The owner of the Carlsbad Strawberry Company is speaking out about the controversial Agua-Hedionda development plan in hopes that residents in the area will not try to overturn a recent vote to develop the area. 

“The 85-15 plan is a good plan. It’s good for my family, it’s good for continuing strawberry farming in this community and it’s good for Carlsbad,” said owner Jimmy Ukegawa. “It’s that simple.”

The project, a fancy outdoor shopping center slated for 2016 construction, overlooks the Agua Hedionda Lagoon where the Carlsbad strawberry fields once grew. The shopping center will now be built on about 30 acres, leaving some 170-acres of the fields preserved, according to the developer.

Developer Rick Caruso said he plans nature trails, amphitheaters, places for people to enjoy the view and an outdoor classroom. The retail portion of the project would include a "farm-to-table" restaurant.

The developer was able to bypass the special election process after collecting enough signatures from Carlsbad residents in favor of the project.

If the council hadn't approved the project, it would have been put it on a special elections ballot, or they could have delayed the decision.

Citizens for North County is pushing for a special election on the project after the group says the center will “change the look and character of Carlsbad forever.”

The group says all of their signature gatherers are volunteers and are hoping to get 10,000 signatures to make it possible for people living in Carlsbad to vote on the project.

A ballot measure in Carlsbad could cost between $450,000 and $550,000, a city spokeswoman said.

"I think that the people of Carlsbad need to vote on this. I think the city council's fair, but I also believe that Caruso is underestimating the people that don't agree with this, and I say, 'Time to meet the family,'" said Carlsbad resident Sue Igoe.

The project got before the City Council for a vote without the typical extensive environmental review, known as CEQA. The process allows for a substantial public input and often involves concessions or mitigations to be made by the developer. 

The group opposed to the shopping center will need to get 10 percent of Carlsbad's registered voters signatures by Sept. 24th to qualify for that special election.

Pope Francis will allow priests to absolve women who have had abortions if they seek forgiveness during the Roman Catholic Church's upcoming Holy Year, the Vatican announced Tuesday, NBC News reported. 

The pontiff said he will allow priests "discretion to absolve of the sin of abortion those who have procured it and who, with contrite heart, seek forgiveness for it" during the holy year beginning December 8.

"I am well aware of the pressure that has led [women] to this decision. I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal," Francis added. 

Abortion is considered a grave sin by the Catholic church, and those who seek it are usually excommunicated. In normal circumstances, forgiveness can only be granted by senior church figures.

The San Diego Police Department on Monday released the names of a man killed in front of a Mission Valley pharmacy and the officer who shot him.

Just after midnight Friday, SDPD officers were called at the CVS Pharmacy at Friars and Mission Center roads for a report of a man wielding a box cutter, yelling and chasing an employee.

Officer Eric Oberndorfer, 15-year veteran of the SDPD, arrived at the scene, and officials say he saw a person who matched the suspect’s description, standing outside the store with a box cutter in his hand.

As he got out of his patrol car, Oberndorfer gave the man — identified as 54-year-old Robert Arthur Hober of San Diego — verbal commands, according to the SDPD. Hober ignored them.

The officer told investigators Hober quickly advanced while pointing the blade toward him. Oberndorfer moved to the rear of his vehicle to create distance and continued to tell Hober to put the box cutter down.

The SDPD says Hober advanced again, so Oberndorfer fired his weapon at the suspect.

Hober died at the scene. According to officials, Oberndorfer was wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting.

If you have any information about this case, you are asked to call the homicide unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
 

A body was found in Ocean Beach Monday evening as rescuers searched for a young man last seen swimming along Sunset Cliffs in San Diego.

Brian Wilson, 23, was swimming with friends and family when he was last seen around 5:30 p.m. Sunday. When he did not return to the beach, friends called for help.

Just over 24 hours later, San Diego Fire-Rescue officials told NBC 7 they found a man's body on the rocks at the foot of Orchard Avenue in Ocean Beach.

A lifeguard on a jet ski found the body at almost the exact spot where Wilson was last seen swimming. The man was discovered during low tide.

They say it is most likely the missing swimmer, but they will not be able to confirm that until the medical examiner performs an autopsy.

Lifeguards said Wilson and his group may have been drinking Sunday before his disappearance, but his friends said he was a strong swimmer who came to the area everyday.

Those who spoke with NBC 7 Monday were distraught, worried about Wilson, the father of a 7-month-old girl. He is from Lakeside and is an alumnus of El Capitan High School.

