Leucadia Blog

Rental Lookout

2012-01-26T18:34:00.000-08:00

Super cool young family of 3, and soon to be 4, is looking for a 2-3 bedroom place to rent in Leucadia. They are hoping for someplace with a yard for the kids to play in and to grow a small garden. They looooove Leucadia.

Anybody know of a place for rent? Email Justin at <nopopouts@gmail.com> with any tips or leave a comment below.

2012-01-26T18:28:00.000-08:00

Letter to the UT Editor

Encinitas’ City Council did not act “foolishly” by refusing to release their roads condition report (“Encinitas’ foolishness gets proper rebuke,” Editorial, Jan. 14). Keeping documents from citizens has allowed them to repeatedly deceive the public.

We tried hard to work with the city to release key reports. Most people don’t persevere, so they ignored us. When we finally asked a judge for help, the city did two things: they changed their justification for secrecy and they played legal games, delaying and driving up the cost. They originally claimed the document was a draft document. In court, they changed their tune. They said it was better for the public to not have access to the document.

Why the change? They had lied about the document being a draft. The report had been completed, printed, dated and delivered months before I requested it. The report states the city has underfunded road maintenance by $17 million. That is a stark contrast to what the council had been telling the public about infrastructure maintenance.

It is not foolish for a dishonest official to keep incriminating documents secret. It was wrong. The city continues to hide public records from the public. They know exactly what they are doing. – Kevin Cummins, Encinitas

Native habitat restoration this Saturday

2012-01-25T13:46:00.000-08:00

Native habitat restoration this Saturday

We got rained out last Sat. so are trying again:

What:
Spreading mulch to get rid of annual weeds for a native habitat restoration at Moonlight Beach.

When:
Saturday, January 28, 8:30 AM- 12:30 PM

Where:
Meet at the trail entrance just up from the south-east corner of B St.(extension of Encinitas Blvd. west of Coast Highway 101) and Third St.,2 blocks west of Coast Hwy. in Encinitas. It's just up from the sewagepump station on that corner. There is parking on the street or in thebig Moonlight Beach parking lot at the top of the hill on Third Street.

Bring:
Revised tool list: If you have a wheelbarrow, half-height trash barrelor 15 gallon planting pot (about 20 inches across by 24 inches tall),rake, or shovel, we will need extras of these.

Wear clothes suitable for gardening. Water and oranges will be available.

Weather:
The weather forecast is for Sunny, with a high near 75.

More info:
Brad Roth, Project Manager
Cottonwood Creek Conservancy
(760) 436-2632

Cool stuff

2012-01-24T15:56:00.000-08:00

More cool assests

2012-01-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

Spiffy!

2012-01-22T21:58:00.000-08:00

Homesick Chickens Returning to Encinitas

2012-01-21T10:25:00.000-08:00

Remember when the City said they had to pull the Beacon's improvements money and send it to Moonlight Beach for the Moonlight Beach project? They said we had to hurry and spend the millions in state grant money or loose it?

Remember when the council said there were no financial difficulties for the city and the city had "balanced" its budget and always hit its revenue projections?There are going to be more conversations like this:
The genesis of our city's position goes back years.

The city can't build Beacons improvements and now they are on the edge of not being able to build the Moonlight Beach improvements. The general public wouldn't know this except a few things forced this forward.

Maybe it is time for all multimillion dollar projects to have regular and brief project update reports posted to the city website. Did you know that after 10 years the city has only a single progress report for the Hall park? They don't give their contractors due dates or make make them submit progress reports. Not good and not best practices for a well run city.The city gets to keep $2 million if they can come up with a half million dollars.

Time for better financial planning and less happy talk, for the sake of looking good. It is time for those hard looks at the city's expenditures that candidate Gaspar promised. It is not really that hard to have found the half million dollars.

Some Beacons Upgrade History
In 2006 the LB reports the Beacons plan includes a project killing seawall.
In 2010, City's consultant states the City surprised to discover the seawall was a project killer.

$5 million dollar tunnel at Swami's is go

2012-01-19T12:02:00.000-08:00

North County Times story: Long-awaited pedestrian rail crossing ready to break ground

This would have been a lot less money:

****

2012-01-18T06:56:00.000-08:00

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/sopa-pipa/http://americancensorship.org/

MLK

2012-01-16T05:34:00.000-08:00

MLK created waves that our nation rode toward greater justice and freedom. His tools for change were the words which conveyed national ideals of freedom of justice for all. He was not an elected official. He held the title of American Citizen. He stood up, spoke out, and relied on a grassroots democratic movement to result in the improvement of people's lives and an unwinding of a national wrong.

MLK helped catalyze the opening of many doors for Americans. To get there he had to risk doors being closed on him by some of those in power. Change often means ruffling feathers. An effort that was short of personal risk would not have sufficed or resulted in change.

In MLK's sermons he promotes loving those who stood in the way of equality. People in power are human. I don't think that means we should not acknowledge and communicate mistakes made, about to be made, or those left unaddressed by out elected leaders. I think MLK was just fine with voting out of office those people who refused to fix (or even address) problems.

MLK focused his time (at least as historically presented) on the issues. He did not focus on petty personal disputes with those who opposed the ideas he espoused.

Spend your effort and breath on the policy issues of our time. We've got the day to think about it.

Bike Advocacy for the 101 and Beyond

2012-01-15T08:11:00.000-08:00

From the inbox (edited because its not clear which part was a submission):

The city of Encinitas had put out some feelers about their interest in starting a Bike Committee (commission?). It is better for the Cycling Community if the committee is part of the city rather than a separate entity, (as in Oceanside) so, if you can get the city to be on board that is the way to get the most done.

We were trying to get interested parties together with the city. So, if you are interested, please let me know. There is a list of Encinitas people interested and you can get everyone on board. If you don’t get anywhere with the city, then you can go ahead with it on your own.

The city traffic engineer is open to cyclists. We have already met with him. If he needs more voices to get changes made faster, perhaps we can find the right people to make noise to.

The City Engineer is getting ready to put a bike lane in on the north bound lane from Leucadia to La Costa. Really it should start at Encinitas Blvd. He already received input on how it should be done.

There is a separate petition going around that a buffered bike lane should be put in on coast highway. When the city traffic engineer asked for input from experienced cycling advocates, including SDCBC and CABO it was suggested that a buffered bike lane is not the way to go. (Howard La Grange (Encinitas Resident) and Pete Penseyres both of the Oceanside Committee as well as Jim Baross of SDCBC were in attendance at the meeting) (We also got further input from Caltrans District 7 Bicycle Advisory Committee, Policy Chair Caltrans Understanding Bicycle Transportation course developer/teacher )

Cyclist are forbidden to cross the buffer when they need to turn. It is not a safer option. You will also find separated bike paths used by dog walkers and pedestrians. In places where there is a buffer, I usually notice that the bike lane is not maintained.

A separated bike path along with a bike lane might be a way to go, but I don’t think there is space for both right now and I don’t think it’s something that can happen immediately. There is a separated bike path in Solano beach that is rarely used by cyclists. The bike lane alongside it however is. There is also a separated bike path in Carlsbad between CVD and Tamarack that is rarely used, when I do use it I have to stop to ask dog walkers to put their dogs on a leash. A buffered bike lane is not exactly the same as a separated bike path but, where you have to intersect with traffic there are many more safety issues.

LB note: City commissions aren't (or shouldn't be) advocacy organizations, or are they? I've always thought of them as a group to provide analysis and options for the policymakers and a way for the city populace as a whole to have their values indicated in the pro/con balancing of options. Commissions for particular topics should not be composed solely of content experts, but should have a membership of citizens interested in the issues and willing to do the homework.

More seawalls stuff

2012-01-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

You can't legislate what city staff values. You can change policies and endorsed practices.

This is from a letter sent to City Manager Vina from the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation.

Re: Notice of CEQA Violations: Pattern and Practice
Failure to Mitigate Impacts of Coastal Armoring

Dear Mr. Vina:
Please accept this letter on behalf of the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation (CERF).
CERF is a nonprofit environmental organization founded by surfers in North San Diego County and
active throughout California’s coastal communities. CERF was established to aggressively advocate,
including through litigation, for the protection and enhancement of coastal natural resources and the
quality of life for coastal residents.

This correspondence serves two purposes. First, it is to put the City on notice that the
Municipal Code, as drafted and implemented, constitutes a “pattern and practice” violation of the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Second, CERF hereby requests a meeting with you,
the City Attorney, the Planning and Building Director, and a representative of the City’s Risk
Management Division to discuss CERF’s claim and possible avenues for resolution. CERF’s goal is
to provide the City an opportunity to work collaboratively with us and the community without the need
for litigation.

Specifically, Encinitas Municipal Code section 30.34.020 (Coastal Bluff Overlay Zone),
subsection (B)(9) contemplates the City development and adoption of a:
“comprehensive plan, based on the Beach Bluff Erosion Technical Report
... to address the coastal bluff recession and shoreline erosion problems in
the City. If a comprehensive plan is not submitted to, reviewed and
approved by the Coastal Commission as an amendment to the City’s Local
Coastal Program by November 17, 1996, then ....the City shall not permit
the construction of seawalls, revetments, breakwater, cribbing, or similar
structures for coastal erosion except under circumstance where an existing
principal structure is imminently threatened...” (Emphasis added).
Because the comprehensive coastal erosion plan contemplated by the Municipal Code has
not been produced, the City’s pattern and practice has been to mandate applicants wait for
emergency conditions to arise, then require them to obtain emergency permits from the California
Coastal Commission. After the “emergency” coastal armoring is fully built (often substantially larger
and more permanent than the failed structure), the City processes a Major Use Permit and Coastal
Development Permit for the as-built seawall or other coastal armoring. Because there is no proactive
planning for such coastal armoring – despite its unquestionable inevitability – every single permit that
comes forward evades CEQA review and is instead deemed exempt from CEQA pursuant to
California Public Resources Code section 15269 (Emergency Projects).

The Encinitas Planning Commission approval on January 5, 2012 of Case #09-035 MUP/CDP
(Blue Curl LLC, 1084 & 1086 Neptune Avenue, APN: 254-291-02&18) provides a very recent
example of this problem. Both CERF and the Surfrider Foundation provided multiple written
comments detailing the illegalities of approving the follow-up permits without requiring substantive
CEQA compliance – including consideration of alternatives, cumulative impacts, and mitigation. By
“tiering” off of the emergency exemption applied for the new structure’s original construction, the City
effectively fails to require: (i) a full assessment of alternatives; (ii) consideration of cumulative
impacts; or, (iii) imposition of appropriate mitigation. Statements by staff and Commissioners at that
hearing validate the critical points of this correspondence and CERF’s claim, namely: (a) this pattern
and practice of approving after-the-fact permits without substantive CEQA compliance is “the way
the City’s always done it”; and (b) if an applicant came forward and sought to obtain approval for a
seawall before an emergency condition arose, there would be no process for them to do so.
Please do not misinterpret CERF’s goals. We are not advocating for additional, proactive
seawalls throughout Encinitas. Rather, the City must recognize that its current practice fails to
provide the requisite analysis of impacts and mitigation requirements – in particular on a citywide
cumulative basis – and therefore either the comprehensive plan contemplated by the Code must be
completed or the City must require such analysis with the after-the-fact permits. The situation
currently facing the City of Encinitas is analogous to that in the City of Solana Beach over the last
15+ years. As a result of significant community involvement and numerous lawsuits, Solana Beach
is now seeking approval of a Local Coastal Program that would include, in conjunction with the rights
of bluff top homeowners to construct limited duration (80 years) emergency coastal armoring, the
ability for the City to recover “Land Lease/Recreation Fees” to mitigate for the inevitable loss of public
beach access due to the various types of coastal armoring impacts. (See attached).
This is what CERF seeks for Encinitas. At the meeting we are requesting with City Staff,
CERF would like the opportunity to provide additional detail regarding the evolution of coastal
armoring policies in Solana Beach and how Encinitas can benefit from its neighboring city’s
experiences. In light of evolving regulatory policies to deal with the very real likelihood of sea level
rise due to global climate change, it will benefit the City of Encinitas to be proactive on coastal
protection issues. The alternative, resolution through litigation, has been both expensive and
ineffective in other cities that have opted to do so only after having been ordered by the courts.
CERF is based in, and has numerous members from, the City of Encinitas. Hence, we would
greatly appreciate the opportunity to collaborate rather than litigate. I look forward to your
consideration and meaningful response.

