Nearly 30 firefighters were in the area of Hillcrest and North Park to fight a series of fires that occurred within an hour.

By 11 a.m. Monday, officials said there were a total of eight fires.

The most recent was reported at 7:46 a.m. inside a shopping center near Vermont Street and University Avenue.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Rob Hartman said there were multiple fires in trash cans within the shopping center.

Approximately 30 minutes earlier, at 7:19 a.m., a fire was reported in two trash cans near the Ace Hardware store at 10th and University Avenue.

A fire was reported inside a shed near the corner of Essex and Richmond streets at 7:10 a.m. The homeowner told NBC 7 he awoke Monday to find the shed in front of his home on fire.
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Approximately one block away from the shed fire, just before 7 a.m., a call came in at Herbert and University where a small trash can and nearby garbage cans were on fire.

Hartman said the trash can fire did significant damage to a home.

One of the residents in the area -- who happened to extinguish one of the fires, expressed frustration over the spate of blazes.

"Pull yourself together. That's ridiculous," said Len Dewit. "We're trying to have a great community here and you're lighting a dumpster fire with apartments right here. That's ridiculous."
 
San Diego Fire-Rescue and San Diego Police were responding to the area and investigating a possible connection between the fire.

Two car fires were reported earlier Monday at Boundary Street and Lincoln Avenue, approximately two miles east of the other fires. Hartman did not say if those fires were being investigated along with the trash fires.

Fire officials said the fires were suspicious in nature and they are continuing the investigation. They will talk with witnesses and examine surveillance video.

 As the El Nino season winds down, CAL FIRE has already started to prepare for the upcoming fire season by hiring a surge of new firefighters across California.

The fire agency has hired an additional 400 seasonal firefighters across California to help during the upcoming fire season, expected to be busy as California battles through another year of severe drought.

“While the winter rain has helped decrease the fire risk in some areas, it has not been enough to end the drought,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, director of CAL FIRE, in a statement. “The rain is welcome, but it will not revive the millions of trees that have already died due to drought and bark beetle. Our firefighters are taking advantage of the weather and ensuring that we are doing everything we can to prevent the types of wildfires we experienced last year.”

The firefighters will focus on fire prevention, fuel reduction and defensible space programs, the agency said. Part of their roles will be to remove dead trees, create and maintain fire breaks, remove dense brush, conduct prescribed burns and assisting with educating homeowners.

More than 240 fires have already occurred across California since the start of the year, CAL FIRE said. 

Even with additional resources available, CAL FIRE reminds residents to maintain 100 feet of defensible space around their homes and property. By removing weeds or other dead vegetation, residents can help prevent fires.

San Diego day care provider James Nemeth will continue to be sentenced, a Superior Court judge decided Monday.

Nemeth originally pleaded guilty Jan. 20, 2016 to seven charges in the death of an infant in his care, though he later requested to withdraw the plea.

Eleven-month-old Lou Oliver was alert when he was dropped off at the James Nemeth Family Childcare, on May 23, 2012, according to his mother, Cristina Oliver. Just a few hours later, Lou’s mother got an alarming text message from Nemeth telling her to "come quickly, Lou did not wake up from his afternoon nap," Cristina told NBC 7 Investigates in a previous interview.

Lou was rushed to Rady Children's Hospital by ambulance, but at 1:30 a.m. the next day, he was declared dead.

At a status hearing Monday, Nemeth’s court-appointed Public Defender, Kevin Haughton, told Judge Joan Weber that he reviewed the discovery, transcripts and spoke with Nemeth, Nemeth’s wife and Nemeth’s former attorney, Al Arena.

Haughton determined there was no legal basis for the Judge to allow Nemeth to withdraw his guilty plea.

In court, Nemeth interrupted his own attorney several times, at one point saying he “didn’t have access” to his own discovery.

When the bailiff told Nemeth he was speaking out of turn, Nemeth replied, “I’ve been letting you guys talk for a year and a half.”

