SD Union-Tribune News

The historic heart of San Diego was beating green last night. On St. Patrick’s Day in the Gaslamp Quarter, Joe and Jen D’Agati were going by an Irish name hours before the beer turned green and the night turned crazy with song and dance.

A Superior Court judge threw out a lawsuit filed by former San Diego firefighters union leader Ron Saathoff that sought to force the city to honor a retirement benefit granted to him in 2002 but terminated two years ago.

Despite drawing dozens of applicants in the midst of a recession, the county’s retirement system has been unable to lure top investment executives in three recent searches because of salaries capped by county ordinance.

Zach Leslie had accomplished about all he could in high school tennis. Leslie, a two-time San Diego Section singles champion, was at a crossroads last fall heading into his senior year at Point Loma High.

At this time last year, uncertainty hovered over the University City High softball team. A young squad of four juniors, eight sophomores and two freshmen was wondering if success would be reachable.

Helix High baseball coaches Cole Holland and Mike Miller were looking for a leadoff hitter. No one came to mind. Perhaps out of desperation, Holland decided to search last season’s roster one more time. Presto. One glance, and Holland found his man — junior catcher Austin Gonzalez — to bat at the top of the order.

Beneath the storm clouds looming over Clovis last June, Alexa Evans picked up her mother’s BlackBerry and pressed “play.”

Erik Kinnamon grew up playing volleyball on the sands of Imperial Beach, yet his athletic ambitions were rooted in the grass and dirt of a baseball diamond.

Wendy Tamayo had tears streaming down her cheeks. After attending public school through eighth grade, Wendy was told by her parents she would be going to Marian Catholic High School, which became Mater Dei Catholic a year later.

San Diego has been the namesake for two U.S. Navy ships with distinguished careers in the two world wars. The armored cruiser San Diego served in World War I before a German mine sank it off the New York coast in 1918. Another San Diego would fight in World War II, remembered by San Diego author Fred Whitmore as “the unbeatable ship that nobody ever heard of.”

Fire crews are taking longer to respond to emergencies since a budget-cutting plan that eliminates engines from several stations took effect last month, a new city report says.

A new center east of Alpine will be welcoming visitors to San Diego County with information about regional attractions and discounted tickets to events.

Before joining his Boy Scout troop, one member attempted suicide. Others found they didn’t fit in with Scouts elsewhere because of behavioral issues.

Anyone who sells or serves alcohol in Imperial Beach is now required to undergo a 3½-hour training course on how to avoid serving underage drinkers and obviously intoxicated patrons.

The San Diego Ethics Commission has butted heads with elected officials and lobbyists in recent years as it ramped up enforcement of campaign laws and created strict disclosure rules that shine a brighter light on the influence of money in politics.

The sun will be hot, the water will be cold and the beach booze ban will remain in effect, but that won’t stop throngs from paddling out on Mission Bay this weekend for Spring Break Floatopia.

They were Muslims, Jews, veterans. Recovering drug addicts and people just off the streets.

A contest recognizing homes and businesses that practice water conservation methods in their landscaping is being sponsored by four San Diego County water agencies.

The oversized envelopes arriving in mailboxes this week from the U.S. Census Bureau may seem like a needless distraction. Yet for anyone fed up with traffic-choked freeways, in need of affordable housing, looking for a job, or struggling to feed a family, filling out that 10-question form could mean the difference in tens of millions of dollars for San Diego County and its more than 3 million residents.

Rainy weather led to a significant decrease in water usage throughout the city of San Diego last month, bolstering Mayor Jerry Sanders’ push for conservation and allowing county reservoirs to rise.