RSF Business Spotlight

Swedish bomshell, Bond girl -- "Man with the Golden Gun", "Octopussy" -- Maud Adams, continues to be a presence in the Southern California arts community. Her name recently was featured in the 92067 Free Press interactive community story appearing soon on the Rancho Santa Fe Ning Network.

RSF Lifestyle page highlights important stories to residents of RSF and surrounding areas.

This House Will Change Lives

Reportedly, Tom DeLonge is selling his 5-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom Rancho Santa Fe, California home. For just around $5 million, you, too, can live like the lead singer of Angels and Airwaves. Or, if you prefer, you can run around in your white underpants and pretend to be old Blink-182 Tom DeLonge. Either way, I am sure he wants you to buy the house.

The realtor's site in no way mentions this is Tom DeLonge's house, so they're probably wondering why this one house is getting so much Web traffic. Meanwhile, I'm just trying to figure out why anyone needs five and a half bathrooms.

I was somewhat skeptical about whether or not this was truly Tom's house, but upon reading some of the flowery descriptions, I'm pretty sure it's the real deal:

"Appearing to float on water above a front reflecting pool and rear waterscape feature, this elegant and privately located retreat...."

[By coincidence, it is entirely possible that Tom DeLong walks on water, so it would make sense that his house would do something similar.]

[Much like the music of Angels and Airwaves, which must be heard to be believed.]

Anyway, if you buy it, let me know how your life has been changed. I was going to try and get a mortgage on it for myself, but then I saw this: "...a car collector’s dream 8-car garage that includes a newly built 4-car air-conditioned section with glass display doors."

Total deal breaker. What the hell am I going to do with an 8-car garage that is only half air conditioned? I'm not a fucking peasant.

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A while back, 92067 Free Press discussed Rancho Santa Fe's connections as Tequilaville and this month Rancho Soledad Nursery off Aliso Canyon Road added the ultimate touch -- a newfangled tequila plant called Agave americana.

Rancho Soledad Nurseries has introduced its Blue Glow, an agave that grows to about 2 feet in diameter -- diminutive compared with the 6- to 12-foot spread of a mature century plant. The nursery now ships thousands of Blue Glow agaves worldwide, with the strongest demand in Europe, Japan and Australia.

Chino Farm was Ground Zero for the Audubon Society's North County bird count scheduled for Jan. 3.

"The sandhill crane is fairly uncommon, if not rare in the county anyway, it was actually at Chino Farm," said Robert Patton, a consulting biologist and a leader for the annual Rancho Santa Fe Count.

"It looks like they plowed under the corn after the season and the crane seemed to like hanging out there for the whole winter, so to have one there, not only on the day of the count, but in the whole winter, was exciting," Patton said.

The Audubon Society conducts thousands of bird counts in the U.S. Locally, birders will be enumerating the flying beasts along a 15-mile diameter circle extending from Torrey Pines to Cardiff, to Lake Hodges and Miramar Reservoir.

Intrigued? San Diego Chapter of The Audubon Society holds introductory birding courses to get you ready for the 2011 count. Sessions are 9 a.m. to noon, Feb. 13 and 20, March 13 and 27 at Tecolote Nature Center near Mission Bay. Field trips are 9 a.m. to noon Feb. 27 and March 20.

For more information, call (858) 273-7800 or visit www.sandiegoaudubon.org. San Diego Audubon Society Rare Bird Hotline is at (619) 688-2473.

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The astonishingly restrictive ways of homeowners associations (HOAs) came under scrutiny this month when a Sussex Square, Virginia, HOA demanded that a 90-year-old World War II vet remove an unapproved flag pole from his front yard. After receiving support from members of Congress, and even the Obama administration, Medal of Honor recipient Van T. Barfoot, who once singlehandedly took on three Nazi tanks, triumphed in his quest to fly Old Glory. Other homeowners haven’t been as lucky in their battles against their own HOAs’ “fascist” rules. Here are seven of the most controversial commandments:

1. Thou shalt not plant too many roses
A Rancho Santa Fe, California, homeowners’ association targeted Jeffery DeMarco for exceeding the prescribed number of rose bushes allowed on his four-acre property. When DeMarco balked, the HOA levied monthly fines, threatened foreclosure, and ultimately defeated DeMarco in court. After a judge ruled that the willful rose enthusiast had violated the community’s architecture design rules, DeMarco was forced to pay the HOA’s $70,000 legal bill — and lost his home to the bank.

HAVE YOURSELF A VERY SHINTO HOLIDAY SEASON. TRAVEL WRITER CAROLYNN CARRENO TAKES YOU ON A VERY EXCLUSIVE, AND RARE, VISIT WITH THE CHINO FAMILY AT CHINO NOJO AS THEY PREPARE THE ANNUAL MOCHI-TSUKI NEW YEAR CELEBRATION...

I wound through the valley of Rancho Santa Fe one chilly, foggy morning late last December, as the skies were turning that California-dawn palette of periwinkle and pink, toward Chino Nojo, the Chino family's farm. The Chinos are four siblings who have achieved a near-cultlike fame for growing perhaps the finest fruits and vegetables that can possibly be grown on their 50-acre plot just north of San Diego. I was headed there to take part in their annual mochi-tsuki, a Shinto celebration that begins the period of the New Year—and which, Tom Chino says, is an important part of life on this farm.

I parked and walked behind the Chinos' farm stand, officially (although rarely) called the Vegetable Shop, to a group of four simple structures, painted a muted, mustardy yellow and positioned around a courtyard in a formation that, in its simplicity and grace, looked entirely Japanese. Kay, Fred, and Frank Chino all live here. Hideo lives in San Diego with his wife, Sheridan Reed, and their two children, and although not involved with the business of the farm, he often stops by to visit. Tom lives nearby with his wife, Nina McConnel, and their 12-year-old son, Makoto, and arrives at the farm at 4 a.m. seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.

FOR MORE ON THE CHINO FAMILY AND ITS FARM, READ THE ARTICLE HERE AND IN SAVEUR

Location: 6123 Calzada del Bosque, Rancho Santa Fe (off Via de la Valle, S6)

Open year round: Fall/Winter: Tuesday-Saturday 10-4; Sunday 10-1; Spring/Summer: Tuesday-Saturday 10-5; Sunday 10-1. Closed Mondays. Recorded information: (858) 756-33184.

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The Crystal Ball, benefitting Casa de Amparo raised more than $500,000 at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club. The gala-riffic funds go to helping Casa de Amparo treat and prevent child abuse in San Diego County.

About 300 patrons attended the event that featured a live auction offering a trip to Tuscany; ocean fishing in Alaska with a stay at Talon Resort on Apple Island; a tour of the Navy SEALS training facility; and a pair of child-sized Mercedes Benz SLK electric cars.

(Photo: Who Dat? Mom Lori Smith and daughter Kristina Smith do the Crystal Ball red carpet.)

(Photo right, Wendy Walker, middle, with Larry King and Kathy Connor at Kids Corps USA 2007 Gala)

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YOUR FASHION CODE? Sure, why not. RSF-based fashion consultants, identical twin sisters Sara and Ruth Levy were scheduled for "The Rachel Ray Show" to unveil their new instructional manual and video. See it here first.

International fashion stylists and identical twin sisters Sara and Ruth Levy will unveil "The Fashion Code," a timeless formula that allows any woman to instantly look 10 pounds thinner, 10 years younger and 10 times more stylish, on TV's "The Rachael Ray Show" - and their new website, www.TheFashionCode.com.

"The Fashion Code" is based on a fascinating equation for beauty, which has been used by everyone from Da Vinci to today's top fashion icons. The Code shows women of all shapes, sizes and ages how to EASILY hide their figure flaws and play up their natural assets. On "The Rachael Ray Show," the popular TV host describes "The Fashion Code" as "The Da Vinci Code meets fashion."

"These days, there's an instruction manual for everything - except how to dress," says Sara Levy, who's based in Rancho Santa Fe, California. "Sure, there are tips and tricks for looking good, but nowhere is there an actual foolproof formula for dressing beautifully....until now."

