L in C wrote on Aug 11, 2006 12:10 AM:Oceanside your not going to be another Carlsbad no matter how hard you try.

Rip wrote on Aug 11, 2006 3:59 AM:This Malkin deal is a over priced loser. (A time share hotel) Our city council has betrayed the voters. Shame on them!

Johnny wrote on Aug 11, 2006 4:35 AM:Mayor Wood, and council decision to tax Oceanside residents to pay for the Malkin hotel. Is taxation without Voter approval. $27 million of tax payers money going to a private company. Let the voters decide on this hotel.

Observer wrote on Aug 11, 2006 7:27 AM:Can anyone tell me why we taxpayers have to pay so developers can make a bigger profit??? Why can't a developer assume all costs and then reap all the profits. Otherwise, why don't they share the profit with the taxpayers in an equal percentage. Or, repay the money with interest to the taxpayers. I know if I want to open a business that's what I'd have to do. No taxpayer money for the little guy.

toodles wrote on Aug 11, 2006 7:33 AM:I feel sorry for the families who shell out thousands of dollars to vacation in O'side. They are gonna get a rude awakening when they step onto the beach and nearby areas with all the thugs around.

Cost of doing business! wrote on Aug 11, 2006 7:36 AM:Oceansie is becoming a better place. This is news fluff! The City government is doing a great job!

Much a do about nothing! wrote on Aug 11, 2006 7:38 AM:This is a good project and will be fine. The people writing are a group that get online here and always write that they hate the city council or their mothers or something foolish like that! Oceanside is fine and has never been better! The sky isn't falling! We are ok in Oceanside!

response to L in Carlsbad! wrote on Aug 11, 2006 7:41 AM:We aren't trying to be a Carlsbad. Carlsbad is a nice city but it will never be an Oceanside. Carlsbad has Legoland. I am grown man, I want modern city not an amuzement park that Carlsbad has become! Oceanside is making more progress the last few years than ever before. It isn't a competition! Oceanside is just starting look and act more like a modern metro area!

Response to RIP! wrote on Aug 11, 2006 7:42 AM:People like you and the doomsday attitude are who keep Oceanside from improving. Especially when you sit on the side lines and complain with no solution! Oceanside is doing fine!

My friend Johnny! wrote on Aug 11, 2006 7:46 AM:If the city waited for the voters to get off thier butss and do something we would continue to remain in a holding pattern doing nothing! Further if many of these so called voters are represented by this blog of end of the world attitude writers here, we are in trouble. No wonder the city council doesn't put it to vote. We would just stall and get no where! We voted the city council in, let's allow them to do their jobs. Oceanside has never seen such progress in years. We are living in a great time and Oceanside is on the move up!

Concerned wrote on Aug 11, 2006 8:36 AM:This reeks of a sell out. What happened to the charm of a California sea side community? Sure, you can degrade O'side, but it has always had a personality. Some of you won't get this.

Randy wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:02 AM:Now I feel guilty for all the flak I gave Terry Johnson, Betty Harding and Carol McCauley over the Manchester subsidy!

here we go again wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:06 AM:Never a dull moment in Oceanside.....

MALKIN wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:12 AM:MALKIN...MAKIN...Both broke promises, both lied, both want another chance. Can we really tell the difference? A downtown tax? So the residents need to avoid the beach, restuarants, parking and shopping in downtown unless they really wanna pay for it! Wasn't this OUR CITY once?

Radman wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:19 AM:Wouldn't the Manchester hotel be about finished now? Why is this hotel better then what Manchester proposed? To L in C in Carlsbad, you wish you had a pier and harbor don't you. 10 years from now Carlsbad will be south Oceanside.

Big Ed wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:24 AM:Can you imagine the shock of the tourist staying at this so called resort for the first time? With the local assortment of drug dealers, routy youth and prostitutes roaming the streets, I can't believe these folks would return a second time. What I bet you folks will see at this resort is gambling interest moving into the redevelopment zone. Do you think the city ocuncil would turn down the gambling interest money? Ha....no-way!

response to to Toodles! wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:28 AM:What would you know about Thugs! You are in the twilight zone. every city has them. It happens every where. Except that is all you focus on. When was the last time you were accosted? Gimme a break! Oceanside is a fine City and crime is down lower than it has ever been. If we don't improve the city then we won't curb that so-called thug problem of yours!

