Blackwater: Company's actions were appropriate

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THE CARLSBAD / LA COSTA THE CARLSBAD / LA COSTA N EWS FROM C ARLSBAD , L A C OSTA , O CEANSIDE , V ISTA , C AMP P ENDLETON , E NCINITAS , S OLANA B EACH , D EL M AR AND ALL N ORTH C OUNTY ANDREA MOSS S TAFF W RITER SAN DIEGO Move X-ray and other body-scanning ma-
chines closer. Require doctors to
write up orders and prescrip-
tions for specific patients as
soon as they finish examining
them. And get other depart-
ments to do their discharges ear-
ly in the day, thereby freeing up
other departments beds for new admissions. Those were some of the steps representatives of 19 area hospi-
tals with emergency rooms ad-
vised each other to take, as they
brainstormed ways Tuesday to
improve care for the patients
coming into their facilities. The tips were offered during a series of panel discussions
held as part of the second yearly
San Diego Emergency Room
Overcrowding Summit. The San
Diego County Medical Societys Emergency Medicine Oversight
Commission presented the event
at Sharp Spectrum in Kearny
Mesa. It was really interesting to hear not only what other facili-
ties do but how were all on par-
allel tracks and doing some of
the same things to improve our
care of patients, Patricia Do-
briko, a night patient care super-
visor in the emergency room at TERI FIGUEROA S TAFF W RITER SAN DIEGO The lawyer for a Poway defense contractor accused of
bribing former federal lawmaker
Randy Duke Cunningham agreed
Tuesday to withdraw his request to
force a dozen sitting congressmen to
testify in his clients criminal trial next
week. But the attorney also said that more subpoenas for congress members will
be coming as he fights to defend busi-
nessman Brent Wilkes. The judge overseeing the case, which is scheduled to start next week,
also ruled that prostitutes will be al-
lowed to testify about their encounters
with Wilkes and Cunningham on
Wilkes dime. Wilkes has pleaded not guilty to the 25 counts of bribery, fraud, money
laundering and conspiracy charges he
faces in connection with his dealings
with Cunningham, the now-imprisoned GIG CONAUGHTON S TAFF W RITER SAN DIEGO A survey released Tuesday by a state
parks foundation said voters
wouldnt support the idea of
building toll roads through
parks, including an $875 mil-
lion Orange County proposal
that would cut through a pop-
ular San Diego County surf-
ing spot. The nonprofit California State Parks Foundation,
which paid for the survey, op-
poses the toll road. Researchers hired to con- duct the polling said tele-
phone interviews with 400
Orange County voters
showed that people generally
supported toll roads but RICHARD LARDNER and ANNE FLAHERTY A SSOCIATED P RESS WASHINGTON Blackwater Chairman Erik Prince vigorously rejected charges Tues-
day that guards from his private security firm
acted like a bunch of cowboys immune to le-
gal prosecution while protecting State De- partment personnel in Iraq
and Afghanistan. I believe we acted ap- propriately at all times,
Prince, a 38-year-old former
Navy SEAL, calmly told the
House Oversight and Gov-
ernment Reform Commit-
tee. His testimony came as the FBI is investigating
Blackwater personnel for
their role in a Sept. 16 shootout that left 11 Iraqis dead.The incident
and others, including a shooting by a drunk
Blackwater employee after a 2006 Christmas
party, led to pointed questions by lawmakers
about whether the government is relying too
much on private contractors who fall outside
the military courts-martial system. Were not getting our moneys worth when we have so many complaints about in-
nocent people being shot, said Rep. Henry
Waxman, D-Calif., committee chairman, at PAUL FOY A SSOCIATED P RESS SALT LAKE CITY Fueled by drought and de-
velopment, wildfires in the
West are getting bigger and
more aggressive, creating conditions so dangerous
that fire bosses are increas-
ingly reluctant to risk lives
saving houses particular-
ly if the owners have done
nothing to protect their
property. From Southern Califor- nia to Montana, seven fire- fighters have died this year
battling blazes that have
destroyed more than 400
houses, a dramatic increase
from last year. The firefighters job has been made more hazardous PAULINE JELINEK A SSOCIATED P RESS WASHINGTON As official Washington argues over the spi-
raling price of the war in Iraq,
consider this: Outfitting a soldier
for battle costs a hundred times
more now than it did in World
War II. It was $170 then, is about
$17,500 now and could be an esti-
mated $28,000 to $60,000 by the
middle of the next decade. The ground soldier was per- ceived to be a relatively inexpen-
sive instrument of war in the
past, said Brig. Gen. Mark Brown,
head of the Army agency for de-
veloping and fielding soldier
equipment. Now, the Pentagon spends tens of billions of dollars annual-
ly to protect troops and make
them more lethal on the battle-
field. In the 1940s, a GI went to war with little more than a uniform,
