PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
.com SERVING NORTH COUNTY SINCE 1987
VOL. 33, N0. 35
AUG. 30, 2019
SAN Water district MARCOS -NEWS to upgrade . system meter
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By Tawny McCray
she served on the San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women & Girls, which focuses on issues of homelessness, domestic violence and human trafficking. “It’s no secret that motels are breeding grounds for illicit activity including human trafficking, or modern day slavery,” Gomez said. Human trafficking,
ENCINITAS — To maintain the efficiency THE of the nearly 12,000 potable automated water VISTA meters in its water sysNEWS tem network, the San Dieguito Water District is buying new water meters to replace inventory, and installing new meters for upgrades and development. The purchase was approved at the district’s Aug. 21 meeting. They can buy $100,000 RANCHO of inventory for the next two years for a total of SFNEWS $200,000. So far, over the past four fiscal years of this contract, the district has already spent $317,000 on new meters. The board recently approved another $100,000 for an advanced metering infrastructure pilot program for recycled water, which brings the total contract to $617,000. The meters and registers are manufactured by Badger and purchased from National Meter and Automation, which offers water utility products across the United States. The products come with a 20-year warranty and up to 10 years full replacement. The district maintains over 11,700 potable automated water meters. Carl Quiram, director of public works in Encinitas, said the meters measure the amount of water passing from the district’s system into a specific home. He said
TURN TO CRIME ON A7
TURN TO WATER ON A23
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5G REGULATIONS APPROVED
Despite significant resident opposition, a new 5G antennae policy has been approved by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors that places few restrictions on where major cell providers can place their hardware. FULL STORY ON PAGE A23. File photo
New city strategy to target crime at ‘budget motels’ By Samantha Taylor
OCEANSIDE — The mayor and another council member want to reduce crime at the city’s “budget motels” as soon as possible. At council’s Aug. 21 meeting, Mayor Peter Weiss and Councilman Ryan Keim requested to direct staff to develop a strategy within 60 days to reduce crime and improve management at Oceanside’s budget motels.
According to Keim, a former city police officer, Oceanside has done a “tremendous job” over the last decade in addressing and reducing crime in the city. Even so, he added that the city still has work to do. “I think this is one of the most important times to keep working and find out what are the issues that are causing Oceanside’s crime, focus on those and find dynamic solutions to address them,” Keim
said. Keim wants to see whatever strategy staff comes up with work as a “partnership” with the motels in which city officials sit down with owners and managers to figure out what the issues are and work to fix them together. “Hopefully that is all it’s going to take,” he said. “However I’m not naïve and I understand that unfortunately that’s not always going to work.”
Keim also wants to the city to be able to enforce change at these motels when necessary. “We need to have effective ways to actually implement those improvements,” he told staff. Michelle Gomez, an Oceanside resident and candidate for the future Oceanside City Council District 4 seat, was enthusiastic about Keim’s proposal. According to Gomez,
Mariachi Estrellas de Chula Vista Scholarship Fundraiser Sponsored By: American GI Forum of Oceanside
Saturday, September 14, 2019 6 pm - 9 pm • Doors Open at 5 pm Veterans Association of North County 1617 Mission Avenue, Oceanside, CA 92068
ADVANCED TICKET SALES Gustavo Aguilar 760-533-6849 Angie Magaña 760-757-6276
Jerry Garcia 760-655-5950 Eugene Garcia 760-433-2211
Dinner/ Concert only
40
$
/person