The view from Torrey Pines...Ben Sever for Ah-Ha

Ben Sever presents the view from Torrey Pines into the Carmel Valley flats and North County.

Much ballyhooed as a method to market the nearly empty madness that has been Cielo Village shopping center at Del Dios Highway and Calle Ambiente, the farmers market begun with great fanfare in spring quietly closed down in summer.

"Nobody went there to shop," said a disappointed Zion Yohannes, owner of Z Private Post, one of but three active merchants at desolation row, otherwise known as Cielo Village.

The farmers market opened April 8, but the number of vendors and customers dwindled quickly. Thirty vendors turned into 10 and about 200 shoppers turned into you, me and a guy named Zeek, so to speak, by June.

While the market launched with a burst of publicity, it ended with barely a whimper and no public disclosure.

The 50,114-square-foot office and retail center in front of Cielo’s main gate at 18055 Calle Ambiente was the first local shopping center opened since since Del Rayo Village in 1990 and Fairbanks Village Plaza. It officially opened in 2007, although the center was fully complete in 2005.

Early tenants... (more)

ESCONDIDO ---- Oh, what a long ---- and sudsy ---- trip it has been for Dr. Emmanuel H. Bronner and the soap he created, then popularized along with a cleansing dose of proselytizing.

Bronner may be gone now, but nowhere near forgotten given the hundreds upon hundreds of Web pages devoted to his memory.

These pages are devoted to the memory of a man and his soap.

Not to mention Bronner's magical soap box----the one that spans what he called "Spaceship Earth" with "The Moral ABC, introduced by Kipling's 'If' & Soapmaker Bronner."

Bronner was a giant among all-natural soapmakers when he died at age 89 in 1997 after decades of building the leading all-natural soapmaker in the nation as well as creating a personal mystique that continues to inform and astound.

Secreted away in an obscure industrial section of Escondido, the all-natural soap company that Bronner made after a career as a chemist for more traditional soapmakers now has passed to a second and third generation... (more)

Le Style Francais

The French have a legendary sense of style.  French Country design is characterized by charm, warmth, and sophistication with roots in the sunny hillsides of rural France.  The versatility of being relaxed, yet refined, draws its inspiration from the country homes and rustic farmhouses in the south of France.

 With the comfort and tradition French Country design offers, it gives life and a reference to the past in a room.  French Country interiors can be rustic and humble, or sophisticated and glamorous.  It’s all about creating a space that is inviting, elegant, yet relaxed, and full of comfort and character.

 French Country furniture has the ambiance of curved panels, handcrafted details, rush seating, and other natural materials.  The emphasis for furniture leans towards a rustic feel.  The more lived in, the better.  Furniture is often distressed in finish, but ornate with detailed carvings.  Dark woods are often used, as are pieces that have been stripped and softly washed with paint.  Well worn and loved antiques, and eclectic furnishings from different eras mix well, as they have that sense of being passed down through generations.  They bring personality to a space that is French Country at its best.  

 Large scale furniture and accessories bring an authentic note into a French Country interior.  Even in a smaller space, scale up pieces to suggest roominess and individuality to be appreciated more.

Textures are important in creating French Country rooms.  Rooms are more interesting when you layer an intriguing mix of textures.  Chipped paint, rusted iron, crackle, or weathered patina finishes with a timeworn look, create that undeniable sensuous French feel.  Ironwork is very popular as well.  Iron accent pieces such as wall grilles, sconces, candleholders, and wire baskets are often used when designing a room.  Adding chicken wire to cabinetry, especially when you show off your finest china and glassware, is another very French detail.

The colors of Provence are the centerpiece of French Country design.  When you think of the Provencal countryside, you think of rich vivid hues such as sunny golden yellows, azure blues, soft lavender, deep reds, bright greens, and creamy whites.  Part of the fun of French Country decorating is that you can use these colors at the same time by combining them so they compliment each other without competing.  Add fresh color by pairing an exuberant yellow paisley with a blue check fabric, or mix a rustic red Provencal floral with a green plaid, and c’est si bon!  In France, a room isn’t finished unless it has many different patterns and colors, so throw away the idea that everything has to match.

One of my favorite lines of French furnishings, fabrics, and accessories is Pierre Deux.  I spoke with their marketing director in New York, Heather Ryan, about some of their recent introductions.  She said, “In French Country decorating, color, often vibrant, sunny colors reflecting the natural elements of the countryside dominate.  We continue to feature lots of our signature yellows and blues.  Last but not least, Pierre Deux has gone to the dogs.  We know the French love their pets, and now we have introduced our first collection of pet accessories.”

The French certainly do have a way with their approach to design.  Every detail in designing their interiors is well thought out.  By combining natural materials, a mix of unique textures, vivid Provencal colors, traditional French Country fabrics, and a little je ne sais quoi, French Country style can turn your home into a cheerful refuge!

Sept. 11, 2001: Local ironworker Paul Pursley spent 10 weeks at "Ground Zero" following attack.

"Ironworkers worked every day," Pursley said. "We went on 12-hour shifts starting at 6 (a.m.) or 7 (a.m.) The more iron we cut up, the more firemen we could find. But we only found parts; a hand, a leg, a torso, never a complete body. We found parts from 650 people. You thought you would find somebody alive at first, but we never did...

"...I never cut so much steel in my entire life. I hope I never have to again."

 Ground Zero.

That's where Escondido ironworker Paul Pursley found himself in September  2001 on a first-ever visit to New York City.

For the next 10 weeks, in a city reeling with shock, Pursley helped cut away the massive wreckage of the World Trade Center, allowing relief workers to recover some of the 2,992 people killed on Sept. 11.

Pursley flew home on Dec. 6. Later,  sitting in the stilliness of a former girlfriend's San Marcos kitchen, he told of the horror of body parts, the sad daily trek through crowds of people anxiously searching for missing loved ones, the kindness of Salvation Army workers and of being able to touch President Bush.

"You never found a whole piece, whole people," said Pursley, who worked as part of an ironworkers' union contingent attached to a Yonkers, N.Y., wreckage excavation crew. Twenty men worked the day shift and 20 worked the night shift, he said.

"The first few weeks there was nothing really stationary to walk on," Pursley said. "There was so much energy in the pile that stuff would get catapulted 200 to 300 feet in the air. We were cutting through 50-ton pieces of iron. Stuff was all over the place. But the more iron you could cut, the faster firemen could get part of somebody out.

"I've never seen anything like that in my life," Pursley said. "The ground was so hot I went through three pairs of boots in the 2-1/2 months I was there."

But the heat, the dirt, the smoke, even the horribly acrid smell and danger of ground zero were nothing compared to the emotional toll, Pursley said.

"I was working one day and we found a fireman and a civilian trapped in Tower Two," Pursley continued. "They survived the plane crash, made it down to the lobby but they couldn't get out. That was hard.

"It was hard seeing the little kids in town," Pursley said. "Hundreds of people used to line the gates at night when we got off work. They asked: 'Did you see my daddy?' They all were holding pictures.

"There was nothing you could tell them," Pursley said. "That was the hardest part. What do you tell them?"

Marine to ironworker

A 41-year-old Allentown, Pa., native and former Camp Pendleton Marine, Pursley said he was "fascinated" with walking on steel beams as a child. So after receiving an honorable discharge from the Marines with the rank of sergeant he became an ironworker in 1985. He lived in Oceanside before moving to San Marcos in 1998. He moved to Escondido in 2007.

Pursley's odyssey to ground zero began in Hartford, Conn.

A member of San Diego Ironworkers Local 229, Pursley was on a job for Lewis Equipment of Grand Prairie, Texas. The crew was finishing installing beams with tower cranes for the huge Mohegan Sun Casino around Hartford "the day it happened," he said.

"We had a rented van and another job to go to in Washington, D.C.," continued Pursley, a strapping man with a soft voice. "We saw both buildings smoking as we were going by New York on the way. We were in D.C. a day-and-a-half finishing up a job at the convention center. They didn't need our help at the Pentagon but when we finished we asked Kyle Lewis, the owner of Lewis Construction, if we could go to New York and he said, 'Sure, you guys can volunteer there.'

"I had never been to New York," Pursley said. "My partner, Rusty Henry from Stillwater, Okla., and myself went there on the (Sept.) 17th, right down to the job site. As long as you were an ironworker you had carte' blanche.

Pursley said they worked non-stop the first day.

"It was pretty much disorganized with guys everywhere trying to volunteer in the chaos. We went to the union hall the next day," he said.

While plenty of police and fire personnel swarmed across the dust-filled, chaotic scene, they couldn't do much without help from skilled ironworkers who cut through the mangled iron and steel with cranes, torches, and big tools, not to mention sweat and desire.

Pursley said he and Henry were the only two out-of-town ironworkers at the scene. For 10 long weeks, the steel burners cut up towering beams and iron.

"Ironworkers worked every day," Pursley said. "We went on 12-hour shifts starting at 6 (a.m.) or 7 (a.m.) The more iron we cut up, the more firemen we could find. But we only found parts; a hand, a leg, a torso, never a complete body. We found parts from 650 people. You thought you would find somebody alive at first, but we never did."

Pursley added: "With all that debris and elevator cables pulling the pile, guys were getting fingers and hands smashed. Lots of accidents. Lots of guys hurt. I thought we were going to be there for a year."

