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THE COAST NEWS
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MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
APRIL 10, 2015
SAN Court: MARCOS -NEWS ‘Yoga . isn’t religious’ THE
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VISTA
By Aaron Burgin
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ing to start up or expand business. The motto shared by the mayors is intended to keep businesses in the area. “We have a more powerful voice when we speak as one,” Escondido Mayor Sam Abed said. “Without us working together we will not reach our economic potential.” The regional logo is a pentagon shape with a “78” in the middle with the word “corridor” following. Each
REGIONNEWS — The State Court of Appeal has sent an clear message about Encinitas Union School District’s yoga program to the family and organization that challenged it: it isn’t religious. The Fourth District Court of Appeal last week delivered a 3-0 ruling that upholds a lower court’s RANCHO ruling that the K-6 school SFNEWS district’s yoga program does not violate the state Constitution’s separation of church and state. “After a careful review of the extensive evidence presented in the trial court concerning the nature of the particular yoga program at issue in this case, we conclude that the program is secular in purpose, does not have the primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion, and does not excessively entangle the school district in religion,” Associate Justice Cynthia Aaron wrote in the unanimous opinion. “Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court properly determined that the district’s yoga program does not violate our state constitution.” The appeal’s court ruling upholds Superior Court Judge John Meyer’s decision in 2013 in favor of the school district at the group Yoga for Encinitas Students — known
TURN TO PARTNERSHIP ON A20
TURN TO YOGA ON A12
Encinitas Deputy Mayor Catherine Blakespear, at podium, says protecting open space is important to growing urban areas. SANDAG and CalTrans announced the $6 million purchase of 50.5 acres in the Batiquitos Lagoon on Tuesday. Photo by Ellen Wright
SANDAG buys 50 acres in Batiquitos Lagoon By Ellen Wright
CARLSBAD — Representatives from the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG and CalTrans announced the $6 million purchase of 50.5 acres in the Batiquitos Lagoon on Tuesday. The site, called the Batiquitos Bluffs, is southeast of La Costa Avenue, with a portion on the north
side. About three of the acres purchased include some wetlands, which Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation President Fred Sandquist said is a vital wildlife link. “This acquisition brings a key piece of wetlands, which is the last missing piece in the Batiquitos Ecological Reserve and the State Ma-
rine Conservation, and provides a wildlife corridor for much of our wildlife that inhabits the area,” Sandquist said. The lagoon is home to more than 180 species of birds and is a breeding ground for halibut. The purchase was made to conserve and protect the open space and to fulfill environmental com-
mitments made under the Interstate 5 North Coast Corridor Program. Over the coming decades, SANDAG plans to add express carpool lanes to the I-5 between La Jolla and Oceanside, and enhance rail and transit options in the reTURN TO LAGOON ON A16
Five city partnership Innovate78 logo, website unveiled By Promise Yee
REGION — The mayors of Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido gathered at Cal State San Marcos Tuesday to unveil the 78-Corridor logo and Innovate78.com website. The regional branding and economic development initiative will sell the fives cities along state Route 78 as the “upside of San Diego.” Regional business space, hous- The 78-Corridor logo is meant to unite the five cities of North County: San Marcos, ing and institutions of higher educa- Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista and Escondido to help keep business and attract new ones tion will be sold to companies look- to the area. Courtesy image
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