San Diego Lifeguards said the conditions were rough when Wilson entered the water. Witness Harvy Osinksi told NBC 7 he spotted a young man about 100 yards from shore with a second man — possibly Wilson — about 50 yards farther out.

"I feel bad for their parents," Osinski said. "If he's only 23 years old, I don't know what else to say other than I feel bad for them."

San Diego Lifeguards had skin divers, scuba divers and a helicopter searching for Wilson until 7 p.m. Sunday. The search was suspended due to lack of visibility and rough water.

Just before midnight, the U.S. Coast Guard diverted a cutter from routine patrol to search the area.

As of dawn Monday, an MH-60 Jayhawk and a 45-foot boat began searching the area again for any sign of Wilson.

Los Angeles is officially in the running to host the 2024 Olympics.

With Boston bowing out earlier this year, the LA City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a proposal to authorize Mayor Eric Garcetti to execute agreements related to the Olympic bid. The U.S. Olympic Committee later announced that it had selected LA as the United States candidate.

"We all know the next two years are about fleshing out the details, but this is in our DNA," said Garcetti, citing the city's experience with the 1932 and 1984 Olympics. "We know how to do Olympics, we know how to do them well, we know how to do them  economically."

Officials lit the cauldron at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Tuesday night symbolizing hopes that the Olympics could return to the city in 2024.

"We could use the shot in the arm, just as a people," said Danny Harris, an silver medalist in the 1984 Olympics.

United States Olympics Committee CEO  Scott Blackmun officially announced that LA is the U.S. candidate for 2024 at a beach-side news conference in Santa Monica about an  hour after the council's vote.

Rome, Paris, Hamburg, Germany and Budapest, Hungary are already in the mix. The International Olympic Committee will pick the host city in 2017.

"This is a great Olympic city," Councilman Paul Krekorian said. "Let Paris and Rome and whoever else who wants to compete know, we're in this to win it, and I think we will."

The Summer Olympics were last held in the United States in 1996, when  Atlanta was the site.

The United States did not make a bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics,  which were awarded to Tokyo in 2013. Los Angeles sought to be the U.S.  candidate to host the 2016 Games but was beaten by Chicago, whose bid was  ultimately rejected by the International Olympic Committee in favor of Rio de  Janeiro.

LA is looking to join London as the only cities to host the  Summer Olympics three times. The second-largest U.S. city initially lost the opportunity to bid to Boston but regained it after the East Coast city backed out over concerns about financial liability.

But many financial details of the Los Angeles plan remain vague. City analysts said last week that based on the information given to the city so far, "it is difficult to determine the fiscal impact and risk to the city of hosting the 2024 Games at this time."

The City Council's Ad Hoc Committee on the 2024 Summer Olympics backed an agreement last week that would show the United States Olympic Committee that the city of Los Angeles is committed to pursuing a bid to host the Games, but the full council was given extra time to review bidding documents that were delivered to the city last week. The "joinder" agreement was requested by the United States Olympic Committee.

Some city officials and residents have urged caution in pursuing the bid, saying the city could be on the hook for cost overruns incurred by hosting the Olympics, which boosters of the bid estimate as costing about $4.6 billion to run. Time has also been limited for Los Angeles, which was given only a few weeks to review the pact before the IOC's deadline -- compared with the several months that Boston had to study the idea.

That deadline was Sept. 15.

Last week was also the first time many city leaders and analysts were able to review a 200-page draft bid book and a proposed contract between the USOC and LA24, the nonprofit formed to pursue the bid and potentially manage the games if Los Angeles is picked as the host city. LA24 chair Casey Wasserman, a businessman and philanthropist, assured the committee last week that he believed "that this can be and will be the most responsible Games possible."

The ad hoc panel voted in favor of the effort after revisions were made to the agreement to clarify that the city will still have the opportunity to negotiate a more comprehensive "host city contract" at a later date. City attorneys told the panel that by backing the bid effort Tuesday, the city will not be exposed to any major financial obligations or liabilities.

A preliminary review of the budget appeared to show that one of the major capital projects, the Olympic Village, "may significantly exceed the projected $1 billion," City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana and Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso wrote in a report Thursday. The analysts said more than half of the budget may go toward just remediation and relocation costs.

Supporters of the Los Angeles bid have said the city will more likely see a surplus, saying that unlike other cities, Los Angeles already has many of the needed sporting venues in place.

