CAMP PENDLETON: A military judge has granted prosecutors a delay in the case of a Marine accused of killing an unarmed captive during a battle in Fallujah, Iraq.
Ryan Weemer, a sergeant based at Camp Pendleton, is charged with murder and dereliction of duty for allegedly shooting to death a detainee in a house Nov. 9, 2004. Another member of his squad faces similar charges.
During a two-day pretrial hearing that concluded Wednesday at Camp Pendleton, the prosecution asked the judge – Lt. Col. Thomas Sanzi – to postpone Weemer's court-martial.
Sanzi agreed to have the trial pushed back to Jan. 12. In the meantime, he will consider the defense team's request to suppress self-incriminating statements that Weemer gave to investigators.
The defense also asked for a jury composed entirely of Marine officers. –R.R.
Judge may block payment
to ousted SEDC president
SAN DIEGO COURTS: A Superior Court judge on Monday will consider blocking a $100,350 severance payment to Carolyn Smith, the fired president of the Southeastern Economic Development Corp.
Smith was fired July 23 and stepped down from the nonprofit city redevelopment agency Sept. 24.
Citizen activist Ian Trowbridge filed suit challenging Smith's termination deal, and he is seeking an order against the check being cut pending the outcome of his lawsuit. He contends the severance was improperly approved in violation of the state's open meetings law.
SEDC board Chairman Cruz Gonzalez said yesterday that Smith's final severance check had not been cut.
The SEDC is in charge of guiding urban renewal projects in 7.2 square miles east of downtown San Diego. An outside city audit found compensation practices at the agency that amounted to fraud. Smith has denied wrongdoing. –H.G.
Information available at
public safety career expo
EL CAJON: Learn what it takes to become a firefighter, police officer or dispatcher at a fire safety and career expo to be held tomorrow in El Cajon.
The expo will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 100 E. Lexington Ave. in El Cajon. Representatives from several local colleges, along with firefighters and police officers, will be available to talk about careers in firefighting and law enforcement.
More than 40 health and safety organizations will offer information about disaster preparedness. A kids' zone will offer a Home Depot workshop for children, an inflatable fire safety house, and KC the Safety Robot.
For more information, go to www.elcajonfire.com. –A.K.
Student, 9, said to have
highly contagious disease
EL CAJON: A 9-year-old student at Fletcher Hills Elementary School has been diagnosed with whooping cough, county health officials said yesterday.
The student has been immunized against the disease, which is highly contagious and causes severe coughing.
School officials, working closely with the county Health and Human Services Agency, notified parents Wednesday by letter and e-mail about the students'possible exposure to the disease.
Whooping cough usually starts with flulike symptoms, such as a runny nose, sneezing, fever and a mild cough.
Symptoms can last up to two weeks and may be followed first by severe coughing fits and then vomiting, officials said.
Whooping cough can occur at any age, but infants and young children are at the highest risk of life-threatening complications, such as pneumonia and brain damage. –A.M.
Maric College is now
named Kaplan College
Kaplan Higher Education has renamed all 11 of its Maric College campuses Kaplan College, including its San Diego and Vista campuses.
That means more than 6,500 California college students will have a new name on their diplomas.
The renaming is part of a rebranding strategy meant to recognize that theschools are part of New York-based Kaplan, Inc.
Kaplan College is part of the company's Kaplan Higher Education, which serves 80,000 students at more than 70 schools across the United States and Europe.
The other nine renamed campuses are in Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, Fresno, Bakersfield, North Hollywood, Panorama City, Riverside and Palm Springs.
The campuses offer programs for associate's degrees, diplomas and certificates.
Areas of study include legal studies, nursing, information technology, criminal justice and allied health. –S.S.
Wildfire preparedness
fair is set for tomorrow
POWAY: Residents can learn how to make fire-safe changes to their homes at a wildfire preparedness fair tomorrow.
The event, organized by the county Office of Emergency Services and local fire agencies, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Dixieline ProBuild store on Poway Road near Community Road.
Safety tips related to brush management, fire codes, roofing and building products will be provided by manufacturers, Cal Fire and county officials. –P.R.
Coolidge Trust grants
big endowment to UCSD
LA JOLLA: The University of California San Diego has received an endowment of more than $500,000 to support learning opportunities for seniors.
The Marcella Coolidge Trust awarded the money to the university extension's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, a continuing education program aimed at people over 50.
The money will be used to support lecture programs and capital improvements, Stanley Faer, the institute's president, said in a statement.
Marcella Coolidge was the daughter of artist C.M. Coolidge, best-known for painting “Dogs Playing Poker.” She died in November. –A.C.
Planning panel backs
for-sale condos at Lodge
CORONADO: Planning commissioners have recommended that the City Council approve up to 17 for-sale, limited-term-occupancy condominiums at the 1906 Lodge at Coronado Beach.
The condos are part of a 102-year-old boarding house, formerly Trant Manor, that is being restored. The condos are being built around the main lodge, a few blocks from the Hotel del Coronado.
The Planning Commission's approval of the project's tentative subdivision map last week could go before the City Council on Oct. 21.
The 1906 Lodge, at 1060 Adella Ave., will have six rooms in the main building and 11 rooms in an L-shaped cluster of two-story bungalows behind it. Work on the project began in late 2004.
The condos will be sold individually, but owners may not occupy the rooms for more than 90 days per year, 25 consecutively. When not occupied by owners, the rooms will be available to guests. Hotel tax will be paid, even if occupied by the owners.
On Sept. 16, the City Council approved 85 new for-sale condos at the Hotel del Coronado. The hotel's first for-sale condos, 35 luxury-built beachfront cottages and villas, were approved in 2006.
At least one letter was submitted objecting to the sale of the condos because the area is in a residential zone. –J.Z.
Staff writers Rick Rogers, Helen Gao, Anne Krueger, Angelica Martinez, Sherry Saavedra, Pauline Repard, Alexa Capeloto and Janine Zúñiga contributed to this report.
