San Diego, CA
San Diego Police Investigate Fights, Theft and More at 2024 Comic-Con
![San Diego Police Investigate Fights, Theft and More at 2024 Comic-Con San Diego Police Investigate Fights, Theft and More at 2024 Comic-Con](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/50/16by9/2024/08/08/501630f1d65e4a87b903f39daebd689e_xl.jpg)
San Diego Comic-Con got pretty rowdy … ’cause TMZ obtained a record of police activity from around SD’s convention center last month — and it looks like officers have had their hands full.
According to the report … one person was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, 5 got citations, and 12 other incidents triggered ongoing criminal investigations … and we’re told all were related to activity in and around Comic-Con.
There’s a pretty wide variety of alleged violations, but here’s the gist … cops say some people were throwing punches, and stealing whatever they could get their hands on.
There were at least three cases of assault with a deadly weapon — including the one that led to an arrest — which indicates people probably got a little too into the whole superhero-vs-supervillain thing.
There were also several reports of theft and burglary … all of which a real-life Batman could’ve handled pretty easily, but the ones in costumes may not have been up to crimefighting.
Cops say some of the more minor villains in the rogues’ gallery drove across double lines, engaged in light vandalism, and drove without a license … so it looks like cops didn’t have to “Hulk Smash,” but they did need to tell people to “Halt, Stop.”
Only one mental health incident was reported … cops say one individual was put on a 5150 hold.
![san diego comic con and human trafficking task force](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/18/1by1/2024/07/31/184915640dfd42c9ba683fbd836a2f20_xxs.jpg)
Getty
Comic-Con Human Trafficking Sting Results in 14 Arrests, 10 Victims Recovered
It’s not the only law enforcement activity at the convention. As we reported, a statewide task force took down 14 people allegedly engaging in sex trafficking the same weekend.
In any event, it looks like law enforcement has things covered — and, they probably don’t want any amateur vigilante help from people who make their own costumes.
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San Diego, CA
The Spreckels name is big in San Diego history. A new book looks at the man behind the money
![The Spreckels name is big in San Diego history. A new book looks at the man behind the money The Spreckels name is big in San Diego history. A new book looks at the man behind the money](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SUT-L-Sandee-Bonura-spreckels-ec-007.jpg?w=1024&h=659)
Longtime San Diegans likely have heard the name. It graces a historic theater downtown and is in the full title of the iconic Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.
The Spreckels surname has been a part of local lore since the late 1800s. The family once owned all of Coronado, including the Hotel del Coronado, Belmont Park in Mission Beach and every single downtown lot from the ferry landing to Horton Plaza. And the ferry. John D. Spreckels renamed D Street as Broadway and brought the first koalas — on his own steamships — to the then-new San Diego Zoo.
In her new book, “Sugar King of California: The Life of Claus Spreckels,” local author and historian Sandee Bonura explores the life of Spreckels’ father, the man behind the family wealth: patriarch Claus Spreckels. The man immigrated penniless to the U.S. from Germany in the mid-1800s, then made his fortune in the sugar trade in California and Hawaii.
Claus Spreckels at one point was the richest man in California and one of the richest in the country, Bonura said. When he died in 1908, he left a fortune worth more than $850 million in today’s dollars.
Bonura shared highlights of her newest book during a presentation Saturday at the Rancho Bernardo History Museum. The title comes about four years after she penned “Empire Builder: John D. Spreckels and the Making of San Diego.”
The historian said John Spreckels spent much of his life emulating his father. “Most people do not realize this, but a lot of the things his dad did, he did,” Bonura told the crowd.
A few examples: The Spreckels Organ Pavilion in San Diego’s Balboa Park is rather reminiscent of the Music Concourse (also known as the Spreckels Temple of Music) in Golden Gate Park, which Claus Spreckles donated to San Francisco. In 1880, the patriarch bought the newspaper that would become the Honolulu Advertiser. Ten years later, son John bought the San Diego Union, then picked up the Evening Tribune in 1901. (Before the end of the century, they would become The San Diego Union-Tribune.) He also built a railway, as his father had.