The Olympic Village would be next to the Los Angeles River in Lincoln Heights -- in a Union Pacific rail yard known as the "Piggyback Yard" -- and calls for track-and-field and the opening and closing ceremonies to be held at a renovated Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Officials are investigating four separate shootings at cars over three days along I-10 in Arizona, NBC News reported. It was not immediately clear if the incidents were related. 

Multiple rounds were fired in all of the incidents, according to NBC station KPNX. Investigators believe the shooter was also in a vehicle traveling on I-10, KPNX reported.

The shooting occurred on Saturday just after 11 a.m. local time when a sport utility vehicle was fired upon and struck, according to a statement from the Arizona Department of Public Safety. A teen girl riding in the passenger seat was treated on the scene for a cut to her right ear.

Minutes later, according to officials, a bus traveling in the opposite direction was hit by a bullet. There were no injuries. The third shooting was later that night and on Monday a bullet hit a work truck en route to a work site.

President Barack Obama is upping his social media game.

POTUS made his very first post on Instagram last night as he journeyed to Alaska.

The image was taken out the window of Air Force One. The blue sky breaks out along the horizon line as a blue engine from the airplane can be seen in the foreground. 

"Incredible view as we near Anchorage. I'll be spending the next few days touring this beautiful state and meeting with Alaskans about what’s going on in their lives," wrote Obama on the White House Instagram feed. 

The White House tweeted that the post was the president's first on Instagram. The presidents signs all his social media posts with 'bo.'

In addition to showing off his social media skills, Obama is on a wilderness trek to be filmed as part of TV show '"Running Wild with Bear Grylls," talking to Alaskans about "what's going on in their lives," and surveying the impacts of climate change. 

In May, Obama began tweeting from his own POTUS Twitter account and broke the Guiness World Record for acquring one million followers in less than five hours.

The number of drunken driving fatalities across San Diego County has reached a level that has local officials calling this the "summer of shame."

Sensing a greater number of suspected DUI-involved deaths on San Diego roads and highways, NBC7 did its own research into summer fatalities and found five from June 1 to August 26.

An analysis from the San Diego County District Attorney's Office includes the month of May and that number is startling. Local law enforcement leaders plan to discuss the recent spike Tuesday.

Lance Rodgers lost a friend and his business partner Victor Leamon lost the love of his life when a suspected drunk driver hit and killed Rocio Leamon.

“I was shocked. How do you take a phone call like that at night? You can't even wrap your head around it,” Rodgers said.

While the spike in DUI related deaths is alarming it doesn't illustrate the devastation to families.

“Very hard to see somebody suffer like he's suffering with three boys to raise on his own. It's just an awful situation,” Rodgers said.

Police say 38-year-old Joshua Taylor was driving under the influence, when he hit and killed Leamon while she was crossing Navajo road in San Carlos.

The accident happened around 6 p.m. on August 13 and is one of more than a dozen pending cases since May.

“It's a horrible statistic to realize we are losing ground in what was so much in the focus of everybody's mind. Don't drink and drive,” Rodgers said.

The DA's DUI Homicide unit is so overburdened; more assistant prosecutors were recruited to handle the work load. Nearly half the DUI drivers caught had a blood alcohol level almost twice the legal limit, officials said.

“How many more times? How many different ways can you say something so obvious. Don't drink and drive. It tears families apart,” Rodgers said.

There is some good news; the number of misdemeanor DUI prosecutions in our area is down significantly over the last five years.

That statistic is unexplained but may suggest the majority of drivers are less willing to take the risk.

A man sentenced to life in prison without parole on a marijuana-related charge walked out of a Missouri prison a free man on Tuesday, after spending two decades behind bars, The Associated Press reported. 

The release of Jeff Mizanskey followed years of lobbying from family, lawmakers and advocates for the legalization of marijuana, who argued that the sentence was too stiff.

Mizanskey was sentenced in 1996 after police said he conspired to sell 6 pounds of marijuana to a dealer connected to Mexican drug cartels. The life with no parole sentence was allowed under a Missouri law for persistent drug offenders; Mizanskey already had two drug convictions — one for possession and sale of marijuana in 1984 and another for possession in 1991.

Nearly 70 vehicles, some from the 1920s, owned by a plumber who died last summer without an original will are up for auction by the Orange County Public Administrator.

The 76-year-old man's estate included 69 cars discovered in the front, side and back yards of his half-acre property in Buena Park. The Public Administrator's office petitioned the court to sell the assets of the owner, who did not have a legal executor for the estate or any legally recognized next of kin when he died in August 2014.

