Sledgehammer-Wielding Man Shot By Police

I bet a lot of people can relate to this poor guy. The crappy economy really has a lot of people down and out and I bet many people would like to take a sledghammer and destroy a few things to vent.

Via Mercury News:

San Diego police have shot and wounded a man they say appeared distraught over financial problems and threw a sledgehammer at officers.

A man in his 40s was shot in the chest and leg on Sunday at his home in the Encanto area but Capt. Jim Collins says his wounds aren’t life-threatening. His name wasn’t released.

Collins says the man’s wife reported that he’d had trouble sleeping and woke her up Sunday morning to say the couple and their two young children were losing everything.

Collins says the man got a sledgehammer smashed the windows of a tow truck and two other cars in the driveway.

Collins says the man also had several knives. He says arriving officers confronted the man and fired when he threw the hammer and a knife at them.

Floatopia in San Diego Might Be Killed!

This agression will not stand! Hell no! I can’t believe they are possibly going to ban offshore drinking and effectively kill the wonderful gathering of drunks known as Floatopia! Well… actually I can. The city council is full of idiots.

Via Associated Press:

San Diego’s City Council may let the air out of so-called "floatopia" parties where people booze it up on inner tubes offshore.

The council meets this afternoon to consider closing a loophole in the city’s ban on the beach use of alcohol.

Officials say people have been skirting the law by gathering by the thousands to party in Mission Bay on surfboards, inner tubes and other flotation devices.

Authorities say partygoers have left trash in the water and lifeguards have had to make dozens of rescuers.

The City Council will consider banning alcohol use offshore except for people on boats.

Navy Officer Dies in Fall at Maritime Museum

Wow… what a loss. Such a sad way to die for such a great person who has given so much to this country.

A former U.S. Navy officer fell to his death from the mast of one of the world’s oldest working ships at San Diego’s Maritime Museum on Sunday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Museum volunteer Gregory Vance Gushaw, 68, hit his head as he plunged through a rope ladder on 1863 sailing vessel Star of India — and was pulled unconscious from the water by colleagues.

He was pronounced dead at 10:55 a.m., officials said, 40 minutes after he fell from a yard on the 140ft forward mast.

Gushaw was about 50ft up when he fell, while training with fellow crew members. He was wearing a safety harness and was familiar with the training exercise, Maritime Museum President and CEO Ray Ashley said.

It is unclear whether the harness failed or if Gushaw was not using it.

The cause of death was still unknown, with police investigating claims he suffered a medical episode before falling.

Ashley said Gushaw was a longtime volunteer, tour guide and member of the museum’s board of trustees.

“We are all one big family," said Ashley, describing his friend as a good-natured, accomplished man.

Iron-hulled historic attraction Star of India is the world’s oldest ship that still sails regularly.

Swedish Tourist Vanished Durign Jog in Escondido

Damn. Can’t even go on a freaking jog without being scared these days. What is this world coming to?

San Diego County authorities are searching for a Swedish tourist who vanished last week while jogging in a rural area near Escondido.

Dogs trained to find human remains will be used in Monday’s hunt for 33-year-old Reza Lavasani Dana.

A friend reported Dana missing on Thursday after losing track of Dana during a mile-long (1,600-meter) jog.

Dozens of people aided by search dogs scoured the area of Meadow Lake Country Club on Friday and Saturday.

Authorities say Dana had been in the U.S. about a week before he vanished and was not familiar with the Escondido area.

Oh Noes! It’s the Skateboard Bandit!

Damn street thugs! First, the geezer bandit, then the floppy hat bandit, now… this punk. This guy actually sounds dangerous though. What is happening to our city?

Via Tony Perry at Los Angeles Times:

First it was the aging Geezer Bandit (still at large). Then the Floppy Hat Bandit (a female suspect now in custody).

And now, a skateboard bandit — San Diego’s string of idiosyncratic bank heists continues.

The latest is the fellow who flashed a gun Monday at a Comerica Bank teller, stuffed the money in his backpack and left with his skateboard.

His face was covered by a green paisley-colored bandanna. His beanie, sweatshirt, gloves and pants were black. So, too, was his semiautomatic pistol.

San Diego police and the FBI are asking for the public’s help in tracking him down.

Port of San Diego Fires Corrput Lobbyist

It’s good to see the local government actually taking action against these crooked employees.

Via Tony Barboza at The Los Angeles Times:

The head of the port agency said Susan McCabe, who was trying to secure the vote of Coastal Commission members for a development project on the city’s waterfront, is being replaced.

A lobbyist who boasted in e-mails about "spoon feeding" a California coastal commissioner while attempting to secure his vote on a controversial project has been fired by the Port of San Diego.

In a letter to Coastal Commission members Friday, Robert "Dukie" Valderrama, chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners, wrote that he was "appalled" by what the port’s hired lobbyist, Susan McCabe, said in her e-mails. He said she was no longer under contract and was being replaced.

