Family Rides from Vermont to See Leucadia Roundabouts

We are on our way to Alaska
on our five person tandem bicycle!
And you are here with us!

Credit: Jim Chesseman sent us the link and photo.

Wouldn't be surprised if these guys eventually move to Leucadia.

See Also: Encinitas Lifestyle Blog.

High tide crushing North Beacons

If you have time this morning come down to Beacons with a cup of
coffee and watch the bluff get destroyed by EL NINO.

High Tide Weekend

We had incredible 7 ft high tides over the weekend. Mixed with a good head high swell this meant the coast took a pummeling. These photos show Cardiff's Restaurant Row getting swamped. The Cardiff Reef parking lot was closed to cars since it was covered in sand, kelp and rocks. And all throughout the weekend our bluff were getting hammered hard. I saw waves crashing into the North Beacons seawall that was sending spray 60 ft into the air. El Nino!!!

Open Space Purchase!

Good news, bad news.

Part of this bluff at the corner of Piraeus and La Costa has been purchased by SANDAG for habitat mitigation. Although there is a majority on the Council who have made campaign promises of purchasing habitat for natural resource conservation and recreation, the current city council has a weak record of open space preservation.

Leucadia Weather

There are few places in the the continental US where you can find peaches growing in January.

Be proud of our Leucadia 101 rail corridor and public transit!

Will JP Cry Uncle?

The NCTimes reports, "The construction of a parking structure at Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas could send truckloads of sand, about 16,000 cubic yards, to Moonlight Beach next month." [emphasis added]

After JP blogged for years about Moonlight Beach getting "replenished" with "itchy and scratchy ash tray sand" the city is now dumping construction excavation material on Moonlight beach instead.

Will they dump it in the surf zone or in the sunbathing zone/volleyball zone?

See Also
Leucadia Blog: Sandy Beach "Replenished" with Developer's Construction Dirt

Leucadia Blog: Sand Series

WAL*MART IN ENCINITAS???

There is some disturbing news in the North County Times today, and I'm not even sure if it news or just a rumor, but in an op-ed piece about how the empty Home Depot Expo building should become a movie theatre (something we suggested on this blog months ago) there is this chilling sentence,

I got a text message from a friend who said, "Thought you should know Walmart is definitely going into the Expo spot."

Is this true? Can the ultimate symbol or white trash loserville really be coming to the yuppie surfburg that is Encinitas?

More from the article,

This news was something I had heard before during the summer when concerned tenants in the area mentioned it to me. I decided to take action and walk the shops on both sides of Leucadia Avenue to see what working folk had to say, and what I heard is that almost unanimously, no one wants a Walmart and everyone really wants a movie theater.
So I took my findings to a City Council planning session and gave a presentation. What I learned that night is that the site is zoned accordingly and that Home Depot has the right to sublease to the party it chooses, as long as the building stays the same and the arrangement is acceptable between Home Depot and Walmart.

This is a dark day folks, Wal*Mart will truly be "the biggest thing that ever happened to Encinitas". If the city and chamber of commerce let this happen you are going to see vacancies all over Encinitas. There will be a horrible sucking sound as the majority of businesses on the El Camino Real corridor are shuttered.

Don't let this happen people. This is the one enemy that could unite all the different factions of Encinitas. A Wal*Mart will be culturally and financially devastating to Encinitas. I know some people will think it's a great idea, people who enjoy purchasing low quality plastic crap from China in bulk, but don't listen to them. The numbers don't work out when you bring Wal*Mart to town. They destroy sales tax, property tax and jobs. This is bleak.

The Expo site would be a perfect location for an IMAX movie theatre. An groovy community like Encinitas should not have to drive all the way to Mira Mesa to see Avatar in 3D IMAX. A multiplex theatre would compliment REI and Islands restaurant.

WE MUST FIGHT WAL*MART COMING TO ENCINITAS!

Read the story on NCT.com click me

The Trees Strike Back

Support your local donut merchants

Your homework for this week, buy a Leucadia Donuts t-shirt, even if you don't eat donuts you need a shirt.