Sara and Ruth Levy will be demonstrating The Fashion Code at the Rancho Santa Fe Community Center from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. May 20. The cost is $25 for members/ $30 for nonmembers. “Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or a career woman, come learn how this invaluable tool will transform your existing wardrobe without costing a fortune,” Sara Levy said.

Reservations can be made by calling (858) 756-2461. Visit YourFashionCode.com for more information.

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Sir Richard Branson’s

Virgin Galactic

Space Tourism

By Patty Kovacevich

A new choice for booking your next Sir

travel adventure

is on the horizon.

When talking about remote travel, hard-to-get-to

places, and thrilling adventures to unknown heights,

how does suborbital travel sound?

If you’re adventurous, healthy, and rich, you can

(Photo left, Sir Richard Branson and Burt Rutan, spacecraft designer...)

extraterrestrial experience.

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RANCHO SANTA FE RESIDENT GERALD PARSKY HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT FOR 40 YEARS. A 1968 GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA LAW SCHOOL, THE SCHOOL'S ALUMNI MAGAZINE RECENTLY PROFILED HIM.

Cullen Couch
Just a few years into his first job out of Virginia, Gerald Parsky fielded a phone call that would change his life. The late Edwin Cohen ’36, his old professor at the Law School and then assistant secretary of the treasury for tax policy in the Nixon administration, was looking for an assistant. He wanted Parsky. The young lawyer leapt at the opportunity, beginning a career in law and politics that the former Princeton English major and E. M. Forster expert never would have dreamed of pursuing.

Parsky would serve under Presidents Nixon and Ford, and become assistant secretary of the treasury and an economic and political counselor to three more presidents. He would serve on Ronald Reagan’s transition team and on his President’s Council on Productivity, the President’s Export Council under George H. W. Bush, and the President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security for George W. Bush. A longtime family friend of the Bushes, Parsky is the president’s political confidant in California.

Parsky’s life in and around politics has taught him the value of compromise, a virtue in short supply in today’s policy debates. “You don’t have to compromise your principles,” he says, “but you do have to be open to understanding that there may be different points of view.”

Rapid Rise
Parsky joined the Tax Legislative Council staff as executive assistant to Cohen in November, 1971. The following spring, he went with Cohen to a meeting with Treasury Secretary George Shultz. Shultz asked Cohen to recommend someone who could analyze some economic and tax proposals associated with the upcoming Nixon presidential campaign. Cohen immediately pointed to the little-known Parsky. As a result, Parsky worked closely with Shultz throughout 1972 and Shultz became a real mentor. When Cohen left the Treasury Department in late 1972, Shultz asked Parsky to stay and introduced him to William Simon, who joined as deputy secretary. Shultz and Simon soon put Parsky on everything that came through the Treasury Department, giving him broad experience in economics, capital markets, and finance.

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It's not all champagne and roses in the skies above Rancho Santa Fe. Some hot-air balloon company proprietors are themselves full of hot air, Rancho Santa Fe Covenant residents said this week.
Residents cited numerous instances of balloon companies abusing landing rules, cutting gate locks, trashing areas including damaging environmentally sensitive landscapes, lying about emergency landings and generally disrespecting community norms.
"We have had confrontations with the balloon people calling us all sorts of names when they land on our properties," said Lynn Diamond, a covenant resident who also is spokeswoman for the Carlsbad Police Department.
"They have put up chains, cut locks and put up their own locks on people's property," Diamond said. "Then, they claim they are landing due to an FAA emergency. Homeowners who try to ask them to leave private property are subject to verbal abuse, threats, lies and profanity.
"They are driving around with their trucks dragging equipment and trashing away," Diamond said. "They are also abusing open spaces and endangered habitat. They land wherever they want. It's definitely not what it is portrayed to be. They are a constant problem."
Likewise, Annie Fonte, a property owner and resident in the covenant area just beyond the Zumaque Gate, along the environmentally sensitive San Dieguito Riverbed, said balloon companies on several occasions had trespassed, scared her animals and generally ravaged the landscape.
"I'll be walking with my dogs and horses," Fonte said, "and often see the champagne corks, napkins and clues as to where they landed. You ask these folks who they are and they are elusive. They won't answer questions. It can be dark and you don't know who these people are. The end result, God forbid, is they crash into somebody's home. It would be a tragedy."
Balloonists for hire have landed on her property without authorization three times in the last year, according to Fonte, who also has traced balloon skid marks along several parts of the nearby, and environmentally protected, Lusardi Creek Preserve.
For their part, some hot air balloon company owners specifically pointed to one of their own as the cause of most complaints, saying this person gave them all a bad name. Those balloon company representatives acknowledged all complaints made by covenant residents were factual.
Furthermore, balloon companies said a root cause of local communication problems and complaints stemmed from development in the area depriving them of once available open space landing areas.
Coincidental to covenant resident complaints, balloon company owners held a private meeting with city of San Diego open space officials last week. News media was not allowed at the meeting reportedly involving balloon company owners asking for permission to land at remaining Santaluz and Black Mountain Road open spaces due to the lack of locally available landing areas.
Due to the fly-by-sunset nature of the commercial balloon ride for profit industry, it was impossible to determine how many companies offer such services locally. However, those involved in the industry put the number of operators at around nine. About four, or five, operate from San Diego County with the remainder based in the Temecula area
Generally, they offer flights along the Pacific Coast through Carmel Valley and into the Rancho Santa Fe area, starting around dusk and taking place on weekends.
Rides offer champagne or cider, photo opportunities and tours, generally lasting from 30 minutes to several hours. Costs vary but generally are around $80 per person for a half-hour ride to $200, or more, for an hour. A private charter may cost around $650 to $800 for one to two hours.
These businesses typically operate out of homes and meet customers at pre-designated open field areas. Currently, many meet customers near Flower Hill Mall off Via de la Valle or near MiraCosta College off Manchester Road in Olivenhain.
Local operators included Rancho Santa Fe resident Frank Reed and Sunballoon, Connie Von Zweck of Skysurfer from Del Mar, David Bradley of Temecula-based California Dreamin', Panorama Balloon Tours with a Del Mar post office box and apparent home-based location in Carlsbad, Sky's the Limit operated by James Lawson out of Encinitas and Balloon Addicts, location unknown.
Only Reed and Von Zweck agreed to speak on the record about the industry and their activities.
"The balloon companies have not done a good job of promoting themselves," Von Zweck said. "You only hear from people who don't like something. You don't always hear the positive. We need to communicate with the public to educate people and raise public awareness of ballooning."
Reed said, "For the most part, the people in the Rancho Santa Fe area have worked exceptionally well with us. Some people, who have been vocal about us, don't even own the properties. We don't trespass on properly posted property. But landing is an imperfect science."
The Balloon Federation of America is considered the leading voluntary, balloonist membership organization with 3,000 members.

The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, regulates hot air balloonists, according to Ian Gregory, the FAA Western-Pacific Region communications manager. Balloon pilots must pass a variety of written and hands-on flight tests to be commercially rated and allowed to charge people for rides, he said.
The FAA requires any emergency landings to be reported to the agency within 48 hours, but has no record of any in San Diego County since 2002. There have been eight reported balloon accidents in the state and 97 nationwide since 2002, Gregor said.
As for liability to property owners would a balloon crash, "Balloonists in such circumstances are trespassers," Gregor said. "When they enter they have no right or privilege, the responsibility is theirs, and they must assume the risk of what they may encounter."

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SAY WHAT YOU WILL ABOUT RANCHO SANTA FE'S VALENTI INTERNATIONAL DATING SERVICE, BUT THE LEGAL COMMUNITY ENJOYS THEIR LITIGATION AS A CASE IN POINT, AT LEAST FOR LEGAL DISCUSSION. UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO LAW PROFESSOR SHAUN MARTIN OBSERVES...

Duffens v. Valenti (Cal. Ct. App. - March 27, 2008)
You're killing me, Court of Appeal.

Earlier this week, I complain -- okay, I whine -- about the flood of opinions coming out of the Ninth Circuit and Court of Appeal this week. Including 30 in 32 hours. Crushing. At least for devoted court-watchers (and -readers) such as myself.

So what does yesterday bring? Twenty-plus opinions.

