During the partial federal shutdown in December 2018 and January 2019, news reports showed furloughed government workers standing in line for donated meals. These images were reminders that for an estimated one out of eight Americans, food insecurity is a near-term risk. In California, where I teach, 80 percent of the population lives in cities. Feeding the cities of the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area,…
Stone Brewing officials this week confirmed reports the company would consolidate Escondido and Vista facilities and re-assign some employees. The number of employees being re-assigned within North County was unspecified although Stone CEO Dominic Engels confirmed he was among that number. “We have a good amount of unused space in our national distribution facility in Vista, so that will be where most of the team…
Today, surrounded by freezing temperatures, thousands of heads of lettuce grow, nestled in a cozy greenhouse fed by nutrient-rich nitrates. Or you could call it what it is: fish poop. The process, called aquaponics, allows farmers to grow local, organic produce anywhere at any time of year. Aquaponics is a sustainable method of farming that combines aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (cultivating plants in water)….
It’s all over except the shouting, and lawsuits, for North County’s only airlines, or at least the 2-month version of one, as California Pacific Airlines blew up this week in the darkened skies of a reported debt of at least $6 million and apparent mismanagement. California Pacific Airlines, launched flights on Nov. 1 last year from Carlsbad’s McClellan-Palomar Airport to San Jose, only to halt service in…
John Van Doorn, former business editor of the North County Times, managing editor of the New York Post and a New York Times editor, among other avocations, had this thing about rain. “Wet stuff,” Van Doorn would say. “If anybody around here uses the cliche of ‘wet stuff,’ for any reason, under any circumstances, they’re fired.” With that in mind, Escondido, North County and the…
After 10 years of effort, Carlsbad’s McClellan-Palomar Airport-based California Pacific Airlines finally took flight on November, 2018. It flew high for a whole month before being grounded, kicked out of the state of South Dakota and sued. A long-time pursuit of Ted Vallas, a 97-year-old Rancho Santa Fe businessman with an ambitious plan to pick up the traditionally failing Carlsbad passenger traffic market, the airlines may never…
Avocados are all the rage these days. My sons don’t seem to understand their important role when it comes to supplying avocados to the family. Our older lad, who has a house in Los Angeles, has a large back yard filled with successful fruit trees — limes, lemons, grapefruit and two large guava trees. For six months, I pressured him to rip out a guava…
Live Well San Diego: Creating Social Change Through Collective Impact The recent Sustainable Brands conference was a fitting stage to share the success story of Live Well San Diego, a visionary partnership that’s creating measurable progress toward a region that’s healthy, safe, and thriving. While San Diego is known for its beautiful beaches, perfect weather, and an active lifestyle, like much of the nation it’s…
San Diego County is one of the least affordable places to live in America, and renters know it. When housing costs are high, people have less money to spend on other necessities such as food and medical care, which hurts their quality of life. In 2017, 57 percent of the county’s renters were considered burdened by their housing costs, meaning they spent 30 percent or more…
As the California Farm Bureau Federation begins its centennial celebration, CFBF President Jamie Johansson called farmers and ranchers to action, reminding them that Farm Bureau is an organization “that wants to go beyond making a statement by being determined to make a difference.” He made his remarks during the 100th CFBF Annual Meeting in San Diego last week, where he outlined the organization’s priorities in…