weapon, helmet, bedroll and can-
teen. He carried some 35 pounds
of gear that cost $170 in 2006 in-
flation-adjusted dollars, accord-
ing to Army figures. CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK WEDNESDAY , O CTOBER 3, 2007 V OL . 123, N O . 276 A N E DITION OF THE N ORTH C OUNTY T IMES 35 CENTS TAX INCLUDED I N S I D E T H I S E D I T I O N American laboratories handling deadly germs and toxins have experienced more than 100 accidents. Mishaps rise See Back Page, D-10 Todays Index Get results with nctimes.com Homes, Autos, Merchandise & Jobs. You'll find it all online at: nctimes.com C I R C U L A T I O N : ( 8 0 0 ) 6 9 2 - 5 2 3 3 This newspaper uses recycled paper. N C T I M E S . C O M THE WEATHER For more forecasts, go online to nctimes.com 7 9 26910 00035 Partly cloudy, becoming
mostly sunny; highs 80s,
lows 50s, Page E-10. Pick up this year-to-year guide to preparing for college. Detailed maps lead you through each year of high school and the steps you should be taking. Check out the special section inside todays North County Times. The current cost to outfit a U.S. soldier is about $17,500, primarily for
body armor and other protection. But the ratio of wounded to killed
soldiers is far less than in previous wars. Future costs may double. WORLD WAR II VIETNAM CONFLICT CURRENT OPERATIONS FUTURE SYSTEM $170 per soldier Equipment
weight: 35.8 pounds 35.1 pounds 75.3 pounds $1,112 $17,472 $28,000-$60,000 Ratio of wounded in action to killed in action Increased
body armor Kneepads
integrated
into uniform Lightweight
combat
boots Operation
picture in
helmet Load carrying equipment will hold a power supply, a robust radio network,
sensors and a body cooling system Load carrying equipment Air burst weapon Combat
belt with
equipment Combat
boots Flak
vest* Leather
combat
boots Spats M16A1
rifle M1
rifle Steel helmet and liner 41% 1 killed to 2.40 wounded 32% 1 to 3.12 12% 1 to 8.3 Kevlar helmet Night
and
thermal
scopes M4 modular carbine Close- combat optic Body
armor Knee
and
elbow
pads Fire-
retardant
golves Tan combat boots Safety glasses* Hand-held
planning
tool and
joint tactical
radio for
leaders* * Not shown 11.3 million soldiers served 2.3 million 766,066 Approximate uniform and equipment cost High cost of force protection SOURCES: Department of Defense; GlobalSecurity.org AP PHILIP K. IRELAND S TAFF W RITER NORTH COUNTY Carlsbad and Poway became the latest North County
cities Tuesday to join a concerted regional
effort to provide shelter for the homeless
during the cold, wet winter months. Carlsbad City Council members voted 4-0 to approve a proposal to give almost
$19,000 to the Alliance for Regional Solu-
tions, a North County agency formed earlier
this year to provide safe shelter to the re-
gions homeless from December to March.
Councilwoman Ann Kulchin was absent. Poways City Council voted unanimously to contribute $10,111 to the regional effort.
The city will provide 20 beds for two weeks
at the Poway Lutheran Church of the Incar-
nation. Councilman Bob Emery, who represent- ed Poway in the alliances discussions of the Poway businessman Brent Wilkes makes
his way to the federal courthouse in San
Diego on Tuesday. ( DON BOOMER / NCT ) Carlsbad, Poway
join regional
homeless group A home is fully engulfed
in flames south of Tahoe
City, Calif., on Aug. 18.
The firefighters job has
been made more
hazardous by an
onslaught of houses and
vacation cabins being
built across the rugged
West some of them
in national forests. AP FILE PHOTO Rep. Henry
Waxman HOSPITALS, A-7 ACTIONS, A-6 HOMELESS, A-5 SUBPOENAS, A-4 WILDFIRES, A-4 TOLL, A-7 GEAR, A-4 Soldiers once seen
as an inexpensive
instrument of war Gear costs 100 times more than in WWII Western wildfires burning more aggressively Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . D-8-9
Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-9
Business . . . . . . . . . . . D-1
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . E-1
Comics . . . . . . . . . . . D-8-9
Crossword . . . . . . . . E-2, 4
Cryptoquote . . . . . . . . . E-4
Editorials, Letters . . . D-4-6 Horoscope, Jumble . . . . D-8
Movie Listings . . . . . . . B-4
Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . B-8
Public Notices . . . . . . E-8-9
School News . . . . . . . . B-2
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
Sudoku . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-4
TV Listings/Weather . E-10 Poway company wins $3.75 million contract to develop satellite propulsion, See Page D-1 Rocket science Blackwater:
Companys
actions were
appropriate FBI continues its probe of
private security employees Parks group
survey says
voters oppose
toll road Super sophomore Attorney pulls subpoenas of 12 lawmakers Hospitals share strategies for ER Overcrowding, long wait times cited as biggest challenges La Costa Canyon Highs Danielle Frasier leads Golfweeks list of junior golf players. See C-1 3_a_01_C_MR_100307_ 10/3/07 12:32 AM Page 1

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