Saturday open thread

 Happy New Year!

Former mayoral candidate Jeff Morris reportedly arrested for domestic violence

LocalCrimeNews:

We're not familiar with "LocalCrimeNews," but it appears to be a legitimate aggregator of public arrest records.

HT: Anonymous commenter.

UPDATE: Coast News:

Jeff Charles Morris, who finished third with 6,969 votes in November’s mayoral race, was detained at approximately 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 25 at his residence in the 600 block of Poinsettia Park in Encinitas, according to Sheriff’s Department Lt. Chris Lawrence.

Morris potentially faces several felony charges, including inflicting corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant and two charges related to unlawful restraint of an individual using violence. Lawrence confirmed that Morris was booked into county jail on Christmas and released the following day on a $50,000 bond.

Wednesday open thread

No city council meeting today.

Happy holidays!

Over residents' objections, council votes to appoint itself a supermajority

As predicted.

From an observer of Wednesday's council proceedings:

Speaker after speaker urged the council to turn over a new leaf and do the democratic thing by holding an election. The council predictably voted to appoint, with Bruce Ehlers opposing. A few highlights:

Joy cited the burden of paperwork put on those who might want to run, thinking that folks would not apply because the process was too onerous. Even though she had gone through the process herself and was elected, she was deciding for others that this same option was not available to them.

Kellie said that anyone could apply. Bruce was ready for that nonsense using himself as an example. He explained how although he won D4 by a large margin, a council that had just fired him from the Planning Commission would never have considered his application had Joe stepped down early and left his D4 seat suddenly vacant. Kranz didn't like that scenario and tried to argue that Bruce's math was wrong. Kranz stopped trying when the audience got frisky with him. Kellie was vehement in expressing her wish for a unanimous vote to appoint the fifth person - trained well by Blakespear! If it was supposed to be a stern warning to Bruce, news flash, Kellie: it ain't gonna work.

Kranz predictably cited election cost as a factor even though multiple speakers said that the estimated $250K-$400K would be a drop in the bucket to ensure democracy, and especially when compared with the costly trophy and "improvement" projects this council throws its money around on.

Believe the appointment application deadline is January 11, something like that, with the meeting to appoint held on either January 18 or 25.

Hope that gives you a flavor of same old, same old. In general, the remaining three have nowhere the punch or command that Blakespear demanded. Kranz is attempting to seem reasonable, Joy has replaced Joe for Deputy Rambler, and Kellie is trying to channel Blakespear's control of the council much like a 5 year old tries to walk in her mom's shoes. Not working for her.

Kranz sees Barth as role model for mayor

Union-Tribune:

Kranz, a 63-year-old printing company employee, will replace Catherine Blakespear, who has just won election to the state Senate.

He said last week that he doesn’t expect to make drastic changes to the city’s course once he assumes the top spot, but he does hope to “dial back some of the tensions” regarding issues that come before the council, particularly housing conflicts. He considers former mayor Teresa Barth as a role model, he said, adding that he liked her approach of hosting special meetings and engaging in strategic planning sessions to solve city problems.

We don't recall any significant city accomplishments during the Barth era. The first things that come to mind are Barth's bickering with Jerome Stocks which culminated in a frivolous harassment complaint, and numerous fiascos involving Barth favorite City Manager Gus Vina.

What do you remember of the Barth era?

UPDATE: Oh and lest we forget Barth dishonestly opposing Prop A's right to vote!

Lookin for love in all the wrong places

Having failed to get affection from Catherine Blakespear or the Democratic Party, former mayoral candidate Jeff Morris now turns to controversial rumored council appointee Mali Woods-Drake:

Council threatens to appoint itself a supermajority

Coast News:

My perspective is that I hope that we can appoint somebody,” said Hinze. “It’s cheaper and happens quicker, so let’s find a consensus candidate, somebody we can all agree would be right for the seat.”

During a Stay Classy San Diego podcast interview before the election, Kranz said he favored appointing a replacement to the vacant District 1 seat.

[...]

In contrast to the other three council members, Ehlers said that he would likely not favor an appointment, maintaining that a special election better reflects the will of city residents.

“I want the people to select the incumbent, not the council to select the incumbent,” Ehlers said. “I’m in firm opposition to appointing incumbents. This council has three (appointments) up there already, and we see the problems that this causes with what I call the ‘unanimously wrong’ council.

“The appointment gives an undeserved advantage in the next election cycle with the power of incumbency. Name recognition and notoriety is big, and I don’t think it’s fair to anoint one person who is aligned with the majority on the council over another person who is aligned with the majority of people. And the result of this happening repeatedly is what we have now — you get people all from one side in a supermajority, and they’re out of sync with the people.”

Wednesday evening open thread

 No council meeting tonight.

Saturday open thread

 Hope you're enjoying the Thanksgiving weekend with loved ones.

Colorado nightclub shooter’s family lived in Cardiff

CBS 8:

Brink told CBS 8 his son was born in San Diego in 2000, at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women. The couple lived in Cardiff by the Sea at the time, but soon separated about a year later and got divorced.

He said his ex-wife, the daughter of California State Assemblyman Randy Voepel, and his son moved to Colorado around 2012.

Online records show the family lived in the big apartment building on Carol View Drive south of Birmingham and just west of the freeway.

HT: Sierra Madre Tattler.

 

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

 We don't know who this is, but the layout seems vaguely familiar:

Contrary to recent reports, Encinitas Undercover isn't going anywhere. But we welcome other citizen voices ready to cover local issues!

Saturday morning open thread

Sorry about the lack of content and moderation lately. Day jobs get in the way!

