PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
.com MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 36, N0. 42
OCT. 21, 2022
SAN MARCOS -NEWS
SANDAG contracts .com inspected THE AuditorVISTA reports $295M inNEWS dubious agency contracts
Students celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. 15
.com
Two injured in shooting near Encinitas coffee shop. 3 San Dieguito community seeks action, healing after teacher’s hitler remarks. 5
By Steve Puterski
Swim teacher’s trial to include older child sex abuse charge. 7 SANDAG reports rise in violent crimes. 11
.com
Food & Wine
ReBru Spirits aims to do more, waste less. 22
ZERO HERO
JESSICA WAITE, owner/co-founder of The Plot, has helped put Oceanside on the foodie map by embracing zero-waste business practices and plant-based dining options. Now, she and her husband hope to expand the regenerative food movement across North County. Story on 24. Photo by Chase Life Photography
Encinitas Fire Chief Stein to retire By Staff
ENCINITAS — After more than 29 years serving as a professional firefighter, the last seven as head of the Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar fire departments, Fire Chief Mike Stein announced his retirement effective Nov. 3. “I am grateful to each and every one of our members for their work, sacrifice, professionalism, dedication, and service before self-attitude,” Stein said. “I am and always have been proud of being associated with the fine men and wom-
REGION — The first of a two-part contracts audit report was released last week by the Office of the Independent Performance Auditor for the San Diego Association of GovernRANCHO ments, raising questions SFNEWS over the agency’s handling of hundreds of millions of dollars in on-call and solesource contracts. The regional agency’s audit committee met on Oct. 14 to review and discuss the findings of an internal audit analyzing 30 vendors and their contract awards between July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2022. According to the report by Independent Auditor Mary Khoshmashrab, vendor contracts during this timeframe were frequently missing information, signatures and itemized breakdowns of work performed. The audit also found the “original amount” field was left blank in 447 out of 1,627 total contracts — meaning no dollar amount was assigned to the contracts. Of 308 on-call contracts (only pay for services as needed), nearly 88% were missing an original dollar amount. The auditors analyzed which vendors had the largest increases (in both dollars
en of the Encinitas Fire and Marine Safety Department, the Solana Beach Fire Department and the Del Mar Fire Department.” Prior to his appointment with the city of Encinitas Fire Department, Stein worked for STEIN the San Miguel Fire District where he was the district’s first paramedic coordinator and developed the district’s peer
mentor program. In 2013, Stein was awarded the U.S. Army’s Sgt. Major’s Award from the California Emergency Management Agency for his work in Homeland Security. That same year, he began his career with the Encinitas Fire Department as a battalion chief and was promoted to fire chief in 2015. He is a third generation firefighter, with his grandfather serving with the Los Angeles Fire Department and his father serving with the Santa Monica Fire Department.
NO. 1 DONS STILL PERFECT
Julia Blyashov, a senior outside hitter, celebrates a point Tuesday night during Cathedral Catholic High School’s 3-0 win over Torrey Pines High. The Dons (34-0) have not lost a set all season. Don’t miss next week’s feature story. Photo by Steve Puterski
TURN TO CONTRACTS ON 19
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9/22/22 8:26 AM