City intends to repair six coastal stairways The City of San Diego has begun the permitting process to repair beach access stairways and walkways in six locations. “Most of them are old. It’s old concrete. Saltwater and erosional forces just take their toll on them,” said Helene Deisher, project manager with the city’s Development Services. “There’s some walkways that have been undermined a bit.” The areas identified as needing work in Pacific Beach are the Diamond Street walkway and the Capri by the Sea walkway/stairway west of Ocean Boulevard between Chalcedony and Missouri streets. The process to gain permits is in the very beginning stages and a project date has not been established. A source of funding has not been identified and the cost has yet to be determined, Deisher said. The project encompasses repairs and maintenance only and no new design work will be included. Funds awarded for dredging Mission Bay The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $5.3 million stimulus contract to Manson Construction Co. of Seattle, Wash., to dredge Mission Bay. A start date for the project has not yet been determined. The project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) which President Barack Obama signed into law in February 2009 to help in the recovery of the U.S. economy. “This project will vastly improve navigation in and around Mission Bay by clearing out sand that has shoaled into the channel over the years,” said Scott John, of the Corps’ Los Angeles District, who is managing the project. “We have been working closely with the City of San Diego as well as the San Diego Lifeguard Service on this project to make sure that we dredge the areas that need it most, protect important environmental resources and enhance the recreational resources at Mission Beach.” John said the job will dredge approximately 500,000 cubic yards of sand from the federal channels, which were last dredged in 1984. Manson will place most of the material on Mission Beach, where it is compatible with the sand already there. Parents invited to tour Bird Rock school Bird Rock Elementary will host a tour of the school today, Feb. 4, from 10 to 11:45 a.m. A reception will follow the tour for parents of prospective students to meet the school’s principal, kindergarten teachers, PTA members, Governance Team and parents. The tour is open to adults only. The school is located at 5371 La Jolla Hermosa Blvd. For more information call (858) 488-0537. Sentencing set for vehicular manslaughter Sentencing is set for Feb. 10 for Quinton Lamar Dickens, 27, who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the death of a 19-year-old passenger after Dickens’ truck crashed into a tree in Pacific Beach. Dickens also pleaded guilty to drunk driving that caused great bodily injuries to the other passengers in the April 8, 2008 incident in which Nikko Maeva, of Mira Mesa, died from massive blunt force trauma. Other passengers suffered broken ribs, leg, and back injuries. His truck hit a tree in the 4300 block of Lamont Street. Dickens, of El Cajon, remains free on $100,000 bond. — Neal Putnam Assailant faces Feb. 10 sentencing Agahan Alemdar, 23, of La Jolla, will be sentenced Feb. 10 after pleading guilty to stabbing a man he had an argument with in a courtyard of a Pacific Beach apartment complex. Alemdar faces a maximum four-year prison term in the Aug. 3, 2009, assault on Nathaniel Thompkins, said Deputy District Attorney Steve Marquardt. Alemdar stabbed Thompkins in the neck and Thompkins had to receive emergency surgery in a hospital. The incident took place at an apartment building at 1038 Hornblend St. Alemdar remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility. — Neal Putnam