Mixed Bag with Turko's Coverage on the Encinitas Community Park

2012-01-06T08:53:00.000-08:00

EU posted a Turko clip about the Hall park. Turko still seems to think much of the decade long delay was because of the "NIMBY's". More like two years could be attributed to them, but close inspection makes it clear that the city was unable to build during that period with or without "NIMBYs". Turko didn't do much digging below the surface or really challenge Mayor Stocks, yet. Even so, it is becoming really tough for the Mayor to hide the real root of the problem to getting the park open. They were not able to save enough money!

But the City was able to give staff a 15% raise over the last 4 years, give staff a 35% pension increase, overpay millions for public works yard, overpay half a million for property on La Costa Avenue, overpay for the Birmingham fire station property, overpay millions for the Hall park itself, and throw away money at numerous non-competitive contracts.

The City was also able to borrow $20 million dollars to build the Hall park (and fire stations and PWY). They weren't able to hold on to enough money even after borrowing that much.

As a side note they borrowed the money WITHOUT a vote of the people. Turko got that wrong, but we informed him of this fact before he reported it incorrectly.

Turko wasn't interested in the financial and administrative history of the Hall park. We expect he will become more interested as more things come to light. This issue is another example of the city's secrecy being used to manipulate the public. Throughout the Hall park process the secrecy and clear violations of the California Public Records Act has allowed Mayor Stocks to deceive the public.

Look at the above budget adopted about the last time Turko covered the Hall park. Turko didn't ask the Mayor why the budget document showed that the city didn't plan on opening the park until beyond 2015 (they stripped out the operating expenses down to zero). Did the "NIMBY's" adopt the budget plan or the city council? The council officially planned on not opening the park until past 2015. They weren't telling their supporters this.

Don't forget that in about 2005 the city postured to sell part of the Hall park property to pay for the park development because they were strained at that point. They have been searching for money to build the park all along, even becoming so desperate as to be willing to scale back the park to get it open. Some dang NIMBYs pointed out that might violate some of the city's contracts. It seems the NIMBYs helped save the full Hall park.

[Note: that was not some minor looking into all our options event. They were going for it. A Sunshine Ordinance would help citizens clarify what is a genuine exploration of options and what is posturing to execute a predetermined plan. We need a sunshine ordinance in Encinitas.]

According to the Turko story, the City has about $9 million dollars for the park. According to leaks coming out all over city hall (PLEASE send an email for yourself to staff or the Mayor), the reason they have not gone out to bid is they can't figure out how to request a job they can afford to build with the $9million. Remember that Phase 1 has been expected to cost $20 million.

It is amazing that you can't just do all the infrastructure with that amount, but that is a big park with lots of infrastructure issues. Let's hope they don't throw away money just to get a shovel in the ground before the next election rather than value engineer the project. Remember they threw away half a million dollars just to get the library started before Dan Dalager's reelection? Let's avoid repeating that.

________________________

The city has been secretive about the details of the Hall park progress for years and violating the California Public Records Act's citizens' rights of access to keep it secret. The city wanted to keep the spin alive, so informative documentation is bad to give to the citizens. They might get confused.

When Turko really digs in he is going to figure this out. Let's hope he also addresses some of his other blabs.

Turko though the cost of the park went up recently. Many of us were TOLD the costs had dropped by Chris Hazeltine, not gone up (so the stories are inconsistent). He repeated this in the public record. If you look at the city's budget documents going back the last 5+ years and check out the capital improvement projects you can see what they were predicting for cost, and how much they had set aside for the park. They've not had the money and the few people who figured this out were told, don't worry about that and don't ask about our specific plan for financing the park, "just trust us".

I was in contact with many in the sports leagues (who's names are on Stocks, Dalager, and Gaspar mailers). They were willing to just trust them, at the time. Many have now figured it out. They city has a financial problem building the park. What they do now could be awkward, controversial, and/or very tax dollar inefficient.

They said they had enough money right before the last election, but they refused to provide ANY explanation or documentation for that cost estimate. They were asked repeatedly for explanation or documentation. We posted about some of that here: http://www.encinitastaxpayers.org/blog_2/?p=33. P and R Director Hazeltine to this day will not answer questions about how he came up with those numbers. Was it B.S. to run cover for Danny's reelection?

When should the city have gone out to bid? Certainly, long before the last election. Check out:
http://www.theleucadiablog.com/2010/10/hall-park-construction-now-behind.html
http://encinitastaxpayers.org/blog/index.php/2010/07/17/curious-hall-park-detail?blog=3

Those are the city's time lines. They are a little behind schedule I would say.

______________________

Gaspar believed the city had the money to build the park before she was elected. I've been hoping to follow up with her on this but she refused to meet or answer questions. It appeared at the time she either doesn't do her homework or was unable to interpret the city's financials. (I wanted to ask her about that before I started going public with that.) In our one meeting when she was a candidate, she was stumped when I asked her about the park's financing and appeared to have no real sense for the finances behind her number one project* in her campaign platform.

_______________________

The Impact of Jerome's Response to Turko

Years later... now its the county's fault? Many people in the community saw Jerome avoid mentioning the financial issues that they now know to be a key obstacle to opening the park. That has made them more open to believing they were played all along.

_______________________

One suggested solution to all this consternation is simple. How about if the city puts up progress reports online every couple months for big projects such as the Hall park. A lot of things in the city would not get manipulated for very long if things were in writing, with clear expectations for timetables and with supportable reasons given for not hitting those milestones.

More information for the public is good, right?

* a review of her campaigning makes it hard to conclude otherwise.

If you go to Beacon's you will die!!!

2012-01-05T07:20:00.000-08:00

If you go to Beacon's beach in Leucadia you will die! There are hungry sharks, no sand, super mean locals, no parking, no restrooms, no showers, the waves are giant and gnarly and the bluff trail will collapse on you.

Review urges delay in borrowing billions for bullet train

2012-01-04T05:18:00.000-08:00

More Money for local transit, local trains, education, parks and public safety or a supercool long-distance train?

From the Los Angeles Times:

Review urges delay in borrowing billions for bullet train

In a scathing critique that could further jeopardize political support for California's proposed $98.5-billion bullet train, a key independent review panel is recommending that state officials postpone borrowing billions of dollars to start building the first section of track this year.

The full story can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/la-me-bullet-train-report-20120104,0,1663582.story?track=latiphoneapp

Bar Leucadian Events

2012-01-02T12:09:00.000-08:00

More local culture.

Mattson 2, Todd Day Wait and Edify - Wednesday, January 4th

@ Bar Leucadian 1542 N Coast Hwy 101 in Leucadia

Local surf jazz phenoms Mattson 2 start first at 9 PM sharp, followed by travelin' folk troubadour Todd Day Wait then sweet wax spun by Edify.

No Kooks, No Cover.

Rad local bands every Wednesday night at Bar Leucadian as part of our Big Wednesdays series. Check ruthlesshippies.blogspot.com for full January line up and other cool FREE events made possible by ruthless hippies.

Brown Act Clarified

2012-01-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

In this week's Coast News there is a letter that is a little fuzzy on Mayor Stocks' responses.These two incidents are topics of the letter (not yet on the Coast News website).

The Brown Act DOES allow for responses to non-agenda items.

From the Attorney General:...subject to rules or procedures of the legislative body, may provide a reference to staff or other resources or factual information, request staff to report back to the body at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter, or take action to direct staff to place a matter of business on a future agenda. (§ 54954.2(a).)

The second video looks like a he said versus he said that he said situation. So, that makes it tough. On the other hand, is the council that vindictive. There is lots of examples that make it clear that the council has room for personal growth.

Would the potential for vindictive behavior be as great if less of the city's deliberations were out in the public's view? Clearly not. The backroom discussions among the council make it easier to execute decisions that are more about petty personal battles than the public's interest. Directions given to the city management in the backroom make it possible. The council has frequent backroom meetings with city management.

They've added Muir to the council mix. His willingness to participate in the destruction of public records that would have either vindicated him or shown collusion with Dr. L on the warnings she sent to Steve Meiche about his family's safety and freedom if he continued looking into the fire fighter incidents should create a bit of concern that the tide is not turning in the right direction. The retaliation goes way beyond what has already been posted.

I'm hopeful that if the rules on the way the council interacts with the city management requires more transparency that the threat of retaliation will subside, regardless of who is on the council.

The first video is the most interesting. It is clear to many people who spend a lot of time watching various issues at city hall that many important decisions happen behind closed doors. They are made either with no public meeting or if there is a public meeting the decision was made among the council majority prior to the actual meeting.

Years ago, there were leaks coming out of city hall that Jerome was pressuring the city's management to push through the strip club permits in the backroom, long before the New Encinitas crowd figured it out and rallied hard on the streets and in the media. They felt the need to spend a lot of time and energy to lobby the council. That says something.

Jerome's response to Joan was not a violation of the Brown Act. This Barth, Gaspar, Houlihan action was a much more clear overstepping of the Brown Act safe zone. Jerome did not take any action or instigate any action. He was briefly conveying the facts in the matter. He seems to be in the safe zone. If he was being honest, he deserves the option to respond.

Was he being honest? Were the leaks by people who did not want to be named untrue? They never stepped forward, but with the real threat of vindictive retaliation for being open with the people, it is hard to weigh the request for anonymity in the assessment of credibility.

What we know is in the end Jerome acted to get rid of the strip club. Was Jerome being honest in his comment to Joan? The public record is consistent with what he said.

[The City regularly manipulates the pubic record and access to the public record in obvious attempts to manipulate the public.]

We may never know for sure because so much of the council's interactions with city management happens behind closed doors. Jerome was meeting with city management during the period insiders were saying Jerome was pushing for the strip club. We also know that the City WILL LIE when they think they nobody will find out.

We probably will never have a good way to really know what Stocks was telling staff in his backroom meetings about the strip club.

It is good to remember that the council members are suppose to be our representatives. That means they aren't suppose to have special powers to get stuff done at city hall, as individuals. They are not city staff. They are policy makers and provide high level administrative oversight, as a group.

So, if they aren't powerful as individuals, what is the purpose and PUBLIC benefit of all the secret meetings the council members hold with city staff?

SANDAG's $350 Million Price Tag for the SBX

2012-01-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

Huffington Post thought it was important to ask SANDAG, why pay more for the toll road? {read it here}The way the article reads, the federal government might get its principal back from its loan made to the public-private for-profit enterprise called the South Bay Expressway. Maybe. No mention about it getting interest back or what the opportunity loss will be, especially in the face of inflation."The bank lenders on the project will all lose money, but the federal government, which saw its initial $140 million loan to the company running the toll road chopped down to $94.2 million during the bankruptcy period"Maybe the loan shouldn't have been so chopped if the toll road was actually worth the $345 million SANDAG paid, instead of the $287 million the owners said it was worth, in court filings.

Another group opposed to...

2011-12-30T13:36:00.001-08:00

Walmart to Improve Our Lives

2011-12-28T10:09:00.000-08:00

San Diego Banksters and Insiders Had a Very Merry Christmas

2011-12-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

Under the leadership of Jerome Stocks, SANDAG just purchasedthe privately owned South Bay Toll Road for $345 million, with loans against your Transnet sales taxdollars. A lot of justification for the price paid was based on the cost tobuild the road, which was a lot more than the profit potential of the road, which is what the private market would use to figure out the value of the road. Hum, right?

So what was the market value? It sure would have been good for thesale to have been put out for competition to find out for sure. An open bidding process? That happens, but is relatively rare under Jerome Stocks' leadership. It is easy to believe that we mighthave gotten the toll road for a hundred million less!

