A vigil in honor of victims of the deadly Oakland, California, warehouse fire briefly turned into a political confrontation Monday night as saddened, angry participants shouted down the city's mayor with obscenities and boos, NBC News reported.

Several hundred people showed up at the Oakland Pergola and Colonnade at Lake Merritt for speeches and remembrances three days after at least 36 people were killed as flames engulfed the converted warehouse during a concert and party.

Amid an emotional outpouring from people who knew the victims, some speakers urged the city to protect "nontraditional warehouse residences" and "fringe places" where some Oaklanders have sought shelter as the city's housing costs skyrocket.

Boos and calls to resign greeted Mayor Libby Schaaf, whom some have criticized as emphasizing the warehouse's code violations in the hours immediately after the fire, instead of the shortage of affordable housing.

Cold weather in many places in America means fires in fireplaces, hot cocoa and huddling up inside.

Cold weather in San Diego means volleyball, beach volleyball!

"It's just what we do, " said Susie Walton.

Walton, who is the mother of Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton and former wife of NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton, didn't let temperatures in the low to mid 50's stop her and her friends from playing their normal morning beach volleyball match.

""It's cold at first, then you warm up," said player Kim Zevin.

When asked about the cold, Walton answered with some serious sarcasm, "It's freezing cold for Southern California, you know that."

Playing on the beach barefoot, in shorts and even a bikini, the volleyball players did atleast bring their cold weather gear. Beside the court were warm UGG Boots, coffee, and layers of clothing.

"Totally bundled up, everything it takes to stay warm on a cold San Diego day," said Walton.

After the match, the ladies grabbed thier fins and bathing suits and cooled down with an ocean swim. The ocean temperature was 61 degrees, actually warmer than the outside temperature.

Beach volleyball in shorts and ocean swims, just another example of local residents braving a "cold" December day in San Diego.

On the lookout for a slithering companion? A python discovered at Pine Valley County Park is now up for adoption.

The reptile was spotted Nov. 24 by someone who managed to catch the snake before it slithered into a hole.

Workers with the San Diego County Department of Animal Services responded to the park on Old Highway 80 to fetch the ball python.

Workers don’t know if the python, about 3 feet in length, escaped a nearby home or was perhaps released into the wild.

“We certainly hope that its owner simply did not take the snake to the park and release it, as the snake would have eventually died due to the cold weather,” Dawn Danielson, director of Animal Services, said in a statement.

Ball pythons can only survive in 80-degree temperatures and the weather in Pine Valley has been too cold for a long-term habitat.

The snake, which doesn’t have a name, is available for adoption on a first-come, first-serve basis at the department’s animal care facility at 5480 Gaines St.

The City of San Diego is set to begin a new program offering a different approach to handling those with chronic misdemeanor offenses who may suffer mental illness or substance abuse.

The San Diego Misdemeanants At-Risk Track (SMART) is aimed at people who repeatedly face misdemeanor charges, who may be homeless or in need of drug rehabilitation or psychiatric treatment. 

An eligible participant has committed one or more drug offenses in the last two years and has been arrested at least twice in the past six months for a quality-of-life offense, according to the program's website.

“Because each individual can have a different story, we need a tailored treatment to best intervene and to help each individual person,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer.

The pilot program offers more than one night in a bed. With participation from the defendant, the program can provide up to two years of housing.

“Our part is to provide a consistency of a bed. Their part is to provide participation in treatment,” said City Attorney Jan Goldsmith.

The program will roll out with 10 beds, just a small number of participants. If it proves successful, the program will be expanded.

City Attorney-elect Mara Elliott said the City of San Diego and San Diego County are seeking an initial grant of $3 million over three years to offer mental health and drug treatment programs.

Participants will get needed counseling, substance abuse and mental health services with a Deputy City Attorney assigned to Neighborhood Prosecution and Collaborative Courts will serve as case manager overseeing the housing and treatment.

“There are no real programs at the misdemeanor level that address the problems these clients have,” said Michael Ruiz, Supervising Attorney with the Public Defender’s Office. “This is really the smartest way to deal with it.”

The program launched with the help of the City Attorney's Office, the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the Office of the Public Defender, Family Health Centers of San Diego, the ACLU, and the housing provider - the San Diego Second Chance Program under a contract administered by the San Diego Housing Commission.

All lanes of State Route 67 were shut down after a fiery three car crash near Poway Monday evening, California Highway Patrol (CHP) officials confirmed. 

The crash happened at approximately 5:24 p.m. on the State Route 67 at Iron Mountain Road. The initial crash caused several chain reaction collisions.

CHP officers say the driver of a Mustang was attempting to make an illegal U-turn near Iron Mountain Road when Ford Fushion slammed into the car. A Toyota Highlander heading northbound then crashed into the Ford Fushion.

