Monday, July 19, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Local grocery store displays work of genius
piece of art ever.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Council to Consider Wireless
10 News A plan by the city of Encinitas to keep people connected through a wireless network is tearing one community apart.
Michael Schwaebe uses his own radio frequency meter, but an increase in RF levels worries him if three 4-feet-by-13-inch-wide wireless antennas are placed on top of a vacant restaurant roof at the corner of Highway 101 and La Costa Avenue.
"At my home, I need to be able to know that I'm going to be able to live there safely with this tower going in. Tell me what the radiation levels are going to be in my neighborhood," said Schwaebe.
TCN Coast News Group - Local woman fights wireless industry to reduce health risks
“We won by educating the neighborhood and getting a permit to picket at the Morgan Run Golf Club during a celebrity tournament,” she said. “But we were prohibited from discussing health concerns at a public hearing because of Sec. 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which states that local authorities cannot reject a request for wireless facilities based on health concerns if the facilities met the FCC’s regulations concerning radiofrequency (RF) emissions.
“In short, federal law trumps local law.”
Michael Schwaebe uses his own radio frequency meter, but an increase in RF levels worries him if three 4-feet-by-13-inch-wide wireless antennas are placed on top of a vacant restaurant roof at the corner of Highway 101 and La Costa Avenue.
"At my home, I need to be able to know that I'm going to be able to live there safely with this tower going in. Tell me what the radiation levels are going to be in my neighborhood," said Schwaebe.
TCN Coast News Group - Local woman fights wireless industry to reduce health risks
“We won by educating the neighborhood and getting a permit to picket at the Morgan Run Golf Club during a celebrity tournament,” she said. “But we were prohibited from discussing health concerns at a public hearing because of Sec. 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which states that local authorities cannot reject a request for wireless facilities based on health concerns if the facilities met the FCC’s regulations concerning radiofrequency (RF) emissions.
“In short, federal law trumps local law.”
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Hall Park Night Lights
If you are sad that the Hall Park will ruin your fabulous sunset view does that make you an evil NIMBY?
The Cardiffian blog has a detailed rundown of Hall Park stuff, click here.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Spill Baby Spill
Back in June of 2008 I composed this blog post about the dangers of offshore oil drilling. This was before the height of the Sarah Palin mantra "Drill baby drill" during the presidential campaign.
Of course I was called an idiot liberal and was assured that offshore oil drilling was not only safe but patriotic.
As we watch the disaster in the Gulf unfold week after week the burning question is:
WHAT IF IT HAPPENED OFF THE COAST OF ENCINITAS???
Carlbad Force
Seems a woman driving that grey thing this morning attracted the attention of the Carlsbad Police (the white vehicle in the picture is an unmarked cop car). It looked like there was some broken glass so I'm not sure how they got her to stop. Her Fifi dog was in the back of the vehicle wondering what happened to mom (you can see the dog's white head sticking up out of the back kinda in line with the traffic light pole). No sheriffs no where. Encinitas fire truck and ambulance responded.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
City Council Race Gets Hot
Kristin Gaspar is ready to spice up the City Council.
She said she wants to “bring people together,” adding: “I think we’ve all watched for too long as battle lines have divided our city government.”
She brings a fresh and simple approach to government. Kristin is sure to bring up the Council's television ratings. She has already shown the same interests as Barth and being a conservative she is sure to be a staunch Barth ally on just about everything other than the Hall property community park.
Friday, July 09, 2010
More Cobbles
Moonlight Beach
Moonlight Beach with Cobblestones Mixed with SandThe photo is of little Tom Cozen's and his family hanging out at the beach. He seems to be having a good time despite the presence of cobblestones, but that was before we had taxpayer funded lobbyists inciting fear of cobbles.
The Leucadia blog has a whole series of posts documenting the historic, and prehistoric presence of cobbles on Encinitas beaches; cobbles are a natural component of the Encinitas coastline. We also have a classic and overlapping series on sand.
Leucadia Mainstreet 101 Revitalization
Tonight Surfy Surfy celebrates it's 2 month anniversary with live music in-store by the groovy local jazz trio The Red Fox Tails.
Date: Friday, July 9, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Surfy Surfy Surf Shop
974 North Coast Hwy 101
Leucadia, CA 92024
www.surfysurfy.net
*note-Surfy Surfy Surf Shop is owned by Leucadia blogger JP St Pierre
Sunday, July 04, 2010
NO TOLERANCE
NO FUN!
ENCINITAS CITY COUNCIL HATES AMERICA AND YOUR CHILDREN.