We'll try to put up regular open threads a couple times a week to keep the comment threads fresh.

And please keep sending tips and stories to encinitasundercover at gmail.com.

Thanks for the continued following!

Beloved local primate sails off into the sunset

The Encinitas Guerrilla retires.

The identity of the Guerilla remains a mystery. Clearly a long-time resident with deep knowledge of and love for Encinitas' community, culture and history; perhaps a Leucadian, the Encinitas Guerrilla's wit and wisdom will be missed.

KUSI on Blakespear record

KUSI:

The race for California’s newly drawn 38th State Senate is expected to be close.

Businessman Matt Gunderson (R) is running against Encinitas Mayor & SANDAG Chair Catherine Blakespear.

Blakespear has centered her campaign around support for abortion, even though California allows abortion already, and the Supreme Court ruling on Roe vs. Wade has no effect on our state abortion laws.

Gunderson has been touting his success as a businessman in the private sector, as he tells KUSI News he wants to prioritize the cost of living and affordability in our region. Gunderson explains lowering the cost of living will be impossible if we keep implementing wasteful spending laws as part of Democrat supported policies.

Catherine Blakespear has been Chair of SANDAG for both of the recent audits that found blatant abuse of taxpayer dollars, and has refused to speak to San Diegans about her failure to lead the agency.

Gunderson has already called on Blakespear to resign from her leadership position as a result of her refusal to hold anyone accountable for these failures.

If you aren’t familiar, the first audit SANDAG, in April, revealed abusive spending of taxpayer dollars on lavish filet mignon dinners, and other things. It was “common practice” for SANDAG members to use their taxpayer funded credit cards, even on their days off. The audit found hundreds of thousands of dollars of spending on these dinners.

The second audit found SANDAG allocated millions of additional dollars to contractors after their bids were set. This means that certain contractors, who appear to be heavily favored over others, were allowed tens of millions more than their contracts specify. This audit found $290 million “of over-spending and contract negotiations.”

Gunderson told KUSI’s Jason Austell that Blakespear “won’t hold anybody accountable, and she even told the San Diego Union Tribune that SANDAG needs to reestablish their trust with her… Well, she is SANDAG, she’s the boss.”

Gunderson went on to explain that a failure of leadership of this magnitude in the private sector would result in an immediate firing. But, in politics, Blakespear expects voters to promote her to the State Senate.

Blakespear is one of the many Democrats SANDAG Board Member who support the controversial plan to tax San Diego County residents for every mile they drive.

On the other hand, Blakespear has released a television ad attacking Gunderson, attempting to make him out to be an extremely evil person.

Gunderson responded to the vicious ad on KUSI’s Good Morning San Diego saying, “you know, she has spent this entire campaign avoiding any substantive conversation about issues and how to solve California’s problems. Instead, she’s spent the entire time trying to tie me to Donald Trump, trying to distort my position on abortion, and calling me a shady used car salesman.”

He continued, “she’s resorting to all that negative politics because she has no success story to tell for herself. Look at her city, she’s sold out the citizens of Encinitas, homelessness is up 74%, crime is up 31%, and on SANDAG, she has supported a four-cents-per-mile mileage use tax, she supports increasing the gas tax, she sells out citizens and constituents for her own personal ambitions. Her only recourse in this campaign is trying to destroy us with falsehoods, lies and mistruths.”

California State Senate District 38 voters will make their voices heard at the ballot box on November 8th.

KUSI News has regularly reached out to Catherine Blakespear to appear on our broadcast, but she has refused since our coverage of the first SANDAG audit.

Union control of school board increasingly likely as anti-union candidate Sheila King hosts large underage party right before election

You can't fix stupid.

The party was at the home of San Dieguito Union High School District School Board candidate Sheila King. A woman on the property Monday who matched King's description but denied being her, told NBC 7 she had no comment. Over the phone, King told NBC 7 "What happened was not at my home and happened in the street."

Neighbors say the stabbing happened near the end of King's driveway.

Stabbing at high school party on Crest

Times of San Diego:

A 15-year-old boy is in custody for allegedly stabbing two 17-year-old boys at a house party in Encinitas, authorities said Sunday.

The attack occurred about 10 p.m. Saturday in the 1600 block of Crest Drive, said Lt. Christopher Lawrence of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Cremona gets Encinitas Guerrilla endorsement

Encinitas Guerrilla:

Top 10 Reasons to Elect Cindy Cremona as Mayor of Encinitas

1. She’s not Kranz, Morris or Blobe.

2. She’s not Kranz, Morris or Blobe.

3. She’s not Kranz, Morris or Blobe.

4. She’s not Kranz, Morris or Blobe.

5. She’s not Kranz, Morris or Blobe.

6. She’s not Kranz, Morris or Blobe.

7. She’s not Kranz, Morris or Blobe.

8. She’s not Kranz, Morris or Blobe.

9. She’s not Kranz, Morris or Blobe.

10. She’s not Kranz, Morris or Blobe.

Amazon driver steals family dog

 NBC 7:

An Encinitas woman says an Amazon driver delivered a package to her doorstep, then stole her dog from the yard.

Denise Reppenhagen said her daughter came home about 30 minutes before her, said hello to the pups and closed the garage door. She didn't realize Finn was outside. By the time Reppenagen got home, her good boy was gone.

A neighbor's security camera spotted the driver headed back to her white Acura along with Finn, a Golden Retriever, after making the drop-off on Reppenhagen's stoop.

... but there's a happy ending:

Finn was microchipped [...] Reppenhagen says she checked on Finn's microchip registration early Sunday and saw a flag from Labrador Rescuers, a local rescue. Finn was picked up in El Centro earlier this week after someone contacted the rescue alerting them to his location.

