The City of Carlsbad’s amazing new Alga Norte Community Park is hosting its grand opening on Saturday, January 11, 2014. The celebration kicks off at 10 AM in the aquatic center. The park will then be open to the public with open play in the swimming pools, a dive show, Skateboarding demonstrations, park turns, and a youth basketball scrimmage with guest announcer and NBA legend Bill Walton.
Now, thanks to being a “charter city,” the City Council is considering putting the bids out to builders who pay “non-union wages” according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Councilman Mark Packard was the leading advocate for adopting a city charter, largely on the savings that the city could gain on public projects. “Unless staff can show me some overriding reason why we would do it as a prevailing-wage project, . . . I’m going to be supportive of allowing nonprevailing-wage bids,” Packard said. . . .Packard said he believes the city can get a high-quality project and save 15 percent to 20 percent, or about $5 million, by putting it out as a nonprevailing-wage job.
This obviously gets right to the heart of American labor issues. Hopefully, the City Council will do the right thing.
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.
Carlsbad city officials were surprised when they saw the Alga Norte Park project bid from Consolidated Contracting Services of San Clemente because at $29.3 million it was $10 million lower than the next closest bid, according to a story in the North County Times.
The park, which will include a “multi-pool swim complex,” ballfields, playgrounds for kids, and most importantly a skatepark, sits on 33 acres at the corner of Poinsettia and El Camino Real. But why was Consolidated’s bid so low?
. . . an official with the architectural firm that drew up the park plans attributed the low construction bids to a variety of factors. Everything from having good plans to work with to a slumping construction industry helped, said Joniene Swick of Wimmer Yamada & Caughey. . . . The economy could be playing a part, others said. Bids for several recent government projects in San Diego County, including a Highway 52 proposal, have come in lower than expected, said a representative for Associated General Contractors —- a national organization that represents some 1,400 contractors who bid on government projects in the San Diego region.
Hey, as long as the cost savings doesn’t come at the skatepark’s expense (as usually is the case) then we’re all good. We’ll be watching you Consolidated.
We believe that placing a shopping mall on the shores of Carlsbad’s Hedionda Lagoon is such a ridiculously dumb idea that we’ve found it difficult to even comment. Exactly why it’s foolish seems so obvious as to make listing the reasons redundant. We’ll cut to the chase: The Carlsbad City Council believes putting a mall on the lagoon is such a good idea that they approved Los Angeles based developer Rick Caruso’s plans without even asking the citizens of Carlsbad to vote. Luckily a group of Carlsbad citizens (Citizens For North County) believe we should vote on it. That’s why they’re out getting signatures for a referendum that will overturn the Carlsbad City Council’s approval and put the Hedionda Lagoon Mall up for vote to everyone in Carlsbad.
If you think the citizens of Carlsbad should have a voice in deciding the future of the community and a beautiful piece of open space on the shores of the Hedionda Lagoon, then you should sign the referendum.
This afternoon (Friday, September 11, 2015) you can sign the petition at the corner of Highland and Basswood from 2 PM to 6 PM. Or stop by the Dove Library (at Dove and El Camino Real) to sign. All your signature means is that you’d like the people of Carlsbad to have a vote on the Mall.
For a little more background on the issues and the current state of chicanery surrounding this mall project please follow the jump for a nice overview by Richard Riehl. [click to continue…]
They may be called The Detroit Underground, but they’re from right here in San Diego Country. That doesn’t mean they don’t have a solid and funky rhythm section and powerful lead vocalists that crank out tunes from artists such as Stevie Wonder, Chaka Kahn, and Earth, Wind and Fire. And they’ll be doing exactly that this Friday evening (July 17, 2015) in Alga Norte Community Park as TGIF Concert In The Park takes over.
The Detroit Underground was established in 1994, and still has several of its original members. Over the years the band has earned the reputation for being a hard working, high energy, show band. The group features a very solid and funky rhythm section. These four seasoned players provide a solid foundation for the band’s “smokin” horns.
Remember to bring low-back chairs, snacks, and a groove ready mind. Show starts at 6 PM Alga Norte Park is located at 6565 Alicante Road, Carlsbad, California. And remember, shuttle service operates from 4:30 to 9 p.m. at Ocean Collection and Arrowhead Insurance Group properties (2500 Campbell Place).
