Saturday, June 30, 2007

City Of Encinitas Statistics

Contact Information Business Information
Executives
James Bond, Mayor
Address
505 S. Vulcan Ave.
Encinitas, CA 92024-3633

Phone (760) 633-2600
Fax (760) 633-2627
E-mail cityhall@ci.encinitas.ca.us
Web Page www.ci.encinitas.ca.us

City Manager Phillip Cotton
Type of Government City Government Year Established 1986
Mayor Annual Salary $9,774
Number of Full-Time Employees 218

Total Square Miles 19.4


Crime Rate 1997 26.3
Crime Rate 1998 25.6
Crime Rate 1999 23.0
Crime Rate 2000 22.0
Crime Rate 2001 25.1

Unemployment Rate 2000 2.8%
Unemployment Rate 1990 3%


Median Age 2000 37.9 years
Median Age 1990 33.5 years
Median Age 2004 39.2 years


Change in Crime Rate from 1997 to 1998 -3%
Change in Crime Rate from 1998 to 1999 -10%
Change in Crime Rate from 1999 to 2000 -4%



Median Household Income 1990 $46,614
Median Household Income 2004 $79,710
Median Household Income $53966
Median Household Income 2000 $63,954


General Fund $27,700,000
Total Assessed Property Value 2000 $6,370,000,000


Total Housing Units 1990 22,284
Total Housing Units 2000 23,867
Total Housing Units 2004 24,901


January 1990 Population 55,779
January 2004 Population 62,586
January 1999 Population 60,482
January 2000 Population 58,300
January 2001 Population 59,300
January 2005 Population 62,774
January 2006 Population 62,815

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Tuesday, June 26, 2007

digihitch.com - On Beacon's Beach, There's A Mellow Mixture Of ...

digihitch.com - On Beacon's Beach, There's A Mellow Mixture Of ...
And yes, the spot even has its own Web site, beaconsbeach.com, complete
with a live wave cam. But, man, it's nice here. The locals aren't as
territorial as ...

This is the final installment in the series of articles originally written for the the Richmond Times-Dispatch by Mark Holmberg . He generously shared them with us on digihitch and writes
"Well, you asked for it. Looking back on these stories, I'm a little surprised that I've written this much about hitchhiking. Then again, I've been a reporter here for 17 years, and have written several thousand stories.
Anyway, this last thing has nothing to do with hitching, but was one of the reasons I took the trip to Cal. last summer."


There's no such thing as a secret surf spot between Los Angeles and San Diego.
But time has been gentler to Beacon's Beach in Leucadia than most.
A search for some peace and a soulful, kicked-back atmosphere has brought me to this cliff-sheltered spot again and again during the past 10 days.

It is an amazing place to surf up till - and past - sunset, when the fog-kissed pastels of the darkening sky blend seamlessly with the Pacific as lights blink on - beaconlike - in the cliff-clinging homes overhead.
It's such a fabulous place to watch a sunset that one of its nicknames is "Martini Beach." (Its most-used name comes from the Coast Guard beacon that sat atop the bluff during World War II.)
What a place to lose your inner self - or find it.

"It's been discovered," lamented J.R. Rigney, 58, an elder statesman of Beacon's.
He's been surfing here for 40 years.
For a long time, "there just wasn't anyone around here," J.R. said as we sat on a cliff's-edge rail 75 or so yards above the beach, watching the sweet waves roll in with surfers on their shoulders.
"It was the next best thing to Hawaii."

An eclectic mix of characters has been drawn to this secluded, rugged area nicely positioned between Oceanside and San Diego.
"The wealthy living with the poor, surf bums with the sophisticated," J.R. said as he and his fellow longtime locals Brian and Jeff discussed their beloved spot.

George Harrison of the Beatles had a home here. Novelist Zane Grey did too. So did "the program director for the moon landing," Jeff added. J.R.'s next-door neighbor is a quantum physicist who came up with a concept for bomb- and nuclear materials-detecting equipment used in post-9/11 airports. And J.R. is an electrical engineer and designer.

Then again, there's a mobile home court nestled in the slope leading to the cliffs.
Homesites on the bluffs could be had for $25,000 not too long ago.
"Now they're 2 or 3 million," J.R. said.
Like much of Southern California, "we have people problems," J.R. said.
"Density and infrastructure."

Yes, there's a fair amount of traffic in Leucadia. And there are 50 or so surfers riding the break at North Beacon and its sister break, South Reef, when there used to be 10. Yes, there are hundreds on the beach when there used to be dozens. And yes, the spot even has its own Web site, beaconsbeach.com, complete with a live wave cam.

But, man, it's nice here. The locals aren't as territorial as you'll find at other breaks, so no one complains about a clumsy surfer like myself and the fair number of people who come to learn, such as my son Rudy. There are lots of women and girls riding the waves.

There are no nimrods spray painting "Tourist Go Home" on out-of-state cars, as happened to my brother at a spot north of here soon after he moved back to California.
There's virtually no crime. "This is a really safe place to live," J.R. said.

Life moves slower here. And the waves push a shade more slowly because of the reef's shape and the vast kelp beds that create flat, glassy pockets that are visible nearly a half-mile offshore.

Beacon's has a bit of a reputation as a longboarders' haven, which doesn't protect it as much as it could, now that California is in the midst of a big-board craze. Young men and women are now joining the old-timers on swell-snuggling, 9-foot and longer boards, carving long, graceful lines on the wave faces instead of the slashing and shredding popularized by previous generations of short-boarders.

Could this be a signal that Californians are mellowing, becoming more harmonious with their delicate environment? Perhaps the state's bogging economy - and the accompanying circus over the governorship - are part of a slower, more soulful lifestyle that is desperately needed here, and across the country.

This is definitely my speed. I spent three days last weekend riding noisy jet skis and wakeboarding in the Colorado River in Arizona. It was nice, with breathtaking vistas that almost overshadowed the wicked heat.

But I prefer this place, and its peace, quiet and beauty. It shines on the soul and shows the way - like a beacon.

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replinishment at Business.com

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Labels:

Google Directory - Sports > Water Sports > Surfing > Surf Reports ...

Google Directory - Sports > Water Sports > Surfing > Surf Reports ...
Beacons Beach Surf Cam - http://www.beaconsbeach.
com/surf_cam_beacons_beach_live_surfing_shots.htm Live image from this
location in Encinitas, California. ...

Beacons Beach Surf Cam - http://www.beaconsbeach.com/surf_cam_beacons_beach_live_surfing_shots.htm
Live image from this location in Encinitas, California. Also offers general local information.
Belmar Cam - http://www.belmarcam.com/surfcams/surfcams3.html
List of links for many beaches worldwide.
BurleighCam - Queensland Australia - http://www.burleighcam.com.au
Surf reports and cams covering Burleigh Heads and the Gold Coast, Australia. Roving reporters filing the goods every morning and other features.
Cable Beach - Broome Western Australia - http://www.broomecam.com/
Camera details, weather, and links.
Croyde Surf Club - http://www.croydesurfclub.com/
Provides links to a variety of south west England surf cams and Isobars forecasts. Also includes club history and downloadable membership form.
Dylan's Surf Page - http://www.nalyd.freeserve.co.uk
Contains UK and worldwide surf cam links.
Eastern Lines Belmar Surf Cam - http://www.belmar.com/webcam/easternlines.html
Images every 30 seconds from the 17th Avenue Beach in Belmar, New Jersey.
Florida Beach and Surf Cams - http://www.floridalink.com/webcam/beach.htm
Surf live web cam views of Florida's sandy beaches. Daytona Beach, Panama Beach, Miami Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale.
Fluid Groove.net - http://fluidgroove.net/
North Florida Surfing Resource, current surf conditions, forecast, message boards, and upcoming events.
Folly Beach Surf Cam - http://www.follysurfcam.com/
Live updates and forecasts from Folly Beach S.C.
Galveston, Texas surf cam - http://www.galvestonsurfcam.com/
Galveston Texas surf cam and daily reports.
Jacksonville, FL Live Surf Cam - http://www.jaxsurfcam.com
Live updates every 60 seconds from Neptune Beach.
Local Goods - http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Oaks/4297/
Surf cams from San Diego, California.
South Padre Island, Texas: Live Webcams - http://www.spadre.com/
Fishing and surf reports, plus weather, and community information.
Sumner Surfcam Clifton Beach - http://www.sumnertoferrymead.co.nz/surfcam.htm
Live images Clifton Beach and Taylors Mistake in New Zealand.
Surf Cam in Cayucos, California and Puerto Escondido, Mexico - http://www.pacificcoasttravelinfo.com
Live beach and surf cams from Puerto Escondido, Mexico and Cayucos, California with travel information for Mexico and California pacific coast.
Surf Cams Bay of Plenty - New Zealand - http://www.surfcamsbop.co.nz
Features live pictures of Mount Maunganui Beach and also offers video of coastal sections of the Bay of Plenty.
Surf.co.nz - http://www.surf.co.nz/surfreports/
Cameras at various spots around New Zealand including Piha and the Mount.
Surfcam.net - http://www.surfcam.net/
Surf cam of South Melbourne Beach and Melbourne Beach Florida.
Surflook resource for surfers - http://surflook.com/
Blacks beach La Jolla cam. Live and semi live cams of beaches around the world focusing mainly on San Diego, CA. Local Surf Art and murals.
Surfmiami - http://www.surfmiami.com/
A beachcam on Miami Beach, South Beach.
Wavecam - http://www.wavecam.com
Surfing photos of the top spots of Southern California, Baja, and Costa Rica. Live cams, magazine links, pictures, and weather.
World Surf Cams - http://www.maxpages.com/worldsurfcams/Surf_Cams

Labels:

San Diego Reviews: Restaurants, Doctors, Bars, Salons and more.

San Diego Reviews: Restaurants, Doctors, Bars, Salons and more.
You find lot's of longboarders here but the inside set is also decent
for the fast trackers. http://www. beaconsbeach.com /. Leucadia
Surf Shop ...

Chula Vista Yoga Center
Neighborhood: Chula Vista

255 E Street
Chula Vista, CA 91912

P.A. P. writes: While I've just returned to this yoga studio after being away for almost four months, I've been going there for almost four years now... and I just have to say because I need an outlet today and because I just might be PMSing, "People, there is NO TALKING in yoga!" I was there on Monday morning, and I felt myself totally agitated before the class even started because of all the loud talking going on. I mean, the time before your practice is meant for centering yourself, for stretching, for zen-like behavior... I mean, really, if I wanted a gym-like ambiance, I'd go to a gym. Okay, thanks for letting me vent. I'll be more zen-like tomorrow, promise. :o)

Stacey Lin MD

477 N El Camino Real
Encinitas, CA 92024

Stephanie C. writes: Love her! I can always get a fast appointment and it's convienent to the area. I feel comfortable with her. She is nice and knowledgable. And there is a pharmacy right downstairs!

Siamese Basil

527 S Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92024

Steph L. writes: I've never been disappointed with a meal here. They also have some authentic dishes that you don't often see at most other Thai places in San Diego. I'm not a huge fan of the wait (even on weekdays), but the service is good, and it's not expensive.

Cal Pacific Orchid Farm

1122 Orpheus Ave
Leucadia, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: Cal Pacific is a hidden sanctuary of sorts. Its two acres of greenhouses, filled with exotic orchids from around the world is breathtaking. Unless you have a passion for orchids you most likely would not come across this place in your everyday travels as it is located off the beaten path. Tucked away on a quiet street in Leucadia, Cal Pacific is also home to the only neighborhood Orchid Hotel where you can bring in your orchid plants whose blooming season has finished and this place will re-pot, nurture and house your babies until they bloom again. The rate is $1.50 per month per plant and there is a minimum of 5 plants per hotel lot. Pretty nifty eh? Orchids stay in bloom anywhere from one to four months. The owner Kathy Desmond has been in the flower biz for many years and although most local greenhouses have been sold to developers this one is here to stay. The pictures tell it all. www.calpacificorchids.com

Grateful Dog

802 N Coast Hwy 101
Leucadia, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: Gerry Garcia would be proud of this groovy little doggie shoppe and styling place. As we are all grateful for our dogs this Grateful Dog goes a step further by rewarding our dogs with fancy clothes, collars and gourmet treats that look so delicious you wouldn't want to leave them out on your table. They even serve doggie cupcakes. Their grooming services are also very truckin' makin' your pooch a happy camper or at least one that smells of patchouli. Not really but squeaky clean. You can also find healthy foods and nutritious supplements to keep your doggie on the road of life while feelin' fine. Oh and their phone number is 760.943.WOOF....gotta love that.

Shatto & Sons Custom T-Shirts

696 N Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: This custom T-shirt shop has been around since the 70's and still serves up that old-school flavor. Although they can put anything you like on a T-shirt or cap, they do have their own unique design sense. Also a retail shop, you can buy shirts with local logos representing the various neighboring towns in all sizes including infant and toddler. Of course surfing logos are very popular here as are sunset and tie-dye themes. Adjacent to Mozy's Cafe, feel free to browse around while you are waiting for some of the best food on the planet. Check out my review of Mozy's while you are at it.

North County Equipment Inc

766 N Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: This is an small motor equipment repair shop specializing in lawnmowers. I brought my lawnmower here which was an older model and they were able to fix it. Repair shops of this nature are few and far between so it's nice to know that these guys are here and ready to serve.

Del Mar Hills Nursery School
Neighborhood: Torrey Pines

13692 Mango Dr
Del Mar, CA 92014

Julie G. writes: There are not enough stars in Yelp to award this fine pre-school and kindergarten. This school was founded back in the 70's by a German woman who brought across unique and creative learning techniques with her such as Reggio Emilia from Italy, Orff Schulwerk known here as Orff, Froebel Philosophy and Montessori. These programs incorporate art, music, recreation, self-study, interactive learning to name a few and blend them in a way that each child progresses from a place of confidence and balance. They even offer yoga twice a week. http://www.dmhns.com for more info.

St Tropez Bakery & Bistro

947 S Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92024

Peter R. writes: With great food and a great location, Saint Tropez has it all. I have never ordered something here that I didn't like. Pastries, eggs, sandwiches - all excellent. They also have a good selection of beverages, including the best orange juice (fresh-squeezed of course) I have ever tasted. There are plenty of seating options, inside and out, all of which are nice, though I prefer to sit out on the patio on a sunny day. It's not the place to go for a cheap meal, but the prices are well worth it for what you get ($8-12 for breakfast/lunch).

San Diego Brewing Co
Neighborhood: Grantville

10450 Friars Rd Ste L
San Diego, CA 92120

Brad F. writes: The ambiance here leaves a bit to be desired, but I guess it's a typical bar. Really the only things worth mentioning are their house beers on tap. I tried the sampler...don't bother, most of them aren't very good. Their pale ale and amber are reasonable but not amazing, but the Old Town Nut Brown is a very good beer. I would return here just for another pint of that. Other than that, the bartender was a nice enough guy, there were myriad sports games on the TVs and not nearly enough good looking girls, my girlfriend being the obvious exception. :) At least there's ample parking, I guess.

Clean Sense

328 La Mesa Ave
Encinitas, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: Clean Sense is an expert carpet cleaning service owned and operated by David Potts. He provides top quality work at fair prices for your carpets and upholstery. The is steam cleaning at it's best. This guy can get out the stains out and keep them out. He's been in business since 1989 and has no plans of retiring soon. He is definitely the best around and he does all the work himself!.

Dana Photographs

San Diego, CA 92128

Julie G. writes: Dana Parnes truly takes unforgettable natural light portraits of you or the entire family. She specializes in children and captures their essence through the eyes of a child. Dana will create a CD featuring images from the sessions which also includes background music. She shot my daughter last season on the beach and the images are some of my all-time favorites. The Website tells it all: www.danaphotographs.com

FORTE

722 Genevieve Street
Solana Beach, CA 92075

Julie G. writes: Laurie Shoman is a hair designer who works at Forte in Solana Beach. She is the best hair colorist on the planet hands down, bar none! Wherever you live make the trip as her techniques are perfect and the results always come out beautiful if that is the look you are going for. I'm sure she can do funky, glamorous and adventurous as well. Her styling is also perfect so I guess she is just a perfect hair stylist who is cool to boot!

Jill VanMeter L.Ac.

1104 Gardenview Road
Blue Star Body Lounge
Encinitas, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: Jill VanMeter is a healing arts therapist specializing in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. She has been treating patients for over 18 years and has helped me extensively with injuries in various parts of my body. My injuries healed rapidly and on many occasions completely vanished after treatment. She sees clients at Blue Star Body Lounge on Gardenview. She also applies acupuncture techniques for non-surgical face-lifts. Jill is also a fabulous yoga guide teaching locally throughout Encinitas.

James Dyer H.H.P. CCN CCP

681 Encinitas Blvd. # 316
North Shore Acupuncture
Encinitas, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: James Dyer is an excellent Ayounge Massage therapist whose techniques draw from a wide range of styles. He infuses ancient Asian styles with the best of Europe and the blend is wonderful. Expect your hour session to go over time as he will work on you until he feels you are finished. James is also a certified Clinical Nutritionist and Herbalist. He works out of the North Shore Acupuncture center in Encinitas.

Pac Mortgage Solutions

603 N.Highway 101
Ste J
Solana Beach, CA 92075

Julie G. writes: Sabrina L. Boyd is a sharp and thorough mortgage specialist. Her business allows clients to redirect their debt into secure investments. She is quickly becoming an expert in the field as she continually studies with top experts in the industry. Her business is happily By Referral Only. She has helped many individuals prosper and live their dreams. Sabrina is currently one of two specialists doing Mortgages in Mexico where investments are booming. Give her a ring and she'll fill you in with honest and expert advice.

Encinitas Viewpoint Park

Cornish Drive & D Street
Encinitas, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: The Encinitas area has some of the best little parks around and this one is no exception. Located in the Old-Town Encinitas section, Viewpoint Park is a nice place to relax and enjoy the day. This is one of the only parks that has a off leash dog policy on certain days so beware when you go or you might get run over my the doggie locals. There is cute playground area for kids and an overlook where you can find some privacy for a morning meditation. This parked has also been booked for weddings and other gatherings as its makes a setting for such. Off-leash doggie hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday 6am - 7:30am and 4pm - 6pm.

Vintage Bike Repair

324 Liverpool Dr
Encinitas, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: Eric Contreras' love of vintage Schwinn bikes lead him to become not only a collector but an expert in refurbishing and repairing these classic beauties. Through his side business, Eric has restored Schwinn bikes made in 1932. These bikes are part of the American heritage and those made 30 years ago are simply stronger and sturdier that those made today. The originals feature American and German steel parts and frames while the newer models are all made in China and are not meant to last 30 years. These are the Cadillac of cruisers and when you ride you you'll know what I'm talking about.

Glen Park

2149 Orinda Dr
Cardiff By The Sea, CA 92007

Julie G. writes: Also known as Cardiff Park, Glen Park is another beautiful place to visit and enjoy the morning, day or dusk. One one side, It sports a nice playground area placed in sand and suitable for toddlers as well as other features such as basketball court, tennis courts, beach volleyball area and a horseshoe area. On the other is a large gazebo with built in tables and rollings greenery also with picnic tables sporadically placed with grills alongside so multiple parties can coincide without interrupting each other.

Blue Star Body Lounge

1104 Gardenview Rd
Encinitas, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: You've gotta love this place just based on the name alone. I think that if I had a band I would use this name. Anyway, it is a stellar place from the moment you walk in....simply groovalicious, warm and friendly. It's so cool that you could spend an entire afternoon there just sipping tea and enjoying the vibe. Ask for Amy who does great waxing and gives good facials to boot.

Gemmae Bake Shop
Neighborhood: Mira Mesa

10606 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Mark D. writes: I don't know who Gemmae is...but I want to call him/her "mom/dad". Fresh and hot empanadas, and other Filipino baked goods. They even have some hot meals.

Manila Fast Food Restaurant & Desserts
Neighborhood: Mira Mesa

8979 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

sam k. writes: 10 lumpia shanghai for $2.99! What a steal!

A Little Moore Coffee Shop

1030 N Coast Hwy 101
Leucadia, CA 92024

David G. writes: It's a small diner, with normal diner fair. The staff is chill and friendly, and so is the atmosphere, minus the God-foresaken motocycles that cruise by. The food is good for diner food, and priced accordingly. There's not a lot else to say. It's a great place to go after an early AM surf sesh at Grandview or Beacons, or after waking up in the bushes outside the Leucadian.

Le Papagayo

1002 North Hwy 101
Leucadia, CA 92024

Carlos R. writes: This is a very cool place to dine and party. The food is excellent. Great seafood entrees... Salmon, Sea Bass... The atmosphere is festive. Although it's kind of small, there is outside dining overlooking the street.

Beacon's Beach

Neptune & Leucadia Blvd.
Leucadia, CA 92024

Josh S. writes: All of the beaches in San Diego are incredible...except for this one. You'd be happier somewhere else, I can tell by the way you're reading this. I mean, you're going to have to walk down a big hill...then back up it...if you can even find a parking spot....you really don't want to do all that do you Why don't you head back down to moonlight, you'll like it there!

Leucadia Surf Shop

1144 N Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: This is a simple and classic California surf shop. Expect to find a nice selection of boards, wetsuits and surf paraphernalia. They also rent boards, wetsuits and gear here all year round. They do carry essential such as warm jackets and standard cold-water getting-out-of-the-surf sweats. They are usually all gone by the beginning of spring when the surf trunks arrive. The best part about this shop is the manager Mitch Caudle. He just rocks! You can't miss him as he's a big blond dude always wearing a smile.

Ding King

591 Westlake St Ste D
Encinitas, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: The Ding King, Brian Samanski has been de-dinging surfboards since the beginning of time.... well not really that long. But anyway, he's considered an expert in his field so your baby will definitely be in good hands with this doctor. Check out the Website for a complete price list: http://www.dingkingsurfboardrepair.com/

Andersons La Costa Nursery

400 La Costa Avenue
Leucadia, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: Visiting Andersons is like getting lost in a dream of blossoming flowers. While walking through the grounds, you'll feel as though you are truly in a secret garden surrounded by harmonious water flowing through decorative fountains that are placed about. In the very back is a doll house big enough for children to venture in. They focus on California succulents and other flowering beauties meant for this dry climate. All of the fountains are for sale as well and they have some exquisite ones. The service is always friendly with expert advice. The owners work on the premises and take pride in their babies.

Leucadia Roadside Park

Leucadia Blvd. and N Coast Hwy. 101
Leucadia, CA 92024

Julie G. writes: This is probably the tiniest park in all of North County. It sits right alongside Hwy 101 and Leucadia Blvd and if you blink you will miss it for sure. It is very sweet however and beautifies the intersection. I have to say though that I've never really seen anyone hang out there. It consists of a few bordering trees, two picnic tables and really pretty grass.

Library the
Neighborhood: Navajo

7459 Mission Gorge Rd
San Diego, CA 92120

David M. writes: Honestly, I haven't been here -- yet but I think the bar deserves five stars just for the excuse factor. ``Honey, I'm at the library right now.'' It's better than saying you're at the Office. There is one problem: Most libraries in San Diego aren't open in the evenings -- which is when most bars are, so be careful how you use it.

Jack In the Box
Neighborhood: Hillcrest

804 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Chris K. writes: This may be the most impressive Jack in the Box man has ever seen. Just the decor itself gives it the extra fourth star. It's set up like a coffee shop but you eat your fried goodness there instead of coffee. I like the big lounge chairs with the little personal tables attached to them. Of course, the food is the same as any other Jack but it's nice to have a change in scenery from the others. I agree with David that the place attracts the local homeless. But there were local with-home people there too. Me being one of them.

C Spa & Salon
Neighborhood: La Jolla

7851 Herschel Ave
La Jolla, CA 92037

Christine C. writes: I went to C Spa to get my hair and makeup done for a very special event and I had a great experience. The hair stylist was able to give me exactly what I wanted and I didn't have to bring in a photo or anything. I wanted a partial up-do and the final result turned out great -- I was able to avoid the whole big, gaudy prom hair thing. I also got my makeup done by a C Spa makeup artists and I was so pleased with the result. The make up was very subtle and natural. I wish I could afford to go to C Spa for every special event, but the prices weren't astronomical considering the location of the salon, but I would go back next time I'm in need of a girlie makeover because the staff was super friendly, accommodating, and talented.

Alta-Dena Certified Dairy

4656 Cardin St
San Diego, CA 92111

Alissandra L. writes: This drive-thru convenience store will always hold a special place in my heart. One, because it's the only drive-thru store that I know of in San Diego, and two, because well..because it's a drive-thru convenience store! I remember the days when I had less than a minute to spare before getting to class or work, and I would easily purchase my cigarettes, snacks, drinks, condoms, mouthwash, can of campbell's chicken noodle soup, and dishwashing liquid all in one swoop! Ok, not the condoms or dishwashing liquid, but if you needed them, by golly, this place would hand them to you in a snap. Nothing beats shopping from the driver's seat, if you ask me. If you're in town, drive by and get yo-self somethin'.

Encore of La Jolla
Neighborhood: La Jolla

7655 Girard Ave
La Jolla, CA 92037

Christine C. writes: Oh it is a joy to shop here. This consignment shop is no Buffalo Exchange, because you can find some of the most exquisite designer goods at a semi-reasonable price. Encore sells second hand designer clothes. It is located in La Jolla and the store receives a lot of merchandise from La Jolla's snooty and affluent residents. Even if you can't afford to clothes here, you can have a lot of fun browsing through the vintage designer apparel. All kinds of noteworthy labels can be found here. I managed to score a Gucci purse for $99. I know that's not cheap, but hey, it goes with everything. I also tried on the cutest Marc Jacobs baby doll dress, but it didn't fit and I already went go-for-broke on the purse. I consider the store one of La Jolla's best kept secrets.

Salvation Army-Ray and Joan Kroc Center
Neighborhood: Rolando

6760 University Ave Ste 240
San Diego, CA 92115

David M. writes: This place is huge and has a swimming pool, a theater and an ice skating rink. There are lots of fun activities held regularly, including an annual literacy fair that was attended two years in a row by Stan Lee,the creator of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four.

Marshalls
Neighborhood: La Jolla

8657 Villa La Jolla Dr Ste 111
La Jolla, CA 92037

Gabriel D. writes: Oh baby, this is like the mother lode for Marshall's. Rich people do love their shopping, and La Jolla is no exception. Great stuff here. Highly recommended.

Rice
Neighborhood: Downtown, Little Italy

421 W B Street
W Hotel
San Diego, CA 92101

Leah C. writes: Of course I'm partial since I'm the Marketing Manager at the W San Diego, but Rice is a true dining experience. I'm picking up what Nathan H. (below) is putting down. Beyond the great service and excellent global contemporary cuisine, you have the added value of cozying up in Magnet, the restaurant bar, with a "Porn Star" martini or wiggling your toes in the sand as you snuggle by the fire pit at Beach and "cheers" under the stars. And if the night is going really well, you can always stay overnight! W beds . . . in-room service . . . and no DUI. What a bargain!

Dave Keller Plumbing
Neighborhood: University Heights

2806 Madison Ave
San Diego, CA 92116

Marc P. writes: Over the past decade I have used Dave Keller multiple times, and he a reliable person who always does a very thorough job at a very reasonable price. You would be hard pressed to find a better plumber than Dave Keller. He is always my first choice to call for a plumber. Unfortunately, word about him has spread around so much (he has been plumbing in San Diego forever) that it is hard to get him on short notice, for something urgent, like a broken valve. If Dave Keller is unavailable, I would also recommend Rick Moore Plumbing; I have only used Rick once, but he did a good job at a very reasonable price (he can be reached at 858-278-8739, or on his cell at 858-243-2086), and I would definitely use him again if Dave were unavailable. Also, both Dave and Rick are very genuine people, and I always enjoy striking up a conversation with them.

Labels:

BeaconsBeach.com - AboutUs

BeaconsBeach.com - AboutUs
Retrieved from "http://www.aboutus.org/ BeaconsBeach.com ".
Categories: Regional | North America | United States | California |
Counties | San Diego ...


Hey, I like Beacon's Beach... so my dad helped me (a lot) with this web site. My mom, well, she helped too. She took out all the smart ass comments my dad made... (most of them.)

I guess I started learning early about computers. Here I am showing mom how to hack into the Toys-R-Us web site. She was really mad when the truck pulled up the next day with hundreds of toys and computer games I ordered.

Dad also helped me find the best deals on surf videos, surfing books, boogie boards and other surf stuff; even a way to pick up free money - $5.

Labels:

Surf Reports, Wave Cams, Beach Cams and Weather - Boardfolio.com ...

Surf Reports, Wave Cams, Beach Cams and Weather - Boardfolio.com ...
SurfMaps.com - professional, full-color, downloadable surf maps for over
3000 surf spots worldwide. BeaconsBeach.com - Beacon's Beach,
Leucadia, California ...


SurfMaps.com
- professional, full-color, downloadable surf maps for over 3000 surf spots worldwide

BeaconsBeach.com - Beacon's Beach, Leucadia, California
Bondi Beach Online - Bondi Beach surf report, Australia
BurleighCam - surf cam at Burleigh Heads, Australia
BuscaOLAS - wave cams, surf reports, weather info, Uruguay
Cam in the Sky - cams at Bethune Beach, New Smyrna, Daytona Pier, Florida
CameraSurf - wave cams, surf reports, Brazil
CamZone - live surf cams at Del Mar & Scripps Pier, California
Central Florida Surf Report - Central Florida surf report, forecast & web cams
Chubrok.com - surf reports, weather info for the New York Metro area
ClaudiaFerrari.com - surf report & pics from various North Shore spots, Hawaii
Coastal Watch Australia - wave cams throughout the United States and Australia
Costa Rica Surf Report & Wave Forecast - surf reports, tides, Costa Rica
Dauphinislandsurf.com - beach cams, photos, Dauphin Island, Alabama
Delsurf.com - surf reports & weather links, Delaware & Maryland
East Coast Connection - wave cams, surf reports, Central Florida
Fenwick Island & Ocean City Surf Reports - surf reports, Maryland
FollySurfCam.com - Folly Beach surf cam, South Carolina
Galveston Surf Cam - wave cam, surf forecasts, Texas
GanjaSurf - surf reports for US East Coast & Caribbean
Gary's Surf Cam - wave cam, Surfside, Texas
Inlet Surf - daily surf report, photos, news & information about Sebastian Inlet, Florida
The Liquid Element - surf conditions for Southeast Florida, from Miami to Jupiter Inlet
Local NJ SurfCast - surf forecasts, daily surf report, New Jersey
Magic Seaweed - charts, maps, surf forecasting, European surf cams, UK
Maui Web Cams - multiple Maui beachcams and windcams, Hawaii
MC Surf - links to mulitple surf cams, East Coast, Unites States
New Zealand Surfing Guide - surf reports & wave cams, New Zealand
OC Waves Surf Photography - beach cam in Ocean City, Maryland
Orange County Register - surf reports, weather info, Orange County, California
Onestopsurf - surf reports, global travel info
Original Cocoa Beach Surf Cams - multiple Cocoa Beach surf cams, Florida
Peninsula Surf - beach and surf cams, Victoria, Australia
Pensacola Beach Cam - beach cam, Florida
Puerto Connection - Puerto Escondido info, beach cam, Oaxaca, Mexico
Ron Jon Surf Shop - live surf cam at Cocoa Beach Pier, Florida
San Diego Local Goods - surf cams, San Diego surf reports, California
San Diego Surf Cam - daily pictures of San Diego County surf spots, California
Scripps Pier - surf cam, San Diego, California
Shelly Beach Daily Surf Report - daily report & pics, New South Wales, Australia
ShrimpCreole Surf - South Florida surf reports, cams, archives, Florida
Sorted Boardriders - surf cam at Boscombe Pier, Bournemouth, UK
South Padre Island, Texas - surf cam, surf report, South Padre Island, Texas
Stormsurf - big wave forecast & global marine weather
Surfcam Australia - daily pictures of Australia's best spots, Australia
SurfCorpus.com - surf cam, Corpus Christi, Texas
Surferbird - surf report & cam, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Surfers Paradise - surf cam at Surfers Paradise, Australia
SurfingList.com Surf Reports & Forecasts - surf forecasts, surf reports, wave cams & swell modeling
Surforecasts.com - surfing conditions & forecasts for the world
Surfing Santa Cruz - multiple surf cams in Santa Cruz, California
Surfline - surf reports, wave cams, USA, global
Surflink - surf reports, wave cams, California
Surflook - Blacks Beach, Mission Beach, wave cams in San Diego County, CA
SurfMaps.com - professional, full-color, downloadable surf maps for over 3000 surf spots worldwide
SurfMiami.com - surfcam on Miami Beach, South Beach, Florida
Surfriends - global surf reports, travel resources
Surfshot - San Diego surf reports, photos, video clips, California
SurfXtc - Florida & East Coast surf reports & cams, photos, Florida
Surf4All.net - surf reports throughout France
Surf98.com - North & South Cornwall surf reports, United Kingdom
Surf News Network - daily surf reports, Hawaii
Swell-Forecast.com - extensive wave forecasting resources for Europe
Taiwan Surf - surf reports, weather, beach cams, photos, video clips from Taiwan
Underground Surf Company, Inc. - surf reports, surf cams, South Florida
WaveCam Australia - surf reports, wave cams, Australia
Wavescape: Surfing in South Africa - travel info, surf reports, South Africa
WaveWatch - multiple surf cams, worldwide surf forecasts, entire site free-of-charge

Labels:

Google Directory - Sports > Water Sports > Surfing > Surf Reports ...

