Schwarzenegger pardoned seals A judge last Thursday stopped his previous order to disperse La Jolla’s harbor seal colony in response to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signing an anticipated senate bill that moves control of the Children’s Pool from the state to the city of San Diego. Although attorneys speculated that Superior Court Judge Yuri Hofmann would vacate his order dispersing the seals once the legislation was signed, Hofmann instead ordered a full hearing Oct. 6. Ongoing court battles over the Children’s Pool — mainly whether Hoffman could enforce a previous order ruling the city to return the area to its 1941 condition by dispersing a colony of seals — climaxed July 23 at Hoffman’s hearing to choose an efficient seal dispersal plan. Though Hoffmann ordered the city to begin shooing the colony by using a plan that plays barking dog vocalizations, the governor signed the senate bill 428 hours later. State Sen. Christine Kehoe drafted the bill, which adds marine mammal viewing area to the list of uses in the state tidelands grant. For more information about the Children’s Pool, visit www.senate .ca.gov/kehoe, www.childrens pool.org or www.friendsofthe seals.com, www.aprl.org or www.aprl.org/seals.html. ‘No Joke’ bandit ordered to stand trial The alleged “This Ain’t No Joke” bandit who started holding up yogurt and ice cream stores in La Jolla and elsewhere was ordered July 23 to stand trial on 18 robbery and attempted robbery charges. The bandit reportedly expanded his targets to include hamburger joints, a sushi restaurant and even a Marie Callender’s restaurant, but no customers were ever robbed. About 20 witnesses were called to testify in the preliminary hearing of Jamel Tishan Powers, 24, in San Diego Superior Court. The prosecutor said she has not determined the total loss taken in the robbery series, but it is well in the thousands of dollars because one of the first holdups netted the robber $7,184. San Diego police dubbed the series with the nickname because the robber said this each time: “This ain’t no joke. I’m serious — this is a robbery.” Powers is accused of holding up T.G.I.F., often known as Fridays, at 8801 Villa La Jolla, and with robbing the TF Yogurt shop on the same street on different days in April. Powers is also charged with holding up Cold Stone Creamery in Pacific Beach on March 29 and other Creamery stores in Hillcrest and Mira Mesa. A Marie Callender’s restaurant in La Mesa was also held up, and the sushi restaurant was in Old Town. Powers was arrested at his El Cajon home on May 12 by San Diego police, and he remains in the South Bay Detention Facility on $350,000 bail. He pleaded not guilty to all charges before Judge John Thompson, who conducted the preliminary hearing. Lifeguards to face off in skills competition Lifeguards will storm La Jolla on Saturday, Aug. 1 – but not to make a save. The 2009 Lifeguard Games will be held from 8 a.m. to noon at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center. The fifth-annual Lifeguard Games are organized by the American Red Cross and are an exhibition of water skills and safety. Teams from San Diego and Imperial counties will compete in individual and team events, including submerged victim towing, two-person CPR, 50-yard crawl swim with rescue tube, 10-pound bricks and a first aid test. The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center is located at 4126 Executive Drive. For more information on the Lifeguard Games, call (858) 309-1271. UCSD student clubs merge behind Obama After Barack Obama was elected and became known as the “You-Tube President,” several student Democratic clubs at the University of California, San Diego, decided to merge. “It was no coincidence that the unification coincided with the inauguration of Barack Obama because Students for Barack Obama (SFBO) was one of the largest student organizations in 2007 and 2008,” said Sean Quirk, president of the College Democrats at UCSD. “Progressive College Democrats (Procodem) formed in the spring of 2008 after the California Democratic primary ended.” A great deal of support that Obama enjoyed at UCSD comes from the fact that he, like millions of people across the country these days, uses new technology including Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.  “The unified College Democrats at UCSD hopes to not only promote but act on the ideals of the Democratic Party,” Quirk said. “In a broad perspective, we aim to promote social and socioeconomic equality in America, and through these efforts, we hope to engage students in the political process, increasing activism and striving for a more egalitarian process.” For more information see www.ucsd.edu.