Escondido

Creative artist Jayne Spencer gets to teaching

Don’t tell award-winning watercolor, portrait and landscape artist Jayne Spencer that art is best executed and appreciated only by fellow artists. An award-winning creative artist and teacher, like TV’s father, knows best. “Anybody can be an artist,” Spencer said. “Anybody can learn to paint once they learn the skills and techniques. Find something that inspires you. Paint what you love. Art is subjective” Art is…


Suspect arraigned in murder of church worker driving through gang war (Updated)

Documented gang member Dionicio Crespin Torrez Jr., 24, pleaded not guilty to murder, Friday, March 17 at the Vista Courthouse in connection with the murder of an Escondido woman who drove through a violent gang turf confrontation on the way home from Bible study. Torrez could face the death penalty. Superior Court Judge Cynthia Freehand denied bail citing “the allegations and my concern for public safety.” “On…


On the road again: Desperately seeking new Philosophical Library home

Don’t look now but Escondido’s venerable Philosophical Library dating back to 1963 is nowhere to be found. It’s last Facebook page post was in October 2016 with a link to a GoFundMe page that had raised $238 — of a $20,000 goal — as of Friday, March 10, 2017. “Such a good cause, said Dionne Beeson for the self-funding page’s only post. “Even with all the e-books…


Fake or real? Esco HS party turns viral

Video of an Escondido Charter High School teacher violently reacting to a group of students intruding on his class has drawn widespread criticism from Australia to Cape Verde – but more than one viewer insists not all was as it seemed. Footage showing Escondido Charter students entering the classroom of a teacher was uploaded to streaming website Streamable earlier today. Wearing party hats, stick-on moustaches, sombreros and…


World’s largest lithium-ion storage battery

Escondido got the world’s largest something this weekend, so that’s something big. Let us introduce to you the world’s largest lithium-ion bayberry presented Saturday by San Diego Gas & Electric. It’s online and humming, officially unveiled by the utility following a fast-track procurement process that began less than a year ago. The 30-MW, 120-MWh system supplied by AES Energy Storage, a Virginia-based company was built…


Escondido city manager merry-go-round

Oh what a tangled web, the search for a new Escondido city manager has woven. That would be the search for a third city manager since 2015, and that’s not including interim city managers. While Mayor Sam Abed said over 70 candidates have applied for the permanent job, and city officials said the search was proceeding smoothly, it was proceeding nonetheless. For now, City Attorney…


Recycled water and social injustice upheld

Escondido’s city council approved a conditional use permit on Jan. 11 to build a recycled-water treatment plant  on a vacant lot at 1201 E. Washington Avenue near the Springs retirement home. The facility  will further treat water from the city’s Hale Avenue Resource Recovery facility to a level suited for agriculture, mainly avocados. In a later phase, the city will expand it to focus on potable reuse water….


Surprise! Escondido city manager resigns

ESCONDIDO, CA. — Stop if you’ve heard this one before: Escondido city manager suddenly, and without warning, resigns. Clay Phillips, the last city manager, pulled that act almost exactly one year ago. He left office on Dec. 18, 2015. His successor, his former assistant, and city manager this year, Graham Mitchell pulled the same plug on Friday afternoon. “After serious reflection and for personal reasons,…


Cruising Grand, Escondido and other antique car tales from Menifee

Antique cars, hot rods, luxury sedans and eyefuls of chrome as far as the lens can see. ESCONDIDO, CA. — “Filming at Menifee’s Motte Historical Museum was like filming at Knott’s Berry Farm because it looked very western.  Mr and Mrs. Motte were very lovely people,” Sara explained. “They let me film at the museum and they were very kind to me.” “It was very hot that day…


Escondido rejects county Grand Jury call for citizen’s police review board

Think Escondido should have a citizen’s review board for its police department. Think again. Escondido officials this week rejected the recommendation of the San Diego Grand Jury to establish a citizen’s police review board. Following investigation into “several citizen complaints regarding police behavior in local jurisdictions,” the Grand Jury called on Escondido along with El Cajon, La Mesa, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Chula Vista and Coronado to…