Google Directory - Sports > Water Sports > Surfing > Surf Reports ...
Beacons Beach Surf Cam - http://www. beaconsbeach.
com /surf_cam_beacons_beach_live_surfing_shots.htm Live image from
this location in Encinitas, California. ...


Folly Beach Surf Cam - http://www.follysurfcam.com/
Live updates and forecasts from Folly Beach S.C.
BurleighCam - Queensland Australia - http://www.burleighcam.com.au
Surf reports and cams covering Burleigh Heads and the Gold Coast, Australia. Roving reporters filing the goods every morning and other features.
Galveston, Texas surf cam - http://www.galvestonsurfcam.com/
Galveston Texas surf cam and daily reports.
Jacksonville, FL Live Surf Cam - http://www.jaxsurfcam.com
Live updates every 60 seconds from Neptune Beach.
Surf.co.nz - http://www.surf.co.nz/surfreports/
Cameras at various spots around New Zealand including Piha and the Mount.
South Padre Island, Texas: Live Webcams - http://www.spadre.com/
Fishing and surf reports, plus weather, and community information.
Surfcam.net - http://www.surfcam.net/
Surf cam of South Melbourne Beach and Melbourne Beach Florida.
Croyde Surf Club - http://www.croydesurfclub.com/
Provides links to a variety of south west England surf cams and Isobars forecasts. Also includes club history and downloadable membership form.
Fluid Groove.net - http://fluidgroove.net/
North Florida Surfing Resource, current surf conditions, forecast, message boards, and upcoming events.
Surfmiami - http://www.surfmiami.com/
A beachcam on Miami Beach, South Beach.
Wavecam - http://www.wavecam.com
Surfing photos of the top spots of Southern California, Baja, and Costa Rica. Live cams, magazine links, pictures, and weather.
Florida Beach and Surf Cams - http://www.floridalink.com/webcam/beach.htm
Surf live web cam views of Florida's sandy beaches. Daytona Beach, Panama Beach, Miami Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale.
Surf Cam in Cayucos, California and Puerto Escondido, Mexico - http://www.pacificcoasttravelinfo.com
Live beach and surf cams from Puerto Escondido, Mexico and Cayucos, California with travel information for Mexico and California pacific coast.
Beacons Beach Surf Cam - http://www.beaconsbeach.com/surf_cam_beacons_beach_live_surfing_shots.htm
Live image from this location in Encinitas, California. Also offers general local information.
Sumner Surfcam Clifton Beach - http://www.sumnertoferrymead.co.nz/surfcam.htm
Live images Clifton Beach and Taylors Mistake in New Zealand.
Surf Cams Bay of Plenty - New Zealand - http://www.surfcamsbop.co.nz
Features live pictures of Mount Maunganui Beach and also offers video of coastal sections of the Bay of Plenty.
Eastern Lines Belmar Surf Cam - http://www.belmar.com/webcam/easternlines.html
Images every 30 seconds from the 17th Avenue Beach in Belmar, New Jersey.
Cable Beach - Broome Western Australia - http://www.broomecam.com/
Camera details, weather, and links.
World Surf Cams - http://www.maxpages.com/worldsurfcams/Surf_Cams
Links to surfcams from many countries.
Local Goods - http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Oaks/4297/
Surf cams from San Diego, California.
Belmar Cam - http://www.belmarcam.com/surfcams/surfcams3.html
List of links for many beaches worldwide.
Surflook resource for surfers - http://surflook.com/
Blacks beach La Jolla cam. Live and semi live cams of beaches around the world focusing mainly on San Diego, CA. Local Surf Art and murals.
Dylan's Surf Page - http://www.nalyd.freeserve.co.uk
Contains UK and worldwide surf cam links.

Labels:

Surf Reports, Wave Cams, Beach Cams and Weather - Boardfolio.com ...

Surf Reports, Wave Cams, Beach Cams and Weather - Boardfolio.com ...
SurfMaps.com - professional, full-color, downloadable surf maps for over
3000 surf spots worldwide. BeaconsBeach.com - Beacon's Beach,
Leucadia, California ...


SurfMaps.com
- professional, full-color, downloadable surf maps for over 3000 surf spots worldwide

BeaconsBeach.com - Beacon's Beach, Leucadia, California
Bondi Beach Online - Bondi Beach surf report, Australia
BurleighCam - surf cam at Burleigh Heads, Australia
BuscaOLAS - wave cams, surf reports, weather info, Uruguay
Cam in the Sky - cams at Bethune Beach, New Smyrna, Daytona Pier, Florida
CameraSurf - wave cams, surf reports, Brazil
CamZone - live surf cams at Del Mar & Scripps Pier, California
Central Florida Surf Report - Central Florida surf report, forecast & web cams
Chubrok.com - surf reports, weather info for the New York Metro area
ClaudiaFerrari.com - surf report & pics from various North Shore spots, Hawaii
Coastal Watch Australia - wave cams throughout the United States and Australia
Costa Rica Surf Report & Wave Forecast - surf reports, tides, Costa Rica
Dauphinislandsurf.com - beach cams, photos, Dauphin Island, Alabama
Delsurf.com - surf reports & weather links, Delaware & Maryland
East Coast Connection - wave cams, surf reports, Central Florida
Fenwick Island & Ocean City Surf Reports - surf reports, Maryland
FollySurfCam.com - Folly Beach surf cam, South Carolina
Galveston Surf Cam - wave cam, surf forecasts, Texas
GanjaSurf - surf reports for US East Coast & Caribbean
Gary's Surf Cam - wave cam, Surfside, Texas
Inlet Surf - daily surf report, photos, news & information about Sebastian Inlet, Florida
The Liquid Element - surf conditions for Southeast Florida, from Miami to Jupiter Inlet
Local NJ SurfCast - surf forecasts, daily surf report, New Jersey
Magic Seaweed - charts, maps, surf forecasting, European surf cams, UK
Maui Web Cams - multiple Maui beachcams and windcams, Hawaii
MC Surf - links to mulitple surf cams, East Coast, Unites States
New Zealand Surfing Guide - surf reports & wave cams, New Zealand
OC Waves Surf Photography - beach cam in Ocean City, Maryland
Orange County Register - surf reports, weather info, Orange County, California
Onestopsurf - surf reports, global travel info
Original Cocoa Beach Surf Cams - multiple Cocoa Beach surf cams, Florida
Peninsula Surf - beach and surf cams, Victoria, Australia
Pensacola Beach Cam - beach cam, Florida
Puerto Connection - Puerto Escondido info, beach cam, Oaxaca, Mexico
Ron Jon Surf Shop - live surf cam at Cocoa Beach Pier, Florida
San Diego Local Goods - surf cams, San Diego surf reports, California
San Diego Surf Cam - daily pictures of San Diego County surf spots, California
Scripps Pier - surf cam, San Diego, California
Shelly Beach Daily Surf Report - daily report & pics, New South Wales, Australia
ShrimpCreole Surf - South Florida surf reports, cams, archives, Florida
Sorted Boardriders - surf cam at Boscombe Pier, Bournemouth, UK
South Padre Island, Texas - surf cam, surf report, South Padre Island, Texas
Stormsurf - big wave forecast & global marine weather
Surfcam Australia - daily pictures of Australia's best spots, Australia
SurfCorpus.com - surf cam, Corpus Christi, Texas
Surferbird - surf report & cam, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Surfers Paradise - surf cam at Surfers Paradise, Australia
SurfingList.com Surf Reports & Forecasts - surf forecasts, surf reports, wave cams & swell modeling
Surforecasts.com - surfing conditions & forecasts for the world
Surfing Santa Cruz - multiple surf cams in Santa Cruz, California
Surfline - surf reports, wave cams, USA, global
Surflink - surf reports, wave cams, California
Surflook - Blacks Beach, Mission Beach, wave cams in San Diego County, CA
SurfMaps.com - professional, full-color, downloadable surf maps for over 3000 surf spots worldwide
SurfMiami.com - surfcam on Miami Beach, South Beach, Florida
Surfriends - global surf reports, travel resources
Surfshot - San Diego surf reports, photos, video clips, California
SurfXtc - Florida & East Coast surf reports & cams, photos, Florida
Surf4All.net - surf reports throughout France
Surf98.com - North & South Cornwall surf reports, United Kingdom
Surf News Network - daily surf reports, Hawaii
Swell-Forecast.com - extensive wave forecasting resources for Europe
Taiwan Surf - surf reports, weather, beach cams, photos, video clips from Taiwan
Underground Surf Company, Inc. - surf reports, surf cams, South Florida
WaveCam Australia - surf reports, wave cams, Australia
Wavescape: Surfing in South Africa - travel info, surf reports, South Africa
WaveWatch - multiple surf cams, worldwide surf forecasts, entire site free-of-charge

Labels:

Beacon's Beach Leucadia State Beach Encinitas California

Beacon's Beach Leucadia State Beach Encinitas California
San Diego Union features BeaconsBeach.com : Union Tribune interviews
Kenzie in tell-all feature (8-11-01) San Diego Union visits: Union Trib.
sports reporter ...


Our site is about the h
istory of Beacon's Beach Located in Encinitas (Leucadia) - North San Diego County plus we offer surfboards, videos, surf books, wet suits, boogie boards and surfing gear. We now have a surf cam, online tide guide and a time lapse pictorial sequence on the new beach sand.

The view from the bluff top... ready to surf or enjoy the beach. These pictures rotate every 3 seconds.

The winding path down and the wave size you come to love and understand...

Beacons view point, near what used to be Martini Point, before Martini Point slid 100 feet down to the beach below. Ever wonder how Beacon's got it's name?

Labels:

Fuel samples negative, Encinitas council told

Fuel samples negative, Encinitas council told
North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
By 6:30 pm May 31, a yellowish substance was visible in the breaking waves
off Beacon's Beach. By 9 pm, the beaches between Grandview to D streets
were ...


ENCINITAS -- Fuel samples taken from four "vessels of interest" don't match samples of the diesel that spilled off the Encinitas shoreline late last month, authorities told the City Council on Wednesday.

Samples from one commercial ship and three Navy ships were tested, said Mark Muir, Encinitas Fire Department chief.

"All (testing) came out negative," Muir said.

Joining Muir in reporting to the council were lifeguards and Lt. j.g. Lis Bosma of the U.S. Coast Guard, which is leading the investigation of a spill in late May estimated at 500 to 1,000 gallons.

The contaminated water closed more than one mile of beaches for a weekend, but no injuries to people or damage to marine life has been reported.

No remnants of the sheen were visible during a flyover of the spill site June 12, Muir said.

The Coast Guard is continuing its investigation by reviewing the records of its vessel tracking system, Bosma said.

She said she did not know how many ships the investigation would target. The Coast Guard can take fuel samples from any ship of within U.S. waters, she said, and if vessels of interest now are abroad, the Coast Guard can test them when they return.

Anyone found responsible for the discharge faces an $80,000 bill for the cleanup and other possible fines, Muir said.

For now, a federal fund created from fuel taxes is covering the cost.

The Coast Guard alerted local authorities to the spill at about noon May 31. At the time, the sheen was thought to be about three to four miles offshore, but lifeguards were unable to locate it.

Hours later, at about 6 p.m., the Fire Department responded to a West Glaucus Street resident's report of a "diesel-like" odor.

"It was really bad," Fire Department Division Chief Scott Henry said of the smell. "There were a lot of residents in the neighborhood who were concerned. As we moved west, the smell was there still, getting stronger, and with the lifeguards' assistance, we were able to trace it to a substance on the water."

By 6:30 p.m. May 31, a yellowish substance was visible in the breaking waves off Beacon's Beach. By 9 p.m., the beaches between Grandview to D streets were closed and did not reopen fully until June 4.

The closure caused the cancellation of the June 2 Switchfoot Bro-Am Surf Contest at Moonlight Beach.

"Our beach was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Henry said.

Also at Wednesday's meeting, the council voted 5-0 to increase trash collection fees. Most residential customers will see monthly increases of 72 cents, from $17.12 to $17.84. That's a 4.2 percent increase.

EDCO Waste and Recycling Services provides trash collection services to Encinitas. In a letter to the city, EDCO cites consumer price index and disposal fee increases as the reasons for the rate hike.

To comply with state laws, the city in April mailed notices to 22,017 property owners informing them of the pending increase and their right to protest it.

A majority of property owners could have halted the increase by writing letters of protest, but as of Wednesday's hearing, only six had done so, said Public Works Director Larry Watt.

Labels:

Feds seek source of ocean fuel spill

Feds seek source of ocean fuel spill
North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
The smell remained on the bluffs above Beacon's Beach on Friday evening but
had decreased compared to Thursday, said area resident Deb Brody. ...


ENCINITAS ---- As federal, state and local authorities scrambled Friday to contain what they said is the largest ocean fuel spill off Encinitas in 30 years, a search is under way from Mexico to San Francisco for the culprits.
"We'll be investigating any vessel that was transiting at that time period," said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Jeremy Altendorf during a press conference at Moonlight Beach on Friday. "This is a common investigation for us and we're going to take it very seriously and prioritize it based on the magnitude (of the spill) we've seen here in the last couple of days."

The federal Clean Water Act provides for penalties for discharges of petroleum products into waterways for any reason, Altendorf said, adding that any sanctions would be dependent on how and why the spill occurred.

The Thursday morning spill of 500 to 1,000 gallons, which authorities said they believed to be diesel fuel, closed beaches along the 2-mile stretch of coastline from Grandview Street south to D Street. The beaches will remain closed through at least Sunday morning, Altendorf said.

Officials said the spill posed no airborne threat to humans. The U.S. Department of Fish and Game reported no problems with wildlife as of Friday and will continue monitoring the coastline and lagoons through the weekend.

The spill also ended plans for the surfing competition portion of the third annual Switchfoot Bro-Am ---- a celebration of surfing, music and San Diego, according to festival organizers. Instead, the pro and amateur surfers who show up anyway will participate in a dodgeball tournament.

The musical part of the festival, a free public concert by Switchfoot, Jason Miraz and others, will go on as scheduled. The music starts at 11 a.m. at Moonlight Beach.

The spill was discovered by a boater who reported an oily sheen on the water Thursday morning, Altendorf said. The Coast Guard found the spill at about noon and took fuel samples from vessels in the area. Those samples will be compared to the chemical "fingerprint" of the fuel from the spill.

Altendorf would not comment further on the number or identity of the vessels already sampled.

The Coast Guard's Los Angles-based Vessel Tracking System is working to identify other ships that passed Encinitas between midnight Tuesday and 11 a.m. Thursday, Altendorf said.

Ocean waves, tides and the wind pushed the spill eastward to the beaches Thursday night. Friday's cleanup focused on keeping the spill off them. Altendorf said some of the spill had washed up, but said sand removal would not be required.

The smell of fuel permeated the northeasterly onshore breeze at Moonlight Beach on Friday morning where officials from the Coast Guard, the state Department of Fish and Game, San Diego County's hazardous materials team and the Encinitas Fire Department set up an operations center.

By Friday evening, the smell had dissipated at Moonlight Beach, according to Encinitas Lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles. The smell remained on the bluffs above Beacon's Beach on Friday evening but had decreased compared to Thursday, said area resident Deb Brody.

Altendorf said officials believe the spill was diesel fuel-based on past experience and current evidence. He said he expected lab tests to confirm it.

Friday morning, curious onlookers mingled with reporters as a Coast Guard helicopter buzzed the coast to assess the size and shape of the spill and the progress of the cleanup effort.

Workers with NRC Environmental Services readied a long yellow "boom" on Moonlight Beach as co-workers in a boat offshore pulled it into the water. They used the boom ---- a floating rubber curtain several football fields long ---- to corral, gather and contain the fuel. Once encircled, the fuel would be mopped up with absorbent pads, Altendorf said.

Altendorf said the cleanup captured much of the fuel but not all.

"I know we did pretty well," Altendorf said Friday night. "The odor's gone, but not all of the sheen. The ocean has to flush itself out now."

Altendorf said no water contact will be permitted from the beaches to three miles offshore. Officials encouraged families to come to the beaches Saturday but to stay out of the water and the wet sand.

"We're looking to keep people out of the water for 24 hours after our cleanup action for the water in the ocean to take care of itself," Altendorf said.

Altendorf estimated the cost of the cleanup at $60,000 as of noon Thursday.

Labels:

Some Encinitas beaches reopen after fuel spill

Some Encinitas beaches reopen after fuel spill
ENCINITAS -- A section of the Encinitas coastline between D and North El Portal streets that was closed because of a

fuel spill last week reopened Sunday, but beaches between Beacon's Beach and Grandview Street remained off-limits ...


ENCINITAS -- A section of the Encinitas coastline between D and North El Portal streets that was closed because of a fuel spill last week reopened Sunday, but beaches between Beacon's Beach and Grandview Street remained off-limits pending further testing, authorities said.

County Department of Environmental Health officials said the reopened area, which includes Moonlight Beach, is safe for swimmers and surfers. Areas to the north remain contaminated and will be re-evaluated today. Signs warning of contaminated water will remain in place until it is safe for recreational use, officials said.

The spill was reported Thursday, when 500 to 1,000 gallons of diesel-like fuel leaked into the ocean, possibly from a passing vessel.

An extensive cleanup launched Friday removed the majority of fuel. And although some of the slick's oily sheen and odor remained Sunday night, that residue should dissipate, Coast Guard Lt. Jereme Altendorf said.

Authorities are testing a number of suspect vessels and a probe into the source of the leak is ongoing. There have been no reports of affected wildlife or people, Altendorf said.

Officials will continue to monitor the area for several more days, the lieutenant said.

"We want to make sure it all goes away -- we don't want any surprises," he said.

Labels:

Beaches are likely to reopen

Beaches are likely to reopen
San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
The closure extended from Beacon's Beach to Moonlight State Beach and
forced the cancellation of a surfing contest. No ill effects on people or
wildlife ...

ENCINITAS – Beaches along 2½ miles of the Encinitas coastline remained closed for a third consecutive day yesterday following an offshore fuel spill from an unidentified vessel.

Beachgoers were barred from contact with the water, but the restriction probably will be lifted today, officials said.

The closure extended from Beacon's Beach to Moonlight State Beach and forced the cancellation of a surfing contest. No ill effects on people or wildlife have been reported.

All that remained of the spill last night was a slight sheening from residual fuel attached to kelp, said Coast Guard Lt. Jereme Altendorf. Small amounts of fuel were still washing onto the beach.

The spill, estimated at slightly more than 500 gallons, likely originated from a military or commercial vessel, Altendorf said, and was first reported about 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

Labels:

Fuel spill leads to beach closures

Fuel spill leads to beach closures
San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
Only a small bit of the substance wash onto the shore, at Beacon's Beach.
The waves were washing it away and the remainder was being burned off by
the sun. ...

ENCINITAS – A fuel spill that fouled an area of ocean a mile wide and four miles long has prompted the closure of several North County beaches and the disruption of a large weekend surfing competition.

Lifeguards and county environmental health officials have posted signs along a 2 ½ -mile stretch of beaches, telling swimmers and surfers to stay out of the water for at least 24 hours.

By noon Friday, a boom had been deployed and the spill had been mostly corralled around kelp beds, where the heavier elements of the substance seemed to be sticking, said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Jereme Altendorf.

Pads that absorb oil will then be spread out over the surface of the water to soak up as much of the material as possible, he said. They will then drag the floating boom, which has a 6- to 12-inch curtain hanging from it, across the water to collect what's left.

The sun and the current was helping to quickly disperse the substance, believed to be diesel fuel, Altendorf said. The lighter chemical elements of the fuel were what largely remained.

Crews were expected to be done by sunset.

Altendorf said officials would ask people stay out of the water until at least 24 hours after the cleanup is completed.

Their priority, said Altendorf, whose agency was in charge of the operation, was to protect the public health and prevent any further impact to the shoreline.

“We think if we do our job out here the impact will be minimal or negligent,” he said .

So far there have been no reports of any adverse effects on people or wildlife, Altendorf said.

Only a small bit of the substance washed onto the shore, at Beacon's Beach. The waves were washing it away and the remainder was being burned off by the sun.

“Eventually the environment takes care of itself,” he said.

Encinitas Marine Safety Capt. Larry Giles said that it would be best to keep children from playing on the wet sand for the time being.

So far the cost of cleanup has been estimated at $60,000, Altendorf said.

Impact on beaches

The spill was first reported around 11:30 a.m. Thursday by a boater who noticed a large sheen in the water about five miles offshore of Beacons Beach, said Altendorf.

It started to come onshore sometime late Thursday afternoon, Altendorf said.

Grandview, Beacons, Moonlight, Stone Steps and D Street beaches were all closed Friday morning and were expected to remain so for at least 24 hours, said Encinitas Fire Division Chief Scott Henry. Signs have been posted along paths to the beaches.

The spill hasn't reached Swami's Beach, a popular surfing spot, but officials were keeping an eye on it, Henry said.

The Switchfoot Bro-Am surf competition, which was scheduled for Saturday at Moonlight Beach, has been canceled but the accompanying concert is to be held as scheduled, Henry said Friday morning.

Promoters of the event said later in the day said that in place of the competition they'll have a 10 a.m. dodge ball game featuring the 64 surfers who were expected to compete.

The competition drew 6,000 fans last year and a similar number was expected this year, Giles said.

Three members of Switchfoot gathered at the beach to watch the proceedings. Jon Foreman, the band's lead singer, said the contest raises money for Care House, an agency that help teens in crisis.

He took the disruption of the surf competition in stride.

“The goal is to help kids and as long as that's going on and the community is coming together it's a success,” he said of Saturday's still-scheduled concert.

Some 10 bands are scheduled to perform.

People will be allowed on the sand on the affected beaches, officials said, but no one will be allowed in the water, and lifeguards will be patrolling and making announcements telling beachgoers to keep out.

Cleanup efforts

The Coast Guard has set up a safety zone – an area that boaters will be discouraged from entering – between Batiquitos and San Elijo lagoons, out to three nautical miles offshore, said Chief Petty Officer Steve Howell. It will be enforced until 8 a.m. Monday.

Its purpose is to keep boats from spreading the spilled fuel. Howell said a couple of Coast Guard boats will be stationed in the area and will warn approaching boats to avoid it.

The spill is estimated to be between 500 to 1,000 gallons of some type of petroleum product. It smells like gasoline or diesel fuel.

“Beacon's had the heaviest concentration,” said Kevin Vengrow, a Coast Guard pollution investigator who flew over the spill early in the morning. “There was a bright rainbow in the water.”

The smell of fuel lingered over the closed beaches Friday, and officials said their biggest concern was the actual fumes.

Short-term exposure to fumes can make people dizzy or nauseous, long-term exposure can have detrimental health effects, Altendorf said.

There have been no reports of anyone who has become ill, but, Altendorf said, “You don't want to be breathing this stuff for a long time.”

Officials said anyone who has already been in the water and starts to feel sick should contact a doctor or call 911.

Impact on wildlife

There has been no discernible impact on wildlife as yet, Altendorf said. The animals most likely to be affected are birds, especially those that plunge into the water for food, said Gerald Borjeson, a warden with the state Department of Fish and Game.

Pelicans could dive right through the substance with their beaks open and ingest it, Borjeson said. Oil-type substances can also coat a bird's feathers causing them to lose their insulation, he said.

Mammals like seals and dolphins are much less likely to be affected.

Wardens are patrolling the area to look for any injured or sick wildlife and have not found any so far, he said.

He urged anyone who comes across any animals that appears to be sick or hurt to leave them alone and contact authorities.

Where did it come from?

The Coast Guard is checking records to identify which vessels were nearby.

“We'll be looking at anyone who was in the area during the last 24 to 36 hours,” Altendorf said, adding that some of the ships may be as far away as Taiwan by now.

He said investigators already have a few suspect ships, but declined to elaborate. They were also checking with the U.S. Navy, he said.

Crews have taken samples of the substance and have sent them off for analysis, Altendorf said. They hope to have results back within a week.

The fuel leaves a chemical fingerprint that can identify with up to 99 percent certainty which ship it came from.

Coast Guard officer Vengrow said that's due to a number of factors, including the type of tank its held in, the way it was sitting in the tank and even the types of metals onboard.

He said officials believe the substance is some kind of bunker fuel of the sort used on very large vessels like cargo ships.

Impact on Encinitas

Chief Henry said the fire department got a call Thursday about a diesel smell that seemed to be emanating from the area of East Glaucus Street and North Coast Highway 101.

“Yesterday the smell was horrible,” he said.

As they followed it west they realized it was coming from the beach.

“This is the worst spill I have seen in my 27 years in Encinitas,” Henry said.

Sisters Colleen and Lisa Workman – along with their three young daughters – drove all the way from Phoenix Thursday just to visit Moonlight Beach. They were disappointed to find that it was closed.

“I'm bummed,” Colleen Workman said, lugging a full range of beach paraphernalia, including an ice chest, towels, chairs and several beach toys.

The group walked back to their car, deciding where to go next. They thought they would head down to Mission Beach. The trip wasn't a total disappointment though, since where they came from it was 103 degrees.

“This is perfect weather,” Colleen Workman said, as she looked up at the overcast sky.

One brave, or perhaps foolhardy swimmer decided to take a dip at Moonlight Beach not far from where the boom had been deployed. That didn't last long.

“Sir, you could not have picked a worse place. Get out of the water immediately,” a lifeguard said over the loud speaker.

The man quickly complied.

Labels:

Beach Fuel Spill Part III

Beach Fuel Spill Part III
By JP(JP)
... Coast Guard corralling the fuel in kelp bed and if you look closely you can see the slick covering the kelp bed on the

right. Leucadia Blog: Beach Fuel Spill Part II Leucadia Blog: Breaking News: Mysterious Fuel Spill at Beacon's Beach.

This photo is from today's SDUT website. I wish the photo was bigger but it is a good view of the Beacon's kelp beds. You can see the Coast Guard corralling the fuel in kelp bed on the left and if you look closely you can see the slick covering the kelp bed on the right.

The media and the powers that be are claiming this spill did not harm the kelp or the beach but I find that highly doubtful.
Burning question: Did the recently laid Grunion eggs survive the diesel fuel soaking? What effect will the fuel soaked sand have on shore birds that feed on invertebrates in the tide line?

Labels:

Mysterious Fuel Spill at Beacon's Beach

Mysterious Fuel Spill at Beacon's Beach
By JP(JP)
If you are in the Beacon's Beach area then you probably smell the diesel fuel in the air. It is all over the beach. The

lifeguard I talked to said the city lifeguards were working with the Coast Guard to locate the origin of the spill. ...

If you are in the Beacon's Beach area then you probably smell the diesel fuel in the air. It is all over the beach. The lifeguard I talked to said the city lifeguards were working with the Coast Guard to locate the origin of the spill.
The fuel in the air burned my eyes so bad that I only snapped a couple of shots before retreating back up the bluff.
The spill stretched the entire length of Beacon's Beach, I'm not sure if other areas are affected.
Fire Department, Lifeguards and a Haz-Mat team (with helicopters buzzing overhead).

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Fuel spill fouls 2 1/2 -mile stretch of Encinitas coast

Fuel spill fouls 2 1/2 -mile stretch of Encinitas coast
San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
The spill was first reported around 11:30 am Thursday by a boater who
noticed a large sheen on the water about five miles offshore of Beacon's
Beach, ...

ENCINITAS – A fuel spill that has fouled the ocean off Encinitas with a four-mile-long by one-mile-wide slick has prompted the closure of miles of North County beaches and the cancellation of a large weekend surfing competition.

Lifeguards and county environmental health officials have posted signs along a 2½ -mile stretch of beaches, telling swimmers and surfers to stay out of the water for at least 24 hours.

The spill was first reported around 11:30 a.m. Thursday by a boater who noticed a large sheen on the water about five miles offshore of Beacon's Beach, said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Jereme Altendorf.

It started to come onshore sometime late Thursday afternoon, Altendorf said.

Grandview, Beacon's, Moonlight, Stone Steps and D Street beaches were all closed Friday morning and were expected to remain so for at least 24 hours, said Encinitas Fire Division Chief Scott Henry. Signs have been posted along paths to the beaches.

The spill hasn't reached Swami's Beach, a popular surfing spot, but officials said it's headed that way.

After sending out helicopters to survey the affected area early Friday, the Coast Guard determined the spill area is approximately four miles long by one mile wide.

The Switchfoot Bro-Am surf competition, which was scheduled for Saturday at Moonlight Beach, has been canceled but the accompanying concert is to be held as scheduled, Henry said.

The competition drew 6,000 fans last year and a similar number was expected this year, said Larry Giles, an Encinitas lifeguard captain.

No one will be allowed in the water and lifeguards will be patrolling and making announcements telling beachgoers to keep out, although people will still be allowed on the sand, Henry said.

The Coast Guard has set up a safety zone – an area that boaters will be discouraged from entering – between Batiquitos and San Elijo lagoons, out to three nautical miles offshore, said Chief Petty Officer Steve Howell. The zone will be enforced until 8 a.m. Monday.

The purpose of the zone is to keep boats from spreading the spilled fuel.

Howell said a couple of Coast Guard boats will be stationed in the area and will warn approaching boats to avoid the zone.

The spill is estimated to be between 500 to 1,000 gallons of some type of petroleum product. It smells like gasoline or diesel fuel.

Officials said their primary concern is for the public's health and safety, and they're most worried about the fumes.

Short-term exposure to fumes can make people dizzy or nauseous, long-term exposure can have detrimental health effects, Altendorf said. There have been no reports of anyone who has become ill.

“You don't want to be breathing this stuff for a long time,” he said.

Officials said anyone who has already been in the water and starts to feel sick should contact a doctor or call 911.

There has been no discernible impact on wildlife as yet, Altendorf said.

Altendorf said the Coast Guard is monitoring the spill from the air and the water. Crews have taken samples of the substance and have sent them off for analysis; they hope to have results back within a week.

They also began setting up booms to collect the spill. A kelp bed off Beacon's Beach is acting as a natural barrier right now, Altendorf said.

The Coast Guard is also checking records to identify which vessels were nearby.

“We'll be looking at anyone who was in the area during the last 24 to 36 hours,” he said, adding that some of the ships may be as faraway as Taiwan by now.

He said investigators already have a few suspect ships, but declined to elaborate.

Henry said the fire department got a call Thursday about a diesel smell that seemed to be emanating from the area of East Glaucus Street and North Coast Highway 101.

“Yesterday the smell was horrible,” he said.

As they followed it west they realized it was coming from the beach.

“This is the worst spill I have seen in my 27 years in Encinitas,” Henry said.

Sisters Colleen and Lisa Workman – along with their three young daughters – drove all the way from Phoenix Thursday just to visit Moonlight Beach. They were disappointed to find that it was closed.

"I'm bummed," Colleen Workman said, lugging a full range of beach paraphernalia, including an ice chest, towels, chairs and several beach toys. The group walked back to their car, deciding where to go next.

They thought they would head down to Mission Beach.

The trip wasn't a total disappointment though, since where they came from it was 103 degrees.

"This is perfect weather," Colleen Workman said, as she looked up at the overcast sky.