Pursley said he and his partner were paid through the union but ended up renting a hotel room in lower Manhattan, then a motel room in Secaucus, N.J., that cost them $6,000 to $8,000. Salvation Army workers brought them food at the site.

At the end of a grueling day's shift, the ironworkers would hike a mile to get beyond the crime scene, maybe grab a snack, head out through the Port Authority Terminal on a bus to New Jersey, finally collapsing from exhaustion into motel beds.

"People would sit by you on the bus and you were so filthy," Pursley said. "Not even like being dirty, such a weird odor. I'd wash my clothes three times and still they were dirty."

 Several close calls

One of Pursley's closest calls came on Oct. 23, according to a notification filed with construction contractors.

Police believed they had cleared out some of the estimated 1.7 million .38 caliber rounds from a destroyed U.S. Customs arsenal at the World Trade Center and directed Pursley to burn iron at one of the swept areas. A loud pop and painful burning of his cheek later, he found himself taken to St. Vincent's Hospital emergency room for treatment. He still has the scar on his face.

Alert and in good spirits, Pursley returned to the scene the next day and kept on working. On Nov. 13, a large excavator swung across a debris pile near where Pursley was burning through steel. The pile collapsed and Pursley fell down the 25-foot pile, injuring his left wrist. Medical workers had to use 18 stitches to close the wound, according to an accident report filed with city of New York Department of Design and Construction.

When celebrities descended on ground zero to lend support, Pursley took pictures with a disposable camera he bought. He has a picture with actress Susan Sarandon and with Jason Alexander, who played George in "Seinfeld."

And President Bush. Pursley said he went up to the President when he toured ground zero and "pulled on his shirt sleeve."

"I told him, 'I didn't vote for you, but I'm going to touch you.' " He then took a picture of the surprised president.

 Thank you letters meant a lot

 Pursley said he got a lift from schoolchildren's thank you letters forwarded by Salvation Army workers. He said he planned to answer all of the dozen or so letters he brought back to San Marcos. A lot of them shared sentiments like those expressed by Ryan Moran, a sixth grader at Pearson Elementary of Poulsbo, Wash.

Addressed to Iron Workers, Ground Zero, N.Y., N.Y., Moran's letter began, "Dear Savers of Helpless Citizens," and continued: "You guys are really brave and your heroic actions during the tragedy will remain in our hearts forever. We know we can count on heroes like you. You've changed everyone's lives."

Salvation Army workers also gave Pursley a red-white-and-blue hard-hat signed by many of them with inspirational sayings as a parting gift. "It's our house ---- never forget," one aid worker said.

But in the end, the experience was a once-in-a-lifetime, and a fulfilling one, Pursley said.

"All the people I met there were fantastic to me," Pursley said. "It was incredible. It was weird leaving and coming home. Hopefully there is closure for the victims and their families."

Despite local contractors wanting him to resume work as a foreman, Pursley said he wants to relax for a month.

"I have never seen so much iron in my life. I never cut so much steel in my entire life. I hope I never have to again," he said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well-known New York photographer Joel Meyerowitz took seminal images at Ground Zero, many of which were displayed at a groundbreaking exhibit titled "Echoes of Ground Zero" in 2003.

Lawrence Weschler in conversation with photographer Joel Meyerowitz in the living room of the latter’s New York City home, 7 April 2003 is available at the pdf file posted here.

This portion of the interview dealt with Pursley, and his iconic image that Meyerowitz displayed next to another iconic...c. 1650 image by the Spanish painter Velazquez.

LW: Well, this. 

JM:  Amazing. What a guy. He was a welder, commonly called a burner down there. His job was to go through the site and as each level was exposed, he would walk through with a torch and burn all the small standing steel so that men could walk through and do their search.

LW: Do you know his name?

JM: I do know his name . . . Paul Pursley.

LW: What is fascinating to me here is that we’re playing off the Velázquez of Mars with his tool and his helmet and his mustache. I don’t want to suggest or insist that you had this specific thing in your head, but you too are treating this worker as a kind of god or a personage of great nobility.

JM: I was just going to say that he was noble. The reason I saw him as noble was that he came up the road bend here, and I saw him, and we had just heard a bugler playing Taps, and there were eight of us standing around and we were all in tears and as he came to me I saw this little glint of a tear in his eye – you can see it in the photograph, he’s slightly dewy-eyed. And as he came forward, I just felt the power of this man and his nobility, and I stepped in front of him and just made a photograph. We didn’t have much of an interaction. He really didn’t even pose for me, he just stopped walking. And then I asked him something and he laughed and he said, “I was just wounded today. I was burning the steel and I exploded some ammunition that was buried.” He said, “A piece of bullet shell hit me in the face and I got five stitches under here.” He laughed. He laughed. And then he just stood there and I made this picture and I realized he is heroic.

LW: One of the things that’s amazing about Velázquez is how when he chooses to do a god, for perhaps one of the first times in history the god is just some mill worker. I mean, this is clearly some guy who worked as some smithy or something, who knows who he is. This is some guy who is a working-class guy, patently not a nobleman, you don’t think?

JM: No, not a nobleman.

LW: And yet a god. So, that’s kind of interesting.

Casey Anthony gone from Rancho Santa Fe but not forgotten: her RSF attorney Todd Macaluso threatens lawsuit against The Morton Report...

UPDATED 6 P.M. THURSDAY, AUG. 11 AT LOS ANGELES (LALATE EXCLUSIVE) – Is Casey Anthony heading to Houston, Texas? The plane, originally linked to Casey Anthony by NBC33, departed from Orange County this morning. It set to arrive in Houston, Texas this afternoon. In July, NBC33, the Baton Rouge NBC News affiliate, reported that Casey Anthony had been travelling on N950KA, not just from Orlando to Orange County, but across the country. Last month, the news station reported “sources say the plane is the same one she [Casey Anthony] was seen boarding in other parts of the country.”

For more, visit LALATE HERE...

                                            (Photo: Jose Baez, Casey Anthony, Todd Macaluso)

O.K., I'll come out and say it. In my OPINION based on investigations and information, I BELIEVE, THINK, FEEL, the infamous tot mom Casey Anthony was at 4805 Linea Del Cielo for a period of time, possibly from Thursday, Aug. 4, following a much publicized Columbus, Ohio, photo shoot on Aug. 3 until Tuesday, Aug. 9. The numerous reasons, rationale and back story have been published here at http://tiny.cc/9s66p. Or look below in the queue. Our first story is at: http://ahharsfnews.com/2011/08/07/tot-mom-casey-anthony-spot .

I further state that I spoke with a woman on the intercom whom I now believe was Ms. Anthony. I just happened to be there at the right/wrong time when they were expecting somebody else. I believe I know precisely the identity of the woman who told Anthony to get off the intercom and closed the gate Anthony opened, but I don't want to be sued, you know. I am confident in the identifications, however. The fact is the inappropriate nature of stashing tot mom away at a $5.2 million Covenant estate, no matter how secure and well-appointed with helipad etc., and the attendant publicity moved the fugitive show along...to an as-yet undisclosed location.

The story from the Morton Report Blog and here has spun near and far with  HLN's Nancy Grace devoting helf of her Monday show to the sighting. That's when the kitchen got hot and the going got going, if you catch my drift. 

An interesting sidebar has developed over this story between Macaluso, with his residence under foreclosure at Rancho Santa Fe according to sources, and The Morton Report. The legal threats by Macaluso directed against Dawn Olsen apparently began when KSWB-TV's Fox Morning Show contacted Macaluso to ask for comments about the reported sighting of Anthony at his disputed property. KSWB also had invited Olsen and myself to the studio for a Thursday morning appearance.

Macaluso sent an email to the station making untrue charges, which he forwarded to Dawn and me. In my case, I pointed out I never said I spoke to his neighbors -- the emails are posted below -- and he seemed to apologize, or at least square things with me. Dawn out of Los Angeles, wasn't so lucky. I will start off her account here and then direct you to The Morton Report account of the Macaluso legal threats.

THE MORTON REPORT BLOG...

Last Saturday we published an article about a tip we received on the whereabouts of Casey "Tot Mom" Anthony.  

Our source, a reporter for The Morton Report, had attended a dinner party in Southern California last Friday, August 5, when others at the dinner party stated they had seen a woman appearing to be Casey Anthony, accompanied by what appeared to be two body guards, in and around the Rancho Sante Fe area; and in particular, in the vicinity of a luxury home owned by Anthony's former defense attorney, Todd Macaluso.

We researched ownership of the home, verified that it was owned by Macaluso, and came to the conclusion that there was enough corroboration to post a story on these rumors.

Then we were contacted by HLN's Nancy Grace show to comment on our story. Grace's team also felt the connection between Anthony and Macaluso was strong enough to make this scoop a reasonable possibility.

Meanwhile, local reporter Dan Weisman of Ah Ha Santa Fe did some investigating on the ground. For his story, he discovered the home was listed on the market at $5.2 million, featured a private helipad, an Infinity pool, and was in a secure, gated community...

THE FULL STORY DETAILING THE MACALUSO EFFECT IS HERE. The Morton Report is at: http://www.themortonreport.com/

HERE NOW LIVE AND DIRECT TO BEHIND THE SCENES OF A MEDIA INTERVIEW REQUEST GONE WILD....

1.)

2.)

