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T he R ancho S anta F e News
June 13, 2014
Not long after the Bernardo fire broke out on May 13, horse trailers lined up on Jimmy Durante Boulevard as the Del Mar Fairgrounds took in evacuated animals. Photo by Bianca Kaplanek
1,100 animals sheltered during fire By Bianca Kaplanek The Carlsbad sign may be built and installed over Carlsbad Boulevard before the end of the year. Image courtesy of the city of Carlsbad
Downtown Carlsbad sign approved By Rachel Stine
CARLSBAD — Carlsbad City Council approved a historic sign replica to arc across Carlsbad Boulevard on Tuesday night against the recommendations of city staff, the Planning Division, and the Arts Commission to deny the donation. “It’s the universal symbol of you’ve arrived, this is our downtown,” said Councilmember Michael Schumacher. The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, at the urging of former chamber board Chairman Carlton Lund, offered to donate a welcome archway sign at the southern entrance to downtown Carlsbad Village.
The approximately 30-foot-tall sign’s design features “Carlsbad” written in white letters that would be illuminated with LED lighting on a dark blue background. Originally the design also incorporated two five-foot sculptures of a dolphin in faux portholes, designed by marine life artist Robert Wyland. The construction and installation of the sign will cost an estimated $170,000, and is being funded by TaylorMade Golf Company, one of the city’s largest employers. The city would have to cover nearly $5,000 in annual maintenance costs for the sign. Minus the dolphin, the
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sign is similar to the roadway sign that was erected in 1938 at about the same location. Chamber of Commerce President Ted Owen described the proposal as “a beautiful modern replica of the original sign that sat majestically over Coast Highway.” “This is to let people know, you’re in the heart of the city now,” said Mike Howes, who has overseen the sign proposal for the Chamber. Yet, the Arts Commission unanimously deemed that the sign’s design, particularly the Wyland dolphin sculpture, was too commercial and lacked originality when reviewing the proposal in December. The Commission determined that the sign and its proposed location were not appropriate for the Village even if the dolphin was removed. Arts Commission Chair Tina Schmidt expressed to council that even without the “cartoonish” dolphin, the sign,
“fails on aesthetic quality and has little artistic merit. A little tacky.” The city’s Planning Division also concluded that the sign does not match the Village aesthetic and is too similar to the downtown sign in Encinitas over Coast Highway 101. Both the Arts Commission and the Planning Division supported the redesign of the sign and inclusion of public artwork from a local artist. The Chamber in turn revised the sign design by eliminating the dolphin sculpture. Owen also suggested that the donation from TaylorMade Golf Company may not be available a year from now because the company’s CEO, who promised the sign funds, is leaving to work for Adidas. Despite the opposition, council determined that the sign is a needed beacon for the city’s downtown district. “For every negative TURN TO SIGN ON B15
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DEL MAR — As the May 13 meeting of the 22nd District Agricultural Association began to wind down, activities at various locations throughout the Del Mar Fairgrounds, which it governs, were starting to rev up. With the Bernardo fire rapidly making its way across the 1,548 acres it would ultimately char, nearby homeowners were ordered to evacuate, a tough move for most, but one made more difficult for many in the area because they also needed to find shelter for their horses. With the meeting being conducted, an emergency phone rang and fairgrounds staff went into action to prepare, as they had done in previous wildfires, to take in the evacuated equines. About 200 went to the nearby Del Mar Horsepark facility, but space was limited because a horse show was booked and stalls were unavailable. General Manager Tim Fennell said Kenny Baker, the equestrian center manager of the arena complex, “took a leadership role” to open the rest of the stateowned facility to the animals. Fennell, reporting at the June 2 meeting, said in all the fairgrounds took in about 1,100 horses and donkeys and a few cats and dogs. “We stepped up to the plate,” Fennell said. “It was a great team effort.” Fennell said employees from every department from accounting to concessions pitched in to help out. Once things calmed down, Fennell said his concerns continued because the fire season had started early. He said fairgrounds staff was “already putting on our thinking caps” to have a plan in place should fires break out during the fairgrounds’ two major events — the San Diego County Fair, which runs through July 6, and Del Mar horse meet, which takes place from July 17 through Sept. 3. Director Russ Penniman said he was told staff went “above and beyond” during the evacuation. “Our capacity is a tremendous asset for this county,” he said. “My hat’s off to all the folks here. … They made folks who weren’t at home feel at home.”
Film club offer plenty to see OCEANSIDE — The North County Film Club has finalized its schedule for the rest of 2014, beginning July 13. Season passes may be purchased at the Digiplex Mission Marketplace box office, 431 College Blvd., where the films will be shown. The five films to be seen with the five-film pass must be identified at the time of purchase. The line-up includes: — July 13, “Feet from Stardom, ” English
— July 27, “Wadjda,” Arabic — Aug. 10, “Frances Ha,” Netherlands — Aug. 24, “Girl on a Bicycle, ” English — Sept. 7, “The Book Thief,” English/German — Sept. 21, “Instructions Not Included,” Spanish/ English — Oct. 5, “Barbara,” German — Oct. 19, “Gloria,” Chile — Nov. 9, “Time and the City,” English