The sellers, the old owners of the toll road, said the value was $287 million. That wasn’t just an off the cuff estimate. It was the value theysubmitted in court documents, according to this April UT story. The PEOPLE SELLING the property said it was worth $58 million less than what the taxpayers purchased it for (On the other hand, the developer owned UT called the sale price a "fire sale" level, because the road cost so much more to build, of course).

If I build a bike from scratch in my garage at a production cost of$12,000, does that mean the market value will be $12,000+? Probably not. If you say yes, I will start building your bike tomorrow. Otherwise itwould be lucky if I could get $300, as it will likely be a clunky bike. Our city leaders have a long history of overpaying for things and saying it is A-okay to do so.

According to Mayor Stocks, buying the road means they don’t have expand other nearby freewayswith TransNet dollars. A savings? Maybe not. According to two reporters, the privatefor-profit toll road (partially supported with Federal funds), was set to beturned over to the government at the end of its contract (a length similar tothe Transnet program). So, we bought something we were going to get anyways, and this benefit we purchased for $300 million would have been delivered for FREE later.

Buying the road means drivers will pay lower tolls. Not buying theroad probably meant the same thing. The tolls were too high to attract a lot oftraffic and it is likely that the next private owner would have lowered thetolls to boost volume. No? Maybe the taxpayers could have come out ahead ifthey subsidized the tolls on the Toll Road until the road was turned over tothe government rather than buying it outright.

Did SANDAG consider the County-wide long-term financial and transportationoutcomes under the different scenarios? Two reporters tell me they didn’t see it.Gary Gallegos the executive officer at SANDAG wouldn’t respond to my public records request for that analysis (if it existed)and Jerome Stocks wouldn’t show me where to find such comparisons (he said they existed and cut off communication when I asked where to find it).

Jerome has been a leader in overpaying for real estate, especiallywhen his friends are involved. It is not surprising that he has not fixed theproblems that allow for million dollar mistakes to be repeated. We’ve calledfor a real estate transaction policy to be implemented, repeatedly.

The call for saving Encinitas millions of dollars that has been rejected:

Responsibility for errors or omissions belongs to Gary Gallegos and Jerome Stocks for their lack of openness.

Sledding

2011-12-25T14:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Encinitas

2011-12-25T13:46:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

At coffee coffee now

2011-12-23T18:56:00.001-08:00

Improvements!

2011-12-23T17:44:00.000-08:00

The new plantings near the rail crossing are sweet.

Let's do it all the way down the rail corridor. Envision patches of yucca and agave where there is just dirt now.

Leucadians to City Hall, "You Have Our Attention Now"

2011-12-22T16:56:00.000-08:00

Over the years we've posted up videos from different camps. Remember the squealing pig video about Barth? (Did anyone every figure out what the point was of that pre-election video?) Well, the appointment of Mark Muir awakened a lot of people, including the creative class in Leucadia.

The second time around is when you can really see the soul and commitment to our city of these Leucadians. It is time for the Mayor to hold a town hall meeting and straighten things out because the natives are restless.

Rheanna to Grace Leucadia on Friday

2011-12-21T11:33:00.000-08:00

Rheanna Downey is one of our local cultural treasures. She is authenticate. Rheanna is a prolific, original songwriter and masterful guitar player. She's great to see live, either on stage or in the line-up.

She'll be playing Christmas Carols and original tunes alongside some other local talent. Grab a hot drink, lounge & enjoy the show. Don't miss the show because in less than a month she'll be a new mom!

You can see her at Coffee Coffee from 4-8pm this Friday night. Coffee Coffee is right next to Surfy Surfy, on the 101.

It is always great to see good people doing great things.

www.RheannaDowney.com

Stories to Avoid Here

2011-12-18T11:40:00.000-08:00

Greeks now wish they hadn't tolerated favoritism in their government. It is not good democracy for doors of government policymakers and public resources to be open only to those who remain quiet about disagreeing with those in power. They should remain open to whistle blowers.

Many Greeks now wish they had built institutions based on executing good policy with equal opportunity for all, rather than promote government based on who you were connected with. Are this important lessons for California? Encinitas?

NPR reporter Joanna Kakissis says the task of turning Greece around is especially daunting because Greeks let the integrity of their civic institutions decay. - Listen to

From Greek Crisis, A Call For Transparency Emerges

at http://www.npr.org/2011/12/18/143916141/from-greek-crisis-a-call-for-transparency-emerges?ft=1&f=10&sc=17

Another story is from right here in America. Big labor (UAW) has approved a plan that will mean people doing the same job will get different pay. Substantially different pay. I'm surprised we are not hearing about the social justice issues here.

Two-tier pay system brings reopening of GM plant, reviving hope

The full story can be viewed at: http://www.latimes.com/la-fi-economy-wages-20111218,0,384910.story?track=latiphoneapp

A few days before Thanksgiving, hundreds of people from around the country jammed into the idled General Motors Co. plant here, cheering as company and union officials pushed a big red button signifying the reopening of the car-assembly factory.

Under its agreement with the United Auto Workers union, GM will be hiring mostly new workers for the plant who will start at $15.78 an hour, about half the prevailing rate paid to the company's production employees...

UAW President Bob King said he wasn't thrilled with a two-tier pay system: It goes against the union's core belief in equal pay for equal work. But "there really wasn't an alternative," he said.

Was that really the only alternative? What about sharing the pain? Will Encinitas be better off if we start offering a two-tier compensation system for city employees? Will it be a just system? Will it be the most effective and fair system to all staff and the taxpayers?

Leucadia sushi

2011-12-17T17:17:00.001-08:00

That's a big B

2011-12-17T07:20:00.000-08:00

Musical Chairs

2011-12-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

Muir appointed Christy to the OMWD. Now the OMWD Board appoints Larry Watt to fill his boss's spot.

Read it here.

Leucadia Lights

2011-12-15T19:18:00.001-08:00

New Spiffy traffic signals and lamps at Leucadia Blvd!

2011-12-15T17:07:00.001-08:00

This is very exciting, the much maligned Leucadia Blvd intersection is currently getting all new groovy signals /street lamps installed. They look classy!

Less Money for the Hall Park

2011-12-14T13:37:00.000-08:00

The cost of the open government lawsuit against the city is high. One local attorney who has interacted with our city told me that the city's attitude toward legal violations is they don't care because they have a deep pockets legal fund, while the citizens don't and can be driven away based on trying to outlast and outspend citizens. They know 99% of the time people won't seek the help of a judge because they can't afford the time or money.

In the Cummins case, the attorney worked on contingency, otherwise the city's strategy would have worked to exhaust citizens' funds and financial support for the case. Of course, in open government cases, the judge can grant attorney's fees to the plaintiff. That is what happened.

Mayor Bond is talking about appealing the judge's ruling, which will cause the attorneys to do even more work. That will cost the taxpayer even more, because the outrageous cost will be passed on to you. It is completely nuts.

At close to the last minute allowed by law, the city sent out its closed session agenda notice for today. The council is discussing the Cummins case this afternoon.

You can read all of Dennis Winston's response to the city here. Here are some excerpts:

THECITY INCREASED THE COST OF THIS CASE BY ENGAGING IN UNCOOPERATIVE DELAYINGTACTICS
A defendant cannot litigatetenaciously and then be heard to complain about the time necessarily spent bythe plaintiff in response.

Respondent City of Encinitas(“City”) has chosen to attack Petitioner Kevin Cummins’ (“Cummins”) motion forattorneys’ fees with opinions and conclusions, not facts. The City’s attacks are evanescent sincethe City cites no case or principle which denies a Petitioner the right toreceive an Answer in good faith and to conduct discovery.
City attacksCummins’ efforts to resolve factual issues before trial: first, by denigratingCummins’ efforts to seek a good faith answer from the City to Cummins’ Petition(e.g., instead of denying that City’s employees sent correspondence); second,by condemning Cummins’ attempt to conduct discovery in good faith.
                  According to theDeclaration of Gregory L. Lusitana In Support Of Respondent’s Opposition(“Lusitana Declaration”) the City intentionally chose to refuse toauthenticate documents in its Answer, planning “to authenticate these documentsas the ‘record’ …by negotiating these issues with petitioner.”[1] (Lusitana Declaration, ¶ 2:1-7.)
First, what gave the City the right to profferan Answer containing sham and evasive allegations of factual matters that were withinthe actual knowledge of the City?
Second, when the City was faced witha meet and confer to prevent Cummins’ motion to strike from being filed, whydid the City not “negotiate[] these issues” then? Moreover, since Cummins’ Petition sought relief under Code of Civil Procedure § 1085 (“Section 1085”),[2]not Section 1094, the City shouldhave known (since, according to Lusitana, “writ of mandate proceedings aresignificantly less complex …than a typical civil action” (Lusitana Declaration,¶ 8)) that there was to be no administrative record to be negotiatedat all. As the court explainedin BrightDevelopment v. City of Tracy (1993) 20 Cal App.4^th 783,795:

You can get the judge's ruling, with not so nice words about the city, here. He agreed with Cummins' attorney.

The city still has not figured out that it has to act reasonable and it really really can't stand anyone who points this out. I sent the following the to he council:

Dear Council,

I see that you are going into negotiations with one of your bargaining units. I would recommend reviewing the status of the retirement system to determine the magnitude of the problem, so that an effective solution which is fair to current and future employees and taxpayers can be reached. Please agendize a discussion of the STATUS of the retirement system, if for no other reason than to set the record straight about the status of the city's long-term finances.

I also see the legal fees in my case is on the agenda. I would like to remind you that when I requested the 2009 roads report I was rejected, even though the consultant had already finalized, printed, delivered, and invoiced the city for a final report. The City said it was a draft document. There was no risk to the public of releasing the document on roads conditions, which most people don't care about anyways.

For the newer council members, please be advised that the precipitating reason for the roads report was my questions about the fictitious report the city engineers were saying was being used to schedule road repair. The City refused to show this report to me, for years. That was against the law. Breaking the law was better than being caught lying, apparently. It turned out what the City had was a years out of date inventory and repair schedule. It was considered useless by your own staff. When I found out, the City quickly ordered a new $100,000 roads report to cover their butts during the next budget cycle and I recognized the efforts to go in the right direction, even if was selfishly motivated rather than for the public good. The City's good behavior didn't last long.

Please recall that I tried very hard to avoid a lawsuit. I would also like to note that this issue could have been completely avoided with a Sunshine Ordinance, which the council majority rejected.

The cost of the lawsuit is insulting to the taxpayers. My guess is you have no idea how much your staff drove up the cost of this case. I hope you didn't approve the tactics, because it cost the taxpayers. I recommend that you do your own investigation. I invite you to look into the record, speak with my attorney, and meet with me publicly to discuss the case. Just so you know, Winston seemed to think our case was so strong that he didn't need to work out all the details [LB note: i.e. preparing responses to the city's baloney and attempted misdirections]. Given the nature of the City's responses that would have driven the cost up even more.

You can read what the judge wrote here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/75162384/Attorney-s-fees-order-Cummins-vs-Encinitas

I want you to be advised that the City Manager, after great delay, has informed me the City cannot carryout the judge's original order. The correspondence between the City and the consultant was destroyed.

I will offer to invite any of you to publicly discuss this case, including the costs, to set the tone for moving forward with a more open city hall. I am also willing to put the case behind us and just set a good tone for moving the city forward with a more open city hall. There are dozens of practices that are ripe for easy and cheap improvements. I look forward to hearing your suggestions and seeing you take action.

Kevin Cummins
PS Not everything in the City's submissions to the court is honest. I do wonder how my elected representatives think about that.

Side note on a quote from the UT:

Cummins pressed the lawsuit even after the final report was released.The judge ruled on May 24 that the city must release the draft becauseit was inconsequential once the final version had been published.

The City wouldn't admit and still pretends the cat isn't out of the bag. We asked for the "DRAFT" in the lawsuit because the city said that was all they had. They lied and never came clean with the court or unwound their deception. The document was finalized, printed, bound, delivered, and invoiced before I requested the "draft". They said they only had a draft. Had they told the truth I would have asked for the final document.

Who is responsible for all this?

The New Mayor

2011-12-13T18:21:00.000-08:00

The logical choice for Mayor and Deputy Mayor was Stocks and Gaspar.