FYI 

Regards, Todd Macaluso

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Todd Macaluso <tmacaluso@macalusolawsd.com>
Date: August 10, 2011 1:55:11 PM PDT
To: "Luck, Brad" <bluck@tribune.com>
Subject: Re: kswb fox5 request

BradThe reports of these "bloggers" are completely false. If there any false statements aired, we will pursue any and all legal remedies available by anyone who disseminates such false information. We have verified with our neighbors that no such statements were made to the Ah ha Rancho Santa Fe news or the Morton report. We will pursue an action against Mr. Weiss an and Ms. Olson of false information is disseminated. 

Regards, Todd Macaluso
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 10, 2011, at 1:46 PM, "Luck, Brad" <bluck@tribune.com> wrote:

Dear Mr. Macaluso,  

My name is Brad Luck and I’m the Executive Producer for the FOX5 Morning News on KSWB-TV here in San Diego.  

   

We are having on Dan Weisman from Ah-Ha Rancho Santa Fe News and Dawn Olsen from The Morton Report tomorrow morning at 8:15 a.m. to talk about their stories that Casey Anthony is living at your Rancho Santa Fe home.  

I wanted to see if you would like to come on our show at that time to give your response to their reports.  

We could also send a live truck to you so you wouldn’t have to come in studio.  

   

If you are not interested in appearing live on our show, we would be interested in any written statement from you on these reports.  

   

Thank you in advance.  

   

Brad  

   

Brad Luck  

Executive Producer  

FOX5 Morning News  

bluck@tribune.com  

direct: (858) 573-6538

newsroom: (858) 573-6500

twitter: @BradLTV

7191 Engineer Road

San Diego, CA 92111

 

KSWB-TV, a Tribune Broadcasting station

http://www.fox5sandiego.com

3.)

Todd Macaluso

FYI Regards, Todd Macaluso Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: > Fro...

Aug 10 (1 day ago)

Reply

92067 Rancho Santa Fe Free Press to Todd

show details 4:38 PM (22 hours ago)

That's cool, but if you read the story I never said I spoke to neighbors, I cited Ms. Olsen's reporting. I'm very careful in how I approach possibly touchy subjects and have won first place investigative reporting awards from both the California and Florida press associations. Dan

- Show quoted text -

-- 
Ah-Ha Rancho Santa Fe News, dedicated digital media for an independent and unique population. Visit us at  http://ahharsfnews.com/

4.)

Todd Macaluso to me

show details 4:41 PM (22 hours ago)

Ok Dan

We are at our wits end with the media. 

Regards, Todd Macaluso

Sent from my iPhone

- Show quoted text -

4.)

Hi Dan,

I’m sorry we actually have to cancel.

Something came up and we won’t have the time to be able to do this tomorrow.

But please stay in touch and let us know if you write anymore on this subject.

Thanks,

Brad

From: 92067 Rancho Santa Fe Free Press [mailto:92067freepress@gmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 6:41 PM

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

WELL, THERE YOU HAVE IT...FOR NOW.  REMEMBER TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MEDIA!!!

Bonnie Russell On: Dumanis’ continued reluctance to prosecute inactive attorney P. Gregory...

Bonnie Dumanis’ continued reluctance to prosecute inactive attorney Patricia Gregory remains a mystery to those aware of Dumanis’ preference for being handed evidence by crime victims. This makes Dumanis’ latest refusal to prosecute an open and shut case against an about to be disbarred attorney, more than a little strange.   

But first, a brief history on internet crime

A decade ago, then San Francisco columnist Reynolds Holding, wrote The State Bar should Crack Down on California Lawyers” in a column featuring one of California’s worst attorneys, Ron Lais.  The column stated State Bar response to client complaints was sluggish at best, considering the bar had ten years worth of complaints regarding the Ron Lais "performed."  Eventually though, the State Bar forced Lais’ resignation, until he paid his now former clients restitution.

Lais promptly filed bankruptcy, which immediately discharged the State Bar’s restitution order.  Lais then promptly incorporated Child Custody Legal Network and continued offering legal services online as an International Child Custody Consultant, (and sued me four times for warning potential victims not to use him).  The Orange County DA charged Lais with double-digit felony counts regarding the Unauthorized Practice of Law online, and Lais went to prison for a while.  (He's now out and touting himself as an International Law Professor on Twitter.) 

But Lais got me thinking as the problem of non-attorneys or former attorneys practicing on-line has increased.  Most recently in San Diego.  But at least there is some good news. 

The first being the State Bar is now acting a little quicker, and the second being an easy solution to prevent the public from being duped online by former attorneys with a cash and moral problem.  More on that later, as the original problem remains.

San Diego’s blind eye to unscrupulous, former attorneys

San Diego North County family law attorney Patricia Gregory is now listed on the State Bar site Ordered Inactive – Not Eligible to Practice Law.”   

The back story is Gregory had dipped her hands into the trust account of her client, Luwain Ng, to the tune of 80k.  Gregory later admitted the money was gone and made arrangements to repay Ng.

Plans went awry. Nine months later Ng had still not been paid in full. Eventually Ng complains to the State Bar.  This prompts Gregory to fire a snarky email to Ng in which Gregory advises she will discontinue interest payments, before ading as if she was somehow a victim,

“If you wanted to punish me you have succeeded.  I am destroyed.  You have a $20,000.00, a ridiculously low legal bill and my obligation to pay $80,000.00.  I have nothing.  Seems a bit unfair, no?  But you did get your revenge.  Hope it was sweet.” 

Gregory’s  website remains active, announcing:  CARLSBAD DIVORCE ATTORNEY representing clients in divorce, custody, support, and domestic violence cases in San Diego County. 

The solution to protect the public from those who practice law on-line who shouldn’t, was well received by the State Bar president after it popped into my head last week.  He suggested I mention it to a State Bar prosecutor, who also seemed to like it.  (The prosecutor's email after our conversation indicated he forwarded my suggestion to the intake office.)

As it now stands, since Patricia Gregory refuses to remove her website from the Internet in spite of the State Bar’s repeated requests, Gregory is likely going to face additional charges.

(Interestingly,  Gregory's legal website remains in full working order - including the claim:  “She currently teaches graduate level courses in Business Law and Ethics”).  However, a second problem slipped to the forefront.

The second problem being District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis' tolerance for white-collar crime

In spite of a request from Patricia Gregory’s former client to charge Gregory, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis refuses to prosecute.  Or say why she won't.  This is puzzling as the case is very straight-forward.  Gregory admitted to her 80k raid on Ng's account; and Ng provided much in the way of proof along with her request DA Dumanis charge her.  

Sound of crickets chirping.

Calls to the DAs office remain unreturned.

The silence of San Diego's District Attorney is problematic as Bonnie Dumanis has spent an enormous amount of tax payer dollars in an unsuccessful effort to have her perceived stalker tried and convicted for writing what Dumanis considered a threatening letter.  This would be months after declining to prosecute Diana Gonzalez’ husband, after he kidnapped and raped Gonzalez.  After which Diana was found butchered to death in a college bathroom.  (Diana’s husband promptly disappeared).

Additionally, after Dumanis’ alleged stalker was acquitted in Riverside County, Bonnie Dumanis received 24/7 law enforcement security for herself.  She then spent time and energy maneuvering to have the guy prosecuted in federal court at additional taxpayer expense. 

The jury deadlocked.

Unfortunately the public receives no such service from San Diego’s current DA and mayoral candidate for a relatively easy-to-prove, white collar crime.

The solution?

As a preventive measure, until Dumanis brings charges against Patricia Gregory, or her site goes dark, Gregory will be listed on the "Do Not Hire” portion of  Familylawcourts.com.

Meanwhile I just received an invitation to join Bonnie for a day at the races on August 28.  I wonder if I should bet on whether Bonnie answers my questions if I go.

Spy V. Spy: RANCHO SANTA FE NEWSPAPER WAR!!! Review 'Threatens to Sue' News, says the News

"Gilroy-based Review owner Tony Allegreedi) claims in certified letters that the News caused the Review to lose at least $300,000 in 2010. He further threatened to sue for $900,000 plus attorney fees he estimates at $2 million, if the News advertising rates are not “adjusted” and increased."

Fact Check: Allagreedi's Review of Carmel Valley pretending to be Rancho Santa Fe, GIVES AWAY FOR FREE ALL HIS WEB ADS. We know since we asked sub-rosa. Maybe the Coast News should countersue him.

[Photo: Fairbanks Ranch Post Office on Feb. 12, as people throw out FREE copies of the Review and News rather than even bring them home. Advertise at Ah-Ha Rancho Santa Fe News where you know people are seeing you because they want to see us. E-mail us at 92067freepress@gmail.com for more sponsorship details.]

Read more below....

(Editor's Note: Put this one in the WOW category. The Coast News, of Encinitas, publishes once or twice a month a few pages about Rancho Santa Fe and calls that issue The Rancho Santa Fe News. The Review, of Carmel Valley, is now owned by Gilroy publisher Tony Allagreedi whose M.O. is buying community newspapers on the cheap, them moving them and cutting everybody and everything to show a faux profit. On Wednesday, the Coast News reported it was "facing the threat of a lawsuit" from the Review. This story by Promise Yee was posted Wednesday afternoon and can be found in its entirety here. We can't call Allagreedi because when we emailed Review editor Lorene Wright some questions once she called the San Diego Sheriffs Department and asked them to ask us not to contact her again.So, this will have to do for now. -- Dan Weisman, founder/editor Ah-Ha Rancho Santa Fe News.)