The Deputy District Attorney, Nicole Rooney, said she spoke with Arena and also reviewed phone calls that Nemeth made to his wife from jail, in January. Rooney said the transcripts revealed that Nemeth understood what his plea deal entailed.

After the hearing, Michael Oliver, the infant’s father, spoke to NBC 7 Investigates.

“I’m just glad justice has come. He (Nemeth) can’t escape it," Oliver said.

Last year, NBC 7 Investigates reported that before Lou's death, Nemeth had a lengthy history of serious violations, including allegations that he was physically rough with his own child. In November, Nemeth emailed a statement to NBC 7, saying in part: "I cared for Louis, he was an amazing child. I tried everything I could to save him and the fact I failed is something that will be with me forever."

NBC 7 Investigates also found it was very difficult for parents to review files on what happens to their children while in the care of individual day cares. After the stories aired, state lawmakers changed the way parents can access information about day cares in California, making the information available online, instead of only in person by appointment.

Click here to see the complete investigation.

Nemeth faces 29 years in prison when sentence on April 1, 2016. 

A new public marketplace featuring a restaurant, wine bar, beer shop and a number of merchants opened its doors at Liberty Station on Monday.

The market, located at the former site of the Naval training center across from Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The 35,000-square-foot venue – a historic, warehouse-style building originally built as the Naval Training Center’s commissary in 1921 – has the capacity to house more than 30 purveyors.

The indoor and outdoor marketplace will include restaurants and shopping and has a liquor license to allow adult shoppers to browse with drink in hand.

The vendors, a list of more than 18, include Mama Made Thai, Crafted Baked Good, Bread & Butter and a locally-sourced produce section.

You can imbibe at the Grape Smuggler wine bar or the Bottlecraft boutique beer shop.

In addition, an oversized section dedicated to fresh produce is also open inside the market, offering a fresh, seasonal selection of fruits and vegetables all from San Diego farms.

The marketplace – a $3 million collaboration between operating group Blue Bridge Hospitality and developer The McMillin Companies – aims to be reminiscent of public markets in other cities, such as Napa’s Oxbow Public Market or Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market.

The San Diego Fair would like you to do them the honor of attending the fourth annual ‘My Big Fair Wedding Day.’

The event, in association with the Paul Ecke Jr. Flower show, will feature beautiful floral displays and demonstrations highlighting the latest wedding trends, wedding planners, music, décor and more.

Three couples will even be married at the fair with a wedding planner taking care of all the details from the centerpiece to the cake.

The Flower and Garden Show will have everything needed and wanted for the perfect day. Brides and grooms-to-be can peruse wedding china, sample gourmet food, practice saying vows under stunning ceremony arches and mug for photographers.

The Signature Wedding package, for the three couples lucky enough to win, includes master of ceremonies and DJ Jerry Beck of Becks Entertainment and DJ Services, harpist Mary Fawcett and reception guitarist Jeff Moore.

Entrants to be married at the fair are asked to write short essays describing how they met, the story of their engagement and why they want to get married at the fair.

The application deadline is April 1 and the winners will be announced on April 4.

‘My Big Fair Wedding Day’ will be on Sunday, June 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 

The owners of a scenic hotel in Ocean Beach are locked in a legal fight over deck repairs that were made following an El Nino storm.

Neighbors and environmentalists claim the work was illegal.

The Inn at Sunset Cliffs was built in the 1950s, and has been a popular venue for weddings on its deck over the hotel's seawall.

In mid-December, the deck was swamped with storm waves that created sinkholes and caused erosion on the bluffs.

"If that emergency work had not been done, the inn would have been in dire straits, in jeopardy of collapsing,” says attorney Paul Robinson, who represents the hotel’s owners. “ So our expert engineers agreed there was an emergency. the city's engineers agreed there was an emergency. An emergency permit was issued, and the work has been done."

But neighbors and the Coastal Environmental Rights Group filed objections with the city, arguing that the repairs went far beyond the scope of the emergency permit.

City code compliance inspectors cited "work that was conducted without authorization" and "not considered necessary" -- including a partial retaining wall and firepit seating area.

