March 5, 2026

March 5, 2026

Volume 56 - No. 10

By Gary Womble Almost everyone in the world knows the story of Henri-Antoine Charriere, also known as Papillon, which is the French word for butterfly; he had one tattooed on his chest. Charriere survived for thirteen years in some of the most inhumane conditions in a prison ever recorded. He had been falsely convicted of murdering a Parisian pimp by the name of Roland Le Petit and sentenced to life in prison in 1931.

He vehemently denied committing the murder until his death in 1973.

Papillon’s life story until he was 40 has been made into a movie twice using some of the most famous actors of the day. If you are over forty yourself you will remember Steve McQueen, forever the king of cool, as Papillon and Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega, who forged and sold counterfeit National Defense Bonds. In 2017 a second movie was made about Papillon’s experience

The Paper • 760.747.7119 online: www.TheCommunityPaper.com

email: thepaper@cox.net

in French Guiana starring Charlie Hunnam as Papillon and Rami Malek as Louis Dega.

Papillon made his first escape attempt in November of 1933 accompanied by two other inmates.

Colombian police caught all three of them near Riohacha and they were placed in a local prison.

Charriere was the only one of the three to escape this jail, and he

wound up in the La Guajira Peninsula where he was adopted by an Indian tribe. He eventually left and was recaptured a short time after leaving the peninsula by the Colombian authorities. He was sent back to French Guiana and placed in complete solitary confinement for two years.

Eventually after several more escape attempts, he was sent to Devil’s Island which was famous as a prison colony because the French called

Papillon

See Page 2

The Paper • Page 2 • March 5, 2026

Papillon from page 1 it inescapable. In 1941 Papillon proved them wrong because he did escape on a raft he made using rope and coconuts. He used the tide as it moved out from the island and was accompanied by another convict. The other prisoner perished in quicksand when they reached the shore still in French Guiana. Henri did escape Devil’s Island, sharks, the sea, and quicksand.

He wound up in British Guiana and eventually a boat and a new series of adventures brought him to Venezuela.

Charriere was arrested in Venezuela and held at the penal settlement at El Dorado, where he was charged with being a rogue and a vagabond.

A coup d’état in Venezuela brought Papillon’s release a year after being imprisoned at El Dorado. He was now equipped with genuine papers at last, was given good civilian clothes and after a long and arduous 14 years in prison he was ready to walk out into freedom at

last. After his release Henri met up with an old Corsican friend from his days in Paris, named Charlot.

Charlot had also escaped from a prison in French Guiana but had been free for several years. Charlot accompanied Papillon to the La Mocupia mine where he vouched for him to be hired.

Henri started work at the La Mocupia gold mine and in a short time came across another old friend from France, named Simon. He was a guard who along with another Frenchman watched the gold ingots that had been mined and smelted.

One day he showed Papillon the gold who immediately began thinking how easy it would be to steal all the ingots stored there, which was at that time worth about $1M. Charriere left quickly, as he could not get away from the temptation of stealing the gold ingots. It was unbelievable! The storeroom that could hardly hold itself upright, and two onetime low-ranking crooks taking care of all that treasure! In all his life on the loose he had never seen anything like it!

PROBABLY ONE OF Give Us This Day TISTIC, THE MOST WORRISOME IN YEARS. 25% of the Our Daily RECENT women in this country are on medfor mental illness. That’s Chuckle ication scary. It means 75% are running around untreated.

*** Me: “It’s not about how many times you fall it’s about how many times you get back up.”

Police officer: “Yeah, that’s not how field sobriety tests work.”

This week, a compendium of wit, wisdom and neat stuff you can tell at parties. Enjoy!

Any dog can be a guide dog . . . if you don’t care where you are going. *** Went to the doctor with a suspicious looking mole.

He said, “they all look like that; you should have left him in the garden.” *** Deja Moo. The feeling you’ve heard all this bull before. *** THIS IS A FRIGHTENING STA-

*** When I pass away you all need to sleep in the graveyard with me; you can’t expect me to be alone with people I don’t know! *** Two things to make your day better: 1. Don’t watch the news.

2. Stay off the bathroom scale. *** I can’t prove this . . .but I swear I used to be smarter, funnier, and less tired. *** Two men are on opposite sides of the river. One man yells, “how do I get to the other side of the river?”

The other man yells back . . “you

While the thief in Papillon wanted to steal the gold ingots, the friend in him did not want to go through with it. He had met old friends and made new ones all of whom were just living normal lives and loving it. Henri did not want to ruin it for them and had he stolen the gold that would have compromised their position in the region forever. He decided to find another way to make as much money as would be needed to live a life of luxury as well as get his revenge. A friend introduced Charriere to an old gambler named Jojo and the two seemed to hit it off. Jojo laid out a plan to Henri for the two of them to go to the lawless diamond and gold fields to gamble, but they would act like miners. Jojo took Henri back to his house where he demonstrated his method to cheat at craps and then asked, “are you satisfied that we will win?” Jojo’s method was perfect and Charriere was indeed satisfied and asked how soon they could leave. The diamond and gold fields were filled with some extremely dangerous men, pimps, thieves, and murderers. There was no law other than what one man meted out to another.

volved with a few months earlier and stayed for a short time with her and her family. Papillon told Maria’s father of his plan to go to the gold and diamond fields with Jojo.

Jose, Maria’s father, told Henri that he must be incredibly careful because Jojo always took a young man with him on these trips.

Henri had met a young woman named Maria who he became in-

Papillon continued on page 3

are on the other side of the river!”

the freezer,” sounds so much more productive than, “I just finished off a pint of ice cream.”

***

The catch was that they also never came back with him because they had been murdered. Jojo and Henri started out for the diamond and gold fields on horseback and within days had reached their destination.

They immediately set up “shop” in a shack they found empty.

That evening they set up for a dice game and invited several miners they had met at the local cantina.

They arranged for a local establishment to supply rum for everyone, and each gambler “donated” a few bolivars to pay for the rum.

During the game Jojo made a point to lose and lost somewhere near 7,000 bolos. A guy with a bad leg lost more than 12,000 before finally leaving for the night. Jojo and

***

I just received my electric bill. I think they charged me for sunlight, divine light, and the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hello Darkness, my old friend. I stood up too fast again . . “

***

***

Taking kids fishing is 10% fishing and 90% untangling lines and explaining why we can’t keep the pet bass in our bathtub.

I’m at an age where my mind thinks, “I can do that”!”

*** I’m not saying I’m old but I can remember our elementary school teachers teaching us how to make ash trays for our parents. *** It’s so annoying when people use the wrong word and don’t have the humidity to admit it. *** Why do people say “tuna fish sandwich,” and not “chicken bird sandwich?” *** When a child says “I want mommy,” that’s the equivalent of saying “I want to see your supervisor!” *** “Just cleaned out some space in

And my body giggles and says, “Try it and die, fat boy.” *** Nothing will get your heart rate up faster than getting your foot caught in you underwear when you’re trying to put it on. On the plus side, that’s my cardio for the day. *** If you can’t afford a doctor, go to an airport - you’ll get a free x-ray and a breast exam, and if you mention Al Qaeda, you’ll get a free colonoscopy. *** If you must pick between two evils, pick the one you’ve never tried before. *** Chuckles continued on page 7

The Paper • Page 3 • March 5, 2026

Papillon from page 2 Henri invited everyone to return the next evening which would be a Saturday night. Papillon did not play at all the first night which was part of the plan. Jojo was laying the groundwork to make sure everyone believed the game was on the up and up.

Saturday night around 9 PM the men came crowding into the shack that so many Jojo had to sort out the ones who could play high stakes.

As the big-time gamblers dropped out, they were easily replaced by onlookers. A Brazilian laid down a diamond worth 4,000 bolivars and Henri covered the bet, Jojo then shot the dice, but the Brazilian grabbed them as they rolled.

Papillon wondered what was going to happen; the Brazilian scarcely looked at the dice but spat on them and tossed them back to Jojo.

“Shoot them like that, all wet,” he said. Jojo rolled the wet dice and up came seven causing the Brazilian to lose. He leapt to his feet, his hand on his gun. Then quietly he said, “it’s not my night and left.”

The moment he shot up Papillon’s hand darted to the gun given to him by Jojo which had a round in the chamber.

At sunrise on Sunday, the game ended both Jojo and Henri had won several thousand bolivars as well as gold nuggets and a few small diamonds.

Henri and Jojo had been there about two weeks and every one of those nights they played high and wild, gambling with the dice and gambling with their lives. One night during a rainstorm a gambler got up after winning a large pile.

He went out at the same time as a huge guy who had been just sitting around for some time, not playing because he was broke. Twenty minutes later the big guy who had been so unlucky came back and started gambling like crazy.

Henri surmised that the winner must have lent him the money, but still it seemed odd that he should have lent him so much. When daylight came, they found the winner dead, stabbed to death less than fifty yards from the cabin. Papillon talked to Jojo and expressed his concern. Jojo said “it has nothing to do with us. Next time, he’ll be more careful.” Papi said, “next time, there will be no next time for him, he’s dead!”

One night a couple of days later Jojo was playing recklessly and winning far more than he should.

Henri was winning as well and had a pile of bolivars, gold, and diamonds in front of him. Jojo sent

Papi to Miguel’s for some more rum and food but had him leave his winnings behind. Papillon did so and got less than two hundred yards from the cabin before hearing gun fire. He ran back to find there was nobody left in the shack except Jojo. He was lying on the floor, blood pouring from the back of his neck. Despite the help of a so called doctor Jojo died that same day. Papillon was left almost broke and surely, much to his dismay, the murder target of several miners. Charriere left the fields with the help of an old friend who lived nearby named Alexandre Guigue.

He eventually made his way back to El Callao and immediately went to stay with Maria and her father Jose.

Henri told Jose he had been right about Jojo being too bold for his own good as well as whoever was with him. But this time his greed was so strong it cost him his life and almost cost Papillon his life too but for his friend Alexandre. The days went by, and it was not at all easy to find anything worthwhile to do except make love to Maria. Henri had been reduced to selling coffee pots door to door for money when he bumped into an old Montmartre acquaintance, Paulo the boxer.

