Tuesday, December 15, 2009

300 Pendleton Marines return from Afghanistan

About 300 Marines from the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were expected to return home last night after completing a seven-month deployment in Afghanistan.

The battalion was attached to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Its members served in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

More troops from the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines will continue returning in waves all week, Camp Pendleton officials said.

In an October newsletter to Marine families, battalion commander Lt. Col. Bill McCollough wrote: “We continue to make improvements to the district and bring this area closer to self-sufficiency.”

McCollough said that under his troops’ watch, schools and a clinic were opened, foot bridges were installed over canals, roads were made safer for travel and wheat seeds were distributed so farmers could grow crops other than opium poppies.

“Those that want to harm us and derail these efforts are being killed, captured or marginalized,” he said.

Jeanette Steele

USD to show video feed from climate conference

SAN DIEGO: The University of San Diego will host a forum Thursday that features a live discussion with the state’s delegates to the global warming conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Carl Nettleton, a San Diego-based expert on oceans, will moderate the panel with John Lormon, a veteran environmental lawyer in the region. The panelists are expected to include some of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s top deputies, including Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman.

Organizers bill the event as the only public, live discussion from the conference with the state’s climate team. It will be shown by video feed at the university’s Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, 5998 Alcala Park, in the Linda Vista neighborhood of San Diego.

The program will start at 7:30 a.m. Admission is $15 for people who preregister and $20 at the door. For more information, go to procopio.com/events.

Mike Lee

Dry, sunny weather expected to last awhile

The county is entering an extended period of dry and sunny weather after coming off its rainiest week in a year.

“We’re pretty much doing a complete flip-flop,” said Mark Moede, a forecaster for the National Weather Service.

Temperatures should gradually rise through Friday — for both the coast and inland valleys. Highs at the beaches are expected to reach the mid-60s today, then slowly climb to the low 70s. The inland valleys could see temperatures in the high 70s by Friday.

Lindbergh Field, San Diego’s official weather station, recorded only a trace of rain yesterday morning. But it got 2.23 inches from Dec. 7 through Sunday. That made the week the wettest in town since December 2008 and pushed the season total (since July 1) to 2.35 inches. The 30-year average for July 1 through Dec. 15 is 2.38 inches.

Many spots in the county were far wetter last week. Valley Center recorded 4.11 inches, Julian received 6.46 and Palomar Mountain got a whopping 9.39.

Moede said high pressure is building over the region and no more storms are on the horizon. The current dry pattern should hold through at least Christmas Eve, he said.

Source:signonsandiego.com/

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