Tonight, April 21, 2009, with a standing-room only crowd (most wearing bright yellow “Alga Norte Now” stickers) and even more out in the hall pressing posters up against the glass, the Carlsbad City Council voted 3-2 to push off the decision to begin construction on the Alga Norte Park by what could be another year.
The council was faced with 26 public comments in favor of the Alga Norte Park and five options presented by City staff:
1. Continue the project hold.
2. Build the park as designed
3. Rough Grade the site
4. Build just the aquatic center
5. Build everything but the aquatic center
When the discussions were over Mayor Bud Lewis, along with Councilmen Matt Hall, and Mark Packard voted in favor of the “rough grade” (option 3) on the Alga Norte Park property, while Ann Kulchin and Keith Blackburn voted against the motion.
Leave it to the convoluted workings of city politics to have the no votes be in support of building the park. “I am going to vote no on that because I think we have studied it to death,” Ann Kulchin said. “I think the time to build it is now.”
It was another year and two more wins for the Ethiopians. In the mens elite race Ethiopia’s Daba Bekana and Abreham Cherkos finshed one and two on the same second for a time of 13:19. For the women Aheza Kiros of Ethiopia edged Shannon Rowbury of the United States and Austrialia’s Lara Tamsett for the win with a time of 15:38.
The Carlsbad 5000 bills itself as the “World Fastest 5K” but San Diego Union-Tribune writer Don Norcross has discovered that on the men’s side at least there hasn’t been a record broken in Carlsbadistan since 2000 when Sammy Kipketer’s ran the race in 13 minutes. Norcross asks the question, “Why the lull?”
“Because the world record was such an incredible performance that it was unfricking real,” said Tracy Sundlun, vice president of the Competitor Group, which owns the race. . . .By comparison, the women have continued taking an eraser to the record book. From 2002 through 2006, women broke the world record four times and tied it once. . . Kipketer’s 2000 mark was stunning, shattering the existing world mark by 12 seconds. Eighteen years old at the time, Kipketer took the first mile out in a shocking 3 minutes, 59 seconds. . . . As Kipketer steadily pulled away from the field, the late Mike Long, who recruited the elite athletes, made a prescient remark aboard the press truck. . . “He’s going too fast,” Long said. “How will we ever break this new record?”
Apparently, getting the fastest runners to race here is just too expensive. What happened to the joy of running?
The race takes place Sunday April 5, 2009 in The Village of Carlsbadistan. And who knows, maybe Maregu Zewdie can pull something out this year.
Carlsbad, the undefeated Arizona mighty mite, bumped it up to five wins in a row today to claim the $100,000 Santa Paula Stakes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.
Owned by her breeder, Dennis Weir, Carlsbad won her four starts in Arizona by a combined margin of more than 50 lengths. Weir transferred the Arizona-bred daughter of Rocky Bar to the Southern California barn of Jeff Mullins after she captured the Arizona Oaks by 13 1/4 lengths Feb. 21. She began her career last fall at Turf Paradise with Kevin Lewis.
We’re kind of bummed we weren’t there because we would have bet on her to win. The only way a horse could have a better name would be if it was Carslbadistan.
The “World’s Fastest 5k” returns to Carlsbadistan on April 5th, 2009 as our streets are again taken over by thousands of ground pounders in the Carlsbad 5000. But this year there is another twist. It’s called the All Day 25k.
“We wanted to offer a new longer-distance aspect of the race that could serve as a training option for runners preparing for a marathon or half marathon later in the season,” said Shannon Davis, Event Manager. “It will make the 5K course into a challenging 25K, thus allowing our more serious runners a chance to participate in a fast, seaside training run while still taking advantage of one of Southern California’s most exciting races.”
Limited to only 150 competitors the All Day 25K will see runners racing in five of the day’s 5k runs. No thanks. Click here for photos from last year, or follow the jump for all the details. [click to continue…]
Carlsbadistan wake boat builder Epic has launched a new plug-in electric hybrid wake boat that reportedly cuts carbon emissions by 50%.
The 22-foot craft is expected to bring its hybrid equivalent of 375 horses to the water sometime in July. The price tag could be as much as $150,000 dollars for this specialized boat though the company foresees being able to produce a $70,000 version by 2012. We can only wonder if some of the plug-in hybrid technology used here will also find its way into into the Aptera 2h.
And it makes sense, Epic CEO Chris Anthony is also the co-founder of Aptera.
Carlsbadistan’s Calvin Toms and Chris Perret (pictured above) ended up on Pete Thomas’ LA Times blog for catching some pretty nice fish while angling from their stand-up surfboards.
Stand-up fishing has new meaning for a couple of Carlsbad anglers, who recently visited Rancho Leonero in Baja California’s East Cape region and tackled several big-game species while atop surfboards designed for stand-up paddling. . . . That’s Calvin Toms (above) with a nice roosterfish, and Chris Perret (below) with a very impressive sierra mackerel, which presumably was prepared as ceviche for an afternoon snack by the sleepy resort’s chef.
Wonder if Toms and Perrit know that for a little more money could buy a boat with a motor and stand up and fish in it any time they wanted? They must, right?
On February 21, 2009 Wakesports and Liquid Force are putting on their annual February Freezeride in the Carlsbad Lagoon.
Meet Keith Lyman, get his autograph and then just hang out in the sun and enjoy basketball, ping pong and just hanging with friends and family. Greasy Greg will be putting the amazing smell of his Famous Chili in the air and serving up the drinks. $25 Will get you a ride on the lagoon behind our boats with our coaches and you can try any of the new 2009 Liquid Force gear. Ride without a wetsuit and get a free Liquid Force T-Shirt.
Carlsbadistan High School graduate and former Baltimore Orioles player Brady Anderson has placed the Malibu house he “redesigned” on the market for $8,999,000, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.
The 3,500-square-foot home has three bedrooms, three bathrooms and ocean views. There are vaulted ceilings, glass sliding doors in the living room, a gourmet kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances and a terrace off the kitchen. There is an outdoor dining area with a fire pit and a spa observation deck.
Seems like a bad time to sell a house in Malibu, but then again, people who can afford a $9 million house probably aren’t too worried about the economy.
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Tonight, April 21, 2009, with a standing-room only crowd (most wearing bright yellow “Alga Norte Now” stickers) and even more out in the hall pressing posters up against the glass, the Carlsbad City Council voted 3-2 to push off the decision to begin construction on the Alga Norte Park by what could be another year.
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