Hazardous weather condition(s):Tonight: A chance of drizzle after 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 57. South wind between 5 and 10 mph. Friday: A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 65. South wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. West wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 66. West wind around 10 mph. Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph. Sunday: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 65. ... Continue reading →
A 1,000-acre wildfire prompted authorities to order evacuations Thursday in Shelter Valley, a sparsely populated town along Highway 78 in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Cal Fire officials said.The blaze was reported about 2:15 p.m. and was burning off Banner Grade on Cigarette Hill, east of Julian. Highway 78 and county routes S-2 and S-22 were closed near the fire, according to a Cal Fire statement.The American Red Cross is setting up an evacuation center at Borrego Springs High School. San Diego County sheriff's deputies and animal control officials were summoned to clear the evacuation area.Cal Fire reported that 30 fire engines, eight fire crews, four helicopters, six air tankers and one bulldozer were at the scene or on the way.The cause of the fire ... Continue reading →
A for-profit gallery has secured space in downtown Vista and is opening its doors to artists Saturday, hoping to draw interest from those looking for a studio to create and show their works.Artbeat on Main Street will be open from 3 to 6 p.m. at 330 Main St., the former home of the United States Racquet Stringers Association.Local artists Kait Matthews and Kris Petersen are behind the effort. The Saturday event was set up "to show artists what our vision is," Matthews said.Matthews said she hopes to open the business in time for the Vista Village Business Association's Taste of Vista on June 27."We plan to add an artistic spice to the menu of offerings downtown, which is experiencing an exciting renaissance," Matthews said in ... Continue reading →
For the first time in its 25 years of existence, the Utility Consumers' Action Network, a ratepayer advocacy group that's been locked in an internecine battle in recent months, will have a new executive director, the group said Thursday.In February, UCAN filed in state court to dissolve itself. Michael Shames, founder and then-executive director of the organization, said the move was to force into the open a series of allegations leveled by two other employees, analyst Charles Langley and staff attorney David Peffer, which included embezzlement and money laundering, among others. Peffer and Langley sued UCAN in March.Under a tentative settlement first reported by U-T San Diego last month, Shames would have to step down as executive director, and the board would have to be ... Continue reading →
A 37-year-old Mexican bus driver was in custody in downtown San Diego today on suspicion of trying to smuggle 700 pounds of marijuana into the United States via the San Ysidro Port of Entry, authorities said.A drug-sniffing dog alerted customs officers to the pot, which was found Tuesday morning in a compartment that had been built in the gas tank of a commercial bus, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.The agency estimated the pot has a street value of about $350,000.There were several passengers aboard the bus at the time of the bust but only the driver was arrested, a CBP statement said. The man, whose name was not immediately released, was booked into the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Continue reading →
