A little bit of Chicago opened up in Valley Center on Monday when Portino’s Restaurant opened its doors for the first time.
Portino’s (formerly known as Pepperoni’s) is owned and operated by Lora Lee Stephens and her partners John & Dawn Matze of Poway.
She had planned to go into partnership with the former owner of Pepperoni’s, George Franceschiello, but unfortunately he died before that could happen.
The restaurant will be managed by Lisa Welch.
Monday’s opening was a “soft” opening, without fanfare. A grand opening will occur later, according to Mrs. Stephens, who also owns the Corner Skillet restaurant and the Courtyard business center.
The decor in the restaurant has been completely redone, although it is still an Italian eatery. It is named after Portino, a small town in Italy. It has absolutely no personal meaning to Mrs. Stephens, who thought it was a catchy name.
She told The Roadrunner, “We will be doing the usual lasagna and pasta, spaghetti, linguini, tortellini—But what we are introducing is Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches and the Chicago-style hot dog, known for being slathered with condiments of all sorts such as peppers, chopped tomatoes, onions and relish.” The dogs are all Vienna brand, which is a well-known Chicago dog. It is flown in fresh.
“Vienna is very big in Chicago. It’s terrific quality and we like it.”
In case you haven’t caught on, Mrs. Stephens is herself from the Windy City, and has always wanted to introduce that style of cuisine in her adopted town.
You’ll recognize many of the dishes being served at Portino’s as having been served at Pepperoni’s.
“We have changed recipes somewhat, but we are doing a lot to improve the quality. I’m a stickler for good quality,” she said.
To help get the restaurant off to a good start, she flew in a very close friend, Chef Frank McCarron, owner of Chicago’s Michelangelo’s pizza restaurant chain in Chicago.
“I coaxed him to come in and help us out for a few days. I’m even squeezing out some of his recipes. He’s quite terrific and we’re really happy that he can come in and that we can get some recipes.”
Naturally pizzas will remain one of the biggest items on the menu.
“There’s a lot of new things and sauces that Frank is letting us steal from his place,” said Mrs. Stephens.
They are also introducing more healthy vegetarian dishes, and to give patrons more vegetarian choices.
“I’m big on salads and so is my partner, who is incidentally also my niece,” said Mrs. Stephens. “You want food in your restaurant that you would want to eat yourself. We are going to have a nice array of fresh salads.”
One of them, Portino’s Special Salad, will include fresh greens, raisins, walnuts, sliced apples, feta cheese in a light balsamic dressing.
They will introduce some new soups, too, including tomato and roasted red pepper, butternut squash and the usual minestrone.
She will also offer her own recipe for homemade baked beans, made with three kinds of beans, baked with bacon, beef, and molasses. “It’s tremendous!” she says.
To make reservations or order out, call 751-0077. Portino’s is located at 28746 Valley Center Rd.
At Thursday night’s Valley Center-Pauma school board meeting trustees will begin the process that might end several months from now with the revocation of the charter of the All Tribes American Indian Charter School.
The board will consider approving what is officially called a “Notice to Cure and Correct and the Revocation of the Charter School.”
The school, which is located on the Rincon Reservation, has been told by the State of California that it owes $140,000 for allegedly overestimating its attendance figures.
Schools are paid average daily attendance (ADA) for the students that attend each day.
An auditor’s report to the school board details those allegations and also details the alleged misuse of funds, and funds that can’t be accounted for.
Representatives of the Charter School are expected to attend Thursday night’s meeting.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the VCHS media center (lib4rary). The public is invited.
The VC Fire Dept. now has the ability to compel property owners to cut back dangerous brush.
Valley Center Fire Protection District in cooperation with Cal Fire has started its 2008 campaign against combustible weeds.
The Roadrunner this week spoke with VCFPD Fire Marshal George Lucia about this campaign.
The recent spring weather has turned the hillsides and fields green with growth in and around Valley Center.
The memories of the 2007 San Diego wildfires may be fading but the dangers are still real.
Recent rains have resulted in the rapid growth of vegetation. This vegetation will become “flash fuel” as the season’s progress towards the hot and dry summer. We got the first hint of that heat and dryness over the weekend.
Weather conditions such as the Santa Ana will quickly remove the moisture content of all the growing vegetation around our homes.
Everyone must take the action on their own, to cut and trim back these dangerous fuels. It is only the fuels that we have direct control over.
Failure to remove these combustible vegetation areas, dead standing trees and failure to provide at least 100 feet of defensible space between our homes and the wild land areas will result in a future disaster.