Paulo tried to recruit Henri for a job but could not provide any details.

Papillon did not think there was really much choice. Either he went on trying to sell coffee pots or some other damn nonsense or took up the adventurous life again. Henri loved the possibility of making a bundle and making it quick. Paulo said it would be technically a very fancy piece of work. And that fact, Henri admitted, tempted him even more. Paulo had two other accomplices because it was a four-man job. “Paulo said, “so what about it, Papi--banco?” Henri answered, “Banco!” The next day they set off and picked up the third man, Gaston, for the trip to a rented villa in Columbia called Mi Amor where they hooked up with their fourth accomplice Auguste.

Paulo said, “well, boys, here you are on the spot; this is where we work. Listen, now just in front of this little house, on the other side of the street you came by, there is the back of a bank. Its main entrance is on the big avenue that runs parallel with this house.” Paulo said, “we just need to dig a tunnel. It starts in the room next to this one, and it will go under the yard, then under the street and come out just Papillon continued on page 4

Oodles!

Looking for things to do? Places to go?

Check out Oodles every week for listing of civic and service club meetings, and more!

Have an event you need publicized?

Email it to: Lisa.ThePaper@gmail.com The Paper goes to print on Tuesday morning.

You are more likely to get published if you: • Submit your press release by the previous Friday.

• Keep It Simple: who, what, where, when, why.

• Send us something we can copy/paste. Please no brochures or flyers. Send a press release.

• Send photos as attachments, not embedded in the document.

Square Dancing March 5th • 6:30--8:15pm Have fun with the Wranglers square dance club! Learning to Square Dance lessons start on March 5th, on Thursdays. Classes are 16 weeks, plus dances; excluding holidays. Seven Oaks Community Center, 16789 Bernardo Oaks Dr. (Rancho Bernardo). $10/lesson. Go to squaredancewithus.com for more information. *** Pacific Coast Harmony Hosts Special Guest Night March 9 • 7-9:30 p.m.

Pacific Coast Harmony, an awardwinning 4-part harmony cappella chorus, is hosting a special guest night Monday March 9, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in Pappas Hall, below the church at Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 3459 Manchester Ave., Cardiff, CA 92007.

This is a great opportunity for people who love to sing to enjoy some fun, inclusive musical activities. Visitors may enjoy just watching the rehearsal or can join in. All are welcome. iPads are provided with music to help guests sing along. Music reading skills are not required. Music learning is significantly aided by professionally created audio tracks.

Pacific Coast Harmony is a mixed a cappella ensemble based in Encinitas, California, under the direction of locally renowned director and performer, Janet Hammer. For more information, visit PacificCoastharmony.org or call (619) 4276669. If you plan to attend, please let us know at PacificCoastHarmonyInfo@gmail.com, so we can welcome you! ***

10th at the Dove Library, 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad 92011. Guest fee $10. Our March speaker is our own Tara Ritacco, who will speak on “Contemporary Textiles/ Natural and Indigo Dyes”. Tara has a BA in Textiles and Clothing, Patternmaking and Design. Tara will do dyeing workshops on March 9 and again on March 11, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at her home in Carlsbad. Workshop fee: $55 cash or check, $57 credit card. Kit fee $20.

For more information: elcaminoquilters.com El Camino Quilters is a non-profit group. We donate hundreds of quilts and other handmade items to a variety of groups including Rady Children’s Hospital, Senior centers, hospitals, police and military groups. *** The Good LIFE at MiraCosta College Meetings will be held in person at the MiraCosta College, Oceanside Campus, at 1:00 pm in the Board Room, of the Administration Building (Building 1000) and by the Internet Application ZOOM. Mar 6 1:00 Exploring the Origins of Lomaland Jill Hall, Author. Jill G. Hall, author of On a Sundown Sea:A Novel of Madame Tingley and the Origins of Lomaland, known today as Point Loma Nazarene University.

Mar 6 2:30 Three Decades That Changed the Universe Madhukar Rao, Docent San Diego Air & Space Museum NASA Solar System Ambassador. This talk traces how astronomers discovered the vast size of the universe and describes the foundational work in the 18th and 19th centuries that made this discovery possible.

El Camino Quilters Guild Meeting March 10th • 10am

Mar 13 1:00 The Wonderful World

El Camino Quilters Guild meets at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday March

Oodles continued on page 14

The Paper • Page 4 • March 5, 2026

Papillon from page 3 beneath the bank’s vault.” A short silence and then he said, “What do you say about it?”

“Is it a big bank?” Gaston asked.

It immediately became clear to Papillon that Gaston was there to dig. He was certainly not the brains of the operation.

The four men worked diligently on the tunnel for what seemed like endless days, which turned into over a month. The tunnel moved along slowly because of a lack of air, water in the tunnel after a rain, and just the amount of work required to build it. But eventually it was under the bank and the caper was set to go. All four men went on a road trip to buy an acetylene tank and torch in a nearby town to cut open the safes. Upon returning to their Villa the next day they noticed a lot of cops and firemen in the yard. They had stopped well short of the villa and learned the tunnel had collapsed due to a large truck passing over it on the road above.

The caper was over before they ever got into the bank. The four of them left going their separate ways cursing the month of back breaking work they had put in with no reward.

Charriere went back to Jose and

Maria’s and eventually found a job selling women’s clothing. He met up with a French pilot who owned a small two-seater plane.

They quickly worked out a scheme where they would fly to towns which had at least one large brothel where Papi could peddle his goods. The women there were sure to have money as well as a desire for nice clothing. They worked together for a short time, but eventually the cost of maintenance on the plane and fuel costs caused the pilot to sell it.

The adventure was fun but yielded small profits, however, there was no shortage of liquor and women of ill repute!

Carotte, as Henri called him, was an excellent pilot and well-known as such; he took a job in Caracas with the government flying mail routes.

Henri was left on his own in Caracas but soon bumped into an old friend from prison in French Guiana named Big Leon. He and Henri had been in solitary at different times but knew each other well.

In no time Big Leon asked Papillon if he wanted to get into some action, and make some real money?

“Of course,” Henri replied, and immediately Big Leon began to lay out a plan to knock over a pawnshop in Columbia with a Chilean

venue, has had over 19” of snow in February alone, breaking an all time record. They anticipate being able to offer skiing into July 4th!

The romantic in me recalled many nights of a soft, heavy carpet of fresh snow . . . and the quiet silence that descends after a fresh snowfall. There sometimes is a romance to snow. But not always.

Man About Town Snow and Romance and . . .

Stuff A friend of mine in Omaha told me she had been essentially snowed in due to 9” of snow. I thought that was bad - but I had lived through that many times before when I lived back in the mid-west, both in Omaha and, later, in Chicago.

Then I heard on the news today that Mammoth Mountain, about a six hour drive north of Escondido and a major Southern California skiing

I can remember one time, for example, when traveling to Norway. We were driving north from Oslo up to the more northern areas of Norway . . headed for a town called Sauda, right at the foot of the Sauda Fjord.

En route we traveled over some lovely mountain passes ... beautiful views that only cinematographers and shepherds normally see ... and we were there!

I remember seeing large herds of sheep in the meadows below . . . beautiful isolated farm houses dotted here and there . . . but here, where we were, complete isolation.

Not a soul within miles.

I noticed a beautiful little area . . . a small grassy meadow, then an area circled by large boulders . . . and a large snow drift nestled among the boulders and close to the meadow.

What a romantic scene I thought .

friend named, Pedro. Big Leon and Henri got fake passports showing them to be Italians and they left for Columbia straight away. The job was simple, to break into a tie shop next door to the pawnshop, and then go through the wall into the pawnshop.

Big Leon and Pedro had scouted the pawnshop and found the jewels were only locked in glass cabinets so access would be easy.

were for individual freezers. The cops stripped them of their shoes and socks and put each one into a separate freezer. The temperature in the freezers were all below zero, and their bare feet stuck to the floor as they tried to move.

Before going into the freezer, they were each given another chance to talk, but none of the three gave up anything.

After hiding their loot separately, they met back at a bar for some drinks. Suddenly, while still in the bar, the police approached the three of them and said, “hands up thieves.” They were taken to a building where they were beat and tortured for hours eventually ending up with all three of them unconscious.

Henri awoke in a room where he was on a table and someone had poured a small amount of rum into his mouth. A guy was rubbing him seemingly trying to get circulation going again, which after a short time worked. He sat up looked around and Pedro was sitting on a table not far from him. The police were there as well and the head cop said, “well boys are you ready to go back to the freezer?

First one that talks doesn’t have to go but look what happens if you go back.” Two huge cops pulled something from under one of the tables and laid it on top. It was Big Leon and he was frozen stiff as a board, and graveyard dead. It sent a chill down the spine of Charriere thinking that this would be his fate.

Pedro spoke up and said, “he died

They woke up a short time later and were in a building with several huge metal doors next to each other.

Henri quickly recognized this as a meat packing house and the doors

Papillon continued on page 5

They did the job late on a Saturday night when no one was around and left through the tie shop early Sunday morning while still dark.

The haul was fantastic the jewels were probably worth $100K U.S. dollars, which they quickly divided, and each man left on his own to hide his loot.

. . and then I thought . . . we’re up on top of a Norwegian mountain, a lovely, pristine site . . . an inviting snow drift . . . and we were all alone.

Me and my then-wife, Mary.

The romantic in me came rushing to the fore and we headed for the snow drift fully determined to make love in this wonderfully magic site . . . to create a memory that would last for years to come.

Friend, I have to tell you . . . it is not particularly romantic to attempt to make love in a snow drift . . . no matter how beautiful it is . . . it is still cold! Cold as hell! Not for just one party to the endeavor but to both! Somehow, it just doesn’t seem to work.

Quickly, the romantic in me came to its senses and addressed the realistic element of life.

