PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
.com SERVING NORTH COUNTY SINCE 1987
VOL. 34, N0. 16
APRIL 17, 2020
SAN Encinitas MARCOS -NEWS city manager . post leaving
com
By Jordan P. Ingram
day,” said Board President Richard Valdez. “It is with a tremendously heavy heart that we recommend this, and I think staff has looked at it every which way they can, and I think this is the only option.” Tim Fennell, CEO of the fairgrounds and racetrack, said fairgrounds staff looked at shortening the month-long event by a week or two or pushing the date further out, but the governor’s word prompted them to make a definitive decision. “We carry over our hero theme into 2021, which I think is going to be very appropriate following the
ENCINITAS — As the city grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, THE residents and local officials find themVISTA selves confronted with a difNEWS ferent challenge — finding a new city manager. On April 15, City Manager Karen Brust submitted her letter of resignation effective June 12, according to an internal city email received by The Coast News. Brust, RANCHO who was first hired to the SFNEWS position in 2015, was named the Director of BRUST Emergency Services after the Encinitas City Council issued a Proclamation of Local Emergency on March 16, activating its Emergency Operations Center in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the director of emergency services, Brust is responsible for addressing the impacts and conditions caused by COVID-19, in addition to obtaining assistance from local, county, state and federal agencies. Assistant City Manager Mark Delin will serve as interim director until Brust’s replacement is chosen. “Karen has been a fantastic city manager for nearly five years,” said Mayor Catherine Blakespear. “She’ll be sorely missed. We wish her many happy years in retirement.” It remains unclear if there are currently any candidates being considered to permanently fill the vacancy left by Brust, who also served as city manager for the cities of Del Mar and San Juan Capistrano. Over the next 60 days, Brust will be “preparing a transition plan to ensure
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Carlsbad doctor leaves retirement for front lines of COVID-19 fight. Page A3.
San Diego County Fair postponed until next year By Lexy Brodt
DEL MAR — The San Diego County Fair will not take place this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic — an unprecedented reality for the long-running and beloved local event. During its April 14 meeting, the 22nd District Agricultural Association Board of Directors decided to postpone the Del Mar Fairgrounds event until 2021. The unanimous board decision was solidified hours after Gov. Gavin Newsom made a statement calling the prospect of mass gatherings “negligible” until there is a vaccine and herd immunity to the virus. He said that such gatherings in
THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY FAIR is the largest annual event in the county, typically drawing around 1.5 million visitors. File photo
June, July and August were “unlikely.” The fair, previously slated to open on June 5 and end on July 5, draws over 1.5 million visitors to the state-
owned property every year, for food, entertainment, musical acts and rides. This year the event was to embrace a superhero theme. “It was our intention to
come here today and recommend putting on hold the decision for another week, but the governor provided us with the clarity we needed to make this decision to-
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