Um, it's kinda raining pretty hard...

2011-12-12T11:43:00.001-08:00

Corner of Hwy 101 and Jasper St.

More Leucadia Fences Front Doors and Gates

2011-12-11T10:04:00.001-08:00

101 New Trees for Leucadia's Hwy 101

2011-12-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by Alison St John from KPBS.org

Read the story on KPBS.org

*One of the main themes of the Leucadia Blog has been concerns of the vanishing tree canopy on our history highway 101. It's good to see members of the community volunteering for this new planting. The paranoid and cynical side of us has to point out that we've had volunteer tree plantings before, only to watch the city neglect the trees and let them die. We hope that with the new streetscape plans underway and the momentum of the newest Leucadia 101 business corridor renaissance that these trees will be allowed to grow and thrive.

Leucadia front yard art

2011-12-10T06:32:00.001-08:00

Secret leucadia tropical hideaway

2011-12-10T06:30:00.000-08:00

Top of Leucadia

2011-12-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

Nice ocean view from the top of Leucadia Blvd and Sidonia St.

More Public Record Destruction

2011-12-07T12:38:00.001-08:00

According to an editorial by Calaware, many Council Members are risking criminal charges with the way they routinely destroy public record.

...Anyone in business in any organization knows how central email communication is to planning, executing and reviewing operations. Email is the informational connective tissue that fills the spaces between formal meetings and documents and, if disclosed, allows scrutiny between the lines of official policy.

To get a candid, unvarnished picture of how our wars are being waged at the ground level, you don't go to Pentagon press releases; you look at Wikileaks dumps (or reports that translate them). On a more conventional scale, email is one of the first targets for public records access requests by journalists and other watchdogs, discovery demands in litigation, and subpoenas or search warrants in criminal prosecutions.

But a government record that has been destroyed, erased or discarded is beyond the reach of public access under the California Public Records Act or any other transparency law. Our state has two legal approaches to preventing or at least discouraging the purging of government records at will. One is the criminalization of such activity. The other is its regulation through records-management policies and laws.

On the criminal side, Government Code Section 6200 states:

Every officer having the custody of any record, map, or book, or of any paper or proceeding of any court, filed or deposited in any public office, or placed in his or her hands for any purpose, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years if, as to the whole or any part of the record, map, book, paper, or proceeding, the officer willfully does or permits any other person to do any of the following:
(a) Steal, remove, or secrete.
(b) Destroy, mutilate, or deface.
(c) Alter or falsify.

For non-officers guilty of the same acts, Section 6201 sets the penalty at up to a year's term in prison or jail, or by a maximum $1,000 fine, or both. In Loder v. Municipal Court, 17 Cal.3d 859 (1976) the court concluded that "inasmuch as no showing of specific intent is required by the statute, an officer who knowingly removes or destroys such a document is punishable even though he acts without a criminal purpose."

And it is no defense to a prosecution under this law to say that the records were exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act and therefore not "public" in the first place. In the leading case under Section 6200, People v. Pearson, 111 Cal.App.2d 9 (1952) a police captain was convicted for removing vice squad investigative records from station files (apparently to show them to raid targets).

The court observed:

A paper written by a public official in the performance of his duties or in recording the efforts of himself and those under his command or written plans of future work is a public record and is properly in the keeping of the office.

Nor is Section 6200 confined to protecting legally mandated records. P

The CPRA sets two years as a minimum for retention of public records. The City of Encinitas' excuse is they define public record as only applying to those things that get saved. That's kinda circular and a lazy argument, that is not supported by the law.

Many people have publicly and privately offered to pay for the computer "upgrades" necessary to save all the email (and make it TONS EASIER for staff and council members), but those offers have been rejected. The council wants plausible deniability and steep controls on information.

Join Calaware here. Email the council (or write a letter) at council@encinitasca.gov and ask them to justify their policy and practice.

BLACK OUT!!!

2011-12-05T18:53:00.001-08:00

Coastal Leucadia, Encintas and Cardiff experiencing power outage. SDG&E estimates return to power at 8:45 pm.

Sent from my super groovy iPhone
JP St Pierre
President and janitor of the super huge mega corporation:
Surfy Surfy Surf Shop
974 N Coast Hwy 101
Leucadia, CA 92024
760-452-7687
www.surfysurfy.net

The Downside of Rail

2011-12-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

Development along rail corridors helps keep the cost of housing down because living next to a freight train line is loud and not desired by many rich folk.

Trains are a little noisy, even without the horns. They thunder by at 2 a.m.
Ever watched a movie at La Paloma? The train's vibrations are a cool part of the experience.

Hopefully, Pacific Station is soundproofed and built to withstand a tank car explosion.

Freight trains are a serious public safety liability. Putting high density immediately next to the freight rail lines risks stretching the public safety and medical response resource closer to black-tag triage if there is a serious accident. What happens to the Scripps Hospital if there is a derailment involving a tanker car with hazardous materials at Santa Fe and Vulcan?

Hopefully, design standards, public safety planning and disaster planning have been adjusted to take into consideration the extra density along the tracks and the proximity of the hospital to the rail lines.

It will never happen in Encinitas. My friends said the same thing until their neighborhood blew up in San Bruno.

Leucadia Red

2011-12-03T20:05:00.001-08:00

$16.99 a bottle. If I wasn't poor white trash who drinks 2 Buck Chuck from Trader Joe's I totally would have got some.

I'd say they aren't convinced

2011-12-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oppose-the-Encinitas-City-Plan-2035/295082773840847#!/photo.php?fbid=297560003602051&set=o.295082773840847&type=1&theater

City Shows No Favors Involved

2011-12-01T06:17:00.000-08:00

UT report on the Starbucks appeal. The council denied the appeal, but made the developer put in bigger trees, according to the UT. How did Jerome support the tree thing? It sounds a little HOAish.

Incentives for Derelict Land Lords?

2011-11-30T10:42:00.001-08:00

Mailed in submission regarding tonight's Starbucks appeal:

At 4:55 Bart said, "whatever they put up will be better than what is(n't) there now"

Bart,

I agree that the lot and the chain link fence is less-than-attractive. There are, however, two reasons I strongly disagree that whatever they put up will be better than what is not there now.

The first reason I disagree is because "anything is better" is far short of a legitimate reason for the City to allow any zoning variances on an already busy corner which will likely get busier for the foreseeable future. If the lot is an eyesore, then the City should require the owner to maintain it. The City should not reward them by granting variances for being an irresponsible citizen.

The second reason is that any opinion which includes "anything is better" only feeds the City's motivation to allow certain vacant lots to become eyesores. The cultivation of high-profile ugly lots causes some members of the community to develop and voice the opinion that anything is better than the non-maintained vacant lot. These opinions will, in turn, be used as the self-fullfilling twisted logic for the City to allow up-zoning and the building of grossly inefficient, out-of-character, and traffic impacting commercial buildings which are not intended to serve the neighborhood.

The City has the opportunity to encourage better commercial building practices which will blend well with the neighborhood in exchange for the possible bending of some of the rules for development on that visitor-serving-zoned corner lot.

If you believe the lot is ugly, call the City and file a complain about the lack of maintenance on the lot. Please don't let the City use it as a lame excuse to continue to engage in bad community planning.

B.D.

LB comments: A common ploy of some developers is to let their property go blighted prior to pushing for a big government favor.

The City of Encinitas does have a Dandelion Police Force.

Reasoned and Open Selection

2011-11-29T05:29:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I suggested having the council apply for board appointments and that the council should explain their selections. The council appoints representatives to all sorts of very powerful agencies where much of their work is not know to the public, or even the council, although the later is improving. The idea was considered one of those pie in the sky ideas I come up with because I have nothing else to do.

I was at a SANDAG meeting a few years ago when Chair Lori Holt Pfeiler made a suggestion that smelt like apple pie. She suggested that the board's nominees for appointments submit applications and that there are at least two candidates for each position. Good idea! Otherwise it can look like the selection was done in the backroom and for reasons other than merit and good public administration and policy. Some of the other board members clearly did not like apple pie.

Jerome applied for Chair of SANDAG. Here is the meat of his application.

NOTES: Click the image to enlarge. Jerome is currently responding to my questions about the toll road purchase, the sophisticated side of eminent domain reform, and the SANDAG chief's $270,000/yr (plus underfunded benefits) pay package with a yearly $10,000 raise.

I like the idea of the council applying for their appointments to boards like NCTD or the County Water Authority. I would hope their applications required a little more info than SANDAG's. It would be good if they were clear on the relevant principals applicants would apply when voting on these boards AND describe the seeds of the policy initiatives that they plan to spearhead while on those boards.

Do you think our representative to NCTD should say something about what they will do about Leucadia's trees near the rail corridor in their application? Will they seek pension reform at SANDAG or the Water Authority? (These agencies have little internal fiscal incentive to ever fix their pensions, because they can just say that the extra costs belongs in your water bill and that's that. It will take leaders who truly care to come in and bring up the issue.)

We've had enough bananas. It is time for apple pie.

Upcoming Events

2011-11-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

Encinitas, CA ------- St. John School announces its Christmas Boutique on Friday, December 2 from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. at St. John's Parish Hall. The Christmas Boutique will feature local vendors Cyndi and Sofi Designs (Note Cards, Hats, Headbands, Christmas Cards), KM Original hand stamped jewelry, Chic Mommy candles, Running Skirts, Queen Eileen's, Mary Kay, Harlow bags and Closet Couture clothing, etc. Stop by the Boutique for shopping and photos with Santa taken by photographer Leigh Duenas. Cookie decorating and refreshments will be available for sale.

St. John Catholic School

1003 Encintas Blvd.

Encinitas, CA 92024

Join us next Saturday at the Form & Function Holiday Fest featuring an interactive mural benefiting Healthy Day’s healthy snacks program. Attendees are invited to decorate recycled vinyl tiles. The finished assembled tiles will become a spectacular garden theme mural. Following the event, the mural will be displayed at the DEMA office (818 South Coast Highway 101, Encinitas) and auctioned off online at wabisabigreen.com.

And keeping in the spirit of giving, we will be handing out free fabulous holiday gift bags chock full of goodies to the first 100 guests to like Wabisabi Green on Facebook (and post on our wall). Please pickup at the Wabisabi Green Booth the day of the show. Gift Bag Sponsors include: Wabisabi Green, Lemongrass Spa, Form & Function, Karen Athens, Vertical Garden Solutions and more!

About Form & Function Holiday Fest
Wabisabi Green, other eco-friendly vendors and local artists will sell their products at Form & Function on South Cedros. There will be live music, a Pop Culture Desserts table and delicious gourmet fare available for purchase from the Alchemy Restaurant booth. This is a fun free family event. For more information call (760) 445-9225 or visit: wabisabigreen/wabisabigreen-holiday-fest.html.

Saturday, December 3rd, 201

A View on Pacific View

2011-11-27T06:13:00.001-08:00

California Code - Section 65852.9 is relied upon, but not directly quoted in the Writ of Mandate for which EUSD has applied to the Superior Court, attempting to force Encinitas Council to rezone the Pacific View site for residential redevelopment. This specific code utilizes an “if, and then,” scenario, providing that “b)If all of the public entities enumerated in Section 17489 of the Education Code decline a school district's offer to sell or lease school property pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 17485 of Chapter 4 of Part 10.5 of the Education Code), the city or county having zoning jurisdiction over the property shall, upon request of the school district, zone the schoolsite as defined in Section 39392 of the Education Code, consistent with the provisions of the applicable general and specific plans and compatible with the uses of property surrounding the schoolsite.” Nowhere is it specified that the zoning must be identical to contiguous properties. This code pre-supposes that some sites are zoned specifically for school use. Pacific View’s current zoning is compatible with “uses of property surrounding the schoolsite.”

Further, the district never performed an independent appraisal of the property, and so never complied with the clear requirements of Educational Code. That code also provides that if eight years prior to a surplus school property’s being offered for lease or sale, the site was used, in part, for playing fields (After Pacific View was closed, it was leased to the City for a temporary public works yard.), then the Naylor Act does apply, and 30% of surplus property shall be offered to the applicable public entities according to its original cost, adjusted for inflation (Pacific View’s site was donated), for as little as 25% on the dollar of the APPRAISED value. Superintendents Devoir, King and now Baird have all attempted to skirt this requirement, refusing to honor the intent of the Legislature, or the wishes of the community.

