Free Republic

SAN DIEGO – When the Stevens family bought a house in Mira Mesa in 1980, they were told an elementary school would be built in their neighborhood on land set aside by housing developer Pardee Homes. More than two decades later, the site sits vacant. And Mira Mesa residents are unlikely to see a school until the end of the decade, even though the San Diego Unified School District had promised to build one as part of its $1.51 billion construction program funded by a 1998 bond measure. Jonas Salk Elementary School was supposed to open off Parkdale Avenue and...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Federal guidelines released Thursday for protecting seasonal wetlands favor development over species protection in a handful of fast-growing California counties. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided that protecting all areas containing the so-called vernal pools would be too costly to the state's economy. The agency's revised guidelines are the latest version of a federal critical habitat plan that an environmental group has successfully challenged in court. They could lead to additional housing developments in a state where the median home price is about $450,000, 2 1/2 times the national median. The wildlife agency says it...

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - A tiny freshwater shrimp that was identified as a species just three years ago will be studied for potential protection under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday.</p> <p>The midvalley fairy shrimp lives only in vernal pools in the Central Valley's Contra Costa, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Sacramento, San Joaquin and Solano counties.</p>