Good to know that people are listening. Not, I admit, that I expected anything else.

Fortunately, I have had time to read this opinion by Justice Huffman. An opinion that I'd mention, wholly apart from anything else, if only because it concerns Irene Valenti, who runs the "Valenti International" dating service. Which you've undoubtedly read about if you've ever been stuck on a transcontinental flight with a dead laptop battery and thus forced to read the free airline magazines (and advertisements therein) stuck helpfully in the seatback in front of you.

This is yet another in a series of cases against various "high profile" -- read: high cost -- dating services that promise contact with "high profile" -- read: rich -- men. Allegedly with no intent (or ability) to perform. The services also ain't cheap; the average plaintiff in this action paid almost $50,000. And didn't get married to, or presumably even nail, a multimillionaire. The latter of which would hardly be worth 50 Gs anyway. Trust me.

Anyway, the question here is whether the plaintiffs have to arbitrate -- in San Diego, no less (Valenti works out of Rancho Santa Fe, the tony neighborhood down here -- pursuant to the contract. Sure, the plaintiff is making the usual "recission" and "invalidity" claims about the contract in general, but, typically, you've got to arbitrate notwithstanding such arguments.

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The Ultimate Estate on Los Arboles in Rancho Santa Fe
has been|on the market for six months. It can be yours,
too, for around $40 million

Got $28 million? Then, Shelly Curtis has got the estate for you. That would be the mega-estate known as Montagna De La Paloma in Fairbanks Ranch encompassing 12 acres and previously owned by the late Joan Kroc.
"I'm one of the buyers' agents for the Joan Kroc House," Curtis said. "People buy the agent before they buy the house. To get the listing takes a little bit of luck, being at the right place at the right time and your being knowledgeable about the area."
The 92067 ZIP code area in Rancho Santa Fe has a mother lode of expensive properties in its flat-out high-end market. As of this month, 73 properties listed at more than $5 million.
Forbes.com ranked 92067 as second most expensive ZIP code real estate market in the nation for 2005 with a median sales price of $2.45 million. This was just behind Sagaponack in Suffolk County, N.Y., at $2.79 million and ahead of Newport Beach at $2.39 million.
Topping the local price list was a modest little place at 16337 Los Arboles in the covenant referred to in its marketing campaign as The Ultimate Estate. The $40 million, nine-acre property even has its own Web site, www.theultimateestate.com.
Next in line was an estate at 15651 Puerta del Sol, also in the covenant, listing for $36.5 million. The Joan Kroc estate at 17897 Cira Oriente was being offered at $28 million.
Rounding out the Top 8 list, all with asking prices greater than $10 million were an El Montevideo estate at $21.5 million, the former C. Arnholt Smith estate on Calzada del Bosque at $18 million, a $14 million estate on Ladys Secret Drive in Del Rayo Estates, a $13 million property on El Camino del Norte.
With Sterling Properties, Curtis noted, as did other agents representing the most upscale homes and estates around town, the high-end homes practically sell themselves although hard work always is required in the end.
"It's harder for me to sell that $350,000 condo to a first-time home buyer than it is to sell a $10 million property," Curtis said. "The high-end buyers come in knowing more what they want."

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By Dan Weisman

The ambulance at Rancho Santa Fe Fire Station 1 sat idle, if only for a moment, as paramedic John Salinsky contemplated the upscale North County beat he works for San Diego Medical Services Enterprise, the area's 911 paramedic provider.
"This is a lot different than working downtown," Salinsky said. "It's just better quality here. It's like the difference between Thunderbird and fine wine."
Upscale, yes, but areas served by Salinsky, his partner Angelo Sanchez, an emergency medical technician, and the other medical emergency responders in places such as Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar, Carmel Valley and Solana Beach suffer life and death traumas like anywhere else.
"One gentleman was at a formal dinner wearing a tuxedo and choking on a steak," Salinsky said. "He was in a room full of doctors all standing over him. You walk in the door and see a doctor with a giant steak knife trying to do a tracheotomy on him."
No happy ending there. The patient died. But potential tragedy many times turns to joy due to quick acting by paramedics such as Salinsky and a sense of humor never hurts.
"I always like the one about the fabled Rancho Santa Fe deer," Salinsky said. "Usually occurs around 2 o'clock in the morning. Someone hits a tree. I get there and they are standing around a little tipsy saying the deer ran across the road and I hit it. I've heard variations like a coyote of bunny rabbit ran across, too. The elusive RSF deer only seems to come out after they've been drinking."
Paramedics and emergency medical technicians are part of a groundbreaking public-private partnership in place since 2001. The umbrella operation is called San Diego Medical Services Enterprise. This combines resources from the city of San Diego
Fire-Rescue Department and Rural/Metro Ambulance, a leading national provider of emergency and non-emergency medical transportation.
The organization employs about 410 people covering Carmel Valley and the city of San Diego as well as North County from Encinitas to Del Mar, 4S Ranch to Elfin Forest. Beyond San Diego city limits, the coverage area is referred to as County Service Area 17. Crews respond to about 5,100 emergency calls and transport about 4,300 patients annually. Three ambulances are staffed 24 hours a day out of Rancho Santa Fe Fire Station 1, Encinitas Fire Station 5 and Solana Beach Fire Station 1.
The service also participates in numerous community outreach programs. It offers free blood pressure checks at senior centers, Distributes free emergency medical information kits and defibrillator training. Crews attend various community events telling people how best to contact 911 service providers and other helpful bits of advice about what to do in emergency situations.
Medical service providers work as two-person paramedic units, generally in 24-hour shifts, saving lives side-by-side with regular fire engine crews that include five or six firefighters and a paramedic. This requires teamwork and a commitment to patient care above all else.
"This is not like you're sitting behind a desk pushing paper," said 24-year paramedic Randy Stark as he manned Solana Beach Fire Station 1 with emergency medical technician Jason Gray, a new hire, during the final days of the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
The day before, the crew made three trips to the fair. Two visits were for alcohol-related injuries. One trip was to help a person suffering an off-track motorbike spill.
"I like this job," said Stark, leaning on an ambulance with an interior resembling a fully stocked hospital triage unit. "One day, it's a child birth, then an auto accident, then a stabbing, over to a parachute that didn't open to shark bites, everything you hear over the news."
The journey from tragedy to hospital can be emotionally gut wrenching. Emergency workers undergo extensive psychological and situational training to help them deal with sometimes-unconscionable events. They must act quickly and decisively under pressure.
"We're out there by ourselves," Salinsky said. "We really need to be prepared. You need a certain detail-oriented personality, someone who likes to be autonomous. You're constantly re-assessing during transport like Sherlock Holmes, deducing, trying to narrow down the complaint from an endless list of things, determining what is wrong and how to treat the patient."
Salinsky and Sanchez had just finished transporting a Rancho Santa Fe patient with abdominal pain to Scripps Encinitas Hospital.
"We have a higher percentage of older people around here, but they know to call 911 when they need it and not for reasons other than emergencies like happens downtown a lot," Salinsky said.
But for Stark and Gray over at Solana Beach, the day was quieter as they contemplated life, not death.
"I've participated in delivering 100 babies," Stark said. "We had a child birth in Solana Beach last year where they called 911 saying the baby was coming. The lady delivered in her driveway, leaning on a Mercedes. She called me the other day, and we went to her son's first birthday party."
Medical supervisor Todd Smith checked his on-board computer's global positioning system pinpointing active cases, of which there were several, driving to another of his units on the front lines of emergency medical care in County Service Area 17.
"I was a third-generation San Diego County firefighter before I went to paramedic school," Smith said. "No, I'm not superstitious, but we always have our full moon scenarios. It must be a full moon tonight."

