The Coast News, July 13, 2012

JULY 13, 2012
FUNDING
CONTINUED FROM A1
decade.
Bernard Minster, an
Encinitas resident reminded
the council of the toxic soil
remediation dangers. “Many
of the residents in the city
don’t quite understand what
they’re facing,” he said. In fact,
46,000 cubic yards of contaminated
soil will be buried on
the site. He said containment
of the soil was crucial in safeguarding
the city’s water table
and beaches, but would come
at an additional cost.
“A good question to ask is
‘Why should we finance the
gap for the projects,’” he said.
Because of the city’s AA+ rating
and low interest rates, borrowing
the money would be
prudent. Vina told the council
it would lose flexibility if the
city uses reserves in the general
fund to build the projects
instead of borrowing.
“You cannot borrow for
operational needs so if there is
a downturn in the economy
TASTE OF WINE
CONTINUED FROM A14
Aetna, and another south of
the volcano at Noto. The
island has more terrain
under vine that any other
winemaking region in Italy.
My other “volcanic
wine” stop was in the
Campania district at the historically
more famous Mt.
Vesuvius. It infamously
gained fame when it flattened
the Roman cities of
Pompeii and Herculaneum
in 79 A.D. It menacingly
overlooks the city of Naples
and last erupted in 1944 during
World War II, destroying
allied planes at a nearby airbase.
The Aglianico grape is
the basis for Campania’s
100,000 acres under vine.
Compare this to the largest
wine district in California,
Paso Robles, with just 26,000
acres.
The wine Taurasi, made
from the ancient Aglianico,
is the only one with the highest
DOCG status. It has the
capacity to age and become
full bodied and rich in pleasurable
flavor, shedding its
youthful, tannic taste. The
finest examples of this grape
are on the slopes of Mt.
Vesuvius.
Maurizio Russo is the
owner and winemaker at
Cantina Del Vesuvio, with
acreage high on the western
side of the volcano. His
wines benefit from the
enriched soil, so his wines
are bottled and sold now
from the 2010 harvest. Soil
characteristics include calcium,
iron, nitrogen and potassium,
ingredients that Russo
says “make my vines of fire
strong and productive.”
Russo, an unusually
large, tall man was ever the
LISA KRUSE
Your OCEANSIDE/CARLSBAD
Territory Manager
Call Lisa for all your
advertising needs.
and you need to pay for the
city’s operational
expenses…but you can use
moves set aside in the reserves
if you need to for those purposes.”
The projects that would
lose funding through reallocation
to the park construction
and beach improvements
would not be eliminated altogether.
“These projects don’t
go away,” Vina said, referring
to a few of the capital improvement
projects.
Instead, the council
would look at alternate ways
to fund them or allow the
budgets to grow slowly over
time with annual funding.
Parks and Recreation
director Lisa Rudloff told the
council “there is nothing more
important that you can give to
the community than these two
projects.”
The park will include 418
parking spaces distributed
among 5 lots within the park
area, one dedicated soccer
field, three multi-use fields, a
congenial host as he sat us
down to taste his family of
wines over farm-fresh tomato
sauce in a bed of homemade
pasta, freshly picked
mushrooms and zucchini.
The always-present baked
bread with sesame crust was
brought out as fast as the
select Aglianico reds from
the ’09 harvest that sold for
10 Euro (about $13).
Farming generally in
Italy is very difficult due to
limestone formations in the
bedrock producing poor soil,
except for the volcanic areas
around Mt. Vesuvius. This is
due to the eruptions some
35,000 and 12,000 years ago
enriching the soil with nutrients.
It’s not unusual to see a
vineyard with wine grapes,
mixed in with fava beans,
cauliflower, onions, orange
and lemon trees, herbs and
flowers. Look a little more
and you will see huge tomatoes
being grown.
While the winemakers
and farmers thank the heavens
and their volcanic mountain
for this bonanza, they
also cast a wary eye at the
hissing peak, wondering
when the next disastrous
eruption is coming.
Wine Bytes
Rossi’s Pizza & Italian
Restaurant in San Marcos is
having a Tolosa Wine Dinner
at 6:30 p.m. July 14. A gourmet
four-course dinner will
feature Chicken Parmesan
and five glasses of Tolosa
wine for just $40, normally a
$60 value. Tolosa of Edna
Valley is a Chardonnay and
Pinot Noir specialist. For an
RSVP, call (760) 727-4747 or
(760) 533-4486.
