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. 27, NO. 29
OCT. 4, 2013
Cadi, a yellow lab specifically trained in detecting drugs, alcohol, gunpowder and some medications, sniffs cabinets in an Oceanside High School classroom with her handler Tonya Anderson. Photo by Rachel Stine
MAY PEACE PREVAIL “May Peace Prevail on Earth,” that is the inscription, written in multiple languages on four sides of a peace pole, that was installed at Cottonwood Creek Park in Encinitas on Wednesday. The pole, gifted to the city by the San Dieguito Interfaith Ministerial Association, was also dedicated to the memory of the late Mayor Maggie Houlihan. Pictured from left: Ian Thompson, Mayor Teresa Barth, Dr. Bijan Zayer, Deputy Mayor Lisa Shaffer and Councilman Tony Kranz. Photo by Tony Cagala
Cities back smaller sand project in hopes of getting Coastal Commission approval By Jared Whitlock
ENCINITAS — A longterm sand project gained new life at last week’s Encinitas City Council meeting. Voting 4-1, Encinitas council members backed an alternative, scaled back version of the 50-year sand nourishment plan. With that, the project is once again due to go before the California Coastal Commission. After more than a decade of work, Encinitas and Solana Beach agreed on a draft replenishment plan this spring. The goal: Shore up infrastructure and widen sand areas to draw tourists as well as locals to beaches. But in July, an 8-3 Coastal Commission vote stopped the project in its tracks at a criti-
cal time. The eight coastal commissioners opposed said the previous plan dumped too much sand on beaches. This could unfavorably alter how waves break and hurt ecosystems in new marine protected areas, they argued. In response, the alternative plan calls for dredging less sand from offshore for placement on the shore. For Encinitas, beaches would still be nourished every five years under the alternative. Yet the first replenishment cycle would place 340,000 cubic yards of sand — half the A surfer catches a wave at Seaside Reef. The California Coastal amount of the plan submitted Commission denied the Encinitas and Solana Beach 50-year sand proj- to the Coastal Commission in ect, citing the threat to surf breaks as one concern. But several residents July — on beaches. And subat last week’s City Council meeting said local surf spots have benefited from past sand replenishments. Photo by Jared Whitlock
Lawsuit filed
Two Sections, 64 pages
A community group in Rancho Santa Fe files a lawsuit against the county over changes to San Dieguito specific plan. B3 Three feet for safety Gov. Jerry Brown signs into law AB 1371, a bill that requires motorists to give three feet when passing bicyclists and others. B6
Arts & Entertainment . . A8 Food & Wine . . . . . . . . A20
Sid Shaw, the unofficial mayor of Encinitas, had the best in mind for the city he loved. He recently passed away at the age of 92. A23
Legals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A24 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A26
TURN TO SAND ON A29
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O’side schools fight contraband with canines By Rachel Stine
OCEANSIDE — Oceanside High School Assistant Principal Saul Watson enters the classroom unannounced, and heads to the front of the room. “Let me have your attention, please. Put down everything you have in your hands. Leave your things here. Stand up, push your chairs in, and line up outside in the hallway please.” It’s a Friday, the day of the big game against football rival Mission Hills, and the Oceanside High School students are decked out in school pride attire.One student dons his Pirates football jersey, another her cheerleading uniform. Leaving their lesson behind, the students and teacher file outside of the room and wait in the hallway. A yellow lab scampers inside and goes to work. Eagerly sniffing and snorting, “Cadi,” short for Cadillac, dodges desks to inspect each bag in the classroom. If it’s there, she’s going to find it. Guided on a leash by her handler, she scurries methodically down one row of desks and up the next. With a quick sniff, she knows it’s not in the binder on the table. Nothing in the pink purse under the desk either. Not a whiff on the black hoodie on the back of the chair. But then her nostrils flare and she catches something. She darts to a red backpack and buries her snout in it. For the first time since she has entered the room, Cadi stops sniffing and sits down.
As an Interquest Detection Canine, Cadi has been trained to locate contraband. Sitting down next to an item of student property is her signal to her handler Tonya Anderson, that she has detected even the smallest trace of drugs, alcohol, and/or gunpowder. A search of the student’s property later reveals an electronic cigarette and a business card for a marijuana delivery company. Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD) has hired Interquest Detection Canines of San Diego to search each of its middle and high school campuses throughout the school year for more than 14 years. OUSD School Intervention Manager Tim Ware said the canine detection campus searches serve as a “big deterrent” for students bringing contraband on campus. He said that he and other administrators ensure that students know that the detection dogs can arrive on campus to conduct a search at any time during the school year. “It’s not about catching kids. It’s about showing them you don’t want to do this,” said Ware. “But there are always some people who think they can get around the law.” For the 2013-14 school year, OUSD is paying Interquest $3,500 to conduct TURN TO SEARCHES ON A16