A "Stop Work" order was issued on January 21st.

And while construction later was permitted to resume, allowing weddings to be held on the deck again, the neighbors' lawyer says the deck actually has been in violation of coastal deed restrictions since 2008.

"And then the piecemeal work they've done to try to ratify it or authorize it ,” Craig Sherman told NBC 7, “it's just clearly been done out of compliance with the coastal act, city local plan and the ordinances that would allow it."

The dispute will be heard by the City Council Tuesday afternoon.

Meantime, Coastal Commission officials have notified the inn that a review of the case is under consideration.
 

A reported grenade found as police were serving a warrant at a Talmadge motor home turned out to be a dummy, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) spokesman Lee Swanson said.

The initial call came in around 4:25 p.m. Monday for a motor home on the 4400 block of Altadena, Swanson said. 

National City Police (NCP) were serving a warrant on a man in a nearby apartment. As part of the warrant, they searched his RV. As they did so, they lifted a pillow and found what appeared to be a grenade. 

Swanson said it was unclear who called it in, but a bomb squad staged to determine whether it is real, antique, a replica, live or not. NCP officials were cautious, Swanson said, because they believed the man had a history with explosives. 

Once bomb squad units conducted an X-Ray, they determined it was a dummy. 

Authorities surrounded the area for at least two hours, blocking off parts of streets to continue their investigation. 

No further information was immediately available.

Students received awards for the Cadet Challenge outside of Mira Mesa High School Monday night as some worry about the JROTC program being threatened.

The San Diego Unified School Distict is now holding meetings to calm those fears. 

Concerns that students may no longer be able to get a P.E. credit for ROTC started when the state said the San Diego Unified School District’s ROTC teachers were not credentialed to teach P.E.

“At the beginning of the year I thought ROTC was going to lose P.E. credit and I was kind of scared because freshmen and sophomores need P.E. credit,” JROTC student Matthew Punsalan said. “I was kind of scared for upcoming freshmen and sophomores.”

The district is trying to reassure parents and students that the program isn’t going anywhere, and that they will still be able to get credit for P.E.

“We’re really a great program. It’s really fun. Even if you didn’t get P.E. credit I highly suggest it as an elective,” one enthusiastic ROTC student at Mira Mesa High School told NBC 7.

“I feel like it’s still a great program, but I feel like with P.E. credit it would be much better and we would have more cadets in it,” another student explained.

For this school year, students will still get P.E. credit because the district found a way around the state rule. Next year ROTC teachers will need to be credentialed, and the district is going to help pay for it.

“There are actually three subtests and each one of us passed one of the three so we have to return sometime soon,” Retired Lt. Colonel Charlie Olander said. “Two of us have to get our heads together and hit the books again and do some studying. And quite honestly we don’t have the young brain cells that the younglings have, but we’ll do our best.”

The district has assured parents teachers will get the credential without problems, but told them that in the unlikely event they did not pass the district would find a way to keep ROTC and the P.E. credit.

“We will pass it and everything will be fine,” Master Sergeant Randy Crouch said. “We do it for the kids.”

Instructors at Adison and Point Loma High Schools are also getting their credential. Scripps Ranch High School is going to use a co-teaching model, and Serra High School is hiring a P.E. teacher.
 

A high school basketball team in Indiana held its first practice after a school bus accident sent every player to the hospital.

The bus carrying the Griffith High School's boys basketball team overturned on I-65 near DeMotte, at the 230.5 mile marker, after it was sideswiped by a driver who had spilled her drink, authorities said Sunday.

“My back is all messed up. I got cuts everywhere. My elbow hurts,” player Anthony Quintero said.

The team was headed to Lafayette to compete in the Class 3A semistate game against Marion High School. The game was postponed until Wednesday, according to the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

“You know the bus started spinning and spinning and spinning and next thing you know we started flipping,” player Martin Schiele said.

“I accepted death at that time. I thought I was dead, or about to die,” player Kelston Haden said.

