Top 10 San Diego Stories of 2008

A drug bust, a shark attack and a sudden-death golf tournament were among the big news stories this year. See how we ranked the top 10 local events.

THE TOP NATIONAL news stories involved the presidential race and the nosedive of our economy. Gas prices and the real estate market made headlines across the nation—not just here in San Diego.

What were the top stories in our ’hood? We racked our brains, Googled till it hurt and solicited advice from you on our Web site. Once we had about three dozen ideas we considered big local news, our editorial team whittled them down to a top 10. After a fairly civil tête-à-tête-à-tête, we had our list. Not yet tired, our edit team ranked the stories. They appear here in ascending order.

The hardest part was whittling our list down to 10. We finally excluded: the postseason sports trifecta at the University of San Diego—men’s and women’s hoops and baseball; the return downtown of Street Scene; the gay boycott of the Manchester Grand Hyatt; sentencing in the Bird Rock Bandits murder case; fugitive Susan Lefevre being found and returned to face jail time; CW and Fox switching channels; and the Padres tanking the season with 99 losses. We didn’t even include the divorce proceedings of Padres owners John and Becky Moores.

Read on to find out what we did deem the top news out of San Diego in 2008. Feel free to agree. And let us know if you think we numbered or picked incorrectly. Your comments are welcomed.

10 City council candidate John Hartley arrested for indecent exposure (March 28)

Go ahead and argue with us on this one. The story itself was titillating. On a sunny day, after spending hours walking District 3 looking to get out the vote for his city council run, John Hartley stopped to take a break. That break led to Hartley being arrested for allegedly masturbating and urinating into a cup inside his truck. Two women had called the police, and Hartley was charged with indecent exposure. He entered a plea of no contest to committing a lewd act in public. Hartley then took a time-out and got right back on the campaign trail. That audacity—to stay in the race—is topped only by the questionable judgment that arrived on June 3 in the primary election, when Hartley lost but garnered 18 percent of the popular vote.

9 Drug bust at San Diego State University (May 7)

The college kids are using drugs? Knock us over with a feather! San Diego State University campus police teamed up with federal agents on an undercover investigation and arrested nearly 100 people on drug-related charges. It was national news. One suspect, a Phi Kappa Psi fraternity member, was a community service officer on campus and would have earned a master’s degree in homeland security. Another student arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine and guns was a criminal-justice major. One damning piece of evidence: text messages from some frat boys advertising clearance drug sales, since they were planning a trip out of town and wouldn’t be available for transactions. In addition to the arrests, authorities seized 4 pounds of cocaine, 50 pounds of marijuana, $60,000 in cash and three handguns. Some believe the bust itself was a bust. We add it to our list at least in part for the dander it raised on both sides of the “Legalize Pot” debate.

8 The Beach Booze Ban Stays (November 4)

Most of San Diego’s beaches spent the year dry, after a temporary ban from the city council took effect in January. Why? Remember last year’s “Memorial Day Riot” near Reed Avenue on Pacific Beach? Seventy cops were on the scene as intoxicated knuckleheads fought each other and took out their spirited emotions on a police officer’s vehicle. It was the tipping point. Well, the temporary ban would have ended this January, so Proposition D was placed on the November 4 ballot. The people have spoken. The ban survived a public referendum, unlike in 2001, when a council attempt to ban beach drinking was defeated by voters.

 

7 Chargers win two playoff games (January 7 and 13)

San Diego football fans had been waiting a dozen years for a postseason win. It finally came last January against the Tennessee Titans. The Chargers trailed by 6 in the first half but pulled off a 17-6 victory. Remember, the team had started the season 1-3— after coach Marty Schottenheimer was run out of town because he couldn’t win in the playoffs. New coach Norv Turner got off on shaky footing. But his team turned it around for the stretch and the postseason. Seven days after the Tennessee win, the Bolts squared off with the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. In Indy, the Chargers stunned the football-watching world with a 28-24 upset win. Yes, the following week the cheating, hateful New England Patriots ended our season. But for one glorious week—even with our top players banged up—we felt the joy of being one game away from going to the Super Bowl.