A foster family cared for Finn until he was reunited with Denise.

NBC 7 spoke with San Diego Sheriff detectives who said they are not able to release any information about their investigation.

Blakespear goes all-in on abortion even as that strategy seems to be failing national Democrats

If you've seen any Catherine Blakespear TV ads this campaign season, you might think the most hotly contested issue in the California legislature is abortion. We've seen her abortion ad over and over, and can't recall any other campaign theme she's running on. At the most recent city council meeting, Blakespear took time out of city business to pass a symbolic resolution on abortion.

Abortion simply isn't a policy issue in California. Abortion has been protected by the California Supreme Court since 1969 and has overwhelming support in the Democratic supermajority legislature. A redundant ballot initiative this year is certain to make abortion even more protected-er.

Local polling isn't frequent or thorough, but the abortion strategy doesn't seem to be paying off nationally.

So what is it about the actual issues that Catherine Blakespear doesn't want to run on?
 

Privatized parking tickets coming to Encinitas

 From the Inbox:

HT: Jim the Realtor.

Ehlers apparently once “liked” a Morris sign post on Facebook

By request. It’s unclear how recent this is:

Crossover voting

While the red-blue tribal war rages nationally, some Encinitas voters see beyond party.

Encinitas Guerrilla:

Top 10 Reasons to Vote for Matt Gunderson in State Senate District 38

1. He’s not Blakespear.

2. He’s not Blakespear.

3. He’s not Blakespear.

4. He’s not Blakespear.

5. He’s not Blakespear.

6. He’s not Blakespear.

7. He’s not Blakespear.

8. He’s not Blakespear.

9. He’s not Blakespear.

10. He’s not Blakespear.

Cremona-Kranz podcast debate

A good discussion of crime, the homeless, city government transparency, and density mandates. Hosted by journalist Stephen Wyer. 

Podcast at this link.

Stay classy, Encinitas!

 From the Inbox, a campaign e-mail from one of the mayoral candidates:

De Maio retracts Morris endorsement

KOGO Radio host and former San Diego Councilman Carl De Maio is one of the most respected conservative leaders in San Diego County. His voter guide is relied on by lots of voters on that side of the spectrum.

Facebook:

Morris charged with assault with a deadly weapon and battery in 2014; charges dismissed

From the Inbox, court file here.

No details about the facts and circumstances of the case other than the alleged victim was John Toro and it happened on or about July 28, 2014.

Given Morris' usual public demeanor, it wouldn't surprise anyone to learn that he had a physical confrontation. There appears to be no information as to why the charges were dropped.

If Morris is serious about running for mayor, he should explain the circumstances of the event.

Tribal politics in Encinitas

Yesterday's news story has something for both sides in this decade's local and national tribal war.

From what we can gather, the facts seem to be that a coffee shop owner got into an altercation with a homeless person. The conflict ended up the alley behind the shop. At some point the shopkeeper pulled [was carrying] a gun and ended up getting shot with his own gun. He and a bystander received minor injuries.

The political right got on a soapbox about rising crime and the homeless problem; the left got on a soapbox about guns.

They're both right, to a point. Aggressive, sometimes violent, often mentally ill or drug-addicted, homeless people shouldn't be left wandering the streets in perpetuity. And guns are dangerous in the hands of undertrained and overconfident gun owners. 

Crime scene at Modern Times

The sidewalk around Modern Times and neighboring businesses downtown was taped off with crime scene tape and multiple police vehicles were on the scene this morning. Sirens were heard shortly after 8am. An abandoned shopping cart full of homeless posessions was left at the scene.

UPDATE:

So apparently the owner of Ironsmith coffee has been shot after an altercation outside of the coffee shop.

Arrest made in campaign sign vandalism spree

Union-Tribune:

A 62-year-old woman was arrested earlier this week after someone used black spray paint to deface about 55 campaign signs in support of an Encinitas City Council candidate.

The Sheriff’s Department said it arrested Encinitas resident Teresa Conkey on Monday on felony suspicion of vandalism. The signs were from the campaign of Dan Vaughn, one of four candidates for the council’s District 4 seat in the Nov. 8 election.

Historic Cardiff house demolished without public notice

North Coast Current:

A 100-year-old house located behind a historic church building at 230 Birmingham Drive in Cardiff was demolished in mid-August. The old church, presently a business building called The Sanctuary, has some protected status as a historical designation, but the demolition of the property behind it ― built in 1910 as a catalog kit, according to locals ― caught residents’ attention on social media.

The demolished building, on Manchester Avenue, is believed to have been the pastor’s residence.

Blakespear accused of hypocrisy on gas-powered leaf blower use

From the Inbox:

Gun Owners endorse Morris; Mosca not a fan

 From the Inbox:

Jeff Morris seems totally normal

From the Inbox:

We have no idea what anyone has done that could be considered felony harassment of voters, but we'd love to hear!

iPalpiti classical music festival leaves town after dispute with city staff

Coast News:

The iPalpiti Festival, an international classical music event, is leaving the city of Encinitas and suspending the popular Music by the Sea event due to alleged mistreatment of program organizers and musicians by the city’s staff and newly-appointed arts administrator.

Director Laura Schmieder informed city leaders the iPalpiti Artists International nonprofit is officially terminating its 10-year run citing a number of grievances in a Sept. 1 letter addressed to Mayor Catherine Blakespear, City Manager Pamela Antil, Arts and Culture Manager Travis Karlen and Encinitas Friends of the Arts.

