A 12-year-old girl who was struck by a stray bullet inside her Long Island home has died and authorities said they're working around the clock to find the shooter.
"Dejah Joyner's life was violently cut short before she even had a chance to live it – this is a heartbreaking tragedy and we will do everything in our power to make sure that the gunman is brought to justice," acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said Sunday.
Authorities are offering a $75,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
Dejah was shot Friday evening as she stood in the living room of her home in Hempstead, investigators said. A single bullet shot from the street crashed through a plate glass window, striking her in the head.
The girl's mother and father were home in another room at the time, police said.
Neighbors told NBC 4 New York that shots have been fired at the girl's house in the past.
The girl was rushed to Winthrop University Hospital, where she remained in critical condition until she died Saturday evening.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS (8477) or the Nassau County Homicide Squad at 516-573-7788.
It’s been two years since The Headquarters at Seaport opened, but the outdoor shopping and dining center next door to Seaport Village could still be considered a hidden gem – one with a lot of official San Diego history.
Located at 789 W. Harbor Dr. in downtown San Diego, the marketplace may look familiar to some: it’s the site of the former San Diego Police Department (SDPD) headquarters.
Originally built for the police department in 1939, the headquarters was decommissioned in 1987. Decades later, the site was restored and revamped into the marketplace it is today and reopened as The Headquarters at Seaport in fall 2013.
“This was a full-service headquarters – one of the very few in the United States. Everything from booking to jail cells, court rooms and administrative offices [was here]. It was one stop shopping here for quite some time,” said Terry Hall, general manager for Seaport Village and The Headquarters. “Even in WWII, it was an espionage center, which is pretty interesting.”
Though as modern as ever, relics of the past still linger in every nook of the site. Much of the original architecture, tiles and artifacts of the old SDPD headquarters remains – some visible to the eye, some not.
Hall says developers went to great lengths to maintain much of the original integrity of the site. This included stripping more than 27,000 tiles from the original roofs, cleaning them and putting them back up. The courtyard, Hall says, also features original pavers.
In some of the shops, including Venissimo Cheese, the flooring consists of original red-colored tiles from decades past. Underneath those tiles, Hall says there are tunnels once used by utility workers, and those tunnels actually circle the entire property.
“No prisoners were ever transported through the tunnels,” she joked. “It’s for [access to] utilities.”
The biggest historical feature of The Headquarters is nestled between the shops and eateries: a free, mini museum showcasing artifacts from the old police station, including eight original jail cells – complete with prisoners’ beds and cubbies, and a wall of mug shots.
The hallway leading to the jail cells is lined with vintage photographs, including a black and white photo of what the site looked like in its life as the police headquarters.
At the end of the hallway, visitors can stand in front of a police lineup wall and snap mug shots of themselves for fun.
Many of the businesses at The Headquarters are also steeped in history.
The elegant fine-dining restaurant, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, sits on the very site where the courthouse once stood.
“It’s a lot of fun for people when they find out the bar used to be the courtroom and that the dining room used to be where they did the booking,” Guenevere Wolfe, managing partner of Eddie V’s, told NBC 7. “It’s fun to show that to the guests. It adds a new dimension to the dining experience.”
Wolfe said the historical element of The Headquarters was a big draw for Eddie V’s, as the site makes the restaurant particularly unique.
“It has such gorgeous features. The doorways are all original. So much of the interior [design] was inspired by the original building,” Wolfe explained. “Diners really appreciate the history of the building.”
Wolfe said she’ll never forget the time a group of retired SDPD officers visited her restaurant and gave her a tour of what each room used to be. Now, she passes on that knowledge to curious guests.
“It’s really fun to give them background and context,” she added.
Gina Freize, owner of Venissimo Cheese, a gourmet cheese shop located at The Headquarters, also said the site’s storied past drew her into wanting to open her business there.
“We knew we wanted to be part of this,” Freize said, adding that customers love learning all about the history of the space.
“Tying the past with the present is really a cool thing. Not to forget what was here but you know, taking it to the next generation,” she said. “It’s neat to share this story, to say, ‘Hey, the Warden’s Office is over there and if you don’t behave, we’ll send you over.’”
