The monument, the judge says, serves a secular purpose commemorating members of the armed forces and as such, is constitutional. This should finish-up rounds of litigation that started nearly 20 years ago in 1989, when the city was first sued over the cross. The issue heated up in 2006, when Congress acquired the monument to make sure it's properly preserved (and likely to end the litigation that had dragged on for years in California state courts).

(photo by Flickr member more_than_words)

Here's the confirmed list:

MIRA MESA, 9450 MIRA MESA BLVD SAN DIEGO CA
MISSIONGORGE RD, 6171 MISSIONGORGE SAN DIEGO CA
1ST & MARKET, 101 MARKET ST SAN DIEGO CA
COLLEGE & LINDO PESSO, 5131 COLLEGE AVE SAN DIEGO CA
EUCLID AVE & FEDERAL BLVD, 1722 EUCLID AVE SAN DIEGO CA
UNIVERSITY & ARAGON, 6511 UNIVERSITY AVE SAN DIEGO CA
30TH ST & EL CAJON, 2990 EL CAJON BLVD SAN DIEGO CA
NATIONAL & 36TH, 3582 NATIONAL AVE SAN DIEGO CA
PARK & UNIVERSITY, 3830 PARK BLVD SAN DIEGO CA
11TH & C, 1122 BRDWAY AVE SAN DIEGO CA

Jennifer Medina says the CHP and sheriff's deputies shot her husband 37-times, killing him, after a low-speed chase in what she calls a case of racial profiling. Medina was hispanic. She filed a federal civil rights lawsuit here in San Diego last week, asking for punitive and other damages.

Media reports at the time said that police shot a "suspected drunken-driver," that refused to pull over but then later noted that at least one of the officers involved was the subject of an excessive force investigation.

The family and their lawyers have more information on the case at http://justice4medina.com.

The line for Hellboy 2 was long at the AMC 20 at Mission Valley, but we got there early -- only 15 or so people in front of us.

My thing, though, is why are those self-serve kiosks always broken? The line for tickets was a lot longer.

Not that the line is any shorter when they are working. I'm not sure why people avoid using them -- they're super simple and so much quicker than waiting for one teenage girl to get tickets for 40 people ahead of you.

But then, I think I'm pretty smart. Like grocery stores, this should catch on.

The movie, btw, was cool.

A San Diego woman who worked for food-service company Sodexo at Sharp Memorial hospital has sued the company after she said her boss fired her for living with her boyfriend, also an employee.

The company, according to the woman, says its policy was not to employ "relatives" and that either she or her boyfriend would have to quit. The real reason is, she says, that her living arrangements offended her boss' religious beliefs.

 She's asking for $75,001 -- just enough to get the case into federal court.

I guess some parents (or au pairs, judging by the mall's clientele) need extra guidance. I took this with my iPhone at the mall, on the back of a stroller. I don't think I need to say much more.

This shot was taken at last year's Independence Day celebrations in San Diego by Flickr member OlasisUSD. (You can join the Sandiegoist's Flickr pool here).

So have a happy and safe holiday, and we'll see you on Monday.

A blogger with the Society of Professional Journalists took issue in a post today with a recent photo run in the Union-Tribune:

To illustrate its coverage of the massive Gay-Pride parade in San Francisco recently, the San Diego Union Tribune - which is usually sensitive to diversity issues - ran a Reuters photos of two lesbians in campy, leather drag.

That photo reinforced the stereotype that Gays are a fringe element in society, and not a part of the mainstream. They could have run a photo of the large law-enforcement contingent in the parade, showing that cops and sheriffs are Gay, too.

Some photo editors need more diversity education!

I did a drive by search on the Tribune's Web site, but couldn't find the photo in question. I'll send this post to the paper's reader's representative to see if there's any response.

UPDATE (7/1 6:06 PST): okay, I found the photo. It's posted above.

In an email to the SanDiegoist, ProtectMarriage.com's attorney explains why California Renewal (the company sponsoring ProtectMarriage.com) operated for four months while suspended by the state tax board.

Hi Justin:

I serve as attorney for ProtectMarriage.com.  We've looked into the problem with California Renewal's registration.... Turns out that some paperwork from the state was incorrectly addressed and returned as undeliverable (right address, wrong name)... and when no response was received the suspension occurred.  We are cleaning up the paperwork error in the next day or two and should be back to normal shortly.
 
Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention.

Andrew Pugno
ProtectMarriage.com

He's way better than I am, or I would be, if I surfed. Maybe soon?