The cost of water

The Santa Fe Irrigation District pays its directors for attending meetings AND reimburses them for personal expenses. Below is a list of payments made to SFID directors over the past year.

Horse racing is not about social frivolity

I have been offering my many decades of racing and marketing experience to the cause of racing’s alarming decline, primarily in the industry’s weekly newsmagazine, ever since it became the industry’s No. 1 problem, which in many ways is a different situation than at a major beach resort during the tourist season, that being Del Mar.

Not a dime’s worth of difference? — Revisited

In the June 30 column, I challenged the view of some “independent” voters that there is “not a dime’s worth of difference between Democrats and Republicans.”

I suggested that Democrats want to raise taxes on the very rich; Republicans want to lower them. Democrats are pro-labor; Republicans are anti-union. Democrats support Social Security, Medicare, and national health insurance; Republicans oppose them. Democrats are pro-choice; Republicans want to outlaw abortion and stem-cell research.

‘Opening Day at the Races’

The 71st season of thoroughbred racing at Del Mar got off to a rousing start on Wednesday, July 20. Attendance set a new record, as did betting and food and beverage consumption.

Del Mar-Solana Beach Rotary Club helps homeless vets at Stand Down San Diego

Members of the Del Mar–Solana Beach Rotary Club handed out over 6,000 bottles of cool water to hot and thirsty veterans (and volunteers) at Stand Down San Diego 2011 on July 15 – 17. Thirty-five Rotarians, spouses, and friends stood three-hour shifts to man the “Rotary Water Tent” during the three-day event.

Friends Of Revitalization launches website for Village improvement effort

FOR is a citizens advocacy group in favor of making downtown Del Mar a more attractive, pedestrian-friendly and economically viable destination for residents and visitors alike.

Del Mar and Solana Beach projects win landscape awards

Licensed landscape contractors in the San Diego region are working to maintain the area’s unique beauty through the design, installation and management of the county’s landscapes, while conserving as much water as possible.

Device may eliminate the need for blood thinners in some atrial fibrillation patients

A new device currently being studied at select hospitals across the country may eliminate the need for blood thinning medications in some patients who have a heart condition known as atrial fibrillation (“AF”). The most common cause of irregular heartbeat, AF affects more than two million people in the United States.

Local Marine and family receive financial assistance from FACE for injured puppy

Local hero Marine Jamie Davidson and expectant wife, Jacklyn, are receiving emergency financial support from animal welfare non-profit FACE Foundation.

For a sure-fire way to take the heat, whip up some chilled soups

After spending more than a week in the Sonoran Desert (that makes a sauna look like a meat freezer), I’ve mastered the art of cooking without applying heat. Charred offerings are so Neanderthal anyway, while raw food gurus put the skids on temperatures north of 104°F or 40°C.