October 15, 2020

LO C A L

N EWS

October 15-21, 2020

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CoastLines: Downtown Alleys Could Become a Decorative Paseo PAGE 17

VOLUME 15, ISSUE 42

Keeping It Clean

City’s Survey Reveals Voters Are Split on Clean Ocean Funding E Y E O N S C / PAG E 6

A city-initiated survey found that voters in San Clemente are split on whether to renew a monthly fee that property owners pay in order to fund the city’s Clean Ocean Program.

Photo: Shawn Raymundo

Council Candidates Report Campaign Contributions EYE ON SC/PAGE 3

Levin, Maryott Face Off During Congressional Candidate Forum EYE ON SC/PAGE 3

sanclementetimes.com

Marine Relieved of Command over Sunken Assault Vehicle EYE ON SC/PAGE 3

San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

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SC EYE ON SC San Clemente

LOCAL NEWS & IN-DEPTH REPORTING

What’s Up With...

Three of the deceased service members—Pfc. Bryan Baltierra, 18; Lance Cpl. Marco Barranco, 21; and Cpl. Cesar Villanueva, 21—were native to Southern California, according to the I MEF. The other five service members—Pfc. Evan Bath, 19; U.S. Navy Hospitalman Christopher Gnem, 22; Pfc. Jack Ryan Ostrovsky, 21; Cpl. Wesley Rodd, 23; and Lance Cpl. Chase Sweetwood, 19—originated from Northern California and other states, including Wisconsin, Oregon and Texas.

Five things San Clemente should know this week Council Candidates Report Campaign Contributions THE LATEST: City council hopefuls have collectively spent nearly $100,000 toward their campaigns for elected office, while just shy of $130,000 in cash contributions have been given to the candidates as of late September, according to the most recent campaign filings.

Based on a review of the pre-election reports filed with California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, more than $102,340 in contributions were made to candidates running in the General Election race for the two four-year seats. Just over $27,000 was given to the Special Election candidates vying for the lone two-year council seat.

These contributions don’t include loans the candidates took out, nor non-monetary contributions they received.

As of Sept. 19, the end of the last campaign filing period, Chris Duncan led the pack in monetary contributions, as he reported collecting a total of $42,150 since the start of his campaign.

Behind Duncan was Charlie Smith, who reported a total of $21,500 in cash contributions, followed by incumbent Councilmember Gene James with $16,025. Bill Hart and Aaron Washington trailed behind them with $11,105 and $9,265 in contributions, respectively.

All five of those candidates are running in the General Election.

As for Special Election candidates, Tyler Boden has collected $12,874—more than double the amount his closest competitor, Steven Knoblock, has collected—putting him far ahead of the competition. Knoblock had received $5,845 toward his war chest, while Donna Vidrine reported getting $3,200 in monetary contributions.

Jeff Wellman, a General Election candidate, reported his cash contributions at $2,200. Thor Johnson, another candidate for the four-term, reported $100 in total monetary contributions. Special Election candidates Jerry Quinlan and Zhen Wu filed campaign statements reporting cash contributions of $125 and $14.87, respectively.

All the other candidates either didn’t file campaign statements or reported not receiving any contributions.

WHAT’S NEXT: The deadline for candidates to submit a second pre-election San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

Chris Duncan, candidate for the city council’s four-year term, leads the pack in campaign contributions, collecting a total of $42,150. The chart represents candidates in both General and Special Election races who have received at least $1,000. Graphic: Chelsie Rex

filing with the FPPC is Oct. 22.—Shawn Raymundo

Marine Relieved of Command over Sunken Assault Vehicle THE LATEST: The commanding officer of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Battalion Landing Team at Camp Pendleton was relieved of duty on Tuesday, Oct. 13, in the wake of the July 30 sinking of an amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) that killed eight U.S. Marines and one Naval sailor off the coast of San Clemente Island.

Marine officials announced Tuesday that Lt. Gen. Karsten S. Heckl, the commanding general of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), relieved Lt. Col Michael J. Regner from command over a “loss in trust and confidence.”

“Heckl relieved Regner due to a loss in trust and confidence in his ability to command as a result of the assault amphibious vehicle mishap that took place off the coast of Southern California July 30, 2020,”

I MEF said in a press release.

According to I MEF, an investigation into the incident is still ongoing, but so far officials were able to compile “a substantial amount of information and data,” which led to Heckl’s decision to relieve Regner.

The Marines and sailor were among 16 service members who were inside the AAV for a training exercise when it began to take on water during a return trip from San Clemente Island to the USS Somerset.

Eight of the service members had escaped the AAV and were recovered shortly after the incident. One Marine, 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Guillermo Perez of New Braunfels, Texas, was pronounced dead on the scene, and two others were airlifted to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, San Diego.

The seven other Marines and one sailor were reported missing, prompting a 40hour search. After an exhaustive pursuit for the service members, rescue teams with the Marines, Navy and Coast Guard turned their efforts into a locate and recover operation.

Their remains were later found on Aug. 4 inside the sunken AAV.

San Clemente

TOTAL CASES

COVID-19 UPDATES AS OF 10/13/20

cases

deaths

TOTAL

552

6

LAST 30 DAYS

80

1

LAST 30 DAYS

est. population • 65,405 Follow us on Facebook & Instagram for daily local & county statistics. Source: Orange County Health Care Agency

WHAT’S NEXT: The investigation, the Marines said, “is still ongoing, as the Marine Corps continues to investigate, assess all relevant information, and take appropriate actions.”—SR

Levin, Maryott Face Off During Congressional Candidate Forum THE LATEST: Forty-ninth Congressional District candidates Rep. Mike Levin and Brian Maryott discussed numerous issues, and had heated exchanges, during a virtual Oct. 7 forum hosted by the Oceanside, Carlsbad and Vista Chambers of Commerce. The seat will be decided in the general election on Nov. 3.

Maryott, the Republican challenger and current San Juan Capistrano councilmember, called Democratic incumbent Levin a big government liberal, while Levin labeled Maryott a Trump acolyte. Moderator Mary Crowley, with the League of Women Voters, reminded the two to keep things civil and to stay on track with the issues, per rules set out at the start of the forum.

Among the questions Crowley asked, one was if the candidates support adding a constitutional amendment requiring an annual balanced budget from the federal government. Maryott said he does, and while it won’t happen overnight, a balanced budget is critically important.

“We are in a dangerous zone with regards to our country’s balance sheet,” Maryott said. “It’s going to have remarkable impact on our children and children’s children if we’re not careful. We are getting perilously close to a range as it regards our cumulative debt, relative to our income level as a country, our GDP, as well as our tax revenue.”

Levin said he supports a commission that would take a strong look at revenue and taxation, saying the country is in a rainy-day fund period. Having a Democratic President would help balance the budget, Levin said, citing Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

“We are facing an unprecedented fiscal crisis right now,” Levin said. “We’ve got 26 million Americans still on unemployment.

(Cont. on page 4)

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EYE ON SC (Cont. from page 3) Of the 22 million jobs that were lost as a result of this pandemic, about half of them have come back. We cannot turn our back at this moment on the 11 million who are still out of work.”

The candidates also addressed higher education and student loan debt. Levin said he supports the College Affordability Act, a bill in the House of Representatives that aims to help alleviate student loan debt, and touted legislation that provides a 12-month training program for veterans to get them into high-skill and high-wage jobs.

“Specifically, I’ve been trying to focus on educational opportunities for our veterans,” Levin said. “I’ve worked across the aisle on a number of pieces of legislation, particularly again during this pandemic, to help advance those opportunities. One bill, as part of our DELIVER Act—Dependable Employment and Living Improvements for Veterans’ Economic Recovery—is with Phil Roe, who’s a Republican from Tennessee.”

Levin said everyone should have access to education and that the student debt loan bubble must be eliminated. Maryott said the federal government should create career opportunities for young people who face struggles in the job market due to student loan debt, and student loan rates can be roughly reduced to the same as a car payment.

“We have to take responsibility as a federal government in this area for what we did to help college and university costs explode, roughly doubling in the last 10plus years,” Maryott said. “We can use the balance sheet of the federal government creatively to bring the monthly tab down for our graduates by at least 60% if we’re smart about this.”

WHAT’S NEXT: A recording of the forum can be viewed at the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce’s YouTube channel.—Collin Breaux

Candidates Address Issues with City’s Permitting Process THE LATEST: The city’s permitting process for buildings needs to be reformed, as it’s become a hindrance for local businesses to get up and running in San Clemente, several candidates running for city council told the business community last week.

“San Clemente has been famously difficult to do business in, and we need to change that culture,” said Bill Hart, responding to the San Clemente Chamber of Commerce’s opening question during its second and final candidate Q&A on Oct. 8.

“I’m now convinced that the problem is not in the way we do permitting, but the culture of the permits, basically the building department itself, and we need to change that with good city leadership,” added Hart, one of the city council candidates running for a four-year term.

The Chamber has held a pair of candidate forums over the past couple San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

Fencing at the corner of El Camino Real and Avenida Pico is adorned with campaign signs from several of the candidates running in this year’s elections. Photo: Shawn Raymundo

of weeks—one for the Special Election candidates and one for those running in the General Election.

During the forums, the candidates were asked to discuss their positions on several business community-related concerns, including the toll road, homelessness and city lawsuits, to name a few.

Nine of the 10 General Election candidates participated in the forum last Thursday, when they were asked: “What specific actions will you take to improve business and industry in San Clemente for the long run?”

Nearly all the candidates—Hart, incumbent Councilmember Gene James, Aaron Washington, Jeff Provance Jr., Patrick Minnehan, Thor Johnson, Jeff Wellman and Chris Duncan—touched on their concerns with delays in the permitting process, advocating for reforms to streamline the system and improve efficiencies.

While Charlie Smith didn’t explicitly speak about the permitting issues in his response, he stated that the city needs to have business-friendly policies and would support initiatives to make retail areas more “experienced-based.”

Joseph Kenney was the only General Election candidate absent from last week’s forum.

Washington said the city should look at the permitting process deployed in neighboring cities to see what can be learned and implemented locally.

