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THE RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
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VOL. 9, NO. 21
NOV. 1, 2013
Legislative reform group gets moving By Tony Cagala
BATTER’S UP Hayden Welsh eyes up a pitch during the 4th annual Miracle League of San Diego’s Celebrity Pitcher’s Day in Del Mar. Youngsters with special needs had the opportunity to face Major League Baseball pitchers. More photos on page A18. Photo by Tony Cagala
Retrial of Crowe murder underway By Rachel Stine
SAN DIEGO — Fifteen years after the fatal stabbing of 12-year-old Stephanie Crowe in her family’s Escondido home, the retrial of the man convicted of her murder has started in the San Diego Superior Court. Richard Raymond Tuite, 44, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the crime and sentenced to 13 years in prison plus four more years for his escape from custody during the trial in 2004. Tuite was granted a retrial after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that an error occurred during his original trial. During opening arguments of the new case on Oct. 25, the prosecution and the defense returned to the two theories of what happened the night of the murder originally presented in Tuite’s initial trial. The prosecution argued that Tuite, a mentally ill, homeless man, killed Stephanie in a spontaneous attack, while the defense put forth that Stephanie’s 14-year-old brother Michael had plotted and carried out her murder with two teenage friends. On January 20, 1998, Stephanie was stabbed nine times in her own bed in the middle of the night. Her blood-
tics and turn the state’s current 80 Assembly districts into 100 neighborhood districts that would be run by “citizen legislators.” The plan would involve a heavy reliance on technology instead of sending the 4,000 “citizen JOHN COX legislators” to Sacramento. Much of the inspiration for the Neighborhood Legislature stems from the New Hampshire State Assembly model. Cox, a former GOP presidential candidate, said this change would never happen as the result of a state Legislature action. “The state Legislature is not going to vote to reduce their own power. Clearly, the Neighborhood Legislature is going to reduce the power of the current legislature,” Cox said. He said he’s talked to some state legislators already, TURN TO NEIGHBORHOOD ON A21
Defendant Richard Tuite, left, listens to the prosecution’s opening statements at the start of his second trial over the murder of Stephanie Crowe in a San Diego Superior Courtroom on Oct. 25. Photo by John Gastaldo/Pool photo
covered body was found the next morning on the floor of her bedroom doorway by her grandmother, who woke to the sounds of the girl’s unanswered alarm. According to Deputy Attorney General Alana Butler, Tuite had been
A nice ring to it
identified by three neighbors who saw him wandering around the Crowe’s neighborhood and knocking on doors asking for a woman named “Tracy” the night of the murder. Butler told the jury
Two Sections, 40 pages
The San Diego Chargers announced this week that the 1963 team will be inducted into the organizations’s Ring of Honor. A18
Arts & Entertainment . A16 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . B13
Riding the rails One man’s hobby collecting and restoring model train sets hasn’t lost any steam after several years. B1
RANCHO SANTA FE — Seventy three percent of California voters say the state Legislature is doing a “poor or only fair job.” That’s according to two recent statewide polls conducted by Wenzel Strategies. Those polls were paid for and commissioned by the Neighborhood Legislature Reform Act, a group led by Rancho Santa Fe businessman John Cox. But high disapproval figures can be seen in other polls, too. In a September poll from the Public Policy Institute of California this year, 53 percent of registered voters expressed disapproval with the state Legislature. Last week, Cox, an attorney, CPA and investment adviser introduced the National Legislator Reform Act initiative, with the aim of putting it on the November 2014 ballot. The Neighborhood Legislature looks to rid the state of the special interests they claim are running the government. Their proposal is to take the money out of poli-
A World War II veteran and Encinitas resident receives a thorough welcome home after participating in an Honor Flight. A9
Food & Wine . . . . . . . . A15 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A18
TURN TO TUITE ON A21
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Del Mar resident Lance Alworth, left, holds up his 1971 Super Bowl ring as Sheriff’s Detective Jaime Rodriguez watches during a press conference Tuesday morning. After the ring was stolen 25 years ago, Rodriguez and other detectives recovered it. Photo by Jared Whitlock
Stolen Super Bowl ring returned to Hall of Fame player By Jared Whitlock
ENCINITAS — Lance Alworth noted that his 1971 Super Bowl ring is going back into his safe during a press conference Tuesday morning at the Encinitas Sheriff’s Substation. “It’s not for sale,” Alworth said with a laugh. Alworth, a Del Mar resident who was inducted into the NFL’s Hall of Fame in
1978, recently got his ring back after it was reported stolen in 1988 from Trophy’s Restaurant in Mission Valley. “To have this happen, it’s a miracle,” Alworth said. “It is a miracle for it to appear after all these years.” He donated the ring to Trophy’s, which is now closed, to be displayed alongside other memorabilia like a TURN TO RING ON A21