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RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
APRIL 22, 2011
ODD Event offers locals a taste of charity FILES
by CHUCK SHEPHERD
ed so good, chefs from 18 DEL MAR — As proof local restaurants prepared that philanthropy never tast- some of their signature dishes for the 15th annual Meet the Chefs of Del Mar, a fundraiser to benefit Casa de Amparo for abused and neglected children. The April 10 event, held at Hilton Del Mar, included everything from soup to macadamia nuts, with dusted scallops served with sweet corn relish a favorite presented by Poseidon, according to an unofficial survey of tasters. Also receiving a thumbs up from a majority of attendees were the grilled lamb chops with roasted eggplant salad from owner-chef SAUTE AWAY !"#$%"& '#(")#* Randy Gruber of Americana +#,+& -."/& 0(& 1#+"23#4*& +0,(5+ +-0))#6+*& 7.2-.& 7"$"& 3,+("3& 72(. Restaurant. In fact, Jane Diliberto of 80-030820& 4,(+& 043& +"$9"3& 72(. +7""(&-#$4&$")2+.&043&80-030820: Oceanside said she grows her own eggplant and +."$$;&92402%$"(("<
By Bianca Kaplanek
LEAD STORY
A tank and several armored vehicles with dozens of SWAT officers and a bomb robot rolled into a generally quiet Phoenix neighborhood on March 21, startling the residents. Knocking down a wall, deputies raided the home of Jesus Llovera, who was “suspected” of running a cockfighting business, and, indeed, 115 chickens were found inside, but Llovera was alone and unarmed, and his only previous connection to cockfights was a misdemeanor conviction in 2010 for attending one. “We’re going to err on the side of caution,” said Sgt. Jesse Spurgin. Adding to neighbors’ amazement was the almost-fanciful sight — riding in the tank — of actor Steven Seagal, who had brought his “Lawman” reality TV show to Phoenix.
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
— Product Giveaways: (1) New sign-ups for higherend Dish satellite TV systems at the Radio Shack in Hamilton, Mont., also receive free Hi-Point .380 pistols or 20-gauge shotguns (after passing a background check, paid for by the store). The owner said his business has tripled since introducing the premium in October. (2) Bobblehead dolls may be popular baseball giveaways, but as part of the local “Green Sports Alliance” demonstrating concern for the environment, the Seattle Mariners announced in March that for several games this season, fans would get free bags of compost (made from food and other items discarded at Mariners games). — It started as a class project at Brown University, but after a launch party on March 19 (and a sold-out first run of 500), Julie Sygiel’s Sexy Period menstrual-leak-fighting panties are on sale ($32 to $44, depending on the style — “cheeky,” “hipster” or “bikini”). Sygiel said “sexy” is less to suggest sensuality than to help women cope with the time of the month when they feel “not at (their) best. We want to banish that moment.” — A Chinese Capitalist’s Learning Curve: In the early hours of the destruction at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant in March, rumors abounded that millions of people might need iodine products to fight off radiation. A restaurateur named Guo in Wuhan, China, seeing the price of iodized table salt rise dramatically, cleverly cornered a market with 4 1/2 tons of it, trucked to his home, where it filled half the rooms. According to a March 25 China Daily report, the price has returned to pre-Fukushima levels — much less than TURN TO ODD FILES ON A21
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planned to use the recipe provided to try the dish at home. Popular choices also included ravioli — stuffed with lobster and presented by Pasta Pronto and stuffed with butternut squash and served with crushed amaretto cookies from Tommy V’s Italian Chop House. The chilled ginger pea soup with smoked salmon tartar from Amaya at Grand Del Mar was described as “interesting but good” by several tasters. Other participating restaurants were Brigantine, Del Mar Rendezvous, Hilton Del Mar, Il Fornaio, Jake’s Del Mar, Kitchen 1540 at L’Auberge Del Mar, Pacific Coast Grill, Pacifica Del Mar, TO EACH HIS OWN I,3;&J";+*&)"/(*&#/&=04-.#&'04(0&>"&+023&."$ Paradise Grille, Red Tracton’s, /09#$2("& 70+& E)& >#$402#D+& F,(("$4,(& +K,0+.& 043& 60+(0& 32+.*& 7.2)"& ."$ 4"2%.F#$+*&G3&043&?0;&L44&C#+040-&"4B#;"3&I0M"D+&+.$286&043&/0$$# +0)03<
TURN TO MEET THE CHEFS ON A22
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Association readies for annual meeting By Patty McCormac
RANCHO SANTA FE — The annual meeting of the Association is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. May 12 at the Garden Club. “Each year, all homeowner associations have membership meetings, but we are a little different,” said Peter Smith, Association manager. “Some will elect officers for the following year. We do not. We send out
ballots on that day.” He said that at the beginning of the meeting, at about 5 p.m., each candidate for a position on the Association board will give a brief presentation. Then at about 5:45 p.m. the president will give a brief overview of the status of the Association, outlining accomplishments during the year. “At that time we give out the annual community
service awards,” Smith said. “We also give out the Lily Awards. Those are the recognition of homes and property in the community that have kept in the real spirit of Rancho Santa Fe,” Smith said. He recommended that everyone turn out for the meeting. “It helps to become informed on what is going on in the community and it’s a
