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RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
AUG. 27, 2010
ODD Highway Patrol starts ticketing cyclists Wetlands restoration FILES
by CHUCK SHEPHERD
By Patty McCormac
Updates — The Yaohnanen tribe on the South Pacific island of Tanna believe their true ancestral god is Britain’s Prince Philip (based on photographs of him with the queen during a 1974 visit to Tanna’s mother nation of Vanuatu) and believe he promised he would return for good on his 89th birthday (June 10, 2010). Although the prince has kept in touch, he failed to show up for the grand celebration, but fortunately, Scottish university student Marc Rayner was on the island, working as a volunteer teacher, and stepped in for the prince, which meant that he and not the duke of Edinburgh got to wear the “formal” ceremonial penis sheath appropriate for such special events. — Iconic female beauty in Mauritania (and in a few other African societies, as Odd Files has reported) regards “rolling layers of fat” as the height of sexiness, according to a July dispatch by Marie Claire magazine, and professional force-feeders earn the equivalent of about $200 each from parents for bulking up their young daughters in boot camps that sometimes serve animal fat as drinks and apply the cattle-thickening drug Oradexon. “The stomach flab should cascade; the thighs should overlap; and the neck should have thick ripples,” said Aminetou Mint Elhacen, the feeding drill sergeant. Some girls rebel, but others embrace their new bodies. Said one, “When I realized the power I had over men, I started to enjoy being fat.” — Though most victims seemed baffled or distressed by the behavior of Sherwin Shayegan, 27, another thought him “completely harmless.” From time to time (allegedly dating to at least 2006), Shayegan befriends highschool male athletes, questions them as a reporter would, and finally, jumps on their backs and demands “piggyback” rides. No other overtures are made, and the principal complaint about Shayegan, after the shock wears off, seems to be his obnoxiousness. His latest arrest took place in May in Tualatin, Ore., near his earlier haunts in Washington state.
Recurring Themes — Another Pampered Pet: Gail Posner (the widow of legendary hostile-takeover executive Victor Posner) died in March in south Florida but left a will that endowed her beloved Chihuahua Conchita (and two other, less-loved dogs) a $3 million trust fund plus the run of her $8.3 million mansion TURN TO ODD FILES ON A7
RANCHO SANTA FE — The CHP has begun cracking down on weekend bicycle riders, who travel in packs of as many as 150, occupying traffic lanes and clogging streets in the Rancho Santa Fe area. During an enforcement action on Saturday Aug. 7, numerous citations were issued and many others were educated about the rules of the road, CHP Officer Eric Newbury said. He said that some of the people stopped were aware of the law and ignored it, but others “didn’t have a clue.” Newbury said that since many of the bikers belong to clubs and socialize with each other, the enforcement operation should have an impact. “We’re hoping the word is out,” he said. “We don’t want to infringe on other people’s freedoms, but if they are putting themselves in danger, we
have to step in.” Matt Wellhouser, chief of the Rancho Santa Fe Patrol, said complaints from residents about large groups of bicycle riders taking over local streets have increased in recent years. “Since the sport of bicycle riding increased, we get more complaints and I think more of the local clubs have been seeing more riders joining their ranks,” Wellhouser said. He said the complaints are generally not about two or three bikers riding in groups, it’s the larger pelethons that come through, mostly on Saturdays. “What has happened is we get more and more complaints from residents about riders either using too much of the road or not allowing passing cars to go by,” Wellhouser said. “Sometimes they (bikers) can’t because it
is the nature of the road,” On several stretches of area roadways, there is room for a car or a bike, but not both, he said. “We get complaints they clog up the road and wait in intersections for slower riders. We’re talking 30 or 40 riders. It gets to be a big problem,” said Wellhouser, who has been an avid biker himself for more than 30 years. He said the Rancho Santa Fe roadways are public roadways and everyone is welcome. “It’s a nice place to ride, but you have to take into account there are fast-moving cars and narrow lanes,” he said. “If you push the limit in the traffic lane you have to take care.You are not going to win a battle with a car.” He said he asks for everyone to use a little common sense. Newbury said the issue is
not just in Rancho Santa Fe. “Just based on the number of complaints, we are talking the entire North County,” he said. And it is not just bicycle clubs, but independent groups and solo riders as well. Steve Borer, president of the San Diego Bicycle Club, said he has met with law enforcement officials from the jurisdictions where the club rides and that he as president repeats the mantra of safety and following traffic laws. The club has 450 members. “We have a monthly newsletter and I do a president’s page writing extensively about following all the laws,” said Borer, a former San Diego Police Officer. During rides there are leaders who make sure everyone is following the law. “Safety is a huge thing,”
