Mary Vargas Claims Victory
Written by admin on June 10, 2010
Assemblywoman Mary Salas declared victory Wednesday over Democratic rival Juan Vargas in the 40th state Senate district after the race was too close to call Tuesday night.
With the vast majority of ballots counted, Salas, D-Chula Vista, had gained a slim but apparently solid enough margin to secure the Democratic nomination in the district that stretches from the South Bay and south coastal San Diego into Riverside and Imperial counties.
Good for her!! Well deserved in my book.
Safety Cuts In Lake Elsinore
Written by admin on June 10, 2010
Pressured by the Lake Elsinore City Council to make a $12,000 budget cut, the city’s Public Safety Advisory Commission did that and a little bit more Wednesday with the help of a fellow agency.
The commissioners voted 4-0, with Nicole Dailey absent, to save the city a total of $12,600 through the following measures:
– Going without legal representation at their meetings and reducing reliance on the city attorney’s help, an estimated savings of $6,000.
– Cutting their proposed $6,000 operational budget in half.
– Saving $3,600 after representatives of the Citizens Corps Council agreed to sacrifice having a legal adviser at their meetings.
The commissioners stressed that they had always been willing to do their part in the citywide fiscal bloodletting to counter a $3.8 million shortfall, and that they felt they had been wrongly portrayed in council budget sessions as being unwilling to sacrifice.
“The last 10 days I thought that the commission has come under attack, although so unfairly, by the City Council,” Chairman Mike Norkin said.
Commissioner Renee Cummings said, “I get a little nerve-wracked when this commission gets treated like the red-headed stepchild.”
The angst stemmed from an initial proposal, broached at a council budget workshop in late May, to save $12,000 by limiting the commission to meetings once every three months rather than monthly.
Posted in: News
Deeper Cuts In Escondido
Written by admin on June 10, 2010
A bitterly divided Escondido City Council voted 3-2 Wednesday in favor of a $75 million budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, with council members sparring over plans to use $4 million in rapidly dwindling city reserves to balance the new budget.
Councilwoman Olga Diaz, who has been a swing vote on budget issues since she was elected in late 2008, eventually joined Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler and Councilman Dick Daniels in support of spending the reserves.
Council members Sam Abed and Marie Waldron said it was irresponsible to continue spending city reserves, which have plummeted from $41 million to $20 million since the recession began.
The new budget would reduce the reserves to $16 million, and city officials predict they will fall to $5.6 million in summer 2014 unless spending is cut or tax revenue bounces back. City revenue has fallen from $85 million to $67 million in three years.
Pfeiler and Daniels said the reserve spending is prudent because a balanced budget would be devastating to city services and residents.
Posted in: News
Encinitas To Change Golf Course Agreement?
Written by admin on June 10, 2010
Encinitas will consider amending the financial agreement it has with the developers of the Encinitas Ranch golf course, but it won’t temporarily suspend the annual loan repayments.
That was the unanimous decision of the City Council Wednesday night. The vote came after several people urged the council to reject both the contract negotiations and loan repayment proposals.
The 18-hole golf course opened in 1998, and is part of a large area along Leucadia Boulevard developed by Carltas Co. The city gained a public golf course out of the development deal, but set up the golf course as an independent public entity and loaned it money to get started.
Known as the Encinitas Ranch Golf Authority, the independent entity has a board that consists of city employees, a developer’s representative and an appointed chairman.
Under the special financing agreement hammered out years ago between the city and Carltas Co., the development company makes annual sales tax revenue payments to the golf authority. The money, combined with revenue from operating the course, covers day-to-day expenditures and the city loan repayments. Some money also goes into two reserve accounts for capital construction projects.
Carltas is proposing to create a third account, which would be used for unforeseen emergency expenditures. If it did not have to make its loan repayments to the city for three years, it could set aside about $500,000, golf authority Chairman Bill Dean said.
After hearing from opponents of the proposal, council members said they would agree to open negotiations with Carltas in hopes of getting a third reserve account established. They did not agree to a temporary suspension of the payments while the city and the developer were in negotiations.
If the money is going to end up in the reserve account anyway, then the city doesn’t need to suspend the payments, it can just set aside that money until the account is created, Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan said.
