The Coast News, March 19, 2021

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THE COAST NEWS

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VOL. 35, N0. 12

MARCH 19, 2021

SAN MARCOS -NEWS

Blakespear enters 36th .com District race

Supervisors vote to keep foster school open. B1 Alila Marea Beach Resort opens in Encinitas. A3 Homeless plan stirs controversy in O’side. A5

By Jordan P. Ingram

Christopher Rodriguez backed Jensen’s push for improvements to the skate park. Though he represents District 2, he took a special interest in the park back in the fall. Both Jensen and Rodriguez said some of the improvements like flushable toilets and proper

ENCINITAS —THE Recently re-elected Encinitas MayVISTA or Catherine Blakespear NEWS announced on Tuesday her campaign to replace a termed-out State Sen. Pat Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) in California’s 36th Senate District, according to a news release. The 36th District covers North San Diego County and South Orange County. “I am excited to kick off myRANCHO campaign for State SenateSFNEWS and I am humbled by the early support I have received from friends across Cali for n i a ,” Blakespear said in a BLAKESPEAR release. “I am running to represent my neighbors in the State Senate because now is a time when our community needs leaders who will bridge divides, build coalitions, and deliver results for the families of the 36th Senate District.” The fourth-generation Encinitas resident is the second Democrat from North County to vie for the seat, joining Carlsbad City Councilwoman Priya Bhat-Patel who announced her bid last year. Blakespear, 45, has served on the Encinitas City Council since 2014, including four years as mayor. She also currently serves as chairwoman of the San Diego Association of Governments and is a board member of San Diego’s Airport Authority, Encina Wastewater Authority, San Elijo Joint Powers Authority and San Dieguito Water District. Blakespear has touted the city’s environmental achievements under her leadership, including the city’s landmark climate action proposal to provide 100 renewable energy by 2030, affordable housing, road

TURN TO SKATE PARK ON A11

TURN TO BLAKESPEAR ON A19

Judge rules in school reopening lawsuit. A6

.com

Defendant files damages claim in Schumacher case City of Carlsbad potentially liable for fees, indemnity

.com

By Steve Puterski

CARLSBAD — A claim for damages has been served to the City of Carlsbad by a law firm representing former resident Noel Breen — one of three individuals who were the focus of Councilwoman Cori Schumacher’s recently quashed restraining order. Scott Talkov, Breen’s attorney, sent the letter on March 11 seeking $42,455.18 in attorney’s fees after a judge granted Breen’s anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) motion and dismissed Schumacher’s restraining order earlier this month. Part of Breen’s anti-SLAPP motion included a cross-complaint against the City of Carlsbad, alleging that the city is liable for Schumacher’s petition, which was “directly related to her performance of her official duties as a councilmember.” Talkov said his client is willing to settle with the city out of court for $33,386.75. “Politicians should not be able to evade the damages caused by their efforts to chill free speech simply because judgment collection against them would be difficult,” Talkov said. “Rather, the government entity should be liable for the torts of their elected officials.” The motion to strike was filed in response to a civil harassment restraining order submitted by Schumacher in September 2020 against TURN TO SCHUMACHER ON A7

OPERATION COLLABORATION: San Diego County Fire Protection District personnel, including dozens of firefighters, paramedics, lifeguards and EMTs, have played a key role in helping to vaccinate more than 10,000 county residents from Borrego Springs to Carlsbad over the past month as part of “Operation Collaboration.” Courtesy photo

O’side considers skate park upgrades City staff work on proposal for water, electricity By Samantha Nelson

OCEANSIDE — Skaters who frequent Alex Road Skatepark, or “Prince Park,” are hopeful about potential improvements coming to the park. At a March 10 Oceanside City Council meeting, City Manager Deanna Lorson indicated that staff is working on putting together a “package” plan of several potential improvements that could be made to the park, including installing running water, hand-washing stations, flushable toilets, a water bottle filling station and landscaping enhancements. The popular skate park located on the corner of Foussat and Alex Roads currently has no running

WWW.PEABODYSROCKS.COM 136 ENCINITAS BLVD (760) 753-7575

CITY LEADERS are working on a plan to bring improvements to Alex Road Skate Park. Photo by Samantha Nelson

water and only a single vault toilet. Back in the fall, the city brought in a portable hand-washing station. Staff is also looking into whether the city is able to bring electricity to the park and what that would cost. Connecting the park to electricity would mean the city could install lights there. With-

out any lights at night, the park is currently only open during daylight hours. Councilmember Kori Jensen, who represents District 1 where the park is located, brought the issue of the park to Council and asked that staff would bring back the plan to Council’s budget workshop on April 14. Councilmember

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