The floor of Venissimo Cheese is lined with red tiles. According to Hall, underneath those tiles sits a tunnel that was used to access utilities for the police headquarters.
“There are actually tunnels that go completely around the building. So, when you go into some of the stores, wherever you see this tile in place, you’ll know there is a tunnel underneath,” Hall explained.
“No prisoners were ever transported through the tunnels,” she joked.
Over at Simply Local, a store that sells handmade goods created by San Diego-based artisans, visitors can also find signs of the past.
That store is located in the area once used by the police department to book inmates into jail. Inmates were brought into the space through a main archway before undergoing the booking process.
Today, Simply Local’s cash register and check-out area is lined with old doors that have been cut down to counter-height.
Way back when, those doors led to the SDPD’s booking area, employee Jessie Anderson told NBC 7.
When Simply Local moved in, the owners repurposed the doors to create the check-out counter.
Anderson said that isn’t the only relic worked into the shop’s décor.
In some corners of the store, shoppers will find candles and other items on display inside small, square, metal cubbies.
“These cubbies are original to the building as well. They were actually the prisoner’s cubbies back in the day, where they kept their personal belongings,” Anderson explained.
She said customers who know the history of the store sometimes come in and take photographs in front of the cubbies and doors, showing their appreciation for the artifacts.
Roxanne Joseph, an employee at the Madison apparel and accessories shop in The Headquarters, said the marketplace also appeals to visitors because of its prime location in the heart of San Diego.
“I was born here and it draws me. There’s so much to see and do,” Joseph told NBC 7. “You can spend a whole day down here – the restaurants and the water and the ships, the stores, the food – everything.”
“I don’t think people realize that we’re our own little mall inside here. The locals that live here love this – it’s become part of their daily routine,” added Madison employee Felicia Smith.
JeriLynne Jardin, who works at the Aaron Chang Ocean Art Gallery at The Headquarters, believes the location of the marketplace is a great alternative to busy downtown San Diego or tourist-driven Seaport Village.
“It’s kind of nice to step away from the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy the bay and The Headquarters,” said Jardin. “It’s a nice sense of community. It is a little hidden gem.”
Aside from shopping and dining, The Headquarters features many free community events each month in its courtyard including outdoor movie screenings, salsa dancing under the stars and live music.
Many of the businesses there also host fun events.
The Aaron Chang Gallery, for instance, will sometimes host meet-and-greet events on Sunday where Chang will come to the gallery and talk about his art with customers. The gallery also hosts a wine night on Friday, Jardin said.
Meanwhile, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood features live music every night in its “V Lounge,” typically from different local jazz trios. Wolfe said the restaurant also hosts Happy Hour daily from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Wolfe joked that in this laid-back ambiance, patrons are definitely having more fun there today than people had back when it was the inmate booking station.
Over at Venissimo Cheese, special “Academy of Cheese (AOC)” classes are held four times a month that teach everything from cheesemaking to wine and cheese pairing. Typically, a $50 class includes generous samples of gourmet cheese, plus sips of wine and the cheese lesson.
On the last Sunday of every month, Simply Local hosts a free “Meet the Vendors” showcase featuring five to 10 local artisans who set up tables outside the shop and discuss their handmade products with customers. Sometimes, vendors reveal brand-new products at those events, too, Anderson said.
As The Headquarters finds its groove in modern times, Hall said the site will continue to bridge the past with the present. She hopes the marketplace draws San Diego history buffs, locals and tourists alike, all searching for a unique experience in a space designed to be enjoyed by many.
A Sig Alert issued for a major injury crash involving a bicyclist and car has been lifted officials say.
The collision happened around 7:50 a.m. Sunday at the 9400 block of Kearny Villa Road and the 9700 block of Miramar Road, San Diego Police said.
A 51-year-old female driver was stopped at a light on Miramar Road. A 72-year-old male bicyclist riding down Kearny Villa Road began to cross through the intersection against the light as the light turned green for the driver. As she started to pass through the intersection she hit the bicyclist, throwing him from his bike.
He was transported to a nearby trauma center with life threatening injuries to his spleen, lung, and ribs San Diego Fire-Rescue officials said.
Intoxication is not a suspected factor. Traffic divison is investigating.