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Invasive plant eradication program showing results
FROM THE RAY'S BREAKFAST CLUB FILES

Shannon Mountain of the Rancho Santa Fe Association wades
through the evil pampa grass that is an unwanted invasive plant species.
Photo: Jessica Horton

A far-reaching program to eliminate invasive plants from Rancho Santa Fe and North County was showing significant progress, mainly due to the cooperation of homeowners, according to program administrators for the Rancho Santa Fe Association.
"It's been going very well with a good response," said Shannon Mountain, invasive plant eradication project manager for the Rancho Santa Fe Association.
"Everybody wants to participate and get involved," Mountain continued. "Some people even have been motivated to do it on their own"
Said Dick Brockett, Rancho Santa Fe Association director of field operations, "Overall this has been a great success. We have had nothing but cooperation from the community. We have made great strides in getting this stuff out of here."
The Rancho Santa Fe effort began last summer, part of the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy's Carlsbad Watershed Network Invasive Plant Eradication Project funded by the California State Water Resource Board and, now, the California Wildlife Conservation Board.
The conservancy started the program in the Escondido Creek area and a swathe of land stretching from Escondido to Oceanside with the first of a series grants, this one valued at $3.9 million. This involved 300 acres of land and 3,000 affected parcels.
Another 300 acres must be treated, mainly from Rancho Santa Fe and the San Elijo Lagoon drainage area southward into Solana Beach and Del Mar. These targeted areas are part of a new $1.5 million grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board intended to clear the obnoxious plants from about 150 acres by this spring when work must stop lest it interfere with endangered bird breeding.
Property owners don't pay for plant removal. They merely need to give permission to landscapers under contract to the conservancy to remove the unsightly and unearthly plants' removal at an estimated cost of $15,000 to $20,000 per acre.
"It's been going gangbusters," said Doug Gibson, executive director of the conservancy. "We're well over half-way done, maybe as much as 70 percent, with treatment of the plants within our watershed area in Rancho Santa Fe.
"Usually, our biggest problems occurred in going out and getting permission from homeowners but the work done by the association has made it no problem at all," Gibson said.
"But we have a lot of work to do," Gibson added.
Pampas grass, native to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, appears to be the main invasive plant afflicting Rancho Santa Fe properties. It shoots up in large clumps of silvery-white, or pink, plumes as high as 12-feet.
Arundo, a giant corn-like reed, also appears in unhealthy doses locally. Other offending invasive plants include castor beans and certain ice plants.
The unsightly, conspicuous and non-native plants can produce millions of seeds with pollination, suck up precious water and otherwise displace native coastal dunes, shrubs and beautiful vegetation.
A lot of the invasive plants date to the 1940s and 1950s, according to Brockett, and many people now don't even realize the plants must be removed for the sake of the environment and wildlife.
Removal logistics depends on location with plants on steep slopes harder to remove than counterparts in more open spaces. Removal strategy entails dosing the plants with commonly found, non-toxic chemicals, waiting for the plant to die and digging it out of the ground. Killing the invasive plants first is a necessary step to allow the plant to dry out, eliminating water weight and making removal easier.
Actually, pampas grass, also known as jubata grass elsewhere, continues to be sold at some local nurseries, but Gibson said environmental leaders were trying to have state lawmakers outlaw the practice.
Rancho Santa Fe homeowners contacted this week appeared enthusiastic about the program.
"It went fantastically," said Gerald Friesen, who has a home overlooking the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club. "We had a full-time gardener who had been doing this for four or five months before we were contacted (by the association.) It's monstrous to get rid. You have to spray and wait for the plants to die before hauling it away. We had 10 huge dumpsters filled with it to remove."
Mountain has followed a series of steps in locating the invasive plants, then contacting homeowners. First, she drives around looking for the hard-to-miss plants. She tries phoning residents to tell them of the program and scheduled educational visits. She also sends letters to homeowners informing them of the dangers to the environment and wildlife.
In turn, association members receive a program agreement allowing Carlsbad Watershed Network contractors to take care of the nasty business of plant removal. The removal and monitoring process will take years since seeds from the invasive plants can remain and produce new crops over the years. But Gibson was optimistic the problem could be contained eventually. "You need to be vigilant," he said.
Mountain maintains a small office at the association with a giant covenant map showing invasive plant locations in green. The latest accounting showed 302 local properties identified with invasive plants. Of those, 170 properties were being treated with permission while 26 association members denied participation. As well, 25 property owners had eradicated plants on their own. About 40 property owners a month have been returning permission slips and come on board the program since it began last summer.
Any information gathered in regards to the program is private and confidential, Brockett said.
For more information about the program, call the Rancho Santa Fe Association at (858) 756-1174.

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Michael Mercury does Rancho Santa Fe.
(Astrologically speaking, that is to say.)
A visionary in more ways than one, Mercury had a lot to say about the Ranch and its "ambiance" as well as future. "I really don’t know anything about Rancho Santa Fe," Mercury said. "I made sure not to look it up on the Internet so I could let intuition guide me. But, I feel I really tapped into the community."
Accepting the challenge to read the community, Mercury used 1 p.m. June 7, 1922 as the community’s birth date. That is the moment groundbreaking occurred for the new community of Rancho Santa Fe, according to Elise Esprit, based on Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society documents.
Michael Mercury is a yoga instructor and former restaurant owner, A Sacramento resident who has developed a wide and enthusiastic following among astrology enthusiasts. For many years, he hosted America’s only radio astrology call-in show at KDVS-FM, the UC Davis station.
Mercury is further known around the state Capitol for his weekly astrology forecasts on KXTV-Channel 10, Sacramento’s ABC affiliate. He continues his radio astrology experience with "Spirit Speaks" that can be accessed at his Web site www.michaelmercury.com and is a member of the Conscious Media Network.
And now...The Mercury Report on Rancho Santa Fe, now and in the years to come...
FIRST OF ALL let me state up-front, what I am going to try to do here actually what I am going to do here not just try, but what I am going to do is read the chart of Rancho Santa Fe as if it were a person and see how I can relate to the community at large what’s going to happen to the community in this coming year.
OK, so, Libra rising is the ascendant of Rancho Santa Fe, so the personality of Rancho Santa Fe is considered to be Libra-like and what does that mean, it means that relationships are very important. What is also interesting about this chart is that Saturn, the planet Saturn which deals with limits, limitations, authority, structure, is sitting right on the ascendant.
This is a very powerful position, so it kind of indicates that people who live in this community relationships are very important, however also finding balance within this community is extremely important as well.
There is a tendency within this community to maybe be a little bit one-sided in its presentation in the way it represents itself. If it’s extremely affluent maybe it is in its best interest as a community to make sure that those who are in need within this community are also being taken care of, not that it isn’t being done but that there seems to be a lack of variety, or dexterity of many, many social levels in this community due to there’s a need, an interest in doing this but it’s kind of like there is a contradiction in this community as well.
It’s kind of like it wants to expand, but it wants to contract. It wants to follow the rules, but it also wants to make rules. It doesn’t want to live by rules but somehow it wants to get around and somehow have its cake and eat it too by being unique being unusual and yet being structured. There seems to be this quality about this community.
The moon is in Scorpio in the second house of property, money and resources. There’s a strong emotional tie to the property, money and resources. People really love their homes. People come to this community to find their soul in their home, to make their home more than their castle but to represent who they are. There is a sense of secrecy, a sense of privacy in this community. People tend to be very private. People don’t want other people necessarily unless they are invited to know about themselves. They want to keep themselves private. This is a community on the one hand wants to welcome the outsiders but at the same time want to be very private.
Mars in the third house, this is the natal chart I’m talking about, I’m just giving you a glow then I will talk about maybe what’s coming up in the next year. Mars in Sagittarius makes it a more philosophical open intellectual curiosity in terms of the community at large. It can have a very vocal voice in terms of what it represents and what it believes in and what it thinks should be done. It tends to be more open-minded, not necessarily liberal or conservative but certainly having an open mind from either camp.
Uranus in the sixth house really speaks to the idea of electronics of advancements. Uranus in Pisces in the sixth house of this chart of Rancho Santa Fe indicates that, again, innovative technology is a part of this community, but at the same time there is this kind of hometown kind of feel so that it wants the advances of the future but it wants the feel of the past. It wants to have a sense of community like in the old school but at the same time it wants to take advantage of all the high tech gadgets and technology that helps make life so much more pleasant.