We scurried back to our nice warm rental car and continued our journey.

A bit later we had descended to this marvelous grassy meadow . . . a soft breeze bounced around among the alders and pines and whispered gently through the grasses.

What a romantic spot, I thought.

And then the romantic in me came to fore one again. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful experience, we thought, to take a nice walk in the meadow, find a suitable spot, lie down among the gentle meadow grasses and make love? Create another wonderful memory that would last for years?

I could almost hear Julie Andrews singing a love song from “A Sound of Music.”

Friend, I have to tell you . . . grassy meadows are not as nice as they appear in the movies . . . nor as nice as they appear from the roadway. You find that once you park your car and walk into that romantic meadow and its whispering grasses . . . those meadows have hundreds of thousands of bugs and insects and they jump up and nip you and become something of a bother. Who, in their right mind, would even consider lying down in a grassy meadow and even attempt to make love?

Once again my cloudy romantic mind was overtaken by Mr. Realism

Man About Town continued on page 12

The Paper • Page 5 • March 5, 2026

Papillon from page 4 by accident, didn’t he? No way you guys want to explain that same fate to both the Italian and the Chilean embassies.”

It worked. Pedro and Henri straight away were taken to jail and within a month Henri was freed because the tie shop owner said he had never seen him before. Also, the bar waiter said that when Papillon came in for drinks and oysters he asked for a table for one. Papi knew now was not the time to retrieve his cut from the job because it would probably only land him back in prison or maybe even that freezer.

Henri made his way back to Caracas but only stayed for a short time. As soon as possible he left for Maracaibo where he had heard there were jobs available because of the oil fields and quarries. Many French live there near the lagoon which also intrigued him (his Spanish was not so good). Shortly after arrival he met some young French guys who ran a garage and

eventually, they offered him a job and a place to stay. For four months Henri had fun in the evenings with these young guys and their wives.

They were though very political for Papi’s taste. The coup d’état that had set him free from the prison in El Dorado in 1944 overthrew Medina Angarita. The coup ushered in a three-year period of democratic rule under Romulo Betancourt.

Henri’s young friends wanted to bring Angarita back to power and were becoming increasingly impatient and militaristic.

of it he would spend to get his revenge. The road had been widened and to do so they had taken down his marker, a big tree. He searched in vain, but his share of the loot had been discovered or buried much deeper when they widened the road. At any rate all the work to get the score, and more importantly the pain from the police had once again been for nothing. Papillon had heard the old saying that “crime doesn’t pay” and wondered now if he was not the epitome of that statement?

folks to get the project moving forward. The Canadian rented the entire hotel, all sixteen rooms, for a full year which made Laurence incredibly happy. Henri thought to himself maybe it was not criminal, but for once something seemed to work out.

Papillon was grateful to Venezuela for his freedom, and he did not feel the same as his new friends. He decided to leave the garage and go back to Columbia to dig up his take from the Pawnshop.

He returned to Maracaibo where a friend introduced Charriere to a model from Paris named Laurence who had decided to live there. She had just bought the Hotel Normandy with sixteen rooms to rent out.

Laurence hired Henri as her righthand man, and she kept him busy day and night because she was always so full of energy and deep in debt for the hotel. One evening at a local bar Henri met a representative from the Lumus Company who was French Canadian, and they talked about Maracaibo.

The company had just acquired the rights to an oil field nearby and needed to house some of their

Henri worried about all the other people in the kitchen figuring out that he did not really know what he was doing. It turned out that all of them had only been dishwashers before so, no problem. The company gave Papi money daily to keep the kitchen stocked and he made sure to skim a little off the top.

Papillon flew back to Columbia from Maracaibo and went directly to Medellin where the pawnshop job took place. He stayed one night at a local hotel but carefully avoided the police and their all too handy freezers. The next morning, he hired a car to take him to the place where he had buried his share of the loot. He had visions of what he would do with his share, and some

A short time later Henri ran an ad for a cooking position having learned the fundamentals from Laurence’s chef. A week later he was hired and cooking for the Richmond Exploration Company.

Papillon knew things were going well and soon asked his boss for a raise which he received, and the increase brought Henri’s salary to Papillon continued on page 7

Chase Made My $1,000 Payment Vanish Into Thin Air How do I get it back?

by Christopher Elliott

union provided detailed transaction records showing the ACH transfer to Chase. The documentation was crystal clear: The money had left her account and arrived at Chase.

When Joanne Smikle made a $1,000 payment on her Chase credit card bill, she assumed the transaction had gone through. The money left her Tower Federal Credit Union account. Chase credited the payment. Everything looked normal.

But documentation alone isn’t enough when you’re dealing with a major bank’s customer service machinery.

But sometimes looks are deceiving.

Chase’s system showed the payment as both a credit and debit on the same day, effectively canceling the transaction out.

The next month, Smikle noticed something odd on her Chase statement. The payment never showed up as a credit. Instead, it appeared twice on the same day -- once as a credit, once as a debit.

Her payment had vanished into the banking equivalent of a black hole.

“I notified Chase several times that they had not corrected the mistake,” Smikle told me. “I’ve received form letters from them but they have not corrected the error.”

Smikle’s case raises several important questions that plague consumers dealing with major banks: What should you do when a bank loses track of your payment but won’t fix the error?

How can you prove you made a payment when the bank’s own records contradict themselves?

Illustration by Christopher Elliott When should you escalate a payment dispute to get real resolution?

Smikle did everything right -- or at least tried to. She sent documentation from her credit union showing the successful ACH transfer. Not once, not twice, but three times. She wrote letters to Chase’s vice president who handles credit cards. Each time, Chase responded with form letters that didn’t address her problem.

Seven months after her payment disappeared, Smikle was desperate enough to contact my advocacy team.

“I don’t know what else to do,” she wrote.

Her story reveals something troubling about how major banks handle payment disputes. And it shows why sometimes you need an advocate to break through the bureaucratic wall.

What should you do when a bank loses track of your payment but won’t fix the error?

The first rule of payment disputes is simple: Document everything.

Smikle did this perfectly. When her payment went missing, her credit

This type of processing error can happen when ACH payments get duplicated in a bank’s system, creating what banking insiders call a wash transaction.

The key is knowing how to present your evidence. Many consumers make the mistake of calling the customer service line repeatedly, explaining their situation to different representatives each time. This rarely works because phone representatives often can’t access the detailed transaction logs needed to investigate complex payment issues.

Instead, you need to create a paper trail.

Vanish continued on page 8

The Paper • Page 6 • March 5, 2026

5th District Supervisor • Jim Desmond Don’t Let Politicians Rewrite the Rules You Already Set Board vote could come as early sumptions, and when no one gets as April. comfortable enough to confuse their interests with the public’s.

I oppose this proposal. Here’s A third term moves us in the opwhy you should, too. posite direction.

In 2010, 68 percent of San Diego County voters chose to limit supervisors to two terms.

That wasn’t a close call—it was a decisive mandate. Voters watched power concentrate on a single board for more than two decades and said: enough.

San Diego County voters spoke Now, barely 15 years later, the clearly on term limits. The Board Board is proposing to hand itself of Supervisors should listen. an extra term. And the supervisors who stand to benefit the I want to be direct with you soonest are the very ones whose about something happening at terms are about to expire. When the County—something I believe elected officials move to extend every San Diego County resident their own time in office, the burdeserves to know. den of justification should be extraordinarily high. This proposal A proposal is being fast-tracked doesn’t come close to meeting it. to place a measure on this November’s ballot that would ex- These seats were never designed tend term limits for the Board of to be lifelong careers. Extending Supervisors from two terms to term limits and stacking the balthree, convert the county’s Chief lot with new elected offices turns Administrative Officer from a public service into permanent professional manager into an political employment. Governelected politician, and create new ment works best when leadership county offices and commissions turns over, when fresh perspecwith poorly defined authority. A tives challenge entrenched as-

would hold, whom they would answer to, and how they would actually operate. Without those details locked in by voters at the ballot box, the Board of Supervisors would fill in the blanks afI’m equally alarmed by the push ter the fact, behind closed doors. to make the Chief Administrative That isn’t reform. It’s a blank Officer an elected position. The check.

CAO exists to be a professional manager—someone whose job Sixty-eight percent of you spoke is to run day-to-day county op- clearly in 2010. I intend to honor erations with competence and that vote, and I will oppose this accountability, not to campaign, proposal when it comes before fundraise, and chase votes. When the Board. administrators become politicians, their focus shifts from run- But my opposition alone isn’t ning the government efficiently enough. If this measure reaches to running their next campaign. the ballot, it will be up to you to defend the limits you already We don’t have to guess how this set. I’ll keep you informed as this plays out. Look at the City of San moves forward and make sure Diego. When the City Manager you know when and how to make role was eliminated and replaced your voice heard. by elected leadership over daily operations, it didn’t produce bet- The people of San Diego County ter governance. It produced dys- don’t need their elected officials function, finger-pointing, and a to have more time in office. They collapse of clear accountability. need elected officials who respect The county should learn from the time they’ve been given. that mistake, not repeat it.

San Diego County District 5 SuThe proposal also calls for creat- pervisor Jim Desmond, 1600 Paing new county offices and com- cific Highway, #335, San Diego, missions—but the draft ballot CA 92101, United States http:// language is conspicuously vague www.supervisorjimdesmond. on what powers these bodies com/

San Diego Humane Society Tips Off Seventh Annual “March Meowness” Photo Tournament

Lace up your sneakers and get your cameras ready! As the nation gets swept up in college basketball fever, San Diego Humane Society is tipping off its seventh annual March Meowness tournament. This bracket-style digital showdown invites San Diego’s most photogenic pets to compete for glory, bragging rights and prizes.

While the athletes are hitting the hardwood, local pets will be clawing their way to the top in a competition that mirrors the thrill of the NCAA tournament. Whether you have a high-jumping hound, a slam-dunking kitten or a scaly MVP, March Meowness is the ultimate arena to showcase your pet’s star power.

