Ex-Westview coach pleads guilty to second sex charge

(CNS) – A former volunteer Westview High School assistant wrestling
coach already facing sentencing for sending pornography to a female
student pleaded guilty Friday to molesting another teenage girl.

Ryan Paul Carnell, 29, will be sentenced on both cases June 4. He
faces a maximum of three years and eight months in state prison, but
could get probation.

No matter the sentence, Carnell will have to register as a sex
offender for life, said Deputy District Attorney Dan Link.

The defendant pleaded guilty Friday to committing a lewd and
lascivious act on a 15-year-old girl at an off-campus location in
February 2009.

The defendant pleaded no contest last Sept. 18 to sending harmful
material through the Internet to a 16-year-old girl for texting a
message with an attached photo of his genitals to the Westview student.

Gardner: “What I did was horrible”

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – The confessed killer of North
County teens Amber
Dubois and Chelsea King said in an interview televised today that the
slayings
were crimes of opportunity, not the carefully plotted acts of a stalker
intent
on murder.

In exchange for pleading guilty to raping and murdering Amber, 14,
and
Chelsea, 17, Gardner will be sentenced next month to a pair of
consecutive life
prison terms without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 33
years to
life for assaulting a woman late last year.

Poway couple accused of counterfeiting

(CNS) — A Poway couple accused of counterfeiting and exposing their 1-year-old son to methamphetamine were in jail today, a sheriff’s sergeant said.

Mina Thamracksa and boyfriend Thanh Nguyen were arrested at their home in the 13300 block of Powers Road Thursday afternoon, said Sgt. Jeff Maxin.

Their son was put into protective custody.

Target security guards in Rancho Diego called authorities, and the couple were arrested, Maxin said. Thamracksa used numerous counterfeit bills at the store on March 30, he said.

In the home, investigators seized counterfeit bills, computer equipment, several grams of an unspecified drug and stolen items linked to a series of home and vehicle burglaries across the county, Maxin said.

Nguyen, a member of an Asian gang, was recently released from county jail on bail, he said.

Gardner TV interview to air tonight

(CNS) – An interview with murderer and rapist John Albert Gardner III,
who admitted killing North County teenagers Chelsea King and Amber
Dubois, is set to air on a local TV station tonight.

Gardner, 31, spoke with News 8 in an exclusive interview set to air at 5
p.m., and again at 6:30 and 11 p.m.

Gardner is locked up in San Diego Central Jail, pending sentencing May
14.

In exchange for pleaded guilty to raping and murdering Amber in February
2009 and Chelsea a year later, Gardner will get two consecutive life
prison terms without the possibility of parole. He will also be
sentenced to an additional 33 years to life for assaulting a woman on
Dec. 27.

Palomar College eyes local property

Palomar Community College’s governing board on Tuesday will meet in
closed session to discuss a possible land purchase for a new education
center serving the southern portion of the district.

Board members are expected to discuss price and terms of payment for the
land, which has only been identified as “being within the city of San
Diego municipal boundaries.”

President Robert P. Deegan said Thursday that he could not comment on
the closed-session item.

Deegan has periodically met with Poway residents because at one point
the college targeted Poway (and the immediate area) as an ideal location
to meet the needs of those living in the college’s southern part of the
district.

He did confirm Thursday that the college district has roughly $100
million from a $694 million bond, approved by voters in 2006, to build
what is called  a “southern site.”

Experts, parents discuss prescription drug dangers

A candid talk this week at Poway High School about teens abusing
prescription drugs, namely the pain killer OxyContin, captured the
attention of 150 parents and community members.

Members of the Oxy Task Force, DEA agent Tom Lenox and Sheriff’s Deputy
Dave Ross, helped present  factual information Monday night about the
drug, which they say affects teens in Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho
Santa Fe and other  well-heeled communities.

“It’s usually the good students, the popular kids who are doing it,”
Ross said. “These are the lacrosse, student government, band members,
athletes and others.”