The woman was driving southbound in the left lane "when the lid of her drink came off, spilling the contents on her," police said, adding that she tried to grab the cup and lost control of her car.

The bus was carrying six adults and 21 students, including the driver. All suffered non-life threatening injuries.

“Right now I’m just feeling a little sore. I’m getting better by the day,” player Isaiah Martinez said.

The team has received a lot of support since the tragedy. On Monday morning, the school held a prep rally for the players. Dennis Rodman also gave the team a shout-out on Twitter.

“It means the world to us honestly, just having all those people behind us,” Quintero said.

“We’re not gonna make no excuse for everything. Everybody knows what happened but at the end of the day, we gotta just go out there and play and give it our all,” Schiele said.

A team doctor will decide on Wednesday who is healthy enough to play.

A bicyclist is recovering after he was hit by a car in Spring Valley Monday night, CAL FIRE officials said. 

It happened around 8 p.m. at the corner of Jamacha and Sweetwater Road. 

The bicyclist suffered a non-life threatening cut to his head. He was taken to Mercy Hospital. 

The driver who hit the bicyclist did stop.

Right now it's unclear what led up to the crash.

No one has been arrested.

A Donald Trump supporter who kicked and punched an Arizona protester at a rally on Saturday is a 14-year veteran of the Air Force, authorities confirmed Monday.

Staff Sgt. Tony Pettway, who is stationed in Tucson's Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault with injury, after he attacked Bryan Sanders, who was protesting the event, officials said.

Sanders told NBC News that he was being escorted from the event when Pettway grabbed his sign, depicting Trump with the words, "Bad for America" scrolled across it, and threw it to the ground before unleashing a wave of punches and kicks on him.

"I stumble back, sucker punch.. and then you saw all hell break loose," Sanders said. "He's stomping me."

Chula Vista police are investigating a burglary of more than $100,000 at a home in the 2200 block of Rolling Ridge Road.

The burglary was reported shortly after 5 p.m. Monday evening, and police were at the house for hours making a long list of stolen items.

The Borja family returned home from work to find their bedrooms ransacked. One of the victims, Nicole Borja, told NBC 7 several expensive purses, a collection of jewelry accumulated over 30 years and a large safe with cash in it were stolen.

Police believe the suspects entered through a garage side door left unlocked. The evidence points to burglars who knew where to look, when to strike, and to cover their tracks.

The investigating officer said he's noticed an increase in the number of break-ins in the area, but the amount stolen from the Borja family is far greater than any others have reported.

Police are advising Chula Vista residents to keep their doors locked, invest in a home security system and report anything in the neighborhood that looks suspicious.
 

This little piggy, who ran wildly among cars and brought traffic to a halt in San Francisco's Mission District earlier this month, has traded in city life for the country.

According to the San Francisco Department of Animal Care and Control, the wayward piglet, who has since been named Janice, was adopted by Al Wolf, the director of Sonoma County Reptile Rescue. The runaway piglet and her new guardian left for Sonoma Monday morning.

Janice drew a crowd of good samaritans on March 8, leading them on a chase up and down Dolores Street, animal care officials said. Finally, Brother Damian with the Society of Saint Francis was able to scoop her up and get her to safety.

 "Janice has spent her time wisely, bringing good cheer and smiles to shelter visitors," the Department of Animal Care and Control said in a statement.

Although no owner laid claim to Janice, the piglet's story captured the attention of many who asked to adopt her, officials said.

"We've enjoyed having Janice — she’s taught us a lot about pigs, and we’ve loved her good nature and spirit," Animal Care & Control Executive Director Virginia Donohue said.

A female deputy has been transported to the hospital after crashing in La Mesa according to San Diego Police. 

“Just before eight tonight we got a call of a traffic collision involving one Sheriff’s deputy and we found that a solo vehicle had been involved in a crash,” California Highway Patrol Sgt. Steven Toth said.

The incident happened on the 125 between Grossmont Boulevard and Lemon Avenue. 

