August 2009 Issue | Download the Full Issue

Here’s one for all you good-hearted, music loving, meaningful fund-raising fans. It’s called “Bonsallpalooza”, and not only is it raising money for a worthwhile cause, but it’s bound to be as fun as its name.
“Bonsallpalooza” was dreamt up by the Bonsall Education Foundation in the wake of the statewide budget crisis that cut music education programs at the Bonsall Unified School District.
“It seems so often that music is the first thing to get cut,” said benefit co-chairman Julie Koleszar. “A lot of districts lost their programs years ago. We’ve been able to hold onto ours until now, and aren’t ready to let it go.”
Koleszar said the Bonsall Education Foundation (BEF) has been trying to come up with unique ways that they can organize quickly to help raise funds for Bonsall music education. They collaborated with the school community to find a solution to address the budget challenge, and “Bonsallpalooza” was born.
“We wanted something that had strong ties to music and something that a lot of people could participate in,” Koleszar said.
“Bonsallpalooza” is just that, a line-up of musical talent that hundreds of people can enjoy and partake in. The event is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 7 at 8 p.m. at the Pala Casino in Pala and features four perfect examples of why music education is so important: Michael Damian, Steve Poltz, Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz and Patti Zlaket.
Michael Damian began studying piano at the age of six, under the tutelage of his mother, a classical pianist. By age eleven, proficient on piano, B-3 organ, clarinet, trombone and vibes, Michael joined forces with his brothers and sisters and took to the road in the family band, The Weirz. The progressive rock troupe toured the west coast during the 1970s and in 1978 the family relocated to Los Angeles from San Diego.
In 1981, Damian recorded a remake of Eric Carmen's She Did It. The record hit the Billboard Top 40 and landed him an appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.
In 1993 he was cast in the starring role of Joseph in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Damian has released 6 albums and has had eight Top 40 hits including Was It Nothing At All, which earned him a BMI song writing award. His single, Getting So Much Better, from his newest EP premiered on the 35th anniversary show of The Young And The Restless and featured on The Hills.
Steve Poltz’s folksy blend of music and witty lyrics will kick off the benefit concert. Poltz co-wrote Jewel’s hit song You Were Meant for Me, which subsequently became the longest-running song on the Billboard Top 100. He also had a debut solo album that earned three and a half stars in Rolling Stone, and was awarded the title of “San Diego’s Most Influential Artist of the Decade” at the San Diego Music Awards.
Also performing is the high-energy, blues, rock and soul band called Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz. Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz recently opened for Etta James where they received a standing ovation. The group truly believes in music education as is proven by their involvement in the Blues In The Schools program. Not only do they go into schools to expose young students to live blues, but for benefit shows like “Bonsallpalooza,” they actually have young musicians join them on stage.
One such musician is 14-year-old Alec Whitson. Alec is one of three artists that Sullivan Middle School recommended to join Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz on stage for a song or two. With more than six years of experience on the bass guitar, (including several years of jazz band at Sullivan), Alec said he is honored to be a part of saving the music for his alma mater.
“Jazz band was fun,” Alec said. “I want to help make sure other incoming students at Sullivan have the same opportunity to enjoy it.”
Alec hopes that with more musical experience, he will be able to start up his own band and play during high school and college—a dream he couldn’t make possible without music education. Rounding out the evening will be Patti Zlaket. Zlaket’s soulful, eclectic pop sound will remind you a lot of Carol King. It features a combination of rich vocals and funky yet contemporary piano work that is sure to make you a fan.
If you don’t go for the music, go for the purpose. All proceeds from the benefit concert will help fund music education programs that will help guide students who may be destined for a career in music. Not only that, but research also shows a correlation between music education and higher academic achievement.
Danielle Osborn is a 12-year-old student at Sullivan Middle School. She is known for having the voice of an angel, but for her it’s not just about being a good singer. Music has helped her succeed in other areas as well.
“It [singing] helps me overcome my fears of talking in front of people,” Danielle said. “In school I had to do presentations in class, and I wasn’t afraid because I’m used to being on stage in front of hundreds of people.”
Danielle, who has been singing since she could talk, added that music is fun. She gets to meet people, be creative, learn new songs, and ultimately she is honing skills that could someday land her on stage at a benefit concert like “Bonsallpalooza.”
According to BEF, it doesn’t cost much to make music education available.
“We’ve determined that just $36 a year per child would keep music education in Bonsall,” Koleszar said. “Our target goal is $77,000, which would be enough for every student in our district.”
This amount would help cover costs for band and choir instructors, instruments, instrument maintenance, and more.
* * *
Tickets for “Bonsallpalooza” are available for sale at the Bonsall Certified Farmers Market (every Sunday 9:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.) located at the Bonsall Community Center on Old River Road in Bonsall. Tickets range from $45-65 per person. For more information on group sales and sponsorship packages email concert@bonsallschools.org. Tickets are also available at the Pala Privileges Center at Pala Casino and online at www.palacasino.com.        

Escondido Pops Concert: Free Fun Under the Stars

According to conductor Jung-Ho Pak artistic director to the Orchestra Nova, what makes the Escondido outdoor Summer Pops concert series unique is that it is completely free.
The next one will be held Sunday, August 9, 7 p.m. on the Great Green at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido at 340 N. Escondido Blvd—next to the main hall. The concert, sponsored by the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, will run just over an hour.
Pak’s organization, which performed for 25 years as the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, recently changed its name to Orchestra Nova.
“We changed the name because a lot of people didn’t know what a chamber was. For many people a chamber is a chamber of commerce. The second reason we chose it was that we wanted a name that a new generation would feel more welcome by,” says Pak, who has been described by the New York Times as a conductor who “radiates enthusiasm.”
“Nova means new [in Latin], and the way we present our product is almost radical for our profession. We are more open, more consumer-friendly. And finally, my philosophy is treating all musicians as a star, and nova means a star. We are an orchestra of stars,” says Pak.
According to the conductor, a “pops” concert always has several elements: patriotic and nostalgic music and music that relates to today’s generation.
Who, for instance, doesn’t like Rodgers and Hammerstein? he asks. “And for the younger generation, we are doing some music from the hugely popular High School Musical and the Muppet Movie, and we are doing some music from Out of Africa by John Barry, who has composed many great movie scores.
“Dave Scott, the local KUSI weatherman with the bow tie, has a great voice and plays a great trombone,” says Pak. “He will do Gershwin’s Someone to Watch Over Me.”
There will also be a short tribute to Frank Sinatra, some music from the most recent Superman movie, Superman Returns, and a rousing finale with a patriotic extravaganza including Souza’s Stars and Stripes Forever and a tribute to the Armed Forces.
“I’m a populist,” says Pak. “I love putting together a program that people can love and remember.”
Although the orchestra is technically a “chamber” orchestra and usually does its classical concerts with 35 musicians, it will have 50 musicians for the pops concert.
“People come here to hear Broadway and film music done with a bigger and lusher orchestra,” says Pak.
This is the orchestra’s seventh year doing the concert, and Pak feels that it is helping to build an audience for the Center.
The program for this concert under the stars is as follows:
Star Spangled Banner
Richard Rodgers Portrait:
Bali Ha’i from South Pacific
It’s A Grand Night For Singing from State Fair
I Whistle A Happy Tune from The King and I
Edelweiss from The Sound of Music
Oklahoma! from Oklahoma!

