by The Editors on November 23, 2007
As much as we love Carlsbadistan, there are times when we’re not that sad to be away. One of those days is Black Friday (especially when there is no real surf). And the best place to NOT be is the mall.
Fox 6’s Antonio Castelan did a little live broadcasting from the No Fear store at the Carlsbad Premium Outlets to get the pulse of the mad Christmas shopping bonanza that began at midnight Friday morning. No Fear workers said their busiest time of the day so far was the midnight to 3 AM. Good, lord. People certainly are programmed to buy, buy, buy. We’re proud to say we didn’t buy one thing today. Did you?
[Link: Fox 6 News and San Diego Union Tribune]
by The Editors on November 20, 2007
According to the North County Times, construction has begun on a brand spanking new terminal at the McClellan-Palomar Airport that will apparently replace the shack and two mobile homes that currently comprise the airport’s facilities.
The $26 million terminal will be six times larger than Palomar’s existing facility and will include larger and more technologically advanced ticketing and baggage screening areas, a more spacious lobby, a boarding lounge, a restaurant and three new parking lots, according to a conceptual plan posted on the airport Web site. . . A new 420-space parking lot will be built nearby to replace those covered by the new building. Taken together with two existing parking lots, the airport will have more than 700 spots when the project is complete.
The construction is scheduled to be completed by December 2009. We’re just hoping the parking stays free and the casual atmosphere is not completely lost. There really is nothing better than skipping Lindberg Field entirely.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on November 16, 2007
The Sierra Club California Coastal program director Mark Massara says that Poseidon Resources will likely be challenged in court before they can build the desalination plant, according to KPBS.org.
I’d say it’s a virtual certainty given the massive unaddressed questions and information inadequacies that are still associated with the project.”
Through all of this we’ve got one question: what is the ocean around warm waters going to be like with water that is twice as salty as it should be? What will that do to the lobsters? What will it do to what they eat? Anyone have any answers?
[Link: KPBS.org]
by The Editors on November 15, 2007
In a classic case of legalese the California Coastal Commission took roll and voted on a motion regarding Poseidon Resource’s Carlsbad desalination plant at 9:06 PM tonight. It passed 9 to 3. That means the desalination plant proposal has been approved, however, there are still many details to work out and be approved by the Coastal Commission before construction can start.
by The Editors on November 15, 2007
At 8:35 PM tonight the members of the California Costal Commission are still meeting the Sheraton San Diego Hotel at 1433 Camino Del Rio South. From the thoughts expressed by commissioners Sara J. Wan and Steve Blank it does not look like it’s going well for the Poseidon Resources or plans for the desalination plant.
There is a whole bunch of information that is simply not available to us to make our decision. . . I’d love to be able to approve a desal project that would work, but this is not it as presented,” Wan said.
From the sounds of the discussion it is the opinion of at least three of the Commission members that Poseidon and friends did not provide the information and mitigation measure details needed for the Coastal Commission to make any decision on the plan at all. Commissioner Larry Clark summed it up this way:
We have one of two options. . . we have the option of spending the next few hours going through each and every one of these conditions, or we can continue this matter. My sense of this is that we are far better off if we continue this matter.
If you’re online you can watch the the hearing live by clicking here.
[Link: California Coastal Commission]
by The Editors on November 14, 2007
It came as no real surprise to anyone, but last night the Carlsbad City Council voted unanimously (as the seemingly do for most development plans) to approve the environmental impact report on the Ponto Village Beachfront Vision Plan, according to a story in the San Diego Union Tribune.
It envisions 180 hotel rooms and 126 time-share units in an upscale resort overlooking the lagoon; a 215-room Hilton at Poinsettia Lane and Carlsbad Boulevard; and a 269-room hotel on Ponto Drive. . . . The plan also projects 128 condominium units, shops, restaurants, a wetland interpretive park and trails.
Looks like it’s all downhill from here.
“This is a very special place in our community,” Councilwoman Julie Nygaard said before voting for the plan. “There’s a lot of increased amenities. In the end we’re going to come out with a really nice place for our community.”
