My Stupid Little Town

Posted on April 23, 2025 by Enchanted Seashells

Our water district sent out notices about a horrendous and onerous rate increase planned over the next two years.

For example, if you now pay around $71 a month, the rate will shoot up to approximately $119 a month by 2027. That is absolutely unconscionable and a definite hardship for a lot of us.

The law requires a certain period of time for protests and objections but only for due diligence, NOT because they’ll take our opinions into consideration.

Some people wrote letters and a few of us also showed up to speak at the hearing to affirm or deny the rate increase. I realize that this was a futile exercise more based in legality rather than actually caring about the community because our council doesn’t really care at all about the people who live here; they are fully invested in overdevelopment and support all the rate increases from water to trash.

I’m really sorry more people didn’t come to the stupid council meeting yesterday to voice concerns about the egregious water rate increases but I understand — nothing we say or do ever seems to change the outcome of anything that’s done to stop the ruin of this once adorable coastal city.

The reality is that those people on council do not represent the community they are SUPPOSED to represent.

One guy who spoke said he was a civil engineer and actually supported the increase; maybe he was looking for a job? Kiss ass or a plant, I’m not sure.

The city consistently approves more and more low income housing projects but doesn’t think about those same low income residents on pensions, disability, Social Security, and other types of fixed incomes who are (or will become) deeply impacted by our chaotic economy and cuts to services will actually be able to pay for necessities.

Who can afford an increase of $30+ a month? Council is out of touch with real people. They live in a bubble and not only don’t understand-they simply don’t care.

The water district’s millennial spokeshead was angling for a pat on her back as she uptalked this NOT very humble brag…”We eliminated two full time positions to save money.” like that in and of itself should justify their economically burdensome rate increase?

How much is she paid? Team Leaders at this water district are paid an average of $175,000 per year. Others are paid between $47 and $60 per hour. Group Managers earn $270,000 per year. I think we all can figure out where costs could be slashed to pay for our water increase.

I knew it was a waste of time but I showed up anyway and here’s what I said:

“You all need to learn to read the room. How are you continuously so incredibly disconnected from REGULAR people? It makes no economic nor reasonable sense in this seriously screwed up political landscape to raise rates of any sort, especially now.

Look at it another way—you constantly approve building all these low income housing projects, right?

And there are lots of seniors and retired people in Carlsbad, and other low income families on Section 8– so how do you expect this demographic who rely on some sort of fixed income to pay for these egregious increases when their FIXED income doesn’t match the increased cost?

Haven’t you thought this through, this macro picture? Do you all live in a bubble?

If the stock market continues to implode, if Social Security and disability is reduced or completely cut, if pensions and public assistance are wiped out, WHO IS going to be able to afford the increased water rates?

It makes no sense. THIS IS NOT THE TIME. I strongly and LOUDLY object and protest the tone deaf water rate increase.

This rate increase is beyond ridiculous, especially in these uncertain economic times.

It’s an egregious misuse of power to increase financial hardship for those of us who don’t know if we’ll even have a job or are on tenuous fixed incomes. You need to radically correct this type of financial exploitation. It’s an economic burden we do not need to carry.

The truth is that you do not need any rate increase; what you need to do is LOWER your water rates.”

And then I looked at the entire council’s facial valences that communicated zero emotion, negative OR positive as they stared at me with flat affects, and ended my three minutes with, “Crickets again, I see. What a disappointment you all are.”

Featured photo by Enchanted Seashells

Mayor, Mayor, on the wall…

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Enchanted Seashells

Who’s the most intelligent, caring, and forward thinking of them all?

Lolz, THIS is pic speaks a thousand words, doesn’t it?

At the last of three Mayoral candidate debates/forums in Carlsbad, this one hosted by Pacific Ridge School and moderated by Voice of San Diego’s Jesse Marx, we witnessed a tired old sour faced dinosaur listening to the brilliant words spoken by a true visionary.

THIS is what Carlsbad needs.

Present in the moment, alert, thoughtful, intelligent…

Cori Schumacher.

Real. Genuine. Authentic.

Mayor Mall is the embodiment of “liar liar pants of fire“.

He was not truthful when he said he really really really responds to each and every email.

I can only speak for myself BUT I know that is specifically and categorically UNtrue.

He has NEVER responded nor acknowledged any email OR snail mail letter I personally sent to him during the years he’s been mayor of Carlsbad.

