PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN DIEGO, CA PERMIT NO. 835
The
BOXHOLDER
THE RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
.com
SERVING NORTH COUNTY SINCE 1987
VOL. 16, N0. 2
JAN. 17, 2020
MACHADO STILL WATER CHAMPION
New law adds time for sex assault claims
2020 Breitbard Hall of Fame pick now rides wave of environmental awareness By Jay Paris
ENCINITAS — The woman approached surfing icon Rob Machado with admiration and let us count the ways. “It’s because of you my son eats lettuce,’’ she said. “Before that he never had one piece of it.’’ Machado laughs when digging up the story. While Machado, a longtime Cardiff resident, is among his sport’s most recognizable athletes, he’s known to many for riding the wave of environmental awareness. “When I stopped doing the tour full time around 2001 and started spending more time at home I was able to sit back and realize, ‘Oh wow, I have a voice. I have some power where I can do something really positive with this,’” he said. Machado is being inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame next month, along with baseball’s Jerry Coleman and football’s Reggie Bush.
By Steve Puterski
so,” Kron said Jan. 7. Kron reported seeing illegally placed Gaspar signs again on Dec. 22 and Dec. 24. “There are multiple new pro-Gaspar signs on public property along Leucadia Blvd right now which will not be enforced until the city resumes its
REGION — Among the horde of new laws enacted on Jan. 1 is one being roundly hailed for its attention to victims of sexual assault. Assembly Bill 218 extends the timeline for victims of childhood sexual assault to file civil lawsuits until age 40 or five years from discovery of the abuse. The previous limit was age 26 or within three years of discovery of abuse. San Diego-based attorney Steve Estey, who specializes in sexual abuse and assault cases, said the new law is a welcome change, but noted there will be challenges for victims. He said it will be difficult for many cases to be resolved in court because the evidence after 30 or 40 years is scant. Also, those involved may have died, memories fade and unless a report of “some kind” was filed, it could be challenging to win in court, Estey said. He said the bill’s author, Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), was targeting institutions such as the Catholic Church, Boy Scouts of America, USA Swimming and other large entities who may have covered up claims of abuse. “Many times when it happens, they are younger and they’re afraid that people won’t believe them,” Estey said of victims. “There’s a lot of shame that goes along with it. They’ll be in their 30s or 40s and the statute of limitations have long passed.” Also, the bill expands the definition of childhood sexual abuse to childhood sexual assault, making it easier to bring a claim, according to a report in the Orange County Register. Estey, who has a number of
TURN TO SIGNS ON 7
TURN TO SEX ASSAULT ON 9
But it was a vegetable Machado had a hand in which had a mother sharing her amazement of what he did on dry land, and not on the water. While crisscrossing the globe in chasing the best waves, Machado won three U.S. Opens and was ranked in the top 10 for 11 straight years. He could dance along the breaks like few others, but when he pumped the brakes on his career, he didn’t stop caring about the water. With his Rob Machado Foundation, the surfer with the curly, sun-streaked hair started preaching to children. At Cardiff School, where he once attended, he couldn’t ignore that the student body was all sipping from disposable plastic bottles. He also discovered an underused plot of land on campus where the kids could grow their own grub, CHEERS! Cardiff resident and renowned surfer Rob Machado now champions enviTURN TO MACHADO ON 5
ronmental causes, including reducing single-use plastic bottles, as head of the Rob Machado Foundation. Photo via Rob Machado Foundation on Facebook
Illegally placed campaign signs removed in Encinitas By Tawny McCray
ENCINITAS — Encinitas resident Jeremy Kron is fed up with seeing election signs illegally displayed across the city — and he’s making a case for change. Just before the Christmas holiday, Kron began emailing a host of leaders in the community — including Mayor Catherine
Blakespear and all the Encinitas council members — expressing his displeasure with the signs and pleading for their help in cracking down on offenders. Kron, who in 2016 volunteered for Blakespear’s campaign and learned the rules regarding signage when he helped distribute her yard signs, said
he regularly checks for sign violators as he travels around the city by bike. In his emails, he reported seeing the first violation along Leucadia Boulevard on Dec. 19 — signs for Kristin Gaspar, who’s running for re-election in the San Diego County Supervisor District 3 race. He said the signs he spotted were paid for and placed
by the Deputy Sheriff’s Association of San Diego County. “Shortly after reporting the first pair and getting permission that day from City Hall’s code enforcement desk, we checked the map to confirm illegality of placement, they permitted me to uproot them and deliver them to City Hall. I did
YOUR CANNABIS STORE