The 17th Annual Oceanside Days of Art: A fine arts festival.
130 artists selling visual art, food booths, two stages with continual music and dance performances plus a hands-on art-making area for children of all ages.

Downtown Oceanside on Pier View Way and Ditmar Street
(next to Civic Center between N Coast Highway 101 and N Nevada Street)
Saturday April 18 and Sunday April 19
10am – 5pm
Check the Fire Mountain Artists page for more info.
This year the theme “Experience Your Creativity” plays out with family-friendly participatory events including a huge Circle Painting that the public is invited to work on. Organized by international artist Hiep Nguyen, this “paint-in” has been produced in 30 cities in 8 countries since 2007. More info at http://www.circlepainting.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa601W7ugvg&feature=related

To make reservations for your group to paint: 760/433-3632.
To sponsor a painting: 760/439-7766

Meeting place:
The Nautical Coffee Bean Co
240 Harbor
Drive South
Oceanside, CA 92054
Dog Beach Awareness Day – March 29, 1:00 p.m.

Join us for a dog walk along the proposed Dog Beach site!  Please tell everyone you know about this, as we want as many people and well-behaved dogs as possible.
This event is only the beginning of an ongoing effort to promote creation of an Oceanside Dog Beach.

Note: Dogs must be on leash (no longer than 6 feet) for this event, and please make sure you bring enough poop bags for your dogs and extras for those who might forget. We want to demonstrate how CLEAN and WELL BEHAVED our dogs are!

No need to RSVP – just show up! Check this website for updates:  http://www.friendsofoceansidedogbeach.org

North County Times By CRAIG TENBROECK – Staff Writer | Thursday, February 5, 2009 3:09 PM PST ∞

Plans to build a concrete plant near Loma Alta Creek appear to have been scrapped, nearly a year after the Oceanside City Council approved the project over the objections of neighborhood and environmental groups.

Activist Nadine Scott said late Wednesday that The Friends of Loma Alta Creek, a group she co-founded, recently settled the environmental lawsuit it filed against the concrete plant developer, Robertson’s Ready Mix of Corona.

To read the whole story in the North County Times click here.

Congratulations to The Friends of Loma Alta Creek and Fire Mountain residents!

A hectic 2008 has come to a close and we’re off and running in 2009! The elections added some excitement to 2008, but here in Oceanside, the voters declaired our representatives should remain status quo. We at Friends of Fire Mountain hope to work together with all of our city counsel members and Mayor Wood to improve our quality of life here in Oceanside. And we hope they will work together to make Oceanside the best it can be.

Our friends at Fire Mountain Garden Exchange have the first news of the year for us  regarding increases in our water bills and water cut backs, check it out below

– Thanks guys!

Just to close out the old year, my ‘official’ Fire Mountain rain gauge registered 2.8” of rain for December; this is at the top of the hill between Yucca and Bailey. The way some of the cells came through, there could be substantial variation 3 blocks away! That rain was really welcome. Unfortunately, most of us also received a letter from our  City Water Dept., telling us that there will be substantial rate increases and potential water cutbacks. No mention of a moratorium on building permits and water meters. In other words, we have to cut back AND pay more just so there can be more new houses. Whatever your opinion, we encourage you to write a letter to the Water Dept (waterstaff@ci.oceanside.ca.us) and the City Council:

• Esther C. Sanchez, esanchez@ci.oceanside.ca.us, (760) 435-3057
• Jerome M. Kern, jkern@ci.oceanside.ca.us, (760) 435-3032
• Jack Feller, jfeller@ci.oceanside.ca.us, (760) 435-3056
• Rocky Chavez, rchavez@ci.oceanside.ca.us, (760) 435-3061
• Mayor Jim Wood, jwood@ci.oceanside.ca.us, (760) 435-3059
• City of Oceanside web page http://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/

There will be a public discussion at the council meeting on February 4th. For your oral comments to be officially received you must first submit a letter to the City Clerk (can be done in Chambers). For your written comments to be accepted they must be received by the City Clerk prior to the end of the meeting.  Make your voice heard; it’s our money and our water.

Get a photo of you and your pet with Santa, and help dog rescue efforts at the same time.

