by The Editors on April 3, 2008
San Diego Union-Tribune writer Michael Burge gets on the Tamarack Surf Beach parking fee story that we wrote about yesterday with a few additional details.
Technically, a parking fee isn’t new at Tamarack. From 1994 to 2000, the state had permits to charge users, but drivers didn’t know it. The city paid the state about $36,000 a year to cover the fees and maintain the free parking, Jantz said. . . . The City Council hasn’t yet taken up the proposed parking issue, but the delay will give it time to address it, he said. . . . Ketterer said the Tamarack lot can generate $200,000 annually in fees. Part of that revenue will go the state’s general fund, and part to the parks upkeep budget.
The California Coastal Commission’s hearing on the fee request has been tentatively postponed until May 7-9, 2008 when the group will meet in Marina del Rey at the Marina del Rey Hotel. “The State Parks and the City of Carlsbad have requested a postponement on the issue so when it’s really up to them to decide when it gets presented to the Coastal Commission,” said Toni Ross, a coastal planner with the San Diego office of the California Coastal Commission.
When we spoke to Rob Houston with the Carlsbad City Manager’s office he implied that people from the City of Carlsbad are planning attend the hearing and speak out against the proposed parking fees. “We’re checking from the City side,” he said. “But citizens should be heard as well.”
As the Commission members prefer to get comments via the US Postal Service, click here for their addresses and be heard.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on April 2, 2008
On Thursday April 10, 2008 the California Coastal Commission was scheduled to hold a hearing (and vote) regarding the The California Department of Parks and Recreation‘s request to install a “mechanical fee collection device at Carlsbad State Beach Parking lot” at Tamarack Surf Beach where State Parks hopes to charge a flat rat of $8.00 per day to park in the lot. The hearing has now been postponed according to the Coastal Commission .
We mentioned this the first time on November 17, 2007 when the pending permit notice went up on the Tamarack sign. Now, it looks like it will proceed, as the Coastal Commission staff is recommending approval.
Staff is recommending approval of the project with various special conditions. . . Special conditions include the requirement for a monitoring program to document any impacts to public access, or the development of additional public trails down the coastal bluff. A further special condition has been recommended to approve the parking fees on a trial three year basis.
Obviously, we believe this is a terrible idea for several reasons, most importantly being that it is going to simply push all the people up into Carlsbadistan. When parking on the streets is free and it costs $8.00 to park at the beach, where are people going to park? That’s right: in our neighborhood. We think it is completely selfish of the California State Parks to try to raise funds by packing our streets even more than they already are.
We have contact the Carlsbad City Managers office and will report back as soon as we have any more information.
by The Editors on November 17, 2007
We got a Carlsbadistan news tip this morning letting us know of a notice that was added to the Tamarack Surf Beach sign on November 8. Apparently, California State Parks has filed a permit (#6-07-111) with the California Coastal Commission to install “an automated fee collection device in the Tamarack day use lot.” We know that in the past there have been some issues with the Tamarack parking lot and that the City of Carlsbad has paid tens of thousands of dollars to keep if free.
California Parks and Rec filed for a permit to build a “mechanical fee collection device” in the Tamarack parking lot in 1997, but that application was postponed when the Coastal Commission met on May 13, 1997.
We’re hoping this “fee collection device” is simply a tactic being used by California State Parks to encourage the City of Carlsbad to ante up, because if the Tamarack Surf Beach becomes paid parking, all it’s going to do is push all those people up into the streets of Carlsbadistan and that is not something we’re looking forward to.
by The Editors on November 9, 2015
The City of Carlsbad is asking for input concerning what exactly they should do to improve the coastal zone from the Warm Water jetties south to Mansano Drive.
“We have a lot of opportunities along our coastline to improve safety, especially for bicyclists and pedestrians, ease traffic flow and create a better experience overall,” said Assistant City Manager Gary Barberio, who is overseeing a variety of coastal improvements in Carlsbad. “Before we make any changes, we want to make sure we have considered the input of everyone who uses the area.”
If you’d like to contribute please attend the community meeting on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Carlsbad Senior Center, 799 Pine Ave. For the official word from the City of Carlsbad, please follow the jump.
