The Children’s Pool has been thrust into the spotlight once again after Mayor Bob Filner ordered the beach closed at night through mid-May. From sunset to sunrise through May 15, access to the beach will be restricted, a move the Friends of the Children’s Pool called “both unlawful and a gross overreaction.” The mayor’s decision to restrict access at night was spurred by the now-infamous video of two women harrassing the seals after dark, which was caught on camera by the webcam the mayor had installed at the beach with the help of the Western Alliance for Nature last month. Though there has been a 24-hour police presence at the beach since the incident involving the women sitting on and disturbing the seals took place, the mayor said in a statement he felt additional steps to protect the birthing and nursing seals were necessary. City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, with whom Mayor Filner has had some highly publicized skirmishes, said in a statement that, although he would have preferred to have been notified of the mayor’s choice to close the beach beforehand, he agreed with the decision and said his office will “vigorously defend the Mayor’s action in this matter.”