The Road to the Championship The Selection Show: February 27 through March 12th, pet parents can enter the cutest contest of the season by uploading a photo at sdhumane.org/contest.

The Field of 64: The competition heats up as the top 32 fan-voted

Championship Rewards Sponsored by Petszel

1st Place: $250 Visa Gift Card, plus custom engraved ID tag 2nd Place: $200 Visa Gift Card, plus custom engraved ID tag 3rd and 4th Place: $100 Visa Gift Card (2 winners) 5th-8th Place: $50 Visa Gift Card (4 winners) Voter Prizes (New!): $50 Visa Gift Card (3 winners randomly chosen)

favorites and 32 wildcard picks from San Diego Humane Society staff are seeded into the official bracket.

The Bracket Battle: Fans will vote their favorites through head-tohead matches, narrowing the field from the Round of 64 to the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and the high-stakes Final Four.

The Big Prance: The two remain-

ing contenders will battle it out in the Championship Matchup, with the 2026 March Meowness Champion officially crowned on April 7th.

Participation is free, and pet parents are encouraged to “full-court press” their friends and family for daily votes. Each person can cast one vote per day to help their favorite furry, feathered or scaly player advance.

Don’t leave your pet on the bench!

For contest rules, dates and to enter, visit sdhumane.org/contest.

San Diego Humane Society offers programs that strengthen the human-animal bond, prevent cruelty and neglect, provide medical care, educate the community and serve as a safety net for all pet families.

San Diego Humane Society has campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, Ramona and San Diego. For more information, please visit sdhumane.org.

The Paper • Page 7 • March 5, 2026

the Hotel Vera Cruz and went to the patio for a cool drink.

Papillon from page 5 $1,000 per month!

Eventually Henri convinced the boss to allow him to go with one of the geology teams into the forest on exploration. He would cook for the troop which included mercenaries for protection. The Motilon Indians were very territorial about this region and were known to use arrows to send that message. On one excursion as one of Henri’s cooks was hanging up a lantern in the early morning, he suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Several men from camp ran to see what was wrong and found the cook had an arrow in his side and one in his buttocks, and he was writhing in pain. Four men carried him to the canoe, and then they took the canoe downstream to the truck for the trip back to Maracaibo. Most of the remaining men wanted to go back to town before anything else happened.

Papillon stayed with the few men who were not panicked by the Motilon attack. The remaining party stayed vigilant night and day but after five days decided they had enough information and returned to Maracaibo.

On returning from another one of these geological trips Papillon decided to give up his Richmond provided room and move into downtown Maracaibo. Henri stopped at

Chuckles from page 2 I swear it wasn’t me! Unless it was a good thing . . . then I did it twice! *** Without farming you’d be hungry, naked, and sober. *** In a fire drill meeting at work we were asked what steps we’d take in case of a fire.

Apparently, “really fast and big ones” was not the correct answer. *** I’m glad we met later in life. I don’t think my mother would have let me play with you. *** Great line: This morning at breakfast I asked Evelyn, “Have you thought about

There on the patio was the woman Henri had dreamed about the whole time he was in prison. How could this not be another dream, but sure as hell she was real. Papillon rented a room from her then she took him down the hallway to his new quarters.

She was perfect and the resemblance to the woman of Papi’s dreams was uncanny, almost as important she spoke perfect French.

Her name was Rita Bensimon she came to Venezuela from Tangiers with a husband who quickly left her and returned to Tangiers. She had bought the Hotel Vera Cruz on her own. Henri courted her for many weeks and finally convinced her to be with him. He told her of the wife in Paris and the decades of separation.

Charriere did not, however, tell her about his crimes and prison time, at least not yet.

Henri still put together the Richmond’s geological expeditions and made sure all the proper equipment was in place. He spent most of his time at the hotel and became well known in the city. One day the local police arrested him for breaking into the Richmond Company safe. They had found out about his past from Interpol and were sure he was their man. They put Papillon into the Maracaibo prison, but Rita hired a lawyer who got him out within two weeks of being ar-

what you’d do with The Paper if I were to die?”

“Burn it!” She said.

We both collapsed in laughter.

Everone in the restaurant must have thought we were nuts. *** I was always taught to respect my elders. Now, at 87 years old, I don’t have anyone left to respect. *** I don’t wanna say I’m getting old ...

But I have noticed lately that restaurants are asking me to pay up front. *** The ability to speak several languages is an asset; but the ability to keep your mouth shut is priceless! *** Coffee. Robe. Newspaper. Slippers. Loyal dog. What else should

rested.

When she picked him up Henri could tell how upset she was learning about his past. Papillon told her he lied about his past because he thought she would leave him and that thought he could not bear.

Henri began sobbing and weeping thinking that he had lost her forever.

This man who had been imprisoned in unspeakable conditions, starved, attacked, locked in total solitary for years, nearly frozen to death, tortured, and who faced almost certain death to gain his freedom was broken in a way like never before. Rita pulled him close and said, “it’s okay Henri I believe and love you and I always will.” Nothing in his entire life had ever made him feel this way, and he knew at that moment this was forever!

Before long Rita told Henri to write to his father and let him know he was alive and well. Henri happily complied and included some information about the happiness in his life now. He sent the post off and waited diligently for weeks on end, but no return letter was ever received. He kept as busy as possible at the hotel helping with cooking, anything to pass the hours each day. After a few months Rita came to Henri and said she wanted to go to France to find his father.

Papillon of course could not go because he was a wanted French fugitive. He also did not want Rita to go on such a long arduous journey,

but she would have it no other way.

So, she put together the things required such as a passport, money, clothes for the trip to Paris. Papillon was nearly out of his mind with worry because she had been gone almost two months and no letter.

Finally, he received a telegram telling him of her arrival date and time, he was beyond thrilled.

Henri was so happy when Rita arrived home, he could barely contain himself. She told him that his father had died years ago, but that she visited his grave. She also told him that she had arranged for her daughter, Clotilde, who was 13 years old to come to Venezuela to live with them. Clotilde had stayed with Rita’s mother in Tangiers, but then the two of them later moved to France. When she arrived Papillon knew almost immediately upon meeting her that he loved her. She was such a sweet child and so happy to be with her mother and Henri. He could not help but think that this was a life he never believed possible for himself.

Clotilde and Henri would go shopping for food each day in town and always took their big poodle, Minou, with them. Minou liked people and was regal in both his well-groomed appearance and how he presented himself. They always had interesting and funny stories to tell Rita when they got back to the hotel.

Papillon continued on page 12

I steal before my neighbors wake up?

dollars of debt is to spend trillions more of our money.

***

A seven year old boy can be thrown out of school for calling his teacher “cute” but hosting a sexual exploration or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable.

Mary says that I over analyze everything but I think that these graphs and charts clearly indicate otherwise. *** You know you live in a Country run by idiots if...

You can get arrested for expired tags on your car but not for being in the country illegally.

You have to have your parents signature to go on a school field trip but not to get an abortion.

An 80 year old woman can be stripped searched by the TSA but a Muslim woman in a burka is only subject to having her neck and head searched.

Your government believes that the best way to eradicate trillions of

The Supreme Court of the United States can rule that lower courts cannot display the 10 Commandments in their courtroom, while sitting in front of a display of the 10 Commandments.

Being self-sufficient is considered a threat to the government.

Politicians think that stripping away the amendments to the constitution is really protecting the rights of the people.

The rights of the Government come before the rights of the individual.

You pay your mortgage faithfully, Chuckles continued on page 8

The Paper • Page 8 • March 5, 2026

Pacific Coast Harmony Hosts Special Guest Night

Vanish from page 5 Write formal letters to the bank’s customer service department, including copies (never originals) of all your documentation. Send these letters via email or certified mail so you have proof of delivery. Keep copies of everything.

Smikle followed this approach, but she made one big mistake early on: She didn’t escalate quickly enough.

When a bank’s initial response doesn’t resolve your issue, you have about 30 days before the trail goes cold. After that, representatives assume you’ve accepted their answer and moved on.

Pacific Coast Harmony, an awardwinning 4-part harmony cappella chorus, is hosting a special guest night Monday March 9, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in Pappas Hall, below the church at Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 3459 Manchester Ave., Cardiff, CA 92007.

This is a great opportunity for people who love to sing to enjoy some fun, inclusive musical activities.

Visitors may enjoy just watching the rehearsal or can join in. All are welcome. iPads are provided with music to help guests sing along.

Music reading skills are not required. Music learning is significantly aided by professionally created audio tracks.

Pacific Coast Harmony is a mixed a cappella ensemble based in Encinitas, California, under the direction of locally renowned director and performer, Janet Hammer.

For more information visit PacificCoastharmony.org or call (619) 427-6669.

If you plan to attend, please let us know at PacificCoastHarmonyInfo@gmail.com, so we can welcome you!

Chuckles from page 7

4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

denying yourself the newest big screen TV while your neighbor defaults on his mortgage (while buying iPhones, TV’s and new cars) and the government forgives his debt and reduces his mortgage (with your tax dollars).

5. Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

Being stripped of the ability to defend yourself makes you “safe”.

CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

You know you live in a Country run by idiots if You can write a post like this just by reading the news headlines. *** After an exhaustive review of the research literature, here’s the final word on nutrition and health:

6. The French eat foie-Gras, full fat cheese and drink red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us

*** What is the secret of eternal youth?

The answer is easily told; All you gotta do if you wanna look young

1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

Is hang out with people who are old.

2.Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

***

3.Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

Accordian to a recent survey 6 out of 10 people never noticed when a word was replaced by a musical instrument.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CPFB) requires banks to investigate billing errors within 30 days and provide a written response. If they don’t fix an obvious error like Smikle’s, that’s when you need to escalate to executive customer service. Most major banks have special teams that handle complaints sent to senior executives. These teams have broader authority to override system limitations and make account adjustments.

Smikle eventually wrote to Chase’s credit card executives, but by then she was already fighting an uphill battle. The longer a dispute drags on, the more difficult it becomes to resolve because bank systems often archive older transaction details.

