By DAVID ROSS
George Ramirez loves to talk. That’s one reason he’s in the restaurant business.
“I enjoy the social aspect of a neighborhood restaurant. I’m a talker,” he says.
George and his wife Katie purchased VC landmark Papa Bear’s earlier this month.
They also own an Italian restaurant in Escondido, Sorrentino’s. George’s mother was Italian, so he’s always been interested in Italian cuisine. Expect to see the menu at Papa Bear’s acquire some paisan accents. But don’t expect a lot of changes.
The Ramirezes are proud of the fact that many members of Papa Bear’s staff have been with the restaurant for years. One of them, Christa Tozer, has been at the eatery for “twenty plus” years, she says.
In fact, it was the great service that they got when they used to come to Valley Center on visits that persuaded the Ramirezes that they wanted to buy the place.
George is a retired industrial engineer, who quit his job when the small company he worked for was sold to a conglomerate. “I became a has-been at 39,” he quips. “Engineering is looking for the young guys just out of college.”
He decided to try some new things. He tried owning a night club, a pet store, a kennel and a liquor store in Los Angeles, before he and his wife moved to Escondido.
They bought Sorrentino’s. They had never owned or been a part of a restaurant before.
“I had always liked food,” says George.
They moved to Valley Center nine months ago, and, since they had always liked going to Papa Bear’s, they looked into buying it.
“I liked the friendliness of the place. I liked the good service that you get, which is much better than a lot of chain restaurants,” he said.
They love the present staff and hope they will all stay on.
“Some of the waitresses have been here forever and we hope they’ll stay,” says Katie.
They do plan to do a little modernizing of the place and to introduce some Italian cooking, such as pizza, Italian subs, ravioli, lasagna, meatballs, spaghetti and meatball sandwiches.
Since Italian food goes hand in hand with wine, they are applying for an alcoholic beverage license.
About the time that they do that they will celebrate a grand opening.
They will also be able to cater to small parties, up to 150 people.
They are a little apprehensive to see how the road widening will affect their business.
“We’re waiting to see what happens to the town, our town now. We definitely hope to stay here for a long time.
“We love the town. We love the people. They have been very friendly. When we moved into our house they made us very welcome. Neighbors called and invited us over for dinner. In this day and age that’s so refreshing,” he said.
Both are “working owner” types. “We’re definitely involved in it,” says Katie.
They both describe themselves as “customer oriented.” “We want to make food the way they like it,” he says. What that means is: Don’t be afraid to ask for something a little different than what the menu offers.
They will be expanding the restaurant’s hours. The eatery, located at 27356 Valley Center Rd., will be open 6 a.m.- 9 p.m.
“If someone shows up right at nine, we’ll serve them, even if I have to do it myself,” declares Katie.
By DAVID ROSS
Leon Schwartz and Robert Hancock resigned Thursday from the Valley Center Design Review Board.
Replacements will be nominated by the Chamber of Commerce. Applications close by the next Chamber meeting, Aug. 3.
“We can’t vote on anything that’s important, so for the community’s sake, we thought we should resign,” Hancock told The Roadrunner Friday.
“It’s a very difficult decision,” said Schwartz. “I’m not a quitter, but if I can’t vote on the major projects that are coming up, let someone else do it.”
Both members on the appointed board had received opinions from County Counsel and the state Fair Political Practices Commission that led them to believe they couldn’t vote on what promises to be the largest VC project for many years, the Weston Shopping Center.
Hancock owns a nursery business. It abuts the property where the shopping center is proposed. Schwartz owns land on which the U.S. post office sits, and which has a 12 year lease with him.
Schwartz, who was also vice chairman and secretary of the board, said, “I believe the board has made great strides in the last six months, in the areas of standardization and adhering to design guidelines. This has been the busiest time for the board. We were holding multiple meetings to provide the required service to the community.”
That is in contrast to the past when the board seldom met more than once a quarter.
“The question of a possible conflict of interest arose based on members of the board owning property and or a business within 500 feet of a project,” he said.
“Since our family owns property in town and since the major projects coming up are so important to the community I thought it best to resign.”
He added, “I do want to serve the community. I don’t want to vote on something that would be challenged. I want things to move the way they should.”