The deputy made a sharp left turn and crashed into a wall police said. It appears no other vehicles were involved in the crash. 

The deputy's injuries are not life threatening. 

CHP, Heartland Fire and San Diego police responded to the accident. 

A Sig Alert was issued, but has since been lifted. 

Opening statements in a civil trial against disgraced former San Diego mayor Bob Filner are expected to begin Tuesday morning.

This is the first civil trial in the sexual harassment scandal against Bob Filner. Jurors will return to the Hall of Justice at 9 a.m. to listen to opening statements.

Since this is a highly publicized case, they have been instructed by the judge to avoid watching news coverage of the scandal as to not affect their objectivity.

Filner resigned from the mayoral office in 2013 after multiple women accused him of unwanted advances and touching.

The civil trial is the first of two for the former mayor.

This trial involves city parks manager Stacie McKenzie who said Filner grabbed her from behind and put her in a headlock at an event in April 2013.

Filner has strongly denied all accusations, including McKenzie’s, although after his resignation he pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and battery involving victims of sexual harassment.

“She's in the middle of a trial and experiencing this thing for the first time in her life so it goes with all that, but it’s her day in court and the end is near,” McKenzie’s attorney Dan Gilleon told NBC 7.

NBC 7 attempted to speak to Filner and his attorney after court Monday, but were unable to get a comment.

Taxpayers have paid more than a $1 million to settle cases in the scandal the City Attorney's office has said.

 If Monday’s Cactus League game between the Padres and Reds was a regular season contest, Wil Myers would have gotten the headlines.

In the cleanup spot, Myers knocked in 5 runs in the 4th inning with a 2-run homer and then in his very next at-bat he cleared the bases with a 3-run triple. The Padres went on to beat Cincinnati 8-5.

The Padres batted around in the 4th and turned a 2-0 deficit into an 8-2 lead for starting pitcher James Shields.

But this was just “Cactus Practice” as NBC7’s Jim Lazlavic likes to say.

The underrated storyline of this spring training affair? Shields.

New Padres manager Andy Green wants Shields to attack more left-handed batters on the inside part of the plate.

The main reasoning is 23 of the 33 homers that Shields allowed last season came against lefties. That was the most by any MLB pitcher in 2015.

Unfortunately so far in March, the early returns have not been great.

Shields was cruising into the 3rd inning against the Reds - until he left a fastball over the plate to left-handed slugger Joey Votto. The former MVP promptly deposited the ball over the wall to give the Reds a 2-0 lead.

In his 3rd start of the spring, Shields departed in the 5th inning with the bases loaded but still held an 8-3 lead after losing his control a little bit.

He was sharp in his first 3 frames but was also hit by a couple comebackers that he knocked down.

This is not the first time Shields has given up a gopher ball on an inside fastball.

In an 8-3 Padres loss on March 11th to the White Sox, Shields didn’t make it out of the 3rd inning and allowed 3 homers. Switch-hitter Jimmy Rollins (batting lefty against Shields) hit the 3rd homer to knock him out of that contest.

Shields is entering the second season of the 4-year, $75 million dollar contract he signed before the 2015 season.

He posted a 3.91 ERA in his first campaign in San Diego.
One of the first things Green announced early in spring training was his top three choices for the San Diego rotation.

Tyson Ross will start opening day against the Dodgers and Shields will go 2nd in the rotation followed by Andrew Cashner.

This splits up the two power pitchers around Shields to try and keep opponents off balance.

As a minor leaguer in the Tampa Bay Rays organization, a teammate once gave Shields the nickname “Big Game James.”

In order for him to once again live up to that moniker, he will need to consistently locate his fastball – especially against left-handed hitters.

It could be the difference between a future 4-2 Padres victory or a 7-4 loss with multiple calls to the bullpen.

Shields is the only pitcher to win a World Series game for Tampa Bay.

He accomplished that feat by pitching 5.2 scoreless innings in a 4-2 victory in game 2 of the 2008 World Series (Philadelphia eventually won the title that year 4-1). Former Rays teammate and fellow Padre Melvin Upton Jr (he was called B.J. back then) actually scored a run in game two by the way.

