Odds favor below-normal rainfall and above-average temperatures in Southern California this winter, according to a National Weather Service forecast released Monday. The overall average of 25 computer models indicate there is a 55 to 60 percent chance of neutral conditions this winter, meaning neither El Nino nor La Nina conditions, said Eric Boldt, an Oxnard-based […]
Posted inPolitics
Stadium Opponents Ratchet Up Campaign Against Measure C
Hours after Mayor Kevin Faulconer endorsed a downtown football stadium, opponents of the $1.8 billion project ratcheted up their campaign against the San Diego Chargers‘ ballot measure. Measure C opponents, including City Councilmen David Alvarez, Chris Cate and Scott Sherman, along with Councilman-elect Chris Ward and other civic leaders, criticized the initiative at an afternoon news […]
Posted inPolitics
GOP’s Gitsham on Trump-Clinton: ‘We Will Never Remember Who Lost’
Updated at 9:55 p.m. Oct. 4, 2016 With her parents looking on, Republican challenger Denise Gitsham made her pitch for Congress — while dodging hardballs on who should be president. The only child of Grace and Calvin Gitsham told a campaign event Monday night in Poway: “Come November (after the election), we will never remember […]
Posted inEducation
San Diego Unified Has New Plan to Expand Music Education
San Diego Unified School District officials Monday unveiled a plan to expand access to dance, music, theater and visual arts instruction for students. The proposal also includes the acquisition of musical instruments, collaborations with city arts institutions and allowing more students to attend arts magnet schools. The Strategic Arts Education Plan is a far cry […]
Posted inCrime
Miguel Villalobos, 38, Died of Shooting Despite Medics’ Efforts
Authorities Monday released the name of a 38-year-old man who was shot to death over the weekend in Otay Mesa West. Patrol officers responding to a report of a man lying in the street in the 900 block of Picador Boulevard found Miguel Angel Villalobos of Imperial Beach suffering from a gunshot wound to his […]
Posted inPolitics
Deportation Decline in San Diego Reflects Obama Policy Shift
As the debate over illegal immigration rages on during the presidential campaign’s homestretch, federal data provide a glimpse into how the Obama administration’s policy shift on deportations has played out in San Diego County. The number of immigrants detained — and subsequently deported — after being processed through San Diego County jails has dropped significantly […]
Posted inPolitics
Nathan Fletcher Accuses Donald Trump of Perpetuating ‘Stigma’ of PTSD
Marine Corps veteran and former San Diego mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher on Monday accused Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump of perpetuating a “stigma” in remarks about post traumatic stress syndrome. Speaking to a veterans group in Virginia, Trump answered a question about help for those suffering from PTSD by saying “you’re strong and you can handle […]
Posted inArts
SDSU Confronts Racial Inequality in ‘Blood at the Root’
By Pat Launer “Strange Fruit,” a chilling song written (as a poem) in the mid-1930s by Abel Meeropol and made famous by Billie Holiday, is about lynchings of African Americans in the South. “Blood at the Root,” whose title is a quote from the disquieting song, was inspired by real events in 2006 in Jena, […]
Posted inOpinion
Show Me the Money: Measures C and D Deserve an ‘F’
By Colleen O’Connor Why are Measures C and D doomed for failure? Not because of the two-thirds vote required for passage; that still awaits a state Supreme Court ruling. Nor because of the blowback against Charger’s owner Dean Spanos’ threats and shifting loyalties. The latest “No Fanos of Spanos” bumper sticker says it all. Or, […]
Posted inPolitics
Supervisors Consider Opposing Legal Marijuana Initiative Prop 64
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is scheduled Tuesday to consider a resolution opposing Proposition 64, which would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California. A letter prepared by Supervisor Dianne Jacob, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Sheriff Bill Gore said legalization would “bring a handful of problems” to San Diego County. “Perhaps […]
Posted inCrime
Man Arrested in Apparent Spring Valley Stabbing
A fight between two roommates in Spring Valley left both men injured and one of them under arrest Monday. Patrol personnel responding to a report of a disturbance and stabbing in the 8600 block of Valencia Street shortly after 6 a.m. arrived to find a bloodied man, later identified as John Borja, a resident of […]
Posted inSports
Padres Broadcaster Dick Enberg Retires
During a season in which one broadcaster – Dodgers legend Vin Scully – has been enshrined across baseball everywhere, another is dropping the mic as well: Padres commentator Dick Enberg. While Enberg hasn’t had nearly the same career path as Scully, he’s broadcasted for nearly 60 years across an impressive variety of sports, ranging from […]
Posted inCrime
Agents: 3,100 Pounds of Marijuana Found in Cucumber Truck
Federal agents staffing a commercial shipment lane at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry over the weekend uncovered a nearly 3,100-pound stash of marijuana hidden inside a big rig packed with cucumbers, authorities reported Monday. The truck pulled in to the border-crossing station about 10:30 a.m. Saturday with a declared cargo of produce, according to […]
Posted inCrime
Couple Suspected of Stealing $80K Worth of Jewelry in Encinitas
A man and woman suspected of stealing some $80,000 worth of jewelry during a pair of burglaries at a North County antique shop were behind bars Monday. Rob Scott, 53, was arrested in Nevada on Friday in connection with a restaurant burglary in Lake Tahoe and an outstanding warrant stemming from the break-in thefts at […]