Here’s what works better: After your first email gets a form letter response, quickly escalate it to a manager. Banks track executive complaints differently, and these letters often get routed to specialized teams with actual problemsolving authority.

How can you prove you made a payment when the bank’s own records contradict themselves?

Bank payment disputes often turn into “he said, she said” battles, except in this case it’s “customer said, computer said.”

When Chase’s system showed Smikle’s payment as both a credit and debit, the computer essentially argued with itself — and won.

This happens more often than banks admit. Modern payment processing involves multiple computer systems that don’t always communicate perfectly. An ACH payment from an external bank might get processed correctly by the receiving system but recorded incorrectly by the customer account system.

The result is exactly what Smikle

experienced. Money moves, but the customer’s balance doesn’t reflect the payment.

The strongest evidence in payment disputes comes from the originating bank, not the receiving bank.

Smikle’s credit union provided detailed ACH transaction records showing the exact date, time, amount, and receiving bank information. This type of documentation carries more weight than customer screenshots or printed statements because it comes directly from the financial institution’s official records.

You need to present this evidence strategically. Many consumers send bank statements or transaction summaries, thinking that’s sufficient proof. It’s not. You need what bankers call “trace documentation” — records that show the complete path of your payment from your account to theirs.

For ACH transfers, this includes the ODFI (Originating Depository Financial Institution) trace number, which uniquely identifies your specific transaction. Credit unions and community banks are usually happy to provide this information because they want to help their members resolve disputes with larger institutions.

Wire transfers have similar trace numbers, and credit card payments processed through bank bill pay services generate confirmation codes. The key is asking your bank for the most detailed transaction record it can provide, not just a basic statement entry.

Smikle’s case demonstrates why you should also request what’s called a “payment posting history” from the receiving bank. This report shows exactly how and when it processed your payment. In her situation, Chase’s posting history would have revealed the duplicate entry that created the wash transaction.

Most banks will provide this documentation if you request it formally in writing, though they might charge a small research fee. The expense is worth it because these detailed records often reveal processing errors that customer service representatives can’t see on their standard screens.

The nuclear option for payment proof is requesting bank-to-bank communication records. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, banks must provide detailed information about disputed transactions. This can include the original ACH transmission data and any error messages that occurred during processing.

Vanish continued on page 9

The Paper • Page 9 • March 5, 2026

Vanish from page 8 When should you escalate a payment dispute to get real resolution?

Timing is everything in banking disputes. Smikle waited too long to bring in outside help, and that nearly cost her the resolution she deserved. By the time she contacted my team, Chase had already sent multiple form letters and established a pattern of nonresponsiveness.

The escalation clock starts ticking the moment you realize there’s a problem. For payment disputes, you have several built-in deadlines that work in your favor if you know how to use them. The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you 60 days from when you receive a statement to dispute billing errors. Miss that deadline, and you lose important legal protections.

But here’s what most consumers don’t know: Banks often have internal resolution targets that are much shorter. Major credit card companies typically aim to resolve payment disputes within 10 to 15 business days. If they can’t meet that timeline, the case often gets shuffled to a different department, where it can languish for months.

The trick is forcing early escalation before your case disappears into the bureaucratic maze. After your first contact generates a form letter response, you have about 72 hours to escalate effectively. Wait longer, and your case gets categorized as “responded to” in the bank’s system.

Executive escalation works, but only if you do it right. Don’t email the CEO’s assistant with a long story about your problem. Instead, send a concise email to the president’s office explaining that you’ve received unsatisfactory responses to a clear-cut billing error. Include copies of your documentation and specify exactly what resolution you’re seeking.

Normally, bank executives don’t personally read this correspondence, but their offices have specialized teams that handle executive complaints. These groups can override system limitations, reverse charges, and make account adjustments that regular customer service representatives can’t authorize.

The key phrases that get attention are “Fair Credit Billing Act violation,” “payment posting error,” and “documented ACH transaction.” These trigger escalation to compliance teams that understand the legal implications of payment

disputes.

For cases like Smikle’s, where you have rock-solid documentation but the bank won’t budge, external advocacy becomes necessary.

Consumer advocacy organizations, state banking regulators, and the CPFB all track bank payment disputes. A single complaint to the CFPB often generates more action than months of letters to customer service. (However, in the last few months, the bureau has been gutted by legislators, so the bureau’s effectiveness is iffy these days.)

But even external advocacy has timing considerations. The CFPB is most effective when you’ve already given the bank a reasonable opportunity to resolve the issue internally. If you complain to regulators too quickly, banks can legitimately argue that you didn’t follow their dispute resolution process.

Will she get her $1,000 back?

My team contacted Chase on Smikle’s behalf. Three months later, we received an email from her.

Chase credited the missing $1,000 to Smikle’s account, though it didn’t explain exactly what went wrong or why it took so long to fix.

This case illustrates a frustrating reality about consumer banking.

Sometimes the system works ex-

actly as designed, and that’s the problem. Chase’s customer service representatives probably followed their training. They generated appropriate form letters, escalated within prescribed timeframes, and documented everything according to company policy.

The problem wasn’t incompetence.

It was indifference. When faced with clear evidence of a payment processing error, Chase’s response was to treat Smikle like every other complaining customer rather than recognizing she had legitimate documentation of its mistake.

Banks have become so focused on preventing fraud that they’ve made it almost impossible for customers to prove they’re telling the truth about legitimate transactions. Smikle provided the same documentation three times because Chase kept asking for it, apparently unable to retain or properly review the evidence she’d already submitted.

The real solution to payment disputes like this isn’t better customer service training or improved computer systems. It’s accountability.

When a bank makes an obvious error and refuses to fix it despite Vanish continued on page 14

The Paper • Page 10 • March 5, 2026

The Pastor Says . . .

A Balanced Life Many years ago, before the sophisticated playground equipment, we had teeter-totters. For those of us living in the country, our teeter-totter consisted of a wooden plank about 12 feet long and a wooden or rocky platform on which we placed the plank. We entertained ourselves by trying to get a balance on either end of the plank. Of course, the heaviest person at the end of the plank always won. The most enjoyable aspect was the balancing act itself; when both players were evenly matched in weight, we could see-saw up and down for hours. This delicate balance made the game fun, as any disproportionate weight would destroy the experience.

It seems that we are living in that kind of world today. Political parties, religious groups, and national interests want to use their weight to take away the joy of the game of life, leaving many without the pleasure of playing. The ministry of Jesus was centered on his oneness with the Father. He urged his disciples to live in the oneness of spirit and behavior. He said, ‘The Father and I are one. All that I do and say is from the Father.’ While Jesus was an individual, as was his Father, God, the mutual goal was to enjoy the balance between the two.

Pastor Huls

We struggle to find that balance in our world. This nation has two political parties that spend their time in dissent, argument, fault-finding, seldom cooperating for our welfare, and often in selfish ambition. We wonder whether the activity we pursued was balanced. Even supporting the President’s State of the Union speech saw radical division. It is evident that either the Democrats or Republicans want to monopolize the teeter-totter by pushing the other side off. One would hope there would be a time when ideas and beliefs are in balance, but sadly, in many churches, there is dissent, schisms, hostility, and little balance. Sometimes we see this conflict in personal belief. Many in the religious field have only one view and reject all others. For some, there is only one way to believe. All others are on either the heavy or light side of the plank. The multitude of churches tells us this. We need not limit this to politics and religion. I have seen it in many marriages. There is only one way for some. No balance, only one-sided.

San Diego Humane Society is supporting families and their pets who need a little extra help.

Through the Community Pet Pantry, anyone can visit our campuses to pick up a bag of dog or cat food, and other supplies, as available.

No appointment is needed for this service. Hours are Tuesday-Sunday from 10am to 6pm.

El Cajon 373 N. Marshall Ave. Escondido 3500 Burnet Drive

It takes a lot to live a balanced life. Some believe you don’t have convictions, that anything goes, and that right is right. Yet, there is time and need to work, play, and see-saw. One is left all alone with a one-sided plank. There is no fun, no game, and one is all alone. Even God negotiated the outcome of the flood with Noah. Perhaps life is not just either/or but both, and the world we live in.

Oceanside 572 Airport Road San Diego 5480 Gaines Street

Everything needs balance. We see this in nature and the cosmos, so why shouldn’t we, as human beings, also seek balance?

Pastor Huls

Pet Parade

Pet of the Week

Hawk

Kai

Hawk is a 16-year-old, 11-pound, male, Miniature Poodle mix.

He was adopted from Rancho Coastal Humane Society and lived with his family 8-1/2 years. One of his owners died and the other could no longer able to care for him. Now he needs a new home.

He loves to go on walks and cuddling. Hawk has lived with dogs and cats. He’s house trained and he appreciates routine.

The $75 adoption fee for Hawk includes medical exam, neuter, vaccinations, microchip, and a one-year license if his new home is in the jurisdiction of San Diego Humane Society.

For more information visit Rancho Coastal Humane Society in Encinitas, call 760-753-6413, or log on to www.SDpets.org. Open 11 to 4 every day but Tuesday.

Meet Kai, a sweet, affectionate pup with a big heart and lots of potential! Kai is playful, intelligent, and an eager learner who benefits from structure and consistency.

In a previous home, he has done wonderfully with children and another dog, showing that he can build positive relationships when given the right introductions and guidance. Like many dogs, Kai can feel unsure around unfamiliar dogs, and he’s currently working on his confidence and calm responses in those situations. With supportive adopters who are willing to continue positive reinforcement training and provide thoughtful management, Kai has all the potential to thrive. His eagerness to please, loving nature and past success in a multi-dog home make him a truly special companion!

Visit San Diego Humane Society’s Escondido Campus at 3500 Burnet Drive to adopt Kai (937317) today. If you have questions about the adoption process, you can visit sdhumane.org/adopt or call 619-299-7012.

