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OPINION&EDITORIAL
Views expressed in Opinion & Editorial do not necessarily reflect the views of Rancho Santa Fe News.
RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS SEPT. 24, 2010
Disgraced leader’s plight reflects on us Just when we thought we were safe from ever having to think about him again, Randall C. “Duke” Cunningham has resurfaced. Halfway through his 100month prison sentence for what prosecutors called crimes “unprecedented for a sitting member of Congress,” the disgraced former member of the U.S. House of Representatives whose 50th District encompassed a large swath of North County is back in the news. He wrote a chatty letter to one newspaper that asked how he was doing and he pleaded in another that his sentencing judge rescue him from spending the rest of his days in abject poverty. That would be because the Internal Revenue Service wants to collect back taxes, interest and penalties on the $2.4 million Cunningham collected in bribes. The Duke says that he never
BY
BRUCE KAUFFMAN Not That You Asked would have agreed to his plea deal if he knew the tax collectors would come after him so rapaciously and he’d have to shell out more than the $1.8 million ordered in restitution. The IRS is after $1.3 million more. The whole mess is a queasy combination of pathos, bathos and chutzpa, the latter a versatile Yiddish word for nerve, unmitigated gall. In one of two letters that have made news, the Duke suggests to San Diego’s CityBeat that he’s finding redemption by TURN TO ASKED ON 27
Community garden in Encinitas? Months in the planning
COMMUNITY COMMENTARY The Community Commentary section is open to everyone. Opinions expressed in the Community Commentary section are in no way representative of The Coast News Group. Send submissions no longer than 700 words to lsutton@coastnewsgroup.com. Submission does not guarantee publication.
It’s time to quit the plastic bag habit By Celia Kiewit
Sadly, AB 1998 failed to pass the California State Senate. Among the objectors to the Bag Ban are pet owners who rely on plastic bags for pooper-scooping. If I love my pet, why would I object to picking up behind it with paper instead of plastic? A piece of junk mail that would otherwise go straight from the mailbox to the dumpster is an excellent choice for cleaning up behind Rover. Another objection is about bacteria. Like most Europeans, I haven’t used a plastic bag in years and have yet to be threatened by germs lurking in my
reusables or in my immense inventory of paper bags that will last me for the rest of my life. I have a stash of them, as do most of us, clean and ready to carry whatever I need, as long as I remember to take them into the store. And, I get a 5 cent credit when I do so. Unless it’s a gift bag for a special occasion, I won’t pay for a bag. Never have, never will. But I need plastic bags to line my trash cans! I used to think so, until I quit cold turkey. What’s the big deal about lining the trash can? Put food scraps in the TURN TO PLASTIC ON 27
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The Flower Capital may soon have a community garden where poinsettias once bloomed. After a year of searching, the city’s Community Garden Committee, headed by Gordon Smith, has reached an agreement with Encinitas Union School District to use a five-acre parcel on the district’s Quail Garden Drive property. It will have first dibs on fruits and vegetables harvested there. Great for the kids. Home Town Farms has a piece of the action. Congrats to all concerned.
Red light turn fines State electeds are looking at the stiff fines being imposed on folks who don’t make a complete stop when turning right against red light cameras and getting their pictures taken. Some cities see these fines as a good source of revenue even though they share it with the camera owners. Motorists who have been pinched say it’s about time to investigate. George Hejduk of Cardiff has criticized the fine at council meetings.
Not the best time
There appear to be fewer car ads but deluge of mattress sales. With everyday low prices on these BILL items it should encourage folks to ARBALLO spend more time in the sack and less on I-5 creating more pollution Eye on the Coast and contributing to the high price launch a project but folks who are of petrol. expected to look into the future believe the best time to plan tomor- Cash for trash row’s quality education is today. Folks wanna know if there’s no Can’t dispute that. Give your finan- money in trash why Waste cial support. Management has offered to pay (yes, pay) the city of O’side a franRecycling center chise to pick up residents’ trash and Quietly and without fanfare or rubbish for more than $1 mil. every advance notice the recycling station year plus a one-time $1 mil. providon Jimmy Durante Boulevard adja- ed the agreement is for 13 years? cent to the bridge was closed. It had The company has been the rubbish collected material for decades with hauler for a coppla decades and the blessing of the Surfside City, provides the service from containwhich prides itself in boosting recy- ers to heavy duty trucks. cling. Sign now advises stuff can be taken to C’bad, a 28-mile round trip. Beautifying public
Outdoor flick night Family outdoor movie nite launched Sept. 25 at Shores Park on 9th Street in the Surfside City is a great idea. First screening was “180 South,” about ocean sports and climbing.
works yard Rachelle Collier sez volunteers are being recruited for a community tree planting day Oct. 23 at the Flower Capital’s new public works yard from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Public Works is planning to plant 25 trees in celebration of Arbor Day. More skinny on the event by calling (760) 633-2840.
Fundraiser by Cal State San Marcos izzn’t the best time to Ethics & council electeds Flower Capital mayor sez “he didn’t know” that two of his actions Deserved selection were possible ethics violations. Craig Fravel, Del Mar Contact a Reporter Attendance by all electeds to a Thoroughbred Club’s prexy and CARLSBAD mandatory ethics class maybe general manager, has been elected ALYX SARIOL would have avoided the pickle he asariol@coastnewsgroup.com may be in now. TURN TO EYE ON THE COAST ON 27 DEL MAR / SOLANA BEACH BIANCA KAPLANEK bkaplanek@coastnewsgroup.com ENCINITAS WEHTAHNAH TUCKER wtucker@coastnewsgroup.com OCEANSIDE PROMISE YEE pyee@coastnewsgroup.com RANCHO SANTA FE PATTY MCCORMAC pmccormac@coastnewsgroup.com SAN MARCOS / VISTA editor@coastnewsgroup.com CRIME / COURTS SHELLI DEROBERTIS sderobertis@coastnewsgroup.com PHOTOGRAPHER DANIEL KNIGHTON dan@pixelperfectimages.net
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Seeking Community Commentaries As a community newspaper, our readers are our news. We would like to open the opportunity for you to write a Community Commentary to run on our Op Ed pages. We are looking for submissions 500 to 700 words, in a first person voice, that explore an issue or idea rele-
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