Business

California Pacific Airlines takes a nose dive

It’s all over except the shouting, and lawsuits, for North County’s only airlines, or at least the 2-month version of one, as California Pacific Airlines blew up this week in the darkened skies of a reported debt of at least $6 million and apparent mismanagement. California Pacific Airlines, launched flights on Nov. 1 last year from Carlsbad’s McClellan-Palomar Airport to San Jose, only to halt service in…


Water, water everywhere; it’s a good thing

John Van Doorn, former business editor of the North County Times, managing editor of the New York Post and a New York Times editor, among other avocations, had this thing about rain. “Wet stuff,” Van Doorn would say. “If anybody around here uses the cliche of ‘wet stuff,’ for any reason, under any circumstances, they’re fired.” With that in mind, Escondido, North County and the…


California Pacific Airlines going nowhere fast

After 10 years of effort, Carlsbad’s McClellan-Palomar Airport-based California Pacific Airlines finally took flight on November, 2018. It flew high for a whole month before being grounded, kicked out of the state of South Dakota and sued. A long-time pursuit of Ted Vallas, a 97-year-old Rancho Santa Fe businessman with an ambitious plan to pick up the traditionally failing Carlsbad passenger traffic market, the airlines may never…


Field to Fork: Avos from Carlsbad to Davis

Avocados are all the rage these days. My sons don’t seem to understand their important role when it comes to supplying avocados to the family. Our older lad, who has a house in Los Angeles, has a large back yard filled with successful fruit trees — limes, lemons, grapefruit and two large guava trees. For six months, I pressured him to rip out a guava…


Social change doesn’t happen in a silo

Live Well San Diego: Creating Social Change Through Collective Impact The recent Sustainable Brands conference was a fitting stage to share the success story of Live Well San Diego, a visionary partnership that’s creating measurable progress toward a region that’s healthy, safe, and thriving. While San Diego is known for its beautiful beaches, perfect weather, and an active lifestyle, like much of the nation it’s…


It’s tough to be a renter in San Diego County

San Diego County is one of the least affordable places to live in America, and renters know it. When housing costs are high, people have less money to spend on other necessities such as food and medical care, which hurts their quality of life. In 2017, 57 percent of the county’s renters were considered burdened by their housing costs, meaning they spent 30 percent or more…


Cal Farm Bureau celebrates convention

As the California Farm Bureau Federation begins its centennial celebration, CFBF President Jamie Johansson called farmers and ranchers to action, reminding them that Farm Bureau is an organization “that wants to go beyond making a statement by being determined to make a difference.” He made his remarks during the 100th CFBF Annual Meeting in San Diego last week, where he outlined the organization’s priorities in…


Climate change challenges San Diego farms

Facing the heat of global warming, farmers in San Diego are trying to survive and build resilience through practice—and are pushing policymakers to keep up. At Pauma Valley, a flat stretch of crop- and rangelands at the base of the Palomar Mountains in North San Diego County, July is usually a month of hot weather and raucous growth—with lemons, avocados, blackberries, and peppers all flourishing….


Cal v. Trump over vehicle emission standards

The Trump administration this summer formally announced a proposal to freeze fuel economy standards and tailpipe emission standards for new cars. In addition, it is proposing to revoke California’s authority to set more stringent rules. This move by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, while expected for months, is the most significant action yet in rolling back efforts by the…


Henry Avocado on the road again, not that far

Henry Avocado Corp. has moved its headquarters, packing and distribution center in Escondido, CA, to a new building in a nearby industrial center. The 50,000-square-foot two-story facility in Escondido is 20 percent larger than the previous site and features the latest processing, refrigeration and forced-air ripening elements in the industry. The new Henry operation consolidates under one roof the administrative and processing machinery and personnel…