(Photo below, copy of letter allegedly from Review's Gilroy-based owner Tony Allagreedi -- the Review offices are at Carmel Valley -- accusing the Coast News of Encinitas of unfair ad practices.)

COAST NEWS REPORT (Promise Yee)

RANCHO SANTA FE — In a David versus Goliath standoff, the Rancho Santa Fe News is facing the threat of a lawsuit by Anthony Allegretti, president and CEO of MainStreet Communications, which publishes 17 newspapers including the Rancho Santa Fe Review.

The proposed charge is that the Rancho Santa Fe News’ advertising rates are driving the financially backed “Review” out of business, or at least hurting its profits.

On the David side the “News” is owned by independent publisher Jim Kydd and is one of two publications of The Coast News Group. The bimonthly News distributes on demand and mails 10,000 copies to Rancho Santa Fe, Santaluz and the Rancho Pacifica areas.

Kydd said the News is part of a tightknit operation that carefully balances its profits and overhead costs to operate. The paper has no debt service or investment bankers to pay off. Kydd said a skeleton staff and shared operating costs with The Coast News allows the paper to have a minimum overhead.

Kydd said the News could not remain in operation if it was under-pricing its advertisements. He added that they have recently closed papers in Vista, San Marcos and Carmel Valley because they were not profitable.

On the Goliath side, the Review is owned and published by MainStreet Communications, a subsidiary of MainStreet Media Group. It is one of 17 newspapers that MainStreet Communications publishes.

Other area newspapers owned by MainStreet Communications include, in addition to the Review, the Carmel Valley News, the Del Mar Times, the Solana Beach Sun, the La Jolla Light, the Poway News-Chieftain, the Rancho Bernardo News-Journal and the Ramona Sentinel. MainStreet Media Group also owns a group of newspapers in Northern and Central California. MainStreet’s corporate offices are in Gilroy, Calif.

Kydd said the Review has much higher operating costs including editorial salaries as well as financial backers to pay.

Brookside Capital Partners Management works as the investment manager for MainStreet Communications. Managing Director Don Hawks said as a matter of company policy he has no comment on Allegretti’s actions.

Hawks was asked if he was aware of the certified letters Allegretti sent to the News. “I’m not going to comment on those,” Hawks said.

Housatonic Partners is another investment manager for MainStreet Communications and owns 36 percent of the company.

Joe Niehaus, general partner for Housatonic Partners, would not comment on the registered letters sent to The Coast News Group or the proposed lawsuit. “I’m not going to address any of that,” Niehaus said.

Allegretti claims in certified letters that the News caused the Review to lose at least $300,000 in 2010. He further threatened to sue for $900,000 plus attorney fees he estimates at $2 million, if the News advertising rates are not “adjusted” and increased.

“The law Allegretti is quoting is to protect the little guy,” Kydd said. “I don’t have the money to outlast him and his investment bankers and he knows it. He’s the predator.”

Kydd does not know what prices Allegretti charges for advertising. Likewise, he said Allegretti does not have access to the News’ records of pricing or operating costs on which his allegation is based.

Several area attorneys, all of whom declined to be quoted, were asked for their opinions on the charges. All agreed that it is unlikely that the suit will go to court due to the lack of evidence and the disparity in size between the two publishing companies. They added that it is difficult for a large newspaper group to claim that it was hurt by the rates of a smaller paper.

“No one can tell you what price you have to sell at,” one of the attorneys said. He went on to say that any attempt to limit competition is restraint of trade.

Allegretti has reportedly made similar threats to other small papers in San Diego County. While publishers did not want to be quoted directly, some say they have heard around the publishing community that Allegretti recently sent a similar letter to another San Diego County newspaper. He threatened to sue the paper and then offered to buy the paper at a “lowball” price.

The publisher of that paper, who did not want to be quoted, said they consider Allegretti’s proposed lawsuit a bluff, but are fearful that if Allegretti follows through they will not be able to weather the possible court costs, that could run in the millions, to show that there is no merit to the charges.

MainStreet Communications Chief Operating Officer Steve Staloch said he is not aware of Allegretti’s offer to buy any paper at this time. “We’re always interested in acquisitions that make sense, strategic acquisitions,” Staloch said.

When asked about the proposed lawsuits Staloch had no comment. “This is not a news story,” Staloch said.

If Allegretti pursues the lawsuits, his claims could damage the livelihood of two local newspapers.

One longtime local publisher said that instead of basing competition on readership and compelling news columns, Allegretti is basically saying “play ball with me or I’ll spend you into submission.”

“He has the fear factor going for him,” Kydd said. “His package of certified letters is nothing but a scare tactic and also smacks of price collusion.”

Allegretti said he would not speak directly about any proposed lawsuit and did not confirm that that his company is losing money.

“A company can be making money,” Allegretti said. “It’s nothing to do with whether you’re doing well or whether you’re doing poorly. It has to do with the other business. The law says you can’t sell anything below cost.”

Kydd said the charges do not make sense because the News runs a balanced budget with all fully loaded costs, including building rental, utilities and sales commissions.

Kydd and others see the situation as Allegretti trying to leverage his size and multiple publications to eliminate competition.

“It just smells,” one attorney said.

Allegretti insists size does not matter. “The law is meant for all California companies,” Allegretti said. “It’s nothing to do with the size of a company.”

“This is a direct attack against all Rancho Santa Fe advertisers present and future,” Kydd said. “If I were to cave in, he would have no competition in the marketplace.”

Allegretti may be opening up himself and his company for a lawsuit.

“I’m considering suing him for threatening me and suggesting price fixing,” Kydd said. “I think what he’s doing is terribly wrong.”

:

Time stopped at Santana High School, Santee, Calif. on March 5, 2001 - Student Andy Williams, 15, kills 2, wounds 13...

North County Times photographer Waldo Nilo was driving me around San Marcos looking for stories when we heard news breaking on the radio. A gunman was on the loose at Santana High School, no details available.

We immediately called the North County Times newsroom, saying we wanted to head down there to cover the shooting.

Ever wondered why the North County Times is about one shade better than a middle school newspaper, maybe, on the NCT's best day? Listen to this, then.

Executive editor Kent Davey --  still Peter Principle-ing away there, paradigm of news judgment -- and Teresa then-Hineline, ditto, told us this was a bad idea. Incredulous, we broke off our mission seeking "wild art" and bee-lined to the Escondido newsroom.

Upon returning, we pleaded our case with a sense of urgency knowing this was a story of national significance. Davey and Hineline, though, continued to hold us back, arguing it was a bad idea because Santee wasn't in the North County Times coverage area. They absolutely didn't want us to go.

We persisted until it almost became physical. To his credit, then-business editor John Van Doorn -- who had been a New York Times employee for several years -- interceded. Davey was shaking his head, but finally relented.

That drive south was faster than a speeding bullet. We knew we hadn't a moment to waste.

We hit the ground running at the outdoor shopping mall across the street from Santana High. It was a scene straight out of Libya today. Students, parents, shopkeepers, later police, were strewn across that asphalt parking lot in madcap frenzy.

Amazingly, despite Davey-Hineline's delaying tactics, we were the first San Diego-based journalists on the ground. A reporter from the Los Angeles Times and a CNN crew had made it there as well. That was it.

The 10-year anniversary of San Diego's personal brush with school murder is this Saturday, March 5. It's been controversial as well. Santee Mayor Randy Voepel this week criticized a private memorial at the school scheduled to commemorate the ghastly event.

Grossmount Union High School District, nevertheless, will close the school on Friday for its private memorial. Voepel plans to hold a public service at noon, Saturday at the concrete Santana High School sign fronting the school entrance at North Magnolia Avenue.

For the record, this is my coverage of the incident along with a video interview this week with the San Diego County Sheriff's deputy who took down the shooter, Andy Williams; a video made real-time behind the scenes at ABC News as Peter Jennings and ABC News covered the breaking event; as well as Williams, in his own words, last year.

For the Record, Part II, Davey continued to criticize the newspaper covering an event outside its alleged coverage area and had to be persuaded vigorously, and vehemently, the next day to allow us to return to Santana for the follow-up story.

Of course, I've won more statewide press association awards for local news coverage since leaving that newspaper than the entire staff of the North County Times combined.

And Ah-Ha RSF News has greater web traffic than the North County Times, a 75,000-circulation daily newspaper distributed from Del Mar to Riverside.

But we digress. Shooter Charles Andrew "Andy" Williams turned 25-years-old last month and is serving a 50-years-to-life sentence for the murder of Bryan Zuckor, then-14 years old, and Randy Gordon, 17. Williams also wounded 13 people in the worst school shooting incident since Columbine High School in 1999.

Believe it (or not) Williams has an advocacy website here called "Andy Speaks.".We'll show you a bit more of that distasteful exercise at the end of the story package.

In any event, we take you live and direct back, back, back to a moment frozen in memory and time: Santana High School, March 5, 2001.

-- Dan Weisman 

Santee students describe a scene of fear and disbelief

DAN WEISMAN

Staff Writer

SANTEE ---- Time stopped at 9:22 a.m. Monday at Santana High School.

That's when the alleged gunman, a 15-year-old freshman identified by San Diego County District Attorney Paul Pfingst as Charles Andrew Williams, began randomly shooting students and adults with a .22-caliber revolver.

John Schardt, a junior, stood about 10 yards from Williams, who allegedly was peppering a nearby bathroom with bullets.

"I didn't think about myself," Schardt said. "I didn't think about anything. It was surreal. That's why I had no fear."

