Orange County city chooses pension responsibility over trophy projects

Orange County Register:

Lake Forest is doing what many cities aspire to do — it’s paying off its unfunded pension liabilities. The move is estimated to save taxpayers $3.4 million in interest costs over 30 years.

[...]

But Lake Forest is lucky: The city possesses that rare combination of being relatively new, being relatively small and being a relatively wealthy city. That means its pension liabilities will remain small in comparison to larger and older cities. But that doesn’t mean that these obligations can’t grow beyond a manageable level — and fast.

Hit-and-run on Encinitas Boulevard

Union-Trib:

Sheriff’s deputies are looking for the driver of a white Ford F-150 pickup that hit a 33-year-old woman crossing Encinitas Boulevard, leaving her with critical injuries Friday night.

The woman was mid-block, walking south between Interstate 5 and North Coast Highway at 7:27 p.m. when she was hit by the westbound truck, witnesses told deputies.

The driver stopped the truck, got out of the vehicle, told some people nearby that the victim appeared to be OK, and then got back in the truck and fled, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Knife-wielding burglar prowls Village Park

10 News:

A young woman says she chased an intruder from her Encinitas home. When she began the chase, she had no idead he was armed with a knife.

Just before midnight Tuesday, Maria Medvedev was reading a book in her home on Little Oaks Road. She was startled by the sound of the side gate opening. Then, she saw and heard a shadowy figure race out of her yard.

Medvedev took off after him and found him hiding behind a truck in the street. She says he tried to convince her he was a neighbor, then took out of a knife and approached her.

Amtrak drops Encinitas stop due to low ridership

Union-Trib:

Amtrak plans to cease its daily stops at the Carlsbad Poinsettia and Encinitas Coaster stations beginning Oct. 9, in part because of low ridership. Coaster service at the locations will be unaffected.

The two stops have the least riders of four North County locations where Amtrak initiated service four years ago, according to numbers provided by the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, which oversees rail service between San Diego and the Central Coast city of San Luis Obispo.

9/20/17 City Council meeting open thread

District election motion passes 3-2, with Muir and Kranz opposed.

Costumes damage Cardiff Kook; artist wants decorators arrested

Union-Tribune today, page B-1:

The city will likely ask the artist -- Hemet resident Matthew Antichevich -- to do the repair work, [... Arts Administrator Jim] Gilliam said.

[...]

Never a fan of the continual redecoration of his piece or of the "Cardiff Kook" moniker, [...] Antichevich said Thursday the city wouldn't have a repair problem if decorating discontinued.

"Make a couple of arrests and then it will stop," he said. "It breaks my heart that they do that."

Pedestrian killed crossing Encinitas Boulevard

U-T:

A 61-year-old woman died after she was hit by a vehicle in a crosswalk in Encinitas Friday evening, sheriff’s officials said.

The reporting isn't clear, but it sounds as if the woman may have been crossing against the signal.

UPDATE: The victim is Carmen M. Gonzalez, who resided on Gardena Road near Santa Fe Avenue.