Community Corner

Authorities Identify Marine Who Died Last Saturday

Cpl. Jerome Ventura died of undetermined causes last weekend.

1. Military authorities released the name Tuesday of a 23-year-old Miramar-based Marine who died of undetermined causes last weekend. Cpl. Jerome Ventura of Holtsville, N.Y., was discovered unconscious at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on Saturday, according to the base's public information office. He was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

2. The UC San Diego School of Medicine is embarking on a five-year study of Parkinson's disease in partnership with a foundation created by actor Michael J. Fox, the school announced Tuesday. UCSD will be one of 18 participants in the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative, in which researchers will try to find substances or characteristics in the body that can be associated with the progression of the illness.

3. A policy adopted by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors should reduce negative perceptions about taxpayer funds awarded to nonprofit groups by supervisors, according to report released Tuesday by a county grand jury. The grants—made under the Neighborhood Reinvestment Program and the Community Enhancement Program—have long been derided as "supervisorial slush funds.'' Critics say the grants also give the appearance of political influence-buying, though the grand jury found no evidence of that.

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