High School Musical:
Breaking Free
Start of Something New
We're All In This Together

From the SDCO Pops vault:
Out of Africa
Muppet Medley

Tribute to Frank Sinatra:
Strangers in the Night
New York, New York

Someone to Watch Over Me by Gershwin with Guest Conductor Stephanie Mathews

Superman Returns

Armed Forces Salute
Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philips Sousa
Bring a picnic or enjoy light refreshments available on-site. Remember no alcohol, no barbecues and no pets are allowed.
* * *
The next concert in the series will be Wish Upon a Star: Disney's Greatest Hits featuring Orchestra Nova, Sunday, Sept. 13, at 4 p.m. at the Concert Hall
Pak will lead Orchestra Nova in a performance that highlights all your favorite Disney moments, from Mary Poppins and Pinocchio to Snow White and Beauty and the Beast. Featuring soprano Nicole Werner, this entertaining evening is full of family fun and will spark all your favorite memories from Disney's greatest hits.

Hidden Meadows Artist's Work Rediscovered

Hidden Meadows resident Mike Richman, who sells ephemera (collectible papers), was at a recent seller’s fair in the Meadows when a man approached him and asked, “Hey, can you help me sell some art?”
It turned out that the man was the grandson of Richard Gabriel Chase, who, during the 1960s, 70s and later, was one of the most well-known artists in San Diego County.
Chase was an illustrator for the San Diego Historical Society and Copley publications and painted the huge murals in the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego.
Chase,  who died December 2007, lived in Hidden Meadows, Escondido and La Mesa, and elsewhere in the county since 1950.
Richman was reluctant to accede to the grandson’s request, since his expertise was not artworks, but he was insistent, so Richman agreed to visit the deceased artist’s house in Hidden Meadows.
“I saw the pictures and I was awestruck! They were right in my backyard,” recalls Richman.
He told the grandson that he was interested in helping him but that he would have to educate himself about art and about Chase in particular.
He was hooked. For the past six months or so he has been involved cataloguing the 45–50 major pieces and the hundreds of lesser pieces, including sketches.
For Richman, exploring the works that had remained hidden for years has been like being a boy on a treasure hunt. It’s also a lot like detective work.
“You open boxes that are covered with dust or find rolled canvases and carefully unroll them to find new treasures,” he says.
He has gone through old high school and college yearbooks, through boxes of photos and pored over copies of San Diego Magazine that contained stories about Chase, all spanning several decades.
“There seemed to be no end to this beautiful artwork. I felt privileged,” says Richman.
He was able to get insights into how the artist researched his meticulously accurate historical pieces by looking through his extensive library of artists and his papers.
“I learned that a good artist researches and studies the subjects of his paintings to make sure they are accurate,” he says.
Chase also meticulously chronicled his works’ progress by photographing them in sequence as he worked on them. He kept photos of most if not all of the works that he sold to others.
Richman describes Chase’s work. “It is very seldom when a painter’s art work cannot be categorized or classified into a specific area of expertise, genre or preponderance of images. One certainly needs more sources to assign a ‘school of art’ for Richard Gabriel Chase. In awe of his impressionist work, we are quickly diverted to the excellence of his still life and abstract painting achievements. The stunning paintings, drawings and murals depicting history, heroes and habitats capture the attention of the afficionado of figurative representational art.”
According to Richman, it was Chase’s ability at rendering historical paintings that thrust him into commercial success.
He brought California history to life on the covers and pages of publications such as the San Diego Historical Society’s journals in the 1970s.
If you have ever visited the Escondido library and seen its large mural of the Battle of San Pasqual, you have seen Chase’s work.
If you have visited the San Diego Air and Space Museum you have seen his collection of famous American aviators and astronauts such as Alan Shepard and including Reuben H. Fleet, after whom the space museum in Balboa Park is named.
You will also find his work, especially murals, in dozens of area banks and at the San Diego Grand Hyatt Hotel, where he was paid 85 cents a square inch— an enormous sum for the time.
He painted murals for 33 branches of Crocker Bank, nine branches of Southwest Bank and five branches of Union Bank. The murals were often huge. For example, the Southwest Bank series measured 20 feet wide by six feet high and depicted the Mexican era history of the region.
The Escondido Library’s mural (in its main branch on Kalmia Street) is of the second phase of the Battle of San Pasqual on the wet morning of Dec. 6, 1846, near where I-15 now crosses Lake Hodges. It depicts a clash between the Californio lancers of Gen. Andres Pico against the saber wielding dragoons of Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny. It was a steel against steel confrontation because it was too wet for their gunpowder to fire.
Yet most proprietors of art galleries in the area have never heard of Chase. In order to find a market for Chase’s work, Richman discovered that he has had to reintroduce him to today’s public.
“How do you tell someone who is in their thirties who this guy is?” Richman asks rhetorically. “I reluctantly came to realize that Chase’s name needed to be re-established.”
Chase’s house, now empty of people, is filled with his essence. His paintings are everywhere. He personally designed and painted the opulently decorated bathroom with paintings of lake nymphs. He also painted a sky scene in a cupola over the dining room.
“I sometimes feel Richard’s presence,” says Richman, who feels that Chase wants him to revive his name and put his paintings out there for the world to see again.
“The greatest fun of a collector is going through the collection. I go through each piece and exclaim, ‘Oh boy!’ ”
* * *
Another mural, that of Rancho San Dieguito in the 1830s, can be seen in the San Dieguito Heritage Museum in Encinitas, where a retrospective of his work was held on June 27.
Another exhibit is planned at the Valley Center Library beginning Sept. 5., noon with a reception in the Community Room.
About a dozen paintings will be left up for the public to view for two weeks.
If you are interested in Chase’s art, contact Mike Richman at 749-2325 or email him at magicmike49@hotmail.com.

