Mission Bay is expected to receive 13 to 16 surveillance cameras by 2010 to monitor launch ramps and water areas to protect against homeland security threats. Sgt. John Everhart for Lifeguard Services unveiled the plan to the Mission Bay Park Committee (MBPC) on April 7. The Department of Homeland Security is funding the cameras. Everhart also reported that due to budget cuts, Lifeguard Services lost two lifeguards for the upcoming summer season. In other items addressed by the MBPC: Bay flushed with cash Mission Bay Park will net approximately $30 million this year, not including rent from the Mission Bay RV Resort that will net approximately $1 million, reported Asset Manager Gary Jones for the city’s Real Estate Assets. So far, the city has collected $21 million. Beachgoers chase suspect Sgt. Mark Heacox of the Mission Bay Harbor Unit praised the community for its quick response to a young woman who was assaulted on Santa Barbara Place by a male that fit the description of a suspect sought by police. The young woman was walking down Santa Barbara Place when the suspect pulled her into the bushes and began to strangle her “for some time,” according to Heacox. Witnesses jumped to the victim’s rescue and then chased the suspect, who fled down an alley. By the time a police officer arrived, the men had cornered the suspect and the officer was able to apprehend the suspect, who put up a struggle, with the aid of the witnesses. Bay water monitoring Water quality testing will continue at six sites around Mission Bay from April 1 to Oct. 31, a reduction from the 16 sites that were routinely tested around the bay in the summertime, reported Mark McPherson, chief of Land and Water Quality Division at the county’s Department of Environmental Health. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had slashed beach water-monitoring funding in September, and the county recently decided to pay for an abridged water testing program. McPherson said the county tests the water weekly for total coliform, fecal coliform and enterococci and that the presence of such bacteria may also indicate the presence of other pathogens and viruses in the water. The tests do not determine the origin of the bacteria, for example whether the fecal coliform comes from a bird or a human source. Determining the DNA of the bacteria costs approximately $1,000 per test, as opposed to $58 for the general test, McPherson said. McPherson said that the county does not plan to increase its monitoring to test for inorganics like fertilizers or oils, in response to a question from the committee. “Our goal is to provide real-time public health protection versus deal with chronic issues,” McPherson said. The six bay sites tested include: Tecolote (playground watercraft area), Leisure Lagoon, Visitors Center, De Anza Cove, Campland and Bonita Cove. Rock ’n’ Roll on Runners participating in the 2009 Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon will run the same 26.2-mile course on the same day, May 31, as last year. Runners start in Balboa Park, travel through Hillcrest and pass the San Diego Zoo into downtown, through the Gaslamp Quarter and along the San Diego Harbor. Runners then travel up Highway 163 and around Mission Bay toward Crown Point, where they will pass SeaWorld and finish at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Point Loma.