Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
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EDUCATION COMMENTARY @JarrettStepman / December 17, 2020 Your local school might currently be shut down, but the “great awokening” will continue, pandemic or not—and whether you like it or not. Christopher Rufo, a visiting fellow for domestic policy studies at The Heritage Foundation, reported that the San Diego Unified School District—currently closed and only offering online learning—is conducting so-called white privilege training for its teachers. The training begins with a ‘land acknowledgement,’ in which the teachers...
Here’s the problem I have with conspiracists. First, it’s a lazy grasp at intelligence. Second, personal accountability doesn’t exist for the conspiracist. Accountability. There’s that word again. I keep using it in my description of what ails our society in many ways – from student accountability to parental accountability, and now to societal accountability. Remember that wild-talking community member who always had something to say about someone being out to get them? The FBI, the CIA or the government. There were joke...
One of the reasons the estate tax was adopted was to keep families like J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt from becoming too politically powerful as a result of their wealth. The tax is avoidable by giving your estate to charity. Today’s self-made billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are donating the bulk of their estates to charity so that the world, country and communities they live in will be better off long after they are gone. On the other hand you have people with i...
So, when I first arrived in Fallbrook, I was informed with a stern matter of fact voice that there were two challenges in Fallbrook. One was the post office parking lot. Until today, I have never had proof of this statement. As I transported a homeless soul to the post office, a man pulled up to the stall next to the handicapped spot, jumped out of his car, left the driver's side door open on his fancy SUV and conducted his business with the post office! All I can respond to this choice of his was, wow! I simply can not...
The show of love and support from the communities in and around Fallbrook during Thursday night’s Lilac fire evacuation (Dec. 7) was impressive, and deserves recognition. Fallbrook High School kept their gym open to evacuees, despite a no-show from the Red Cross. Unprompted, community members and school staff self-organized and provided an abundance of amenities donated by local businesses and families, including hot food, toiletries, and pet supplies. No boss, no hierarchy, just like-minded people seeing what needs done a...
The Legislature is halfway through its 2017-2018 session, but work has continued since recess began in September. I am a member of 11 select committees and most have continued to meet and hold hearings. Important issues that are sometimes put on the back burner during the regular session can be discussed in detail by select committees during recess. I am vice chair of the Assembly Rules Subcommittee on Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation Prevention & Response, which...
Everyone probably has a story about the Lilac Fire. Here is one about an unsung hero who was giving back. Near the epicenter of the Lilac Fire at the intersection of Highway 76 and Highway 395 there is a business. You may have seen it from Interstate 15 while you were traveling north to Temecula or going south to Escondido. This business is a convenience store, called Circle K. During the fire and evacuations, it became a safe haven for the fire crews, the news teams, and the displaced residents, including senior citizens. Th...
Over the last months, I've had occasion to use a number of local businesses, including restaurants, auto repair, tire store, auto detailing, hardware, irrigation supplies, nurseries and gift shops. All were terrific. I’d suggest that when choosing a business, folks should consider that our locals wouldn’t stay in business unless they gave great service. They may not have a national brand, but they have great reputations. Dennis Meredith...
I must hear once a week, “But aren’t newspapers dying?” or there’s even the person who says it authoritatively to me like they are delivering news to me that I need to hear (and have never heard before) “Well, you know newspapers are dying and digital is the future.” What’s true is that more people still pick up a newspaper Monday morning after the Super Bowl than actually watched the Super Bowl. And newspaper readers are statistically “influencers.” They are typically mor...
On Dec. 11, the second meeting was held, to a packed crowd, and by now everyone knows the decision FPUD made. (They all must have read Animal Farm by George Orwell.) The truth is, if FPUD was concerned even remotely about what the citizens of Fallbrook thought, they would have let it be known well in advance before one pipe was put in the ground on Pendleton, as to the total cost of all this, but no, they waited till the 11th hour (so to speak) to say “Sorry, this is how it’s going to be, like it or not.” It wouldn’t have ma...
When the new 12 cent per gallon gas tax increase went into effect Nov. 1, hardworking Californians took an immediate hit. The tax on diesel fuel also increased by 20 cents a gallon, but we have seen that increase spike to 30 cents at the pump. Vehicle registration fees are also going up by $25 to $175 after Jan. 1, based on the value of the vehicle. Consumers will pay more for groceries and goods and more to have their Christmas gifts shipped to family due to fuel surcharges,...
Assemblymember Marie WaldronAD-75 (R) On Dec. 7, Governor Brown declared a state of emergency for San Diego County. His proclamation directs the Office of Emergency Services (OES) and all agencies of state government, including the National Guard, to provide state assistance such as personnel, equipment and facilities that may be required to combat the Lilac Fire. This action also prompted President Trump and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide direct fed...
In December, the National Football League's Chargers will be concluding their first season since leaving San Diego for Los Angeles. On Dec. 18, the Fallbrook/Bonsall Village News will be celebrating 20 years as Fallbrook's community weekly paper. The contrast demonstrates the commitment local ownership has in maintaining a local asset. Fallbrook's previous weekly paper was the Fallbrook Enterprise. By 1997 the Enterprise and the suburban daily the North County Times had common ownership, specifically the Tribune Company out o...