Urban Country: Hip-Hop and Line Dancing Unite at Temecula Stampede

It’s 6 on a Friday night and already there is a line forming in front of the door at the Temecula Stampede country-western bar in Temecula. Within an hour, this line will move from the door to the dance floor where a professional instructor will teach them all a new line dance.
Yes, I said line dance.
While line dancing is not as big as it was in its heyday (think 1990s Achy Breaky Heart), it has not been forgotten. Just ask the 1,000-plus people who stop by Temecula Stampede on an average weekend.
It’s a mixed-lot of characters. Some are young, some are old, some are first-timers, some are regular visitors. Some wear jeans, some wear shorts, some wear flip-flops, others wear boots. Some even have sequined skirts and jean jackets. But whether they are sporting a 10-gallon cowboy hat or a Padres baseball cap, they become part of an eclectic group that moves as one on the dance floor.
For bystanders, it’s engaging to watch a group of performers as they simultaneously step, slide, tap and turn. For participants, it’s liberating because it’s done as an individual.
“I like to line dance because I can do it by myself,” says Elsie Shallenberger. “I don’t need a partner and I don’t get yanked around. I can just go out and dance.”
Apparently line dancing is good for the body, too. Shallenberger is 83-years-old. She has been coming to the Temecula Stampede with her sister, Eveline Baldock for more than 15 years. Eveline is 82-years-old. They are both as fit as a fiddle, and you should see their dance moves!
“We’ve danced all our lives, but still take the lessons,” Baldock said. “We’re glad they offer them because they come up with new dances all the time.”
Line dance lessons are offered every Friday and Saturday night at Temecula Stampede. The cost is only $3 a person and well worth the money if you are a first-timer and don’t want to stand out like a sore thumb. Not that I know from experience, but line dances are a set pattern of steps, shuffles, stomps and twists, and it’s good to know whether to stomp or step before jumping in line. (Not only does this save you from embarrassment, but it keeps you from throwing off the dynamics of the group…again, not that I know from experience).
I recommend taking lessons and learning at least one dance. Original line dances like the Cowboy Cha-Cha, the Tush Push and the Electric Slide are universal steps that go with pretty much any song. However, new line dances are always being taught at Temecula Stampede. There’s the Waterhole, the Two-Step, the Desperado Wrap, the El Paso Cha Cha and more.
Advanced line dancers know which dances work best with certain songs, but don’t worry, even if you are a novice, you won’t feel lost because DJ Jim Lampman, known by fans as the Dancing DJ, actually calls out what dance to do for each song in cue. If you don’t know the specific dance noted, you can just dance one that you do know. Even master line dancers like Shallenberger and Baldock don’t always go with the flow.
“We sometimes just do our own thing out there,” said Shallenberger. “I’ll do whatever dance I want no matter what the floor is doing.”
You may actually be surprised at what the floor is doing. Although country line dancing has been around for decades, it has evolved with time and crossed over to modern music. Temecula Stampede has adapted to this evolution by teaching line dances with a hip-hop twist. It’s this out-of-the-box style that draws in the younger crowd.
In fact, Wednesday nights officially cater towards the young crowd with hip-hop music. The night is for 18-year-olds and over, and according to bar manager Lisa Jones, the place gets packed. But really that’s just business as usual.
“We keep busy because we have a lot to offer everyone,” Jones said. “We have line dancing on Friday and Saturday nights. We have the hip-hop on Wednesdays. We have the mechanical bull, we have a great DJ, we have eight full bars, we have a substantial menu and free appetizers from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. every night.”
Perhaps another reason the place stays busy is because it’s said to be the largest country music venue on the west coast.
“We are the only country music venue of this kind in a 50-mile radius,” said floor manager Brian Garner. “We have the largest dance floor, too. The closest comparable dance floor is in Las Vegas.”
The Temecula Stampede is located at 28721 Front St. in Historic Old Town Temecula. It’s open Monday at 6 p.m. (21 and up). It’s open Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays from 6 p.m.—2 a.m. (18 and over, cover charges apply), and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m.—5 p.m. (all ages, no cover). Every Wednesday is Hip-Hop Night with lessons beginning at 6:30 p.m. Line dancing is on Friday and Saturday nights with lessons beginning at 7 p.m.
Be sure to visit www.temeculastampede.com for additional details on cover charges, age restrictions, happy hour specials and dance lessons, or call 951-695-1761 for more information.

Pala Skatepark Makes Its Way to the Smithsonian Institute

Like an oasis in the middle of the desert, the Pala Skatepark quenches the skateboarding thirst of many a thrill-parched boarder here in the North County and across the country.
Pala tribal officials did their homework when they set out to build a skating park on the reservation, bringing in renowned skate park designer Wally Hollyday to build a state-of-the-art facility. A solid $600,000 later, the park opened to an excited skating crowd in April of 2008.
“It’s about keeping kids active,” says park manager Bruce Guachino. “It’s a great way that we can keep kids active and teach them something new and fun that they can do that will help them put down the video games and get outside.”
Since its grand opening, Pala Skatepark has quickly become a favorite in the skating community, both locally and across the country.
“I love to go out and talk with the skaters, and ask them what they think of the park,” Guachino says. “They always have several different comments, and they have a language of their own, but it’s always good feedback.
“We have skaters come in from all over, not just on the reservation. Some kids come from the coast, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista and on in from there, or up from San Diego, or down from Temecula—all over. They come from a long ways off too, like Arizona and even further.”
Little did the tribe know that its way to keep kids active would lead to a place in history, via a recent exhibit in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The park was part of an exhibit about skating and Native American culture which opened at the Institution in June.
“We didn’t really plan on it being that popular,” Guachino says. “I’m not a skater, so I didn’t realize how popular it is in Indian culture. I have no idea how it all came about, but we got to send some of the kids from our neighborhood, and not just native kids either, but everybody. It was great, they got to see the exhibit, and they had a ramp set up outside that the kids got to skate on. It was a really great thing for them.”
Guachino adds that, even though the park has received so much positive attention, the skaters still have one small change in mind.
“They want a little bit of shade out there,” he says. “Right now, it’s right out in the sun, and to get some shade you have to go out of the park to sit under the trees, so we’re working on that. And we’re also talking about putting in some lights so we can have night skating. But we don’t have any plans to expand or anything like that right now.”
Pala Skatepark is open to skaters of all ages, skill levels, and backgrounds, and frequently offers skating clinics, such as a clinic set to begin on Aug. 1.
Through the summer, the park is open from 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m. daily. The cost on weekdays is $5 for the public and $3 for locals with a 92059 ZIP code. On weekends, the cost is $5 for skaters 12 and under, $10 for skaters 13 and over, and $3 for any skater with a tribal identification.
Yearly rates are also available for $100 for the public and $40 for community members with a 92059 ZIP code.
For more information on the Pala Skatepark, visit the Web site at www.palaskatepark.com or call manager Bruce Guachino at 760-891-3503.

