About David Ross
Mayor candidate McNamara challenges Abed’s claims
“My donors are small and live in the city” Mayoral candidate Paul McNamara challenges some of the claims that incumbent Mayor Sam Abed is making on the campaign trail and in forums they are jointly attending. It’s about a month until the city election. The challenger starts with Abed’s claim that the city has created 2,000 new businesses and 1,500 […]
Candidate Frank Huston seeks better communication on school board
Frank Huston, a longtime officer on the Escondido Police Department, is running as a challenger to school board member Dr. Gary M. Altenburg of District 5. Huston is a senior traffic investigator and motor officer with the department. Born and raised in San Diego County, he moved to Escondido in 1990. He has worked for the department since that time, […]
Mayor gets mild questions at last Town Hall meeting before election
Mayor Sam Abed held his 15th Town Hall Meeting on October 3 at the city hall chambers. It was a pretty mild session, during which the mayor addressed questions about parking on Grand Avenue, housing developments and the city’s policy against marijuana sales within its limits. Town hall meetings are held quarterly. Abed introduced them in 2010, shortly after he […]
The voters aren’t dummies about marijuana
In his most recent Town Hall meeting the mayor was engaged closely by an attorney who said he wanted to “open a dialogue” with the city about allowing medical marijuana dispensaries. Of course, often when you “open a dialogue,” you end up getting rolled over by an 18-wheeler. However, it might be approaching time when Escondido considers adopting a more […]
Council authorizes sale of parking lot near Maple St. Plaza
Escondido City Council September 19 authorized entering into negotiations to sell the 1.03 acre parking lot that sits behind and serves restaurants such as Filippi’s Pizza Grotto, Swami’s Restaurant and a Delight of France and is across of Valley Parkway from the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. The buyer is Touchstone Properties, which approached the city with the offer. […]
Murder suspect’s arrest demonstrates hollowness of “Sanctuary State Law”
For those who cry for the need of “The Wall” and who decry the utter stupidity of the California Values Act, aka Senate Bill 54, the so-called “Sanctuary State Law,” the arrest for murder Saturday of an illegal alien who had been deported six times previously provides all the argument they need. Common sense has run smack dab into the […]
Council member Masson responds to criticisms from opponent
Deputy Mayor John Masson, who is running for reelection to the Escondido City Council responded this week to some points that were made by his opponent Nicole Downey in our interview with her last week. “For the record,” Masson said, “I’m a proud Republican but nobody tells me how to vote on anything. I think I missed one ECCHO meeting […]
Council candidate Nicole Downey: not beholden to either party
Nicole Downey is running for Escondido council in District 2, against incumbent John Masson and fellow challenger Vanessa Valenzuela. This is her second time running for this seat. Downey is a school resource officer for a private school. In her non-working time she is a member of the Library Endowment Foundation, and Escondido CERT (Community Emergency Response Team,) and Escondido […]
Gateway Grand project will transform downtown
Work has begun on the Gateway Grand Project, a private development of 126 multi-story residential units in the old property once occupied by the Escondido Police Department HQ. According to Bill Martin, director of community development, the project “fits in with our whole plan for that area, densifying the core of the city and bringing in more people.” Besides the […]
How about a new ACLU?
Maybe it’s time for a version of the American Civil Liberties Union that actually defends the entire Bill of Rights, instead of just the parts of it that the liberals like. There are ten, count ‘em, ten articles in the Bill of Rights, which includes the 1st Amendment, which the ACLU was always strong in defending, and the 2nd Amendment, […]