Check Your Neighborhood and Report Fire Hazards
Brush, weeds and vegetation should be cut and within 100 feet of structures you should landscape with low fire resistive plants, such as ground covers that do not transmit fire rapidly.
You may retain “specimen native shrubs” if they are trimmed and are maintained free of all dead wood, duff, dry leaves, etc.
For clearing and fire protection around homes, use the following guidelines:
• Trees and shrubs should be trimmed away from buildings and chimneys.
• Remove dead leaves and pine needles from roofs and rain gutters.
• Keep your property free of accumulated combustibles such as dried vegetation, cuttings and wood piles.
• Roads and driveways should be well cleared of trees and brush to permit access for fire equipment.
• Make sure your house address is clearly marked and visible with a contrasting background.
Concerns about Brush Growth in your Neighborhood?
Each year the Valley Center Fire Protection District with Cal Fire inspects over 1,000 parcels for abatement of fire prone brush and grasses. Property owners are notified to clear their parcels, with most complying by an issued deadline.
After the first notice, the Valley Center Fire Protection District and Cal Fire identifies any non-complying parcels and causes them to be brought into compliance.
Should you receive a notice from the Valley Center Fire Protection District (Cal Fire), act on it promptly.
If you have a concern about a fire hazard or fire prone brush near your home, call the Valley Center Fire Protection District at 751-7600.
Someone will investigate whether brush removal or other mitigation measures are necessary.
The Valley Center Real Estate (VCRE) Professionals is a non-profit organization comprised of Realtors, Lenders and Title & Escrow individuals. Their goal is to provide financial aid by way of scholarships to graduating seniors from Valley Center High School. Through the combined efforts of VCRE and our community supporters, we have been able to provide over $27,000 in scholarships over the last three years.
Friday, May 2, the Valley Center Real Estate professionals will host their third VCRE Scholarship Golf Tournament. This is their major fund-raiser and they are excited to hold the tournament this year at Woods Valley Country Club.
The festivities will include a variety of contests including hole-in-one and putting, drawing items, and a fabulous Mexican-style banquet.
You can participate in one of two ways. Join them by golfing in the tournament or contribute with a sponsorship. Regardless of your choice, you will assist in providing college scholarships to Valley Center seniors.
For more information or to get an application, call event chairman Selina Dudley at 760-975-0255.
Chelsea Good is the Valley Center’s Rotary Club’s candidate for the Honorary Mayor’s race.
Rotary’s big fund-raiser each year is the pancake breakfast at the corner of Valley Center & Cole Grade Roads on the morning of the Western Days parade.
Her slogan is “a pancake on every plate,” and it might remind you of successful presidential campaigns in which a “chicken in every pot was promised.”
“My promise is that the Rotary Club will come to every house in the area and make pancakes,” she told this reporter with a relatively straight face.
But maybe she has the juice to pull it off. She is, after all, in line to be the president of the club in two years.
If practice makes perfect, then Miss Good has it locked up, since she will be one of the cooks making hotcakes and sausage and serving them to hungry festival goers on that Saturday morning.
She does have a serious traumatic event to live down that she is trying to put behind her, and that is the candidacy of her father, Dale Good, who ran for Honorary Mayor on the Kiwanis ticket when she was a child.
He ran a seriously twisted campaign “in drag” (we are not making this up—check out the Sheriff’s blotter from about a dozen years ago!)
“My dad sold kisses,” his daughter recalls. “I was so young. I remember seeing heels in the back of his car. His campaign was to sell kisses but it didn’t go well for him. So, I don’t want to sell kisses, I want to sell pancakes, and put Hersey’s kisses on top!”
On a more serious note she pointed out that Rotary International’s mission is to eradicate polio throughout the world.
“Although polio is mainly confined to Africa, Africa is only a plane ride away, and the only real cure is to eradicate it completely. For 10 cents you can inoculate a child for life,” she said.
She added that one of the local club’s mission is to provide scholarships for local students. That’s where some of the money that she raises for her campaign will go.
She will place jars with her picture on them in various locations in town.
Miss Good, who is the advertising manager at The Roadrunner, has been a member of Rotary for three years.
She moved to Valley Center when she was 5-years-old. She played soccer and went through the Valley Center school system up to high school. She was a contestant in the Miss Valley Center pageant in 2000.
She attended the University of Arizona and graduated with a degree in communications.
