A PILE O’ PINES
Lance Greer of Green Gardens Nursery on Cass Street tosses a tree on the recycling pile at Kate Sessions Park, Soledad Road and Loring Street. The nursery offers a pickup service to people that bought their trees there. Trees may be recycled during daylight hours thru Jan. 23. La Jolla-area sites also include Standley Park’s Swanson Pool in University City, 3585 Governor Drive.

Charges not filed against father, son arrested in LJ
Murder charges were not filed last week against a father and son arrested in the death of an unidentified man, whose body was found Dec. 24 on the rocks near the Ocean Beach pier. The son was released from jail Dec. 28, though his father was held on a parole violation.
Wilford Lohr, 59, was identified as a fugitive wanted in Ohio. An extradition hearing was set for this week, said the sheriff’s department. Lohr’s son Matthew, 22, also spent Christmas in jail following his Dec. 24 arrest in La Jolla but was freed after the District Attorney’s office declined to file charges against him or his father.
“We didn’t issue charges at this time,” said District Attorney spokeswoman Gail Stewart.
She added that the office does not comment on instances involving dropped charges.
Officials with the county medical examiner’s office said they are still trying to determine the dead man’s next of kin, and would not release his name until his family was notified. They also declined to state a cause of death.
A passerby at the foot of Narragansett Street found the body at 7 a.m. Christmas eve. Police are investigating the incident and said the Lohrs are from West Virginia and were in San Diego for a week looking for work before they were arrested.

Seals disrupted, two pups die after early births
A man who crossed the rope barrier at Children’s Pool Casa Beach in La Jolla at noon on Sunday, Dec. 24, disturbed a colony of 70 seals lounging on the beach and caused them to flush into the ocean, resulting in a mother seal’s miscarriage, according to members of Friends of the La Jolla Seals and Seal Watch San Diego.
Pupping season for the La Jolla harbor seals, which usually occurs in late January and early February, arrived earlier than usual this season, according to Ellen Schively, a member of Seal Watch, a group of volunteers who guard the beach around the clock and educate people about the seals’ sensitivity to humans.
Many seal advocates believe the early births are a direct result of stress caused by humans, Schively said.
“Seals have to have our distance from them or else they will continue to get frightened,” she said. “One wonders if we will even have a young generation of pups if this continues. We just have to keep people back during pupping season so these animals are given a chance.”
According to Schively, four pups have died as a result of early births since the beginning of December.
James Hudnall, advisor to La Jolla Friends of the Seals, witnessed the incident. He also witnessed the birth of another seal pup several days later, which appeared to be healthy but went missing the next day, he said.
“Basically [the water] was too rough and the tide at night undoubtedly washed the pup out and it drowned, because it was not there the next day,” Hudnall said. “It was born a whole month before the seals typically give birth, and they don’t have a high survival rate with the pups. Things are made worse when people are flushing them off the beach and scaring them.”
For more information about the La Jolla harbor seals, visit www.lajollaseals.com or http://save
sandiegoseals.com.

Animal Services offers low-cost vaccinations
The County Department of Animal Services will offer low-cost rabies vaccination, dog licensing and micro-chipping at a clinic Sunday, Jan. 7, from noon to 2 p.m. The event will take place at the county’s Central Shelter, 5480 Gaines St. in Linda Vista.
Residents who take advantage of the services will also receive a $20 coupon toward spaying or neutering their pet at a clinic of their choice. The coupon is available only to residents who live in Animal Services areas of operation, including San Diego, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar and Santee.
Rabies vaccinations for dogs four months or older and cats three months or older will be available for $6. Dog licenses, which are required by law, can be purchased in one-, two- or three-year increments. Owners who have never licensed their dog or have allowed the annual license to expire will not be charged any late fees during the clinic.
Microchipping and registration for dogs will be provided at the clinic upon proof of a dog license for a one-time fee of $20. The department also provides microchips for cats and rabbits.
The microchip is a small transponder the size of a grain of rice that is injected under the skin and remains in place for the animal’s lifetime. The chip contains an identification number that becomes visible when scanned. Contact information for each ID number is stored in a national database, which Animal Services can access over the phone.
For the protection of owners and their pets, dogs must be on a leash and cats in a carrier while at the clinic.
For more information, call (619) 236-4250 or visit www.sddac.com.

Indie comedy to kick off MCASD winter film series
A small circle of young adults searches for love, jobs and a sense of belonging in writer-director Andrew Bujalski’s low-budget indie film “Mutual Apreciation,” which will be screened at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD), 700 Prospect St.
As part of the MCASD’s winter 2007 film series, six movies will be screened at the museum through March 22. The museum’s goal is to bring new and diverse work to a San Diego audience, according to Neil Kendricks, the museum’s film curator.
“The film program tries to create a home for films that might not be screened elsewhere in San Diego,” Kendricks said. “Films like ‘Mutual Appreciation’ ” although it’s gotten wide critical acclaim and has played at the Sundance Film Festival ” often do not get a wide theatrical release.”
“Mutual Appreciation” will not be released in San Diego, so the Jan. 11 showing at MCASD may be residents’ only opportunity to view the movie on a big screen, Kendricks said.
General admission is $7; museum members, students and seniors pay $5. Tickets are available one hour prior to showtime at Sherwood Auditorium box office, 700 Prospect St.
For more information about the series, contact the MCASD, (858) 454-3541. To learn more about “Mutual Appreciation,” visit www.mutualappreciation.com.

Osher Institute invites seniors to keep learning
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will hold an informational meeting for prospective members on Saturday, Jan. 6, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., at the University of California, San Diego campus, 9600 N. Torrey Pines Road and Muir College Drive, in the Rubinger Center, Room 129.
More than 100 academic courses are offered year-round to those ages 50 or older who have a passion for learning.
Classes include California history, music and theater, economics, science and technology, according to Stanley Faer, president of the UCSD Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
“If you are over 50 and enjoy stimulating conversation and challenging learning without tests or grades, UC San Diego’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI-UCSD) will round out your retirement experience,” Faer stated in a press release. “These varied programs have enriched my retirement.”
Speakers for the winter quarter include Judge Joseph Branningan, City Attorney Michael Aguirre, UCSD Dean of Arts and Humanities Michael Bernstein and Alexander Butterfield, former Deputy Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon.
For more information or to request a UCSD Osher Institute catalog, call (858) 534-3409, e-mail [email protected] or visit http://olli.ucsd.edu.

Hall of Fame nomination deadline extended
The San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame has extended the deadline for submitting nominations to 5 p.m. Jan. 12.
Each year, five women are selected for induction into the Hall of Fame. Categories include trailblazer, empowerer, activist, cultural competent and historian.
Nomination applications are available on the Women’s History Museum Web site, www.whmec.org, or may be mailed, e-mailed or delivered to the San Diego Women’s Hall of Fame, c/o Women’s History Museum and Educational Center, Suite 107, 2323 Broadway, San Diego, CA 92102, or [email protected].