” after all, as he’s getting the boot at the newspaper anyway, according to a story in the KPBS.org.

Davy said he was informed he would not be moving forward with the new management that takes over the paper today, though he was asked to be on a transition team for an indeterminate period. . . Davy arrived from Chicago in 1996 to become the editor of the North County Times after the owner of the Blade Citizen bought out its rival North County paper, the Times Advocate, and merged the two. Now, with the buyout of the North County Times by Manchester, Davy will move on.

We’re guessing it is “Davy’s commitment to balanced local journalism” that did him in. Another sad day in San Diego media.

[Link: KPBS.org]

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Get Riehl: City Manager “Retires”

by Richard J. Riehl on October 30, 2012

HildabrandLast week Carlsbad City Manager Lisa Hildabrand unexpectedly announced her retirement, effective at year’s end. But inside information from reliable sources speaking off the record suggests the occasion won’t be marked by a gold watch and tearful goodbyes. In fact, if you listen closely, you may hear city worker bees humming a tune sung by Munchkins in the Land of Oz.

On Tuesday, October 16 Hildabrand met with city council members for her annual performance review. Following that meeting she began negotiating a separation agreement with City Attorney Ron Ball. It provides severance pay of $192,000, equaling 10 months of her current salary, to be paid in a lump sum no later than January 15, 2013. [click to continue…]

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Get Riehl: R.I.P. NCT, Hello Big Brother

by Richard J. Riehl on October 17, 2012

Ut NcYesterday afternoon I went to the North County Times online to ask for a vacation hold for a couple of days while we’re out of town. The website no longer recognized me as a subscriber, so I had to resubmit my street and email addresses.

This morning I got an email in reply, thanking me for “subscribing to U-T San Diego’s digital only edition. We know you have several options in how you receive your news and are glad you chose us.” It was signed “Papa Doug Manchester.”

That reply and the death of the only other choice of a daily newspaper in North County sealed my decision to extend that vacation hold request to forever.

The first three days of the North County Times under Manchester’s ownership reveals its new brand: just an added section to U-T San Diego, gratuitously carrying the familiar blue NCT masthead (adding “U-T” to it) dishonestly designed to reassure North Countians they haven’t lost their daily newspaper. [click to continue…]

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Get Riehl: Censorship Comes to Town

by Richard J. Riehl on September 20, 2012

Screen Shot 2012-09-20 At 3.56.35 PmBeginning in October Carlsbadians will get only Papa Doug Manchester’s (right) slant on the daily news.

Who’s Papa Doug (his preferred first name) and why should we care? The hotelier-turned-media mogul bought the North County Times [for $11.95 million]. Added to his acquisition and name change to the San Diego Union Tribune two years ago, he’s hellbent on creating a Hearst-like media empire in San Diego County.

And why should we care? He’s declared an editorial war on government employees, unions, President Obama, writers who don’t help promote the community, and anyone who walks, talks or acts like a Democrat. My last North County Times column critical of the empty boosterism of Carlsbad’s latest State of the City video would not see the light of day in a Manchester newspaper. [click to continue…]

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Elliot, Chiodini Win 2010 Carlsbad Triathlon

by The Editors on July 11, 2010

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Lewis Elliot, 30, of Phoenix, Arizona appeared relaxed and casual as he cruised ahead of the field of 1,000 triathletes and set a new course record in today’s Carlsbad Triathlon with an unofficial time of 1:08:49.

“It was a good race,” Elliot said. “I came from Arizona and the water was cold. We’ve been swimming in lakes with no wetsuits. It was neat to actually be chilly on the swim. I knew it was only for 1000 so I just sucked it up.

Elliot, who wasn’t even planning on competing in the Carlsbad Triathlon until a few days ago, finished ahead of last year’s winner Cam Hill of Fountain Hills, Arizona. “Cam had a great swim. He swam at ASU. He’s a great simmer,” Elliot said. “I was happy to get out less than a minute behind him. I was able to catch him on the bike and them I’m pretty confident in my running.”

Local Carlsbadistan triathlete Thomas Lopez came in third thanks we believe to a special sticker on his back wheel. “The swim is tough,” Lopez said at the finish line. “There are a lot of fast guys out there so I just had to find some feet and hang on for the ride. It was a great bike. The guy who took first [Lewis Elliot] was flying and I just couldn’t catch up to him. The run was pretty much one, two, three with that big a gap between each of us. All in all it was a great race. I’m happy.”

On the women’s side former UCSD triathlon team member Lauren Chiodini had no trouble at all. “It was a good day,” she said. “I was third out of the swim. The water was nice, not too cold and I just powered on through it. The bike was a little bit windy, but I made my way to second. It was an awesome day though.”