While highlighting his efforts for the city to further utilize its TrakIt program—an online portal on the city’s website to search for permit, project and license information—James said the city needs to streamline its permitting and planning process.

“TrakIt existed as a database project management for the city but not in the permitting and planning process,” he said.

“This will make our permit and planning processes paperless and will streamline” it.

Provance said he wants to speed up the “tedious permit process,” so it “could be a great help to small business.”

Though Minnehan agreed that the permitting process should be evaluated, he said another issue the council needs to

review is its policies related to zoning.

“We have to look at this for all businesses. Personally, we all look at the restaurants, the gyms, the hair salons, the things that we use all the time, but there’s more businesses in this town,” Minnehan said.

“We got a hospital that’s been sitting vacant for four and a half years because of zoning issues from the owner or the operator running the organization. So, again, we need to look at these zoning issues for the entire city so that we can actually move forward.”

For Johnson, he said he would improve business and industry in town by not supporting new taxes, strengthening the city’s relationship with the Chamber and providing regulatory relief by reducing barriers in the permitting process.

Echoing James’ previous thoughts, Wellman said San Clemente’s municipal code and regulations have been a barrier for entrepreneurs starting a business in town, but that streamlining the building permit process would make it easier for businesses to open.

Duncan proposed a complete overhaul of the city’s building and engineering divisions, because “they are notoriously slow in responding to permit requests.”

“We have to cut red tape,” Duncan said.

“That means automating processes, adding staff and contractors, and this will expedite processing and permits, and provide needed transparency, flexibility and predictability for our business community.”

WHAT’S NEXT: The Chamber’s recording of the General Election forum can be found at First Amendment Voice’s YouTube channel, where you can view all the candidates’ full responses to these questions and several more.—SR

Santa Margarita Water District Holds Virtual Dedication for Trampas Canyon Dam, Reservoir THE LATEST: Santa Margarita Water

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District (SMWD) President Betty Olson welcomed people to the official grand opening of the Trampas Canyon Dam and Reservoir on Friday, Oct. 9.

SMWD held a virtual ceremony celebrating the dam, which has been constructed in South Orange County and will store recycled water. The Trampas Canyon Dam and Reservoir is on land acquired from Rancho Mission Viejo, south of Ortega Highway.

“Two and a half years ago, when we broke ground on this facility, we knew we were making an investment in water reliability for the future of South Orange County,” Olson said. “As a board, we accepted the challenge of our time to ensure our water supplies are resilient and guarantee we are excellent stewards of our imported water supply.”

The reservoir will allow SMWD to maximize recycled water use and brings them closer to their goal of zero discharges to the ocean, Olson said. The project has been under construction this year and was reportedly not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Water will be saved during the winter months for use during the summer, when “the demand for recycled water is at its highest,” Olson said.

The video dedication covered the history of the reservoir site, which was previously used for sand mining and is said to be the largest recycled water reservoir “of its type” in Southern California. It can hold 1.6 billion gallons of recycled water and spans more than 3,000 feet in length, the video said.

The reservoir will serve San Juan Capistrano and be interconnected with San Clemente, in addition to providing irrigation for SMWD. The San Juan Capistrano City Council approved a water and utility annexation agreement with SMWD in January, meaning those systems will be transferred to SMWD. The annexation agreement still needs to be approved by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) and could become official this fall or winter.

State Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) presented a certificate commemorating the occasion. Orange County Fifth District Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said the reservoir is a milestone for SMWD’s commitment to developing a reliable water supply.

“I have long been an avid supporter of the district’s efforts to recycle and reuse wastewater,” Bartlett said. “This project is so important to the Fifth District, because unlike other parts of the county, we still import approximately 90% of our water supply. Having the ability to capture and store water means we are one step closer to being self-sufficient and meeting our long-term water needs.”—CB EDITOR’S NOTE: Extended versions to all these stories can be found at sanclementetimes.com. sanclementetimes.com

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EYE ON SC

City’s Survey Reveals Voters Are Split on Clean Ocean Funding

BY SHAWN RAYMUNDO, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

T

his past spring, a city-initiated survey of likely voters in San Clemente found that more than 43% of them would initially reject a ballot measure proposing a Clean Ocean Fee to help the city protect the coastal environment.

When asked how they would vote on the fee to “help the City clean up urban runoff that flows from the City’s storm drain system into the ocean and to maintain, repair and replace that storm drain system,” 31.7% of respondents said they would vote yes, while 25% were unsure or didn’t want to say.

The survey, for which the city paid $25,000 to Probolsky Research to conduct this past March, polled 300 of San Clemente’s likely voters, measuring their support on five key policy areas—the city’s Clean Ocean Program, homelessness,

marijuana cultivation, transient occupancy taxes and policing.

San Clemente Times was provided a copy of the survey by acting Mayor Laura Ferguson.

Over the coming weeks, SC Times plans to publish a series of articles detailing the results of the survey, with each report focusing on one of the five key policy areas that the survey covered.

WHO WAS POLLED

According to the survey, of the 300 likely voters polled, 51% of them were female and 49% were male.

Registered Republicans made up the largest section, or 50%, of participants.

Democrats made up 28%, while 22% were listed as having “no party preference.”

More than 30% of those surveyed were 65 years and older. A quarter of the participants were between the ages of 55 and 64, and another quarter represented those aged 40-54. The 18-29 and 30-39 age groups each represented 8%.

As for ethnicity, 74.3% identified as White/Caucasian voters. Just over 9% said they were Latino/Hispanic, 3% were Asian and less than 1% were Black/African American. Nearly 7% preferred not to disclose their ethnicity.

Roughly three-quarters of everyone polled said they own property in San Clemente. Only 3.3% declined to answer, and 22% said they didn’t own property in the city.

Among the respondents, 76.3% said that

“addressing the homeless issue” should be a top priority of the city council. None of the other 13 categories tracked higher than 47%.

“Reducing crime, gangs, drugs, graffiti” was ranked second, with 46.7% of those polled saying it should be a priority, while “repairing city streets and sidewalks” came in as the fifth-ranked priority.

More than 36% of the voters said the council should prioritize “improving ocean water quality,” and 35.7% of them said the council should work toward “protecting the environment,” putting the two categories at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, on the priorities list.

PROTECTING THE COAST

The survey, which polled the voters by telephone and online from March 7 through March 9, was meant to “provide staff with a better understanding of issues within the community,” acting City Manager Erik Sund explained to Ferguson in a July 14 email shared with SC Times.

Based on the correspondence, the city’s initial intention was to get a sense of how the community felt about renewing the property tax used to fund the Clean Ocean Program—an urban runoff management plan to prevent pollution from getting into the storm drain system and discharging out into the beaches.

“As intended, the Clean Ocean components of the survey will help/guide the public education process as the City ap-

proaches the Clean Ocean Fee vote,” Sund wrote in the email to Ferguson.

According to the city, the program consists of runoff treatment projects at Poche Beach and North Beach, street-sweeping activities, water quality testing and spill cleanups, among other things, at a cost of about $2.2 million a year.

Up until this past June—when the fee expired—single-family households paid between $5.10 and $6.23 per month toward the program. Non-residential properties paid between $51 and $62.30 per acre every month.

It’s unclear how the program will be funded now that the fee expired on June 30, nor is it clear why the fee lapsed before property owners had a chance to vote on a renewal.

According to the city’s Fiscal Year 2019-2020 budget, $145,000 was allocated toward the balloting and marketing of the Clean Ocean Fee renewal. The current fiscal year budget notes that the city had a starting balance of about $2.54 million in Clean Ocean Fee money and anticipates expenditures to reach just shy of $2.5 million.

In advertising boasting about the program, the city has noted that those Clean Ocean funds have paid for six underground storm treatment units, helped clean out 93 tons of debris from entering the ocean each year and prevented 3,500 cubic yards of debris from reaching storm drains.

(Cont. on page 9)

A survey of 300 likely voters in San Clemente that the city paid for this past spring found that respondents were split on a proposal to renew the fee that property owners pay to fund the Clean Ocean Program. Of the Republican voters polled, the majority of them were likely to vote against the fee, while most Democrats were likely to vote in favor of its renewal. Graphics: Chelsie Rex San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

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EYE ON SC (Cont. from page 6)

PULSE OF THE VOTERS

Property owners first approved the fee in 2002, helping the city meet state and federal water quality mandates.

According to news reports, 57% of those property owners approved the initiation of the fee.

When the fee came back around for renewal in 2007, the measure was passed with 75% approval. However, support diminished for another renewal and a rate increase in December 2013, as the measure was narrowly passed, receiving only 53% of votes cast.

Based on the results of the city’s survey, support for another renewal appears to be trending downward, as only about 32% initially said they would vote yes on the fee.

But during the survey, the voters were asked a series of other questions related to the program. The questions were designed to give additional information about the fee, such as how the funds are used and why they’re needed.

Specifically, the voters were asked how they would vote knowing that the fee helps the city remove bacteria from beaches and is used to prevent landslides. They were also told that without the fee, funding for the program would have to come from other coffers in the city’s budget, such as public safety, parks and recreation, and road repairs.

When the respondents were asked a final time how they would vote, support for the fee increased to 40.2%, while the 43.3% of initial no voters decreased slightly to 40.6%. The other 19.2% remained undecided or didn’t want to answer, according to the survey.

The Republicans polled made up the largest section of voters opposed to the fee, as 58.4% of them said they would still ultimately vote no. Just over 22% said they would vote yes—an increase from the 19.5% of GOP respondents who initially supported the fee when first asked about it.

Less than half of the Democratic voters, 47.2%, initially said they would vote yes, while 20.8% would have voted no.

But support among those Democrats increased to 56.6% on the final question posed.

As for no-party preference voters, 46.7% of them initially said they would vote yes on the fee and 26.7% said no. The scales tipped in the fee’s favor among those voters, though, as 64.4% ended up saying they would vote yes and only 22.2% maintained their no vote.

