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THE RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
.com VOL. 9, NO. 3
THE RANCH’S BEST SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS
FEB. 8, 2013
RSF native spends time ‘horsing’ around Food trucks will have to make the grade
By Patty McCormac
RANCHO SANTA FE — Tracey Kestler said it was her grandfather, Herbert Korholz, who got her interested in horses. “He said everyone should learn to ride just like they should learn how to swim,” she said. “He said the reason was you never know when you will fall into someone’s pool or be invited on a fox hunt and you wouldn’t want to embarrass yourself,” Kestler said with a chuckle. Kestler, now in her early 40s, still treasures the memories of Sunday trail rides with her grandfather who had “grand ideas about how life should be.” She took her grandfather’s advice, but went far beyond mere fox hunting skills. Over the years she has earned national titles with her riding and even helped train Grindstone, the 1995 Kentucky Derby winner. And believe it or not, a couple of years ago, she was invited to a fox hunt.
By Jared Whitlock
Tracey Kestler competing last year with a young horse she had been training. Kestler is a Rancho Santa Fe resident who trains racehorses and local people and their horses. Courtesy photo
These days she continues to train racehorses and teaches riding skills to locals. Kestler is home grown. “I have been extremely fortunate to have grown up in Rancho Santa Fe and it so happens, I started riding with Hap Hansen, such a wonderful man and an amazing trainer, one of the best in the world,” she said,
“I started with him when I was 6 years old. He has an amazing gift with horses and the horses love him and perform for him.” She said one of Hansen’s best qualities as a teacher is making students feel they can do anything and that they are already successful. “That is what I try to impart to my students,” she
said. “When I was young I thought when I grew up, all I ever wanted to do is be a horse trainer,” she said. As a teenager, she and her mare placed first in the country in the Junior Hunter Division in 1986 and 1988. She TURN TO KESTLER ON A14
Sheriff’s contract renewed, options weighed By Bianca Kaplanek
City Council unanimously approved a new five-year contract with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, immediately after agreeing to take the next step to find other viable options for law enforcement in the county’s smallest city. For years city officials have discussed researching alternatives to save money in pensions and police services. They eventually gave the task to the Finance Committee, which reported on the latter at the Jan. 28 meeting. Jim Benedict, chairman of that subcommittee, noted that while the general fund has grown by 2 percent during the past seven to 10 years, the contract with the Sheriff’s Department has increased simultaneously by 5.5 percent. Benedict said there is no indication that will change — and it doesn’t under the new agreement. “The sheriff’s contract is really not sustainable to the growth of our city and
GIVING DIRECTION
Former NFL quarterback and current Rancho Santa Fe resident Jeff Garcia is helping young players prepare for this month’s NFL combine. A13
that, financially, is a very big concern,” he said. Benedict said as he researched the issue, he discovered it’s not just about the money. “When we started out in this project we were really looking at this from a
budget. Under the contract, the city has one officer 24/7 and a traffic officer weekdays from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., as well as regional services such as SWAT, aerial support, search and rescue, the crime lab and bomb and
As we entertain the idea of looking at other options, if we want to leave it, we can leave it within 12 months.” Jim Benedict Subcommittee Chairman
financial point of view and it became evident very early on … that there (were) concerns about service levels,” he said. “People are concerned in the neighborhoods that we don’t see anybody.” Del Mar has contracted with the Sheriff’s Department for police services since its inception in 1959. It is currently one of nine cities to do so, accounting for 52 percent of the county’s law enforcement
Two Sections, 32 pages Arts & Entertainment . A12 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . B12 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B11 Food & Wine . . . . . . . . A11 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A13
arson. The previous contract expired in June 2011. Negotiations were ongoing until the new agreement was reached in October 2012. Under the new contract, Del Mar will pay about $1.7 million for the 2012-13 fiscal year, about $150,000 less than what was budgeted. Assistant City Manager Mark Delin said the new contract offers the same
