The Vista News, July 3, 2009

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THE VISTA NEWS

.com YOUR COMMUNITY, YOUR NEWSPAPER

VOL. 4, NO. 22

JULY 3, 2009

THISWEEK le b a u Val pons cou e 12 Pag

Mayor to retire, endorses successor

Highland Games bigger than ever

By Gideon Marcus

June 23. Lanspery added that the situation was originally expected to be worse, but Metropolitan Water District, SDCWA’s primary water supplier, only reduced their supply this year by 13 percent instead of the projected 20 percent. This still leaves a big water

VISTA — Longtime city servant Mayor MorrisVance announced June 17 that he would not run for a third term and endorsed three-term City Councilwoman Judy Ritter in the mayor’s race scheduled for next year. “With the amount of time I’ve been with the city,I think it’s about time someone else be given the opportunity to not only serve the city but take it to the next level,” Vance said before a small audience in front of Vista’s soonto-be-demolished old City Hall. Vance has been affiliated with the city for 25 years, first as city manager and then for two terms as mayor after the death of former city executive Gloria McClellan. He touted the accomplishments the city made during his tenure, including a new Civic Center, amphitheater, two fire stations and the successful downtown expansion anchored by the Krikorian Cinemas. The mayor then praised Ritter for her part in these accomplishments as well as her integrity and community rapport. He also conveyed Mayor Pro Tempore Robert Campbell’s endorsement. Campbell was on the East Coast at the time. Vance said he would be an active partner in Ritter’s campaign, assisting in fundraising and community outreach. “I think she’ll do a very good job if she’s elected, and I’m very, very confident that she’ll be elected,”Vance said. A realtor and business owner, Ritter said her experience in the private sector keeping and balancing budgets would translate directly into the public sector. She emphasized her experience in dealing with hard economic times. “As a business person, I’ve been through recessions and laying off people and making those cuts that are tough to make,” Ritter said. She stressed the importance of communications with the city’s residents, ensuring that they are always kept abreast of the nature and justification of service cuts. Ritter said public safety was her top priority and that she would work to maintain and enhance fire and police service. She also pledged her support of redevelopment downtown and along blighted South Santa Fe. Ritter said those improvements would increase city income

TURN TO WATER ON 14

TURN TO MAYOR ON 8

By Gideon Marcus

THE VIKINGS OF SUMMER Vista’s Norway Hall celebrated the summer solstice with some very old-fashioned traditional Norwegian 10 activities

INSIDE

ONE SECTION, 20 PAGES

Budget Meals Out . . . . . 9 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . .16 Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Eye on the Coast . . . . . . 4 Hit the Road . . . . . . . . . 2 Hot Off the Block . . . . . . 7 Odd Files . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Outside Perspective . . . . 4 Pet of the Week . . . . . . 14 Small Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Who’s News? . . . . . . . . . 6

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VISTA — Nearly 15,000 Scots and admirers of Scotland from far and wide crowded Brengle Terrace Park to the skirl of a hundred pipers for the 36th annual San Diego Highland Games the weekend of June 27 and June 28. Each year brings a consistent suite of entertainment. The mass band of pipers and drummers paraded around the main field led by the Colour Guard of the 42nd Blackwatch Highland Regiment. Graceful dancers showed off the steps of Scotland. Clever sheepdogs competed in the ancient art of sheep herding. A missing attraction was the Friday night concert at the nearby Moonlight Amphitheater that traditionally precedes the games. Renovation had just been completed on the theater, and the concert was pre-empted by Moonlight's preopening gala on Saturday night. Games Publicity Officer Lori Butler lamented the situation, saying that the concert was usually a big draw as well as a money-maker for the city. On the other hand, for the first time, Pendleton Marines faced off against a group of burly Scots in a tug of war contest. In a huge upset for the home team, the Marines won the Saturday afternoon contest. The Highland Games will HEAVE! Vista’s Elizabeth Fairhorc lofts a small sheaf of hay during the 36th annual San Diego Scottish Highland Games at Brengle Terrace Park on June 27. return to Vista next year, and there Photo by Gideon Marcus will surely be a rematch.

Water shortfall forces area to conserve By Gideon Marcus

SAN MARCOS — A thirsty San Marcos is about to feel the pinch. Drought-watch measures approved by the San Diego County Water Authority, or SDCWA, in April went into effect July 1, restricting the water supply by 8 percent and increasing prices. Client water agencies, including Vallecitos Water District, have instituted a

number of mandatory conservation measures and are also raising rates. Severe drought conditions on the Colorado River, low levels in local reservoirs and a freeze on pumping in Northern California to save an endangered species of smelt fish all factored into SDCWA’s decision, SDCWA Deputy Chairman Paul Lanspery said in a presentation before City Council on

Former coach sentenced to prison for sex with players By Randy Kalp

VISTA — A San Diego Superior Court judge sentenced a former North County volleyball coach to prison June 15 in connection with having unlawful sexual relationships with three of his former players.

Judge Timothy Casserly sentenced Steven Antony to two years in prison in accordance with his plea agreement. Antony, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of committing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old with the allegation that Antony was 10 years

older than the victims, as well as three counts of engaging in sexual intercourse with a person under 18 and who was at least three years younger than the defendant — all felonies. Under his plea agreement, which he took in May three days before his

trial was scheduled to begin, Antony could have received nearly six years in prison; however, Casserly chose to run the charges concurrent with a mid-term sentence. Prior to his plea, Antony faced more than a dozen TURN TO COACH ON 11


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