Let’s do lunch! How many times have you heard that phrase? I used to do power lunches back in the old days when I was getting started. I remember dining out with my editors who had prime seats at the trendy spots. Lunch was where you’d learn “who’s who”. You could see and be seen among the politicians, power brokers and a host of average folks with budgets to blow (expense accounts) on food. Now when I’m on a press or fam trip, you should hear the writers gripe about doing lunch. “We’re eating too much food,” some complain. “I didn’t get enough,” say others. I like to do lunch with easy-going people who are open to spice, and don’t routinely gripe. Kind of like my top editors back in the old days. Keep smiling, and enjoying those meals! If it pains you to eat, re-think your strategy.
Scientists forecasting how the nation’s most geographically diverse state might change in the decades to come envision a landscape that could look quite different by the end of the century–or sooner. Gloomy scenarios include Malibu’s famous beaches fronting coast highway as ocean-front houses disappear, and many regions simply transformed through droughts and increased temperatures. Nothing will be untouched, scientists say. California’s ski season may be shortened by a month and in some places, cease, because of warming. By the end of the century, temperatures are predicted to increase from 3 degrees to 10 degrees Fahrenheit statewide. A drought has already diminished local habitats for the fringe-toed lizard, and scientists are considering relocating Joshua Tree seedlings to areas where the trees, a hallmark of the high desert and namesake of a national park, might survive climate change. Because 35 percent of the state’s water supply is stored in the Sierra snowpack, changes to that hydrologic system will lead to far-reaching consequences for California and its ever-growing population. Less snowfall means reservoirs and the rivers that fill them could be depleted early in the year. In Yosemite National Park last summer, waterfalls that are a signature for one of the nation’s most beloved natural wonders were running at a trickle by midsummer. Winter visits to the park included shirt-sleeve days and barely a trickle from the falls. Giant sequoias that are among the most massive living things on earth might be imperiled and a $30 billion agricultural industry will suffer as disputes between cities and farmer growers could cause significant losses of water used for agriculture. Scenarios such as Greenland ice sheets breaking off and tumbling into the ocean, causing sea level to rise more than 20 feet, are not inconceivable, according to theorists. Even a sea level rise of three to six feet will be enough to impact airports and a vast coastline filled with homes on the sand in cities that currently employ sand nourishment programs.
Monterey beaches are losing approx. 6 inches of beach per year, and Marina’s ocean’s frontage has moved approx. 5 feet per year on average. Rising sea levels and big waves from winter storms with heavy surf have unearthed artifacts such as World War II mortar shells buried in the sand near the Salinas River. Coastal communities around the world face advancing oceans–approx. 100 million people living within 3 feet of sea level. While current models predict that it may take 100 years for the sea level to rise 3 feet, rapid polar melts and other factors make it difficult for scientists to provide definitive answers as to when and how much the seas will rise.
Water will be dirtier than it
was before the federal Clean Water Act was passed in 1972, according to
William P. Henry, former president of the American Society of Civil
Engineers, who said recently that we’re not doing enough to protect our waters and our health. Heal the Bay rated 27% of Southern California beaches grade “F” during wet weather, and many received D’s or F’s in dry weather as well. American Society of Civil Engineers regional chapter said the state deserves a D for controllling pollution in stormwater. To rectify the situation, agencies will have to spend $5.5 billion a year to earn a B. And that’s not happening yet.
California to Filter Stormwater from 1,000 Miles of Roads. Millions of gallons of polluted stormwater that runs off state highways each year will be kept out of Southern California waters and off the region’s beaches after two environmental groups and the California Department of Transportation came to an agreement in federal court on Friday. Caltrans, the government agency that operates the California highway system, will reduce runoff from 1,000 miles of highway across Los Angeles and Ventura counties under the agreement with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Santa Monica Baykeeper. Under the agreement Caltrans will reduce runoff pollution from freeways in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties by 20%. By 2011 new measures are expected to keep more than millions of pounds of pollution out of area waters every year. Toxic metals like lead and zinc will be reduced by almost 24,000 pounds per year. When it rains currently, unfiltered stormwater drains and contaminants on the pavement flow into the region’s waters and ocean. Caltrans will start cleaning up the runoff using before it reaches the beach. Cleanup options include sand traps, catch basins and new porous pavement surfaces that catch polluted runoff and absorb the contaminants. The agreement by the state to embrace these best management practices on new highways as well as existing ones is a first, and has the potential to become a national model.