She was a wedding coordinator in Boston for Hyatt for a year before returning to this area to work at Marriott for a year before finally coming back to VC.
“I love it here. I love working with Mom and David,” she said.
To donate to Chelsea Good’s campaign, call her at The Roadrunner at 749-1112 or drop off donation checks at the office.
She can learn more about Rotary’s mission by visiting their Web site at www.vcrotary.org/
With two weeks to go before the deadline to come up with $30,000, the Valley Center July 4 fireworks show is $15,800 short.
As of Monday, the effort has received a $10,000 donation from the Rincon tribe, $500 from The Roadrunner, $500 from Subway, $500 from VC Wireless, $100 from the Salisbury Family and $100 from Ken Baldry, according to organizer Kelly Crews.
There are also $2,500 left from last year’s donations.
In addition attorney Newell Cummings has donated his time to incorporate the fireworks show.
If you’d like to help with the fireworks show, or be a donor, call Mrs. Crews at 760-670-7062.
Two Valley Center-Pauma schools, the Primary School and the soon-to-be-closed Elementary Upper School, have been honored as California Distinguished Schools.
Eight hundred and thirty-nine schools in the state applied for the distinction and 343 from 189 districts in 39 counties were awarded the title.
Twenty-seven of those were in San Diego County. There are 36 districts in the County that have elementary schools (although the County Office of Education’s demographics department couldn’t tell us how many schools there are in the county!). That means it’s pretty rare for a district to get two such awards in one year.
Supt. Lou Obermeyer admitted that it was bittersweet for the upper elementary school to win this distinction just as it is about to close this June, but commented, “But what a way to finish! On top!”
Primary School Patty Christopher told The Roadrunner: “Valley Center Primary School is very proud to receive the California Distinguished School Award. This is a multi-step process. In order to write the initial application we interviewed staff, parents and other community stakeholders. Two of our teachers, Susan Barry and Bill Kvitli, along with the school principal wrote the application.
“In February, we received the word that we would receive a site visitation. A team of local administrators and teachers came to our school to verify the application and interview parents, students, staff and community. Then last Monday we received a phone call from State Superintendent, Jack O'Connell that we were award winners. This was a happy day for us. On May 16 we celebrate at Disneyland.”
Principal Ann Staffieri commented, “The Upper Elementary School could not be more proud!
“Even though our school will be closing as of June 2008, we are proud to be going out in greatness. This award is a reflection of the excellent teaching and learning that takes place at the Upper School. This is also a reflection of the excellent staff and students who attend our school. Each and every one of us here has participated in something great. We are among the top Elementary Schools in California and are receiving recognition for the great things that happen here.”
The announcement was made April 9 by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell.
The list of schools in the state may be viewed at: www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/cs/
“These outstanding elementary schools represent many different kinds of communities, organizational structures, and student populations,” said O’Connell. “Sixty-four of these schools come from small, rural communities, 11 are charter schools, and nearly half or 156 schools have significant populations of students living in poverty and are supported by federal Title I funding.”
This year, the selection criteria for the Distinguished School program were more stringent than ever. Schools wrote a substantive narrative application and then were subject to an extensive site validation.
“Most heartening, many of the schools we are recognizing today as the ‘best of the best’ have overcome significant educational challenges, showing that it is possible to provide opportunities for success to all students,” O’Connell said.
Earlier in the week, O’Connell called each school principal to convey the good news.
The California School Recognition Program is now in its 23rd year and identifies and honors the state’s most exemplary and inspiring public schools with the California Distinguished School Award.
Although participation is voluntary, the award is highly sought after by schools in all areas of the state. Elementary and secondary schools are recognized during alternate years.
For the current year, 839 elementary schools submitted applications and were identified for eligibility on the basis of their Academic Performance Index and Adequate Yearly Progress results.
All applicants underwent a rigorous selection process conducted by the California Department of Education, with the help of many local educators from across the state, and in partnership with the California County Superintendents Edu-cational Services Assn.
About 2,500 showed up Friday night for the Creedence Clearwater Revisited concert at Valley View. This was the first of their outdoor concert series. The band played three encores, where they played five hit songs, and there were too many standing ovations to count, according to those who went.
The Valley Roadrunner
P.O.B. 1529, Valley Center, CA 92082
Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
Copyright © 2008, Palomar Community Newspapers, dba Valley Roadrunner. All rights reserved. This content may not be archived, retransmitted, saved in a database, or used for any commercial purpose without the express written permission of the Valley Roadrunner.