Killer whale show resumes at SeaWorld The killer whale show at San Diego’s SeaWorld resumed Feb. 27 after being cancelled since Feb. 24 when a trainer was killed in a show at Orlando’s SeaWorld. Dawn Brancheau, a whale trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando, was killed when a killer whale named Tilikum grabbed her pony tail, pulled her into the water and dragged her around the tank. SeaWorld officials closed the shows until Saturday, and did not allow the trainers into the water with the orcas once they resumed. SeaWorld will continue to review last week’s incident and has yet to announce when it will allow the trainers back in the water. Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon changes course After nine years of finishing at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, this year the Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego Marathon and Half Marathon will finish at SeaWorld. The race, set for June 6, will have a new course and, for the first time, the event will feature a half marathon. The new marathon course will feature a tour of San Diego including the Prado in Balboa Park, the Gaslamp Quarter, Fashion Valley, Mission Bay and a marathon stretch inside the Park at the Park at PETCO Park. More than 10 miles of the marathon will feature views of Mission Bay, including a nearly 5-mile loop on Fiesta Island. PB Planning Group needs volunteers Those who would like to have a say about parking, traffic, development and future planning in Pacific Beach might consider joining the Pacific Beach Planning Group (PBPG), which advises the city on these and other important community issues. The PBPG is a city-recognized, volunteer board composed of 15 residential and five commercial members. Meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Pacific Beach Library. Pacific Beach residents, property owners and business owners are eligible to serve on the PBPG. Applications are being accepted now. For more information call Marcie Beckett at (858) 483-8908. Man gets 13 years for kidnapping A man who participated in kidnapping a couple at gunpoint in Pacific Beach a year ago was sentenced Feb. 26 to 13 years in state prison. Arturo Galarza, 39, was given consecutive terms for the kidnapping which was related to one victim’s losing $80,000 worth of marijuana for sale. Galarza pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping in the Feb. 2, 2009, incident in which Silvia Arellano and her then-boyfriend Joshua Castrillon were approached by Galarza and two other men on Ingraham Street. The couple had just gotten out of their car when Galarza and two others ordered them back into their car at 11:30 a.m. at gunpoint. Castrillon testified last year that he knew Galarza was “disappointed and mad” about the disappearance of $80,000 worth of marijuana that Castrillon was keeping for sale for him. Castrillon testified the men told him “you know what this is about” and put him and his girlfriend in the back seat of their own BMW. Arellano testified she was shocked with a taser and $100 from her purse was taken. She said she didn’t know her boyfriend was involved with drugs and broke up with him afterward. The kidnapping, however, was brief, as one of the men’s driving patterns drew the attention of a San Diego police officer who tried to pull them over. Instead, the driver sped up, got on Interstate 8, and engaged in a high speed chase that ended in Mission Valley. San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeff Fraser fined Galarza $1,000, and gave him credit for spending a year in jail. The sentencing of co-defendant Daniel Jasso, 33, was delayed to April 9. Jasso also has pleaded guilty to two kidnapping counts. Three others have pleaded not guilty and await a May 6 trial. — Neal Putnam