Online profile: https://sdhumane.org/adopt/available-pets/animalsingle/?petId=937317

The Paper • Page 11 • March 5, 2026

The PC age is Over! - Almost We just don’t know it yet. telligent Web) and home and small business PCs users began to enjoy the shared benefits long familiar to LAN users like businesses, governments and academics.

The Computer Factory 845 W. San Marcos Blvd.

760-744-4315 thecomputerfactory.net

And perhaps it’s not over quite yet.

It seems there will always be a use for a few stand-alone PCs. But for the vast majority of PCs, (personal computers) the PC age is coming to an end. In the fifty plus years since PCs debuted in the early 1970s, the PC has enjoyed quite a ride. In the early days PCs, with their on-board reservoir of programs, information and computing power became essential to business, engineers, scientist, realtors, college students, sales folk etc. In the first three decades of its existence the PC blossomed into Desktops, Laptops, Allin-Ones and Microcomputers, each with its own special niche. Groups with large user bases like governments, schools and corporations created proprietary networks for their users sharing programs and applications. At the turn of the 21st century AI (artificial intelligence) and broadband (high speed internet) combined to create the IW or (In-

As we moved into the second decade of the 21st century, developers continued to increase the operating speeds of Internet servers. Over 75% of the Earth’s PC users have access to the IW today and that number is increasing each year. Most government, educational institutions and large corporations have been using LAN (Local Area Network) applications for decades. Until the arrival of the IW in 2001, small business and home users did not have a reliable multi-user, high speed source for Internet based programs. Since 2001 PC users have had access to this ever expanding tool. Over time PC users have been slowly giving up on locally installed programs in favor of the convenience and flexibility of network server installed programming. PCs today are ITs (internet terminals), not personal computers.

In order to accommodate the increasing reliance on the processing power of Internet servers, the CPU core count per server had risen from four in year 2000 and then to sixty four or more CPU cores by year 2025.

As stand-alone PC programs disappeared in recent years, IW server based programs have become a low cost, high speed alternative to local PC stand-alone programs. Server based applications today are less costly, faster and more reliable than stand-alone PC alternatives. The trend toward server based vs standalone programming has been strong

and growing since the introduction of the IW in 2001. Through the IW, small business and home users now have access to the overwhelming majority of applications written for multi –user server clients. Using server based applications is cheaper and safer than using the same application as a “stand-alone” utility.

The trend is toward offering all applications as server based. It appears that as the new networked versions of standard programs become available, most users have already opted for the server-based versions.

The use of IW server based applications by small business and home users has been accelerating in recent years but we still seem to have a fifty year love affair with our ancient peripheral devices. The mouse, keyboard, screen, storage drives, and RAM have remained virtually unchanged in function for the past

five decades. By contrast our PCs have undergone a recent and dramatic change in function. They are no longer a PC (personal computer). Today most latter day PCs are merely Internet I/O terminals. The mouse, keyboard, screen, storage drive, RAM have been part of our home and business computer set-up for over half a century. As PCs have ceded their computing responsibilities to the IW, how will it change the function of peripheral devices? An even bigger question is how will the ubiquitous use of AI affect humans.

Will we find a way accept AI as a labor saving tool and move on up to a higher plane of existence, or will we take the easy way out and allow the robot based AI to serve as a substitute for our native intelligence?

Perhaps we could let them do the “heavy lifting” while we served as the maintenance crew for our new bosses? The jury is still out. . .

Spring Clearance 5-10-$15 Tables • Half Price Items

Clothes, wine glass sets, wet suits, paint spray kits pottery, dinnerware sets, picnic sets, China, fishing tackle & more.

845 W. SAN MARCOS BLVD • 760-744-4315 www.thecomputerfactory.net

John Van Zante’s Critter Corner

A Tribute to Those Who Stood in Harm’s Way… on Four Paws or Two Feet

K9 Veterans Day is observed each March 13th. When you say K9 Veterans, most people think about Military Working Dogs, often called MWDs. Every MWD is part of a team with a handler. Nearly every combat veteran I’ve spoken with has a story about a MWD. They consider these dogs to be teammates. Many have stories of how the dogs saved them or the others they served with.

Dogs have been serving in the military since 100 BC. Today the average MWD saves 150 lives during its career.

During my 15 years at Rancho Coastal Humane Society, I’ve seen thousands of people visit the Military Working Dog Memorial located on our South campus. You’ve probably seen the memorial or the flag that flies over it from Northbound I-5 in Encinitas. It’s the only private MWD Memorial west of the Mississippi.

I’ve seen gratitude in the eyes of veterans who faced the enemy and lived to tell about it. Children stare in amazement at what one of them call “the big rock dog.”

One gentleman wiped what he said was just “sweat” from his eyes with one hand. His other hand rested on the MWD statue. He spoke softly. Barely more than a whisper. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for a dog like you.”

respect and appreciation when they visit the memorial.

Some guests don’t want to leave.

Many veterans end their visit to the MWD Memorial by snapping to attention and saluting the flag waving overhead.

You don’t need to be a veteran for the MWD Memorial to touch your heart. All visitors share a sense of

Sitting atop the memorial is a granite life-size statue of Chyba, a German Shepherd who was deployed to Iraq in 2004. She also served as a PatrolNarcotics Detector. Chyba lost her final battle in 2011. She wasn’t on a battlefield or on patrol, sniffing out illegal drugs. She crossed over the Rainbow Bridge at her home, quietly, surrounded by people who loved her.

The Military Working Dog Memorial at Rancho Coastal Humane Society is open to the public from 11 AM to 4 PM every day but Tuesday.

You might want to tuck a couple tissues in your pocket, just in case your eyes get “sweaty”.

The Paper • Page 12 • March 5, 2026

Have A Say in Building County Budget

Man About Town from page 4 and we sadly walked back to our nice, warm, insect free rental car and continued our journey to Sauda.

Romantic ideas are not limited to the mountains of Norway, however.

There was another time, this time in Omaha, with an old girl friend . . . and we were on the slopes of a golf course, the aroma of freshly mowed grass filling the air . . . a lovely summer morning. Our eyes met and we were both of the same mind . . . romance sometimes does that to people.

It just seemed to be the most perfectly normal thing to do . . . to embrace each other, to exchange smouldering kisses, to lay down on the freshly mowed grass, and let romance take over.

A great idea it seemed at the time . . . but then two obstacles appeared.

There were maintenance crews on the golf course. We were not alone.

We were clearly visible to them and they to us. And, of course, our old friends, the insects, were hopping about in the grass and onto us.

Another wonderfully romantic memory that was dashed before it was even created.

Still, on another occasion, when I was but a young lad, I was visiting in Minnesota and a certain young lady was invited to meet me in a hay mow (kind of like an attic in a barn, where hay is stored). I preceded her and awaited her arrival.

In short order, she arrived and we began to get very well acquainted.

Suddenly, a rotten little freckle faced red-headed baby sister of the young lady in question popped her head up out of a hole in the floor, looked at us and shouted . . . “I’m tellin’!”. Her name was Diane.

Somehow I never forgot the little rascals name. I never did like her after that, either.

We departed that hay mow and barn in a hurry.

I guess somewhere along the line I learned my lesson and decided to only let the romantic in me take over . . . when we were indoors. In a proper and comfortable location.

Sometimes life just ain’t like the movies.

By Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office Get involved and share your feedback on what you’d like to include in the County’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year starting July 1.

A survey and a tool that lets people rank the County’s budget priorities in order of importance to you opened Wednesday on Engage San Diego County.

Through the survey, you can also choose how they want to stay informed about a budget process— by email, text or some other form of communication. The survey and ranking tool remain open through March 22.

The County collects public input about programs and services year-round, but from January through June, the process of seeking budget-focused input to help inform budget deliberations kicks into high gear.

In January, the County hosted a budget workshop and community feedback session. Other opportunities will arise throughout the budget process.

Public input will play an important role as the County develops the recommended budget. Other considerations include program and service delivery data, available resources, the local econo-

Papillon from page 7 Charriere and Rita later sold the hotel and bought a restaurant called the Aragon. Over the next years they bought other restaurants in Venezuela including the Grand Café in Caracas. Later they sold them and bought several bars which were all profitable and wellmanaged.

They also ventured out in Maracaibo and started a large shrimp operation with boats and a processing plant. They employed over 100 people and the business was good until their U.S. partner absconded with all the money.

Their business ventures made enough money for Rita and Henri to visit Spain near the French border in the mid 1960’s. His family by then had heard from him many times, and they met he and Rita for a month-long holiday. Henri’s stepmother, sisters, nieces, nephews, and brothers-in-law all came for the visit. He told Rita this was

my and availability of state and federal funding.

funds must still be used in specific ways.

The recommended budget for fiscal year 2026-27 will be released to the public on May 1. The County budget in the current fiscal year totals $8.63 billion.

The County can only make decisions on how to invest the remaining portion in the best, most efficient way possible to support the community.

The County funds many programs and services throughout the region. Some affect nearly all residents. These include emergency preparedness; criminal prosecution and detention facilities; delivery of federal and state social service assistance, access to food and housing for vulnerable people; health programs including behavioral health services; food and restaurant inspections; elections and beach water monitoring.

Challenges include expected funding decreases at the state and federal levels, declining revenue, slowing growth, rising costs and other factors that could lead to difficult budget decisions.

The County also serves a large, unincorporated area. County government is responsible for the day-to-day things a city government would do, like law enforcement, roads, building permits, animal shelters and protection, along with parks and libraries.

Some cities also contract with the County to provide these types of services.

You can also share at in-person and virtual community meetings, or by attending or calling into the Board of Supervisors public budget hearing on June 1.

About half the County’s budget comes from the state and federal governments and by law, those funds must be used for specific programs.

The other half comes mostly from property taxes, fees for services and other sources. Some of these

After the release of the recommended budget on May 1, people can share their thoughts online by submitting comments through June 11 on Engage San Diego County.

The public may also give their input by attending or calling into the Board’s budget deliberations and adoption on June 23.

Visit the Clerk of the Board’s website or call 619-531-5434 for information on Board of Supervisors meetings and to request translation services.

