Lifeguards make 521 rescues during Labor Day weekend Lifeguards estimated that 1.1 million people visited San Diego beaches over Labor Day weekend — Saturday through Monday — and that lifeguards made 521 water rescues, lifeguard Lt. Andy Lerum said. On Saturday, the floating party, dubbed flotilla, returned to Sail Bay on Mission Bay, wherein 3,500 people connected their inter-tubes and drank alcohol on the water. Beachgoers are permitted to drink while floating on the water but are banned from drinking on the sands. Lerum reported that lifeguards made 20 rescues at the floating party and several people were sent to the hospital for intoxication. Twenty lifeguards were sent to survey the area when only one lifeguard is usually stationed at Sail Bay. Lerum also reported that the 5,000 people estimated to be in the general area also damaged the endangered eel grass and littered the bottom of the bay with alcohol bottles and cans. Police issued 30 citations and made at least four arrests, Lerum said. City to create unit focussing on medical marijuana law City Council Sept, 8 voted to create a task force to study regulations on medical marijuana dispensaries in order to address concerns on public safety. The council has set Dec. 31 as the deadline for the 11-member group—which will include affected residents, physicians and attorneys—to deliver its proposals. Council will appoint the task force members. The city has no guidelines on the location of such cooperatives. Neither does it require police department approval of their opening. Ten cities in San Diego County have banned or put moratoriums on pot shops. San Diego isn’t on the list. In July, the city suspended approvals for dispensaries. In 1996, California voters approved a proposition to legalize marijuana for seriously ill patients. The law states that nonprofit medical pot dispensaries are legal if they verify the patients’ medical necessity. Robber hits Bank of America The helicopter that circled over Pacific Beach on Sept. 2 was looking for the suspect that allegedly walked into the Bank of America at 912 Garnet Ave., handed the teller a demand note for money and then fled. The suspect returned to the teller a few seconds later to get the note back. Police apprehended the suspect at 633 Missouri St. with the help of witnesses. Five suspects steal 16 bottles of booze from pharmacy Five suspects – four males and one female – stole 16 bottles of alcohol from the CVS pharmacy at 1652 Garnet Ave on Sept. 4. by stashing the bottles in their clothes and in several bags. The alarm went off as the suspects left the store. The suspects allegedly told employees they had a gun and fled in a black Chevy Blazer. Witnesses noted the license plate and police apprehended the vehicle 15 minutes later on eastbound I-8 at Fairmont Avenue. Two area water main breaks cause disruption Two water main breaks in the beach area flooded streets, backed-up traffic and caused some to go without tap water Aug. 25. A break in a main on Mission Boulevard at Santa Clara Place at 12:30 p.m. sent water streaming through cracks in the road, buckling the street in places, said Matthew Gardner, owner of Cheap Rentals, a bike and surfboard rental shop at 3689 Mission Blvd. “The ground cracked open in several places like something was underneath trying to get out,” Gardner said. A 6-inch concrete water main broke, causing a 15-foot-wide hole, said Arian Collins, supervising public information officer for the Water Operations Branch of the Public Utilities Department. Water to some homes and businesses was shut off until 3 a.m. the next morning, Collins said. Mission Boulevard was closed Aug. 25 and 26 as repairs were made. At 9:10 p.m. the city received a report of a water main break on Ingraham Street just south of Beryl Street. Water to the 4700 and 4800 blocks of Ingraham was shut down until 7 a.m. the next morning and a section of northbound Ingraham was closed during repairs until 8 a.m Wednesday. There were no reports of flooding to residences or businesses from either of the breaks, Collins said. Diesel fuel spills into Mission Bay The Coast Guard discovered a diesel fuel spill approximately 500 yards long in Mission Bay near Seaforth Marina on Aug. 27 at 8 a.m. The diesel spill had dispersed and the Coast Guard was not able to clean it up, said Henry Dunphy, a petty officer for the Coast Guard. Dunphy called the spill “relatively small.” “It doesn’t sound small but the amount of diesel to make a 500 yard sheen is pretty small,” Dunphy said. The Coast Guard is investigating the spill to determine its source. No beaches were closed or wildlife reported endangered, Dunphy said. Newspaper racks stolen Four Beach & Bay Press newspaper racks were stolen at 4983 Cass St. in front of the 7 Eleven, at 5026 Cass Street in front of San Diego Coffee Tea and Spice, at 730 Turquoise St. in front of Albertsons and at the corner of Chalcedony Street and Mission Boulevard. The Beach & Bay Press requests the suspect(s) return the stolen items to those locations or to the Beach & Bay office at 4645 Cass St.