Contractor Wilkes guilty in bribery case

Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes was convicted Monday of bribing disgraced former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham in exchange for more than $80 million in Pentagon contracts.

THE REGION SAN DIEGO – Efforts to fluoridate water in the county got a boost Monday when a commission headed by Supervisor Ron Roberts allocated nearly $5.7 million for the cause. The First 5 Commission of San Diego voted unanimously to use the money to pay costs associated with fluoridation for seven water districts, beginning with the city of San Diego's. The money set aside comes from a 50-cents-per-pack tax on tobacco products in the state. ENCINITAS – An old sewage treatment plant that blocked the sightline of San Elijo Lagoon was being demolished last week, giving visitors to the west end of the lagoon an unobstructed view for the first time in decades. The San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, a nonprofit group, commissioned the $86,000 project. It wants to restore the lagoon to its natural state. CHULA VISTA – The city's fire chief announced his retirement Wednesday, in part because firefighters criticized his leadership, including his handling of last month's Harris fire. Chula Vista firefighters issued a vote of “no confidence” in Fire Chief Douglas Perry. Perry, who makes $171,865 a year, downplayed the importance of the labor vote but said union “finger pointing” was a factor in his decision to leave. His last day will be Dec. 28. ESCONDIDO – City Council members voted Wednesday to raise water and sewer rates in the city. Starting Jan. 1, fees will rise for residents, agricultural consumers and businesses. Water rates will rise by 8 percent for all consumers. Monthly sewer bills for residential customers will increase from $34.50 to $37.65. Council members voted to phase in some of the increases for businesses that faced the most dramatic sewer rate hikes, in some cases more than triple their costs. NATIONAL CITY – Police officers assigned to K-9 duty are seeking at least $10,000 each in overtime pay in a lawsuit filed against the city in federal court. The officers say the city is violating the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying overtime for off-the-clock dog care. Assistant City Attorney Jodi Doucette said the lawsuit is “absolutely without merit.” LA MESA – An 18-year-old Jamul man died Tuesday when his car slammed into a tree at high speed off state Route 94. Devan Louis Caddell, a student at Mesa Community College, died when he was ejected from his car, the county Medical Examiner's Office said. Witnesses said Caddell was traveling west at 110 mph, possibly racing another car. His Acura flew into a King Street backyard and smashed into the tree so hard that it split the car in two and knocked down the tree.

The verdict closed another chapter in the scandal surrounding Cunningham and the biggest bribery scheme in congressional history.

Wilkes was convicted of conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and “honest services” wire fraud.

Wilkes testified in his own defense for almost two days and had denied guilt since being charged in February. The jury forewoman said the evidence against Wilkes was too strong.

He faces more than 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 28.

Alcohol banned at all city beaches for a year

The San Diego City Council passed a one-year ban Monday on alcohol at all city beaches, bay shores and coastal parks. The 5-2 vote, the minimum needed for passage, came after nearly four hours of debate and speeches by council members and scores of residents.

Councilman Kevin Faulconer had been pushing for a permanent ban since Labor Day's drunken melee at Pacific Beach. Lifeguards abandoned their towers and San Diego police donned riot gear to avoid a barrage of beer cans and plastic bottles.

The trial ban was a last-minute compromise suggested by City Attorney Michael Aguirre. It will go into effect 30 days after a second reading by the council, a formality expected later this month.

Erosion, slides feared in fire-affected areas

Efforts were under way last week to help minimize soil erosion and flows of mud and debris that could occur when rain falls on areas denuded by the recent wildfires.

“The fire was just one facet of the emergency. Now we must prepare for the onset of the erosion,” said Cid Tesoro, who supervises San Diego County's watershed protection program.

An official cost for stabilizing the landscape has not been calculated, but Tesoro said it is certain to exceed $1million. The blazes scorched about 370,000 acres.

At the federal level, two Burn Area Emergency Response teams were finishing reports on the most severe post-fire threats to life and property. They surveyed tens of thousands of acres of federal and Indian tribal lands.

Former drug kingpin gets life prison term

One of the world's most feared drug kingpins has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the global narcotics trade.

“I would like to ask forgiveness from all those people on both sides of the border whom I have affected by my wrongful decisions and criminal conduct,” Francisco Javier Arellano Félix said in a letter read by a lawyer Monday in court.

The cartel that Arellano headed when he was arrested on a sport-fishing boat off Baja California Sur dominated the drug trade between Mexico and California for the past two decades.

When he pleaded guilty in September, Arellano admitted that in the four years he headed the cartel, and for many more before that, he orchestrated slayings, torture, money laundering and bribery.

Legoland planning to add more pieces

Legoland announced a $20 million expansion Tuesday that includes a two-story aquarium and an “Indiana Jones”-like adventure in 1920s Egypt.

Sea Life Legoland, the nearly 36,000-square-foot aquarium, will include tanks of sea horses and rays, and a shoaling ring where children are surrounded by schools of fish.

The aquarium, scheduled to open in the summer at the Carlsbad amusement park, will be a separate attraction with its own admission price.

Legoland also has plans to build its own hotel in coming years, said Nick Varney, CEO of Legoland parent Merlin Entertainments Group.

Mexican fruit flies trapped in Escondido

Mexican fruit flies, among the most voracious of crop pests, were found this week in Escondido, prompting immediate spraying and a new quarantine that could last for months.

Insect trappers working for the San Diego County Department of Agriculture captured five immature female flies in two residential locations Tuesday near Oak Hill Drive and Bear Valley Parkway in eastern Escondido.

The flies were young and had not mated, but officials are nonetheless concerned and are treating the find as an infestation. Biological studies have shown that the discovery of just two flies can signal an infestation.

The minimum quarantine area will be 81 square miles, or just more than five miles in all directions from the initial find, officials said.