City Manager's Update 11-15-2019

Veterans Day Celebration

The Senior Center invited the City of Carlsbad’s adopted Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 to the annual Veterans Day Lunch and Marine Corps Birthday Celebration. The luncheon featured the “missing man table” as well as a large sheet cake for the oldest and youngest veteran in attendance to cut together. This is a tradition for the United States Marine Corps Birthday that is celebrated every year on Nov. 10.

The oldest veteran was 95 years old Walt Travis, who served in World War II after joining the Marines in the summer of 1942 and was assigned to Marine Fighting Squadron 115. (See article “A Witness To History”). Walt cut the cake with an 18 years old Marine from the squadron.

2019 Planning Grant Award

The City of Carlsbad was awarded $310,000 by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, under the SB 2 Planning Grants program. The Planning division submitted a grant proposal in response to a Notice of Funding Availability released on March 28, 2019. The program commits state funds to work in partnership with local governments to address California's critical housing needs. Local governments are using the grant awards to accelerate housing production by streamlining the approval of affordable housing and promoting development consistent with the state’s planning priorities, among other related activities.

The City of Carlsbad is proposing to utilize this grant funding to complete the following activities: examine rezoning of available parcels; create objective design standards for multi-family housing projects; develop applicable municipal code regulations and zone code amendments; and produce forms, administrative procedures and other outreach tools for projects eligible for streamlined ministerial review.

Heads Up – All Libraries are Closed on Nov. 19! On Tuesday, all library locations will be closed from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. for an all staff training. This year, the theme, Finding Your Inner Superhero, is focused on utilizing one’s strengths in existing roles, to develop professionally and to optimize one’s ability to have a positive impact. The day will start with a staff panel, moderated by The Centre for Organization Effectiveness, sharing how they have utilized their strengths in the workplace. The panel will be followed by keynote speaker Devin Hughes, who’s presentation will touch on positivity, recognizing one’s impact and how to be an everyday leader.

The Corvelles Motown Revue was a Hit Last Friday as part of Front Row Fridays, the Schulman Auditorium experienced a time warp when San Diego based The Corvelles flashbacked to the heyday of 1960s Motown. A capacity crowd of 215 and a courtyard filled with another 90 fans eavesdropping from outside, The Corvelles presented a high-energy show featuring three lead singing women backed by five musicians with a full rhythm section and horns. Together, they provided a dynamic revue spotlighting songs from favorite girl groups such as The Shirelles, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas and The Supremes. The Corvelles’ performance recalled a special time in popular music and provided instant nostalgia to an enthusiastic Carlsbad audience. Front Row Fridays continues on Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. with a jazz and blues concert by local favorite vocalist Missy Anderson.

Library Hosts Census Events The library partnered with the Census Bureau San Diego County office to host a census informational event at each of its three libraries Oct. 29, Nov. 4 and Nov. 12. Census staff shared the importance of responding to the census, how the census can shape different aspects of our community and shared information about job opportunities with the Census Bureau, with 25 people applying for jobs at the events.

Good Life Lecture Series

Next week, the library wraps up its October and November Good Life Lecture series, with eight workshops attended by more than 400 people. The lectures covered everything from brain and memory support to preventing and treating seasonal colds. The Carlsbad Senior Center partnered with the library and staffed a table at each event to share Senior Center services and programs with program attendees, receiving a lot of interest.

Intergenerational Ping Pong

According to the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), “...there are numerous benefits to connecting older and younger generations with one another.” The participants from the City of Carlsbad’s Leadership in Training & Education (L.I.T.E.) afterschool program visited the senior center last week for a ping pong pow wow. Students learned from the group of seniors who frequently play ping pong at the senior center. All players had a blast!

Fall Youth Basketball Season

The Parks & Recreation Department will wrap up their inaugural fall youth basketball season with a schedule full of championship games this Saturday, Nov. 16. The City of Carlsbad is the only municipality in the county that offers year-round youth basketball leagues due to a partnership with Master Sports. Games and practices are held at the Calavera Hills, Pine Avenue and Stagecoach Community Centers.

Police Department Launches Text Message Communications

The Police Department started a new program to enhance community communication about the crime reporting process. Through the new program, community members who call the department to report crime will get text messages about the investigative process. The text messages will include information about a community member’s initial call for service, if for some reason the responding officer’s response is delayed, who the responding officer was and their case or incident number, and the outcome of the call for service.

Police Officers’ Association Serves Pancakes for Charity

Officers from the Carlsbad Police Officers’ Association united with Park 101 to serve pancakes and raise money for Shop with a Cop. Shop with a Cop partners officers with children to shop for gifts during the holidays. The mission is to help San Diego Children have a happy holiday season.

Police Department Welcomes New Officer

Officer Victor Mariscal joins the Police Department. Victor was born in Tijuana Baja California, Mexico and raised in Chula Vista. Victor comes to us with six years of law enforcement experience.

Police Department Welcomes New Officer

Officer Victor Mariscal joins the Police Department. Victor was born in Tijuana Baja California, Mexico and raised in Chula Vista. Victor comes to us with six years of law enforcement experience.