Woman injured in UC apartment fire
University City residents awakened to a three-alarm fire at an apartment complex in the 5700 block of Erlanger Street the morning of June 3. One woman was injured in the blaze, which damaged four units.
Medics took the unidentified woman to a nearby hospital, where doctors said she is in critical condition, officials said. Flames destroyed two units and damaged two others, totaling $460,000 in damages and $100,000 to contents, said Maurice Luque, spokesman for San Diego Fire Rescue Department.
Around 8:30 a.m., a neighbor heard the sirens and ran out but left her cat inside, so she begged a police officer to go back to her apartment, but Luque said they had bigger priorities.
“When we could, we went looking for her cat three separate times,” Luque said. “The third try, they found it under a dresser.”
Firefighters gave the cat to the officer who gave it to the woman, Luque said.
Volunteers from the American Red Cross responded to the apartment fire to aid displaced residents while 80 firefighters battled the blaze, which was started by faulty electric wiring, Luque said. In addition to firefighters battling the blaze atop the roof, SDFRD helicopter aided with reconnaissance, he said.
“The helicopter was really important and helpful,” Luque said. “It saw a back alleyway road that wasn’t in our map books.”

MTS makes route changes, cancellations
After receiving feedback from the local hostelling industry and the business community, the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) put off making a decision May 22 to cancel weekend service of Bus Route 923 and will readdress the issue at its next meeting on Thursday, June 12.
The route connects Ocean Beach to downtown and serves as a main traveling line for weekend visitors and hostellers between communities, according to a statement from Hostelling International San Diego.
As a result of the temporary stay, MTS staff has been meeting with city officials to discuss possible alternatives to canceling the service, said MTS spokesman Rob Schupp.
The route survived a round of service cuts and reroutes in an attempt to save money as the MTS has been forced to tighten its fiscal belt because of the economic downturn, Schupp said.
“It’s a continuing challenge for “¦ all transit agencies to maintain levels of service throughout the state,” he said. “Half of our budget is dependent on sales tax.”
Schupp said the MTS has received less revenue from sales tax this year compared with the same time last year.
Through hiring freezes, cuts in staffing and increased advertising, the agency has been working to cover a $22 million budget shortfall. Schupp also said the state has cut funding and removed “dedicated dollars” from the MTS budget to balance the state’s own budget.
Other routes were also impacted during the MTS meeting on May 22, including:
“¢ Cancellation of all weekend service of Route 25 between Fashion Valley, Linda Vista and Health Center Drive.
“¢ The reroute of Route 30 between the Veterans Administration Hospital and the University Towne Center Transit Center to serve La Jolla Colony, Nobel Drive, Regents Road, Arriba Street and Palmilla Drive.
“¢ Replacement of routes 48 and 49 with other connecting lines. Service on La Jolla Village Drive would remain available on routes 41, 101, 150 and 921.
The June 12 MTS meeting is scheduled to be held at 9 a.m. at the MTS James R. Mills Building board meeting room, Floor 10, 1255 Imperial Ave.

UCSD to honor alumni
The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) will honor six alumni, along with current students, during the UCSD Alumni Association Awards for Excellence fund-raiser. The 30th annual event takes place Saturday, June 7, at 6 p.m. in the East Ballroom of the campus Price Center, 9500 Gilman Drive.
Honorees will include Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini, M.D., Class of 1993, physician and author of the acclaimed books “A Thousand Splendid Suns” and “The Kite Runner,” and Gunars Valkirs, Ph.D., Class of ’74, biophysicist and co-founder of Biosite Inc.
For more information, visit www.alumni.ucsd.edu/awards.
UC, LJ Girl Scouts honor veterans
Girl Scout Troop 3723 of University City and Troop 3243 of La Jolla joined 11 other troops and two Boy Scout troops to decorate the graves of veterans for Memorial Day.
The scouts placed American flags on the graves of veterans at Greenwood Memorial Park, which was the site of a Memorial Day observance featuring San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne.
Memorial Day’s origins go back 140 years when women began decorating the graves of Civil War troops, both North and South.