Tim Foreman, the bass player for Switchfoot, said most of the pro surfers and celebrities who were going to attend Saturday's concert are still coming. About 10 bands are scheduled to play.

Foreman said the concert benefits a program that serves homeless children and teens in crisis.


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Fuel spill fouls 2 1/2 -mile stretch of Encinitas coast

Fuel spill fouls 2 1/2 -mile stretch of Encinitas coast
San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
The spill was first reported around 11:30 am Thursday by a boater who
noticed a large sheen on the water about five miles offshore of Beacon's
Beach, ...

ENCINITAS – A fuel spill that has fouled the ocean off Encinitas with a four-mile-long by one-mile-wide slick has prompted the closure of miles of North County beaches and the cancellation of a large weekend surfing competition.

Lifeguards and county environmental health officials have posted signs along a 2½ -mile stretch of beaches, telling swimmers and surfers to stay out of the water for at least 24 hours.

The spill was first reported around 11:30 a.m. Thursday by a boater who noticed a large sheen on the water about five miles offshore of Beacon's Beach, said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Jereme Altendorf.

It started to come onshore sometime late Thursday afternoon, Altendorf said.

Grandview, Beacon's, Moonlight, Stone Steps and D Street beaches were all closed Friday morning and were expected to remain so for at least 24 hours, said Encinitas Fire Division Chief Scott Henry. Signs have been posted along paths to the beaches.

The spill hasn't reached Swami's Beach, a popular surfing spot, but officials said it's headed that way.

After sending out helicopters to survey the affected area early Friday, the Coast Guard determined the spill area is approximately four miles long by one mile wide.

The Switchfoot Bro-Am surf competition, which was scheduled for Saturday at Moonlight Beach, has been canceled but the accompanying concert is to be held as scheduled, Henry said.

Labels:

San Diego Coastal information - North San Diego County Beaches ...

San Diego Coastal information - North San Diego County Beaches ...
Information, map, directions, and photos of Beacon's Beach, or Leucadia
State Beach, in Encinitas, CA.


On the maps, it's “Leucadia State Beach,” but ask the locals, and they will just say, “It’s always been Beacon’s Beach. Even the sign at the top of the bluff reads Beacon’s."

Swimming, surfing, fishing and picnicking are popular at this small, rocky beach. There's a reef off Beacons, which makes the beach a good surf spot.

Beacon's Beach access is via an improved trail at the foot of Leucadia Blvd, but brace yourself for the walk down, not to mention back up. Locals like to walk their dogs on the sand at Beacon's Beach. The beach is very secluded and can be the starting point of a nice hike up or down the coast during low tide.

FACILITIES
Phone
No Restrooms

PARKING
Parking is available along residential streets west of 101 or in small lots off Neptune Ave.

HOURS
Beach Parking: 5am - 10pm
Beach Use: 4am - 2am

LIFEGUARDS
Lifeguard Towers Open: 10am - 6pm during the
Summer Season (late June to Labor Day)

Contact Encinitas Lifeguards
505 South Vulcan
Encinitas, CA 92924
Emergency (760) 633-2750
Business (760) 633-2748
Junior Lifeguards
(760) 633-2752
Fax (760) 633-2626

REGULATIONS
No dogs, alcohol, or glass allowed
No Alcohol
No Dogs
No Glass Containers

LOCATION
Beacon's Beach
The park entrance to Beacon's Beach is located north of San Diego, west of I-5, at 948 Neptune Avenue at the intersection of Leucadia Boulevard in Encinitas.

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On the edge of a solution for bluffs

On the edge of a solution for bluffs
San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
Local residents who are familiar with it are so impressed that they have
suggested that the city replicate it at the popular Beacon's Beach in
Leucadia. ...

ENCINITAS – On the grounds of the lotus-domed Self-Realization Fellowship is a secret that could be the answer to a coastal homeowner's worst nightmare – bluff collapse.That happened to the retreat in 1942, when its Golden Lotus Temple slipped off a waterlogged blufftop in Encinitas and fell partway down a 100-foot slope.

The temple was dismantled and hauled away. Today, a plaque marks the temple's original location.

The fellowship's misfortune did not end there. Several more landslides occurred in ensuing years because groundwater soaked the bluffs from the inside and ocean waves eroded them from the outside.

In the 1980s, the fellowship came up with a simple three-pronged plan to stop the bluff collapses:

Drill wells and install pumps to send groundwater away from the bluff face and into a city storm drain that runs through the fellowship grounds.

Plant deep-rooted vegetation on the bluff face to hold the sand together.

Build a 1,500-foot-long wall of boulders, or riprap, at the toe of the bluffs to dissipate the crashing waves.

Since then, the fellowship grounds have survived heavy rain and high seas that have caused slides elsewhere along the fragile Encinitas coastline.

“They are doing something no one has done yet,” Encinitas Mayor James Bond said. “And it is something everyone can do.”

Simple and effective

The Self-Realization Fellowship was founded by Paramahansa Yogananda, a native of India who traveled to Boston in 1920 for an international conference of religious leaders.

Yogananda headed west to Los Angeles and, in 1925, established the international headquarters of the Self-Realization Fellowship, which teaches a mixture of Hindu scriptures and Christianity.

Yogananda often stopped to picnic at the Encinitas property, with its spectacular ocean view, on his way to San Diego to hold services. In the 1930s, a follower bought the 17 acres and built the Hermitage, which became a second home for the swami.

In 1937, Yogananda built the Golden Lotus Temple just 10 or 15 feet from the bluff's edge, featuring a bird's-eye view of the endless ocean, the crashing waves and soaring seabirds.

After the temple slid off the cliff, the fellowship's monks and nuns consulted with experts and eventually devised a bluff-saving plan. It was hardly rocket science. If anything, their system is a combination of old-fashioned wisdom and equipment aided by modern geological research.

The innovative dewatering system uses garden-variety rubber hoses, pumps and human vigilance.

There is no computer system anywhere on the grounds to warn the monastics of an impending disaster, said Brother Anilananda, a co-administrator of the Encinitas campus.

As low-tech as it may sound, the system has worked wonders, Anilananda said. Visitors who come to meditate at the fellowship's lush blufftop gardens and koi ponds can feel safe.

“We are tremendously relieved,” Anilananda said. “Otherwise, we'd still be figuring out what to do.”

Not an easy start

Before the system was installed, things were less than serene under the fellowship's lawns.

Water accumulated under the low-lying Second and K streets adjacent to the grounds and crept westward, leading to the collapse of the temple, said Steve Aceti, government and community relations representative for the fellowship.

In 1981, the monastics got permission from the then-San Diego Coast Regional Commission – later replaced by the umbrella California Coastal Commission – to build the riprap wall at the bottom of the bluff. The ring of protective boulders cost the fellowship $270,900.

That same year, in an apparently misguided effort to smooth out and stabilize the bluffs, the fellowship graded them without a permit.

Workers suspended a bulldozer from a crane at the blufftop and ended up causing 3,500 square feet of bluff between J and K streets to topple under the weight of the heavy equipment, a San Diego Coast Regional Commission report stated.

The fellowship was fined $15,000, an unprecedented amount at the time, and ordered to plant vegetation on the bluff face.The monks and nuns experimented with 51 varieties of plants and narrowed their choice to acacia and atriplex breweri, also known as saltbush, because they are drought-resistant and can tolerate salt air. The revegetation project cost $2,400.

In 1983 and 1986, the fellowship instituted the system's most unusual element: wells equipped with pumps to move groundwater away from the bluffs and into storm drains. Two wells, one as deep as 85 feet, are used today with pumps activated by the water level. As an additional precaution, the monastics built about 20 small monitoring wells scattered around the property that are checked twice a week to gauge the situation.

Locals impressed

Today, the fellowship's bluff-protection system still has the support of the state Coastal Commission, which restricts the use of bluff-protection devices unless there is an emergency.

“I haven't heard any problems about it,” said Lesley Ewing, a senior coastal engineer for the commission.

The bluff-saving methods are known to few outside the campus. The system's design is not well-recorded and mostly consigned to the monastics' memories and old government documents stored in warehouses.

Local residents who are familiar with it are so impressed that they have suggested that the city replicate it at the popular Beacon's Beach in Leucadia. City officials are examining how to shore up the crumbling 85-foot-tall bluffs that are threatening a parking lot at the top and a trail down the cliff face.

The city has taken the suggestion into consideration and is drafting a final environmental review for the Beacon's project. However, city engineers say the geological structure of the Beacon's bluffs may be different from the fellowship's, and for now, they suggest a sea wall.

Not everyone is a fan of the fellowship's measures.

Todd Cardiff, an advisory board member of the Surfrider Foundation's San Diego chapter, criticizes the riprap for taking up beach space that could have been used for recreation. Cardiff also contends that it keeps the ocean from doing its natural job – eroding the bluffs to make sand for beaches.

“We prefer that everybody locate structures far enough away from the bluffs to not need bluff-protection devices,” Cardiff said.

But the fellowship already has been built, Brother Anilananda said. His goal now is to keep the Hermitage standing. Paramahansa Yogananda lived there for many years before his death in 1952, writing his “Autobiography of a Yogi” there. It is also an annual destination for pilgrims from 50 countries, Anilananda said.

The fellowship ultimately would like to add sand to the beach below the serene campus, widening it and making it harder for waves to eat away at the bluffs.

“Dewatering is only part of the solution,” Aceti said. “With sand replenishment, the waves will not reach the bluffs except during storms.”


Labels:

Proposed budget includes big-ticket items

Proposed budget includes big-ticket items
San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
Beacon's Beach sea wall and footpath, with $2.8 million budgeted. Total
cost is undetermined. Five pedestrian crossings over the railroad tracks,...

ENCINITAS – Thanks to increasing property tax revenue and budget surpluses, Encinitas will have more than enough money to build priority facilities, boost its reserves to an unprecedented level and go high tech, a proposed budget for the coming fiscal year shows.

It will even spare property owners the threat of fee increases in two controversial programs – pollution control, and street lighting and landscaping.

The city will use general funds to subsidize those.

In doing so, city officials are acknowledging the harsh lessons learned in 2005 and last year when voters rejected a $3-to $5-per-year increase in the Lighting and Landscape District's assessment and a $5-a-month pollution control fee.

Not only did voters say no, but critics repeatedly accused the city of nickel-and-diming property owners.

In the proposed budget, which forecasts finances for six fiscal years beginning July 1, the Lighting and Landscaping Assessment District is expected to incur a $56,000 deficit in 2009-10 and a $154,000 deficit in 2010-11. The city's general fund will shoulder the cost.

The city will pay $1.6 million for pollution controls in 2007-08 to meet the state's Clean Water Act standards. That cost is projected to increase in the next few years.

“We are in very good shape,” Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan said. “It's a byproduct of having a relatively conservative approach to budgeting. I am very pleased.”

Mayor James Bond said he is pleased with a sound budget that shows revenues continuing to outpace expenditures.

And the city is expecting to increase its emergency reserves from the current 15 percent of operating expenditures to 20 percent, an unprecedented high. That would bring the city's reserves to $9.14 million in the coming fiscal year.

The city also is proposing a new budget stabilization reserve at 2 percent of revenues to cope with recessions. That fund would start at $1.07 million in the next fiscal year.

Residents will have their first opportunity to comment on the proposed budget at a City Council workshop at 4 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 505 S. Vulcan Ave.

Major capital improvement projects budgeted for the next six years include the first phase of a 44-acre public park in Cardiff, with $15 million budgeted.

The park, commonly known as the Hall property after a previous owner, would include a dog park and grassy areas. But city officials said they cannot predict when construction could begin because the project is undergoing a lengthy environmental review that could end up in litigation.

The budget also contains funding for a long-awaited beautification of North Coast Highway 101 from A Street to La Costa Avenue in Leucadia. The total cost of the project has not been determined, but the city has allocated $1.2 million and is proposing to set aside $500,000 each year for the next six years.

Encinitas also is studying unfunded liabilities in its retirees' medical benefits. The city is proposing to set aside $500,000 each year beginning in 2008-09 for five years for possible payments.

Labels:

Natural Sand Replenishment Currently Underway

Natural Sand Replenishment Currently Underway
By JP(JP)
Beacon's Beach, Leucadia California This photo was taken Feb 23rd 2007. It shows the indicator rocks for North Reef

and the boulder. These photos were taken March 13th 2007. The south swells have already pushed up enough sand to

cover ...

This photo was taken Feb 23rd 2007. It shows the indicator rocks for North Reef and the boulder.
These photos were taken March 13th 2007. The south swells have already pushed up enough sand to cover the indicator rocks AND the boulder.
The dredging they've been doing in Carlsbad at Ponto and the power plant may also have contributed to this. There is a lot of sand moving around the beaches right now. If the government keeps their hands off we will have good waves and good fishing this summer.

Labels:

Storm brings heavy showers, few problems to North County

Storm brings heavy showers, few problems to North County
North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
The city pumps runoff that collects at the park over a hill and onto
Beacon's Beach. In Escondido, homeowners headed to RCP Block & Brick, a
Mission Avenue ...


NORTH COUNTY -- The largest storm yet this season moved through North County Monday, bringing landslide warnings, flooding, high surf and snow to the region, but few major problems were reported, authorities said.

The storm dropped about twice as much rain and snow on the area as previous storms had this season, bringing much-needed relief to the parched region, National Weather Service forecaster Robert Balfour said.

Rainfall totals throughout North County by 5:30 p.m. included 0.30 inches at the Oceanside airport, 0.37 inches in Vista, 0.56 at the Carlsbad airport, 0.78 inches in Del Mar, 0.93 inches in Escondido, 1.50 inches at the Ramona fire station, 1.13 inches in Rancho Bernardo and 1.52 inches in Poway. Daytime temperatures ranged from the 40s to 60s.

The rain also boosted the seasonal rainfall total to 2.93 inches at Lindbergh Field, which is still 3.86 inches less than the annual average to this point in the season of 6.79, meteorologist Steve Vanderburg said. Before Monday's storm, the total was only 2.21 inches.

The rain, which should clear out by today, will be followed by a second storm which is expected to move through the area Thursday and Friday, Balfour said. That storm system is expected to be colder, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s, so snow could fall as low as 3,500 feet, Balfour said.

The storms will "help the (dry season) situation overall," Balfour said.

"They will recharge ground water and increase growth a lot more. There will be more green grass, which will temporarily help the fire danger."

Larry Craig, a dispatcher for the California Department of Forestry, said time will tell how much the rain affects the landscape now covered in dead brush from January's frost.

"It depends on if the rain is countywide or hit-or-miss," Craig said. "The brush will absorb the rain and lower fire danger for a while, but the frost killed a lot of brush, so we'll see."

The storm system, which formed when a subtropical southwestern system merged with a cold front from the Gulf of Alaska, sprinkled showers and spots of heavy rain as it moved through the county, forecasters said.

The storm also dropped snow on mountains as low as 4,000 feet, including Palomar Mountain, areas south of Julian and near Pine Valley, east of El Cajon, Balfour said.

Part of South Grade Road on Palomar Mountain was closed for a time because of the snow, Balfour said.

Warnings were also issued for thunderstorms, small hail and funnel clouds, but none of those conditions ever materialized over North County, authorities said.

Forecasters issued an urban and small flood advisory through late Monday morning, but no flooding was reported on North County roads, the California Highway Patrol reported.

However, Monday's showers were enough to submerge much of Leucadia Roadside Park in silty, ankle-deep water. A crew of firefighters and a powerful pump were at the ready late Monday morning at the notorious low spot at Leucadia Boulevard. The city pumps runoff that collects at the park over a hill and onto Beacon's Beach.

In Escondido, homeowners headed to RCP Block & Brick, a Mission Avenue business that sells sand bags, an employee said.

"It's been kind of slow today, but we have sold some," Jaime Rodriguez said. "As soon as it starts sprinkling, (residents) start getting them."

Forecasters also warned of high surf, which could reach 5 to 7 feet with peaks of 9 feet. A high surf advisory is in effect until 2 p.m. today.

At the beach in Carlsbad Monday afternoon, poorly-formed 3 to 4 foot waves lapped at the shore, and no flooding or serious rescues were reported, lifeguard Alec Leslie said.

"It's very quiet here at the beach," except for the occasional surfer, he said.

Lifeguards worked to remove lobster traps that washed toward the beach, becoming a hazard for surfers, but the traps are "constantly" a problem and an "ongoing (effort) this time of year," Leslie said.

On roads throughout San Diego County, the CHP reported 257 crashes between midnight and 5 p.m., compared to the 50 to 75 crashes normally seen on days without rain.

Among the more significant incidents, a 50-foot big rig fishtailed and overturned on Highway 76 near Bonsall on Monday morning, blocking the roadway in both directions at Gird Road for about three hours. The truck's driver was uninjured, but the crash also caused a minor hazardous materials spill when diesel fuel leaked onto the road, said John Buchanan, spokesman for the North County Fire Protection District.

Dan Beeson, a Valley Center fire engineer, said area firefighters were working Monday morning to check spots on streets near Lilac and Coal Grade roads that routinely flood in wet weather but found no significant flooding.

More than two feet of water can accumulate in some areas, and people who try to cross the water can be swept away, Beeson said. Firefighters last performed such a water rescue in 2003, he said.

The rainfall also prompted the county Department of Environmental Health to issue a general advisory for coastal waters because of urban runoff that can increase levels of bacteria in the ocean and bays. Such advisories generally warn people to stay out of the water for at least 72 hours after the last rainfall.

Runoff, which especially accumulates near storm drains, creeks, rivers and lagoons, may contain bacteria from sources including animal waste, soil and decomposing vegetation.

For updates on beach closure information, call the county's 24-hour hotline, (619) 338-2073 or visit www.cleanup.org. Enter your ZIP code and select Beach Water Quality.

Staff writer Adam Kaye contributed to this report.

Labels:

A Proliferation of the Devices

A Proliferation of the Devices

By J.P.

Now, the key is to keep a pedestrian crossing at HWY101 and Leucadia Blvd (if they
decide to close the intersection as Jerome Stock's plan calls for). Then pedestrians
could walk from Neptune and Beacon's beach all the way to the Ecke ...

The Encinitas Planning Commission voted 5-0 Thursday to approve the first phase of Leucadia Boulevard improvements that call for sidewalks, bike lanes, landscaping three roundabouts.

Some peeps spoke out against the roundabouts, others in support.

Personally I can hang with the roundabouts, I support them.

But, I think three might be one too many roundabouts for Leucadia Blvd, two roundabouts might be better. I think the Hygeia stop sign should be replaced by a roundabout in Phase I of the plan instead of Phase II.

This quote in the NCT.com story caught my attention, some speakers said, local motorists just don't understand how to navigate them.

Resident Frank Scarborough said he avoids Santa Fe Drive because of the roundabout and, as a result, does some of his shopping in Carlsbad.


That doesn't make any sense to me. If he avoids going to Vons on Santa Fe Dr because of the roundabout then it would be easier to go to Albertson's on Encinitas Blvd or any of the El Camino Real stores than drive all the way to Carlsbad. Or, he could zip down to the Seaside Market in Cardiff. (Pick up a nice bottle of wine and some flowers for the Mrs while you are there).

*Tip of the day, go to the Encinitas Blvd Smart & Final, that place is always mellow.

And, comon', the Santa Fe roundabout is easy as pie (unless you are driving a semi-truck). The Leucadia roundabouts will be way more chaotic for sure, but I think people will get used to them.

I'm hoping that once the I-5 hoppers realize they hate the roundabouts they will avoid Leucadia Blvd all together in the morning.

Blair Knoll, a city engineer, told commissioners that pedestrian and vehicular safety were driving the project, for which $1.2 million has been budgeted to complete the first phase.

In addition to roundabouts, landscaped medians appear on plans.

The medians, as well as landscaped, meandering walkways, would provide safe havens for pedestrians who today must cross a boulevard that is up to 50 feet wide, Knoll said.


What will be nice is linking the golf course area trails and east Leucadia Blvd with sidewalks on west Leucadia Blvd. Now, the key is to keep a pedestrian crossing at HWY101 and Leucadia Blvd (if they decide to close the intersection as Jerome Stock's plan calls for). Then pedestrians could walk from Neptune and Beacon's beach all the way to the Ecke Ranch trails and back. That would be sweet.

Labels:

Even More Beacon's-post planning commission thoughts

Even More Beacon's-post planning commission thoughts

By J.P.

I attended a portion of tonight's planning commission meeting about the proposed
Beacon's beach trail access. I arrived at 6:15 and I left right around 8:00 pm
when public comments were still taking place. ...

I attended a portion of tonight's planning commission meeting about the proposed Beacon's beach trail access. I arrived at 6:15 and I left right around 8:00 pm when public comments were still taking place.

Here is my 2 minute take on the whole thing:

The conceptual plan presented by the city was fairly weak and seemed to be lacking a lot of detail. Maybe this was because they are proceeding slowly and carefully due to all the public interest.

The sea wall is a no-go. Everyone hates it, nearby bluff residents, environmentalists, surfers, beachcombers, etc. The mere fact that Surfrider Foundation will sue over the sea wall makes finding an alternative all the more attractive.

We have a grant for 2.8 million bucks for this thing but the presented plan comes out to 5 million. The city has no extra money for anymore capital projects. We just borrowed 20 million and it's all spent. Let's do a Beacon's beach access for 2.8 million. Let's work with what we are given.

My architect wifey made a rare appearance tonight and soaked in the presentation. We ducked out early and went out to dinner where she sketched out a really solid plan on her placemat. Her plan should only cost around 3 million. She is going to draw up a rough draft of her idea and submit it to the city. I will post the plan on this blog. It's a good idea and doesn't have a sea wall.

For those of you who didn't make the meeting you missed 3 oddball minutes by unsuccessful city council candidate Paul "Pablo" Martens where he ranted about hurricanes in the 1800's and paleontologist in the future. FYI, he talks in that voice all the time.

For those who stayed, how did the commission end up voting? This meeting was about the EIR only. What happened? What happens next?

And dammitt, I can't believe I missed My Name is Earl and The Office. I really need Tivo.

Labels:

Beacon's Beach report criticized at meeting

Beacon's Beach report criticized at meeting
... and planning commissioners alike poked holes Thursday in an
environmental impact report analyzing the consequences of the planned
Beacon's Beach Access Project ...


ENCINITAS -- Public speakers and planning commissioners alike poked holes Thursday in an environmental impact report analyzing the consequences of the planned Beacon's Beach Access Project.

During two hours of debate, speakers and commissioners criticized the report for failing to offer a detailed examination of alternatives to a planned sea wall.

"My concern is, we're looking at one alternative and not looking at others," Commissioner Tom McCabe said.

The report, which remains in draft form, concludes that in protecting the bluff, the planned 450-foot-long wall would contribute to beach erosion.

Beacon's is a popular surfing beach at the foot of Leucadia Boulevard. The city's Parks and Recreation Department has proposed building the sea wall; installing a shower; regrading, planting and irrigating the 85-foot-tall bluff face; building a trail; and redesigning the parking lot along Neptune Avenue above the beach -- five to 10 feet farther east than the existing one that hangs at the edge of the fragile bluff top.

John Frenken, parks and beach superintendent, told commissioners that the project would protect a trail that was closed for one month in 2001 and again in 2005 because of landslides.

A Neptune Avenue resident who lives just south of Beacon's, John Wigmore, told commissioners that the planned sea wall could accelerate erosion of the unprotected bluff in front of his home.

"The city seeks to protect Beacon's at the expense of serious damage, if not destruction, of adjoining properties," Wigmore said.

He noted that the environmental study offers an alternative access plan -- a stairway -- that does not call for a sea wall.

Frenken warned that if an unprotected bluff were to collapse, any stairway would collapse along with it.

That's what happened during the 1982-83 winter, when a huge bluff failure wiped out a stairway, said Charles Marvin, a longtime Neptune resident.

Speaking on behalf of the Leucadia 101 MainStreet Association, Marvin said the project had the group's support because it would improve beach access. He suggested adding restrooms to plans and complained that as proposed, the project would result in a loss of parking.

Environmental attorney Todd Cardiff of the Surfrider Foundation told commissioners that sand replenishment in an isolated area doesn't really work, and that introducing too much sand could cover the reef and add to the seawater's turbidity.

The city must offer some kind of access to the beach during a planned, nine-month construction period, Cardiff said.

Sea wall opponents argue that receding bluffs are part of a natural, eastward migration of the shoreline, and that by arresting that migration, beaches become narrower. The environmental report suggests sand replenishment as compensation.

To certify the report, commissioners would need to agree that public safety and benefits would override possible environmental damage.

The report is posted on the city's Web site and copies are available at City Hall and at the Cardiff-by-the-Sea Library. Written comments, which are due by Nov. 23, will receive responses in a subsequent draft of the report.

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Surfrider to challenge Beacon's Beach study

Surfrider to challenge Beacon's Beach study
ENCINITAS -- An environmental impact report examining the planned
Beacon's Beach Access Project is vague and incomplete in its
assessment of possible harm to ...


ENCINITAS -- An environmental impact report examining the planned Beacon's Beach Access Project is vague and incomplete in its assessment of possible harm to the beach, an attorney representing the San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation said Wednesday.

The report acknowledges that a planned, 450-foot-long sea wall that is part of the project could harm the environment and proposes sand replenishment as a way to compensate for such damage.

But the report fails to analyze whether importing sand would effectively make up for beach erosion and the extent to which beach-building might affect surfing at the beach below Neptune Avenue at Leucadia Boulevard, said Todd Cardiff of the Encinitas-based Coast Law Group.

"We are concerned that the sand replenishment will not be effective," Cardiff said.

Cardiff said he plans to submit written comments responding to the city's environmental impact report before a Nov. 23 deadline.

Tonight the Encinitas Planning Commission will listen to public comments and offer its own responses to the report, which is posted on the city's Web site. Copies are available at City Hall and at the Cardiff-by-the-Sea Library. The commission's meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 505 S. Vulcan Ave.

Published last month, the report concludes that the sea wall, in conjunction with others nearby, would reduce the width of the beach by blocking erosion of the bluff behind it.

Sea-wall opponents argue that receding bluffs are part of a natural, eastward migration of the shoreline, and that by arresting that migration, beaches become narrower.

The sea wall would further armor an ocean bluff already filled with sea walls, "resulting in a cumulative visual impact," the report states. The potential loss of beach, it continues, cannot be fully corrected.

"We have stated outright in the (report) that those impacts can't be mitigated below a level of significance," said Scott Vurbeff, Encinitas' environmental coordinator.

Vurbeff dismissed Cardiff's criticism of the report.

To compensate for losses, the report orders the city's Parks Department to replenish the beach with sand when more than 8 feet of the wall is exposed.

Vurbeff said comments submitted in writing would receive thorough, written replies.

At tonight's meeting, "We won't be responding to comments, we will be listening to them," he said. "We're stressing that people put their comments in writing so we can respond to them."

Cardiff said the proposed nine-month closure of the Beacon's Beach access during construction would be unacceptable.

"They're going to have some very unhappy surfers," he said.

As proposed, the project would remove the timbers, drainage lines and other debris strewn across the 85-foot-tall bluff face, which would be seeded and landscaped. A shower would be built at the beach.

An improved path would be built from the beach to a reconfigured parking lot, which would be positioned 5 to 10 feet farther east than the existing one.

City officials say the project would protect a route to the beach that closed temporarily in 2001 and 2005 after landslides damaged the trail. Landslides continue to present a safety hazard, officials say.

No cost estimate for the project was available.

Labels:

Surfrider to challenge Beacon's Beach study

SignOnSanDiego Entertainment Guide | Beacon's Beach
Guide to outdoor sports and recreation in San Diego. Golfing, running,
hiking, biking, walks, sailing, bowling, family fun, parks, gardens,
beaches, ...


More a surfer's landmark than a sybarite's retreat, this North County spot is strewn with cobblestones and kelp — which makes for tricky walking and doesn't exactly beckon you to sit down and relax. Fishing and swimming conditions are good. The surfing is first-rate.

Located off Neptune Avenue at the intersection of Leucadia Boulevard, there's a small parking strip with a telephone, but no other facilities and no lifeguards.

From the top of the bluffs, a sandy switchback trail leads to the narrow cobblestone and sand beach below. And the walk back up will keep you healthy. A post-and-chain handrail lines the trail the whole way to the beach. A new access trail is in the planning stages.

The city of Encinitas considers this a day-use park, open from 5 a.m. to dusk. No alcohol is allowed.

Sunsets draw a regular crowd and the elevated, open perspective is a great way to end a busy day.

The bluffs along this stretch of Leucadia beach are beautiful, but can be unstable. Not everyone heeds posted warning signs, but it's best to keep them in mind and keep away from the bluffs, especially after a rainy period.

Labels:

Beacon's Beach Trail Access

Beacon's Beach Trail Access

By J.P.

I'm well overdue blogging about the proposed Beacon's Beach trail refurbishment.
... If you frequent this part of Leucadia you know that sections of the dirt
trail down to Beacon's beach is fairly sketchy. The other popular beaches in ...


I'm well overdue blogging about the proposed Beacon's Beach trail refurbishment.

I've been meaning to stop by the city and check out the plans in person before I started whining about it on the internet but I lag.

This Thursday, 6 pm at city hall there is going to be a public meeting about the new Beacon's trail. If you frequent this part of Leucadia you know that sections of the dirt trail down to Beacon's beach are constantly collapsing. The other popular beaches in Encinitas; Swami's, D-St and Grandview all have nice staircases while Beacon's has a rapidly eroding dirt trail.

Here is the pdf link about the meeting from the city website, click me

Here is the Union Tribune story that ran about the Beacon's trail the other week: click me

You'll find in that article that the Surfrider Foundation is against any sort of sea wall at the base of the trail and will sue the city to block it.

I personally view the wall as less of a sea wall that will disrupt sand migration and more of a basic retaining wall that will keep the trail from sliding down the cliff ( I must again note that I haven't yet seen the actual plans).

The Surfrider Foundation has a no tolerance policy towards sea walls. I think sea walls should be considered on a case by case basis.

The city has proposed building a 450-foot-long sea wall – the length of the beach – to keep the bluff from crumbling, said John Frenken, the city's park and beach superintendent.

The sea wall would be 17 feet high, but most of it would be below sand level, leaving about 6 feet visible. Steel anchors would be connected to bedrock to stabilize the upper bluff face. The $5 million project includes building new stairways, a lifeguard tower and showers.


Missing from this plan are some sort of public restrooms. Porti-potties would be fine even.
First, I am responding to this without the consent of the current Executive Committee of the San Diego Chapter of Surfrider Foundation. But I have been part of the leadership for some time. For the record, all of the following comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of other Surfrider members, the San Diego Chapter, or National. I'm simply trying to give some of the principles on which Surfrider has based their actions.

The San Diego Chapter of Surfrider Foundation has been very active in fighting seawalls for a over 10 years. The reason we're opposed to them is because they impede the natural migration of the coast eastward, as historically has occurred for millions of years. Why does this matter to surfers? Impeding the natural sediment flow takes away the public's beach to preserve structures that have been built on an eroding bluff. You don't build in a floodplain because your house would get washed away; similarly, you don't build a house on an eroding bluff because it will fall in the ocean. The public's use of the beach serves more people than a few homeowners. It's unfortunate for the homeowners, but the public deserves to keep its public resources.

On the Beacon's issue, we were asked to review redesign plans several years ago because there is an active slide in the area. The SD Chapter was not comfortable endorsing the plan because it called for permanent or semi-permanent structures on the bluff; endorsing that would have contradicted our then-active lawsuits in Solana Beach.

This is an extremely complicated issue with many angles/facets. The bottom line is that Surfrider Foundation is opposed to armoring the coastline. The coastline is a dynamic - not static - environment. Our infrastructure, urban planning, and future development should reflect that.

I'm sure many of you want to send me email and get more specifics. Unfortunately, I have a full-time job like (most) of the rest of you and a wife (read - I don't have time to answer everyone's questions one-on-one). I'm trying to give you the gist of Surfrider's stance, but our attorneys at Coast Law Group can elaborate in far greater detail than myself. I have volunteered with the Chapter for nine years while working full-time as an environmental consultant and wildlife biologist. I've been to many public hearings (taking time off from work or in the evenings) while serving as Chairman of the Chapter. Our attorneys also work pro-bono on Surfrider issues and volunteer much of their free time while trying to raise families and make ends meet amidst SoCal's high cost of living. I encourage all of you to contact our full-time employee, Bill Hickman (bill@surfridersd.org) or better yet, come to a Chapter meeting and get involved. Educate yourselves. We need more people to get involved and understand the full effects of coastal armoring.