“The Sugar King of California” traces the older man’s rise to wealth and the later fracturing of his family. There are several interesting tales along the way, including a lucrative late-night deal with the king of Hawaii, which was still a sovereign nation.
Claus Spreckels grew sugar cane and sugar beets, and his name is legacy throughout California. At one point, the man owned all of Aptos (near Santa Cruz) and created five railroads, including one with denim legend Levi Strauss. He built and named a small town after himself in Hawaii. One in California, too.
At the end of her talk Saturday, Bonura got a bit of a surprise. One of the attendees had stuck around, a smiling North County resident waiting to introduce herself. She said the presentation taught her a thing or two.
Her name? Torry Brey, granddaughter of John D. Spreckels and great-granddaughter of Claus.
Originally Published:
San Diego, CA
Padres pregame: Jackson Merrill not the only Friar lifting his game since All-Star break
![Padres pregame: Jackson Merrill not the only Friar lifting his game since All-Star break Padres pregame: Jackson Merrill not the only Friar lifting his game since All-Star break](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sut-l-padres-0809_56614c.jpg?w=1024&h=683)
There’s no denying that Jackson Merrill is getting used to the hero role.
He’s far from the only Padre lifting his game during this second-half surge.
The Padres’ .811 OPS since the All-Star break is fourth in baseball heading into Saturday’s 1:10 p.m. start in Miami.
That’s a bump from .729 in the first half, good for 11th in the majors.
Merrill leads the post-All-Star bunch with a 1.111 OPS over 77 plate appearances and Jurickson Profar has continued an MVP-caliber season (at least for this team) with a .970 OPS.
After that dynamic duo, it’s two of the expected team leaders finally rising toward the top as Manny Machado has a .920 OPS and Xander Bogaerts is tied with catcher Kyle Higashioka with a .913 OPS.
Machado has hit five of his 18 home runs over his last 18 games, driving in 15 runs —one fewer than Merrill, who has four homers since the break.
Bogaerts has just one home run in that stretch, but he’s hitting .378 and slugging .500 on the steam of four doubles and a triple.
All of the above are in Saturday’s lineup in their accustomed spots as the Padres look to clinch a seventh straight series.
Otra Noche en Miami pic.twitter.com/GJzds1bBae
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 10, 2024
The Padres (65-52) are a season-high 13 games over .500, just 2½ games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and lead the Diamondbacks by a game as the NL’s top wild-card team.
Here is how Miami (43-74) will line up for Game 2:
Legacy Saturday Lineup
🤝: @PNCBank
📺: @BallySportsFL, @BallyMarlins
👂: @MarlinsRadio, @FoxSports940
⏰: 4:10 PM ET #HomeOfBeisbol // https://t.co/5rOTQv6054 pic.twitter.com/vMskk2RaMZ— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) August 10, 2024
Saturday’s pitching matchup
Padres RHP Matt Waldron (7-9, 3.79 ERA)
He beat the Marlins in late May in San Diego with eight strikeouts over seven shutout innings. Waldron has a 3.11 ERA over 12 road starts this season.
Here is how (what’s left of the Marlins roster) has fared against Waldron:
- INF Jake Burger (2-for-3, K)
- INF Otto Lopez (0-for-3)
- OF Cristian Pache (1-fo-3, 3B, RBI)
- OF Jesus Sanchez (0-for-3, K)
- OF Derek Hill (0-for-2)
Marlins RHP Roddery Muñoz (2-6, 5.68 ERA)
The 24-year-old rookie has walked 35 in 69⅔ innings since making his MLB debut in April. He has allowed 21 homers, six off the MLB-leader (Boston’s Cutter Crawford with 27).
This is his first appearance against the Padres or anyone on their roster.