Library of the Future Coming to Fallbrook

The library of the future is coming to Fallbrook in 2010.
It will have an arts library with $350,000 in unique art pieces. It will have the largest auditorium yet built for a county library. It will have a poets patio, and will demonstrate the County’s commitment to sustainability by relying to a large extent on native and adaptive plants.
“The way I look at it, you want to design for fifty years ahead,” comments County Supervisor Bill Horn, who is something of a guardian angel for libraries. “You want to build something that will service that community for fifty years. I looked ahead and tried to give them a facility that would serve them a long time.”
“It is truly extraordinary!” comments county library director José Aponte.
“It’s the first building that I have built that is so focused on sustainable communities within LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. It means that the people of Fallbrook will have an example of their government's commitment to a sustainable building and institution.”
This state-of-the-art library will use high tech to operate a building more than twice as large, with twice as many library materials, with the same staff.
“Technology keeps changing, and we keep trying to find new ways to get more and more into the library under the same budget,” says Aponte.
Retaining walls will hold back earthern material. One full wall is supported against an earthen structure. Much of the roof will be vegetated in such low water plants as agave.
“In view of flat and diminished resources of the public sector, we need to define different ways to work,” says Aponte. “A large inviting space will be staffed by at most three people at any given time. This is a sea change for us in the library community, where often circulation desks can be staffed by three at a time.”
How will they do it? By automating such tasks as circulation by using RFID (radio frequency identification) tags and self-checkout.
“Ninety-five percent of the circulation will be done by the public themselves,” says Aponte.
Books will be sorted into several bins by a RFID “robot,” further cutting the need for humans to intervene.
“That will free up staff to focus on the more creative aspects of our work, serving as information finders, making referrals, referees, and putting together programming for kids and adults. Librarians have a fun role, a cultural role, the ability to program the space in a creative way.”
This revolutionary approach redesigns the work place—eventually all of the county’s libraries will have RFID. The switch will take about three years. It takes a long time for workers to put the RFID tags on all 1.7 million books. Fallbrook’s library will be among the first.
“The county library system moves 8.3 million volumes a year, with three hundred people. How do we deal with increase and the fact that library usage is up twenty four percent?”
You do it with the same number of people by reworking the workplace, says Aponte.
Using RFIDs and a marketplace approach to staffing, materials and workflow, and with the environmental features, Aponte hopes it will be something the community will be proud of.
“Seven or eight of us have been working on this for years. It started with Friends President Jerri Patchett four or five years ago,” he says.
The library will also reflect its community’s artistic focus.
“Fallbrook is our ‘arts library,’ ” says Aponte. It will have the most space devoted to art of any library, along with the largest auditorium, which will be called a ‘town hall.’ ”
Most San Diego libraries have—at most—800 sq. ft. of meeting space. Fallbrook’s community room will be around 2,000 sq. ft with enough room to seat up to 250.
The poets patio, adjacent to the meeting room, will enable the library to have programs that might “spill out” of the community room, increasing its capacity.
“This building was designed with idea of performance, presentation and the visual arts,” says Aponte.
It will have about about $350,000 worth of unique art, procured by the FOFL using money donated by the community.
“Of the five artists four are Fallbrook heavyweights, who took part in a competition,” says Aponte.
The Friends put out a request for proposals. They will contract with the artists to do pieces for the library, including an art gate, owners wall and a trellis for the outdoor garden.
“It was an excellent competition, really great submissions. I think the community will be really pleased with what has been chosen,” remarked Barbara Flynn, County Library Deputy Director.
The library will probably operate seven days a week. Inside will be 40 hardwired computers, Wi-fi, and wireless laptop bars throughout. Wireless Internet access will be available 24/7 and will spill outside so that anyone can sit next to the library—even when it is closed—and access the Internet.
“We are building this one so people can use the town hall meetings space and the poets patio, whether the library is in session. It’s a community space,” says Aponte.
According to Flynn the cost will be $8.75 million from the County general fund with in excess of $2 million raised by the Friends.
The Friends money will be used for furniture, equipment and the art project.
The building will be about 18,000 square feet, compared to 8,100 sq. ft. for the current one.
The design has already won the “Design Award of Merit” from the California Council Society of American Registered Architects, given “In recognition of superior achievement and professional design excellence.”
According to Flynn, the County library is looking to open the new facility in the last quarter of 2010. The existing one will be demolished, starting this fall.
For about 14 months, during the construction, an interim library will operate nearby in what was once a martial arts studio. It has about 2,500 sq. ft.
“Although it will be an interim library there will be full service,” says Flynn. “Not only materials, but also be full computer access.
Supervisor Horn, who, as noted, takes a special interest in libraries, commented, “My personal feeling is that public buildings don’t need to be sterile. I’ve been working with Jerri Patchett and the Friends to give them the same so that when we are long gone the people will still be using it and proud of it.”

Capt. Deb Schroder Takes Over As Commander of Local CHP Area

California Highway Patrol Capt. Deb Schroder took over July 1 as commander of the Oceanside area that includes 1,100 squares miles and serves most of North County and such diverse communities as Del Mar, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Bonsall, Escondido, Fallbrook, Pala, Pauma, Rainbow, Fallbrook and, of course, all of the communities that lie along “The Boulevard.”
She is in charge of 83 uniforms, including eight sergeants, one lieutenant and 11 support staff.
The Oceanside office also operates the CHP’s Senior Volunteer Program, of whom there are now 32 volunteers and the Explorer Programs for young people aged 16-22.
Capt. Schroder has a passion for taking impaired drivers off the road. Much of her CHP career has reflected that passion.
An East Coast native, she moved to the Golden State when she was 21 and joined the CHP two years later. She has spent most of her career in the Bay Area and Sacramento, but plans to retire in San Diego County.
She spent eight years in San Jose where she did graveyard work and developed her interest in taking drunks off the road.
She worked for three years as an undercover narcotics investigator with a task force that included the CHP.
That task force focused on mid-level drug dealers in substances such as marijuana, meth amphetamine, cocaine and heroin. Sometimes she impersonated drug dealers.
“Because I was a female, drug dealers didn’t expect me. I would go in as the girl friend of a drug dealer. It was hard work.”
After promoting to sergeant she went to Redwood City as a field sergeant, where, once again, she worked the graveyard.
“I like the graveyard,” she says. “It’s part of that passion for wanting to remove impaired drivers.”
She was selected to supervise the CHP’s impaired driving unit at the academy, where she taught the impaired driving and drug influence classes to cadets and was responsible for the drug recognition expert (DRE) statewide program.
This national program is sponsored by the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It certifies drug recognition experts. She was repsonsible for the statewide program, coordinating and teaching officers how to be a DRE.
Promoted to lieutentant she stayed at the academy in charge of instructional services. She was at the academy for four years.
From there she went to the Valley Division, which is made up of the 14 counties surrounding Sacramento, as the lieutenant in charge of the investigative services unit.
Later she accepted a position with the CHP’s Office of Risk Management.
She was promoted captain a year ago and this is her first opportunity to come to the field.
She has bought a home in North County and looks forward to getting to know the community.
“My goal is to expand our involvement out into the communities that we serve. My goal is that the community understands what CHP’s responsibilities are and how we can better serve them,” she says.
She plans to hold community outreach meetings to educate the public on what causes fatalities.
She also plans to increase the officer’s aggressiveness in DUI enforcment, including targeted enforcement. “I intend to look at where our fatalities occur and to put additional resources there to address it.”
The CHP and allied agencies have received an Office of Traffic Safety grant which will provide resources for specialized enforcement on Hwy 76, from Oceanside all the way up the grade to Lake Henshaw.
It will focus on aggressive drivers, racing and DUIs.
Her immediate goal is to get to know her staff and learn about the area so she can have an understanding of the communities’ needs.
“I’m thrileld to be in North County,” she says. “I’m looking forward to working with the community and my staff. I couldn’t have picked a better place in the state to have been selected to command!”
The current budget impasse in Sacramento is affecting all state agencies, but so far she hasn’t lost any officers.
“Our support staff has been significantly impacted with the three furlough days. Although our uniformed staff is not mandated to take a furlough day, we have offices that have to be run by the uniform staff.
“We are still staffing the freeways and unincorporated areas with the same personnel. We are utilziing special duty uniformed officers to assist with the running of the offices,” she says.