I would love to see the coast of Oceanside look like the this project! wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:29 AM:Thank goodness for those in charge of doing it! Keep up the great work!

J in O wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:54 AM:Have we seen a rendering from ground level? No way, because the only way to see the ocean after this is built will be from a plane, just like the renderings. They should be honest and show us what it really looks like from the ground.

Osider wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:57 AM:Oh yeah, lets shut down the airport too so it wont be so easy to get here. DUH....we need the airport so tourist can get here simply. Lets not forget, Oceanside was here long before Carlsbad was!

Jimmy the III wrote on Aug 11, 2006 10:08 AM:This project although painfully expensive will economically in the long run help the city. Notice I said the long run and not immdiately, so when a politician talks about the TOT (bed tax) rolling in they are talking about TOT in about 8 to 10 years from the opening date. However there is a break even point and payback point and if one calculates out that point and which date that will be, if at full occupancy, which I doubt will be maintained, in will fall within that range. So realistically we must see the residuals in other downtown and community spending to see tax and other revenue benefits if that infrastructure is in place. However we have a problem summer weather is only for about 6 months a year, we have May Gray and June gloom and that sometimes lasts through mid July and so we must say from about November through June we must develop other attractions downtown and I've seen the council do little of this brainstorming and setting aside for attractions. We must start thinking of somethig spectacular and unique because a pier, beach, mission and harbor are minimal attractions. Otherwise the resorts will be half full. This will extend the payback to about 15 to 20 years before the full realitization of return. Unless we have forward looking ameanities like for a start cityewide Free WIFI as a begining of being business friendly. Since over 50% of the clientele of resorts is for business users. Have we surveyed the business users needs and necessities and prepared our infrastructure for them? NO we haven't, hell even then airport stuies from Chavez or wood-sanchez sides either have cover thir needs. We are sure backwards. My Council you better play catch up. Listen to your commissions and committees, they've been asking you to thnik ahead. If you don't white elephants will roam the streets of Oceanside.

To L in C wrote on Aug 11, 2006 10:18 AM:Oceanside is not going to be like Carlsbad is exactly right, we already have a better pier, better harbor (used by Carlsbad residents) better beach (one of the best in San Diego County), a better oceanfront ampitheater. Lets hope we dont get to be like Carlsbad

MAD Joaquin wrote on Aug 11, 2006 10:19 AM: Let's see if I've got this right. All the money generated by the hotel for the next 15 years will go to pay a public subsidy to the developer that has balooned from $10 Million to almost $30 Million. Does anyone believe that's all that will be required? This was a bait and switch deal from the beginning. The only immediate winner is SDMalkin, the developer.

Jon B. wrote on Aug 11, 2006 10:22 AM:Thanks again to all the crazy housewives who stopped the original Manchester Project. Mcvey is still a way off-base "developer cheerleader". Bottom line is even if we have to pay 27 million to save OUR public streets it is money well spent. Love the way she tries to blame the failure of Manchester's idiotic project. Just remember, it was the Coastal Commission doing its job that shot Manchester down.

Jacked wrote on Aug 11, 2006 10:22 AM:I love my city of O'side but I never thought the hotel was a good idea. Not because I don't want Oceanside to flourish. It's because I feel tourist will get jacked especially if they are walking the pier late at night or if they venture too far from the hotel. We already don't have adequate police presence and to add more people coming to the city, will make robbing easier for these thugs.

SamIam wrote on Aug 11, 2006 10:31 AM:20 million for just the parking garage, wow! Makes the 20 million for the whole Encinitas library look like a good deal!

Flip Flop wrote on Aug 11, 2006 10:38 AM:Sanchez says "We wish we didn't have to pay a subsidy but we have to be realistic." This is the same person who campaigned that we would pay no subsidy to a hotel developer. Same goes for Mackin. We paid 2.2 million to get out of a legal fight with Manchester because he wanted a subsidy of 15 million. Now were on the hook to Malkin for 27 million. This is a better deal? Another reason to recall Sanchez and to not re elect Mackin.

To L in C wrote on Aug 11, 2006 10:53 AM:Why would you think Oceanside is trying to be another Carlsbad. What is so great about Carlsbad? You don't have a harbor, you don't have a pier and residents from Carlsbad come to enjoy the beaches in Oceanside. Do we have some neighborhoods that I wouldn't go into, yes, but then so does Carlsbad and everywhere else. I have been here for 16 years and am very proud to call Oceanside my home.