"In her zeal to be a winning advocate, she acted in poor taste, something that the Port of San Diego does not condone," Valderrama wrote. "For that, we are deeply sorry."

The apology was made after The Times reported on e-mails between McCabe and port officials detailing efforts to convince Commissioner Patrick Kruer to vote in favor of the multimillion-dollar project to revamp the downtown San Diego waterfront, a proposal ultimately rejected by the divided panel.

Be sure to read the rest of the article.

San Diego County Fair Was a Big Hit!

I went to the fair and absolutely loved it! Sure… the weather sucked and it was massively overcrowded, but what fun would a fair be if it wasn’t???

Via the San Diego News Network:

The San Diego County Fair set attendance records during its 22-day run that ended Monday, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. More than 1.3 million people visited the annual fair.

The U-T also reported what will happen to the fair’s leftover fatty foods, including a 660-pound butter sculpture.

Some of the leftover food will be sold again when the Del Mar races kick off this month; other food has to be disposed; and many of the vendors are hitting the road for the next stop on the carnival circuit.

(FYI, the butter sculpture is fungus-infested, the U-T reports, and it will be donated to UCSD’s biochem department to be turned into biofuel.)

Free Lunch Program in San Diego is Thriving

I’m sure conservatives aren’t too happy about this, but those of us who actually care about children love it! Yes… spending tax payer money on giving free lunches to children is a damn good use of our money.

Via KPBS:

The number of California children getting free summer lunches through a federal program from the Department of Agriculture has dropped in recent years. San Diego, however, is bucking that trend.

Last year the San Diego Unified School District’s free summer lunch program served 250,000 meals. That’s up from 17,000 when the program started in 2004.

Last week the school district and parks department started serving free lunch at more than 30 schools and parks. Between now and August 27th, lunch will be served Monday through Friday to any child 2 to 18 years old at more than 50 locations.

More than 77,000 San Diego public school students qualify for free or reduced price lunch during the school year. The summer lunch program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is aimed at making sure kids that rely on those meals during the school year can still get a nutritious lunch over the summer.

According to Joanne Tucker, who runs the summer lunch program for the school district, participation has often dropped in areas where school districts have reduced summer school programs or cut them all together.

She attributes San Diego’s success to the school district’s partnerships with the parks department and other organizations.

“We have similar goals and we all are working together toward the same thing and that’s offering good, nutritious, healthy food to these kids when it’s not available at their schools,” she said.

Twenty-three of the more than 50 lunch locations are in city parks. Last year each park hosted a barbecue where parents could eat with their kids for $2 per adult. The barbecues were so popular that this summer each park is adding a Mexican fiesta day.

Marilyn Stern runs these Summer Fun Cafés for the Parks and Recreation Department.

“We’re trying to send two messages very loud and clear – nutrition, healthy eating and physical activity. So, at each of the special events we’re offering games like limbo, obstacle courses,” she said.

On special event days families can also take home free produce donated by the San Diego Food Bank and Feed America San Diego.

Information about lunch times and locations are posted on the school district and parks department websites.

San Diego Might Get a New Library

Let’s hope the city council approves this project. Our current library is just pathetic and we could really use an upgrade.

Via KPBS:

San Diego City Council will make what could be an historic decision Monday — they’ll vote on whether to go ahead with a new downtown library. Civic leaders have been talking about replacing the city’s central library for 30 years.

The current building is more then 50 years old. Library director Deborah Barrow says it’s too small and isn’t able to serve the needs of the diverse community that has grown around it in the past five decades.

Barrow says now more then ever, San Diego is relying on its libraries.

“In fiscal year 2009 San Diego public library reached its highest use ever in our 128 year history,” Barrows said.

The new library would cost $185 million and is a public-private venture. About $120 million would come from taxpayers, the other $60 million from private donations. So far, $30 million has been raised in the private sector.

Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan’s Hope

Oh man, I wish I could enter this, but I am no where near nerdy enough to win. I can’t wait to see who wins and watch the movie. Comic Con is going to be amazing.

Via Deb’s Manga Blog:

Are you putting the finishing touches on your awesome costume for San Diego Comic-Con in July? Put down your glue-gun for a sec and take a moment to contact the folks putting together the Comic-Con documentary with director Morgan Spurlock, producer Thomas Tull, comic book icon Stan Lee, writer/producer Joss Whedon, and film guru Harry Knowles (Ain’t It Cool News) — they want to hear from you, and maybe include you in their film.

If the name Morgan Spurlock sounds slightly familiar, it should — Spurlock was the director of the critically acclaimed documentary Super-Size Me and the FX Network series 30 Days.  Now, he’s setting his sights on documenting the wild and wonderful world of San Diego Comic-Con, in Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan’s Hope, a documentary starring the fans, comics creators and yes, the cosplayers who help make this event the must-see/must-do event on the U.S. comics scene calendar.