Joseph Will Give Way to The Andrews Brothers as Welk Season Continues

It’s a summer of fun at Welk Resort Theatre with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat running through Aug. 30 and the next show The Andrews Brothers opening Sept. 3 and running through Nov. 8.
A musical comedy, The Andrews Brothers is set in the WWII era with song and dance from that era—and with a plot that seems like it ought to star Danny Kay or Bing Crosby—is actually making its debut at Welk’s and several other theaters around the country, all under the direction of Nick DeGrucccio.
It was written by Roger Bean, the creator of the Marvelous Wonderettes, with choreography by Roger Costella.
It stars original cast members of Forever Plaid, David Engel, Larry Raben and Stan Chandler and local favorite Bets Malone, who comes to the show direct from starring in the Marvelous Wonderettes, who has previously starred in Annie Get Your Gun and who plays a Betty Hutton type character named Peggy Jones.
Director Nick DeGruccio described why he likes this show.
“It’s definitely my sense of humor. It has heart and an old-fashioned sense of humor. I love the music of the Andrews Sisters. I really enjoyed the script. It’s a brand new show that no one has seen.”
The male leads are three brothers who are roadies for the Andrews Sisters tour show during the war. They are on a USO tour of the Pacific. They meet up with Peggy Jones, a character loosely based on the real life Betty Hutton.
The guys decide to do the backup singing for the Andrews Sisters as their way to get on stage, and when the sisters are quarantined and it’s the soldiers’ last night before shipping out to combat, they have to put on a show.
And they do.
The show’s playbook consists of old Andrews Sisters music, plus lots of other tunes of the period.
“It’s probably one of the funniest plays that I’ve ever worked on,” says DeGruccio, who has previously directed three shows for Welk, including My Way, a tribute to Frank Sinatra, I Left My Heart, the music of Tony Bennett and Altar Boys.
* * *
However, you still have a month remaining to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Based on the biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors, the musical showcases a variety of song and dance styles, including pop rock, country and western, and calypso. Originally written as a pop cantata for performance in schools over 40 years ago, Joseph has become a worldwide fixture in the theater. San Diego favorite Ray Limon directs and choreographs this professional cast, headed by Richard Bermudez and Ann Fraser Thomas.
Matinees occur Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 1:45 p.m. Evening shows are offered on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 8 p.m. For complete ticket information, contact the box office at 1-888-802-7469.
The Welk Resorts Theatre, located at 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive in Escondido, is a professional theatre employing members of the Actors’ Equity Assn. In the Lawrence Welk tradition, live musicians perform in each production.
For more information about the Welk Resorts Theatre, visit www.WelkTheatreSanDiego.com

Volunteers Restore and Staff Fire Lookout on Palomar Mountain

It looks down on Palomar Observatory, something that few things do—other than the sky.
High Point Lookout Station is a steel tower 67 1/2 feet high built on the highest part of Palomar Mountain, at 6,142 feet. At the top of it is a residence where U.S. Forest Service staff (don’t call them ‘rangers,’ as only two positions in the entire U.S. Forest Service use the title ‘Ranger’ – District Ranger and Wilderness Ranger) used to live after the tower was built in 1963. They monitored fires using a fixed point fire detection system. When two or more lookouts spotted a fire, they used a directional fire finder —Osborne Fire-Finder—to find a directional bearing or azimuth to the smoke, utilizing triangulation to pinpoint it.
About 8,250 such lookouts once existed throughout the U.S. Now 90% are gone.
High Point and many others were retired a couple of decades ago after fire services underwent budget changes that replaced lookouts with airplanes, cell phones and satellite pictures. Such technology has its limitations: cell phones don’t have good service in areas where forest fires occur and satellites can’t see a fire smaller than 15 acres.
It went back into service in June. It is the only lookout station operated by volunteers in San Diego County. The U.S. Forest Service operates one other in the county—at Los Piños near the Mexican border.
High Point provides a dramatic 360° view of Southern California’s celebration of infinite varieties of the color brown, although the south and west views are abridged by the mountains, grounds and domes of the observatory. Boucher Hill Lookout, now retired but part of Palomar Mountain State Park, was built to take in the southwest vista.
The north and east view is unobstructed for 100 miles, taking in Vail Lake, Hwy 79, Sunshine Summit, Warner Springs, Aguanga, Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee and out to the San Bernardino mountains. On a clear day you can see the Channel Islands.
On the morning of July 4, I followed Brad Eells, team leader of the nonprofit Forest Fire Lookout Assn., Inc. San Diego, Riverside Chapter, volunteers who have restored the lookout to what it was, the first line of dectection against wildland fires.
Their mission is to restore and man such lookouts.
Eells, a Menifee resident, was spending the night on the lookout. It is a tradition for the team leaders to spend the night on high risk holidays, such as the fourth, when Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) are on high alert against fires started by illegal fireworks.
I had followed him in my Jeep on a dirt road that winds for three miles from the Palomar Station USFS fire station near the observatory, through private and public land. I drove in a fog of dense dust for most of the time, sometimes halting to restore visibility.
The rise from which the tower projects is also home to the ruins of a ranger lookout residence. It even had a restroom! This one has a porta-potty at the foot of the tower. You have to plan bathroom breaks.
We climbed the more than 80 metal steps to the top.
“Welcome to 1964!” said Eells, who, as soon as we stepped onto the metal platform began putting the station in service.
He ran up the American flag on a pole that juts into space.
He took humidity readings using a “sling” psychrometer that records the difference between temperatures from a wet bulb dry bulb thermometer —an anemometer—and measured wind direction and speed. Note: It is called a “sling” psychrometer because its operator swings it in the air to create evaporation.
He logged 24% humidity with almost no breeze.
The fire detection team formed last year. Eells had been visiting the observatory in March of 2008 when he saw the tower. He asked about it and eventually weeks later was given a tour. The windows were open to the elements. It was an empty shell.
“Here it is!” he was told. “You’ve got some work to do if you want to play here!”
Putting it back into service required a lot of hard work and many donations of service and materials.
The USFS was extremely helpful, recognizing the valuable service that the volunteers can provide during the fire season.
Eells was able to locate the original Osborne Fire-Finder that was used by the station. The manufacturer stopped making them in 1980. Another company makes them, but for $5,000. It was incredible good fortune when he located the original at the Goose Valley USFS station in Ramona. It contained the original map—that is centered on the lookout within a 30-mile radius.
Using photos from 1969 and original construction drawingthey strove to reproduce the interior of the lookout—so that it could not only function but be a museum for visitors.
Cabinets just like the originals were built. The same green colored floor tiles were used. They found a period gas stove and are looking for a period refrigerator and sink.
Besides the practical value High Point Lookout will provide a recreational opportunity to visitors who hike in or bike in.
And yes, there are visitors, anywhere from 1 to 30 a day, according to Eells.
You can reach the lookout by taking I-15 south (or north if you are coming from the San Diego area. You can also reach the southern approach of Hwy 79 from Ramona or Julian) to Hwy 79. Take Hwy 79 south toward Warner Springs. About two miles southeast of Sunshine Summit take Forest road 9S07 west to where the sign says that the High Point Lookout is 13 miles further on. You will find that one mile of it is dirt, four miles and paved, and the remainder is dirt!
High Point is open if the gate on the spur road leading to the lookout is open. The Lookout Station should open to the public in the next few weeks. Check the chapter Web site for updated information.
Eells and his fellow volunteers are always on the lookout for people to join them in their work.
There are about 30 of them who have undergone 16 hours of classroom time to learn how to operate the station—plus a day of training at the station.
If you are interested in becoming one of them, log onto the chapter’s website: www.socalfirelookouts.org. You can email the chapter directly at highpointlookout@yahoo.com. The national Forest Fire Lookout Assn. Web site is www.firelookout.org.
Their team is looking at possible restoration and staffing projects at Boucher Hill, Hot Springs Mountain and Lyons Peak lookouts in San Diego County.

