Sixteen businesses were left without water after a main burst overnight in a commercial area of El Cajon.

Water officials said a 12-inch cast iron water main – installed in 1955 – broke in the 1200 block of Greenfield Drive between N. 2nd and Oro streets sometime before 1:30 a.m. Thursday.

A California Highway Patrol sergeant driving in the area noticed water gushing onto the roadway and called water crews from the Helix Water District.

As of 6 a.m., the area remained closed off to traffic and officials said impacted roadways would likely remain shut down all day.

There are several schools in the area, and Greenfield Drive is widely used by parents and buses accessing the campuses. Nearby parallel streets will provide detours for the day and officials will be on scene monitoring traffic.

Since businesses in the area were without water service, a water truck was brought in to help provide water to businesses as needed. Businesses in that part of El Cajon include auto shops.

Fortunately, there was no major flooding to the area, just pockets of puddles here and there.

Crews said repairs would likely conclude by late Thursday afternoon, and water service would be restored to businesses soon after that. The main will be replaved with a PVC pipe, which is more durable.

Crews said the rupture was on the bottom of the 60-year-old water main and attributed it to corrosion from the clay-like soil found in the area.

Water officials said the pipe was scheduled to be replaced next month, but it broke before that could happen. The whole block at that location will be repaired in the next eight weeks.

Three athletes from Point Loma High School have contracted staph infections.

The head trainer discovered treatable rashes on the students Tuesday, and sent each athlete to their doctor for treatment and antibiotics.

The school’s fitness center is closed until it can be deep cleaned, and the locker room has already been disinfected.

To prevent spread of the infection, the CDC recommends washing towels and uniforms in at least 160-degree water, helmets and shoulder pads should be cleaned with alcohol, wounds should be cleaned and covered and regularly touched items such as doorknobs and computer keyboards need to be disinfected regularly.

School officials sent out a letter to parents advising them of the situation with more in-depth tips on how to avoid spreading the infection. “The health and safety of our athletes is our greatest priority,” officials said in the letter.
 

A Chula Vista police officer was injured Wednesday night when a driver suspected of being under the influence T-boned her patrol car, officials confirmed.

The Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) said the officer was driving southbound on Eastlake Parkway just after 11 p.m., on her way to a 911 call. She had turned on the flashing lights and sirens on her patrol car.

Officials said other motorists pulled over to the side of the road for the officer.

However, a man driving a Mazda eastbound on Otay Lakes Road did not stop, and T-boned the officer’s car at the intersection while traveling at approximately 50 mph.

The impact destroyed the back end of the patrol car and the front end of the DUI suspect’s Mazda. The driver was arrested on DUI charges and taken to a local hospital for injuries suffered from the deployment of his airbag.

The CVPD officer was very shaken up in the crash, and was transported to a hospital as a precaution, officials said. She did not suffer major injuries and was released.

The collision is under investigation. The names of the officer and the DUI suspect were not released.
 

After a recent relocation, a Trader Joe’s grocery store in Pacific Beach celebrated its grand opening Thursday morning at its brand new digs.

With a ceremonial “lei-cutting” at 8 a.m., the new PB Trader Joe’s opened for business. The store is located at 1640 Garnet Ave. – about four blocks from its former site in the beach community.

The new location is approximately 10,000-square feet, or about 1,000-square-feet larger than the old store. Like all Trader Joe’s locations, this one features festive décor – including cedar-covered walls and Hawaiian-inspired details – plus art that celebrates the local neighborhood.

Shoppers’ eyes can also feast on some colorful, hand-painted murals on display throughout the store that pay tribute to the beaches, boardwalk and attractions that make Pacific Beach unique.

Trader Joe’s says this location will offer the company’s signature array of domestic and imported food and beverages, including organic items, Arabica bean coffees, international frozen entrées and your market staples like milk and eggs. Also on shelves: more than 3,000 items under the Trader Joe’s private label, including fan favorites like salsas, rice and marinara sauces.

