Carlsbad is still a great place to work and live, despite a sagging economy that will cause the city to tighten its financial belt for the next year or so.

That's the message of the city's annual “State of the City” video, which was shown yesterday to a packed ballroom of about 500 people during lunch at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara.

The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce hosted the event.

The 25-minute video was mostly upbeat, extolling the city's accomplishments during the past year, such as the adoption of a city charter, and construction of a new fire station on Rancho Santa Fe Road and a Library Learning Center that will open tomorrow on Eureka Place.

It touched lightly on some disputes, such as the city's opposition to a proposal by NRG Energy to build a new power station on the south shore of Agua Hedionda Lagoon. The city prefers an inland location.

Mayor Bud Lewis spoke briefly before the video, praising his City Council colleagues, city staff and the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce for supporting the city charter drive.

He also used the occasion to tell a self-effacing joke.

He said he and his wife recently visited Alaska, where he ran into a man who said he was with his brother, a Carlsbad resident. The man said his brother thought he saw a “short, balding guy walking around who looks like his mayor.”

“So I took my hat off and introduced myself,” Lewis said, drawing laughs.

Residents can attend a showing of the video at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the city library's Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium, 1775 Dove Lane.

The video also may be viewed online at carlsbadca.gov, and on Time Warner Cable Channel 19 on Mondays at 8 p.m. and Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

---

Michael Burge: (760) 476-8230; michael.burge@uniontrib.com