Most of this month the large banner unfurled on 15h Street and Camino Del Mar announced a labor dispute between Neidiger, Tucker, Bruner, a Colorado investment banking firm, and the Carpenters Union, Local 55.   more>>

Many cities are looking to a European solution – the roundabout - to slow traffic, reduce roadways and efficiently carry the large volumes of cars in their city centers. We’ve seen them recently in Encinitas, La Jolla, Leucadia, Seattle and Petaluma.  

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David Webb, the wild-haired painter you may have seen in Sea Grove Park, is dead at 56. He embodied the Art Spirit for he truly lived to paint and painted to live. Painting came pouring from within David and seemed both to quiet and to express his soul. [ ... ]

Dave was Del Mar’s homegrown homeless person and other moms and I felt protective of him. One time I asked a new deputy sheriff not to hassle him. We all knew him. He wouldn’t bother anyone.

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Thanks to the efforts of the Del Mar Quiet Zone Committee (DMQZ), chaired by Hershell Price, the North County Transit District (NCTD) will be contributing non-local funds of $200,000 to support the construction costs of installing a Wayside Horn system at the Coast Boulevard Crossing. 

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1940s Train Wreck Bill Arballo  + Stabilizing the Bluffs by SANDAG

“On New Year’s Eve in 1940, residents were in a festive mood and there were parties everywhere. “It had rained for several days, and the ground was soaked.
“Shortly after 8 p.m., a passenger train passed through the village heading south. Less than 45 minutes later, a northbound freight train plunged down a 65-foot embankment when a bluff collapsed at the foot of Ninth [sic] Street [probably closer to 8th St]."   more>>

SANDAG is working to stabilize portions of the 1.6 miles of coastal bluffs between Seagrove Park and Torrey Pines State Beach in the City of Del Mar. This integral part of the 128-mile Los Angeles to San Diego (LOSSAN) rail corridor provides a vital link for passenger and freight movements within San Diego County, as well as between San Diego, Los Angeles, and points further north.   more>>

In 2003, when Del Mar Community Connections put out the word that they needed a pianist to accompany their newly-formed sing-along group, they hit the jackpot. Linda Chisari, who’d been playing since her parents gave her a toy piano at the age of three responded, and the rest is sing-along history. “We were in like Flynn,” says Charlotte Gumbrell who, as chair of the Recreation Committee, was asked to start the group. 

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For the Dogs Wade Walker & Penny Abel + For the Kids Tom Sohn

DOGS! What do they want? Food, shelter, companionship, the occasional treat and cardiovascular exercise. Same as the human members of the family. The problem in Del Mar is that it’s darn hard to find anyplace other than the Shores Park to get that exercise.   more>>

The Shores Park was, until recently, a great place for families with children to play soccer or teach a young one how to ride a bike without a concrete punishment for falling. Dog Beach is a great location for the dogs of Del Mar to run free.   more>>

Japan’s nuclear disaster at Fukushima has reignited contentious debate about the safety of the San Onofre nuclear power plant and everyone from coastal residents, academics, nuclear “experts,” grass-roots organizations, to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun to weigh in on the lessons learned from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Accident.

At issue is whether the NRC has taken, or will take, the necessary steps to prevent Orange County, and some say the entire coastline from San Diego to Los Angeles, from becoming the next Fukushima, or whether the plant should be shut down.    more>>

The City Council, at the January 9th meeting, approved the implementation of the process to enter into discussions with other local cities to explore options to our current sheriff’s contract.  [ ... ] Our current 5-year contract expires on 6/30/12 and can be cancelled with 12 months notice.

Why the concern? Level of service does not seem to be a major concern, although this is very difficult to quantify. The bigger issue is the explosion of the costs of the sheriff’s contract. The costs will outstrip projected City revenues. As with most cities the major concern is the abnormal growth of pensions. The sheriff’s contract may contain the most extreme growth of pension costs in the county.   more>>

The San Dieguito Lagoon Area Monthly Bird Survey completed two years of monthly counts in December 2011. The 200th bird species, a Common Murre, was recorded in November and the 201st species, a Ferruginous Hawk, was recorded in December.   more>>

I don’t go to Flower Hill Shopping Mall anymore. And I won’t be going after the construction is finished either. There just aren’t enough places to go now that the movie theatre and Book Works are gone. Somehow the balance tipped – what could be a better gathering place than the Pannikin/Book Works combination: creaking wood floors, a book lover owner and her devoted helpers along with the indoor/outdoor European atmosphere of Pannikin. Yes I know Pannikin is still there, but the movie theatre isn’t and somehow – with the loss of Book Works, the balance shifted away from a local place to go.   more>>