great social time to meet with your neighbors,” he said. In other Rancho Santa Fe news, The Rancho Santa Fe Patrol is expected to move into permanent quarters at the fire station on El Fuego downstairs from NorthCom in a space recently vacated by the fire administration. The patrol had been TURN TO MEETING ON A22
Local entrepreneur aims to help disaster victims By Lillian Cox
ENCINITAS — As owner of the hip Detour salon on Highway 101, and past president of the Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association, Crystal Wells stands as one of Encinitas’ most successful entrepreneurs. After Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, Wells’ priorities changed from making money to helping disaster victims rebuild. Six years later she still calls New Orleans home. Wells said she was imbued with these values growing up in a family of four children in Cardiff. “My dad was always trying to help the underdog,” she explained. “My mother was a nurse at Tri-City Hospital so she was also very compassionate. It was very important to give back.” Wells said she felt helpless as she watched news of
Wells took a week off Katrina unfold on the televifrom the salon to help. sion. “I was expecting a whole “If the government wasn’t going to be there, I thought lot of people doing a whole lot of clean up,” she said. “All I saw was a very grassroots effort involved in feeding and housing people.” Seeing a community the size of Encinitas completely evacuated struck close to home. “It was unbelievable, indescribable,” she said. “About my second day I called work and said I’m going to stay a second week because they need help. I was a wreck, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and couldGIVING BACK N$;+(0)& O"))+* n’t believe no one was here.” Wells returned to #74"$& #/& (."& @"(#,$& +0)#4& 24 G4-242(0+< Courtesy photo Encinitas, then went back to New Orleans and stayed a volunteers should,” she said. month. She again returned to “I signed up with The Red Encinitas, this time to meet Cross and then I got an e-mail with her employees and from Habitat for Humanity announce that she was going looking for volunteers to gut to take a year off. homes in St. Bernard Parish.” “The business was doing
fine without me,” she said. “It was a big decision to leave, but I found that my calling was here. What I could contribute was far more important, and made more sense, then staying and running Detour. I set it up to run without me, because I didn’t want the business, and everyone’s livelihood, to be dependent on my well-being.” After her work with Habitat for Humanity ended, she became director of volunteerism for the St. Bernard Parish in June 2009 where she supervised the conversion of a two-story, 40,000 square feet Catholic school into the third site for Camp Hope. The facility served as a base camp for volunteers helping rebuild homes of those who were handicapped, elderly or underinsured. “After the oil spill in April 2010 the Parish turned TURN TO ENTREPRENEUR ON A22
Five people arraigned in murder case By Shelli DeRobertis
VISTA — Two men and one woman each pleaded not guilty April 14 in a Vista courtroom, making them three of the five people arraigned on murder charges for the death of a 63-year-old Carlsbad man who was shot in his detached garage April 1. Joseph Verkade, 34, is accused of being the shooter, and a conviction could lead to the death penalty, according to Deputy District Attorney Matthew Greco. Verkade, Michael Gualt, 30, and Heather Strauch, 32, are each charged with firstdegree murder, attempted robbery and burglary. Judge Marshall Y. Hockett set bail at $5 million for both Gault and Strauch,butVerkade was given a $10,065,000 bail. He said that Verkade had four prior felonies, four prior misdemeanors and a failure to appear charge. Greco said that Verkade is charged with personal use of the weapon, and that he could face the death penalty or life without parole, if convicted. He said that Gault and Strauch both could serve up to 26 years in prison. At 1 a.m. April 1, neighbors called police and reported hearing gunshots and seeing three people fleeing from the garage at the 3000 block of Valley Street. Greco said that there were three individuals who got into a truck and fled the scene. Michael Michel Sahagun was found dead in his garage at his Valley Street residence, of a gunshot wound to his chest. So far, five people have been arrested and arraigned for Sahagun’s death. Greco said it was a preplanned attempted murder. “A sixth individual has been arraigned for assisting, although not charged with murder,” Greco said. The three original suspects arrested in connection with Sahagun’s murder were found by Carlsbad Police SWAT officers at 4 a.m. April 2, in a room at Motel 6 on 3708 Plaza Drive, according to the Carlsbad Police Department. Grant MacGregor Hunter, 23, and Mercedes Tiffany Yorba, 19, were arrested, booked into jail and charged with first-degree murder, firstdegree robbery, first-degree burglary and conspiracy. Gary Dean Gomez, 26, is the alleged accessory, and was arrested for possession of narcotics and aiding and abetting after the homicide, Sgt. Mickey Williams of the Carlsbad Police TURN TO ARRAIGNMENT ON A20
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