Hundreds came out donning pink gear Sunday to help end breast cancer by participating in a fundraising walk.
The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, sponsored in part by NBC7, began in Balboa Park at 7 a.m.
For many it's a sense of solidarity, but for Minnie Purdy, 39, it's a sense of survivorship.
"Last Wednesday I was having surgery for a double mastectomy and I'm here today to walk with my family and friends," Purdy told NBC7.
Nearly two weeks post treatment it's an emotional trek across the bridge.
It was back in May when she found 2 lumps during a self-examination
"Six months later I'm cancer free," Purdy said.
Some 20,000 people with similar stories dawned pink in every form of fashion.
Peggy Walkush battled breast cancer 12 years ago. Now she's helping make strides against breast cancer by organizing this walk.
"We have to finish the fight. We have to make it better for everybody that gets diagnosed after us," Walkush said.
It's an uplifting, empowering event as well as a reminder that mammograms are a must.
"Seventy percent of breast cancers are in women who don't have any family history of breast cancer," Dr. Cheryl Olson explained. "So it's really important that everybody think that maybe I could get it."
By the show of those already fighting that battle, it's also proof that it can be overcome with proper treatment.
"I was expecting to walk it with cancer," Purdy said. "And now it's extra special cause I get to walk it without cancer."
You can learn more about the walk here.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday he will meet with leaders from Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to discuss "real and tangible options" for a political solution to the Syria's civil war.
He told reporters in Spain that there's no realistic military solution to the conflict and that "propping up [President Bashar] Assad will ultimately fail and also unfortunately lead to more bloodshed, more refugees, more extremism and more jihadis." Kerry said he would travel to the Middle East "in a few days" for more talks on Syria.
He also called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take urgent action to end the "senseless" violence in Israel and the West Bank.
The San Diego Police Department's SWAT unit buys some of its equipment with the help of funding from a local non-profit, Citizens For SWAT.
On October 29th, 2015 the organization is holding its big fundraiser, a yearly golf tournament and dinner, to pay for some of that equipment.
"Citizens for SWAT has been very beneficial. They provide funding to fill in the gap between what the city provides in the budget and what our true needs are," says SWAT Commanding Officer Mark Saunders.
The 2014 fundraiser brought in more than $100,000 dollars.
SWAT used about $4,000 dollars to pay for lumber to build a new training house at Naval Training Center.
The new training house is underneath the one SWAT currently shares with other units within the police department, so it's often not available to SWAT.
The new one will give SWAT the ability to train at any time.
"It's for safety. When it comes to tactics and shooting, the more you do, the better you are at it," says Lieutenant Saunders. "To maintain a very high skill level you have to constantly train, because if you don't use it, you lose it."
SWAT's Special Response Team (SRT) came up with the design for the new facility, and is building it. The officers work on the facility whenever they get a break from SWAT call-outs, training and other duties.
"It's a larger training facility for us. We have more options, as far as openings and doorways. And it's more fluid. It's not as rigid as the one we have now," says SRT Officer Noe Cordero.
The new facility will also allow SRT, which trains all San Diego Police SWAT officers, to change floorplans for different scenarios.
"Part of it is outside. Part of it is inside. The inside portion is going to have 10 by 10 boxes that you can actually rotate. Having part of it inside, you can shut off the lights, and we can work with low level light systems," says Lieutenant Saunders.
The new training house will be completed by April, in time for SWAT's next academy.
Money from the 2014 Citizens For SWAT fundraiser also paid for improvements to the unit's armored vehicle, the bearcat.
"One of the upgrades we did to the bearcat this year was to add a turret. Before, the only protection the officer had was a hatch. Now with the turret we bought, they have 360 degree protection," says Lieutenant Saunders. "We also repainted it with linex paint, and replaced the windshield."
Citizens For SWAT also paid for new AR-15 rifles.
"Prior to this year, we were using Vietnam era AR-15s. This year, we were able to update and buy state-of-the-art AR-15s," says Saunders.
And until this year, when SWAT responded to call-outs at night, officers had to bring lights, stands and extension cords, and had to find electrical outlets.
Now, they have new portable lights.
