Coastal Areas San Diego

Locals call it the Clam, and for decades the young and the reckless have gotten their thrills by jumping from its rocky promontory into the rushing turquoise sea below. But it also could be called the deadliest spot on the Southern California coastline. Three San Diego teenagers have drowned in the past three months after leaping from the Clam and being unable to overcome the crashing waves and unforgiving current.

From their maritime sanctuary at the south end of San Diego Bay, the residents of A-8 await the inevitable end to their days of free rent and fine views. "The port's attitude is: 'Too bad; your free lunch is over,' " said Mike Koon, 52, who lives with his dog, Sandy, aboard their battered trimaran called Free Spirit. "They don't understand that A-8 people are family and now they're breaking the family up."

In the most painful night of his life, Victor Ballard crawled along a rocky Encinitas beach for 12 hours, the crashing waves drowning out his cries for help, after a 60-foot fall from the bluffs above had broken both his feet. His shattered left foot wrapped in his shirt, the 33-year-old transient picked his way through the darkness along a half-mile stretch of rocky coastline until he was rescued Wednesday by an early morning surfer.

Call it a battle for the soul of Shamu. SeaWorld, the aquatic theme park that is San Diego's top tourist attraction, is seeking government approval for a major expansion: a 95-foot "splashdown" ride, a multistory education center, a four-story parking garage and, someday, a 650-room hotel. There has been opposition whenever SeaWorld, built in 1964, has sought to change or expand its operation or to increase its leasehold, which is about 190 acres in Mission Bay Aquatic Park.

Beaches normally jammed with summer vacationers were virtually deserted Thursday after a Tijuana sewage spill prompted health officials to ban swimming along a 15-mile stretch of beach north from the U.S.-Mexico border. The closure affected beaches from Imperial Beach to Coronado and drew new attention to the pollution generated by Tijuana, where population growth has far outpaced the Mexican border city's ability to process sewage.

Ocean Beach. Nude Beach. Even Dog Beach. But Bullet Beach? It seems that an unwanted byproduct of a plan to have the Navy dump sand dredged from San Diego Bay onto sand-deprived beaches has been to litter ammo hither and yon. The ornery ordnance is stuff that was submerged for years at the entrance of the bay, possibly tossed overboard by World War II sailors and Marines more interested in rushing ashore for liberty than getting bogged down in a tedious inventory process.

A decade after their first brief appearance, huge purple jellyfish were sighted off San Diego last week. The strange floaters can have tentacle spans up to 30 feet, and are the largest invertebrates identified this century. In the summer of 1989, thousands washed up on beaches from Baja California to Santa Monica. But by September, the creatures had disappeared.

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography has objected to a proposed sewage-treatment plant, because it might include an ocean outfall pipe that would discharge treated waste water near a relatively pristine tract of ocean close to the prestigious institution. "It is vital to our operation" that nearby ocean waters "remain natural and unpolluted," Scripps Director Edward A.

In a legal settlement with the California Coastal Commission, the Navy will resume dredging a navigational channel for nuclear aircraft carriers stationed at San Diego Bay in exchange for rebuilding local beaches. The Navy, ignoring the commission's objections, walked away from the beach rebuilding effort last year after it discovered that the sand it was dredging was contaminated with live military ammunition.

Ocean Beach. Nude Beach. Even Dog Beach. But Bullet Beach? It seems that an unwanted byproduct of a plan to have the Navy dump sand dredged from San Diego Bay onto sand-deprived beaches has been to litter ammo hither and yon. The ornery ordnance is stuff that was submerged for years at the entrance of the bay, possibly tossed overboard by World War II sailors and Marines more interested in rushing ashore for liberty than getting bogged down in a tedious inventory process.

A decade after their first brief appearance, huge purple jellyfish were sighted off San Diego last week. The strange floaters can have tentacle spans up to 30 feet, and are the largest invertebrates identified this century. In the summer of 1989, thousands washed up on beaches from Baja California to Santa Monica. But by September, the creatures had disappeared.

In a legal settlement with the California Coastal Commission, the Navy will resume dredging a navigational channel for nuclear aircraft carriers stationed at San Diego Bay in exchange for rebuilding local beaches. The Navy, ignoring the commission's objections, walked away from the beach rebuilding effort last year after it discovered that the sand it was dredging was contaminated with live military ammunition.

Ocean Beach. Nude Beach. Even Dog Beach. But Bullet Beach? It seems that an unwanted byproduct of a plan to have the Navy dump sand dredged from San Diego Bay onto sand-deprived beaches has been to litter ammo hither and yon. The ornery ordnance is stuff that was submerged for years at the entrance of the bay, possibly tossed overboard by World War II sailors and Marines more interested in rushing ashore for liberty than getting bogged down in a tedious inventory process.

Ocean Beach. Nude Beach. Even Dog Beach. But Bullet Beach? It seems that an unwanted byproduct of a plan to have the Navy dump sand dredged from San Diego Bay onto sand-deprived beaches has been to litter ammo hither and yon. The ornery ordnance is stuff that was submerged for years at the entrance of the bay, possibly tossed overboard by World War II sailors and Marines more interested in rushing ashore for liberty than getting bogged down in a tedious inventory process.

Locals call it the Clam, and for decades the young and the reckless have gotten their thrills by jumping from its rocky promontory into the rushing turquoise sea below. But it also could be called the deadliest spot on the Southern California coastline. Three San Diego teenagers have drowned in the past three months after leaping from the Clam and being unable to overcome the crashing waves and unforgiving current.

If this is Monday--or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday--there are San Diegans somewhere discussing the need, the absolute cannot-live-without-it need, to find an alternative to the city's main airport. Since World War II, civic boosters have been trying to find a location to replace or at least supplement Lindbergh Field, considered too cramped and limited for a city of San Diego's stature.

Area beaches remained closed Monday after a pipe break in Tijuana sent at least 24 million gallons of sewage pouring into the Pacific Ocean. "The Mexican officials are estimating they will fix it, maybe, by late (this) afternoon," said Dan Avera, San Diego County's deputy director of environmental health services. Signs warned swimmers of high bacteria levels at beaches from the U.S.-Mexican border north about 15 miles to North Island Naval Air Station, at the entrance to San Diego's harbor.

If this is Monday--or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday--there are San Diegans somewhere discussing the need, the absolute cannot-live-without-it need, to find an alternative to the city's main airport. Since World War II, civic boosters have been trying to find a location to replace or at least supplement Lindbergh Field, considered too cramped and limited for a city of San Diego's stature.

Beaches normally jammed with summer vacationers were virtually deserted Thursday after a Tijuana sewage spill prompted health officials to ban swimming along a 15-mile stretch of beach north from the U.S.-Mexico border. The closure affected beaches from Imperial Beach to Coronado and drew new attention to the pollution generated by Tijuana, where population growth has far outpaced the Mexican border city's ability to process sewage.

Area beaches remained closed Monday after a pipe break in Tijuana sent at least 24 million gallons of sewage pouring into the Pacific Ocean. "The Mexican officials are estimating they will fix it, maybe, by late (this) afternoon," said Dan Avera, San Diego County's deputy director of environmental health services. Signs warned swimmers of high bacteria levels at beaches from the U.S.-Mexican border north about 15 miles to North Island Naval Air Station, at the entrance to San Diego's harbor.