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The Coast News
INLAND EDITION
.com
VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO
VOL. 13, N0. 29
OCT. 20, 2017
Runaway girl found safe in L.A. By Steve Puterski
SAN MARCOS — A proposed six-story building and 700-stall parking garage and pedestrian bridge proposed by Cal State San Marcos received the San Marcos Planning Commission’s unanimous support on Oct. 16¬. The commission voted 5-0, with two members absent, to approve the university’s conditional use permit request for the project, which will be locat-
REGION — A 15-year-old North County girl was found safe last week by Los Angeles police after running away on July 22. Seraphine Bustillos was located by officers in Venice, California, after one of the officers recognized her from previous contact, according to Brenda Condon, CEO of Cal Advocates for the Missing, a San Diego County-based nonprofit. Cal Advocates, along with two other organizations — Save in America and Team Amber — partnered with and also Sara Bustillos received assis- Courtesy photo tance from an unofficial group of individuals in Los Angeles to locate Bustillos after she went missing. “We don’t know that,” Condon said when asked why Bustillos ran away. “We knew she was with this guy … he had a record in Oregon. Her being a minor, it’s hard for us to say a whole lot.” Joseph Travers, executive director of the Oceanside-based nonprofit Saved in America, said his team came into the fold several weeks ago. They were able to locate Bustillos’ whereabouts via a social media investigation and worked with LAPD, the Santa Monica Police Department and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Depart-
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IT’S A BOY!
A river hippopotamus born three weeks ago at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido is a male, park officials said. The unnamed calf is the 12th born to mother Funani. Mother and son can be seen Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends at the park. STORY ON PAGE 11. Courtesy photo
Country club saga continues in Escondido By Steve Puterski
ESCONDIDO — Since the closure of the Escondido Country Club in 2013, the property has yet to be developed. New Urban West, Inc. wants to develop the property, dubbed “The Villages,” which calls for 392 homes, 46 acres of open space including a 32-acre green belt, four parks, a dog park and renovating the dilapidated clubhouse featuring a restaurant, bar and pool.
The Escondido Planning Commission will discuss the item — and either recommend for the City Council to move forward or reject the plan — during its Oct. 24 meeting at City Hall. The City Council, which will then either approve or reject the plan, is set to hear the matter in November, although the date may change. Two separate residents groups are now lobbying the City Council for different projects. The Escondido
Country Club Homeowners Organization has objected to New Urban West’s plan for several years, while Renew Our Country Club is in support. “We just want a reasonable and responsible project,” Mike Slater, president of Escondido Country Club Homeowners Association, said. “ECCHO did a white paper on all the density transfers that were done
Planning panel OKs CSUSM complex By Aaron Burgin
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After a big growth spurt, a big decision: Washington commits to Oregon State By Aaron Burgin
Mission HIlls High’s Warren Washington poses with Oregon State head basketball coach Wayne Tinkle. Washington has verbally committed to play for the Beavers. Photo courtesy Washington family
SAN MARCOS — Warren Washington said he always believed he would play Division 1 college basketball, even when others couldn’t see it in him as a gangly, 5-foot-9 seventh grader. But then, he started to grow. By the start of high school, Washington shot up to 6-foot-4. By his sophomore year, he was 6-foot-9. Five years and more than one foot later, the 6-foot-11 Washington, who attends Mission Hills High School, recently achieved his goal of playing basketball at the highest collegiate level when he announced his verbal commitment to Oregon State University. “I’m just very excited to have the opportunity to play basketball in the Pac-12, it’s been a goal of mine
since I was a kid,” Washington said. Washington’s growth spurt caught many by surprise, including his family, whose members aren’t exactly short. His father, Calvin, is 6-foot-3, his mother, Jamie, is 5-foot11 and his brother, Calvin Jr., is 6-foot-6. “There are tall people in the family, we’ve got uncles on both sides that are fairly tall, but no one is as tall as Warren,” Calvin Washington Sr. said. “So for him to get to that height, I was surprised. We always talked about how the boys would be taller than me, and even though I thought Warren would be the tallest one because of his long arms and his wide shoulders, I never expected him to get to 6-11.” Warren was always one of the taller kids in his classes growing up,
but his father said he didn’t want his son to be pigeon-holed as the “big man” on his basketball teams. He urged travel coaches to teach him perimeter skills, so that even if he didn’t grow he could still be a collegiate basketball prospect. “We always strategized that, because we didn’t want him stuck in the post,” Calvin Washington Sr. said. “In North County, he was always the tall guy, but we didn’t know how tall he would get, and since I was paying for him to play (travel) basketball, I told coaches that you’re going to help us to get Warren where he wants to be as a player, not where he appears to be best for your team.” The family’s decision has paid dividends, as at 6-foot-11, coaches TURN TO WASHINGTON ON 26