enough,” said Carlsbad resident Mary LeBlanc, who supports more public transportation options. “This is not the answer.” Caltrans representatives have said that their proposed designs for the I-5 corridor would offer more reliable rapid transit in the area in the designated “managed lanes.” The project is modeled after the new lanes on I15, which has some residents worried. “I drove I-15 last Friday and it was so confusing — they need to take a fresh approach,” said Richard Courtney of Carlsbad, who would also like to see some TURN TO EXPANSION ON A18
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conduct. The group is sponsored by Busby’s opponent, U.S. Congressman Brian Bilbray. Showing their support for Busby are, from left, Cecily Resnick, Ben Lang and Jessie Frietze, a Busby intern. Photo by Bianca Kaplanek
Busby questions ethics of cigar group Francine Busby, Democratic candidate for the 50th Congressional District, announced Aug. 12 that she sent a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics urging an investigation into possible misconduct regarding members of the Congressional
Cigar Association. About a dozen people gathered for the press conference in front of the Solana Beach office of her opponent, U.S. Congressman Brian Bilbray, sponsor of the cigar group. Busby claims lobbyists sit on the board of directors,
which is a violation of ethics rules, and asked why the association has no website. “Why is it under the radar?” she asked. Busby also said the $40 annual membership fee and $10 “cover charge” per event seemed insufficient to fund “high-end drinks, food
and cigars” at “expensive restaurants in D.C.” “Who is footing the bill?” she asked. “We’re demanding answers,” Busby said. “We don’t want excuses. We want answers, transparency and TURN TO ETHICS ON A19
Residents sound off about I-5 expansion By Alyx Sariol
Major concerns regarding noise,pollution and property acquisition prevailed at Caltrans’ third I-5 expansion public hearing in Carlsbad on Aug. 17. Area residents packed the Faraday Center, 1635 Faraday Avenue, to voice their questions and concerns about the project and the draft environmental impact report. Public comment will be used to finalize the project proposal in the coming months. “We’ve had good attendance at the meetings, which shows that people are interested,” said Caltrans’ I-5 Corridor Director Allan Kosup. “It could take 18 to 24
months before we release the final environmental impact report.” Caltrans has proposed four alternative construction projects and one no-build option for the I-5 corridor from La Jolla to Oceanside. These alternatives include four “managed lanes” for carpools, buffers or concrete barriers and optional general-purpose lanes. “We studied all of the four alternatives to the same level of detail,” project manager Arturo Jacobo said. “There’s trade-offs with each one.” Two areas along I-5 in Carlsbad — west of Carlsbad Village Drive and south of Las Flores Drive — could
experience partial and full land acquisitions depending on the number of lanes added. Local businesses, homes and apartment buildings would be affected. “However the less impact that it makes, the less of a difference it will make in easing traffic,” Jacobo said. Although most residents are in favor of alleviating traffic in the area, they support alternative transportation options instead of widening the highway. Many fear that adding to the number of lanes would create an increase in drivers on the road and pollution. “Historically, all they do in California is expand the freeways and it’s never
By Bianca Kaplanek
If all goes as planned, the last of the heavy equipment in the San Dieguito wetlands should be removed by spring and the $86 million restoration project will be complete except for long-term beach monitoring and ongoing maintenance such as planting, weeding and erosion control. Construction, which was expected to take about three years, began in 2007. Since then the project team has created 162 acres of new coastal wetlands in the San Dieguito River Valley. The goal was to restore 150 acres. Berms have been built to protect those wetlands and direct sand to the beach. A power line was relocated, drainage was added and an access path to North Beach was installed. The Grand Avenue Bridge was converted to a scenic overlook and four least tern nesting sites have been created. While the birds have not yet nested in those areas, decoys have been placed on the sites to attract them and the terns are foraging there, David Kay, from Southern California Edison, said during an Aug. 16 update at Solana Beach City Hall. The three remaining major elements that will be completed within the next nine months are armoring the river bend east of the bridge on Jimmy Durante Boulevard, dredging sand from the inlet channel and reconfiguring the tidal inlet at the Coast Highway Bridge. Kay said plans to armor the river bend, which will protect San Dieguito Drive, include removing the existing “helter-skelter” riprap made of steel and railroad ties and replacing it with engineered riprap. Jacqueline Winterer, president of the Friends of the San Dieguito River Valley, said the existing riprap should not be destroyed. She said the area used to be a landing dock for barges and the materials are likely important artifacts. “It’s actually very significant,” Winterer said. The channel dredging, which should start this winter, will begin east of the bridge on Jimmy Durante and proceed toward the beach. Some of the 65,000 yards of sand will be transported to disposal areas east of Interstate 5. The rest will be placed on the beach, mostly south of the inlet. The tidal inlet will be reconfigured beginning in February or March. Sand
UP IN SMOKE At an Aug. 12 press conference, Francine Busby accused members of the Congressional Cigar Association of possible mis-
By Bianca Kaplanek
closing in on finish