Many know her as Bad Bert or Berta, though she’s officially Roberta. In addition to working a full time job as a sales manager in a computer firm, she’s certified as a referee, and spends many of her evenings at soccer games, making extra change to pay the bills after a divorce essentially left her without a home. Now paying about $1800/mo. in rent, she’s squeezed out of the housing market, and can’t look back at the better times without feeling a little sad. She’s moving on.
She went to Huntington Beach High School, attended clases at Golden West College in art, where she won several awards for her watercolors and gymnastics, and she raised a family locally. In addition to winning numerous championships in volleyball and soccer, she became known to thousands of kids she coached or refereed. She’s picking up and leaving all that behind. She’s taking her two cats and what’s left of her belongings that were stolen from her apartment, and she’s heading for the Central Coast where prices are less for housing, and hopefully a job will come along soon.
Her story is all too common of friends (especially women) we know trying to make a go of it in Huntington Beach. Once considered the affordable option for Southern California beach living, housing prices have soared and build out will eventually occur, making prices only rise. Berta will be missed, but she’s trading one beach for a close-to-the-beach city in the heart of Central Coast wine country. We hope she finds a job in the wine industry or something similar, because she really loves the biz. And when she goes, we can’t help of thinking about moving, too. Beach communities that were once small town escapes from L.A. city life have become urban destinations with all the good and the bad that comes with growth. Traffic, housing and crime increase along with the new hotels, upscale shops and added events. Huntington Beach was once a laid back community and does try to retain some of that character and charm. But when you visit other places in California with traffic jams that take only 10 minutes to get through, you realize there is life on the other side of the “Orange Curtain” that Orange County is fondly referred to. Farewell Berta. We’ll miss you.
California once ranked among the world’s largest malls. But now the growth is in Asia, and these malls are monstrous! The continent is home to 9 of the world’s top 10 big malls, and the grandaddy of them all offers California Beaches and San Francisco, minus the 14 hour trip. In the South China Mall in Dongguan, visitors can trek to the California seashore by a trackless train, battery car or pleasure boat to experience what’s described as exoticism of waterside cities. In addition, San Francisco’s style will offer golden waterways and upscale shops. In The Rain Forest District, Amsterdam District, Champs Elysees Avenue and Venice District shoppers and tourists can stay at hotels, be entertained by rides, shops, living and dining. Springing up just a few years ago, the world’s fastest growing economies on coming on board with attractions that feature California minus the trip, thus strategically keeping the money at home. The top two malls are located in China (the other is in Beijing), and additional such centers are being planned for India and elsewhere. Places such as the aging South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa that previously qualified as one of the largest in the world has long targeted international shoppers for fly-in shopping vacations. With bigger, newer properties that include everything imagineable on site, the concept of mall has expanded to a residential, commercial and tourist destination. In the U.S. traditional malls have been downsized or revamped to survive. Mixed-use lifestyle centers in US urban areas are finding success, while back in China, there’s still room to lease a shop space at the world’s biggest mall, which is experiencing a slow launch as Chinese shoppers love the WalMart and mall’s mega-shopping, but still cling to their favorite corner stores and neighborhood haunts. See: southchinamall.com
Virgin Galactic nears completion in the Mojave Desert in California as Virgin Atlantic owner Richard Branson unveils the commercial sub-orbital spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, in New York tomorrow. Virgin’s Branson; Jeff Bezos, of Amazon; Elon Musk, of PayPal; and entrepreneur Robert Bigelow are racing for a rocket to take tourists into space. California businessman Dennis Tito was one of the first wealthy tycoons to hop a ride in space by riding in a capsule that piggy-backed onto the Russian Soyuz rocket. While the training and expense were prohibitive for the average Rich guy, Virgin Galactic is introducing a sub-orbital flight on a craft that is designed to make a single, parabolic flight into space with views of Earth and a few minutes of weightlessness. The round trip from earth and back will take approx. 2.5 hours. While the wealthy willl be the first to enjoy an experience that’s priceless, many see this first commercial passenger space rocket for tourists as a big step in infusing interest and financial backing into what will be perceived initially as an extreme thrill for those rich enough to hop aboard for a ride to outer space.