6 The U.S. Open at Torrey Pines (June 9-15)

The world watched as our country’s premier golf event came to town. The tournament attracted more than 100,000 fans who lined the fairways at Torrey Pines Golf Course. An analysis by San Diego State University said visitors spent $70 million; the Torrey Pines pro shop sold more than $25 million in merchandise. And 30 hours of prime-time exposure on television was deemed priceless in terms of promotional value. Oh, and did we mention the tournament itself was a classic? Tiger Woods came back on the last hole to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate. Woods won the sudden-death playoff on Monday—even though he’d been bothered by an aching left knee all week. It turned out to be the last tournament Woods played for the rest of the year, and one that will be repeated on highlight shows forever.

 

5 Shark attack at Solana Beach (April 25)

Retired veterinarian Dave Martin was swimming with his triathlon training group on a perfect spring morning. They were passing through the water about 150 yards out to sea at Tide Beach in Solana Beach. At about 7 a.m., the great white shark struck Martin from below, biting both legs and lifting him out of the water. The shark’s jaws sliced deep gashes into his legs. Martin was pulled to shore by two swimmers but was pronounced dead at 7:49 a.m. It was the first fatal shark attack in San Diego County since 1994. Immediately afterward, authorities closed 8 miles of beaches for 72 hours. Emergency helicopters searched for the shark—believed to be up to 17 feet long—but were unable to track it down.

4 The San Diego Union-Tribune put up for sale (July 24)

We are among those who critique and kibitz about the local newspaper. It is, however, the daily paper of record. Presently owned by David Copley, it’s the oldest business in San Diego County and the second-oldest newspaper in Southern California. Copley Press announced it had hired investment banking firm Evercore Partners to pursue options that included selling the paper. Copley Press’ holdings of late include the U-T, Spanish-language paper Enlace, North County–based Today’s Local News and Web site signonsandiego.com. The writing had been on the wall—Copley Press had been selling off smaller newspapers around the country, and several staff buyouts and layoffs had come in recent years. Many are concerned the purchase by a conglomerate could cause a decline in local coverage and defang any bite left in the paper’s watchdog reportage.

3 Sunroad building lowered (June 26)

After months of haggling, political bickering and finger-pointing, Sunroad Enterprises agreed to lower the height of its controversial Kearny Mesa building. According to Federal Aviation Administration rules, the office building, proximal to the bad-weather landing pattern for Montgomery Field, was 20 feet too tall. Subsequent to prodding and poking from City Attorney Mike Aguirre, Mayor Jerry Sanders ordered Sunroad to lop off two floors of the nearly finished Centrum Tower project. Aguirre initially accused Sanders of trying to aid and cover up for the Sunroad developer, Aaron Feldman, who was a Sanders campaign contributor. California Attorney General Jerry Brown sided with Sanders.

2 CCDC and SEDC presidents pushed from posts (July 24)

On the same day, two heads of redevelopment agencies were removed from their jobs. Nancy Graham had been the head of the Centre City Development Corporation for just eight months. It was determined she was a business partner with a sister company of the developer that received a city subsidy to build a 41-floor downtown condo building, and did not properly disclose the relationship. Southeastern Economic Development Corporation president Carolyn Smith was fired amid allegations she received and gave her staff salary and bonuses above what was approved in her budget. The dual dismissal caused a double black eye and prompted many to argue that both agencies should be abolished or combined. So far, neither has replaced its president.

1 Jerry Sanders wins mayoral race. . .and Mike Aguirre loses city attorney race (June 3/November 4)

In the June primary, Mayor Jerry Sanders got the necessary votes to hold on to the mayor’s seat. He got 54 percent, beating three lesser-known candidates and businessman Steve Francis, who spent a record $4.6 million dollars of his own money to finish second. Sanders’ supporters got their wish in the mayor’s race but had to wait until the November runoff to see if all their dreams came true. They did. Jan Goldsmith edged incumbent city attorney Mike Aguirre in June, but not with the required 50 percent or more of the vote. So the judge went down to the wire with a fiery Don Quixote who angered, sued, insulted or inspired, to varying degrees, everyone in town. It’s expected Goldsmith will return a sense of normalcy to City Hall, working in tandem with Sanders and the city council. It may be for the better—but the media will now need a new go-to news source in 2009. Sanders’ victory and Aguirre’s defeat were the top stories of 2008.

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