Second place finisher Jessi Strensland was leading through the first half of the run, but whenshe saw Chiodini closing the gap she knew it would not last. “I raced Lauren, trained with Lauren this year knowing full well that she can run faster than me right now,” Strensland said. “I haven’t been running. Once Lauren past me I thought I better just enjoy this. Then when I stopped to talk to my friends they’re the ones who told me Tatiana was coming so I thought I better just finish this.”

Follow the jump for photos and unofficial elite results..
[click to continue…]

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Black Enterprise Comes To La Costa

by The Editors on August 20, 2008

Black GolfBlack Enterprise, the “ultimate source for wealth creation. . . for African Americans” will be hosting their 15th Annual Golf & Tennis Challenge on Labor Day Weekend (Aug. 28-September 1, 2008) at the La Costa Resort & Spa.

Celebrating its 15th anniversary as the premier end-of-summer getaway, the Challenge consistently attracts more than 1,200 of the nation’s most notable black professionals, business executives, and entrepreneurs. . . . This year enjoy evening entertainment from the legendary Ashford & Simpson hosted by Aetna and Charlie Wilson & The Gap Band hosted by FedEx.

We’re guessing we’ll have a little tougher time crashing this party than we did at All Things D.

[Link: MarketWatch]

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Taylor-Made Sues Over Who Has Biggest Stick

by The Editors on March 21, 2008

End 080312According to BrandWeek, Carlsbad-based company TaylorMade is suing competitor Nickent over ads that the company has been running on TV and in print that “lead consumers to believe that its 4DX driver is the No. 1 driver model on the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour.”

“Occasionally fringe companies in the industry try to encroach on our territory as the No. 1 driver in golf by misrepresenting the facts,” said Bob Maggiore, TMaG’s vp-marketing. “Being the No. 1 driver model at a Nationwide Tour event does not equate to being the No. 1 driver on tour. TaylorMade has been the No. 1 driver brand on the PGA Tour, as well as the Nationwide Tour, since 2001. That more than qualifies us to question Nickent’s logic and judgment in making claims that are misleading at best, and blatantly false at worst.”

See what tough times in the golf industry lead to? Semantics battles.

[Link: BrandWeek]

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North County Times Slashing News Staff

by The Editors on February 14, 2008

Yesterday, according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune the North County Times offered 20 newsroom staff the option of a voluntary buyout as the paper cuts its news staff.

Editor Kent Davy said employees have until next week to decide if they will take the buyout offer. It includes one week of pay for every year of service up to 26 weeks. For those who take the buyout, their last day would be the end of the month. . . In a letter to employees, Davy said difficulties facing the industry “require us to significantly shrink the size of the newsroom.

Our advice to the reported 125 North County Times journalists: take the money. Who knows, Carlsbadistan may need your help.

[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]

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Coastal Commission Desalination Staff Report

by The Editors on November 9, 2007

Com ReportIt weighs in at 88 pages, but the Costal Commission staff report on the proposed Poseidon Resource desalination plant should be read by everyone who is interested in future of Agua Hedionda Lagoon or ocean life near Warm Waters. The report is very straight forward on why the project is a bad idea:

The proposed project represents a non-allowable use of Agua Hedionda Lagoon, one of 19 coastal estuaries in which permitted uses are limited to very minor incidental public facilities, restorative measures, and nature study. Further, the project would require ongoing dredging of the lagoon, which would adversely affect water quality and habitat. . . .The project would cause significant adverse impacts to marine life and water quality in Agua Hedionda and in nearshore ocean waters. The entrainment caused by the project’s use of an open-water intake within Agua Hedionda would result in a loss of productivity in the lagoon equal to that produced in no less than 37 acres of wetland and open water habitat. The project’s discharge into coastal waters of its waste stream at levels of salinity higher than the natural variability of these waters would cause adverse effects to marine organisms in an area ranging from about eight to over 40 acres of benthic habitat.

The Costal Commission’s November meeting at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel at 1433 Camino Del Rio South begins on November 14, 2007 with the desalination plant discussion scheduled for November 15 (it’s number seven on the agenda).

While the staff report clearly suggests a “No” vote, most political pressure seems to bearing down in the opposite direction. In fact, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institutes auqaman Donald Kent believes the plant will actually be good for the lagoon, according to an editorial in the North County Times.

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The Aquaman Behind Carlsbad’s Hatchery

by The Editors on August 7, 2007

Biz KentWe’ve always wondered what the story was behind that fish hatchery at the south end of Garfield on the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Well, turns out it’s part of the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute. And the president of that company, Donald Kent, is profiled today in the San Diego Union Tribune. He explains what it’s all about.

The hatchery program’s goal was to do something that had never been done before: take white sea bass from the wild and spawn them in the hatchery. Then, with the help of sport fishermen, grow the juveniles in cages situated off the coast from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

It’s good to know that science and the Southern California fishery are benefiting from the profits SeaWorld extracts from its cellblock of performing animal prisoners.

[Link: San Diego Union Tribune]

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