by The Editors on April 20, 2009
Tomorrow evening (April 21, 2009) is officially “Pack The City Council Chambers” night as City Council will be reconsidered something they’ve reconsidered several times already: the fate of the Alga Norte Park something we like to call it the Alga Norte Skatepark. (AB#19.780)
City Councilman Keith Blackburn is so interested in all of us attending that he’s reportedly calling 40,000 people, according to a story in the The Times.
For about $2,000, Blackburn has taken the unprecedented step of hiring a company that operates an electronic “phone tree” to reach as many of Carlsbad’s 40,000 households as possible today with a 30-second, recorded message from the councilman. . .Blackburn is urging residents to show up at a council meeting, set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, at which the proposed park will be discussed.
The fact that the citizens have to show up to remind the City Council that we need a new swim complex and skateboard park is crazy in our opinion, but looks like we’re all going to have to go anyway as it apparently is the only way members of the City Council ever hear anything.
Building parks should be the one thing that the City Council does on their own, but apparently, they need our help. Be there Tuesday evening at 6 PM.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on April 16, 2009
Opponents of NRG Energy‘s plans for a second power plant near the shores of Carlsbadistan’s Aqua Hedionda Lagoon gathered at Cannon Park today (April 16, 2009) in the shadow of the Encina Power Station to speak to the media.
News 10, News 8, and writers and photographers from the local papers were present along with approximately 40 citizens to hear people including Carlsbad Councilman Matt Hall, former Councilwoman Julie Nygaard, and Kerry Siekmann (among others) speak out against the new plant.
Siekmann spoke to the fact that SDG&E does not need the power this new plant will produce. In fact, she said, SDG&E hasn’t even contracted with the plant to buy power. Where will it go? Maybe Los Angeles, she said.
“This power can be sold everywhere,” Siekmann said. “But where will the pollution go? Here. So we get 854,000 tons of carbon emissions. We get all the particulate pollution that the American Lung association links to death from respiratory and cardio-vascular causes, increased number of heart attacks, hospitalization for asthma among children, inflammation of lung tissue in young healthy adults just to name a few. We get all the ozone pollution too that the American Lung association says may lead to serious health concerns including premature death, chest pain, inflamation of the lining of the lungs. This is not just about our neighborhood. It’s not just about Carlsbad. It’s about the whole air basin here in San Diego. This is not the right plant, it’s the wrong plant.”
Former City Councilwoman Julie Nygaard agreed. “We should not sit back idly and watch our way of life be diminished,” she said. “In all my years of public service I have never seen a proposal that stands to do as much damage as this one does to our community.”
For more information on the plant and the people who oppose it click the link. Or click here for Barbara Henry’s story in the North County Times.
[Link: Power of Vision Carlsbad]
by The Editors on April 14, 2009
A stretch of private land in Calavera Hills that local residents had hoped the City of Carlsbad would buy and turn into a park has been sold to Thompson Co. of Nevada, according to a story in the North County Times. And the new owner plans to subdivide the 60 acre property.
This has made a group of local residents upset enough to launch an anti-developement website called SaveVillageH.com. And they are blaming the Carlsbad City Council for not honoring the wishes of its own Open Space Committee.
For over ten years, residents around Village H and from elsewhere have done everything they can to lobby the Council and City to preserve the property. SaveVillageH.com, in its original incarnation several years ago, was a focal point for this effort (with much work by PreserveCalavera.org as well). . . .As a result, three Council members now serving who served then (Lewis, Kulchin, and Hall) all expressed a willingness to preserve the land. But despite their Open Space Committee ranking the property as tied for #2 in the entire city (as worthy of acquisition) and despite the landowner making two very low offers to the City (one reportedly only $300,000), the Council — in a legally questionable closed-door session last year — declined to buy the property.
While we believe for the most part that private land owners should be able sell their land to whomever they want it is strange that the City would pass on a parcel that they obviously had interest in. For more info, click the link.
[Link: Save Village H]
by The Editors on April 8, 2009
Say hello to another chain restaurant in Carlsbad as the Carlsbadistan City Countil has given a unanimous thumbs up for a BJ’s Restaurant Brewhouse to be built across the street from the Carlsbad Premium Outlets, according to a story in the North County Times.
Before voting to grant the Carlsbad project a conditional use permit, Councilman Mark Packard said Tuesday that he could “heartily endorse” the proposal because he had heard great things about BJ’s food from his son-in-law, who has visited the company’s Temecula restaurant.
That’s the kind of research we’ve come to expect from our elected leaders.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on April 7, 2009
After close to three weeks on paid administrative leave Carlsbad’s Chief of Police Thomas Zoll is back on the job, but just why he was put on that leave is still a complete mystery according to a story in the North County Times.
City spokeswoman Kristina Rey declined Monday to say what transpired during Chief Thomas Zoll’s leave, including whether there was an investigation and what prompted his reinstatement. . . City officials repeatedly have declined to say why Zoll, 58, was placed on leave on March 18, citing state laws that limit the release of information on a police officer’s performance. . . Zoll said Monday that he preferred not to comment on the situation.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune Zoll said he would have been back last week, but that he said he “went on vacation.”
