Four shows will make their world premieres at the La Jolla Playhouse in the 2017-2018 season. 

One new musical, a play and a play with music join the previously announced world premiere of 'Escape to Margaritaville', a musical based off the music of Jimmy Buffet. 

'Escape to Margaritaville', which features a unique blend of original songs in additional to Jimmy Buffet classics, will kick off the 2017-2018 season.

The following month, in July 2017, the new play 'At The Old Place,' written by Rachel Bonds, will premiere. The play follows a woman in her mid 40s who returns to her childhood home as she faces her breaking point.

Christopher Ashley, two-time Tony Award nominee and Playhouse Artistic Director, directs the premiere. Ashley worked on two Playhouse-originated shows: 'Come From Away' and 'Memphis'.

In September, 'Wild Goose Dreams', written by Hansol Jung, will premiere at the Playhouse's Forum Theater. The lyrical play explores an unlikely online romance between a North Korean defector and a lonely South Korean father.

The play is directed by Tony-nominated an Drama Desk Award-winning Leigh Silverman, who worked on 'Violet' and 'Chinglish'. 

In the fall, the Untitled Donna Summer Musical comes to La Jolla Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre. The musical dives into the life of the undisputed Queen of Disco, Donna Summer. Look forward to more than 20 of Summer's classic hits and electric dance songs sung on stage. 

Des McAnuff, who directed 'Jersey Boys', a musical that originated at the Playhouse, directs the new Donna Summer musical. 

For more on the 2017-2018 season, click here. 

If you're looking for a prime vantage point to enjoy one of the largest balloon parades in America's finest city, the County's Waterfront Park has got you covered.

The Port of San Diego's Holiday Bowl Parade kicks off at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 27. The event will feature world-class marching bands, magnificent floats, entertaining drill teams and a sequence of gigantic balloons, according to the event's web page.

The parade's organizers anticipate over 100,000 spectators enjoying the parade, according to County officials. The balloons and marching bands will head south along Harbor Drive and finish at the corner of Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway close to Seaport Village.

With large crowds to compete with, it is important to plan ahead and consider the best viewing area to watch from. County officials say the parking spaces at the Port of San Diego will charge premium prices, so the use of public transportation is highly recommended.

One block east of the Waterfront park, the County Center/Little Italy trolley stop is located nearby. The segments of Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway will be closed starting at 7:45 a.m., said County officials. Parade viewing will be limited by the grandstand and television coverage area on the park's extreme southwest corner.

Some rules to keep in mind are: no alcohol or smoking (including e-cigarettes) allowed. Also, do not bring glass or try to barbecue food at the park.

County officials say it's great to bring picnics, lawn chairs, sunscreen, blankets and canopies. Fountains will run from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The park closes at 10 p.m.

If festival-goers would like more information about the Waterfront Park, they can visit sdparks.org or call (619)232-7275. 

A 22-year old victim shot and killed in Vista was identified Monday.

Fallbrook resident Tyler Branon was found in his car with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO).

The incident occurred on the 1300 block of Morning Glory Lane around 7:53 p.m. Saturday.

Deputies had been responding to a report of gunshots in the area.

Branon was pronounced dead at the scene.

SDSO homicide detectives are investigating the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Detail at (858)974-2321 or Crime Stoppers at (888)580-8477.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) rescued a 50-year-old man experiencing a medical emergency on a cruise ship to the southwest of San Diego on Christmas day, U.S. Coast Guard confirmed.

Watch standers received reports from the crew on the Carnival Inspiration cruise ship that a male passenger appeared to be having a heart attack, at about 7 p.m. on Sunday, according to San Diego's sector of USCG.

The 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RBM) crew launched after the Coast Guard duty flight surgeon requested emergency medical evaluation for the patient, said USCG officials. Once the crew arrived on scene, they safely transported the man, his wife and a nurse from the cruise ship.

At aproximately 11 p.m., the RBM crew returned to the Coast Guard's San Diego station, and the patient was taken to awaiting Emergency Medical Service (EMS), said USCG officials.

Then, the man was taken to UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest, according to the USCG. No further information was yet available on the man's condition.

A Maryland mother on the brink of eviction and unable to buy her children Christmas gifts got a $10,000 check from Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder after her appeal for help on Craigslist went viral.

Money has been tight this year for Tyshika Britten's family since she decided to go back to school to become a licensed cosmetologist, the full-time student told NBC News.

