The Coast News INLAND EDITION
.com ESCONDIDO, SAN MARCOS, VISTA
VOL. 5, N0. 18
SEPT. 4, 2020
Stone Brewing chooses Stipp as new CEO
COVID-19 takes toll on enrollment
By City News Service
ESCONDIDO — Stone Brewing, founded in San Diego in 1996 and ranked as the country’s ninth-largest craft brewery, Sept. 1 announced the hiring of Maria Stipp as CEO, effective Sept. 14. Stipp spent the past five years as CEO of Lagunitas Brewing Company and before that was president of ecoATM, a company launched in Stone’s hometown of San Diego. Prior to ecoATM, Stipp was executive vice president at STIPP Activision, where she was responsible for “Call of Duty” and “Guitar Hero,” and further in the past, she did stints at Miller Brewing Co. and Kelloggs. “Maria has all the qualities we were looking for in a CEO,” said Steve Wagner, Stone Brewing co-founder and interim CEO. “She brings experience from a very well-respected brewery, and experience from outside the industry too. She lives up to our values and has long admired our revolutionary spirit,” he said. “Most importantly, she’ssomeone co-founder Greg Koch and I are honored and excited to work with. And the latter is a must, because we’re sticking around!’’ Stipp will oversee Stone’s West and East Coast brewing production facilities in Escondido and Richmond, Virginia, respectively, along with two Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens locations and seven Stone Brewing Tap Room locations nationwide, and oversee distribution to all 50 states and more than 40 countries. She will also hold a seat on the Stone Brewing Board of Directors.
By Catherine Allen
change to the sign and its companion along Santa Fe Avenue between Vista Village and Civic Center drives. Both signs will read “Vista” with “Paseo Santa Fe” tucked below. The decision came after a spirited discussion among councilmembers. “We’re going to be building another sign, have another unveiling … and 3,000 people signed a petition to change the wording because Vista wasn’t on there,” said Councilman Joe Green, who brought the issue to the council. “All I wanted to do was put it out
REGION — Early data from two school districts show enrollment dropped as distance learning began. Some families are opting in for homeschooling and other alternatives instead. San Marcos Unified and Encinitas Union Elementary School Districts started the 2020-21 year with slumps in enrollment, compared to the same day last year. Previously, both relatively consistent enrollment since 2015, according to Ed-Data. Disenrollment appears more common among younger students, as Encinitas Union’s 11% drop illustrates. This decrease stems directly from COVID-19, Assistant Superintendent Joe Dougherty said. For San Marcos Unified, 33% of disenrollment in elementary came from the transitional kindergarten and kindergarten levels, according to Assistant Superintendent Mark Schiel. Total enrollment in San Marcos dropped 5% year on year, comparing the district’s data from day three of each school year. Broken down by grade level, the district saw its largest decrease in middle school, which lost 9% enrollment compared to 2019. Elementary enrollment dipped 7%, while high school enrollment gained 1%. “[San Marcos Unified] takes pride in the education that we provide,” Schiel said. “We believe that our enrollment will return to normal when we are able to return to in-person instruction.” Between the third and fifth day of the school year, San Marcos Unified added 71 elementary students (+1%), Schiel said. Likewise, Dougherty believes enrollment in Encinitas will climb once the uncertainty of COVID-19 subsides. But others think enrollment may not bounce back
TURN TO ARCHES ON 11
TURN TO ENROLLMENT ON 12
BUILDING THEIR CASE FOR REOPENING
On Aug. 28, with Legoland in Carlsbad as the backdrop, Supervisor Jim Desmond and a group North County mayors called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to allow more businesses to open, including Legoland, which employs nearly 3,000 people. Behind Desmond are Vista Mayor Judy Ritter, Escondido Mayor Paul McNamara (blocked from view), San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones and Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall. STORY ON PAGE 3. Courtesy photo
Vista approves renaming gateway arches By Steve Puterski
VISTA — More than 20 years ago, the Vista City Council focused up on revitalizing and cleaning up Paseo Santa Fe, more commonly known as downtown. Riddled with crime and prostitution, the city was aggressive in its pursuit to change the image and began a long process of doing so. Four years ago, with much of those goals met, the city unveiled its gateway arch, but the reaction was mixed. The sign read Paseo Santa Fe, leaving some residents and those residing outside the city a bit con- THE GATEWAY ARCH at Vista Village Drive and Santa Fe Avefused. But on Aug. 25, the nue will be renamed with “Vista” being the prominent name council approved a name and “Paseo Santa Fe” underneath. Photo by Steve Puterski
