Thousands auditioned last week at Qualcomm Stadium for next season's “American Idol.”

Monday's tryouts were the first of the year for the show, which begins its seventh season in January. More were planned for this weekend in Dallas, then in Omaha, Neb.; Atlanta; Miami; Charleston, S.C.; and Philadelphia.

THE REGION DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – The City Council on Tuesday approved the move of Senior Community Centers of San Diego, which is losing its lease at Ninth Avenue and Broadway, to a new site on the edge of East Village. The council scrapped an old rule barring new programs within a quarter-mile of existing ones and instead will now take applications case by case. David Hazan, East Village Association chairman, said the new policy is unfair to homeowners. He said 80 percent of downtown's social-services agencies are concentrated in that neighborhood. EL CAJON – A judge ruled Tuesday that Jean Pierre Rices of El Cajon and Anthony Miller of Alpine must stand trial and face a possible death sentence for the execution-style killings of a clerk and an owner of an El Cajon liquor store. The two are charged with murder in the shooting deaths of Heather Nabil Mattia, 22, and Firas Washid Eiso, 23, on March 1, 2006, at Granada Liquor Store, which Mattia's family owns. A trial date will be set Aug. 29. CAMP PENDLETON – Camp Pendleton officials activated a new Marine Corps battalion Wednesday whose sole mission is to help wounded Marines make the transition to civilian life. The battalion includes support staff who will help them manage health care and other benefits from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, said commander Lt. Col. Charles H. Johnson III. The Corps will also contact wounded Marines who have left the service to make sure they are receiving proper care and benefits. CHULA VISTA – Gaylord Entertainment made a “last-ditch” effort to revive a $1 billion hotel and convention center deal for Chula Vista's bayfront, but union leaders rejected it Wednesday. Later that day, politicians and business leaders said they were still working to bring Gaylord back. Gaylord said last month it was pulling out of the redevelopment project after two years of planning because it couldn't reach agreement with unions to build it. SAN DIEGO – A baby California sea otter found weak and starving on a remote beach in Santa Barbara County has been nursed back to health at SeaWorld. The orphaned otter was about 5 days old when she came ashore July 21 at Jalama Beach. Animal care specialists at SeaWorld are nurturing the female pup 24 hours a day. A decision on the newborn's permanent home will be made within a month by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Ventura. S.D. COUNTY – Two dead crows found in El Cajon and a Western scrub jay found in Poway have tested positive for the West Nile virus, county officials said Thursday. Nine dead birds have tested positive for the virus this year. No human cases of West Nile have been reported in San Diego County, but two deaths in California were announced last week. The virus is transmitted to people and animals through mosquito bites. Mosquitos become infected when they feed on infected birds.

When the auditions began about 9:45 a.m., contestants were ushered four at a time to one of the 13 judging stations. Each chose a song to sing, and when all four in a group had finished their 30-second snippets, the screeners conferred briefly before rendering their verdicts.

Most of the 12,000 hopefuls left disappointed.

For some of those turned down, there was another chance at stardom. The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was in the parking lot, and people were invited to audition for a nationwide jingle contest.

Review finds diocese not entirely forthcoming

The Diocese of San Diego made conflicting statements about its assets, Catholic parishes withheld millions in surplus funds and churches hid money in two instances, according to a financial review released Monday.

Attorneys representing about 150 victims of sexual abuse by priests and other church personnel seized upon the findings by court-appointed financial expert R. Todd Neilson as proof that the diocese is not being honest in its bankruptcy case.

But diocese attorney Micheal Webb downplayed the 175-page report as containing “a small number of problems, all of which have been corrected or are in the process of being corrected.”

Neilson was appointed in April by federal bankruptcy Judge Louise DeCarl Adler to examine nearly 1,000 bank accounts held by the diocese and its 98 parishes. S.D. to L.A. for $1? Express bus to debut

A no-frills, intercity express bus service will begin to offer rides this month from San Diego to Los Angeles for as little as $1.

Megabus, a Chicago-based company, said last week that it will operate from a Los Angeles hub to and from cities in the West and Southwest, including San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

The maverick company keeps prices low by using online ticketing and sidewalk stops instead of ticket counters and bus terminals, and it competes with larger carriers such as Greyhound.

Megabus' most expensive San Diego-to-Los Angeles ticket, booked 24 hours in advance, will be $15 one way, said Dale Moser, president and CEO of CoachUSA, the domestic subsidiary of Stagecoach Group, a Scottish company that runs Megabus.

KPBS axes two shows, lays off a dozen staffers

KPBS canceled its “Full Focus” TV news program and “A Way With Words” radio show Wednesday and laid off 12 employees.

Doug Myrland, general manager of the public-broadcasting station, said both programs “had elements of success in the past,” but “trends indicate their future potential for audience and revenue growth is minimal.”

Myrland said the weekly, one-hour radio program had a “decent-sized local audience” but was labor-intensive and, at $250,000 per year, “substantially” more expensive than other local productions.

“Full Focus” began as a monthly newsmagazine in April 2000, then grew to a half-hour program airing at 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Myrland said the show “created a lot of interesting and good content,” but few people watched and it had only one outside funding source.

Caltrans says bridges in the county are safe

Caltrans set out last week in the wake of the Minneapolis bridge disaster to assure San Diego County residents that the 1,500 bridges the agency inspects in the region are safe.

“I think all the bridges in San Diego are serviceable and in good condition,” said Robert Stott, chief deputy district director of the local Caltrans office.

An analysis by The San Diego Union-Tribune of federal transportation data shows that 87 bridges in the county have been rated “structurally deficient” by inspectors.

Topping the list is the 74-year-old North Torrey Pines Bridge in Del Mar, linking North Torrey Pines Road and Camino Del Mar. Del Mar officials say the two-lane bridge is safe for motorists, and that they are working as quickly as they can to retrofit or replace it.

Several experts said California bridges appear to be in better shape than older ones across the country.