The office is charged with taking care of assets in such situations. The vehicles were transported to the Public Administrator's lot in Santa Ana, where they were parked during the legal process that led to this week's auction.

"This is a unique situation for us," Elizabeth Henderson, chief deputy public administrator for Orange County, told The Orange County Register. "We get cars all the time, but we mostly deal with individual cars people would generally have in their driveways, somebody's Honda Accord that has to be auctioned.

"This stuff is kind of amazing."

The collection includes 1930s Ford Model A Roadsters, several VW Beetles, Mercedes-Benz models, a 1965 Volkswagen van and an experimental aircraft. Fans of vintage British roadsters will note Lots 90 and 24 -- a 1959 Austin Healey 3000 and 1953 MG TD.

The vehicles were stored outdoors for decades and all require some work. Other are probably just scrap.

Many of the vehicles are in what vintage automotive enthusiasts refer to as "barn find" condition -- something that can probably be restored, but isn't immediately fit for the street.

"They're full of straw and leaves and newspapers," said Henderson.

The items also include an assortment of vehicle parts, tires and engines.

The man behind the automotive stockpile is somewhat of a mystery. Gerald Willits died at 76 and apparently worked in the plumbing business, the Register reported, citing signage on some of the vehicles.

A neighbor told the Register Willits only drove his Saturn and appeared to live a humble lifestyle.

But the automobiles were just part of what appears to be a considerable estate. He also owned at least four homes in Orange County, three of which also will be auctioned, the Register reported.

Ken Porter Auctions of Carson will conduct the auction Tuesday, beginning at 8 a.m. The vehicles are available Monday for viewing at 1300 South Grand Ave. in Santa Ana.

A judge will determine how the proceeds from the auction will be distributed.

Click here to view items up for auction.
 

A police pursuit through San Diego ended in a crash and an arrest early Tuesday.

San Diego Police officers said the suspect was speeding along southbound I-15 at El Cajon Boulevard just after midnight.

The silver Altima did not stop and continued along Euclid Avenue and then Adams Avenue, police said.

Once the vehicle reached Monroe Avenue in Talmadge, the driver lost control and crashed into a tree.

The driver suffered several cuts to his forehead.

He was taken into custody and transported to Mercy Hospital.

Police said once he recovers he will be arrested. His name was not released.
 

A residential burglary at an Oak Hill home turned into a standoff after a suspect who stole five firearms refused to leave his apartment when asked by law enforcement officials.

Johnny James Martinez, 19, of Escondido, was arrested and charged for residential burglary and numerous other felony charges Monday.

The burglary happened between 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Monday when an Escondido resident reported the incident.

Residents said a suspect stole multiple objects, including five firearms, when he cut through the screen of an unlocked window.

A citizen in the area reported seeing a person carrying a rifle that matched the description of one of the stolen weapons during that same time period, Escondido Police said. The citizen reported seeing the man head inside an apartment.

Later that afternoon, police obtained a search warrant for that apartment and an Escondido SWAT team was deployed to the area to assist, because of the reported stolen weapons.

All residents were asked to exit the apartment building, but one man refused to exit.

Police used chemical agents and Martinez, who police later identified, exited the building. Martinez was later booked into the Vista Detention Facility.

When officers searched the area, they found three of the five reported stolen weapons and one other missing item. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Escondido Police Department Investigations Division, at 760-839-4717.
 

A New York-based company that distributes to stores in the Big Apple, New Jersey and 12 other states is recalling nearly 10,000 cases of frozen corn over concerns about possible Listeria contamination.

The frozen cut corn, made by Bonduelle USA Inc. of Brockport, was distributed in poly bags that said Wylwood Super Sweet Whole Kernel Corn, Market Basket Cut Corn, Bountiful Harvest Whole Kernel Cut Corn and West Creek Frozen Vegetables.

Listeria monocytogens, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, or people with weakened immune systems, was found in a package of the corn during routine testing at a retail store in Tennessee.

In addition to New York and New Jersey, the corn was distributed to stores in Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

Bonduelle has stopped distributing the corn, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said, and it, along with the FDA, continue to investigate what caused the contamination. The company is fulling cooperating with federal authorities, the FDA said.

The company has not received any complaints in relation to this product and is not aware of any illnesses associated with the product to date.

Consumers who purchased the product are urged to throw it away. Consumers requiring refund or with questions may contact the company at 1-877-990-2662, Monday - Friday, 9 am - 4 pm EST.

Family members are pulling together reward money to generate leads in a Chula Vista high school student's mysterious death. Homicide investigators say the teen may have been the victim of a hit-and-run incident.

