Search: "the crossings"

Play Some Poker For For The Kids

by The Editors on September 21, 2012

Preeventrelease

2011 dealers front to back: Claire Bloom, Kara Pearlman, Dana Lagomarsino, Vanessa Laughter, Anna Lavery, Becky Eisendrath, Nicki Herz, Meredith Rowe, and Stephanie Marsh.

On Friday, November 2, 2012, the La Costa 35 Athletic Club is hosting their second annual Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carlsbad.

The no-limit tournament features a host of prizes for all top finishers, including a private flight for 4 to Las Vegas, beachfront RV camping experience, and TaylorMade golf clubs. . . The evening will offer plenty of fun and chances to win for both the experienced player and novice alike. A donation of $100 includes tournament entry, dinner from several local restaurants, and beer and wine. Players who register early receive extra bonus chips.

For all the details, including how you can purchase tickets, follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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Riehl World: Taj Magolf’s Extreme Makeover

by Richard J. Riehl on August 11, 2011

ThelossingsMark Twain once called the game of golf “a good walk spoiled.” Something similar could be said of Carlsbad’s $68 million public golf course–a splendid setting for weddings, dining and golf, spoiled by tilting fairways, undersized greens, and lost balls.

A struggling economy, the many affordable courses nearby, and its playability have been blamed for the course’s annual deficits. Hopes for a financial turnaround are based mostly on the attractiveness of the venue.

That was a summary of a consultant’s report for the city of Rockville, Maryland on the financial condition of its Redgate Municipal Golf Course. The recommendations? Modify greens and bunkers, build additional facilities for player convenience, and launch a more aggressive marketing campaign.

Sound familiar? The differences between The Crossings and Redgate are foreboding. Rockville’s course is 40 years old. You can play it for half of what you pay for a round at Carlsbad’s Taj Magolf. [click to continue…]

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City To Chip $186,000 More At The Lossings

by The Editors on June 28, 2011

Thelossings-Tm-TmTonight when the Carlsbadistan City Council meets they will approve AB#20.610 or Improvements To The Crossings and Adjacent Open Space Erosion Mediation.

Apparently, City staff and Kemper Sports Management (the company that runs The Lossings, but can’t seem to do it at a profit) have decided (after paying a golf consultant to prepare a report) that improvements need to be made if the business is ever expected to prosper.

In order to increase “course playability” the city staff would like to spend $80,000 making the 18th hole easier. Apparently, people aren’t playing the course as much as they should because the 18th hole is just too difficult. City staff is also suggesting that $12,000 be spent to transform a “boardroom” into the clubhouse’s second bar. Apparently, the Canyons Bar and Restaurant (one of the more profitable pieces of the Lossing’s business in the past) is not the kind of establishment that keeps golfers around after their round.

But that’s not all. Thanks to heavy rain fall last winter (and the way the land has been artificially shaped for the course) city staff would also like an additional $106,000 for “open space remediation.” They’d like to “repair serious erosion” that created “crevices and brought silt onto city streets.”

Of course, money has already been set aside in the “Golf Course Capital Reserve Fund” for simplifying the 18th hole and building another bar, however, city staff would like to use money from the Capital Construction funds to pay for the erosion repair. And just like that another $200,000 is flushed down The Lossings.

Meanwhile, we still don’t have the Alga Norte Pool nor the skateboard park. Nice, huh?

[Update June 29, 2011: For the record the City Council unanimously approved the $106,000 erosion control funding and the $80,000 to simplify the 18th hole, however, they did not approve the $12,000 to create a “players club” because Farrah Douglas didn’t like the idea of using the boardroom as a temporary bar. She thinks the course needs something more luxurious and suggested maybe turning the pro shop into a new lounge. Council will discuss the new bar issue at a future time.]

[Link: City County Agenda and AB#20.610]

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2011 Jazz In The Parks Struts In June 24

by The Editors on June 2, 2011

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Big Time Operator swinging the crowd at Stagecoach park, July 9, 2010. Click here for photos.

Carslbadistan’s Jazz In The Park is getting a fresh start for its 26th season. Not one of the bands who performed last summer is returning. There may be a reason for that, but it’s certainly has nothing to do with the energetic, friendly crowds that flocked to Stagecoach, Poinsettia, and Calavera Hills Parks last summer.

The all-new season of Jazz In The Park kicks off on Carlsbadistan’s Eastern Front at Stagecoach Park Friday, June 24, 2011 as the electrifying blues singer Javina Magness returns after a two-year absence.

Janiva Magness is among the premier blues and R&B singers in the world today. Charismatic, gutsy and known for her electrifying live shows, she won the Blues Music Awards’ B.B. King Entertainer of The Year in 2009 – only the second woman ever to win the coveted award. Her voice possesses an earthy, raw honesty and beauty born from teen homelessness and deep experience. USA Today declared, “Magness is a blues star,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Magness sings superb, potent soul-blues with a scorching intensity.”

Better get out the picnic basket and start collecting all that wine and cheese because you”ve only got three weeks. For the complete Jazz In The Park schedule click the link. [click to continue…]

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TK Arnold: Tale Of Two Protests

by Thomas K. Arnold on September 29, 2010

Crw 6276Two protests took place in North County last week, with wildly different views on what constitutes a proper use of taxpayer dollars.

On one end of the spectrum were Cal State San Marcos students, who demonstrated on behalf of a bill that would give illegal immigrant students a chance to legalize their status.

On the other was dark horse Carlsbad mayoral candidate Glenn Bernard, quietly picketing The Crossings at Carlsbad golf course with a sign that read, “Please patronize private courses only.”