"The portable floodlights can be carried easily out to the positions. One officer can carry two lights out. They're easy to break out, and save a lot of time," says Lieutenant Saunders.
The 2014 golf fundraiser also allowed SWAT to buy new rifle caliber shields.
"They're also nice because they're magnetized. So we're able to stick them on the side of the patrol car if needed," says Lieutenant Saunders. "After this year's tournament, we'll be able to buy the other half of the shields we need."
Lieutenant Saunders says SWAT truly appreciates the efforts of Citizens For SWAT, and the donations many San Diegans have made to the organization.
"Without them we wouldn't be as safe as we are," he said.
A New York state legislator is calling for an investigation into a help-wanted ad for a nurse in an upstate Pennysaver that stipulated "no Haitians" need apply as the company behind it apologizes for the "totally unacceptable" notice.
The ad in the Oct. 15 Pennysaver newsletter states that Interim Healthcare Inc. seeks a "Female LPN/RN" for employment in West Haverstraw. Among the qualifications listed in the ad are "laid back nurse, no haitians (sic)."
New York State Sen. David Carlucci said in a Twitter post Sunday that he is calling for an investigation into the ad by the state Department of Labor and the federal Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.
"I am outraged that this help wanted ad was posted and I stand in solidarity with many throughout the community who are equally outraged," Carlucci posted on Twitter.
The Haitian American Caucus said it was "appalled" by the ad and denounced the hiring processes of Interim Healthcare. It also demanded the ad be removed.
In a statement, Interim Healthcare said it has engaged an independent third party to conduct a comprehensive review, and that it will reassess its policies and procedures to ensure such an ad never again appears on its behalf.
"We value the diversity of our patients and our employees. The ad in the Pennysaver for an LPN is totally unacceptable and is offensive to us and we know to all of you," the statement from Interim Healthcare President Katherine McNally said. " I can assure you that we take this seriously. Please accept our sincere apology. In particular, we apologize to the entire Haitian community."
Refunds will be offered Monday for the weekend's NBA preseason game called because of unsafe conditions at the Valley View Casino Center.
The Los Angeles Lakers were in town Saturday night for the preseason game against the reigning champion Golden State Warriors.
The two teams played in front of a full house but officials called the game because players from both sides were slipping on the court.
The Lakers led 85-70 with 2:16 remaining in the third quarter when both teams and the NBA officials decided the game should not go on.
The San Diego Gulls play their home games at the center so the hardwood is built on top of the ice.
A representative from the arena claims the game was called because of record humidity and not the ice under the court.
Fans will be able to get a full refund beginning Monday at noon at the point of purchase.
Researchers say anti-gang programs should begin as early as elementary school based on information learned from people arrested in San Diego County.
There are nearly 7,000 documented gang members in San Diego County, and they are joining young despite early interventions and prevention efforts, according to study results released Monday.
Using information from the SANDAG Substance Abuse Monitoring Program, the study shows on average teenagers join gangs when they are 13 years old.
Most joined a gang because a friend belonged while 44 percent said they joined because of their family.
Here's some positive news out of the study, most of the offenders surveyed (63 percent) said they planned to eventually leave gang life behind. Approximately one in three said they wanted to get out now.
Researchers said the data suggests community groups and law enforcement authorities need to improve ability to identify when gang members are ready to leave the lifestyle and offer programs and support so they can successfully transition out.
The study included more than 770 adults and 130 juvenile arrestees interviewed within 48 hours of their arrest. The detainees are asked questions about their drug use and other behaviors.
Just over a year ago the world lost 'Mr. Padre' Tony Gwynn, and now a stretch of Interstate 15 is being renamed in his memory.
Beginning Monday Scripps Poway Parkway to Camino Del Norte on I-15 will be Tony Gwynn Memorial Freeway.
“I think it's important,” fan George Baretto told NBC7. “I think all cities should recognize locals for what their accomplishments are.”
Fans also agree the location is fitting. "He did a lot for the community in Poway," fan Sue Thomas explained.
Fan David Vasquez says it’s well deserved. “When you hear Tony Gwynn you think of San Diego and the Padres,” he said. “From 14 when I was a big, huge Padres fan like I am now it was all about Tony Gwynn. You always wanted him to do the best.”
