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Carlsbad on road to Manhattan Beach
It is hard for me to imagine that I could ever feel nostalgic about Mayor-for-Life Big Bad Bud Lewis, but I do. He was a master of keeping the Carlsbad voters reelecting him, walking a fine line between opposed factions. At the time, there was still undeveloped land in the city, and it wasn't impossible to satisfy everyone, more or less. But now that land is gone, and the pressure is ratcheting up. If he were still running the city, the development near Quarry Falls would not look like it does, densely packed and generally unattractive. When he was in charge, nobody seemed to know the name of the city manager. If anyone wanted to know what was going on in Carlsbad, they asked him, and he told them exactly what the story was. If you resided in an adjoining city, Carlsbad was the "Carls-bad-neighbor" to all of them. And it was Kim-il Bud who played the bad guy to Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and Encinitas, while keeping his vote base happy. Seeing him gone was a relief to the neighbors, but now city government can't say no to development. Other cities, especially Vista, looked at Carlsbad Village enviously, wishing they could have something as vibrant, quaint, and inviting as that. Putting four-story buildings in the village will soon render the area something that the locals won't recognize, and the city will be just another suburb of San Diego.— December 20, 2019 9:44 a.m.
Tijuana’s Cerveceria Insurgente has its brewery back — for now
In a US city something like this would have been a major scandal. But in TJ and the rest of Mexico it is business as usual. These guys didn't pay off the right people or were insufficiently deferential to the new 'guv.— December 19, 2019 8:59 a.m.
The ways they cheat crossing the border
Those border crossing waits that are mentioned in this article are just another reason to avoid--permanently--going to Tijuana. Regardless of the neat restaurants and other fun spots there, it isn't worth the endangerment and other hassles.— December 18, 2019 5:25 p.m.
Children of the Immaculate Hate?
There was a time when I used to love the Mencken pieces, many of which were as believable as real news--heck, even more believable. But something happened, and most of these recent efforts have fallen flat. This one refers to some sort of controversy of which I am totally ignorant. So, yeah, I get it, but this one went right over my head. Any one want to fill in the blanks?— December 13, 2019 8:33 p.m.
Thief caught and returns tires and rims through San Diego apps
Huh? If I get your drift, the victim didn't call the wheels/rims correctly. Yet when I go to tire stores they sell replacement and specialty "wheels."— December 13, 2019 3:33 p.m.
$15,000 Halloween destruction in Rancho Santa Fe unpunished
The charges that are sticking appear far more serious than the vandalism. These guys are in deep doo-doo, and if convicted will get some hard time.— December 12, 2019 7:36 a.m.
Why these nine Encinitas restaurants are closing
This story doesn't tell why they closed, as in a single reason. There are as many reasons as there are restaurants. Increasing rents is one cause suggested, and it is likely a big factor. When a strip center sells for more than it sold for last time around, not only do the property taxes get recalculated on the basis of the sales price, the new owner paid that price on the basis of the rent he/she figures to collect. In many or most cases the current tenants aren't paying that much. But the expectation is that they will soon pony up. When as often happens, they don't agree to the increase, they shut down or leave. And the new owner hopes that someone else will come along and pay up. But there's a glut of retail space now, and it isn't so clear that anyone else is going to show up and pay the higher rent. I'm seeing scads of vacant retail space now and there are fewer retailers--I count restaurants as retail operations--opening up. This uptrend in rents and in shopping center values should end soon--actually it probably has already and it is just that few realize it. Then there is the matter of minimum wage and the tight job market. Folks who a few months or a year or two ago were eager to work in restaurants now have other jobs that pay better, have better hours, and less aggravation. It is weird that in this booming economy table-service restaurants are closing right and left.— December 11, 2019 2:58 p.m.
Homes at end of Oceanside Blvd. claim emergency
So the city of O'side did something illegal? What's new? Happens all the time, and has been going on there forever. That city is just so screwed up that it defies all description. Suffice it to say that the city clowncil there isn't a bunch of clowns; they behave more like snakes. And in so many matters, anything goes--ANYTHING. The recent Morro Hills development approval is just an example. There's now a lawsuit against the city, and there are two ballot measures in the works that will negate the approval. Why does that city have such on-going strife? The voters elect these yo-yos who hire the bureaucrats, and what comes out the other end is so often nothing anyone seems to like.— December 10, 2019 7:10 p.m.
Ex-U-T reporter Lisa Petrillo joins Mara Elliott staff
That outlay could cover the salaries of three classroom teachers, more or less, that the district now claims it cannot afford. Having a position like that one, especially when its main thrust it to mold public opinion, in a public agency like that one, is outrageous, and is made even more outrageous by the size of the salary being paid. If you were looking for a reason to doubt the claims made by school districts and wondering how they can spend so much to deliver so little at times in the neighborhood schools, that is a perfect example. There are many more such folks with their snouts in the public trough, and many of them do little of value.— December 7, 2019 10:30 a.m.
Ex-U-T reporter Lisa Petrillo joins Mara Elliott staff
All of these mouthpieces, or spinmeisters if you prefer, are paid too much. Most of them don't really accomplish all that much for their employers, although they stand ready to explain away the gaffes and weird proposals that come from the boss. If having a fat staff of such writers and talkers could guarantee popularity and respect, Kev-boy would be the most popular and revered mayor in history. But he isn't either of those things, in case you haven't noticed. I can be certain that all of those mentioned are getting paid in the six-figure range, and mostly or totally with tax dollars. How do you spin that fact, guys and gals?— December 6, 2019 7:29 a.m.