Blakespear campaign claims she took illegal guns off Encinitas streets

Did we miss something?

Coast News:

Katie Merrill, general consultant for Blakespear’s campaign, said of the poll results, “Blakespear has real accomplishments and real governing experience. From standing up for a woman’s right to choose, to taking illegal guns off of her city’s streets, to supporting small business owners, her record appeals to the kinds of voters who will decide this race.

What illegal guns were taken off Encinitas streets, and what was Blakespear's role in their confiscation?

Another serious injury in Blakespear’s bike trap

 Encinitas Votes:

Morris sought Democratic Party endorsement, promised to give Democrats priority for all city commissions

Locals were amused in July when it was revealed that mayoral candidate Jeff Morris, who has been publicly and vehemently opposed to current mayor Catherine Blakespear for years, had e-mailed Blakespear earlier this year proposing a political alliance.

Having apparently been spurned by Blakespear, Morris now turns to her Democratic Party for support.


From the Inbox:

another installment in the continuing saga of "Who is Jeff Morris?"  He applied for endorsement by the San Diego County Democratic Party - see attached agenda, item #8:

8. Endorsement Recommendations:

a. Encinitas Mayor – Tony Kranz, Jeff Morris

And on his application, among other things, Jeff promises his allegiance to the Democratic party, including the pledge to appoint only Dems to city boards and commissions: 

He also claims he had double the number of voters over the other candidates (who knew the vote happened already?):

This takes the cake: when the time came for Jeff to speak to the board, he was a no show.  When he should have been convincing the Party of his worthiness, he was instead busy on his police scanner saving the city:

 

In the Party deliberations on the endorsement, Morris was reportedly referred to as "a wacko."

Morris blows up, accusing Cremona of being behind inflammatory flyer

From the Inbox, two purported group e-mails from Jeff Morris to the "NC3" group (apparently this group  which shared Morris' mission of shutting down the Leichtag homeless parking lot).

We haven't seen the original e-mail and can't vouch for the authenticity, but it certainly sounds in character for all parties involved. 

The e-mails are here, with background commentary interspersed in (blue parentheticals) by someone with knowledge of the situation. Apparently someone passed an inflammatory flyer around Morris' Poinsettia Park HOA, and Morris believes Cremona is behind it.

The inflammatory flyer circulated at Poinsettia Park HOA is here. The legitimate Clark Development Action Group flyer is here.

Blakespear dodges debate

Twitter:

UPDATE: Coast News story.

Muir out; teachers' union likely to recapture school board

From the Inbox:

 

The Muirs burned a lot of bridges in this town. We hear they're off to Idaho. You get a lot of house in Idaho with a $200,000 pension.

Happy 90th, Pat Curren!

More on Pat here.

HT: @saveencinitas

Republicans against Muir

SD Rostra:

Maureen “Mo” Muir is running for re-election to the San Dieguito Union High School District Board of Trustees. She has served on school boards for close to 12 years now. Four years ago, she ran for the California Assembly. She didn’t raise money, didn’t secure the Republican Party of San Diego County (RPSDC) endorsement, and at the 11th hour either launched or joined on to a coordinated (and baseless) attack against the GOP-endorsed candidate, Philip Graham.

We covered the Muir dirty tricks here.

Maureen's husband Mark remains the pension king of Encinitas, pulling in $202,500 a year after retiring in his 50's.

Morris4Blakespear campaign

From the Inbox:

A posse made rounds around town last night. Cardiff, Seaside, Stonesteps, Beacon’s, Grandview, the rail trail, ECR corridor, ECP, and the Leucadia crossing reported seeing hundreds and hundreds of fliers reporting a possible Morris/Blakespear connection. Where have you spotted these? Morris, the Dem wolf in sheep’s clothing, secretly riding the coattails and offering to massage Blakespear the career politician’s critics?

Blakespear’s top donor is Trumper, San Diego’s biggest apartment landlord

Coast News:

San Diego’s biggest landlord is also the largest contributor to Mayor Catherine Blakespear’s state senate campaign, making her the only Democratic candidate in this year’s election to receive a donation (of any size) from the company’s principal owner and longtime Republican donor.

After contributing thousands of dollars to former President Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, Gerry Ranglas, CEO of R&V Management — the owner of at least 8,000 apartments in San Diego County — has substantially backed Blakespear over her GOP counterpart, Matt Gunderson, in the 38 State Senate District race.

Legal fight over Blakespear censoring residents continues

 Coast News:

A group of residents continues to seek legal remedies against Mayor Catherine Blakespear over her alleged censorship of critics on social media, recently filing a new notice of intent to move forward with litigation unless previous settlement terms are satisfied.

San Diego civil trial attorney Carla DiMare filed an amended notice on July 14 with the city of Encinitas on behalf of Robert Nichols, former chairman of the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project, and approximately 28 other “citizens’ rights advocates.”

DiMare, who replaces Carlsbad-based attorney Michael Curran, claims her client’s constitutional rights were violated when Blakespear restricted access to her official mayoral Facebook page and blocked certain users for expressing dissenting opinions.

Encinitas Residents for Responsible Development appeal to county over Goodson project

North Coast Current:

Encinitas Residents for Responsible Development is calling for the county to lead a thorough, multidisciplinary analysis of a multi-housing development plan that the city of Encinitas has refused to complete following its third lawsuit against the city.

Small plane crash lands at RSF Road and Melrose

 Reportedly no one killed, pilot OK, perhaps some auto injuries.

“Leucadia… on its final breath”

“Quaint, funky old Leucadia soon to be all upscale La Jolla-ish” 

Jim the Realtor on big new Leucadia developments.