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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 May 20, 2009
It’s summer time again and that means sipping wine to the sounds of the finest traveling bands in the business as the City of Carlsbadistan kicks off its 24th season of TGIF Jazz In The Parks.
This summer, like last, only three parks will be in the mix: Stagecoach, Poinsettia, and Calavera. Here’s what we all have to look forward to:
Stagecoach Park 3420 Camino de los Coches, 92009
June 19 Canned Heat – boogie blues
June 26 Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas – zydeco
July 3 Big Time Operator – big band swing
July 10 Bill Magee Blues Band – southern blues
Poinsettia Park 6600 Hidden Valley Road, 92011
July 17 Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca – afro-cuban
July 24 Lowrider Band – latin/funk
July 31 Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars – cajun
Calavera Hills Park 2997 Glasgow Drive, 92008
August 7 The Screamin’ Primas – jump jive swing
August 14 Tinsley Ellis – electric blues
August 21 Coco Montoya – rockin’ blues
All concerts are 6 – 8 p.m. Follow the jump for all the details.
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by Richard J. Riehl on September 26, 2008
Carlsbad’s mayor, unlike most politicians, doesn’t like to make speeches. Bud Lewis prefers video presentations for his yearly State of the City reports.
They’re undoubtedly more enjoyable than the usual drone of self-congratulations. But I wonder if it’s worth sacrificing substance for entertainment value. Was his latest annual report, delivered last month at the La Costa Resort, just another taste of Bud light?
This year’s 24-minute version, titled “Challenge and Opportunity,” opens with quick-time images of clogged freeways and a bustling downtown. Off-camera voices accompany the frenetic scenes, residents expressing their individual concerns: “We’re runnin’ out of water,” “Don’t allow huge buildings to go in,” “A few of the shops down the street have gone out of business,” “I’m really disappointed at parking fees at Tamarack Beach.”
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by The Editors on April 25, 2008
As southern California surfers we’ve all been able to rationalize our safety in the water by the fact that no surfer has ever been killed by a shark south of Santa Barbara (click here for a list of California attacks for the last five years). But today’s news about swimmer Dave Martin, 66, of Solana Beach, California being killed by a 12 to 17 foot great white shark while training with a group of triathletes 150 yards off shore in Fletcher’s Cove sent a chill through the entire beach community.
Sadly, this isn’t the first white shark spotted in San Diego County lately. Scott Bass, the host of surf talk radio show Down The Line spoke about finding a baby Great White at Cardiff Reef on April 11 during his April 13, 2008 podcast.
Two days ago in the morning I was surfing Cardiff Reef,” Bass said. “Not only did I see a great white shark, but I picked it up by the tail. It was a baby great white. It was probably three feet long. It swam right up to my board and at first I was obviously freaked out. Tough guy me had my arms and legs in the air screaming for my mom. And I pushed it away and it was just such a facinating creature that I found myself paddling up to it. . . . It went way into the shallows where the river was running out and it looked like it was trying to beach itself. So I literally got off my board picked the shark up by its tail and held it up. There were people walking by taking pictures.”
Down The Line co-host Marty Thomas joked at the time about where the baby shark’s Mom and Dad were. Guess we all know now.
So far no Carlsbadistan beaches have been closed, however, recommendations (like the one shown above) have been posted at South Carlsbad State Beach. State beach patrolman we spoke to in the Tamarack Beach parking lot said they had no plans to issue any more closures.
While there were three surfers out at Tamarack, talk in the parking lot was obviously all about the shark, the attack, and how people feel about it. One Carlsbad local seemed to think that the shark was no longer in the vicinity. “That thing is all the way to Guadalupe Island by now,” he said. Another surfer agreed. “Those things can swim 8 miles like nothing.”
Hopefully, that is the case because as well all know, those offshore winds are going to blow this weekend and a lot of people are going to want to be in the water.
[Links: San Diego Union-Tribune, Associated Press, LA Times, and Surfer Magazine]
San Diego Union-Tribune writer Michael Burge gets on the Tamarack Surf Beach parking fee story that we wrote about yesterday with a few additional details.
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