Today we got an email from a Carlsbadistan reader who was at the corner of Palomar Airport Rd, and the Costco parking lot on Thursday night December 20, 2007 at about 8 PM.
Two police cars sat in the middle of the intersection blocking traffic with their lights of for about 4 minutes, then a dark colored truck flew by heading toward the beach, followed by 10 police cars in hot pursuit, the two cars in the intersection squealed as they turned and followed. . . I didn’t see anything in the news on it at night so I figured they must have caught the guy before he got to the freeway and started a real chase.
We’re sorry, but we skipped putting the story up on Friday, so here it is: The truck was a Dodge Ram that undercover police had been “keeping an eye on” according to a story in the North County Times. The truck was involved in a group of 14 robberies in North County over the past six months. While they were tailing the truck the occupants robbed a Domnio’s Pizza at 805 W. San Marcos Blvd.
Law enforcement officers from several agencies pursued the vehicle for about 10 minutes until it crashed near Las Flores Drive and Interstate 5 in Carlsbad, Wager said.
Four Oceanside residents (all suspected gang members) were arrested including: Devon Phillips, 23, and three juveniles, ages 15, 16 and 17. So that’s the story and thanks for keeping us on our game.
A couple weeks ago we kicked down the Twelve Days of Carlsbadistan Christmas with a gift idea from the neighborhood for each day. For those last minute shoppers (or anyone else who wants to sing along) we’re giving it all up one more time. So here they all are in order of original appearance:
Thought we’re not big fans of Oprah Winfrey or her TV show, according to a story in the North County Times, Oprah is responsible for inspiring a Carlsbad couple to create something good for the community. Loretta and Dan Ross started The Barefoot Kids Foundation.
The Rosses didn’t have to look far to find a good cause to which to devote their extra time and money. . . “My son’s a teacher (in North County) and he said he saw many of his elementary school kids wearing their siblings’ battered shoes,” said Ross, who works full time in the elder-care field. “There are some kids who have never gone to a shoe store to get new shoes.”
The Rosses teamed up with Payless Shoe Source to provide free $25 gift cards for kids who need shoes. So far the foundation has given away “a couple hundred” cards, but the Rosses say they’d like to eventually give out thousands. And that sounds like a great idea. Click the link for more information.
The Carlsbad Barrio’s El Torito Market at 3161 Roosevelt St. was robbed for a second time in three weeks at 8:14 Wednesday night December 19, 2007, according to a story on Sign On San Diego.
Two men, at least one with a handgun, held up the clerk, who handed them an undisclosed amount of cash taken from the register. . . When another clerk peered around the corner to see what was happening, the man fired a round from a .38-caliber handgun, Reno said. The shot missed the clerk and no one was injured. The robbers then fled on foot heading west.
On November 30, 2007 the market was robbed by two Latinos. This time it was by two African Americans in their 20s. As usual, the Carlsbad Police department would like any info related to this robbery. Call them at (760) 931-2115.
At a workshop held last night Carlsbad Community Development Director Sandra Holder said that the City’s general plan should be rewritten, according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times.
“It’s a very old document … it’s time,” Holder said as she discussed why staff members are recommending the overhaul. “The general plan should be a living document — that means it should reflect the current desires of the community.”
Our favorite line:
Several area property owners have been asking the city to create a specific plan for the Barrio that would allow denser buildings. The current standard is six to 11.5 dwelling units per acre depending on the lot’s zoning. The group is proposing a limit of 35 to 40 dwelling units per acre.
Oh yeah, that’s exactly what the Barrio needs: high density. Then we could have the Carlsbadistan Projects.
Tonight at the Village Faire Mall in the heart of Carlsbadistan, the Jefferson Elementary School fifth grade band electrified shoppers and parents with a slew of Christmas classics in their first public performance of the year. About half of the program consisted of tunes played on the recorder directed by Carlsbad Unified School District’s Teacher of the Year, Karen Stencil and the other half was symphonic band directed by Steve Ebner.
Now, if we could just get that oh-so-hooky tune Good King Wenceslas out of our heads.
First, the Carlsbad City Council was worried that many of the bids they got for the Alga Norte Park project were too low, now they’ve voted (4-1 according to the North County Times) to reject all six park construction bids and start the entire process over again.
City staff members had recommended the council’s move, arguing that there were multiple problems with the bids the city received. “We felt it was in the public’s best interest to reject all bids and start over,” said Skip Hammann, the city’s municipal projects director, after the council’s vote. . . . Key among the problems was that the lowest bidder — Consolidated Contracting Services of San Clemente, which bid $29.3 million — didn’t submit all the required information about the subcontractors it would be using, he said.
We’re guessing it’s better to weed out the problems now, than wait until the contractors decide to cut corners on the skateboard park.
We said we wouldn’t keep doing this, but we’re going to. Here is video of pretty much every wave ridden in the 2007 Billabong Pro Pipeline Masters finals. It was not pretty, and Pancho Sullivan was the only American in it, but it was a contest and there were small, yet ridable, waves. Bede Durbidge of Australia surfed away in the record books with his first Pipeline win. We promise this is the last North Shore surfing clip for a while at least. If you want to watch all four days videos, click here.
Okay, we don’t know that he sold them because it was Christmas, but David F. Hoffmeister, the CFO of Invitrogen sold 27,909 shares of his company this week at around $95 each, “in a Form 4 filed with the SECIn a Form 4 filed with the SEC. That’s means he freed about $2.6 million. Happy Holidays.
A standing-room only crowd of more than 200 people turned out at a public hearing Monday night to comment on a proposal to replace the 53-year-old Encina Power Station with a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly electricity-generating plant. . . . Carlsbad resident Ted Viola referred to the 95-acre site owned by NRG Energy as “a profit center” and said he was concerned there is no absolute requirement for the company to retire and dismantle the Encina Power Station and its towering 400-foot smokestack.
While we think the smoke stack is the icon of Carlsbadistan, it’s obvious that NRG should be restricted in how many power plants it builds and be held to a plan regarding the old plant if they are allowed to build a new one.
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