O'side grad wrote on Aug 11, 2006 11:38 AM:I'm sorry I don't live in Oceanside any more, but I visit every year and stay at the condos at the harbor. I feel safe walking to the pier at night and around the harbor. What is that guy talking about? Oceanside has turned into a wonderful place considering what it what like when I was growing up. I'm moving back home in less than two years, I can't wait!

Pirate wrote on Aug 11, 2006 11:45 AM:Even though Manchester was demonized, it wasn't a bad deal. We would have had a much more elegant hotel with a much lower cost to the city. Plus, it would have been built by now.

One for One wrote on Aug 11, 2006 11:58 AM:Now, if Oceanside would only remove one ghetto home for every new luxary hotel room built, this city might become a nicer place to live.

Not Carlsbad? wrote on Aug 11, 2006 12:01 PM:I should hope not...O'side may have drug dealers, but Carlsbad has its own drug issues...like the countless old fuddyduddies who can only continue on in life with their daily fix of Viagra, Gingo, and Malox.

$oside wrote on Aug 11, 2006 12:27 PM:Jimmy the III is right. Why would someone come to oceanside at $271 a night? I can get downtown SD for that. Plus, we already have a lot of rooms in oside, what are their occupancy rates? Oside is looking to the hotel as a savior, it won't be. Tourist areas begin with people coming for something, THEN you build the hotels. You dont build a hotel expect people to show up. This hotel is just going to provide more money for CARLSBAD. They may spend the night here but Legoland, Outlet malls, downtown Carlsbad is where their money will be spent. Build some attractions AND most importantly develop an alternative site for the young marines. They are here all year and are looking for beer and loose women. Thats fine, hell they deserve it. But thats not what tourists are looking for and that doesn't make for a nice downtown. $30 Million would have been better spent on a Vandergrift party area to have the "other element" preoccupied elsewhere.

to Flip Flop wrote on Aug 11, 2006 12:34 PM:The project failed because it flagrantly ignored established public policy regarding beach access. Rather then enrich a developer the Commission determined that giving away public recreation areas (amphitheater and rec center) and cutting off access to two public streets. REaders just don't get it, MANCHESTER DIED BECAUSE OF COASTAL COMMISSION. Jacked is really funny, not wanting a hotel so that tourists dont get victimized. NEW FLASH: thousands of tourists come here already. Not a problem. Thanks for caring though Jacked.

To L in C wrote on Aug 11, 2006 12:41 PM:I for one am sooooo sick of listening to Carlsbad residents think they are better than everyone else. They won't open roads because they are worried that Oseanside and Vista residents will foul their streets!!! Get a life! Have you every walked down C.V.D west of the 5? If you did you would encounter all the drunks and homeless derilects on the street and the ones that wander the beach. Or how about the shanty homes west of the 5 where 3 and 4 immigant families live and hang out at the circle k and other liqour stores. Before you stick your nose in the air and put down our city, you should take a good long look at your own before you share your snobby attitude on the internet or better yet, move to Del Mar!

O'side Homeowner wrote on Aug 11, 2006 12:58 PM:To L in C, you're right. You too, Pirate. Why are property values in O'side so much lower overall than those in C'bad? Will this resort really narrow that substantial gap?

Dog wrote on Aug 11, 2006 1:06 PM:WOW 72 time share rooms planned for the Oceanside Hotel. That proves the whole thing is a scam. City council sold out a Hotel for a time share scam. Those 72 rooms will turn into 336 time shares. Leaving Oceanside with rooms nobody can afford. Except for Shari turncoat Mackin, and your money my money Chavez and Company.

Harry wrote on Aug 11, 2006 1:24 PM:I am excited for Oceanside; it is a beautiful seaside town and it keeps getting better and better. You folks have a lot to be proud of. I don't understand why some need to knock and run down their town. It is blessed with beaches and climate and the new renovations are the frosting on the cake. Be proud and take care of your town, it is a jewel.