After missing the pick-up date for Toys for Tots, the 35-year-old Oxon Hill resident turned to Craigslist in the hope of being able to provide a Christmas for her six children — five boys between the ages of 15 and 3, and a 1-year-old baby girl. Britten said she has used the classifieds website to find rentals as well as clients for her hair-styling business.

"I'm hurt. I'm trying my best. I pray everyday and now I'm begging for help. I know it's not about the gifts, but they are kids! I'm such a failure right now . . . please help me," the dispirited mother wrote in her post.

Britten's children didn't ask for anything this year or draw up a Christmas list, a sign, she said, that even they recognized how tough things were for the family.

On Dec. 19, The Washington Post published an article about the family's plight and "next thing you know, 'Oh my gosh,' it was email after email after email. Everyone of them was saying 'do you have a GoFundMe?'"

Britten didn't. But the feedback prompted her to create one.

Donations starting pouring in — $10 here, $25 there. But then, a "Better Man" contributed $10,000 to the cause.

"We received a check in the mail and it was $10,000, and I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was fake,” Britten said, adding that she didn't take it seriously until a reporter from The Post reached out to her and asked if she had received the check from Eddie Vedder.

Britten confessed that she didn't know who Eddie Vedder was at first. But a Google search revealed the donor was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-bound super star. The Washington Post notes that the family has since been watching the band's concerts online.

Vedder told The Post that he saw some of his own childhood in their story and wanted to provide the family with "a tourniquet."

“I was just so moved by the story and what this mother did for her children,” Vedder said. “I thought those kids must be so proud of their mother for reaching out. That takes a lot of courage.”

In an update on her GoFundMe page, Britten thanked her supporters.

“We love you, we love you, we love you, God is able!!” the post reads in part. “We are ready for 2017! I am truly humbled.”

An Oceanside car dealership was dealing with thousands of dollars in damages after a vandal destroyed half of its inventory.

Surveillance video captured a person walking up and down the rows around 11:15 p.m. Christmas Eve, striking fast at the Mossy Nissan and Infiniti dealership.

"It's tough to come here this morning and see this. It's kind of a punch in the gut," said Executive General Manager, Sean Hogan.

The total damage to 31 brand new Infiniti’s amounts to $300,000 to $400,000. One car alone has about $15,000 in damage.

"You can see that somebody took some sort of extremely strong, very sharp object and made multiple punctures in the hood, almost every panel," said Hogan.

He added that the vandal knew how to do the most damage possible.

Almost all the metal in the cars now needs to be replaced, and then they will have to be repainted.

Hogan said he's not ruling out anyone or anything. As for his sales staff, they are now losing money because of the extreme hit to the inventory.

"It's definitely going to hurt because they don't have all of these cars to sell," he explained.

All 31 vehicles will either be totaled, or fixed and sold with a disclosure that they were damaged.

Detectives with the Oceanside Police Department are investigating.

The dealership is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Any information, please contact Oceanside police at (760) 435-4900.

The new year is just around the corner and along with it arrive new laws for the state of California.

Those include higher minimum wage, restrictions on assault weapons, and limits on texting and driving. They all go into effect on Jan. 1, 2017.

In San Diego, the law getting the most attention from locals is the hike in the hourly minimum wage. It will increase to $11.50—a dollar more than the state's wage of $10.50 an hour starting next year.

“If you have fewer than 26 employees, you will not be affected until 2018. So it just sets back by one year the amount of time one has to comply with the new law,” said Vic Bajaj, a legal analyst.

That wage is set to go up every year for the next five years.

“It means that you will increase to $10.50 and gradually, until 2022, California will reach $15 an hour, ” Bajaj said.

One employee NBC 7 spoke with told us he works over 40 hours a week and has two jobs to make ends meet. He said he is excited to earn more money for his work.

But many business owners said they just can't afford to pay more. 

Californians will also face more strict gun laws.

Anyone with an AR style firearm will have to register the weapon with the Department of Justice again. Those who want to buy ammunition will also have to go through a background check.

“Right now you come in to buy ammunition, you're 21 years old, we sell it to you. Period," said Mark from American Indoor Range. "After the first of the year, you come in to buy ammunition, you'll have to show us some kind of ID. We'll keep a record of that before we can sell it to you.”

But Mark told NBC 7 that how the new law will be implemented is a gray area for customers and experts. 

“Quite frankly we've never been given any information yet from the Department of justice on how they're going to implement that or how we're going to do it," he said.

