PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
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SERVING NORTH COUNTY SINCE 1987
JULY 17, 2020
SAN MARCOS -NEWS
Duke’s Piks goes online for racing season
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By Jordan P. Ingram
DEL MAR — Since Del Mar Thoroughbred Club kicked off its 81st summer meet on July 10 with no fans in the stands due to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases statewide, some aspects of horse racing were forced to make adjustments. And that includes the world of sports betting. Duke Racing Selections, a longtime handicapping and race-selection card service at Southern California racetracks, has taken its services online. Carlsbad resident John Acquarelli, owner of Duke Racing Selections, said despite the drastic changes to the racing season, customers can still purchase ACQUARELLI his popular “Duke’s Piks” selection sheet on his website (www. dukepiks.com). “Not all is lost,” Acquarelli told The Coast News. “The cool thing about horse racing is that you don’t necessarily have to be at the track. You can still get our picks and bet at home through online betting.” Acquarelli, a retired schoolteacher at St. Patrick’s Catholic School, has owned Duke Selections for the past 27 years. Growing up, his father owned horses and took Acquarelli and his friends to the racetrack. In 1977, Acquarelli started working nights and weekends selling tickets and parking cars at Del Mar Racetrack. After years spent talking horses, TURN TO DUKE’S PIKS ON A15
THE VISTA NEWS
TAFT’S FORUM
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Capt. Herbert Taft, of the North Coastal Station, shares his views on protests, transparency and his role in the community. Page A6.
THE CITY OF ENCINITAS, in partnership with Capt. Herbert Taft and the San Diego County Sheriff’s North Coastal Station, will hold a virtual public forum from 6-8 p.m. on July 28 to answer questions and discuss law enforcement’s relationship with North County residents. Photo by Caitlin Steinberg
Four canisters left for dry storage at SONGS By Samantha Nelson
REGION — The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station only has four more canisters of spent nuclear fuel to put away in its dry storage facility. Crews at the decommissioning nuclear power plant have been loading one canister full of its spent nuclear fuel on a weekly basis over the last few months. The 70th out of 73 total canisters will be loaded by the end of Friday, July 17, according to Southern California Edison spokesperson John Dobken. The plant has comONCE THE remaining canisters are loaded into dry storage, pletely removed the spent the next step is to begin prepping for demolition. Courtesy photo fuel from the Unit 2 spent
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fuel pool while fuel is still being moved from Unit 3. At the end of May, the plant shipped its Unit 1 reactor pressure vessel offsite to begin its journey to Utah, where it is still heading to be stored. The plant also recently finished asbestos abatement work in the containment domes and plans to do more asbestos abatement in other parts of the plant soon. Dobken said the plant is not scheduled to begin demolition of anything in the plant until late this year or sometime next year. The next step is to begin prepping for demolition
work inside the containment domes. Crews will need to cut up the equipment pieces within the domes. “A lot of work is inside the domes so people won’t see it,” Dobken said. Dobken added that office trailers have been delivered to a parking lot just north of the plant so its office workers can begin relocating there. Edison implemented pandemic protocols for its employees to follow and curtailed some deconstruction work back in March when Gov. Gavin Newsom TURN TO SONGS ON A5