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Stories for February 20, 2014
Behind The Scenes: DNA New Works Series
- Feb. 20
- By Beth Accomando, Nicholas McVicker
Developing new works is in the La Jolla Playhouse’s blood. Perhaps that’s why its DNA New Works Series is so appropriately named. Last year's inaugural series was a success and now begins the second season of this innovative play development program.
Review: 'The Wind Rises'
- Feb. 20
- By Beth Accomando
Because of deteriorating eyesight, legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki has announced that "The Wind Rises" will be his last film. The Oscar-nominated film (opening Feb. 21 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas) will be available in both English dubbed and subtitled versions.
Dutcher: No. 6 SDSU Faces Big Challenge Against Lobos
- Feb. 20
- Associated Press
For whatever reason, the Mountain West Conference schedule makers decided to have the top two teams, San Diego State and New Mexico, play each other twice in the final two weeks of the regular season.
Navy SEAL Veteran From Fallbrook Found Dead On Maersk Alabama (Video)
- Feb. 20
- By Beth Ford Roth
Fallbrook resident Jeffrey Reynolds, 44, was one of two Navy SEAL veterans found dead aboard the Maersk Alabama on Tuesday. Media outlets are reporting drugs were found in the room with the bodies of the dead men.
Wealth Gap Is Widest In Some Affluent US Cities
- Feb. 20
- Associated Press
The gap between the wealthy and the poor is most extreme in several of the United States' most prosperous and largest cities.
San Diego Students Looking For Shorter Time To Degree Head Across Border
- Feb. 20
- By Kyla Calvert
Competition for seats in the state’s overenrolled classes has students looking toward Tijuana.
Amgen Bike Race Not Stopping In San Diego This Year; Escondido Not Disappointed
- Feb. 20
- By Alison St John
The route of the Amgen Bicycle Race will not include San Diego this year. Escondido, which hosted the starting line last summer, lost money on the enterprise.
For Abused Native American Women, New Law Provides A 'Ray Of Hope'
- Feb. 20
- Hansi Lo Wang / NPR
This Thursday, three Native American tribes are changing how they administer justice.
Second Filner Harassment Settlement Will Include Apology From City
- Feb. 20
- By City News Service
The city of San Diego has resolved a legal claim by a female employee who alleged sexual harassment by disgraced former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, the City Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
Mexican Businessman Charged In San Diego Campaign Finance Case
- Feb. 20
- Associated Press
A Mexican business tycoon was charged Thursday with illegally funneling more than $500,000 to support San Diego politicians in a widening campaign finance scandal.
SDSU Releases 2014 Football Schedule
- Feb. 20
- By Matt Hoffman
San Diego State releases its 2014 football schedule on the heels of its fourth consecutive bowl game appearance.
Council Debates La Jolla Beach Ban As Harbor Seal Pupping Season Nears
- Feb. 20
- By City News Service
The San Diego City Council on Monday is scheduled to consider whether to prohibit people from venturing down to the beach at the Children's Pool during harbor seal pupping season.
Video Streaming Is Straining, But Who Will Ease The Tension?
- Feb. 20
- Jim Zarroli / NPR
Suzie Felber's kids are only just learning what a commercial is.
Who's Your Buddy? It's Canada, Americans Say
- Feb. 20
- Bill Chappell / NPR
America's favorite foreign country is its neighbor to the north, according to a new Gallup World Affairs poll. The research firm says Americans' opinions of several countries have shifted. Russia has slipped, for instance. And so has North Korea - the country is now alone in the "least favorable" category.
Gay Marriage Battle Moves South, And Religious Right Fights Back
- Feb. 20
- Debbie Elliott / NPR
The legal battle over gay marriage is moving to the Deep South. Buoyed by federal court victories in Oklahoma, Kentucky and Virginia, gay-rights activists are taking on traditional marriage laws in the very states where those laws enjoy overwhelming public support.
Edwin Edwards: Governor, Convict, Reality TV Star -- Congressman?
- Feb. 20
- Liz Halloran / NPR
Rascally former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards was once so confident about re-election that he declared "the only way I can lose is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy."
'Piglet Smoothie' Fed To Sows To Prevent Disease; Activists Outraged
- Feb. 20
- Eliza Barclay / NPR
Animal welfare groups go to great lengths to show us how "the sausage" is made inside the factory-style farms that produce most of our meat. For the past few years, they've armed activists with video cameras and sent them to document alleged abuses or risky practices undercover.
SDPD Audit Will Be 'Thorough' And 'Substantial,' Gloria Says
- Feb. 20
- By City News Service
A proposed audit of the San Diego Police Department should be wide-ranging and could take 18 months to complete, interim San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said Thursday.
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS: Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
- Feb. 20
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS continues its longstanding tradition of showcasing the best of original American music. In this episode, country legends Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell return to the ACL stage, playing favorites and songs from their joint LP "Old Yellow Moon."
U.S.A. Loses Gold To Canada, In A Women's Hockey Classic
- Feb. 20
- Bill Chappell / NPR
With a 2-0 lead late in the game, it seemed like Team USA would finally overcome archrival Canada on hockey's largest stage Thursday, winning an Olympic gold medal that has eluded it for 16 years. But the gold medal went to Canada after a spirited comeback forced overtime.
