by The Editors on May 7, 2008
We’re glad that after looking far and wide for a new Carlsbad City Manager that the best person for the job was already doing it.
Lisa E. Hildabrand, 52, has been the interim city manager for the past eight months but now she’s official.
Hiring a City Manager is one of the few hiring decisions that the City Council gets to make, and we are proud to announce that we have selected Lisa Hildabrand as Carlsbad’s City Manager,” wrote Lewis in an e-mail to city staff on Wednesday, May 7. “We have been continually impressed with her steady, thoughtful leadership. Lisa has the intellect, personality, and enthusiasm to lead Carlsbad’s staff through the challenging times that lie ahead,” said Lewis.
“The City Council believes Lisa will provide the direction the City needs now and in the future. Lisa’s appointment will enable the City to continue its legacy of sound financial management, stable leadership and forward-thinking programs and policies that have made Carlsbad great.”
Congratulations, Lisa.
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by The Editors on May 3, 2008
Carlsbad HIgh School sophomore Michael Caraglio has written an opinion piece for the North County Times on the need for the City of Carlsbad to go smoke-free.
This is to all the citizens of Carlsbad who are wondering why Carlsbad has not passed a smoke-free ordinance like many other cities in San Diego County. I am really wondering, too. . . .My sister and I have been working on encouraging the city to pass such an ordinance for almost three years. . . .I am tired of hearing that there are more important items on the city council agenda. What could be more important than protecting its citizens from secondhand smoke and litter?
Michael, we agree completely. Wonder if it has anything to do with our “pro-smoking” Mayor and council members?
[Link: North County Times and San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on April 29, 2008
We broke this story in November, but now it looks like the $8 Tamarack Surf Beach parking fee is getting closer.
According to a release from the City of Carlsbad the parking fee will be discussed during the California Coastal Commission’s monthly meeting, slated for Thursday, May 8, 2008, at the Marina Del Rey Hotel, Marina Del Rey California.
Carlsbad officials oppose the proposal and have expressed concern over the insufficient noticing given to the public about the installation device as well as the adverse impacts to the surrounding neighborhoods and impact on public beach access if the proposal is approved. . . . Residents and those affected by the proposed parking fee are encouraged to fax or e-mail their concerns to Coastal Commission analyst Toni Ross at tross@coastal.ca.gov or fax at 619-7672384.
Not that it’s going to do any good, but we might as well complain while we have a chance.
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by The Editors on April 27, 2008
Last week The Carlsbad Village Improvement Partnership asked the City for $500,000 spread out over three years so they can “revitalize the city’s downtown core,” according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Frank Hutchins, a corporate banker and president of the partnership, asked the council Tuesday night for “seed money” to get it established – $200,000 in each of the first two years and $100,000 in the third year. . . . Councilmen Matt Hall and Mark Packard sat out the discussion because they own property downtown.
That means only three people have to agree. If some of the money goes toward more closing antique stores, we’re all for it.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on April 24, 2008
Thanks to a planned public works center and police and fire training facility (that will be built on the land currently occupied by the Carlsbad Skateboard park) there is some worry that skateboarders will have no park at all until the new park at the Alga Norte is completed, according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times. But don’t expect the Carlsbad City Council to care.
The City Council unanimously decided Tuesday that it does not want to find an alternate location for the Orion Way skatepark, since Alga Norte is opening soon. The council will revisit whether the city needs two skateparks —- as some skateboarding enthusiasts have suggested —- after Alga Norte opens.
When a location in the Calavera Hills Park site was suggested for a possible interim or second skateboard park Council member Ann Kulchin threw this idiotic line into the discussion: “There’s a lot of residences there,” she said. “I’m not sure they would welcome a skatepark.”
Carlsbad was the home of the world’s first concrete skatepark, it is the birthplace of modern skateboarding (and the industry that surrounds it) and yet this is the kind of response we get from our City Council. It’s pathetic. Truly.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on April 22, 2008
Three of the 55 applicants for the position of City Manager for the City of Carlsbad have made it to round two of the interview process according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times.
“We screened six,” the mayor [Bud Lewis] said, as he discussed an all-day, closed-to-the-public interview session the City Council held last week. “And we’re coming back for three (finalists) we’re going to look at again. . . “Hopefully, within the next few weeks we’re going to have a city manager,” he added.
Current acting City Manager Lisa Hildabrand, 52, is still in the running for the job, but the names of the other two have not be released.
Seems like a pretty nice way to make over $200,000 a year.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on April 9, 2008
Being beach dwellers we’ve come to appreciate the fact that the California Coastal Commission has control over anything that happens on the coast. The fact that they make it difficult for developers (and Cities) to make changes near the beach is often a godsend.
Recently, California Senator Denise Ducheny of San Diego pushed forward Senate Bill 1295 with the intension of making it “more difficult for the state Coastal Commission to intervene after cities and counties approve shoreline development, from hotels to homes,” according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
Sadly, Carlsbad Mayor Bud Lewis was a major proponent of the bill.
It is troubling that just two commissioners can ignore years of local planning, community development and permitting process and can file an appeal, acting as investigator, judge and jury,” Carlsbad Mayor Bud Lewis argued in a letter to lawmakers.
Luckily, the Mayor’s side lost and the bill has been rejected:
. . .the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee rejected Senate Bill 1295, siding with environmental groups that argued it provides one additional layer of protection for a treasured coast.
Thank you to everyone who helped shut this down.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on April 9, 2008
City Council, on Tuesday night April 8, 2008, voted 4-1 to increase the the “traffic fee” developers pay to the City for every single family home they build from $1,150 to $3,530, according to a story in the North County Times.
City planners told the council that they anticipate 4,600 more residential units and 10.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial space to be built in Carlsbad, adding that the increased development will put thousands more vehicles on area roads. . . . Councilwoman Julienne Nygaard noted that the fee has been in place since 1991 to help keep Carlsbad from becoming gridlocked. . . . “One of the concepts we have always had in Carlsbad is that new development would pay its way,” Nygaard said.
We agree with Ms. Nygaard. Pay their way they should.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on March 6, 2008
When everything is destroyed in the inevitably coming Armageddon we are relieved to know that the new City of Carlsbad recycling silo on the seawall above the beach at Offshore will still be standing.
Looking more like a bomb detonating chamber, this solid concrete recycling bin/dog urinal is serious about collecting aluminum, glass, and plastic ONLY. Put anything else in there and rocket launchers will magically appear in the turret and blow you into the next dimension.
Okay, that last part was a joke.
by The Editors on March 6, 2008
When the Carlsbad City Council “voted in Februrary to give Catholic Charities $108,500 in seed money” to start planning a farmworker shelter that didn’t sit very well with the freelance border patrollers who call themselves “The San Diego Minutemen.”
Jeff Schwilk, leader of the San Diego Minutemen, said he was “shocked and amazed” when he heard . . . Schwilk and others told the council Tuesday that it shouldn’t go into the housing business. First, Schwilk said, the people who employ the farmworkers ought to provide housing. Second, the farmworkers who might stay at the proposed shelter are likely to be illegal immigrants who shouldn’t be working in this country, he and several others argued.
Hard to believe the Minutemen would actually leave their oh-so-important posts down by the border. Just think how many workers snuck in while the council was meeting.
[Link: North County Times]
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