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Leucadia Fireworks
Local fireworks?
I can only confirm that the La Costa Four Seasons show over the Batiquitos Lagoon is on for 9pm. This show is visible from much of northern Leucadia, and is especially cool from some of our higher vantage points.
KC
Friday, July 02, 2010
EUSD to ask for More Money
Last week’s Encinitas Union School District board meeting was very illustrative of a trend that is happening in education. Encinitas schools are awesome, they have scores amongst the highest in the state, and this is due almost entirely because of the teachers and principals we are lucky to have.
But the board is almost entirely, with the exception of Mo Muir, completely seduced by sparkly tools, green initiatives and buzzwords like "21st Century classrooms." While they lay off teachers, and most of the staff have gone without raises, the board has concocted a plan to place a $44 million dollar bond on the November ballot that they say they will use for technology, green initiatives and some facilities needs.
Now I want to first clarify that I have no problem with schools repairing what needs to be repaired. If a school needs a roof, for god’s sake, fix it! But the laundry list of things this board has requested spends over 30% of the $44 million dollars on computers, wifi, whiteboards (these are not white erase boards, these are actually smart boards which run $3K each) and they want to spend $7 million dollars on putting solar panels on 7 of the 9 schools and spend another 11 million on building a “community garden” and a “learning center” on the Quail Gardens property.
During the Q&A I asked the board whose input they sought when deciding that this large plot that is owned essentially by the community should be turned into a community garden and a shiny new learning center. It was crickets. Then Skiljan piped up and said “We are in the education business, we are elected to decide what to do with this property.” The board president was even more condescending, he essentially told me to shut up and sit down when I asked if any of the districts PTAs were consulted on what they thought the best use would be. He said I could send a written request to Superintendent Baird for specifics but that this was not the venue for the board to address such issues.
Board member Muir asked why they were planning on buying a whole new program to track attendance at a huge cost when they were still paying off the one they purchased just two years ago and she was shouted down by the other board members because “what” was in the budget was not up for discussion, only whether they were going to pass it or not. She was armed with a letter from the county board of education basically warning that this new technology is in it’s early phases and has not been tested in a school district before so it would be unwise for Encinitas to be the guinea pig, but the board didn’t want to hear any pf it. They want what they want , and this board wants shiny and new stuff.
I have been following the tactics this board is using to try and get this bond passed for a couple months now and it is essentially, let’s call meetings in the dead of summer when no parents are paying attention, and gloss people over with 119 pages of paperwork that they can flip through to figure out what we want to spend the money on.
They want the taxpaying residents to pay $5 million dollars for new computers for everyone and in every classroom, and another $5 million in a “technology endowment” which is fancy talk for, we know the technology will be obsolete in two years so we want money to buy new stuff when we’re bored with the shiny new toys we buy.
LB note: So, we're going to take a 30 year loan to set up an endowment? Does that make financial sense?
They are still paying off technology they bought 5 years ago and financed on a five year payment plan but yet now they want all new stuff. All while never asking teachers, parents or any of the advisory committees what they believe our schools might need.
I wonder if any teachers find it at all grating that while they have to send kids home to beg for money for the simplest of school-related stuff, say field trips, the school is planning on spending millions on devices like “smart boards” all while many have dealt with wage freezes for how long?
As a geek myself, I love new technology, but a technology should be evaluated not based only on whether it is useful or not, but on where it is *more useful* than other things that could be accomplished with the same amount of money. Unfortunately, this boards decisions are driven by what is cool and fashionable. This is what I find most egregious. Writing with pen or pencil on paper involves a different kind of thinking from writing on laptops and interactive boards. You are forced to wrestle with the words when you can’t delete and move them as you wish.
While EUSD Board cuts programs for gifted and talented students, physical education, arts and reading, transportation and all kinds of useful programs they want teachers to use Power points and teachers manipulating quadratic graphs across a smartboard screen using their finger/cursor, to help students learn…but in reality, according to teachers themselves, such items distract students from learning/remembering how to solve mathematical problems for themselves.”
The quail gardens plan is also completely half-baked. Each school in our district already has a garden on the grounds which teachers use already. To use five acres of land on the Quail gardens property to create a “community garden” is completely redundant.
I highly recommend residents have a look at the facilities plan the board created to explain how they plan to dole out the 44 million they want the bond for. Residents are going to be hit with all kinds of buzzwords like “21st Century classrooms” “Green initiatives” and “Energy conservation” with direct mail pieces in their mailboxes as well as the cheerleaders on the board pleading that its “for the children” but its as if they wrote this plan on the back of an Applebee’s placemat without any community input what-so-ever.