Early in his career, Angels outfielder Mike Trout was susceptible to high fastballs.

He would often strike out on that pitch during his first couple seasons in the bigs.

Trout made it a point to hone in on that type of pitch and before long, pitchers could not pitch that way to him anymore because his adjustment and hard work turned that weakness into a strength.

The Padres are banking on Shields to do that too only from the mound instead of the batter’s box.

Because if he throws Trout an inside high fastball, you probably have a good idea where it might land.

The defense attorney for the man accused of trying to kill two firefighters downtown last June asked jurors to set aside their personal feelings about first responders and acquit his client, Ryan Allen Jones.

“Self-defense is a complete defense to all these charges,” Defense Attorney Thomas Bahr told the jury Monday during his closing remarks.

The jury received the case by midday Monday and began deliberating in the afternoon.

Jones testified last week that he feared for his life when he pulled out a large hunting knife and attacked unarmed firefighters Ben Vernon and Alex Wallbrett at a medical aid call at the Park and Market trolley station on June 24 last year.

In his closing remarks, Deputy District Attorney Steven Schott held up the large hunting knife used in the alleged assault asking the jury: “Would someone jab this this killing instrument into someone’s body over and over again if their intent was not to kill someone?”

Much of the trial focused on body camera footage the prosecution says shows Vernon backing away with his hands up and Jones stepping in to stab him repeatedly.

Last week, Jones testified he was trying to provide information to firefighters about a patient they were assisting when a fire captain pushed him over a bench, causing Jones to hit his head. When Jones got up, he said he was confused and surrounded by MTS officers who pepper-sprayed him as he tried to flee.

Jones said he had cloudy vision and feared he was about to be beaten, possibly shot, when he pulled out his knife and stabbed Vernon, not knowing who he was attacking.

The defense’s case has also hinged on their assertion that the firefighters were acting outside the scope of their duties when they pursued Jones, and that they should have waited for police.

Bahr said video evidence shows Jones fled a safe distance away from the firefighters after their captain shoved him.

“A fire captain is supposed to extinguish fires not light them,” Bahr said.

The prosecutor played surveillance video several times for the jury of Jones falling over the bench saying it clearly shows he never hit his head. Schott told the jury if they determine the defendant lied about something significant, like hitting his head, they should consider not believing anything else he said.

Schott also reminded the jury about firefighter testimony that their primary duty is to protect the public, proposing a hypothetical situation of firefighters arriving on the scene of a person performing CPR on a patient incorrectly and refusing to stop.

“According to the defense’s theory, even though they know that patient is in danger, sorry, you’ve got to run for the hills. Go sit in the fire engine,” Schott said.

The deputy district attorney said a picture is worth a thousand words and the images of Jones stabbing Vernon do not depict a person that is disoriented or blinded.

Last week, the jury heard heartfelt testimony from those two firefighters who were attacked that day in the line of duty. Wallbrett had rushed to Vernon's aid and Jones then stabbed Wallbrett several times before a fire engineer stopped him.

Vernon and Wallbrett testified about how the stabbing took not just a physical toll but how they have suffered emotionally since the assault.

Both said it was not being able to protect each other that was the unbearable part of that day.

Vernon sat quietly through the closing remarks Monday.

At least two explosions rocked the check-in zone of Brussels Airport Tuesday, killing and wounding "several" people and another blast hit a metro station in the Belgian capital, NBC News reported. Federal officials confirmed that an explosion occurred at Maalbeck metro station, which is located near European Union institution buildings.

The blasts shook the airport's departures hall shortly after 8 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET). "There are several dead and wounded but we can't say how many at this point," a federal police spokesman said.

At least one fatality had been confirmed, federal police told NBC News. Belgium's Le Soir and La Libre put the death toll at around a dozen but NBC News was no immediately able to verify their accounts.