Campaign season open thread

 Lots going on around the campaign trail even as city meetings are in the slow summer season.

What’s got your interest?

Fatal parking lot accident

Union-Tribune:

A 44-year-old man was killed Friday afternoon while lying near some bushes in an Encinitas parking lot when the driver of an SUV plowed through the shrubbery and struck him, authorities said.

It happened just before 3:45 p.m. in the parking lot of Enterprise Bank & Trust on North El Camino Real about a half-mile north of Encinitas Boulevard, according to San Diego sheriff’s Lt. David Collins.

Sheriff’s officials said the victim was lying on some grass on an embankment that was below and out of sight of the parking lot when he was struck. He died at the scene.

It was unclear why the SUV’s driver, a 61-year-old woman, drove over the curb and through the bushes.

Sheriff’s officials initially said deputies arrested her on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. But a news release several hours after the crash said investigators had not “yet determined if alcohol or drugs were a factor.” 

Resort hotel wins approval for new development next door

 Union-Trib:

The developer of the luxury Alila Marea Beach Resort won Encinitas Planning Commission approval Thursday for a project next door that will include apartments, hotel rooms and restaurants.

[...]

The 3.79-acre project site, which is just south of the hotel on N. Coast Highway, is proposed to contain 94 apartments, of which 19 will be set aside for low-income people. There’s also a 34-unit hotel that will be connected via bridge to the existing Alila Marea Resort. Some of the apartments will be built over a parking structure, others will be above commercial space. Jackel said the commercial areas could contain everything from an ice cream shop to high-end restaurants.

Local political art

 From the Inbox:

Armed robbery downtown

Times of San Diego:

Two women and two men were robbed early Sunday by four armed men, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department reported.

Four men in their mid-20s and wearing ski masks robbed the victims of cash and jewelry at 12:21 a.m. Sunday on South Vulcan Avenue at East E Street, Sgt. William Clem said.

SANDAG tax increase fails to qualify due to huge number of fake signatures

 Union-Trib:

The county agency reported receiving by a May deadline 141,326 signatures, a 3 percent sample of which were counted. The number of projected valid signatures was 94,787, falling short of a needed 115,788 signatures, or 10 percent of countywide votes cast in the last gubernatorial election.

6/8/22 City Council meeting open thread

 Please use the comments to record your observations.

Challengers likely to split vote and elect Kranz for mayor

By request:

Jeff Morris and his wife Kim alleged over the past few days that mayoral candidate Cindy Cremona deleted and blocked Jeff Morris’ political posts on the Nextdoor app. Escalating their accusations with increasingly extreme language over the past 72 hours, they posted their claims extensively on social media.

Here are the facts:

1.) Cremona as a “Welcome Team” member has no delete authority, in writing, per Nextdoor. From Nextdoor support: “Leads do not have the ability to remove neighbors, or otherwise affect a neighbor’s account in any way. Only Nextdoor’s Support team can take those actions."
2.) Jeff claims he spoke by phone with Nextdoor support to prove his claims. It is highly unlikely that he spoke with them; he needs to prove his claims in writing
3.) Jeff’s photoshopped screenshots do not constitute proof of his claims. This is hardly the first time Morris has made a baseless claim.

He needs to stop hiding behind his private social media sites and put his proof out here in the open. In other words: put up or shut up.

For the uninitiated, Cremona and Morris are both running for mayor as outsiders against the current council majority. Councilman Tony Kranz is the Blakespear ally, status quo candidate.

Cremona is involved with the Encinitas Viewpoint forum, which has a lot of overlap with the Prop A community character folks. Jeff Morris is more of an independent firebrand, and has pointed a spotlight on the city's homeless encampments with his Encinitas Watchdog group.

Best guess is Cremona is the stronger of the two challengers by a wide margin, and splitting the vote only helps elect Kranz.

UPDATE: Morris’s claims of Cremona’s supposed Nextdoor moderation appear to be unfounded:

Council violated city code in naming Planning Commission replacement

Rules are for the little people.

Coast News:

The Encinitas City Council’s appointment of Robert Prendergast to the Planning Commission last week violated a provision of the municipal code regulating commission appointees, multiple sources have confirmed to The Coast News, confounding residents, legal experts and former city officials.

According to section D of Chapter 2.30.020 of the city’s Municipal Code, “Appointees to any city commission will not be selected from among members currently serving on any other city commission.”

However, the council on May 25 voted 4-1 to appoint Prendergast, a real estate businessman also serving as a member of the city’s Mobility and Traffic Commission, to become the new Olivenhain representative on the Planning Commission.

Kranz, along with Councilmember Kellie Hinze, Councilmember Joe Mosca and Mayor Catherine Blakespear all voted in favor of Prendergast’s appointment. Councilmember Joy Lyndes was the lone vote against.

Blakespear council sets city up for still more multi-million dollar cyclist injury lawsuits

 Facebook:

The Blakespear council already paid out $11 million to Blakespear buddy Roberta Walker for an early morning crash in the council’s newly created “sharrows” lane (though the Blakespear council is still hiding the accident report from the taxpayers).

And certainly millions more will be paid to the family of Dr. Jennings Worley, who was killed at the Blakespear council’s ill-conceived traffic bollards on Leucadia Boulevard.

And let’s not forget the dozens of injuries, several requiring ambulances and hospitalization, from the Blakespear road obstacles between Cardiff and Solana Beach. Lawsuits remain pending.

Backroom Blakespear in sneaky SANDAG scheme

Coast News:

In April, the San Diego Association of Governments announced it was including the scandal-plagued and asbestos-ridden 101 Ash Street and Civic Centre Plaza buildings in downtown San Diego into its controversial 2021 Regional Plan.

