Encinitans Will Happily Say Pau to Roy Sapa’u

“Development Services Director Roy Sapa’u has never seen a development he didn’t like,” said long-time local activist Larry Gomorka. “It took him many years of siding with developers to rise to the top of the department. Nobody gets the top spot by rubbing the City Council the wrong way.

“But people tend not to last long as director,” said Gomorka. “Take Brenda Wisneski, for example. She was imported and then in the top slot for barely two years. Maybe she made the grift by the council, staff and developers too obvious, too public. 

“Sapa’u came up through the ranks,” said Gomorka. “He’s seasoned and probably too savvy about city ways to get canned early. Yet things like his tortured explanation of why a three-story building is actually two stories say even he could be vulnerable.

“He’s pulling down a pay package of $233,000,” said Gomorka. “There’s a lot of motivation to stay put.”

“Naming the department ‘Development Services’ says what the city is gung-ho about,” said Gomorka. “They always have to go after new revenue, and that comes from continuous development. To keep it rolling, the department must have a director who’s on board and keeps his staff in line.

“Yet, as contradictory as it might seem, there are some developments that are a bridge too far for the City Council and, therefore, for Sapa’u and his department,” said Gomorka. “At least in the current circumstances, one of those verboten developments was the grotesque Goodson project in Olivenhain. Stopped dead in its tracks as proposed but only for the time being.

“Maybe Goodson will rear its ugly head and test Sapa’u and the council’s character after the November election,” said Gomorka. “Few Encinitans would weep if the city said pau to Roy Sapa’u.”

Minimum Wage Workers Can Afford Electric Bike Rides

There’s good news for California minimum wage workers who visit or live in Encinitas!

Encinitas BCycle bike rides cost only $14 per hour. Correspondingly, minimum wage workers earn $14 an hour where there are 25 or fewer employees. Minimum wage is $15 an hour otherwise. With one hour’s pay, members of either group can ride an electric bike for a whole hour. Not only that, those who earn $15 an hour will have a dollar left over!

It’s like manna from heaven. Taxes and other payroll deductions not considered, of course.

The city launched Encinitas BCycle on January 5. There will be 100 docking stations placed in key areas around the city. That means easy access wherever minimum wage earners work.

“We are excited about the launch of Encinitas BCycle – we know a bikeshare program is a great way to provide bikes to more people in an easy and affordable way,” said Crystal Najera, Sustainability Manager for the city of Encinitas. “We see this as an opportunity to allow more Encinitas residents and visitors to try an e-bike, avoid emitting transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, and help the city meet its Climate Action Plan goals.”

Surely, every Encinitas visitor and resident wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The BCycle program gives minimum wage workers an affordable way to help.

Encinitas Mayor Blakespear Vows to Become the Queen of Spin

“If anybody thinks my recent touting of our city’s Top 10 for 2021 was good spin,” said Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear, “you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet!

“As the District 38 state Senate race heats up, I promise to take credit for not only city events but county too. My unique position as mayor of Encinitas and chairperson of SANDAG lets me grab any event and spin it to pile glory on myself.

“I promise to become the queen of spin. With my many years in government, I’ve honed my spin skills. And now with the help of a professional campaign manager, I’ll be able to take the most gloomy and grim events and spin them into community benefits.

“To be honest and frank for a moment, I thought my Senate run would be tougher. For a while there, it looked as if Lisa Bartlett would be my principal opponent. She’s an experienced politician and skilled at spin. But fate pushed her out of new District 38. So far, my only opponent is Republican Matt Gunderson. He’s a political neophyte and, well, a car salesman! How much luckier could I get?

“Traditionally, Republicans have been the masters of spin. They can convince voters that milk is black and the sky is green. I refuse to yield the field of spin to Republicans. That’s why I’m committed to becoming the queen of spin.

“Watch my newsletters, social media posts, website and planted press releases for my increasingly masterful spin.”

Classic 1950s Film The Fly to Screen at Olivenhain Meeting Hall

The Olivenhain Town Council has announced it will screen The Fly at the Olivenhain Meeting Hall. The 1958 film starred David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price, and Herbert Marshall.

Hedison played a scientist who was experimenting with molecular transportation. He built two man-sized chambers so he could transport himself from one to the other. In one instance, he inadvertently included a fly in the chamber with him. 

When he and the fly disintegrated during the transportation, his molecules mixed with the fly’s. When the bodies reintegrated, Hedison had the fly’s head, and the fly had his. Hedison’s left arm was also exchanged for one of the fly’s forelegs.

Of course, Hedison’s appearance horrified his wife, played by Patricia Owens. Owens tried to find the fly that had her husband’s head so he could again transport the two in the hope the mistaken switch would be reversed.

Owens found the fly but it escaped. Facing a hopeless situation, Hedison persuaded Owens to crush him in an hydraulic press. She was charged with murder.

The film closed with the police inspector, played by Herbert Marshall, finding the Hedison-headed fly in the family’s garden about to be devoured by a spider in its web.

The hybrid man-fly plaintively screamed “Help me! Help me!” as the spider approached. The inspector crushed both with a rock. Hedison’s death was judged a suicide, and Owens was declared blameless.

The squeaky, haunting cry “Help me! Help me!” became an hilarious meme that cracked up schoolrooms full of kids everywhere.

The Olivenhain Town Council is to be commended for reviving a classic science fiction horror film. Showtimes will be announced when Covid variants are null and void.

Olivenhain Declared a No Fly Zone

The mystery began about a week or two ago when bumper stickers reading “Swat the Fly!” started turning up in Olivenhain. Now the puzzle has continued with bumper stickers reading “No Fly Zone” appearing in that same Encinitas enclave.

“I’ve seen both them stickers,” said Carter Hay, “but I can’t claim to know what they mean. I don’t s’pose anybody would be for flies, but I don’t see how bumper stickers would get rid of ’em.”

“Are those stickers the magnetic kind or the stick-on kind?” said Jack Lone. “If they’re magnetic, they’d be a lot easier to remove by a vigilante who doesn’t like them. I’m not sure what they mean, but for me it’s a free-speech thing. If somebody wants to go public for swatting flies or banning them, they have a Constitutional right to do that.”

“I don’t know what valuable purpose the fly serves in the complex web of life,” said Bryce Aylers. “What with all the tragic species extinctions bulldozing through life on Earth, it would be perilous and irresponsible to delete the fly without knowing what unstoppable chain effect it might have on the entire web. The bumper stickers could be advocating a disastrous route. That doesn’t mean I’ll remove the screens on my home’s doors and windows.”