"There was dust everywhere, glass everywhere, there was chaos," eyewitness Jef Versele told NBC News of the airport blast. "There were people on the floor everywhere. The roofing came down. It was quite a mess."

Meanwhile, scenes from the subway explosion showed smoke pouring out of the station. Images posted on social media showed injured people receiving medical treatment on the sidewalk outside.

When you hear the words ‘Petco Park’ you probably think baseball, but when the boys of summer leave for winter the ballpark is increasingly becoming home to more and more special events.

The 2015-2016 offseason was the busiest ever for Petco Park, which hosted nearly 100 public and private events between the months of October and March according to the Padres.

“We’re constantly searching for new and innovative events and ideas,” said Mike Dee, Padres CEO & President.

Marquee events this off season included:
• The Links (in partnership with Callaway Golf) – November 5-9, 2015
• Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk – November 22, 2015
• Bill Walton Basketball Festival – November 30- December 6, 2015
• Holiday Wonderland – December 4-December 23, 2015
• Monster Jam – January 23 & February 6, 2016
• Monster Energy Supercross - January 16 & February 13, 2016
• Science Expo – March 5, 2016

The increase in offseason events hasn’t gone unnoticed around the East Village.

“I talk to a lot of bartenders and general managers of restaurants and I know the financial impact it has on their businesses as well. It’s just a positive thing all the way around,” said Ron Quintero, who lives near the ballpark.

Four years ago the City of San Diego agreed to give the Padres a bigger slice of the revenue for special events, which may explain part of the rapid increase in recent years. The incentive seems to have worked out well for the city too.

“I think the city’s net take from Petco will be more than double what it was when the deal was restructured” said Dee.

The Sports Business Journal recently nominated Petco Park as one of America’s top sports facilities.
 

Months after military police seized mountain bikes from riders trespassing on a San Diego military base, U.S. Marines returned some of the bikes to their owners. 

After reaching a settlement with five mountain bikers, Military Police at MCAS Miramar started the process Monday to return the mountain bikes confiscated in mid-January.

They’re also asking other riders to contact base officials if they’d like to take part in a similar settlement.

Five expensive mountain bikes, some worth as much as $10,000 and still caked with dirt, were loaded into the back of an MP's pickup truck.

“I have my bike back and that’s all that matters. Nobody got hurt, everything is cool. A settlement is a settlement and I just want to move forward and go ride,” said Bobby Davila of San Carlos.

Davila is one of five mountain bikers who reached a settlement with the Marines after hiring Oceanside attorney Richard Duquette, who worked with a federal magistrate and retired Brigadier General David Brahms.

Duquette said the cyclists agreed to dismiss a civil suit and pay a $250 fine in exchange for termination of any criminal case and the return of the bikes.

“They don’t have to go to court, there’s no conviction, there’s no civil suit, and the exchange is a promise not to sue,” said Duquette.

At least 45-bikes were confiscated by military police on January 16. Many of the riders said the trails around Sycamore Canyon were poorly marked and they didn’t know they were trespassing. One cyclist said it put them in the strange position of fighting the military to get their bikes back.

“I love my military. I appreciate what they do for us, but it just seems that we couldn’t do anything. We were fighting against our own military,” said Esteban Rodriquez of La Jolla.

Duquette says the military has since increased signage in some areas, warning bikers they are trespassing on federal property.

Meanwhile, the Marines released a statement on the settlement:

On Friday, March 18th, a Federal Magistrate Judge in San Diego approved a settlement agreement between the United States Attorney's Office and five individuals cited for trespassing aboard MCAS Miramar over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. With these five cases complete, any associated evidence was released to the owners. Other individuals who were cited for trespassing that weekend and are interested in a similar outcome may contact Major Kevin Brown, Special Assistant United States Attorney, at kevin.m.brown3@usmc.mil. As we have consistently maintained, individuals who have been cited for trespassing aboard MCAS Miramar can retrieve impounded evidence following the adjudication of their citations. Our Military Police Officers will continue to act within their authorities to enforce the boundaries of MCAS Miramar and we ask community members to avoid the air station property.