Alila Marea Hotel Room Reservations Going Like Hot Cakes

Since the stunning Alila Marea Beach Resort announced that room reservations are available starting on February 28, 2021, they’ve been going like hot cakes.

The resort hotel is on the bluff above South Carlsbad (Ponto) State Beach at the foot of La Costa Avenue in Leucadia.

For cheapskates and budget-conscious people, a room for two is available for a paltry $427 per night. For those with a bigger purse, rooms go for $452, $627, $727, $827, $1227 or $4477.

“It’s such a lovely spot,” said Leucadian Edith Quesadilla. “I’m so looking forward to its opening so my hubby and I can do a staycation there.”

“Well, I don’t know what the big deal is,” said local Peter Wiener. “It’s not that great a beach, it’s all rocks in the winter, and the surf break is on the other side of the jetties. It’s a public beach, just like all the others in California. OK, I guess some of the rooms have a nice view.”

“If I stayed at one of the Hiltons a little north in Carlsbad,” said Suzy Cue, “I’d have to cross 101 to get to the beach. So I’d rather pay four or five times as much to be on the west side of the road. And Ponto has great volleyball courts.”

Feast your eyes, soothe your soul, and make your reservations here:

https://www.alilahotels.com/marea-beach-resort-encinitas#top

Mayor Blakespear to Open Encinitas Pot Shop

“Although the vote on Measure H is close,” said Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear, “the margin between yes and no is big enough that it’s likely the measure will pass. Since only four pot shop licenses will be granted in Encinitas, I wanted to jump in early to ensure I get one.”

At post time, the margin between Measure H yes and no votes was 876. That’s a 2.24% spread with 11,000 votes left to tally countywide. It’s not known how many of that number are from Encinitas. Counts on recent days have increased the margin.

“I see owning a pot shop as a way to be close to and understand our city’s business community,” said Blakespear. “It’s difficult to truly understand a group’s interests without being a member. Running a retail business in Encinitas will give me an insider’s view.

“I considered other types of businesses before deciding on a pot shop,” said Blakespear. “Along with having so many restaurants, beer joints, bars and coffee places already, COVID made opening another look too risky. Pot shops in other cities in the county are doing well. Since we have none in Encinitas, the venture looked like a sure success.

“I’ll keep Encinitans up to date as my pot shop develops,” said Blakespear. “I look forward to my grand opening and seeing you all as customers.”

XANAX® Use Soars in Encinitas 

 “We noticed the spike on Tuesday, November 3,” said Chester Field, spokesman for the Encinitas Pharmacists’ Council (EPC). “Closer examination revealed it shot up when the San Diego County registrar of voters released the first election results for the three Encinitas City Council seats. Then the steep incline continued as the voting trend held. Cause and effect aren’t usually so easy to determine.” 

XANAX® is a controlled substance. It’s used to treat anxiety and panic disorder. It can cause paranoid or suicidal ideation and impair memory, judgment, and coordination. Combining it with other substances, particularly alcohol, can slow breathing and possibly lead to death. 

“XANAX® is a serious medication,” said Field. “It’s not like having a beer or glass of wine or toking on a joint. It’s not to be toyed with.” 

While doctors and pharmacists acknowledge the urge to resort to XANAX® when considering the consequences of the Encinitas election, they advise caution in using the medication.

Make Encinitas Great Again, Again — Vote to Keep Me as Your Mayor

I’ve been here for 100 years. No, wait, I’m delusional. My family has been here 100 years.

I’m the developers’ pal. I want to Make Encinitas Great Again, Again. You must re-elect me as your mayor so I can do that.

We can help solve the climate crisis by building more and denser housing in Encinitas. It’s common sense. More people packed together more tightly will release fewer GHG emissions. It’s the same as more cattle on less acreage burping and farting less methane.

My hands are tied when the city is up against state law. But it’s not a B&D thing. State law prevails over local ordinances, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

I know better than you. That’s why I don’t listen to residents and can do whatever I want. I’m sure you know that whenever the council faces an important decision, we don’t wait for the meeting. We decide ahead of time.

At council meetings, residents can talk until they run out of wind. They can appeal our land-use decisions, but it doesn’t matter. We’re not listening. We’ve already decided. The hearings are fake. We’re just going through the motions so it seems our local government is a democracy.

I’m all about power. It’s a drug I like. I welcome the Verdu and Gonzalez PAC money behind my re-election. The city’s $250-per-person limit is piddly. Only the PAC money lets me roll out the big artillery.

One of the ways I exercise power is to have fewer but longer council meetings. Residents get bored or tired and log off or go home. There’s weaker opposition and less the council has to pretend to listen to.

But the ultimate power is my ability to sue residents who refuse to bow to my will. The city attorney is at my disposal, and the city has bucks the residents don’t.

Of course, the real purpose of the Prop A lawsuit is to let a simple majority of the council make land-use decisions. Now it takes a super majority or unanimity. That and the pesky Prop A are in the way. I want them gone. They’re frustrating my big development plans.

Even though COVID has hurt city tax revenue, we still have a surplus. That’s how we can commit $7.3 million for the first phase of Leucadia Streetscape.

