The Peninsula Beacon, October 21st, 2010

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Halloween Event SEE PAGE 7 Roundup www.SDNEWS.com Volume 25, Number 22

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2010

San Diego Community Newspaper Group

PLNU FESTIVAL HARVESTS FALL FLAVOR

Identified budget cuts concern city fire chief Lifeguard reductions, fire station brownouts a distinct possibility BY DEBBIE HATCH | THE BEACON The city of San Diego projects a $72 million budget deficit for the 2012 fiscal year, beginning in July. City departments were asked to submit proposed budget reductions by close of business Oct. 4. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD), which also encompasses the area’s lifeguards, was asked to cut $7.2 million. “We will have to — for the first time — consider browning out single-unit fire stations,” said SDFD Chief Javier Mainar.

Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) hosted its annual Fall Festival on the campus with plenty to entertain students, neighbors and children. Above, horse lover Jillian Doornbos, a senior nursing student at PLNU, shows some affection to a Clydesdale entertaining visitors with carriage rides. Left, a youngster gets some creative face painting by a talented artist. Right, brothers Ismael Chavez, 5, and Daniel Chavez cast their lines at the San Diego Coastkeeper booth. PHOTOS BY PAUL HANSEN I THE BEACON

San Diego Sports Arena renamed in corporate deal Valley View Casino & Hotel rolls dice on naming rights

Station 22 on Catalina Boulevard and Station 15 on Voltaire Street are single-engine fire stations that could be considered for brownouts, Mainar said. Station 21 on Grand Avenue in Pacific Beach, a multi-engine station, is already part of the brownout rotation. Another possible major cut in the budget would be the elimination of the staffing for one of the two helicopter crews for six months of the year. The department would retain both helicopters, but one pilot would be laid off, Mainar said. The fire department uses the helicopters for medical aids and transportation, firefighting, cliff rescues, swift river rescues and ocean searching.

BY DEBBIE HATCH | THE BEACON San Diego Fire-Rescue Department lifeguard Sgt. Jon Vipond arrived at the Ocean Beach lifeguard Sta- SGT. JON VIPOND tion early on Nov. 28, 2009, completely unaware that he was about to be called to a rescue that would earn him and three other lifeguards a rarely endowed distinction — the national Medal of Valor. “The four of us just happened to be where we were needed SEE VALOR, Page 9

LIFEGUARDS North Pacific Beach could potentially lose all of its more-experienced Lifeguard Level-II coverage. However, it will have a less-experienced Lifeguard Level-I lifeguards on duty during the peak summer season. The night crew consists of a team SEE BUDGET, Page 9

P R O P O S E D S A L E S - TA X H I K E D I V I D E S C I T Y

Councilmembers outline cases for, against Prop D

BY KEVIN MCKAY | THE BEACON The iconic San Diego Sports Arena in the heart of the Midway District will again bear the name of a corporate sponsor. The popular sports and entertainment venue was renamed the Valley View Casino Center on Oct. 12 after an official thumbs-up from the San Diego City Council. The revelation was made by representatives of the North County casino/hotel and AEG Global Partnerships, which negotiated the multi-year accord. The business pact is slated to take effect Nov. 1. City documents pegged the deal at $1.5 million for the first five years, equating to about $157,000 for the city. “We are thrilled to partner with the longstanding tradition of top-quality sports and entertainment that the San Diego Sports Arena has established throughout its legendary existence,” said Bruce Howard, general manager at Valley View Casino & Hotel. “We look forward to working closely with the city of San Diego, the Hahn family and AEG — the most recognizable name in the sports and entertainment industry — to grow both the Valley View Casino Center and Valley View Casino & Hotel brand.” Valley View Casino & Hotel officials tout marketing gains both in San Diego and Southern California as a whole, in preparation for the opening of a new hotel addition Nov. 19. Valley View officials said they will now be able to provide casino guests with premium tickets for sports arena events throughout the year. To modernize the 44-year-old, 15,000-seat facility and to keep pace with the expanding venue market in San Diego, the arena recently underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation which included the addition of a new 6,500-square-foot

FIRE OPTIONS

OB lifeguard, 3 others earn rare, national Medal of Valor

BY TAWNY MAYA MCCRAY | THE BEACON

The San Diego Sports Arena will again have a corporate sponsor, beginning Nov. 1. From that point on, the venue will be known as the PHOTO BY KIRBY YAU I THE BEACON Valley View Casino Center.

VIP hospitality space called “Club 3500,” along with new lower-level seats, LCD televisions throughout and an upgraded concourse and arena entrances. “This is a great partnership for the Arena and Valley View Casino & Hotel, San Diego’s favorite casino,” said AEG Facilities’ Ernie W. Hahn II, senior vice president and general manager of the venue. “With Valley View Casino & Hotel as our partner, we will continue to raise the entertainment experience and number of shows while still being the busiest and most centrally-located arena in San Diego. We are excited to have such a great marketing partner to showcase our recent improvements and help make us better moving forward.” The Valley View Casino Center is located at 3500 Sports Arena Blvd. For more information, call (619) 224-4171.

As San Diegans prepare to vote in the Nov. 2 election, one of the most hotly-debated issues on the ballot remains Prop D, which would enact a temporary half-cent city sales-tax increase for up to five years — contingent on whether the city completes 10 financial reforms. Proponents of the measure see it as a temporary tax for a permanent solution, while critics say it does nothing to help curb wasteful spending in government and provides no assurances for preserving public safety budgets. “It’s a half-a-billion-dollar tax increase that has no guarantees of where the money will go,” said District 5 City Councilman Carl DeMaio, a vocal and high-profile opponent of Prop D. “It goes into the general fund. So there are no requirements of how it will be spent.” The proposition includes so-called conditions to the measure but none

MORE ELECTION COVERAGE Pages 3, 4 of those conditions are requirements of reform, DeMaio said. Rather, these are more process-oriented items like building a study, publishing a guide or soliciting bids, he added. “According to [San Diego Superior Court] Judge [David B.] Oberholtzer, Prop D is, at its very essence, just a tax. It’s also the largest tax increase ever proposed in the city of San Diego,” DeMaio said. However, District 6 City Councilwoman Donna Frye, an ardent Prop SEE PROP D, Page 5


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