Encinitas has 2nd lowest crime rate of all cities in SD County

... according to the U-T.

Second only to Poway. Cracktowns Del Mar and National City have the worst crime rates.

City of Encinitas loses $29,524 to embezzler

I guess we should be thankful. Some other cities lost a lot more:

The former president of a Huntington Beach company that held federal grant and loan money in escrow on behalf of local governments agreed today to plead guilty to embezzling millions of dollars that belonged to more than 20 cities in the Southland [...]

In a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, Belinda Exon, 55, who now lives in Phoenix, Ariz., admitted she embezzled $3.9 million that was being held in escrow by her former company, Rehab Financial Services Inc., according to Thom Mrozek of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The now-defunct escrow and loan servicing agent administered grants and loans for California municipalities. The money entrusted to Rehab Financial included funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to local governments for rehabilitation programs designed to address health and safety hazards in low-income housing.

Read more: http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-05-07/news/head-of-oc-firm-pleads-guilty-to-embezzling-from-cities-including-hemet-perris#ixzz0nIElmggE


According to the plea agreement, the following cities sustained losses:
– San Francisco, $1,021,000;
– Pomona, $751,000;
– Seal Beach, $481,432;
[...]
– Encinitas, $29,524;

Cinco de Mayo drunk sweeps

If Arizona enforcing immigration laws is racist, this has to be racist too.

Undercover sheriffs arrest Cinco de Mayo revelers.

KUSI's Turko on the Nantucket standoff

The house in limbo.

HT: Jim the Realtor

Bees of Encinitas

A week or two ago we had bees apparently trying to make a hive in the compost bin. I opened the lid and they decided they didn't like it that way and moved on.

Today, we were hanging out in the back yard and all of a sudden heard a loud and growing buzzing sound. I looked up and it was a swarm of bees filling the sky, like something out of a bad horror movie. We ran inside, and they were gone as quickly as they had appeared.

I think I prefer the parrots of Ocean Beach.

Baby season at the Wild Animal Park

This little fella was born an hour ago.

P.S. How do you get to the Wild Animal Park from Encinitas? 76 and 56 are so far out of the way, and San Marcos has too many lights and too much traffic. Del Dios Highway?

Why it's so imporant to be in that Encinitas school district

... because Carlsbad schools cover up child molestation by teachers.

The Coast News on the sentencing of long-time Pacific Rim Elementary teacher and serial child molester Raymond Firth (April 30 print edition, not available online):

Following Firth's hearing, Christy, the mother of the first student to come forward, told reporters she got the impression from the district that they were more worried about their reputation then [sic] her daughter's well-being. She said that she repeatedly received calls from Principal Devich asking her to tell her daughter not to discuss the case with other students.

[...]

Chris, the father of the last victim, told reporters that he was also frustrated with the district, because he had to find out about Firth's charges through a story in the Coast News.

Like the first mother, Chris said he didn't understand why it took more than a year after Firth was first charged by prosecutors for the district to finally inform parents at Pacific Rim of the ex-teacher's molestation case. He said he would have expected a letter from the district immediately after Firth's arrest.