The New Reality of Realty: It's Your Dad's Real Estate Market

It’s a great time to be a buyer of real estate, and a not so hot time to be a seller.
That’s the conventional wisdom—but this is also a good time to be a seller, but only under the right circumstances.
The days of low or no down payment sales are over. The days when 10% or 20% down were required have returned. It’s your dad’s real estate market.
Knowing the facts of property life can help you plot a strategy to deal with what many experts believe is not just an adjustment but is the new reality.
We asked two area real estate experts for some wisdom on how to navigate the current real estate market.
Gwen Herbert of Realty Experts in Escondido is based in Hidden Meadows.
“Despite the fact that short sales and REO (real estate owned, bank sale, already foreclosed on) properties continue to have a negative drag on prices, we are seeing some signs of stabilization in our local market along with a definite increase in the number of normal non-distressed offerings,” she says.
What that means is if you have been waiting around hoping for the market to change—thinking it will turn around—that’s not going to happen for awhile.
“I’m encouraging sellers to get on with their lives and accept that their house is not worth what it was a few years ago. I hate to see people put their lives on hold indefinitely,” says Herbert.
If you are waiting to buy hoping for lower interest rates, you may have waited too long.
“But even so, interest rates are better than they were a few years ago. Rates today are still at a substantial savings.”
Whether or not it’s a buyers market, says Herbert, depends on who the seller is.
“When banks do a foreclosure, many put properties on the market at less than their acquisition prices.”
This can hurt buyers because appraisers are under pressure from lenders to undervalue properties to be more conservative. “This may hurt the buyer in that they may possibly not be able to get financing at that price.”
Many appraisers from out of the area are doing appraisals in areas they are unfamiliar with because they underbid the appraisers who know the area. Banks tend to hire appraisers who bid lowest, not necessarily those who know the area.
This causes some appraisers to drive 150 miles and has warped the market place.
“Sadly, we see so much bad news about the national market that we lose sight of the fact that all real estate is really local— it is not at all the same throughout San Diego County,” says Herbert.
Often banks put foreclosed homes on the market at low prices, only to create a multiple offer situation that can drive the price back up—and then have the appraiser kill the deal.
For sellers Herbert puts packages together of recent sales of properties in their area and gives them to the appraiser.
“Sometimes they pay attention and sometimes they ignore it,” she says.
Because buyers pay for the appraisal, they can challenge it, she says. “I know several who did. Several came up with the cash to make up the difference because they recognized the value of the property. It’s a crazy market.”
“I feel like we are leveling off. We’re doing better than last year but we won’t know we’ve hit bottom until we’re back up.”
Tania Orlova of Team Troika Realtors in Escondido believes the market has hit bottom.
She notes that Escondido, parts of Fallbrook, Oceanside and Vista, along the Hwy 78 corridor, have taken a big hit in pricing. Poway, Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Santa Fe didn’t take as big a hit. Closer to Palomar Airport the values have maintained.
“We should see it start to go up next year. It took a long time to get to bottom. It will take just as long to climb out. But we are on the bottom,” she says.
“The bad news is that we are in for another round of foreclosures, with people losing jobs and sometimes husband AND wife being laid off.”
The first wave of foreclosures was started by the subprime loan crises. The second was caused by people losing their jobs as a result of the economy.
“There may be a third wave,” says Orlova. “This will involve the jumbo loans and ARMS (adjustable rate mortgages).
“It stands to reason that people are frustrated. They are tightening their belts; trying to pay their mortgages, but it is increasingly difficult. Some are not necessarily losing their jobs, but not as much money is coming in.”
It is, on the other hand, a “great time to be a buyer.”
“On one hand it’s sad because people have lost their homes. But I now have first time home buyers in their 20s.” But compared to the free and easy years of no money down, it is harder to get a loan.
“If you have at least ten percent down you can get a conventional loan. If it is under ten percent down it has to be FHA approved.” That can make it challenging to, say, buy a condo.
Orlova agrees that getting a loan has gone back to what it was in the 1970s and 1960s.
“We’re spoiled. When my parents bought a home they had to have twenty percent down. They saved until they had it. We have gone back to that time.”
She advises sellers not to sell now if they don’t have to—unless they have a lot of equity.
“I have a client who has paid off the house. I told her, ‘You can’t be greedy you can’t get more than the market will bear.’