Finally, someone is telling the truth! Governor Schwarzenegger is worried about passing a budget, and many are having to abandon ship and leave the more expensive cities for cheaper spots in California. Recently a senior managing director at Economy.com said some big states, including California, Michigan and Florida, are in recession now. Steven Cochrane, a Moody’s analyst says New York appears to be growing at a very moderate pace. The probability of New York entering a recession this year is above 50 percent, however, because of continuing losses on Wall Street. New York is the key to whether the U.S. skirts recession, and because of its dependence on finance, tourism and business travel, it isn’t immune to weakness in the national economy.
A newspaper listing today advertised: BUTTERFLY BEACH See thousands of monarch butterflies congregate in the California eucalyptus groves - while you save money with a new promotion from the Sandcastle Inn at Pismo Beach. The oceanfront hotel offers travelers interested in the butterfly migration a two-night stay in a traditional guest room, two pairs of binoculars and two commemorative T-shirts for $259. All rooms are equipped with complimentary high-speed, wireless Internet access. Here’s the good news. Binoculars aren’t generally necessary for butterfly grove watching and that leaves two T-shirts then costing you $48. Our website allows you to book the rooms there and many other beachfront hotels in Pismo Beach and on current check, a room is costing $109/night at Sandcastle Inn. So if you prefer just spending one night there to save money, you’ll be able to buy some cool T-shirts along the beachfront shops, plus dine at Splash Cafe for some hot clam chowder.
Homeland security regulations are making Brits rethink their options for US vacations. Recent articles such as “Don’t go to the USA” ponder the press releases and realities of the experience: Travelling to the US offers experiences like nowhere else on earth. That’s what it says at discoveramerica.com, the official travel and tourism website of the United States, and it’s absolutely right. Nowhere else can a visitor expect such a spirit-crushingly frosty reception filled with preflight e-interrogations, epic queues at immigration, thin-lipped questioning from aggressive border guards, and an outside chance of a rubber-gloved rectal rummage. A reporter, Matt Rudd from The Sunday Times offers reasons why foreign travelers may want to skip the USA and California on their next vacation and opt for other destinations around the globe. Of California’s Highway One, the reporter recommends travelers check out Great Ocean Road from Melbourne. For every attraction in the United States he offers an option elsewhere around the globe. What’s sad about his biting article is that it voices the concerns and frustrations we’ve heard time and again from the world press and travel trade professionals. Because of the low value of the dollar, however, we predict the numbers of foreign travelers will be high during 2008, as many come to purchase goods and find values in food, hotels and entertainment that Americans are cutting back on.
Have a heart, Governor Schwarzenegger! Don’t close Heart’s Desire Beach. When Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced he would close nearly 50 beaches and parks in an effort to help narrow the deficit on a state budget, he tugged at the heartstrings of some of California’s favorite spots, its beaches. It is no consulation that many of us in California believe he strategically selected hot-button items to grab attention for his budget and desire to pass it. But for those living north of San Francisco at popular Tomales Bay, the prospects of closing one of the most romantic beaches as Valentine’s Day approaches seems heartless–they say it could impact the local economy. Residents and business owners catering to tourists and romantics in nearby Inverness are most often asked where Heart’s Desire beach is, and the tourist stop equates with food sales, gasoline, hotel nights, and a host of products surrounding this beach with a name that offers sex appeal. Young couples get married in the West Marin County’s desirable beach spot, have picnics, kiss, hug and enjoy the thought that they’ve found at least one Heart’s Desire. A reported 100,000+ people on vacations visit the beach annually, which is adjacent to Point Reyes National Seashore, with around 2 million visitors. Locals are hoping that the national seashore can operate the state beach as the proposed Labor Day deadline nears for closure. The budget hasn’t been passed and the proposals at this point are simply that. But locals are on edge over the prospects of shutting down their beaches and sources of income at a time when the California economy already feels a pinch from rising prices and the falling dollar.
