Escondido

Escondido July 19, 2016

Total $1 million pay package for Escondido city attorney-manager tops state money list

Today, Transparent California released previously-unseen 2015 public employee compensation data — complete with names, pay, and benefits — for 379 cities and 42 counties statewide on TransparentCalifornia.com, the state’s largest public sector compensation database. Escondido city attorney Jeffrey Epp’s $521,204 and city manager Clayton Phillips’ $518,749 total compensation packages made them the state’s highest-compensated city attorney and manager, respectively, and the 2nd and 3rd highest-compensated city workers of the more than 245,000 employees surveyed….

Escondido, Health June 16, 2016

New rehab hospital slated for Palomar Medical Center campus

A second, smaller, hospital is slated for the Palomar Medical Center campus with an opening hoped for in late summer 2019. Louisville-based Fortune 500 giant Kindred Healthcare, Inc. this week announced it signed a definitive agreement with Palomar Health to create a joint venture to construct and operate a new two-story, 58.000-square-foot, 52-bed standalone inpatient rehabilitation hospital. Palomar Health already operates an 11- story, 740,000-square-foot…

Escondido June 14, 2016

‘Fly Boy’ stuns Perez at South Philly bout

Johnson-Perez wasn’t as hot a ticket seller as the sold out Hart-Johnson event in March. Still, the match drew a reported 721 fans to the 2300 Arena. Peltz Boxing, Bam Boxing and Joe Hand Promotions were the promoters. — John DiSanto, PhillyBoxingHistory.com. Escondido’s knight in shining boxing gloves Dashon “Fly Boy” Johnson came back to Philadelphia Friday night and left another good impression on local…

Escondido May 19, 2016

Abed’s Town Hall meeting gets recycled

Escondido Mayor, and San Diego County District 3 Supervisor candidate Sam Abed may have gone to his 11th Town Hall meeting looking for a boost Wednesday. All he apparently got was a lengthy brow-beating and not even a lousy T-shirt. Who knows what the Republican mayor believed would come out of this exercise in listening to his constituents. A room packed with residents from the Chaparral…

Escondido, Politics May 16, 2016

Got a beef? Hit the street.

Escondido Street Fair(e) goers who didn’t get their fill of arts, crafts and music Sunday, May 15 at the semi-annual fair definitely got their fill of politics, local and otherwise. Everybody was there from Peta and green energy to Bernie, Sam and strange causes that seemed head-scratchers at best. People not only could register to vote, they also could find out about just about any…

Escondido May 15, 2016

Escondido Street Fair(e) keeps rolling along

Like the Energizer Rabbit of yore and lore, the Grand Avenue Festival, aka Escondido Street Faire, just kept running and running and running. Such was the case Sunday, May 15 along downtown’s main street. Which way did it go? “It went wonderfully,” said Rick Bauer, Escondido site manager for Kennedy & Associates, the Carlsbad company that manages the region’ top festival’s, including the Carlsbad Village…

Escondido May 13, 2016

Kennedy & Associates back at it again with 2016 Grand Avenue Festival this Sunday

Escondido’s Grand Avenue Festival, aka Escondido Street Faire, that returns Sunday, May 15 might be only the second-largest single-day festival in California, but as they used to say in the old Avis rent-a-car commercials, they try harder. An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people will flock to Grand Avenue and block after block of 500 vendors, food and music from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Escondido’s…

Escondido May 12, 2016

He (Abed) said. She (Diaz) said.

Yet again, Mayor Sam Abed has demonstrated his total lack of tolerance for dissenting opinions. Abed is quite content to let Councilman Ed Gallo take what seems like hours in his reminiscences, but no tolerance for Councilwoman Olga Diaz’s vital questions about what the city is doing to coordinate and plan for all the developments it approves. — Margaret McCowan Liles (For more, visit “A Blue…

Escondido May 4, 2016

Controversial Southwest Sewer Realignment project to flow soon

Environmentally challenged and beset by a bizarre bidding process, the Southwest Sewer Realignment project along Felicita Road “will begin soon,” Escondido officials said this week. “Construction on Escondido’s Southwest Sewer Replacement project will begin soon with completion expected by March 24, 2017,” Escondido spokesman Randy Manns said. “Motorists and cyclists should expect heavy delays – due to single lane travel – along Felicita Road between…

Animals and pets, Escondido April 26, 2016

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…