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Stories by Ken Leighton

Bonsall's golf land not so idyllic

Golf Course headed for the rough? Retired Fallbrook elementary school teacher Joan McConnell had just returned on Sunday (January 24) from the site of the former San Luis Rey Downs Golf Club. Two years ago, …

February 20, 2023
Oceanside's Victor Roy stories go on

Victor Roy, whose signature is used to certify the validity of checks issued by the City of Oceanside, says the reason he was viewing “inappropriate material” at a city library was because he was on …

September 19, 2022
Chris Rodriguez bows out of Oceanside politics

Christopher Rodriguez appeared four years ago as one of North County’s most promising Republican up-and-comers. An Iraq war veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart, he still sports a high-and-tight Marine haircut. During Oceanside City …

Oceanside pier bandshell set for changes – but which ones?

Oceanside’s most recognized yet most neglected building is about to get its first major upgrade since it was built in 1950. The beachfront “bandshell” immediately south of the Oceanside pier has hosted high school graduation …

Marijuana growing in Vista great idea – or is it?

Cannabis is booming in Vista. Its 11 retail dispensaries have a corner on North County’s legal weed market, serving consumers from Oceanside, Carlsbad, San Marcos, Escondido, and Fallbrook. Since August of 2021, they haven't needed …

July 11, 2022
Oceanside city treasurer charged on many fronts

Oceanside Treasurer Victor Roy faces serious charges from a city official he is supposed to work with, according to correspondence leaked to the public last week. Those charges include allegations that Roy tried to get …

Oceanside firefighters consultant gets comeuppance

The October 2019 FBI arrest of Democratic fundraiser/consultant Melahat Rafiei for “theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds” was not widely known until two weeks ago. FBI special agent Brian Adkins said Rafiei “lied” …

Will Oceanside get a stealth Amazon warehouse?

As Amazon’s business skyrocketed during Covid, the company became America’s largest private occupier of industrial real estate. There are some 23 Amazon distribution/warehouse hubs in Southern California including Otay Mesa (six-million square feet) and Vista …

Race warms up for Mike Levin's congressional seat

Ethnicity, guns, and accusations of being a business failure are all being used as weapons in the race for Mike Levin’s congressional seat. And that’s just between the Republicans. “He still claims to be a …

How will Oceanside clean up downtown crime?

Some say Oceanside’s explosive beachfront build-out of the last five years is a long-needed improvement. Others say it's created a sterile, high-rise urban monster. But no one is celebrating the recent uptick in downtown crime. …

February 15, 2022
Oceanside uses Roundup on storm drains

Jeremiah Depesa lives at the west end of the San Luis Rey Valley. The backyard of his hillside home has hosted beehives for the last four years. He was headed out for a morning surf …

February 1, 2022
Van Dam murder divides Sabre Springs, Westerfield's jail inmates

Good Life in Sabre Springs “I think Brenda is amazing. She’s so strong. I asked her, ‘How do you get out of bed?’ She told me, ‘I do it for my boys because they don’t …

January 31, 2022
Slightly Stoopid's 2005 marketing, Earl Thomas prefers San Diego to Memphis

Not So Stoopid "What do indie musicians and Tupperware have in common?" That's what an article in the June 20 issue of Newsweek ponders as it suggests local O.B. reggae-rockers Slightly Stoopid have tapped into …

January 29, 2022
Oceanside plans to sell schools to cut deficit – UPDATED

The march to close and then sell off elementary schools in Oceanside has been compared to the game of musical chairs. Parents with “Save Our Schools” signs are hoping their on-site protests will keep their …

October 26, 2021
Remembering Louis Procaccino

Vickie Taylor England just learned that one of her former classmates will miss the Oceanside High 50-year class reunion on October 1 and 2. “Everybody knew Louie. He was very popular and very handsome. All …

September 23, 2021
Last topless bar in North San Diego County

When Covid hit, two local gentlemen’s clubs turned off their strobe lights. The Main Attraction in Oceanside and Pure Platinum in Kearny Mesa shuttered in May, 2020. There is no word when or if Pure …

September 17, 2021
Lawsuit threat did not scare off Jensen recallers

In Oceanside, standing up for democracy can cost you big time. Consider law student Kathy Carbone and retired teacher Arlene Hammerschmidt. They were two of some 125 volunteers loosely organized as Let Oceanside Vote. They …

September 10, 2021
Vista loosens regs on medical pot

The City of Vista is rolling in weed money, and it's only going to increase. Vista became the only city in North County to allow cannabis dispensaries when the citizen-sponsored Measure Z passed in 2018. …

August 18, 2021
Oceanside replaces Huntington Beach

The surf industry is dropping in on Oceanside. The city that once billed itself as "California's best kept secret" may now be better suited for the "Surf City" handle long used by Huntington Beach. Because …

August 6, 2021
Back of KPBS line – A Way With Words, Fresh Air, Lawrence Welk

Retired educator Doug Knox is a fan of KPBS radio/TV. As a $100-a-month supporter of the non-commercial stations, he's in the KPBS Producer's Club. KPBS thanks those members by giving them access to special events …

July 27, 2021
Doug Applegate to run for Desmond seat on county board of supervisors