Superintendent Tim Baird appears to have had a [community resource liquidation] agenda before he came to be Superintendent of EUSD. An article, “Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave, When First We Practice to Deceive” can be read, through an Ojai, CA publication, “The View” published in July 2009: http://www.ojaiskatepark.com/pdfs/viewskateparkstory.pdf

Some excerpts follow:

" . . . But whispers turned to a roar and with the stated goal of turning centrally located Chaparral school into a strip/shopping mall for financial profit. They have obviously conspired to do everything they can do to NOT get the Skate Park completed, as promised.

. . . City Manager Jere Kersnar had to be reminded by local private citizen and State Farm Insurance Agent, Bob Daddi, that there were legal liability/workmens comp provisions already in place on the state books which would enable volunteering citizens to exercise their get-it-done spirit and contribute their free labors to a city/non-profit coop project to Get-it-Done.

. . . Tim Baird, Ojai Unified’s former Superintendent, recently ducked out of Ojai for a higher paying superintendent job with Encinitas Union School District (EUSD) near San Diego, educating elementary aged youth. Reportedly he now takes home a salary of over $200,000 annually there, at least $65,000 above what he had been making in Ojai.

Baird showed his true Ojai “community” spirit when he abandoned his sleepy little stepping stone of Ojai. Under Baird’s self-promoting tutelage, the Ojai district has already spent well over $60,000 in scarce educational (and public) funds, on attorney fees toward his unrealized pet strip/mall development project."

Certainly Baird appears duplicitous relative to Ojai development plans by that school district, and now, with respect to pushing his development agenda within EUSD. Was his development propensity why he was hired here? Why is he being paid much more in Encinitas than in Ojai, despite EUSD's budgetary challenges? And why are administrators paid so much when teachers are being laid off? Why did Baird state that the $44 million dollar school bond could not go to teachers’ salaries, implying that money from the Pacific View site could, which is NOT TRUE, according to DEMA?

Glenn Sabine, Encinitas City Attorney, has quoted code, out of context, which DOES NOT SPECIFICALLY SUPPORT EUSD’s legal claims. We hope some other firm defends against this action, which only Mayor Bond voted, in closed session, NOT to defend, despite numerous council meetings where public speakers insisted the donated site should remain for community use. The plans advocated by DEMA seem practical and are welcomed by a consensus of the community.

Lynn and Russell Marr, Leucadia

LB Burning Questions: Will Mark Muir take the same "ethical" route to dodge this issue as Kristin Gaspar. Will he also claim to be unable to get up to speed on issues that began before they were on council? Will it make Kristin look really really bad if Muir jumps right in and votes on Pacific View matters? Does Muir have some of those other secret conflicts of interest that Gaspar does? Muir certainly has a novel situation with his wife on the board of the EUSD.

Thankful

2011-11-24T15:53:00.001-08:00

Thankful for all the locals who do right by others.

Cap'n Keno's serving thanksgiving dinner to a few of our old acquaintances who didn't have a family dinner to go to at home.

Target

2011-11-24T10:30:00.001-08:00

Sand update

2011-11-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

New Beacon's sign

2011-11-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

Photo courtesy of Paul Ecke III

Fitting in with Starbucks

2011-11-21T18:54:00.001-08:00

From the Inbox:

The City of Encinitas Planning Commission has approved a variance in the General Plan guidelines to allow this new development (Starbucks) to ignore the required 20 foot setback for landscaping and use the undeveloped city street (city property) to fulfill this requirement. This will create temporary landscaping that will be removed when the city widens the street. There are no provisions for landscaping in the currently approved building plans for landscaping around the building itself, nor in the parking areas except along the streets. Starbucks has already agreed to pay for the removal of the street landscaping when the city needs to widen Orpheus Street. When this happens, we will be left with a 30 foot tall building, parking lot, and no foliage.

We have spent millions landscaping Leucadia Boulevard and now we are going to destroy that effort by crowning it with another bare parking lot and a 30 foot concrete wall complete with neon green Starbucks’ logos 26 feet in the air. The city council is now stacked against beauty and quality of life for us in Leucadia. We can show our support for our community by calling the city ((760) 633-2627, E-mail: cityhall@ci.encinitas.ca.us) and demanding permanent landscaping on the “to be developed property” and not temporary landscaping in our roadway. There will be an appeal hearing to the 20 foot variance at the November 30, 2011 City Council meeting at 6:00 PM. If possible, please attend, sign up on arrival to state your views, or contact the city directly by November 22, 2011 by 5:00 PM.

We cannot and are not trying to stop this development, only make it fit our community guidelines.

B.D.

Facebookers go here

2011-11-21T10:27:00.001-08:00

This is the link you want. Then scroll down.

Responding to Rushing Traffic

2011-11-20T18:36:00.000-08:00

From the inbox:
Encinitas Traffic Calming: Cardiff Example

It was bound to happen. Less than a month after the project was completed, one of the roundabouts was run over on Summit Avenue. Everyone that has been to my house in the past 30 days has said the same thing - it won't be long until someone plows over one.

After living on Summit for a couple years, I am in complete agreement that something had to be done about the speeding vehicles. The neighborhood is filled with kids, runners, walkers, bike riders and pets. My home office window faces the street, and I watch all day as cars blast past my house down the street. Some of my neighbors were hoping for speed bumps, which probably would have been more effective, but they are incredibly annoying, damage vehicles, and slow emergency responders. When we got word that roundabouts were going in, we were optimistic that the project would be an effective means to slow down speeding vehicles.

After a month of living with them, I can say that they are at best mildly effective. While most people slow down, the two roundabouts on Summit are just too small, and spaced too far apart. The street between the two roundabouts is now a drag strip. The car that ran over the roundabout left skid marks in excess of 75 feet - I kid you not. From a quick internet search, it looks like a car must be traveling at +/- 45 mph to leave skid marks that long, almost double the limit. The signs have been replaced, and the stump left behind looks like Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree. If it is still there after Thanksgiving, I think I will put a few ornaments on it.

Erik
Erik blogs at http://www.comidayolas.com/

Maybe a bit more investigative journalism?

2011-11-18T05:48:00.001-08:00

Papa Manchester has bought the UT. Papa has a big history of giving back to his community, so maybe we will see more stories about the community and more investigative journalism from the UT.

November Gardens

2011-11-17T16:16:00.001-08:00

Encinitas Restaurants to Get Free Rent

2011-11-17T07:16:00.001-08:00

The City Council moved toward giving public space to for-profit restaurants rent free. Will new construction plans adjust accordingly?

We can't ignore the numbers

2011-11-16T15:10:00.001-08:00

The peoples of earth have to go somewhere. A lot of people want to live either on Hollister Ranch or settle for groovy Leucadia. I'm not sure that means we should put in condo towers at Hollister. If they did, it would take away part of the motivation for wanting to live on the Ranch.

New Leucadia

2011-11-15T16:43:00.001-08:00

Growing Local

2011-11-15T08:25:00.001-08:00

Vibrant San Diego Options

2011-11-15T08:02:00.000-08:00

More on the Coronation

2011-11-14T17:06:00.001-08:00

From the inbox:

It's Not About Muir - It's About Us

Maggie was far more than a member of the City Council. She was the most beloved person in this town. She understood Encinitas is much more than a city; it's a community.

Cities are about general plans; building codes; infrastructure; pseudo-roundabouts; land development; commerce; projects; programs and policies. Communities are about common values and social norms. Maggie knew the difference.

I loved Maggie. Still do. Always will. More important than her position on issues was the person she was: caring; passionate; honest; decent; and devoted to the people and animals who live here. Maggie exemplified integrity. She was pro-neighborhood; pro-environment; pro-family; and pro-human dignity. She was one of us - independent; individualistic; intelligent; inventive; and, when her principles were at stake, immovable. How like Maggie to care about us until the very end - leaving us the gift of a beautiful, thoughtful video message shared with us after her death. Although she looked thin and frail, the full force of her larger than life presence was still there.

Far worse than the puerile political machinations in which Council members Bond, Stocks and Gasper engaged was the indecency and insensitivity with which they treated Maggie and the thousands who voted for her. They could have given her the honor she deserved by appointing the extraordinarily capable person she'd designated as her choice to succeed her. Or, they could have appointed any one of the several highly qualified civic leaders who stated they'd not run for election in 2012. It would have been an act of kindness and generosity with no cost to themselves - they'd remain the majority on the City Council.

Instead of honoring Maggie's wishes, Bond, Stocks, and Gaspar used their majority to appoint the only controversial, divisive, and politically-compromised candidate - an act sure to exacerbate community conflict. They knowingly, and negligently disenfranchised the thousands of people who shared Maggie's vision for Encinitas.

The greatest measure of a community is how we treat each other. Most of us would prefer that to be with respect, courtesy, caring and decency. We must make it absolutely clear that the Council majority's actions do not represent our values or interests.

For some of us, it feels like Encinitas lost its heart. But, it hasn't. Maggie left hers to us to preserve and protect. With all the energy, passion, perseverance and determination in her, Maggie forged a pathway for us to follow; and bequeathed to us a priceless legacy.

It is time for us to act.

Are there 500 people in Encinitas willing to write a check for $250 to further Maggie's legacy? Are you?

Bob Aronin
Reform Encinitas
infor@ReformEncinitas.com

Leucadia cul-de-sac

2011-11-14T16:54:00.001-08:00

Dead ends where there are no strangers or through traffic are still great for little kids.

Secret Rural Leucadia

2011-11-12T22:09:00.000-08:00

City Administration in Question

2011-11-12T10:55:00.001-08:00

Encinitas and the Arab Spring

Cyrus K

In case you were on another planet last Wednesday, a major affront to democracy and open government took place in our beautiful little beach community. As a group of citizens protesting the council majority's appointment of Mark Muir to fill Maggie Houlihan's vacated seat attempted to enter the council meeting room, they were shunted away by police to a separate room, while supporters of Mark Muir, wearing "Thank you Mark" stickers were allowed in. Within the council meeting room, a surreal portrait was presented, as though you were in the streets of Tripoli, or Cairo, or Dara'a, when the rulers filled the squares with pro-government ringers to create the illusion of popular support. In the absence of popular legitimacy, power always strives to create its impression, so that the malfeasance, incompetence and arrogant disregard of the public can continue unnoticed.

The question here as in the countries of the Arab spring is - who's government is it anyway? By selectively filling the meeting room with supporters, the current council majority has made the statement that our city government is strictly for them, and those who support them. Unlike the middle east, their tools of tyranny are not guns and tanks, but rather the tyranny of the majority. The essential strategy is the same though - use power to gain power, and hope that the public either doesn't notice or is powerless to do anything about it.

Rather than mortars and rifles, in a peaceful democracy, our recourse is to conscientiously object to actions taken without conscience, at the ballot box, in print and in person. There is much to object to beyond just the Muir appointment. An unfunded pension liability of $39 million dollars; a deferred road maintenance bill of $17 million dollars; a long-term debt including lease-revenue bonds of $172 million dollars; $1.5 million dollars interest per year on the $31.5 million dollars owed for the Hall property ( while it just sits there ), and a projected development cost of $13 million. All this with $9 million in the bank ( figures drawn from the city's 2009 Annual Financial Report and the Calpers Actuarial Pension Study for Encinitas ). In addition, we should be vigilant regarding attempts by the sitting council super majority to alter zoning regulations in favor of the developers who fund their campaigns. As Maggie said, democracy is not a spectator sport.

To see if the city has a response, email the city manager at: citymanager@cityofencinitas.org.

Credit to New Sheriff Captain

2011-11-11T08:05:00.000-08:00

There have been some comments posted about the Sheriff presence. From what I saw they did a great job, especially considering how many deputies there were.