Gwynn lost his long battle with cancer in June of 2014.
“It was a shock when we heard that he passed away,” said Sebastian Hill another fan. “He'd been kind of part of our life for a long time.”
Monday morning family members and others will officially dedicate this stretch of road Tony Gwynn Memorial Freeway.
Gwynn played as a San Diego Padre for 20 years with more than 3,100 hits in 2,400 games. Shortly after retiring he was inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame and then the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Many craft brew lovers may not realize the long road to the successful craft brewery community of San Diego all started with two friends in Mission Beach.
Chris Cramer, founder of Karl Strauss Brewing Company, and his partner Matt Rattner, started playing around with the idea of starting a brewery by Cramer's apartment.
“Matt and I would take my football and we'd throw the ball around Tower 10 as we'd write the business plan to start the first new brewery,” Cramer said.
In many ways, it all started with Karl Strauss Brewing Company. When they opened in 1989, they were the first new brewery to open in city limits in more than 50 years.
Now, more than 26 years after the doors to the brewery opened, 115 breweries operate around San Diego. The industry has propelled more than $1 billion into the local economy and $6.5 billion into the state’s economy.
Many of the employees who helped open Karl Strauss Brewing Company branched off to open their own breweries. Scott Stamp, the original bartender at Karl Strauss', went on to open Callahan's and the San Diego Brewing Company. Their original cocktail waitress Gina Marsaglia opened Pizza Port Brewery in 1992 with her brother Vince. The brewery’s original tour guide, Jack White, later started Home Brew Mart in 1992.
“One of the reasons why San Diego has become such a mecca for craft beer is we started off with a group of individuals who were friends and collaborative rivals,” said Chris Cramer, founder of Karl Strauss Brewing Company, said about his former employees later building their own companies.
Throughout the decades of San Diego's craft beer scene, a handful of craft brewing pioneers collaborated to help mold and create the city’s modern day economic powerhouse.
"It's been a lot of work over a long time by an enormous group of passionate individuals who are all following your own muses," Cramer said.
THE INITIAL SPARK
Cramer and Rattner started the company back when few San Diegans even knew what craft beer meant.
"People thought we were crazy when we said we would start a brewery,” Cramer said. “The city fathers had no idea what we were talking about.”
The pair didn’t start out as brewers; they were more like beer lovers when they began.
Cramer's cousin, Karl Strauss, had been trained in Germany as a brewer before World War II. Strauss later fled Germany prior to the Holocaust and began working for a brewing establishment in the U.S.
When Rattner and Cramer started the process of opening up their brewery in San Diego, the brewmaster Strauss became their mentor.
After learning the ropes, Strauss helped the men set up their own brewery, formulate beers and train newly employed brewers. He helped them use national quality control standards of a large-scale brewery and translate it to a smaller-scale craft level.
The Brewer's Association defines a craft brewer as a brewery that produces six million barrels of beer or less at a brewery where 25 percent or less of the brewery is controlled by an industry member.
Every new customer was like a cold call, Cramer said, because residents were so unfamiliar with the process of brewing craft beer.
“People would look at our Karl Strauss Amber and say, that’s way too dark, I could never drink anything like that,” Cramer said.
Now, the brewery is the 45th largest craft brewer in the nation and the company only distributes its beer in California.
“What people don't remember is how rapidly the industry has developed in the last five years,” Cramer said. “People think in San Diego there's been an explosion of beers and it's always been this way, but it really hasn't always been this way.”
Eighty five of the 115 breweries opened in the last five years, and at least another 40 are in the planning stages.
A COLLABORATIVE AFFAIR
Karl Strauss Brewing Company's first tour guide started his own endeavor in 1992: Home Brew Mart.
The University of California at Los Angeles graduate’s shop was a place where people interested in starting their own home brewing operations could buy the materials to make it happen.
“Our roots go back to this home brew shop, there really wasn't availability of quality home brew supplies,” Yuseff Cherney, who later became COO and head brewer at Ballast Point, said.
Cramer credits Home Brew Mart with inspiring and enabling local brewers. Once people had the right equipment, brewers were able to build a community, one which only grew over time.
