Candle starts large house fire on Haines Street
An unattended candle started a house fire at 4043 Haines St. Thursday, June 12, at 1 p.m., causing approximately $500,000 in structure and property damage.
Maurice Luque, public information officer with the San Diego Fire Department, said approximately 30 firefighters with four fire engines and one truck responded to put out the blaze.
“The second floor is destroyed and there was extensive damage to the first floor,” he said.
Luque said a woman visiting the owner of the home had a candle burning at the house and thought the flame was extinguished.
“She blew it out and it reignited and went downstairs and the fire started,” he said. According to Luque, the candle ignited some materials near a bed.
The visitor suffered a small first-degree burn on one of her hands and a firefighter had a steam-burn on his hands. A man was also injured breaking one of the windows before firefighters arrived.
“A passerby saw the fire and tried to help and broke a window. He thought there was a dog inside,” Luque said. “He suffered a cut his finger. After the fire, he wasn’t feeling well, so he was transported to hospital for evaluation.”
Luque estimated $250,000 in structure damage and $250,000 in property damage.
“Candles are one of the leading cause of fires in San Diego, along with unattended food when cooking and discarded smoking materials,” Luque said. “We remind people, if they’re going to have candles, you don’t have it next to anything flammable and never leave it unattended.”
Bail set at $1 million for man in SWAT standoff
A July 29 preliminary hearing was set Friday for a Pacific Beach man accused of trying to murder his former girlfriend with a hammer and sexually assaulting her, which led to a May 30 incident in which led to an 11-hour standoff with SWAT officers.
Walter Cordell, 52, has pleaded not guilty in San Diego Superior Court to 12 felony counts, which include charges of attempted murder and sexual assault.
The victim was hospitalized with broken bones and head injuries. She was able to escape her attacker. Cordell reportedly fled the residence after the attack but returned the next morning. When a neighbor recognized his car the next day, the police were called.
The suspect claimed that he was armed, which led to SWAT officers closing down the neighborhood around Turquoise Street. Officers cut the water, power and telephone at the residence before pumping the house with teargas. Cordell finally left the residence after a police dog was sent in.
Cordell appeared before Judge Stephanie Sontag on Friday, June 13, and changed his preliminary hearing date from June 17 to July 29 on his attorney’s advice. Another judge has signed a restraining order that bars him from contacting the victim via telephone, mail or personal contact should he post bond from jail.
If convicted of all charges and sentenced consecutively, he could receive 100 years in prison. He has a prior record for assault with a deadly weapon in Orange County from 2001.
He remains in the downtown central jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
De Anza legal struggles move slowly through court
The legal struggle between De Anza Mobile Home Park residents and the city continues to move slowly through court.
The latest court order in May by Judge Charles R. Hayes said the city must come back with a relocation impact report to “determine mitigation of economic hardship” for residents as soon as possible.
Until then, residents will stay at the park for the foreseeable future, said Vincent Bartollota, an attorney representing the De Anza tenants.
The city will pay for the report to be handed over to two “special masters,” who will review the report and relocation plan and make recommendations to the court.
“In the meantime, these people will be leaving with a cloud over their head with regard to what’s going to happen to them,” Bartollota said.
Bartolotta said he’s been contacted by the city to help select the special masters.
De Anza residents have wanted the city to pay anywhere from $48 million to $84 million for the cost of moving, which would include the city paying “in place” fair-market value of the homes and possibly the differences in rent for residents for 48 months.
The court found the city doesn’t have to pay for the “in place” value of the homes, but may have to help the tenants pay rent for the 48 months following the move, according to court documents.
The fight over the property designated for public use has lasted through decades of litigation.
The residents’ 50-year lease technically ended in November 2003, according to court documents.
Representatives of the De Anza residents and the city have been tied up in court ever since over how much the city should have to pay the residents to move.
FOPBSS awards Woman’s Club for community service
The Friends of Pacific Beach Secondary School’s (FOPBSS) 3rd annual Outstanding Community Service Award was given to The Mission Beach Woman’s Club (MBWC) for their charitable donation of more than $16,000 to the Mission Bay High School music program. In the past, the Mission Beach Woman’s Club donations have been used to purchase valuable equipment to assist lifeguards and firefighters in their efforts to save lives and keep people safe.
This year, recognizing that the music program required a significant amount of private funding to provide instruments and take full advantage of the benefits of music for participating students, the giving committee opted to make MBHS the recipient of their annual silent auction, which generated more than $15,000, in addition to their initial $1,000 grant, for the program.
“It was because of the kids. They were coming back to the community because of it,” said Susan Thorning, former president of MBWC. “We were really excited to be able to help them.”
Pam Deitz, of Friends of Pacific Beach Secondary Schools says, “The Mission Beach Woman’s Club donation is an unprecedented one time donation towards supporting music in our community. We are so grateful for their support! They exemplify the spirit of which this award was intended and have set an excellent example of how our community can work together to make the beach area a better place to live.”
Dog-gone: Take your Dog to Work Day returns Fri.
It will be a day of foxhounds manning the phones and French bulldogs behind the front desk when Take Your Dog to Work Day returns Friday, June 20.
The event was created in 1990 by Pet Sitters International to encourage dog adoptions from humane societies, animal shelters and breed rescue clubs.
Coldwell Banker Real Estate, 4090 Mission Blvd., has participated in the event for the past five years, handing out awards to the employees’ pooches in categories such as best trick, cutest and best behaved, sending every dog home with a doggie bag filled with toys and treats.
For information visit www.takeyourdog.com.
Group collecting stuffed animals for abused children
The Child Abuse Prevention Foundation (CAPF) and United Way are teaming up to provide a little comfort by collecting 10,000 stuffed animals for 10,000 abused and neglected San Diego children.
Saturday, June 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. volunteers will be accepting new stuffed animals to “stuff the bus” as donations will fill a vintage Volvo bus at the United Way office, 4699 Murphy Canyon Road.
CAPF of San Diego will distribute the toys to the various group homes and organizations from the United Way office on Monday, June 23, and Tuesday, June 24.
For information call (858) 427-1107.