See you in the water,

Brian Woodward
Advisory Committee
San Diego Chapter
Surfrider Foundation


I hope Surfrider presents an alternative idea instead of just shutting down this proposal.

Here is a photo I took of Beacon's during our last 7 ft+ high tide. As you can see even with this extreme tide the surfline does not reach the cliffs.
Granted the waves are not very big this day. A high tide during a gnarly winter storm may reach the base of the trail and the sea wall. I guess the fear is that the beach sand will be stripped away from the wall during such a storm.

So my question is, could we design a sea wall that is jagged shape, something that sand can cling too? Could we design a sea wall with nook and crannies that plants could take root in and birds could nest in? A smarter better sea wall? Any engineers out there?

It seems to me that a lot of people on both sides of the coin have never even spent any quality time at Beacon's are going to be making some big decisions on it's future.
Can we preserve the natural beauty of the bluff and still have safe passage to the beach?
North Beacon's has an old sea wall that juts out into the surf during high tides. Sand seems to be doing a good job of staying around here. In fact there is too much sand on the reef for the waves to be as good as they can get there.

Labels:

USA Road Travel: On Beacon's Beach , There's A Mellow Mixture Of ...

USA Road Travel: On Beacon's Beach , There's A Mellow Mixture Of ...
Hitchhiking USA, with highway and US State info. Featuring stories, travel
tips and road culture, with photos, forums and free membership.

This is the final installment in the series of articles originally written for the the Richmond Times-Dispatch by Mark Holmberg . He generously shared them with us on digihitch and writes
"Well, you asked for it. Looking back on these stories, I'm a little surprised that I've written this much about hitchhiking. Then again, I've been a reporter here for 17 years, and have written several thousand stories.
Anyway, this last thing has nothing to do with hitching, but was one of the reasons I took the trip to Cal. last summer."


There's no such thing as a secret surf spot between Los Angeles and San Diego.
But time has been gentler to Beacon's Beach in Leucadia than most.
A search for some peace and a soulful, kicked-back atmosphere has brought me to this cliff-sheltered spot again and again during the past 10 days.

It is an amazing place to surf up till - and past - sunset, when the fog-kissed pastels of the darkening sky blend seamlessly with the Pacific as lights blink on - beaconlike - in the cliff-clinging homes overhead.
It's such a fabulous place to watch a sunset that one of its nicknames is "Martini Beach." (Its most-used name comes from the Coast Guard beacon that sat atop the bluff during World War II.)
What a place to lose your inner self - or find it.

"It's been discovered," lamented J.R. Rigney, 58, an elder statesman of Beacon's.
He's been surfing here for 40 years.
For a long time, "there just wasn't anyone around here," J.R. said as we sat on a cliff's-edge rail 75 or so yards above the beach, watching the sweet waves roll in with surfers on their shoulders.
"It was the next best thing to Hawaii."

An eclectic mix of characters has been drawn to this secluded, rugged area nicely positioned between Oceanside and San Diego.
"The wealthy living with the poor, surf bums with the sophisticated," J.R. said as he and his fellow longtime locals Brian and Jeff discussed their beloved spot.

George Harrison of the Beatles had a home here. Novelist Zane Grey did too. So did "the program director for the moon landing," Jeff added. J.R.'s next-door neighbor is a quantum physicist who came up with a concept for bomb- and nuclear materials-detecting equipment used in post-9/11 airports. And J.R. is an electrical engineer and designer.

Then again, there's a mobile home court nestled in the slope leading to the cliffs.
Homesites on the bluffs could be had for $25,000 not too long ago.
"Now they're 2 or 3 million," J.R. said.
Like much of Southern California, "we have people problems," J.R. said.
"Density and infrastructure."

Yes, there's a fair amount of traffic in Leucadia. And there are 50 or so surfers riding the break at North Beacon and its sister break, South Reef, when there used to be 10. Yes, there are hundreds on the beach when there used to be dozens. And yes, the spot even has its own Web site, beaconsbeach.com, complete with a live wave cam.

But, man, it's nice here. The locals aren't as territorial as you'll find at other breaks, so no one complains about a clumsy surfer like myself and the fair number of people who come to learn, such as my son Rudy. There are lots of women and girls riding the waves.

There are no nimrods spray painting "Tourist Go Home" on out-of-state cars, as happened to my brother at a spot north of here soon after he moved back to California.
There's virtually no crime. "This is a really safe place to live," J.R. said.

Life moves slower here. And the waves push a shade more slowly because of the reef's shape and the vast kelp beds that create flat, glassy pockets that are visible nearly a half-mile offshore.

Beacon's has a bit of a reputation as a longboarders' haven, which doesn't protect it as much as it could, now that California is in the midst of a big-board craze. Young men and women are now joining the old-timers on swell-snuggling, 9-foot and longer boards, carving long, graceful lines on the wave faces instead of the slashing and shredding popularized by previous generations of short-boarders.

Could this be a signal that Californians are mellowing, becoming more harmonious with their delicate environment? Perhaps the state's bogging economy - and the accompanying circus over the governorship - are part of a slower, more soulful lifestyle that is desperately needed here, and across the country.

This is definitely my speed. I spent three days last weekend riding noisy jet skis and wakeboarding in the Colorado River in Arizona. It was nice, with breathtaking vistas that almost overshadowed the wicked heat.

But I prefer this place, and its peace, quiet and beauty. It shines on the soul and shows the way - like a beacon.

Labels:

Beacon's Beach

Beacon's Beach
Beacon's Beach . ... Please go to our main site i
Surfing.com or go directly to the page you are trying to reach
Beacon's Beach ...

Our site is about the history of Beacon's Beach Located in Encinitas (Leucadia) - North San Diego County plus we offer surfboards, videos, surf books, wet suits, boogie boards and surfing gear. We now have a surf cam (under repair), online tide guide and a time lapse pictorial sequence on the
recent beach sand.

The view from the bluff top... ready to surf or enjoy the beach. These pictures rotate every 3 seconds.

The winding path down and the wave size you come to love and understand...

Beacons view point, near what used to be Martini Point, before Martini Point slid 100 feet down to the beach below. Ever wonder how Beacon's got it's name? Learn about this secret.

Beacon's Beach is located in North San Diego County, north of Del Mar, Solana Beach and Cardiff, south of Oceanside and Carlsbad, in Encinitas - or Leucadia as known to the locals far and near.

Because Beacon's is hard to find, and the winding path is a deterrent to many (especially those with kids) most of the beachgoers are native to the immediate area.


Labels:

Moonlight State Beach to Beacon's Beach | CA: Southern California ...

Moonlight State Beach to Beacon's Beach | CA: Southern California ...
The hike from Moonlight State Beach to Beacon’s Beach follows a 1.4-mile
stretch of bluff-backed coastline. The beach strand lies between
Encinitas ...

Preview:
The hike from Moonlight State Beach to Beacon’s Beach follows a 1.4-mile stretch of bluff-backed coastline. The beach strand lies between Encinitas Boulevard and Leucadia Boulevard in the town Leucadia, part of the city of Encinitas. Moonlight State Beach is a broad, crescent-shaped cove flanked with sandstone cliffs. Cottonwood Creek drains into the ocean through the sandy beach. It is a popular, easily accessible swimming, surfing, and picnicking beach with a blufftop overlook and benches. Beacon’s Beach (formerly known as Leucadia State Beach) is a narrow, bluff-backed beach and a popular area for surfing and skin diving. A stairway and ramp zigzag down the eroding 80-foot cliffs to the beach strand below a viewing platform. Between these two beaches is Seaside Gardens County Park, locally called Stone Steps Beach, and Encinitas Beach, a secluded beach without direct access. Stone Steps Beach is a narrow, cobble beach reached from a long, partially stone stairway of 97 steps, dropping 80vfeet down the eroding sandstone cliffs from Neptune Avenue. Encinitas Beach is accessed by either walking south from Beacon's Beach or north from Stone Steps Beach.

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BEACONS BEACH IN LEUCADIA ON N. SAN DIEGO COUNTY COAST

BEACONS BEACH IN LEUCADIA ON N. SAN DIEGO COUNTY COAST
Events Encinitas Street Fair · Poinsettia Festival · Taste of
MainStreet International Food Festival · Wavecrest Woodies
Weekend Hotel Reviews ...
Beacon's is known as the surfer beach. There's a limited amount of sand for strolling and relaxing and the beach is often strewn with cobblestones and kelp. Fishing and swimming conditions are good and locals like to walk their dogs on the sand.

Located off Neptune Avenue at the intersection of Leucadia Boulevard, there's a small parking lot with a telephone, but no other facilities. From the top of the bluffs, a gentle dirt switchback trail leads to the beach below. A post-and-chain handrail lines the trail the whole way to the beach.

The signage says the beach is closed between 2 and 4 a.m. but the parking lot hours are more limited so there are opportunities for locals to get in some moonlight surfing and strolling. No alcohol allowed.

The bluffs along this stretch of Leucadia beach are beautiful, but are posted as unstable so heed the warnings and stay on the trail if you don't want to risk falling.

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iExplore Community: Top Surfing-Swami's & Beacon's Beach - Cardiff ...

iExplore Community: Top Surfing-Swami's & Beacon's Beach - Cardiff ...
Read a free-form travel journal from Cardiff, California.

Often referred to as the "Western Riviera," the North County San Diego area is home to many top surfers, like Rob Machado, and it attracts world-class surfers from around the world, especially to Swami's Beach and Beacon's Beach. Cardiff State Beach and Cardiff Reef hosts the annual Rob Machado Surf Classic every September; an opportunity for for talented new surfers to win prizes and recognition in the surfing world. Surfing magazines consistently rate these two Encinitas beaches among the TOP TEN places in the WORLD for surfing. It's no wonder that many of the world's top surfers as well as famed, older "heroes" of the surfing world, live near these beaches.

If you live here, there's no escape from constant reminders that surfing is one of the primary coastal sporting activities. Non-surfer as I am, I still am thrilled by Swami's surfers and love watching them; many a neighbor's kid's car has a rack to accommodate the equipment needed to pursue the sport. One has to be on the lookout for the entrance to Swami's parking lot; it's just south of the Self-Realization Temple on Coast Highway, and it's on your right as soon as the Temple wall ends. I highly recommend seeing the Swami's activity from the vantage point of the Self-Realization Garden grounds during the summer, as the crowd of surfers at Swami's quickly fills up the rather small parking lot it has. Frankly, it's a summer crush to avoid.

Everyone knows how Swami's got its name (from its location directly oceanward from the Self-Realization Temple), but the origin of Beacon's name is debatable. Many old-timers insist that the name derived from a beacon that was off-shore from this Leucadian beach during World War Two, at a time when Japanese invasion rumors circulated in military-concentrated San Diego. Others insist it was dubbed Beacon's in honor of an early settler. All are agreed, however, that it is a narrow, rocky beach that attracts only surfers. Erosion has taken its toll through the years, which accounts for Beacon's diminishing dimensions. But surfing there is great, and it remains a prime beach for that activity. For lots of local surfers who've surfed 30 years or more here, these two beaches are their favorite "hangouts."

Labels:

Beacon's Beach , Encinitas: fun in the surf Sunset - Find Articles

Beacon's Beach , Encinitas: fun in the surf Sunset - Find Articles
Beacons Beach, encinitas.

Sitting below the Leucadia neighborhood at the base of an unstable bluff, Beacon's Beach is a hideaway that recalls simpler times along the Southern California coast. This beach is full of friendly locals and is popular for both surfing and surf-fishing. Kelp beds and offshore reefs create habitat for a wide range of fish, with surfperch being the most common. Most people cast from shore, but you might also spot a few intrepid souls fishing from surfboards farther out. Bluff and beach erosion has long been a problem here, and a recent sand-replenishment program now makes it easier to explore the roughly 1 1/2-mile stretch south to Stonesteps Beach, especially at low tide. Along the way, it's fascinating to see the measures taken to protect the bluffs.

Labels:

Beacon's Beach Leucadia State Beach Encinitas California

Beacon's Beach Leucadia State Beach Encinitas California
The history of Beacon's Beach in Encinitas California, plus a
live surf cam for the latest surfing report.

Our site is about the history of Beacon's Beach Located in Encinitas (Leucadia) - North San Diego County plus we offer surfboards, videos, surf books, wet suits, boogie boards and surfing gear. We now have a surf cam (under repair), online tide guide and a time lapse pictorial sequence on the
recent beach sand.

The view from the bluff top... ready to surf or enjoy the beach. These pictures rotate every 3 seconds.

The winding path down and the wave size you come to love and understand...

Beacons view point, near what used to be Martini Point, before Martini Point slid 100 feet down to the beach below. Ever wonder how Beacon's got it's name? Learn about this secret.

Beacon's Beach is located in North San Diego County, north of Del Mar, Solana Beach and Cardiff, south of Oceanside and Carlsbad, in Encinitas - or Leucadia as known to the locals far and near.

Because Beacon's is hard to find, and the winding path is a deterrent to many (especially those with kids) most of the beachgoers are native to the immediate area.

Labels:

Little hands are busy preparing for Encinitas Christmas Parade

Little hands are busy preparing for Encinitas Christmas Parade

ENCINITAS ---- India Glazer's brush strokes on Friday were smooth and deliberate.

The sixth-grader at Paul Ecke-Central School had no time to waste ---- the Encinitas Christmas Parade is today ----- but India showed no distress as she painted red sides of a sleigh that a teacher will fasten to his motorized scooter.

The school is one of 93 entrants in the parade, which travels on South Coast Highway 101 from D to J streets beginning at 5:30 p.m. Before that, at 3 p.m., the city is hosting a free Christmas concert at La Paloma Theatre, 471 S. Coast Highway 101. And at 5 p.m., the Christmas tree in the courtyard of The Lumberyard shopping mall will be illuminated.

Organizers expect thousands of spectators to enjoy all this, and as busy little hands prepared the elementary school's entries Friday, India painted quietly while other children and their parents buzzed around her.

"I just hope it works out good and nothing falls off," the 11-year-old said.

In addition to the scooter turned into a sleigh, students on Friday outfitted a pushcart so that it, too, would resemble a sleigh. Eight dolphins and a red-nosed sea lion will pull it.

A flat-bed truck will sport a beach scene with a lifeguard tower and kids sitting on beach towels around a bonfire. Another passenger will be a sandman ---- that's a snowman, Encinitas-style.

Any number of children will walk the parade route with surfboards under their arms.

"It's just wonderful to be a part of it," said Jack Boyle, 10.

The parade's grand marshal is Bob Grice, 86, a descendent of Encinitas' pioneering Hammond family. He will ride in a Model T with one of his granddaughters and great-granddaughters. Grice opened an accounting firm in downtown Encinitas in 1949.

"Well, I'm very pleased with it," Grice said of the role he will play. "I think it's a real honor to be selected to do that."

By wheel, foot and hoof, hundreds of participants will travel the parade route.

First in line will be city firetrucks transporting the City Council.

The YMCA's Y Maidens will walk the route. So will members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 5431, the Harry Potter Club, the Encinitas Soccer League and the San Dieguito Surf Team, among others.

Furry participants include the Newfoundland Club of San Diego and the Icelandic Riders of Southern California and the American Saddlebreads.

San Dieguito Academy, La Costa Canyon High School, Diegueno Middle School and Torrey Pines High School are sending bands.

All this sounded good to Annalise Schelsinger, 10, who painted props for Paul Ecke-Central School's entries.

"I'm really excited," Annalise said. "I will ride on the float."

Contact staff writer Adam Kaye at (760) 943-2312 or akaye@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.

Christmas holiday festivities in Encinitas today

- 3 p.m. ---- Free Encinitas Christmas Concert, La Paloma Theatre, 471 S. Coast Highway 101.

- 5 p.m. ---- Christmas tree lighting, The Lumberyard, South Coast Highway 101 between H and I streets.

- 5:30 p.m. ---- Encinitas Christmas Parade, South Coast Highway 101, from D to J streets.

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Fuel samples negative, Encinitas council told

Fuel samples negative, Encinitas council told


ENCINITAS -- Fuel samples taken from four vessels of interest don't match samples of the diesel that spilled off the

Encinitas shoreline late last month, authorities told the City Council on Wednesday.

ENCINITAS -- Fuel samples taken from four "vessels of interest" don't match samples of the diesel that spilled off the Encinitas shoreline late last month, authorities told the City Council on Wednesday.

Samples from one commercial ship and three Navy ships were tested, said Mark Muir, Encinitas Fire Department chief.

"All (testing) came out negative," Muir said.

Joining Muir in reporting to the council were lifeguards and Lt. j.g. Lis Bosma of the U.S. Coast Guard, which is leading the investigation of a spill in late May estimated at 500 to 1,000 gallons.

The contaminated water closed more than one mile of beaches for a weekend, but no injuries to people or damage to marine life has been reported.

No remnants of the sheen were visible during a flyover of the spill site June 12, Muir said.

The Coast Guard is continuing its investigation by reviewing the records of its vessel tracking system, Bosma said.

She said she did not know how many ships the investigation would target. The Coast Guard can take fuel samples from any ship of within U.S. waters, she said, and if vessels of interest now are abroad, the Coast Guard can test them when they return.

Anyone found responsible for the discharge faces an $80,000 bill for the cleanup and other possible fines, Muir said.

For now, a federal fund created from fuel taxes is covering the cost.

The Coast Guard alerted local authorities to the spill at about noon May 31. At the time, the sheen was thought to be about three to four miles offshore, but lifeguards were unable to locate it.

Hours later, at about 6 p.m., the Fire Department responded to a West Glaucus Street resident's report of a "diesel-like" odor.

"It was really bad," Fire Department Division Chief Scott Henry said of the smell. "There were a lot of residents in the neighborhood who were concerned. As we moved west, the smell was there still, getting stronger, and with the lifeguards' assistance, we were able to trace it to a substance on the water."

By 6:30 p.m. May 31, a yellowish substance was visible in the breaking waves off Beacon's Beach. By 9 p.m., the beaches between Grandview to D streets were closed and did not reopen fully until June 4.

The closure caused the cancellation of the June 2 Switchfoot Bro-Am Surf Contest at Moonlight Beach.

"Our beach was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Henry said.

Also at Wednesday's meeting, the council voted 5-0 to increase trash collection fees. Most residential customers will see monthly increases of 72 cents, from $17.12 to $17.84. That's a 4.2 percent increase.

EDCO Waste and Recycling Services provides trash collection services to Encinitas. In a letter to the city, EDCO cites consumer price index and disposal fee increases as the reasons for the rate hike.

To comply with state laws, the city in April mailed notices to 22,017 property owners informing them of the pending increase and their right to protest it.

A majority of property owners could have halted the increase by writing letters of protest, but as of Wednesday's hearing, only six had done so, said Public Works Director Larry Watt.

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Greens We Dig: Earth Friendly Moving

Greens We Dig: Earth Friendly Moving


By Wayne Green

Last month my wife and I moved to our home in Encinitas. We wanted to move green and were fortunate to see a

TreeHugger article that led us the Earth Friendly Moving. I sent an email over to ask about their service. ...

Last month my wife and I moved to our home in Encinitas. We wanted to move green and were fortunate to see a TreeHugger article that led us the Earth Friendly Moving. I sent an email over to ask about their service. A couple days later I received a phone call from the Owner or EFM, Spencer Brown. An hour later I hang up...I had to try and digest all the information he gave me. I thought about how to write up an article...spouting off stats like 20% of America moves every year or that the average move generates 250 pounds of trash! Spencer is truly a unique individual...I had to get him on camera.

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Surf Theatre News: Pipeline Posse plays at La Paloma

Surf Theatre News: Pipeline Posse plays at La Paloma

Global Surf News - USA
Thursday, June 28th at The La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas at 7 &
9 PM. An inside look at one of Hawaii's most influential surf crews, the
Pipeline Posse. ...

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 13 June, 2007 : - - South Bay Toyota presents Surf Theatre! "Pipeline Posse" When:Thursday, June 14th Pierside Surf City 6 Cinemas at 7 & 9 PM. Thursday, June 28th at The La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas at 7 & 9 PM. An inside look at one of Hawaii’s most influential surf crews, the Pipeline Posse.

The Pipeline Posse is made up of Braden Dias, Jaime Sterling, Flynn Novak and Jason Frederico, a group of world-class watermen who know and respect the wave and share that feeling with qualified and deserving others in the line up and on the beach. In addition to footage of the best surfers at the most feared yet awe inspiring spot in the world; the film also highlights the lifestyle and culture that is truly the Pipeline Posse.

Love it on the Big screen? own it for your Screen! The Big Red Store is now open! Enter "Surf Theatre" promo code for a special discount on the best surf flicks available!

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Food Briefs: Restaurants offer Father's Day specials

Food Briefs: Restaurants offer Father's Day specials

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
The schedule: KITCHEN WITCH: Kitchen Witch Gourmet Shop offers these
classes and more at 127 N. El Camino Real, Suite D, Encinitas....


These area restaurants are doing something special for Father's Day, June 17:

Ponte Winery, Temecula: BBQ & Blues Buffet from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tickets are $70 adults, $35 for ages 12 and under. Prices for Ponte wine club members are $63 adults, $31.50 for kids. Buy tickets online at www.pontewinery.com or call the special events department at (951) 694-8855.

J. Taylor's at L'Auberge del Mar, Del Mar: A la carte brunch from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reserve to (858) 793-6460.

New products

SPICE IT UP: Watkins Incorporated introduces a line of USDA certified 100 percent organic spices available at Wal-Mart stores. Watkins Organic Spices don't contain fillers like sugar, synthetic anti-caking agents, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. The 19 spices available are: Black Pepper, Nutmeg, Chili Powder, Cumin, Paprika, Oregano, Ginger, Dry Mustard, Cinnamon, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Thyme, Basil, Rosemary, Curry Powder, Sage, Ground Cloves, Parsley, and Dill. Suggested retail price ranges from $4.99-$6.49.

Events

TEA TIME: Enjoy a lavender tea party at 11 a.m. June 30 at Memories English Tea Garden in Vista. Learn how to make crystal-clear iced tea. Guest speaker and art fair. Cost is $10. Reserve to (760) 945-0476.

Classes

CAKE DECOR: Michael's Oceanside store offers a four-week Cake Decorating Course starting the week of July 9. Courses are $30 plus supplies, or buy the kit, get the course for free. Sign up in store only at 2649 Vista Way. Go online to view all classes at www.michaelsoceanside.4t.com. Questions? Call (760) 450-1650.

COOKING CLASSES: Chef Don Heiser of Firehouse Gourmet in Encinitas offers these classes. Register at (760) 943-1744, e-mail firehousegourmet@cox.net or visit www.firehousegourmet.com. Cost ranges from $45-$55. The schedule:

June 30: Discovering Wine; July 7: Chef Don's Dinner; July 28: Summer Fun

KITCHEN WITCH: Kitchen Witch Gourmet Shop offers these classes and more at 127 N. El Camino Real, Suite D, Encinitas. Call (760) 942-3228 or visit www.kitchenwitchonline.com:

Saturday: Just for Kids -- Shrek Snacks

Monday: Gourmet Spa Cuisine with Cal-a-VieÝSpa (guest chef)

Tuesday: Salad Suppers

Wednesday: Summer Fresh Risottos

Wednesday: Salad Suppers

June 21: Throw a Shower With Flair

June 22: San Diego FlavorsÝ

In the spirits

WEEKLY TASTING: Wine Street Inc. hosts tastings from 5:30-8 p.m. Fridays. Appetizers to match are served. Wine Street is at 6986 El Camino Real, Suite D, in Carlsbad. Call (760) 431-8455 or visit www.winestreet.com:

Friday: New releases, $20.

WINE TASTING: Carlsbad Wine Merchants hosts tastings at 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for a small fee at 5814 Van Allen Way, Suite 155, Carlsbad. Call (888) 750-WINE or visit www.CarlsbadWineMerchants.com:

Fri-Sun: Big Cabs & Ports, in honor of Dad, $20.

June 21: All About "O" -- tasting and glassware seminar using Riedel's stemless "O" glasses, featuring Raymond Reserve Wines, $30, includes a set of glasses to keep. Reserve please.

June 22-24: Wines of the Central Coast, $10.

June 28: Sake & Asian Food Pairing, $30.

June 29-July 1: Up and Comers, $20.

HOLIDAY TASTES: Holiday Wine Cellar hosts these tastings from 5:30-7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted at 302 W. Mission Ave., Escondido. Call (760) 745-1200:

Today: ABC -- Anything but Chardonnay! $12.

June 21: Pinks Rule! A Rose Tasting, $15.

June 28: Taste of Pinot: Oregon and California, $20.

July 12: Sake Tasting with Sushi! $15.

July 19: Miner Family Vineyards wine tasting, $20.

July 21: French Wine 101 & Tasting with Jim Kern, $15.

WINE STYLES: Wine Styles in Encinitas hosts weekly tastings from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 1-6 p.m. Saturdays. Cost is $15, $10 for WineClub members and includes six to eight wines and snacks. The shop also hosts WineDown Fridays, where guests enjoy wine, live music and can bring in food to socialize. Call (760) 633-0057:

Saturday: Silky and Sexy

Wednesday and June 23: Fruit Forward/Fruit Bombs

June 21: 'If You Insist' tasting, $35 (special event, RSVP)

June 27 and 30: Easy Going Mellows

HARVEST RANCH TASTES: Harvest Ranch Market Del Mar now offers wine tastings from 5-7:30 p.m. plus appetizers for $10-$20. The store is at 1555 Camino Del Mar, Suite 203, Del Mar. Call (858) 847-0555.

WINE COMPANY TASTINGS: The North County Wine Company hosts wine tastings daily at 1099 San Marcos Blvd., San Marcos, plus special events from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday. Call (760) 744-2119 or visit www.NorthCountyWineCompany.com.

Chain news

The Togo's chain has sacked its plastic forks and will now offer all its salads wrapped in whole grain tortillas. The Salad Wraps are Santa Fe Chicken Salad, Mediterranean Tuna Salad, Cobb Salad, Asian Chicken Salad, Roasted Chicken Caesar Salad, Taco Salad and Farmers Market Salad. ... IHOP offers three Stuffed French Toast styles now through June 24: Cherry-Vanilla, Banana-Caramel and Original Stuffed French Toast. ... Burger King offers new desserts for a limited time: Now available is the OreoÆ BK Sundae Shake, $1.99 or $2.39. On June 25, the ICEE Float is available for $1.59 or $1.79. Starting July 2 is the Butterfinger Pie, $1.49. ... El Pollo Loco offers new Barbecue Chicken for a limited time, and two new entrees: BBQ Ranch Chicken Tostada Salad and BBQ Chicken Quesadilla.

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Waste Land

Waste Land


By JP(JP)

A certain segment of visitors to this blog are under the mistaken belief that the motto Keep Leucadia Funky means Keep Leucadia Junky. This is so off the mark that it is laughable. What the anti-Leucadia crowd doesn't understand is that ..

A certain segment of visitors to this blog are under the mistaken belief that the motto Keep Leucadia Funky means Keep Leucadia Junky. This is so off the mark that it is laughable. What the anti-Leucadia crowd doesn't understand is that you could sink $100 million dollars into Leucadia and it won't matter as long as the NCTD continues it's scorched earth policy.

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In the ribbons: David Kerr's Chinese pickled eggs

In the ribbons: David Kerr's Chinese pickled eggs

San Diego Union Tribune - United States
Background: The 51-year-old Leucadia resident works at UCSD in the
facilities design and construction department. He likes to can and makes
green tomato ...

Judges' choice: David Kerr's Chinese pickled eggs earned him a best of show in the fair's pickle division of the home and hobby department. He hard-boiled the eggs, cracked the shells and then soaked the eggs in tea. When the eggs are peeled, intricate spider web designs remain on the eggs.

Background: The 51-year-old Leucadia resident works at UCSD in the facilities design and construction department. He likes to can and makes green tomato relish and bread-and-butter pickles every year for his family.

How he got started: He began gardening when he moved into his current home 15 years ago. He started canning so that he could extend his garden.

Comment: This was the first time he tried the tea egg recipe: “I got the recipe book at a garage sale.”

To learn more: Kerr recommends reading the pamphlets that accompany canning jars, which can be purchased at most stores.

Today's picks

Grandstand Stage: The Wailers play reggae music at 7:30 p.m. Free with fair admission for unreserved seats.

Highlights: Pepsi Pay-One-Price Ride Day, unlimited rides with purchase of $30 wristband. Ralphs grocery stores offer a $5 discount coupon with purchase of a Pepsi product. Also: wool spinning, 11 a.m., Agri Fair; Bubble Gum Blowing Contest, noon, Plaza Stage; “Beat Your Digital Camera” with Fred Greaves, 7 p.m., Photo Show; Lee Rocker of The Stray Cats, 8:30 p.m., Coors Light Rock On Stage.

Newsroom at the Fair: Meet Pat Flynn, senior business and sports editor, and Arthur Salm, books editor, 1 to 4 p.m.

Fair facts

Through July 4 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd. Closed three Mondays (June 11, 18, 25) and two Tuesdays (June 12 and 19). Gates are open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. other days.

Admission: $12; seniors 62 and older, $6; children 6 to 12, $6; children 5 and younger, free.

Information: (858) 793-5555, (858) 755-1161 or www.sdfair.com.

Parking at fair: Cars and motorcycles, $9; recreational vehicles, $15; preferred parking close to the O'Brien Gate, $14 (no motor homes).

Public transportation: The NCTD will operate Breeze shuttle buses to and from Escondido Transit Center hourly. A shuttle transporting passengers between the Solana Beach Train Station and the fairgrounds leaves every 25 minutes. Passengers who show their Breeze pass when entering the fair will receive a $1.75 discount on fair admission. Fairground shuttles are no longer free; a day pass is $2 to $4. For more information, visit www.sdfair.com or contact the North County Transit District at (760) 966-6500 (Monday through Friday) or info@nctd.org.

Newsroom at the Fair

You are welcome to stop by The San Diego Union-Tribune's Newsroom at the Fair. The exhibit is in the Paddock Lounge next to the Plaza de Mexico near the Grandstand entrance.

Browse a display of our history and explore the technology that brings you the daily newspaper; Today's Local News; Enlace; SignOnSanDiego.com, the Union-Tribune's multimedia site; and AmplifySD.com, the all-San-Diego-music online radio station.

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Sales down 24% from 2006

Sales down 24% from 2006

San Diego Union Tribune - United States
The point was driven home this week by the announced sale of a newly built
oceanfront home in Leucadia that went for $8.5 million, a record
price for the ...

San Diego County home prices inched up $2,000 from April to May, driven by demand for high-cost houses, even as sales dropped nearly 25 percent from a year ago, DataQuick Information Systems reported yesterday.

The overall median for May stood at $492,000, compared with $490,000 in April. In May 2006, the median stood at $500,000, and the record of $517,500 for county home prices was set in November 2005.

There were 3,385 sales last month, down 24.4 percent from 4,480 during the same period a year ago. It was the 35th straight month of year-over-year declines.


EDUARDO CONTRERAS / Union-Tribune
These two bluff-top homes were built by Jay Refold. "There seems to be no problem with the high, high end," said the North County beachfront developer, shown below in his 6,500-square-foot home.
Elsewhere in Southern California, the sales fall-off was more severe. The Inland Empire counties of Riverside and San Bernardino were off 45.4 percent and 46.5 percent, respectively, and Los Angeles and Orange counties were down 30.7 percent and 28.9 percent, respectively.

For single-family resale homes, which represented just more than half of the sales last month, the median stood at $557,500, down from April's $565,000 and May 2006's $574,000, the all-time high. Condo resales were unchanged from April at $385,000, but down from the record of $400,000, also a year ago.

Boosting the market was the new-home category, with an 11 percent gain of $45,000 to $455,000 from April, up 7.4 percent from a year ago. Analysts attributed the jump to slackening sales of lower-priced condo conversions that gave a greater emphasis to sales of more-costly new construction.