The Man in Black may no longer be with us, but his music is still rocking thanks in part to tribute bands like Cash’d Out. They’ll be rocking the City of Carlsbad’s TGIF Concert in the Park series this Friday, July 10, 2015. If you’ve ever enjoyed a Johnny Cash song (and who hasn’t) then you’ve got to walk the line to Alga Norte Community Park listen.
Well, beyond critics having anointed Cash’d Out (Douglas Benson on vocals, Kevin Manuel on guitar, Stephen Rey on bass and George Bernardo on drums) the “next best thing to Johnny Cash,” and the group having won six San Diego Music Awards for Best Tribute Band, the real proof lies in what members of Cash’s inner circle have said. . . “Cindy Cash came to a show, we made her cry and she gave me a necklace with Johnny’s hair in a glass locket,” explains front man and Cash impersonator Douglas Benson. Benson added that Cash producer Lou Robin has also been to several Cash’d Out shows, and claimed that if he closed it eyes it was like “going back in time.”
TGIF Concert in the Park begins at 6 PM. Be sure to arrive early because parking can be a problem. Alga Norte Park is located at 6565 Alicante Road, Carlsbad, California. And remember, shuttle service operates from 4:30 to 9 p.m. at Ocean Collection and Arrowhead Insurance Group properties (2500 Campbell Place).
Enjoy pirate themed pool activities and games during the City of Carlsbad’s first Pirate Plunge event at Alga Norte Aquatic Center on Saturday, April 18, from 5 to 9 p.m.
Come dressed in a swimsuit and enjoy the fun, swashbuckling activities which include diving for treasure, cannonball crush, fishing for skulls, ship raider race and more. . . As the sun goes down, finish the night off with a special presentation of the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean” on the giant outdoor movie screen. Movie is rated PG-13. . . “This event is fun for everyone,” says Rachael Shay, special events director for the City of Carlsbad. “With the heated pool, it is a perfect event to hold here in Southern California in April, and guests of all ages will enjoy swimming, games and the movie.”
Cost is $8 per person. Children ages 3 and under are free. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Alga Norte Park is located at 6565 Alicante Road in Carlsbad, California.
The solar panels placed at the Alga Norte Park will power most of the park’s electrical needs rolling forward while at the same time providing shade in the park’s hot parking lots.
The 720 solar panels, which cover two rows of Alga Norte’s parking lot and provide shade for park visitors, are expected to generate about 360,000 kilowatt-hours of energy a year, which is enough to power about 55 average San Diego homes. It also will cut carbon dioxide output by approximately 6,838 tons over a 25-year period, which is the equivalent of cutting the emissions of automobiles driving 15 million miles. . . “This system will give us the ability to watch in real time our energy consumption compared to our production,” said City of Carlsbad Civic Projects Manager Patrick McGarry. “That will give us an opportunity to see how much energy the panels are producing and when we’re spiking electric power, allowing us to make decisions to reduce consumption.”
According to the City the panels, which cost $720,000, will pay for themselves in 11 years and begin creating a $66,000 a year savings in year 12. For the official word from the City of Carlsbad, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
On Saturday, June 7, 2014 the City of Carlsbad will be introducing all their summer activities at the Alga Norte park Aquatic Center from 4 to 7 PM with Splash Into Summer.
This family-friendly event is designed for kids and adults to preview all the aquatic center has to offer this summer, including classes, camps, movies and other fun events. Swim in the warm water pool, play on the giant inflatables and water balls, and enjoy the splash pad. Learn about masters swim, water fitness classes, swimming lessons for all ages, individual and family passes, and aquatic sports and junior lifeguarding camps. Entrance fee is $8 per person and refreshments are available for purchase. One child, age 3 and under may be admitted free with a paying adult.
If you haven’t yet visited the Alga Norte Aquatic Center, you really should. It’s just like going on vacation to a fancy resort, however, this one only costs $5 for adults and $3 for children. For the official word from the City Parks and Rec department, please 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.
RSS Feed-Posts