Interestingly, the 18-29 age group— among the smallest demographic of the poll—showed the strongest initial support for the fee, with 87.5% of them saying they would vote yes. But after receiving more information about the program, support dropped to 50%, as 25% ended up saying no. The other 25% represented unsure voters.

Among only those who owned propSan Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

A city-initiated survey found that voters in San Clemente are split on whether to renew a monthly fee that property owners pay in order to fund the city’s Clean Ocean Program. Photo: Shawn Raymundo

erty—the section of city voters who have a say in the passage of the fee—just under 30% said they would vote yes for the measure if the fee was left at $6.23 per month, or $75 a year.

Support dropped to 25% when asked how they’d vote if the annual fee was $80, or $6.66 per month. It dropped further, to 23.7%, on the option for a $65-a-year fee, or $5.42 a month. More than 22% of the property owners said outright that they wouldn’t support continuing the Clean Ocean Fee and about 10% said they were unsure or preferred not to answer.

On the option to renew the fee for five years, pollsters found that 35.3% of the property owners would vote yes; however, they also found again that nearly 22% said not to continue the fee.

Other than presenting the findings to the city council over the summer, the city has kept a lid on the survey by not releasing the results to the public. A Public Records Act (PRA) request SC Times had submitted to the city for a copy of the survey was denied in August.

In an emailed response, the city claimed the report was exempt from public disclosure, citing Times Mirror Co. v. Superior Court—a 1991 decision based on a Los Angeles Times records request for the then-governor’s daily schedules.

The governor’s office denied the re-

quest, arguing that a release of the records posed a security threat to the governor. A lawsuit over the denial eventually made its way up to the Superior Court of California, which ruled in favor of the governor’s office.

City management has declined to comment on the survey and discuss its results for this story. Requests seeking comment specifically relating to the city’s Clean Ocean Fee had not been returned as of press time.

TAXPAYERS TAXED

The survey in March was conducted just after San Clemente voters had decidedly rejected Measure H, the Capistrano Unified School District’s bond measure to upgrade local schools. The rejection of that measure represented a statewide trend of voters who had voted against similar measures.

CUSD Board President Jim Reardon had explained to SC Times at the time that the results were indicative of the public’s attitude on new taxes.

“I don’t think the community is ready for another increase in taxes, and I don’t think it’s going to be foreseeably different for some time,” he had said of the district’s bond measures.

Pete Stauffer, environmental director for the local nonprofit Surfrider Foundation,

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noted, however, that information and outreach related to the Clean Ocean Program are widely important when trying to get voters to renew the fee.

“Generally, the more people are aware of what the program supports, the greater the level of support is,” Stauffer said, explaining that Surfrider has seen other parts of the country implement similar programs.

“In this case, the program supports tangible projects that help filter polluted runoff, that help keep our beaches safe and protect our quality of life, but also protecting our local economy and businesses,” he said. “Local business relies on a clean coastal environment, our beachhead, our ocean; that’s what makes our area so desirable to live, and I think it’s a good investment for the community.”

Acknowledging that he couldn’t help analyze the data from the survey, Stauffer stressed that Surfrider believes the clean water policies and initiatives are a bipartisan issue, as they’re meant to protect “the natural environment and it protects our local economy.”

“For everyone who lives in San Clemente and enjoys the quality of life that we enjoy here,” said Stauffer, a San Clemente resident, the Clean Ocean Program is “a very worthwhile investment for our community.” SC sanclementetimes.com

EYE ON SC

NEWS BITES

Community Meetings

COMPILED BY SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

Bartlett Launches Nutrition Gap Program for Fifth District Orange County Board Supervisor Lisa Bartlett has launched the COVID-19 Nutrition Gap Program (NGP) after seeing members of the Fifth District’s most vulnerable population suffering from food insecurity, her office announced on Oct. 7.

The program serves seniors aged 55 and older, individuals with a disability and military veterans, regardless of age.

It is designed to provide biweekly deliveries of food boxes to participants in the program.

“COVID-19 has made it extremely difficult for our seniors, veterans and disabled residents to keep food on the table,” Bartlett said in the announcement. “Some are afraid to go to the grocery store for fear of catching COVID, or simply don’t have the means necessary to get there. That is why it was so important this program include a delivery service, so we can bring food directly to them.”

Each food box contains groceries, fresh produce and prepared meals provided by Second Harvest Food Bank and Ruby’s Diner, located in the Outlets at San Clemente.

“No one should face a hunger crisis on top of the COVID-19 crisis, especially those who are most vulnerable. We are humbled to partner on this important project designed to address nutrition gaps by delivering meals to those in need,” said Harald Herrmann, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.

A special launch event for the program was scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14.

The program will be administered by 2-1-1 Orange County, which will coordinate participant registration, food assembly and delivery.

The program is funded through the federal CARES Act program. To qualify, district residents must not be receiving assistance from other state or federal programs, such as CalFresh, Title III-C of the Older Americas Act (Congregate and Home-Delivered Meals), the Great Plates Delivered program, and others.

Priority will be given to individuals experiencing food insecurity due to age and/or disability, economic status, lack of familial or community support, lack of access to available resources, and those who have military service.

Participants must reside in District 5 cities including Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, portions of Irvine, Laguna Beach, San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

SATURDAY, OCT. 17

CHALLENGING CANCER 10-11:30 a.m. The Challenging Cancer group is conducting weekly meetings through Zoom video conferences. The meetings are open to caregivers, people who have a compromised immune system and people dealing with cancer.

To join, email donnavigil2@gmail.com or linda_crdv@yahoo.com. heritagesc.org.

TUESDAY, OCT. 20

Orange County Board Supervisor Lisa Bartlett has launched the COVID-19 Nutrition Gap Program (NGP) to provide biweekly deliveries of food boxes to seniors aged 55 and older, individuals with a disability and military veterans, regardless of age. Photo: Courtesy of Gustavo Fring/Pexels

Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, and the unincorporated communities of Coto de Caza, Emerald Bay, Ladera Ranch, Las Flores Rancho Mission Viejo, Stonecliffe, and Wagon Wheel.

Prospective participants will self-certify eligibility for the program. To check eligibility and to register, visit fdngp.211oc. org or call 2-1-1. You can also text your zip code to 898211.

OCTA Welcoming Input on South Orange County Transportation Study The Orange County Transportation Authority is launching a strategic transportation study to address South Orange County’s transportation needs as the area continues to grow with new residents and jobs and as travel patterns and needs evolve.

The study, called the South Orange County Multimodal Transportation Study (SOCMTS), will examine a wide range of transportation needs over the next 25 years, including improvements to streets, bus and other transit options, highways and bikeways.

The area covered by the study encompasses about 40 percent of Orange County, generally south of State Route 55 to the San Diego County line, and from the coast to the foothills.

A virtual public meeting was held on Tuesday, Oct. 6. A recording of the virtual meeting is available at octa.net/ southocstudy.

OCTA also welcomes comments

through an online survey to hear from those who live, work and visit South Orange County. The brief 12-question survey, with a few additional optional questions, is available online in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese.

A link to the survey can be found at octa.net/southocstudy or can be completed by calling toll-free to 833.711.8070.

OCTA, which is Orange County’s transportation planning agency, is responsible for providing a balanced and sustainable transportation system for the entire county. The focus on South Orange County is necessary because over the next 25 years, projections show population growing by 170,000 residents, with an additional 130,000 jobs expected.

At the same time, travel patterns and transportation needs have continued to evolve since OCTA’s last major transportation study of the area in 2008. The projects from that study have resulted in a more than $1.5 billion investment in the area, including the I-5 carpool lane project between San Juan Creek Road and Avenida Pico, and the I-5 widening between SR-73 and El Toro Road, now under construction.

Since the 2008 study, other significant changes have occurred, including the elimination of the SR-241 Toll Road extension in favor of a non-tolled extension of Los Patrones Parkway, a decline in traditional transit ridership, the introduction of mobile transportation apps and on-demand rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft, as well as the introduction of community transit options such as shuttles and trolleys.

The South County study will continue in phases through the end of 2021, and

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CITY COUNCIL 6 p.m. The San Clemente City Council will conduct its regularly scheduled meeting via teleconference and can be streamed through the city’s YouTube channel.

949.361.8200. san-clemente.org.

BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (BILY) 6:30-8:30 p.m. The organization Because I Love You (BILY), which helps parents navigate through whatever parenting challenges they may be facing (e.g., failure to launch, drug abuse, disrespect), will continue conducting its weekly meetings on Tuesdays via Zoom video conference. For detailed instructions on how to participate, email bilysanclemente@gmail.com.

SAN CLEMENTE TOASTMASTERS 7-8:40 p.m. The San Clemente Toastmasters will continue to meet every Tuesday online through Zoom.

Email fardad.fs@gmail.com to receive a link to join. 858.900.6175. sanclementetoastmasters. toastmastersclubs.org.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21

PLANNING COMMISSION 6-10 p.m. The city’s Planning Commission conducts its regularly scheduled meeting via teleconference and can be streamed through the city’s YouTube channel. 949.361.8200. san-clemente.org.

residents, business owners and other key stakeholders will be asked to participate throughout.

Have something interesting to submit to our News Bites section?

