Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Articles from the December 31, 2020 edition


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 25 of 68

  • Despite pandemic, 2020 was a very productive year for the FPUD

    General Manager, Fallbrook Public Utility District|Updated Feb 4, 2021

    Without a doubt, 2020 has been quite a year. For many of us, it's a year we'd all probably just soon forget. But, believe it or not, there have been many bright spots. Some very bright spots, actually. Here in Fallbrook, for example, we've made tremendous progress this year to make our water supply more reliable and affordable for our customers. After years of discussion and litigation, construction of the Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project is now in full swing....

  • Vanderlaan named LAFCO chair, reappointed to new term

    Joe Naiman, Village News Reporter|Updated Jan 4, 2021

    Bonsall resident Andy Vanderlaan will chair the 2021 meetings of San Diego County's Local Agency Formation Commission, and he was also reappointed for another four-year term on the LAFCO board. One 8-0 LAFCO vote Dec. 7 reappointed Vanderlaan as LAFCO's public member. A separate 8-0 vote elected Vanderlaan as the LAFCO board chair for 2021 while electing County Supervisor Jim Desmond as the vice-chair for the 2021 meetings. The public member's term actually expires in April 2021. LAFCO had the option of reappointing...

  • Fallbrook couple golfs and walks course for 250 consecutive days

    Joe Naiman, Village News Reporter|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    The coronavirus quarantine closed the gym Fallbrook residents Dawood and Emma Ashe used to exercise, but as members of the Golf Club of California they were allowed to use the course. Initially walking only was allowed while golfing but, even after carts were permitted, the couple placed their equipment in the cart and walked the entire course. On Nov. 16, they walked the course for the 250th consecutive day. "We're very excited that we made it to 250," Emma Ashe said. The str...

  • Sponsor group directs PLDO funding for Bonsall Community Park

    Joe Naiman, Village News Reporter|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    The Bonsall Community Sponsor Group recommended that the entirety of available Park Land Dedication Ordinance funding be spent on Bonsall Community Park. The sponsor group voted 7-0, Dec. 1, to recommend that 100% of the funding be spent on Bonsall Community Park. Should other funding sources allow for remaining funding, the sponsor group can make a new recommendation next year, and next year’s recommendation will also take into account new PLDO funding received. “Every year we ask the sponsor group to come up with a pri...

  • Helping the helpers

    Assemblymember Marie Waldron, AD-75 R|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    The holiday season is traditionally a time of giving. It’s also appropriate at this time of the year to support organizations in our area that reach out to help those in need. Locally, many organizations are available to provide assistance, but these groups depend on all of us for their support, especially during the current pandemic. These organizations include Western Eagle Foundation of Temecula, which assists people throughout Southern California with food, clothing and pe... Full story

  • Looking ahead

    Supervisor Jim Desmond, 5th District|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and I think we all are looking forward to the new year. While we have had a hectic 2020, one that we will never forget, I’m starting to look ahead. My theme for 2021 is, “Back to Basics.” I’ll explain a bit more about what I mean in next week’s article, but I think we need to focus on safe communities, quality roads and infrastructure, addressing homelessness, mental health and addiction for families and those who can’t help themse... Full story

  • James Robert Donovan

    Updated Dec 30, 2020

    James Robert Donovan, "one-of-a-kind," passed away peacefully at home, soaring from this temporary life to Life Eternal, Dec. 16, 2020. He was born Dec. 7, 1924, in Fond du Lac,Wisconsin but went to school in Cleveland,Ohio. During his high school year he played trumpet in various dance bands. He enlisted in the Marine Corps January, 1943 and went to boot camp in San Diego. Upon graduation he was put in a group that was bound for Camp Pendleton to prepare for the Division that... Full story

  • Nora Lee Fusco

    Updated Dec 30, 2020

    Nora Lee Fusco was born in Joliet, Illinois on January 21, 1954 and passed away on December 20, 2020 at the age of 66. Her death followed a 17-month struggle with cancer. She moved to California with her family while still in grade school, later attending La Serna High School in Whittier. She graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a bachelor's degree and a teaching credential. She resided in Rancho Cucamonga for 34 years before retiring and moving to... Full story

  • Bomber to neighbor: World 'never going to forget me'

    Updated Dec 30, 2020

    Kimberlee Kruesi, Denise Lavoie and Michael Balsamo The Associated Press The man authorities believe was responsible for setting off a Christmas Day bomb that injured three people and damaged dozens of buildings in downtown Nashville told a neighbor days before the explosion that "Nashville and the world is never going to forget me." Rick Laude said he saw Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, standing at his mailbox Monday, Dec. 21, and pulled over in his car to speak with him. After...

