Collier Shenanigans

The UT is really covering the Encinitas council race. You might get the impression they were trying to sell newspapers.
They seems to have caught Rachelle Collier in discrepancy about her stand on needle exchange programs. Like Mrs. Collier, I am not sure what this has to to with Encinitas. This whole story is bizarre. First someone makes a bunch of "survey" calls that say Collier supports lifting the ban on needle exchanges. Then Collier and Maggie Houlihan stage a press conference to deny the support and denounce the calls. Then afterward, Collier is presented with a survey where she apparently did support what she just got through saying she didn't. Sounds like a setup to me. Crazy stuff.

Houlihan Shenanigans

A very concerned citizen, Harry Eiler, blew the whistle on Maggie Houlihan's trip to Japan a few years back. A number of things are interesting about this.
The honesty of Mr. Eiler is absolutely refreshing in these days of doublespeak and political correctness. By waiting four years after the incident to take action, it is obvious that the only motive was to harm Houlihan's reelection chances. But rather than beating around the bush, he comes right out and admits his motive (and his source: Houlihan's arch-enemy Jerome Stocks). Whatever you think of his tactics, you have to give him credit for being honest.
It seems that Maggie was cleared by city attorney Glenn Sabine and the Fair Political Practices Commission after the Japan trip. Why keep bringing this up?
It seems that Stocks and Christy Guerin where "concerned" about Maggie's husband getting all this money. They didn't seem that concerned with trying to pass an illegal clean water tax though.
Lastly, how can you write an article about this now infamous Japan trip without mentioning the cat incident. The author should be fired.

Encinitas In Flames!

There was yet another fire in Encinitas.  This one was in an unoccupied house.  Kids getting out of hands?  Insurance fraud?  Crack house mishap?  Only time will tell.

City Council Meeting 2008-10-22

The Council Meeting was pretty uneventful and predictable. Another 3-2 boys versus the girls vote.
The highlight would be Bonds' story about chewing on lead shavings during his days as a telephone worker. Yummy.
Maggie Houlihan brought up the point of the time that has been spent on the plan so far. She and staffer agreed that this would be a normal amount of time taken for a project like this. I find that difficult to believe. How can it take 7 years to develop a plan and do an EIR? I guess if your job or consulting fees depend on it, you might stretch it out a bit.

McCain Says Obama's Policies are Socialist

And his aren't? If you really value freedom, liberty and the true American way, please vote for someone who does as well.

Vista School Board Does Not Considers Prop 8

The Vista School Board voted 3-2 to not consider supporting Prop. 8. Why would a school district concern itself with such matters? Can't elected officials just stick to the jobs they were elected to perform. At least there were 3 reasonable people on the board.

Special Hall Property Council Meeting

There is going to be a special meeting of the city council to hear appeals on the Hall property proposal. Go and voice your opinion. I will try to get there in time to speak.

Everywhere A Sign

In general, I dislike the signs.  I can tolerate them as long as they are removed promptly after the election, but that never seems to happen.

The People's Central Planning Committee Strikes Again

Encinitas will now regulate surf camps.  I do not go to the beach as often as I used to and rarely during the weekdays.  But was this that big of a problem?  Was the public really "crowded out."
Beach regulation is coming fast and furious now.  Once one city passes a smoking ban or surf camp tax, they all do.

House Fire

I was gone over the weekend so I missed a nearby house fire.  The NC Times article quoted the the sheriff's office as saying the fire was caused by a starter log that started a box of starter logs.  I am very glad that nobody was hurt but I do sense some irresponsibility here.  First, a single story house with 10 - 12 residents.  That seems a bit crowded to me;  I wonder how many are children.  I think a more likely story than the exploding box of logs is that mom or dad lit the fire, left it, and kids started playing with said fire.  And we all know what can happen when you play with fire.
On a side note, I was around for last nearby house fire and was very annoyed by all the news helicopters.  They flew around at low altitudes making a ton of noise.  There has to be some sort of regulations on this.  I will have to check with the FAA.

Here is a picture of the aftermath.