Submissions are due by 10 a.m. the Monday of the week you’d like published. Email sraymundo@picketfencemedia.com. sanclementetimes.com

San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

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sanclementetimes.com

34932 Calle del Sol, Suite B, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624 phone 949.388.7700 fax 949.388.9977 sanclementetimes.com

HOW TO REACH US C I T Y E D I TO R Shawn Raymundo • 949.388.7700, x108 sraymundo@picketfencemedia.com

SPORTS Zach Cavanagh • 949.388.7700, x110 zcavanagh@picketfencemedia.com

ADVERTISING PRINT & ONLINE

Lauralyn Loynes • 949.388.7700, x102 lloynes@picketfencemedia.com

DISTRIBUTION RACKS, DRIVEWAYS, SUBSCRIPTIONS

Inna Cazares • 949.388.7700, x111 icazares@picketfencemedia.com

GENERAL MANAGER Alyssa Garrett • 949.388.7700, x100 agarrett@picketfencemedia.com

PICKET FENCE MEDIA PUBLISHER Norb Garrett

Advertising Sales (SJC) Debra Wells

EDITORIAL

ART + DESIGN

City Editor, SC Times Shawn Raymundo

Art Director Jasmine Smith

Senior City Editor, DP Times Lillian Boyd

Graphic Designer Chelsie Rex

City Editor, Capo Dispatch Collin Breaux

General Manager Alyssa Garrett

O P E R AT I O N S

Sports Editor Zach Cavanagh

Group Operations & Production Coordinator Inna Cazares

Columnist Fred Swegles

FINANCE

Special Projects Editor Andrea PapagianisCamacho Copy Editor Randy Youngman ADVERTISING Associate Publisher Lauralyn Loynes

Finance Director Mike Reed Accounting & Finance Manager Tricia Zines CONTRIBUTORS Megan Bianco Jake Howard Tim Trent

SC SOAPBOX San Clemente

VIEWS, OPINIONS AND INSIGHTS

GUEST OPINION: The Business Buzz by Susie Lantz

San Clemente Chamber Is Actually Very Hip

NETWORKING

T

he San Clemente Chamber of Commerce recently held a virtual “lunchinar” for our members. It was a midday educational session for business leaders on how to perfect their (elevator) pitches.

We ran a short lesson, followed by an opportunity for the participants to share their unique business angles. It was great to observe the helpful suggestions and polite critiques among the members.

At the end of the session, I presented the Chamber’s pitch, and was surprised and delighted THE BUSINESS when our members BUZZ began chiming in with

By Susie Lantz wonderful comments: “This Chamber is not what I expected— I thought it would be stuffy and oldschool.”

And the best comment of all relayed that the San Clemente Chamber of Commerce is actually very hip—”You should call it The New Chamber.”

Wow! I was overjoyed to learn that our members view the Chamber this way, and am proud to share a bit of what we have been up to this year:

INFORMATION San Clemente Times, Vol. 15, Issue 42. The SC Times (sanclementetimes.com ) is published weekly by Picket Fence Media, publishers of the Dana Point Times (danapointtimes. com) and The Capistrano Dispatch (thecapistranodispatch. com). Copyright: No articles, illustrations, photographs or other editorial matter or advertisements herein may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, photos or negatives. Copyright 2020. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

FOLLOW THE SC TIMES

Our staff has been hyper-focused on

Letters to The Editor KNOW BEFORE YOU VOTE SUSAN PARMELEE, San Clemente

FACEBOOK.COM/SANCLEMENTETIMES • INSTAGRAM @S_C_TIMES TWITTER.COM/SCTIMESNEWS • LINKEDIN PICKET FENCE MEDIA

San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

providing timely, helpful information to our members—filtering the most pertinent news directly from our trustworthy sources (legislators, county, city, etc.) and delivering what we believe to be the most important messages. Long gone are the days of the bulky newsletter. Instead, we rebranded our e-news to launch Chamber Shorts—small, digestible bites of information designed to help move our members forward, one step at a time.

School board trustees play a critical role in the health of our community. I work

The San Clemente Chamber community includes more than 400 members and an email list of 1,000 individuals. Our staff connects daily with this vast network, promoting and encouraging engagement between the businesses and community.

Surprisingly, networking via Zoom has proven to be both efficient and effective. And our member referrals program remains active and strong.

EDUCATION In addition to seminars on COVID-19 testing, business reopening guidance and city updates, our most unique program was entitled Bias in the Media, presented

by First Amendment Voice, a nonpartisan and locally run nonprofit organization. Nearly 50 individuals participated in this session on how we obtain and consume news. The controversial Media Bias Chart was presented, and breakout rooms allowed participants to engage in polite and enlightening discussions about how we are evolving along with the media.

MARKETING This year more than ever, our staff has utilized social media to share our partners’ messages on Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube (I guess this is where the “hip” comes in). In addition to promoting our member businesses, we worked closely with the Downtown Business Association to develop the #SCStayStrong campaign and Facebook group, where all local businesses can share

closely with Capistrano Unified School District as a partner in supporting the social, emotional health of our youth.

In this work, and as a parent of three CUSD alumni, I have had the opportunity to watch the school Board of Trustees govern the admirable work of our district staff, teachers, and administrators.

I understand the importance of approaching my vote for trustee with as much knowledge as possible. I believe strongly in

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their promotions. The city then came on board as a partner for the Staying Healthy Means Staying Open outreach program, symbolized with citywide posters and a fantastic banner on El Camino Real.

ADVOCACY Leading into the elections, the San Clemente Chamber’s Business for a Better San Clemente PAC, together with First Amendment Voice, hosted two, two-hour candidate forums, bringing an opportunity for our community members to meet San Clemente’s many wonderful candidates for city council. Recorded sessions of the two forums can be viewed at scchamber. com. Who knew that a Zoom forum could be so great?

The San Clemente Chamber of Commerce is delighted to have delivered great value to our community this year. Despite 2020’s challenges, we’ve welcomed many new friends into membership and invited returning members to stay involved through our Chamber Loyal program.

Our organization is honored to work in partnership with so many dedicated stakeholders. Together, we are creating “The New (and very hip) Chamber.”

We invite YOU—our businesses, nonprofits and retirees—to enhance your community connections through membership with the San Clemente Chamber of Commerce. Join us at scchamber.com.

Susie Lantz is the membership director for the San Clemente Chamber of Commerce, and works alongside Arlen Flores, director of Operations, and Joey Brett in Customer Relations. Susie joined the Chamber in 2019, after having spent several years working in advertising and marketing with the San Clemente Times, where she remains a loyal supporter of local media and the Picket Fence Media family. SC PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, the SC Times provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not reflect those of the SC Times or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at editorial@sanclementetimes.com. The San Clemente Times and Picket Fence Media do not publish content that is defamatory.

researching all of the votes that I cast, and for me, the school board trustee is one of the most important votes in our community and one that makes a tremendous impact on our future well-being.

Thankfully, this November, my choice is easy. I have known Sue Hill since 2014, when I founded the Wellness & Prevention Center and began helping the youth and families in our schools and community.

(Cont. on page 14) sanclementetimes.com

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SOAPBOX (Cont. from page 12) Sue has been a passionate PTA/PTSA leader who continually fought for what was best for our youth. She tirelessly approached all of her volunteer roles with a passion that benefited San Clemente families and schools.

She has extensive experience interacting with parents, staff, teachers, administrators, and the CUSD Trustees. She has earned the respect of all of those parties and will continue to make the tough calls necessary to ensure our youth get the best educational services possible.

There is no question that she is the best candidate to guard my values and protect the taxpayers’ money as she advocates for the students.

I will be voting for Sue Hill for CUSD Trustee. Please take the time to learn about all three of the candidates and make your school board representative vote count!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Susan Parmelee is a regular contributor to SC Times through her guest opinion column, “Wellness & Prevention.” She is not an employee or paid by SC Times, and her opinions both in this letter and in her guest opinion are hers, and do not reflect the opinion of the SC Times.”

IT’S ELECTION TIME IN SAN CLEMENTE JOE JANIS, San Clemente

Well, here we are again in the middle of another election. Beware, San Clemente candidates, if you become a front-runner and have a mind of your own, some negative ads may appear about you.

In our election two years ago, a group was formed called “Citizens Against Dane Bane.” You probably remember some of the negative things said about Dan. I am not sure what they were so worried about.

Dan proved to be one of our most reasonable and respected councilmembers. Now we have another group going after Gene James. Last week, an ad claimed that “Gene James dishonored the men and women who served our nation.” I proudly served in the Armed Forces, and I am not sure what dishonor he caused me.

I try to judge politicians on what they do in office, not what their opponents say about them. Gene has spent hundreds of hours working on city issues, and his voting record proves he puts the interests of our residents first. So why are we seeing such vicious ads?

It is my opinion, the special interest group that is funding these negative ads against Gene is the same group that once supported him. Since Gene showed more allegiance to the needs of our residents and refused to vote in accordance with the desires of special interest, they turned on him as they turned on our late Mayor Steve Swartz.

They would have applied the same heat to Dan Bane if he were still here, since he also refused to be led by them. Bottom line is, special interest groups run negative ads against candidates they can’t control.

San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

Last week’s negative ad about Gene stated that his votes (on council) are hurting San Clemente. His votes are not hurting us; they are helping us. Gene has consistently voted for us and our quality of life.

Check out his voting record and decide for yourself. Disregard negative ads placed by special interest groups. They are not for the benefit of our community.

SC GETTING OUT San Clemente

YOUR SEVEN-DAY EVENT PLANNER

EDITOR’S PICK

RUSH TO JUDGEMENT LINDA BARRY, San Clemente

I am so disappointed in the rush to draw conclusions and paint a broad brush concerning the police force.

How many people have ever had to deal with the worst in society? Have they ever had to wrestle with an unwilling suspect, have they been spit at, had things thrown at them and vilified for just being a law enforcement officer?

Having read recent letters to the editor, I can’t help but notice that the victim is canonized and the officers are vilified. To have demonstrations prior to knowing any of the facts just does not make common sense.

I could also “paint a broad brush” and say that Mr. Reinhold was the homeless man that was in the laundromat on Camino de los Mares without pants, which required help from an officer, or he was the homeless man that attacked a friend in Dana Point, which required hospitalization, but I don’t know that as a fact.

I could also say, where was Mrs. Reinhold while her husband was roaming the streets? Does she now want the city to pay for her neglect? How about her attorneys— are they really just ambulance chasers who are in it for the money? But I don’t know the facts, so I will not react accordingly.

Has everyone forgotten about 9/11 and how many police and firemen died trying to save lives? I know I haven’t, because my husband went there a few days later, on his own dime, to see what he could do to help. Consequently, it is difficult for me to hear and read how all law officers are either racists or killers.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY

Have something you’d like to say? Email your letter to letters@sanclementetimes.com no later than 8 a.m. on Monday. San Clemente Times reserves the right to edit readersubmitted letters for length and is not responsible for the claims made or information written by the writers. Limit your letters to 350 or fewer words. Please send with your valid email, phone number and address for verification by staff. Your address and phone number will not be published. The San Clemente Times and Picket Fence Media do not publish content that is defamatory. In the interest of fairness, SC Times will not publish letters submitted by candidates running for elected offices between the time they file for candidacy and the date of the election.

