PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92025 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
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VOL. 28, N0. 28
July 11, 2014
SAN MARCOS -NEWS
.com THE VISTA The city of Encinitas launches a virtual Town Hall for its residents to comment on city issues. Courtesy image NEWS
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Launch of virtual Town Hall not without its bumps Some residents concerned over matter of public record By Aaron Burgin
FINDING THEIR BALANCE Peter Oberg, center, teaches Qigong, a Chinese meditation practice that helps practitioners harness and balance “qi.” See the full story on page A9. Photo by Aaron Burgin
MiraCosta set to open North County Technology Career Institute By Ellen Wright
CARLSBAD — MiraCosta Community College will open a North San Diego Technology Career Institute to train students in advanced manufacturing programs like electromechanical engineering, robotics /automation and fluid power. The institute was approved Tuesday to lease a building from the city of Carlsbad on Las Palmas Drive. The site will allow 775 students to enroll annually with a job placement rate of 90 percent for new students, and 100 percent for returning students, according to the city’s Economic Development Manager Christina Vincent. The certificate program will last between 12 and 16 weeks. If all of the building updates go according to plan, the site will be ready for enrollment in January, said Vincent. The Department of Labor provided MiraCosta the funds to start the program, according to Dr. Dick Robertson interim president of the college. “Currently there is a shortage in all of North
MiraCosta College will be opening a Technology Career Institute in Carlsbad with plans to be ready for student enrollment by January 2015, Photo by Ellen Wright
County for skilled technicians,” Roberts told the City Council on Tuesday. “We have received multiple visits and requests from businesses asking MCC to provide the kind of training that will fill hundreds of positions that are currently vacant.” Tech industry specialists came to the Council meeting to voice their support for the program and to illustrate their need for skilled workers. “The skillset is bad out there. We’d prefer to draw from a more reliable pool,” said Sean Til-
Currently there is a shortage in all of North County for skilled technicians.” Dr. Dick Robertson Interim President, MiraCosta College
ler from Alphatec Spine. Pay for the jobs that the program aims to fill start between $15 and $20 an hour, according to Director of the college’s Community Services and Business Development Lisa Kurokawa. To get into the pro-
gram, students are interviewed and tested to assess their education levels. If needed, students can get remedial education from MCC to bring their math and reading TURN TO INSTITUTE ON A19
ENCINITAS — Encinitas’ first foray into online civic engagement has not been without some bumps. The city late last month launched e-Town Hall, an online forum that allows constituents to vote or provide feedback on topics that the city posts. For its first topic, the city asked the following question: “How important is it for off-leash dog hours to remain at Encinitas Viewpoint, Orpheus and Sun Vista parks to continue once the new dedicated 2-acre off-leash dog park is open at Encinitas Community Park?” The question, which city officials said they thought was innocuous, has dog-park visitors up in arms and has led some to believe the question was a prelude to the city closing its three dog parks. One resident reportedly passed out leaflets at one of the local parks that further stoked concerns and outcry. Julie Graboi, a local activist who is running for City Council in November, said she can see how residents could jump to that conclusion. “This question is not just a question, but an implicit threat to dog park users,” said Graboi, who addressed this issue in an opinion piece in The Coast News. “The question has polarized park users.” City staff members said they believe the question has been taken out of context, and reiterated that the forum is not intended to dictate city policy. There are no plans to shut down the dog parks, they said. “People have this perception that this will dictate policy,” city Spokeswoman Marlena Medford said. “The question has been misinterpreted and misunderstood.”
Medford said the question was selected by a group of 20 staff members, and chosen because the topic of the dog park RANCHO was timely in the wake of SFNEWS the Council’s vote to name a new park after the late Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan. “It was intended to begin a dialogue and collect opinions and feedback,” said Medford, who said the Council is the ultimate arbiter of city policy. A reporter visited Orpheus Park during off leash hours and found no signs of the leaflets. Dog owners at the park had not heard of the new forum or the question, but said they believed the city, if anything, should add more hours at the dog locations. “I think it’s very important to keep the parks open,” said Kerry Fiesler, who was at the park with her labradoodle Jersey. “Depending on where you live, the new park might be too far,” Fiesler said. Fiesler and others said they would likely voice their opinions on the e-Town Hall before the topic closes Friday. E-Town Hall, which is operated by Northern California-based Peak Democracy, was borne from a desire of city officials to offer more outlets for civic engagement than currently exist, such as speaking at council meetings or other public forums and writing individual government officials. Even before its launch, some residents questioned its effectiveness as a gauge of community sentiment because it is not a scientific poll, while others questioned whether the project was a waste of taxpayer dollars. Still others pointed to concerns that using the system, even with an alias, would make the user’s name, email address and other information a matter of public record. According to Medford, 70 percent of the 300 respondents to survey’s initial question have sub-
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