Now, when it comes to relationships, we have Chyron, the south node in the seventh house of relationships, partnerships, marriage, all this kind of thing. One has to kind of be aware relationships, partnerships, things of this sort, it kind of makes the community a little bit, oh what’s the word, maybe a little bit apart from other communities, yet it wants to be a part of other communities, but at the same time it doesn’t want to be a part of the other communities. So, there is kind of, again, contradiction within this community because of what one would call affluence. Based on this chart there is a real positive sense of affluence in this community but there is also a contradiction here, not that it feels guilty about it but there is a responsibility that comes with having so much
The sun in Gemini The sun. What is the sun sign of Rancho Santa Fe, it’s Gemini. The sun sign is in Gemini. The rising sign is in Libra and the moon is in Scorpio. These are three important positions for this chart. It speaks to more air than water and no fire in the three important elements. However, Mars which represents fire in Sagittarius gives it a nice balance.
The real focus also is at the crown of this chart and we’re talking about Venus, Pluto, Mercury are all in Cancer. The sun is in the ninth house of education and travel. Mercury is a the crown of this chart in cancer, so home schooling looks like it is going to be a very important part of this community. There is probably more people doing home schooling than people would recognize. Education is extremely important in this community, but at the same time there seems to be two sets of forms of communication. There is maybe the formal, regular type of schools, high schools, public schools, but there seems to be a really strong private school element in this community as well.
Pluto, Venus in Cancer in the 10th House of home, communication. Tenth House represents vocation, but with Venus in Pluto in Cancer, a very family oriented sign Cancer, it tells me that people are working out of their homes a lot more in this community than most communities, that authority can be derived, because of technologies concerning this community that one is maybe running their businesses out of their homes more than one would realize or that is certainly going to be an important part of this community as time goes on with technologies the way they are.

Neptune is in the Eleventh House of friendships so there is a real romantic quality, a charmed quality to this community. There is a basic feel if you will that borders on quality, romance, story-like making it a much more of a visual as well as a heartfelt community,. There is a real sense of sentiment also in this community. So, this is kind of a quick overview what I look at the natal chart of this community to be.
THE FUTURE, MICHAEL...
Now, what’s happening right now in this coming year as we look into the year 2007, the real focus is going to be on work and health issues. I’m just pointing out that Uranus, this year 2006, Rancho Santa Fe is coming up to what is a very unusual return and that’s what we call Uranus return. It takes approximately 84 years for Uranus to arrive at the same location as when it was born.
When you gave me the date for June 7, 1922 when the breaking of the ground, Uranus was at 13 degrees Pisces. Right now in the sky Uranus is at 11 degrees Pisces. So, in this year 2007 it is going to have a Uranus conjunct. It is going to return to its original position. So, there is a major cycle that is being completed in this community.
It is a cosmic cycle. It is a larger cycle. It is an evolutionary cycle of this community. This community has now matured in a complete way and at the same time now it’s trying to look at how do we continue into the future with our boundaries set, with our limits set. We have our personality is set basically.
It has an ambiance that has evolved organically and now where do we go. So, there is a completion that is literally happening in this community as we go into the year 2007, a total recognition that OK we’re saturated, we’re terrific, we have all these things, now where do we go from here, how do we refine the qualities the joys the things we associate with family with home with community, how do we address this in a new way in an innovative genius-like unique way without destroying the home sentiment, the communal sense of family that we have established for this community.
There is also Neptune is going through the Fifth House of children, of recreation of short trips and I have to say now my intuition is kicking in here somewhat and I am also saying this because of what I anticipate in 2009. Pluto, the planet Pluto will go into the Fourth House of home concerning, so I am looking a little bit further ahead besides the year 2007 because what I am anticipating here is that if you maybe you already have a sister city, maybe Rancho Santa Fe has a sister city somewhere in the world.
You may Want to take a look at this to see what is their sister city, but it seems to me there is going to be more of a focus here on if they haven’t picked a sister city they are not sharing with whether it is in Africa or Europe or South America wherever they have chosen to adopt another city and kind of exchange keys and all of that stuff for some reason that is coming up in this chart for me. I am either seeing there is going to be a renewal of that, there is going to be some kind of recognition of that coming up or there might be an establishment of that if that hasn’t happened already. Or maybe the city adopts another sister city or vice-versa, a kind of city exchange. I don’t know why this is coming up, but it is.
If it doesn’t happen this year, I see 2009 will become a very important year because Pluto goes into the Fourth House of home and Pluto represents revolution, change, death, rebirth, so there might be in 2009 looking down the road because of the concept of real estate, the concept of housing, the concept of family that there could be some kind of new revolutionary approach as to how families are going to deal with families, properties and their homes in the year 2009. This could be technologically related or this could be some sort of philosophical awareness that this community is going to re-evaluate where do they go from here.
There seems to be a real emphasis that keeps coming up in this chart of some kind of pinnacle, some kind of peak, like this community is reaching the top of the mountain. It can see, start looking at what it could be like going down the other side of this mountain but it hasn’t quite reached the end and is preparing for some kind of awareness of some kind of overall view of ah-ha, here we are, now what.
A culmination is also indicated in this chart that this community is coming to some kind of saturation, some kind of total blossoming of fullness, of ripeness, something that is being ripe is ready to drop from this community. Jupiter is moving through the Third House of communication right now as I look at this chart. Mars has been as it ends the year of 2006 has been going through the Third House of communication. Pluto is going through the Third House of communication. Mercury also and the sun leaving the Third House of communication as the year ends and the new year begins it all goes into the fourth house.
This new year we have the sense of structure, of family, of a movement going forward but again putting a focus on home, on family, the importance of family in this community. So, this community has the opportunity it seems to me embrace itself in a unique way reinforcing its values but also having an eye toward the future.
Saturn by the way is moving through the eleventh house of friendships, of hopes, of dreams so there is a realistic approach to what the hopes and dreams for this community can be making it structured, making it work making it practical so this is a community that has not only imagination but also has the talent and the financial wherewithal to make things practical and yet idyllic at the same time. That is also being emphasized and being realized at this time.
I would say, however, that starting at the end of 2007 going into 2009 this is going to be a kind of a plateau period in this community where more examination rather than results will start to take place. I think that the community is getting ready to re-examine where it’s been, where it’s going and do this for many years. If a new master plan hasn’t been done, or is being spoken of maybe it’s time for a new master plan to be looked at of where this community is going to be going 10, 20, 30 years from now or if that hasn’t been done maybe that is being re-looked at this time to see OK we made this plan X number of years ago how will we have fulfilled those plans to where we are now.
That also seems to be an emphasis for the community from the governmental bureaucratic point of view of what’s happening with this community. If there isn’t a city council or something, there seems to be some need of some kind of government structure. If it’s not there it needs to be created.
If it’s informally loose, some kind of guidance to who or what is this identity. Do we become our own city, Do we create our own community. Do we have our own city council or how are we relating to the overall neighborhoods that we are sharing.
That’s pretty much, a lot of material to work with...

