The Coast News INLAND EDITION
.com
VISTA, SAN MARCOS, ESCONDIDO
VOL. 7, N0. 1
JAN. 6, 2023
Rally car star Block dies at 55 Orange Glen HS alum, DC Shoes co-founder killed in Utah accident By Laura Place
A Year in Review
What’s black, white and read all over? The most viewed stories of 2022 — Pages 8-9
Escondido council to fill vacancy with appointment By Samantha Nelson
ESCONDIDO — The City Council will appoint a new council member by early February to fill the vacant District 3 seat. The council voted in mid-December to appoint a replacement to the seat left open by Councilmember Joe Garcia, who was re-elected to the City Council in District 2. Garcia was moved from District 3 into District 2 after the city redrew its coun-
cil boundaries following the release of the 2020 census data. The city is looking for eligible candidates who are registered voters and live in District 3 to apply for the position. Council must choose an appointee by Feb. 12. Councilmember Consuelo Martinez was the sole vote against appointment, preferring to hold a special election instead. “It is an expensive
price tag to have a special election, however it’s important for me for District 3 to choose its representative,” Martinez said. “It would be an exception if it were a short appointment but this is half-term … two years is a very long time.” The cost to hold a special election would be $600,000 or more, according to City Clerk Zack Beck. The election also wouldn’t happen until November, leaving the seat vacant for
most of the year. Some residents agreed with Martinez, noting that the cost would be worth it. “Yes, it’s a lot of money, but it’s worth paying for,” said David Shearer, a resident of District 3. But other council members didn’t want to spend that much money while leaving the seat vacant for nearly 11 months. Councilmember Mike Morasco, who was first appointed to City Council in
2010 and re-elected several times, noted that the city has been appointing council members during vacancies for years. “It’s something that has always been done in the city,” Morasco said. “It’s been done successfully from my perspective and it’s something we need to continue to do at this time.” Beck noted that the city has not held a special election since at least the 1990s, possibly longer.
REGION — Champion rally race car driver and DC Shoes co-founder Ken Block died Monday in a snowmobile accident in Wasatch County, Utah. The 55-year-old entrepreneur with North County ties “was riding a snowmobile on a steep slope when the snowmobile upended, landing on top of him. He was pronounced deceased at the scene from injuries sustained in the BLOCK a c c id e n t ,” according to a statement from the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office. Block was reported to be based in Los Angeles County, but had a home in Utah. Wasatch County is near Park City. Block set down many of his professional roots in North County. He moved from Long Beach to Escondido in his teens when his parents bought an avocado grove near Escondido. He attended Orange Glen High School and immersed himself in the culture of professional skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding that would become a large part of his life, he told The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan, in 2019. In 1994, Block co-founded DC Shoes, then based in Carlsbad, with Damon Way and saw it become one of the top internationally recognized skate apparel brands. They sold the company in 2004, but Block maintained ties with DC for years afterward. Way said losing Block TURN TO BLOCK ON 6