  • Federal agencies warn of emerging fraud schemes related to COVID-19 vaccines

    Updated Dec 30, 2020

    WASHINGTON – The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are warning the public about several emerging fraud schemes related to COVID-19 vaccines. The FBI, HHS-OIG and CMS have received complaints of scammers using the public’s interest in COVID-19 vaccines to obtain personally identifiable information and money through various schemes as they work with law enforcement partners and the private sector to identify cyb...

  • Santa visits downtown Fallbrook

    Updated Dec 30, 2020

  • Life and stories locally carry on despite COVID-19 shadow

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    While the 2020 conversation was seemingly dominated by COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and the 2020 National Election, there were plenty of stories Village News covered and wrote about during the year that were important as well. From closures to landmark birthday celebrations to new ways of doing things, life in Fallbrook, Bonsall and Rainbow carried on. Jan. 9 Myrtle Creek Botanical Gardens & Nursery, a Fallbrook landmark settled in the late 1800s which had been transformed...

  • Man pleads not guilty in Fallbrook woman's hit-and-run DUI death

    Updated Dec 30, 2020

    VISTA (CNS) – A suspected unlicensed and intoxicated driver who allegedly struck and killed a Fallbrook woman while she was walking with her husband, then fled the scene and sold the involved vehicle, pleaded not guilty Tuesday, Dec. 22 to charges that include gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Pascual Cristobal Pascual, 34, of Fallbrook, is accused in the Dec. 10 death of 60-year-old Symone Conley, who was struck by a pickup truck that veered out of a traffic lane on Gird Road near Laketree Drive and jumped a cu...

  • COVID-19 cases continue spike as new year approaches

    Will Fritz, Staff Writer|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    It may be a new week and nearly a new year, but the story remains much the same: coronavirus cases are still going up locally. San Diego County public health officials on Sunday, Dec. 27, reported 3,132 new COVID-19 infections – the 27th consecutive day with more than 1,000 cases. There were no new virus-related deaths reported, but Dec. 27 was, however, the 19th day with more than 2,000 new cases. Another 50 people also were hospitalized, according to Dec. 27's data, and seven new patients were sent to intensive care units....

  • Grant benefits seniors for the holidays

    Updated Dec 30, 2020

    SAN DIEGO – Fallbrook Senior Center has won $3,000 from San Diego Seniors Community Foundation. The funds will be used to grow the center’s volunteer outreach to a team of 10 people that will provide 200 isolated older people with holiday decor and hand-written cards and deliver poinsettias to the home-bound and Meals-to-Go members. The grants are tailored to support centers and nonprofit agencies creating holiday-themed events for older people who are isolated and expected to be apart from family and loved ones this hol...

  • Easy dishes to boost immunity

    Family Features, Special to Village News|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    Staying healthy is important year-round, but especially in the cooler months when temperatures drop, people spend more time inside and germs can spread easily. What you eat and the lifestyle you embrace are critical components of staying healthy. Nourishing meals full of fruits, vegetables, protein-rich foods and whole grains help provide the body's immune system with the nutrients it needs. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle by getting enough sleep, being physically active every...

  • 'Alexandra's Law' to be introduced by Sen. Melendez in January

    Jeff Pack, Staff Writer|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    Just a day before the anniversary of Alexandra Capelouto’s death by fentanyl poisoning, California State Sen. Melissa Melendez’s office announced Tuesday, Dec. 22, the senator would present legislation called “Alexandra’s Law” to legislators in January. Alexandra was the 2017 graduate of Great Oak High School who was found dead by her family Dec. 23, 2019. She was home visiting for the holidays from Arizona State when she obtained what her father, Matt Capelouto, said was believed to be oxycodone but turned out to be a street...

