Hollypark scrubs a day
Recently, Hollywood Park at Inglewood that precedes Del Mar cancelled a day of racing becuz there weren’t enough entries to fill the card. Backstretch banter is that Hollypark will be going to racing only Friday thru Sunday before the end of its season. Del Mar will run July 21 thru Sept. 8 and will benefit from the recovering economy but it too will be faced with a diminishing population of Thoroughbreds. A growing number of stables are already heading east where the purses are more lucrative. Saratoga runs date and date with Del Mar. One major advantage is most Eastern tracks also have casino gambling and stables get a piece of the action. For years Cal tracks have petitioned the state to allow slots but it has shown no interest. The casinos oppose the competition. They are major campaign contributors to the Governator and state electeds and they rule the day. Tracks could lure horses that compete at county fair tracks that run throughout the summer, however it would take a cheaper purse structure. Possibility? Betcha. The immortal Seabiscuit early in his career competed in cheap races at Caliente. Who will suffer if conditions change where the surf meets the turf among others? Business in the area that depends on the free-spending racing crowd.
Cockfighting
Gendarmes recently confiscated upwards of 500 birds said to be aggressive and ready to engage in fighting at a Pauma Valley ranch. Also taken were knives that are strapped to their legs and other stuff used in this gruesome sport. Cockfighting is a popular afternoon diversion on the Big Island of Hawaii where gambling is rampant. On Sunday morning the airport reception area is littered with roosters in cages shipped in from the other islands. Cockfights are tightly controlled where they are held. They are not legal and lookouts monitor arrivals. The uninvited are not welcome. A variety of food dishes are available and cater to the folks who love the activity.
Pensions
Now that C’bad has taken the lead in overhauling employee pensions other cities are falling into step. Solbeach approved its version recently. Electeds are not being hard nosed. It’s no secret that it can no longer be bizness as usual. The Harbor City for example is millions of bucks deficient in its pension fund. However, there always seems to be enough in the kitty to pay for political raises and miscellaneous perks.
Ban fireworks exhibitions?
It’s unfortunate that a few ecology noise makers who are self-appointed guardians to save the earth from harmless, short-term exhibitions of fireworks on Independence Day want them eliminated. Likely they never experienced the fallout from real bombs bursting in the air and the rocket’s red glare. For those who have, it’s a day to remember the meaning of independence that gives these alarmists the right to object to a display of fireworks on Independence Day.
Earned a pay raise
Not often that an employee deserves more dough. NCTD Chief Exec Matthew Tucker is an exception. When he was hired NCTD was somewhat dysfunctional. The record shows he has saved a pile of cash primarily by outsourcing drivers and the maintenance department to a private company.
RSF directors
Five new directors have been elected to join 25 other volunteers on the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation’s board of directors. It is the largest organization of its kind in the county. Newbies include Craig Dado, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club veep for marketing; David Down, managing director, KPMG, San Diego; Doug Forsythe, Portfolio manager; Dr. Michael Lobitz, diplomat of American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology and veep of chief medical services at Scripps Memorial Encinitas; and Kate Williams, Harvard MBA and involved with Rancho Riding Club. Great community volunteers all.
Surfside City offers choice site
A 22,000-square-foot lot on Balboa Avenue that once housed a treatment plant is up for sale by the city. Electeds are planning to invest proceeds to complete the purchase of the Shores school site on Ninth Street. A $3.2 million payment is due around Thanksgiving.
Parking lot break-ins
Reader reports a friend parked her car in the Ecke YMCA lot and when she returned an hour later it had been broken into and her hidden purse had been swiped. When she filed a report she learned that more than a half-dozen previous burgs had occurred.
O’side ponders trash pact
O’side electeds are now studying options for a trash contract that will soon be up
for renewal. Current contractor Waste Management Inc. had offered $1 mil. for each of the next three years in exchange for a five-year extension on its contract but the council declined on the assumption it could get a better offer through open bidding.
Reassessment requests
Approximately 7,000 owners requested a reassessment of their property that was valued downward because of economic conditions. According to the assessor’s office requests were below those in 2009 when there were 56,000 requests.
One-liners
Board of Supes has requested a further study on the proposal to build 14 fire stations throughout the county for $92 mil. including two in O’side … The idea of a high-speed train between L.A. and Sin City has been revived and folks are wondering about the wisdom of taking much-needed Southland cash to a city outta state … In July ‘99 the Padres were riding a 14-game winning streak … After a 10-year series of requests for traffic calming devices on Devonshire Drive, Flower Capital residents were finally successful in getting approval for so-called speed cushions installed on a test basis …
California Horse Racing Board has ruled Oak Tree Racing Assn. and not Santa Anita has rights to the fall dates and Hollywood Park and Del Mar have offered their facilities since Santa Anita cancelled its agreement with Oak Tree … Friends of Del Mar Parks has scheduled its highly successful Lobster Fest on July 31 at the Shores Park … Famed singer Julio Iglesias will provide the entertainment for the annual Don Diego scholarship gala June 25 during the County Fair.
Hasta la Vista
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