by The Editors on June 20, 2007
We tried tuning in to the City Council meeting last night, but as most people who’ve tried to sit through a city government meeting know, they can wear on the patience. Luckily, Barbara Henry of the North County Times distilled it all down for us. Several items were postponed because councilpersons Ann Kulchin and Julie Nygaard apparently had more important things to do last night.
The council also learned Tuesday that there’s also been a delay on a item that the city has little control over — cleanup work related to the former Caulerpa taxifolia infestation at Agua Hedionda Lagoon isn’t done. “What we’ve run into, in the last several months, is the tarp removal has taken a great deal more time than we expected it to,” Craig Elliott of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation told the council.
Then 12 people showed up to discuss the Quarry Creek development plan, but Mayor Lewis decided that it would be better to discuss it when Kulchin and Nygaard were present so it was rescheduled for July 17. Thanks for coming.
Most importantly:
The council did decide on the golf cart device issue; signing up for a lease-to-purchase arrangement with UpLink Inc. of Texas for global positioning systems for 83 golf carts. The satellite-sensing devices are the latest trend in upscale golfing, industry watchers say.
Phew!
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on June 20, 2007
No, it isn’t William Wallace and his clan plotting a takeover of Carlsbad this week. It’s just the 37th Annual Summer School for Bagpipers being held at the Army and Navy Academy. This summer 72 students will be in town until June 23, many of them kids.
This year’s camp features 17 youngsters, in part because organizers received $3,000 in youth scholarships from the North County Scots organization, John Keys said. This is the 14th year the school has operated in Carlsbad, but it has long been housed in beautiful spots — previous locations include Santa Cruz, Pebble Beach and Idyllwild.
But don’t worry about the incessant squealing noise. The school has “strict regulations regarding when and where” the students can play their pipes. . . Thank God.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on June 19, 2007
According to Scenedaily.com a couple NASCAR Nextel Cup racers will be sitting out this weekend as their team’s management swap then for some “road-course” specialists.
That means Carlsbad’s own NASCAR driver (and Spy and No Fear co-founder) Brian Simo will be replacing Kevin Lepage in the No. 37 Front Row Motorsports Dodge in this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.
[Link: Scenedaily.com]
by The Editors on June 19, 2007
Tune in tonight for the live video feed of the Carlsbad City Council meeting as our civic leaders discuss pressing issues related to our community.
Tonight’s featured consent calendar item: Accepting a $29,000 donation from Carlsbad Friends of the Arts for various Cultural Arts Office programs including TGIF Jazz in the Park and the Cannon Art Gallery and something to do with the Poinsettia “Sewer Lift” Station.
Click here for the entire agenda, or here for the live video feed which begins at 6 PM. Don’t miss it.
by The Editors on June 19, 2007
Carlsbad isn’t all golf, eyewear, and screen printed T-shirts. No. There is some serious science going on in these hills. In fact, Invitrogen Corporation has just announced that it’s launching a new “engineered stem cell line” that will help researchers and possibly medical ethicists.
Acccording to brainiac Joydeep Goswami vice president, stem cells and regenerative medicine this is how it works:
The BG01v/hOG cell line is a tool that can make stem cell research faster, easier and more reliable. It is crucial for stem cell researchers to know if the cells they are working with are still pluripotent, or if they have already begun to differentiate. With this line, they can quickly make that determination and simultaneously monitor whether their media composition is optimal for keeping the cells undifferentiated.”
Huh?
[Link: BioResearch Online]
by The Editors on June 19, 2007
The Carlsbad Unified School District is apparently overjoyed this year because only half as many seniors failed the California High School Exit Exam in 2007 as did in 2006. This year only 45 of the students failed compared to last year’s 85 failures. While the staff is “not ready to declare victory yet,” it is an improvement.
“The numbers represent a tremendous effort by staff and parents to get as many students as possible to pass,” Suzanne O’Connell, assistant superintendent of Carlsbad Unified School District. “Each time they take the tests they get closer, a little more familiar with the format, and the way the questions are asked. Each time they take the test, they get more comfortable.”
One question: is it about getting students to pass the test, or is it about getting them to learn. . . we’re confused?
[Link: The North County Times]
by The Editors on June 19, 2007
Last night at about 6:45 PM the pilot of a Cessna decided to use the 78 (just west of El Camino Real) as an emergency landing strip. According to the Union Tribune the plane:
. . . struck some cars before flipping over in the center divider, the California Highway Patrol said. . . The pilot reported a mayday before hitting the freeway in eastbound lanes about 6:45 p.m. Witnesses reported that some cars were struck.
One person was reportedly injured in a car that was clipped by the plane’s wing. And here is the rest of the story.
[Link: San Diego Union Tribune]
by The Editors on June 18, 2007
Every day we learn new things about this place. For instance, Carlsbad-based Phoenix Footwear Group, Inc. (a company we’ve never heard of before) just sold their Royal Robbins division (which they bought in 2003 for $11.7 million) to Kellwood Company for $40 million in cash (subject to a working capital adjustment). Not a bad transaction.
Commenting on the transaction, Jim Riedman, Chairman of Phoenix Footwear Group, Inc., said, “Royal Robbins is an outstanding brand with strong revenues and a very loyal following, and we are very pleased with a three-fold return we expect to achieve on this asset in just over a three-year period.
Pheonix’s other brands include Tommy Bahama Footwear, Trotters, SoftWalk, Strol, H.S. Trask, and Altama footwear, and Chambers Belts.
Okay, so we’ve heard of Tommy Bahama before. And now we know the rest of the story.
[Link: Earthtimes.org]
by The Editors on June 18, 2007
Ashworth, Inc. the Carlsbad based “on-course” golf apparel and sportwear line reported their second quarter 2007 financials today and the news was bad in pretty much every quarter. Net revenue was down $7 million, the net loss for the quarter was $2.5 million and their consolidated gross margin decreased “650 basis points” to 38.8 percent. But CEO Peter Weil is optimistic of course:
Throughout the second quarter, we continued to execute on the strategic initiatives our Board and management team identified during the second half of 2006. While we continue to face challenges, we believe the initiatives being implemented will help better position the Company for sustainable and profitable growth,” he said in the press release. “Despite the challenges in the second quarter, we are excited about the future of Ashworth. We have taken a number of steps that are designed to build a more efficient and effective organization, including the recently announced personnel changes.”
Spin, Peter, spin.
[Link:Business Wire]
by The Editors on June 18, 2007
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