Trader Joe’s began in Los Angeles in 1958. Today, the grocer operates more than 440 stores across 39 states, including more than a dozen locations in San Diego County. Another new location is slated to open on the San Diego State University campus in the fall of 2016.
 

Pope Francis landed in New York City on Thursday to start the second leg of his six-day visit to the United States. The biggest events of his trip are still to come. Here’s what’s on the agenda Friday for Pope Francis' first full day in New York City. 

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Francis' New York stop is going to be "the largest security challenge the department and this city have ever faced." But police, working with federal law enforcement and other agencies are up to the challenge, he said. 

Here’s what’s on the agenda Friday for Pope Francis' first full day in New York City. 

United Nations, 10:20 a.m.

Expect a half-hour speech when Pope Francis becomes the fourth pontiff to address the United Nations General Assembly. On the 70th anniversary of the annual session, Francis is also expected to meet with the U.N's secretary general, president of the General Assembly and Russian President Vladimir Putin.   

9/11 Memorial and Museum, World Trade Center, 11:30 a.m.

After leaving the U.N., Francis will attend a multi-religious service at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, the site of the 2001 terror attacks in Lower Manhattan that killed nearly 3,000 people. Victims' families and first responders have been invited to the event.

Our Lady Queen of Angels School, East Harlem, 4 p.m.

Next up is a visit to a group of third- and fourth-grade students at a school run by a partnership trying innovative ways to revitalize Catholic education. Francis will also bless 150 immigrant New Yorkers, including children who fled violence in Central America.

Procession Through Central Park, Around 5:15 p.m.

A late addition to Francis' itinerary is sure to be one of the most spectacular of his visit — 80,000 people who won a ticketed lottery will witness Francis' progression along Central Park West Drive. Scalpers were selling the tickets for as much as $100 a pop. 

Madison Square Garden, 6 p.m.

Twenty-thousand people are expected at MSG -- the home of the Knicks, Rangers and Liberty -- when Francis wraps up his New York visit by celebrating Mass. His chair for the service was constructed by immigrant day laborers, chosen to illustrate the pope’s concern for those who are marginalized.

Want to Watch the Events?

We will cover all the day's biggest events live with live streams on our website and in our app. Click here for full coverage of the papal visit. 

New York City Forecast

Partly cloudy skies and turning breezy. Highs around 75 degrees, according to Storm Team 4.  

If You're in Town: Check This Traffic, Transit Guide

Dozens of streets will be closed at times and officials are urging drivers to say off the roads. Here's what else you should expect. And just like D.C., leave those selfie sticks at home. 

In Case You Missed It

• Full Itinerary for Francis' Historic 6-Day Trip
• Pope Francis' Top Moments in America So Far
• Watch: Moments From Past Papal Visits
• 'Buon Appetito': Pope Francis Blesses Meal for the Poor at Lunch
• No Surprise: Boehner Cries

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Opponents of a plan to build a retail development on the former Carlsbad strawberry fields say they have gathered enough signatures to put the issue to a citywide vote.

Dozens of protesters marched to Carlsbad City Hall Thursday to drop off what they say is 9,074 signatures, representing the number of people who oppose the Agua Hedionda development. The group, Citizens for North County, needs at least 6,500 valid signatures to put the issue on a ballot.

The outdoor shopping center, which will be underway next year, would overlook the Agua Hedionda Lagoon and sit where the strawberry fields once grew.

The project’s challengers are unhappy that the issue was not brought before the voters. Instead, it was approved by the Carlsbad City Council after developer Rick Caruso bypassed the environmental review process with a signature drive.

Opponents say the developer mailed out fliers, saying the plan would be put on the ballot.

“That was a complete surprise to many people when they signed an initiative and felt, ‘Wait, we were promised a right to weigh in, and now we don’t,’” said Diana Nygaard. “So there’s an issue of fairness.”