I saw deputies thoughtfully and respectfully work with citizens to remove their sticks from their signs as they entered city hall.
I saw Captian Sherri Sarro interacting with people in the crowd in a very relaxed and respectful manner when she was walking around solo.
I saw groups of deputies standing way off away from the crowd, and out of sight of the event. Pictured above is where many of them congregated, down in the LOWER parking lot. You don't stick your deputies out of sight if you want to intimidate the crowd.
I saw the deputies refrain from nit-picking on how the organizers set up posters and lights.
I didn't see the deputies during the presentations except when the organizers needed a hand getting a walkway cleared (there were a lot of people). The sheriffs helped make a path respectfully and then went back out of sight (from where I was standing anyways).

I wasn't there, but a lot of protesters report being kept out of council chambers by order of the fire marshal when there were reportedly still seats available, so maybe we'll have nice things to say about the fire marshal too, but not until after someone asks him what was up.

Fire Chief Muir successfully "promoted" to city council person

2011-11-10T07:27:00.001-08:00

The controversial appointment of now retired Encinitas Fire Chief to Encinitas city council person to fill recently departed Maggie Houlihan's (R.I.P.) spot happened last night at city hall.

The popular (and sometimes controversial in her own right) Maggie Houlihan was the all time vote getter in Encinitas. Houlihan had expressed her replacement be Lisa Shaffer, who is now confirmed to run for Encinitas city council in 2012. Many residents felt the seat should be filled by the last election's next highest vote getter, Tony Kranz.

The appointment of Muir concerns many citizens because they say it creates a 4-1 super majority for special interest on our city council. It will be interesting to see what kind of council person Muir is. Recently elected member Kristin Gaspar has been criticized as an empty suit yes man with zero distinguishing leadership.
It's hard to imagine a decades long fire chief assuming this same role. Watch for Muir to establish dominance over fellow council member Jerome Stocks and set himself up as the new Jim Bond, our perennial council person who has been recently tempted by retirement.

Read about the appointment on Encinitas Patch.
and,
North County TimesAnd the Coast News

Leucadia is beautiful man

2011-11-09T16:26:00.001-08:00

Swearing In Celebration

2011-11-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

Many people believe that Christy and Mark have been the queen and king of the insider bro deal network in Encinitas. Appointing the city's key political fund manager and campaign operative was a move that was obviously going to cause rancor. It was not a move designed to bring the community together.

From the inbox:

To: All Encinitas Concerned Citizens
Monday, November 7, 2011

CITY HALL CONTINUES TO IGNORE OUR VOICE

ENCINITAS CITIZENS PROTEST

Encinitas citizens gather to hold elected officials accountable for engaging in blatant cronyism, ignoring conflicts of interest, and condoning politically corrupt practices.

Concerned Encinitas citizens to hold press conference at City Hall

505 S. Vulcan, Encinitas, CA 92024

Wednesday, November 9, 2011, at 5:15 p.m.

before the regular City Council meeting.

On November 9, at 5:55 pm, the Encinitas City Council plans to swear in Mark Muir into the seat formerly occupied by Maggie Houlihan. The decision to appoint Mr. Muir was made by the Council majority —Bond, Stocks, Gaspar— in complete disregard for the concerns and wishes expressed by many of the citizens at the City Council meeting of November 2, 2011.

Earlier, at their September 26 (non-televised) Special Meeting, the Council had viewed an eloquent and hopeful videotape of Maggie Houlihan — taped in her last weeks. Her desire was to seek out someone to step into her shoes, to fulfill the last months of her term of office and to keep true to her campaign promises. She endorsed Lisa Shaffer. As a popular candidate who was the runner-up in the last election, Tony Kranz also had a justifiable claim to the seat. Either Lisa Shaffer or Tony Kranz should have been appointed to serve the remainder of councilperson Houlihan’s term of office. Instead, the majority appointed their employee, their election campaigner and sitting Encinitas Fire Chief, Mr. Muir.

Why was Mark Muir chosen? Could it be because each of the majority members owed him favors? Mr. Muir worked on several of their campaigns in the likely expectation of paybacks. This was not democracy in action, this was political quid pro quo. There is a word for this: Cronyism!

Mr. Muir funneled endorsements and support through Political Action Committees directly linked to him. Muir founded and led both ECHO (Encinitas Coalition of Home Owners) and Golden State Firefighters (GSF) which repeatedly endorsed campaigns of Stocks and Bond and paid for deceiving trash mailers. The International Association of Firefighters described GSF as a “San Diego-based political organization” that circulated “cynical and deceptive” slate mailers. One of these mailers endorsed Stocks and Bond and included a message and picture of the PAC’s leader, “Mark Muir, Fire Division Chief and Chairman of Golden State Firefighters.” He organized and established these PACs while employed by the City and benefitting from promotions culminating in his ascension to the well-paid post of Fire Chief for the City of Encinitas. The term for this is: Conflict of Interest!

Mr. Muir’s political activity of more than a decade was also a direct violation of City Policy. Egregiously, he campaigned using his city email address from the City Hall during normal business hours. This is a clear violation of City policy and common standards of ethics.

This was brought to the attention of the Council prior to the appointment. The Council majority proceeded with the appointment without asking Muir to confirm or deny the allegations. The accurate characterization of this conduct is: Corruption!

Mr. Muir’s new council vote delivers a 4-to-1 super-majority, and the pro-development majority can rest easy knowing that their developer-funded plans for Encinitas can avoid public vote. Our current General Plan requires “voter approval” for increases in zoning density unless the Council approves the change by a vote of 4 or more. With Mr. Muir’s vote replacing Maggie Houlihan’s, this 4-to-1 majority is all but assured.

The negative impacts on our community character and vision for Encinitas are numerous. Among these, we count:

A super-majority will enable the Council to approve rezoning and up-zoning without voter approval (for example, reconsidering and approving the conversion of the Ecke property from agricultural-zoned —“in perpetuity”— to residential-zoned land).

A super-majority would be able to push through the replacement of our well-written, original General Plan and approve the controversial redevelopment of the El Camino Real corridor without a vote of the residents. The proposed plan extends from the recently City-approved Walmart in the north to Encinitas Blvd in the south. Current proposals would allow four-story or higher multi-use buildings, causing increased traffic congestion, crowding, and a decrease in neighboring New Encinitas residential property values.
A super-majority would allow immediate obliteration of sunsets by 90-foot tall field-lights for neighbors of the Hall Sports Park (aka Hall “Community” Park)
A super-majority would effectively enable the Council to approve spot up-zoning of any parcel, irrespective of neighbors’ concerns, whenever a deep-pocket developer asks for it.

LB note: Not sure Muir isn't the 5th vote or is the 4th vote on each of the super-majority concerns.

Mr. Muir’s appointment means that the 12,488 voters who elected Maggie Houlihan in 2008 will no longer be adequately represented on the Council. A chance to vote again in November 2012 is upcoming, but unless we show the council majority that we do not believe this appointment is fair, democratic, and morally supportable, they will be emboldened to further abuse our rights and continue to marginalize our participation in the democratic process. Don’t let them ignore you.

LB note: Jerome did write that he thought the voters wanted someone who would counterbalance his votes. Muir and Jerome are bros and long-time political cooperators, so Jerome must have changed his mind.

Please come to protest the swearing-in of Mark Muir on Nov 9.

Attend the public protest and press conference in front of City Hall at 5:15 pm, before the Council meeting, and attend the protest during the Council meeting thereafter, at 5:55 pm.

Don’t let them ignore you!

Local Arts and Crafts

2011-11-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

I attended a show at the Mingei museum this weekend. The show featured local furniture designers. We found a few pieces created by local leucadians, including this funky chair made by local surfing legend Carl Ekstrom.

There was a panel discussion with several generations of SDSU furniture design professors. It was striking how many times they noted how influential San Diego's post-WWII design was inspired by San Diegans' close connection to "natural" environments. This was opposed to some of the less dynamic and interesting stuff coming out of the east coast designers, who were described as being surrounded by urban environments. Carl is well known for his close connection to the wild.

Another View

2011-11-06T18:40:00.001-08:00

The reason Mark got the position, in spite of what you all might think, is because he really does know what is going on in this City. You can all call it cronyism, but he will be able to hit the ground running. Not even Tony or Lisa could have done that. Actually Mark had 2 fundraisers for Maggie, but somehow that fact has not been shared on this blog.

Dr. Lorri

New Coffee Shop Opens in North Leucadia!

2011-11-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

Today is the "soft opening" of the new coffee shop next door to Surfy Surfy Surf Shop.
All the coffee is fresh roasted on site. Come check out the amazing transformation of the old Longboard Grotto board room into a spiffy new coffee shop.
It's a great rainy afternoon to cruise down and get an expresso.
Hooray!

No denials from the Encinitas Mayor, Deputy Mayor, or Mark Muir

2011-11-04T07:56:00.001-07:00

Links:Muir's "Golden State Firefighters" called out by the IAFF. Crony gets council seat and ~$3.5 million dollar valued retirement package for being pushed up the ranks because of his political favors.

There's another $100 billion

2011-11-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

What happens when you cross big construction contracts with environmental happy talk? You end up with less money for useful local mass transit, less money for education, less money for other services. You also end up with new sprawl into the desert and regional ag land.

California's high-speed rail system would cost nearly $100billion when the main north-south link is completed, an eye-poppingfigure for a state with massive annual budget deficits and alagging economy.

Still, the business plan released Tuesday by the CaliforniaHigh-Speed Rail Authority said the project is manageable if it'sbuilt in smaller segments over 20 years.

The plan also predicted that estimated ridership figures wouldmake the system profitable and noted that new freeways and airportexpansions to deal with the state's expanding population would costfar more.

It's too soon to know whether the $98.5 billion price tag _ morethan double the previous $43 billion cost projection _ will be adeal-breaker for lawmakers, who will decide whether to move forwardafter a public comment period.

Real Firefighters Call Muir's Stuff Lame

2011-11-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

What happened last night doesn't smell right to me.

I agree with Baloo. The council should have tried to appoint someone neutral, which is way more moderate than saying we should try to honor Jerome's original view on the voter's wishes. What the council did was 180 degrees in the opposite direction.

By all accounts Muir has been highly active running council campaigns and facade organizations which funnel campaign funds. He is also personally close to council member, before he was a department head. Long ago, along with others, I asked Muir to address his role in past campaigns. Why? Because the job competitively. It looked like Muir got his very high paying job because he did the dirty work for the council majority. He did what someone who has something to hide did and just left us hanging. In the last few days a lot of information about Muir's activity have surfaced and perhaps explain why Muir would want to avoid the subject.

To Kristin, I am not saying he should not have the right to do all that he has done. There should be no appearance that taxpayers are on the hook for Muir being financially and professionally rewarded for political favors. Many people think this true. Maybe they are off-base and I'm sorry that you didn't take the time to help avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

Yes Jerome, if your seat had been lost and Maggie and Teresa were trying to replace you with Bruce Ehlers I would have spoke up against that.

To the readers, we are getting all sorts of stuff in the mailbox. None that supports what the council majority did last night. If you have a different view and support what the council did, please send us a submission so we can share another view.

Gaspar was appalled that Ehlers was bringing up Muir's history prior to the vote. This is one of the articles Ehlers pointed out last night.

IAFF Declares Golden State Firefighters As Rival Organization

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) took a stand against a San Diego based political operation that has been marketing a “firefight- er” endorsement to promote a paid slate-mail operation [that supported Stocks and Bonds]. By a unanimous vote, the IAFF Executive Board declared Golden State Firefighters [Muir's personal operation] to be a rival organization to the IAFF. The rival organization declaration means that any IAFF member who joins Golden State Firefighters is subject to sanctions and expulsion from the IAFF if another IAFF member files charges against them. IAFF took the action against Golden State Firefighters after a series of attempts to co-opt the image of front line firefighters for their own ends. In early 2004, “Golden State Firefighters” sent letters to legislative candidates around the state, soliciting them to participate in a slate mailer for the March 2nd Primary Election.

The solicitation described Golden State Firefighters as a membership organization consisting of “Fire District Board members, Fire Chiefs, Fire Marshals and rank-and-file firefighter’s association and union members.” It promised distribution to more than a million voters statewide and, in an especially Machiavellian twist, promised to center its efforts in the counties most heavily affected by last fall’s devastating firestorm.