Even the last 2 million in “technology upgrades” which they passed in MAY, they never sought any insight or input from the districts “Technology committee” because the Superintendent said, “they are just parents.”
Sunana Batra
But the board is almost entirely, with the exception of Mo Muir, completely seduced by sparkly tools, green initiatives and buzzwords like "21st Century classrooms." While they lay off teachers, and most of the staff have gone without raises, the board has concocted a plan to place a $44 million dollar bond on the November ballot that they say they will use for technology, green initiatives and some facilities needs.
Now I want to first clarify that I have no problem with schools repairing what needs to be repaired. If a school needs a roof, for god’s sake, fix it! But the laundry list of things this board has requested spends over 30% of the $44 million dollars on computers, wifi, whiteboards (these are not white erase boards, these are actually smart boards which run $3K each) and they want to spend $7 million dollars on putting solar panels on 7 of the 9 schools and spend another 11 million on building a “community garden” and a “learning center” on the Quail Gardens property.
During the Q&A I asked the board whose input they sought when deciding that this large plot that is owned essentially by the community should be turned into a community garden and a shiny new learning center. It was crickets. Then Skiljan piped up and said “We are in the education business, we are elected to decide what to do with this property.” The board president was even more condescending, he essentially told me to shut up and sit down when I asked if any of the districts PTAs were consulted on what they thought the best use would be. He said I could send a written request to Superintendent Baird for specifics but that this was not the venue for the board to address such issues.
Board member Muir asked why they were planning on buying a whole new program to track attendance at a huge cost when they were still paying off the one they purchased just two years ago and she was shouted down by the other board members because “what” was in the budget was not up for discussion, only whether they were going to pass it or not. She was armed with a letter from the county board of education basically warning that this new technology is in it’s early phases and has not been tested in a school district before so it would be unwise for Encinitas to be the guinea pig, but the board didn’t want to hear any pf it. They want what they want , and this board wants shiny and new stuff.
I have been following the tactics this board is using to try and get this bond passed for a couple months now and it is essentially, let’s call meetings in the dead of summer when no parents are paying attention, and gloss people over with 119 pages of paperwork that they can flip through to figure out what we want to spend the money on.
They want the taxpaying residents to pay $5 million dollars for new computers for everyone and in every classroom, and another $5 million in a “technology endowment” which is fancy talk for, we know the technology will be obsolete in two years so we want money to buy new stuff when we’re bored with the shiny new toys we buy.
LB note: So, we're going to take a 30 year loan to set up an endowment? Does that make financial sense?
They are still paying off technology they bought 5 years ago and financed on a five year payment plan but yet now they want all new stuff. All while never asking teachers, parents or any of the advisory committees what they believe our schools might need.
I wonder if any teachers find it at all grating that while they have to send kids home to beg for money for the simplest of school-related stuff, say field trips, the school is planning on spending millions on devices like “smart boards” all while many have dealt with wage freezes for how long?
As a geek myself, I love new technology, but a technology should be evaluated not based only on whether it is useful or not, but on where it is *more useful* than other things that could be accomplished with the same amount of money. Unfortunately, this boards decisions are driven by what is cool and fashionable. This is what I find most egregious. Writing with pen or pencil on paper involves a different kind of thinking from writing on laptops and interactive boards. You are forced to wrestle with the words when you can’t delete and move them as you wish.
While EUSD Board cuts programs for gifted and talented students, physical education, arts and reading, transportation and all kinds of useful programs they want teachers to use Power points and teachers manipulating quadratic graphs across a smartboard screen using their finger/cursor, to help students learn…but in reality, according to teachers themselves, such items distract students from learning/remembering how to solve mathematical problems for themselves.”
The quail gardens plan is also completely half-baked. Each school in our district already has a garden on the grounds which teachers use already. To use five acres of land on the Quail gardens property to create a “community garden” is completely redundant.
I highly recommend residents have a look at the facilities plan the board created to explain how they plan to dole out the 44 million they want the bond for. Residents are going to be hit with all kinds of buzzwords like “21st Century classrooms” “Green initiatives” and “Energy conservation” with direct mail pieces in their mailboxes as well as the cheerleaders on the board pleading that its “for the children” but its as if they wrote this plan on the back of an Applebee’s placemat without any community input what-so-ever.
Even the last 2 million in “technology upgrades” which they passed in MAY, they never sought any insight or input from the districts “Technology committee” because the Superintendent said, “they are just parents.”
Sunana Batra
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