Carlsbad Sports Park at Toxaphene Fields

Gerald Sodomka writes in the Coast News on the city cover-up of toxic waste at Hymettus and the Hall Park.

I think hexavalent chromium is the nasty stuff that made Erin Brockovich famous, by the way.

Cha-ching!!!

Encinitas developer and friend of the council majority John DeWald has sold the Pacific Station retail space for an astonishing $19.5 million, or $502 per square foot. That Federal Reserve easy money sure pays off for the wealthy, huh? Meanwhile, how are you liking your $4 gasoline and $6 milk?

Now if only those Pacific Station condos would start selling...

Miracle on Vulcan

When the City Council and the Parks and Rec Department let goat head thorns take over the 101 and Vulcan bike paths due to lack of funds, Russell Levan took matters into his own hands. Levan organized a cleanup party to weed the 101 side of the tracks at the south end of the Puncture Path near Jamroc, but didn't have nearly enough manpower to clean up both sides of the track all the way to the north end.

I haven't heard about any additional cleanup efforts, but behold!



The Vulcan side appears to have been raked and weeded at least up to Leucadia Boulevard. Was this another Levan cleanup party? Did the city have some money left over after pension expenses and frivolous legal challenges to provide some actual services to the public? Did the Surfing Madonna perform one last miracle before she was ripped down? Inquiring minds want to know.

It's still not safe to ride a bicycle on either the Vulcan or 101 bike paths, but if we can keep pulling all the goat head plants for another year or two, we may make the paths safe again after that. If you're passing by and see a low plant with little yellow flowers and long green arms radiating out from the center, pull it!

Rancho Tyvek Estates update

... from Jim the Realtor.

City lined Glenn Sabine's pockets to the tune of $25,000 in futile attempt to keep road report secret

... and they may have to pay $40,000 for Kevin Cummins' CalAware attorney.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave...

The council will attempt to defend the indefensible to the public at tonight's meeting. Should be very entertaining.

Bad cops, bad cops, whatcha gonna do?

Encinitas deputy sheriff Lauren McAllister was arrested at her home in Temecula on felony charges of harboring, aiding, or concealing a fugitive.

Cops are being very tight-lipped about what's going on. This could be interesting.

UPDATE: Patch has the story.

A 26-year-old woman met arriving deputies and told them a man had raped her inside the two-story residence, McDonald said. When deputies attempted to search the home, McAllister allegedly tried to stop them, prompting them to arrest her, according to the sergeant. Police then located the alleged assailant, 34-year-old Matthew Joseph Frembling of Murrieta, and took him into custody without incident.

McAllister was booked on suspicion of felony obstruction of peace officers, being an accessory to a felony and misdemeanor resisting arrest. She posted $5,000 bail and was released from Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta on Monday morning.

McAllister will remain on administrative leave pending completion of an internal investigation by her supervisors, according to San Diego County sheriff's spokeswoman Melissa Aquino. Frembling was booked on suspicion of forcible rape and sexual penetration with a foreign object and was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail at the Murrieta jail. The nature of the suspect's relationship to McAllister or the alleged victim, if any, was not disclosed.

So it's not a felony-felony. It's a pissing match between cops. They'll drop it down to a misdemeanor and she could even keep her job.

UPDATE 2:  Matt Frembling is a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.  Lauren's brother Ryan, who is also listed as living at the house, posts on Facebook about all his time in the gym.

Monster house Suzy Brown fails to appear in court?

There's no reporting of it in the press yet, but Encinitas Undercover readers are often far ahead of the newspapers. Reader Anonymous has the tip:

Today (July 18, 2011), Suzy Brown failed to appear at a preliminary hearing. The judge called for "Suzy Brown". Suzy's council [sic] said that she failed to appear, and was planning on pleading guilty. The judge ordered her O.R. revoked and asked for $50,000 bond. He also said to issue a warrant for Brown's arrest starting early August.

Presumably this is about the theft of fixtures from the Monster House, which was dismissed last year due to prosecutorial incompetence, but I think the prosecution had a chance to re-file.

Maybe the judge should have tried calling for Suzy Tesla.