All posts tagged "San Diego"

SAN DIEGO — A new report from researchers at San Diego State University, citing "untreated sewage, industrial waste, and urban run-off due to inadequate infrastructure and urbanization," calls the Tijuana River "a public health crisis" that imperils the good health of a wide range of people who live, recreate and work near the polluted waterway, particularly when wet weather causes floods to spread. In a white paper that is not itself peer-reviewed research, authors synthesize the multiple studies that have documented pollution over the years, pausing on a recent paper documenting that the thr......

SAN DIEGO — A recently censured San Diego Superior Court judge who was accused earlier this month of making "racist and insensitive comments" both in his courtroom and in a private meeting with two chief public defenders has denied those allegations, writing in a court filing that some of his comments were taken out of context and others were simply not true. The denials were part of a filing in which Judge Howard Shore declined to recuse himself from hearing a motion in a homicide case. A deputy public defender had sought to disqualify Shore from the case, citing both his alleged "dishonesty ......

Blue whales will migrate up the West Coast this summer, giving San Diegans the chance to see these massive and graceful animals in local waters. Known as the largest animals in the world, blue whales are members of the baleen whale family. Instead of teeth, they have bristly keratin plates called baleen in their mouths that filter their food from sea water. What makes blue whales unique?Blue whales are the largest mammal alive and are likely the largest to have ever existed on Earth. They can grow more than 90 feet long and weigh up to approximately 300,000 pounds. To put that in context, one ......

The San Diego City Council decided Monday to take SeaWorld to court in hopes of recouping nearly $10 million in back rent that the city says the marine park failed to pay during the height of the pandemic. A lawsuit has yet to be filed, and it's unclear how long it will be before the city initiates litigation, but City Attorney Mara W. Elliott's office announced late Monday that the council in closed session had given it authorization to pursue litigation against the theme park. The vote was 8-0, with Councilwoman Vivian Moreno absent. Because the suit has not yet been formally filed, it's unk......

A pair of small earthquakes occurred one second apart late Sunday on different fault systems south of the U.S.-Mexico border, producing light shaking in areas of San Diego County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. "That's absolutely crazy," said Tom Rockwell, a seismologist at San Diego State University. "It's very random that quakes on separate faults happen at about the same time." The first quake was a 3.4 temblor that hit at 5:13 p.m. about 5 miles west-southwest of Tecate, Mexico, and 15 miles west-southwest of Campo. It was immediately followed by a 3.6 quake about 23 miles west-s......

SAN DIEGO — Nearly eight minutes into a meeting last year, the prosecutor broke the news to an 18-year-old woman who reported that multiple men had raped her at a College Area house party: There would be no criminal charges. She started to sob. The young woman had gone to police the day after the October 2021 incident, which happened when she was 17 and a high school senior. She’d undergone an invasive sexual assault exam. She had worked with investigators, granted their request to make recorded phone calls with San Diego State University football players who’d emerged as potential suspects. A......