In the aftermath, a Good Samaritan who witnessed the crash pulled the driver out of his Mustang right before the car burst into flames. 

The driver of the Mustang suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Palomar Hospital in Escondido, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) said.

Carlos Torres walked away from the crash, shaken but uninjured. He spoke to NBC 7 in Spanish, while his roommate translated, saying that he was the last driver involved in the crash.

"Yeah he was worried because he couldn't stop fast enough to stop the accident," Torres' roommate, Rosa Rivera said.

"You know what, thank god. No fatalities..what I understand from what I heard from police officers, praise god," said Rivera.

The CHP issued a Sig alert for all lanes on the highway. The freeway was closed at Poway Road to the northbound SR-67 and Scripps Poway Parkway was closed on the southbound lanes.

At around 9:30 p.m., CHP reopened the road for all traffic.

Two of the drivers from the other vehicles were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, SDSO said.

No other information was immediately available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story. 

A group of supporters of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation gathered in Kearny Mesa Monday for a demonstration and prayer vigil after the Dakota Access Pipeline was halted.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied the permit required for the project in North Dakota on Sunday after months of protests.

Protesters have been camped out for months against the $3.7 billion oil pipeline they say will hard a tribal water source.

Approximately 75 demonstrators gathered outside the Army Corps Engineers Office on Aero Drive Monday afternoon to celebrate, what they are calling a small victory.

“We are doing this for the next generation. I want my son to have access to clean drinking water,” said Gina Tiger Madueno.

The Chula Vista resident and a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation said she took supplies to protesters a few months ago. She says this was a victory that made many, including her, emotional.

But she added that many still fear the decision to halt the pipeline will be changed after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

“It's a small victory for right now but it's definitely far from over, it's not a win,” she said.

Madueno and the protesters said they will not be moving anytime soon from the demonstration site in Standing Rock because they fear the future Trump Administration will stop the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers from looking for another route.

“With Trump coming in, he can easily just toss that to the side and say ‘we're gonna move forward with this project,’” she added.

President-elect Donald Trump has voiced his support of the pipeline and has reportedly invested Energy Transfer Partners, one of the companies building the pipeline.

In response to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision, Energy Transfer Partners released the following statement:

"The White House's directive today to the Corps for further delay is just the latest in a series of overt and transparent political actions by an administration which has abandoned the rule of law in favor of currying favor with a narrow and extreme political constituency."

The people from the Standing Rock Sioux Nation were also joined by environmentalists on Monday. Both groups say it's time to stop the push to use fossil fuels because the health of the planet depends on it.

“I hope that they honor what they say they're going to do and I hope that they will permanently halt the construction of the pipeline,” Madueno said.

San Diegans will be able to tour one of three visiting ships from China after they arrive Tuesday.

The Jiangkai II-class frigates Yancheng (FFG 546) and Daqing (FFG 576) along with the Fuchi-class oiler Tai Hu (AOR 889) will visit San Diego Tuesday through Friday this week.

They will dock along the B Street Pier as crews take part in different events with USS Cape St. George officers and crew.

On Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., one of the ships will be open for public tours.

This is the third time ships from the Public Liberation Army (Navy) PLA(N) have visited San Diego since 2014.

The value of San Diego County’s construction starts rose 29 percent from a year ago in the first 10 months of 2016, topping $3.61 billion, according to the latest monthly figures from Dodge Data & Analytics.

Based on the value of building permits pulled, nonresidential projects increased 89 percent from 2015, surpassing $1.93 billion for the January-to-October period. Residential project starts declined 5 percent, to $1.68 billion.

Nonresidential projects include offices, industrial buildings, retail structures, education, government and other nonhousing construction. The residential category includes single and multifamily housing.

For the month of October, overall construction starts increased 20 percent from a year ago, topping $422.4 million. Nonresidential projects more than tripled their year-ago figure, reaching approximately $270.2 million; while the residential category declined 44 percent, to $152.3 million.

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The seven-year-old girl from Syria who has recounted on Twitter her family's struggle in the nation's conflict is back online, after the account went dark amid an attack nearby.

Bana al-Abed lives in besieged Aleppo, and says she is fine, despite a recent bombardment. Her Twitter account disappeared from the internet on Sunday, sparking speculation online that the mother and daughter had been captured.

The account's last tweet before the account was deactivated read, "We are sure the army is capturing us now," and was written by Bana's mother, Fatemah.

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Some worried that the Syrian army had found the family's hiding place and deleted the account. The hashtag #WhereIsBana surfaced, as users wondered why the account disappeared. Author J.K Rowling, who has spoken with the girl before, tweeted messages with the hashtag.

But a spokesperson for humanitarian group Syria Charity told NBC News that the family was not captured, and the Twitter account returned Monday, though with Bana and her family apparently still in danger.

"Under attack. Nowhere to go, every minute feels like death. Pray for us. Goodbye," Fatemah al-Abed said.

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Tuesday brought better news and direct word from Bana, though bombing was still on her mind. She said she was fine in her slightly more up-beat tweet, and that she is "getting better without medicine with too much bombing."

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The al-Abed family has chronicled the horrors of living in Aleppo as the Syrian conflict continues. Their account has garnered 213,000 followers.

Relieved users sent positive messages to the family once the account resurfaced, urging them to stay safe and offering prayers.

A bevy of glimmering, festive lights illuminating the San Diego Bay can only mean one thing: a beloved holiday boat parade is back -- a longtime tradition started by the San Diego boating community.

Boasting bulbs galore, the 45th annual San Diego Bay Parade of Lights presented by the Port of San Diego returns to the waterfront at 5 p.m. over the next two weekends: Dec. 11 and Dec. 18.

The procession features approximately 80 boats decked out in lights and holiday decorations, making their way around the bay. The parade starts at Shelter Island then proceeds to Harbor Island, the Embarcadero, Seaport Village, the Pier at Cesar Chavez Park and ends at the Ferry Landing in Coronado.

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The usually parade takes about an hour-and-a-half to pass at any given point. Organizers say the parade starts at Shelter Island at 5 p.m. By 6 p.m., the procession should reach Harbor Island. By 6:30 p.m. the parade should be visible from the Embarcadero viewing area. By 7 p.m., it will be seen from Seaport Village. By 7:15 p.m., the parade should reach the Pier at Cesar Chavez Park. By 7:30 p.m. the procession will be winding down, making its way to the Ferry Landing in Coronado. To get details of the entire route, click here.

This year, the Pier at Cesar Chavez Park is a new addition to the parade route, serving as another prime spot where spectators can gather. Typically, the San Diego holiday tradition draws about 100,000 spectators to the waterfront viewpoints.

Two very popular areas to perch during the parade include the Maritime Museum of San Diego on the Embarcadero and at the Ferry Landing, where announcers will be delivering a brief history on each boat that passes along these viewpoints.

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The Maritime Museum will host its Parade of Lights Viewing Dinner during the event on both Dec. 11 and Dec. 18, a fundraiser aboard the Berkeley steam ferry that includes a seasonal dinner and a cozy, prime spot from which to watch the parade. Tickets to this viewing dinner cost $50 for adults and $25 for kids ages 3 to 12. Dinner will be served from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with the parade expected to arrive at this site at around 5:30 p.m.

Parade spectators also tend to flock to Harbor Island to watch the parade, as well as the north and south ends of the Embarcadero. Boaters wishing to watch the parade can view from the water; organizers say the area where the parade turns west for Coronado – near the 10th Street Terminal – is a good spot for spectators in boats.

As always, parking for this large-scale event is limited, so spectators are encouraged to take public transportation, including the trolley or bus. All three trolley lines serve parking lots where spectators can leave their cars – Fashion Valley, Old Town, American Plaza – and then take the trolley to the North Embarcadero area.

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The Green Line can be taken to Santa Fe Depot and the Orange and Blue lines to the American Plaza station. Both stations are within walking distance from Harbor Drive – another popular spot from which to view the procession.

This year’s San Diego Bay Parade of Lights theme is “It Began With a Roar,” a nod to the San Diego Zoo’s centennial celebration. Light displays on the boats participating in the parade will reflect this wild theme, with the best display winning the coveted “Best in Theme” award. The grand prize is a cruise via Uncruise Adventures to Costa Rica or Panama.

The Oakland warehouse artists' enclave was supposed to be a safe place, emotionally and spiritually, for the artists and free spirits who chose lives off the beaten track. An electronic music party had also attracted many in the transgender community, who had come together on Friday night, as they did regularly, to dance with friends and blow off steam.

But physically, the enclave wasn't safe at all on Friday. A fire ripped through the illegally converted warehouse at 1305 East 31st Avenue in the city's Fruitvale neighborhood, killing at least 36 people.

It's the deadliest blaze in Oakland history, and it counts at least three transgender women among the victims: Cash Askew, 22, of Oakland; Feral Pines, 29, of Berkeley and Em Bohlka, 33, of Oakland.  

The father of one is lamenting how few spaces trans people have to gather safely.

"My heart goes out to the entire trans community who feel as if they must gather in unsafe buildings to experience their community and celebrate their identity," said Jack Bohlka in an Instagram post remembering his daughter, Em. 

Friends and family prefer their new names be used to identify them, instead of the ones they were born with, following commonly accepted tradition in the trans community. And that means authorities are now also dealing with an unorthodox situation; one they said they're willing to comply with, albeit with a few mistakes.

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What's in a Name?
When Feral Pines was identified as a victim in the fire, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office on Monday first gave her name as Justin Fritz, her birth name. That was corrected later and the sheriff tweeted an apology.

In an interview on Tuesday, Alameda County Sheriff’s Sgt. J.D. Nelson said the coroner's office is now identifying the victims to the public by the names their families — not their friends — ask for, and will note the legal name, if different, on the official death certificate, which is the law. Alameda County sheriff's Tya Modete added that department was working with an LGBT advocate to report the proper gender identification.

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A name means a lot in the trans community, a fact that was known by most, if not all, of the creative, musical and artistic party goers at the warehouse on Friday night.

"It's called 'dead naming,'" Carol Dauley, an audio engineer and past president of Transgender SF said in an interview with NBC Bay Area on Tuesday. "That means their old name no longer exists. It's disrespectful, and in the eyes of the trans community, there is never a good reason to use the old name."

Scout Wolfcave, executive director at the Trans Assistance Project in Portland and a friend to one of the victims, said using the right names and pronouns is especially important for trans people when they die.

"Many in the transgender community don't want to be referred to by the names they were given at birth, because when they transition from one gender to another, they want to make a clean break from the past," Wolfcave wrote on Facebook.

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Pastor Megan Rohrer, of Grace Lutheran Church in San Francisco, said she appreciated that first responders were taking great pain to get pronouns correct.

"I just want to lift up how great I think that is, that they're taking the time to do their best, even though it's really hard," they said. (Rohrer uses they/their as gender pronouns.)

Rohrer also noted that the LGBT community at large has a long history of holding celebrations in unsafe places on the margins of the community, going back to the days of vice squads patrolling San Francisco.

"The trans community and the LGBT community, when they don't feel safe in other parts of community, often find safety amongst artists," Rohrer said.

And yet the warehouse was beautiful, according to Rohrer, and it seemed to them that it was a great place to have a party: "That's kind of the transgender experience. There's so much beauty and there's so much risk, all the time.

Here are brief portraits of the three women who died in the fire.

Feral Pines: 'Shined in the Sun'
Wolfcave was roommates with Pines, who moved to the Bay Area from Indiana and was originally from Connecticut. She graduated from Staples High School in 2005 and attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, where she studied offset lithography, her father said. She had always loved music.

"I had just texted her on Friday, telling her about something I was doing with my daughter that she and I use to do together and I know that she saw it, so that makes me feel better," Pines' sister, Amanda Parry, told News 12 in Connecticut. And in an email, friend Sarah Patterson said that Pines was a "syth genius with impeccable musical taste," who was also an "anti-facist" who was seen taking down swastikas inside the Ghost Ship.

On Facebook, Wolfcave reminisced about being really close with Pines — they loved and hated most of the same things.

"We also all had eerily similar senses of humor and were constantly joking about death, burners, body horror, poop, tiny glasses, gogurt," Wolfcave wrote. "Conversely, there were a few things that Feral and I would always argue about, like ... whether one would rather go to Burning Man or the Gathering of the Juggalos."

Pines moved to California recently and just "blossomed," Wolfcave wrote.

"She went from the comically sad basement dwelling synth collector," Wolfcave wrote, "to a person that shined in the sun, and moved up and down the 1, and took in the fresh air and saw all these fresh possibilities open up before her."

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Cash Askew: 'Brilliant, Talented, Unique' Student
Askew, a graduate of Urban High School in San Francisco, was active in the Bay Area music and art scene and was part of a band called Them Are Us Too. "Them" is a preferred pronoun for many in the transgender community instead of "him" or "her."

The band's debut album on Dais Records, Remain, was released in 2015.

"Cash Askew was an absolutely loved and treasured member of the Dais Records family," the label and band's management team said in a statement.

"We were in awe of her talent, her gentle kindness, and her creative momentum," it continued. "Her passing is an excruciating loss that we may never fully process or recover from."

Askew also was a 2008 graduate of the Children's Day School in San Francisco. "She was a brilliant, talented, unique, nonconformist student," Head of School Molly Huffman wrote in a letter, noting that Askew transitioned to female after middle school.

CDS teacher Terry Askhinos wrote a letter to the school remembering Askew as "a gentle, free spirited 13-year-old who always found ways to be an individual, whether it was in her class work, her fiction writing, her fashion, her art, or her political convictions. Cash was always one step ahead of the rest of us and I often held her up as an example to the class of how to make learning a work of art."

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Em Bohlka: Beginning her Transition
Her father, Jack Bohlka of Claremont, Calif. took to Instagram to document his child's life.

"Many of you will remember her as Matt. But recently she was transitioning to become a beautiful, happy woman. She took the name Em. I just wish with all my heart that she had more time to live her life as she truly wanted. My heart goes out to the entire trans community who feel as if they must gather in unsafe buildings to experience their community and celebrate their identity. Our communities must become more open and accepting of all people, all identities, so that everyone can enjoy a great party or concert in a space that is not a death trap."

He also told NBC Bay Area in a statement he will be establishing a fund at his local LGBT center in memory of Em, so that more transgender people will be able to become who they truly are, and so that there will be more safe spaces available.”

Donations to the Oakland warehouse fire victims can be made at YouCaring.com

NBC's Asher Klein contributed to this report. 

Several witnesses testified Tuesday that they did not see Jahi Turner at a South Park playground on the day he was reported missing in 2002.

The two-year-old boy has not been found since he was reported missing by his stepfather on April 25, 2002 while playing at a park near 28th and Cedar streets.

That stepfather, Tieray Jones, was arrested earlier this year and faces one count of murder and one count of felony child abuse causing death.

This week in San Diego, a judge is hearing the prosecution's evidence in the 14-year cold case for the first time.

Among the evidence was a nearly 12-minute 911 call in which Jones told police that his stepson disappeared when he turned away from the playground to buy a soda from a vending machine. Listen to the full 911 call here.

SDPD Detective Dana Hoover testified she spoke with the defendant at the park after she searched the area for approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

Jones told Hoover he had left his house at 10 a.m. that day and that Jahi played with two other children at the playground with a woman nearby, she testified.

“As he was walking, he last saw Jahi appchroximately 30 feet away from the playground and he turned around and just continued walking to the bathroom area,” Hoover testified. “Jones turned back and walked back to the playground area and that is when he noticed Jahi was not there and the two other children and the woman were not there either.”

She drove Jones back to his home the same way he walked to the park with Jahi and the defendant took her down Cedar Street.

She testified the apartment was “very clean” with some toys on the floor in one bedroom.

Katey Higgins lived in the apartment complex where Jahi Turner lived with his stepfather. She saw Jones take two black trash bags out of his apartment on Wednesday, April 24, 2002.

"They were kind of rounded, maybe like laundry," Higgins said.

She testified trash was collected Wednesday mornings at the complex. She said she did not see Jones with a little boy at the time.

Guadalupe Sauceda testified she was in the park at approximately 1:30 p.m. with her two-year-old son on the day Jahi Turner was reported missing. She recalls visiting the restroom with her son and leaving the playground at about 2:30 p.m.

She testified she saw several adults in the park near the picnic tables and under some trees but did not see the defendant or a boy wearing a Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt.

“No, that’s because back then at that age [my son] loved Winnie the Pooh,” Sauceda testified through a translator. “And when he would see Winnie the Pooh he would run to it.”

South Park resident Hong “Chris” Hom was with his son and his wife on that day as they walked from Date Street to 28th Street and continued to the playground area of the park. Hom testified Tuesday that he did not recall seeing the defendant or any African-American children in the park that day. He testified he saw an adult woman in the park area at the time.

Erika Cohoe-Fitzgerald lived in Golden Hill at the time of Jahi Turner’s disappearance. She walked to the post office on that day and walked along 28th Street to get home. She stopped in the park south of the bathrooms in the park after 2 p.m. with her infant son and she recalled seeing the police and helicopters.

Fitzgerald did not recall seeing the defendant or any children in the park that day. She described seeing several adults, both male and female, in the area at the time.

The child was being cared for by his stepfather while his mother, known then as Tameka Turner, was deployed aboard USS Rushmore.

Hundreds of volunteers and police officers spent weeks looking for Jahi near the playground. Law enforcement officers raked through 5,000 tons of garbage at the Miramar Landfill, but came up with nothing.

The child's mother, who now goes by the name Tameka Jones, testified Monday that she had moved her son from Maryland to San Diego four days before he was reported missing. The family rented an apartment in the Golden Hill area of the city.

She then returned to Maryland to report for duty, leaving Jahi in the care of the defendant.

She testified the defendant spoke with her by phone on Tuesday, April 23, 2002 and told her Jahi had suffered a bump on the forehead.

Detailed in the arrest warrant is a journal entry from that day.

According to the court document, Jones wrote, “Today for some reason he hasn’t been moving or really talking. Jahi is starting to act really funny he won’t get up off the floor. He’s not walking or talking when I tell him to get his cup he just looks at me. I know it’s going to take some time. But I don’t want him hating me for something I can’t control. The bump on his head has gone down I put ice on it. It’s gotten a little red.”

In the arrest warrant, authorities suggest that entry is evidence suggesting Jahi suffered a fatal physical injury while in Jones’ care.

Click here to read the search warrant.

Two days later Tieray called Tameka and said Jahi had disappeared from a nearby park, she testified.

Jones' attorneys have said they believe Jahi Turner is still alive.

Though prosecutors say new evidence has been uncovered in the case, authorities have not found Jahi's body or remains, police said.

Jones has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He faces a 25-years-to-life sentence if convicted.

Dunkin' Donuts continued its expansion into Southern California Tuesday with the grand opening of a shiny new donut shop in National City -- a highly-anticipated location with 24-hour drive-thru service.

The business, located at 2139 East Plaza Blvd., just off Interstate 805, opened its doors bright and early, at 4 a.m., and patrons were more than ready.

Buzzing with the excitement of those sweet treats waiting inside, customers began lining up for the grand opening at around 8:30 p.m. the night before.

When the eatery opened Tuesday, the drive-thru line was already approximately 50 cars deep as Dunkin' Donuts fans hurried to get their fix.

Customers in the drive-thru line told NBC 7 they’d been waiting anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes to get their doughnuts.

For the brand's loyalists, it was well worth it.

"I'd wait two hours for them doughnuts," one customer told NBC 7.

Jordan McCoslin waited 40 minutes to get his doughtnuts. He said he kept his eye on the prize: the Boston Cream Croissant doughnut, which was worth the wait.

"Half-doughnut, half-croissant," he explained. "What's not to like?"

Talisin Burton, owner of the new National City location, said the turn out for his location's grand opening was more than he could've hoped.

"The turn out's been amazing. Doughnuts are flying off the shelves and the coffee is flowing,” he said, smiling.

On opening day alone, this particular Dunkin’ Donuts is expected to sell about 18,000 donuts and thousands of cups of coffee.

The restaurant in National City features the largest Dunkin’ Donuts sign west of the Mississippi River. The sign went up a couple of months ago, and generated much excitement among locals.

And now, locals know that good things come to those who wait.

The National City eatery is highly visible from the freeway and is expected to be a very busy location. Boardwalk Development, Inc., signed a lease with Dunkin' Donuts to create the new 24-hour sweets shop.

In late July, Ron Bamberger, president of Boardwalk Development, Inc., told NBC 7 the shop's proximity to the freeway is a substantial benefit and will be convenient for morning commuters who want to pop in and out of the location quickly as they grab a doughnut on their way to work.

Bamberger said the business is on the morning side of the freeway -- the side of the street where the bulk of morning rush hour traffic occurs.

This store is the second Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru in San Diego County. The first local Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru is in Ramona, though that location is a Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins combo store, so this National City shop is the first freestanding local Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru in San Diego County.

The new shop is locally owned and operated by the disabled U.S. veteran-owned business, Burton Restaurants, LLC. Franchisee Talisin Burton and operators Gregory Dono, Daniel Gomes and Frank Garner are all retired or current members of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Burton Restaurants, LLC also owns and operates four other Dunkin' Donuts locations in San Diego: Camp Pendleton, MCAS Miramar and Balboa Naval Hospital, as well as a store at Embassy Suites in downtown San Diego.

Two years ago, Dunkin Donuts announced it planned to open its first traditional restaurants in California over the coming years. This plan included 14 restaurants San Diego County, with the first opening in 2016.

The next San Diego County Dunkin’ Donuts slated to open soon include a location in El Cajon and another at Naval Air Station North Island.

Currently, San Diego County is home to these other Dunkin’ Donuts locations: an outpost at the Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown San Diego (601 Pacific Highway); a shop at Naval Medical Center San Diego’s Building 1 (34800 Bob Wilson Dr.); a shop at MCAS Miramar’s Building 5305; the Camp Pendleton location; and the Ramona Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin-Robbins location (1410 Main St.).

Dunkin' Donuts was founded in 1950 by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts. Today, the company has a cult following as the world's leading baked goods and coffee chain, serving more than 3 million customers daily and selling 52 varieties of doughnuts.

A man accused of sexually assaulting a young woman in Vista was chased away by the woman’s dog, whose instinct was to protect its owner at all costs.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO) said the 19-year-old victim was walking her dog in the 700 block of Grapevine Road in Vista Monday at around 6:30 p.m. when an unknown man attacked her from behind.

SDSO Lt. Dan Brislin said the suspect forced the woman to the ground and groped her body.

"This is a concerning situation," Brislin told NBC 7. "It's concerning to law enforcement -- its concerning for the community because obviously its a very brazen act to attack someone in this manner, especially while walking a pit bull."

The woman fought back and called out to her dog for help. Investigators said the dog, a pit bull, began barking and, at one point, may have bitten the man. With the dog on his tail, the man stopped attacking the victim and ran away.

The dog chased after him, the SDSO said. The suspect was last seen running eastbound on Planet Road, with the dog trailing behind him.

A short time later, the dog returned to its owner. The dog was not harmed.

"Everybody looks out for each other so I didn't really think something like that would happen," Good Samaritan Justin Acselrod said.

Acselrod told NBC 7 the victim came to his door for help after the incident.

"She was distraught obviously. She was not really saying a whole bunch accept she was assaulted, you could tell she was obviously upset," Acselrod said.

A neighbor who did not wish to be identified told NBC 7 that the woman said she told her dog to attack the suspect.

"She said, 'I told him to attack and I never taught him that and he did,' the neighbor said. "[The dog] protected her."

Other neighbors expressed their concerns after the incident, saying they believed the area was usually safe.

"Very surprised because it seems like a pretty decent neighborhood but I guess that's happening everywhere," said Jackie Castor, a resident in the neighborhood. "I mean, you know, I think it's happening everywhere." 

At about the time when the attack took place, the street by the alleged sexual assault is not well lit at night. Despite a few spread out street lights, the area in Vista is relatively dark at about 6:30 p.m. when the attack occurred.

Emily DeArmas told NBC 7 that she brought her husband with her on a walk with her dog after she heard about the assault.

"It's a little scary when it is a street you walk everyday," DeArmas said.

The sex assault suspect remains at large. The SDSO said he’s described as a 25-year-old man who stands at approximately 5-foot-6 and weighs 160 to 180 pounds. He wore a dark-colored beanie, a dark-colored hoodie and pants during the assault.

Investigators have praised the victim for bravely fighting off her attacker. Anyone with details on this ongoing case can reach out to Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Investigators are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

The restaurant at the center of a popular marketplace at San Diego’s Liberty Station is getting an overhaul this month, making room for three new casual eateries at the food emporium.

Liberty Public Market’s main dining spot, Mess Hall, will close Tuesday for a new build out. When it reopens on Dec. 19, the restaurant space will debut expanded public seating and communal areas and three new, laid back eateries: Mess Hall Bar, Pi Bar and Grape Smuggler Bar.

Mess Hall Bar is described as the “fast-casual reincarnation” of the original Mess Hall restaurant. This eatery will offer counter service and a menu of seasonal dishes created using ingredients from merchants at Liberty Public Market – from Fish & Chips to a Grains & Greens Salad. The “market-to-menu” eatery will also include rotating specials.

Grape Smuggler Bar will be a wine and tapas spot spearheaded by Greg Majors, who will expand his Liberty Public Market wine bar, Grape Smuggler Wine & Spirits, over to the marketplace’s eastern dining hall. The original Grape Smuggler, located in the main market hall, will still sell a rotating collection of wines, local liquors, bitters and accoutrements.

Finally, Pi Bar will offer pizza by the slice, specializing in wood-fired pizza al taglio, a Roman-style pie known for its rectangular shape. Pi Bar’s menu will include two-foot-long pizzas available by the slice or as a whole, with both traditional and unique toppings including butternut squash, Brussels sprouts and bacon. Beside pizza, Pi Bar will also sell a selection of savory pot pies and sweet pies.

All three new eateries will be open daily at 11 a.m.

Blue Bridge Hospitality, the company that spearheaded the development and launch of Liberty Public Market earlier this year, said the changes to Mess Hall were inspired by the large crowds that have been filling the market since it opened in March 2016.

The upgrades are part of the effort to increase seating in the hall, and fine-tune the concept of the food emporium.

“The market is a social space and we wanted to continue to feed that success. Inspired by the format of the Pine Street Market in Portland and confirmed by the various bars within La Boqueria in Barcelona, I recognized that we could still take a more elevated approach to our restaurant’s culinary program while integrating the format of the surrounding market and increasing the common social areas,” said David Spatafore, of Blue Bridge Hospitality, in a press release Tuesday. “This more casual approach to in-market dining is simply a better fit with the way Liberty Public Market is used by our guests.”

Liberty Public Market is located at 2816 Decatur Rd., at Liberty Station, adjacent to Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens.

The 25,000-square-foot 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 focus at the indoor-outdoor marketplace is on fresh, sustainable, locally-sourced goods, including year-round produce sourced from regional farms, plus merchants offering locally-procured seafood, old-fashioned butcher services, homemade tortillas, breads and pastries, fine wine, locally-roasted coffee, specialty handcrafted goods and more.

As of early December 2016, Liberty Public Market is home to 27 vendors, plus the full-service Mess Hall restaurant.

Many of the small, local merchants are well-known favorites at farmers markets, while some are entirely new concepts debuting for the first time at the marketplace. For most, this will be their first-ever brick-and-mortar establishment after building a fan base around town.

The 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 merchants.

Liberty Public Market is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. A full list of merchants can be seen here.

Dunkin' Donuts will soon add another Southern California location in San Diego to its roster, as the donut shop continues its expansion into the region.

The business plans to open a shiny new donut restaurant in Downtown San Diego at 225 West Broadway, the former location of NBC 7 San Diego, a spokeswoman for the company confirmed to NBC 7 San Diego. No further details have been released about the Downtown location. 

Two years ago, Dunkin Donuts announced it planned to open its first traditional restaurants in California over the coming years. This plan included 14 restaurants San Diego County, with the first opening in 2016.

On Tuesday, the business opened a new, highly anticipated location in National City, complete with a 24-hour drive-thru service. The new storefront is located at 2139 East Plaza Blvd., just off Interstate 805.

Several other San Diego County Dunkin' Donuts are slated to open soon, including a shop in El Cajon and another at Naval Air Station North Island.

Currently, San Diego County is home to these other Dunkin’ Donuts locations: an outpost at the Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown San Diego (601 Pacific Highway); the National City shop, a shop at Naval Medical Center San Diego’s Building 1 (34800 Bob Wilson Dr.); a shop at MCAS Miramar’s Building 5305; the Camp Pendleton location; and the Ramona Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin-Robbins location (1410 Main St.).

Dunkin' Donuts was founded in 1950 by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts. Today, the company has a cult following as the world's leading baked goods and coffee chain, serving more than 3 million customers daily and selling 52 varieties of doughnuts.

La Mesa Police are looking for a truck missing from a home where a woman was found Tuesday with a gunshot in her back.

Officers found the woman on the ground just inside the door of the home on Keeney Street near Mohawk at 11:42 a.m.

The woman had called 911 reporting that she may have been shot. When officers arrived they found the 59-year-old victim with an apparent gunshot wound.

Officer are trying to find a vehicle reported missing from the home. The 2013 white Chevrolet Silverado pickup has a California license plate of 62187M1.

The victim was sent to a nearby hospital. Officers did not have an update on her condition.

The location of the home is north of El Cajon Boulevard, south of the 70th Street Trolley Station and east of 73rd Street.

Anyone with information can call the La Mesa Police Department at 619-667-1400.

The San Diego Humane Society is asking for the public's help to keep nearly 80 dogs warm this winter.

The organization put out a plea on Facebook for donations, saying there are not enough beds for all the dogs they have on their San Diego Campus.

They are asking for small beds, gently-used bath towels, sheets, and blankets. All donations must be machine-washable.

You can drop off donations at 5500 Gaines Street.

The Oakland warehouse where at least 36 people lost their lives, was home to a local San Diego musician.

The 25-year old survived the fire, but for hours he watched helplessly as his home went up in flames.

On Tuesday, NBC 7 spoke with the musician’s mother who said he grew up in Lemon Grove and then moved to Temecula where he attended Chaparral High School. For the last year and a half, the Oakland warehouse was his home.

“He is coping, he’s doing what he can,” says Laurie Laskme, as she holds back tears. "My son was so close to…not being here, but he's here, so it's a very emotionally hard to deal with.”

When the fire first broke out, the young musician was outside. He ran back in though, when he heard people screaming for help. But surrounded by so much thick, black smoke, it became impossible to help, his mother said..

“When they knew there was no more time to help anybody get out, three of them got stuck in the doorway,” says Laskme. “Thank goodness, they were able to get themselves free and get out of the building. They watched the place burn down until six in the morning.”

Ever since the fire, Laksme has been constantly checking her phone, getting updates from her son and making sure he's doing okay. She admits that her son is still haunted by the sounds of the fire.

“One of their dear good friends had fallen and had broken his ankle, and they could not get to him. He's going through a lot in his mind because of everything that he heard,” says Laskme.

The warehouse called ‘The Ghost Ship’ is described as much more than a mere structure. It was a space where, ironically artists felt safe. It provided the group of young artists a site where they could work on their projects and music within a creative and affordable environment.

“It’s easy for people to judge and throw out negative comments,” says Laksme. “I can tell you this place was special. I visited twice. It was a living, breathing warehouse. A group of survivors are sticking together and going through this together.”

As part of his grieving process, the Chaparral High graduate is leaning on his writing and his music to help him get through the devastating loss of life, his mother told NBC 7.

In a letter he writes: “I can see the colors, skin and backdrop of the times I shared with my friends. It’s a very difficult burden for us to bare...all of us send all the love and respect to everyone involved."

Another local man, 25-year old Nick Gomez-Hall, did not survive the fire.