However, nearly the entire SANDAG board — with the exception of Chairwoman Catherine Blakespear, Vice Chair Todd Gloria and Executive Director Hasan Ihkrata — appeared to be unaware of the deal.

Now, according to an explosive report from La Prensa San Diego, a supermajority of the San Diego City Council approved a deal during closed session for the City of San Diego to buy the 101 Ash Street building — which was abandoned more than two years earlier due to asbestos exposure and non-functional mechanical systems — to bypass at least two lawsuits brought against the city over original deal.

According to La Prensa’s report, Gloria, members of the San Diego City Council and City Attorney’s office agreed to keep the vote secret until after the June 7 primary. The media outlet reported “City Hall insiders” suspect the city will buy the property and sell it to SANDAG as part of its Central Mobility Hub.

[...]

Blakespear, Gloria and Ihkrata acknowledged their plans to Voice of San Diego, although most of the SANDAG board was unaware of the deal until after the press release had already started trickling out from media outlets.

Last month, Ihkrata said he disclosed to the board twice about the plans for the Central Mobility Hub, however the properties involved were unknown to other board members until the press release.

“In a Dec. 3 meeting, we had a deep discussion,” Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall said at the April board meeting. “Chairwoman Blakespear promised. Mayor Gloria, too. Mayor Gloria said this board would be part of the process. All of a sudden, it’s in the paper and SANDAG is moving forward at warp speed. I’m very disappointed.”

5/25/22 City Council meeting open thread

Please use the comments to record your observations.

Blakespear's "apology" inflames her censorship victims

 Coast News:

Mayor Catherine Blakespear and the City of Encinitas are now under threat of legal action after the 38th State Senate District candidate issued what some residents called a “disingenuous” public apology over the weekend as part of a settlement agreement for blocking her critics on social media, attorneys familiar with the matter informed The Coast News.

Michael Curran, attorney at Carlsbad-based law firm Curran & Curran Law who represents more than a dozen of residents who were reportedly barred from Blakespear’s social media pages, told The Coast News his clients will pursue a government tort claim against the city and Blakespear in both her official capacity as mayor and as a private citizen for violating her sworn oath to protect and uphold the constitution and infringing residents’ free speech rights.

If the city does not agree to settlement terms under this action, Curran said the plaintiffs will pursue a lawsuit in state court.

U-T endorses Joe Kerr over Blakespear

 Union-Tribune:

As vice chair of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board and a retired Orange County firefighter, Kerr understands drought and fire fears and conditions better than his opponents, fellow Democrat Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear and Republican small business owner Matt Gunderson. In a district that runs down the coast from Southern Orange County to Mission Beach, Kerr's resume and grasp of the issues is at least the equal of Blakespear's -- and better than Gunderson's.

But Blakespear has three strikes against her. Her vote against a local housing project drew a rare rebuke from the state Attorney General's office, which dinged Encinitas for not following state law on housing construction at a time when it is surely needed in the city. Her term as chair of the San Diego Association of Governmentshas seen the agency plunge into fresh scandal as it pursues ambitious transit plans with unrealistic business plans. And her disdain for critics she illegally blocked on her public Facebook accounts is troubling: it led to a lawsuit and a formal apology. We see these as warning signs when a fire captain could offer more.

5/18/22 City Council meeting open thread

 Please use the comments to record your observations.

Blakespear agrees to stop censoring public comment and publicly apologize

Coast News

Mayor Catherine Blakespear will issue a public apology for blocking critics from participating in conversations on her mayoral Facebook page as part of a recent settlement agreement, sources familiar with the matter told The Coast News.

Planning Commission applicants to replace fired Bruce Ehlers

From the Inbox:

Prendergast and Vaughn are both Blakespear supporters.  Snedeker certainly makes up a unanimous third as we all know how much Blakespear can't stand dissent from "haters."

Applications here. Selection is on tomorrow night’s agenda.

Still more shady insider deals in city’s “affordable housing” program

Coast News:

A designated affordable home in Cardiff-by-the-Sea was sold to an investor and entered third-party escrow two weeks before the developer was authorized to advertise the sale, public records show, raising doubts as to whether the home was purchased legitimately under the terms of the city’s affordable housing agreement.

More history here.

5/11/22 City Council meeting open thread

 Please use the comments to record your observations.

Blakespear’s Body Count?

 Encinitas Guerrilla:

As part of Mayor Catherine Blakespear’s focus on increasing bicycling safety in Encinitas, the city had installed bollards — hollow green plastic posts about 3 feet tall — between the right traffic lane along Leucadia Boulevard and the bike lane next to the curb. The gaps between the bollards were about 10 feet. At Moonstone Court, the row of bollards extended close to the street’s corner.

Some cyclists commented that the bollard close to the corner forced the truck driver to make what cyclists call a “right hook turn.” That angle made it impossible for the driver to see Worley in his right-side mirrors. Photos taken at the scene shortly after the accident (see below) appear to show that the driver turned into Worley’s path, giving him no escape and causing him to fatally crash into the truck’s side.

Without bollards or had they stopped farther east of the intersection, the driver would have been able to see Worley in his right-side mirrors and to judge whether to slow and let him pass or to turn right ahead of him.

Attempted kidnapping at Moonlight Beach

 NBC 7:

A man attempted to walk away with a 5-year-old girl Sunday at Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said.

SDSO said the man took the girl's hand and tried to walk away at about 4 p.m. in the 400 block of West B Street.

The child's mother saw this, grabbed her daughter's hand and yelled at the man, who took off in a southerly direction, SDSO said.