The county registrar of voters has 30 days to verify all the signatures handed in by Citizens for North County. If they are approved, the issue goes back to the city council, which can then decide whether to overturn its initial decision — killing the project — or bring it before the voters.

Putting it on the ballot would mean a $500,000 special election or waiting until the 2016 general election.

Proponents of the Agua Hedionda project, including the owner of the Carlsbad Strawberry Company, say the shops will be built on about 30 acres, leaving 85 percent of the land reserved for things like hiking trails, an outdoor classroom, amphitheaters and natural space.

“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 strawberry company owner Jimmy Ukegawa earlier this month. “It’s that simple.”

City leaders refused to comment Thursday on which way they would lean, and NBC 7’s call to the developer was not returned.

A cyclist was struck by a driver in Chula Vista Thursday afternoon, police say.

The crash happened at Palm Avenue and 3rd Street at 4:30 p.m.

The man on the bike was left with scratches on his head, according to Chula Vista Police.

The driver stayed at the scene. Police say it was an accident, so they are not investigating any further.

An Irving daycare center is the target of a Texas Child Care Licensing investigation after a mom said her 1-year-old child was bitten six times on his first day there.

Nicki Farina said she took her son Lucas to Above and Beyond Center for Children in the 500 block of East 6th Street Monday.

She said the day care center director, Deborah Bailey, called that day and said the boy had been bitten and sent a text photo. That night at home she found six bites on his back, arm and cheek.

"It doesn't make sense to me my kid could get that injured in the course of one day at a daycare," Farina said. "It's really hard as a mom to come home and see that when you left your kid in the care of someone else."

Farina said she took her child to an emergency room for treatment that night and complained to Texas Child Care Licensing.

When contacted Thursday, Bailey told NBC 5 investigators had already been to the location and results could be obtained from the state. She declined further comment. 

Marissa Gonzales with Child Care Licensing said the investigation is not finished and the agency takes the complaint seriously.

"Investigations can take up to 30 days to complete and that’s because the investigator will make sure to talk to everybody we could need to talk to, including maybe medical experts, law enforcement if necessary, and get a really good complete picture of what happened."

Gonzales said past infractions at the location were not serious and all have been corrected.

Parents picking kids up Thursday evening defended Above and Beyond Center for Children.
"Awesome, the best there is, the best customer service, I mean they respect my kid," said parent Paloma Gandera. "I think this is all unfair."

Parent Zetta Ruise said the daycare center successfully potty trained her 2-year-old child and handles another with attention deficit disorder who was turned away from other providers.

"I have three children that come here during the summer and two during the school year," she said.

 Click here to search Records on licensing history for all Texas child care locations

All but one lane of southbound State Route 163 was closed just south of Friars Road after a motorcycle crash Thursday evening.

The two-car crash left a motorcyclist with a major injury to his leg at about 5:30 p.m. He was taken to the hospital, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Officials issued a Sig Alert at about 6 p.m., and the alert was lifted about 30 minutes later. They said traffic is backing up to the I-15 and SR-163 split.

It's unclear how the crash happened.

A man and his stepdaughter are facing charges after shutting three children in the trunk of their car while driving in Connecticut earlier this month, according to police.

John David Harvey, 34, and his stepdaughter, Adrianna Nordin, 20, were arrested Sept. 13 at the Cumberland Farms gas station on South Main Street in Torrington.

Police said they were driving to Waterbury from Torrington with three other people, including two adults, in the back seat of the car. Those people have not been named.

Witnesses called police after watching two 10-year-old children and one 8-year-old climb into the trunk of the car, which was shut behind them, locking them in, according to police.

Police said one of the children is Harvey's and the other two are related to the unnamed passengers.

The Republican-American cites Harvey's attorney as saying "Harvey made a bad decision to place them in the trunk" because there was no room for the children in the back seat.

Harvey and Nordin were each charged with risk of injury and breach of peace. They appeared in court Monday, where their cases were continued to Oct. 7.

