Perverted Permitting Process?

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Don’t we love local politics, especially in small town Encinitas where the gloves ALWAYS come off! This missive came into the magic inbox. The writer is a candidate for City Council, Julie Graboi, who indicates that she supports the current expensive and laborious permitting process be unaltered as it is a way to identify registered sexual offenders … Interesting logic …

Sweating students and Swilling School leaders

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AC finally comes to Encinitas school The U-T reporter missed what really caused the outrage: While the students sweated, the school district administrators and 4 of 5 school board members (Board Member Maureen “Mo” Muir didn’t go) attended a booze fueled “retreat” at a luxury hotel. They didn’t post this as a public meeting, there was no “facilitator” and as …

Breaking News / Rumor In Good Old Encinitas: The first Mayor’s race

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Encinitas politics is a really fun blood sport. And the newest piece of info/rumor to hit the spotlight is that none other than Sheila Cameron has decided to run for the Mayor’s seat and has put in the papers to make it official! This is the first election in the history of Encinitas where the voters will elect the Mayor, …

Politics 101 on the 101

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This found its way into the Smiling Inbox today regarding the Encinitas Special Election known as Prop A. The election date is June 18: Inbox:“How about a ROSTRA posting about how the Yes on A proponents are illegally littering the public ROW w/ signs costing the Taxpayers money to remove them?” TSS: It’s true that in Encinitas one is not …

Encinitas: Silly Season Mail call

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As a Smiling Spotlight I get plenty of campaign mail, as we all do this time of year. My informants tell me that retiring Councilman/Mayor/Elder Statesman James Bond of Encinitas coined the phrase, “the silly season” which it is, and he nailed it with that moniker. Mr. Bond also served as Board Chair of the San Diego County Water Authority, …

North Korea’s Kim Jong-il has nothing on Encinitas!

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If a fairly creepy “Cult of Personality” is what you’re into, there’s no need to go to North Korea because we have our own right here in San Diego County. Just look to Encinitas where some artists want to plaster 101 banners with the likeness of a recently deceased city council woman and hang them on light posts along public right of way on …

Danon has hit the $100,000 mark to oust Pam Slater-Price, a five-term incumbent. She raised “ZILCH” says the NCTimes.

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Read the details from the U-T here: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/aug/03/danon-raises-100k-race-vs-slater-price/ And from the N.C.Times: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_3ba7656d-cfb5-5625-bdbf-a77394b19ea6.html Now that Slater-Price has voted to down-zone the back country, stealing millions of equity value from the property owners, and pushing added development into the coastal areas, his campaign should REALLY take off! And what does it mean when the people who write checks to campaigns wrote …

The Republican Club of North County Endorses Steve Danon for Supe!

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The Steve Danon for 3rd District San Diego County Supervisor campaign continues to build momentum. When Steve started out last year many questioned his strategy of starting so early for a 2012 race.  But based upon the team he’s assembled so far, including Tom Shepard as his consultant (He previously worked for the incumbent… I wonder what, if anything, that should tell us?), …

A Technical Foul?

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Third District County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price received a special gift from a member of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association last week… It was a ticket for talking on her cell phone while driving.  The curious part is that she’s well known for bragging about driving a Prius; and even old models of the Prius were equipped with “Blue Tooth” for wireless cell phone communication. …

New Coucilwoman an effective counter puncher!

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Today’s Community Forum piece in the North County Times: http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/article_e9b48851-40ff-5993-a6f8-dd5ace44f101.html Take away quote: In Encinitas, the positions of mayor and deputy mayor are not entitlements; they are earned by acquiring a majority vote of the council, in accordance with city ordinance. If one wishes to be considered for a leadership role on the council, one must earn the trust and …

Regional Appointments in the news!

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Local elected officials routinely serve on various regional or sub-regional Boards or Joint Power Authority Boards, and usually the appointment of Council Member X or Mayor Y to such mundane tasks is a matter important only to them. Not so regarding the appointment to SANDAG from Oceanside and Encinitas this year! This has gone full blown political…read it here. The Mayor …

The ETA is in Encinitas

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There is a group called ETA that is spreading political fliers around Encinitas. They are very clear about which City Council Candidates they support and which they oppose. This is what Wikipedia says about ETA — could the Basque Homeland wars have come to Encinitas California?… ETA or Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, (English: Basque Homeland and Freedom; pronounced [ˈɛːta]), is an armed …

Slater-Price’s Ticketgate Scandal = Need for a Gift Ban

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 The Smiling Spotlight keeps Smiling because people send us such enlightening emails! Thank you, and keep ’em coming. By Steve Danon San Diego Union-Tribune investigative reporter Jeff McDonald has just been nominated for a “Golden Watchdog” award by the San Diego County Taxpayers Association for breaking the story how San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Pam Slater-Price has funneled millions …

Supervisor Slater-Price details $3,590 worth of gifts in 2009

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Read all about how this County “public servant” lives high on the hog as the beneficiary of the very groups she hurls big sack of your tax dollars at! UNBELIEVABLE! Good job and atta’-boy to Mr. Mark Walker of the North County Times for keeping the public informed.  http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_fd27e862-d1d5-518e-9910-1ca7ed3d3992.html The salt in the wound is that she takes personal credit for donating …

Candidate Steve Danon sends a shot across the Bow!

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The Smiling Spotlight received this missive today. The third District race isn’t until 2012, but it’s already heating up and if this is any indication it’s promising to be a very aggressive campaign. From: STEVE DANON March 22, 2010 To: Chairwoman Pam Slater-Price San Diego County Board of Supervisors 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335 San Diego, CA 92101 Dear Chairwoman Slater-Price: …

Slater-Price fails to report gifts of tickets to arts performances

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According to some excellent reporting by the Union Tribune, “Pam Slater-Price, chairwoman of the county Board of Supervisors, failed to report 20 tickets she received as gifts from the San Diego Opera and the Old Globe Theatre, arts groups she was funding with repeated six-figure grants of taxpayer money.” As I am after all a Spotlight, I can be found at …

Wow, What an Insightful Editorial!

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The U-T Editorial Board was at the top of their game last weekend when they published this hum-dinger of an editorial that really nails this local Encinitas issue. No doubt the entire County didn’t get to see this North County editorial, and no doubt, other jurisdictions have had to deal with similar issues. So I just thought publishing it here would be …

Term Limits?

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  The S.E.I.U. local 221 is the Labor Union promoting term limits for the County Supervisor. One newspaper story says the Labor group feels that the supervisors are “too entrenched and fail to represent constituents fairly”. Is that really what this is about? The County Board had plenty of organic, natural turn-over prior to the inception of the $2,000,000 per year, per Board Member “community grant” …