PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92025 PERMIT NO. 94
The Coast News
INLAND EDITION
VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO
VOL. 2, N0. 13
JUNE 17, 2016
Investigators with the Escondido Police Department search a black Mercury sedan Monday afternoon where a deceased female body was found inside of the vehicle. Photo by Tony Cagala
Cool and clean
Beating the heat, getting clean and supporting the military was at the heart of Dogtopia’s mission last weekend in San Marcos. Dogtopia’s annual charity dog wash on June 4 went towards benefitting the nonprofit Shelter to Soldier, which adopts shelter dogs and trains them to be service dogs for military veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Pictured above: Ivy, a Chocolate Labrador, gets hosed down. Photo by Tony Cagala
Roberts, Gaspar to face off in November By Aaron Burgin
REGION — Kristin Gaspar arrived at Golden Hall in San Diego shortly after 8:30 p.m. on June 7, flanked by her husband, Paul, several supporters and her campaign manager. Early on in the evening, she expressed confidence that the early returns would hold up and that she would advance to the runoff against incumbent Supervisor Dave Roberts. “We’re really pleased,” Gaspar said. “It’s a good early indicator of what the vote will be and I am confident that the results will hold up.” As the evening progressed, the results changed very little, as Roberts emerged as the leader with 39.1 percent of the ballots counted, Gaspar placed second with 33.56 percent and Escondido Mayor Sam Abed finished in third with 27.34 percent. Roberts and Gaspar will now face off in a runoff election Nov. 8, in a race that will more than likely be one of the more high-profile races on the November ballot. For Roberts, who faces a serious test in his first re-election bid after he was embroiled in an office scandal and county policy violations that cost the county $310,000 last year to settle, Tuesday night’s results reaffirmed his belief that the voters are happy with his performance, he said. “It really shows that our message did catch on with the voters, that this nasty campaign that both of my competitors waged does not work,” Roberts said. “They need to figure out a new pony to ride in the fall, because obviously attack-
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Detectives investigating body found in vehicle By Tony Cagala
ESCONDIDO — The body of a 38-year-old female was found in a parked car Monday afternoon on the side of the northbound Interstate 5 onramp at El Norte Parkway. The discovery led to the closure of the onramp soon after investigators responded to the call at 1:10 p.m. Investigators with the Escondido Police Department have since learned the identity of the woman, but her name
is not yet being released, Lt. Ed Varso said on Wednesday. The woman had an injury to her head and blood on her body, according to Varso. They are continuing to work with the medical examiner’s office and forensic unit to determine the cause of death, he added. On Monday, investigators searched the vehicle, a black Mercury sedan and the surrounding TURN TO INVESTIGATION ON 16
‘Splash Pads’ to resume in San Marcos A voter gets her ballot at the American Legion Post in Encinitas, which served as one of the county’s polling places on June 7. Photo by Tony Cagala
ing me and attacking each other did not work.” Roberts said he was confident that he would prevail against either of his opponents in a runoff. “We were greatly outspent and we plan to be greatly outspent during the fall, but the voters can see through all that nonsense and they really like what I have delivered the past four years and they told me they want me to continue that for the next four years,” he said. Gaspar received hundreds of thousands of dollars from political action committees sponsored by the San Diego Chamber of Commerce and the Lincoln Club. Supporters, however, said they believe that Gaspar poses more than just a threat to Roberts in the fall.
City’s popular attractions are returning due to water conservation efforts By Aaron Burgin
Dave Roberts
Kristin Gaspar
They believe she has the upper hand. “She will win,” said Maureen “Mo” Muir, a San Dieguito Union High School District board member who endorsed Gaspar’s campaign. “She is the strongest candidate of the three.” Gaspar said she believed voters would ultimately hold Roberts ac-
countable for his actions in the fall. “I think tonight sent the message that the voters will not stand for corruption at the county level or any level at all,” she said. Christy Guerin, a former Encinitas councilwoman and current Olivenhain TURN TO ELECTION ON 16
SAN MARCOS — The “on” switch is being flipped on the water features of five San Marcos Parks after two years of being turned off due to drought. San Marcos announced this week that the “splash pads” at Sunset, San Elijo, Buelow, Mulberry and Discovery Lake parks will be turned on from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting Friday and through Sept. 30. City officials credited the change of heart to easing drought conditions and the city’s water conservation efforts. “Thanks to continued water saving efforts this past year both in San Marcos and regionally, we are pleased to announce that one of our most popular summer at-
tractions is returning,” City Manager Jack Griffin said. The city shut down the water features at the five parks in July 2014, when searing heat and record shortfalls of rain pushed California into one of the worst water shortages on record. At the time, city officials said the shutdown would save the city between 8,100 and 12,150 gallons of water per day. San Marcos was not alone, as a number of cities in San Diego County shut down the popular splash pads to save water. The city will continue other water conservation efforts, including reduced irrigation schedules, conversion of conventional sprinkler spray heads with high efficiency sprinkler heads, the installation of drip irrigation, the use of native and/ or drought tolerant plants in new or rehabilitated public space landscaping, retrofitting of city buildings with low-flow water fixtures, and the conducting of landscape irrigation audits, according to a city release.