SD Congressmen introduce legislation to save cross

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published June 27, 2006 at 9:00 PM PDT

This story was published more than 18 years ago.

Three San Diego congressmen have introduced legislation that would preserve the cross atop Mount Soledad by transferring possession of the memorial to the federal government.

Three San Diego congressmen have introduced legislation that would preserve the cross atop Mount Soledad by transferring possession of the memorial to the federal government. The move is a last ditch effort to prevent the cross from being moved on August First, in accordance with a federal judge's ruling.

Phil Thalheimer, who heads the group fighting to keep the cross where it is, says he spoke with the congressman who drafted the bill.

Thalheimer: "speaking with their office, they are pretty confident , they have a lot of options, they also believe there are options that would protect the city from the five thousand dollar a day fine."

Become a KPBS sponsor

San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders has said he is not willing to pay the five thousand dollar a day fine the judge has ordered the city to pay if the cross is not removed on August 1st.

The new legislation would shift the legal battle from one arguing the cross violates the California Constitution to a different legal playing field - that it violates the Federal constitution.

Alison St John

twitter

Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.