School district cuts 10 part-time jobs

San Diego Union Tribune – San Diego,CA,USA
ENCINITAS: The school district is eliminating 10 part-time positions
due in part to expired grant funding. The positions include eight guidance
aides at …

ENCINITAS: The school district is eliminating 10 part-time positions due in part to expired grant funding. The positions include eight guidance aides at four schools.

The guidance aides were supported by a temporary program funded by the state’s Early Mental Health Initiative. The program provides funding to support guidance for children who have mild to moderate adjustment problems in school. Each grant funds positions for three years, after which a school district must wait one year before applying for the funds again.

Other positions eliminated were an instructional aide and a secretary hired for a special project that has ended.

The layoffs were not related to any large-scale changes to the district’s budget, said Lean King, superintendent of the Encinitas Union School District.

The school board approved the layoffs at its meeting Tuesday.

Escondido Avenue to partially close

VISTA: Escondido Avenue will be partially closed at night between Postal Way and Phillips Street for four weeks while construction crews work on a new railroad crossing.

The partial closure, which began last night, will be every night from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. One side of the road will be open to traffic in both directions.

The partial closure is expected to last until April 18. A full closure of Escondido Avenue is planned for late April.

The work on Escondido Avenue is needed for the Sprinter passenger train project, which is under construction along 22 miles of track between Oceanside and Escondido. The train is expected to begin operating in late December.

Play postponed while actor recovers

OCEANSIDE: The New Vision Theatre Company production of “How the Other Half Loves” has been delayed. The play, originally scheduled to open Friday, will open March 30 and continue through April 15 at the Sunshine Brooks Theatre, 217 N. Coast Highway, Oceanside.

Director John Kalb said Ivan Harrison, who plays a principal role in the comedy, had collapsed with a viral infection during a recent rehearsal. The play has been postponed to let him recover.

About 25 tickets had been sold for the March 23 opening, Kalb said. Advance ticket holders can reschedule or request a refund. The box office number is (760) 529-9140 or www.nvtheatre.com.

Plan seeks to keep roads looking rural

VISTA: The city’s semirural streets would have new lighting and width requirements under a plan recommended by the city’s Planning Commission this week.

City officials have said the code changes, which must be approved by the City Council, would preserve the rural character of some neighborhoods in northeastern Vista by allowing for narrower roads and fewer streetlights. The Planning Commission approved the recommendations 6-0 Tuesday night, with Commissioner Debbie Kramer absent.

Under the proposal, semirural streets could be 28 feet wide. The guidelines say that streetlights would typically be required only for areas such as intersections and sharp curves.

The commission also unanimously recommended a permit for Tesco, a European grocer, to sell alcoholic beverages at its proposed site at 945 E. Vista Way. The company, Britain’s largest supermarket chain, is opening stores in the United States named Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets.

In addition, the commission held a public hearing on a proposed Target store at 3150 Business Park Drive. No decision on the store was made.

Staff writers Michael Burge, Bruce Lieberman, Marcia Manna and Matthew Rodriguez contributed to this report.