Legoland California’s John Jakobsen, president and general manager, recently discussed Legoland’s successful attendance in the past year and announced plans to complete construction currently underway at the LEGOLAND California Resort. Expected to be launched in the summer 2008 is a 36,000 sq.ft. aquarium for kids, Sea Life, which follows last year’s new themed Lego village patterned after Las Vegas. Legoland California’s location in Carlsbad-by-the-Sea offers fantastic year round weather and seasonal special shows and entertainment designed not only to engage tourists visiting with children, but also locals who return throughout the year for the fun events and new attractions.
It seems like the numbers are a little low, when a recently-released study stated that over 25 million Americans partook of food and wine activities during travels in the past three years. Some travel and tour organizations have created culinary vacations. But for Californians who know their vineyards and restaurants, they’ll tell you that you need not spend thousands riding up or down that lazy river. Just come to California, as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says, and try out not one, not two, not three but at least five distinct wine regions from San Diego’s Temecula in the south of the state, to Central Coast wine country in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties, to Napa, Sonoma, Lodi, and the Sierra Foothills regions. Realistically, wine grows well all over California and in recent years we’ve seen vegetables and fruits disappear from the fields, making way for more lucrative wine grapes. With wine, comes great food. When a region in California becomes established for its tourism and wine tasting, great chefs can be found, usually around the wineries first, with their catering and events planning, then at fine hotels, and eventually culinary talents flock to towns and cities where they can launch their own unique restaurants or prepare meals wine-lovers are known to appreciate. From Santa Maria where we recently dined at Addamo, to the Hilton Sonoma / Santa Rosa where our meal was out-of-this-world delicious, paired with some local boutique wines, well it just doesn’t get much better. In fact, one guaranteed pleaser for Valentine’s Day menus will be the menu served by guest chef Stefano Paracucchi at Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad. Keep eating good food, and sampling those California wines. It’s good for your local economies. And if you’re from out of state or out of country, you may not realize that California wines often beat out their European counterparts in competitions.
Are you looking for a local California getaway? If you’re a Californian, that may be a way to save money this year. As if Americans and Californians knew the dollar’s strength was weakening, many took trips to Europe, China and the far-flung places around the globe last year. So how do you top that in 2008 when the US government seeks emergency plans to stimulate the economy? Shorter vacations and cheaper hotels will be ways to stretch the dollar, our friends and family tell us. Although some state parks are on the chopping block for closure such as Limekiln on the Big Sur Coast, those who camp will find many parks and camping grounds open for business. Babymoons, the trip before you have kids, is now on the radar for moms & dads to be with special packages targeting this segment of travelers. Singles, backroad travelers, and boomers are some of the travelers you’ll see on the road, at hotels, shopping in Laguna Beach, dining in San Francisco and lounging at Hotel del Coronado this year. From the mountain resorts–Big Bear, Yosemite and Mammoth, to the Palm Desert and 1000 miles of beaches, many Californians have never seen and sampled what’s within their reach. Have you eaten pancakes at the oldest logging breakfast house, Samoa Cookhouse in Eureka? Have you slept in an African tent in Santa Rosa’s Safari West? Have you dined on pho and shopped for silks in Little Saigon? Have you surfed on beaches with cows in San Simeon? Have you visited 13 museums in a single park (Balboa) in San Diego? Have you seen The Getty (free) or The Getty Villa (free), or ridden a funky little ferry for $1 in Balboa/Newport Beach where you can eat a Balboa Bar? You see! You haven’t really done California!