When San Marcos city councilman Jim Desmond was elected to represent North County on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors three years ago, there was a five percent GOP majority in his District 5. …

Oceanside facing big comeback

JULY 7 UPDATE: Oceanside's most embarrassing vacancy will soon be cranking. The space at the corner of Pier View Way and Coast Highway, vacant since late last year, will soon be abuzz with another successful …

Oceanside gets even more serious about street people

Well intentioned efforts to help the homeless can get ugly. The city of Oceanside’s high profile moves to help the needy led to public confrontations and a grant revocation. One grandstanding councilmember induced giggles when …

Kori Jensen cleared by D.A. on house in North Oceanside

Last Friday the District Attorney’s office announced it was not pursuing criminal charges against Oceanside councilwoman Kori Jensen regarding her residency. There were enough questions over Jensen’s primary residence that the city attorney referred the …

iBuyers moving into Oceanside home market

“This house is in escrow and it never even had a sign or an open house.” Mary Ellen Reese has lived in the same South Oceanside home for 37 years. She was taken aback when …

Re-drawing lines may delete Orange County from 49th Congressional District

“The Republican party asked me to run against [Congressman] Mike Levin in 2020.” That’s what Oceanside city councilman Christopher Rodriguez said two years ago when the Latino ex-Marine who served in Iraq was viewed as …

Animal Kingdom back in Oceanside to shoot sixth season

Animal Kingdom is TV’s intense weekly drama about the crime-loving Cody family. Brothers Pope, Craig and Deran took on murder, armed robbery, explosives, and drugs all while living in Oceanside. A Warner Bros. Television crew …

Oceanside police gently push homeless out of tents

A sprawling tent camp near Oceanside Boulevard and I-5 that was home to about 50 homeless people was upended Tuesday morning when a phalanx of some 40 police officers descended on the campsite built on …

April 13, 2021
There goes the Oceanside beach

Apparently nothing will stop beachfront property owners in Oceanside from dropping in huge riprap boulders in front of their house. Not even a stop-work order from the state coastal commission. At about 2 pm Friday, …

Sanchez recall committee in Oceanside misses deadlines

Some city hall watchers are claiming a recent filing with the state Fair Political Practices Commission is proof that Oceanside has become a “pay-to-play” city where wealthy developers can build what they want as long …

Oceanside councilwoman doesn't live at 815 North Pacific Street

What does it take to become a member of the Oceanside City Council? One might be surprised to know how easy it was for the newest member of the the five-person body that controls a …

February 1, 2021
Finest City Improv and the unbending landlord

Tara Johansen says improv comedy classes are the best way she knows for the introverted to meet other people. “I had just moved to San Diego a year earlier and I found it very hard …

December 14, 2020
Has Del Mar's Dwight Worden flipped from green to gray?

Politics can get rough in the county’s smallest city where just 3450 voters decide who runs the five-person Del Mar city council. In last month’s election, two different slates were running to occupy three seats. …

December 7, 2020
91 of 153 Del Mar fairgrounds employees laid off – some of them are talking

While Covid-triggered cancelations pushed the Del Mar Fairgrounds into a $10 million deficit as of September, two former fairground employees claim that that the fairgrounds governing board and its staff was headed for a fall …

Aussie surfboard maker J.S. Industries runs into Oceanside buzzsaw

The Aussies are invading North County with foreign-made surfboards. “It’s like freaking locusts descending on us,” says one local surf shop owner who declined to be named. “It’s like they have a scorched earth plan …

November 18, 2020
Oceanside's Prince Park garners love, but still has pit toilets

About 100 skaters a day show up to Oceanside’s Prince Park. On weekends it’s twice as many. Because it's free to use and because skating is cool. Josh Carson says the cement bowls are doing …

November 6, 2020
Oceanside's Michelle Gomez sues ex-workers for libel and gets some to back off

According to some named in a defamation lawsuit filed by Oceanside City Council candidate Michelle Gomez, the suit is a way to silence those who claim she ripped them off. The lawsuit arose when Gomez, …

October 27, 2020
Cavalier Mobile Home owners vs. the rest of the neighborhood

Bree Shook says a kind of class warfare has erupted between her 1,000 neighbors in the Cavalier Mobile Home Estates and the traditional homeowners who live in the South Oceanside neighborhood that overlooks them. “They …

October 19, 2020
Ups and downs of Oceanside Harbor

One person close to the Helgren’s sportsfishing saga describes the struggle over city property at the Oceanside Harbor as an ongoing “soap opera,” filled with “hate and discontent.” And while the major players won’t speak …

October 7, 2020
Cyclops Farms pulls up stakes in Oceanside

Anyone with a TV may get the impression Oceanside is more Green Acres than Baywatch. Developer Integral Communities has so far dumped $1.4 million on TV ads and other promotions to convince locals that a …

September 30, 2020
Who stole your iPod, FM94's Mike Esparza, Hell's Angels, our Russian yacht, Seaworld sharks, why they leave San Diego

Roman Abramovich Yacht on San Diego’s Embarcadero Two helicopter pads, pool, spa, hot tub... It was borrowed by Madonna back in 2010 (according to Luxist.com), when she was filming her movie about the Duke of …

September 19, 2020

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