LAURA EMBRY / Union-Tribune Cruz Gonzalez (from left) spoke with fellow SEDC trustee Charles Simpson, board Chairman Chip Owen and legal counsel Regina Petty yesterday.

SAN DIEGO – Eight of the nine Southeastern Economic Development Corp. board members mulling over the mayor's request that they fire President Carolyn Smith today are serving on expired terms, due to inaction by the Mayor's Office. Mayor Jerry Sanders has fallen behind in reappointing board members or naming replacements, despite numerous overtures from Councilman Tony Young.

The San Diego police dog left in the back of his handler's patrol car last month died of heatstroke, county investigators said yesterday, and it will be up to the District Attorney's Office whether it will charge the officer.

Mark Tonai arrived for work on Saturday ready to have a good time. And why not? How tough can it be to drive a fire engine in a parade? It's a good question, one that a jury may someday answer. Recall that the last fire crew to appear in San Diego's gay pride parade sued the city, seeking $3 million for its suffering.

A plan to radically change how wildfires are fought in San Diego County has pitted one supervisor against the other. The rift between Supervisors Ron Roberts and Dianne Jacob began growing late last year, at least one political observer said, when Roberts focused his attention on wildfire issues, an area Jacob has worked on for years.

The mother of a professional surfer who was fatally beaten in La Jolla last year filed a lawsuit yesterday against five young men involved in the fight, their parents, and the bar where some members of the group had been drinking.

Cars driving over the worn and bumpy railroad crossing on Bay Marina Drive in National City aren't the only things moving slowly. So are plans for the repairs. But, most important, the plans are moving forward.