Central Planning Committe

The Encinitas Central Planning Committee on Urban and Commercial Real EstateCity Council voted to restrict usage of ground floor spaces along 101.  Stocks was the lone nay with Dalager recusing himself.  I have to agree with Mr. Stocks on this one.  This nation has gone way to far in the direction of government regulation and this is one more tiny step.  What will property owners do if no approved business wants to lease their space?  What is the problem with Yoga studios and medical offices?  I love the downtown area, but visited most frequently when my chiropractor was located there.  Peder Norby's comparison to Del Mar is not valid, in my opinion.  Del Mar's stretch of 101 is much smaller and does not extend to parallel streets.  Even a small number of "undesirable" business make a big impact there.  Don't forget the xenophobic attitudes of most Del Marians.

Vista Only Paid $12 Million

Vista's Hollandia Park just opened with a skate park, softball fields, dog park, picnic benches, playgrounds, and an amphitheater. All on 30 acres for the bargain price of $12 million. Is this park 3 times better than the Hall property proposal? I doubt it. Did Vista have a $24 million coupon?

Hall Property

The UT has a synopsis of the current Hall property situation. Dan Dalager is always good for a quote and this is no exception. He states the city can afford phase 1, as long as we redefine phase 1. Be he fails to mention how to redefine.
How about this idea for phase 1. Put grass in the entire park, mark out some trails and let people use the dang thing. It shouldn't cost much to do that and that way the space in getting some mileage while everyone battles it out about the soccer fields and lighting.

Republicans Minus Democrats Equals Zero

Glenn Beck has hit the nail on the head. There is really no difference between Republicans and Democrats.
One can hope that this is the year that real change starts to happen. Not the bogus "change" that Barack Obama hypes, but true political change. Will citizens finally realize that the government is not working for them, but for only for themselves. I wonder how Ron Paul would have fared if this crisis had taken place before the primaries.
One microcosm of this change might be the Encinitas city council race. Running for the 3 open seats (which would constitute a majority) are the 3 incumbents plus 7 or so opponents. Two of the incumbents represent the old guard. In Encinitas' case, this means development, development, more development (not as rampant as Carlsbad but close), opaque government and bad business (as in the Mossy dealership fiasco). Most of the other candidates represent change in one form or another. If the two incumbents win, they and their buddy on the council would still hold a majority and things remain the same. If new blood is elected, then they would team up with Councilwoman Barth to form a new majority.

Change

Change is a word that being thrown out a lot these days. Barack Obama popularized the trend during the Democratic primaries and he used it to overcome Hillary Clinton, something I didn't think was probable. I have written about change recently as well, mainly due to the disgust with our current government. But I think my definition is different than Obama's. I require a change in government that means more freedom, more responsibility (both personal and by government), less government (in all areas, defense, entitlements, etc.).
When Obama speaks of change, I am not sure what he means. I have not seen anything in his platform that constitutes real change. Yes, his platform differs from John McCain's in some minor ways, but neither candidate has solutions to the government's problems.
On the Encinitas city council, change here would be getting back to responsible government. When we first moved here, the city seemed very well run (and for the most part, still is). Yet it has started down the slippery slope of corruption and greed that the federal government has been sliding down for decades. Corruption in the sense that certain council members seem to want to hide from decisions, meet in closed sessions. Greed in the sense that the council tries to pass illegal and/or unethical taxes (i.e. the water tax from a few years ago). Greed in the escalating salaries, benefits and costs of running the city. The goal of the council should not be to have your name on as many plaques on as many public properties as possible, but to serve the residents of your city. In my mind, only one (possibly two) of the current council members does this, Teresa Barth. Hopefully more will join her.
Do I think that the other council members are bad people. No, they seem likable enough and I have never seen evidence of major wrong-doing. The issue is the age-old problem of power and money corrupting those who hold it. A lot of what they did for the city was good. But after years of building small parks (Moonlight Beach), they feel the need to build a huge, overblown park that nobody wants (Hall property). After having a small, but usable public works facility, they feel the need to overpay for a dilapidated car dealership. That kind of service we don't need.