Free Republic

SAN DIEGO – Three local congressmen have introduced a bill that would transfer the Mount Soledad cross from city control to the federal government, a step they hope will preserve the La Jolla landmark. Reps. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, Brian Bilbray, R-Carlsbad and Darrell Issa, R-Vista, sponsored the bill, which Hunter introduced late Monday. The city has been ordered by the court to remove the 29-foot cross from city property by Aug. 1 or pay a fine of $5,000 a day. A judge has ruled it is an unconstitutional preference of religion for the cross to be displayed on public property....

Cigarette smoking would be banned at city beaches and parks under a measure tentatively approved Monday by the city council. Sponsors said the measure will reduce litter and allow beachgoers to avoid secondhand smoke. "To me, this is a quality-of-life issue for San Diego," said Councilman Jim Madaffer, a co-sponsor. "This is an issue that is about public health and safety." The council unanimously approved the ban. A second vote is required before the measure becomes law. San Diego, whose miles of beaches are a major tourist draw, joins a handful of other California cities that have similar bans, including...

8:10 p.m. March 8, 2005 SAN DIEGO – The San Diego City Council on Tuesday rejected a plan to transfer the property atop Mount Soledad, including its 43-foot-tall cross, to the federal government to be designated a national veterans memorial. The panel voted 5-3 not to transfer the property to the National Parks Service, a last-ditch effort proposed by two San Diego congressmen to stop the removal of the cross from Mount Soledad. Advertisement The cross was ordered moved after federal judges twice declared the sale of the city land to the Mount Soledad Memorial Association unconstitutional because it favored...