EDUARDO CONTRERAS / Union-Tribune
The median represents the halfway point of all sales, with half above and half below the figure.

DataQuick analyst John Karevoll interpreted the changes as evidence that San Diego may have absorbed most of the downside of the current real estate cycle, while the other counties have a way to go before hitting bottom.

“San Diego is in much better shape than the rest of the region,” he said. “Most of the declines are behind it.”

For now, he said, prices should stay relatively stable, with the top end on the rise and starter homes likely to drop for a few more months before leveling off.

“With prices as flat as they have been for as long as they have, and with mortgage rates edging up a bit as they have been, it wouldn't surprise me if we saw sales activity pick up a bit for all the regular reasons,” Karevoll said.

He explained that would-be buyers under present conditions may decide to purchase a home to lock in a mortgage before rates rise further. Thirty-year rates averaged 6.53 percent in Freddie Mac's latest weekly survey, up from the most recent low of 6.14 percent in March. This week, bond yields rose sharply, perhaps signaling a further jump in mortgage rates.

“If the 30-year mortgage goes up and passes 7 percent his fall, it could have an impact on the market there (in San Diego),” Karevoll said.

Such worries don't seem to bother buyers of million-dollar homes. Karevoll looked back at the number of homes selling for more than $1 million since 1988 and found they represented a record 10.9 percent of sales for the first five months of the year, compared with 2.4 percent five years ago and 0.74 percent 10 years ago. There were 1,702 such sales through May, more than three times the 554 transactions in 2002 and 113 in 1997 for the same five-month period.

The point was driven home this week by the announced sale of a newly built oceanfront home in Leucadia that went for $8.5 million, a record price for the community. The buyer, a Las Vegas resident, plans to use it for a vacation home for herself, her children and grandchildren.

“There seems to be no problem with the high, high end,” said Jay Refold. a beachfront developer in North County for the past 12 years.

Refold bought the property on Neptune Avenue in 1999 and built himself a 6,500-square-foot home, completed in January on the north side of the lot, and the 4,500-square-foot home on the south that he sold to Diana L. Bennett.

His listing agent, Pat Kramer, who also was involved in selling a $35 million home in Del Mar last month that set a county record, said such buyers come from all over the country and, while they bargain like everyone else, have the means to pay top dollar for unique locations and properties.

Meanwhile, Prudential California Realty agent Paul Roberts said a buyer has promised to submit an offer by the end of this week for a 3,700-square-foot penthouse at the twin-tower Harbor Club downtown, listed at up to $8.25 million, a record for the address across from the San Diego Convention Center.

“I think people who have expendable income – if they want something, they buy it,” he said.

Ryan Ratcliff, an economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast, which is issuing its second-quarter report on the California economy next week, said he does not think the local housing market has hit bottom, much less is ready for a significant rise in prices.

The reason, he said, is that the San Diego population is not growing as fast as it was early in the decade, so demand has cooled for newly built homes as well as resales.

“I think there will be more of the same – prices flat to falling for a while to come,” he said.

He also said the mortgage outlook is unclear because lenders may be factoring in the risk of defaults and foreclosures, so that any cut in short-term rates by the Federal Reserve, as some economists have been expecting by year's end, may have little or no effect on mortgage rates.

With that in mind, David Cabot, president of the San Diego Association of Realtors, said first-time buyers will have a harder time qualifying for loans.

But he said first-time buying has not stopped completely and, therefore, sellers of those homes will be able to move up, albeit at a slower pace, for the rest of the year.

“Looking at Southern California, there's nothing out there to indicate we'll pick up until we get into 2008,” he said.

In a further indication of market trends, Cabot's association said there were 19,309 active listings on the multiple listing service yesterday, 3,000 more than in January but about the same as a year ago.

However, Cabot said the sellers are generally pricing their homes to sell and not to test the market, as was the case last year.

“This is not the time for an investor to buy two months ago, increase the price 30 percent and put it back on the market and get it,” Cabot said. “This is not an investor market. It's an owner market.”

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North County guru gone

North County guru gone

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
The list of candidates advised by Orr reads like a Who's Who of North
County politics: county Supervisor Pam Slater-Price; in Encinitas,
Councilman Jerome ...

Our view: Jack Orr's passing marks the end of an era in local politics

Some people will miss Jack Orr, the man; others, not so much. Some will mourn the passing of North County's most prominent political consultant, and others, while not quite dancing on his grave, will relish the removal of a particularly painful thorn in their sides. But without question, Orr's death Saturday marks a turning point for local politics.

In the last 20 years, few other figures have made a splash comparable to Orr's. Few recent ballots haven't listed an Orr-coached candidate or cause.

The list of candidates advised by Orr reads like a Who's Who of North County politics: county Supervisor Pam Slater-Price; in Encinitas, Councilman Jerome Stocks; in San Marcos, Councilman Mike Preston and former Councilman Lee Thibadeau and former Mayor Corky Smith; and in Oceanside, councilman and mayoral candidate Jack Feller, as well as former Mayor Terry Johnson, the first black mayor in San Diego County, and many others.

Orr campaigned in 2004 against the Gregory Canyon landfill and for a proposed second Wal-Mart in San Marcos (both losses). Orr helped bring Home Depot to Encinitas in 1993, and the next year guided the creation of the Encinitas Ranch development and successfully strategized against that city's slow-growth Proposition K. In Oceanside, he helped lead an unsuccessful recall campaign against longtime rival, then-Councilwoman Melba Bishop, in 1991.

The man's thumbprints are all over this region. Developers and developer-friendly candidates, especially, have lost their cagiest consultant.

By one measure, Orr represented the professionalization of North County politics. Unlike the political campaigns of seasons past, today's operations are much more organized, and there's usually a Jack Orr-like shark at the helm.

And even Orr's staunchest opponents would have to concede this point: He wasn't some hired gun who occasionally dropped in from D.C. or Sacramento for a cameo. He had deep roots in the community. It's doubtful that whoever fills the void left in Orr's wake will be half as knowledgeable about local issues and players, or nearly as interesting a character.

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Drive Thru Caribbean premiere hits La Paloma Theatre

Drive Thru Caribbean premiere hits La Paloma Theatre

Global Surf News - USA
... 12 June, 2007 : - - The premiere of Drive Thru Caribbean goes
down Friday June, 22nd 2007 at the La Paloma Theatre - Encinitas at
7pm and 9pm. ...

Drive Thru Caribbean premiere hits La Paloma Theatre

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 12 June, 2007 : - - The premiere of Drive Thru Caribbean goes down Friday June, 22nd 2007 at the La Paloma Theatre - Encinitas at 7pm and 9pm. Tickets are at the La Paloma Box office day of show plus there's tons of product giveaway and Drive Thru Crew in attendance

Film Synopsis: Greg Browning, the creator of The Drive Thru series, brings us his latest hilariously entertaining and action packed installment Drive Thru Caribbean. Donavon, Benji, Pat O, and Kalani welcome Aussie aerialist Yadin Nicol as they get wrapped up in some serious hijinks during their search for waves on the thousands of islets, reefs, and cayes strewn through the Caribbean.

The crew had a chance to surf secret reefs in Puerto Rico that broke unlike any other wave they had encountered. While exploring Jamaica they hung with the local Rastas after long days of scoring warm water perfection on this tranquil island nation.

The search lead them to the far reaches of the Caribbean where they ripped the famous Soup Bowls of Barbados. From riding dolphins to riding waves The Drive Thru Caribbean puts you in shotgun on this hysterical island hopping adventure. "Anything and everything happens on a Drive Thru," says director Browning, "you really can't anticipate any of it...you just kind of go with the flow."

Labels:

New Mystery Am

New Mystery Am


By Templeton Elliott

Gilbert Crockett has paid his dues and is now a full on Am for Mystery. Expect a full part form Gilbert in the upcoming Mystery Video which premieres on June 15th in Encinitas.

A funnel cloud? Honestly, ok we get it, the weather in the midwest is bad, and it get’s hard to skate but a funnel cloud about to drop and kill us? I think that’s just a bit over the top mother nature.This is the subway where Jared starting eating subway subs back when he was huge. I guess he lived in this building above and just ate subway cause it was the closest thing to his house. True Story (i think).
LCC (Logansport Cliff Crew), The topless girl taking the photo managed to crop out all the other (at least 20) topless girls that were also there swimming with us so it just looks like it was us guys but trust me, there were like i said, at least 20 chicks there.
Some gas station had Welch’s fake bubbly on ice in the coolers for those urgent playskool baller moments.
Indianapolis, Indiana
-The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo ranked Indianapolis the “most affordable” major housing market in the U.S. for the fourth quarter of 2006
-Elvis Presley’s last public performance was held in the now demolished Market Square Arena on June 26, 1977.
-Indianapolis is the second most populous capital city in the United States (including Washington, DC), after Phoenix, Arizona.

Then we went up to Chicago and picked up filmer Alex, aka Farter Alex.
Chicago brought nothing but rain and traffic and almost a trip to the hospital cause my brain pretty much decided to melt and my body shut down.

Fauser started screaming my name, like bloody screaming it, I thought he broke his leg or something super bad, so I ran over and he’s like “hey take a picture of this, me and Alex both fell here”.

Back to Chicago for my birthday, mentally lost it on Steve a bit (sorry) and met up with Reggie, Henri and Billy. Methvin was there but my camera stopped working so I couldn’t get a flick.

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Juanita's Taco Shop (Encinitas, CA) reviewed by tulrich (7/10)

Juanita's Taco Shop (Encinitas, CA) reviewed by tulrich (7/10)


I know it as Juanita's Carnitas, in, yes, Encinitas (at 290 N Coast Highway). I visited three times, I think, over the course of a week in early 2006, while visiting family in the area. Juanita's is friendly, likable, laid back and a ...

I know it as "Juanita's Carnitas", in, yes, Encinitas (at 290 N Coast Highway). I visited three times, I think, over the course of a week in early 2006, while visiting family in the area.

Juanita's is friendly, likable, laid back and a tad grubby. They have free self-serve carrot and jalapeno pickles to nosh on while you wait for your order. The place is often packed during prime eating hours.

I normally stick close to carnitas, when it's on offer, but despite the name I varied my ordering here. The carnitas is good, but overall the burrito is greasier than ideal (don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the animal fat, but there are limits). Also I'm not a huge fan of the orange cheddar cheese they use.

I did greatly enjoy the chile relleno burrito -- you take something delicious, and wrap it in a tortilla, and that gives it just a little extra boost. Sadly the orange cheese is involved, but the presence of a honest-to-goodness vegetable (in the form of the stuffed pepper) helps moderate it.

I also tried the fish burrito. It was pretty good; strips of deep-fried fish in place of land animal, though again slightly greasier than I prefer.

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Fuel spill clean-up costlier than original estimates

Fuel spill clean-up costlier than original estimates


ENCINITAS -- The fuel spill that fouled the ocean near Encinitas in late May cost about 80000 to clean up, 20000 more than originally estimated, a US Coast Guard official said Monday.


ENCINITAS -- The fuel spill that fouled the ocean near Encinitas in late May cost about $80,000 to clean up, $20,000 more than originally estimated, a U.S. Coast Guard official said Monday.

Lt. j.g. Lis Bosma said the cause of the 500- to 1,000-gallon spill -- the worst off the city's shoreline in 30 years -- remains under investigation.

The Coast Guard's laboratory in Groton, Conn., is continuing to analyze fuel samples taken from the water and from four vessels that were in the area between midnight May 29 and 11 a.m. May 31, when the spill occurred.

Bosma said she expects to see lab results by the end of the week.

On Wednesday, Encinitas Fire Department Chief Mark Muir is scheduled to report on emergency crews' response to the incident, which closed two miles of coastal waters from Grandview to D streets for nearly three days.

Local, state and federal authorities and a private contractor took part in the clean-up and investigation.

Bosma said the quantity of discharged fuel suggests that it came from a large vessel.

Environmental damage from the discharge, however, appears to be minimal, authorities said.

"I was expecting to find bird carcasses washing ashore several days later and nothing unusual washed up," said Robin Lewis, senior environmental specialist for the state Department of Fish and Game.

The fuel left an iridescent sheen on the ocean's surface before crews used absorbent pads to mop it up.

The fuel could have caused chemical burning of surface-level kelp, but Lewis said he could not confirm whether that had happened.

"The good thing is it wouldn't have killed the plant, which under ideal conditions will grow up to a meter a day," he said.

At the time of the spill, Lewis said officials were most concerned that a nesting colony of the endangered least terns at nearby Batiquitos Lagoon would be at risk. That's because adult terns feed offshore, and if their feathers were to become contaminated they could in turn contaminate nests and eggs.

If the Coast Guard's investigation produces evidence that leads to an arrest, the military agency would hand the case over to the state Department of Fish and Game, Bosma said.

Wendy Johnson, staff counsel for the agency's Office of Spill Prevention and Response, said the state would forward the matter to the district attorney's office for review and possible prosecution.

If a suspected culprit is identified, the state attorney general could also pursue charges, she said.

Johnson said that federal violations, namely those of the Clean Water Act, would be pursued by the U.S. attorney's office.

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Encinitas Ranch Encinitas, California

Encinitas Ranch Encinitas, California


By GolfCourseParadise.com

Encinitas Ranch is one of San Diego's newest masterpieces. This golf course community was created in 1999. The community is breathtaking as it is centered on a coastal bluff which creates the best ocean views around. ...


Encinitas Ranch is one of San Diego’s newest masterpieces. This golf course community was created in 1999. The community is breathtaking as it is centered on a coastal bluff which creates the best ocean views around. Not only is the area beautiful but the golf that is offered is quite challenging. The ocean breeze, open fairways, and multiple terrain paths will offer an interesting game for every skill level. You will want to play close attention to your game on the greens where skill is necessary on this hard, fast playing ground. Overall the Encinitas Ranch course is a 6,821 yard public course. Panoramic views of the Pacific and the beautifully lavish estates lining the course provide a stimulating view from every hole of the course.

There is a practice range available for use as well as a putting green. Other golf related activities include the full service pro-shop with instructors and the golf school for those that need some extra added instruction. In the clubhouse there is a snack bar and a basic comfort level though expansion plans are in the works for a bigger and better clubhouse.

With ocean views and scenes from the greens, the homes of Encinitas Ranch are some of the best in California. These established homes and mature neighborhoods offer family appeal for people that are active in their neighborhoods and love an area full of character. Homes in the area range in price from $450,000 to into the $2 million range. Amenities include, but are not limited to, 3-4 bedrooms, multiple bathrooms with garden tubs and standing showers, gourmet kitchens, and picturesque views from any window in the entire house.

This community is perfect for people on the go as there are many things to do within and surrounding the Encinitas Community. Located within the community there are opportunities for tennis and swimming at the local resort clubs and at the nearby beaches. There are many local businesses which offer dining and shopping options. Waiting for you outside of the area is all that San Diego has to offer. This includes the Zoo, Wild Animal Park, wineries, world class beaches, numerous sporting events, and more.

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North San Diego County Community News Briefs: 'In the Park After ...

North San Diego County Community News Briefs: 'In the Park After ...

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
ENCINITAS -- A grand opening for the new Rancho North Coastal
Democratic Club headquarters will take place June 12 at Encinitas
Terrace, 454 Requeza St. The ...


SAN MARCOS -- San Elijo Hills' "In the Park After Dark" family film series will continue with a showing of the animated film "Over the Hedge" at 8 p.m. June 16.

The movies are shown outdoors on a 40-foot-wide screen in the town square at the intersection of San Elijo Road and Elfin Forest Road. The next films are scheduled for July 28 and Aug. 25.

Guests are invited to come early and picnic in the square. Bring blankets and beach chairs.

For upcoming movie titles, go to http://www.sanelijohills.com or call (888) 726-3545.

Comedienne to perform for women's group

BONSALL -- Comedienne Katie Blackburn will perform at 6 p.m. June 20 at Riverview Evangelical Free Church. With an extensive background in theater and comedy, Blackburn has worked with Lamb's Players Theatre in San Diego and was a founding "mother" of SAK Theatre, an improvisational theatre company, which performed at Renaissance Festivals and was a major entertainment company for Disney's Epcot Center in Orlando, Fla.

This Woman to Woman event includes a catered dinner and raffle. Tickets cost $12 per person or two for $20. The church is at 4980 Sweetgrass Lane, just east of River Village on Highway 76. For information, call (760) 941-1430.

Arts alliance seeks members

FALLBROOK -- The Fallbrook Arts Alliance is a collaborative group formed to benefit all arts-related activities and events. The group seeks to help independent local groups develop their own arts programs by sharing information. Furthermore, the Alliance seeks to support and promote the positive impact that the arts play in enriching cultural, economic and intellectual life in our community.

The group meets monthly and shares information about what art-related programs are happening in Fallbrook. A calendar of activities and events has been compiled and continues to grow as new people join and share their program information.

Collaborating participants include Abrakadoodle, Art Campus at Fallbrook, Art Center at Fallbrook, ArtSpeak, The Book Nook, Brandon Gallery, C.A.S.T. Productions, Fallbrook Area Visitors Bureau, Fallbrook Art Association, Fallbrook Chorale, Fallbrook Film Factory, Fallbrook Fine Art, Fallbrook Music Society, Fallbrook Players Junior Conservatory, Fallbrook Village Association, Friends of the Fallbrook Library and San Diego & North County Printmakers.

Meetings are open to all arts entities and individuals who are interested in the arts in Fallbrook.

The next meeting will be at 12:30 p.m. June 19 at the Art Campus at Fallbrook at 310 E. Alvarado St. To join, or for more information, contact Arts Alliance Chairwoman Marlene Rantanen at mrantanen@earthlink.net or call (760) 760-728-0031; cell (619) 823-8662.

Fallbrook Library launches summer reading program

FALLBROOK -- Super sleuths and daring detectives are invited to join "Get a Clue @ Your Library" at the Fallbrook branch of the San Diego County Library. The 2007 Summer Reading Program is open to young people, babies through teenagers (YNK @ Your Library) and Adults (Summer Sleuthing @ Your Library).

There will be programs, prizes, drawings, contests and more. The whole family is invited to join. Registration begins June 15 and the program runs through Aug. 2. For more information, call the library at (760) 728-2373 or visit the Web site at www.sdcl.org.

Everyone who completes the program will receive a gift bag filled with fun gifts and special prizes, including passes to local attractions.

Free programs for preschoolers will be from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. Wednesdays at the library as follows:

# June 27: Sparkles the Clown Mysteries.

# July 11: Pacific Animal Production Animal Clues.

# July 18: Kathy Felker Puppet Production Show.

# July 25: Stu Mulligan's Music and Juggling Detective Act.

Programs for elementary-age children will be from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. Thursdays at the Hilltop Center at 331 E. Elder St. as follows:

# July 5: Wild Wonders Animal Mysteries.

# July 12: Icarus Puppet Show with Mark Robertson.

# July 19: Radical Reptiles and Friends with John Taibe.

# July 26: Alakazam Magician Jeff Marcus.

Teen programs will be at the library as follows:

# 3 p.m. June 28: Handwriting Analysis with Graphologist Paula Sassi.

# 11 a.m. July 10: Manga Comic Art with Billy Martinez with reservations required.

# 3 p.m. July 19: Magic Tricks with Tony Bradley.

# 3 p.m. Aug. 2: Forensics Fingerprints with Cindy McQuien.

# 3 p.m. Aug. 9: Special-Effects Makeup with Christine Friel.

All programs are free of charge and are sponsored by the Friends of the Fallbrook Library with help from the National Charity League members.

Prizes are funded by the San Diego County Library System, Friends of the Fallbrook Library and Wee Little Sprouts of Fallbrook. Anyone desiring to donate prizes may contact the librarians at the Fallbrook Library at (760) 728-2373.

Gourd special event cancelled

FALLBROOK -- An event, "Gourd Art...Up Close & Personal," that had been scheduled for June 15 in conjunction with the Art of the Gourd Special Events Series 11th annual National Gourd Show at the Art Center at Fallbrook has been cancelled because of scheduling conflicts. However, organizers say artists who are unable to attend that event will attend the closing reception from 6 to 8 p.m. June 23 celebrating the weekend collaboration of the International Gourd Art Festival at the Welburn Gourd Farms and the final weekend of the National Gourd Fine Art Show.

Dance show to benefit missionary trip

FALLBROOK -- Judi Way of Judi's Way to Fitness and her family will give a performance titled "Dance for Africa" from 9:30 to 11 a.m. June 16 in the fellowship hall of Christ the King Church at 1620 S. Stage Coach Lane. Cost is a free-will donation toward a short-term missionary trip a group of 18 will be taking into Africa, including Way and her sons Cory and Brandon, who is youth pastor at Christ the King, and her daughter, Michelle.

Way describes "Dance for Africa" as "a fun, uplifting workout of cardio country steps, Pilates and Hatha Yoga, during which Cory Way will play soft praise music on his guitar." People are encouraged to dress colorfully and bring instruments if they have them. For more information, call Judi Way at (760) 535-3852 or Brandon Way at (760) 212-7321.

Church to hold rummage sale

ESCONDIDO -- Trinity Episcopal Church will hold a rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 16 at the church, 845 Chestnut St. Proceeds will benefit the church youth group.

Items for sale include sofas, a window air conditioner, old tools, clothing, folding chairs and household items.

Reading fun for kids to begin at library

ESCONDIDO -- The Escondido Public Library's summer reading program will kick off at 10:30 a.m. June 16 with a performance of an award-winning bubble show from Fun and Discovery Entertainment. The main library is at 239 S. Kalmia St.

Children ages 3 through sixth-grade are encouraged to sign up and become part of the "Get a Clue @ Your Library" program. Reading goals are 300, 600 or 1,000 pages depending on the child's age. Older children who read 1,000 pages or more can enter the weekly Great Gumshoe drawings in July and August. The Escondido Library Foundation has donated tickets for the July 20 Padres game for one lucky winner as one of the prizes.

In addition to the kick-off program, a number of performers, such as Mad Science, Spectrum's Space Mystery Planetarium and Dave Winston's Music, will be at the main library and the East Valley Branch Library over the summer. Check the libraries for details on these and other free programs.

For information, go to http://www.escondido.org/library or call (760) 839-4837.

Services for seniors offered

ESCONDIDO -- The Senior Service Council will offer these services for seniors in the Dorothy E. Boeger Building, 728 N. Broadway, in the Joslyn Senior Center complex. Call (760) 480-0611.

# Legal counseling, including advice on living trusts, wills and durable power of attorney for health decisions, and personal finance and tax advice is given from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays. Also, a notary public is available. Call for an appointment.

# Seniors can get help with Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), health insurance policies, HUD reports and bank reconciliation from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Thursdays.

# The Elizabeth Hospice of Escondido conducts a bereavement support group from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Thursdays in the meeting room.

Former sports editor to discuss local scene

ESCONDIDO -- Hear all about the local sports scene from former Escondido Times-Advocate sports editor George Cordry at a lecture at 2 p.m. June 20 at the Escondido History Center in Grape Day Park, 321 N. Broadway.

The free lecture is part of the history center's monthly lecture series. For information, call (760) 743-8207.

Library to host events for adults

VALLEY CENTER -- Summer reading programs are not just for kids anymore. The Valley Center branch of the San Diego County Library, 29200 Cole Grade Road, will offer an adult summer reading program from June 21 through Aug. 23. Pick up a reading log and read for great prizes.

The library also will offer the following activities for adults:

# A book discussion will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. June 13 and each second Wednesday.

# Quilters will exchange tips and tricks at 1 p.m. June 21 and each first and third Thursday of the month.

# Yoga for Beginners at 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

# Web Wise Seniors, a weekly course for seniors to learn about basic Internet searches, is offered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays.

# Friends of the Library will meet at 9 a.m. July 6 and each first Friday.

For information, call (760) 749-1305.

World history group to gather June 16

VALLEY CENTER -- The Valley Center World History group will meet at 1 p.m. June 16 at the Valley Center Library, 29200 Cole Grade Road. The group gives people with a shared interest the chance to engage in discussions of ancient, historical and recent events. Attendees chose discussion subjects, books, DVDs, etc., in an open forum without politicizing or evangelizing.

The recommended book is "The Ghost Map" by Steven Johnson, which is a detailed report of the discovery and remedy of the catastrophic outbreaks of cholera in mid-19th-century London.

To R.S.V.P. or to suggest another time for the meeting, e-mail fenewmark@mchsi.com.

Emblem Club bestows scholarships

ESCONDIDO -- Members of Escondido Emblem Club No. 161 have awarded $500 Memorial Scholarships to the following four local students.

Tiffany Aguilar, a senior at Escondido High School, will attend UC Davis and study biological sciences. She plans to be a lab worker or doctor, working on birth defects in children.

Tiffany Acedo, also a senior at Escondido High School, will attend Cal State San Marcos. She plans to study medicine and become a registered nurse.

Jennifer Heth, a senior at Orange Glen High School, plans to receive her associate degree at Palomar College and then transfer to San Diego State University to major in business management and minor in business marketing.

Sara Lianne Putnam, also a senior at Orange Glen High School, will attend Cal State San Marcos or Palomar College and major in business, with the dream of opening her open restaurant.

OASIS classes on tap at mall

ESCONDIDO -- OASIS will offer these classes for seniors at its education center in the former Robinsons-May South store, third floor, Westfield North County. Preregistration is required. Call (760) 432-0635.

# Computer instructors Rue Harris and Flora Young will offer "Inserting Pictures Into Your Documents" from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. June 14. Cost is $12.

# Dr. Jill Cottel will present "Superfoods: Lowering Cholesterol" from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. June 14. Cost is $4.

# Kam Zarrabi will present "Knowledge and the Unknowable" from 1 to 3 p.m. June 18. Cost is $5.

# Leslie Ferree will present "Feng Shui for Financial Abundance" from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. June 25. Cost is $5.

Pulitzer Prize winners to discuss Cunningham case

RANCHO BERNARDO -- The Press Club of North San Diego County will present the Pulitzer Prize-winning team that broke the Randy "Duke" Cunningham case in 2006 at a forum June 15.

Marcus Stern, correspondent for the Copley News Service in the Washington Bureau, and co-author of the soon-to-be published book, "The Wrong Stuff," will appear at the forum. Also participating in the forum will be the other co-authors Jerry Kammer, Dean Calbreath and George E. Condon Jr.

North County Times journalist Mark Walker will moderate the panel.

The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a food and wine reception followed by the forum and a meet-the-authors dessert at the RB Swim & Tennis Club, 16955 Bernardo Oaks Drive. Cost is $10; $5 for Press Club members. Reservations are required. Call (858) 487-2504.

Take a hike at Daley Ranch

ESCONDIDO -- Free, guided nature hikes are offered at Daley Ranch.

All trails include steep and/or slippery sections. Bring at least a quart of water and wear a hat, sunscreen and hiking boots or treaded footwear. Youths younger than 18 must be with an adult. No pets are allowed. Meet at La Honda Drive entrance unless otherwise noted.

The hike schedule and trail map are online at http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us.

Reservations are requested. Call (760) 839-4680. A shuttle with handicapped accessibility runs Sundays.

# 8 a.m. June 16: Join ranger staff for trail maintenance.

# 9 a.m. June 17: See a diverse plant population and expansive views on an occasionally-strenuous four-mile hike led by naturalist Rick Paul. Meet at Cougar Pass parking lot.

# 9:30 a.m. June 21: Naturalist DJ Summers will lead an easy, one-hour hike for parents and their children. Summers will focus on the ranch's wood rat population, and there will be a craft for the kids to make after the hike at the Jack Creek Picnic area.

Vista Library is selling tickets for Mozart concert

ESCONDIDO --- The Friends of the Vista Library are selling tickets for the June 17 "Mainly Mozart" concert at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. The 2 p.m. concert will feature Mozart's "Musical Joke" and Mendelssohn's Octet in E flat. William Preucil, concertmaster or Mainly Mozart and the Cleveland Orchestra, will conduct.

County Supervisor Bill Horn is underwriting this fundraiser for the Friends of the Vista Library. Tickets cost $10 and are available at the Encore Book Store at the library, 700 Eucalyptus Ave. For information, call the book store at (760) 643-5106 or Alice Rigg at the library at (760) 643-5117.

Mended Hearts group to meet June 19

ESCONDIDO -- A local chapter of Mended Hearts, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the American Heart Association, meets at 6:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of the month in Graybill Auditorium at Palomar Medical Center. The group offers services to heart patients through support group meetings, patient visitor programs and educational forums.

The June 19 meeting will feature a talk about pacemakers and defibrillators by nurse practitioner Nancy McCormick, a Medtronics representative.

For information, call Connie Petersen at (760) 749-8169 or e-mail amendedheart3@aol.com.

Sacagawea's son is the topic

ESCONDIDO -- The topic has been changed for a history discussion hosted by the San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association at 7 p.m. June 19 at the Escondido Public Library, 239 S. Kalmia St. The group will discuss Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the son of Sacagawea. For information, call Ron Hinrichs at (760) 746-8380.

HVMS Band, Tall Flag Team reunion planned

ESCONDIDO -- A reunion and dinner for former members of the Hidden Valley Middle School "Raider" Band and Tall Flag Team, classes of 1977 through 1999, will be held Aug. 18 at Felicita Park. Also invited to attend are former music boosters and band parents, as well as family members. The event will be hosted by former director Jon Riksford. For information and to sign up, go to http://www.raiderreunion.com.

Creative writing class to begin

ESCONDIDO -- Palomar College instructor Jeanne Patterson will teach a creative writing class for seniors through the OASIS adult education program from 10:15 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Fridays, June 22 through Aug. 10, in the former Robinsons-May South store, third floor, Westfield North County. Semester fee is $3. Students can register on the first day of class. For information, call (760) 432-0635.

Democrats to meet at new headquarters

ENCINITAS -- A grand opening for the new Rancho North Coastal Democratic Club headquarters will take place June 12 at Encinitas Terrace, 454 Requeza St.

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with social time, followed by a program at 7, featuring video clips from the California Democratic Convention in April. Also, Michael Wray, former president of the Black Mountain Democratic Club and candidate for the 50th Congressional seat, will be introduced.

For information, call Patsy Cutler at (760) 942-9041 or e-mail yrralcutler@yahoo.com.

Rotary sponsors student leaders

ENCINITAS --- The Encinitas Rotary Club of Encinitas has sponsored two 11th-grade students from San Dieguito Academy, Sam Mohan and Jeff Hokanson, to attend the three-day 2007 Rotary Youth Leadership Award Conference in Idyllwild this past spring. Organized by Rotary District 5340, students were selected for their involvement and academic standing. Visit the Web site at www.rylaconference.com.

Beach concession proposals sought

NORTH COUNTY -- California State Parks is now accepting proposals for the operation of surf schools and camps at various North County San Diego beaches. Proposals are due by 2 p.m. today. Two Requests for Proposals have been issued for the purpose of identifying concessionaires to operate private and semi-private surf schools, as well as overnight surf camps. A total of five, five-year concession contracts will be available, each with an option to renew for an additional five years. The proposals provided should include, but are not limited to, providing quality services at reasonable prices to the public. Quality services include, but are not limited to, promoting and instructing on a variety of safe, enjoyable and high-quality surfing lessons, as well as beach-related recreation experiences for all park visitors. The RFPs are available on the California State Park Web site at http://www.parks.ca.gov/concessions. Call Donna Renner at (619) 688-3343 or e-mail drenner@parks.ca.gov.

Divorce group meets Sundays

SOLANA BEACH -- The St. James Divorce Support Group meets from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sundays at St. James Catholic Church, Ministry Offices, 625 S. Nardo Ave. Call Frank Grant at (760) 533-1520, e-mail fwgrant@earthlink.net or kimberlyduvall@yahoo.com.

Knitting Circle to meet

SOLANA BEACH -- Learn the ins and outs of knitting when the Knitting Circle meets from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturdays at Knitting By The Beach, 509 Stevens Ave., Suite B. Call (858) 509-9276 or go to http://www.knittingbythebeach.com.

Learn to love public speaking

SOLANA BEACH -- The Pioneers Gavel Club, an affiliate of Toastmasters International, meets from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. the first Monday of each month at 710 S. Nardo Ave. The club's mission is to help members develop better speaking and communication skills, to learn to think quickly and clearly on their feet, to build strong leadership abilities and to develop self-confidence in giving speeches. Call (858) 481-3998.

