The Coast News INLAND EDITION
ESCONDIDO, SAN MARCOS, VISTA
VOL. 5, N0. 25
Rep. Hunter to resign seat after holidays
TURN TO HUNTER ON 17
DEC. 13, 2019
lighting up the season
By City News Service
REGION — Rep. Duncan Hunter, who pleaded guilty last week to a federal felony count for misusing $250,000 in campaign funds, announced Dec. 6 his impending resignation from Congress will take place sometime “after the holidays.” Hunter, R-Alpine, who faces a potential five-year prison sentence, previously stated in a TV interview that he would step down and that there would be a “seamless transition to whoever takes this seat next,” but last week’s announcement provided a clearer timeline for his resignation. “Shortly after the holidays I will resign from Congress,” his statement read. “It has been an honor to serve the people of California’s 50th District, and I greatly appreciate the trust they have put in me over these last 11 years.” Hunter, who had planned to seek another term in the November 2020 election, is scheduled to be
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SAN MARCOS — Samahna Stefanich of San Marcos said she knew the day her son, Zachary Olea, enlisted into the U.S. Army, there would be sacrifices to make. Afterall, she said, her husband was a member of the elite SEAL Team Six for eight years, making the
who has lived in San Marcos since 2005. “ Yet in my heart, I’m always hoping that he will be able to come home. I remind myself that my son is a soldier, and nothing is promised and nothing can be expected right now. I have to find gratitude for what we do have: A love and connection that reaches all
around the globe.” With that gratitude in mind, Samahna Stefanich went to social media to ask the public for help in sending her son a bit of California cheer. Samahna Stefanich made a request on Facebook last week, asking the public to consider contrib-
By Steve Horn
uting to a care package that will be sent to Zachary, who is currently stationed at Ft. Drum, New York. She asked that letters or cards be sent to her home in San Marcos so that she can then send them on to Zachary. “While I was making TURN TO SOLDIER ON 7
TURN TO PALOMAR ON 17
Thousands of people were on hand for San Marcos annual Christmas tree lighting at the Civic Center on Dec. 7. The event which included fake snow and a visit from Santa - has been held in the city since 1994. Story on Page 22. Photo by Stephanie Stang
family accustomed to the challenges of the military. Still, the holidays do not get easier, especially when Zachary is away, Samahna Stefanich said. “Each year I’ve known that his leave requests may not be approved, especially during the holidays,” said Samahna Stefanich,
Blake talks school’s financial challenges SAN MARCOS — In an 80-minute Dec. 11 interview with The Coast News, Palomar College President Joi Lin Blake discussed the “high risk” of fiscal insolvency faced by the college, live-streaming of Governing Board meetings, tense relations with faculty and staff, as well as her vision for righting the economic ship at the community college. A potential part of that vision: cutting back benefits for full-time employees and streamlining some of the ways the college currently does business technologically speaking. But Blake also said that the college, and California community colleges generally, are starved for state budgetary money. Palomar College’s deficit currently sits at $12 million, according to the California Fiscal Crisis Management & Assistance Team (FCMAT). On Nov. 12, the FCMAT investigator who determined the “high risk” status presented a report to the Board of Governors concluding that “At the current pace, salary and benefit costs will consume 100% of the unrestricted general fund revenues in three years.” Blake said that, in response to FCMAT’s findings, she has cleared her schedule to work full time
San Marcos mom asks for letters of support for soldier son By Hoa Quach
Palomar cuts could hit benefits