But although Golden State Firefighters claims to be a membership organization, they have made no formal outreach to career firefighters, offer no member benefits or services, hold no training seminars ... they don’t even put out a newsletter.

What they do is political mail, often in direct conflict with candidates endorsed by IAFF-affiliated locals, such as San Diego City Firefighters. California Professional Firefighters (CPF) was able to head off any significant defection of our endorsed candidates to the rogue mailer. Nonetheless, Golden State Firefighters did eventually circulate a slate mailer that was cynical and deceptive. Candidates and causes were falsely listed as having paid for slots on the mailer, implying participation where none occurred. Perhaps most despicably, the authors of the mailer actually sought to trade on the tragic death of Novato firefighter Steven Rucker in the firestorm by placing Rucker’s picture at the bottom.

Faced with this assault on the image of our profession, CPF members approved a resolution at their Convention in May asking that IAFF declare Golden State Firefighters to be a rival organization. The IAFF action this week ratifies that request.

If you’re an IAFF member and have been approached to join Golden State Firefighters, we’d like to know about it (so far, they don’t seem to be inter ested in members — only dollars). Please contact CPF at (916) 921-9111 or via email — info@cpf.org.

Kristin wasn't the only one appalled. The International Association of Fire Fighters was appalled too.

KMC

A New Day for Encinitas

2011-11-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

3:1 vote for Mark Muir. He knows how the city works and knows about all the skeletons. There were some big smiles on the council's faces.

2011-11-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

Fog rolling in

2011-10-31T17:12:00.001-07:00

Looks like a misty moody Halloween on the coast.

Someone call public works and tell them this sprinkler head is broken

2011-10-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Under the Leucadia Roadside Park sign

A New Sheriff in Town

2011-10-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago, my street was repeatedly hit by auto burglars. It was like clockwork and happened on the same weekend night for weeks.

I ran into the local sheriff's captain at a city council meeting and asking him how his department would respond. In a few dismissive words he made it clear that my neighborhood was on our own. He did give some helpful advise about getting cars in garages, not leaving anything we don't want taken left in our cars, and suggested joining a neighborhood watch program.

Since then, our city got a new captain, Sherri A. Sarro. Patch reported that our local sheriffs recently conducted an undercover operation that nabbed a suspected repeat auto burglar.

Looks like we are no longer on our own.

Obesity Concerns

2011-10-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

At a number of recent city events I heard several people mention the obesity problem facing our kids.

Diabetes and obesity is a problem for our nation, but the problem is unevenly distributed geographically and socioeconomically. Darker colors in the map below indicate greater obesity. There are lower levels of obesity in coastal California.

Understanding mechanisms (ie causes) related to natural phenomenon is tough without access to good experimental data. Observational data are useful in helping describe patterns and identifying associations.

Correlation doesn't equal causation. Correlation can help test ideas about mechanisms, but there is nothing better than good ol' experimental data to cleanly demonstrate causation. Check out this next map. The lack of an automobile and distance to a supermarket is spatially correlated with obesity.

Maybe we should fund a study that gives people cars and see if that results in an improvement in their obesity? Automobiles could be a solution to obesity. Well, maybe not.

On the other side, I've reviewed several epidemiological studies of obesity and urban design that are based on observational associations (correlations). Even for an observational study, the conclusions that could be drawn were fairly thin, however they were exciting because they pointed toward public policies that don't require direct intervention at the patient level. However, there were still too many alternative explanations that can explain the patterns seen in those studies, that had not been strongly tested. This doesn't mean the authors were barking up the wrong tree, only that we can't yet see clearly what climbed out on a limb.

Fortunately for our local kids, the issue is less pressing than in other areas of the country. Our kids have a relatively low level of obesity. Here are some data from last year's California Healthy Kids Survey. These BMI distributions are from our local high schools.

There are lots of cool reasons, which I support, for improving our infrastructure. Doing it because we want to keep our kids from becoming obese is not as strong a justification as others.

What happened to the pension discussion?

2011-10-28T06:24:00.000-07:00

Jerome Stocks is to the left of Jerry Brown on government union pensions

Nothing new, but now it goes viral

2011-10-27T15:00:00.001-07:00

Excerpts from the UT:

In 2000, Muir helped form and became president of a political action committee, Encinitas Coalition of Home Owners, which donated money in the 2004 election to Bond, Councilman Jerome Stocks and a failed candidate, Alice Jacobson. Muir's participation in the group has waned, he said. His wife is still treasurer.

Who runs ECHO if not Mark? Does ECHO have members?

Muir bristles at the suggestion that his career path was aided by political favors.

Bristles? The whole thing looks bad. It looks no different than if Muir got his millionaire job simply because he is friends and did political favors for the council majority. He shouldn't bristle. He should prove that his rise and his wealth is in no way a response to him being a political operative for the council majority, and then after that he can go big on the bristling.

“That is ridiculous,” he said. “I donate to nonprofit organizations and hold fund-raisers for schools. The fact that I am engaged in the community should not keep me from becoming chief.”

The concerns are not about the charity work but that was a nice deflection response that Muir tossed out. The concerns are about his political ties.Donating to nonprofits should not get the taxpayer funded millionaire job either. Worse, being bros with the council majority should not get you the job. Even more, doing campaign work for the council should not result in favors paid on the taxpayer's dime.

Councilman Dan Dalager dismisses the rumors as just that.

Just like Randy Duke dismissed the charges, when the facts needed to be explained. The facts need to be explained in Muir's case because the simplest explanation is cronyism.

“We had three division chiefs in the running,” Dalager said. “I see in them competence and decency. I would be very disappointed if (Miller) didn't hire one of them.”Bond said he supports Muir because of his abilities.“He has exceptional interpersonal skills,” Bond said. “He is a cost-effective, conservative-thinking guy. He is knowledgeable of any fire situation and great organizer who moves people in the same direction.

Bond often talks about how hands off he is with the city's adminstration and probably knows even less about the fire department than other departments. As long a Bond's memory holds out, he knows how well Muir is at organizing campaigns. Muir has been directly asked about the scope of his political operations in city council campaigns. He has not cleared the air. More on that later.

Family of Heros

2011-10-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

Both Muirs have now been awarded leadership awards from Mike Andreen's ECR group.

Mo Muir for doing her work on the school board got Educator of the Year. Mark just got named as a hero for being a firefighter, according to Patch.

Jerome Says Voters Want a Counterbalance

2011-10-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

Just after Jerome's re-election, he wrote a memorable blog post. It was good enough to save, which is lucky. It has since been erased from the Red County Blog.

Jerome was probably responding to the dizzying astonishment that the voters would select both Jerome AND Maggie to represent their interests. Those are two extremely different types of candidates.

Jerome wrote:

A wise coffee vendor in Cardiff summed it up best for me when she said that she liked our current council, and wanted it to stay the same. She said she feels that way because while we have a common-sense majority basically having the final word, there's the "other approach" represented as well. And although she doesn't want the alternative voice to go away, she doesn't want it to be in the majority either.

and concluded,

I think that line of reasoning may help explain why the voters rejected all of the challengers--even in this year of change--and, instead returned the proven leaders of a reasoned and balanced council which has served our city so well these past six years.

Some of the council majority have been saying the open seat "is not Maggie's seat." OK, and it is not the council's seat. The seat ultimately belongs to the voters. Jerome Stocks believes the voters want that seat to be held by someone who will provide a balance against his position.

That means Jerome won't be supporting Alice or Muir, unless he wants to go against the will of the voters.

FOOD

2011-10-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Three stories from Encinitas Patch about food:

Leucadia Woman to Launch Encinitas Food Swap

Community Resource Center in Serious Need of Food Donations

The Kebab Shop Opens in Encinitas

Isn't odd how food is everywhere yet so many people go hungry?

Time for a Change

2011-10-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

From the mailbox,

It is time to start charging people for parking and tearing out parking spaces all together. We should be using parking spaces for people, not cars. Please share these links with your readers. W.O.

http://www.good.is/post/park-or-parking-rethinking-urban-designs/
Cities today have ballooned into near-uncontrollable masses of cement and cluster. If you live in a car-centric metropolis of some significant population, you know what I'm talking about (if not, then you're one of the lucky ones). The question is clear: What do we do about cities that are becoming unlivable?
Grist has a post that discusses the issues of the modern city, what is currently being done, and what can be done to curb these horrid conditions. Here's an excerpt:

The world’s cities are facing unprecedented challenges. In Mexico City, Tehran, Kolkata, Bangkok, Beijing, and hundreds of other cities, the air is no longer safe to breathe. In some cities the air is so polluted that breathing is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. Respiratory illnesses are rampant. In many places, the number of hours commuters spend sitting in traffic-congested streets and highways climbs higher each year, raising frustration levels. In response to these conditions, we are seeing the emergence of a new urbanism, a planning philosophy that environmentalist Francesca Lyman says “seeks to revive the traditional city planning of an era when cities were designed around human beings instead of automobiles.”

Maybe the time for traditional urbanism has come to an end. Maybe cities should focus less on industrialization and commercial development in favor of making themselves more habitable for their greatest resource: their inhabitants. And if that means more parks and less parking lots, why not?

Hygeia House

2011-10-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

Sweet new house on Hygeia.

Holy Guacamole! So Many Council Applicants

2011-10-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

From the mailbox:

People who applied for the council vacancy.

Alan Lerchbacker

Cardiff, CA 92007

David Drielsma

Cardiff, CA 92007

Robert H. Campbell

Encinitas, CA 92024

Anthony Brandenburg

Encinitas, 92024

Joel King

Encinitas, CA 92024

Robert Dale Schneider

Encinitas, CA 92024

Lisa R. Shaffer

Encinitas, CA 92024

Kent Mesplay

Encinitas, CA

Ken Harrison

Cardiff by the Sea, 92007

Alice Jacobson

Encinitas

Tony Kranz

Encinitas

Mark Muir

Encinitas, CA

Joann Hoffman

Encinitas

Dave Clark

Cardiff by the Sea

A neurotic Encinitas welcomes Wal Mart to town

2011-10-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

With the news that infamous big box chain Wal*Mart is going to move into the former Home Depot Expo building we can now finally declare the city of Encinitas to be a neurotic mess.

One of the biggest cultural and economic changes to ever happen in the history of Encinitas was the complete rezone of the "New Encinitas" area from agriculture to the Target shopping center.

Target changed all of our lives forever. It shifted the El Camino emphasis away from Wiegand Plaza. Leucadia Blvd now connects all the way through. We got a spiffy golf course. We got Barnes and Noble, Stater Bros, places to eat, all kinds of stuff!

The Target center has been a big success despite the boring facades and some waste of space. Target just did a big remodel and if you've been there lately you've seen it was a success and the store is rocking.

Linens and Things didn't make it and remains vacant, but let's face it, that store was pointless.

The difference between Target and Wal*Mart may just be different marketing and merchandising approaches, but Target achieves a level of yuppie class that Wal*Mart just doesn't have.

Wal*Mart moving into town right across from Target is like getting a new fat drunk neighbor move onto your street who immediately lets the lawn die and works on that crappy old van in the driveway all the time and never wears a shirt.

Now, all the wannabee free market libertarians are tripping over themselves to defend Wal*Mart's right to exist and they would be correct, if only they would make the same free market arguments about strip clubs, adult book stores and marijuana dispensers in Encinitas.

Allowing Wal*Mart into a town that previously made a huge culture shift in building Target, borrowing $20 million for a classy library, forever changed downtown Hwy 101 with Pacific Station and Whole Foods, a city which is trying to dramatically rezone the El Camino Real commercial corridor , a city that does all these types of things and then welcomes a thing like Wal*Mart to slip in through the backdoor, these are actions of a town with no real direction, vision or leadership.

The Expo space should have become a multiplex movie theater. Our town of over 60,000 people want it, the theater chains were interested and it wouldn't have taken much for city leaders to encourage the Home Depot property owners to go in that direction.

Total FAIL.