Join SC Times for a virtual Beachside Chat on Friday, Oct. 16, at 8 a.m. The chat is hosted by SC Times Editor Shawn Raymundo every Friday.

Photo: Courtesy of the ZOOMARS Petting Zoo

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15: PUMPKIN PATCH AT ZOOMARS 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Pick out a Halloween pumpkin at ZOOMARS Petting Zoo. The patch event runs through Oct. 31, and weekday hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ZOOMARS Petting Zoo, 31791 Los Rios Street, San Juan Capistrano. 949.831.6550. zoomars.com.

The List

What’s going on in and around town this week COMPILED BY STAFF

HAVE AN EVENT? Submit it to San Clemente Times by going to sanclementetimes.com, and clicking “Submit an Event” under the “Getting Out” tab.

Thursday | 15 VIRTUAL SC SPOOKY RUN: INDIVIDUAL 10K, FAMILY 5K All day. The city of San Clemente invites the community to get outside and get a workout in for this monthlong SC Spooky Virtual Run. Grab some tennis shoes and a family member and head outside to complete the family 5K or individual 10K. When participants are done, they can send the city a picture of their time to be entered into the contest for a place in the run. And to make it more interesting, because this is hosted by the city’s Recreation Division, which loves to have fun, participants should run/walk with a costume for an extra chance to enter the contest. Prizes for the 10K will be awarded to best time and best costume. Similarly, prizes for the family run 5K will be awarded for best time and best themed costume. More of the “spooktacular” details can be found on the city’s website at san-clemente.org. On your marks! Get set! Boo!

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SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO GHOST WALK 8 p.m. Learn about the eerie history of San Juan Capistrano as you walk through the downtown area and near Mission San Juan Capistrano. The walk is hosted by Haunted Orange County. Attendees are asked to meet at the visitor’s information booth by the train tracks. Face masks are required on all tours until further notice.

26701 Verdugo Street, San Juan Capistrano. 866.446.7803. hauntedoc.com.

Saturday | 17 TIDE POOLS HIKE 1-3 p.m. Join the Ocean Institute for a tide pool hike led by one of its expert naturalists. The hike will take participants into the rocky Marine Conservation Area located directly behind the Ocean Institute. Families can explore the area and search for snails, crabs, sea stars, and other marine life that make the tide pools their home. Tickets are $15 per person. Please sign up in advance, as space is limited. Walk-ins will only be allowed when space is available. Ocean Institute, 24200 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point. Ocean Institute. 949.496.2274. ocean-institute.org.

Sunday | 18 FARMERS MARKET 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Shop for a wide selection of fruits, vegetables and artisanal goods from organic growers at the Community Center/San Clemente Public Library parking lot. 100 North Calle Seville. 949 361 8200. san-clemente.org. sanclementetimes.com

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SC SC LIVING San Clemente

PROFILES OF OUR COMMUNITY

CoastLines by Fred Swegles

Downtown Alleys Could Become a Decorative Paseo

O

f all the outdoor seating galleries that have sprung up around town this year to help San Clemente restaurants cope with coronavirus restrictions, one is more interesting than any other.

It’s located in an alley behind an El Camino Real restaurant, Tamarindo.

It instantly turns the alley into a more interesting pedestrian paseo.

Paseo? That’s a Spanish word for promenade.

Since 2002, San Clemente’s elected leaders have made repeated efforts to decorate and enhance two downtown alley segments, designated as paseos.

You may remember the first effort— beach-themed alley decorations that became something of a comical curiosity.

Most of the decorations have long since been dismantled.

LONG-RANGE PLAN

In 2016, the city council adopted a Paseo Master Plan that received an award in 2017 from the American Planning Association.

The plan proposes public improvements to dress up downtown alleys, make them safer and more attractive to pedestrians and encourage businesses to privately create facade improvements.

The outdoor seating gallery behind Tamarindo may give you a hint of what could be done to enliven the alleys.

Nearby, an outdoor patio behind an El Camino Real coffee house, Sur Coffee, is built into that building, fronting on the alley.

It provides seating for the coffee house’s coffee bar and a more elaborate way of improving how that alley used to look.

The recently set-up seating gallery behind Tamarindo is landscaped and includes decorative lighting. It also takes up three parking spaces, including a handicapped one.

If outdoor dining there were to be made permanent—or outdoor seating elsewhere downtown where parking spaces are presently being sacrificed for restaurant seating—there would need to be an understanding over how to handle downtown parking needs.

San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

Clockwise from left: This recent outdoor dining addition to a downtown alley may look improvised and temporary, but it’s also evidence of ways the city’s Paseo Master Plan could eventually enliven downtown alleys. Photo: Fred Swegles. The city’s Paseo Master Plan, prepared by RRM Design Group, displays boundaries and potential design elements. All that remains of a beach-themed Alley Walk created by the city in 2002 is a row of metallic fish, some vines and degraded brown asphalt meant to be the color of a beach. Photo: Fred Swegles

TWO PASEO CORRIDORS

For now, the city is allowing outdoor dining areas to temporarily occupy parking spaces and parking lots as a coronavirus safety precaution.

The Paseo Master Plan could provide more back-alley opportunities downtown.

The paseo plan identifies two sets of alleys for public improvements and for private facade enhancements that could be eligible for grants.

El Camino Real Paseo Corridor runs parallel to El Camino Real between Avenida Rosa and Avenida Palizada.

COASTLINES Avenida Del Mar

By Fred Swegles Paseo Corridor runs behind businesses along the north side of Del Mar, from the El Camino Real Paseo Corridor to Ola Vista.

For now, the Paseo Master Plan is sitting on the shelf, as a San Diego Gas & Electric fund accrues underground utility money to allow San Clemente to rid targeted alleys of ugly overhead power lines.

GOODBYE, POWER LINES

Once SDG&E tears up alleys to yank out power poles and bury utility lines, the alleys can be repaved with decorative surface treatments, nicer lighting, landscaping, public art and incentives for private businesses to enhance building frontages facing the alleys.

This year’s city budget identifies downtown alley lighting replacements and Paseo Master Plan improvements as being four or five years away—$800,000 for public alley improvements.

The city’s original efforts to dress up

the alleys date back to 2002, when the city created a two-block Alley Walk, north and south of Del Mar.

CONVERSATION PIECES

You may be apt to smirk if you remember the illustrious paseos that the city council spent $104,000 to establish along one-way alleys between Del Mar, Avenida Granada and Avenida Cabrillo.

Decorations along the paseos were designed to look like a colorful beach scene—brown pavement, surrounded by white walls decorated with various bright colors of metallic fish, palm trees, umbrellas and surfboards.

It was a nice try, but the Alley Walk struck many as an oddly dressed-up alley.

It generated jokes and smirks.

“Paseo, my aseo!” a Sun Post News reader wrote in response to a news article that introduced the colorful decorations.

Sadly, the brown pavement was more the color of mud or fecal matter than an attractive sandy beach. And it wasn’t long until the brown became stained, patched, scrawled up with utility markings or otherwise desecrated with wear and tear.

Occasionally, suspicious-looking liquid runoff from the rear of one or another business would leak a squiggly path across the brown “beach.” Then the liquid would dry, leaving a mystery residue.

Face it, you could doll up an alley and call it a paseo, but you couldn’t hide that our fake beach was still an alley.

The metallic decorations became plastered with stickers.

Someone chained a bicycle to one of the metallic palm trees, whereupon the city slapped an eviction notice on the bicycle.

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NOT MUCH REMAINS

Over time, the city removed most of the metallic decorations, citing repeated vandalism or concerns about sharp edges.

All that remain are some vines and a school of fish. If you look closely, you can discern traces of our brown “beach.” Can you find a brown patch big enough to plop down a beach towel?

Overhead decorative lights that had been strung from side to side in zigzag patterns were removed. They proved too costly to maintain, struck by trucks with tall loads, leaving the lights drooping in disarray or falling onto the pavement.

Does anyone remember the year one of San Clemente High School’s homecoming parade floats got hung up in the paseo lights?

A POSITIVE THRUST

The city did succeed in screening businesses’ rear-door garbage cans from lining the paseos, requiring owners to either build trash enclosures or help fund a large collective enclosure that borders Avenida Granada.

And now there is a grand opportunity for a rebirth, with eventual rollout of the Paseo Master Plan.

Fred Swegles is a longtime San Clemente resident with five decades of reporting experience in the city. Fred can be reached at fswegles@picketfencemedia.com. SC PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, the SC Times provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not reflect those of the SC Times or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at editorial@sanclementetimes.com. The San Clemente Times and Picket Fence Media do not publish content that is defamatory.

sanclementetimes.com

PUBLIC NOTICES TO ADVERTISE: 949.388.7700, EXT. 111 • LEGALS@PICKETFENCEMEDIA.COM PUBLIC NOTICE SAVE-THE-DATE FOR COMMUNITY WORKSHOP #1 October 22, 2020, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Housing Element Update & Safety Element Update Join us for the first webinar for the City’s Housing Element and Safety Element Updates to discuss the City’s housing and safety needs. The City of San Clemente has begun the process of updating the Housing Element and Safety Element for the 20212029 Planning Period and wants to hear from you.

Community Workshop #1 will cover the basics about the Housing Element and Safety Element Update requirements and is intended to identify housing and safety needs that should be addressed.

The Community Workshop #1 webinar is scheduled for October 22, 2020, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The Community Workshop will be held virtually, hosted on Zoom. More information and registration instructions to come. For more information, please contact Jennifer Savage, Senior Planner, at (949) 361-6186 or savagej@san-clemente.org.