  • FPUD adopts PSAWR guidelines

    Joe Naiman, Village News Reporter|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    Earlier this year, the San Diego County Water Authority approved an ordinance adopting a Permanent Special Agricultural Water Rate and setting the eligibility criteria. On Dec. 7, the Fallbrook Public Utility District board voted 5-0 to update FPUD’s Administrative Code to incorporate the PSAWR. “It will become a permanent SAWR program with eligibility changes,” Ken Endter, board president of FPUD, said. In 1994, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California implemented the Interim Agricultural Water Program which...

  • Calgon Carbon given FPUD contract for granulated activated carbon system

    Joe Naiman, Village News Reporter|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    Calgon Carbon Corporation was awarded the Fallbrook Public Utility District contract to provide granular activated carbon treatment system equipment. FPUD’s board voted 5-0, Dec. 7, to award Calgon Carbon a contract for $1,260,493. A separate 5-0 vote that day approved a change order to the construction contract with Filanc Alberici JV to install pipelines associated with the granular activated carbon treatment system. In July 2019, FPUD awarded Filanc Alberici JV a $54,398,232 construction contract for the Santa Margarita Ri...

  • Will Fritz: My year in review

    Will Fritz, Staff Writer|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    There's really no other way to put it: 2020 has been a crazy year. From elections, to the wildfires that are an ever-present danger here in Southern California, to the raging pandemic that has upended all of our lives, there has simply been a lot of news to cover. There is not nearly enough room in this newspaper to do all of it justice, and indeed, it has often felt like there was not enough time to cover it all. All of that said, I have put together some thoughts on six of w...

  • Planning group defers recommendation on Sandia Creek Drive gate

    Joe Naiman, Village News reporter|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    The Fallbrook Community Planning Group deferred a recommendation on a proposed gate on Sandia Creek Drive. A 10-4 vote Dec. 21, with one vacant seat, continued the item until the planning group's January 18 meeting. "I think there are too many questions that are unanswered," said planning group chair Jack Wood. "I think it's premature at this point to call for a vote." Wood himself wasn't aware of a Jan. 7 virtual county meeting on the request for an Administrative Permit for the gate until that meeting was mentioned during...

  • Christmas Eve brush fire forces more than 7,000 Fallbrook residents to evacuate

    Will Fritz, Staff Writer|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    A large brush fire that broke out in De Luz late Dec. 23 spread into Camp Pendleton and triggered mandatory evacuations in Fallbrook early Dec. 24 – an unwelcome Christmas Eve surprise for the thousands of Fallbrook residents who were forced to leave their homes. The fire's size had been expanded to more than 3,000 acres acres with 0% containment on Thursday morning, but authorities said at the time that firefighters had encircled the blaze and expected to control it. By D...

  • It's a wonderful season for theatre

    Elizabeth Youngman-Westphal, Special to Village News|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    North Coast Repertory is running dual performances and neither should be missed. Last time I applauded their one-man show for the telling of "A Christmas Carol." This time it is "An Iliad." Based on Homer's epic poem "Iliad," this monumental telling is a prerequisite for every college bound student. It is recognized by historians that prior to the written word, all stories were heard not read. Keeping with that tradition, Richard Baird masterfully shares the woes of the Trojan...

  • Fallbrook Encore Club shares Christmas gingerbread creations and elf sightings

    Updated Dec 30, 2020

    FALLBROOK – Fallbrook Encore Club is finding new ways to enjoy the holidays together. In December, many members created gingerbread houses to enter in a contest. Winter on "Candy Cane Lane" won first place as a collaboration of three friends. Other members also shared photos of many of Santa's elves, appearing here and there in their homes or climbing a gingerbread house. Encore Club wishes the community happy holidays and a COVID-19-free New Year. Meanwhile they will c...

  • Prepare for the New Year

    Kyle Hotchkiss, Digital Marketing Strategist|Updated Dec 30, 2020

    This year’s holiday season has been one like we have never experienced. Cities are under decorated, malls lack kiosks and events are canceled. Families are burdened with the decision of isolating themselves from one another or gathering for some holiday cheer. It would be an understatement to say that it is a confusing and difficult time for all Americans. The same can be said in the business world. Businesses have been treading water all year, and many of them have lost sight of their goals and their plans. Salaries and b... Full story

Page Down