The next loan payment of $115,000 is due June 15.
Local Holiday Inn Robbed
Written by admin on June 8, 2010
A gunman and a female accomplice robbed the Holiday Inn in Carlsbad, police said Tuesday.
A desk clerk called police about 11:30 p.m. Monday to report that the duo had just robbed the Palomar Airport Road business, Carlsbad police Sgt. Chris Boyd said. The clerk told investigators that the robbers demanded cash, then ordered her onto the floor while they fled, Boyd said.
Both suspects were wearing black sweatshirts, blue jeans and masks, police said. The man displayed a semi-automatic pistol when he demanded money from the clerk, police said.
The investigation is ongoing, police said. And I’m guessing the robbers DID NOT stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night….haha
Posted in: News
Wonder Why You Should Avoid Tri-City Hospital!?
Written by admin on June 8, 2010
The head of a San Diego County hospital says he plans to fire five nurses for discussing patient information on Facebook.
Larry Anderson, chief executive of Tri-City Medical Center, said Monday that no patient names, photos or identifying information were posted.
Max Carbuccia of the California Nurses Association says if any information was shared it was to seek advice in handling cases. He says the nurses were put on leave three weeks ago and all deny posting information about specific patients.
Health workers are subject to strict patient privacy rules enacted in 2003.
YIKES.
Posted in: News
What’s That Noise!?
Written by admin on June 1, 2010
The skies over Coronado will get louder over the next few months thanks to student flights at North Island Naval Air Station.
The Navy announced last week that residents near North Island may experience a temporary increase in noise and operational activity through Aug. 6.
Several T-34C Turbomentor training aircraft will be providing orientation flights to Navy-bound college students from across the country. The first wave of flights is May 26 to June 25; the second is July 8 to August 6.
The Navy plans to limit the flights to what it called “regular working hours” in an effort to minimize the noise.
Complaints can be directed to (619) 545-8233. All other questions can be directed to Naval Base Coronado Public Affairs Office at (619) 545-8167.
Posted in: News
New Park In Murrieta To Be Built
Written by admin on June 1, 2010
Although it might seem like Murrieta’s financial woes would stop new city projects in their tracks, a modest new park is on its way to town.
The City Council last month approved spending $148,000 for the construction of Grizzly Ridge Park on a 4.5-acre lot on Grizzly Ridge Drive off Jefferson Avenue. The work will be paid for with money collected from developers for establishing parks.
Adame Landscape, a Murrieta company, submitted the low bid and was awarded the contract.
The nearly 1/2 acre park will feature playground equipment, picnic tables, park benches, barbecue grills and a metal shelter to shield visitors from the sun. And it’s very well worth it to the citizens of Murrieta. Sounds beautiful. 
Posted in: News
Railroad Canyon Road To Be Extended
Written by admin on June 1, 2010
Canyon Lake will accept $6.2 million from the Western Riverside Council of Governments, money that will be used to improve a 1 1/2-mile stretch of busy Railroad Canyon Road, said City Manager Lori Moss.
The money comes from fees paid by developers of industrial, residential and commercial development. It will be used to convert the road from four lanes to six lanes from the city’s border with Lake Elsinore on the west to the its border with Menifee on the east. The road passes by the entrance to Towne Center, which is Canyon Lake’s busiest commercial area.
The improvements will include resurfacing, landscaping, modifying traffic signals, adding new bus stop shelters, striping lanes and relocating underground utilities.
The road itself will not be widened, Moss said, in accordance with an engineer’s report on the project. All the work will be done on the existing right-of-way, which is 110-feet wide. Sidewalks, curbs and gutters, and bicycle lanes will remain.
Posted in: News
Train Hits Car In Downtown
Written by admin on June 1, 2010
A vehicle careened off Interstate 5 and landed on some train tracks, where it was struck by a passing train, but no one was hurt, authorities said today.
The crash off southbound I-5, just north of Harbor Drive, was reported at 10:06 p.m. Monday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Everyone in the vehicle got out with only minor injuries before it was struck by the train, the CHP reported. Train service was unaffected.
Was it me, or, did that sound like something out of a movie?! Crazy right!?!?
Posted in: News