October 2015

North County, Valley Center October 27, 2015

Lilac Hills Ranch pulls out its big PR gun: Driverless technology run by an app

And now this for proposed Lilac Hills Ranch, scheduled to begin its final approval process before San Diego County Supervisors on Wednesday, Oct. 28: Autonomous, or driverless, vehicles that would provide services to establish a more pedestrian-oriented community and more interconnected neighborhoods, according to Accretive president Jon Rilling. With all the controversy over leap-frog development approvals by San Diego County planning staff and possible circumvention of…

Arts, Valley Center October 26, 2015

Valley Center Art Association meeting, greeting and competing in November

Valley Center ‘Artist Meet and Greet’ Valley Center Art Association (VCAA) and the Valley Center Library present an “Artist Meet and Greet” from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 7 in the Valley Center Library Community and Seminar rooms.  Refreshments will be served. Music will provided by Palomar College students including two pianists and a jazz ensemble. “This is a wonderful opportunity for community members to…

Animals and pets October 26, 2015

Helping Paws: Ukulele Ray sings for dogs with a cause

Ukulele Ray sings for dogs with a cause at the Helping Paws annual Halloween costume “Pet Parade” at the Moose Lodge in Escondido, CA. “Helping Paws” provides FREE veterinary services to military families. This event also celebrated the 21st birthday of Amber Dubois, with a special toast and a personal “Happy Birthday” song I performed for Keri (the mother) and Ally (Amber’s sister). For more…

Football, Sports October 26, 2015

New Spring Major League Football (MLFB) tryouts come to Escondido (Video)

The heck with the San Diego (or Los Angeles) Chargers and the NFL. There’s a new professional football league and it’s coming to Escondido on Sunday, Nov. 1. This is the newly formed Major League Football (MLFB) scheduled to kick off in Spring 2016 as a Spring/Summer league with eight teams who will play 10 games each. Top four teams make the playoffs. The league…

Education, San Marcos October 25, 2015

Delayed Double Peak K-8 school at San Elijo Hills finally gets serious

Double Peak School at 111 San Elijo Road has a home page and a Facebook page. It has a Parent Teacher Organization and a great motto: “An Extraordinary New School.” The only thing the $75.5 million, 36-acre Double Peak K-8 campus doesn’t have is a school. After overcoming construction and legal delays, the school offering a focus on music, arts and innovation.now should open in…

Business, San Marcos October 23, 2015

Employee-owned discount grocer WinCo opened Thursday at San Marcos

Not just another discount supermarket, but employee-owned WinCo Foods opened at 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22 at Creekside Marketplace, 555 Grand Avenue, San Marcos. That would be the first WinCo discount grocery store in San Diego County . In a tale of two Creekside Marketplace openings, Hobby Lobby opened last month next to the new WinCo. The two retailers were expected to bring some fresh…

Breaking News, Escondido, Politics October 23, 2015

Without warning, Escondido city manager resigns (Breaking News)

Just ahead of a pension vestment that pays him over $200,000 annually, Escondido City Manager Clay Phillips, 58, suddenly resigned on Wednesday. Coincidentally, Phillips’ 3-year city manager contract that made him the highest paid city manager in San Diego County was set to expire next year. Dec, 18 would be his last day on the job, Phillips said. It was unclear if the pension and…

Arts, Education October 23, 2015

Escondido schools get smART with collaborative approach to arts programs

With school arts funding slashed to the bare bone, Escondido artists and the Escondido Union School District have teamed together to bring innovative solutions to the arts education dilemma. Not only is the concept smart, but its called smART as in smART Fridays leading up to next spring’s grand smART Festival at the California Center for the Arts. “The smART collaborative, developed in the fall…

North County, Police/Fire October 23, 2015

Unwanted firearms, bogus fire inspections, CSU faculty strike, hops

Unwanted firearms for Wal-mart gift cards, anyone? The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office is planning to use up to $28,500 in confiscated funds to offer Walmart gift cards to North County residents willing to turn over unwanted firearms. The latest installment of the department’s “Guns for Gift Cards” program is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 at the San Marcos station,…