The death of Bull Taco

SD Reader:

One of North County’s most unique restaurant chains, has closed its last, and original location, inside Cardiff by the Sea’s San Elijo State Beach campground.

“People drive up here everyday. They’re disappointed and heartbroken it’s gone,” said a park volunteer.

In 2009, when the Bull Taco restaurant took over the hamburger stand at the campground, it quickly attracted diners from throughout the area, not just campers.

Super Blue Bloodmoon Total Eclipse early Wednesday morning

Independent:

On the night of 31 January will come the super blue blood moon, or the purple eclipse. That’s a blue moon, a blood moon or lunar eclipse, and a supermoon.

None of the events are rare in themselves. But the collision of lunar phenomena is – nothing like it has been seen since 1982.

In Encinitas, see it peak above the horizon at 5:30 Wednesday morning.

1/24/18 City Council meeting open thread

Please use the comments to record your observations.

Gaspar joins crowded Congressional race

VOSD:

County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar has joined the race to replace Rep. Darrell Issa in California’s 49th Congressional District, and the decision is likely to split GOP loyalties in San Diego and Orange counties.

[...]

Assemblyman Rocky Chávez and state Board of Equalization chair Diane Harkey wasted little time in throwing their hats in the ring for Issa’s seat. Harkey’s senior adviser has said she assembled a campaign team with the backing of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield.

In a statement, Issa said he “strongly” supports Harkey’s candidacy.

New Encinitas home totally destroyed by fire

Union-Tribune:

Investigators are trying to determine what started a two-alarm fire early Monday that destroyed an Encinitas home and left a resident with serious burns on her hands, a fire official said.

The blaze at the single-story home on Landquist Drive near Taegan Lane was reported shortly before 12:30 a.m. and quickly went to a second alarm as arriving fire crews found flames burning through the roof, said Encinitas Battalion Chief Robert Ford.

Crowded Republican field in 76th Assembly District

SD Rostra:

Former Encinitas Mayor Jerome Stocks has announced his candidacy. Business executive and former Assembly candidate Phil Graham announced his candidacy. Vista Deputy Mayor Amanda Rigby is expected to run. San Dieguito High School District Trustee Mo Muir has announced her candidacy.

City ignores Starlight Drive residents, gets sued

Del Mar Times:

First, they unsuccessfully pleaded to the city council to not allow a path through their Cardiff neighborhood in October. Then, they agreed to come up with a compromise with the City of Encinitas. Now, the group of neighbors have sued the city after they felt their voices were not heard.

[...]

Council members instructed city staff to meet with the neighbors to discuss options, including paving the entire road, but six-year Starlight Drive resident Regan Schaar said no such meetings or attempts for a meeting have happened since the October approval. She said the residents hired an attorney to assist them in contacting the staff and city attorney's office, but the city would not return the lawyer's calls.

The five neighbors filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California on Jan. 8 after they received no response from the city for nearly three months, Schaar said.

1/17/18 City Council meeting open thread

Please use the comments to record your observations.

Prison escapee caught at Santa Fe Vons

CBS 8:

A 33-year-old inmate from San Diego who escaped from a San Bernardino County prison Sunday night was recaptured Monday in Encinitas.

Sheriff's deputies recaptured Michael Martin Garrett, 33, at the Vons on Santa Fe Avenue. He was taken back into custody.

Garrett was unaccounted for Sunday night when guards conducted an evening inmate count at the California Institution for Men in Chino, said Krissi Khokhobashvili of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Doesn’t sound like much of a prison.

Mo Muir declares for Assembly seat

SD Rostra:

Today, San Dieguito High School Board Member Maureen “Mo” Muir announced that she will be seeking to represent California’s 76thAssembly District.

So I guess that Tom Arnold tweet about Jerome Stocks was fake news. The Muirs and Stocks have been political allies, and surely wouldn't want to split their vote and get knocked out of the open primary.

Stocks rebound?

Local news guy Thomas K. Arnold:

Just heard Jerome @JeromeStocks is running for Rocky Chavez's assembly seat, now that Chavez has switched his sights to Issa's congressional seat. @SDuncovered @UTNorth @UTpolitics @KUSINews

— Thomas K. Arnold (@TKArnold) January 11, 2018

Seeman Drive shows what happens when apartment complexes have inadequate parking

Coast News:

Seeman Drive is known for its rural feel: there are no sidewalks, no streetlights and the street narrows as you travel south [sic] toward its dead end.

But over the past few years, they said, cars have jammed both sides of the narrow street during the night hours, presumably from a nearby large apartment complex that banned guest parking.

Residents said that the management of the Elan Quail Pointe Apartments has been absent or largely dismissive of the neighbors’ concerns. Meanwhile, they said the street crowding is a fire hazard, as it narrows the driving lane to the point where fire engines and ambulances cannot pass through.

Those apartments were built a long time ago. In recent years, city staff and council have worked to further reduce parking requirements for new developments.

Another pedestrian killed on Encinitas streets

This time, apparently not because of Encinitas' downtown drunk drivers or unsafe crosswalks.

Union-Tribune:

A 61-year-old pedestrian died after he was hit by a vehicle near an intersection in Encinitas Tuesday night, authorities said.

The man was walking west and trying to cross North El Camino Real outside of a marked crosswalk near Encinitas Boulevard around 6:35 p.m. when he was struck by a vehicle driving north on North El Camino Real, sheriff’s Deputy Michael Power said.

Issa quits ahead of Democratic wave

NBC:

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Ca., will not seek re-election later this year, opening up another battleground in the deep blue state as Republicans and Democrats spar for control of the House.

Issa's decision to leave Congress, reported Wednesday, follows the announced retirement of Rep. Ed Royce, R-Ca., earlier this week.

Issa, who joined Congress in 2001, only narrowly got re-elected to his seat in California's 49th Congressional District in 2016. In the presidential race, Hillary Clinton won his district by 7 percentage points.

Encinitas penny stock joins blockchain party

Well, if it works for an iced tea company, why not try it here?

Press release:

ENCINITAS, CA, Jan. 8, 2018 Com-Guard.com, Inc. (OTC Pink: CGUD), the technology company that has been designing and developing security applications for over 15 years, is happy to announce that our BlockChainPi.info site is now live.

The stock was up 48% on the announcement, and is now up 1080% since September, at $0.0059 per share.

The company apparently hasn't filed financial statements for more than a decade.

Council rejects Leucadia bike & pedestrian improvements

Coast News:

The City Council ultimately decided against both proposals: the first included bike lane improvements and mid-block pedestrian crossings in north Leucadia, and the second a multi-use path along the east side of Coast Highway 101. The council voted to send the first proposal to the Traffic and Public Safety Commission and voted against moving forward with the second one outright.

Both items were on the consent calendar, which signals they were supposed to be approved with little debate and a simple vote. But Mayor Catherine Blakespear and a member of the public requested the council discuss the items.