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE INVITING BIDS SAN CLEMENTE CITY HALL TENANT IMPROVEMENT ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF SUBSTATION Project No. 10546 1. Notice. Public notice is hereby given that the City of San Clemente (“City”) will receive sealed bids for the following project: San Clemente City Hall, Tenant Improvement for New Orange County Sheriff Substation, Project No. 10546 2. Bid Opening Date. Electronic bids must be submitted prior to 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 19, 2020, on the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal, at which time or thereafter bids will be opened and made available online. Bids received after this time will be considered nonresponsive. Prospective bidders must first register as a vendor and then bid on this project via the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal website at www.san-clemente.org/vendorbids.

3. Project Scope of Work. The scope of work consists of interior renovation and build-out of the second floor of the existing three-story San Clemente City Hall building to establish a new substation for the Orange County Sheriff Department. Work generally involves complete demolition of the existing second floor interior (e.g. walls, suspended ceiling, floor coverings, etc.) and construction of new offices, meeting rooms, locker rooms, restrooms, and associated HVAC, plumbing and electrical work.

4. Contract Time: The work must be completed within 100 working days from the date specified in the written Notice to Proceed.

5. License and Registration Requirements.

5.1. State License. Pursuant to California Public Contract Code Section 3300, the City has determined that the Contractor shall possess a valid California contractor’s license for the following classification(s): Class B – General Building Contractor. Failure to possess the specified license(s) at the time of bid opening shall render the bid as non-responsive and shall act as a bar to award the contract to that nonresponsive bidder.

5.2. Department of Industrial Relations Registration. Pursuant to California Labor Code SecSan Clemente Times October 15–21, 2020

tions 1725.5 and 1771.1, all contractors and subcontractors that wish to bid on, be listed in a bid proposal, or enter into a contract to perform public work must be registered with the Department of Industrial Relations (“DIR”).

No bid will be accepted nor any contract entered into without proof of the contractor’s and subcontractors’ current registration with the DIR to perform public work. If awarded a contract, the Bidder and its subcontractors, of any tier, shall maintain active registration with the DIR for the duration of the Project.

5.3. City Business License. Prior to the Notice to Proceed for this contract, the Contractor shall possess a valid City of San Clemente business license.

6. Contract Documents. Bid documents, including instructions to bidders, bidder proposal form, and specifications (not including other documents incorporated by reference) may be downloaded, at no cost, from the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal website at www.san-clemente. org/vendorbids. Bidders must first register as a vendor on the City of San Clemente PlanetBids system to view and download the Contract Documents, to be added to the prospective bidders list, and to receive addendum notifications when issued.

7. Bid Proposal and Security.

7.1. Bid Proposal Form. No bid will be received unless it is made on a proposal form furnished by the City.

7.2. Bid Security. Each bid proposal must be accompanied by security in the form of cash, certified check, cashier’s check, or bid bond in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the total bid amount. Personal checks or company checks are not acceptable forms of bid security. All certified and cashier’s checks must be drawn on a responsible bank doing business in the United States and shall be made payable to THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE. Bid bonds must be issued by a surety company licensed to do business in the State of California and must be made payable to THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE. Bids not accompanied by the required bid security will be rejected. For electronic submittal of bids, the bid security must be received at the City of San Clemente Public Works office, 910 Calle Negocio, Suite 100, San Clemente, CA 92673 no later than the bid opening date and time. The bid security must be submitted in a sealed envelope bearing the name and address of the bidder, and the outside of the envelope must read as follows: OFFICIAL BID SECURITY - DO NOT OPEN Project Name: San Clemente City Hall Orange County Sheriff Substation Tenant Improvement Project Bid #: 10546 Bid Opening Date: November 19, 2020 at 2:00 p.m.

The bid security shall serve as a guarantee that the bidder will enter into a contract. Such guarantee shall be forfeited should the bidder to whom the contract is awarded fail to enter into the contract within 15 calendar days after written notification that the contract has been awarded to the successful bidder.

8. Prevailing Wage Requirements.

8.1. General. This project is subject to the prevailing wage requirements applicable to the locality in which the work is to be performed for each craft, classification or type of worker needed to perform the work, including employer payments for health and welfare, pension, vacation, apprenticeship and similar purposes.

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8.2. Rates. Prevailing rates are available online at www.dir.ca.gov/DLSR and also available at the City of San Clemente Public Works Department Office at 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, CA 92673. Each Contractor and Subcontractor must pay no less than the specified rates to all workers employed to work on the project.

The schedule of per diem wages is based upon a working day of eight hours. The rate for holiday and overtime work must be at least time and one-half.

8.3. Compliance Monitoring. Pursuant to California Labor Code Section 1771.4, all bidders are hereby notified that this project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the California Department of Industrial Relations. In bidding on this project, it shall be the Bidder’s sole responsibility to evaluate and include the cost of complying with all labor compliance requirements under this contract and applicable law in its bid.

9. Retention. Pursuant to the contract for this project, five percent (5%) of each progress payment will be retained as security for completion of the balance of the work. Substitution of appropriate securities in lieu of retention amounts from progress payments is permitted pursuant to California Public Contract Code Section 22300. Refer to the contract for further clarification.

10. Performance and Payment Bonds. The successful bidder, simultaneously with execution of the contract, will be required to provide Faithful Performance and Labor and Material Payment Bonds, each in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the contract amount. Bonds are to be secured from a surety that meets all of the State of California bonding requirements, as defined in Code of Civil Procedure Section 995.120, and is admitted by the State of California.

11. Pre-Bid Meeting. Due to the COVID situation, a pre-bid meeting will not be held for this bid solicitation. However, non-mandatory site tours/information sessions will be offered to potential bidders by appointment only. Refer to the Instructions to Bidders section on how to schedule an appointment if desired and how to submit any pre-bid questions.

12. Instructions to Bidders. Additional and more detailed information is provided in the Instructions to Bidders, which should be carefully reviewed by all bidders before submitting a Bid Proposal.

13. Questions. All questions related to this bid solicitation must be submitted through the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal per the information provided in the Instructions to Bidders. Any other contact to City staff regarding this bid solicitation will be referred back to the PlanetBids system.

THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT ANY AND ALL BIDS, TO AWARD ALL OR ANY INDIVIDUAL PART/ ITEM OF THE BID, AND TO WAIVE ANY INFORMALITIES, IRREGULARITIES OR TECHNICAL DEFECTS IN SUCH BIDS OR IN THE BIDDING PROCESS. ANY CONTRACT AWARDED WILL BE LET TO THE LOWEST RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER AS DETERMINED FROM THE BASE BID ALONE. Dated October 15, 2020.

City of San Clemente Public Works Department 910 Calle Negocio San Clemente, CA 92673

PUBLIC NOTICE SECTION 00100 NOTICE INVITING BIDS CAMINO LOS MARES AND CAMINO DE ESTRELLA MEDIAN AND PAVEMENT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, FROM CALLE HERMOSA TO AVENIDA VAQUERO City Project No. 19318 1. Notice. Public notice is hereby given that the City of San Clemente (“City”) will receive sealed bids for the following project: CAMINO LOS MARES AND CAMINO DE ESTRELLA MEDIAN AND PAVEMENT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, FROM CALLE HERMOSA TO AVENIDA VAQUERO City Project No. 19318 2. Bid Opening Date. Electronic bids must be submitted prior to 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 5, 2020, on the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal, at which time or thereafter bids will be opened and made available online. Bids received after this time will be considered nonresponsive. Prospective bidders must first register as a vendor and then bid on this project via the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal website at www.san-clemente.org/vendorbids.

3. Project Scope of Work. Project includes pavement work, concrete repair including ramps, sidewalk, curb and gutter, median construction, landscape and irrigation, and other tasks as described in the plans and specifications.

4. Contract Time: The work must be completed within 55 working days from the date specified in the written Notice to Proceed.

5. License and Registration Requirements.

5.1. State License. Pursuant to California Public Contract Code Section 3300, the City has determined that the Contractor shall possess a valid California contractor’s license for the following classification(s): Class “A”. Failure to possess the specified license(s) at the time of bid opening shall render the bid as nonresponsive and shall act as a bar to award the contract to that non-responsive bidder.

5.2. Department of Industrial Relations Registration. Pursuant to California Labor Code Sections 1725.5 and 1771.1, all contractors and subcontractors that wish to bid on, be listed in a bid proposal, or enter into a contract to perform public work must be registered with the Department of Industrial Relations (“DIR”).

No bid will be accepted nor any contract entered into without proof of the contractor’s and subcontractors’ current registration with the DIR to perform public work. If awarded a contract, the Bidder and its subcontractors, of any tier, shall maintain active registration with the DIR for the duration of the Project.

5.3. City Business License. Prior to the Notice to Proceed for this contract, the Contractor shall possess a valid City of San Clemente business license.

6. Contract Documents. Bid documents, including instructions to bidders, bidder proposal form, and specifications (not including other documents incorporated by reference) may be downloaded, at no cost, from the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal website at www.san-clemente. org/vendorbids. Bidders must first register as a vendor on the City of San Clemente PlanetBids system to view and download the Contract Documents, to be added to the prospective bidders list, and to receive addendum notifications when issued. sanclementetimes.com

PUBLIC NOTICES TO ADVERTISE: 949.388.7700, EXT. 111 • LEGALS@PICKETFENCEMEDIA.COM 7. Bid Proposal and Security.

Bid Proposal Form. No bid will be received unless it is made on a proposal form furnished by the City. Bids shall be submitted electronically through the City’s electronic procurement system (PlanetBids) at: https://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal. cfm?CompanyID=28939 Bids must be received by no later than 2:00 p.m. on Thursday November 5, 2020. PlanetBids will not receive any bids submitted after 2:00 p.m., as they will be deemed disqualified. Only electronic bids submitted through PlanetBids will be accepted. Bid tabulations will be available on PlanetBids immediately following the bid closing.

