by The Editors on July 23, 2008
This is getting to the point of absurdity. Last night the Carlsbad City Council voted to stall the proposed $50 million Alga Norte Park, Aquatic Center and Skateboard Park and not put it out to bid because as the Mayor said we’re having hard economic times, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
Mayor Bud Lewis recalled when his family lost its home when he was a youngster during the Great Depression, and said it was not good for the city to spend millions on a project during hard economic times.
Council voted to reconsidered the park in October. What they failed to mention is that this means Carlsbad will be without a skateboard park for even longer now as the Orion park will be destroyed so the city can build a police and fire training facility.
Note to Mayor Lewis: when economic times are hard it’s all the more important that kids and families have local, free recreational options. Not less.
by The Editors on July 21, 2008
The saga of Carlsbad’s Alga Norte Park continues to drag out. In November 2007 Consolidated Contracting Services of San Clemente bid $29.3 million on the project, but the City Council said that bid was too low.
Then in December 2007 the City denied all six park construction bids because there were “multiple problems with the bids the city received.”
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.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on July 18, 2008
The Crossings at Carlsbad, the City’s $63 million dollar (or so) golf course may “fall short” of it’s projected revenue for the first year according to a Richard Riehl column in the North County Times.
Carlsbad’s Director of Finance Lisa Irvine, told me the course had expected green fees to generate $1.6 million in revenue in the first five months of this year. It fell $300,000 short of that projection. . . . The Canyons Restaurant did much better, bringing in $829,000, 33 percent higher than the $624,000 projected return. But the loss in golf course revenue alone resulted in city plans to subsidize The Crossings at Carlsbad to the tune of $400,000 in 2008 and an additional $900,000 in 2009.
We can totally understand. We’ve eaten breakfast at Canyons Restaurant numerous times and have yet to play a round of golf. Maybe it should be marketed as a $63 million dollar restaurant, with a really nice yard. . .
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on July 18, 2008
She’s been on the Carlsbad City Council since 1980, almost long enough to remember Mayor Bud Lewis as an elderly man, but Ann Kulchin is running again, according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
But she’s not running alone. Four other people have filed the paperwork to appear on the November 4, 2008 ballot. They include:
- Glenn Bernard, a real estate sales agent and businessman.
- Keith Blackburn, a Carlsbad police sergeant.
- Farrah Douglas, owner of a printing company who is a planning commissioner.
- William Jubb, a banker.
Seems like it might be a good idea to change things up on the council doesn’t it? Especially when Ms. Kulchin is so anti-skateboarding.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on July 17, 2008
As much as we hate chain restaurants, there is something about PF Chang’s China Bistro that forces us to drive to Fashion Valley at least once a month for hot and sour soup and vegetarian lettuce wraps.
That’s why we’re shamelessly excited by the fact that the Carlsbad planning commission has approved “a P.F. Chang’s Chinese bistro, a second yet-to-be-determined restaurant and a two-story, 44,400-square-foot complex of upscale shops,” on Paseo del norte next to King’s Fish House across from the Premium Outlet Mall.
Developers had planned to put a hotel on the 7-acre site along Paseo del Norte, but reconsidered because of height and parking limitations, said Peter Aylward, president of the company that owns the land. . . . “Architecturally, I think it’s a good thing for Carlsbad,” Aylward said as he described how the project would look from the east on Paseo del Norte and from the west on Interstate 5.
The project still needs the approval of the City Council, but then, they seem to love taking empty land and filling it with stuff.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on July 16, 2008
by The Editors on July 16, 2008
According to a story in the North County Times:
In a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Mark Packard absent, the Carlsbad’s City Council decided Tuesday to . . . prohibit smoking at the beach, city parks and trails.
Thanks to the City Council for finally getting on the program. The ban could go into effect in 30 days. So smokers: get ready to kiss your butts goodbye.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on July 14, 2008
The Carlsbad City Council is wasting no time making changes after becoming a charter city. In June, the City Council changed the State requirements for what makes a quorum at Council meetings, making it much easier for them to vote on anything. Now, according to a story in the North County Times, they are considering no longer “paying union-scale wages for large construction projects” and changing the way they purchase office supplies.
City officials have said recently that the proposed purchasing changes could save Carlsbad millions of dollars, but the proposal is likely to be opposed by construction union members. In the past, union advocates have said that failing to follow the state’s prevailing requirement will hurt local families.
It seems to us like the State guidelines are there for some very good reasons, and for the local City Council to just change them to save a little money, or in the case of the office supplies, make it easier to spend money without getting “formal price quotes” just doesn’t seem responsible.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on July 10, 2008
The City of Carlsbad has filed a lawsuit against Carlsbadistan’s Prince Reza Shah claiming “numerous improper acts and (an) overall scheme to effectively hijack and unlawfully profit upon the name “The Crossings at Carlsbad,” according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The city’s lawsuit says Shah applied for the trademark two months after the city registered the Internet domain name “thecrossingsatcarlsbad.com.” . . . It accuses Shah of “cybersquatting” by laying claim to names that incorporate “The Crossings at Carlsbad” name, but for which he has no “bona fide commercial use.”
Shah’s rather shoddy looking godaddy.com site-holder website, TheCrossingsAtCarlsbad.net features ads for several .mobi domains (VisitCarlsbad.mobi) along with an email address.
Shah apparently feels that he is completely justified with his trademarks and according to a fax quoted in the Union-Tribune is sending a letter “to the city’s golf course operator, KemperSports, accusing it of trademark infringement and threatening a $10 million lawsuit.”
This should be interesting.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on July 7, 2008
There is still time to register and get on the ballot in November to be a Carlsbad City Council member. All it takes is being a citizen of Carlsbad, being over 18, being a registered voter, and a $25 filing fee (or “enough signatures on your petition”) and you could be running for one of the two seats that will be up for a vote. Though it might help if you hate skateboarding and own property in The Village.
Hopefuls have until at least Aug. 8 to file candidacy paperwork. However, that deadline is expected to be extended to Aug. 13 because Nygaard isn’t expected to file, Wood said. Under election law, when an incumbent doesn’t file, the deadline is extended several day
Imagine, shaping the future of Carlsbad for $1,329 a month plus a $350 a month car allowance. Not a bad part time job if you can get it.
[Link: North County Times]
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