Source of diesel spill in Mission Bay probed San Diego Coast Guard discovered a diesel fuel spill approximately 500 yards long in Mission Bay near Seaforth Marina on Aug. 27 at 8 a.m. The diesel spill had dispersed into a sheen across the top of the water so that the Coast Guard was not able to clean it up, according to Henry Dunphy, a petty officer for the Coast Guard. Dunphy called the spill “relatively small.” “It doesn’t sound small but the amount of diesel to make a 500-yard sheen is pretty small,” Denphy said. The Coast Guard is investigating the spill to determine its source. The potential suspect could be fined. No beaches were closed or wildlife reported endangered, according to Dunphy. Task force OKs convention center plan Despite questions regarding funding sources, a task force has approved plans for a $753 million expansion of the San Diego Convention Center. The 15-1 vote of Monday, Aug. 31 sends the matter back to City Council for ideas on funding sources, which could include bumps in the city’s motel-hotel or food and beverage tax. The prospect of contributions from the Port District and the county is also being weighed. The new wing would require an average $49 million in annual funding. The city’s convention center agency also needs nearly $15 million by the end of the year to buy out a lease on an adjacent building. Expansion plans also call for construction of a 500-room hotel nearby. Tuna Challenge to hook funds for Make-A-Wish The 20th annual Tuna Challenge will cast its lines in San Diego between Sept. 11 and Sept. 13.  Hosted by Silver Gate Yacht Club and presented by San Diego County Credit Union, the Tuna Challenge benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation of San Diego, a charitable non-profit organization whose purpose is to grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. Since 1991, the Tuna Challenge has raised over $1.8 million and grown to be the largest tuna fishing tournament in the United States and the single biggest fundraiser for the San Diego chapter of the Make-A- Proceeds from this event help to fund 25 percent of the wishes granted each year in San Diego County. The main event begins at 5 a.m. on Sept. 12 as anglers compete for awards such as multi-day fishing trips to Alaska and Mexico, fishing gear, boat equipment, art and jewelry.  The 2009 Tuna Challenge will conclude with a family-friendly banquet open to the public on Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. as tournament and raffle winners will be announced, prizes are awarded and a lunch and adult beverages are served for $15 per person. Tournament entry fees are $75 for adults and $25 for juniors.  Entry fee includes tournament t-shirt and tickets to the gala banquet on Sept. 13. For more information and to register, visit www.tunachallenge.org. Registration on for Girls on the Run fall season Registration is now open for the fall season of Girls on the Run, a 12-week running and character-building program for girls between the ages of 8 and 12.  The fall season begins Sept. 14.  The 75-minute workout and educational sessions will be offered at seven San Diego sites on a twice-weekly basis — including Point Loma and La Jolla/University City and Balboa Park.  The classes are designed to prepare preteen girls for successful futures by helping them learn to set and achieve healthy goals.  The program encourages healthy exercise, nutritious eating habits and good decision-making skills.   Part of a national organization of 160 chapters, Girls on the Run began its San Diego program in 2006.  Since then it has helped more than 300 girls learn healthy patterns of success through organized non-competitive athletic participation.  The sessions follow a progression of topics to foster self-esteem and healthy living.  Each session has a specific focus — including learning to listen, body image, peer pressure, healthy decisions, contributing to the community, saying “no” to drugs and team building.  Among the locations for the fall sessions:  • Balboa Park, Golden Hill Rec reation Center; Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. • La Jolla/ UTC, JCC; Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 5:15 p.m. • Point Loma, NTC Promenade; Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m. For more information and registration, visit www.gotrsd.org.  Fresh &?Easy stores plan fundraiser for schools Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market will bring back its “Shop for Schools” fundraising program, based on positive feedback from its customers, according to store officials.   Registered schools will be eligible to receive a $1 cash donation for every $20 spent at a local Fresh & Easy store.  At the end of the program, Fresh & Easy will award the top fundraising school in each state with a $5,000 bonus.  Last year, the program benefited several Ocean Beach/Point Loma schools, including St Charles Borromeo Academy, Sunset View Elementary School and Silver Gate Elementary School. From customer feedback, the company has enhanced the program by increasing the length of the program, providing more marketing materials to parents and teachers and introducing a shopping night for registered schools.  The shopping night will allow schools to raise 5 percent of a local store’s sales from 4 to 8 p.m. on a designated evening.  All eligible schools with students in kindergarten through 8th grade within a three-mile radius of a Fresh & Easy store can participate in the program.  This school year’s Shop for Schools program will run from Sept. 15 through Dec. 31.  The Point Loma Fresh &?Easy store is located at 955 Catalina Blvd. For more information, call (619) 221-0073, or visit www.freshandeasy.com/shopforschools.   Campaign stepped up to stamp out cigarette butts Flicking a cigarette to the ground and snubbing it with your toe is a practice that local groups are attempting to eradicate by attaching 40 cigarette receptacles to lampposts and distributing 400 pocket ashtrays to bar patrons to dispose of their butts.  I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD) has revamped the cigarette butt pick-up program that Discover PB and Surfrider launched two years ago. With $1,500 in grant money from the national non-profit Keep America Beautiful, ILACSD relocated eight cigarette receptacles that weren’t being used — like the one outside 24 Fitness on Garnet Avenue — and asked bars to distribute 400 pocket ashtrays with snap lids to smokers. If smokers pick up the new habit, ILACSD will consider expanding the program to Mission Beach or Downtown. Discover PB empties the cigarette receptacles regularly. Sock hop and concert slated at Liberty Station Liberty Station Marketplace will host an old-fashioned sock hop and a live concert featuring Pink Army on Friday, Sept. 4. Pink Army is made up of three talented teenage girls who play pop and hip-hop tunes. The concert begins at 5 p.m. in the east courtyard of the Liberty Station Marketplace. At 6 p.m., DJ Oliver Bocayo will bring out the hits from the ’50s and ’60s and play nonstop music for sock-hop dancing until 8 p.m. The event takes place at 2400 Historic Decatur Road at Liberty Station. For more information, call (619) 335-0221, or visit www.libertystation.com.