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Home mail delivery is a given for virtually all Americans, but very much a rarity in Rancho Santa Fe which has caused consternation for some residents and a quandary for postal officials.
"Street delivery was never allowed in the Covenant," said Mike Cannone, the local Postal Service spokesman. "We won’t start street deliveries where it is not feasible."
Feasibility indeed appears the main factor in a complex postal formula enveloping the 92067 and 92091 zip code areas that represent the Ranch area because it involves not only the will of the people, but also costly changes to existing services to provide street delivery to all.
An influx of new area residents, while small compared to the overall region, means an additional 12 to 14 carriers, and mail trucks, would be needed for local home delivery. Economics aside, that would mean the Postal Service would need a facility twice the size of the village post office, officials said.
"The community has outgrown the post office," said Paul Leja, senior postal clerk with 21 years at the Ranch facility. "We’re too small to provide home delivery.
Other factors come into play, too. The only way the Postal Service could street deliver mail would be in a rural route format necessitating cluster boxes at intersections and down narrow, twisting roads; a safety issue. The cosmetic appearance of such box clusters also would pose an aesthetic threat in a community known for rigid visual and design rules.
If that weren’t enough, the issue of zip codes, based on a common misconception, also exists. Most people and -- key for an area that lives and dies by real estate values; real estate agents have come to associate the 92067 zip code with wealth, privilege and the Ranch. Postal officials were quick to point out the 92067 zip is a separate code for post office boxes while the actual Rancho Santa Fe street zip code is 92091."There may be a perception that 92091 isn’t as classy or prestigious, but it simply applies to (Ranch) addresses that get deliveries," Cannone said. "We have separate zip codes for boxes versus streets, but 92067 is the only zip code most people know for Rancho Santa Fe."
The whole zip code cachet has created some unusual responses. Down Del Dios Highway, (Rancho??) Cielo residents were eligible for street delivery but rejected the option. The new ultra-swank Crosby Estates actually lies within the Rancho Bernardo postal delivery area. Crosby developers rejected a proposed Rancho Bernardo post office west of Interstate 15 to serve their community, Cannone said.
Instead, Crosby managers arranged for delivery to the Ranch post office in order to get the prized 92067 distinction. A private courier service picks up the mail and distributes it to Crosby homeowners, Cannone said."It all comes down to how much value you put in 92067," Cannone added.
About 5,600 Ranch residents, inside the Covenant and beyond, receive mail at 92067 boxes in the main Ranch office at ...as well as substations at Fairbanks Plaza and Del Rayo Village. Another 560 homes, mainly in the southeast corridor around Fairbanks Ranch, are serviced by one postal carrier and hold the underappreciated 92091 zip.

The Rancho Santa Fe Association, a quasi-governmental body providing services and direction for the roughly (1,200) home Covenant area, has conducted surveys that show significant approval of the status mail box quo, postal officials cite conflicting evidence of dissatisfaction with the existing service.
Postal officials presented another perspective. A private home mail deliver company has grown dramatically in the last few years, they said. The Encinitas-based Rancho Mail Delivery System that picks up mail from the boxes and home delivers around the Ranch, started with 80 customers and now serves 800 homes, said Annie Anson, interim Ranch postmaster. The service typically charges $40 to $45 per month for service, according to sources.
The question of street delivery versus post office boxes has divided the community.
The mail is put in all boxes by 1:30 p.m. Then, as schools let out and many combine school pick-ups with mail call, an afternoon 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. rush crushes the small parking area that serves the post office and Village Market. "It gets hectic here," Leja said.
Many complain it is too difficult to park and too much of a hassle to pick up mail, afternoon rush or otherwise. What’s more, failure to pick up mail in a timely fashion can mean box overload. In that case, a postal customer must wait in line for one of the office’s 22 clerks; twice as many as the typical post office of the same size; to retrieve the mail from inside.
Others enjoy the postal visit experience. They say it gives them a chance to get out of the house and interact with friends and neighbors.
Typical of this dichotomy was a recent discussion of the postal question by two residents sorting mail side-by-side at the giant discard bins in the post office lobby.
Speaking pro-boxes was John Gilchrist, a Covenant resident since 1990. "I much rather would have them here," he said. "It gives me something to do. I can come down here and see people. The system has more security as opposed to a mailbox on the street."
Across the divide of but a few feet stood Hedy Aardema, a Covenant resident since 1984. "I think it’s a waste of energy and time," she said. "If I can’t get the mail in time, I have to come back and get it at the counter. They should put boxes at the end of the streets."
As for possibly starting street delivery around the 90 percent of greater Rancho Santa Fe that goes to the post office to pick up its mail, postal officials have this to say:
"Any community can petition for street delivery, but more than 50 percent of the people in a homeowners association would have to vote for it," Cannone said. "It’s much more expensive to have street delivery. We would say from an operations standpoint that there is no way we could afford to deliver down every driveway. We could offer cluster boxes, but the roads are so narrow there is no place for them and the customers don’t want them because they clusters are tacky."
"Every five years, or so, it becomes an issue for new arrivals who prefer home delivery and can’t get it now," Cannone added.

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"People like the Patron," said Ko Massiah,
a bartender at the Innat Rancho Santa Fe.
"They like tequila shots, Patron cafc is popular.
| It’s an espresso martini with tequila liquor and vanilla vodka.
I like tequila late at night myself."

Rancho Santa Fe is hardly Margaritaville. But, the community does have one main ingredient that goes into Jimmy Buffet’s favorite drink: agave tequilana plants, popularly known as blue agave, from which tequila springs.
The plants are costly. They’re not particularly suited for local landscaping since they need a more tropical climate for optimal growth.
Yet, there they sit at Rancho Soledad Nursery on Aliso Canyon Road awaiting the next cactus collector, or tequila aficionado, who might want to plunk down $344 for a rare, variegated 20-inch agave tequilana plant.
Of course, don’t even think about producing tequila directly from the blue agave plant. Collecting the cactus juice is but a first step in an intricate, extensive distilling and aging process not suitable for home production.
Still, the local tequila plant is an oddity. Aside from a De Luz grower who does indeed make his own stuff bottled as Temequila due to tequila branding restrictions, the only other such plants north of its native Jalisco, Mexico state can be found in Tucson.
"The tequilana will grow here, but like saguaro, grudgingly," said Jeff Harris, an official of the Balboa Park-based San Diego Cactus and Succulent Society. "Most agaves come from central Mexico and, as such, need warm temperatures and summer rains. They also need excellent drainage and full sun. You definitely have to have a nice, tropical climate."
Jalisco and a few immediately surrounding areas are the only places where officially sanctioned tequila is produced.
The Mexican government highly regulates the tequila industry, requiring all tequila to be made from at least 51 percent blue agave grown in specific regions of that state and some surrounding areas. Higher quality tequila for gourmet sipping has far more than half blue agave while cheaper hooch fills in the balance with distilled sugar cane.
Margaritas, and fellow tequila drink travelers, are, of course, quite popular throughout everywhere these days. Indeed, the original owner of Hernandez Hideaway, up the road in Del Dios, claims fame as one of those who introduced margaritas to North Americans.
And tequila is a mainstay around Rancho Santa Fe.

"People like the Patron," said Ko Massiah, a bartender at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. "They like tequila shots, Patron cafc is popular. It’s an espresso martini with tequila liquor and vanilla vodka. I like tequila late at night myself."
As for tequila plants being available locally, Massiah said: "That would definitely surprise me."
Which brings Margaritaville back home. During a previous tour of Rancho Soledad, Rainer Radermacher, former supervising grower at Rancho Soledad, said, "We do sell a lot of these agaves tequilana to people and nurseries around Palm Springs and in Arizona."
What’s more, Enrique Gomez, a nursery worker from Jalisco, noted the lengths people went to make some of the good stuff from native blue agave cactus.
"First of all, you have to wait for seven to 10 years," Gomez said at the time. "Then chop all the leaves and leave only the heart and split it in half. The old-timers do this. They make a little hole in the heart and juice collects every day for five or six months."
Actually, tequila production from said plants has had a sometimes-prickly ride through the years. United States consumers in 2000 went through a tequila shortage, and subsequent price hike, rivaling that of gasoline.
Since tequila distilling required more than seven years of waiting before processing, a 1996 farmer strike protesting low pay started the shortage. A gangland-style murder of a leading Jalisco grower in 1997 further chilled the industry.
Several Mexican distilleries shut down in 1998 due to a lack of raw agave production. Then, fungus blight affected almost one-quarter of all tequila plantations and many distilleries closed.
Good times, however, are back in Margaritaville, at least for consumers
Blue agave production has nearly doubled since 2000 with a projected 46.4 million plants this year, compared to 24.8 million during the shortage, according to Mexican sources.
The Consejo Regulador del Tequila that regulates the tequila industry, said new plantings stemming from the 2000 tequila shortage now were ready for harvest.
What’s more, uncontrolled planting and easy availability of bootleg, or "uncertified," tequila dramatically drove down prices, despite ever-increasing demand, and created purity questions, Consejo Regulador officials said.
That’s a concern for Hunter, of the local cactus society, as well.
"I love El Patron," he said. "People who mix it shouldn’t be allowed to drink it."

