Escondido, San Marcos news briefly speaking

Legendary North County Times photographer turns calendar pin-up

Photographer Dan Rios was a mentor to many of North County’s fellow shooters for two decades. Now, he hits the calendar pin-up trade as featured in the Escondido History Center’s annual fund-raising calendar.

Rios worked as a photojournalist from 1968 to 2001 for the former Escondido Times Advocate newspaper, which merged with the North County Blade-Citizen in 1995 to become the now-defunct North County Times. Though his work ranged over all of North San Diego County, he was most often assigned to shoot events and people in Escondido, according to former North County Times lifestyle editor Laura Groch.

When the Pioneer Room, part of the Escondido Public Library, was unable to produce its popular yearly historical calendar for 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Escondido History Center took on the project with the help of the CSUSM library. Twelve photos from the Rios archive, depicting a variety of Escondido places, events and newsmakers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, were chosen. A collage of other photos became the calendar cover.

Dan Rios examines some of his archival work in an mage captured by former North County Times photographer and Rios associate Don Boomer for the San Diego Union Tribune

Because Rios was most often assigned to stories in Escondido, it seemed like the natural thing for the Escondido History Center to collaborate with the California University at San Marcos Library in order to introduce the impressive collection of now historical photographs to the community. The decision to publish a wall calendar featuring a dozen of those photos was easy; narrowing down to that number with such a large number to choose from was not.

Volunteers Alexa Clausen, Carol Rea, and History Center Executive Director, Robin Fox met to determine the general types of photographs to include while CSUSM Special Collections staff culled through thousands of photographs for consideration. Eventually, the final twelve were chosen and a small assortment of other photographs was incorporated into a collage for the cover.

The 2021 calendar fills the void of the ever-popular Pioneer Room Friends annual calendar, which also featured historical photographs but was unable to be printed this year due to pandemic restraints. The Pioneer Room Friends graciously agreed to let the History Center take on the project this year. Hard-hit like other non-profits and businesses during the pandemic, especially when forced to cancel two major fund-raising events, the Escondido History Center welcomed this opportunity to help fund operations.

The calendars are now on sale online at www.escondidohistory.org and at several businesses in
Escondido:
§ Rosemary Duff Florist, 101 W. 2nd Ave.
§ Grangetto’s Farm & Garden Supply, 1105 W. Mission Ave.
§ El Plantio Nursery & Landscaping, 1322 San Pasqual Valley Rd.
§ Owens Automotive, 302 N. Juniper St.
§ Hair Station, 240 W. Crest St., Ste. C

The calendar is also available at the Escondido History Center in Grape Day Park; call (760) 743-8207 first to make arrangements.

To learn more about the Dan Rios Collection, email CSUSM at archives@csusm.edu

Kaiser Permanente building San Marcos hospital

Artist’s conception of new Kaiser Hospital at San Marcos/Kaiser

Health care company Kaiser Permanente, along with local leaders, held a virtual groundbreaking for the San Marcos Medical Center Thursday.

The planned seven-story hospital is scheduled to open in the fall of 2023, and will include 206 single patient rooms, 51 emergency department bays, eight operating rooms, ten labor, delivery, and recovery suites, and a Level II neonatal intensive care unit.

“This is the culmination of six years of work by many, many people,” said Max Villalobos, chief operating officer of Kaiser Permanente San Diego’s North County section.

Health care company Kaiser Permanente, along with local leaders, held a virtual groundbreaking for the San Marcos Medical Center Thursday.

The planned seven-story hospital is scheduled to open in the fall of 2023, and will include 206 single patient rooms, 51 emergency department bays, eight operating rooms, ten labor, delivery, and recovery suites, and a Level II neonatal intensive care unit.

“This is the culmination of six years of work by many, many people,” said Max Villalobos, chief operating officer of Kaiser Permanente San Diego’s North County section.

Escondido City Council turns over

A church pastor and a businesswoman took the oath of office on Wednesday, Dec. 9 as the two newest members of the Escondido City Council, along with incumbent councilman Mike Morasco, who easily won his re-election bid in November, according to news sources.

The addition of Joe Garcia and Tina Inscoe to the council marks the first time the panel has had a full complement of five members since the death of Councilman John Masson in March.

Also sworn in Wednesday was city Treasurer Doug Shultz, the incumbent, who ran unopposed for a new four-year term.

Councilwoman Olga Diaz joined her colleagues in voting to certify the results of the Nov. 3 election before stepping down from her seat. Diaz, who had served on the council for the past 12 years, opted not to run for another term.

Before the council voted unanimously to certify the election results, Mayor Paul McNamara said, “This is a peaceful transition of power which I think everyone would agree makes this country really great, because we’re not fighting in the streets to see who’s going to sit up on the dais.”

The election of Garcia and Inscoe, as well as Morasco’s re-election, gives the council a Republican majority for the first time since 2018, when Democrats McNamara and Councilwoman Consuelo Martinez were elected, providing a Democratic majority along with Diaz.

10 fun facts about Escondido

Fact 1
It is 30 miles from Downtown San Diego.

Fact 2
Founded in 1888, it is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County.

Fact 3
The city is known as Eskondiid in Diegueño.

Fact 4
A 2005 nationwide study listed the city of Escondido as one of the most conservative cities in America.

Fact 5
The city was home to a large Spanish-speaking population in the first census, in 1850, but after the U.S. won the war, non-Hispanic settlers came to Southern California in increasing numbers.

Fact 6
The decade of the 1880s is known as the “Southern California Land Boom” because so many people moved to the state.

Fact 7
Escondido tends to have a typical Mediterranean climate with warm summers and cool wet winters.

Fact 8
Every Friday night from April through September, the city hosts the popular “Cruisin’ Grand”, where the public can show and view hot rods and historic cars.

Fact 9
Daley Ranch is a 3,058-acre (12.375 km2) conservation area acquired in 1996 by the City of Escondido and is managed in perpetuity for the preservation of a biologically unique and diverse habitat area of regional importance.

Fact 10
Notable natives and residents include MySpace co-founder Tom Anderson, rock music critic Lester Bangs, and California’s first millionaire Sam Brannan.