Narrows and Curves

Cardiff locals declare road not curved or narrow enough.

Two tools of traffic calming are narrowed lanes and shortened lines of sight.

Most Important Blog Post You'll Ever Read

The is cross-posted from the Wave Blog.

GP UPDATE 2010

Meat and Potatoes of Public Policy in Encinitas 2010

A vitally important municipal committee with citizen participation is about to begin at Encinitas City Hall; an update of the City of Encinitas General Plan.

What is a General Plan?
The General Plan is the City’s blueprint of adopted policies that collectively allow the City Council, City Staff and City Planners to administer growth in an organized, productive and legal way.

This General Plan Update is the first attempt at changing zoning and land-use policies since the General Plan was first adopted in 1989.

Because a majority of the homes and businesses and services that will be affected by the changes ultimately adopted and implemented as a result of this 2 year committee action are located in New Encinitas; and because 7/8ths of the folks appointed to the GP Update Advisory Group do not live or work in New Encinitas; we will be observing the weekly and monthly progress of this ad hoc committee closely; because the “advice” this committee ultimately forwards to the Encinitas City Council will become “law” or policy that will effect all of the City for another 20 years.

The first GP Update Meeting is this Monday evening at City Hall.

Primary Function of GP Update Advisory Committee is Communication
The City of Encinitas Official Agenda info states about this Monday’s meeting,”…the primary function of the group will be for Members to report back to their constituents, solicit feedback and build consensus and support…”

The Specific Issues that the 2 Year GP Update Advisory Committee will entertain are, “…sustainable communities, healthy communities, climate change, storm water cleansing, green building, walk-ability, recycling, waste reduction and traffic circulation.”

Major Land-Use Changes
“Major land changes are not proposed as part of the GP Update unless dictated by policies…” and “the Update will evaluate (3) land-use alternatives to address affordable housing and green-house gasses…”

GP Update Advisory Group Calendar

GPAC Meetings in 2010, all 6:30pm-8:30pm (Poinsettia Room)
1. January 11
(Following are all tentative dates)
2. April 14
3. May 12
4. Sept.20
5. Nov.15

Public Workshops in 2010
a) Community-Specific, all 6:00pm-8:00pm and all on weekdays in mid
to end March 2010 (tentative dates)
1. March 15 (Monday)
2. March 16 (Tuesday)
3. March 18 (Thursday)
4. March 22 (Monday)
5. March 23 (Tuesday)

b) Community-Wide, all 9:00am-1:00pm and all on Saturdays
6. May 1
7. October 16

Additional outreach efforts are planned and meetings will City
Council/Planning Commission will occur throughout this process. Note
that this is a two-year process and events are planned in 2011.

We will attend Monday evening’s Organizational Meeting and report back in the next E Blast, January 15th, 2010.

Teachers Donate Talents to Reynolds Fundraiser

Dear Friends and Teacher-Colleagues:

On January 29, The Credentialed (a rock band made up of fellow San Dieguito UHSD faculty members) will be performing at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach from 5:30 to 8:00 P.M. We would like to make our musical event a benefit and fundraiser for SABRINA REYNOLDS, the wife of our teacher-colleague BILL REYNOLDS (Oak Crest Middle School). We will be donating our pay to the account set up to help the Reynolds family.

Additionally, we will make some fundraising opportunities available to our audience. We will make several of these opportunities available throughout the show. We will also ask someone close to the family to explain how each of us can help the Reynolds family even further.

We hope you will come out on January 29 from 5:30 to 8:00. Bring your family and friends. The Belly Up Tavern is located at 143 S. Cedros in Solana Beach. Belly Up happy hour admission is $5. Age 21+ only. Many thanks.

Swamis Sells California

I happen to have met the people who were given the contract to market the State of California to world as a place to work and visit. The very first advertisement I found of their's was in Sunset Mag.

They used a full page image of Swamis to sell California as the good life.

We still live other people's vacations.