Home Brew Mart had been around for a month when Cherney walked in.
He had come in to buy grains for his own brewing needs, but a customer mistakenly thought he was an employee and started asking him questions.
“Rather than getting Jack, I kind of just helped the guy out,” Cherney said. “Jack was kind of standing in the background, just watching, (thinking) ‘who are you? How do you know all this stuff?’”
White hired Cherney the next day.
At that time, White wanted to open a brewery in the back of the store, and in 1996, he founded Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits Company with Cherney’s help.
At the same time, Cherney was working with fellow UCSD student Chris White, a post-graduate biochemistry student who later started White Labs in 1995. White Labs became a pre-eminent yeast lab, Cramer said, and helped supply brewers with custom yeast strains. Now, for the first time in San Diego, brewers had unprecedented access to world class yeast.
Ballast Point has grown to become one of San Diego’s most recognizable brands. It employs 415 people and distributes their products in 26 states, and even to countries like Japan and Australia. They have four facilities, including two in Miramar, two restaurants and two tasting rooms.
THE GROWTH OF CRAFT BEER IN SAN DIEGO
It took more than a decade from the time Karl Strauss Brewing Company opened for craft brewing to look like it does today in San Diego.
By 1997, only 15 total brewers were operating across San Diego. Alesmith opened in 1995, Coronado Brewing and Stone Brewing both opened in 1996.
In the next nine years, only five more breweries opened. But by 2010, the local industry was on the verge of what some would call a "boom." Most of the city’s breweries have been operating for only five years or less.
Today, San Diego brews more than 2,000 unique beers annually. One of every five breweries across the state is in San Diego, Cramer said.
"I think it's a perfect storm of what's happened over the course of the past 20 years,” Cherney said of the success of craft brewing in San Diego. “You've got a great home brew clubs, and a great home brew society in San Diego, it really did a great job of educating people and providing supplies"
There’s a long history behind the craft brewery boom, but many craft beer lovers don’t realize it.
“They see it as an overnight success, and I’m like, yes, a 20 year overnight success story,” said Cherney. “They don’t see all the history behind it.”
An Eritrean man was shot and then beaten by mob that mistook him for an assailant as a terror attack unfolded in southern Israel, officials said Monday, NBC News reported.
One Israeli soldier was killed and several others were wounded when gunshots broke out late Sunday night in a bus station in the city of Beersheba. Officials initially said there were two gunmen — one had been killed, the other wounded and captured.
Police said Monday that Abtum Zarhum — an Eritrean national in his 20s — was shot by a security guard who mistakenly thought he was a terrorist, then beaten by Israelis in the bus station. Zarhum later succumbed to his wounds, and police said an investigation is underway to bring those who beat him to justice.
Vice President Joe Biden is expected to decide whether to enter the 2016 presidential race within the next 48 hours or sooner, two sources told NBC News Monday.
Biden has been considering a run for months and has blown past several self-imposed deadlines. His public schedule on Monday offered little indication of his decision. He traveled from his home in Delaware to Washington where he will address a climate change summit Monday afternoon.
In a signal that he is considering running, Biden spoke with International Association of Fire Fighters President Harold Schaitberger on Friday.
Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Monday he's not sure Joe Biden could win the Democratic presidential nomination if he enters the race now.
Asked whether Biden could win the nomination by jumping in now, Durbin said he was "not sure ... I would say at this point he has not had the starting structure" that Clinton has.
A local cave in Ocean Beach that has caused frustration among residents for the last several months is set to be demolished starting Monday.
Homeless people have taken shelter inside the Sunset Cliffs cave. The surrounding area is constantly covered with trash and it has even attracted illegal activity.
“Nothing good was coming of the cave. Let’s just put it that way,” said Patrick Murphy, a resident who lives nearby. “They just don’t look like good people that you would want around your house,” he said of the people who frequent the cave.
A man living in the caves spoke to NBC7 anonymously. He said he didn’t think he’d been doing anything wrong.
“A lot of us are really respectful of the area. We don’t want to cause any problems.”
Murphy said he’s relieved after months of trying to get the City’s attention they’re finally doing something about it.
“It’s good. Hopefully we just get less of the traffic and less people and get back to the neighborhood feel this place is really all about,” Murphy said.