Among the new laws is restrictions on texting while driving, including using any social media apps and GPS.

A trip to the desert just got a little bit more pricey.

Starting Jan. 3, Joshua Tree National Park's fees will increase, park officials announced.

The price of an annual pass will increase from $30 to $40. A 7-day vehicle pass will go up from $20 to $25 and an individual 7-day day pass will cost $12 after a $2 price bump.

The park also announced its fee-free days for the upcoming year, the first of which will be Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16.

The way people shop for gifts has certainly changed over the years, with many opting to buy online rather than make in-store purchases.

Those changes are obvious to anyone in the recycling business, especially with hundreds of cardboard boxes making to recycling centers and landfills.

Blue bins in front of some local homes were overflowing with boxes, wrapping paper and plastics after Christmas. 

NBC 7 spoke to Jacob Howe, a local homeowner who told us most their Christmas presents were delivered right to their doorstep. 

"Probably all but like two," Howe said.

"[The game] was mailed," he added, speaking of the new game his family received for Christmas. "The family that sent it to us in Florida so it was just in a big box."

Howe spent some time with his family, breaking down boxes and stuffing them into their blue recycling bin.

According to Ken Prue, Recycling Program Manager for the City of San Diego, there are more material can be and are being recycled.

“It’s harder to find what you can’t recycle instead of what you can," Prue said.

When it comes to food containers, he said just a click cleaning will make it recyclable.

“If there is some remnants on there, it's good for a quick wipe, possibly a rinse or if you have some old soapy dish water, maybe just a quick dip in there," Prue added. "We don’t want you to use a bunch of water to clean it but really, just to try to get the contents out.”

He told NBC 7 that if you are recycling more than what can fit into your blue bin, you can request up to two more bins from the city, with approval. There is a $25 delivery fee but the bins are otherwise free, he said.

When a family's invitation to a girl's fifteenth birthday party become a viral sensation with memes galore, over 1.3 million people RSVP'd saying they would like to attend.

Police will reportedly be deployed to the family's village in Mexico to provide extra security, after a Facebook event showed over 1.3 million people planning to attend and about 366,000 people interested in the epic Quinceañera.

Some airlines even offered discounted fare rates to La Joya, San Luis Potosoi, where the event was planned. The Facebook event includes a link to a blog that asks attendees to pick a dance escort for Rubi, including Ricky Martin and Justin Beiber as possible choices.

In a video that drew over two million views, the proud father Crescencio Ibarra stands next to his daughter Rubi, donning a tiarra and a gown, and his wife Anaelda Garcia.

"Hello, how are you? We invite you this 26 of December to the 15th birthday party of our daughter, Rubi Ibarra Garcia," Mr. Ibarra says in the video, while his daughter smiles.

He goes on to list three bands that will play and announces the winner of a horse race can win 10,000 peso, which is worth approximately $490.

At the end of the video, Ibarra says that everyone is cordially invited. The original idea was to hold the party for friends and neighbors only, but he has since confirmed he would not turn anyone away.

According to Telemundo, the video has inspired countless memes and parodies including one from famous actors such as Gale García Bernal, best known for his depiction of Rodrigo in the Mozart in the Jungle television series.

One meme shows the Mexican drug lord El Chapo escaping custody to attend the fiesta, according to Telemundo. Another meme shows the fiesta making Queen and Metallica concerts pale in comparison.

A girl's 15th birthday, her Quinceañera, is a big event in Mexico, seen as the time that she comes of age. They are often accompanied with lavish parties and live bands, while girls traditionally don puffy dresses, tiaras and makeup as they are 'queen for the day.'

It's unclear why this particular video became a viral sensation, shared over 800,000 times with endless imitations.

The traffic wasn't the only mess Monday for those trying to get to a snowpark near Boreal ski resort in the Lake Tahoe area. An unsightly heap of trash could be seen overflowing from a dumpster.

As sledders and snow enthusiasts sought to enjoy the fresh powder, they couldn't help but notice the nearby pile of broken sleds, flattened tubes and trash.

Other sledding locations along the Interstate 80 corridor didn't seem to have the same problem. Guadalupe Perez has traveled to the snowpark for three years so her family can play in the snow.

"It looks better without garbage," she said. "I've never seen people leaving trash. We don't do that, so I don' t know."

The shards of bright colored plastic bits from sleds were hard to miss. As was the giant inflatable tube that added to the mess. Jagdip Singh, who happens to work for Cal EPA brought his family to the park Monday and recognized the impact.