7.1. Bid Security. Each bid proposal must be accompanied by security in the form of cash, certified check, cashier’s check, or bid bond in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the total bid amount. Personal checks or company checks are not acceptable forms of bid security. All certified and cashier’s checks must be drawn on a responsible bank doing business in the United States and shall be made payable to THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE. Bid bonds must be issued by a surety company licensed to do business in the State of California and must be made payable to THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE. Bids not accompanied by the required bid security will be rejected. For electronic submittal of bids, the bid security must be received at the City of San Clemente Public Works office, 910 Calle Negocio, Suite 100, San Clemente, CA 92673 no later than the bid opening date and time. The bid security must be submitted in a sealed envelope bearing the name and address of the bidder, and the outside of the envelope must read as follows: OFFICIAL BID SECURITY - DO NOT OPEN Project Name: CAMINO LOS MARES AND CAMINO DE ESTRELLA MEDIAN AND PAVEMENT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, FROM CALLE HERMOSA TO AVENIDA VAQUERO City Project No. 19318 Bid Opening Date: November 5, 2020 The bid security shall serve as a guarantee that the bidder will enter into a contract. Such guarantee shall be forfeited should the bidder to whom the contract is awarded fail to enter into the contract within 15 calendar days after written notification that the contract has been awarded to the successful bidder.

8. Prevailing Wage Requirements.

8.1. General. This project is subject to the prevailing wage requirements applicable to the locality in which the work is to be performed for each craft, classification or type of worker needed to perform the work, including employer payments for health and welfare, pension, vacation, apprenticeship and similar purposes.

the cost of complying with all labor compliance requirements under this contract and applicable law in its bid.

9. Retention. Pursuant to the contract for this project, five percent (5%) of each progress payment will be retained as security for completion of the balance of the work.

Substitution of appropriate securities in lieu of retention amounts from progress payments is permitted pursuant to California Public Contract Code Section 22300. Refer to the contract for further clarification.

10. Performance and Payment Bonds. The successful bidder, simultaneously with execution of the contract, will be required to provide Faithful Performance and Labor and Material Payment Bonds, each in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the contract amount. Bonds are to be secured from a surety that meets all of the State of California bonding requirements, as defined in Code of Civil Procedure Section 995.120, and is admitted by the State of California.

11. Pre-Bid Meeting. A pre-bid meeting will not be held for this bid solicitation. Refer to the Instructions to Bidders section on how to submit any pre-bid questions.

12. Instructions to Bidders. Additional and more detailed information is provided in the Instructions to Bidders, which should be carefully reviewed by all bidders before submitting a Bid Proposal.

13. Questions. All questions related to this bid solicitation must be submitted through the City’s PlanetBids System Vendor Portal per the information provided in the Instructions to Bidders. Any other contact to City staff regarding this bid solicitation will be referred back to the PlanetBids system.

THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT ANY AND ALL BIDS, TO AWARD ALL OR ANY INDIVIDUAL PART/ ITEM OF THE BID, AND TO WAIVE ANY INFORMALITIES, IRREGULARITIES OR TECHNICAL DEFECTS IN SUCH BIDS OR IN THE BIDDING PROCESS. ANY CONTRACT AWARDED WILL BE LET TO THE LOWEST RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER AS DETERMINED FROM THE BASE BID ALONE. Dated October 8, 2020.

City of San Clemente Public Works Department 910 Calle Negocio San Clemente, CA 92673 END OF NOTICE INVITING BIDS PUBLIC NOTICE

Persons interested in receiving an inspection copy of the Ordinance are invited to call the Deputy City Clerk at (949) 361-8301 or by email at campagnolol@san-clemente.org. Copies will be emailed or mailed to you at no cost.

NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that the City Council of the City of San Clemente will consider adopting the aforementioned Ordinance at its meeting of October 20, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. The agenda for the Regular Meeting of October 20, 2020 will be posted on the City’s website at www.san-clemente. org and on the bulletin boards at the City Council Chambers located at 100 Avenida Presidio and at 910 Calle Negocio, no later than October 16, 2020.

JOANNE BAADE City Clerk and Ex-Officio Clerk of the Council PUBLIC NOTICE Order to Show Cause For Change of Name Case No. 30-2020-01162481 To All Interested Persons: Petitioner Shu Cheng Liu Huang filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: PRESENT NAME A. Shu Cheng Liu Huang PROPOSED NAME A. Nora Shu-Cheng Liu Huang The Court Orders that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court of the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objective is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

Notice of Hearing Date: 11-19-2020 Time: 08:30 a.m. Dept.: D100 Window: 44. The address of the court is Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701. A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: San Clemente Times.

Date: September 28, 2020 JUDGE JAMES J. DI CESARE, Judge of the Superior Court Published: San Clemente Times October 15, 22, 29, November 5, 2020 PUBLIC NOTICE

LIEN SALE 10/26/20 10AM AT 1335 N SANTIAGO ST, SANTA ANA 14 BMW LIC# 7JMW766 LIC# WBA3A5G55ENP30647

8.2. Rates. Prevailing rates are available online at www.dir.ca.gov/DLSR and also available at the City of San Clemente Public Works Department Office at 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, CA 92673. Each Contractor and Subcontractor must pay no less than the specified rates to all workers employed to work on the project. The schedule of per diem wages is based upon a working day of eight hours. The rate for holiday and overtime work must be at least time and one-half.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of San Clemente, at its meeting of October 6, 2020, introduced the following ordinance:

8.3. Compliance Monitoring. Pursuant to California Labor Code Section 1771.4, all bidders are hereby notified that this project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the California Department of Industrial Relations.

In bidding on this project, it shall be the Bidder’s sole responsibility to evaluate and include

Ordinance No. 1705 entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE AND THE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC

San Clemente Times October 15–21, 2020

EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND REPEALING ORDINANCE #1703.

PUBLIC NOTICE ORDINANCE NO. 1705

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20206585437 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: INTENT PHYSIO 221 VIA PRESA SAN CLEMENTE, CA 92672-9267 Full Name of Registrant(s): INTENT PERFORMANCE PHYSICAL THERAPY, INC. 221 VIA PRESA SAN CLEMENTE, CA 92672-9267 This business is conducted by CA Corporation.

The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: 9/19/2019 /s/INTENT PERFORMANCE PHYSICAL THER, NATHAN GORDON JEFFRIES/PRESIDENT This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Orange County on 9/23/2020.

Published in: San Clemente Times October 15, 22, 29, November 5, 2020 PUBLIC NOTICE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20206584855 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: 13 STRIPES WINERY 625 VIA GOLONDRINA SAN CLEMENTE, CA 92672 Full Name of Registrant(s): WESTERLY WINE COMPANY, LLC 625 VIA GOLONDRINA SAN CLEMENTE, CA 92672 This business is conducted by a CA Limited Liability Company.

The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: n/a /s/WESTERLY WINE COMPANY, LLC /s/MICHAEL SPEAKMAN, MANAGING MEMBER/MANAGER This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Orange County on 9/16/2020.

Published in: San Clemente Times October 8, 15, 22, 29, 2020 PUBLIC NOTICE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20206584064 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: LUNA NATURAL MEDICINE 116 WEST EL PORTAL, SUITE 102 SAN CLEMENTE, CA 92672 Full Name of Registrant(s): DAYNA K. KOWATA 1437 WEST 11TH AVENUE ESCONDIDO, CA 92029 This business is conducted by An Individual.

The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: n/a /s/DAYNA K. KOWATA This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Orange County on 9/09/2020.

Published in: San Clemente Times October 8, 15, 22, 29, 2020 PUBLIC NOTICE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20206584158 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: SEAWIND FOODS 120 ½ S EL CAMINO REAL, STE 202 SAN CLEMENTE, CA 92672 Full Name of Registrant(s): SEAWIND INTERNATIONAL, LLC 120 ½ S EL CAMINO REAL, STE 202 SAN CLEMENTE, CA 92672 This business is conducted by CA Limited Liability Company.

The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: 04/09/2014 /s/SEAWIND INTERNATIONAL, LLC /s/ GARRY GREEN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Orange County on 9/10/2020.

Published in: San Clemente Times September 24, October 1, 8, 15, 2020

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SC LIVING

Contributor: San Clemente Historical Society

FROM THE ARCHIVES San Clemente’s first ambulance service operated by the Divel family, circa 1940s.

Every week, the San Clemente Times will showcase a historical photo from around the city. If you have a photo you would like to submit for consideration, send the photo, your name for credit as well as the date and location of the photo to editorial@sanclementetimes.com.

Adoptable Pet of the Week: Astrid SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

T

his pretty girl is Astrid, a 5-year-old sweetheart who just can’t wait to meet you. While Astrid loves playing catch with the ball, her real favorite pastime is snuggling on the couch. She is also mannerly and walks well on a leash, though she would prefer to be the only pet in a home so she doesn’t have to share the spotlight.

If you are interested in adopting Astrid, please visit petprojectfoundation.org/ adoptions/adoptadog to download an adoption application form. Completed forms can be emailed to animalservices@

Astrid. Photo: Courtesy of San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter

scdpanimalshelter.org, and you will be contacted about making an interaction appointment. SC

Sudoku

BY MYLES MELLOR Last week’s solution:

Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9x9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3x3 squares. To solve the puzzle, each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult. Level: Medium San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

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See the solution in next week’s issue.

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SC San Clemente

SPORTS & OUTDOORS

SC San Clemente

LOC ALS O NLY

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

STORIES, SCORES, SCHEDULES AND MORE

ADDICTION RECOVERY TREATMENT Body Mind Spirit Intensive Outpatient Program 665 Camino De Los Mares, Ste. 104, 949.485.4979, bodymindspiritiop.com

ATTORNEY Aaron Lloyd Bankruptcy Attorney 949.544.9355, 2377 S. El Camino Real, lloydlegal.com

San Clemente boys volleyball is slated to be the first team back in play with a scheduled Dec. 15 opener, but will the Tritons get the preparation time to open the season as scheduled? Photo: Zach Cavanagh

On the Horizon Two months from CIF’s start date, will sports open on time?

BY ZACH CAVANAGH, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

T

he past few weeks have provided steps forward for high school athletics in the Capistrano Unified School District.