Sundaty December 14th and December 21st from 11am-4pm PetSmart (3420 Marron Rd. Next to Kohl’s) is hosting pet photos with Santa. Fire Mountain’s own Jay Scrivener will be playing Santa, so don’t miss it!

Proceeds Benefit ‘It’s the Pits’ Dog Rescue. Visit www.itsthepits.org to adopt, volunteer, or donate.

The California Surf Museum is pleased to be honoring Hawaiian beachboy and surfing legend Albert ‘Rabbit’ Kekai at this year’s Old Timers’ Day gathering on Sunday, October 5.

Get tickets now, before they’re sold out!

For more information, please contact the California Surf Museum at 760-721-6876.

RSVP and Buffet Tickets
When: Sunday, October 5, 1-4 pm
Where: Oceanside Civic Center Library Community Rooms
330 N. Coast Hwy, Oceanside
Free admission
Luau-style buffet tickets:
$15 non-members, $12 members, $7 children 12 and under

Fire Mountain Reservoir

Well–it wasn’t pretty. The Oceanside City Council on October 2nd voted 3-2 against opening the park immediately. (Sanchez and Wood for, Kern, Chavez, and Feller against)
Bringing this item up at this point in time was simply a goodwill gesture on the part of Esther Sanchez , who is working with us to move the process along faster. As Deputy Mayor Chavez pointed out, the park is still part of the 2009/10 Park Plan and it remains on the books in section 5-12 of the Master Plan.

THIS IS NOT THE END, MY FRIENDS.
We knew from the beginning that this was going to take years, and we must forge allies in our efforts to make the park happen. We can only hope that the neighborhood doesn’t loose, because our city counsel refuses to back each other. Stay tuned!

For more on this meeting check the article in Thursday’s Union Tribune.

From Fire Mountain Resevoir Update, 2008/10/02 at 11:12 PM

Mayor Wood will be bringing the issue to preserve the El Salto Falls before the City Council this Wednesday, September 10th.  I called the City Clerk to see if they could pinpoint when the item will actually be discussed but because it’s being brought up as a Mayoral item, the Mayor could elect to bring it up at any time during the City Council meeting.  As a result, the City Clerk recommends that concerned residents arrive at the beginning of the City Council Meeting (5:00 p.m.).

El Salto Falls

The El Salto Falls is a sacred Indian site located on the Oceanside border with Carlsbad below Kohl’s Department Store.  You can see the falls if you go to the left of Kohl’s by their big sign and look over the fence.  There are four undeveloped acres next to the falls which are within the city of Oceanside.

McMillin, the developer of the Quarry Creek Shopping Center where Kohl’s and Wal-mart are located, originally said his plans for the shopping center would protect the falls and then he erected the huge wall that Kohl’s sits on right next to them.  Now he wants to put an RV parking lot on the Carlsbad side of the falls.  This area should be preserved as open space to tie into the area now preserved as part of the Sherman Property to the West.

We hope that if Oceanside elects to preserve its side of the property as a park, then Carlsbad might follow suit and elect to preserve their side of the property as well.

The Oceanside Parks and Recreation commissioners voted unanimously to preserve the El Salto Falls and sent a letter (copy attached) to the Mayor requesting he bring this issue before the City Council.  That will occur at this Wednesday’s City Council meeting as Item number 25 which reads:  “Request by Mayor Wood for a presentation by City staff and members of the Parks and Recreation Commission regarding preservation of the El Salto Water Falls and Quarry Creek, with possible direction to staff.”

You are urged to attend this meeting and voice your support for efforts to designate the four Oceanside acres as parkland with the aim of making it a City Park.  Your presence at the meeting is important for the Council Members to gauge public support for this proposal.  And if you have the time, please send an email to the city asking that Oceanside preserve the El Salto Falls and make the adjacent acreage a City Park.  You can address the city council at: council@ci.oceanside.ca.us.  You can also learn more about the efforts to preserve this open space as well as more eco-friendly activities of the Preserve Calavera group by visiting their website at:  http://www.preservecalavera.org .  Hope to see you and your friends at the City Council meeting this Wednesday.