TIJUANA: A doctors association and a broad range of civic groups are encouraging people on both sides of the border to participate in a protest today against the wave of violence and kidnappings in the city.
The march is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at Parque Teniente Guerrero in Tijuana and will continue through Avenida Revolucion to the Zona Rio district. About 8 p.m., marchers will turn on flashlights at the Cuauhtemoc loop as a call to peace.
The Tijuana march is part of nationwide protests against violence called “Iluminemos Mexico,” or “Light Up Mexico.”
“It's time to say enough is enough,” said José Manuel de Jesús Ortiz Ampudia, president of the doctors association. “We are telling the authorities and criminals that when society unites, we are stronger.”
The doctors are also inviting Mexican immigrants in San Diego County to light candles in front of the Mexican Consulate at 8 tonight as a sign of solidarity.
Doctors have recently been a target of kidnappers, along with other white-collar professionals.
The march comes in a week when Tijuana authorities discovered four decapitated bodies. They said the killings apparently were the work of drug traffickers. –P.J.S.
Governor pays a visit,
calls for action on budget
DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a brief stop in San Diego yesterday to urge state lawmakers to show some guts in stalled budget deliberations.
Schwarzenegger was joined by local politicians, fire chiefs and school officials in a demonstration at the County Administration Center downtown.
His message was simple: Lawmakers shouldn't plan on borrowing money from local governments to balance the state's budget.
The state has a $15.2 billion budget gap for the fiscal year that began July 1 and still has no budget. Democrats are pushing for a tax increase while Republicans are urging spending cuts.
San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox said he fears the state will borrow the needed money from transportation and fire funds earmarked for local government, including about $70 million for the county.
Schwarzenegger said he won't let that happen.
“It is time for politicians out there to stop putting the people through this budget roller coaster,” he said. –C.G.
Pearl Harbor Museum
to be previewed in S.D.
BALBOA PARK: Officials for the National Park Service will be in San Diego tomorrow to offer a free preview of the new Pearl Harbor Museum and USS Arizona Memorial visitors center.
The two-hour presentation and discussion will start at 4 p.m. at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in Balboa Park. It is one in a series of previews nationwide for the $52 million project.
Groundbreaking for the museum and visitors center will take place later this year in Honolulu, with completion expected in 2010.
The park service also will be filming interviews with Pearl Harbor survivors for use in exhibits at the visitors center. For more information, call (617) 470-0715. –S.L.
School district challenged
over expenditure reports
LEMON GROVE: A civil rights group is threatening to sue the Lemon Grove School District unless it publishes public information on per-pupil expenditures and teacher salaries.
In a letter dated Thursday, the San Francisco-based nonprofit Public Advocates gave the district 30 days to comply with state law requiring schools to publish accountability report cards that include information on school spending. The letter also calls for the district to translate the information into Spanish.
Lemon Grove Superintendent Ernest Anastos said the school accountability report cards will be completed and translated by the end of next week. Anastos said there was a misunderstanding about what information was required.
“I now see we could do a better job,” he said.
Public Advocates sent a similar letter to the Chula Vista Elementary School District last year. A spokesman for Public Advocates said Thursday that Chula Vista has since complied with all reporting requirements.
The nonprofit organization investigated 67 districts statewide this year. Six are in San Diego County: Chula Vista Elementary, Escondido Union High, Lemon Grove, Poway Unified, San Marcos Unified and Santee. Only Lemon Grove has been been targeted for possible legal action. –C.M.
Thunderstorms possible
today, then cool weather
Thunderstorms could rumble at the coast today, but a quick change to drier, cooler weather is expected tomorrow. By Labor Day, there might be a touch of fall in the air, National Weather Service forecaster Brandt Maxwell said.
The best chance for rain today will be in the mountains and deserts, where flash flooding is possible, Maxwell said. Some thunderstorms might drift west to the beaches, but there is little risk of flooding west of the mountains.
By tomorrow morning, the flow of warm, moist air from the east that ushered in the thunderstorms is expected to reverse. Low clouds and fog could return at the coast.
Highs at the beaches should be in the mid-70s today and tomorrow, but on Monday the mercury might not make it above 70. The inland valleys should reach the mid-80s today and tomorrow, then drop to the low 70s on Labor Day. The deserts should be near 100 today, then cool off to the low 90s by Monday. –R.K.
Heavy traffic expected
before concert tonight
CHULA VISTA: Fans headed to the Jack Johnson concert at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre tonight are encouraged to give themselves plenty of time to navigate traffic.
Traffic is expected to be especially heavy on southbound Interstate 805 toward the Main Street/Auto Park Drive off-ramp, concert operators said.
The amphitheater parking lot opens at 3 p.m., seating opens at 5 p.m. and the concert begins at 7 p.m. No alcohol is allowed in the parking lot. Backpacks, laser pens, lawn chairs, cameras and coolers are not allowed inside the seating area. –P.R.
Staff writers Craig Gustafson, Steve Liewer, Chris Moran, Robert Krier and Pauline Repard and freelance writer Pablo Jaime Sáinz contributed to this report.