Athletics programs were able to open Phase 2 of their return to play, which included slightly larger groups, the individual use of equipment and allowance for indoor and weight room activities at reduced capacity. Then on Tuesday, Oct. 13, students began coming back for oncampus instruction.

As teams sit exactly two months away from the CIF’s scheduled return to fullfledged competitions, will this increase in “normal” activities return to the level needed to start those competitions on time?

“I wish I had that answer, as everybody does,” San Clemente athletic director John Hamro said. “The virus will make that decision for us. We can only control what we can control. We’ll do everything in our power to move to the next step.”

CIF has scheduled boys volleyball as the first sport to return to games, with the first allowance to do so on Dec. 12. San Clemente boys volleyball has its season opener marked for Dec. 15 at home against Laguna Hills.

CIF has football practices scheduled to open on Dec. 14, girls volleyball matches starting on Dec. 19, boys water polo games starting on Dec. 21, cross country opening on Dec. 26 and girls water polo matches starting on Dec. 28.

Hamro said most sports would need a four-week lead-up of some full practices or training for the student-athletes to be ready as they normally would be. That would mark the week of Nov. 16 as a targeted start date for boys volleyball to get that full practice slate and start the season on time.

However, just as it took Orange County

San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

dropping to the No. 2 red “substantial” tier in the state’s color-coded, four-tiered coronavirus monitoring system to open the district’s Phase 2 workouts, Hamro said it would likely take the county moving down to the orange “moderate” risk tier to open a Phase 3 in CUSD or to get those practices started.

To move down to the orange tier, the county needs to be at the orange level in all of state’s monitoring metrics for two weeks. Orange County came close at the end of September before a small uptick in one metric held the county at the red level.

The county continues to straddle the line between red and orange.

“We all want to get to the point where we can share a ball,” Hamro said. “We’d all love to be able to do that. We’re going to err on the side of caution. Safety is the only lens we’re going to look through.

People still don’t know the long-term effects of this disease.

“We’re staying positive and continuing to prepare like we’re going to have a season.”

CIF competitions have been paused since mid-March, and CUSD athletics teams finally returned to the field for Phase 1 on Aug. 18 after a quick start-stop in early July.

Since that August restart, things have moved along smoothly for San Clemente High School’s teams. Athletes and coaches have adhered to the COVID-19 protocols, and Hamro said there hasn’t been any incident so far.

While coaches and players may not be as happy seven weeks into doing the same workouts every day as they were when they first got back outside, Hamro said the teams have embraced the rules and continued to work.

Hamro said the focus is still to get a full season in for every sport and every student-athlete, and he hopes there isn’t a situation in which some sports’ seasons are canceled early, denying even some of the student-athletes the full experience.

“Relationships, camaraderie, working with others, respect for authority, work ethic—all the stuff that they (student-athletes) will carry forward, they learn that out on the field,” Hamro said. SC

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DENTISTS Benjamin Stevens, D.D.S. 3553 Camino Mira Costa, suite B, 949.493.2391, benstevensdds.com Eric Johnson, D.D.S. 647 Camino de los Mares, Ste. 209, 949.493.9311, drericjohnson.com

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Arcadia Electric 949.361.1045, arcadiaelectric.com

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GARAGE SALES GARAGE SALE LISTINGS ARE FREE! Email your listing to info@sanclementetimes.com

HELP WANTED HELP WANTEDWAREHOUSE POSITION I: Must have experience in shipping and receiving.

Fork-lift experience, requires lifting and must have valid Drivers License with a clean driving record. Full-Time, benefits, 401K. Please call 949.492.4399 or email your resume to: dromero@ndaonline.net WAREHOUSE POSITION I: Must have experience in shipping and receiving, requires lifting and must have valid Drivers License with a clean driving record. FullTime, benefits, 401K. Please call 949.492.4399 or email your resume to: dromero@ndaonline.net SALONS Salon Bleu 207 S. El Camino Real, 949.366.2060, scsalonbleu.com

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SC n te S a n C le m e

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

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SC SC SURF San Clemente

SCOOP ON THE LOCAL SURF COMMUNITY

GROM OF THE WEEK TANNER SANDVIG

Tanner Sandvig. Photo: Courtesy of the Sandvig family

BY JAKE HOWARD, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

After seven months in lockdown, a surf trip somewhere like this is sounding really nice. Photo: Courtesy of International Surf Properties

Is It Safe to Chase Foreign Waves Again?

Jim Habig of International Surf Properties discusses COVID-19’s impact on his business and surf travel

BY JAKE HOWARD, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

W

hen the COVID-19 pandemic hit, San Clemente’s Jim Habig was down at his resort property in Popoyo, Nicaragua.

Owner of International Surf Properties, a real estate company that specializes in selling exotic, wave-rich properties around the globe, Habig figured the best thing he could do at the time was hunker down in Central America and ride things out. And that’s just what he’s been doing, surfing his brains out while we’re stuck here wondering what’s next.

“I had moved down from Popoyo, to Pavones, Costa Rica, because of some great opportunities for surf property sales next to one of the longest lefts in the world,” Habig said when I caught up with him via email last week. “Unfortunately, COVID kicked in with all of the travel restrictions and put an immediate hold on everyone’s plans.”

In normal times, summer would be the season for surfers to travel around the world and enjoy the many opportunities that foreign shores provide, but, of course, these aren’t normal times.

A small cadre of team riders for Lost Surfboards, including world tour surfers Kolohe Andino and Griffin Colapinto, broke the seal last month with a mission to Indonesia. Several other savvy travelers San Clemente Times October 15-21, 2020

have made strikes down to Mexico, one of the few places in the world where Americans are free to travel at the moment.

But for the most part, the lockdown has been real, and everyone’s been stuck surfing Trestles—and I mean everyone.

So, for somebody like Habig, who makes a living from wandering surfers, what has this meant for his business?

“The one positive for buyers is many of the prices for surf villas and surf camps have come down,” Habig said. “Now is a great time to buy as the travel restrictions lessen.”

Easier said than done. Wading through the myriad of travel restrictions and technicalities can be overwhelming when it comes to thinking about booking a trip.

“Everybody needs to know the requirements for the country they plan to visit,” Habig said. “For example, Costa Rica requires a COVID test within 72 hours of flying and travelers’ insurance, while Mexico requires neither of these. Do your research and know before you go. One thing that hasn’t changed is all of Central and South America require a passport valid for at least six months from entry into the country.”

In other words, as the old Surfline adage goes, “Know before you go.”

As Habig points out, this could be a great time to go search for surf, as crowds are light and there are some ridiculous travel and airfare deals out there.

“The never-before-seen situation the world is in does not change our quest by surfers for great waves,” Habig said.

“There are so many places you can find just the type of wave you are looking for. With all of the what-if scenarios, we are not sure when our next surf session is going to be.

Get out there and explore while you can.”

And in terms of investments, if you’ve been sitting on a pile of cash throughout the pandemic wondering what to do with it, now could be the time to throw down on the surf resort of your dreams.

“A few areas like Indonesia, Morocco and El Salvador come to mind as having some

great deals on surf resorts,” Habig said. “We also have a few pocket listings in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.”

To be sure, buying a surf resort right now could seem like a dicey proposition, which is why Habig and International Surf Properties have also launched a rental side to their business.

“Surfers have always been exploratory in the search for uncrowded waves, so it makes total sense they want to travel to find those perfect breaks. If we are going to flash amazing locations in front of a crazed surfer, we should give them the opportunity to get there,” he said. “It started with a try-before-you-buy program and grew from there. We have surf destinations in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Indonesia and beyond. We are adding new locations weekly.”

There is no shortage of concerns about traveling right now, and rightly so. Southern California has been an epicenter for the coronavirus over the past six months, and the idea of getting on a plane and potentially spreading the disease in some Third World country, where most of these exotic surf spots are located, hardly seems like a responsible thing to do.

But through better testing and other preventative procedures, things are slowly reopening, and moving around on this great, blue planet has become a little more realistic. And at the very least, we can all dream and plan for better days to come—and that’s part of what makes surf travel so alluring for so many hungry wave-riders.

Jake Howard is local surfer and freelance writer who lives in San Clemente.

A former editor at Surfer Magazine, The Surfer’s Journal and ESPN, today he writes for a number of publications, including the San Clemente Times, Dana Point Times, Surfline and the World Surf League. He also works with philanthropic organizations such as the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center and the Positive Vibe Warriors Foundation. SC

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he dream is real. Last week, Tanner Sandvig rolled out of the Rip Curl Surf Shop in San Clemente with a new sticker on the nose of his board.

“Beyond stoked to become part of the Rip Curl family. A huge thank you to James (Harrah) for believing in me. Super proud to have this sticker on my board,” Sandvig wrote on his Instagram account.

Sandvig has been working so hard to accomplish this moment. He’s been putting in a massive amount of time in both the ocean and the pool. Surfing, training, frothing out, usually with his little sis Teagan in tow, the stoke is real.

And thanks to shop manager James and the crew at Rip Curl, he’s got the support and inspiration to take things to the next level—and stay plenty toasty this winter in some killer new wetsuits.

When you hear people say, “Support your local surf shop,” this is exactly why.

Our surf shops are the pillars of our local wave-riding communities; they have been ever since Hobie Alter opened his doors in Dana Point back in 1960.

Look no further than the smile on Sandvig’s face to see how important local shops continue to be today. SC

SURF FORECAST Water Temperature: 68-70 Degrees F Water Visibility and Conditions: 6-10 ’ Thursday: South/southwest swell and smaller Northwest swell combine for waist to chest high surf, (3-4’). Light/variable morning winds, turn to a 6-11kt sea breeze for the afternoon, then become lighter by the evening.

Outlook: On Friday South/southwest swell holds as Northwest swell fades, with waves running waist-stomach-chest high, (2-3-4’). Morning winds are light Friday, afternoon flow is light+ onshore. Saturday’s surf stays waist-stomach high,(2-3’+). By Sunday, fresh South/southwest fills in for waist to shoulder high waves, (3-4’+).

Light southerly winds through most of Saturday and Sunday morning, then a moderate westerly sea breeze develops Sunday afternoon.

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