Hancock commented, “Being in the center of town there’s not much I can vote on. If I’m reduced to looking at sign permits, I don’t want to do that.”
Hancock said he was surprised when the issue was raised last month. He had an opinion from the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission that led him to believe that while he couldn’t vote on the shopping center as a member of the planning group, he could as a member of the design review board.
“I was blindsided at that meeting when they brought that up.” He was frustrated that he got one opinion by the FPPC one time, and another one another time. “Every time you talk to someone you get a different story.”
The County felt that there was a possibility that they couldn’t vote on the design aspects.
“Between the two of them, we said, ‘We can’t vote,’ ” said Hancock.
The law is clear that if an official has a business within 500 feet of the project in question and could be affected as much as one penny, that person shouldn’t vote.
But the question is, once a project is approved, does its design affect a neighboring business financially?
John Ruggieri, the design board member who challenged Schwartz and Hancock on the matter said that it definitely could.
The board is a five person board with two members nominated by the planning group, two nominated by the Chamber of Commerce, and one appointed at large by Supervisor Bill Horn. All nominees must be approved by the supervisor.
Nicky Lovejoy, president of the Chamber, said that applications are being accepted for the position. Application blanks are available at California Bank & Trust office.
Cut-off to apply is Aug. 3, she said.
The resignations create an interesting problem. Three members are required to make a decision. Any disagreement on the board will mean that it can’t make decisions until the new appointees, whoever they are, are confirmed by the Board of Supervisors.
“How does the board even do anything with only three people,” mused Schwartz.
Two early birds, Andy Washburn and Don Martin, hit the ground running to file for VC offices last week as the filing period opened to obtain and return papers to the Registrar of Voters. Deadline is Aug. 11.
Washburn, an incumbent on the VC Planning Group, obtained his papers, but has not yet filed them. Martin, who is challenging two incumbents on the VC-Pauma Unified School Board, obtained and filed his papers.
Other seats open on the planning group are held by Mike Morasco, Jim Yerdon, Carol Prime, Don Martin, Frank Shoemaker, Rich Rudolf and Sandy Smith. Any VC resident can run for any of these seats.
On the school board, seats held by incumbents Patrick Simpson and Wendy Zeugschmidt are open. Neither have filed as yet but they are pulling papers this week, according to Supt. Karen Jobe, who talked to them.
On the Valley Center Fire Protection District board the seats of incumbents Patrick Garcia and Stan Johnson are up for grabs. Any registered voter in the district can run for these seats.
The VC Municipal Water District is divided into five divisions. Of those five, Div.1 (held by Robert Polito) and Div. 4, held by Chuck Stone, are open. Only residents of those particular divisions can run. No one has yet pulled papers. Call the VCMWD at 749-1600 if you are unsure what division you are in.
On the VC Parks & Recreation District, the seats held by Ron Lamb and John Scibilia are up for election.
The Yuima Municipal Water District, which serves the Pauma area, has four seats open, in Div. 1 (incumbent is Doug Anderson), 2 (incumbent is Mike Fitzsimmons), 3 (incumbent is John Lyttle) and 5, which is currently vacant. No one has yet pulled seats for these divisions. Call the district at 742-3704, if yo are uncertain which division you are in.
In the Pauma Municipal Water District, Divs. 2 & 3 no candidates have pulled papers. Rancher and incumbent Yoneo Kariya has pulled papers for Div. 4.
The Internet is a good source for current information on who has filed or pulled papers. You can get daily updates by logging onto www.sdvote.com
Or call the Registrar of Voters at (858) 694-3405.
By CASEY ANDERSON
“This could probably go under the dumb crooks category,” Detective Daniel Pearce of the San Diego Sheriff’s Financial Crimes Unit said this week.
He was referring to Mark Sloop, 44, of Valley Center, who was arrested Thursday night after Sheriff’s Deputy Alvin Vasquez found evidence in his home that linked Sloop to multiple cases of identity theft.
Vasquez responded to a burglary call at a VC residence at 10:30 p.m. Thursday. The caller was Sloop’s next door neighbor. When Vasquez arrived and began questioning the victim, Sloop came out of his house and began talking to Vasquez.
As he spoke, he declared his innocence of the crime. He told Vasquez that he had no involvement in the burglary, and had no information to give about it.
