According to a story in the North County Times, a group shot of eight former La Costa Canyon boys water polo team members (as well as players from other high schools in Southern California) have appeared on several “Internet pornography” sites lately and officials are trying to find out how they got there.
The photos caught widespread attention after the Orange County Registerreported Saturday that water polo players from least 11 Orange County high schools as well as schools in Los Angeles and San Diego counties appeared on five Web pornography sites geared for gay viewers. . . . La Costa Canyon athletic director John Labeta said the photo of the Mavericks players posing poolside in their swimsuits appears to be five to seven years old. None of the players still attends the school, he said.
In 2005 when Marty Ummel, 60, and her husband bought their home in the Serenada neighborhood of Carlsbad they say their Realtor Mike Little of RE/MAX Associates caused them to pay $150,000 more than they should have by not showing them comparable home prices in the area. The Ummels claim Little did this because he was more interested in his commission than the deal they got on their house. But the Ummel’s were not happy, according to story in the New York Times.
What makes Ms. Ummel different is that she is suing her agent, saying it was all his fault. . . . Ms. Ummel claims that the agent hid the information that similar homes in the neighborhood were selling for less because he feared she would back out and he would lose his $30,000 commission.
Of course, Little says it’s not his fault:
They simply didn’t do what is expected of a knowledgeable, sophisticated buyer, and are now looking for someone other than themselves to take responsibility,” Roger Holtsclaw, an agent who was hired by Mr. Little as an expert witness, said in a court deposition.
What this all comes down to is how responsible are Realtors for the transactions they make. If they’re not responsible, then what is their whole purpose? Obviously, Realtors who represent the buyer have always been incentivized in the wrong direction, but that’s probably not going to change anytime soon. What makes this even more interesting is the seller was also a Realtor.
The case begins in North County Superior Court Monday, January 28, 2008. For all the details click the links to the following stories.
It appears that golfers will buy almost anything to trick themselves into thinking they’re improving their game. Carlsbad golf company TaylorMade’s new r7 CGB MAX Limited is a prime example.
. . . an advanced new driver engineered to flawlessly deliver the next level of driver adjustability by incorporating, into one club, TaylorMade® Movable Weight Technology™ (MWT™) and TaylorMade SelectFit Technology. With nine changeable weights and three changeable shafts included, the r7 CGB MAX Limited offers an astounding range of launch conditions.
TaylorMade is getting right in there with Callaway in confusing golfers into having way, way too many options when it comes to whacking a ball through a park. But then, as we’ve said many times before: we don’t golf.
Carlsbadistan’sHunter Stewart is an 8-year-old trophy kart driver who is racing to find a cure for breast cancer, according to a story in AutoWeek magazine.
He does this not simply because his 34-year-old mom, Alycia, has the insidious disease. He does this because he believes it is the right thing to do. Hunter races a Ford Ranger Trophy kart to raise money and awareness for a cure. If his first season is an indication, he might get the job done.
Hunter finished fourth in the championship “earning a ride on the top-flight Team Adrenalin Trophy truck for ’08.” Aside from all the other money he has raised Hunter donated $1,000 of his own allowance money last year to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and has been featured on the Ellen Degeneres Show. We hope the best for Hunter and his mother Alycia.
Apparently, business is booming at Carlsbad’s Chopra Center for Wellbeing, thanks to a growing number of Americans who “suffer from diagnosed anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders.”
But Deepak Chopra, M.D. and his partner David Simon, M.D. couldn’t be happier because they have the solution: The Perfect Health Program offered only at their Carlsbad location.
Perfect Health participants experience a week of personalized treatments that integrates the advances of modern Western medicine with the therapeutic practices of Ayurveda – the 5,000-year-old healing system of India. Each day, guests experience Ayurvedic massage treatments, cleansing therapies, and expert instruction in yoga and meditation. In addition, the Perfect Health program includes one-on-one consultations with the Centers medical staff – MDs who are also experts in the field of holistic healing.
The five-day sessions only costs $3,475 per person (not including food or lodging). If money causes depression, this is a sure way to get rid of it.
With a “projected $14 billion budget shortfall over the next 18 months” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is suggesting slashing funding to most state agencies, according to a story in the North County Times. Carlsbadistan educators are not happy:
Carlsbad Superintendent John Roach called the governor’s command for across-the-board cuts “cowardly, lazy and thoughtless. . . When a governor proposes an across-the-board cut, he’s taking what work should be his and giving it to others,” Roach said Thursday. “Slashing everyone equally doesn’t take any real thought.”
The cuts will mean Carlsbad Unified School district will need to cut $4.3 million. That’s not cool.
As the nation remembers the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. today by taking the day off work, it’s not a bad idea to remind ourselves of what his dream was all out. Here is the entire speech delivered in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963.
Artists don’t get out much. At least that’s what we like to tell ourselves as an excuse for not having seen Carlsbad artist Jen Trute’s paintings before now. Apparently, she’s been painting in Carlsbadistan for several years. San Diego Union-Tribune Art Critic Robert L Pincus profiled Ms. Trute today. Here’s a little of what he said:
She points to a breakthrough surreal painting, “Sarah and Her Demons,” a canvas done in the meticulous style she is still honing. A woman poses in a kitchen chair, looking unperturbed. Sarah doesn’t notice the demon by her side. A twin demon is standing on the kitchen table, devouring the cereal from the box. . . In an oblique way, you sense this painting is about Trute too, trying to stave off dramatic forces within.
While Trute’s style isn’t necessarily what we’re into, her work is definitely worth checking out.
The Union-Tribune explains exactly why our hometown is such a great place to visit and live, but they’re not talking about downtown Carlsbadistan, no they’re talking about everything east of I-5 (is that possible?).
It’s 66 degrees on a shimmering day in the middle of January. . . This could be any coastal city in San Diego County, which is what makes the region fertile ground for tourism. . . But this is Carlsbad, and what has made Carlsbad an exceptional tourist draw among its peers is not what’s going on west of the sandy beach, but east of it. . . Being in North County is a plus, too, said David Brundley, an international hospitality and marketing consultant based in Carlsbad. “Carlsbad has got a great location, and it benefits that it’s not downtown San Diego, but it’s not that far away,” Brundley said.
Of course, we all know this, but if you want to freshen up on how great Carlsbad is, read the rest of the story.
This morning at 7:30 AM 10,000 ground pounders left the Westfield Plaza Camino Real and stormed the streets of Carlsbadistan in the Carlsbad Marathon. Runners representing all 50 states and 14 countries competed in the sold out event. Click the link for all the day’s photos (Double-click to see them in full size AND color).
If you have a Carlsbad news story, press release, event, rumor, or scandal that we'd be interested in (and there are a lot of them), please click the link to send them to The Editors.
Or just search the site to see if we've mentioned it before, right here.
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