Waves crashed against a breakwater last week at Children's Pool in La Jolla. Some researchers see waves as a source of electrical power. "As you can imagine, the motion of the ocean contains tremendous power," said Asfaw Beyene, an SDSU professor.   Jerry Rife / Union-Tribune

Catching a wave of energy

Researchers want to study feasibility of harnessing ocean's power

By Terry Rodgers
STAFF WRITER

Waves that pummel the California coast and accentuate the state's image as a mecca of beach culture soon may be harnessed as an alternative source of electrical power.

The state Energy Commission has not funded research into wave-energy technology since 1987, but that may change very soon.
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Four cities still don't recognize King Day

National City, Poway, San Marcos and Vista

By Leslie Wolf Branscomb
STAFF WRITER

The birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. is an official holiday all through San Diego County -- unless you happen to be in National City, Poway, San Marcos or Vista.

Those four cities do not recognize the King holiday, though it became a federal holiday 16 years ago.
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Park advocates aim to preserve habitat

Proposed S.D. ordinance sets stiff fines for illegal grading

By Steve LaRue
STAFF WRITER

When bulldozers tore through native sage scrub and chaparral east of Miramar Marine Corps Air Station last year, it stirred up a lot more than dust.

Park advocate Jim Madaffer, a San Diego city councilman, called it "the last straw."
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Filner, Davis face a shifting electorate

Redistricting requires some major adjustments

By Dana Wilkie
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON -- As if Bob Filner didn't have enough on his plate -- a re-election campaign, border sewage troubles, getting his bills past a Republican majority -- now the San Diego congressman will have to polish his Spanish, cram on his farm terms and tune up the car for some major road trips.

Such are the demands that grow out of redistricting -- the once-a-decade drawing of political boundaries that can rob lawmakers of favorite neighborhoods, toss them into strange ones, and create a mild case of schizophrenia as they divide their time between the district that elected them and the one they hope to get elected to.
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Mexican agent's slaying spurs drug ties probe

Charges emerge of Grupo Beta link to traffickers

By Anna Cearley
STAFF WRITER

TIJUANA -- The execution-style death of a Grupo Beta agent last month has prompted an investigation into connections he and other members of the once-respected force may have had with drug traffickers.

The body of Francisco Javier Arias, who worked out of Grupo Beta's Tecate office, was found in Tijuana on Dec. 21. His eyes were covered with tape, and he had a gunshot wound to his head.
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