This was before Vasquez had asked Sloop for anything. Sloop’s behavior seemed suspicious to Vasquez, and he ran a background check on him.
Sloop had two warrants to his name and was out of jail on probation. Since he was out on probation, he had waived his Fourth Amendment rights. This gave Deputy Vasquez the authority to search his home without a warrant.
Based on Sloop’s behavior, Vasquez judged that a search of his home might reveal something.
In Sloop’s home, Vasquez found a black canvas briefcase. Inside it were as many as 40 stolen driver’s licenses, most of them from California. He also found dozens of stolen checks and other ID cards.
There were up to four Social Security Cards and three birth certificates among the items. The property that was reported stolen from Sloop’s neighbor’s house was also found.
Sloop had allegedly been engaged in multiple instances of identity theft. He allegedly altered his victim’s driver’s licenses and used them himself. He apparently stole checks from mailboxes and used the licenses to help him cash them.
Detective Pearce said that of the 40 victims identified, they have only been able to contact five since Sloop’s arrest.
Of those five only one knew that they had had checks stolen from their mail.
“Oftentimes, people have no idea that these things are missing,” Pearce said. “Maybe they’ll have a car stolen, and their purse or wallet will be in it. They’ll report it missing, and replace all the stolen items. That’s probably how Sloop got a hold of many of these IDs.”
People are often surprised at the volume of evidence that accompanies an identity thief. Thirty to 40 victims for every one identity thief is the average.
“This was not an extraordinarily big catch,” Pearce said. “This is about the average size we get for every identity thief. Identity thieves never throw anything away because they never know when they’ll be able to use something.
“Sometimes we’ll arrest someone and find that they have everything organized in a file accordion. That makes it easy for us when we have to record the evidence,” Pearce said chuckling.
Evidently, identity theft cases are fairly common in areas near casinos. Pearce said that Sloop’s thefts are probably all related to drugs and gambling. “It seems to be a consistent pattern in areas where there are casinos,” Pearce said, pointing to a Valley View Casino ticket and Money Center of America application paper that were found in the briefcase. “Sloop will steal the checks, then use the fake IDs to help him cash them at the casino.”
Detective Pearce was quick to point out that his involvement in the case was minimal. “Deputy Vasquez made this case,” Pearce said, “I’m just recording the evidence. Deputy Vasquez is the one who should be getting the praise.”
He credits Vasquez for going the extra mile in investigating Sloop. Vasquez has already been given the Sheriff’s Department’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in rescuing a Valley Center couple from their burning home during the Paradise Fire last October.
By DAVID ROSS
The Parks & Rec board Thursday voted to put a measure on the November ballot asking voters to pay an extra $19 a year per parcel to help pay for the upkeep of the parks in Valley Center and to help acquire new ones (see related story, this page).
Directors passed four resolutions by voice vote, 4-0 (John Scibilia was absent). The first resolution called for the election in November. The second requested that the election be consolidated with the general election. The third resolution approved submitting ballot arguments. The fourth resolution requested an impartial analysis of the measure by the Registrar of Voters.
Before he voted aye, Ron Lamb looked over at the chairman, Eric Jockinsen, and asked: “Do we have a chairman yet.”
When he was told that VC’s Morgan Rogers had agreed to take the job, he said, “Outstanding!” and voted.
Wording for the ballot argument for the measure must be submitted to the Registrar of Voters by Aug. 6.
There were about eight members of the audience to hear the vote.
One man asked how regular folks could get a hand in deciding how “all that new money” is spent. “How do they get a hand in making sure it goes into whatever the community needs?” he asked.
Board Pres. Eric Jockinsen replied, “Our meetings are always public and typically we are sitting in an empty room.”
He added that once a year the board goes over the budget for the year and that public input is always taken on what spending priorities should be.
“Most of this money will be going to a new community center so we really won’t have ‘all that new money,’” he said.
The man persisted. “I want to be able to look at my neighbors and say, ‘This will stay in Valley Center.’ ”
Director Fran DeWilde explained that one use of the new funding mechanism will be to help purchase new park land. “Part of this will give us a large enough base to be able to borrow on,” she said.
Another use of the extra money, said Jockinsen, would be to build up a “back-up” account that could be borrowed from during lean times.