Whatever it was, apparently it is over for now, and we hope Zoll used his paid leave well.
[Link: North County Times and San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on March 27, 2009
Carlsbadistan’s Police Chief Tom Zoll, 58, has been placed on administrative leave “pending an investigation” according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Capt. Mike Shipley has been the acting chief since March 18, Kristina Ray, the city’s communications manager, said yesterday. . . . “It’s a personnel matter, and the city cannot comment,” she said. . . .Councilman Keith Blackburn, a former Carlsbad police officer, said, “All I know was our chief was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.” . . .Zoll’s stewardship of the Police Department has seen little to no public controversy since he was hired in 2003. He is known for an easygoing style and dry sense of humor. . . .Contacted at his Carlsbad home yesterday afternoon, Zoll politely said he had no comment.
Guess we’ll find out more as the story develops.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune and San Diego 6]
by The Editors on March 26, 2009
Standard & Poor’s recently upgraded the City of Carlsbadistan’s credit rating from AA to AAA, according to a release sent out by the city.
Carlsbad, with a population that now exceeds 100,000, is located just 35 miles north of San Diego. Growth in the city has been in our view strong over the past five years with 10%-13% annual assessed valuation growth and good trends in local sales and transient occupancy tax taxes. We view the Legoland theme park and several resort hotels as strong tourism magnets. Also, we believe that strong financial management has resulted in healthy general fund surpluses and reserves, and a new formal policy requires and unreserved fund balance of no less than 30% of expenditures, although the city targets 40%-50%. The city actively monitors its budget and has made adjustments in fiscal 2009 to account for slowing TOT and sales taxes, in particular auto sales. We understand that adjustments are also being made in the 2010 budget to preserve its strong liquidity.”
Looks like City of Carlsbad Finance Director Lisa Irvine is doing a great job. Follow the jump for the entire press release.
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by The Editors on March 16, 2009
Claiming that the Carlsbad Unified School District has made mistakes in its traffic plans for the new high school, the City of Carlsbad has teamed up with developer Bentley-Wing Properties, the Rancho Carlsbad HOA, and Preserve Calavera to sue the school district, according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
In a press release sent out by the City on March 13, 2009 the City said:
To preserve its legal rights, the City of Carlsbad today filed a lawsuit regarding traffic impacts of a proposed new high school at the corner of Cannon Road and College Boulevard. Although city and Carlsbad Unified School District officials are working cooperatively to address the project’s impacts, not all of the issues will be resolved before the statute of limitations runs March 16 on the project’s Environmental Impact Report.
If the City, a developer, and a mobile home park HOA agree on anything, we’re pretty sure we’re against it just on priciple.
For the full press release follow the jump.
[Link: San Deigo Union-Tribune]
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by The Editors on March 11, 2009
Last night, the Carlsbad City Council unanimous voted to allow Legoland to “change a planning document that guides development of the region” giving the company permission to proceed with plans to build a 250-room hotel, with a 14,383-square-foot restaurant, and a 11,051-square-foot retail space.
For good measure Councilman Mark Packer even tossed in the idea of changing the name of Cannon Road in a way that would “better publicize” the park, according to a story in the North County Times.
The park’s recently appointed general manager, Peter Ronchetti, told the council that he has no doubt the place will eventually be a success. “We are highly confident that a Lego hotel will be very popular among our visitors,” he said. . . Plans call for the hotel to have themed rooms that celebrate specific park rides and attractions, so visitors will be “immersed in Legoland around the clock,” Ronchetti said.
Right. It’s like Legoland visitors won’t ever have to leave the property. Interestingly, back in the mid 90s when Legoland was courting the City of Carlsbad the company promoted the idea that the park would bring money to Carlsbadistan via park visitors. These visitors, they said, would need to eat somewhere, sleep somewhere, and shop somewhere and that somewhere would be Carlsbad. Now, it appears that Merlin Entertainment, the park’s owners, would rather keep all those visitor dollars to themselves with their own hotel, shops, and restaurants.
And, come to think of it, if changing Cannon Road’s name to Legoland Drive is good, wouldn’t changing the city of Carlsbad’s name to Legoland, California be great? The logos are already done. . .
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on March 4, 2009
Several months ago we signed up to receive all the press releases that are sent out by the City of Carlsbad. We have yet to receive anything in the way of news from the City. But hopefully, that will change soon. The City has recently chosen to “use Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite to provide a hosted solution for its collaboration and e-mail applications.”
“As we prepared to migrate e-mail systems it was the perfect time to ask the question of whether someone else could build, manage and support a collaboration environment as well as or better and for a lower cost than internal IT staff” said Gordon Peterson, director of information technology for the city of Carlsbad. The city found Microsoft’s solution to be cost-effective and met its security and best practice requirements with the additional benefit of round-the-clock e-mail support.”
Sounds great. Does this mean we’ll begin getting the news? Or, just a big blue screen of death?
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