The child was not hurt.

The man was described as white, in his mid-30s, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 160 pounds, skinny, with short or buzz-cut blonde hair, wearing only gray sweatpants and no shoes or shirt, sheriff's officials said. Detectives were investigating.

UPDATE: False alarm. No charges for the false complaint.

Beacons closed due to bluff erosion

EU comments:

Breaking news on EU – Beacons beach closed until further notice. Bluff slide on northern half of parking lot with scarf going underneath rental house on North all the way down to the bottom of the tow of slops.

The repair is going to be expensive and long.

NextDoor:

Beacon’s parking lot and access closed. The bluff has new structural changes. Not good.

UPDATE: Encinitas Votes has a picture from JP St. Pierre:

County population declines

LA Times:

U.S. Census Bureau data released last month showed San Diego County’s population fell by 11,183 residents from July 2020 to July 2021 — mirroring the wider trend of more people leaving California’s high-priced coastal urban centers.

The data raise questions about whether the state’s expensive metro areas are on the brink of population declines fueled by falling birth rates, lower levels of foreign immigration and more residents fleeing for lower-cost locales.

4/27/22 City Council meeting open thread

 Please use the comments to record your observations.

Encinitas crime rate rises much faster than region’s

Coast News:

Largely due to a surge in property crimes, the overall crime rate in Encinitas increased by 31% in 2021, according to SANDAG’s latest crime report released on Tuesday.

According to the report, crime throughout San Diego County rose by 9% between 2020 and 2021, with violent crime increasing by 8% and property crimes rising by 9% (Violent crimes were categorized as homicides, rapes, and aggravated assaults. Property crimes included robberies, residential burglaries, larceny, and motor vehicle theft).

While the city’s violent crime level rose by just 2% — below the regional average — property crimes increased by a whopping 37% in 2021, the data showed.

4/20/22 City Council meeting open thread

 Please use the comments to record your observations.

Kranz takes heat for dubious reasons for firing Planning Commissioner

 Encinitas Votes

4/13/22 City Council meeting open thread

 There will be fireworks over the council’s planned firing of Planning Commissioner Bruce Ehlers!

Cardiff man dies BASE jumping in UTC

Encinitas Advocate:

Authorities on Tuesday, March 29, released the name of a 48-year-old man who died a week ago when he tried to BASE jump at a high-rise apartment building in University City.

The county Medical Examiner’s Office said Cardiff resident Eric Roden jumped from the 23rd floor of Palisade UTC, a 23-story, upscale apartment building on the corner of Lomard Place and Nobel Drive. The Medical Examiner’s Office said Roden’s parachute likely malfunctioned.

Council plots to decapitate inconvenient Planning Commission

 This Wednesday's council agenda:
 

10A.

Agenda item to terminate the term of Bruce Ehlers from the Encinitas Planning Commission effective immediately.  Contact Person:  Mayor Blakespear and Council Member Kranz

Ehlers is currently running for city council in the Olivenhain-New Encinitas district, and was a leader of the Proposition A "Right to Vote" initiative that the council despises.

More at Coast News.

Separated at birth?

 From the Inbox: 

Attentive campaign watchers noticing an incredible similarity between Morris and Kranz.

Mosca’s history repeats

Pasadena Star-News:

While more recent arrivals in town may be unaware of this fellow’s significance, veteran Sierra Madreanos are likely to remember Joe Mosca. The one-time mayor of Sierra Madre first arrived in town in late 2005, only to run for City Council less than a year later. Obviously he was a young man in a hurry. One of splendid gifts and much promise all were assured by his handlers.

Running as a preservationist opposed to a clunky mixed-use nightmare known as the “Downtown Specific Plan,” Joe rode to elective glory upon a wave of local revulsion at the city’s fraudulent proto-development political establishment. When his election gave slow-growthers a clear City Council majority, many declared the town’s troubles over.

Alas, no. As often happens with local baby-kissers, Mosca quickly flipped on everything he’d previously promised. He became an aggressive supporter of the very project he’d opposed when running for office. Something that led to a successful resident land use revolt called Measure V, an unsuccessful recall, general civic mayhem, plus some annoying blogs.

Then, for reasons remaining unclear to this day, in 2011 Joe suddenly resigned his office. This only months after he’d won re-election with a campaign vowing his eternal love of Sierra Madre. Some credited Chris Holden for effortlessly crushing Mosca’s state Assembly ambitions, leaving him with little reason to stay. Others pointed to his physician husband being awarded a lucrative job in San Diego, bread winner’s needs carrying the day.

Shortly after landing in the San Diego County surf and sand suburb of Encinitas, Mosca somehow managed to get himself appointed to an open seat on that City Council. This despite the many other hopeful applicants who’d lived there for more than a hot minute. When he actually needed to run for that seat a few years later, he barely eked out a victory over an 80-year-old resident who rarely left the house due to his ailments.

As politicians continue to push high-density development, population is actually declining

I’ve got a feeling all those new units being built with inadequate parking in Encinitas under the pretense of the housing crisis are becoming Air BnB’s and vacation homes for the out-of town rich.

Voice of San Diego:

San Diego got smaller from 2020 to 2021, entirely because fewer people moved to the region than moved away from it, according to a Thursday release from the U.S. Census Bureau.

That made for three consecutive years in which San Diego had negative population growth.

3/23/22 City Council meeting open thread

 Please use the comments to record your observations.

Ehlers announces city council run for Olivenhain

Coast News:

I am Bruce Ehlers and I am running for Encinitas City Council District 4 (New Encinitas and Olivenhain) in November and hope you will join me in restoring a Council majority that will protect Encinitas from overdevelopment and fulfill the reason we incorporated in 1986.

