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MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 12, N0. 28
JAN. 20, 2017
Tree updates given at RSF Association meeting By Christina Macone-Greene the Natural Environment
Winning machines R. Roger Rowe School plays host to an FTC Robotics meet where a field of 16 teams from around the region, including the school’s three teams: RSF Intergalactic Dragons, RSF Logitechies and RSF Singularity, moved onto the alliance rounds following the competition on Jan. 7. RSF Singularity received the finalist trophy and the RSF Intergalactic Dragons earned th winning alliance trophy. The teams compete again Jan. 21 at the Grauer School in Encinitas. Courtesy photo
ViaSat’s newest satellite to increase internet speeds By Steve Puterski
EL SEGUNDO — At a low-key press event, ViaSat revealed its latest and most advanced satellite, which will put the company on a path to be more competitive in the internet market. At Boeing’s satellite facility last week, ViaSat and Boeing executives engaged in an hour-long presentation about ViaSat-2’s capabilities, their business partnership, plus a tour of the facility highlighted by revealing the $350 million state-of-the-art satellite. The total project cost, meanwhile, is about $600 million and took three years to construct. However, no photos were allowed to preserve company and technological strategies. Nevertheless, ViaSat’s crown jewel stands 25-feet high, about 10 feet wide and, once its solar panels deploy in space, it will have a wingspan of 150 feet. Arianespace, a French company, will deliver the satellite on its Ariane 5 rocket. “We’re really evolving toward, what we believe, is the first global internet service provider,” said Dave Abrahamian, ViaSat’s director of space systems. “Our whole mantra for the past 10 years … is to reduce the cost per bit, increase capacity substantially so that satellite-base broadband is no longer the choice of last resort. We’ll move that ball significantly forward when we launch ViaSat-2.” ViaSat-2, meanwhile, will have two times more the capacity than ViaSat-1,
Carlsbad-based ViaSat is scheduled to launch its ViaSat-2 satellite in late March or early April. They partnered with Boeing to construct and test the satellite, which will increase ViaSat’s broadband internet performance. The photo is of two Boeing 702 satellites in its thermal vacuum. Courtesy photo
which was the highest capacity ever launched in 2011, and increase speeds up to 300 gigabits per second (Gbps), seven times more coverage and customer download speeds up to 25 to
50Mbps. More capacity in the satellite increases the bandwidth, which enables faster internets speeds to consumers. With a successful
launch, which is scheduled for March or April in French Guiana in South America, ViaSat-2 will expand the Carlsbad-based company’s reach across the Atlantic Ocean to the Middle East and the northern tip of South America. Alaska will be the only state not to receive coverage from ViaSat-2 due to the angle of Earth. “We don’t have to sacrifice capacity for coverage area,” Abrahamian explained. “We can also move capacity around. ViaSat-2 solves that problem.” In addition, the increase in ViaSat’s customer base is estimated to increase about two to threefold, said Keven Lippert, executive vice president of Satellite Systems and Corporate Development at ViaSat. Currently, the company has about 700,000 residential and commercial users on its ViaSat-1 satellite including more than 550 aircraft along with maritime vessels and the U.S. government. Its domestic airline portfolio includes United, JetBlue, Virgin America and most recently, American Airlines. “We won the American Airlines contract first for their 737… and then their entire mainline North American fleet,” Abrahamian added. “We think we can compete favorably with cable providers. The cost per user…, which is there metric, is greatly, greatly in our favor. There is no great effiTURN TO SATELLITE ON 12
RANCHO SANTA FE — Rancho Santa Fe Association Interim Manager Christy Whalen noted how its parks crew had been busy cleaning fallen trees during the rain and heavy winds at a Jan. 5 board meeting. “I would like to point out that the number of trees that we’ve seen falling is not as great as it’s been in the past five years or so,” she said. “There’s been a concerted effort by our parks department, led by Arnold Keene, to maintain trees on the roadway, and remove those trees that are dying, so that when we get the heavy winds these trees are not in the roadway creating safety problems.” While on the subject of trees, Whalen also shared with the board and members present at the meeting about the “Plant our Future” community event for Covenant families at the Osuna Ranch Jan. 28. In addition to the Rancho Santa Fe Association’s park department, the event is also coordinated by the Committee on
(CONE) and the Osuna Committee. According to Whalen, there will be 35 indigenous trees, which would be planted on this day. “We’re also going to have an opportunity for tree sponsorship,” Whalen said. For those that want to plant a tree and then sponsor it, a plaque will be available for purchase. Participants also have the opportunity to tour the Osuna’s historic adobe, chat with local plant and water organizations, and create a mini succulent piece for their very own to bring home. “It should be a fantastic event,” Whalen said. For those interested in reserving a tree by Jan. 20 or learning more about the event, contact Karlin Molina at the Association at (858) 756-1174. The National Weather Service is expecting a series of storms to impact the county Thursday through next Tuesday bringing a potential of 3 to 5 inches of rain inland and 2 to 4 inches on the coast.
Farrar discusses CDRC efficiencies By Christina Macone-Greene much more efficient,” Far-
RANCHO SANTA FE — Rancho Santa Fe Association Interim Building Commissioner Tom Farrar discussed how the Covenant Design Review Committee (CDRC) had an uptick in reviews at the beginning of the New Year at the Jan. 5 board meeting. Farrar reported 31 reviews already in January as compared to 21 cases in December calling it an active month. Farrar went on to say how they are focusing on the process itself and doing some modifications in an effort to create more efficiency. “It’s not only for the Association staff, but also for the applicant members as well,” he said. “So it’s really a team effort in doing this.” An example he shared was how in the application process there is now a request for the electronic filing of plans. “It’s pretty nice to have that electronically so we have that in the computer system in the database, and whenever we need a copy of these, we can make a copy. It’s
rar said. “It reduces the number of plans that are submitted.” Another item Farrar proposed was researching how “noncontroversial projects” could possibly be processed on the consent calendar. With this idea, they were looking at consent items in detail, he said. The other mention had to do with past incomplete applications. “So these projects in the past still went before the CDRC and there was in most cases not enough information for the CDRC to render a decision on the projects. So we’re looking at that intake process very carefully and we’re looking at how we deem the application complete before we take it in,” he explained. Farrar said the goal was to be more efficient with CDRC staff as well as the CDRC directors’ time. The topic of fees for CDRC applications was also touched upon. “We’re basically looking at those because they TURN TO CDRC ON 14