Its Alex Hydration Bottle, won “Best in Category for Tabletop & Beverageware” at the 2011 Housewares Design Awards. . . “When we started this, we had no idea where it would go, and obviously the functionality was what we started with,” company co-founder Chris Hotell said. “To be recognized for the design part of it is such an accomplishment for us.”
Hotell owns the company with his wife, Olympic snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler and his mom Marta Hotell. Support a local Carlsbadistan company and click here to buy one. And to get a better understanding on what the company is about, read the FAQ on the site. It’s one of the funniest we’ve read in a while. Now we know what a Zebra is.
The Carlsbad Lagoon is being dredged to help support local industry (powerplant, etc.) and today the pipes were blowing loads of sand right out into one of North County’s best surf spots at Warm Waters. Anyone upset by this? Or is it all good?
A sunny Wednesday afternoon photo shoot for San Diego Magazine went down on the Carlsbadistan sea wall today (March 2, 2011).
If anyone still read print magazines we’d worry that this might encourage other rebel bikers to roll the lower wall on a more regular basis. Thankfully, we have nothing to worry about on that front.
Carlsbadistan’sGia Sky delivers some smooth, melodious, hooky pop for those who love that sort of thing. Follow Gia on Twitter @giaskymusic or click the link for a few more songs on facebook. Dare you not to hum along. . .
Think of Carlsbadistan’sNew Village Arts Theatre production of playwright Sam Shepard’sSimpatico as a bit of a preview for Del Mar 2011 racing season. This darkly comic Shepard classic follows Carter and Vinnie, two “nefarious characters” as they navigate the “dark underworld of horse racing” and features betrayal, love, the American West, friendship and brotherhood.
A truly stellar cast will bring the world to life, including Equity Actor Mike Sears as Carter and NVA Ensemble Member Manny Fernandes as Vinnie, with Ensemble Member Jack Missett and Kelly Iversen, Terri Park and Kim Strassburger. Award-winning Director and Ensemble Member Lisa Berger directs the production.
Simpatico opens Saturday night, March 5, 2011 and runs until with March 27 with shows Thursday through Saturday night at 8 PM, with additional shows Saturday at 3 PM and Sunday at 2 PM.
You know that hillside full of flowers (or dirt as it currently appears) located directly behind The Carlsbad Premium Outlets shopping mall? Well, as of today, March 1, 2011 they are open for wandering. And for fans of Ranunculus this could be heaven.
Open to the public seven days a week from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Tickets are available for purchase onsite and online
Prices: $10.00 for Adults, $9.00 for Seniors 60+, $5.00 for Children 3 – 10, Children 2 and under are Free
Season Passes: $20.00 for Adults, $18.00 Seniors 60+, $10.00 for Children 3 – 10
Wagon Rides: $5.00 for Adults, $3.00 for Children 3 – 10
The banners that went up Friday, February 25, 2011, outside the Blockbuster video rental store at 660 Carlsbad Village Drive say “Store Closing. This Location Only.” But that’s not really true. According to a Reuters story the company plans to close 182 of it’s remaining 2,900 stores in the first quarter of 2011 as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. The company has shut down more than 1,000 stores in the past two years.
Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in September, weighed down by its debts and stung by video-on-demand and competitors such as mail-order pioneer Netflix and Redbox, a Coinstar Inc unit that rents movies through kiosks. . . The company entered bankruptcy with a plan that would put billionaire investor Carl Icahn and his hedge fund partners in control of the company when it emerges.
So what exactly does “This Location Only” mean? According to an employee at the Carlsbad store it means, “That only this location is closing, not all of Blockbuster.” We’re guessing those same banners hang on more than a hundred stores this week.
We switched over to digital rentals years ago, but for those who haven’t there is a bit of good news. All the DVDs in the store on sale for $9.99 each and new releases are being sold at ten percent off. Get them while supplies last. As for Blockbuster it’s difficult to imagine a scenario in which they emerge from bankruptcy and return to any kind of profitability.
After spending nearly 40 minutes trying to get up Elm CVD through all those dragging, lagging Village of Carlsbadistan traffic lights following the Carlsbad Marathon we’re all for any kind of intelligent traffic light upgrade that would speed the flow. The City of Carlsbad is apparently all over it.
Traffic engineers plan to replace the city’s current control system, which is limited to a small number of traffic signals, with a new system over five years. The citywide network will enable staff to observe an entire corridor and adjust signal timing to optimize traffic flow based on real time conditions. . . .“This new technology won’t improve traffic flow by itself, but it will give us a much more advanced and efficient way to make changes as needed to keep cars moving,” said Bilse. “Traffic is a big concern out there. This is a great example of using technology to make a noticeable improvement in the lives of our community members.”
Sounds great aside from the five years part. Follow the jump for more details. [click to continue…]
Labor unions have been credited with the rise of America’s middle class. In the 1950’s about 40 percent of the nation’s workforce were union members. Today that number has dropped to less than 7 percent of private sector workers and about a third of public employees. Economists now warn of a disappearing middle class and the income gap between labor and management employees has widened.
In the five years from 2002 to 2007, 65 percent of all income growth in the U.S. went to the wealthiest 1 percent of the population, according to researchers at UC Berkeley and the Paris School of Economics.
Politicians have jumped on the bandwagon of union bashing for ruining state and local economies. Carlsbad’s new mayor built his successful campaign on a promise to prevent a union takeover on the council that would threaten the city’s future prosperity.
Just as a warning: Do not get into an argument with any of the Carlsbad High students shown in this photo. You’ll likely lose. They are trained debaters and according to some recent performances they’re pretty good at it, too.
Winter Debate Tournament, held January 28 and 29 at Helix Charter High School, saw 16 schools competing in four different debate categories. Carlsbad’s team walked away with a 2nd place overall, including first places in the parli and public forum categories. . . La Costa Canyon hosted a Winter Individual Event tournament on February 5, where 11 schools competed in 12 different events. Winning top honors – 1st place sweepstakes – was Carlsbad’s powerhouse team, who took first place in six of the twelve events. . . “I am impressed with our rankings, and proud of our team’s accomplishments,” says Coach Minnia Curtis. “This team started with a handful of members just four years ago. We are now over 100 strong and true contenders!”
Carlsbad will host the State Qualification Tournament March 4 and 5, 2011. Coach Curtis is also looking for volunteers to judge future debates and/or help support the team. For more information follow the jump. [click to continue…]
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.
The Alex Hydration Bottle created by Carlsbadistan-based company Nice Reusables is now an “award winning” water bottle, according to a story in the San Diego Union Tribune.
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The Riehl World: Unions Not A Carlsbad Problem
by Richard J. Riehl on February 24, 2011
Labor unions have been credited with the rise of America’s middle class. In the 1950’s about 40 percent of the nation’s workforce were union members. Today that number has dropped to less than 7 percent of private sector workers and about a third of public employees. Economists now warn of a disappearing middle class and the income gap between labor and management employees has widened.
In the five years from 2002 to 2007, 65 percent of all income growth in the U.S. went to the wealthiest 1 percent of the population, according to researchers at UC Berkeley and the Paris School of Economics.
Politicians have jumped on the bandwagon of union bashing for ruining state and local economies. Carlsbad’s new mayor built his successful campaign on a promise to prevent a union takeover on the council that would threaten the city’s future prosperity.
Follow the jump for the rest of the story.
[click to continue…]
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