Schardt was in a photography class and picked up a video camera as soon as he heard shots ring out in what quickly became a bloody quadrangle just beyond the classroom's glass panes.

"I said it must be fake, ran and grabbed my camera," Schardt said as he stood in the Albertson's Shopping Center parking lot across the street from the high school, a couple of hours after the shootings. "You saw people running, trying to get away from the shooting. I saw one person in a fetal position in the quad who was shot. I viewed the rest through the windows of a classroom."

Tiffany Lynch, a 14-year-old freshman, said she had just emerged from a first-period math class around 9:15 a.m., a class also attended by the alleged shooter.

"He liked to joke around a lot," Lynch said of Williams. "He never seemed serious. He had been talking about having a gun. His friends told him he would never use it and to stop talking about that.

"Pretty soon he started getting serious. They started patting him down (for weapons) every day (at school). They did it today and didn't feel anything."

But, as first period yielded to second period and Lynch, along with Williams, went into the hall, the world turned topsy-turvy along a hallway leading to a bathroom by the small quad.

"I heard the gunshots and people started running over," Lynch said. "I thought it was a joke. Then I saw people running toward the parking lot area."

Zina Ravin, a senior in a nearby classroom, said she heard three gunshots that "sounded like fireworks, and all of a sudden I was scared. I knew Travis Tate (Gallegos) was shot in the head. Everybody started running 100 miles an hour.

"A person was laying in a room near where my brother Allen was," Ravin said. "My dad called and said, 'Find your brother as soon as you can. Stay put and follow instructions.'"

Senior Lori Zarza "saw a couple of kids fall, and after that everybody was going. A kid was running with blood from his mouth. I was hiding behind a lunch cart. I wasn't really scared."

Zarza probably saved her life by moving away from the cart, because at that point, Schardt said, the alleged gunman was "smiling, shooting in a southward direction."

"He was wearing a blue sweat shirt," Schardt said. "He went into and out of a bathroom, fired a couple more shots and started pointing the gun at somebody else. He wasn't aiming at one particular person. He was blind-aiming at people and shot out the lunch cart at the wall. I was 30 feet away, parallel to him."

Students milled around the school parking lot comforting one another hours after the incident. San Diego County sheriff's deputies and a host of chaplains and counselors counseled them between hugs and sobs. An impromptu private counseling area was set aside by authorities inside a nearby Round Table Pizza parlor. No media members were allowed inside.

For most, expressions of grief mixed with disbelief. Schardt said he had "a sick, sick feeling inside when I heard about the people who died. It hits you differently when it is your school."

And for Debbie Howie, it was a hectic, and unexpected, morning interruption from her job at a nearby Kmart as daughter Lori Mason ran away from school down a long, and fearful, block home to call.

"I'm still shook," Howie said. "You don't know what will happen next. The families are picking up the pieces."

Mason cast a wan look at Santana High School's yellow sign proclaiming "G Ball 6 p.m. at Cox Arena; Thur G soccer."

The sign stood amid a chaotic scene of armed authorities and wandering students, parents and school officials.

And in Mason's hand: a small bouquet of yellow flowers.

"These are Santana's color," Mason said quietly. "I'm going to put them by the front sign for the people who died from our school."

Santana High School Shooting 2001

Michael Motorcycle | Myspace Video

 On March 5, 2001, fifteen-year-old Santana High student Charles Andrew Williams began shooting, killing two, and wounding thirteen. Bryan Zuckor, a fellow student, was the first killed, as he and another student were shot in the bathroom where Williams began. Williams then exited the bathroom and headed for the Santana High School quad, where he opened fire on surrounding students and faculty. There, he fatally shot another student, Randy Gordon, and wounded twelve others (ten students and two staff). Williams then returned to the bathroom where he later surrendered to the police.

Personal accounts of the events relate the initial confusion during the incident, describing the sound of the shots as "like firecrackers". Panic followed as people began to realize what was happening. Witnesses also describe Williams as "smiling" during the shooting. Referring to the chaos after the shooting, one parent remarked, "They just don't have a system to handle this." Students and faculty were evacuated to a nearby shopping center, and local businesses and churches helped to handle students and parents. Others also said that they heard him saying, weeks before the shootings, that he was "going to pull a Columbine."

-- Wikipedia

Believe it or not, some people look at Williams in a positive light. A website devoted to him here appears to have kept current through May 2010. This is a sample...

 May 2010

All,

Hey everyone, I know I know, it's been quite a while since I've written the site but I think it's more I've been busy than it's slipped my mind because it does weigh on my mind, the infrequent letters on my part, and I aplologize. All has been well with me. I don't remember when exactly I last wrote but a little under a year ago I transferred prisons again. Happy to be back in Southern California, the trek up to the northern part of the state was definately not a productive one for me. I've learned that we get strength from struggle. So I'm definately stronger for it. I'm a year away from my A.A. degree which seems like I've worked on, off and on, mostly off thruth be told for 7 years. Then onto the next degree I suppose. I'm currently a cook in the prison main kitchen, I consider it a good day if I don't get a steam burn or any type of cuts. I'm hanging in there and truly do appreciate those of you who have hung with me the last 9 + years. Thank you.

Andy

Tracy Emblem Takes On Drugs -- Out-Sourcing Pharmaceuticals Can Be Dangerous

 Both local San Diego County Congressional representatives Brian Bilbray and Darrell Issa serve on the House oversight committee but have done nothing to insure our nation's drug supply remains safe.

Most Americans would be shocked to learn that India and China have become main suppliers of low-cost drugs and drug ingredients. Up to 40% of the drugs Americans take are now imported, and up to 80% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients in drugs are manufactured by companies in foreign countries.

By 2013, China is expected to be the third largest pharmaceutical market in the world and India is close behind China because the U.S. is India's top export customer.

Foreign manufacturing of our nation's drugs poses a risk to consumers because the Food and Drug Administration rarely conducts quality-control inspections in foreign countries.

In June 2007, the Washington Post reported: "Over the past seven years, amid explosive growth in imports from India and China, the FDA conducted only about 200 inspections of plants in those countries, and a few were the kind that U.S. firms face regularly to ensure that the drugs they make are of high quality."

These foreign markets allow clinical trials and drugs to be developed cheaper, but does it come at a sacrifice to safety?

According to Chemistry Manufacturers & Affiliates, many active pharmaceutical ingredients that are produced in foreign facilities are rarely inspected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, especially ingredients used in over-the-counter drugs.

Consumers do not know if a medication or its ingredients was produced abroad because there is no country of origin labeling requirements.

NBC News recently reported that Glaxo-Smith-Kline has agreed to pay $750 million to settle a Justice Department's claim that the company sold adulterated and improperly made drugs produced by its former drug manufacturing plant in Cidra, Puerto Rico.  GSK's subsidiary agreed to plead guilty to allegations that "the plant churned out medications that were mislabeled, mixed up in the wrong packaging, and even defective -- made either too weak or too strong. The defects affected such popular prescription drugs as the antidepressant Paxil and the ointment Bactroban, used to treat skin infections."

In June, Pfizer recalled three I.V. products manufactured in India after floating matter was found in plastic IV bags.

Who can forget the deaths and allergic reactions that occurred when contaminated heparin, used to thin blood, was produced in China and sold in the U.S.  The New York Times reported that people had difficulty breathing, and suffered nausea, vomiting, excessive sweating and rapidly falling blood pressure. In some cases the defective heparin led to life-threatening shock.

Years ago, Congress was forewarned that foreign drugs foisted on the public might not be safe. In 2003, William Hubbard, an associate commissioner of the FDA testified before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Government Reform. He explained the public health threats posed by the importation of unapproved, adulterated and misbranded drugs, as well as counterfeit drugs from foreign and domestic sources.

Unfortunately, Congress ignored the testimony and has been increasingly willing to let pharmaceutical companies out-source our nation's drug supply.

The out-sourced drugs may be expired, subpotent, contaminated or counterfeit product, a contraindicated product, an incorrect dose, or a medication which is not accompanied by adequate directions for use. Consumers then face risks of dangerous drug interactions and other serious health consequences.

Out-sourcing drugs is a supply-safety risk too. For example, when the heparin outbreak recalls were unexpectedly announced, there were serious concerns about whether we would have enough heparin to meet patient needs as a result of the contamination.

National security is an important component in considering the continued practice of out-sourcing our nation's drug supply.  In December 2007, an article in the Kansas City Star reported:

"Consider this scenario:  If a major anthrax attack were to occur in the United States - larger than the one in 2001, when five people died - pharmaceutical companies that make the two antibiotics most suitable for treatment, Cipro and doxycycline, would have no choice but to rely on China or India for key ingredients once American stockpiles were exhausted. Those ingredients no longer are made in the West."

If this is true, where has Congress's oversight been hiding during the wholesale outsourcing of the nation's drug supply?

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Tracy Emblem is an appellate attorney who has lived in Escondido since 1964. She received her law degree from National University School of Law in 1989, after working at the California Attorney General’s office, writs and appeals division.

Working closely with her longtime husband, attorney Thor Emblem, she supervises the civil research on the firm’s major cases and has authored numerous civil and criminal writs and appeals which have been published in the California courts. Known for solving seemingly impossible cases, special writs of habeas corpus.

Tracy ran as a candidate in the June 2010 California Democratic primary for the 50th Congressional District's nomination and lost despite building many coalitions and receiving many state and national endorsements for a first time candidate. 