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Go down to the Del Dios Country Store on rural Lake Drive and people will swear up and down the tavern's long wooden bar that Hodgee,the friendly Lake Hodges monster, really, truly - well, almost definitely exists."The Lake Hodges Hodgee monster is kind of like the Loch Ness monster," said Stanley Smith, a long-time Del Dios resident. Smith, a cowboy poet and man about town, lives near the top of the hill overlooking the scenic 1,234-acre city of San Diego reservoir which was completed in 1918.

"Several people are saying they think they've seen it," Smith continued. "Sometimes, when you look at the lake it looks like something is moving the water, some currents or something. The fact is it is a mystery." Although Smith was quick to add that "maybe the people were a little liquored up," he wasn't the only one around the venerable country-western venue to say a Hodgee monster was more than mere rural myth or product of some overactive imaginations. "Not a day goes by they don't talk about the Hodgee monster," said Mickey Basulka, a seven-year Del Dios resident and country store patron. The bartender who identified himself only as Mikey V., added: "They even used to have a Hodgee sandwich here when we were open for breakfast in the morning. They say there's a giant catfish, or something, out there."

Hodgee's fame has spread near and quite far. In fact, a mysterious Webmaster purporting to be a representative of the Lake Hodges Scientific Research Center ( a seemingly fictional organization) has created a detailed Internet site giving a seven-page history of the monster dating back to 7000 B.C. as well as extensive documentation of the monster including photographs of it said to be taken in 1932, 1941 and 1958. The www.hodgee.com site also contains a mixture of fact and possible fantasy that may appear virtually indistinguishable to the casual observer. Stories from local newspapers are mixed with updates on items such as a Lake Hodges Interpretative Center (still in the planning stages) as well as the fabled Lake Hodges Scientific Research Center itself that features a picture of a very earnest scientist with some kind of scientific measuring-type equipment. "The LHSRC is a not-for-profit research organization that is dedicated to learning more about the unexplained phenomena related to Lake Hodges," the site says. "In particular, we are focused on the so-called 'Lake Hodges Monster,' known locally as Hodgee." Hodgee.com says the monster dates back to a "river creature" of Indian lore that was said to be in the San Dieguito River that was dammed and used to create the Lake Hodges Reservoir. "Researchers (in 1929) found no conclusive evidence of any sort although one assistant did report seeing a '...lizard-like...head...' protruding from the surface...' This prompts an internal memo in Scripps (UCSD Institute of Oceanography) to look at (it,)" the site said. The site includes a "timeline" noting that police found piers destroyed without footprints, buoy cameras were used to record some kind of creature, underwater trip-wires are set to capture Hodgee and even, in 1956 thousands of pounds of highly toxic chemicals were used to kill all the fish in the lake and restock it. "An anonymous statement written on city of San Diego letterhead stated that officials were attempting to kill any creature in the lake ---- including the monster," the site says. Actually, officials did stage an early 1956 fish kill at the reservoir but news accounts at the time said the effort was made to kill invasive carp and allow the lake to be re-stocked with bass. A final picture on the hodgee.com Web site dated 1999 showed two men with mechanical equipment at the lake. "LSHRC researchers using sophisticated equipment trying to detect Hodgee," the caption reads. The Hodgee mystery, however, extends to the Hodgee Web site. The site is registered to Corey Krell of Apex. N.C. He has an unlisted telephone number and did not respond to numerous e-mail requests for an interview. Krell is unknown to the residents of Del Dios although Pete Ayotte, manager of Hernandez Hideaway, another Del Dios institution down the road from the country store, said he had seen the Web site. "It's pretty neat, interesting," Ayotte said. Sitting at Hernandez Hideaway's classy bar, Dave Bark's ears perked up when he heard mention of Hodgee, the Lake Hodges monster. A former denizen of Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s and Del Dios resident since 1969, Bark nodded knowingly at the image. "We've had numerous sightings before, and rumors," Bark said. "Myself, I've many times seen ripples from his passing down the water. People say they've seen something in the water but I've never actually seen him." But how did this Hodgee thing all start? Bark recalled first hearing about Hodgee through the long-time Del Dios newsletter "As the Dam Drips," that he said was "a one-sheet thing and all it was rumors and innuendoes." The newsletter, which no longer circulates, was passed out in the 1970s around the unincorporated community along the north edge of the lake. Morgan A. "Matt" Tidwell, retired Lake Hodges reservoir keeper, also mentioned the newslettter as the originator of the Hodgee story. After "As the Dam Drips" broke the Hodgee story sometime in the mid-to-late 1970s, a television reporter went out to the dam and spoke with him about Hodgee's authenticity, Tidwell said. Then, the real Hodgee magic ensued. "It all started at the Del Dios Store when someone put out a joke newspaper," said Tidwell, reservoir keeper since 1972 through his retirement in 1984. "It had a spoof monster that sure looked like a Loch Ness monster east of the freeway and it was the Hodgee monster. "A reporter from Channel 8 News came up on the top of the dam," Tidwell continued. "We had a diesel engine pumping air into the lake. These bubbles were coming up. She asked me what this was and I said this is where Hodgee, the monster, sleeps. "Another reporter from the station came out to do the story and asked me what the monster ate," Tidwell said. "I told him the ranchers were a little upset because he ate a steer, or heifer, once in a while up there and then came back for a bale of hay for a salad." So hatched a legend, seemingly. Hodgee became so popular that, as Mickey V. said, a breakfast sandwich was named after it. A friend of Tidwell's who was an Escondido ceramics instructor made a clay sculpture of Hodgee that Tidwell still keeps. In fact, Tidwell brought the Hodgee replica back to the scene of the myth, the Del Dios Store last week, for a photo opportunity. What's more, the legend grew. Several print articles in the 1980s referred to Tidwell's earlier confirmation of the Hodgee legend on television. "First there were tell-tale bubbles in the water, as if some creature were surviving in the depths of the lake," North County Panorama said in January, 1985. "Then came the tales of mysterious disappearances of cattle and bales of hay being snatched from passing farm trucks. Tidwell confirmed everyone's unspoken fears with straight-faced accounts on local television newscasts of a Loch Ness-style monster paddling around Lake Hodges." Standing tall near the reservoir he once managed with Hodgee, the clay monster replica statue in tow, Tidwell again stood straight faced before dissolving into a sly smile. "It was just a bunch of spoof," Tidwell said. "I don't know if anybody would believe something like that but it's a good story." It's an especially good story when facts aren't allowed to get in the way, Del Dios residents said last week. Walking her beagle Samson near the store shortly after Tidwell's departure, Linda Hull, a newcomer to Del Dios, faithfully repeated what locals had told her of Hodgee, the friendly Lake Hodges monster. "I've heard of it and I would love to know more," Hull said. "They say that there's a Loch Ness monster there that lives in the bottom of the lake. "I believe them," Hull said. "But, then again, I believe in the tooth fairy." Perhaps speaking for many in Del Dios and North County, Hull added: "With everything else going on in the world these days, why not believe in Hodgee?"

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FRANKLIN FONG
Staff Writer

ELFIN FOREST ---- In a time of spiritual turmoil, Questhaven Retreat with its Christward Ministry and Church of the Holy Quest remains a place of infinite peace and comfort.

"We have here a strong faith and conviction that what is true will ultimately win out," said Susan Cary, a minister in the church that has no members but does have a seven-member board of directors, more than a dozen ministers in the United States and Europe and about 100 people who attend regular Sunday morning services.

"We do meditation and pray for world conditions," Cary continued. "I've gotten more questions and concerns from people outside Questhaven who don't have the framework of belief since September 11th."

Or as Laurie Burke, office manager and church secretary as well as a 26-year church adherent, added: "I think people are starving for spirituality. They hope to find something greater than themselves."
(Photo: Friendship House at Questhaven Retreat.)

The events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the continuing uncertainty that has followed haven't changed much at the 640-acre retreat. Instead, it has spotlighted the Questhaven approach to meditation and serenity as a path to self-realization, Cary said.

"There are many people, especially nowadays and especially with our fast-paced lifestyle, who need to get away," Cary said. "They want to connect with God as individuals."

So as always, the retreat works to fill that need as it enters its 61st year.

About 1,000 people annually stay at or visit the retreat, situated in one of the finest remaining stands of coastal chaparral and riparian oak woodland in North County. It has several miles of trails passing along shrines and wildflowers and 18 structures including a church and meeting hall, cottages and small apartments.

