BRUCE K. HUFF / Union-Tribune Along state Route 54 in Spring Valley, Sabin McIntire, Dan Runails and Ed Cartagena checked a conduit box damaged by thieves.

The increasing theft of wire from fixtures along county freeways has Caltrans scrambling to get the lights back on while trying to figure out how to thwart the vandalism. Caltrans has noticed a marked increase in recent months of thefts of copper wiring and other metals from lights, safety barriers and traffic control devices along freeways throughout Southern California, spokesman Ed Cartagena said.

When the San Diego Chargers open their preseason against the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 9, fans who were accustomed to riding express buses to Qualcomm Stadium will have to come up with a new game plan.

SAN DIEGO – Three years before he joined the board of the Southeastern Economic Development Corp., Artie “Chip” Owen and a company he managed bought 4.4 acres that they instantly sold to the government agency for a $500,000 profit, records show.

SAN DIEGO – The male dancer shot to death by San Diego Harbor Police on Saturday night appeared pensive to witnesses, who saw him order a drink and climb over a railing on the top deck of a chartered cruise ship.

The Washington Post reports that the late San Diego congressman Lionel Van Deerlin has returned to the U.S. Capitol. It seems that some of Van Deerlin's ashes were scattered on the Capitol grounds in recent days by a retired journalist friend who declined to reveal his identity to the Post's “Reliable Source” columnists.