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 September 5, 2007
Each year Amusement Today, the trade journal of the amusement park industry issues their Golden Ticket Awards recognizing the finest in the business. This year our own Legoland was awarded the titled of Best Children’s Park.
We applaud this year’s class of Golden Ticket Award winners and finalists for their achievements,” says Gary Slade, publisher and editor-in-chief of Amusement Today. “When we began this survey 10 years ago, I never would have dreamed it would become such an anticipated and big sensation.
After reading the list of winners it’s hard to believe there are any parks in the US that didn’t win some kind of award. But we’re still proud of Legoland.
[Link: Amusement Today]
by The Editors on September 5, 2007
According to People.com Carlsbad’s action sports hero Shaun White recently celebrated his 21st birthday in Las Vegas (of course) with 40 of his closest friends including Carlsbad skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. Apparently Shaun had. . .
. . . dinner at Las Vegas’s N9NE Steakhouse . . . feasted on everything possible, even buying out every magnum bottle of Cristal in the joint. After dinner, the group flocked to the Playboy Club, taking in a rock-and-roll set by DJ OB-one, and partying well into the morning.
Yeah, that’s the way you do it, you ride that snowboard on that ESPN. That ain’t workin’ . . .
[Link: People.com]
by The Editors on September 5, 2007
Carlsbad-based relief organization World Emergency Relief says they are currently on their way to provide aid in Central America for victims of Hurricane Felix.
WER’s disaster team expects to arrive in Tegucigalpa, Honduras’s capital, early Wednesday, where they will coordinate with local relief organizations including WER’s own office in the center of the city. WER’s team will distribute medical supplies and assist local relief efforts using supplies in WER’s regional warehouse near the airport.
According to their website WER “is an interdenominational fellowship of Christians worldwide, working together to help people in need.” For more information on World Emergency Relief visit their website or call 760.930.800.
[Link: Alertnet.org]
by The Editors on September 5, 2007
Last week we mentioned that Carlsbad’s funny car drag racing champion Ron Capps was on his way to the Mac Tools US Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Indiana. Well, things didn’t go as planned for Capps last weekened. He lost to Kenny Bernstein in the first round of eliminations at the US Nationals on Monday. And if that wasn’t enough, he also lost the lead in the points race as well.
By the end of the day, losing finalist Robert Hight had taken over the championship lead and Capps had fallen to fourth, with a 10-point lead turning into a 51-point deficit.
As they say in the business, “That’s racing.” Ron said:
“It’s very had to put something like that behind you,” he continued. “I wanted to throw up on the return road on the way back, just because of how good that run was, and after yesterday I felt so confident this morning that we were gong to have a great day. And we should have. The car ran great, that’s why it’s disappointing for the team. I obviously didn’t pull my part of the rope. We’ll just have to regroup and go to Memphis.”
[Link: The Indianapolis Star and Whowon.com]
by The Editors on September 3, 2007
Carlsbad’s new $12.5 million Pacific Ridge School in the Bressi Ranch development opens Wednesday with a seventh and ninth grade class and 108 students.
Built on 7.3 acres in Carlsbad’s Bressi Ranch development, the secular, nonreligious school took two years to plan and build, said Ellen Mullady, the head of the school. The idea for the school came from two local families who wanted a better education for their children. They attracted other families, eventually raising $7.4 million in donated seed money to build the school.
According to the North County Times the classes at Pacific Ridge will be limited to 15 students. The classes will be taught around a large oval oak table so all the teachers and students can see each other during class and “create conversations among students on any topic.”
One look at the school’s staff showed us that Pacific Ridge is not messing around when it comes to educational horsepower. This school is serious.
[Links: North County TImes and Pacific Ridge School]
by The Editors on September 2, 2007
The Carlsbadistan poll proves it: Carlsbad hates tourists.
In our last poll we asked you what Carlsbad could should to do to attract more visitors. A full 67 percent said that we should not nothing because “too many tourons here already.” And only 17 percent thought more brand name shopping would help.
Apparently, no one has been to South Dakota’s leading tourist attraction: Reptile Gardens. Anyone who’s paid a quarter to lose a game of tic-tac-toe to a chicken in a glass box would have voted for Carlsbad’s own version of The Gardens.
And it figures, if we hate tourists then why build them any upscale hotels on the beach. That answer tied with Reptile Gardens with only eight percent.
As for turn out at the polls, we didn’t fair so well. We tried to improve voter turn out by leaving the question up for a full month. But we still didn’t see much participation. That tells us a few things:
- We don’t have many readers
- Our questions are apparently the opposite of compelling
- The readers we do have aren’t interested in sharing their views
- We need to update the poll a lot more often. Weekly for example.
Well this week were going to change all that. There is nothing people love more than talking about themselves so we’re going to do a little market research and find out where our visitors are dialing in from. Look over in the right column under the words “What Do You Think” and let us know what you call home.
by The Editors on September 1, 2007
Carlsbad’s new $6 million library complex located on Eureka Place just behind Holiday Park is coming along nicely according to a North County Times story.
Walking around the rough timber frames that mark what will become a $6 million library complex, Deputy Library Director Suzanne Smithson couldn’t stop smiling Friday morning. “This is the first time I’ve been in here in awhile. Pardon me if I seem a little excited,” she told several people as she gave them a tour of the long-planned Carlsbad City Library Learning Center.
For more on the library complex and the programs that will be housed there, read the rest of Barbara Henry’s story by clicking the link below.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on September 1, 2007
An unnamed Carlsbad Police officer was apparently injured when she hit her head on the door of her own patrol car while exiting the vehicle, according to a story in the North County Times. The officer was responding to a bike vs. car accident on Carlsbad Village Drive at approximately 2:55 p.m on Wednesday August 29.
When the officer arrived a few minutes later and began exiting her patrol car, the door of the car struck her in the head, Sgt. Keith Blackburn said. . . The officer was in some pain and was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital, where she was examined for signs of a concussion, said Blackburn.
We’re glad she’s okay, but we’re wondering how she feels about her new nickname: Doora.
[Link: North County Times]
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:
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