"Our church is the entire 640 acres," said Cary, a former Ohio teacher, sitting in her cottage atop a hill on the grounds. "This is a training ground for persons who wish to commit their lives more deeply. ... I was a seeker when I lived in Ohio but I was not finding a deep enough teacher."

Set in the midst of an area that nearly burned to the ground in the massive Harmony Grove Fire of 1996, which destroyed 100 nearby homes and four retreat buildings, Questhaven maintains a dual identity of sorts.

The quiet grounds, meeting rooms and dwellings represent a multipurpose facility available to religious, nonprofit groups for meetings and getaways as well as services and even weddings. Room rentals can be $30 to $50 daily depending on accommodations and a hostel-like Friendship House rents for $150 to $200 for groups up to 50.

Guests do their own cleaning and cooking. Rooms are well-turned and clean but without phones in order to maintain solitude. Cell phones don't work well either due to the surrounding hills.

Questhaven also is the focal point for a religious movement founded in the 1930s by Flower Newhouse, a Los Angeles mystic whose philosophy of angels and what Cary called "esoteric Christian mysticism" has attracted adherents from near and as far as Australia and Europe.

Newhouse, along with husband Lawrence, sought a rural refuge for her group, finding it at an established retreat that had gone into Depression Era default. They started with 440 acres and a cottage and later acquired more surrounding land.

"Flower Newhouse was our spiritual leader and with her husband founded all this," Cary said. "They had a vision. ... She came with the mission of giving a truer picture of Christ, bringing the reality of angels back to human beings. So, in her lectures the great thrust, her great purpose was to bring the true Christ through to humanity. It's been interesting to see since she died seven years ago how angels have come into religious favor."

Leaders have carried on Newhouse's charismatic teachings and traditions since her death, Cary said.

With a new war as a backdrop, Questhaven held one if its major weekend retreats Sept. 28-30. The three-day event is called Michaelmas, a celebration of angels that included services, workshops, nature walks and meditation.

Michaelmas, named for the guardian angel Michael, attracted several hundred participants and featured a guided meditation, art workshop/exhibit, discussion group, nature walk, music program, folk dancing and group singing. The retreat concluded with inspirational spoken word, music and sacred dance. Other three-day festivals are held at Christmas and Easter.

Walking along one of the retreats' many natural paths this week, Linda Schache, a dietitian from Adelaide, Australia, said she came to Questhaven nearly three months ago to experience the spirituality along with her husband, who works as a caretaker on the grounds. Schache also works as a volunteer.

"I've looked at all the spiritual movements," Schache said. "I could feel that what they have done here has a lot of balance and depth to it and is not just a feel-good club. It has been a very rich experience especially with the Michaelmas Retreat, which included a dance and drama depicting the role of angels in one's life."

Aside from rentals, the nonprofit, non-denominational Questhaven maintains itself through donations and tithes.

Future plans include a Questhaven Academy for training ministers and lay people and Temple of the Arts for the expression of creative worship.

The retreat is located at 20560 Questhaven Road, in rural Elfin Forest near Rancho Santa Fe, Escondido and San Marcos.

ESCONDIDO – Many consider Escondido ironworker Paul
Pursley a hero for the 10 weeks he spent at the World
Trade Center’s ground zero following the 9/11 attack,
burning away steel so recovery workers could rescue
survivors and later retrieve dead victims.

Seven years later, however, Pursley says it’s an
experience he would rather forget.

“I try to forget about it,” Pursley said. “You go from
being a hero, everyone wanting to shake your hand to
people not having a clue what you went through. It
used to bother me. It was amazing how you could be up
there at one point and way down there the next.”

“It’s been a nightmare for me,” added Pursley who has
worked only fittingly since, says he suffers from
medical ailments relating to toxic exposure at the
site, was evicted, and has been to court six times
trying to gain federal relief for his suffering.

“Back then, it was a good thing, but now I’m just
trying to forget about going there,” Pursley said.
“It’s very hard for people to relate to this who were
not affected by it. I went from a guy who could do
anything and was making $140,000 a year prior to 9/11
to a guy who had no money, couldn’t find a job, and
didn’t have a home. I think I made $12,000 all year in
2002 and $13,000 in 2003.”

Flashback to September 2001: Pursley was a San Marcos
resident at the time sent by his then-employer to work
on steel beams for new high-rise building in Hartford,
Conn.

Hearing about the terrorist attacks at the World Trade
Center he, and Rusty Henry, a buddy from Stillwater,
Okla, headed to New York City, “pulled out our union
cards and started to work,” Pursley said. “We worked
12 hour days and didn’t take a day off. The more iron
we cut, the more the firemen could do. We were the
only two guys from out-of-state there.”

Ground zero continued to be a dangerous place in the
aftermath of the initial tragedy. Ironworkers got
fingers slashed, hands damaged. Pursley said he went
to St. Vincent’s Hospital when ammunition from a
destroyed U.S. Customs arsenal exploded and scarred
his cheek, requiring five stitches.

Pursley returned to the grim work at hand. Then, a
large excavator swung across a debris pile near where
he toiled, sending him down a 25-foot pile, slashing
his left wrist. Medical workers needed 18 stitches to
close the wound.

Celebrities congratulated him for his efforts. He took
pictures with a disposable camera of himself and
actress Susan Sarandon, as well as actor Jason
Alexander of Seinfeld fame. President Bush toured the
site at which time Pursley said he “pulled on his
shirt sleeve.”

Returning to North County, Pursley found that nobody
could relate to his experience. He took time off from
work. A dramatic slack-off of high rise construction
in the attack aftermath meant not more work at all was
available.

Pursley sold his vehicle to pay overdue rent, only to
be stiffed by the buyer. His landlord evicted him. He
broke up with his girlfriend. Later, the medical
problems began. Formerly healthy, Pursley said he
started to suffer various respiratory ailments that
nobody could diagnose despite several visits and full
tests at hospitals.

Eventually, Pursley left San Marcos and returned to
ground zero, where he took up residence just across
the Hudson River in New Jersey. The federal government
would provide medical benefits only to police and
firefighters, not to ironworkers and non-government
claimants. Pursley joined a class action lawsuit
against the government seeking relief that continues
today. He frequently had to come in to court to
testify at depositions and hearings.

Trying to heal himself, he took part in a free Church
of Scientology detox program for ground zero
ironworkers that seemed to work for a while.

New York was OK as far as it went, but after a year
there Pursley said he missed home and came back to
North County. He got a place in Escondido and started
trying to put his life back together. He met a new
girlfriend.

Medical problems, however, continued to dog Pursley.
He has had four physicals in the last year trying to
discern what has caused “major chest pains, something
on the right side of my chest,” he said. “It’s very
hard to inhale. I’ve had minor attacks and a major one
last December that almost paralyzed me. I know guys
back east who have had the same problems. Nobody knows
what it is.”

These days Pursley has been working with giant cranes
and is close to getting a license to operate them
full-time. He has the support and admiration of a few
close friends as well as Kathy Schedell, his loving
companion.

“It was just very much like him to do such a thing,”
Schedell said of Pursley’s 9/11 mission. “He is
probably one of the most giving persons I’ve ever met.
He got caught up in the excitement part of 9/11.
Everybody did. It really moved me and impressed me
when I found out what he did.”

New York photographer Joel Meyerowitz took photos of
the 9/11 rescue operations that later traveled as a
museum exhibit. One of those photos showed Pursley
burning metal at ground zero in a pose Meyerowitz
compared to a 17th century depiction of the Roman god
Mars by the painter Velazquez.

“Amazing, what a guy,” Meyerowitz said in an interview
earlier this summer. “His job was to go through the
site and as each level was exposed, he would walk
through with a torch and burn all the still standing
steel so that men could walk through and do their
search...He came up the bend here, and I saw him, and
we had just heard a bugler playing Taps, and there
were eight of us standing around and we were all in
tears...and as he came forward, I just felt the power
of this man, his nobility, and I stopped in front of
him and just made a photograph...He just stood there
and I made this picture and I realized he is heroic.”