September 2015

Ag Day brings students to the land of spuds, nuts and bees

They came. They saw. They trekked like soldiers going off to war, according to recently retired San Diego County entomologist David Kellum. And they learned. Welcome to Ag Day 2015 hosted at the Martin Gang Agricultural Learning Center on Cole Grade Road. Some 1,700 local kids from the entire Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District elementary school community, and fellow travelers, swarmed like bees across the…


Ray’s breakfast club percolates with the rising sun before landscaping local estates

On the surface, (the morning meeting) is about communication, but embedded within it are norms and values that are critical for organizations that must deal with difficult issues and adapt nimbly to new situations.” — Marty Linsky, professor, Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government With the sun a mere memory from yesterday’s news, Ray Casarrubias, and his crew, meet at 6 a.m. sharp…


Comic-Con ‘ZombieWalk’ no laughing matter as car strikes passerby (Updated 11/4/15)

(UPDATED 11/4/15, FOLLOWED BY AS-IT-HAPPENED INCIDENT REPORT) A deaf motorist who drove through a group of spectators watching the “Zombie Walk” parade in San Diego, seriously injuring one woman, was convicted Wednesday of felony reckless driving.  Matthew Pocci  faces three years in prison when he is sentenced Dec.11.  Jurors deliberated a little more than a day before finding the defendant guilty.  Pocci testified that he…


Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services under state investigation

The Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services has been under fire in recent years with official commissions investigating high-profile deaths of children who had come in contact with the foster care system. It’s being investigated again by state regulators for possible baby-selling charges. Allegations are being investigated that Los Angeles DCFS personnel were involved with taking babies from the child welfare system and…


Taking agricultural education to a whole ‘nother level

  SAN PASQUAL VALLEY — Organic farming pioneer and consultant, resource conservation leader, and now agricultural educator, Scott Murray hoped his back-to-the-future efforts will keep farming viable in California and the nation.  Murray was doing it, in part, at a groundbreaking venue, the San Pasqual Academy. Located in the San Diego Agricultural Preserve about 35 miles northeast of downtown San Diego, it’s a first-in-the-nation residential education…


Out and About with Russel Ray — “The Big Eye”

The Russel Ray, Property Consultant home inspection this past Thursday was out on Palomar Mountain. It caught me off guard when I scheduled it because I had no clue that there were homes up on Palomar Mountain. Once I finished the inspection, I headed over to the “Big Eye,” more properly known as Mount Palomar Observatory: The Big Eye is only 62 miles from where…


The View from Here: Music Fest

The view from here is rhythmic. This Saturday my family and I enjoyed the Music Fest at Bates Nut Farm, which was co-produced by the Valley Center/Pauma Music Boosters and Cattle Call, LLC. Last year was the first time we attended and it was so fantastic that we were excited to see the announcement pop up on social media a couple of months ago. Music…


Annelise Frederiksen plays through at Woods Valley G.C.

With all due respect to Thomas Wolfe and the “You can’t go home again” crowd, Annelise Frederiksen has gone home again and found it par for the course. Not only does Frederiksen now work at the Woods Valley Golf Course, it was the first golf course she ever played when she took up the game at age 14. “I kind of do a little bit…


VCHS Class of 2015 says goodbye to all that

“It’s a Beautiful Day,” the song and the event, rang out across Jaguar Stadium Thursday, June 11 as the Valley Center High School Class of 2015 commenced its Commencement Exercises. Some 2,500 to 3,000 friends, families and supporters overflowed the stadium’s bleachers, lined the newly installed field turf in white chairs and otherwise took in the 15th Valley Center High School Commencement ceremonies. They would…


Doves of Love soar above San Diego

Larry Zetterquist and Kathy Duffany are Doves of Love San Diego. So are their white racing and homing pigeons. The Valley Center couple were prominently featured during Western Days events along with their progeny, in this case a flock of white racing pigeons that pass for doves. They transport the birds in small, airy cages draped with red-white-and-blue bunting suitable for release and return to…