Talk about a study in contrasts. In San Marcos, you had a mob of students whose educations are mostly subsidized by taxpayers demanding legal status for illegal immigrants who were brought into this country as children, provided they either attend college (on the public’s dime) or join the military (which, again, is funded by taxpayers). The protest died when word spread that the U.S. Senate would not move forward on the bill that would do precisely that, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (or “DREAM”) Act.
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The Lossings To Eat Up Even More Of Carlsbad

by The Editors on June 30, 2010

Thelossings-Tm-Tm-1At the City Council meeting last night (June 29, 2010) the City announced that to cover the $4.2 million in loans it has made to “keep the golf course in the black” it is now planning to “transfer” and possibly sell two pieces of City-owned property, according to a story in the North County Times.

Initially, the two lots were to be leased to golf-related businesses, but they have stood vacant since they were created. . . One parcel is about 5 acres and the other is about 7 acres. They sit on each side of College Boulevard on the eastern edge of The Crossings at Carlsbad course. . . Joe Garuba, who is handing the issue for the city, said after Tuesday’s meeting that there has been “some interest” recently in the properties, but declined to provide specifics about the negotiations. . . . “I’m not going to talk about who or what,” he said.

We have one question: How much of Carlsbadistan is this golf course going to eat up before someone puts a stop to it? The Lossings has already cost the City of Carlsbad nearly $70 million and now the City want’s to begin slicing off pieces of itself to pay for more?

If the City is going to sell anything to cover its golf course loans it should simply cut it losses and sell the golf course to Legoland. They can throw up a few block sculptures, create some Lego golf carts, call it the “World First Lego Golf Course” and charge $350 green fees.

We’re not usually in favor of privatization, but The Lossings has been a revenue suck for over a decade and the sooner the City gets out of it the better. Then the City can spend a tiny fraction of that money on things everyone will use like parks, swimming pools, and skateboard parks. . .

[Link: North County Times via VoteJonWantz]

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2010 Jazz In The Park Kicks Off June 25

by The Editors on May 26, 2010

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Time to get the picnic baskets, wine glasses, and cheese knives all cleaned up because Carlsbadistan’s Jazz in The Park is rolling in for the 25th rocking summer season. This summer will see nine free shows in three parks beginning June 25, 2010 at Stagecoach Park with Ruby & The Red Hots.

Continuing its commitment to present jazz in its many forms, the TGIF concerts cover a range from big band swing to west coast blues to Latin salsa, performed by some of the region’s most acclaimed bands. Nine TGIF concerts on consecutive Friday evenings begin June 25 and continue through August 20, presented by the city’s Cultural Arts Office and produced by On the Other Side Productions, Inc. All concerts begin at 6 p.m. and end at 8 p.m.

For the complete line-up and more infor follow the jump. . .
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The Lossings Needs More Money

by The Editors on November 26, 2009

Thelossings-Tm-TmAs if The Crossings Lossings At Carlsbad golf course hasn’t already cost the people of Carlsbadistan enough, KemperSports Management, the private company the city pays to run the golf course says they aren’t “hitting budget projections this year and will need and extra $150,000 to cover,” according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times.

That’s in addition to the original subsidy of $1.79 million that the city contributed at the start of the year, the financial report states. . . Next year’s operations at The Crossings at Carlsbad course also will require a substantial city subsidy. In the golf course’s 2010 budget, which the City Council will be asked to approve Tuesday, operators are asking for a $1.76 million city subsidy. . . Mayor Bud Lewis said Wednesday he hadn’t seen the financial figures yet, but was “sorry to hear” that the course needed more money this year. He said he would probably vote to grant the budget requests.

Of course he would. No pool. No skateboard park. But sure, keep spending millions of dollars every year on a golf course that continues to lose money. Epic! This whole issue is getting so absurd that it’s almost impossible to speak politely about it.

[Link: North County Times]

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Star Wars Days At Legoland

by The Editors on June 9, 2009

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The Force returns to Legoland on June 13 and 14, 2009 during Lego Star Wars Days at the Carlsbadistan theme park. Star Wars fanboys dressed as Darth Vader and his 501st Legion of stormtroopers are apparently invading the family theme park to interact with fans all weekend long.

Legoland guests will take part in out-of-this-world activities like building a 4-foot-tall LEGO R2-D2, Droid Hunt, video game battles, trivia competitions, scavenger hunts and daily costume contests. . . .During LEGO STAR WARS Days, fans of all ages can experience the newest attraction at LEGOLAND Xbox Family GameSpace, where they can play
LEGO STAR WARS games all weekend long!

All this fun Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14, 2009 Park Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Follow the jump for all the details. [click to continue…]

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2009 TGIF: Jazz In The Parks Schedule

by The Editors on May 20, 2009

Jazzinthepark

It’s summer time again and that means sipping wine to the sounds of the finest traveling bands in the business as the City of Carlsbadistan kicks off its 24th season of TGIF Jazz In The Parks.

This summer, like last, only three parks will be in the mix: Stagecoach, Poinsettia, and Calavera. Here’s what we all have to look forward to:

Stagecoach Park 3420 Camino de los Coches, 92009
June 19 Canned Heat – boogie blues
June 26 Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas – zydeco
July 3 Big Time Operator – big band swing
July 10 Bill Magee Blues Band – southern blues

Poinsettia Park 6600 Hidden Valley Road, 92011
July 17 Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca – afro-cuban
July 24 Lowrider Band – latin/funk
July 31 Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars – cajun

Calavera Hills Park 2997 Glasgow Drive, 92008
August 7 The Screamin’ Primas – jump jive swing
August 14 Tinsley Ellis – electric blues
August 21 Coco Montoya – rockin’ blues

All concerts are 6 – 8 p.m. Follow the jump for all the details.
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