Gathering Of Great Minds: Creating San Diego's Salk Institute
- Feb. 20
- By Maureen Cavanaugh, Patty Lane, Peggy Pico
Dr. Jonas Salk is known for developing the vaccine that wiped out polio, but his contributions went far beyond that discovery. Salk had another great scientific mission: to create a research institute bringing together the best scientists in their field to unlock the mysteries of human biology.
Automated Landing System, Crew Fatigue, Eyed In UPS Plane Crash
- Feb. 20
- Scott Neuman / NPR
The crew of a United Parcel Service Airbus A300 freighter that crashed during an early morning landing at Birmingham, Ala. were forced to make a "non-precision approach" when a computerized landing system became overloaded, investigators told the NTSB on Thursday.
LIVE AT THE BELLY UP: Common Sense/Sara Petite
- Feb. 20
- By Jennifer Robinson
This episode features performances by Common Sense and Sara Petite. San Diego is home to one of the best music venues on the West Coast. Since 1974, the Belly Up has been featuring great local bands from the Cedros Design District.
Mexico 'Concerned' About US Border Shooting In San Diego County
- Feb. 20
- Elliot Spagat / Associated Press
The Mexican government says it is "deeply concerned" about a U.S. Border Patrol agent's fatal shooting of a Mexican man who allegedly struck the agent in the head with a rock near the U.S-Mexico border in California.
Mom: Hopeful Signs Seen In California Teen Called Brain Dead
- Feb. 20
- Associated Press
The mother of a 13-year-old California girl who was declared brain dead after suffering complications from sleep apnea surgery said she has seen changes in her daughter's condition that give her hope.
Marine From Fallbrook Awarded Silver Star (Video)
- Feb. 20
- By Beth Ford Roth
Marine Corps 1st Lt. Kenneth Conover of Fallbrook was awarded the Silver Star this week for his heroic actions during a six-day battle in Afghanistan in 2012.
Flu Strikes Younger Adults Hard This Year
- Feb. 20
- Rob Stein / NPR
This year's flu season is hitting younger and middle-aged adults unusually hard, federal health officials say.
Civil Rights, College Football And The Season That Changed It All
- Feb. 20
- By Maureen Cavanaugh, Megan Burke
One of the most significant changes in football is now the subject of a book, "Breaking The Line: The Season in Black College Football That Transformed the Game and Changed the Course of Civil Rights" by New York Times columnist and Columbia Professor Samuel G. Freedman.
New Show Challenges Idea 'Nobody Cares About The Caribbean?'
- Feb. 20
- NPR
Former Miss Jamaica Universe Zahra Burton enjoyed being a local reporter in Kingston, but always dreamed of reporting in America. So she moved to the U.S., earned a Masters in Broadcast Journalism, and began an internship at Bloomberg. "Luckily for me, my dream came true," she tells NPR's Michel Martin.
2 Navy SEAL Veterans Found Dead On 'Captain Phillips' Ship (Video)
- Feb. 20
- By Beth Ford Roth
Two Navy SEAL veterans, Jeffrey Reynolds and Mark Kennedy, were found dead Tuesday aboard the Maersk Alabama. Reynolds and Kennedy, both 44, were working as security officers aboard the container ship made famous in the movie "Captain Phillips."
Another SDPD Officer Faces Sex-Crime Accusation
- Feb. 20
- By City News Service, Marissa Cabrera, Maureen Cavanaugh, Peggy Pico
Police Chief William Lansdowne announced Wednesday evening that another patrolman in his department was under investigation for possible sexual misconduct involving a woman in his custody.
Nebraska Court Ruling Voids Approval For Keystone XL Pipeline
- Feb. 20
- Scott Neuman / NPR
The company in charge of the Keystone XL extension said Thursday that it is considering its next move now that a Nebraska judge has struck down a law that allowed the pipeline to be routed through that state.
Man Killed By Border Patrol Agent In San Diego ID'd As Mexican National
- Feb. 20
- By City News Service
A rock-throwing man who was suspected of having entered the United States illegally and who was shot to death by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in the rugged southern reaches of San Diego County this week has been identified as a 41-year-old Mexican national with a prior drug-related arrest.
Alpine Teachers Strike After Union-District Negotiations Fail
- Feb. 20
- By Kyla Calvert and 10News
Alpine Union School District's 91 teachers hit the picket lines Thursday after salary negotiations failed.
Project 25 Helps San Diego Homeless Get Off Streets And Out Of Emergency Rooms
- Feb. 20
- By Kenny Goldberg
A unique program called Project 25 helps San Diego's chronically homeless get off the streets, and it curbs their frequent ER visits. But even though it saves taxpayers money, its own funding is in jeopardy.
Ex-Aides' Emails May Taint Wis. Gov. Walker's Political Ambitions
- Feb. 20
- Shawn Johnson / NPR
A Wisconsin court has released an enormous number of emails, 27,000 pages, from a former aid to Governor Scott Walker. Kelly Rindfleisch was convicted last year of using her government job to do illegal campaign work. At the time, Walker was the Milwaukee County executive.
Why More Americans Are Renouncing U.S. Citizenship
- Feb. 20
- Ari Shapiro / NPR
A few times a year, the Treasury Department publishes a long list of names announcing all of the Americans who have lately abandoned their U.S. citizenship.
The System That Supplies Our Chickens Pits Farmer Against Farmer
- Feb. 20
- Dan Charles / NPR
After reading Christopher Leonard's TheMeat Racket, a broadside against the contract-farming system, I decided to take a closer look at it.