To learn more about the budget and how it works, visit https://www. sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/ openbudget/en/home.html

one of the happiest times in his life, not one member of his family thought of him as a criminal. The family would repeat this vacation a few years later, but by that time the statute of limitations for Henri’s murder conviction had expired (1967).

Henri died in Madrid, Spain from throat cancer in July of 1973.

Henri Charriere wrote two books, the first was “Papillon” which sold 1.5 million copies in France alone.

The first was the introduction of a new Parisian fashion known as the “mini-skirt.” The second was a book written by Henri-Antoine Charriere called “Papillon.”

Shortly thereafter he became somewhat of a celebrity in Venezuela appearing on local TV programs.

Around this time a high-ranking French politician said, “during the 1960’s two things brought about a profound change to French society.

The next book was titled “Banco” and covered the second half of his life. Henri said many times that his life as a criminal was fraught with pain, suffering, prison, and yielded no profit while his straight life was filled with love, happiness, and more money than he had ever imagined.

The French government issued a full pardon to Charriere in 1970 after carefully reviewing his case.

Gary Womble

The Paper • Page 13 • March 5, 2026

MIGHTY MOJO APPLIANCE REPAIR

PRINTING

Washer & Dryer Repair

ALOHA PRINTING

Kenmore • Whirlpool • Roper Estate • Maytag • Admiral

760.274.4766

HNL Appliance Repair HELP WANTED Sr Mgr, Gen Eng’g; Rohr Inc (Chula Vista, CA). Reslve complex tech prjcts & issues supprtng airlne op reqs, forml cert reprts & dsign changes. Will suprvise 4 reports. Must have at least bach or equiv in Mech/Civil/Aerspce/ Aerontcl Eng’g or rlt & at least 10 yrs prgrssve exp as Stress Anlyst or rlt role wrkng on aircrft nacelle strctre compnnts. (alt=master+7).

Must also possess at least 7 yrs exp w/:repair anlys of aircrft Nacelle Strctrs metllc &/or compsit strctrs; static & fatigue anlys of aircrft nacelle strctrs & mech/aerosac FEA tools (Patran/Nastran); maintnnc, repr, ovrhl, & reg reqs in commrcl aircrft indstry; 2 yrs exp leading tech team. Apply at careers.rtx.com, Keyword/Job ID 01821000

The Paper Owned & Operated by a Veteran lyle e davis

US Army, Entertainment Director 1957-1959 Brooke Army Hospital Fort Sam Houston, Texas War Correspondent South Vietnam 1967-68 Assimilated Grade/Rank Lt. Colonel, MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam)

“The state of Texas was never invaded while I was on duty at Fort Sam. You could look it up!”

SOLAR & ROOFING

Top Grade Printing of All Types BROCHURES • LETTERHEAD POSTERS • BANNERS BUSINESS CARDS

(760) 471-1006

Advertise Your Business & Services 760 747-7119 SEWER & DRAIN CLEANING

Sewer & Drains Cleaning Main Sewer Line • Hydro Jetting Camera Inspection • Clogged Toilet Kitchen Drain • Shower Drain and many more!

(760) 274-5595

The Paper • Page 14 • March 5, 2026

Oodles from page 3 of Opiliones Shahan Derkarabetian, Ph.D, Curator of Invertebrate Zoology San Diego Natural History Museum. Dr. Derkarabetian will introduce us to the amazing world of the arachnid group Opiliones (spiders, ticks, daddy longlegs etc.) We will learn about their biology and natural history with lots of photos.

Mar 13 2:30 Ecological Effects of Argentine Ant Invasions Dave Holway, Ph.D., USCD. Professor Holway returns to update us on the work related to the effects of Argentine ant invasions and efforts to restore ecosystems back to a pre-invasion state.

We are currently collecting donations for the auction. We collect restaurant gift cards, hotel rooms, wine, activities, ball games, concert tickets, memorabilia, vacations, etc. Anything and everything is appreciated.

The Auction event is Saturday, April 25, 2026. We will need all donations in-house by Friday, April 4, 2026.

The theme this year is “Mardi Gras” - Everyone will dress up including masks! So in addition to requesting some auction items, we would also love for you to join us! Tickets are $225 per seat, $2,250 for a table of 10.

Mar 20 NO CLASSES – MCC CLOSED FOR SPRING BREAK

Visit sdniceguys.com

Mar 27 1:00 Oceanside Re-beaching Jayme Timberlake Coastal Zone Administrator, O’side.

Jayme Timberlake, Oceanside’s Coastal Zone Administrator, will tell us about the years of study and planning that have gone into the Oceanside Sand Nourishment and Retention Project known as Re:Beach.

East Valley Parkway Business Association Meeting 2nd Wednesday • 2pm

Mar 27 2:30 Morocco Hero Who Helped the Spanish Conquistadores Kitty Morse, LIFE Member.

Estebanico, the Black Moor from Azamour, Morocco, who along with four Spanish Conquistadores, trekked from La Florida to the Sea of Cortez in 1539.

To join a Zoom meeting, LIFE must have your email address in order for you to receive the invite link. Meetings will start at 12:45 pm (you can join 15 minutes earlier) and the speaker will start at 1:00 pm. Email: life.miracosta@ gmail.com. *** Nice Guys Non-Profit Collecting Donations for Annual Auction “Nice Guys” have been helping people in San Diego since 1979.

Their donations have been in excess of $10 Million for families and individuals. There is no overhead, no office, and no paid staff.

The 140+ Nice Guys donate their time and labor to help the less fortunate. The majority of the money they raise goes to help families who have somehow “fallen through the cracks.” A medical bill, a car repair, clothes needed after a house fire, a wheelchair for a young man injured while being a Good Samaritan. Their goal is to get people back on their feet. A hand- up, not a hand-out.

***

March 11th, June 10th, April 8th, July 8th, May 13th and August 12th. At Elote Restaurant, 1760 E. Valley Pkwy, Escondido. Visit www.evalley-parkway.com for more information. *** Sing For The Health Of It Try Barbershop Singing!

Singing in a chorus has many physical and cognitive benefits: • You pay attention to your posture to improve your breathing.

• You strengthen muscles used in breathing, allowing you to breathe more deeply so you can support and sustain notes.

• You actively listen so that you match others in your voice part and are in harmony with other parts.

• Singing releases endorphins which make you feel good too.

• In an acappella chorus, which has no accompaniment, you memorize the notes. (In a barbershop a cappella chorus, you also memorize lyrics).

The Music Men Chorus (Palomar Pacific Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society) is a men’s acappella choir that performs 4-part, close-harmony songs arranged in the “Barbershop” Style, known for its ringing chords. We sing a variety of song genres (romantic ballads, movie and show tunes, Great American Songbook selections, patriotic songs, inspirational numbers, and Christmas holiday favorites), performing at both public and private venues in North County.

Our members believe that singing in our chorus keeps them healthier, both physically and mentally. We

have 3 members in their 90’s who regularly attend rehearsal.

If you are a male, high school age or older, who loves to sing and is interested in joining a chorus, we invite you to attend one of our Tuesday evening rehearsals, learn more about us, and see how singing can enhance your life. Previous musical experience is helpful but not a requirement. We meet at 7 pm at San Marcos Lutheran Church, 3419 Grand Avenue, in the Luther Hall. For more information, contact Bill at (760) 5856315 or visit our website, www. musicmenchorus.org. *** Chess at Park Avenue Community Center Home of Escondido Senior Center 210 Park Avenue, Escondido 760-839-4688 Adults of all skill levels are welcome. Drop in anytime Wednesday OR Friday noon-3pm to play or watch in the shuffleboard building.

Follow the signs or ask at the front desk for directions. Friendly games with large boards and pieces provided. No fees or reservations. *** Looking for things to do?

Check Out Oodles Each Week

Vanish from page 9 clear evidence, there should be consequences beyond eventually crediting the customer’s account.

Until banks face real penalties for dragging out legitimate disputes, cases like Smikle’s will continue to occur. Customers will keep fighting for months to recover their own money, while banks profit from the float and face no consequences for their intransigence.

At least Smikle got her money back. That’s more than many consumers can say when they tangle with major banks over payment disputes. Her persistence, documentation, and willingness to seek advocacy made the difference.

The next time a customer repeatedly submits documentation of an error, maybe Chase will think twice about asking for documentation again. But I wouldn’t count on it.

Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes Elliott Confidential, a travel newsletter, and the Elliott Report, a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer problem, you can email him at chris@elliott.org.

First, I Discovered America Then I Discovered

The Paper

Ever since I can remember I’ve had the burning desire to discover new places, new adventures. Because of this, I set out to discover a new country . . . and I was successful. I even ventured inland a great many miles where I discovered a place I called Minnesota. “This,” I thought, “would be a great place for Scandinavians.” So I headed back to Norway to recruit settlers. While I was gone, some clown named Columbus claimed he discovered America. Life ain’t fair. Except life also gave us The Paper. I read it whenever and wherever I go exploring and only buy from those who advertise in The Paper. It’s a Viking thing.

Your friend, Eric the Red

The Paper • Page 15 • March 5, 2026

LEGALS

FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9001874 The name of the businesss: Homicidal Death Worm, located at 590 Camino de la Cima, San Marcos, CA 92078. Registrant, Emily Michele Eubanks, 590 Camino de la Cima, San Marcos, CA 92078. This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business 1/4/2021 /s/ Emily M. Eubanks with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 1/26/2026 2/5, 2/12, 2/19, 2/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9001600 The name of the businesss: Southwest Electric, located at 1322 Partridge Lane, Oceanside, CA 92054. Registrant, Southwest Electric, 1322 Partridge Lane, Oceanside, CA 92054.

This businesss is operated by a Corporation.

First day of business N/A /s/ Jeff Bell, President with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 1/23/2026 2/5, 2/12, 2/19, 2/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2025-9024406 The name of the businesss: Togashi Charters, located at 3436 Ricewood Drive, Oceanside, CA 92058. Registrant, David G. Togashi Jr., 3436 Ricewood Drive, Oceanside, CA 92058.