It’s been another one of those weeks. As we were making plans to celebrate our 20-year anniversary, the Lilac Fire broke out. The Lilac Fire, like the Gavilan Fire of 2002 and the Rice Fire of 2007, started the adrenaline rushing in the Village News office the minute we got the call from my son Stuart Reeder and former managing editor Debbie Ramsey that there was a fire on the 15 South and “it looked bad.” VP Paul Bandong had the first boots on the ground taking photos on scene almost immediately. Then we were so thank...
After our car had sat idle in our driveway for several days, we decided to do some shopping in Temecula and get gas. So off we go and only a mile from home we noticed a new, different colored cluster of service warnings. We decided this must be an automatic warning, based on mileage. But just to make sure, we called the dealer – who said we needed to come in. The car was taken to the service bay at about 11:15 a.m. The first word back from the shop was “you gotta see this.” So Claudia follows the mechanics back to the car,...
This is in response to a mention of Jack Bebee's salary in a story about FPUD (Fallbrook Public Utility District) back in October. There are two websites that list employee salaries for Fallbrook Public Utility District: TransparentCalifornia.com, and http://publicpay.ca.gov/reports/specialdistricts/specialdistricts.aspx [Government Compensation in California – GCC: Fallbrook Public Utility District (2016)TransparentCalifornia.com, 68 employees are listed for FPUD for the 2015 reporting year. The following salaries were s...
This letter is in response to a recent letter regarding landlord-tenant issues at the Fallbrook School of the Arts campus. When we learned that our current tenant had excluded VetArt from using our campus foundry facility, the Fallbrook Arts Inc. Board of Directors was faced with a decision and elected not to renew our current tenant’s lease. Our Board of Directors is proud to announce VetArt’s return to the Fallbrook School of the Arts as its new tenant effective Jan. 1, 2018. VetArt's programs provide free art classes to...
Assemblywoman Marie Waldron AD-75 (R) Get ready to visit the Department of Motor Vehicles. Under the federal REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005,the DMV must meet requirements set by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security by adding new enhancements to California driver’s licenses and identification cards. The DMV will begin offering REAL IDs on Jan. 22, 2018, in order to meet the Oct. 1, 2020, deadline for compliance. Current California driver’s licenses will still be...
This year our church in Fallbrook started collecting cans and bottles that had deposits on them, from members of the church, on the last Sunday of the month. They bring the cans and bottles with them to church and leave them in a designated area. The youth from the church then take them in and collect the deposits on them. Maybe other churches do this, but if they don't, I suggest that it is a good way for the youth to get additional funds for their endeavors. A. White...
Where will they get water for Fallbrook’s latest development known as Horse Creek Ridge to include condos, homes, shopping center and the development of acres of wilderness area off the 15 at Pala Road. I’m also concerned about the Palomar College development sitting on 15 acres of land that includes a natural spring across the road from Horse Creek. I suppose a parking structure will replace it. The people have already moved in and during my morning hike, through what was once pristine wilderness, I picked up four pla...
Assemblymember Marie Waldron AD-75 (R) Last week, Cyber-criminal hackers attacked the Sacramento Regional Transit system (SacRT), erasing computer programs that affected internal operations, including computers that assign bus routes throughout the Sacramento region. More harm was threatened if SacRT failed to meet a ransom demand. The ransom message was sent via Facebook demanding a bitcoin payment, with a value above $8,000, immediately. SacRT officials determined that no data was stolen and steps are underway to secure...
To the walkers, runners and donors of the November 4, 2017, Fallbrook Food Pantry 5K to Feed the Hungry, Thank You! Thank you also to the numerous groups and individuals who made this year’s event possible. I refer to the Sr. Volunteer Patrol members, the Moms and Daughters of the National Charity League, Fallbrook and Bonsall High School runners and wrestlers, local churches and the support of businesses and other organizations in our community. The winner of the “Largest Group of Active Participants Award” this year goes...
The San Diego County Water Authority is charging FPUD (Fallbrook Public Utilities District) 3.7 percent more for water in 2018, including its fixed or added costs. I have this in writing from SDCWA and have researched the SDCWA website. Anyone can access their website, www.sdcwa.org. Historical water rate charges are available online. To contact someone to answer a question, use www.sdcwa.org/contact-us. It’s easy and you should get a prompt answer to questions. Using those websites eliminates the need to wait for i...
I would like to thank all the people who attended the Nov. 15 meeting at FPUD. They were a civil and polite group of citizens. There were many thoughtful and intelligent questions posed by the audience and it should be interesting to see if any of the questions will get answers or, if the suggestions to put off these rate increases until further investigations are acted upon, will be taken seriously. I appreciate the opportunity for our citizens to speak up about the impact to their lives and businesses that these type of...
Assemblymember Marie Waldron AD-75 (R) Last month 140 legislators, staffers, consultants and lobbyists signed a letter declaring that there is a “pervasive culture of sexual harassment” in Sacramento. Signatories include six current legislators, a Board of Equalization member; both Republicans and Democrats. Allegations have been made against current and past legislators. Unfortunately, given the power and influence of some of the alleged perpetrators, the consequences of speaking up about inappropriate behavior can be sig...