Local News

July 3rd, 2008

Tom Hogarty to Lead Escondido Chamber as 2008-2009 Board Chair

Public relations consultant Tom Hogarty, founder and principal of Hogarty Communications, took office July 1 as 2008-2009 Chairman of the Board of the Escondido Chamber of Commerce He was installed in early June as the Chamber held its 98th Annual Installation and Awards Dinner at Orfila Vineyards Winery. Hogarty succeeds Floyd Farley, chief executive officer of Graybill Medical Group.

Serving with Hogarty on the Chamber's Executive Commit-tee are Tina Pope, Chair-Elect, of Palomar Pomerado Health System; Les Abshire, San Diego National Bank, as Treasurer; Jerry Kaufman; Chair of the Chamber's Economic Development Committee; Carl Skaja, Skaja & Daniels, LLP, Chair of Member Services Committee; Vicki Bowen, Escondido Disposal, Inc. Chair of Community Services Committee; Brian Murphy, American Furniture Design Company, Education Committee; and Jon Hudson, Sign-A-Rama, Member at Large.

Chamber President and CEO Harvey Mitchell, who observes his fourth year in that post this year, serves as an ex-officio member.

Directors for the 2008-2009 Chamber year include Tim Brecht, Brecht BMW/ Brecht Mini; Joel Brown, Civic Member; Shirlie Downey, Shirlie Downey, CPA; Alex A. Galenes, CBI, Civic Member; Ed Nelson, Escondido Union High School District; Greg Nelson, Westfield North County; Rosa Ruiz, ReMax United; Paul Smith, Farmer's Insurance; Denette Stewart, California Bank & Trust; and Kevin Svetich, CLU, Kevin S. Svetich, CLU Insurance & Investments.

For further information on the Escondido Chamber, call 760-745-2125.

Escondido Murder Suspect Jailed

Agustin Ortuno, 27, was taken into custody Sunday by police as a suspect in the fatal shooting of 40-year-old Antonio Meza Hernandez who was killed Saturday night. Meza’s body was found in an alley behind Second Avenue and Ash street about 6:30pm, last Saturday. The shooting followed an argument Meza had with another man.

Officers first spotted a truck described as the shooter's maroon Ford F-150 near East Pennsylvania Avenue and North Ivy Street and had it under surveillance for several hours. Officers followed the vehicle and another vehicle in unmarked cars as they drove south on I-15 at speeds of up to 90 mph and had patrol cars stop the vehicles at Miramar Way. Ortuno and drivers of both vehicles were arrested; Ortuno on suspicion of murder, the others on suspicion of driving without a license and reckless driving.

Ortuno was booked into Vista Jail, where he is being held without bail.

Second Fatal Shooting in Escondido Involves Teenager

Eduardo Aranda, a 15-year-old Escondido boy was shot to death early Saturday in the alley of Seventh Avenue and Spruce Street in Escondido, police say. Police found he had been shot and was not breathing, and they performed CPR. Aranda was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses told police they saw the victim walking north on Spruce Street, when a small red car drove up next to him. Gunshots were fired.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective John O'Donnell at (760) 839-4756 or the Anonymous Tip Line at (760) 743-8477.

Oceanside Welcomes New Restaurants

Oceanside has been busy with developers building residential, commercial and resort projects, project that run into the billions of dollars and all designed to change the image of downtown Oceanside. Now, it’s time to feed those people moving into the downtown area. So, the logical next step is to build restaurants. That is exactly what is happening.

On Monday, Harney Sushi is scheduled to open on the first floor of the six-story Oceanside Terraces at Mission Avenue and Cleveland Street, four blocks from the pier. The restaurant, with seating for 150 inside and on a patio, has sushi and sake bars, a VIP room, a disc jockey booth, a 600-gallon fish tank, a waterfall backdrop and an ethanol fireplace. The menu includes beef and chicken teriyaki dishes as well as sushi.

About a week later, the Breakwater Brewing Co. restaurant is due to open a block east, at Coast Highway and Seagaze Drive. The microbrewery is in a corner of the OceanPlace Entertainment Center, a theater complex that has taken nearly nine years to fill with tenants. Breakwater will feature moderately priced pizzas, hot and cold sandwiches, panini and eventually pastas, owner Kirk McHale said.

By the end of the year, the Cohn Restaurant Group of San Diego intends to open a seafood and steak restaurant called 333 Pacific in the seven-story Wyndham Oceanside Pier Resort at Pacific Street and Pier View Way. The resort opened in January.

Development continues with several other resorts set to complete building and open relatively soon; all will also have restaurants. Oceanside may soon become one of the dining headquarters for San Diego County and city officials and Chamber officials are quite pleased with the prospect.

Artificial Turf Program Suspended

On June 26, the San Diego County Water Authority suspended its artificial turf incentive program in response to a Centers for Disease Control health advisory that cited concerns about lead levels found in certain kinds of artificial turf recently tested in New Jersey.

Limited testing by New Jersey health officials of artificial turf playing fields has indicated several artificial turf products made of nylon or nylon-blended fibers contain levels of lead that may pose a potential health concern. According to the advisory, the fields found to have high lead levels in New Jersey were weathered and dusty, used frequently, and the turf fibers were abraded, broken, or faded.

The CDC advisory indicated the risk of harmful lead exposure is low from fields that are new or in good condition and it will continue to monitor the situation in coordination with other agencies.

The Water Authority will suspend its program as a precautionary measure until more definitive information and a recommendation on the safety of artificial turf is made available by the CDC or other proper public health and consumer product regulatory agencies. The Water Authority also is requesting the concurrent suspension of all other water agency artificial turf incentives within its service area.

The Water Authority is advising those who have health concerns about artificial turf or lead exposure to contact their physician or the County Health Department at (619) 515-6694.

Calvin Christian Wins Athletic Program Grant of $55,000 from San Diego Chargers

One of only nine schools out of 100 applicants, it’s the first time a Christian School has received this grant and Superintendent Terry Kok gladly accepted the most welcome check.