Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Blakespear calls BS on high-speed rail boondoggle

Wall Street Journal:
“This is a disaster,” Democratic state Sen. Catherine Blakespear said at a Transportation Committee meeting in April to review the project’s 2026 business plan. “I am such an enthusiast for rail and I really want this to be successful and just hearing these things makes it seem like we’re proceeding on a wing and a prayer.”

Friday, August 7, 2026

Encinitas pedestrian and bicyclist deaths continue to rise

"Vision Zero" is a plan the city adopted about 8 years ago, part of a national push to reduce road fatalities.

How it started:
Vision Zero starts with the ethical belief that everyone has the right to move safely in their communities, and that system designers and policy makers share the responsibility to ensure safe systems for travel.
How it's going:
On Tuesday night, community members rallied outside City Hall to call on the city to take action after three children were hit and killed by cars in Encinitas since 2023.

The protest, organized by Safe Streets Encinitas, saw a large turnout. After 17-year-old Seraphina Rose Fadick was hit and killed by a car when crossing Camino Del Norte on July 10, the group is demanding the city make changes.
We don't have the statistics -- we'll leave that to enterprising FOIA citizens -- but it certainly seems that Encinitas roads have become more dangerous since the Vision Zero crowd came to town. Certainly the deaths of Ryan Currie and Dr. Jennings Worley appear directly attributable to the idiotic street designs of Blakespear & Co.

Friday, July 31, 2026

Breakfast Republic bites the dust

Fox 5:
Three popular Breakfast Republic restaurants in San Diego County will permanently close next month as the company shifts its focus toward expansion elsewhere in California and into Texas.

Rise & Shine Hospitality Group announced this week its Breakfast Republic locations in North Park, Ocean Beach and Encinitas will serve their final guests on Sunday, Aug. 9.

Monday, July 27, 2026

Downtown 101 dodges a bullet on transit high-density

 The Coast News:

In the Tier 2 TOD zone, parcels zoned as residential, commercial, or mixed-use could be subject to development of up to 80 dwelling units per acre and 55 feet tall within one quarter to one half mile of a transit stop, 100 units per acre and 65 feet in height within one quarter mile, and 140 units per acre and 85 feet tall within 200 feet.
Somehow Encinitas and Solana Beach avoided this fate.

Well done, whoever pulled those strings and greased those palms!