The body of Anthony Hofer was found last week in some brush off Heritage Road, near Sleep Train Amphitheater.

A jogger made the discovery Thursday morning along a path Hofer would often walk, his friends say. It was just five minutes from his home.

Chula Vista Police homicide detectives have questioned several witnesses and obtained video surveillance footage from the area to try and determine what may have happened to Hofer.

The family contacted police after midnight Thursday, according to a department spokesperson.

Hofer was found on the side of the road next to a tree with trauma on his face and parts of his body. He was wearing no shoes or socks when he was found, officials said.

Hofer's death appears on the surface to be the case of a hit-and-run incident, Chula Vista Police spokesperson Lt. Lon Turner. However, investigators are waiting for results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Family and friends sent up a prayer Friday night for the teenager, releasing black balloons

The 17-year-old attended Olympian High School where students honored him Monday by wearing black for a second day.

“Seeing a lot of black was pretty sad obviously,” said student Brenda Gonzalez. She didn’t know Tony personally but said there were students who were crying on campus.

A family representative told NBC7 that they were offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest in the case. Turner said the family was working with San Diego Crimestoppers to organize a reward effort.

Anyone with information on the incident can call Chula Vista homicide detectives at (619) 691-5151.

A gas is leaking into a Poway neighborhood after a construction crew damaged a gas line Tuesday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Workers digging during a project hit the line in the 13100 block of Gregg Street at 1:40 p.m.

No evacuations have been called.

SDG&E is responding to turn off the gas and fix the line.

The street has been closed down to traffic while the problem continues.

No further information was immediately available. 

Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story. 

One person has been detained in an incident that caused Bay Park Elementary School to be locked down Tuesday.

San Diego police say just before 3 p.m., they got reports of two men jumping over a fence at a vacant home near Clairemont Drive and Denver Street, possibly committing a burglary or break-in.

Officers surrounded the home in an effort to get the men out.

Officials asked that the school, which is not in session, be locked down during the incident.

By 4 p.m., police had detained one person, but it's unclear if that person is connected with the suspected crime. The lockdown was lifted shortly after.

Bay Park teachers are expected to return to work Wednesday, and students will not return to Bay Park Elementary until Sept. 8, when school starts again.

The school district says there were about four students and about 15 staff members on campus during the incident.

When Alycen Hemsworth’s family camera plunged into the waters off La Jolla Cove a month ago, she figured it was gone forever.

“We just kind of dropped it,” she said. “We were sad. We were bummed. There were pictures from four years ago.”

But, as luck would have it, a diver spotted the orange digital camera as he was snorkeling last week and took to social media, drawing local news media outlets to his cause, in hopes of finding the owner.

He calls it a "needle in the ocean."

A number of the Hemsworths’ friend saw the story on local news and online and alerted the family.

On Tuesday, Hemsworth and her son met with the diver, Mark Schulze, in La Jolla to pick up their lost camera and say thank you.

The group embraced as Schulze told Hemsworth’s son: “I’ve seen your picture so many times now.”

Schulze was able to recover about 300 photos from the camera dating back to 2011. They show scenes from across Southern California and videos of children’s performances and outings.

After NBC 7’s story aired Monday night and was posted on the station’s social media accounts, a woman reached out to the station, saying she recognized the boy in the photographs from her son’s soccer team.

The boy, she identified as Kai, played with the La Mesa AYSO soccer club.

The message to NBC 7 was among countless leads from folks who recognized the photos of the family and reached out to them.

“When I got home, there were 37 messages from friends,” Hemsworth said. “So social media works in good ways as well.”

Hemsworth said she’s especially grateful that the family now has photos back from memorable vacations to Palm Springs and Yosemite. And the family made a new friend along the way.

“We’re going to get together over margaritas,” she said.
 

A fire at a shared University Heights building left white smoke billowing above the neighborhood as firefighters worked to put out the flames. 

The fire started at 11 a.m. Tuesday on the 4000 block of Park Boulevard, near the border with North Park. The building has several offices and businesses inside, including a barber shop and cell phone repair shop. 

Soon after the fire began, white smoke could be seen coming from the building. Firefighters working to put out the flames thought they had it knocked out when they found an active fire in the attic.

By 11:30 a.m., San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Capt. Amador said the fire was knocked down. 

Crews will be on scene for at least another hour to investigate and mop up. Fire officials estimate the damage to be $200,000 from a plumbers torch. 

No further information was immediately available. 

Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story.