Margaret McCowen Liles

Napili Bay, Maui July 18, 2019

(Margaret McCown Liles started blogging about the Escondido City Council following the demise of the North County Times as a public resource. This is a more personal look at some of her private moments and challenges. Please visit her blog at http://ablueviewescondido.com.) This is the view from the tiny balcony of our tiny studio apartment. That’s Lanai in the background. It’s a great view, but…


Of lawsuits, sewage, Valiano and Escondido

(Margaret McCown Liles started blogging about the Escondido City Council following the demise of the North County Times as a public resource. Please visit her blog at http://ablueviewescondido.com.) The council chambers were full at last Wednesday’s city council meeting (April 10, 2019.) This was due to the attendance of the winners and their families of the city’s Earth Day Poster contest. The contest is really…


Abed Alert: Mayor ditches post-election meet

(Margaret McCown Liles started blogging about the Escondido City Council following the demise of the North County Times as a public resource. Please visit her blog, from which this is taken, at http://ablueviewescondido.com.) Mayor Sam Abed was conspicuous by his absence at last Wednesday’s council meeting (Nov. 28). The change in the atmosphere was palpable. I was trying to remember if I had ever attended a…


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 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….


Escondido Union School District Board: ‘Another Embarrassment Parts I-II’

Another Escondido Embarrassment, Part II (Dec. 15) Jose Fragozo had to phone it in again last night, but the connection was much better. Even though he was given very short notice to obtain a room, with ADA accessibility, he was able to do so at the NCLA office at 370 Mulberry Drive, San Marcos. After the Pledge of Allegiance, the next relevant item on the agenda…


Blue View for Escondido: 10 more years for Escondido Research and Technology Center

‘That means 10 more years for the Escondido Research and Technology Center. Let’s hope it develops businesses a little more high tech than a hospital, a power plant, and a brewery.’ Things were pretty mundane for most of Wednesday’s (Nov. 4) Escondido City Council meeting. Everyone had a positive view of Westfield North County’s plans to build a theater complex. Well, Councilman Ed Gallo had…