To One for One wrote on Aug 11, 2006 1:26 PM:Oceanside is a very nice place to live. That is why I choose to live here. Every city has "ghetto homes" not just Oceanside. I think the good things about this city far outweigh the not so good things. Rather than complain about the situation, be apart of the solution. And if you don't live in Oceanside, then you shouldn't say anything at all.

greyboomer wrote on Aug 11, 2006 2:19 PM:I've been in Oside 7 years just south of the pier--love the place, great beaches, find it safe walking about--Oside has a LOT more real beach community to offer than Carlsbad. I just hope the final product on the beachfront is worthy of sitting on one of the best beach locations in the world.

O'side Res wrote on Aug 11, 2006 2:24 PM:I miss the Playgirl.

to $oside wrote on Aug 11, 2006 2:36 PM:Yeah, I guess your the expert, the developers should have asked you first. Do you realize how full san diego hotels are? do you realize the demand for rooms in oside? how do you think the Motel 6 next door to the old Wally Johnson gets 80 bucks a night? Keep your pie hole flapping genius, your put on a good show.

Thomas wrote on Aug 11, 2006 2:38 PM:The Oceanside City council is going to put the city of Oceanside in financial peril for a time share project. Time to vote the bums out of office.

lapis 02 wrote on Aug 11, 2006 3:08 PM:Oceanside as well as Carlsbad needs accommodation in the middle, what choice does the traveller have in between a mediocre Holiday Inn and a wornout Four Seasons, oh don't forget the limited service facilities such as the Quality Suites, Best Western,Courtyard by Marriott and the Residence Inn. Oceanside is finally recovering(slowly) from the tarnished reputation and could become a "real" destination. I think the business community would embrace an viable option for meetings and incentivce trips to an area that is fresh and alive with history. The hotel sales and marketing departmnent will not only market the the hotel itself, but the city too! If I was the developer I would be more concerned about the city/community. What is the city/community going to do for me? what about the surrounding areas? What are you the community going to do to clean it up? You can put a beautiful hotel in anywhere but if the location is is not condusive to evening strolls, entertainment, your guests will not return and the word will get out. I feel for the poor sucker that will have to market that hotel and the city of o'side, is the bus traveler going to long for the memories of their visit to o'side where they enjoyed views of the ocean and the seedy liquor stores?

O'side Homeowner wrote on Aug 11, 2006 3:14 PM:Dang! How DOES the Motel 6 get $80/night? This wouldn't have anything to do with those very friendly ladies who come out at night...?

Chuckles wrote on Aug 11, 2006 3:51 PM:Instead of giving away $27 million, let's just bury $5 million in a hole, cover it up, and keep the remaining $22 million for ourselves!!! By doing that, we'd already be $22 million ahead of where we'll be once the hotel project is completed!!!

Mixed feelings wrote on Aug 11, 2006 4:05 PM:I drove downtown O'side for the first time in a couple of years yesterday. I found it sad and interesting. I missed all the cute old houses that gave O'side character, didn't care much for the new "row houses". There isn't much of the old view left, all blocked with multi-storied houses. On the other hand, it is new and updated. I think maybe our city council should head to Waikiki,see what they have done, beaches are groomed daily, new flowers hung on the light poles a couple of times a week, there is plenty of shopping and restraunts, nice clubs to go dancing. Seems to me like that is where Oceanside is heading. If that is where we are going, they should find someone to do sunset sailboat cruises off the beach, you need some good evening entertainment,(like Don Hoe) they need to fix up the old historic houses and get a sightseeing tour going. I personally miss the beach drive that used to be there and the charming cottage homes, but if this is what you have decided to do to our seaside community, you better do it all the way, or you have ruined it for naught. Anyone seen "Dog, the Bounty Hunter". You have thugs everywhere, they won't stop our tourists.

Money Wise, Pound Foolish wrote on Aug 11, 2006 6:42 PM:Let's face it..by the time the first spadeful is turned for the hotel, the cost will have increased tenfold...and the council members will continue to say they support the resort, despite the rising costs. Smells like another Manchester in the works.

Robert wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:04 PM:In the seventies, the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego was nothing but a red light district filled with bars, peep shows, dirty book stores and massage parlors. Thanks to visionary men like Pete Wilson and Roger Hedgecock it's now a great place to spend an evening. The drug dealers and prostitutes are gone. The same will happen in Oceanside. When the resorts are built and better businesses are attracted, the bad elements will move on. Work has to start somewhere and the development happening now will be a boon the the city.

oside resident wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:47 PM:It seems to me that the city is trying to improve things. Who knows if this is the best deal. But new development and remodeling has a way of catching on. Anybody remember how the shopping center across the freeway from the Carlsbad mall used to be...Now you cant even get a parking space. Now I know that there are people that would hate that to become downtown Oside. How many of us actually do day to day shopping downtown. Unless you live in the area...probably not many. But would making our city a destination spot be so bad? we should be focusing on getting our council members to get us some attractions to go along with this project. A few more golf courses would be nice. Goat Hill doesnt quite cut it. But then the city owns that land...maybe they could encourage then to fix it up.

