Features

Bay Area Briefs

Tuesday October 15, 2002

Sea lions attacked after release 

SAN RAFAEL — Officials at the Marine Mammal Center have been reviewing sea lion release guidelines after a couple of the mammals were attacked by sharks minutes after their release. 

“It was a hard thing to witness,” said Doreen Moser, assistant director of education at the Marin Headlands center. 

Two 3-year-old California sea lions were released near the Farallon Islands on Sept. 29 after being nursed back to health over several months. 

A male named Edog was released first, followed by a female named Swissy. 

“Usually they will bite and let the animal bleed and come back, but this was over quickly,” Mosar said. 

 

Parents crowd into church to discuss high school melee 

SAN FRANCISCO – A large group of parents and community members packed a San Francisco church Monday morning to discuss their reaction to a melee and ensuing police action at nearby Thurgood Marshall High School on Friday. 

Police responded to a series of fights on the Silver Terrace campus in midmorning and within an hour or so had evacuated the school and arrested three students and one teacher on an array of charges. 

"What happened on Friday and what has been happening?'' asked Kim Shree-Moufas at the front of the gathering of more than 200, before asking members of the media to step outside the Allen AME Church. She said she had invited reporters to attend, but some felt the discussion would flow more freely without a media presence. She offered to make a summary statement and answer questions after the meeting. 

Before the announcements got under way, about 40 students made their way to the front of the church with handmade banners bearing slogans such as "Books not Guns,'' "Stop Police Brutality,'' and "Where's (Principal Juliet) Montevirgen?''  

A flier being passed out to the largely African-American crowd, which also included Latinos, and Filipino- and Chinese-Americans, asked parents to lobby the school district to replace Montevirgen, who they said made many changes this year as she assumed office at the academically oriented high school. 

 

Giuliani campagins with 

Simon in San Francisco 

SAN FRANCISCO — Republican candidate for governor Bill Simon appeared with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani Monday morning at a San Francisco restaurant as part of Simon's campaign to unseat incumbent Gov. Gray Davis. 

"We're going to fight on and win,'' Simon told about 50 cheering supporters at Fior d'Italia in North Beach. "We are right in the issues. Everywhere we go people are pumped up.'' 

Simon has contended with multiple campaign controversies, the most recent of which involved an unsubstantiated accusation that Davis improperly accepted a campaign donation. 

Giuliani, who was escorted by six San Francisco firefighters, criticized reporters by saying, "What I think you're doing is spinning, spinning, spinning.'' 

Giuliani encouraged people to look beyond the controversies and to examine issues like Simon's proposals on how to turn around the state's economy and how to repair the state's energy sector.