Bizarre rant by Encinitas city council member appears in Canada

2011-10-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

Encinitas city council dude Jerome Stocks wrote an editorial for The Candadian for some reason. And by editorial we mean it's mostly drunken angry blog post (we should know) that suggest Obama call former California governor Pete Wilson.
Check it out click me
Also, click around "The Canadian" website www.agoracosmopolitan.com
The front page is mish mash of random and weird articles with an emphasis on UFO's and extraterrestrials.

LETC Report

2011-10-19T06:44:00.000-07:00

First reports of last nights meeting coming in now. So far:

People had a lot of direct questions about the General Plan. The city manager's friendly style disarmed the concerns. The city manager told the crowd that Barth (who was there) is working on a subcommittee on how to involve people who were upset by the GP Update Draft. How the issues will be resolved and people will become involved were not explained. The city manager was gave the crowd the message there was still plenty of time for the public to influence the final General Plan of our city.

What were your observations from last night?

Photos from Occupy Encinitas Blvd

2011-10-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

Looks like a big turnout. I have never attended a protest before but might have gone to this one if I didn't have to open the shop and work all day.
Photos courtesy of Mary Fleener.

Grass Roots Round Up

2011-10-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

Leucadia Encinitas Town Council

LETC ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING IS TUESDAY, OCT. 18TH AT 6:30 PM at Encinitas Community Center on Balour Dr & Encinitas Blvd.

After our regular meeting we will welcome our new City Manager, Gus Vina and he will answer questions from the the community. Also, City Staff will be there with General Plan Update information and will also answer any questions you may have. Members and non-members are encourage to attend.

Come and water your grass roots.

Encinitas Land Donations

2011-10-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Context: Encinitas Union School District officials are privately stating that many of their reflexive decisions are motivated an desperate effort to balance their budget by finding more revenue. Leadership that promotes financing iPads that might last a few years with a 30 year repayment horizon should result in a vote of no confidence on EUSD's financial wisdom, but it hasn't.

Encinitas Union School District has announced it’s going to sue the City of Encinitas over the Pacific View school property. Really? Remember last November, when we passed proposition P to allow EUSD to borrow 44 million dollars and extend our tax rates another 30 years in order to upgrade their school’s computers and technology and renovate outdated classrooms and facilities?   65% of our community voted to pass Prop. P. It is expected to cost about 150 million dollars over the next 30 years. And now they are going to sue us?     Now, in addition to our overwhelming support of that 44 million dollar bond measure, we could end up paying the litigation fees for both EUSD and the City of Encinitas.

Communities like to support it's schools and their children. EUSD knows this, and something else: they know we have short memories and lead busy lives. As this plays out, citizens from all of Encinitas should take note, because this will affect not only how we deal with “surplus” school properties going forward, but "any" historic property near and dear to you as well!

We all need to know the special history of the Pacific View school site. Most of the property was gifted to our community in 1883 by one of the early town founders, J. Pitcher. Over the last 128 years the remainder of the property has been meticulously deeded down through several generations until it was finally deeded to EUSD in 1964. It was a gift. There was lots of land available in Encinitas in 1883. These town founders were very particular about this special site on top of the bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. They wanted it for the community and it’s children. They did not give cash.

While watching as EUSD staff members have left two city council meetings completely frustrated and angry that the city did not go along with their demands, it's hard to put your finger on why there is such disconnect on their part. Yes, it’s about the money; it always is. But, there is something more here. The heart. Superintendents are hired to think pragmatically always keeping their eye on the children and the bottom line. The Pacific View property has to do with this and something else: The heart of a community. The heart that threads together a community’s history. We have expected whichever superintendent: whether it’s Douglas Devore, Lean King or Timothy Baird to see the heart of the community he serves. All of them have missed the mark when it comes to the Pacific View school site. None of these 3 men have had the nuanced ability to not only work the bottom line, but at the same time to uphold the integrity of our community history with equal importance. It is understandable that a superintendent coming from outside our community would not fully understand the “heart’ of our community. They arrive. They stay for a while. They leave. The rest of us are here to stay.

As shocking as it sounds, it should not be a surprise when Tim Baird’s October 11th, 2011 letter states: “The only value that Pacific View has for the education of our children is as an asset that can be sold, leased or traded.” This conveys the perspective of someone temporarily coming into our community with a singular focus on raising money for EUSD. That’s the job. Up to this point the PV property has been a sale/exchange/development agenda item pushed on the citizens of the community.

In the past year DEMA (Downtown Encinitas Main Street Association) secured an offer to lease the PV property as a cultural arts center for $200,000 it’s first year, with an agreement to eventually lease the property for $600,000 a year. Considering one of the initial reasons for closing the school was that the district would save over $100,000 yearly and that they have only generated $1 a year since 2003 by leasing it to the City of Encinitas, the DEMA proposal looked like a workable solution. EUSD rejected the proposal.

So when Superintendent Baird says in his letter “we are now forced to take this step” (meaning litigation), it is the continuation of a tone deaf sentiment characterized by the last three EUSD Superintendents.

In the middle of our busy lives, let's stop to remember the history of the town that surrounds us.   Remember, it was a group of concerned citizens that formed the Encinitas Preservation Association in order to purchase and protect the Boat Houses. Remember Ruth Larabee who donated her 26.5 acres in Encinitas to the County of San Diego to be preserved as a public park. Her vision and generosity is why we have San Diego Botanic Garden right here in our own backyard. Remember a group of concerned citizens that gathered in May 1965 to answer the question “What are we, the community, going to do with the Olivenhain Hall and property?”.   Remember Mr. Pitcher in 1883.   He deeded 2.8 acres on the bluff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean to the community of Encinitas and its children. These historic properties are near and dear to the entire community of Encinitas.

Like the citizens before and among us today, we need to collectively work to preserve the Pacific View school site for future generations. The first step is for community residents to voice their thoughts to our elected officials. We cannot do this without the sincere help of EUSD and the Encinitas City Council. It is time for these two groups to work "genuinely" and collaboratively with members of the community they serve.   Like the concerned citizens from Olivenhain in 1965, we need to ask ourselves "What are we, the community, going to do with the Pacific View School and property?". If we don't pay attention now we will lose forever this magnificent 128 year old gift from our town founder.

Respectfully,

Sarah Garfield & Bill Sparks
Friends of EUSD
        &
Friends for the preservation of Historic Pacific View Property

Well, you probably shouldn't trust the city with a land donation either. From Hoodlink:

In 1975 the estate of Mildred Macpherson donated the properties located at 945 Orpheus Avenue and 1000 Vulcan Avenue to the County of San Diego with specific instructions for their use.

Mrs. Macpherson instructed that the Vulcan property be used for a park bearing her name. For the Orpheus property, her instructions were to create the James Macpherson Roadside Park in honor of her husband. These parks, in addition to money she left to create a fountain at Quail Gardens was the legacy she chose to leave her community, little pieces of peace.

Voice of Reason Versus Council Majority

2011-10-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

From the inbox [with edits]:

Encinitas to acquire over 30 acres of open space

At the October 12 council meeting the council voted unanimously to accept three parcels of open space from the California Coastal Commission at no cost to the city.

The City staff had been contacted by the Coastal Commission about the upcoming expiration of several offers recorded against property that had been set aside as a condition of approval for development projects in the 1990's.

The staff's recommendation was to just accept open space easements on the property rather than the offer of fee title. The city would retain the right to purchase the land from the property owners at a later date.

The council majority initially concurred with the staff. Barth noted that because of the requirements of the original agreements this was an opportunity to accept title at no cost, if the city accepted the Coastal Commission's offer before the agreements expired. Opportunities such as these are rare and the council majority seems to think it was a good thing Barth was there to catalyze the decision.

A single voice or reason can be a powerful thing. A single minority voice speaking reason to a council majority puts pressure on the majority to find legitimate justifications that pass the smell test for their actions.

Open space comes with some management responsibilities.

Is there anybody in the public following the city's development of the city's MHCP (multiple habitat conservation program)? Given the number of environmentally interested citizens, it has been surprising that we haven't been able to locate anyone following the city's progress on this.

According to city staff, the Open Space Management Plan and early MHCP implementation development only got started in 2008 (hey, that's not long after I started asking the city about the MHCP progress!) and has been dragging on since then.

The city says they have already gone through a document review cycle, at this point. I hope that process was not like the cardiff specific plan, the hall park eir, city-wide traffic study, or the roads report draft document cycles, because there was room for easy improvement of those processes. It really is time to implement the lessons learned. Unfortunately, my recent conversation with the new city manager leaves me expecting more of the same, except now city management will be superficially courteous in their personal interactions with the public.

When the city-wide traffic study tried to get shoved through it took a herculean effort by the public to quickly highlight the problems with the report's data and analysis. The city placed the public's input at the end of the process of DRAFTING the policy document. At that point, there was no going back. It was a take it or leave it situation. The process was effectively complete and the public hearings were a facade.

When the roads report was finally released the consultant had already been paid off and the public was only given a few working days to review the document it took a professional staff a year to review. On top of that staff refused to answer questions about the document, so the major issues with the roads report will likely never be addressed, and almost certainly not be improved.

There are many people who care about open space habitat in the city. There are maybe three people with a history of pressing back on the city when they refuse to release public documents. Would it be bad for the city to release MHCP related documents that have ALREADY been reviewed, so that more years don't go by before the public's input has a chance to help define considered options? Would it be bad to release such documents so the public can monitor and report on the progress of the city's Open Space Management Plan and early MHCP implementation? Can the city legally withhold these documents?

It is time for others to step up and start gathering source documents from the city on these sorts of issues and help distribute them to the public. We have a dozen plus natural resource professionals on the LB email list. We are certain that many of them would be willing to help you interpret the city documents. You just have to get them the documents.

If you like open space habitat, email leucadiablog@gmail.com to see how you can help.

Leucadia Blog

Rental Lookout

Native habitat restoration this Saturday

Cool stuff

More cool assests

Spiffy!

Homesick Chickens Returning to Encinitas

$5 million dollar tunnel at Swami's is go

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MLK

Bike Advocacy for the 101 and Beyond

More seawalls stuff

Mixed Bag with Turko's Coverage on the Encinitas Community Park

If you go to Beacon's you will die!!!

Review urges delay in borrowing billions for bullet train

Bar Leucadian Events

Brown Act Clarified

SANDAG's $350 Million Price Tag for the SBX

Another group opposed to...

Walmart to Improve Our Lives

San Diego Banksters and Insiders Had a Very Merry Christmas

Sledding

Christmas in Encinitas

At coffee coffee now

Improvements!

Leucadians to City Hall, "You Have Our Attention Now"

Rheanna to Grace Leucadia on Friday

Stories to Avoid Here

From Greek Crisis, A Call For Transparency Emerges

Leucadia sushi

That's a big B

Musical Chairs

Leucadia Lights

New Spiffy traffic signals and lamps at Leucadia Blvd!

Less Money for the Hall Park

The New Mayor

Um, it's kinda raining pretty hard...

More Leucadia Fences Front Doors and Gates

101 New Trees for Leucadia's Hwy 101

Leucadia front yard art

Secret leucadia tropical hideaway

Top of Leucadia

More Public Record Destruction

BLACK OUT!!!

The Downside of Rail

Leucadia Red

I'd say they aren't convinced

City Shows No Favors Involved

Incentives for Derelict Land Lords?

Reasoned and Open Selection

Upcoming Events

A View on Pacific View

Thankful

Target

Sand update

New Beacon's sign

Fitting in with Starbucks

Facebookers go here

Responding to Rushing Traffic

Maybe a bit more investigative journalism?

November Gardens

Encinitas Restaurants to Get Free Rent

We can't ignore the numbers

New Leucadia

Growing Local

Vibrant San Diego Options

More on the Coronation

Leucadia cul-de-sac

Secret Rural Leucadia

City Administration in Question

Credit to New Sheriff Captain

Fire Chief Muir successfully "promoted" to city council person

Leucadia is beautiful man

Swearing In Celebration

Local Arts and Crafts

Another View

New Coffee Shop Opens in North Leucadia!

No denials from the Encinitas Mayor, Deputy Mayor, or Mark Muir

There's another $100 billion

Real Firefighters Call Muir's Stuff Lame

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