This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business 12/30/2025 /s/ David G. Togashi Jr. with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 12/31/2025 2/5, 2/12, 2/19, 2/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9001164 The name of the businesss: Mata Landgreen Landscaping, located at 345 Poinsettia Ave., Vista, CA 92083. Registrant, Carlos David Mata, 345 Poinsettia Ave., Vista, CA 92083. This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business N/A /s/ Carlos D. Mata with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/ Recorder of San Diego on 1/20/2026 2/5, 2/12, 2/19, 2/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9000546 The name of the businesss: Waterline Woodwork, located at 836 Warmlands Ave., Vista, CA 92084. Registrant, Robert Scott Burt, 836 Warmlands Ave., Vista, CA 92084. This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business 12/1/2025 /s/ Robert Scott Burt with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 1/9/2026 2/5, 2/12, 2/19, 2/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9001435 The name of the businesss: Rooted Hair Studio, located at 1560 Creek St., San Marcos, CA 92078. Registrant, Melinda Sue Taylor, 1560 Creek St., San Marcos, CA 92078. This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business N/A /s/ Melinda Sue Taylor with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 1/22/2026 2/5, 2/12, 2/19, 2/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9002736 The name of the businesss: Pelican Restoration, Pelican Water Restoration of North County San Diego, Pelican Labs, located at

1804 Sugarbush Drive, Vista, CA 92084. Registrant, Pelican Operations, LLC, 1804 Sugarbush Drive, Vista, CA 92084.

This businesss is operated by a Limited Liability Company.

First day of business 1/26/2026 /s/ Jared Sutton, CEO/Owner with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/5/2026 2/12, 2/19, 2/26, 3/5/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9002168 The name of the businesss: Eat your Feelings, located at 8141 Fairview Ave., La Mesa, CA 91941. Registrant, ABBC LLC, 8141 Fairview Ave., La Mesa, CA 91941. This businesss is operated by a Limited Liability Company.

First day of business 1/28/2026 /s/ Andrew K. Bent, Member with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 1/29/2026 2/12, 2/19, 2/26, 3/5/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9001095 The name of the businesss: Y.A. Landscaping, located at 3772 San Ramon Dr., Apt #99, Oceanside, CA 92057. Registrant, Yarabit Ochoa, PO Box 1226, San Marcos, CA 92079. This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business 1/16/2026 /s/ Yarabit Ochoa with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/ Recorder of San Diego on 1/16/2026 2/12, 2/19, 2/26, 3/5/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9002205 The name of the businesss: Animal Attraction, located at 6188 Regents Rd., San Diego, CA 92122. Registrant, Groomer Collective LLC, 1902 Wright Pl., #200, Carlsbad, 92008. This businesss is operated by a Limited Liability Company.

First day of business N/A /s/ angelo Amaro, President with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/5/2026 2/12, 2/19, 2/26, 3/5/2026

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME: 2026-9002204 Animal Attraction, located at 6108 Regents Rd., San Diego, CA 92122. The Fictitious Business Name referred to above was filed in San Diego County on 11/3/2021 and assigned file no. 2021-9024660.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IS BEING ABANDONED BY: Nancy Lorraine Jones, 6108 Regents Rd., San Diego, CA 92122. This business is conducted by an Individual. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1000). /s/Nancy Jones This statement was filed with the San Diego Recorder/County clerk on 1/29/2026.

2/12, 2/19, 2/26, 3/5/2026

FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9000875 The name of the businesss: ProSource Restoration, Inc., located at 315 S. Coast Hwy 101 #U262, Encinitas, CA 92024. Registrant, Pro-Source Restoration, Inc., 315 S. Coast Hwy 101 #U262, Encinitas, CA 92024. This busi-

nesss is operated by a Corporation.

First day of business 5/10/2021 /s/ Glenn Wells, President with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 1/24/2026 2/19, 2/26, 3/5, 3/12/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9002636 The name of the businesss: Quickdraw Window Washing, located at 1116 Sea Glass Way, Oceanside, CA 92054. Registrant, Richard Grant McRoberts, 1116 Sea Glass Way, Oceanside, CA 92054. This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business N/A /s/ richard Grant McRoberts with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/4/2026 2/19, 2/26, 3/5, 3/12/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9002945 The name of the businesss: Titti Beach And Fit, located at 2748 Adrian Street, San Diego, CA 92110. Registrant, Margarida Mendes Simao Pinto, 2748 Adrian Street, San Diego, CA 92110.

This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business 2/9/2026 /s/ Margarida Mendes Simao Pinto with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/9/2026 2/19, 2/26, 3/5, 3/12/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9003044 The name of the businesss: Pulsestrat Leadership, located at 3208 Toopal Drive, Oceanside, CA 92058. Registrant, Pulsepoint Leadership LLC, 3208 toopal Drive, Oceanside, CA 92058.

This businesss is operated by a Limited Liability Company.

First day of business 2/7/2026 /s/ Michelle Tressler, CEO with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/10/2026 2/19, 2/26, 3/5, 3/12/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9002720 The name of the businesss: Mixelada King, located at 2404 Grove View Rd., San Diego, CA 92139. Registrant, Adrian Maldo ado, 2356 Reo Dr., #390303, San Diego, CA 92139. This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business 4/4/2025 /s/ Adrian Maldonado with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 12/5/2026 2/19, 2/26, 3/5, 3/12/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9003127 The name of the businesss: Futurescape Consultants, located at 1055 Armorlite Dr., Apt 323, San Marcos, CA 92069. Registrant, Shreya Ketul Chokshi, 1055 Armorlite Dr., Apt 323, San Marcos, CA 92069. This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business 1/26/2026 /s/ Shreya Ketul Chokshi with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/10/2026 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9003950 The name of the businesss: The UPS Store, located at 2963 Alpine Blvd, Ste 104, Alpine, CA 91901. Registrant, PQ Del Sur LLC, 2963 Alpine Blvd., #104, Alpine, CA 91901. This businesss is operated by a Limited Liability Company.

First day of business N/A /s/ Bhavikkumar Patel, Managing

Member with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/20/2026 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9002713 The name of the businesss: Alaia’s Garden, located at 2426 Cherimoya Dr., Vista, CA 92084.

Registrant, Azucena Avalos, 2426 Cherimoya Dr., Vista, CA 92084. This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business N/A /s/ Azucena Avalos with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/5/2026 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9002507 The name of the businesss: Cobian Landscaping Co., located at 770 Sycamore Ave., Suite 122-481, Vista, CA 92083. Registrant, Jose Luis Cobian, 770 Sycamore Ave., Suite 122-481, Vista, CA 92083. This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business 1/1/2021 /s/ Jose Luis Cobian with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/3/2026 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9003330 The name of the businesss: Elegancia Events, located at 180 Palmyra Dr., Vista, CA 92084.

Registrant, Elizabeth Padilla, 180 Palmyra Dr., Vista, CA 92084. This businesss is operated by an Individual.

First day of business N/A /s/ Elizabeth Padilla with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/ Recorder of San Diego on 2/13/2026 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9003401 The name of the businesss: UBuildIt San Diego, located at 209 North Ditmar St., Oceanside, CA 92054. Registrant, MMDAG Consulting LLC< 979 Woodland Pkwy, Ste 101 #2026, San Marcos, CA 92069. This businesss is operated by a Limited Liability Company.

First day of business 5/16/2022 /s/ Milan M. Djokich, Member with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/17/2026 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9003681 The name of the businesss: Lyra Beauty Spa, located at 7140 Lantana Dr., Carlsbad, CA 92011.

Registrant, Lyrna Gaspar Chase, 7140 Lantana Ter., Carlsbad, CA 92011. This businesss is oper-

ated by an Individual.

First day of business N/A /s/ Lyrna G. Chase with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/ Recorder of San Diego on 2/18/2026 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9003733 The name of the businesss: Finding Joy Therapy, located at 326 Encinitas Blvd., Encinitas 92024.

Registrant, Finding Joy Licensed Clinical Social Worker Corporation, 145 Rosebay Dr., Encinitas, CA 92024. This businesss is operated by a Corporation.

First day of business N/A /s/ Kylie Przymus, President with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/19/2026 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2026 NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF Truman Elliott Gray Case No. 26PE000490C SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 1100 Union Street San Diego, CA. 92101 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate or both, of Truman Elliott Gray, Truman E. Gray, Buzz Gray deceased. A Petition for Probate has been filed by Thomas Gray in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, 1100 Union Street, San Diego, CA. 92101 Central Courthouse.

The Petition for probate requests that Thomas Gray be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.)

The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: Date: 4/1/2026 Time: 1:30 pm Dept: 502 Address of court: Same as noted above.

If you object to the granting of

Advertise Your Legal in The Paper 760 747-7119

the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. you may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for Petitioner: J. Mark McNeill, Esq. Law Offices of J. Mark McNeill 10801 Thornmint Road, Ste 270 San Diego, CA 92127 858-613-2970 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9004097 The name of the businesss: MJJB Environmental Construction, located at 2810 Via Orange Way Ste E, Spring Valley, CA 91978.

Registrant, MJJB Environmental Inc., 2810 Via Orange Way Ste E, Spring Valley, CA 91978.

This businesss is operated by a Corporation.

First day of business 6/15/2022 /s/ Joshua Katz, Treasurer with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/23/2026 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2026 FICTITIOUS Business NAME STATEMENT 2026-9003749 The name of the businesss: Evans Woodworking Incorporated, Evans Woodworking Inc., located at 2420 Grand Ave., D1, Vista, CA 92081. Registrant, Evans Woodworking Incorporated.

2420 Grand Ave., Ste D1, Vista, CA 92081. This businesss is operated by a Corporation.

First day of business 3/10/2005 /s/ Nathan Holland, President with Jordan Z. Marks, SD County Clerk/Recorder of San Diego on 2/19/2026 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26/2026

The Paper • Page 16 • March 5, 2026