The rain in Rancho Santa Fe stays mainly in the way...What the heck is that, 'Wet Stuff'?

OK, it wasn't exactly Hurricane Katrina, 'Apocalypse Now', or even a lot of precipitation. But it was September rain around, and down, in Rancho Santa Fe, and surrounding environs.

Brief, heavy downpours drenched the Village -- and smack dab in the middle of Rancho Days, how rude -- but it was not much more than one-tenth of an inch through afternoon.

However, the rain played havoc with traffic. More than 40 road accidents were reported by the California Highway Patrol by 3 p.m. Rush hour traffic along Interstates 805 and 5 "rushed" along about 10 to 15 miles per hour, with an accident causing minor injuries just south of Manchester Avenue about 3 p.m. wrecking the afternoon commute.

"The clouds are moving 15-20 mph, so while it might rain heavily, it is not staying in one place," said Ken Clark, a forecaster for Accuweather.

What there were, and a lot of them, were cloud-to-ground lightning strikes.  About 1,000 were reported around the area since midnight, according to Rob Balfour, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. at Rancho Bernardo.

"This kind of weather is rare, but it does occur," Balfour said. "It has happened about once a year over the 12 years I've been here."

Air said to be "unstable" - much like the Padres playoff hopes, but we digress - was the cause as it spread north-northwest across the region and the day, affecting Rancho Santa Fe and surrounding areas, according to the weather service.

Fire, and emergency crews, reported several small grass, and tree, fires caused by lightning, including the one posted on YouTube from a Kearny Mesa office worker, re-posted at the end of the story.

Lightning was kind of dangerous, but that wasn't the end of it for area pets. John Van Zante, Helen Woodward Animal Center public relations manager, sounded the alarm, as a friendly reminder for pet owners.

"Our SoCal dogs and cats hear thunder and see lightening so seldom," Van Zante said. "On days like this, they are easily frightened. They do things they might never do otherwise. They jump fences, dig holes, and just run as far and as fast as they can to get away from the thunder and lightning.

"Unfortunately, wherever they go....there's just more thunder and lightening," Van Zante said. "The best way to keep your pets safe is to make sure that they are indoors, do not have an 'escape route,' and that they have comfortable places where they can hide or seek safety if they feel the need.

"Leave on the radio or television so they have some 'white noise'. This ain't rocket science. Thunder scares us....and we KNOW what's going on. Take a few precautions to make sure your best friend is safe and secure," Van Zante said.

Precautions and danger aside, many people enjoyed a change in attitude as they enjoyed a change in the weather.

So, enjoy!

 SDSU Watchdog Institute Reports: Congressman Brian Bilbray representing Rancho Santa Fe 'still quiet about cigar parties'

In Washington: Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Carlsbad) still is refusing to talk about the cigar club parties he and his senior staff attended and what, if any, discussions they had with lobbyists at the soirées. His spokesman, Fritz Chaleff, did not return phone calls on Friday and today seeking an interview with the congressman.-- Brooke Williams, SDSU Watchdog Institute

(Ah-Ha Rancho Santa Fe News coverage may be found at   http://tiny.cc/rp6ib. We also have filed several requests for comment -- generally in response to Bilbray office news releases sent out concerning his immigration policy views and attendance at North County events -- but have not received any acknowledgment. -- Dan Weisman)

Government ethics experts called for the congressman’s office to be open about Staff Congressional Cigar Association activities after the Watchdog Institute reported Bilbray had advanced bills that would benefit the clients of some lobbyists connected to the club. The editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune also demanded transparency.

Bilbray’s senior policy adviser, Gary Kline, is an officer of the club. He also has not returned calls seeking an interview.

In July, the Huffington Post first reported lobbyists were on the board of the club and involved in hosting its parties. The cigar association is one of 20 House-approved staff groups. Bilbray sponsored it in April 2009.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brooke Williams is assigned by the SDSU Watchdog Institute to cover the San Diego congressional delegation in Washington D.C. and can be reached atbrookewilliams@watchdoginstitute.org or 202-615-3551.

Dog Beach as presented by Ben Sever, Ah-Ha photos.

They never know who will show. They never know who will march. But every year, July 4 y'all, upwards of 3,000 people drape themselves in red, white and good old blue lining the length of Paseo Delicias to celebrate America's grand old birthday.

Rancho Santa Fe celebrates the Fourth of July as only Rancho Santa Fe can, classy, fun and hip, hip hooray.

For the 29th year in a row, the community's ad hoc parade -- come as you are, but unfortunately, don't bring your dog for paws may get scorched -- forms at 12:15 p.m. at the Rancho Santa Fe Association parking lot on Avenida de Acacias.

Richard Scuba, a Rancho Santa Fe legend, died three years ago, but he, and fellow members of the Rancho Santa Fe Polo Club -- a polo club without any ponies, players or polo fields, by the way -- started this patriotic fiesta that continues today under the proud guidance of former military special ops soldier turned real estate agent Chaco Clotfelter.

"We never have a clue who will show up," the ebullient Scuba used to say, "for we are... (more)

[Tom DeLonge's house is at 18433 Via Candela in Rancho Santa Fe, now being offered for just under $5 million, 25 percent less than what he spent on the house, renovations and decor, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The single-story house first listed for $6.25 million in 2007 sits on 1.1. acres in a gated golf community. He bought the house for $5.5. million in 2005 and wife Jennifer, an interior designer, redecorated the five-bedroom, five-bath, 6,500-square foot home that was built in 2003. -- WSJ]

I guess it makes sense that rockers as rich as the guys in blink 182 can afford to deep discount. "I guess this is growing up..." and all that, dontcha know.

o it's kind of a hoot to discover that in 2007, three years before Tom DeLonge opted out of homeownership in Rancho Santa Fe, the debut album by +44 with Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker included a track dissing Hoppus' former neighbors in oh-so-upscale neighborhood.

His rage against the Rancho is mainly directed at the neighborhood's homeowners association. Hoppus told newstimeslive.com “There's a song called ‘Lillian’ on the record that's about people that try to control other people's lives...And there's a place in San Diego called Rancho Santa Fe, which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my life. It's country sides, rolling hills, there's trees everywhere. It's this gorgeous place, and it's filled with some of the most backstabbing, evil, just bitter, bitter people in the world."

"The homeowners association is very strict and it's strange because everybody who lives there is very wealthy…They're just bitter and it's a sour, sour community. The woman who started the homeowners association there is a woman named Lillian. So it's kind of about people trying to control one another.”

Hoppus seems pretty bitter and sour himself, judging from the tune's lyrics:

"The place I used to live, made me feel like a tourist - I couldn't coexist with the cold and suspicious - When the last remaining left was starting to filter - It seemed the perfect time to step into the future

Your heart is no grave to be perfectly honest - Your mouth's a smoking gun -And you smile while your twisting the knife in my stomach - Until everything is gone - Take all you can from me I've got weak constitution - I'm led so easily So easily

I left it all behind, in the dead of last winter - I left it all behind, but the question still lingers - So long forgotten friends, no, you don't know the difference - Between love and submission, and I'm not that obedient...

This House Will Change Lives

Reportedly, Tom DeLonge is selling his 5-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom Rancho Santa Fe, California home. For just under $8 million, you, too, can live like the lead singer of Angels and Airwaves. Or, if you prefer, you can run around in your white underpants and pretend to be old Blink-182 Tom DeLonge. Either way, I am sure he wants you to buy the house.

 The realtor's site in no way mentions this is Tom DeLonge's house, so they're probably wondering why this one house is getting so much Web traffic. Meanwhile, I'm just trying to figure out why anyone needs five and a half bathrooms.

 I was somewhat skeptical about whether or not this was truly Tom's house, but upon reading some of the flowery descriptions, I'm pretty sure it's the real deal:

"Appearing to float on water above a front reflecting pool and rear waterscape feature, this elegant and privately located retreat...."

 [By coincidence, it is entirely possible that Tom DeLong walks on water, so it would make sense that his house would do something similar.]

 "sliding doors that dramatically open the home to the outside...."

[Dramatic doors? Really?]

 "...this extraordinary home must be seen to be believed."

 [Much like the music of Angels and Airwaves, which must be heard to be believed.]

 Anyway, if you buy it, let me know how your life has been changed. I was going to try and get a mortgage on it for myself, but then I saw this: "...a car collector’s dream 8-car garage that includes a newly built 4-car air-conditioned section with glass display doors."Total deal breaker. What the hell am I going to do with an 8-car garage that is only half air conditioned? I'm not a fucking peasant.... (more)

'Belle at the Castle' featured show at Arts & Learning Conservatory Theater

Background

The Arts & Learning Conservatory is an outgrowth of Artistic Director Debora Wondercheck (Professor of Instrumental Music, Vanguard University) and her desire to envision youth of all backgrounds with a love of the arts through hands-on learning. A&L began in 2004 as a summer performing arts camp with 13 string musicians and 8 actors. The following summer the program had an enrollment of 142, and a successful school year program was launched in the fall. In 2005 Arts & Learning became Incorporated and recognized as a non-profit organization. Today the Arts & Learning Conservatory performs for over 3,500 people yearly and provides arts education to nearly 800 children of Orange County annually.

Mission

The Arts & Learning Conservatory creates a fabulous experience on & off stage for each student through its unique performing arts program offering dynamic instruction in theater, voice, instrumental classes, and dance. Arts & Learning'... (more)

The Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild Bites the Dust -- Union Bank Forecloses Art Show 

The latest Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild Show titled "Passions" opened this week to record gallery crowds but it didn't go off quite as advertised.