Under the direction of our current City Council, Encinitas has undergone enormous changes that endanger the character of our community.

If you’re like me, you want to preserve the things that attracted you to live and stay in Encinitas: our beautiful coast, small beach town ambiance, overall quality of life and the special characteristics of our five unique communities.

Ehlers is the chairman of the Planning Commission and was a leader of the Prop A campaign to protect residents' right to vote on upzoning.

Incumbent Joe Mosca announced that he will not seek re-election. His role in upzoning the huge and hugely controversial Goodson development would surely have made that difficult.

3/16/22 City Council meeting open thread

 Please use the comments to record your observations.

Leucadia still flooding after all these years

Coast News:

For nearly three decades now, Leucadia residents in an area spanning from roughly Basil Street to further north at Ponto Beach have lived with the distinct possibility of flooding during storm seasons.

The flooding not only causes extensive property damage but has had the ripple effect of pushing the city to pump untreated stormwater over the bluff through a pipe and onto nearby Beacon’s Beach, contaminating the coastal area and posing environmental hazards, experts say. Additionally, legal analysts believe the city’s diverting of stormwater from Old Encinitas to Leucadia may be unlawful, opening the city up to litigation.

3/9/22 City Council meeting open thread

 Please use the comments to record your observations.

City Council finds fame on ZeroHedge financial web site

ZeroHedge:

With oil now raging through $120 a barrel with little or no signs of stopping, we thought it would be a good time to look back over the "woke" virtue signaling ESG idiocy investment decisions that some actively managed funds made over the course of the last year.

[...]

The City of Encinitas also voted last September to "urge CalPERS to take such divestment action and update the city’s own investment policy which doesn’t have any direct fossil fuel holdings."

Our broken homeless system

San Francisco’s Michael Shellenberger:

If you take the so-called homeless problem, I believe it's fundamentally a problem of untreated mental illness and drug addiction, a form of mental illness. It's often self-inflicted, and it sometimes comes from trauma or from undiagnosed depression, anxiety, or schizophrenia, but sometimes it just comes from partying too much.

We don't have a functioning psychiatric system. A lot of people that are addicted to hard drugs might have done fine with an antidepressant, some cognitive behavioral therapy, and exercise, which works for almost everybody. We don't have that, and that's the traditional progressive criticism.

Then the other issue is why are there so many people on the streets in San Francisco? It's because we let them. There's a myth that it's because of the weather. Certainly in freezing places like Chicago, it's hard to be on the streets year-round. But there's other places like Miami, which are warm, which don't have the same problems that we have. Or they did, and then they fixed them. The solution is basically universal shelter—a safe and clean place to sleep. It should not be so nice that it attracts people to want to stay there.

That's not the policy we have. We have a "housing first" policy rather than a "shelter first" policy, under this utopian idea that we can just provide everybody who wants their own apartment in San Francisco or Venice Beach with their own apartment. It's obviously wrong. Just geographically you can't do it, but financially you can't do it. And it creates a terrible incentive for people to become homeless.

We need a "treatment first" policy. We need to enforce laws, including misdemeanors, including against public camping, public defecation, and public drug use. Those are cries for help from people. When they break those laws, they should be arrested, brought before a judge, and given the opportunity to have rehab or psychiatric care rather than jail or prison.

Van Life Encinitas!

From the Inbox:

"Almost the friendliest van life town that I have been in in Southern California"

"Just full of stealth campers, van lifers"

"And they welcome it! They don't care that you spend the night here. There's one little area that there's a lot of people that sleep overnight in..."

If you don't have your own rig, you can always rent one.

We recall the council legalized camping in vehicles in order to start the Leichtag homeless parking lot. Did that apply to city streets as well?

Residents sue over Olivenhain development

Encinitas Advocate:

 

Grassroots group Encinitas Residents for Responsible Development has filed its third lawsuit in two years against the city of Encinitas over a controversial proposed development.

The most recent one, filed on Jan. 28 in San Diego County Superior Court, contests a decision that the city made to allow the consolidation of four lots into one at the site of a proposed project by developer R. Randy Goodson.

2/23/22 City Council meeting open thread

 Please use the comments to record your observations.

Division, Exclusion, and Inequality

A resident speaks to council about Mayor Blakespear's divisive "Equity Commission".

 YouTube:

Stabbing at downtown bar

 Encinitas Advocate:

Two men were stabbed in Encinitas late Saturday night, Feb. 19, a sheriff’s official said.

Deputies responded to a bar on South Coast Highway, south of E Street, to a reported stabbing just before midnight, Lt. Chris Galve said.

The deputies provided first aid, and paramedics took at least one of the victims to a hospital, Gavle said.

Bar patrons had detained the suspected assailant, and deputies took him into custody.

That’s the block of Biergarten and 1st Street Bar. Online commenters are saying it was 1st Street. 

Cremona announces for mayor

 Coast News:

I’m pleased to announce my candidacy for the office of Mayor for the City of Encinitas. I will run as an Independent/non-partisan candidate (NPP).

[…]

As with all growing cities, change is inevitable. But change requires good stewardship. Like my fellow residents, many of these changes are concerning, while some are outright alarming. Many residents feel overwhelmed by the amount of housing projects the city is approving and are frustrated by the lack of infrastructure to support the thousands of additional units looming on our horizon. 

It’s become clear in the last few years that city leadership disregards residents’ input. It seems the growing concerns over housing, traffic, crime, homelessness and our loss of open space are becoming endemic in our community and a new voice and different solutions are needed.