The San Diego Water Authority and Camp Pendleton approved a deal Thursday that brings them one step closer to the possibility of a water desalinization plant on the base.

The County Water Authority Board approved a $4.05 million dollar contract to build, operate and report on seawater intake options.

The tests will focus on environmental impacts of a plant, varying water quality of intake locations, seasonal water quality changes and finding the best pre-treatment systems.

The Water Authority and the base have been doing feasibility and technical studies for the desalinization project since 2007.

If the project went forward it would take at least a decade to complete. The project is still in the testing phase and no concrete plans have been made to go ahead with a plant.

“Given the long lead time for developing seawater desalination projects in California, incremental development activities such as these intake studies will maintain a potential Camp Pendleton project as a viable alternative,” said Mark Weston, chair of the Water Authority’s Board. “This research will help us understand the most environmentally friendly and economically feasible alternatives for water intakes as we consider all the other complex factors involved with securing a reliable long-term water supply for our homes and economy. While we perform these studies, we will maintain our focus on regional water conservation and supporting the development of other local supplies such as recycled water and purified water projects.”

A 2009 feasibility study by the Water Authority found Camp Pendleton to be an ideal location to integrate a new water supply for county use.

Two possible sites for a desalinization plant have been identified: one near I-5 and the other near the mouth of the Santa Margarita River. Both would have the capacity to produce between 50 and 150 million gallons of water a day.

The Water Authority is building a desalinization plant in Carlsbad. The Carlsbad plant, which opens this fall, will use existing seawater intake and discharge facilities while a Camp Pendleton plant would require new ones.

Pilot-scale facilities will be constructed during testing to allow comparison of open-ocean and subsurface intake systems.

The desalinization project is viewed by the Water Authority as a long-term water supply option, and part of the Water Authority’s multi-decade water supply diversification strategy.
 

Angry residents of Sherman Heights took to the streets Thursday, calling on City Hall to invest more in a historic community they say has been underserved and underfunded for too long.

"We need a lot of things,” one woman told NBC 7, trying to talk over the din of city rigs making street repairs nearby, “but the streets -- it's urgent! Urgent! All the streets around here."

Sherman Heights – first settled in the late 1800s along with Golden Hill, both overlooking downtown -- historically has been short of money to bring its public infrastructure up to standards that other city residents take for granted.

As street crews worked on some of the crumbling thoroughfares in the neighborhood, dozens of residents gathered around their city councilmember, David Alvarez, to tell news media representatives that all this attention has come to them too little, too late.

And  this is only after longstanding efforts to get City Hall focused on Sherman Heights -- while other low-income communities south of Interstate 8 already have seen infrastructure upgrades and improvements.

“Almost three years ago we sat here with city staff,” Alvarez recalled, “and were promised the streets in this community were going to be taken care of, that they would be covered, repaired, and the condition wouldn’t get worse. In fact, we’ve seen completely the opposite.”

Residents pointed out that sidewalks, street lights and other facilities also have been neglected in an area that's just east of downtown’s high rises and business district, but seemingly lost in bureaucratic shuffles.

"We're so close to tourist attractions, downtown, the Convention Center, the ballpark, Barrio Logan,” said community activist Silvia Leon. “We will soon have a lot more tourist traffic. This is a priority, that we invest in this community. We've requested it, we demand it."

A city spokesman told NBC 7 that street repairs are being rolled out strategically -- 300 miles this year, at a cost of $74 million.

He said various communities in Alvarez's 8th Council District have seen major investments recently, including a neighborhood three blocks away from where Thursday’s rally took place.
 

San Diegans have been ripping out lawns, cutting back on excessive showering and otherwise using less water in response to California's long-lasting drought.

And yet water rates have soared for even the thriftiest of water users. About half of the two dozen water agencies in San Diego County have recently approved price increases or likely will sometime soon.

So what's behind the rising rates?

