Lawsuit against San Diego’s Over-the-Line beach bash is withdrawn
SAN DIEGO -- A legal action that could have scuttled San Diego’s annual beach bacchanal called Over-the-Line has been withdrawn, attorneys on opposing sides announced Wednesday.
A group called FreePB.org had alleged a boosterish attitude by city officials has led city employees to illegally favor Over-the-Line for a permit for using the city beach while rejecting other groups.
In a statement, representatives for FreePB.org and the Over-the-Line sponsor, the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club, agreed that all groups seeking a permit should be held to the same rules and that permits should be denied only if a group will not conform to the rules or an event “poses an unreasonable public-safety risk.”
Although it is dropping Over-the-Line from its lawsuit, FreePB.org plans to continue the lawsuit seeking public records indicating how the police chief determined that Over-the-Line follows the city’s strict rules about alcohol on the beach.
Over-the-Line involves three-person teams playing a variant of softball. Team names — heard over a public address system — use every double-entendre imaginable.
More than 50,000 players and spectators are expected at this year’s 60th annual Over-the-Line, held at Fiesta Island on Mission Bay over July 13-14 and July 20-21.
Over-the-Line is the athletic club’s major fundraiser for the year, clearing up to $50,000 after as much as $500,000 is paid for fencing, security, portable toilets, standby ambulances and other necessities.
The club contributes to a range of local causes: youth sports, presents for underprivileged kids at Christmas, programs for military families, fundraisers for cancer and muscular dystrophy research. For that reason, every mayor in memory, including current Mayor Bob Filner, has been an Over-the-Line booster.
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Twitter: @LATsandiego
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