April 2016

People (and bodies of water) behaving badly — Valley of Discovery edition

Night time was not the right time to party early Thursday at the normally quiescent San Marcos cul-de-sac in the 600 block of Helmsdale Road, off Kirkwall Drive near Palomar College. An intimate gathering of about 10 people erupted in an argument that led to gun shots, injuring a 20-tear-old female bystander as two men grappled over a loaded pistol. One man pulled out the…


Escondido education: Jose Fragozo returns; Heritage Charter School hassle continues

Two items drew me to Thursday’s Escondido Union School District Board of Education meeting. Firstly, I was curious to see the reception Jose Fragozo would get after the restraining order against him was lifted. This was covered in the Escondido Grapevine: https://escondidograpevine.com/2016/03/25/eusd-denied-restraining-order-against-trustee-jose-fragozo-breaking/. Secondly, Agenda Item 301 “Conduct a public hearing on a request for a material revision to the Heritage K-8 Charter School petition…” caught my attention….


Pink ribbons and fundraiser for Kayla Castro

A fundraiser on behalf of critically injured rock climber Makayla Castro, 18, was held 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 28 at EscoGelato, 122 S Kalmia, Escondido. Twenty percent of all proceeds will be donated to Kayla and her family to relieve some of the financial pressures they face, organizers said. The Escondido teen was nearing the end of her freshman year at Grand…


A tree grows at San Marcos High School

In keeping with the 46th Annual Earth Day theme of “Trees for the Earth,” the Lake San Marcos Democratic Club along with the San Marcos High School Senior Class planted a tree at the school quad. This tree, planted on April 20, 2016, will stand forever as a reminder of these ideals for all students who pass through the school in coming years. The club…


Escondido’s ‘Fly Boy’ returns to South Philly

Hard-luck Escondido middleweight Dashon “Fly Boy” Johnson  came within seconds of upsetting Jesse Hart at South Philly’s 2300 Arena on March 18. Fly Boy returns to the scene of the pugilistic crime when he takes on DeCarlo Perez, of Atlantic City, NJ, in the scheduled eight-round main event on June 3. Johnson, 28, floored the unbeaten Hart, a South Philly product, in the sixth round…


Escondido Police arrest registered sex offender allegedly targeting minors

Escondido Police issued a lengthy news release addressing the arrest of Rennard Cawkwell, 46, of Oceanside on suspicion of felony charges related to communicating online with a 16-year-old girl. The girl initially believed she was speaking to a 17-year-old boy, police said. Cawkwell was a registered sex offender previously on active GPS monitored parole, Escondido police Lt. Ed Varso said in the news release. After…


Escondido Mounted Posse memorial service for Diana Cavender (UPDATED)

A memorial service for Diana Cavender took place at the Escondido Mounted Posse’s regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 26 at the Mitchell Room, Escondido City Hall, 201 N. Broadway. She was killed Saturday after falling from a spooked horse at a Lakeside Western Days Parade staging area off Channel Road. Cavender, 52, an Escondido resident and horse trainer, was considered the most experienced rider in…


Portable classrooms, despite heat and noise, find permanent homes here

Editor’s Note: Portable classrooms have their share of critics and raison d’etre. An Inewsource investigation published here under special agreement gets to the bottom of the portable classroom question. Escondido Union School District has almost as many portable as permanent classrooms, 419 of the former to 489 of the latter in a district with 19,204 students. In fact, EUSD ranks second in all of San…


Flower power ruled Valley Center Saturday

A busy Saturday for Dos Valles Garden Club featured its annual flower show, plant sale. Dos Valles Garden Cub’s biennial 33rd Flower Show turned into an annual Saturday, April 23, blooming and spreading across the Valley Center Library on Cole Grade road. It’s theme: “Recycle, Respect, Restore the Earth.” Budding and beautiful, even bold, the show transformed the library into exciting exhibits of locally grown…


Money Pit Drive Thru, San Marcos

 Jake and I were up in the Northland (aka North County) for a little errand. The little errand took much longer than we though it would and it was quite late by the time we got around to eating dinner. I did some Yelpy research and found a place called The Money Pit Drive Thru and decided to go there because the name sounded rad….