Tango Restaurant

Tango Restaurant owner Bill Sapp gets asked all the time” “Where’s the dancing?”
However, as the restaurant’s motto would indicate, the only dancing going on here is, “between wine and food.” And quite a dance it is!
Tango is a restaurant where you can make the meal fit your budget, as well as choose whether you want to eat in a refined, elegant, fine dining atmosphere, or in a freer, more casual setting.
In the short time it has been open, Tango has won several prestigious popular awards, including being rated number one for Best New Restaurant on SignonSanDiego.com.
“Given our ala carte menu, and the fact that you can make a meal out of a couple of appetizers, if you can’t find something in your price range from sliders to intensive dining, you aren’t trying very hard,” says Sapp. And on Wednesdays they have half-price wine nights.
“People can’t believe the quality of the food and the prices—and that it’s in Escondido,” says Sapp. Most people say that they usually have to travel to downtown San Diego or to the coast to get food of this quality, he says.
The restaurant opened at its Grand Avenue location in Escondido about 18 months ago as a bistro and almost immediately had the opportunity to expand and add a private dining room, lounge and expanded prep kitchen. Recently it acquired a liquor license, and on weekends it offers a piano bar.
It serves lunches from 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. and dinners nightly from 5–9 p.m., and until 10 p.m. on weekends. The bar menu is offered until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. There is also a “sunset” menu from 5–6 p.m. where items are half price.
The food can be described as Southern California / Continental cuisine. There’s a lot of fresh market produce and everything is made from scratch.
A signature dish is the Duck Salad appetizer that is made with duck confit, rhubarb jam, strawberries, goat cheese and candied pecans. Another favorite is the Chilean sea bass, marinated in miso and served with bok choy and Asian mushrooms with soy mirin sauce (a kind of Japanese sweet and sour fish sauce). The key to the flavor is the saki sauce that really sets the dish apart.
“The steak and potatoes is the one menu item that has been on the menu since day one,” says Sapp. It consists of Wagyu beef top sirloin with béarnaise & potato tasting. (A “potato tasting” refers to a sampling of two to three different potato preps, it is usually a mashed potato, an au gratin style of potato, and sometimes a bacon wrapped layered potato prep, however the actual styles of potatoes may vary.) The day that I spoke to Sapp, the steak consisted of kobe beef flat steak—very tender.
Chef Brandon Hunsaker is a self-trained chef in his mid-20s who cooks by the seat of his pants, and, says Sapp, couldn’t write down a recipe if he had to.
“When I ask him to write down the recipe for the dressing for Caesar salad, he says he has to be there to make it because each garlic clove is different.”
He learned his craft under a French chef and so wowed Sapp with his skills that he offered to start a restaurant for him and his classically trained sou chef, Alex Rust whenever they wanted to go into the business. Tango was the result.
Sapp, who has a degree in hotel and restaurant management, is a Chicago transplant who started his first restaurant 25 years ago in that city.
One of Sapp’s pleasures in owning the restaurant is the compliments that he gets almost every night. “When people come here they leave very happy. When they call me over to their table, it’s usually to say that it’s so nice to have a restaurant like this in Escondido.”
Sapp doesn’t really have a personal favorite, mainly because Chef Hunsaker likes to try out different creations on him first. But he recalls with pleasure the Bison Rib Eye steak that he had recently, and which he describes as “unbelievable.” You’ll have to ask you waiter about that one, because it’s not always available.
An appetizer that almost always brings rave reviews is the trio of cheese souffles, each about the size of a medium muffin and made with bacon cheddar, goat and gorgonzola cheese.
An extremely popular appetizer on the lunch menu is the Rutherford Nachos, made with homemade potato chips, grilled sirloin steak, cippolino onions, mushrooms and blue cheese sauce. This is a very labor intensive dish, but every time they have taken it off the menu, popular demand has brought it back!
The piano bar on weekends features different artists, whose music can vary from Sinatra to Jimmy Buffett. The average customer is in his mid-40s, but it’s a place suitable for diners from their 20s to their 70s and beyond.
Tango servers get to know their customers and customers frequently request a favorite waiter.
The restaurant will probably soon introduce wine paired meals for limited parties—possibly as soon as August, and probably on Tuesday or Thursday nights.
Email them at contact@tangoongrand.com to be included on the email list for the event.
It will be a food event. “We’re going to serve the highest end wines and pair them with some unbelievable food. It will be a food experience,” explains Sapp.
Tango is located at 417 W. Grand Avenue (at Orange). Call 760-747-5000 or visit their Web site: www.tangoongrand.com.

Oak Mountain Winery: A Passion Rather Than A Profession!