Another member of the audience added, “If you want to know where it goes, you need to show up.”
During the discussion, directors shared some of their dreams for how to use the funds: for a senior citizens center, for banquet facilities that can accommodate 500 or more, for a permanent home for the Chamber of Commerce.
“A new community hall is what we need—We’ll also be able to buy more ballfields,” said Jockinsen. “Right now we are running on a wing and a prayer.”
Mrs. DeWilde noted that Aerie Park used to have a long term lease. However, at the County’s insistence, this former site of dump leased for three years at a time. “We’d like our own horse park,” she said.
Parks & Rec. Gen. Mgr. Joyce Johnson said that demographically Valley Center is increasingly “Baby Boomers,” who are entering their senior years. “We need a place for senior activities,” she said.
Director Tom Bumgardner said that a “new community hall will be the paramount issue.” He characterized the $19 annual tax as being more in the nature of “a donation. . . You can’t even go out to eat for $19.”
Lamb concluded, “Twice before we’ve gone to the voters for something that the people in this community ought to be willing to fight for. Look at what has been lost by not having that money. What services we don’t have today. Just because people weren’t willing to pay for the cost of a couple of Big Macs.”
Last week Morgan Rogers stepped forward to chair an effort to ask voters to give the parks & rec. board an untouchable tax base (see related story, this page).
“Sometimes, when there’s a good cause, someone needs to step out,” said Rogers, who found himself putting his hand up on Thursday when parks president Eric Jockinsen asked if anyone was interested in leading the election campaign.
“I realized that my children are very active in the parks system, including softball, soccer, Little League and 4-H,” Rogers told The Roadrunner. “Having used the facilities and seen facilities in other communities, we know what improvements need to be done.”
Sometimes it’s just the little things that are needed. At the same meeting his wife, Janeen Dell’Acqua, observed that it would be nice for the girls’ softball field to have a drinking fountain.
They have three children, ages 7-14. The family has lived in Valley Center for two years. Previously they lived in Rancho Penasquitos for 15 years.
“I have a personal stake in this parks district and this election,” said Rogers. “I want to make sure this proposition passes. I am starting a girls’ lacrosse team in the fall, and I’ve had trouble finding a place to play. We need more parks in Valley Center. As Valley Center grows there’s going to be a greater demand for facilities and space.”
So far the committee doesn’t have a name yet, although it has a core of about a dozen workers. They will have their organizational meeting Wednesday, July 28, 7 p.m. at VC Community Hall.
The game plan for that meeting will be to assign tasks for the coming months.
The proposition hasn’t yet been given a name by the Registrar of Voters. When it does, the committee will probably be called something like The Committee for Yes or Prop. Whatever or maybe Friends of Parks & Rec.
Currently Rogers has the time to devote to getting Prop. X (or whatever they call it) passed.
Up until March he was a civil service employee with the Navy. He was a project manager working for the privatization of military housing for the U.S. Marine Corps.
“I decided I was tired of the commute and was ready for a change.” Now, self-employed, Rogers is developing a rental property business.
With 2/3 vote required to pass the proposition, Rogers will need all the spare time he can muster.
At Wednesday’s organizational meeting the core group will form a marketing committee, whose job it will be to put presentations on for local groups, produce signs, brochures and mailers.
Another committee will be devoted to educating the public about what the proposition will do. These members will man the phone banks, have tables at various locations in town to register voters and hand out information.
A third committee will raise funds to pay for all of the election activities mentioned above.
There’s not time to waste, according to Rogers. “Absentee ballots go out the first of October. We need to have everything out by then, and then follow up during the last weeks of the election season.”
The committee will have a website, linked to the Parks & Rec. website. The complete text of the proposition will be there as well as frequently asked questions. These questions will be updated periodically. The website may also contain a list of endorsements from local residents.
“I’m pretty confident we can pull this off,” said Rogers. “Nobody likes taxes but this is a tax where we keep the money. We can’t lose. Even people who don’t use the facilities can only see their property values increased by this measure.”
Two years ago a similar measure lost in a squeaker. What’s different this time?
“There was a feeling that a lot of people didn’t understand what the proposition meant. With the effort we are going to do people will be better informed and it will pass,” he said.
The Valley Roadrunner
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