The show was scheduled to run until July 5. However, Union Bank, the Guild's landlord foreclosed on the Guild and the show. They have been evicted from their Paseo Delicias space with two weeks notice and must vacate the premises by the end of the month.

Looks like the Rancho Santa Fe Art  Guild has outs own problems with financial institutions, namely the Union Bank a subject of frequent criticism for its financial practices.

A larger than usual crowd gathered at the Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild on Thursday, it turned out because this was the final art show ever after 15 years at the location in the rear of the Union Bank building on Paseo Delicias.

Union Bank officials who were not named told Guild officials last week they had to be off the premises by the end of May. They said they needed to expand the bank facility.

Also evicted with one months warning, the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation. 

Guild officials said they had no new location identified or idea how they would find one. However, they said they had several good options they hoped to pursue. Until that time, it was unclear how members or the guild would show work locally.

The new show will be held at a member's house, according to officials.

Union Bank officials could not be reached for comment.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information, visit: http://ranchosantafeartguild.org

The Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild was formed in 1993 for the following purposes;

1. To support and encourage visual artists in our community and county

2. To provide funds for art education and outreach efforts such as scholarships for art majors, programs in schools, art programs, art teaching, education to the public on the benefits of art education and collecting. 

3. To provide talks on how important the arts are to our lives and society.

4. To host field trips to view collections and artist's studios.

5. To support a gallery with art for sale for the purpose of supporting guild activities and outreach programs.

The majority of our Artist Members are residents of Rancho Santa Fe (51%) and the surrounding area. Each member serves on one or more committees, or holds a position on the board of directors, or both.  Committees are organized around guild functions or events, and each committee has a chair who reports to the board.

 The Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild maintains 501 c3 status.

The primary Guild functions and events are as follows;

Hanging and promoting new art exhibits in our main gallery and several satellite galleries every 2 months.

Fund Raising events throughout the year in support of the guild and our charities.

The Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild strives to provide a focus on art in our lives, community, and county. We provide a place where our residents can browse the latest show in our gallery, attend receptions and fundraisers, and purchase art knowing that proceeds support local charities and outreach programs. Please join us and visit our gallery!

 One of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, the tragic tale of two young star-crossed lovers, Romeo and
 Juliet, whose romance will leave you believing in
 everlasting love.

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?”

 Romeo talks directly to the audience. He seeks their advice. He includes them in the story as characters who may either help him or hinder him.

 In North Coast Rep. Theatre School’s 2013 production of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, director Benjamin Cole takes his cues directly from Shakespeare and invites the audience to participate as active members of the character’s world.

 Observing techniques that Shakespeare’s original acting company may have used will hopefully make the play more active for the actors, and more engaging for the audience. The lights will remain ON the entire performance to remind both audience and actors that in Shakespeare’s world there was no electricity. The actors could see who was watching them and indeed intended to use them to help... (more)

Swedish design uses pale colors to lighten rooms...

 In a country that is dark for half of the year, the Swedes have come to cleverly use color to lift their spirits and brighten dark, gloomy spaces.

White and the palest, powdery soft shades of blue are often seen in Swedish design, and bring a lightness to the interiors of this northern European style.

Subject to many influences, Swedish design closely identifies with the Gustavian style, named after King Gustav III. Inspired by French court pieces, Swedish style simplifies the ornateness and busy details of the French influence, as this region has plainer taste.

The Swedes love their simplicity. Pared down versions in furnishings with clean lines, minimal carved detail, gentle curves and legs that are delicate and taper to the floor are common in Swedish homes.

Wood is crucial in Swedish style.  Much of the country is forested and virtually all of the furniture is made of those woods. Through the centuries, the Swedes have developed a talent for painting pieces to make them look sophisticated and refined with soft finishes and subtle backgrounds.

Painted, bleached or stained woods in pale tones of white or gray with distressing retains its elegance that is 18th century Neoclassical design.

Today, reproduction furniture is made by Swedish craftspeople.  Ann Millang, owner of St. Barths Home in Laguna Niquel (formerly Swedish Blonde Furniture Inc. in North Carolina), recently had her home photographed in Laguna Beach by Edie Van Breems who authored a book titled “Swedish Interiors in America.”

“Things are changing in the industry due to competition from China,” Ann said.  “I have tried very hard to remain loyal to my Swedish factories since we have developed most of the designs with them and want them to do well. They are still using Swedish hardwoods and doing hand carved details on all the chairs and our bed finials. We are working with other countries such as Belgium, that still have the Northern influence of light finishes and woods, but with a bit more edge.”

In traditional Swedish interiors, accessories are kept to a minimum, allowing open space and light to take center stage.  Chosen for their usefulness and their virtual appeal, accessories include crystal and painted chandeliers, wood gilt framed mirrors to reflect what light there is, natural raffia or light colored woven textured rugs, soft, pale ceramics and clear glass pieces in simple shapes.

Simple woven and textured  cotton and linen fabrics are commonly used for upholstery, window treatments and bedding in Swedish design. Padded headboards and canopy beds are popular.  

Yards and yards of white fabric mounted on a coronet or attached with ring on the ceiling are often seen. When patterns are used, they are in the form of checks, stripes or delicate florals.

Predominant colors are pale blues and soft grays on a white background. The overall effect is minimalist. There is a lot of harmony with the simplicity of these colors and fabrics that create a serene Scandinavian feel.

Calm interiors, soothing pale color palettes, elegance with a lightness in color and mood, formal but not stuffy with a comfortable, casually aged feel – that is the essence of Swedish style.

AWE Center non-profit foundation holds day camp, offers health and alkaline water plans...

 For more info: http://bheauviewranch.com/home

Arts. Health and wellness. Equestrian education. And more. The AWE Center Foundation at Bheau View Ranch is coming on strong in 2013 with a variety of programs and opportunities fit for fulfilling resolutions, not to mention helping create a better you and yours.

The AWE Center is a non-profit 501.c foundation whose mission is to preserve the balance of nature for  future generations amidst the ever-growing pressure of development.  In association with Bheau View Ranch, it shares the property that has been the home of hundreds of rescued horses.

Ideally situated in the Merriam Mountains on the east side of Twin Oaks, San Marcos in San Diego’s North County, it has the unique feature of high alkaline, high mineral content waters from a 1,000-foot deep well.

 "I came here because Dr. Vaughn Harada, who was treating me, told me about the water and later held a regenerative lifestyle seminar. The only water that tested higher than this water is in Japan. I could really feel the difference. It was like my body just craves it now. The water is smoother and has more texture to it."

-- Merle Morgan-Grainge, M.S. Oriental Medicine, Dipl. Ac, L.Ac.,  a highly regarded Physician of Oriental Medicine, lecturer and Medical Qigong instructor with a private clinical practice in Los Angeles.

Bheau View Ranch hosts its winter camp 2013 for students ages 7 to 17. The daily 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. program continues through Jan. 18. This camp gives children a healthy program of activities with the emphasis on active. This means horse and pony introductory training, grooming and basic vet care. Students learn how to communicate with horses through body language and also learned what horses were trying to communicate through their movements. Camp also includes jewelry making, painting with watercolors, and story writing stories.

New for 2013, the center has been accepting new memberships. These represent valuable savings and help support the community.

Annual $199 Membership $199 

Includes:

--1 Free Gallon of Water a Month ($60 Value)
--1 Free Mud/Water Hole Soak a Year ($55 Value)
--10% Discount off of Spa Services and Water Hole Soak ($10-$50 value)
--10% Discount on Gift Certificates
--Members Only Appreciation Event Once a Year
Referral Rewards: 20 Referral Rewards for each person that a Member refers and purchases 5 Gallons of water or purchases a Spa Service.
-- Members Accumulating 100 Rewards receive 5 Free Gallons of water ($25 value).

To purchase memberships visit: Membership Link

For more information and to make reservations, call 760-877-1055, or visit  http://bheauviewranch.com/home .

22 years ago John Elway sent me to the Pro Bowl armed with many Sony Watchman TV's...

  (The National Football League today plays its Pro Bowl all-star game in Hawai'i. This marks the 22nd anniversary of my one, and only, appearance with the NFL all-stars at Aloha Stadium. I'm DVR'ing the BIG GAME, so don't tell me no stinkin' scores. This is MY Super Bowl in some respects, and I can thank John Elway for the honor.)

John Elway sent me to the Pro Bowl. Guess who is my favorite all-time NFL player.

The Pro Bowl generally is a laid-back affair, past and future, at Aloha Stadium. It features special rules such as no blitzing, no zone defenses, no trick offensive formations.

The games are low-key for a while, that is until the second half when the all-star competitive juices -- not, those kind, lighten up -- kick in and some rules are better honored in their breach than their observance.

But the Pro Bowl is an afterthought as yet, the week before the Super Bowl this year, and in past years the week following the Super Bowl when most everybody has gone football home.

Not for me. The Pro Bowl is mine, baby, all mine, thanks to Elway.

ESPN, 22 years ago, staged a "You Pick the Play -- Quarterback Challenge" contest. For four Sundays in November, viewers of the ESPN game of the week could call a 1-900 number at $5.95 a pop, limited to one call per quarter with the objective of picking the next play a team would run.