On this week's San Diego Explained, NBC's Monica Dean and Voice of San Diego's Ry Rivard dig into the costs stemming from the opening of a new desalination plant in Carlsbad this fall, the city's plan to recycle wastewater and other reasons our dollars are being dried up right along with the drought.

China will anounce Friday that it will launch a national carbon emissions trading market in 2017 as part of the joint climate change statement with the United States meant to boost prospects for a global climate pact, U.S. officials said.

The policy announcements Chinese President Xi Jinping's meetings with U.S. President Barack Obama Friday. The two leaders are meeting amid tensions over alleged Chinese cyber spying, Beijing's economic policies and China's regional territorial disputes. 

The market will cover key sectors including power generation, iron and steel, chemicals and cement. It will be designed based on what was learned from the seven regional pilot exchanges that are in operation in China.

Multiple schools in the northwest will not have class again Friday after higher than normal levels of Legionella bacteria were detected in their cooling towers.

Police said bacteria found Wednesday morning was detected in an HVAC system during the district's annual air quality testing.

"The district has followed and exceeded the required cleaning protocol for their cooling towers and will continue the cleaning process Friday," the District announced late Thursday.

“We have gone above and beyond industry standards and guidelines to ensure the safety of our staff and students,” said District U-46's CEO Tony Sanders. “We have absolutely no evidence that anyone was exposed to anything harmful but we will always err on the side of caution in the face of a risk to staff and students. We will keep these schools closed Friday while we take additional safety measures as discussed today with our water management consultant and state health officials.”

The elevated levels of bacteria were found at Eastview Middle, Larkin High and at the Central Office and Gifford Street High School.

“We are keeping these three buildings closed in an abundance of caution,” Sanders said in a news release late Wednesday. “We have absolutely no evidence that our students have been exposed to anything harmful.”

All other U-46 schools and facilities will remain open.

“We have all 19 of these types of cooling systems being sanitized right now," Sanders said. "The guidelines from OSHA (The Occupational Safety and Health Administration) say if you have a level of 1-thousand parts per million or higher that you should take emergency action two of them came in above 1000 and Larkin came in at 940.”

Students and staff at the schools were evacuated just before 11 a.m. Wednesday. All of the buildings were closed immediately.

“We got an announcement from our principal and he told us to evacuate the school because there was some environmental hazard but we were told what the hazard was,” said Larkin High School senior Sabbat Sattar.

One parent said she was disappointed by the way the school released information about the incident.

"The information by the school district was not appropriately put out in a timely manner,” said Christine Romanenko, a mother of five. “I think it caused a lot of panic and worry and chaos in a school day.”

Eastview Middle School students were being transported to Bartlett High until parents could pick them up. Gifford Street School and Central Schools program students were being moved to Elgin High School until they could be taken home. And Larkin students were dismissed from the school if they could walk home while others were being bussed home. Special needs students were also being transported home.

Central office staff members were asked to assist with students at Bartlett High or Elgin High.

Check back for details on this developing story.

A man at the Howard Street CTA station was assaulted by someone who knocked him out, took his keys and drove off with his car last Tuesday, according to police.

Police said they received a call from a CTA worker who said a man was bleeding from the head at the 7500 block of North Paulina.

When police arrived at the scene, the 69-year-old told them he was walking down stairs of the station’s attached Park and Ride garage when a person hit him in the face and knocked him out in the stairwell, police said.

When he woke up, he discovered his keys, money and phone were missing, police said. He also discovered that his 2001 Green 4 door Mitsubishi Gallant was also missing.

The man was taken to St. Francis Hospital and treated for head and face injuries and release, police said.

Police said surveillance cameras caught the assailant waiting for the victim before the attack. Nobody is in custody in the incident, according to police

"I'm devastated, because that's not something that I normally hear that takes place here at the Howard station because it's so heavily secured with the CTA," said Mary Baily, a CTA rider.

Now this is a true love of the game.

A woman gave birth at Petco Park in San Diego Thursday night around the third inning of the Padres vs. San Francisco Giants game.