He delivered more confusing and obfuscating word salad, but what REALLY spoke to me was the demeaning and misogynistic device he used by consistently referring to Cori Schumacher as “her” or “she”, instead of affording her the respect Cori deserves by speaking her name, and by snarkily laughing while she was responding to questions.

This is a tool in the arsenal of a misogynist who covertly/overtly minimizes, diminishes, and depersonalizes women.

Unacceptable.

We will no longer have our voices silenced.

Vote for Cori Schumacher.

It’s a win-win for Carlsbad.

Dear Carlsbad, Oh What a Year It’s Been…

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Enchanted Seashells

I posted this on Facebook today:

One year ago, I showed up at Carlsbad City Council as an thirty-year resident who had finally had it with the way this city was being manipulated by outside developers. The final straw was the possibility that a monstrosity of a concrete mall was to be built on Agua Hedionda Lagoon. NO WAY, I thought. I didn’t even have a speech written when I pushed my way through the crowd, but I knew it was time to step up and speak up. That was the night I spoke about “not being impressed by men in fancy suits with fake tans.” I may have walked in to those hostile chambers alone, but walked out with the new and lasting friendship of a tribe of hundreds and hundreds who soldiered on to save the lagoon as we’re saving Carlsbad, one council seat at a time. Much love, appreciation, and gratitude to our TRIBE.

Yes, the lagoon is safe FOR NOW. But there will always be the threat of over-development and that’s why we stand vigilant, never again complacent to the machinations of our self-serving local government.

Here’s my speech in its entirety:

“First, I’d like to make a brief observation; other than the farm workers at the strawberry fields, Caruso’s soft focused Utopian propaganda video had no people of cultural diversity represented. Kind of crazy, right? I mean, when you really think about it? What’s that all about?

[This refers to a video shown by Caruso Affiliated. Big bucks in play here.]

Mayor and council, I need to make myself particularly clear.

I’m not impressed by fancy suits and ‘healthy’ fake tans.

My family and I are vehemently opposed to the development of Agua Hedionda.

Agua Hedionda is a sensitive resource and ecosystem that needs to be saved and protected and restored, NOT built upon and destroyed.

I love to shop and I don’t want Nordstrom built on the lagoon when we have a perfectly good mall that needs the promised renovation.

No matter what or how we were duped in 1986 and 2006, that should not mean this deception should continue.

For thirty years, I’ve watched you and other councils systematically destroy land and native habitats in Carlsbad.

This needs to stop.

Enough is enough.

My family and I vehemently oppose all building on Agua Hedionda.

Enough is enough.

Leave it alone.

Shame on you Mayor and City Council.

Shame on you all.

And finally, Mr. Blackburn, we met privately about the pet store in the Westfield mall that sells puppy mill dogs and you PROMISED me that when the mall was renovated and all the stores were closed, that store would be gone and wouldn’t be allowed back. But it’s still open. You promised and I feel betrayed.

Do the right thing, would you?”

Power to the people ‘cos sometimes the only answer is a revolution

Posted on September 26, 2015 by Enchanted Seashells

A few thousand sleeping giants have awakened; where we were once snuggled into eight-hundred thread count sheets and fluffy duvets, drinking our ginger-kale smoothies on the way to yoga or an awesome surf sesh, we are WIDE AWAKE.

This is democracy in action!

We’ve come together as one voice, a tribe of local citizens who say…

NO F***ING WAY.

It’s time for a change.

It’s time for a REVOLUTION.

Power to the people.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

I have never been more proud to live here.

All the Davids took on Goliath and we WON.

What am I talking about?

In my not-so-little-anymore coastal town of Carlsbad, a mega-developer (Rick Caruso is the billionaire Republican developer and the dad of the “hot”– but not really hot — debate guy). who owns a mega-yacht tried to work his way around the normal processes for development (with the blessing of our mayor and city council) to build a mega-mall on Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

Agua Hedionda is a sensitive ecosystem that feeds into the Pacific Ocean.

And HERE: Something Sorta Stinks in Carlsbad

Great article: http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/aug/11/agua-hediona-8515-plan-sidesteps-ceqa/

Simply put, one does not build a mega-mall on a lagoon.

No matter how much I love to shop at Nordstrom, NO WAY.

A movement was born to fight the onslaught of questionable tactics with subverted and suppressed democratic processes — the very opposite of transparency — while dozens of citizen volunteers stepped up to spread out throughout the city from dawn to dusk to acquire signatures for a referendum to overturn the Caruso initiative and put the mall development to a vote OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE.