Group hosts dog adoptions

DEL MAR -- The Foundation for the Care of Indigent Animals, a nonprofit pet rescue organization specializing in small dogs, will hold a dog adoption event from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 16 at Petco, 2749 Via de la Valle. Call Penny Adams at (619) 466-0426.

Volunteers needed for animal center

RANCHO SANTA FE -- The Helen Woodward Animal Center will host the orientation for volunteers (ages 14 and up) at 9 a.m. June 16 at the center, 6461 El Apajo Road. Call (858) 756-4117, Ext. 305 or e-mail ritas@animalcenter.org.

Women network over lunch June 21

RANCHO SANTA FE -- The Rancho Santa Fe Business and Professional Women's Networking Group will hold its monthly meeting from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 21 at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, 5951 Linea Del Cielo. Kelly Rudolph, CEO of Personal Safety Training, will be the guest speaker. Cost is $30. Reservations required. Call Betty Potter at (760) 753-7644 or go to http://www.rsfbpw.com.

Library hosts writing class

CARDIFF -- Metropolitan Writing Works will present "Awakening Your Muse: A Creativity Workshop for Writers" from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. June 23 at the Cardiff Library, 2081 Newcastle Ave. Cost is $75. Call (760) 208-1913 or go to http://www.metrowriting.com.

TOPS to meet weekly

CARLSBAD --TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) will hold weekly meetings from 5:45 to 7 p.m. Mondays at the Calavera Hills Recreation Center, 2997 Glasgow Drive. TOPS is a low-cost weight-loss support alternative to the more costly and highly publicized organizations. Cost is $3.50 per month. Call (858) 831-9201 or go to http://www.tops.org.

Hospice offers walking group

CARLSBAD -- Hospice of the North Coast offers the Carlsbad Walking Group for people who have lost loved ones and are in need of emotional support at 8 a.m. Fridays at the corner of Cannon Road and Coast Highway. The "walk and talk" group is designed to assist individuals who need support during their grieving, but are unable to come into a support group at the office. Call Phyllis at (760) 431-4100.

Dove library hosts flamenco concert

CARLSBAD -- Carlsbad City Library will present the opening performance of its Summer Concert series with the David Maldonado Group at 2 p.m. June 17 in the Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium at the library, 1775 Dove Lane. The group offers an enticing introduction to a unique infusion of flamenco, jazz and classical stylings. Featuring David Maldonado and Hector Maldonado on guitar, Vincent Escalera on bass, Enrique Platas on drums. Admission is free and seating is limited, with tickets given out at the door beginning at 1 p.m. Call (760) 602-2012 or go to http://www.maldonadomusic.com.

Nancy McCallion performs

CARLSBAD -- Songwriter/vocalist Nancy McCallion, best known for her work with original Celtic-Norteno folk-rock cult band The Mollys, will perform at 2 p.m. Aug. 5 in the Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium at the Carlsbad City Library, 1775 Dove Lane. The performance will feature guitars, slide guitar, bass, pennywhistles and two-part harmony vocals. Admission is free and seating is limited, with tickets given out at the door beginning at 1 p.m. Call (760) 602-2012 or go to http://www.nancymccallion.com.

MDA needs volunteers for summer camps

The Muscular Dystrophy Association is in need of summer camp volunteers who will help young people with neuromuscular diseases enjoy weeklong MDA summer camps across the country. Volunteer counselors must be at least 16 years old and able to lift and care for a young person between the ages of 6 and 21. Each counselor becomes a companion to a camper with a neuromuscular disease. Counselors help their campers with daily activities such as eating, bathing and dressing, and in recreational activities such as arts and crafts, swimming and horseback riding. At no charge to families, MDA's summer camp program serves more than 4,000 campers nationwide in some 90 weeklong sessions. Call (800) 572-1717 or go to http://www.mda.org/clinics/camp.

Chamber to recognize students, teachers today

ENCINITAS -- The Encinitas Chamber of Commerce will hold a Student and Teacher Recognition Awards & Sundowner from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at Rancho Santa Fe Security Systems, 1991 Village Park Way. Government representatives, city council members, the chamber and school officials will be at the event to help present plaques, proclamations and gifts from local businesses to students and teachers for their outstanding efforts during the 2006-07 school year.There will be entertainment, refreshments and food. Information: (760) 420-7600.

Sun Valley High graduation set

RAMONA -- Sun Valley Charter High School will hold its graduation ceremony at 7 p.m. June 13 at the Charles R. Nunn Performing Arts Center, 1521 Hanson Lane. Tickets are not required. Information: (760) 788-8008.

Square dance club plans event

NORTH COUNTY -- The Wranglers Square Dance Club will hold its summer "Short Pants" dance at 7:30 p.m. June 15 at Bernardo Heights Middle School, 12990 Paseo Lucido, Rancho Bernardo. Ray Holmes will call and Peter Gomez will cue. Call Jean Adams at (858) 487-3134.

Library Friends to hold book sale

RAMONA -- The Friends of the Ramona Library will hold its monthly book sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 16 at the library,1406 Montecito Road. Proceeds benefit the library. Information: (760) 738-2434.

Services offered for seniors

RANCHO BERNARDO -- The following events and services will be offered at Rancho Bernardo Senior Services, 16769 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite K-14.

# Free legal advice given by local attorneys, 1 to 3 p.m. June 18. Call for a 20-minute appointment.

# Free blood-pressure checks given by a nurse, 10 a.m. to noon June 13 and 20. No appointment is needed.

# Simple wills created for seniors ages 55 and older free of charge, June 22 and 29. Call for an appointment with an attorney.

Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Call (858) 487-2640.

Book discussion group to meet

RAMONA -- The Ramona Library's book discussion group will meet at 6:30 p.m. June 19 at the Library, 1406 Montecito Road. This month's book selection is "Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War" by Nathaniel Philbrick.

The club meets the third Tuesday of each month. Information: (760) 738-2434.

Workshop on vision and learning problems set

POWAY -- Optometrist Dr. Donald J. Janiuk will offer a free workshop on vision problems that interfere with children's reading and learning abilities from 7 to 8:30 p.m. June 18 at 12845 Poway Road, Suite 209.

Parents, teachers and professionals can learn how to identify children whose vision restricts learning; how the way children "see" the world affects their behavior; how to build school performance by enhancing vision skills; how to perform assessments and tests of vision skills; and how and why vision development therapy works.

R.S.V.P. to Kathie at (858) 748-6210.

Library offers reading program for kids

RANCHO PENASQUITOS -- The Rancho Penasquitos Library will host its "Reading Is for the Dogs" program at 6:30 p.m. June 18.

Geared toward students in grades one through six, the monthly program utilizes certified therapy dogs from Love on a Leash to encourage children to read. Children and dogs bond together over a shared story.

The Rancho Penasquitos Library is at 13330 Salmon River Road. For information and to register for the program, call (858) 538-8159.

For information about Love on a Leash, go to http://www.loveonaleash.org.

Club offers 'Pageant of the Masters' trip

NORTH COUNTY -- The Welcome Club of San Diego North County will offer a bus trip to see the "Pageant of the Masters" in Laguna Beach on July 31. Cost of $63 includes tickets for the show and bus transportation. Call Lorinda Jones at (858) 487-5123.

Creative writing class to begin

SAN MARCOS -- Palomar College instructor Jeanne Patterson will teach a free creative writing class from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursdays, June 21 through Aug. 9, at the San Marcos Senior Center, 111 W. Richmar Ave. Students can register on the first day of class. For information, call (760) 744-5535 or (760) 727-8682.

Folk/jazz singer to perform in SM

SAN MARCOS -- The city's Community Services Department invites the community to an evening with folk/jazz singer-songwriter Mo Fleming at 7:30 p.m. June 23 "in the gardens" at the Wood House in Woodland Park, 1148 Rock Springs Road.

Bring a low-back beach chair or blanket for picnic seating. Desserts and beverages will be available for purchase.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance at the San Marcos Community Center, 3 Civic Center Drive. Cost is $5; free admission for children younger than 10. Information: (760) 744-9000.

Sheriff's station seeks senior volunteers

SAN MARCOS -- The San Marcos Sheriff's Station is seeking new members for its Senior Volunteer Patrol Program. As the "eyes and ears" of the Sheriff's Department, Senior Volunteer Patrol members cover all of San Marcos and unincorporated areas of north and south San Diego County.

Duties include checking on the homes of residents who are on vacation; visiting home-bound individuals through the You Are Not Alone (YANA) program; patrolling parking areas for handicapped parking violations; reporting abandoned vehicles, graffiti and suspicious activities; and performing office duties. Volunteers must be available for a minimum of six hours per week.

Applicants must be age 50 or older, have a valid driver's license, undergo a background check and have their physician's approval. Candidates then participate in a 72-hour training academy. The next academy will be held in September.

For information, call SVP Administrator Don Agostino at (760) 510-5290.

Elks to hold Flag Day Ceremony

OCEANSIDE -- Oceanside Elks Lodge 1561 will hold a Flag Day Ceremony at 6 p.m. June 14 at 444 Country Club Lane. Call (760) 433-1561.

Senior center to hold ballroom dance

OCEANSIDE -- The Oceanside Senior Center will hold a ballroom dance featuring music by D.J. Keith from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. June 13 at 455 Country Club Lane. Admission is $3 and anyone 55 and older is welcome. Single, unattached gentlemen will get in free. Refreshments will be served. Call (760) 435-5250.

Library holds teen summer reading program

OCEANSIDE -- The Oceanside Public Library is hosting a Teen Zone Summer Reading Program for grades 7 to 12. It will conclude with a wrap-up party July 27. The theme is "YNK: You Never Know . . . " For every book, magazine or graphic novel read, teens will earn $1 toward a $1,000 sponsored donation to Stand Up for Kids, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help homeless and street kids. Program activities will include learning to use a lie detector, designing a keepsake, a Name That Superhero poster contest, mystery hero movies and more. The program is sponsored by local businesses and the Friends of the Oceanside Public Library. All teens are invited to read, attend the programs they are interested in and earn money for a significant community cause. Call (760) 435-5614.

Red Cross holds blood drive

OCEANSIDE -- The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive from 12:30 to 6 p.m. June 15 at Wal-Mart, 705 College Blvd. Call (760) 631-0434.

Quarterly line dance set

OCEANSIDE -- A quarterly line dance will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. June 17 at the Oceanside Senior Center, 455 Country Club Lane. The dance is open to the public. Advance tickets are $3; $4 at the door. Light refreshments will be served. Line dancing with music CD's is presented by Helen Pietroforte. Tickets may be purchased in her classes at 11:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Fridays at the senior center. Call (760) 435-5250.

Summer program for children offered

OCEANSIDE -- First Presbyterian Church of Oceanside will again offer a special summer program titled Safe Harbor for Children from 9 a.m. to noon Mondays through Thursdays June 18 through July 26 at 2001 El Camino Real. All children entering first through sixth grades are welcome for this free program. For reservations, call (760) 757-3560, Ext. 101, or go to http://www.fpcoceanside.org.

Saturday Cruzin events held

OCEANSIDE -- Constant Velocity Motorsports invites the public to Saturday Cruzin, held from 3 to 8 p.m. the last Saturday of each month at 2044 Oceanside Blvd. There will be raffle prizes and trophies for best truck, car, paint, interior and peoples' choice. Saturday Cruzin is open to all cars, trucks, hot rods, bikes and lowriders and is free to participate. The next event will be June 30. Call (760) 757-4177.

Estate planning workshop today

VISTA -- A free workshop on prearranged funeral and estate planning will be held at 12:45 p.m. today at the Gloria McClellan Senior Center, 1400 Vale Terrace Drive. Robert Skaggs will show how to simplify financial affairs and enjoy the golden years. Pie and ice cream will be served after the 45-minute presentation. To reserve a spot, call (760) 639-6162.

Father's Day Luncheon set

VISTA -- The Gloria McClellan Senior Center will hold a Father's Day Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. June 15 in the Park Terrace Cafe of the center, 1400 Vale Terrace Drive. Menu is roast beef with gravy and mashed red potatoes. There will be free coffee and apple pie a la mode and special treats for dads. Eugene McCarthy will entertain. Chicken fajita salad and soup of the day will be offered as an alternate. A donation of $3 is suggested for those older than 60; those younger than 60 and accompanying a senior are $5. To make a reservation the day before or the morning of the luncheon, call (760) 724-3362.

Global warming program offered

VISTA -- "Global Warming: Changing CO2urse," a study/discussion program from Northwest Earth Institute, will be presented from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays, June 18, 25, July 9 and 16 at Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1600 Buena Vista Drive. The study guide is $17. Child care is available by advance request. Register by calling (760) 721-3091.

To empower individuals to respond to the challenge of global warming/climate change, this four-session discussion course explores the history and science of global warming, personal values and habits as they relate to climate change, and personal actions to curb the effects of global warming. Each meeting's facilitated discussion is based on readings from the study guide.

Internet Essentials class offered

VISTA -- Internet Essentials will be presented from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. June 18 at the Gloria McClellan Senior Center, 1400 Vale Terrace Drive. The class will include the terminology of the Internet, how to send an attachment, how to use search engines like Google to find Web sites. Cost is $15. Bring a re-writable CD or flash drive to bring completed projects home. Preregistration is required. Call (760) 639-6162.

Computer lab assistants needed

VISTA -- Computer lab assistants are needed to volunteer in the computer lab from 10 a.m. to noon Thursdays and Fridays at the Gloria McClellan Senior Center, 1400 Vale Terrace Drive.Call (760) 639-6162.

Beginning computer classes taught

VISTA -- Beginning computer classes are held throughout the year from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Gloria McClellan Senior Center, 1400 Vale Terrace Drive. Learn to use e-mail, the Internet and basic applications. Cost is $35 for four sessions and workbook. Call (760) 639-6160.

Mission celebrates 209th birthday

OCEANSIDE -- The Mission San Luis Rey will celebrate the day it was founded 209 years ago in 1798 by hosting A Day of Wine and Roses June 13 at 4050 Mission Ave. The mission will hold a wine tasting from 4:30 to 6 p.m. In conjunction with the event, Executive Director Friar James Lockman will lead his popular Horticultural Tour of the mission from 2 to 4 p.m. The tour includes areas not generally accessible to the public such as the Medication Gardens, the Friars' Garden and the historic Well House. Lockman also will present an educational overview of his favorite Top Ten Roses, which may be successfully grown in the coastal climate and share his secrets for pruning beautifully shaped rose bushes.

Immediately following, tour participants may partake in the wine tasting. Cost is $7 for the tour; $5 for wine tasting (four samples). To make a reservation, call (760) 757-3651, Ext. 146.

Seminar set for vets, spouses

VISTA -- Health Care Group will hold a free informational seminar for U.S. veterans and spouses over age 65 who may be eligible to receive assistance up to $1,808 per month from the Department of Veteran Affairs toward assisted living care. The seminar will be held at 10 a.m. and again at 6 p.m. June 13 at Rancho Vista, 760 E. Bobier Drive. R.S.V.P. to (760) 941-1480.

Diabetes support group to meet

OCEANSIDE -- The North County Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m. June 14 in the Community Room of the Oceanside Public Library at 3861 Mission Avenue. This meeting is open to all diabetics or those who wish to learn more about diabetes, its treatment and health consequences, and what can be done to improve lives. Cindy Garvey MSN, FNP, CDE will be the moderator and present topics of continuing interest. Call (760) 945-3559.

Nature story time for preschoolers

OCEANSIDE -- Buena Vista Audubon Center holds Nature Storytime for preschoolers age 3 to 5 with a parent at 10 a.m. the fourth Monday of each month at 2202 S. Coast Highway. Call (760) 918-6622.

South Vista Communities to meet

VISTA -- South Vista Communities will hold its first meeting at 7 p.m. June 14 at Shadowridge Country Club, 1980 Gateway Drive. The meeting will cover the group's first year in review, reports from South Vista neighborhoods and plans for the coming year. Information: http://www.southvistacommunities.org.

Democrats to meet at new headquarters

ENCINITAS -- A grand opening for the new Rancho North Coastal Democratic Club headquarters will take place June 12 at Encinitas Terrace, 454 Requeza St.

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with social time, followed by a program at 7, featuring video clips from the California Democratic Convention in April. Also, Michael Wray, former president of the Black Mountain Democratic Club and candidate for the 50th Congressional seat, will be introduced.

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Roses raspberries

Roses raspberries

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
A rose to the city of Encinitas for its decision to go live with its
televised city council meetings. We recently gave the city a hard time for
not being as ...

The 'Mr. Feel Good' award - A raspberry to Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews, for concocting a school-ranking formula for Newsweek magazine that reeks of social promotion and the soft bigotry of no expectations.

Specifically, the formula divides the number of Advanced Placement tests given at a school by the number of graduating seniors. According to Mathews,

Oceanside High, which has an Academic Performance Index score about 100 points below the state target, is among the top 5 percent of American schools because its Advanced Placement courses are open to all students, not just the ones who belong there. Oceanside High now gives 800 AP tests each year ---- more than triple the number it offered before it opened enrollment to all students. Mathews didn't factor in performance because it's his belief that the experience of having taken an AP class is more important than the grade given. Remember, kids, it's not how well you do in class that matters, it's how good you feel about it.

The 'Cup o' Corporate Conscience' award

A rose to the developers of a Starbucks at Cassidy Street and South Coast Highway in Oceanside for their decision to incorporate a makeshift memorial to fallen service members into the design of their new store or to support a larger memorial at another site. In 2003, a local couple began hanging faux dog tags to represent every service member killed in Iraq on the fence surrounding an abandoned gas station where the new Starbucks will stand. Whether the world needs another Starbucks is a question we'll let consumers answer, but it's nice to know that this one will serve a little respect for the fallen with every cup of coffee.

The 'And the Hits Just Keep On Coming' award

A raspberry to the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District for claiming on an award application to the National Association of Counties that its Web site targeting children received 2,000 hits per month. The district won the award, but it turns out that the number of hits was exaggerated by a factor of 40. The association decided to let the award stand , but the incident raises questions not only about the pollution district's integrity but its use of resources. Is it really worth creating and maintaining a Web site that gets only 50 lousy hits a month? The district recently predicted that San Diego will meet federal rules regulating ozone by the summer of 2008. Let's hope it wasn't making that up, too.

The 'Extended Family' award

A rose to Gerald and Jane Brunzie for their volunteer work at Lake Elementary School in Oceanside. Known to the students as Grandma and Grandpa, the San Marcos couple devote 20 hours a week to helping fourth- and fifth-graders with math. While there are other volunteers, few devote as much time as do the Brunzies. The kids get the help they need and the Brunzies get scores of adopted grandchildren. The Brunzies give a whole new meaning to the Golden Years.

The 'Wednesday Night Live' award

A rose to the city of Encinitas for its decision to go live with its televised city council meetings. We recently gave the city a hard time for not being as accessible to the public as it should be, in part because of its practice of rebroadcasting its council meetings. The council also deserves credit for acknowledging the need for streaming Internet coverage of its meetings as well. The first live cable broadcast will be June 13. So set aside time for some must-see TV. Given the contentiousness of Encinitas politics, this could be better than "Survivor."

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Fuel spill clean-up costly

Fuel spill clean-up costly


By JP(JP)

Fuel soaks the sand at Beacon's Beach, Leucadia Fuel spill clean-up costlier than original estimates By: ADAM KAYE - Staff Writer ENCINITAS -- The fuel spill that fouled the ocean near Encinitas in late May cost about $80000 to clean up ...

ENCINITAS -- The fuel spill that fouled the ocean near Encinitas in late May cost about $80,000 to clean up, $20,000 more than originally estimated, a U.S. Coast Guard official said Monday.

Lt. j.g. Lis Bosma said the cause of the 500- to 1,000-gallon spill -- the worst off the city's shoreline in 30 years -- remains under investigation.

The Coast Guard's laboratory in Groton, Conn., is continuing to analyze fuel samples taken from the water and from four vessels that were in the area between midnight May 29 and 11 a.m. May 31, when the spill occurred.

Bosma said she expects to see lab results by the end of the week.

On Wednesday, Encinitas Fire Department Chief Mark Muir is scheduled to report on emergency crews' response to the incident, which closed two miles of coastal waters from Grandview to D streets for nearly three days.

Local, state and federal authorities and a private contractor took part in the clean-up and investigation.

Bosma said the quantity of discharged fuel suggests that it came from a large vessel.

Environmental damage from the discharge, however, appears to be minimal, authorities said.

"I was expecting to find bird carcasses washing ashore several days later and nothing unusual washed up," said Robin Lewis, senior environmental specialist for the state Department of Fish and Game.

The fuel left an iridescent sheen on the ocean's surface before crews used absorbent pads to mop it up.

The fuel could have caused chemical burning of surface-level kelp, but Lewis said he could not confirm whether that had happened.

"The good thing is it wouldn't have killed the plant, which under ideal conditions will grow up to a meter a day," he said.
Are the sandcrabs still alive?

Has anyone seen the Osprey that normally hunts for Corbina in Leucadia lately?

The surface of the kelp is home to small fish and other creatures, were they affected by the spill?
The spill was corralled into the kelp beds. My gut instinct was too keep the spill away from the kelp beds.

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400000, or 31 percent, of local jobs have the potential to be ...

400000, or 31 percent, of local jobs have the potential to be ...


By JP(JP)

Sunday's San Diego Union Tribune had a front page story that reports nearly 400000, or 31 percent, of local jobs have the potential to be moved overseas during the next two decades. Nationally it is estimated that 37.7 million jobs, ..

Sunday's San Diego Union Tribune had a front page story that reports nearly 400,000, or 31 percent, of local jobs have the potential to be moved overseas during the next two decades.

Nationally it is estimated that 37.7 million jobs, or 29 percent of the current U.S. work force, could be outsourced to other countries within the next 10 to 20 years.

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Bicyclist injured in Encinitas crash

Bicyclist injured in Encinitas crash


ENCINITAS ---- A 33-year-old man suffered a head injury and broken bones when his bike was struck by a pickup truck on Highway 101, authorities said.

ENCINITAS ---- A 33-year-old man suffered a head injury and broken bones when his bike was struck by a pickup truck on Highway 101, authorities said.

The crash occurred just before 2 p.m., when a 1996 Nissan pickup truck struck the southbound bicyclist as he headed through heavy traffic near A Street, sheriff's Sgt. J. Mata said.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the driver, Encinitas resident Gilberto Tiadoro, 35, was at fault in the crash, Mata said.

The bicyclist was unconscious when deputies arrived and was taken by Mercy Air ambulance to Scripps La Jolla Hospital for treatment, the sergeant said.

The Encinitas sheriff's traffic division is investigating the crash.

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What began as Encinitas Hotel had many faces

What began as Encinitas Hotel had many faces

San Diego Union Tribune - United States
By Diane Welch ENCINITAS - Artistic Floors and Interiors Inc. sits
on a historic location on South Coast Highway 101 that was once the social
center of ..

ENCINITAS – Artistic Floors and Interiors Inc. sits on a historic location on South Coast Highway 101 that was once the social center of Encinitas.

Coincidentally, it was the installation of a fine wood floor – the last step to complete a new hotel – that was the cause for an all-night foot-stomping community celebration there 124 years ago.
E.G. Hammond, patriarch of the pioneer Hammond family, English immigrants who first settled in Encinitas in 1883, built a handsome three-story wooden structure along what was then First Avenue.

Annie Hammond Cozens, one of E.G. Hammond's daughters, wrote in her memoirs about the community celebration when the house was completed. “As soon as the floor was laid, Mr. Hammond sent out word to all the ranchers ... to come prepared for an all-night dance in honor of the occasion.”

Children slept soundly in wagons next to the hotel while their parents danced until dawn to live music. Supper was served at dusk, and hot coffee and sandwiches at midnight, Cozens wrote.

The hotel was first named the Pitcher House in honor of one of the town's founders, Jabez Pitcher. Jennie Hammond, E.G. Hammond's oldest daughter, ran the hotel but died two years after taking the job, according to a 1992 historic edition of The Encinitas Magazine, a Chamber of Commerce publication.

The hotel was sold to Elizabeth C. Tallant, “a quaint old soul who understood her business and kept everything as clean as a bright new pin.” Aided by her son, Henry, and daughter, Addie, what became the Tallant Hotel was renamed the Tingman House when Addie, who married a local named A.G. Tingman, took over management. It later became known as the Encinitas House or Encinitas Hotel, and remained a vital business and community landmark until the booming 1880s gave way to the depressed 1890s.

As business declined, the hotel's lower floor served as the overflow for Pacific View Elementary School's eighth-grade students. The 35-year-old building, which was showing some wear, was then acquired by the inventive local builder Miles Minor Kellogg in 1918.

Fondly acclaimed today as the “ultimate recycler,” Kellogg removed the structure's top story, using the materials to build the town's first silent movie theater, according to the 1992 article. Evidently, bats were living on the hotel's third floor.

Kellogg – who also built Encinitas' famed boathouses on Third Street out of salvaged wood from the Moonlight Beach dance hall – owned the hotel property for 17 years. It then passed to L. Cory, who remodeled it and stuccoed its exterior, greatly improving the aesthetics of a row of small businesses along what by 1928 had become South Coast Highway 101.

In 1932, however, the building was torn down to make way for a grocery store, which 20 years later, having outgrown its building, moved farther south to make room for a large parking lot.

Artistic Floors and Interiors Inc., opened in 1952 at 575 S. Coast Highway 101, said Paul McDonald, who works there. Since then the business, owned by Butch Servi, has thrived and become its own community landmark.

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Political consultant Jack Orr dies in Oceanside

Political consultant Jack Orr dies in Oceanside

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
In the last two decades he helped people get elected to city council and
mayor in Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside and San Marcos, and he
handled numerous ...

OCEANSIDE ---- Political consultant Jack Orr, whose career has spanned from the White House to Sacramento and Oceanside City Hall, died of a heart ailment Saturday at Tri-City Medical Center.

Orr, 68, was considered by some to be the elder statesman of North County's political consultants. In the last two decades he helped people get elected to city council and mayor in Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside and San Marcos, and he handled numerous political hot potatoes around San Diego County.

"He had a fabulous career, absolutely wonderful," said Mary Azevedo, a friend and partner in Orr's consulting business.

Orr had not been feeling well recently and went into the hospital Wednesday morning, she said.

"He had a heart attack ... and simply could not recover from it," Azevedo said. "He was a 40-year smoker. He did quit smoking eight years ago, but the damage had already been done. He had a great living ... great food, great fun, and it came back to haunt him."

Encinitas Councilman Jerome Stocks said Orr was "one of my very best friends."

"In 1986, he ran the successful campaign to create the city of Encinitas," Stocks said. "It had been tried several times before and failed."

After that, Orr helped create the Encinitas Ranch development along El Camino Real at Leucadia Boulevard. The cluster of homes and retail businesses, including a Home Depot, became the "economic engine" that drives the city, Stocks said.

"He's had a very major impact in Encinitas since its creation," Stocks said.

Orr ran successful City Council campaigns for Stocks in 2000 and 2004, and more recently worked on a successful Encinitas campaign to build the city library at the location where it now is being completed.

Early in his career the short, rotund, bespectacled consultant helped Ronald Reagan become governor of California, according to a story about Orr published in the Blade-Citizen in 2001. He worked in the White House during the Ford administration.

His life wasn't all politics. He coached youth soccer teams in Encinitas and rode in rodeos well into his middle age. He had a master's degree in literature and taught the subject as a professor at USC in the late 1960s and early '70s.

Orr lived in Encinitas from the late 1970s through the 1990s, then moved to Carlsbad. He later moved to Oceanside. He has a daughter, Kaylie, who lives in Encinitas.

Orr's critics have said he sometimes punched a little too hard. One of them, former Oceanside Councilwoman Carol McCauley, said in the 2001 news story that too often he conducted a negative campaign.

Former San Marcos Mayor Corky Smith said Saturday that he worked with Orr in two elections and on a campaign to stop Wal-Mart from building a store in San Marcos.

"Twice we ran for mayor, and I won one and I lost one," Smith said. "We lost the Wal-Mart thing, but I thought he was a fine gentleman.

"He was kind of a rare consultant because he didn't believe in false information, or to lie about your opponent, or anything like that. If you had something to say about a guy, it had to be the truth."

Former Oceanside Mayor Terry Johnson said he had talked with Orr recently and had planned to visit him today in the hospital.

"Jack Orr was my campaign manager for the (successful) mayor's race of 2000," Johnson said. "We worked together on and off for about six years. We did a lot of good together for the city of Oceanside."

Orr worked with city officials to reduce crime and bring in developers who made needed changes, Johnson said.

"We changed the course of the city and set it in the direction it is going now, which is a very positive direction," Johnson said. "Newcomers and old-timers are living in a better community because of that."

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Encinitas considering increasing trash collection rates

Encinitas considering increasing trash collection rates


By JP(JP)

Encinitas considering increasing trash collection rates By: North County Times ENCINITAS ---- The Encinitas City Council will consider increasing trash collection rates at its Wednesday meeting. If approved, monthly trash bills for most ...

ENCINITAS ---- The Encinitas City Council will consider increasing trash collection rates at its Wednesday meeting.

If approved, monthly trash bills for most residential customers would increase by 72 cents, from $17.12 to $17.84, a 4.2 percent increase.

EDCO Waste and Recycling Services provides trash collection services to Encinitas. A city report published this week cites increased landfill disposal fees and cost of living increases for the proposed rate hikes.

To comply with state laws, the city in April mailed notices to 22,017 property owners informing them of the pending increase and their right to protest it.

A majority of property owners could halt the increase by writing letters of protest, but as of June 4, only five had been submitted, a staffer from the city clerk's office said Friday.

The City Council meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday at 505 S. Vulcan Ave.

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Encinitas, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Encinitas, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Encinitas is a coastal city in northern San Diego County,
California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of
58014....

Encinitas is a coastal city in northern San Diego County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,014. It is located about 40 km (25 mi) north of San Diego, and about 150 km (95 mi) south of Los Angeles.

The city was incorporated in 1986 from the communities of Encinitas, Leucadia, Cardiff-by-the-Sea and Olivenhain. These communities retain their identities, and their distinctive flavors.

The largest single industry is the growing of ornamental flowers, particularly poinsettias.

The City is governed by a five-member City Council, elected at-large to staggered four-year terms at two-year intervals.

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This Weekend in San Diego

This Weekend in San Diego


By Carole A. Lane

Fusion Italian/Mexican Feast, Encinitas. Hot Summer Nights, Fallbrook. Jammin' Jazz Fest in South Park. Last Comic Standing, San Diego. Nature Walk at Chollas Lake in San Diego. Sam Hinton Folk Celebration Concert, Poway ...

There’s always so much to do in San Diego, it can be hard to decide where to go first. In addition to the usual attractions (SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, LegoLand), there are festivals, concerts, and parties going on all over San Diego county. Here’s a taste of what you’ll find this weekend:

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Destruct-o

Destruct-o


By JP(JP)

The 101 Artist Colony compound was torn by bulldozers yesterday.


The 101 Artist Colony compound was torn by bulldozers yesterday.

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Olivenhain water district offers irrigation controller rebates

Olivenhain water district offers irrigation controller rebates

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
... San Diego, Solana Beach and San Marcos as well as the
communities of Olivenhain, 4S Ranch, Leucadia, Elfin Forest, Rancho
Santa Fe, Fairbanks Ranch, ...

The Olivenhain Municipal Water District still has rebates available for customers who install weather-based irrigation controllers.

The district teamed up with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to offer the $150 rebates under a pilot program designed to get customers to investigate the latest irrigation technology. Also known as "smart" irrigation controllers, the devices automatically shut off irrigation systems in wet weather, resulting in an outdoor water savings of up to 40 percent.

The Olivenhain water district serves portions of Encinitas, Carlsbad, San Diego, Solana Beach and San Marcos as well as the communities of Olivenhain, 4S Ranch, Leucadia, Elfin Forest, Rancho Santa Fe, Fairbanks Ranch, and Santa Fe Valley. As of June 1, the water district had 50 rebates left.

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Live Encinitas City Council broadcasts to begin June 13

Live Encinitas City Council broadcasts to begin June 13


ENCINITAS -- Cable television subscribers in Encinitas can watch live broadcasts of City Council meetings starting Wednesday, city officials announced this week. The simulcasts begin at 6 pm for regular meetings, which are held on the ...

ENCINITAS -- Cable television subscribers in Encinitas can watch live broadcasts of City Council meetings starting Wednesday, city officials announced this week. The simulcasts begin at 6 p.m. for regular meetings, which are held on the second, third and fourth Wednesdays of each month.

Cox Communications customers can watch the hearings on Channel 19; Time Warner Cable will air them on Channel 66. The meetings will be rebroadcast at 6 p.m. Thursdays.

The simulcasts are a first step toward meeting a City Council directive to expand the broadcasting and introduce Webcasting of public meetings, the city's notice states.

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Sharpening store will shut down

Sharpening store will shut down

San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
ENCINITAS - The atmosphere at Dalager's resembles that of an
old-fashioned country store where folks drop by just to chat. Even
four-legged visitors are ...

ENCINITAS – The atmosphere at Dalager's resembles that of an old-fashioned country store where folks drop by just to chat. Even four-legged visitors are welcome.
Dogs like Baja, a golden-retriever mix, know there's always a doggie cookie waiting for them.

“This is Downtown Encinitas Central,” Dale Gruel said as he brought his small dog, Chloe, for their daily visit.

Problem is, few people are coming to Dalager's Sharpening Service Inc. to get things sharpened.

So after 60 years in business, most of them on Second Street in Encinitas, the Dalager brothers are closing the store.

Shirley Puga, Baja's owner, hadn't seen the notice on the counter announcing that the landmark Encinitas business would close June 15.

It's so sad, she said.

Everyone's been asking Dan Dalager why the business is closing.

He said the demographics and economics of Encinitas have changed from a place where agriculture was important and gardening services had their headquarters.

“We're an agricultural business,” he said, and that's no longer viable here.

Dalager's sharpens saw and lawn mower blades and sells lawn mowers.

Many of the shop's shelves are bare. Dalager and his brother, Myron, stopped reordering and started selling off wares after they decided in April to close the business.

“It's sort of the end of an era,” said Dalager, also an Encinitas councilman.

The walls of the store display memorabilia such as framed photos of teams from a half-century of involvement in Encinitas Little League and a round saw blade, 4 feet in diameter, painted in the brightly colored Norwegian rosemaling style by the brothers' mother, Valora.

Their late father, Hans, started the business in 1947 after he served in the Marines in the South Pacific in World War II.

He had a civilian job as a sharpener at Camp Pendleton after the war and opened his own business on the side in a chicken coop at a little cottage he and his bride, also an ex-Marine, bought in Leucadia.

When they moved to a home in Cardiff three years later, Dalager built a sharpening shop in the basement.

Then the family moved to Second Street in 1960, opening the business downstairs and running a household upstairs.

One of the nice things about living and working in the same place, Dalager said, is that pets and children can hang around, too, like after school when the grandchildren would take ailing Grandpa Hans for a walk.

Hans Dalager died in 1992.

To all of Encinitas, Dalager said, his parents were known as Mom and Pop.

Dan Dalager began working in the store when he was 9. Myron started at 6.

Ricky Hernandez, who worked in the shop as a teenager in the mid '70s, came back recently to reminisce.

“When I heard about it (the store's closing), I had to get down here right away,” he said.

Hernandez recalled how the employees were always able to take $5 out of the cash register to go buy lunch and then at the 2 p.m. break they all got root beer floats from the old Frank's Burgers on First Street (Highway 101).

Rowdy Lang stopped by and recalled scooting around the shop floor when he was even younger than his 6-year-old son, Tyler.

Lang came in to do business, getting new chains for a chain saw and having blades sharpened. He's in the construction business and said it's hard these days to find people like Dalager who can repair equipment.

Big chain stores will sell new products but won't fix existing ones, he said.

The Dalager brothers, in their mid-50s, are not retiring. They're going to take a couple of weeks off and then look for new jobs.

Dan Dalager said he'd like one where he works only 40 hours a week.

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nyc chowhound in san diego for a weekend wedding in june

nyc chowhound in san diego for a weekend wedding in june


... Jake's Del Mar...brunch Bully's Del Mar...excellent bully burger and I have had Sunday breakfast with a strong bloody..yum I hear Pipes is excellent in Encinitas Kraken...best dive bar in Cardiff..across from Chart House/Charlie's.


and searching cheap eats in del mar/la jolla area. looking for anything beachy or relaxed for a group of five or six people that will be arriving in san diego thursday evening; good cheap seafood or mexican for lunch on friday, also preferably near a beach; i think we're heading up to the fish house in carlsbad for dinner on friday; then a great, inexpensive brunch on saturday and sunday. sunday i'm looking for a stick-to-your-ribs kind of brunch that will last us until we land back in NYC late that night; saturday can be lighter fare. I've heard hash house is ok? opinions? thanks!

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Border Patrol Sweep, Encinitas california

Border Patrol Sweep, Encinitas california


By Pro Inmigrant(Pro Inmigrant)

The Border Patrol just profiling Latinos for questioning their legal Status. Latino pro Inmigrant. Width: 150px - example.


The Border Patrol just profiling Latinos for questioning their legal Status.

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Dalager Closing Family Tool Shop to Hunt Squirrels (?)

Dalager Closing Family Tool Shop to Hunt Squirrels (?)


By JP(JP)

Who hunts squirrels? Squirrels will come up to you if you have food in your hand. Leucadia Blog: Hobbyist, Democracy and Integrity Frustrate Local Tool Sharpener Leucadia Blog: Dan Dalager Constructs New Hall Park Statue.

I was sad to learn that former mayor and current city councilman Dan Dalager was closing his longstanding family tool sharpening business on 2nd St in downtown Encinitas.

After 47 years, Dalagers closing June 15; City councilman's store a hub of chit-chat

I've taken some shots at Dalager on this blog in the last year. I started out as a Dan Dalager fan but grew frustrated with him over the last couple of years. I thought one of his redeeming values was his local roots as a small business owner.

Although I found it odd that Dalager never figured out how to sharpen surfboard planer blades despite the numerous surfboard shapers who live in Encinitas I've always liked the business and the little square green building and the faded lawnmower man mural.

This line in the above linked NCT.com story stood out, Dalager said he had not decided what he will do for work, but planned to take a few weeks off to hunt squirrels.

Who hunts squirrels? Squirrels will come up to you if you have food in your hand.

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Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively?

Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively?


By JP(JP)

This was posted in the comments section. It's classic: As a native Californian and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am blogging to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an ...

As a native Californian and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am blogging to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to your blog.

My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stems from the bill which was recently passed from committee to the full Senate and for which your readers are supporting. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years.

I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out. Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the Scripps emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as "in-state" tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.

Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative. Thank you all for your assistance.

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Slick

Slick


By Tom Chambers

This is a view up the Leucadia coast looking at the massive fuel spill from last week. Could it be that the nicotine nazis trying to keep me from smoking on the beach planted the mysterious gas to make smokers go up in flames? ...


This is a view up the Leucadia coast looking at the massive fuel spill from last week. Could it be that the nicotine nazis trying to keep me from smoking on the beach planted the mysterious gas to make smokers go up in flames?

J.P. over at the Leucadia Blog has been following this (as have the local papers) since it happened. The powers that be say it’s now safe to swim and surf in Leucadia’s waters now that the fuel spill has dissipated. Folks weren’t allowed in all weekend, not even for the Switchfoot BroAm (but the music was still good).

Still, no one knows where the fuel came from, and really, what lasting effects it might have.

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All beaches in Encinitas now safe for public use

All beaches in Encinitas now safe for public use

San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
ENCINITAS: The remaining beaches that were closed after last
week's offshore fuel spill were reopened yesterday, officials said....

ENCINITAS: The remaining beaches that were closed after last week's offshore fuel spill were reopened yesterday, officials said.

The shoreline between Grandview Beach and north of Stone Steps Beach has been deemed safe for swimmers and surfers, said the county Department of Environmental Health.

Officials reopened Moonlight Beach and Stone Steps Beach a day earlier.

Investigators are still searching for the ship responsible for spilling 500 to 1,000 gallons of fuel. – K.D.

County, 6 others sue U.S. over Medicare payments

San Diego and six other counties yesterday filed a class-action lawsuit against the federal government, accusing it of underpaying physicians in their regions.

The plaintiffs said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services unfairly classify San Diego, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Marin, San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties as rural. Urban regions receive higher Medicare payments than rural ones.

In San Diego County, the alleged underpayment amounts to about $155 million over the past seven years, the plaintiffs said.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco. It was announced at a news conference in Hillcrest by county Supervisor Ron Roberts, county counsel John Sansone and Dr. Ted Mazer, president of the San Diego County Medical Society.

Medicare officials could not be reached for comment. – C.C.

Marine testifies he asked: 'Where are the bad guys?'

CAMP PENDLETON: Smoke from a Marine attack still hung in the air when 2nd Lt. William Kallop stepped into the family room of a home in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005. Before him were the bodies of old men, women and children.

Kallop was told that his Marines “fragged” the room – threw fragmentation grenades into it – after hearing a weapon being loaded. But Kallop found nothing to suggest that insurgents were in the house.

“Where are the bad guys?” Kallop testified. His deposition, videotaped in May, was played yesterday in a Camp Pendleton courtroom during the pretrial hearing for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani.

Chessani is one of four officers accused of not properly reporting and investigating the deaths of 24 Iraqis during the Haditha incident. Three enlisted Marines are charged with murder in the deaths.

The pretrial hearing for one of those murder defendants, Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, is scheduled to begin Monday. He is accused of fatally shooting three men with a service pistol.

If Sharratt proceeds to trial and is convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison. – R.R.

Sheriff's seminar aims to recruit women

SAN DIEGO: Women interested in a career in law enforcement can get their questions answered at a women-only seminar held by the Sheriff's Department tonight.

Female deputies, from the assistant sheriff to a recent academy graduate, will talk about working in detentions and in the field and how to overcome challenges. They will also explain the hiring process.

The free seminar will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the sheriff's headquarters, 9621 Ridgehaven Court in San Diego. A second seminar is planned for June 19.

Reservations are required. Send an e-mail to laura.legler@sdsheriff.org or call(858) 974-2336 to reserve a seat. Include your name, phone number and the date you wish to attend. – K.D.

Supervisor files papers for re-election campaign

County Supervisor Greg Cox will seek re-election next year.

Cox filed papers with the Registrar of Voters to form a campaign committee but doesn't plan to officially announce his candidacy until September.

Cox, who has been a supervisor since 1995, represents the county's 1st District, which includes Coronado, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City and much of southern San Diego. – C.G.

Lemon Grove budget proposes 2.5% raises

LEMON GROVE: Lemon Grove officials tonight will propose a $13.5 million draft budget for fiscal 2007-08 that calls for hiring two additional workers, cutting several other positions and giving most employees a 2.5 percent cost-of-living raise.

Officials would dip into the city's $2.38 million reserve to pay for a skate facility, computer upgrades and holiday decorations, among other items.

Tonight's meeting will be at 6 p.m. at Lemon Grove Community Center, 3146 School Lane. – M.C.

Supervisors reviewing enhancement projects

SAN DIEGO: County supervisors will hear a second round of requests to fund community enhancement projects today as they decide how to dole out $3.2 million.

About 275 community groups have requested $8.6 million from the county supervisors, who each have $640,000 in transient occupancy taxes to disburse this year. The county collects the money through hotel charges in unincorporated areas.

Supervisors heard nearly four hours of requests yesterday; a second hearing starts at 9 a.m. today. – C.G.

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Subdivision proposed on family farm

Subdivision proposed on family farm


ENCINITAS ---- A proposal to build 69 homes on Saxony Road could close another chapter of the agricultural storybook in a city once known as the Flower Capital of the World.


ENCINITAS ---- A proposal to build 69 homes on Saxony Road could close another chapter of the agricultural storybook in a city once known as the "Flower Capital of the World."

And if the Bahlmann family and their developer get their way, the subdivision would take advantage of state-sanctioned incentives to build more homes than local laws allow.

The late Gaylord Bahlmann, a San Dieguito High School graduate and World War II veteran, opened greenhouses on Saxony Road in 1958. His family's home continues to occupy high ground on the 21.7-acre farm.

Bahlmann left behind four children when he died on Thanksgiving Day 2003.

His only son, Bryan Bahlmann, said last week that estate taxes, labor, pesticide laws and overseas competition have made it "just too difficult" for him and his three sisters to keep the farm.

"It's a matter of what a lot of farms go through when the main person passes away," the Valley Center graphic designer and entrepreneur said last week. "It gets to the point where farming is really difficult."

The Bahlmanns will retain ownership and control of the land, but they've hired David C. Meyer to be a consultant during the subdivision and construction process.

Before a project can begin, the Bahlmanns and Meyer must complete planning and an environmental review process that could last up to two years, said city planner Kerry Kusiak.

Kusiak said planners are asking for more information on previous grading of the site.

The Bahlmann greenhouses adjoin Puebla Street and Saxony Road and cascade down a gentle slope. Many are unsheeted and empty.

After Gaylord Bahlmann retired in 1986, he leased the greenhouses for many seasons to the neighboring Ecke family, which filled them with poinsettias for winter and lilies for spring. The historical Paul Ecke Ranch is about one block south of the Bahlmann farm.

In 2005, when the Eckes asked voters whether they would support rezoning about half of the 68-acre ranch for housing, their answer was a resounding "no," with Proposition A losing in a landslide.

The land-use measure served as a reminder that large tracts of vacant land are all but gone in Encinitas, leaving vacant nurseries as the most available source of development.

Residential property in Encinitas can sell for $1 million an acre, and one of the biggest pieces belongs to the Bahlmanns.

"This very well may be the biggest subdivision the city sees from here on out," Kusiak said last week.

Banking on a bonus
Unlike that of the Eckes, the Bahlmanns' proposal doesn't request a change in zoning but does seek to subdivide the property into 69 lots, well above the 46 that local laws allow.

The Bahlmanns have applied for state "density bonus" incentives, which permit them to exceed local standards if they provide homes for low-income families. State law also relaxes city standards for parking and lot sizes.

As proposed, the project would include 61 market-rate homes and eight others reserved for low-income households.

Throughout Encinitas, developers have requested or received approval for nearly a dozen density bonus subdivisions. Nearly all of them have produced controversy from neighbors who complain about squeezing too many homes into small lots.

Bahlmann said he and his sisters could have sold their property to a builder.

"We're trying to do the land development ourselves so we know what kind of product will be there," he said. "We have a high stake in the community. That is very much what we're trying to stress to neighbors."

At least one neighbor, however, already worries about traffic.

"I'm very concerned about traffic but don't know the right answer because I haven't seen a study," said Matt Walker, who lives on Saxony Road.

On average, daily vehicle trips on the two-lane road range from 8,720 to 9,940, city records show.

A single-family home generally is considered to produce 10 daily trips. For 69 homes, that translates as 690 daily trips.

A traffic study for the Bahlmann project was submitted last week, Kusiak said, adding that the document is under review and not available for public release.

According to planning documents, access to 42 of the homes would come from Quail Gardens Drive. The remaining homes would be served by Saxony Road.

"I'm worried about what happens when people start coming out of those homes onto Saxony," Walker said. "The sight lines aren't good, people are going fast, and you only need one bad accident and someone getting killed for us to realize we made a terrible mistake."

Making the grade
The extent to which the developer must improve nearby roads is not yet known. In all likelihood, Bryan Bahlmann said, the developer would be required to build left-turn lanes on Saxony. Much of Puebla Street is unpaved, and Kusiak said some neighbors would like to keep it that way.

City engineers have asked that the developer bury overhead utility lines on Saxony, produce drainage and hydrology studies and a landscaping plan showing how frontages on Saxony and Quail Gardens Drive would be planted.

Although the property connects two major north-south thoroughfares, a road through the project is unlikely, although a trail link is possible, Kusiak said.

He acknowledged controversy will be inevitable and noted that his family never has challenged other landowners' development near the property.

"We have maps from the late 1950s showing our house and maybe one or two others in the area," he said. "We're not putting skyscrapers in. We're putting single-family homes in. You've got to have places for people to live."

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Encinitas Environment Day educates, enlightens

Encinitas Environment Day educates, enlightens

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
ENCINITAS -- For organizer Bob Nanninga, the first Encinitas
Environment Day arose from a classic mantra: Think globally, act locally.

ENCINITAS -- For organizer Bob Nanninga, the first Encinitas Environment Day arose from a classic mantra: Think globally, act locally.

"That's really what it's all about," Nanninga said Sunday from Cottonwood Park, the city's newest park and the site of this year's Environment Day. With folk music as the backdrop throughout the day, the event featured educational speakers touting ways to save the environment and natural resources.

"In recognition of United Nations World Environment Day, Encinitas has come together to join the global community in raising awareness of humans' impact on their planet," said District 3 county Supervisor Pam Slater-Price. "We want to honor the work done in Encinitas on part of the environment. This park is an environmental showcase for restoration."

Six years ago, Nanninga approached the city's parks commission with early talks of an environmental fair.

"Today, here we are," he said. "This will be an annual event. It's a way for the city of Encinitas to gather to answer questions about what we are doing for the environment."

Nanninga said he chose Cottonwood Park for the event because of its symbolism. Slater-Price praised his awareness.

"When I ran in 1988 for Encinitas City Council, this park was one of my platforms," Slater-Price said. "Today, we need to ask ourselves what we can do to help."

Slater-Price said there are several ways to save natural resources, such as driving a low-emission vehicle, relying more on solar energy more and to roll down car windows.

"We have the best air conditioner in the Pacific Ocean," she said. "Cool your house naturally."

Nanninga said Sunday's event was timely, both because of a national hunger for environmental action and recent local news.

"The toxic fuel spill on the beach here in Encinitas this week -- closing the beach for three days --- and that's what this event is all about," he said. "This is about education and recognition. People are waiting for an environmental revolution to happen. This is a way to make it happen."

Visitors were encouraged to walk or bike to the event, and those who did were rewarded with raffle tickets for environmentally friendly wares.

Environmental scientist Dr. Robert Wilder, a self-professed environmental capitalist, moved the crowd with the story of his personal passion -- a Wall Street fund composed solely of environmentally conscious 'green' companies.

"Within one day on Wall Street, we had sold $10 million in shares," Wilder recalled. The crowd immediately cheered.

Nanninga said he hopes the crowds take away only one idea.

"We need to fix ourselves," Nanninga said. "I know this concept is ready to take over Encinitas. We are all in this together. This day is all about showing how Encinitas residents can change the planet. This is just the beginning."

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Contaminted Beaches Possibly Reopen Sunday

Contaminted Beaches Possibly Reopen Sunday

KGTV, 10News.com - San Diego,CA,USA
ENCINITAS, Calif. -- Several North County beaches, closed since
Thursday morning due to an offshore fuel spill, will likely reopen Sunday....

ENCINITAS, Calif. -- County health officials have been advised by the U.S. Coast Guard that about half of the beaches closed Thursday by an unknown ship's diesel spill are clean enough to reopen to public use.

A persistent marine layer, however, has slowed evaporation of the residual sheen collected among the kelp beds that couldn't be removed during Friday's cleanup.
Click here to find out more!

"If it were sunny and warm this would have burned off a long time ago," said Coast Guard Lt. Jereme Altendorf, monitoring the situation.

The spill of a diesel-like substance is believed to have come from a cargo ship. Originally thought to be as much as 1,000 gallons, officials now believe it to have been about half that much, Altendorf said.

The beachfront water to be reopened Sunday stretches between between Beacons and Moonlight beaches. But a stretch to the north from Beacons Beach to Grandview Street will remain closed, pending further evaluation, Altendorf said.

"We're still getting reports of smells in that area," he said. "We're hoping the sun the sun will come out, but the marine layer has been pretty strong."

San Diego County health officials have been up and down the beaches, talking to lifeguards and monitoring the water. The Coast Guard is performing daily inspections by helicopter, and consulting with the Department of Fish and Game, the county and city of Encinitas.

Samples have been sent to a lab to determine exactly what was spilled.

Vessels that passed through the area Wednesday night and Thursday morning will be examined by the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard for a possible chemical match.

"We're in a holding pattern until Monday," Altendorf said. "We're working with the Navy and assisting them with their investigation. We're hoping to move on this and get a good start."

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Monday, June 25, 2007

Encinitas beaches shut down as fuel spill reaches shore

Encinitas beaches shut down as fuel spill reaches shore

San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
ENCINITAS - A fuel spill has fouled a stretch of coastline along
Encinitas and prompted the cancellation of an annual surf
competition planned for Saturday, ...

ENCINITAS – A fuel spill has fouled a stretch of coastline along Encinitas and prompted the cancellation of an annual surf competition planned for Saturday, officials said Friday.

The spill will keep swimmers and surfers out of the water for at least 24 hours.

The Switchfoot Bro-Am surf contest, which was scheduled at Moonlight Beach Saturday, has been canceled, said Encinitas Fire Division Chief Scott Henry. It is not known if a planned concert will go on.

“This is the worst spill I've seen in my 27 years in Encinitas,” Henry said.

Authorities learned that a spill had occurred around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, when a boater reported seeing a sheen on the water, said Coast Guard Lt. Jereme Altendors.

The fuel started washing ashore late Thursday afternoon.

Beaches have been closed from Grandview Street south to D Street, and signs have been posted at all entry points.

Lifeguards will be patrolling the beaches to make sure people stay out of the water, although people can still walk or run on the beach. Henry said they haven't seen any impact on wildlife so far from the spill.

Coast Guard officers have taken water samples, which will be sent to a lab to be analyzed. Officials also are reviewing a list of vessels that were in the area Thursday in hopes of tracking down where the petroleum product originated.

Altendors estimated the size of the spill at between 500 to 1,000 gallons.

The main health concern is long-term exposure to the fuel vapors, which can make people feel nauseous or dizzy. There have been no reports of anyone feeling sick from vapors, Altendorf said.

“You don't want to be breathing this stuff for a long time,” he said.

A Coast Guard helicopter was sent over the area Friday morning to determine the size of the slick.

Encinitas Lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles said the largest concentration of the substance is being found at Beacon's Beach, at the end of Leucadia Boulevard.

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Sisler's goal turns to gold

Sisler's goal turns to gold

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
A prom after-party was waiting in Encinitas, and La Costa Canyon
High's senior high jumper didn't have much time to talk or
celebrate an achievement four ...


A prom after-party was waiting in Encinitas, and La Costa Canyon High's senior high jumper didn't have much time to talk or celebrate an achievement four years in the making. She expressed the exhilaration of winning a CIF State Track and Field championship with one-word answers, discussing her trek over 5 feet, 10 inches during Saturday's final in equal fashion in an attempt to expedite the interview process.

How did Sisler feel after missing her first attempt of the competition at 5-3? "Scared." How did she feel after re-taking the lead by clearing 5-9 on the first attempt? "Happy." What was her immediate reaction after securing a state title many expected her to win? "Whew."

It was only at that point that someone informed Sisler she had some time to spare. Her guard instantly dropped, and with it came passion. She exhaled loudly, closed her eyes for a moment and finally acknowledged the gravity of her accomplishment.

"Marks weren't important here," Sisler said. "All I wanted to do was win. Just win. That was it. It's overwhelming to do what I set out to do."

Victory at the state meet was all that was left to accomplish. Sisler broke a 29-year old San Diego Section record last week and dipped below 5-8 just once all year.

"I knew coming in that Whitney was a strong talent," said first-year LCC high jump coach Patrick McDonough.

"But I don't think anyone could've expected a year like this. She has a section record, a state title and was incredibly successful in between. You can't ask for anything more."

Most spectators would never know how Sisler felt about her accomplishments. She was cool, collected and businesslike during her trek to a state title.

But after Sisler cleared 5-10 on her second try, the faÁade finally cracked.

Sisler jumped right up and exulted with a powerful fist pump, illustrating both her excitement and her desire to win.

"She never reacts to anything," McDonough said. "So when Whitney got excited, we all got excited. You couldn't help but get caught up in the moment."

While Sisler's teammate Katy Andrews didn't win a state title in the 3,200 meters, she couldn't help but get excited by an effort more than 20 seconds better than her previous best. Andrews finished in 10 minutes, 36.58 seconds, which put a sixth-place medal in Andrews' hand and a big smile on her face.

"I am so, so happy right now," Andrews said. "I was hoping for a (personal record), but I never expected one quite this big. And to earn a medal with it is even better."

It was a performance long awaited for Andrews, who missed all of the major invitationals while vacationing in Australia.

"I was gone for all of the big meets, so I figured the state meet was my only chance to turn in a really good time," Andrews said. "The pace was fast, but I convinced myself that I had gas left in the tank. I was able to run strong at the end and hold on to a medal."

Andrews wasn't the only North County athlete to earn a medal at Sacramento City College's Hughes Stadium.

Vista's Griffin Simmons grabbed fifth in the boys pole vault with a mark of 15-4 and Rancho Bernardo's Emily Mattoon took sixth with an 11-10. Oceanside's Maurice Patterson finished fifth in the 100 with a 10.64 and Escondido's Darrell Catchings was sixth in the long jump with a 22-10 3/4.

Saturday's meet was also big in terms of records.

National records were set by Woodland Hills Taft's Jeshua Anderson in the boy's 300 hurdles (35.28), San Jose Mt. Pleasant's Vashti Thomas in the 100 hurdles (13.03) and Palo Alto Castilleja's Tori Anderson in the girl's pole vault (14-1).

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Some Encinitas beaches reopen after fuel spill

Some Encinitas beaches reopen after fuel spill

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
ENCINITAS ---- A section of the Encinitas coastline between D
and North El Portal streets that were closed because of last week's
fuel spill reopened today, ...

ENCINITAS ---- A section of the Encinitas coastline between D and North El Portal streets that were closed because of last week's fuel spill reopened today, but beaches between Beacon's Beach and Grandview Street remained off-limits pending further testing, authorities said.

County Department of Environmental Health officials declared that the reopened area, which includes Moonlight Beach, is safe for swimmers and surfers. Areas to the north remain contaminated by the petroleum fuel and will be re-evaluated Monday. Signs warning of contaminated water will remain in place until it is safe for recreational use.

The beaches closed Thursday, when 500 to 1,000 gallons of what is believed to be diesel fuel leaked into the ocean, likely from a passing vessel.

An extensive cleanup was launched Friday, in which the majority of fuel was successfully removed. The small, remaining amount casts an oily sheen on the water but should eventually dissipate.

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Coast Hwy Billboard Hack

Coast Hwy Billboard Hack


By JP(JP)

This billboard vandalism makes me wonder if we really need billboards on the coast highway, especially over small mom&pop business. See also: Leucadia Blog: Invasion of the canopy snatchers....


This billboard vandalism makes me wonder if we really need billboards on the coast highway, especially over small mom&pop business.

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Encinitas man designs ads, apparel

Encinitas man designs ads, apparel

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
David Boylan's office is in a sleepy Leucadia neighborhood west
of the I-5 freeway, where wetsuits are hung out on open garage doors to dry
and the only ...

David Boylan's office is in a sleepy Leucadia neighborhood west of the I-5 freeway, where wetsuits are hung out on open garage doors to dry and the only sound reverberating through the early morning fog is an occasional train whistle.

A neighbor's tabby cat wanders in through the open kitchen door, rubbing up against Boylan's legs as he pours hot water into a mug for organic green tea. Artichokes grow in the backyard near a water fountain made from a tuba, and the front room looks more like a recording studio than a living room, with a half dozen of his son's guitars and equipment on display.

Since 2003, Boylan, 42, has been running his own integrated marketing firm from this beach bungalow home. He's a single father of a teenage son, Quinn, who is a junior at the San Dieguito Academy and member of the local band Tan Sister Radio.

Boylan's business is advertising, mingled with a deep appreciation for the casual Southern California lifestyle.

"I wear four or five different hats," he said, adding that with his own home-based business, he can blend his sales experience with his creative side, while keeping overhead down. "I can write and be conceptual, and I can talk business and sales, too. I do a lot of different things," he said, "which is great for me."

Boylan, who grew up in Royal Oak, Mich., where he surfed the Great Lakes, came to California in the late 1990s as a regional sales manager for MASCO, a manufacturer of bathroom products with annual sales of $90 million. After opening 12 new regional accounts and developing merchandising and promotion programs for retail accounts for MASCO, he decided to join Quill Communications, an Encinitas-based advertising agency that was later acquired by Wirestone.

"Encinitas was paradise to someone like me," he said, adding that a number of major ad agencies are located there. But what he loves most about it is the surfing. "When we are not working or going to school, Quinn and myself are out surfing either Stone Steps, Beacon's or Boneyard," he writes on his Web site.

After a couple of years working in the software sector, Boylan opened his own agency, calling it Artichoke Creative. "I was eating stuffed artichokes at the San Francisco restaurant Jackson Fillmore, and I thought, 'If I ever have a company, I want to call it something with artichoke in the name with the intent of going after food manufacturers.'"

Though Boylan did land Ocean Mist, one of the state's largest artichoke growers since 1924, as a client, his clients are not limited to the food industry. "The name doesn't seem to have been a problem (for them); we've never had any push back."

In fact, the name partly inspired a new spinoff online business called Artichoke Apparel.

The whole clothing line idea began, Boylan said, when he would send out T-shirts with the company's logo to potential clients for the ad agency. "The response was always the same," he said: "This is my favorite T-shirt. I love my artichoke shirt. Where can I buy one?"

Soon, he said, he, his son Quinn, and art director Marcia Westinghouse of Escondido created the Artichoke Apparel brand. "Artichoke Apparel is an extension of our lifestyle," he said.

"I've been enjoying artichokes from an early age," he explains on his Web site. "I just think it's one of the most beautiful, unusual, delicious foods on the planet."

And Boylan thinks it is also important to enjoy your own business if you're going to radiate positive energy about it.

His client list reflects his philosophy on life. "With everybody, I like what they're doing," he said, surveying the list of 16 active clients that includes Helio Power, Alzheimer's Association and The Wild Thyme Company, and local ones such as the Firefly Grill and Wine Bar, the city of Encinitas, Chuao Chocolatier, Hansen Surfboards, the Calypso Cafe and MiraCosta College.

"I'm into sustainable energy. I love food. When I can relate to the product or service ---- like I'd never take a tobacco client ---- I can bring enthusiasm to it, and I think clients can sense that."

So far, he says, finding clients and generating revenue haven't been all that difficult. The only drawback he says he's having these days is finding time to devote to his existing clients and developing the new apparel business.

"If I had someone to work on it, it could be a greater share of our business," he said, noting that T-shirt sales are already about 10 percent of his business and could easily be 50 percent.

"When my son goes to college, we'll probably expand, but for now, this is effective," he said. "The house will get a little small with any more employees."

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Beach Fuel Spill Part III

Beach Fuel Spill Part III


By JP(JP)

You can see the Coast Guard corralling the fuel in kelp bed and if you look closely you can see the slick covering the kelp bed on the right. Leucadia Blog: Beach Fuel Spill Part II Leucadia Blog: Breaking News: Mysterious Fuel Spill at ...

This photo is from today's SDUT website. I wish the photo was bigger but it is a good view of the Beacon's kelp beds. You can see the Coast Guard corralling the fuel in kelp bed on the left and if you look closely you can see the slick covering the kelp bed on the right.

The media and the powers that be are claiming this spill did not harm the kelp or the beach but I find that highly doubtful.Burning question: Did the recently laid Grunion eggs survive the diesel fuel soaking? What effect will the fuel soaked sand have on shore birds that feed on invertebrates in the tide line?

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Coast Guard investigating possible fuel spill near Encinitas

Coast Guard investigating possible fuel spill near Encinitas


ENCINITAS ---- The US Coast Guard was investigating a possible diesel spill in the ocean affecting approximately three North County beaches Thursday.

ENCINITAS ---- The U.S. Coast Guard was investigating a possible diesel spill in the ocean affecting approximately three North County beaches Thursday.

The Coast Guard was first notified of an oily sheen on the water by a boater in the area about 10:45 a.m., but it was far offshore, said spokesman Sean Pierce at the Coast Guard operations center. The guard sent a helicopter to look for a possible source but it was unable to find one, he said. The helicopter was dispatched again later to check on the progress of the spill and noted it was 8,000 yards long and 2,000 yards wide, he said.

Pierce said that initally the spill was so far out to sea that the Coast Guard was unable to obtain a sample, so authorities did not know what it is or where it came from. He said authorities suspect it is diesel fuel because such spills are common.

By Thursday evening, the spill had made its way to shore and people were reporting a gas or fuel odor, Pierce said. The guard's pollution investigators were sent to obtain a sample, he said.

Resident Debra Brody said it is "pungent" and an iridescent sheen is on the sand from Moonlight Beach to Beacon's Beach and Stone Steps Beach.

She said that in addition to the smell, there was no sea life in sight or even surfers in the water, where usually birds and dolphins are visible.

Encinitas lifeguard supervisor Larry Giles said a county hazardous material team, a representative from the county Health Department, Encinitas lifeguards and firefighters, and San Diego sheriff's deputies are assisting the Coast Guard.

Signs warning of a petroleum product in the water and hazard have been posted at all beach access points from Grandview Street to D Street, Giles said, and people are being advised not to enter the water.

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Fuel Spill Off Encinitas Coast Affects Coastline

Fuel Spill Off Encinitas Coast Affects Coastline


Friday, June 1, 2007 -- A fuel spill has closed a popular stretch of North County shoreline and now environmentalists are looking at the impact it will have.

A fuel spill closed a popular stretch of North County shoreline and now environmentalists are looking at the impact it will have.

Between 500 and 1,000 gallons of fuel spilled off the coast of Encinitas on Thursday. The contamination has prompted closures between Grandview and D Street. Coast guard officials are trying to determine which boat dumped the fuel.

The Bro-Am surf competition, which was cancelled because of the spill went on without the surf contest.

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Adoption Event in Encinitas CA Sunday 6/3/07 11 AM to 2 PM

Adoption Event in Encinitas CA Sunday 6/3/07 11 AM to 2 PM


By Djakarta

City of Encinitas, City Hall 505 S Vulcan Avenue Encintas, CA 92024 Here are just of few of the cuties looking for their forever homes: Fergie- A beautiful abby girl, a little shy, needs an adult home. Marin- This friendly boy has the ...

Wee Companions ( A small animal rescue based in Imperial Beach/ San Diego) will be having an adoption event:

Sunday June 3, 2007 11am - 2pm

Pet Health Expo

City of Encinitas, City Hall

505 S Vulcan Avenue
Encintas, CA 92024
Here are just of few of the cuties looking for their forever homes:

Fergie- A beautiful abby girl, a little shy, needs an adult home.
Marin- This friendly boy has the most gorgeous lemon agouti markings. He is stunning!
Bonded pair Cutie and Ivan. Both Peruvians, Cutie is spayed and Ivan is neutered.
Retired pet therapy guineas, they are super gentle and friendly.

Jim and Ron- bonded pair. Jim is a silkie mix and Ron is a Texel

Romulus and Remus. Brothers born Easter morning 2007. Come to Encinitas and meet these cuties!

Wee Companions - Small Animal Rescue and Adoption

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Rabies shots, dog licences offered at Encinitas clinic

Rabies shots, dog licences offered at Encinitas clinic


ENCINITAS ---- San Diego County's Department of Animal Services will offer rabies vaccinations, dog licenses and pet micro-chipping Sunday at a clinic at the Encinitas City Hall.


ENCINITAS ---- San Diego County's Department of Animal Services will offer rabies vaccinations, dog licenses and pet micro-chipping Sunday at a clinic at the Encinitas City Hall.

Rabies vaccinations will cost $6 each. People who bring proof that they have a license for their dogs can have their pets micro-chipped for $20.

Injected under the animal's skin, the tiny micro-chip device is encoded with the name and address of the owner. If the animal is lost, animal control workers can easily determine who the owner is, the county reports.

Dog licenses, which are required by law, also can be purchased during the event. They come in one-, two- or three-year terms, the county reports.

The county also will distribute $25 and $50 rebate coupons for spaying or neutering pets.

Sunday's clinic is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the city building, 505 S. Volcan Ave. For information, contact the county at (619) 767-2675 or visit www.sddac.com.

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Fuel spill off Encinitas is all but gone

Fuel spill off Encinitas is all but gone

San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
A day after the worst offshore fuel spill in Encinitas in many
years, the water is still off-limits to swimmers and surfers until further
notice even though ...

A day after the worst offshore fuel spill in Encinitas in many years, the water is still off-limits to swimmers and surfers until further notice even though only traces remain of the oily slick.

The U.S. Coast Guard and county environmental officials called yesterday's mop-up effort a success because most of the fuel was corraled in offshore kelp beds and soaked up by giant pads.“We've done as much as we possibly can do at this point to protect the public health and prevent future impact to the shoreline,” said Coast Guard Lt. Jereme Altendorf late yesterday as crews finished the cleanup operation.

The spill was first reported around 11:30 a.m. Thursday by a boater who noticed a large sheen in the water about five miles off Beacons Beach, Altendorf said.

Investigators have not identified the source of the spill, but they have identified a few suspect ships that were in the area.

“We'll be looking at anyone who was in the area during the last 24 to 36 hours,” Altendorf said, adding that some of the ships may be headed as far away as Taiwan.

He estimated the size of the spill at 500 to 1,000 gallons of a petroleum-type product believed to be diesel fuel.
“This is the worst spill I have seen in my 27 years in Encinitas,” said Encinitas Fire Division Chief Scott Henry.

There have been no reports of any adverse effects on people or wildlife, the Coast Guard said. Anyone who discovers animals injured or fouled by the slick can notify the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at (530) 979-7561.

The Coast Guard, Department of Fish and Game, the city of Encinitas and the County of San Diego are involved in clearing the slick. The cost of the cleanup has been estimated at $60,000 so far.

By noon yesterday, a floating containment boom had been deployed by cleanup crews from National Response Corporation/Environmental Services and the spill had been mostly contained in kelp beds, where the heavier elements of the substance seemed to be sticking to the plants, Altendorf said.

Pads were spread out over the surface of the water to absorb as much of the material as possible, he said. Crews then dragged the boom, which has a curtain hanging from it, across the water to collect what was left.

The waves were dispersing it yesterday and the remainder was being burned off by the sun. “Eventually the environment takes care of itself,” Altendorf said.

Only a bit of the oily substance washed ashore, at Beacons Beach.

A 2½-mile stretch of coastline – including the Grandview, Beacons, Stone Steps, Moonlight and D Street beaches – will remain closed to swimming and surfing until tomorrow morning at the earliest, when county environmental officials will re-evaluate the potential risk.
Encinitas Marine Safety Capt. Larry Giles said that for the time being, children should be kept from playing on the wet sand.

However, people will be allowed on the dry sand, a relief to the organizers of the Switchfoot Bro-Am surf competition today at Moonlight Beach. The surfing portion of the event was canceled.

Instead, pro-surfers and musicians will play a 10 a.m. dodge-ball game, followed by a free concert with 10 bands. The event, expected to draw 6,000 fans, raises money for Care House, an agency that help teens in crisis.

Jon Foreman, Switchfoot's lead singer, took the disruption of the surf competition in stride. “The goal is to help kids, and as long as that's going on and the community is coming together, it's a success,” he said.

At Moonlight Beach, not far from where the boom had been deployed, one man decided to take a dip. That didn't last long.

“Sir, you could not have picked a worse place. Get out of the water immediately,” a lifeguard said over a loudspeaker.

The man quickly complied.

To keep boats from stirring up and spreading the spilled fuel, the Coast Guard has also set up a containment zone between Batiquitos and San Elijo lagoons extending about three miles offshore, Chief Petty Officer Steve Howell said. The Zone will be enforced until 8 a.m. Monday.

Crews have taken samples from the spill and sent them off for analysis to determined if it came from any of the suspect ships, Altendorf said. Fuel leaves a chemical fingerprint that can identify with up to 99 percent accuracy which ship it came from.

Kevin Vengrow, a Coast Guard pollution investigator, said that identification factors include the type of tank it was in, how it was stored in the tank and even the types of metals onboard the ship.

He said officials believe the substance is some kind of bunker fuel used on large vessels such as cargo ships.

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Driver of stolen car arrested after chase

Driver of stolen car arrested after chase

San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
CARLSBAD: A man who was spotted driving a stolen car led officers on a
chase into Encinitas yesterday, where he was bitten by a police dog
before being ...

CARLSBAD: A man who was spotted driving a stolen car led officers on a chase into Encinitas yesterday, where he was bitten by a police dog before being taken into custody, police said.

At 9 a.m., a detective saw the stolen black Acura Integra driving southbound on Interstate 5 at Poinsettia Lane. At 9 a.m., a detective saw the stolen black Acura Integra being driven south on Interstate 5 at Poinsettia Lane. Carlsbad police officers tried to pull over the driver near Leucadia Boulevard, but ended up chasing him to Jasper Street and Neptune Avenue in Encinitas, police said. The 25-year-old driver was found hiding behind a trailer and arrested and was arrested with the help of a police dog. –K.D.

MiraCosta official's home vandalized

OCEANSIDE: The initials “KKK” were found scrawled on the home of a MiraCosta College official yesterday morning, and police are investigating the vandalism as a hate crime.

Board President Charles Adams, who is black, found the large letters on an an exterior an exterior wall of his home on Saratoga Street, said Oceanside police Sgt. Rick Favela said. The letters often refer to the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacy white-supremacy group. The letters appeared to have been written with an off-white rubbery a rubbery, off-white substance similar to glue or caulk.

Adams has been the target of an angry faculty at MiraCosta for the past year since year, since an investigation into the illegal sale of palm trees grown on campus for private profit resulted in the forced departure of three popular administrators.

The Academic Senate Council at the college unanimously voted no confidence in the MiraCosta board in March.

College President Victoria Muñoz Richart said it is the third incident involving a MiraCosta official since the palm-tree controversy began. Richart said that F first, she said, trustee Carolyn Batiste, who also is black, and then Richart herself received a death threat. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (760) 435-4900. –K.D. & L.S.

Pickup rams into stopped patrol car

ENCINITAS: A sheriff's deputy conducting a field-sobriety test on a driver early yesterday was narrowly missed by a pickup that slammed into his patrol car, authorities said.

The deputy had pulled over the female driver of a Ford Mustang on Vulcan Avenue near F Street shortly after 1 a.m. and had began to conduct the sobriety test when he saw a white pickup heading straight for them.

Deputy David Toner pulled the woman to safety before the truck hit the rear of his patrol car with such force that it struck the Mustang.

“They are lucky they didn't get sandwiched,” sheriff's Lt. William Donahue said.

The truck driver didn't stop, and the vehicle went on to hit a metal sign and go over the side of an embankment off Vulcan. The driver abandoned the truck and fled.

Deputies were still trying to locate the driver. –K.K.

Man pleads guilty in pusher's death

VISTA: Florida man accused of fatally shooting a drug dealer to steal methamphetamine in Vista 13 years ago pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter yesterday. Fri jun1

As part of a plea deal, the prosecution dropped a murder charge against Kevin Hanshew, 36. The case fell apart when three witness who testified they testified that they heard Hanshew confess to the slaying later recanted their testimony, prosecutor Jodi Breton said. in an interview.

There was still enough evidence to prove Hanshew was present when Adrian Marshall, 23, was shot twice in the head July 29, 1994, on Oak Ridge Way near Park Center Drive. Defense attorney Herb Weston credited “good legal and investigative work” for the abrupt end to the case. Hanshew, a tow-truck driver, is scheduled to be sentenced to four years in prison June 27.

However, Hanshew, who has been jailed since his November 2004 arrest, is expected to be released from jail July 6 with credit for good behavior. –J.L.J.

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Sentencitng postponed for confessed cub scout kidnapper

Sentencitng postponed for confessed cub scout kidnapper

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
VISTA - Sentencing was postponed Thursday for a 20-year-old Rialto man who
admitted trying to kidnap a Cub Scout at the Encinitas Christmas
Parade last ...

VISTA - Sentencing was postponed Thursday for a 20-year-old Rialto man who admitted trying to kidnap a Cub Scout at the Encinitas Christmas Parade last winter.

Psychological evaluations for Jose Francisco Martin were not yet complete, prompting Judge K. Michael Kirkman to reschedule sentencing to June 25.

Martin faces up to 5 1/2 years in state prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Marnie Stein.

Witnesses at Martin's preliminary hearing testified that the then-6-year- old victim -- whose part in the Dec. 2 parade was over -- was slightly ahead of his family along the parade route when the defendant stepped out of a crowd and grabbed him by the waist.

Martin moved the boy several feet until the child's 11-year-old brother caught up and pulled the defendant's arm, allowing the victim to escape, witnesses said.

The defendant was arrested a short time later. Both the prosecutor and defense attorney Craig Pointer said he was drunk at the time, but his blood- alcohol level was never tested.

Even though the sentence was not pronounced, the boy's mother and grandmother both read statements.

Neither the intended victim nor his brother sleep well at night anymore, said their mother, Jodie Dinsmore. She told the judge that she panics when her children get too far away from her.

Their grandmother, Joy Davis, told the defendant he "turned a family outing into a nightmare."

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Pickup slams into patrol car

Pickup slams into patrol car

San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
ENCINITAS - A sheriff's deputy conducting a field-sobriety
test on a driver early Friday morning was narrowly missed by a pickup truck
that slammed into his ...

ENCINITAS – A sheriff's deputy conducting a field-sobriety test on a driver early Friday morning was narrowly missed by a pickup truck that slammed into his patrol car, authorities said.

The deputy had pulled over the female driver of a Ford Mustang on South Vulcan Avenue near East F Street shortly after 1 a.m. and had begun to issue the sobriety test when he saw a white truck heading straight for them.

Deputy David Toner pulled the woman to safety just before the truck struck the rear of his patrol car, hitting it with such force that it struck the Mustang.

“They are lucky they didn't get sandwiched,” said sheriff's Lt. William Donahue.

The driver of the truck didn't stop and the vehicle went on to hit a metal sign and go over the side of an embankment off Vulcan. The driver abandoned the truck and fled.

Deputies are still trying to locate the driver this morning, Donahue said.

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New library well on its way to completion inside and out

New library well on its way to completion inside and out

San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA
ENCINITAS - Libraries are about more than tomes, DVDs and CDs.
Much of the birth of Encinitas' new library has to do with the
infusion of money. ...


ENCINITAS – Libraries are about more than tomes, DVDs and CDs. Much of the birth of Encinitas' new library has to do with the infusion of money.

The $20 million library being built behind City Hall on Cornish Drive won't be completed for six months or so, but already Friends of the Encinitas Library has raised enough money to fill part of it.

Yesterday, the group stood in a park across the street from the library site, as workers pounded away in the background, to announce they have raised $194,000 for library materials with the help of county Supervisor Pam Slater-Price and county matching funds.

The $194,000 would be enough to purchase 9,700 books, CDs and DVDs, about 16 percent of the 60,000 materials the new library would need, said José Aponte, the county's library director.

Although the library is being built by Encinitas, it will be operated by the county, which will buy the rest of the books and materials, stock the library with computers and spend $1 million to $1.5 million annually to operate it, Aponte said.

The 26,800-square-foot library, expected to open in November, will replace the old, smaller library that was torn down on the same site.

Yesterday, Friends co-president Anne Omsted said her group raised $88,000 through the sale of books from the old library. The county's library books fund program matched that money, and Slater-Price allocated an additional $17,500 in county money.

“We've been trying to have a new library for 21 years,” Omsted said. “It's been too long.”

There is more coming.

Slater-Price, who, like Omsted, is a former Encinitas councilwoman, said she will request an additional $25,000 from the county Board of Supervisors.

In addition, there is $250,000 in the county coffers waiting for Encinitas to claim, she said. The money was allocated in 1999 or 2000 for Encinitas' library use but the city has not spent it.

The Friends group also is continuing to raise money by naming library rooms after big donors.

Donors who want to give $861,000, or an amount close to that, could have the library's community meeting room named after them. Money from the room-naming campaign would be turned over to the city to defray the cost of construction, said Friends board member and former councilwoman Sheila Cameron.

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Spill temporarily halts Encinitas swimming, surfing

Spill temporarily halts Encinitas swimming, surfing

North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
ENCINITAS ---- Officials were taking action this morning to try to
stem and clean up a possible diesel spill in the Pacific Ocean that has
shut down water ...

ENCINITAS ---- Federal, state and local authorities scrambled Friday to contain what they said was the largest ocean fuel spill in Encinitas in roughly 30 years.
View A Video

Beaches remained closed Friday afternoon along a two-mile stretch of coastline from Grandview south to D Street because of the spill, said U.S. Coast Guard Jereme Altendorf, who spoke at a series of press conferences at Moonlight Beach. Another press conference was planned for 4:30 p.m.

The beach will remain closed through at least Saturday night, he said.

The spill was first reported late Thursday morning, about four miles off the coast of Encinitas. By Thursday evening, the slick --- most likely diesel fuel --- had moved closer to shore and a chemical smell wafted from the waters.

On Friday, authorities were already searching for who might be responsible for the mess. Altendorf said the Coast Guard had taken fuel samples from some boats and ships in the area and would attempt to compare a chemical "fingerprint" from those boats to a sample of fuel from the spill.

The agency was also using its Los Angles-based Vessel Tracking System to identify other ships between Mexico and San Francisco that may have passed Encinitas around the time the spill occurred.

"We'll be investigating any vessel that as transiting at that time period," Altendorf said.

City, county and state officials said the Coast Guard has hired a private company to try to clean up the spill, estimated to be 500 to 1,000 gallons believed to be diesel fuel.

The affected beaches were nearly deserted Friday, save for the media swarm and a few spectators who watched the cleanup work unfold.

A snake-like floating "corral" at least 200 yards long was launched from the beach morning to try to contain the spill.

A popular surfing contest ---- the Switchfoot Bro-Am ---- scheduled for Saturday at Moonlight Beach has been canceled, though organizers said they would hold a dodge ball tournament at 10 a.m. to try to keep the party going. A concert, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Moonlight was still a go, they said.

Still, the spill was upsetting to many folks who live in the area and care about the coast, officials said.

"People are not very happy at all," said Encinitas fire Division Chief Scott Henry, describing the mess as the worst spill he's seen in 27 years.

On Friday morning the spill stretched from the kelp beds to the shore, said lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles.

Giles said lifeguards were going by truck up and down the beaches to advise people to stay out of the water. However, the customary beachwalking, picnicking and other activities can continue on shore.

Lifeguards will use boats for any water work, Giles said.

Signs warning of the contamination were posted at the top of the beaches as well as along the shores, and they will remain in place until there is no threat of contamination, Henry said.

Authorities said someone on a boat reported the oily sheen about 11 a.m. Thursday to the Coast Guard.

At that time, Henry said, the Coast Guard didn't think it would wash ashore.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew checking on the progress of the spill later in the day reported it was 8,000 yard long and 2,000 yards wide.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday, Henry said, someone reported a strong fuel odor during an onshore breeze in the area of Glaucus Street and Highway 101.

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Oil Slick Fouls North County Beaches

Oil Slick Fouls North County Beaches

KGTV, 10News.com - San Diego,CA,USA
ENCINITAS, Calif. -- Beachgoers are being advised to steer clear of
a stretch of North County shoreline due to a possible diesel spill in the
ocean. ...

ENCINITAS, Calif. -- The surf remained off limits Saturday to swimmers along some North County beaches because of the worst fuel spill there in 20 years, but a Coast Guard official said the water could be deemed safe Sunday.

A 2 1/2-mile section of coastline, including the Grandview, Beacons, Stone Steps, Moonlight and D Street beaches, will remain closed to swimming and surfing until Sunday, when county environmental officials will reevaluate the potential risk.

A fuel slick of 500-1,000 gallons of what appears to be diesel turned a surf competition into a beach party and kept swimmers on the shore Saturday.

The fuel, believed to have come from a cargo ship, was reported Thursday morning. Investigators are inspecting vessels in other ports to see if a chemical analysis of the spill matches, said Lt. Jereme Altendorf of the U.S. Coast Guard.

"We're working on several different leads. Even though the cleanup action has stopped, we're continuing the investigation. It's still early," he said.

The Coast Guard is also working with the U.S. Navy on the investigation, he said.

Considered the worst spill off Encinitas in two decades, the slick was contained and mostly removed by cleanup crews Friday.

An early morning helicopter inspection showed some residual "sheening" concentrated among kelp beds.

Health officials driving the span of the beach Saturday found no affected wildlife, Altendorf said.

"We're looking very good right now if the sun stays out a little longer," he said. "With the sun, wind and wave action, we should see the problem take care of itself in the next day or so."

The spill caused the cancellation of today's Switchfoot Pro-Am surf competition at Moonlight Beach, which was expected to draw 6,000 fans to raise money for Care House, an agency that help teens in crisis. Organizers said they would instead bring in live bands and have dodgeball games.

Anyone who finds oil-soiled marine animals can call the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at 530-979-7561

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Mysterious Fuel Spill at Beacon's Beach

Mysterious Fuel Spill at Beacon's Beach


By JP(JP)

If you are in the Beacon's Beach area then you probably smell the diesel fuel in the air. It is all over the beach. The lifeguard I talked to said the city lifeguards were working with the Coast Guard to locate the origin of the spill. ...


If you are in the Beacon's Beach area then you probably smell the diesel fuel in the air. It is all over the beach. The lifeguard I talked to said the city lifeguards were working with the Coast Guard to locate the origin of the spill.

The fuel in the air burned my eyes so bad that I only snapped a couple of shots before retreating back up the bluff.
The spill stretched the entire length of Beacon's Beach, I'm not sure if other areas are affected.
Fire Department, Lifeguards and a Haz-Mat team (with helicopters buzzing overhead).

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Big Beach Closure

Big Beach Closure


The county's Department of Environmental Health has closed a long stretch of beach from Grandview Street in Leucadia to Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.

The county's Department of Environmental Health has closed a long stretch of beach from Grandview Street in Leucadia to Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.

The reason: A fuel spill of unknown origin.

The county has not yet offered more details about what caused the spill, what the substance is or how long it will affect coastal water quality. We'll have more on this later today.

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Oil Spill Threatens North County Beaches

Oil Spill Threatens North County Beaches

KPBS - San Diego,CA,USA
The spill, estimated at between 500 and 1000 gallons, is about 100 yards
from the shoreline between Leucadia and Encinitas. ...

Several popular North San Diego County beaches are closed because of a fuel spill. The spill was spotted five miles off the Encinitas coast yesterday and is now close to beaches. The Coast Guard is investigating the source of the spill. KPBS environmental reporter Ed Joyce has more on cleanup efforts.

The Coast Guard says the slick is about one mile wide and four miles long. The spill, estimated at between 500 and 1,000 gallons, is about 100 yards from the shoreline between Leucadia and Encinitas.

Coast Guard Lieutenant Jereme Altendorf says it's most likely diesel fuel. He says crews are now using oil booms to collect and absorb the petroleum-based spill. And ocean vegetation is helping too.

Altendorf: The kelp beds are acting as a natural block to the shoreline and with the tide coming in it managed to coalesce and collect there.

He says crews will work until sunset. Altendorf says some of the fuel has reached the shore. A San Diego County Haz-Mat team works that end of the cleanup. But what people notice most is the smell.

Encinitas Lifeguard Robert Veria says fumes from the spill are drifting on shore and in the city.

Veria: Petroleum products are not a very good thing to ingest, it's not a good thing to get in your eyes, breathe in, get on your skin. So basically water contact as long as this is in the water is our primary concern. What's more disturbing I think for most folks is that it actually has a fume and at times the fume can be very strong.

Short-term exposure to fumes can make people dizzy, but there's no reports of anyone becoming sick. Beaches from Leucadia to South Encinitas are closed, including Grandview, Beacon's and Moonlight Beach. The beaches are expected to remain closed through tomorrow.

The Coast Guard says they expect minimal effects on wildlife. The oily sheen on the water was reported yesterday morning by a boater. The Coast Guard is checking records to identify which ships were nearby over the past two days. The spill also caused the cancellation of a surf contest tomorrow at Moonlight Beach.

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Charities to benefit from wine festival

Charities to benefit from wine festival

ENCINITAS -- The Encinitas Rotary Club is hosting its fourth annual wine festival Saturday, an event that celebrates good wine and pairs it with food from local restaurants.

ENCINITAS -- The Encinitas Rotary Club is hosting its fourth annual wine festival Saturday, an event that celebrates good wine and pairs it with food from local restaurants.

A dozen charities stand to benefit from the festival, which will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at Quail Botanical Gardens, 230 Quail Gardens Drive.

The Rotary Club is hoping to build on the success of last year, when the event raised $56,000, said club member Naomi Trout.

This year's goal is to raise $65,000.

To reach that number, tickets are selling for $75 and $100, organizers said. The $75 ticket will produce a $50 donation to a charity selected by the buyer. Every penny spent on a $100 ticket will be donated to charity.

Donors are encouraged to exercise their philanthropy online by visiting www.encinitaswinefestival.com.

The festival itself involves a back-to-nature visit to Quail Botanical Gardens, where a collection of more than 4,000 plants grows on 30 acres.

Guests can stroll among the rare specimens and an exotic bamboo garden while sampling local and imported wines. Hungry people can nibble at dishes and desserts provided by local restaurants.

The vocal stylings of two barbershop quartets will provide music by which to eat and drink.

The charities benefiting from the wine festival include: American Association of University Women; Class A.C.T.; Encinitas Rotary Foundation; Just in Time for Foster Youth; Mexican American Education and Guidance Foundation; North Coast Singers; The San Dieguito Sports Medicine Foundation; Encinitas Historical Society; Pacific Coast Harmony; Quail Botanical Gardens; Rancho Coastal Humane Society and The Sudanese Refugee Network.

To learn more, call (760) 431-5978 or visit www.encinitaswinefestival.com

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Tree trimmers stop work to save Egrets nests in Solana Beach call ...

Tree trimmers stop work to save Egrets nests in Solana Beach call ...

SOLANA BEACH -- Egrets nesting in palm trees in a parking lot on South Acacia Avenue got a reprieve from the city this week after tree trimmers put their chainsaws away.

SOLANA BEACH -- Egrets nesting in palm trees in a parking lot on South Acacia Avenue got a reprieve from the city this week after tree trimmers put their chainsaws away.

Solana Beach business owner Doug Quinn said Wednesday that he and others called the city to stop the tree-trimming after noticing that the birds were being disturbed.

Quinn said that when the city began trimming the palm trees Tuesday in preparation for this weekend's Fiesta del Sol, the feathery white birds and their nests were threatened. The two-day street festival is expected to draw about 50,000 people to the small coastal city.

"The parents were flying in circles," Quinn said of the egrets. He said there are multiple nests in six to eight trees in the lot at 115 S. Acacia Avenue at W. Plaza Street, about a block from the ocean.

Solana Beach City Manager David Ott said Wednesday that tree trimmers stopped work on the trees Tuesday after discovering the nests.

"They were under instructions that if they found any nesting birds to stop, and that's why they stopped," Ott said.

He said there were no displaced birds and that once the birds have finished their nesting cycle, the tree trimmers, who are contracted by the city, will come back and finish the job.

"It'll look like an eyesore for awhile, but the birds are still there," Ott said.

Egrets make their nests with twigs and sticks and usually lay between three and four pale, blue-green eggs. The babies hatch in 24 days.

State Department of Fish and Game officials could not be reached for comment.

"I'm glad they stopped," Quinn said of the tree trimmers. "In my opinion there are just things that are more important than Fiesta del Sol."

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Where to go, what to do

Where to go, what to do

San Diego CityBEAT - CA,USA
*ENCINITAS POPS CONCERT at Encinitas Community Center, 1140
Oakcrest Park Dr., Encinitas. At 2 pm Sunday, June 3, the Coastal
Communities Concert Band will ...

SPECIAL EVENTS

*ROCK 'N' ROLL MARATHON at Sixth Avenue and Palm Street, near Balboa Park, 858-450-6510. At 6:30 a.m. Sunday, June 3, join the San Diego tradition and run or walk the marathon while enjoying the cheering fans and bands, including the Bayou Brothers, The Bigfellas, The Mar Dels and many more. www.rnmarathon.com

BOOST MOBILE NIGHTSHIFT at the Coors Amphitheatre, 2050 Otay Valley Rd., Chula Vista, 619-671-3500. From 4-11 p.m. Saturday, June 2, the country's largest touring motorsports event featuring more than 500 custom cars, exhibits, rally races and motorbike stunts. www.hotimportnights.com

*ART AROUND ADAMS along Adams Avenue in Kensington and Normal Heights. Saturday, June 2, the annual arts festival continues with dance, photography, live performances, painting, sculpture, video and live music. www.artaroundadams.org

*CITY HEIGHTS STREET FESTIVAL at City Heights Park, corner of Fairmount and Wightman avenues, 619-584-1535. From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 2, the City Heights Development Corporation presents the 15th annual City Heights International Village Celebration featuring three outdoor stages of entertainment, a kids zone, plenty of vendors and more.

FIESTA DEL PAWS at a private estate near Balboa Park, 619-297-PAWS. From 3-7 p.m. Sunday, June 3, PAWS, a volunteer-driven nonprofit that helps low-income, elderly, chronically ill and people with disabilities keep their pets, is holding a fundraising event featuring special guests Benji and Dick Van Patten. $75. www.pawssdc.org

OUTDOORS

*CONCERTS ON THE GREEN at the Prescott Promenade, downtown El Cajon, 619-401-8858. From 6-8 p.m. Friday, June 1, El Cajon kicks off their free outdoor concert series with a performance by the Kite Flying Society and Emery Byrd.

FULL-MOON WALK at Scripps Pier at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, 2300 Expedition Way, La Jolla, 858-534-FISH. From 7-9:30 p.m. Friday, June 1, join the aquarium and learn about the pier, marine organisms that glow in the dark and other nocturnal habits of marine life. $20. aquarium.ucsd.edu

HISTORIC GARDEN TOUR in Point Loma and Mission Hills, 619-232-5762. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 2, the San Diego Floral Association will highlight six historic gardens. $15-$20. www.sdfloral.org

*BOTTLE PEAK HIKE at Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve, Lake Hodges Overlook Hike, 760-471-9354. From 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, June 6, take an exploratory hike through the scenic vistas of the upper Escondido and San Dieguito watersheds. information@escondidocreek.org

SPEAKERS

MICHAEL MEDVED at the Lyceum Theatre, 79 Horton Plaza, Downtown, 619-544-1000. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 30, the radio-show host will be speaking on "Mixing Religion and Politics: Does the Combination Threaten or Enrich American Democracy?" $25 and up.

LESBIAN FRONTIER at The Center, 3909 Centre St., Hillcrest, 619-692-2077. At 7 p.m. Thursday, May 31, poet Eileen Myles will talk about "Foam: The Birthplace of the New Lesbian Frontier." Lburgess-carland@thecentersd.org

NIGHTLIFE

JUNIOR SANCHEZ at the Airport Lounge, 2400 India St., Midtown. At 8 p.m. Friday, June 1, New York's hottest young DJ takes over the tables with a little help from some local friends, Diaz, Biggs and Salter. www.dangerdangersd.com

ANTHOLOGY GRAND OPENING at Anthology, 1337 India St., Little Italy, 619-595-0300. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 6, make history at San Diego's newest venue for live jazz and good food. Bill Charlap performs. www.anthologysd.com

FILM

ANGELA at the Central Library, 820 E St., Downtown, 619-236-5800. Showing at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 30, Roberta Torre's slow-burn take on love run amok in the underworld. Free.

*THE VISUAL UNDERGROUND at The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Midtown. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 30, TVU presents Volume 26 of their live media showcase featuring short films and animation, art by David Miles, live visuals by VJ Tanner and good ole rock 'n' roll by The Willowz. www.thevisualunderground.com

CASABLANCA at Cinema Under the Stars, 4040 Goldfinch St., Mission Hills, 619-295-4221. Showing at 8:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, May 31-June 3, a cynical hero (Humphrey Bogart) and a mysterious heroine (Ingrid Bergman) romance and build a beautiful friendship. Doors open at 6 p.m. $12. www.topspresents.com

28 SECONDS at The Rubber Rose, 3812 Ray St., North Park, 619-296-7673. Showing at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 2, 28 Seconds: The Killing of Fouad Kaady, followed by a community discussion.

FOOD & DRINKS

*INTENSE CHEESE AND WINE at Wine Steals, 2970 Truxtun Rd.,