Dating back at least five years, Poway High students have succumbed to
the dangers of Oxy use — some have died and one survived an overdose and
now receives full-time care.

Some struggle with addiction, while others are clean after long-term
inpatient treatment

Hunter: Deport childen born to illegal immigrants

(CNS) – Rep. Duncan Hunter has come under fire for saying that the
children born to illegal immigrants should be deported.

Hunter’s comments during a Tea Party event Saturday in Ramona were
posted on a YouTube video that has been viewed about 8,100 times as of
early Thursday.

The video shows the East County Republican congressman, whose district
includes Poway,  answering an audience member’s question about whether
he would support the deportation of children born to illegal immigrants.
Without hesitation, Hunter said yes, adding that California could not
afford to support everyone.

The question- and- answer period came after Hunter spoke in favor of
Arizona’s law that enables police to arrest illegal immigrants.

REVIEW: PowPAC gets the ‘40s right with ‘Philadelphia Story’

It is said that when it hit Broadway in 1939, Philip Barry’s “The
Philadelphia Story” was meant to revive Katharine Hepburn’s film career
after several box office flops.

The film adaptation, which featured Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant,
came a year later, garnering critical acclaim (Stewart and screen
writer Donald Ogden Stewart won Oscars) and becoming a Hollywood
classic.

One could say that the cast at the PowPAC, Poway’s Community
Theater, have big shoes to fill in their current production of the
romantic comedy, playing through May 23.

For the most part, they succeed, presenting a show that’s engrossing, fun and captures the spirit and the style of the ‘40s.

Poway arts center unveils lineup for 21st season

Please note: Due to technical issues, the Poway Center for the Performing Arts pushed back its on-sale date to May 7. The change took place after the publication of our paper. The date has been corrected in this story.

The Poway Center for the Performing Arts has announced its lineup for
the 2010-11 Professional Performance Series, presented by the nonprofit
foundation that stages professional shows at the city-owned venue.

Reflecting the economic climate — and diminished contributions from
the City of Poway — there will be seven shows this season, less than in
recent years, said Michael Rennie, the center’s director.

Two season ago (2008-2009), the city underwrote the season to the
tune of $238,000. This season, the amount is down to $138,000, Rennie
said.

But Rennie, the former associate director who took over the helm of
the center last year and single-handedly booked the upcoming season,
said the shows are up to the high standards that patrons are accustomed
to.

“We were faced with a choice between doing just as many shows, but
perhaps of a lower quality, or keeping the high quality and doing fewer
shows,” Rennie said.

At the end, Rennie said he chose to go with a scaled-back season,
adding that he wants to make sure that when people see the POW!
Foundation’s logo they will know that they’re getting a good show.

“People may open the book and they’ll know that even if they haven’t
heard of an act, the shows have been carefully considered,” Rennie said.

Tickets go on sale on May 7. For more information, or to
purchase tickets once they are available, go to www.powayarts.org or
call 858-748-0505. The center is at 15498 Espola Road. Here’s a look at
the season:

Recreation Center now offers pickleball

After he suffered a stroke in 1993, Sabre Springs resident Bob
Goldstein had to give up tennis and racquetball, sports that at the age
of 55 had been a major part of his life for fitness and recreation.

“I recovered quite a bit from the stroke, which paralyzed a side of
my body,” said Goldstein, who is now 72. “I walk with a limp, but I
can’t run, which is obviously a big part of racquetball and tennis.”

For the 15 years that followed the stroke, Goldstein didn’t pick up
a racquet. Then two years ago, a sister-in-law in Arizona suggested he
take a look at another sport: pickleball.

Pickleball was created in 1965 in Washington state by a congressman
and a businessman looking to invent a game that everyone in their
families could enjoy, according to the USA Pickleball Association’s
website.

The game, which was named after a dog owned by one of the creators,
is based on badminton, and uses specialized paddles and a perforated
plastic ball that is similar to a Whiffle ball.