The best wines are created by people who make winemaking a passion rather than a profession. Few people enter the business unless they love wines and creating them.
Steve Andrews of the Oak Mountain Winery is such a man. His first career was in electronics. However, he was bitten by the wine bug through his father-in-law, Ed Snyder, who was the original retail wine seller in California years ago when the state’s wine industry was being born.
Andrews and his wife, Valerie, started the winery in 2000. Their first bonded license was at Temecula Hills, which is several miles away from Oak Mountain Winery, which they added in 2004. Last December they opened a tasting room in Old Town Temecula, where they also sell olive oils produced by a friend of theirs, Mike Calabro of Calabro Olive Oil & Vinegar.
The Andrews’ two wineries are at different altitudes and micro-climates, so they produce different wines. Their 25 acres at Temecula Hills, located at about 3,000 feet, produce Rhone and Spanish wines such as the Sirahs, Viogniers, Mourvèdres, Grenaches, Zinfandels, and Tempranillos (the main grape of Spain).
The Oak Mountain Winery is at 1,500 ft, and is hospitable to Bordeaux type grapes such as the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Primativo, the ancestor of the Zinfandel grape.
A signature wine of Oak Mountain is the $35 Cabernet Franc, an estate vintage (i.e. made entirely from grapes grown on their acreage) and limited to about 90 cases.
This wine has a very spicy flavor but without all of the tannins of a Cabernet.
According to Andrews, it tastes “too good” to lay down to wait for it to age. “Our customers take it home immediately and drink it!”
This wine is very fine paired with beef or ribs, and really very good with lamb chops, says Andrews.
The winemaker uses a double space, double root system so that each vine carries more fruit. “We do get a higher yield per acre but it’s better fruit,” observes Andrews. “I think that more and more wineries are going to this approach.”
Andrews should know. He is the oenology chairman of the Temecula Wine Growers Association. His job in that capacity is to teach fellow winemakers to make the best wines that they can. He schedules seminars on the second Tuesday of each month for his colleagues.
“A young wine region will never flourish unless it is open to hear new information. We try to share as much information as possible.”
Valerie Andrews is his valued collaborator. “She has a real good palate and an excellent nose. I can smell flaws in a wine, but not nearly as well as she can. I count on her.”
Every night they spend an hour enjoying the evening and drinking barrel samples or new wines, to share their observations on projects such as their maritage (a handcrafted blend of three or more Bordeaux grapes).
Called their 2005 “Field Blend” it is blended from the field, where the grapes were planted near each other in order. It consists of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot grapes. This elegant, balanced, deep, well structured wine is wonderful with beef, lamb, goose or brie and cheddar cheese.
“I keep trying to improve my product each year,” says Andrews. “Which you do by picking each vintage apart and asking yourself, ‘Could I improve it by shading it a little more?’ ”
In that spirit, Andrews tells a story about himself.
“Last year I learned a lesson. In one vineyard we got an unbelievable amount of fruit. We dropped the fruit in mid-March (i.e. cut some grapes in order to make the others concentrate their juice).” It ended up that the resulting grapes were too big and not concentrated enough.
“The lesson we learned was not to drop the grapes until way later!” He adds, “You have to wait until the grape changes in color from green to red.” The time when the grape changes color is called “verasion.”
“When you learn things like that you pass it on to growers who haven’t made a screw up like that yet,” says Andrews with a grin. “I never knew something like that would happen. It’s just part of the learning curve. This year you can be sure that we will drop the fruit later!”
He adds, “I don’t think you can ever quit improving. the day you stop—game over!”
His goal right now is to surpass the performance of his 2004 Rhone blend Cabernet Franc which won two gold medals. “I’d love to do better!” he says.
That wine, by the way, is called “Tenacious” and is named after his wife’s mother.
“This year’s ‘Tenacious’ should be even better. We’ll know in a few weeks,” he says.
If you want to intoxicate your nostrils, just take a whiff of the 2005 Port, made with old vine Zinfandel and Temecula Valley Syrah and Petite Sirah grapes. A nutty, honeyed intense flavor and a scent that will send you into orbit, this wine was made to be enjoyed with a rich cheddar!
Oak Mountain Winery is open seven days a week, 11 a.m.– 5 p.m.
The winery has a variety of activities going on during the year. During July it hosts free Friday night jazz concerts. Also each July is the Woofs & Purrs in the Vines event to benefit dogs and cats with diabetes, and their owners, who sometimes find themselves financially unable to pay for pets’ medical bills when this condition arises. The Andrews’ own dog, Petie, a queensland heeler, was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago.
On Sept. 20, 3-8 p.m. the winery will host its annual grape stomp. If you’ve never felt the grapes squishing between your toes, Andrews says, “it’s a feeling you can’t describe!”
The winery also hosts barbecue competitions and is available for weddings and wedding receptions.
Oak Mountain Winery is located at 36522 Via Verde, Temecula. Call 951-699-9102 or visit oakmountainwinery.com.

Golfing the Tahoe Way

I am fortunate to be able to spend my summers on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. Hiking, biking, river rafting, kayaking on the lake or the Truckee River, paddle boarding, or just boating on one of the most beautiful Alpine Lakes in the world.
Throw in some wonderful restaurants on the North Shore and the beauty of the surrounding Sierra Mountains and it’s quite frankly paradise.
But being a golfer I couldn’t go an entire summer without whacking away at that tiny white ball. Fortunately Tahoe is also a great place for golf. I mean, when you can play amidst the towering pines and granite outcroppings surrounded by the sounds of elk bugling in the hills and play on courses designed by some of history’s most renowned golf architects: Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Robert Trent Jones Sr, and John Duncan Dunn, who designed Shiinock Hills in New York, you know that you are in for some challenges on the links.
One of my favorite summer golf outings in Tahoe is attending the annual Celebrity Golf Tournament on the South Shore. This event is the only remaining celebrity event that has survived the current economic turmoil.
The event is owned by NBC and broadcast nationally by NBC, usually the second weekend in July. Celebrities attend from the world of sports, including Michael Jordan, Dan Marino, Charles Barkley, Wayne Gretzky, Emmit Smith, Johnny Bench and from the world of entertainment, Donald Trump and Matt Lauer among others. It’s a fun and relaxing event that allows you to watch some of your favorite sports and entertainment personalities frustrate themselves just like you do when you play.
It’s also a great place to get autographs if that’s your thing. This year, my daughter Mackenzie and I decided to attend on one of the practice round days (Wednesday), to avoid some of the crowds on the weekend.
But we also decided to make it a boat outing. We left our home in Carnelian Bay on the North Shore and took the 10-minute drive into Tahoe City where we buoy our boat. We then boated across the lake, about a one-hour boat ride to the South Shore (it takes about the same time to drive it).
We anchored about 20 yards off the shore of Edgewood Golf Course—where the event is played—and jumped into the lake into about waist high water and waded onto the beach and then took a short walk up to the first tee where Michael Jordan, Lawrence Taylor, and Dan Marino where teeing off for a practice round.
What a way to attend a golf tournament!
After spending the day watching the celebs we boated back to the North Shore stopping at Sunnyside Resort for an early dinner before reboarding the boat and taking the short ride back to Tahoe City. A great way to spend a day with your daughter.
If you’re looking for my recommendations for golf on the North Shore here is a sampling: In Incline Village, the Robert Trent Jones Sr. championship course. This course went under a significant renovation about three years ago and is an incredible but fair test of golf. Most of the holes have great lake views to further distract you from that bogey you just endured.
Two courses up on the summit by Truckee, Coyote Moon (what a name for a golf course) and Tahoe Donner offer narrow fairways with large greens and terrific views. I have played these courses several times and have always seen wildlife, including deer and even an occasional bear.
The course at Squaw Valley at the Resort at Squaw Creek is also a Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed golf course and is a real challenge, very much resembling a Scottish links course.
Northstar is the best bargain, price wise, on the North Shore. It’s a Robert Muir Graves designed course and gives you nine holes in the mountains and nine holes through the meadows. They always have attractive twilight rates, as do all of the courses on the North Shore.
Remember at Tahoe in the summer you can play until about 9 o’clock in the evenings. When at Northstar stop and enjoy dinner in the new Northstar Village or at the new Ritz Carlton Resort opening this fall.
Most courses at Tahoe are open well into October. If you only have time for nine holes because you’re too busy doing all the other fun stuff at Tahoe, try Old Brockway. It’s a pristine nine holes where the first Bing Crosby tournament was played before it moved to Pebble Beach. Reservations are not required.
One of my personal favorites is a short drive, one hour up the Hwy 89 to Grey Eagle. Whitehawk Ranch is located in a beautiful Sierra Valley covered with running trout filled creeks in the spring and summer, meadows covered with wild flowers and in the spring, elk bugling in the surrounding hills. A great day of golf in a gorgeous surrounding.
AHHHHHHH yes, the good life at Lake Tahoe. Enjoy.

 

The Boulevard Magazine
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