ESPN divided the field into sections by yard markers and hash-marks. Plays were assigned point totals. A running play to the right side was one point. A 10-yard pass to the left side was three points. A completed pass of more than 25 yards between the hash marks of the middle of the field had the highest point total. It was five freakin' points.

Under the very fine print section of the rules, ESPN deigned to disclose a toll-free number would be provided if requested. I believe there was some kind of law requiring this. I requested, baby, and I got to work. I studied the offenses of the teams that would appear in the four contest games.

 Elway's Broncos de Denver was one of the teams, and even played in two of the games. It soon became apparent Elway was the guy who was going to punch my golden ticket to Diamond-head. This was the one guy with the arm, desire and ability to max out my point total with long bombs down the middle of the field. I figured he was good for at least one per quarter of any game he played.

So it went and so I went. I missed one the four games for some reason. Guess I had a life beyond football then, can't remember. But basically, I won every quarter of the three games -- two by Elway -- I played. It all came down to that toll-free number and Elway's brain. People didn't much hanker to the $5.95 per call price tag. As an Elway expert, I rode his arm all the way to paradise.

I ended up with eight Sony mini-TV's, a sports video collection, and an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii, and cash, for the Pro Bowl.

Add 2011:

I won two more Sony watchman TV's, too.

However, I was watching one of the Sunday night games with -- believe it or not, one of my 89 Facebook Friends today for random reasons -- Also Aswell. We had just finished watching that darn new show at the time, "Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire" starring Will Smith.

I told him about the contest. Being a highly intuitive artist, Also also known as Chuck said if I won a TV during the next quarter, I should give it to him for the sake of karma. So, he got one TV.

Another TV was lost when Bruce, the curator of the Tulane Jazz Archive, and my supervisor, answered the archive phone. (I used several phone numbers as I recall as a safety measure.) He said, no, Dan would never enter a  contest like that. As I tried to yell from the back of the library to give me the damn phone, he hung it up with a grand flourish. Frenemy to the end,  me bad, he said with a wry smile.

I kept two TVs and sold the rest, mainly to Asian immigrants, although to an Iranian native as well. No matter what price I set, or how we negotiated, the final price always seemed to be $150. Guess that was market value.

One time, a scraggy-looking semi-street guy came around with several small kids and his wife in some ragged kind of jalopy. He said they were living in the car and wanted the mini-TV for entertainment. Was it true? Dunno, but I just gave him the TV. What the heck, they worked like s*** anyway. Sony only sold the model a few years.)

The trip was awesome, of course. I hung out with Japanese girl tourists who gave me strange tasting candy and a...well, PG-rated here. I sat behind the Miami Dolphins offensive line in the stands, amazing them with my play calling expertise as I shouted out each play before it happened.

Saint Morten Andersen, a favorite of mine, one of the top kickers in all-time accuracy, shanked the game-winning field goal attempt. A Dolphin turned around, laughed and advised how he saw Morton partying his arse away the night before at Waikiki.

Ah, good times. ESPN discontinued the contest after that. However, whatever, Elway earned a fan for life.

GOOD GRIEF: (Voice of) "Peanuts" Charlie Brown in a San Diego jail, accused of stalking and terroristic threats

Maybe Lucy jerked away one too many faux footballs. Perhaps Peppermint Patty piddled away too many brain cells. Or Linus, Snoopy and the gang got snared in a web tangled by 50 years of arrested development.

For GOOD GRIEF, the voice of Charlie Brown on several "Peanuts" television specials, now languishes in a San Diego jail, after authorities arrested him 8 p.m. Sunday at the San Ysidro Port of Entry as he returned from Tijuana. A background check revealed a San Diego County Sheriff's Department warrant for his arrest.

Peter Robbins (right) — aka the voice of Charlie Brown — poses more than a decade after the mid-60s “Peanuts” classics with creator Charles Schulz and Sally Dryer, who voiced Lucy Van Pelt. (courtesy of PETER ROBBINS )

Peter Robbins, the 56-year-old voice actor best known as the voice of Charlie Brown in the 1965 classic "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and the 1966 sequel "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is accused of stalking and threatening a former girlfriend as well as the plastic surgeon he paid to give her a boob job.

Robbins officially was charged Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court with two counts of stalking and 10 counts of making criminal threats. He pleaded not guilty and remained incarcerated on Friday, unable to make bail set at $550,000 by San Diego Superior Court Judge David M. Szumowski. A conviction could translate into a maximum sentence of nine years in prison, attorneys said.

 What's more, the longtime Oceanside, Calif. resident and former voice of Charlie Brown, reportedly has terminal pancreatic cancer. The arrest warrant cited his "increasingly erratic behavior," adding, "he told others he has nothing to lose."

Charlie Brown may have been a bit of a slacker, to say the least, but the voice of Charlie Brown, now all growed up and out on his own, was nothing if not persistent  when it came to the alleged pursuit of love. He is accused of threatening his former girlfriend with up to 37 calls to her cell phone in a 24-hour period demanding repayment for the breast augmentation surgery.

Robbins also said he would kill the ex-girlfriend, and her son, if she did not give back his dog and car. In a twist sure to pluck the heartstrings of devoted Peanuts fans, Robbins named his dog, what else, Snoopy.

The voice of Charlie Brown continued to be a clown, according to authorities, by continuing his threats during a confrontation New Year's Eve at a San Diego hotel room. In this case, he demanded, in person, a full refund for the breast augmentation surgery his former girlfriend had when they were together.

Robbins allegedly beat Snoopy, his dog, in front of her on New Year's Eve, saying he would continue beating the dog and kill her if she didn't get his money back. Prosecutors said Robbins grabbed his ex-girlfriend by the neck and shoved her to the floor before fleeing the scene.

Robbins also is accused of threatening the plastic surgeon, harassing her office with so many phone calls, she hired an armed guard for the La Jolla clinic. Prosecutors said Robbins recently bought a gun and started practicing at a shooting range.

During a jailhouse interview Friday with KFMB-TV, Channel 8 in San Diego, Robbins said he needed a mental evaluation to make sure he was OK and not a threat to himself or others. It may have been a more effective plea if the jailed former child voice actor hadn't a bunch of snot dripping down his nose throughout the interview.

And it may be a while before he gets back to his folowers on Facebook, where his page is dedicated to Peter "Charlie Brown" Robbins and recently featured a series of posts about Lance Armstrong's Oprah interview and solicitations for recipe ideas from "fans."

iPhoneography: An art form exploding at Macworld/iWorld

 With better lenses being packed into tinier phones, photography has become something almost anyone can participate in now.

At this year's Macworld/iWorld, the convention is highlighting the explosion of photo-themed apps and gear that has come out for the iPhone. These “iPhoneography” sessions will teach attendees how to turn the iPhone into a mobile photography lab.

“It's becoming an emerging area of interest for Apple product users,” says Paul Kent, Macworld vice president and general manager. “It's one of the hottest areas for both products and what people are doing interesting things with.”

It's an art form that's beginning to explode, and in the last two years a flood of apps and equipment have sprung up to support it. That's why Macworld/iWorld is featuring a host of Tech Talks and showroom floor space devoted to iPhoneography, Kent said.

The photo theme kicks off Wednesday with a full-day workshop on the subject, called “iPhoneography: The Mobile... (more)

The Lemon Twist also rises: From the ashes to fresh strawberries and more...

Once a lonely spot on the wide open road from nowhere to far away, the Lemon Twist Fruit Stand has weathered fires, frost and floods over the last 30-plus years, only to emerge in 2013 with fresh local strawberries and much, much more. 

The legend that is the Del Dios Highway farm stand began in 1981 with two recent college graduates, best friends Katie Shull and Trudy Tunstall. They figured the scenic two-lane road from Escondido to Rancho Santa Fe would be the perfect spot for local fruit and fresh produce.

(Photos: Kaie Shull et al at this used to be the Lemon Twist after the 2007 fire.)

The surrounding area featured significant citrus production, including world class lemons and oranges. The Shull family, as well as the McKrinks on the maternal side, ran significant citrus acreage, later opening packing and growing operations still in business at nearby Vista.

The San Dieguito River Valley that runs alongside the stand has flooded several times. Cold weather, on occasion, has hurt the nearby citrus farms. All that was trivial, however, compared to the 2007 Witch Creek Fire that raced down Del Dios Gorge to Lusardi Preserve utterly devastating the small wood farm stand structure along with anything that stood in its path.

With only a small, fragmented outer gate still standing, Robin Shull, the 30 year old co-owner and manager, and family, set out to rebuild the Lemon Twist, going bigger and better, to the delight of an ever-growing number of highway travelers. The reconstructed stand is several times larger, featuring expanded facilities and offerings.

Since it's strawberry season in North County, dammit, the fresh crop of locally grown berries are going into everything from chocolate confections made with fresh daily fruit to salads, desserts and kitchen tables from hither to yon. The Lemon Twist has created a national name for itself in this regard with chocolate-dipped strawberries, and other fruits and gourmet products shipped from its online store.

Also available: Seasonal organic produce an citrus; gifts, local gourmet items, fruit and gift baskets; flowers, orchid, plans and succulent gardens; local, raw, organic Rancho Santa Fe honey, Talavera pottery, garden art, fountains and statuary.

The Lemon Twist is  at 8175 Del Dios Highway. It's open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. The website features additional information and online orders visit http://lemontwistfruitstand.com/ . The stand can be reached by phone at (858) 756-0826.