The City will start clearing the cave and jackhammering its shell to close it in on Monday. The demolition should cost the City around $35,000.
As San Diego readies for a wet winter, courtesy of an expected strong El Nino, city leaders are making sure pump stations are prepared for potential flooding.
The city’s 14 stations are designed to move stormwater quickly out of neighborhoods before it can pool into homes and businesses.
Of most concern is Pump Station N in Mission Beach, one of the largest. It is capable of pumping out an Olympic-sized swimming pool in about one minute.
But in February 2010, the station was overwhelmed, as city officials put it. The water back-up from a heavy storm was so severe that much of the area around the pump was completely underwater.
Since then, City Councilwoman Lorie Zapf said the stormwater department has invested millions to improve the existing pumps and add new ones.
“We have more pumps, we have better pumps, we have a lot more personnel and we're really prepared should heavy rains come,” she said Monday.
However, many business owners in flood-prone areas of Mission Beach Drive said they are still skeptical. The owner of the Mission Market has sandbags at the ready.
“You never can be 100-percent flood proof,” said Kris McFadden with the city’s Transportation and Stormwater Department. “No city on the planet is, but it's important to note, we've taken all the efforts we can take in order to be safe.”
City officials are asking residents to do their part by keeping storm drains clear because trash and debris can clog up the system.
This year, the city has cleared about 28,000 storm drains along curbs to keep the pump stations operating well.
As lobster season ramps up, so are San Diego Coastkeeper patrols, making sure fisherman are respecting the city’s marine protected areas (MPAs).
Since 2012, 11 areas off San Diego County’s coast have been deemed MPAs because they hold some biological value – such as breeding grounds – that needs to be protected.
“They’re essentially state parks but in the water, so we like to see how people are using those,” said Kristin Kuhn, community engagement coordinator for San Diego Coastkeeper. Each MPA has a different set of restrictions.
On Monday, Kuhn and her colleague Matt O’Malley set off on their first boat patrol of lobster season to see if anyone was breaking the rules within the two MPAs by La Jolla, where lobster fishing is not allowed.
Sometimes, fishermen do not realize where they are casting traps is off limits. At other times, they don’t care.
“About 80 percent of the time we’re out there, we’re seeing some poaching,” said O’Malley.
While surveying the area Monday, the duo did not spot any boats or fishermen in the protected areas, but they found about half a dozen lobster traps in the middle of the reserve.
San Diego Coastkeeper is not an enforcement agency, but they do like to educate people and can report rule breaking to the Californians Turning in Poachers hotline.
“We want to see the MPAs succeed, the marine protected areas succeed, and we're an important part of that,” said O’Malley.
After the three-hour boat ride, San Diego Coastkeeper officials came together with volunteers that had been monitoring activity from the shore and discussed what they observed on the trip.
To learn more about the local MPAs and to see a map, click here.
Donald Trump’s supporters are still showing their loyalty despite comments he’s made about George W. Bush and the Sept. 11 attacks.
"I like that he speaks his mind," Rachael Caswell told NBC News, while she waited to enter a Trump event in Anderson, South Carolina Monday night. "Although he does overstep himself once in a while."
Caswell told NBC News the country is still reeling from 9/11 and the effects of Bush’s decision in the Middle East.
Another supporter told NBC News he has no problems with Trump’s comments “because it’s the truth.”
A bicyclist broke her arm Monday night when she crashed head-on with a vehicle in Serra Mesa, San Diego Police said.
Investigators suspect the woman on the bike may have been drinking before the collision at 7:55 p.m. at Chalar Street and Murray Ridge Road.
According to police, the woman in her 40s was not wearing a helmet when she rode against traffic and veered out of the bike lane, likely causing the crash.
Witness Conner Shean said it sounded like a car hitting a dumpster.
"It was screeching, screeching, screeching and then heard a massive impact and saw a person land on their back," Shean said.
Police said the woman was left with a compound fracture to her arm and other, nonlife-threatening injuries.
The driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene to answer police questions. She will not face any charges, police said.
Officers closed down southbound Murray Ridge Road at Chalar Street as investigators examined the scene.