Originally Published:
San Diego, CA
San Diego Unified left students 'vulnerable' to sex abuse, federal officials say, but that ends now
![San Diego Unified left students 'vulnerable' to sex abuse, federal officials say, but that ends now San Diego Unified left students 'vulnerable' to sex abuse, federal officials say, but that ends now](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c66c553/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3008x1579+0+210/resize/1200x630!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5d%2F95%2F646c998f44cf902fea12d6e61b9f%2Fgettyimages-1226030375.jpg)
San Diego Unified School District officials mishandled multiple student complaints about sexual harassment and sexual assault, in violation of their obligations under federal law, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights announced Friday.
The office found that over a year-three span, 253 reports and complaints of sexual harassment and assault were leveled by students in the district, with almost 40% of those allegations coming from the elementary school level.
The accusations included “student-to-student” and “employee-to-student” misconduct that potentially violated federal statutes including Title IX, according to the Office of Civil Rights, which said the district “more often than not did not fulfill its Title IX regulatory requirement to equitably respond to allegations of sexual harassment of its students.”
The office also announced a resolution, saying Friday morning that the school district had entered an agreement with federal officials to remedy the violations.
Such abuses had “led to serial perpetration of harassment with insufficient district response, leaving district students vulnerable to the sex discrimination in school,” the office said in a news release.
“Through today’s resolution, San Diego Unified commits to overhaul its response to allegations of sexual harassment to ensure all its students learn safely and without sex or disability discrimination,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon said in a statement.
San Diego Unified said in a separate statement Friday evening that the district “remains committed to the safety and wellbeing of all students, and continuously works to assess and improve Title IX compliance.”
The statement continued: “The district holds itself to the highest standards to ensure that students are never harmed, and has a responsibility to acknowledge when harm does occur to maintain transparency and accountability.”
San Diego Unified serves 121,000 students in traditional, special education, adult, alternative and charter schools, making it California’s second-largest school district, behind Los Angeles Unified.
The Office of Civil Rights reported that 98 of the 253 allegations of sexual harassment or assault of students took place at the elementary school level, and said that nine involved employees.
One such elementary school incident involved a student accused of forcing another student to place their hands on a third student’s clothes over their genitals multiple times. District police investigated the incident and the district filed a report with Child Protective Services.
But according to the Office of Civil Rights, the district did not do any further investigation into whether the accused student had sexually harassed fellow students, and didn’t interview anyone involved in the incident.
There were an additional 15 reports involving schools with kindergarteners through eighth-graders; as well as 79 from middle schools; 68 from high schools; and three involving special education. A total of five allegations of employee-to-student incidents came from middle schools and high schools combined, according to the report.
The number of incidents reported in each category add up to more than the total of 253 cited by the Office of Civil Rights; it offered no explanation for the discrepancy.
The district was in litigation over seven cases of alleged sexual assault at the time of the report’s release.
The agreement signed by San Diego Unified calls for the district to make several changes, including:
- Reviewing previous incidents of student-to-student and employee-to-student sexual harassment to determine whether further action is needed for an equitable resolution.
- Giving annual age-appropriate training to third- through 12-graders on how to recognize and report sexual harassment and where to seek support and remedies.
- Surveying parents, students and district employees annually about sexual harassment in schools.
- Reviewing district policies against sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and its Title IX grievance procedures to ensure they comply with the law.
- Giving annual training to district employees on their obligations to respond to such allegations, including those involving students with disabilities.
- Implementing a system and policy for maintaining data and records on reports, complaints and investigations of sexual harassment, to be approved by the Office of Civil Rights.
- Ensuring the district fulfills its obligations under Title IX even when law enforcement responds to reports of sexual harassment of students.
The Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights “looks forward to working with the district to redress serial perpetration, protect students with disabilities from being preyed upon, and ensure that district students can expect to focus on learning without unlawful sexual harassment,” said Lhamon, the office’s assistant secretary.
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