SAN DIEGO — Governor Jerry Brown appointed Paula S. Rosenstein to the San Diego Superior Court this week. Rosenstein, a UCSD alumna, will become the court’s only openly gay justice when she takes over for the retiring Judge Linda B. Quinn.

Rosenstein previously worked as a San Diego attorney and holds a law degree from the University of San Diego School of law. She graduated UCSD with a B.A in 1982.

SAN DIEGO — A Mission Hills resident, Michael Burke, said this week that he is suing the City of San Diego for injuries he sustained when a palm tree fell and crushed his legs. According to U-T San Diego, Burke’s lawsuit against the city could cost San Diego several million dollars.

Burke has blamed city budget cuts for the accident, where an allegedly dead tree near his house snapped and fell on him in 2010.

NATION — The Navy plans to stop training dolphins to find underwater mines and to keep enemy swimmers away from their warships. The Navy has been using dolphins to help them since 1960. They use dolphins for their sonar capabilities and deep diving physiology. The program will be closed within the next five years because technology has advanced over the need for mammals. The Navy will continue to care for the 24 dolphins currently in the Navy Marine Mammal Program.

CALIFORNIA — Police found the remains of Frederick Hengl’s wife cooking in the oven of their house on Nov. 23. Officers responded to a complaint filed by neighbors about the foul odor coming from the house. Investigators also found his wife’s head in the freezer and dismembered body parts in cooking pans in the kitchen. Investigators believe he killed his wife, Anna Faris, between Nov. 1and 6. Hengl and Faris were previously known to the police because Hengl wandered around the neighborhood dressed like a woman, and Faris would stand on street corners with a knife.