PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
.com MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 37, N0. 49
Dec. 8, 2023
Council .com censures Quirk SAN MARCOS -NEWS
GOOD AS
GOLD
THE VISTA Comments putNEWS Del Mar
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‘at risk,’ members say By Laura Place
DEL MAR — The Del Mar City Council voted to censure Deputy Mayor Dan Quirk on Monday for what members described as a repeated failure to include a disclaimer when he is sharingRANCHO his opinion about SFNEWS the region’s rail rea lig nment project versus r e p r e s e nt i ng the council at QUIRK large. Councilmembers Terry Gaasterland and Dave Druker, who brought forward the censure resolution, said the city has repeatedly had to do damage control as a result of Quirk’s statements about the Del Mar rail realignment and San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the agency managing the project. In October, the council agreed in a 4-1 vote to send a letter to SANDAG clarifying that Quirk’s statements — calling SANDAG a fraudulent agency in an email newsletter to residents, and calling for an investigation into Hasan Ikhrata, the agency’s departing CEO, in statements to KUSI — do not represent the city’s viewpoints. Since that meeting, Druker said, Quirk has made additional comments criticizing the rail project in email newsletters to residents that have not included a disclaimer that it is his own opinion. The council approved the censure, which serves as a formal reprimand for an elected official but
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JOEL GOMEZ, 20, an Encinitas native and civil engineering student at Purdue University, set a Parapan American Games record to win the T13 1,500-meter race for runners with visual impairments last month in Santiago, Chile. Story on 23. Courtesy photo
‘Mr. Christmas’ takes break, vows return on Knob Hill is the COVID-19 pandemic. No Knob Hill display Christmas on a one-year hiatus due to Gilfillen assured the health. community that he’s planin San Marcos in ’23 Gilfillen’s It was a hard decision ning to get right back to it the 85-year-old retired next year. due to health issues for Navy flight “I really miss doing it By Laura Place
SAN MARCOS — Nearly every holiday season for the past 35 years, Bill Gilfillen’s home on Knob Hill Road has drawn thousands of San Diego County residents in cars and on foot to admire his larger-thanlife Christmas display. But this year, a whiteboard sign awaits visitors near the door at 1639 Knob Hill Road stating that
eng ineer, who has earned the name “Mr. Chr istmas” from local children over the years, but one he said GILFILLEN he needed to make as he recovers from knee surgery. The only other time he hasn’t decorated was during the first year of
this year, because I know so many people come to see the house,” Gilfillen said. “The only reason I didn't do anything this year was because of my health. I've already decided that as long as I can keep doing it, I’ll do it, and if there comes a time when I can't do it, I’ll teach someone else to do it.” The cancellation has TURN TO KNOB HILL ON 32
TREE LIGHTING MUSIC
Youth music performances were among the highlights at the Fletcher Cove tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 3 in Solana Beach. Photo by Laura Place
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