The Coast News, Dec. 20, 2012

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PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94

THE COAST NEWS

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MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

VOL. 26, NO. 43

DEC. 21, 2012

Al Cabacungan shows an emergency kit that Be Ready, Inc. is preparing for a private company. The kit includes flashlights, gloves, a first aid kit, and other supplies. Photo by Rachel Stine

Doomsday businesses rising to meet demand

REMEMBERING RAVI Crowds gather for the memorial service of Ravi Shankar at the Self-Realization Fellowship for Ravi Shankar, the sitar virtuoso who died at the age of 92 near his Encinitas home Dec. 11. One of the giants of 20th century music, he spearheaded the worldwide spread of Indian music and culture. Photo by Jared Whitlock

Del Mar comes to aid of smaller fair By Bianca Kaplanek

DEL MAR — Christmas came ear ly for the Modoc District Fair after the 22nd District Agricultural Association board of directors agreed at the Dec. 11 meeting to give $100,000 to its significantl y smaller counterpart in the northeast corner of the state. The 34th District Agricultural Association was in danger of having to permanently shut down. The money from the 22nd D AA, which governs the Del Mar F airgrounds, will keep the Modoc Fair afloat for at least another year, but hopefully indefinitely as officials try to implement revenue-generating ideas that will allo w it to e ventually become self-sustainable. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m here to ask for charity,” Dannette DePaul, 34th DAA chief executive officer, said.“I’m not. I’m asking for support to allo w us to get into that business mode.”

TOP DOG Oceanside Police Officer James Smith and his K-9 Ner o win the esteemed Top Dog Award at the 17th Annual Riverside Canine B1 Trials.

Modoc County has a population of about 9,700. Slightly more than 500 people live in Cedarville,which is home to the fair, a four-day event that has been ongoing since 1920. The area hospital, elementary and high schools and clinic are also located in the small city. The economy is primaril y agriculture that includes sheep , cattle, commercial alfalfa and hay. During the offseason the facilities are rented to nonpr ofit organizations, businesses and locals f or events such as fundraisers, weddings, family reunions, blood drives and school activities. During disasters the site ser ves as a crisis center for humans and animals and is a cooling center during e xtreme heat conditions. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management use the fairgrounds for training as well as fire camp during the fire season. The fair began receiving state money

through horse racing revenues in 1935, but that funding sour ce was eliminated b y Sacramento in July of this year. Its current annual budget is about $355,000. Future revenue-generating ventures include guided wagon train and horseback tours, cattle drives and mountain bik e races or tours. DePaul said she is also working to have the site serve as a stopping point f or showers and camping for people attending Burning Man, an annual art and selfexpression event that draws tens of thousands of people to the nearb y Black Rock Desert of Nevada. DePaul estimates the ne w incomeproducing projects could generate about $83,500 a y ear. But with $239,000 in reserves and other pr ojected income and estimated expenses of about $377,700, she said the district won’t make it through the

Two Sections, 48 pages Arts & Entertainment . A10 Food & Wine . . . . . . . . A12 Legals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A18 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A15

TURN TO FAIR ON A16

HOW TO REACH US (760) 436-9737 Calendar: calendar@coastnewsgroup.com Community News: community@coastnewsgroup.com Letters to the Editor: letters@coastnewsgroup.com

By Rachel Stine

COAST CITIES — From terrorist attacks to major hurricanes, disasters do occur , and businesses are growing to help meet the demands of those wishing to prepare today for the emergencies of tomorrow. Del Mar’s The Vivos Group and Oceanside’ s Be Ready, Inc. are two such survival preparedness businesses. The Vivos Group, which builds luxury underground bunkers and sells spaces in those shelters for up to $85,000 per per son, and Be Ready, Inc. that sells household survival supplies. “I had a very strong,powerful inspiration that something devastating was coming that was going to be a life extinction event,”said Robert Vicino, about his inspir ation for starting the Vivos Group. “The impression that I w as left with is that I needed to build a shelter to hold thousands of people.” Vicino said he fir st had the idea to build bunk ers in the 1980s, but did not launch Vivos until 2007 after he had made his fortune with a number of successful businesses and patents. Gathering a team fr om his current real estate company, Vicino said he invested “millions of dollars and years of time” to design and build underground shelters to protect people from catastrophes ranging from nuclear attacks to hurricanes. Vicino and his w ebsite promote a v ast number of

doomsday theories. The website features information on nuclear terrorism, the Nibiru cataclysm (a collision or near miss of a planetary object with Earth), ancient prophesies about the end of time, and other disasters. Vivos’ chief venture is its six massive community bunkers, which have been built in secret locations throughout the U.S. and hold anywhere from 80 to 1,000 people for a y ear. Spaces in these community bunkers cost $85,000 to $25,000 per person, depending on the shelter and private accommodation options. Vivos advertises that its shelters contain enough resources for a year of autonomous survival. These shelters are also said to contain every type of necessar y living space,including private bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchens, gyms, libraries and detention facilities. To do so, Vicino said he and his hired consultants have researched every living necessity known to man, including the amount of toilet paper needed per person per year. Furthermore, Vivos requires people to go through an extensive application process before they are allowed to buy space in one of its large bunkers. Vicino said that theVivos Selection Committee screens and approves each individual for each bunker to ensur e TURN TO DOOMSDAY ON A16


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