On Thursday, we met in the library parking lot and marched as a group to Carlsbad City Hall to deliver boxes and boxes of signed petitions.

We were stalked the whole way by Caruso goons and his campaign lawyer — that guy lurking behind the fence in the black suit and mirrored sunglasses.

It was a moment I’ll never forget when one of our leaders announced the tally; more than nine thousand signatures, well above the sixty-five hundred needed (ten percent of the registered voters.)

Strong arm tactics and million dollar TV and print ad campaigns didn’t deter our citizen warriors.

WE DID NOT GIVE UP

WE WILL NOT GIVE UP

WE ARE STRONG

WE ARE CARLSBAD STRONG

The collective whoops and yells were caught on video. This is one of many, and much thanks to one of my son’s best friends, Bryan Snyder:

Citizens of Carlsbad submit 9,000+ signatures

And local TV:
http://www.cbs8.com/story/30107356/deadline-for-opponents-of-aqua-hedionda-to-turn-in-signatures

You say you want a revolution? Well, you just got one.

Power to the people!

Photo gallery:

WoooHOOOOO!

“…I’m not impressed by men in fancy suits with fake tans.”

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Enchanted Seashells

Who said that?

Um…

I did.

For those of you who don’t live in my little town, here’s a bit of background in a previous post:

Something Sorta Stinks in Carlsbad

It’s become painfully clear that elected officials in Carlsbad seem to ONLY represent some of the people some of the time when it meets their own agenda.

I should state that I did not vote for ANY of those elected officials.

It’s about time we rethink WHO and WHAT we want to represent the best interests of Carlsbad.

No more realtors and developers or friends of realtors and developers.

We need a complete overhaul of city governance.

It’s time to emulate better cities with better practices who do what’s right for the environment and not what’s best for their personal interests.

I blame myself for not getting more deeply involved, and for not running for office — there’s really no excuse.

The only other time I stepped up was to get a skate park built here, because I was tired of the way young skateboarders (my son included) were bullied and harassed by law enforcement and others; I rallied and organized hundreds of young people and their parents with petitions and public speaking, and due to my efforts, a skate park was built.

On Tuesday, August 25, Carlsbad City Hall was filled to overflowing with hundreds of people — people who were mocked and denigrated for demanding our democratic political process to be followed — for demanding transparency in government.

Toward the end of the evening, the mayor (who I believe fashions himself after Donald Trump) refused to allow the opposition their freedom of speech allowed time to speak for three minutes as he told them they now had only one minute AND couldn’t repeat anything that was previously said.

I believe he did NOT similarly admonish the supporters of the mall AND he gave Caruso an extra FIVE MINUTES to speak after everyone else had spoken or given up, defeated, and went home.

Hmmm.

Questionable?

I think YES.

The main point here is that the concerns of the citizens about the circumvention of standard process — was absolutely ignored.

The development was greenlighted by 100% of the council.

We don’t matter.

That’s the message I heard LOUD and CLEAR.

If you don’t agree with us, we don’t care about you.

And to the elderly woman who pushed me, you know who you are…you better be DAMN glad that tugboat man stepped in before you enjoyed a taste of a batshit crazy Jewish princess.

This is the same woman who called another woman a bitch because she was having a calm and INTELLIGENT conversation with an elderly gentleman (her husband?) rationally explaining the many reasons why and how Caruso had gamed the system with his council cronies.

Where is the sisterhood?

What is wrong with you?

And give me some of that Kool-aid y’all have been drinking.

It’s damn good.

Caruso’s main body of cult-like followers seem to be every single retired person who has swallowed that Kool-aid and bought into his heavenly representation of white blonde children running among the butterflies along the lagoon, stopping to shop at Nordstrom and lunching at the many corporate restaurant chains.

Maybe the reason these people got duped is because Caruso’s shady marketing campaign looks like heaven to them and that’s where a good percentage of them will be way before this mall ever opens.

Suh-NAP!

I was one of the fortunate ones who signed up to speak early, and was not challenged nor admonished to stop speaking (which I would have ignored anyway).

Most people who spoke in opposition simply want the right to vote on this major mall development on Agua Hedionda.

My desire goes further; to avoid the rape of even more land, and especially Agua Hedionda, where it needs to be left alone completely.

My speech, in its entirety: