Downtown resident
diagnosed with TB
The County of San Diego HHSA (Health and Human Services Agency) is working to notify patrons of several facilities who were possibly exposed to tuberculosis (TB). A downtown San Diego man has been diagnosed with active TB. The man spent time at several downtown locations including the City library at 820 E St. (the first floor mystery section from 1 -3 p.m. daily), the Star Bar at 423 E St. (10 a.m. “” 1 p.m. daily), the Senior Center at 928 Broadway (breakfast 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. and second lunch 12:30 -1 p.m. daily) and the Salvation Army San Diego Center City Corps Senior Breakfast at 825 7th Ave. (8:30 – 9:30 a.m., Monday – Friday). Anyone who was in one or more of those sites for 16 hours or more between May 1 and Sept. 22, 2007 may have been exposed.
“TB is a slow-moving disease, and it is important to notify those who may have frequented these locations,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County Public Health Officer. Symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss. Most people who are exposed to TB do not develop the disease. Individuals with no medical provider or those wanting more information call the County TB Control Program at (619) 692-8621. Tuberculosis is not uncommon in the San Diego region. This year there have been 177 cases. In 2006, there were 315 total cases of TB in San Diego County.
SCS Engineers win
CCDC contract
The San Diego branch of SCS Engineers, a leading international environmental consulting firm, recently signed a three-year, $200,000 contract to provide lead consulting services for the Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC).
Through the contract, SCS Engineers will provide a full range of environmental services, including studies, design and remediation and litigation assistance in support of CCDC’s redevelopment activities in downtown San Diego.
The contract is a rollover from an initial contract with CCDC for soils remediation of Petco Park. The initial contract made the firm eligible to bid on all future work with CCDC.
SCS Engineers is one of six firms selected for the contract and will serve as the lead consulting firm for all environmental consulting projects. For more information about SCS Engineers visit www.scsengineers.com.
MCASD Downtown
closed for installation
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) in downtown, located at 1100 and 1001 Kettner Blvd., will be closed for installation through Oct. 20. MCASD Downtown’s Jacobs building and 1001 Kettner galleries will reopen on Sunday, Oct. 21 with the exhibit “Robert Irwin: Primaries and Secondaries.” During the time of closure, MCASD La Jolla, located at 700 Prospect St., will be open and will feature the exhibit “Soundwaves: The Art of Sampling” as well as “Cerca Series: Iana Quesnell.” The outdoor Edwards Garden Gallery will also be open. General admission at MCASD La Jolla will be at the discounted rate of $5 through Oct. 20. For more information visit www.mcasd.org or call (858) 454-3541.
Rugby comes back,
tickets on sale
The rugby world is coming back to San Diego in February 2008 for the fifth annual USA Sevens, part of the IRB World Seven Series International rugby event.
The event features the national teams for 16 rugby nations playing in 44 matches Feb. 9 and 10 at Petco Park. Tickets are now on sale for this highly anticipated sporting event. Countries that will be participating in the USA Sevens include the United States, Mexico, Wales, Australia, England, Scotland, France, New Zealand, Kenya, West Indies, Chile, Canada, South Africa, Somoa, Argentina and the 2007 USA Sevens defending champion, Fiji. Tickets are priced from $25 to $215. To buy tickets or for more information on ticketing options, visit www.usasevens.com.
Children cruise bay
for free in October
During the month of October, Hornblower Cruises is inviting all children under the age of 12 to explore the bay for free. Complimentary tickets will be provided for up to two children, per each paying adult, on a one-hour or two-hour narrated harbor cruise. Full-fare adult tickets are $18 for a one-hour cruise and $22 for a two-hour cruise. Tickets can be picked up at the Hornblower ticket booth located at 1066 North Harbor Drive in Downtown San Diego. Passes must be used during the month of October. For more information, and for a schedule of daily cruise departures, visit www.hornblower.com or call (619) 725-8888.
Zoo says ‘it’s a girl,’
but not much more
The fourth giant panda cub born to the San Diego Zoo had residents anxiously awaiting the announcement on whether the black and white fur-ball was a boy or a girl.
Now San Diegans wait for a chance to glimpse the female panda and to take part in the naming process. Sept. 13 brought an end to the wonder, when zoo officials announced that the cub is a girl.
“We do a weekly exam in the mornings, and that’s when we determined the sex,” said zoo spokeswoman Yadira Galindo.
Zoo officials were close-mouthed, however, about the naming process that occurs 100 days after the birth in keeping with Chinese tradition. The mother, 16-year-old Bai Yun, had the cub six weeks ago in August.
The first cub, Hua Mei, who was born in the United States in 1999, was named out of respect for the Chinese. The second cub born at the zoo was Mei Sheng in 2003, whose name was discussed with the Chinese.
In 2005, zoo officials came up with five names, cleared them with China, then posted them on an Internet site. They let the world pick Su Lin as the name of the third cub, Galindo said.
Although officials are tight-lipped about the cub’s name, the public should be able to view her by December, Galindo said.
If people want to see the panda cub now, they can view the zoo’s panda cam, http://www.sandiegozoo.org.