Coronado Ca

CORONADO, Calif. -- The U.S. Navy has decided to spend as much as $600,000 for landscaping and architectural modifications to obscure the fact that one its building complexes looks like a swastika from the air. The four L-shaped buildings, constructed in the late 1960s, are part of the amphibious base at Coronado and serve as barracks for Seabees. From the ground and from inside nearby buildings, the controversial shape cannot be seen.

On a sunny Friday afternoon in June, I joined a gaggle of tourists waiting for the orange and green Old Town Trolley, a bus that picks up every half-hour from McP's Irish Pub and Grill in Coronado. "As Time Goes By" was playing as we settled into our seats, and a Bogey impersonator was saying, "Of all the tours in all the world, you had to walk into mine." I was glad I had.

Nine activists were arrested during a labor demonstration in the lobby of the Hotel del Coronado. About 90 union sympathizers staged a protest in the lobby of the historic hotel Thursday, chanting slogans while guests looked on. After nearly an hour, the demonstrators were surrounded by more than 80 law enforcement officers, many of whom wore riot helmets and held shields and nightsticks. Nine who refused to leave were arrested on misdemeanor trespassing charges.

A military police officer shot at three civilians -- killing one and wounding another -- after confronting them as they tried to steal a motorcycle from North Island Naval Air Station, officials said Thursday. The incident occurred Wednesday night in a parking lot. The officer fired because he thought his life was in danger, said Navy Capt. Tim Lawrence. One suspect was found in Coronado, another on the bridge linking Coronado and San Diego. Both men were taken to a hospital, where one died.