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MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

VOL. 25, NO. 38

DEC. 9, 2011

Del Mar debates Shores use

THISWEEK

By Bianca Kaplanek

rounding the banners. When asked if it was appropriate to put the image of a politician on city owned property Salzhandler replied, “She’s certainly not a political figure anymore.” Laurie Michaels and her husband, Harry Couglar were among Houlihan’s many friends who raised money through t-shirt sales to fund the banners with the councilwoman’s image. “We are stunned,” Michaels said. “We did this as a tribute.” Michaels said placing the sketch of Houlihan’s image on the banners makes perfect

DEL MAR — With the majority of council members agreeing staff was barking up the wrong tree in its effort to create an interim use policy for the Shores property, the group was sent back to the drawing board at the Dec. 5 meeting to craft another plan that will hopefully placate dog owners, baseball players and anyone else interested in utilizing the upper park area. The city already spent more than two hours discussing the subject at an October meeting, during which dog owners asked council members to allow their pets to run off-leash while Little League representatives and other park users cited health and safety issues if the practice continued. Although the Del Mar municipal code currently only allows off-leash dogs seasonally at North Beach, the law was not enforced at the Shores property and, unknown to the city, signs indicating leashes were required had been removed. Little League, which had been using the field for years, opted to leave the park because of safety concerns and conflicts. Families with small children and small-dog owners complained about large off-leash canines. Some residents said they wouldn’t have contributed to the purchase of the now cityowned property if they knew it was going to become a dog park, while others said they wouldn’t have donated if they knew they couldn’t bring their pets there. The Winston School, a private facility located on the property, has priority over all uses. The city doesn’t want to adopt a permanent solution until a master plan is developed for the site, which it purchased for $8.5 million in 2008 from Del Mar Union School District. After the October meeting, during which four potential plans were introduced, council members directed

TURN TO BANNERS ON A15

TURN TO SHORES ON A15

HOME FOR HOLIDAYS

Encinitas resident decorates her home for the holidays, rivaling anything from the B1 North Pole

WATER RATES GOING UP The City of Carlsbad gives approval to raise water rates by 10% in A3 the new year

INSIDE

TWO SECTIONS, 40 PAGES

Arts & Entertainment . . A8 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . A8 Camp Pendleton News . . B9 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . B16 Comics & Puzzles . . . . . B18 Hit the Road . . . . . . . . . .B2 Legal Notices . . . . . . . . A16 Lick the Plate . . . . . . . . A13 Life, Liberty, Leadership A4 Local Roots . . . . . . . . . . B7 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . B4 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Pet Central . . . . . . . . . . B7 Second Opinion . . . . . . . B3 Small Talk . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . A14 Taste of Wine . . . . . . . A11 Who’s News? . . . . . . . . A13

HOW TO REACH US (760) 436-9737 CALENDAR SECTION: calendar@coastnewsgroup.com COMMUNITY NEWS: community@coastnewsgroup.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: letters@coastnewsgroup.com

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From left, Ivy Hill, 3, Malike Morgan, 7, and Jade Morgan, 6, all of Oceanside, join in an impromptu jam session at the Oceanside tree lighting festivities. Photo by Promise Yee

Local businesses donate to save tree lighting By Promise Yee

OCEANSIDE — The 35foot artificial Christmas tree and its whimsical Dr. Seussstyle decorations had already been purchased, but the holiday music, crafts and cookies that are an expected part of the annual city tree lighting celebration almost did not happen this year until donors stepped up and helped. Thanks to the generous

donations of NK Towing and Roadside Services, FACT Full Access Coordinated Transportation and Hass Team Realty, there were enough funds for a sound system, crafts and cookies at the annual city Christmas tree lighting Dec. 1. “We needed an angel in Oceanside due to budget cuts,” Eileen Turk, division manager of Parks and Recreation, said.

A brief plea on FOX News for donations caught the attention of local businesses that donated from $250 to $1,000, which allowed the celebration to be held. More than 1,000 people came out to watch the tree lighting, sit on Santa’s lap and eat cookies. “It’s so nice to celebrate the smallest of things,” Turk said. “It’s a joyous small-town

feeling in a big city. It brings you back to the time when you knew your neighbors.” Singers warmed up the crowd until Santa Claus, Mayor Jim Wood and local dignitaries arrived by fire engine to light the tree. In a nearby craft tent, Girl Scouts led children in stringing beaded necklaces. For most children, the TURN TO LIGHTING ON A15

Image of late council member is causing stir By Wehtahnah Tucker

ENCINITAS — The Arts Alive banner exhibit, which started with the intentions as a tribute to the late city council member Maggie Houlihan, who passed away from cancer in September, and was one of the town’s biggest supporters of local artists, has become mired in controversy. Danny Salzhandler, coordinator of the project, said DEMA got pressure from elected officials not to put the banners up. A call to the City Manager’s office was not returned. “We had a banner with Maggie’s picture at the street fair (in November),” he said.

“Apparently some people saw it and thought it was political,” he said. “But everybody knew about it, it was even in the paper,” Salzhandler said. Salzhandler said more than 100 banners with a sketch of Houlihan on the backside of the banner were given out to participating artists weeks ago.“A situation that started with the best of intentions and now it’s turned into a real bad scene,” he added. DEMA sent a letter to the artists last week asking them to return the banners. DEMA has also pulled the permit from the city to hang banners along Coast Highway

from La Costa Ave. to Cardiff’s restaurant row. “A lot of the artists have already started them. Sponsors have already paid for a four month program. Getting new banners ordered in time won’t be possible,” Salzhandler said. The Arts Alive banner exhibit is a joint effort by the 101 Artists Colony, DEMA, Cardiff 101 Mainstreet and Leucadia Mainstreet. In its thirteenth year, Salzhandler said the participating artists are an exceptionally talented group. Salzhandler said he is disheartened and surprised by the recent events sur-


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