The number of visitors from other countries (excluding Mexico and Canada) rose 7 percent last year. While up from 2006, it still didn’t hit the mark of pre-911 figures. US and foreign travelers find the customs procedures can be a real hassle, so they chose other countries where regulations are easier to swallow. While Travel Industry Association (TIA), a non-profit agency to promote travel in the US is lobbying for legislation that would provide more than the $4 million for a web site, slated to launch, discoveramerica.com. States such as California have are surpassing that expenditure with $4.5 million on a campaign this year, in a program with a schedule of an advertisements on European TV, a program created and funded by California Travel and Tourism Commission. Featuring Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, his wife, Maria Shriver, plus Hollywood celebs, it portrays California as a laid-back beach with board room decisions made over surfing, and fruits and nuts not necessarily confined to describing foods, but to Californians, too. New York City, a destination that guards is marketing data, did confess that NYC & Co., the city’s destination marketing organization, began spending a portion of its $30 million global marketing campaign budget last fall. Arriving in a taxi, tourists are shown in the ad attending a fashion show, Harlem jazz club and ride the State Island Ferry, with the tagline–This is New York City. Europeans are watching the same Las Vegas add we Californians see with the tagline–What happens here stays here. It shows people releasing their inhibitions and being assured that in Las Vegas, that’s the way it is. They have $8 million budgeted for international ads and marketing. At Southern California beaches, Europeans, Australians and international travelers are touring and buying trinkets. T-shirts, keychains and inexpensive posters are a few items that sell especially well.
12-year old Peyton Nairon used quick action to save her father’s life last year in Laguna Beach, thanks to a lesson abou the buddy system. Last July a four-foot wave caused her father to be thrown to the ocean floor, where he broke his nose and was temporarily paralyzed. Peyton and her father were boogie-boarding
off Laguna Beach during a vacation and her dad suddenly went missing when Peyton returned to shallow water, looking around to see him. Peyton had learned that you never go without your buddy, she said. Baxter Nairon, attributes his daughters Scout lesson and quick thinking with saving his life. Grasping for air, Peyton flipped her dad over and dragged him nearly 20 yards toward the beach by herself before her mother and the lifeguard joined the rescue. Baxter Nairon, who has returned to work while recovering from the accident which caused a spinal cord contusion, said he couldn’t be prouder of his daughter.
Michael Strahan, one of the best defensive ends in NFL history recently said that though he hasn’t decided if he will retire after this season with the NY Giants, his 15 year stint is not as much fun as going to the beach, where he spent much of training camp while deciding whether to return. Sitting on the beach in California is a whole different type of fun, and all eyes are on this giant to see whether he joins us in California for some R&R.
Monterey is losing the Technology, Entertainment, Design Coference because of its popularity and growth. This year’s show will run Feb. 27 through March 1 in Monterey, the last of long run spanning approx. 2 decades. Relocating to Long Beach in 2009, many attendees fail to recognize the charms of the Southern California city with its own aquarium (one-third the size of Monterey Bay Aquarium) designed by the same architectural firm as MBA. OK, so the Bubba Gump doesn’t overlook a bay where kayakers paddle past sea lions and seals, like the one in Monterey. But there’s lots to do, and after visiting and enjoying Pine party action, guests will be pleasantly surprised that Long Beach has come a long way.
Just to the south of Port of Long Beach is a busy beach and bay where tourists flock to catch some rays. Just to the north of its port-side neighbor, Port of Los Angeles, Cabrillo Beach is one of miles of San Pedro beaches that host thousands of sunbathers as well. So it’s kind of a sleeper fact that in the year 2007, the two ports continued to be the busiest in the U.S. Though the busiest port complex in the USA saw a decline in traffic, a drop that’s not been experienced in 20 years, record sales with exports to other nations helped the ports and local economies ride the tide that no one has dared call a recession. What’s leaving the USA? Grain to China, for one. With the weakened dollar, American foods and products are looking like a steal. Now deeply entrenched in a slowing economy, tighter credit, and a weak dollar, imports of 8.1 million containers were status quo with virtually no growth, while exports grew over 18%, with over 3 million containers heading out of port. Export growth is one of the strengths of the U.S. economy right now, with grain and soybeans feeding China. Unfortunately the exports that include food stuffs and raw materials have less value than imports, mostly finished goods. What does this mean for tourists? Shop California if you’re from outside the country. Your money will buy more than ever before. For citizens of the country, the rule of the road is to eat, sleep and shop thin. Avoid huge debt and stick to essentials. When you travel, look for cheaper hotels, eat less expensive meals and cut bak on your souvenirs and gifts.