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level of service with an emphasis on cost control. The previous agreement capped annual increases at 5.5 percent with exemptions for salary and benefits. If an individual city exceeded the cap, that cost could be spread to other cities. The new contract reduces caps and includes salaries and benefits except for certain retirement costs the county can’t control. It also eliminates the cost spread to other cities. The only issue not resolved is if a city terminates its contract, which it can do with a one-year notice. “The Finance Committee is fine with that contract and thinks that we should be going forward with it but with this very important clause,” Benedict said. “As we entertain the idea of looking at other options, if we want to leave it, we can leave it within 12 months.” Benedict said one problem with the county agreement is that it doesn’t provide flexibility for Del Mar, which is very much a quiet community in the winter months with about 4,000 residents. But the population swells as more than 3 million visitors flock to the area in the summer for the county fair, horse races and beaches. “There’s no way currently to seasonally adjust the service that we have,” Benedict said. “We want to look at options to beef up protection and service durTURN TO CONTRACT ON A14
COAST CITIES — An “A” grade in a restaurant’s window is a reassuring sight. But how do you know it’s safe to eat at the hip food truck across the way? This line of thought led the county to require all food trucks to display the same “A,” “B” or “C” grades as brick-and-mortar restaurants. The county adopted the new rules this summer, and it will issue the first grades this month. New regulations often aren’t popular with businesses. But Scott Lucksanalamai, operations and events manager for Thai 1 On Eats, said the grades only cement the evolution of food trucks. “Some people still associate food trucks with beatendown ‘construction trucks,’” Lucksanalamai said. “Gourmet food trucks are all the rage now. We want people to know they’re eating quality products…this is proof that they are.” He added that he fully expects an “A” grade once his truck is inspected later this month. There are roughly 550 mobile vendors in San Diego. Of those, 50 are gourmet food trucks, 250 fall under the category of “hot food trucks” and 300 food carts serve items like hot dogs, according to Gig Conaughton, a spokesman for the county. All must post letter grades with the new ordinance. Previously, food trucks were subject to a pass or fail rating. A “pass” rating didn’t have to be displayed on the food truck, but the owner had to produce the report if anyone asked to see it. The county considered revising its rules when food trucks exploded in popularity. Indeed, cities like Carlsbad and Oceanside saw their first food truck gatherings in the last year. To give consumers a better idea of the cleanliness of mobile kitchens, the county decided to apply the familiar letter-grading system to food trucks, Conaughton said. North County cities took very different approaches to the food truck craze moving in on their areas. Regardless of which cities food trucks park in, the owners must conform to the letter-grading system. Inspections, which are twice every year, look at everything from safe food handling to whether foods are the appropriate temperature to employee hygiene — just like a traditional restaurant. More serious violations like contaminated food surfaces translate into greater point deductions. A score of 90 to 100 results in an “A” inspection. A “B” means the food truck can
New rules debuting this month will require food trucks to post letter grades, similar to the system already in place for restaurants. The food truck industry says they’re welcoming the new rules. To them, it’s a sign the food truck trend is picking up speed. Photo courtesy Gig Conaughton
operate, but the owner needs to address any problems, while a “C” is below satisfaction. Food truck owners that receive a “B” or “C” must get an “A” within 30 days, or they risk suspension, revocation of their health permit or immediate closure, according to county rules. The county has the power to shut down food trucks with a score less than a “C.” The inspection results will be online at eatsafesandiego.org. The county raised its annual health permit fee for some types of food trucks in order to pay for more inspections. Full food preparation trucks must pay $469, which is $20 more than the previous year. San Diego is one of the first counties in the nation to approve the grades. Los Angeles implemented a similar system in 2010. Matt Geller, the CEO of the SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Association, said the grades have helped the food truck industry in L.A. “The grades drove the public to food trucks,” Geller said. “They show the same standards are in place at both restaurants and food trucks, erasing any line.” Geller said the industry welcomed the letter-grading rules. However, he said that there were a few hiccups with the new system. Most notably, an old ordinance in L.A. demanded food trucks had to be inspected any time they frequented certain community events. This resulted in TURN TO FOOD TRUCKS ON A14