by The Editors on September 7, 2007
A proposal to ease up development restrictions in The Village was supported Thursday night by a 4-0 vote of the Carlsbad’s Design Review Board according to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times.
The proposed overhaul of building regulations aims to improve business conditions in the Village and encourage more multifamily residential structures atop retail shops, said Debbie Fountain, the city’s housing and redevelopment director. . . Known for its cosy shops and tree-lined streets, the Village area is centered around Carlsbad Village Drive and State Street. Though famed for its charm, the area hasn’t been a retail powerhouse of late and the city wants to improve sales tax figures. The conflict has been how to improve the area without sacrificing its character.
Unfortunately, easing parking requirements, increasing residential density, and allowing taller buildings isn’t necessarily a good thing for the long-term health of The Village in our mostly uninformed opinion. What is needed most is for the City to build one (or more) public parking structures with spaces that can be shared by all the downtown businesses. But then all that money was probably spent on The Crossings.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on September 7, 2007
Nothing like dropping in late with news of a fire, however, on Wednesday morning September 5 at about 9 AM what is being called an “electrical fire” started in the attic of the building that houses the Daily News Cafe on the corner of Coast Highway and Carlsbad Village Drive.
Fire crews evacuated the building, made sure the blaze had not spread through its walls and worked to contain water damage, Heiser said. . . Although firefighters finished working at the scene in about 90 minutes, water damage and some electrical problems kept businesses there from immediately reopening, Carlsbad Division Chief Chris Heiser said.
But it didn’t slow down the Daily News, they were open for business and “rolling” when we spoke with them this morning. Phew. We like that place.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on September 7, 2007
According to a story by our favorite North County Times reporter Barbara Henry, Carlsbad’s planning commission decided Wednesday to delay their vote on the controversial Ponto Beachfront Village Vison Plan because they still had “many questions relating to traffic and other topics.”
Their unanimous vote to continue the discussions when they meet Sept. 19 came after four hours of questions, staff presentations and public comment. “I … think we’ve got a plateful tonight, and we should take some time to digest it,” said Commissioner Bill Dominguez. . . Most of the others on the commission agreed, though Commissioner Frank Whitton said he was nearly through with his questions and could make a decision that night.
Hey, as far as we’re concerned the longer this project is stalled the better.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on September 7, 2007
Frank Rizzo, 85, moved to Carlsbad in 1979 with the intention of retiring from a career “repairing, renting and selling pinball and other arcade games.” He’d been at it since 1949. But things didn’t go as planned:
Though he had come to retire, he soon established a game route nearly as big as the one he left back in the Midwest. Within a few years, Rizzo was operating games in close to 100 Pizza Hut locations. . . At that time, simple black-and-white video-arcade games such as Pong, Asteroids and Space Invaders were taking hold. Soon, advanced games with color graphics such as Pac-Man, Centipede and Galaga were introduced.
Since then Rizzo and his San Marcos-based, family-run business Area Amusements has become San Diego’s leading pinball and commercial video game service company repairing, refurbishing and selling some of our favorite old games. If there’s an old game you always loved, check with Frank; he probably has one for sale.
[Link: San Diego Union Tribune]
by The Editors on September 7, 2007
Every once in a while we like to remind ourselves that Carlsbad is home to some really big-brain businesses. You know, companies with advisory boards that are chaired by infamous Nobel laureates and such. Check this one out:
Cambridge-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. reports it has teamed up with a fellow biotechnology firm to launch a jointly owned California startup to commercialize drugs made with microRNA, or miRNA. . . . Regulus Therapeutics LLC, based in Carlsbad, Calif., plans to combine technologies from Alnylam and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., also of Carlsbad. The joint venture also features a separate management team, board of directors and scientific advisory board, chaired by Nobel laureate David Baltimore, officials said.
Or this:
Patriot Scientific Corporation, a leading intellectual-property licensing company, today announced that DMP Electronics Inc. of Taiwan has purchased an implementation license to the company’s microprocessor patent portfolio for use in DMP’s semiconductor devices.
It’s like we’re living in Southern California’s hot bed of smart and we don’t mind it a bit.
[Links: Biz Journals and CNN/Money]
by The Editors on August 31, 2007
Carlsbad’s anti-development forces will likely shift back into high gear as the Planning Commission meets next Wednesday to discuss the environmental impact report on what’s called The Ponto Beachfront Village Vison Plan.
The plan envisions 180 hotel rooms and 126 time-share condo units in a resort overlooking Batiquitos Lagoon; a 215-room Hilton at Poinsettia Lane and Carlsbad Boulevard; and a third 269-room hotel on Ponto Drive where the storage units stand.. . The plan also proposes 128 attached condominium units in a mixed-use project on Carlsbad Boulevard north of Avenida Encinas.. . . Interspersed would be shops, restaurants and a wetland interpretive park all linked by a trail, and a pedestrian underpass to South Carlsbad State Beach.
Wow, Carlsbad’s stretch of Coast Highway could look just like Newport Beach’s. Joy.
[Link: San Diego Union Tribune]
by The Editors on August 30, 2007
Carlsbad-based weight management company Jenny Craig, is happy to announce that after three years pursuing a “consulting career” Jim Kelly is back as CFO (a position he held at the company from 1999 to 2003). Yes, consulting is fun, but even accountants realize that there’s nothing better than a steady paycheck.
[Link: PR Newswire]
by The Editors on August 30, 2007
Carlsbad’s Invitrogen Corporation (the life science technologies company) has been awarded the contract to provide “kits for detecting possible E. coli 0157 contamination in food at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Bejing, China.
“Bacteria, particularly E. coli, can present a serious threat to public health at a major global event such as the Olympics,” said Paul Kinnon, Vice President of Applied Market at Invitrogen. “Invitrogen’s Dynabeads® are a reliable, accurate solution for keeping food safe from dangerous bacteria and a perfect example of how technologies developed to further basic research can also be used to protect what we eat and drink.”
We’re wondering if they sell to the general public as a couple of those test kits would be the perfect thing to take our our next surf trip to mainland Mexico.
[Link: Businesswire]
by The Editors on August 23, 2007
We mentioned on Tuesday that Carlsbad based trading card giant Upper Deck had pulled out of their $416 million bid to purchase the Topps Co, Inc. That of course caused Topps’ stock to tumble 7% and made them a little angry according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
In a statement, Topps said the cancellation of Upper Deck’s $416 million offer was proof that the proposal had always been a “sham.” . . The New York company, which also owns the Bazooka and Ring Pop brands, said it would hold Carlsbad-based Upper Deck accountable for all “damages suffered by Topps and our stockholders.”
The Topps board was hoping to be purchased by an investment group led by former Disney head Michael Eisner.
[Link: San Diego Union Tribune]
by The Editors on August 23, 2007
We don’t golf. In fact, just last night we tossed our old clubs in the dumpster, but that doesn’t keep us from understanding how having great irons can change your game.
Carlsbad’s TaylorMade Golf has just introduced a new iron called the Burner XD, which is likely designed to make the people who just bought the popular Burner driver feel a little less satisfied with their current sticks.
“The phenomenal distance and overall performance of the Burner family of metalwoods, especially the Burner driver, has had golfers clamoring for a Burner iron,” said Sean Toulon, TaylorMade executive vice president. “That’s because Burner metalwoods are so compelling, from both a performance and personality standpoint. We believed that if we applied that same Burner formula to an iron, we can deliver incredible performance. Great news. The wait is over. The new Burner XD iron is here.”
These would probably be perfect for The Crossings.
[Link: World Golf]
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