Yeah, special like Main Street in Huntington Beach. Wahoo!
[Link: San Diego Union Tribune]
by The Editors on November 12, 2007
The wheels of progress seem to simply grind everyone into submission through sheer boredom. We’re reminded of a line from Tolstoy’s War and Peace quoted by Liesl Schillinger in the New York Times:
Where the issue is undecided it is always the most stubborn who come out victorious.
We’re not big fans of what’s called The Ponto Vision Plan, but at the same time we’re becoming less stubborn each day. Tomorrow, starting at 6:00 PM, the Carlsbad City Council will again meet to make up for a discussion that was postponed October 23 because of the fires.
At the meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, council members will debate whether to accept an environmental report on the Ponto planning document. That report was ordered two years ago after strong public opposition to the development plan surfaced.
If you still care, show up at City Hall Tuesday at 6:00. We might see you there.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on November 9, 2007
It weighs in at 88 pages, but the Costal Commission staff report on the proposed Poseidon Resource desalination plant should be read by everyone who is interested in future of Agua Hedionda Lagoon or ocean life near Warm Waters. The report is very straight forward on why the project is a bad idea:
The proposed project represents a non-allowable use of Agua Hedionda Lagoon, one of 19 coastal estuaries in which permitted uses are limited to very minor incidental public facilities, restorative measures, and nature study. Further, the project would require ongoing dredging of the lagoon, which would adversely affect water quality and habitat. . . .The project would cause significant adverse impacts to marine life and water quality in Agua Hedionda and in nearshore ocean waters. The entrainment caused by the project’s use of an open-water intake within Agua Hedionda would result in a loss of productivity in the lagoon equal to that produced in no less than 37 acres of wetland and open water habitat. The project’s discharge into coastal waters of its waste stream at levels of salinity higher than the natural variability of these waters would cause adverse effects to marine organisms in an area ranging from about eight to over 40 acres of benthic habitat.
The Costal Commission’s November meeting at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel at 1433 Camino Del Rio South begins on November 14, 2007 with the desalination plant discussion scheduled for November 15 (it’s number seven on the agenda).
While the staff report clearly suggests a “No” vote, most political pressure seems to bearing down in the opposite direction. In fact, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institutes auqaman Donald Kent believes the plant will actually be good for the lagoon, according to an editorial in the North County Times.
by The Editors on November 7, 2007
We don’t golf, but it’s a huge part of the local economy. And that sector isn’t doing so well as of late. A prime example is the Carlsbad-based golf apparel company Ashworth (website coming fall 2007). The company has had “its second executive chair shuffling within five months Oct .25,” according to the San Diego Business Journal.
The struggling manufacturer of Callaway Golf Co. and other top branded shirts and caps said Chief Executive Officer Peter Weil resigned to spend more time with his family on the East Coast. Weil was appointed only about a year ago, and took over after then-CEO Randal Herrel suddenly resigned. . . Replacing Weil is Alan Fletcher, founder and chairman of Fletcher Leisure Group, an Ashworth partner and Canada’s top supplier of branded golf apparel. . . Ashworth also said former Chief Financial Officer Eric Hohl is no longer there, and was replaced by Greg Slack, a former Ashworth corporate controller and principal accounting officer until July.
Note to Ashworth employees: when the music stops, be sure to grab the first open chair you see.
[Link: San Diego Business Journal]
by The Editors on November 7, 2007
We mentioned this story on October 21st, however, now the official news has been released. Legoland plans an expansion that will include a “two-story aquarium and Indiana Jones-like adventure in 1920s Egypt” according to a story in the San Diego Union Tribune.
Nick Varney, CEO of Legoland parent Merlin Entertainments Group, said yesterday that the Sea Life center will be a place that allows children to “explore, touch and ultimately gain empathy” with the underwater world.
Fish on, fish on. . .
[Link: San Diego Union Tribune]
As much as we love Carlsbadistan, there are times when we’re not that sad to be away. One of those days is Black Friday (especially when there is no real surf). And the best place to NOT be is the mall.
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