HOWARD LIPIN / Union-Tribune Dave Slater of San Diego checked out the candies at the counter of Wisteria Candy Cottage, which will be closing July 30 after 87 years in business. He ended up choosing a pound of chocolate-covered cherries.

EAST COUNTY – Loyal customers showed up at the Wisteria Candy Cottage yesterday, distraught at the news that the backcountry shop selling confections like caramel turtles and pecan rolls might go out of business. “I heard you're closing. That's so sad,” Dave Slater of San Diego told owner Dana Eacobellis as he bought a pound of chocolate-covered cherries.

EL CAJON – Erik Weber wasn't supposed to make it this far – he wasn't even supposed to be close. Diagnosed at age 3 with autism, Weber, now 19, wouldn't mentally develop past the level of an 18-month-old, doctors told his parents. They also told the parents they might want to find an institution in which Erik could spend his life.

A Del Mar resident's Web site encouraging students to post their midterm and final exams online is generating debate at UC San Diego and other schools about academic integrity, cheating and copyright violations.

IMPERIAL BEACH – Shane Cronwell, 12, knows why Imperial Beach needs a skate park. “We have to go really far, like Coronado, to skate now or we get tickets from the police,” Shane said. Now he and others who want the park have set out to raise the money they need to support it.

VALENCIA PARK – A sign at Imperial Avenue and Stevens Way proclaims the “Valencia Business Park.” But visitors won't find much at the vacant property except for a post office on a far corner and a paved trail along Chollas Creek.

OCEANSIDE – Every tale can tell who, what, where and when. But a great story, says documentary filmmaker Edward Hermoza Kramer, starts with asking why. As founder of Y Productions, an Oceanside-based video production company, he makes it his mission to reveal the contribution that local organizations and groups make to the community.

CHULA VISTA – Chula Vista could lease out some city-owned land to generate revenue as the city continues struggling with low tax revenue and a shaky economy. The city owns eight parcels that are not being used and are considered surplus, and is about to acquire three more parcels for no money under agreements related to construction of the South Bay Expressway, said Rick Ryals, the city's real-property manager.

CAMP PENDLETON – Trying to avoid a trial, Marine Sgt. John Winnick II capped a hearing at Camp Pendleton yesterday by defending the fatal shooting of two men and the serious wounding of two others in Iraq. Winnick shot at least two of the men during the June 17, 2007, incident near Lake Tharthar in western Iraq.

OLD TOWN – Using building plans sketched by Thomas Whaley himself in 1868, the Save Our Heritage Organisation is renovating the landmark Whaley House in an attempt to undo years of historically inaccurate modifications. The front porch of the Greek Revival-style home was removed a few weeks ago as part of that effort, which will span 15 years.

POWAY – Tuesday night's Poway City Council meeting dealt with a small matter involving two neighboring residents who have been essentially at war with each other for six years. But because one of those residents is longtime Councilwoman Betty Rexford, and because she and the city and the city's former planning director are being sued in federal court by the other neighbor, who says they have abused their power, the small matter became a 2½-hour debate.

EAST COUNTY – The Sycuan Indian band has decided that wells the tribe has long relied upon aren't the answer to its long-term water needs. Sycuan, which is planning to double the size of its casino and build a new resort hotel east of El Cajon, wants to annex its reservation to the nearby Otay Water District.

MOUNTAIN VIEW – Associate of Arts degrees are being offered at the Educational Cultural Complex of the San Diego Community College District – a Mountain View site previously limited to mostly noncredit vocational courses. The degrees are in child development, child development site supervisor, real estate and liberal arts with an emphasis on social behavior, officials said last week.

LAKESIDE – After 40 years of operating the Lake Jennings County Park, San Diego County is relinquishing oversight of the campground to the Helix Water District. The water district owns the property in Lakeside and has decided not to renew a campground lease with the county that expires at the end of the year.

OCEANSIDE – Costco is negotiating for space in a proposed shopping center on state Route 76 in Oceanside as an alternative to building on city property across the street. Oceanside officials have been talking with Costco representatives for several years about opening a store on city land west of Foussat Road and just north of state Route 76.

The makeover of Grossmont and Cuyamaca community colleges continues. Grossmont College will start construction next week of a $24.5 million, three-story, 1,432-space parking structure that will include a campus police station.

CHULA VISTA – Crystal Jacquez is the Cal Ripken Jr. of perfect attendance. Crystal hasn't missed a single day of school or had even one late arrival in nine years at Robert L. Mueller Charter School in Chula Vista.

Wal-Mart has submitted its long-awaited formal application to remodel and expand its Poway store into a Supercenter. The retailer wants to expand its Community Road store by around 34 percent to 197,000 square feet.

Shocked. That's what David Casey was when he learned of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Exxon Valdez oil-spill case. Nineteen years ago, Casey, a San Diego attorney, and his law partners entered a legal tug of war on behalf of about 1,000 Alaskan fishermen whose livelihoods were threatened by the depleted fisheries.