PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92025 PERMIT NO. 94
The Coast News
INLAND EDITION
.com
VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO
VOL. 3, N0. 12
JUNE 16, 2017
OceansidePendleton fire burns 85 acres By Promise Yee
Here’s Mud in Your Eye!
A participant in Sunday’s Camp Pendleton Mud Run crawls through the final mud pit as she approaches the finish line. More photos on Page 7. Photo by Pat Cubel
Hotel robot sparks excitement, criticism By Aaron Burgin
A new “employee” roaming the halls of the new Fairfield Inn and Suites in San Marcos is getting a lot of attention — for better or for worse. “Hubert” is a 2-foottall, stainless steel “relay robot” that looks like a trash receptacle, but it actually delivers items to guests’ rooms such as shampoo, drinks and towels. Hotel owners say that the bot has stolen the show at the hotel, as guests can be frequently seen snapping pictures or taking cellphone videos of Hubert on its delivery runs. “It has been phenomenal, people are following it around, they are using
it to see how it works and wanting to know how it gets to the rooms,” said Cameron Lamming, co-owner of RAR Hospitality, which owns and operates the hotel. “There are often two or three kids filming it with their cell phones and following it around.” Hubert is guided through the hotel by a series of sensors throughout the establishment. When the front desk gets a call, they log the request into the system, grab the item, put it into Hubert’s “head” compartment and program the room number into its system. The robot then rolls to the elevator and can call the elevator and the floor
automatically. Once it is out, the robot rolls to the room and sends a call to the guest’s hotel phone alerting them of the robot’s arrival. Once the item has been delivered, Hubert returns to the front desk. “It’s efficient, it’s quick and spares the front desk a lot of time delivering sundries to the room and allows them to focus on arriving and departing guests,” Lamming said. Lamming said the robot is part of the company’s strategy to introduce automation into the hospitality industry, which has been slower to embrace the trend compared to other branches of the industry, such as restaurants and fast-food
“Hubert” delivers items to rooms at a San Marcos hotel. Courtesy photo
our hotels,” Lamming said. establishments. “Part of our core phi- “Our intent is not to change losophy is to try to do things any of our operating strucdifferently to create a difTURN TO ROBOT ON 7 ferent experience at each of
OCEANSIDE — Shortly after 1 p.m. on June 13, 911 calls flooded in reporting heavy smoke coming from the northern area of the Oceanside Municipal Golf Course. Twenty-nine firefighters responded to the blaze, including two firefighters battling the flames from a helicopter. The incident began as a heavy brush fire burning up the slope behind the golf course. It progressed rapidly due to 12 to 15 mile per hour winds. When firefighters arrived the fire had already consumed 2 acres. A unified command was established with Camp Pendleton and a direct attack to slow the fire was launched. A strike team also defended the Pilgrim Creek Estates community, where residents were able to shelter in place. A voluntary evacuation location was set up at the community center for residents’ needs. During firefighting efforts a drone entered the area, slowing air water drop operations. An area advisory was sent out to cease all use of drones. Conditions were cleared and air efforts successfully slowed the fire. This allowed ground crews to bring the fire under control within three hours. Mop-up of hot spots continued all day June 14. The fire burned 78 acres in Oceanside and 7 acres in Camp Pendleton. Douglas Drive was temporarily closed from North River Road to Vandergrift Boulevard during the fire. One firefighter was transported to TriCity Medical Center for minor injuries. The cause of the fire is believed to be arson. Jose Torres was questioned as a suspect, and detained by Oceanside Police on an unrelated warrant. The incident is still under investigation.
Vista’s Wolters catching on with the Colorado Rockies By Jay Paris
Tony Wolters, a former shortstop, starts at catcher. Courtesy of Colorado Rockies
The Rockies’ Tony Wolters settles in and easily squats behind the plate. But at one time, he had to squint to see a vision others saw first. “You picture your whole life at your position,’’ Wolters said. “I grew up dreaming about being a professional baseball player, being a shortstop and making diving plays.’’ Wolters had done that since starring in Rancho Buena Vista Little League. He would duplicate that performance at every level until being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2010. As a Rancho Buena Vista High School shortstop.
But as of right now, he’s the starting catcher for the first-place Colorado Rockies. Things change and they did so in a positive way for Wolters in 2013. He swapped his infielder’s glove for one belonging to catchers and he’s caught on with the Rockies. “You talk about switching from shortstop to catcher in that short of a period of time?” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “That’s amazing. It seems like yesterday he was at RBV versus La Costa Canyon and now he’s at Petco Park.” Wolters’ journey was unique, which makes his story more compelling. Embracing the tools of ignorance and shedding his hope of being a shortstop wasn’t easy.
“When you get the opportunity to play another position, you try to get those visions in your head,” Wolters said. “That is one of the biggest things, the image, the picture. Can I see myself as a catcher and making a really cool block or throwing somebody out or getting a pitcher through a game? “Just trying to get that picture in my mind was difficult because I hadn’t seen it before. Once I got that I said, ‘OK, I can do this up and I’m up for the challenge.’ ” Still making the pledge and producing in the Majors is a considerable lift. “This is a tough one,” said TURN TO WOLTERS ON 24