City Council declared in no uncertain terms at its meeting Aug. 12 that it rejected any state proposal to seize city funds to balance the state budget. While such proposals are only in the rumor phase, several legislators have floated plans that would use local transportation and redevelopment funds in an attempt to meet a $15 to $17 billion shortfall in Sacramento.

When Tom Piergrossi, the host of the popular landscaping show, “Down to Earth,” ended filming in December of last year, he thought it would be easy enough to sell his house and retire with his family to Hawaii. The Vista resident stopped his landscaping business, shut down his plant nursery and told all his friends he was moving

For the first time in 20 years of national and Broadway performances, the hit Broadway show “Les Misérables” is available for regional presentation, and Vista will get to host the very first performance in Southern California.

The trial for an Escondido man accused of robbing more than a dozen day laborers began Aug 13.

Three hundred Vista residents filled downtown Aug. 5 for a going away party. After a raucous celebration and awards ceremony, the residents marched down the Townsite streets side by side with local sheriff’s deputies and firemen in a display of community solidarity to say farewell to crime and drugs at the annual “Walk against Crime.”

Actor Ben Seton traveled halfway around the globe from his native Australia for the American debut of his one-man cautionary tale, “Cheap Thrills,” first performed for at-risk New Haven students at North Coast Church on Aug. 6.

The Optimist Club of Vista is one of just two in the nation with a clubhouse. The impressive Shadowridge facility was put to good use as the site of the annual Wine & Food Fest fundraiser July 26 raising money for both the Optimists and the Moonlight Cultural Foundation.

A 19-year-old man tried to kill another partygoer after the two men got into a fight over a broken aquarium, prosecutors said.

An 18-year-old Vista resident pleaded not guilty July 24 to charges relating to the assault of and theft of items from an acquaintance.

The District Attorney’s office announced July 24 that four felony arrest warrants have been issued in connection with a four-month undercover investigation into metal theft named “Operation Heavy Metal.”

It is probably a safe bet that when the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe was established in 1836, its owners didn’t expect to be entertaining hundreds of guests. But that’s just what happened at the fifth annual Bluegrass & Ice Cream Social when more than 200 people gathered from near and far to enjoy a balmy afternoon of music and root beer floats at one of Vista’s oldest houses.

Before “Cats” or “Phantom of the Opera” ever graced a stage, there was Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Weber’s first musical hit was the retelling in a riot of colors and disparate musical styles of the famous biblical story of Joseph and his betrayal by 11 jealous brothers. Bringing such a wild show to the stage can be a challenge. The Moonlight Stage Production Company has taken on the task, pinning its hopes on director/choreographer, Carlos Mendoza.

California has been in an official state of drought since June, and Vista’s water district and city officials are preparing for a likely water shortage. To this end, the Vista Irrigation District, or VID, board of directors approved in concept a comprehensive drought response conservation ordinance at a public workshop July 16. The program will go before the public before the board ratifies it in September.

Rancho Guajome Adobe, one of the oldest houses in Vista, held its annual “Fiesta at Guajome” honoring the diverse cultural history of the site July 19.

Options for Recovery & Family Treatment Center, a nonprofit organization providing alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services, held its first sidewalk rummage fundraiser at its 1010 East Vista Way location July 19 and July 20.