Boom Boxes Make for Bad Vibes in...

Boom Boxes Make for Bad Vibes in National City

National City has declared war on boom boxes--those temple-throbbing portable stereos that are the latest fad among the mobile and music-obsessed young.

Police are busily writing noise citations for boom-boxers who delight in cruising through commercial and residential areas while raucous music blares from theater-size speakers in the back of their mini trucks.

Fifteen young men pleaded guilty last week in South Bay Municipal Court and were fined $71 to $118 each. More cases are pending, and four unrepentant boom-boxers are set to begin trial May 12.

“We’re not just talking about loud stereos,” said Asst. City Atty. Linda Harter. “We’re talking about speakers that can be heard for blocks and blocks and can actually cause hearing damage.”

The crackdown, the first in San Diego County, began after residents begged National City officials for action.

“We want the word to get out that you can’t destroy the tranquility of our city and get away with it,” Harter said.

Police do not carry sound meters but instead use a three-block standard: If the stereo can be heard from that far away, it’s illegal. “Usually we hear the music before we can even see the truck,” said Lt. Craig Short.

After police write a citation, the stereos are seized as evidence. Only after the court case is resolved are they returned. That, says Judge James Edmunds, provides incentive for defendants to plead guilty.

A second conviction could lead to the stereos being destroyed as a public nuisance, much like a rabid dog or a rickety building.

Just Kidding, Folks

No one at San Diego City Hall is surprised that Councilman Ed Struiksma is retreating from his previously staunch support for the planned 3,360-home Miramar Ranch North subdivision.

A poll done by UC San Diego Professor Sam Popkin found that 68.5% of likely voters in Struiksma’s district oppose the project, 18.5% support it, and 13% are undecided. No wonder Struiksma is not eager to have a referendum on the same ballot on which he’s seeking reelection.

Land of Milk and Honey

More evidence that living in San Diego County can be quite rewarding:

- Local cow makes good: Moo-Moo the Cow, resident of Poway Stables, has been selected as the new Cow Leatherton, the lip-syncing “spokes-cow” (“Go see cow, go see cow . . . “) for the Leather Factory, a San Marcos and Kearny Mesa furniture store.

She succeeds No. 1000. And no, No. 1000 has not been made into a sofa. She has returned to the herd at Hollandia Dairy in San Marcos.

- Local atheists make bad, which is considered good: San Diego atheists Stephen Thorne and Howard Kreisner have been named Most Hated Atheists of the Year by the 19th annual Convention of American Atheists.

Thorne and Kreisner were given the award for suing the city of San Diego over the Christmas displays in Balboa Park and opposing the presence of a cross on Mt. Soledad. The award is given annually by the proprietor of an atheist cemetery in Virginia.

How About a Toga Party?

These are tight financial times for higher education, so colleges and universities are increasingly looking to their alumni for help. And a little pizazz at the alumni gathering can go a long way to keep the alums loyal to dear old alma mater.

This Saturday, the Louisiana State University Alumni Assn. will hold its first Crawfish Boil and Cajun Fais-Do-Do at Hospitality Point on Mission Bay. Football coach Mike Archer and 2,000 pounds of live crawfish will be flown in for the fest.

A week from Saturday, the Stanford Club of San Diego will meet at the La Jolla Country Club for a luncheon and a lecture by Dr. Herant Katchadourian, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science.

Katchadourian, selected four times as an outstanding professor and Class Day speaker by Stanford seniors, will deliver his specialty: “Keeping Sex and Love Alive.”