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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 JAN. 29, 2010
This is crazy, and there’s more to come! This just in: it rained hard last week. One could even say this latest series of bad weather was an absolute deluge. At one point, it rained sideways. Streets flooded. Mud flowed. Snow blanketed the mountains. Driving was more akin to suicide. And then the glorious sun returned, bringing with it a sense of normalcy, breaking what many people were beginning to call “cabin fever.” If you’re a weather geek like I am — and I know you’re out there, especially the guy at the beer shop glued to the online Doppler while ringing me up — you spend most of your stormy day tuned into the madness. It truly is exciting for me to track a monstrous system, as I dig frantically for a trustworthy raincoat and rearrange the patio furniture in preparation for impending doom. What’s even more entertaining at times is the collective reaction to a big winter storm in San Diego. Put simply, people start to go bananas after more than two days of heavy downpour. A tranquil vibe prevails around town in the beginning, as we dream of brimming reservoirs, clean air and green, green grass. “Could this be an end to the drought?” we ponder. But after awhile, rain interrupts the daily routine. After two days of schlepping through puddles and sprinting from door to door, we become agitated, yearning for the warm, mellow afternoons of days gone by. So we turn to the television and our local weather team for answers. And if anyone loves a good storm, it would be the San Diego news media.Their coverage was nonstop, leading many to believe that perhaps the Second Coming of the late J.C. was possi-
ERIC MURTAUGH Outside Perspective ble. One station sent a poor neophyte anchor out in the field to get the scoop on the rain in OB. Her pants were soaked, her makeup was running, she wasn’t annoyingly chipper as is typical with her crowd. In short, she was none too pleased to be standing in rain telling everyone what they already knew: it’s raining. Hard. I finally had enough storm coverage when the evening news interviewed old folks at a mobile home park whose bric-a-brac had been violently blown astray. “So, what happened here?” asks the news anchor. “Well, I walked outside and saw Jim’s pink flamingo all the way down the street, and tree branches were all over the place,” says the old man. “This is crazy, and there’s more to come!” Crazy, indeed. But I suspect the old man was referring to the weather. By day three, pretty much everyone was prepared to die. San Diego weathermen gravely warned against the unavoidable dangers of traveling during our most current weather crisis. At all costs, stay put and wait this one out, was the report. It must be bad if both Legoland and SeaWorld cancelled all operations for the day, they surmised.We were told to “bring provisions if you absolutely must go about your business during this storm.” Provisions? Like
O.C. Fairgrounds sale under review Del Mar sale possible?
Last year the Governator announced his interest in peddling high-producing state properties to replenish his anemic cash box. Included in a list were the Surfside, Orange and Ventura fairgrounds plus the L.A. Coliseum. Later Del Mar was reported to be off the table. Is it? Politicians have the reputation of saying one thing and doing the opposite. Now under study, following a bid process, is the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds in spite of heavy opposition from heavyweight politicos from that area. The high bid was $56.5 mil. — far less than the $96 mil. expected by the Dept. of General Services. Nevertheless it did not toss out the TURN TO OUTSIDE ON 27 bid but took it under advisement. Currently, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, major lessee at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, has a one-year extension on its racing franchise. It would be possible for an interested fairCounty resident. grounds buyer, if the state sells the Submissions longer than property, to buy it and take over the 700 words will not be considered. operation of the track. Possible? Not all submissions will be pub- Why not? lished. Send finished editorials to Kids’ gardens lsutton@coastnewsgroup.com.You School kids in Vista and O’side will be contacted if your piece is are having fun learning about the chosen for publication.
Seeking guest editorials 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 relevant to you as a North
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BILL ARBALLO Eye on the Coast environment by digging in dirt at Alta Vista Gardens in Brengle Terrace Park where there is a highly successful community garden. Children meet there every month and attend classes that have to do with garden walks and they participate in nature crafts. Kids at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School soon will have a similar opportunity thanx to a $30,000 grant from the Paul Ecke Family Foundation.
meeting when trustees while not meeting together had discussed the election among themselves, a Brown Act violation. Sounds like the action taken during the recent Flower Capital election. The Encinitas way.
Veterans’ cemetery
A 323-acre veterans’ cemetery that will serve as an annex to maxed out Ft. Rosecrans in Pt. Loma will open in September at Miramar Air Station. It has taken upwards of a decade to process Washington bureaucratic paper work. It will accommodate 527 burials, 10,188 urn niches in a columbarium, and 4,578 in-ground sites for cremations.
Zenyatta vs. Rachel Alexander Both female steeds are worthy
Candidate garners support of being Horse of the Year. The Steve Danon, who will be seeking to unseat Pam Slater-Price if she chooses to run again, has announced that he has gained the support of Flower Capital elected Jerome Stocks and current Mayor Dan Dalager. Slater-Price, the current board chair, launched her highly successful political career as a member of the Flower Capital City Council.
Governator nixes meeting with councilors When three members of the Costa Mesa City Council attempted to meet with the Governator privately he refused saying that would be a quorum, a Brown Act violation, so one of them had to sit outside in a conference room. In another possible Brown Act violation, a trustee for the Garden Grove Unified School District who was due to become president walked out of a meeting when she was skipped over. She charged that a deal for such action was cooked up before the
crown went to Rachel. Zenyatta won 14 races including the Breeders’ Cup classic against all boys and will continue racing. Rachel has won seven straight contests, however, her owners have declined to run her on synthetic turf which was the reason she skipped the Breeders’ Cup. In contrast, Zenyatta will even race on the highway becuz she likes racing so much and that should have given her the edge as Horse of the Year if not the decade.
Lindbergh parking
Starting in July it will cost more to park at Lindbegh Field. Tab will be $2 for 20 minutes, and $4 bux for 40 minutes. Some long-term fees also will be more. At least one airline is increasing its fee for checked luggage.
Enough already
The Environmental Protection Agency now wants more environmental info for the proposed TURN TO EYE ON THE COAST ON 27
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