OCG wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:50 PM:The city council doesn't want to know what the voters want! They do what they want... they'll all end up like former mayor Johnson too. I've lived in southern cal all my life,Oside 18 years. I liked it the way it was.Why do politicians have to "fix" everything? I also work in a hotel. Hotels are nothing but low income jobs! Many of my co-workers are receiving public assistance.

Look at the big picture wrote on Aug 12, 2006 5:44 AM:Robert is exactly right. Take a look at San Diego's Gaslamp. The Gaslamp had MANY more crime problems, transients, drug dealers/users etc. than Oceanside ever thought of having. Fortunately SD officials then, and OC officials now, have ignored the narrow-minded and uninformed views of people who claim to love this city and want to see it prosper. As an Oceanside native, and law enforcement officer, Oceanside is on its' way to surpassing Carlsbad. For all of the armchair critics, contact Oceanside's Redevelopment office and take a look at the long term plans for this great beach city. Many great projects have already broken ground and there are many more to come. It's exciting!! For all the complainers, unless you are part of the ongoing process, you have no right to judge. GO OCEANSIDE!!!

O'side Homeowner wrote on Aug 12, 2006 7:49 AM:To Mixed Feelings, not a bad idea, except that Oceanside could never be anything like Waikiki (and I'm sure many are saying Amen to that!). For many reasons, but here's just one: Waikiki is covered with high rise hotels. Oceanside has an aversion to anything over two or three stories near the beach. Those high rise hotels in Waikiki house HUGE numbers of tourists, YEAR ROUND (Oceanside has a sizeable "off" season, as explained in Jimmy III's post), all of whom pay the big bucks which support those well groomed beaches, lovely floral decorations and charming night life. ONE small, seasonal resort, however lovely, can't support that. Too bad, because all those things you mentioned would be great.

RIP's response to rip wrote on Aug 12, 2006 4:00 PM:It sounds like you are writting a Reggae song, "Don't worry -Everythings gonna be alright!" Your not living in Oceanside your living in a fantasy land. Beware and prepare our property taxes going up.

$oside response "to $oside" wrote on Aug 14, 2006 10:41 AM:Since your the genius, show me the demand rates. The city only has 1 & 2 star hotels. How come Marriot, Hyatt, etc are clammoring to get here? Clearly the market doesn't look to oceanside. Why does the city have to hand out so much money to a developer if there is so much money to be made? Your great at throwing rocks now back it up with some info and suggestions genius.

Mixed Feelings wrote on Aug 14, 2006 2:02 PM:Guess we need to "think outside the box", I think you build higher as you get further away from the beach, 4 or 5 stories at Ditmar, with our hills, still provides a georgous view! The bigger point I was making was that we need some reason for a tourist to come here, cute little stores in a line down 101, boring, a movie theater, while necessary, won't bring anyone to town. We need the type of tourist business that give people something to do, and we need them to market their services. I am talking about 1/2day sailing, snorkeling, diving, hiking Palomar moutain, a Camp Pendelton bus tour, a daily shuttle from the resort to the casino's or the wine country, you have Legoland and Disneyland. The cost of these businesses and adverisement would be absorbed by the business, I am just concerned we won't chase these businesses down and get them here.

Vive la Oceanside wrote on Aug 28, 2006 6:27 PM:Here is the low-down from a downtown O'side resident: lived near the beach in O'side since 10 years. Now, we moved in a row house with four kids and that's the best of living up and down the coast let me tell you. Thugs and thieves? We walk at night 3 times a week - We must be really unaware of what's going on!! Do people know that folks from all over spend $2500 a week on vacation rentals in summer and $1500 in winter - who's worried about filing a hotel. Did you know that Carlsbad's Viggilucci just openend a restaurant in downtown O'side. Oh, my that must mean we are getting close!! This town is alive!!