The baby boy, named Levi, is the first to be born at the stadium.

The very pregnant fan, who apparently did not have time to reach a hospital, had her son in the park's Palm Court Plaza.

The Padres rallied for the little guy, pulling off a 5-4 win in the 9th over the Giants -- an extra treat, provided his parents are San Diego fans.

News of the birth surprised and entertained those in the stands and outside of the stadium.

The AAA Motor Club is reporting an increase in staged car accidents as experts give advice on how to avoid becoming a victim.

Investigators said staged accidents are becoming a cottage industry for individual crooks looking to make a fast buck and whole criminal organizations made up of bogus victims, clinics, mechanics and lawyers.

The dense population and sheer volume of cars on the road make Southern California a target rich environment for this type of insurance fraud.

Helping to weed out the suspects is private investigator Dorian Bond. While he is often recruited for higher profile murder cases like that of Jodi Arias, Bond's bread and butter is insurance fraud.

“These people don't work. They sit at home and think of scams to get money. It's called mailbox money. They're just getting checks every day,” Bond said.

After four days of surveillance, Bond found what he was looking for — a woman who NBC 7 is calling Rita.

When NBC 7 observed Rita, she was walking the dog, moving and bending without difficulty.

But Bond said “she went to the doctor a week prior and said she can't bend over. She can barely walk and that she sits at home all day and lays in bed.”

Rita recently filed an insurance claim saying she was the victim of a car and paint truck collision.

According to Bond, further investigation by the National Insurance Crime Bureau indicated this is her ninth accident in three years. Behind the wheel of the truck was her boyfriend, Rita's relatives towed the vehicles and friends did the repair work, Bond said.

“Money starts flowing from the insurance company to the injured neck, to the body shop, to the repair shop, to the towing company," Bond said.

James Quiggle, spokesman for the Washington-based Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, said Southern California one of the U.S.'s industrial centers for organized staged crash rings.

He said the collusion extends beyond those in the repair business. The bad guys operate under the advice of lawyers and doctor-shop for a diagnosis.

“It's just a sore muscle or whatever a doctor says it is and can be worth thousands of dollars per claim,” Quiggle said.

In most staged accidents, the victim isn't in on it. Criminal teams profile drivers who are most likely to be insured: middle-aged, well-dressed, employed drivers behind the wheel of nice cars.

AAA of Southern California recently sent members a warning about three typical staged accidents:

• The "Swoop and Squat” is when one car cuts off another, then slams on the breaks, forcing a rear end collision.
• The "Drive Down" happens when you are gestured into the right of way then deliberately run into. The perpetrator always denies waving you through.
• The "Sideswipe" maneuver occurs if you unwittingly drift into another lane while turning. Your car is hit before the correction.

“This can raise your premiums considerably. You are a hard working policy owner; you shouldn't have to pay for someone else's scams,” Quiggle said.

The cost is estimated in the billions. The number of serious injuries and an even deaths caused by staged accidents is not known for sure, but investigators agree, they are more likely on the rise.

The bad guys are looking for distracted drivers, mothers fussing with kids and drivers on their phone, so pay close attention to the road.

If you are in an accident, call police and call your insurance agent right away. Take pictures of license plates, damage to vehicles and even people involved. Stagers don't want to be caught on camera, the experts say.
 

The new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are hitting stores on Friday and people, as well as a robot, around the world are already lining up.

Lucy the robot was among the first to wait in the rain in Sydney, Australia.

"I obviously have my work and other things to attend to and can't spend two days lining up so my boss at work suggested I take one of the robots down and use it to stand in my place," said operator, Lucy Kelly, via an iPad mounted on top of the wheeled robot.

Analysts are expecting 12 to 13 million people will buy the latest versions of the iPhone this weekend. Apple said pre-orders are expected to beat last year’s first weekend - the company sold 10 million iPhone 6’s when it first launched in 2014.