Then there’s the homeless problem. Everybody knows that experiencing homelessness is different from being homeless. Whatever you call it, it persists. Attracting more homeless people to our city will reduce the number experiencing homelessness.

I want you to re-elect me as your mayor so I can continue to destroy what makes Encinitas a fabulous place to live. And besides, if I’m not mayor, I wouldn’t know what to do. I don’t want to go back to being an estate-planning lawyer or a journalist. That’s behind me. What I want ahead is another term as mayor and to become SANDAG chair. Beyond that, who knows? The sky’s the limit.

Vote for me, Catherine Blakespear. Keep me as mayor of Encinitas.

Elect Leucadia 101 Main Street Association to Encinitas City Council

I grew up around here. I went to local schools. What does that say about the quality of education in Encinitas?

I was executive director of the Leucadia 101 Main Street Association. Taxpayers paid much of my salary through the City Council’s annual $30,000 subsidy to that merchants’ group. Leucadia must be really special because downtown and Cardiff get only $20,000 each.

When I was appointed to the council after Tasha split, I quit that chamber of commerce job. When I was there, I pushed for projects most residents don’t want. Streetscape is a good example. Some of the merchants and property owners want it, but most residents don’t.

I brought that same thinking to my council seat. I go along with the mayor and support all kinds of things most residents don’t. The Cardiff cycle trap is a good example.

I’m really glad I don’t have the $10 million Pacific View albatross hanging around my neck. Tony Kranz is welcome to that dead bird.

I’m comfortable speaking in public. But if you examine what I say, you’ll find a lot is illogical. It just doesn’t make sense. Most residents recognize that. They’re more experienced and more practical that I am. I embody the millennial mentality. I’ll get better as I get older.

I recognize the need to reduce GHG emissions. That’s why I support the Streetscape plan and a denser population. They’ll both increase GHG emissions and let us work harder to find ways to reduce them.

Everybody says there’s a housing crisis. I say stack and pack ’em in. It doesn’t matter that only a few are affordable. We need more upscale housing throughout Encinitas. 

I was appointed to the City Council. Now I want to be elected. Vote for me, Kellie Hinze in District 2.

It’s Incumbent Upon Voters to Re-elect the Incumbent in District 1

Go figure. I’m the most senior member of the Encinitas City Council. Who woulda thunk?

I ran for a seat in 2010 during the Stocks era. That’s the year Dalager had the gall to run for re-election after he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He lost. So did I. During one of the forums, I said I’m not a tree hugger.

When 2012 rolled around, I ran again. I was blessed that Lisa Shaffer was also running for another open seat. She worked hard, got a lot of attention and left the impression that she and I were aligned. So I really didn’t have to do much to get elected.

Then in 2016, I was re-elected at large. That was before districting.

Now it’s 2020, we have districts, and I’m running for council in District 1. It goes from the ocean and north of Leucadia Boulevard to La Costa Avenue, runs east, widens south toward Encinitas Boulevard at about Saxony, continues east and nicks off a tiny corner of Olivenhain.

 
Don’t blame me for the placement and shapes of the districts. Blame Tasha Boerner Horvath. She tried to anonymously sneak the gerrymandering past the public and council but got busted through a public records request. 

Districting makes getting elected harder because voters in any district are more aware of what’s going on in their neighborhood than the city overall.

One question is, well, what have you done to make life better in District 1? My answer is very little.

Another question is, OK, have you represented the majority of residents in your attitudes and votes? Not really. I’m much more in the corner of the minority and special interests, especially developers.

I really enjoy the power and celebrity of being on the council and representing the city in other government agencies like the North County Transit District (NCTD). I have authority. I’m a big cheese.

For years, my slogan has been Deep Community Roots. That’s because my family moved here in 1960 when I was a baby. Some people say my deep community roots are clogging drains and sewer lines and invading water mains, but that’s not true. The accusation is a metaphor meaning I’ve betrayed my constituents. I deny that.

One of my accomplishments as a council member is having mastered govspeak. Here’s an example: “I believe we should have a conversation about bifurcating the project to mitigate the issues it causes.” Go ahead, figure out what that means.

I’ve voted to approve virtually every development that’s come before the council during my tenure and voted to deny virtually every appeal opposing a development. 

But I’ve recently made a show of denying the Surfer’s Point project and temporarily tabling a proposed development just north of Central School. The former is in my district, the latter is not. Guess what. It’s an election year! I have to make it seem I’ll fight on the residents’ side.

Most folks know my nickname is Mr. Roundabout. Some people call them traffic circles. I especially like the really tiny ones because they do a great job of plugging up the roads.

 
I say the more roundabouts the merrier in Encinitas. But not at big, obvious intersections where they might actually work and do some good. Put them at little intersections along Santa Fe Drive and Leucadia Boulevard west of the freeway. Then, of course, at T intersections on the Coast Highway in Leucadia. Boy, talk about impeding traffic! There more than anywhere else.

OK, enough for now. It’s incumbent upon District 1 voters to re-elect the incumbent — that’s me, your man Tony Kranz!