Tommy V’s in Carlsbad
at Bressi Ranch has a special
wine dinner with Monte
760.436.9737 x102
Lkruse@coastnewsgroup.com
two-acre dog park, playground
with play structures separated
by age, a 13,000-square-foot
skate park and landscape
buffer.
USS Cal Builders was
awarded the contract and can
begin construction within 45
days. The park project is
expected to take 15 months to
complete.
The Moonlight state
beach improvements come at
a cost of $4.8 million. $1.9 million
in state funding will bring
the cost to the city down to
$2.9 million.Vina said the total
costs could be financed.
“I’m not a big one for borrowing
money but there’s
never been a better time than
now folks,” Councilman Jim
Bond said. He suggested that
the city borrow to fully fund
the capital improvement projects
that were reallocated or
cut by the staff’s funding strategy.
“If anything let’s borrow
more,” Bond said.
The 17 public speakers
were split in their support for
the funding strategy. Vicki
Olimpo Luxus Five wines
from Sicily at 6:30 p.m. July
14. RSVP at (760) 602-1949.
Cost is $75 per person.
San Antonio Winery
downtown Los Angeles presents
a four-course lunch and
wine seminar
Understanding Classic
Grape Varietals with Michael
Papalia from1 to 4 p.m. July
15. Cost is $58 per person.
Reserve at (888) 223-1401.
The Grand Resort Del
Mar opens a Summer Five
Star Soundtrack eight-concert
series, opening with
Hiroshima Fusion Jazz on
July 15. Show times are at 7
p.m. General seating is $65,
VIP is $95. Call (800) 820-
9884 for details.
Mille Fleurs brings Jazz
on the Patio to Rancho Santa
Fe Tuesday through Sunday
starting July 17 from 6 to 9
p.m. Enjoy a drink or dinner
with sax music from Chicago.
No RSVP needed.
THE COAST NEWS
Armstrong, a Cardiff resident
wanted the park built immediately,
as a dog owner she
encouraged the completion of
the dog park.
The Patrons for Encinitas
Parks (PEP) pledged their
support. “You can count on
PEP as your bridge to the private
sector to help you fund
some of those maintenance
costs,” Joey Randall, president
of the nonprofit told the council.
PADZ (People and Dog
Zones) a nonprofit also
pledged to fundraise to support
the maintenance of the
dog park.
Rick Lochner of the
Encinitas Express Soccer club
said the park is a long time
coming and he supported creating
additional field space.
The club currently pays
approximately $60,000 annually
in field fees and would not
be opposed to paying fees to
use the soccer field at the new
park.
The largest applause
came late in the five-hour
Bastille Day is the wine
and dinner theme at Europa
Village Winery in Temecula
from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. July 18
and July 19. French music
and fun throughout. Cost is
$85 each. Club members are
$76.50. Call to RSVP at (951)
216-3380.
Kenny G, the premier
Jazz Saxman has been added
to the Thornton Winery
Champagne Jazz Series with
a concert at 5 p.m. July 22,
along with Earl Klugh. Order
tickets at (951) 699-0099 or
champagnejazz.com.
Frank Mangio is a renowned wine connoisseur
certified by Wine Spectator. His
library can be viewed at www.tasteofwinetv.com.
(Average Google certified
900 visits per day) He is one of the top
five wine commentators on the Web.
Reach him at mangiompc@aol.com.
meeting for Thomas Barker
who represented the skateboarding
community. He
called the city “skateboard
heaven.” “We need a little
more breathing room,” he said
referring to the limited local
venues and lack of free public
skate parks in the city. “The
design of this park is truly
amazing,” he said. “I can’t wait
to skate it,”
Sammy Lee and Keene
Brubaker, local skaters agreed
that the park should be built
with the skate element intact.
“Kids need somewhere to go,”
Lee said. “Every other city
around us has a free public
skate park,” he said. “This will
help foster the next generation
of skaters.”
“It’s time to stop slinging
mud and start digging dirt for
the benefit of the residents of
Encinitas,” Mayor Jerome
Stocks said after four hours of
A15
public comment and council
discussion.
He motioned that the city
issue $8 million in lease revenue
bonds, bringing the total
to more than $600,000 more
than the staff proposal. “If
there is extra money left over
then we as a council can think
about considering reallocating
funds to the underfunded
projects,” he said.