"The plastic doesn't disintegrate," he said. "It takes years and years and years. There should be a social responsibility, which is to pick up after yourself."

While highway and parks workers will clean up some sites that get trashed, some of the plastic could litter the scenery here for decades.

"If you don't take care of it today, we won't have it for tomorrow," Singh said.

It was not a very happy beginning to Hanukkah for the Jews of Chabad and those who celebrate with them.

A 6-foot-tall brass menorah was reported stolen from San Francisco’s Washington Square Park on Christmas Day, which also was the first day of the Jewish Festival of Lights this year. The menorah was the property of the North Beach Chabad, run by Rabbi Peretz Mochkin and his wife, Miryum.

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They are calling the theft a hate crime.

"It was devastating," said Miryum Mochkin, who was notified by friends that the menorah was missing. "I was like, 'You know what, the park's big, and you just didn’t see it.' I couldn’t believe it at first."

Sgt. Michael Andraychak said the thief hauled the 100-pound menorah off sometime in the past several days. He also asked metal recyclers to be on the lookout for anyone trying to sell large pieces of brass.

Despite the theft, neighbors of multiple faiths came together in the park Monday night to light their own menorahs, rededicating the space as "a safe place where everyone can practice their religion freely and enjoy the holidays with light."

"Theft is a hate crime," Mochkin said. "For somebody to take a symbol that means light and joy, they must be in a dark space in their life."

A Chabad in Southern California was also targeted this Hanukkah season. In Santa Monica, the Living Torah Center Chabad was vandalized with smeared feces on the window over the weekend. It was not immediately clear if it was a homeless issue or not. No anti-Semitic message was left there.

Chabad is a worldwide Orthodox Jewish organization in the Hasidic tradition.

"It's an awful thing, I don't know what's behind it," said Chabad of San Francisco Rabbi Yosef Langer, who is famous in San Francisco for lighting a gigantic menorah in Union Square every year during the holiday. His event will still be continuing every day of Hanukkah at 4:30 p.m.

It's actually his daughter's Chabad that suffered the stolen menorah. The Mochkins still plan to hold their Hanukkah event at the site of the theft, and are asking anyone who wants to join to bring a small menorah of their own. They said that they won't let the light of the holiday be quashed by menorah thieves.

"In the face of this evil and whoever is trying to take this light away, we need to add light," Miryum Mochkin said.

Bill Pruzan of San Francisco agreed. "It’s necessary that we be able to have celebrations that are based on being free from this vitriol and hatred," he said.

Anyone with information about the theft should call police on the anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.

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A day after a suspected drunk driver and a 14-year-old boy were killed in a Christmas Day crash along a San Jose highway, family members of the driver came to apologize to the teen's family.

"She made a bad choice," Rochelle Ybarra told NBC Bay Area through sobs on Monday, identifying herself as the godmother of driver Jennifer Zamora. "I do want to apologize. This was a bad accident. There is nothing we can do. To the family of the little boy, we're very sorry. I feel for you guys."

Her voice cracked and wobbled as she spoke at the deadly crash site: Capitol Expressway and Snell Avenue. That's where San Jose police said Zamora's white 2012 Chevy Malibu crossed the center median on Sunday about 12:30 a.m. and slammed head-on into a silver 2004 Lexus carrying two parents and a 14-year-old boy. San Jose Police Sgt. Enrique Garcia said officers suspect alcohol played a role in the crash. Both the boy and Zamora, 25, died.

"Anyone else who drinks and drive, please make a better choice," Ybarra said.

The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office was closed on Monday, the day after Christmas.

But relatives identified Zamora, who also went by the nickname India. Signs that read "RIP India" and "We love you Jessica" marked the deadly site. Zamora's family and friends organized a vigil there at 6 p.m. Monday.

The boy has not yet been identified. His parents were taken to area hospitals. According to police, they did not sustain life-threatening injuries. The makeshift memorial showed no visible signs of his death, and people commented on social media how awful it was that the driver's life was being honored, but not the boy's. But efforts to reach the boy's family were unsuccessful because he had not yet been named.

Emily Prado, who said she was one of Zamora's aunts, said she did not know what her niece, who has a 5-year-old daughter, had been doing before the crash; they did not celebrate Christmas together. But she said her family feels the effects of both deaths. Relatives set up a GoFundMe page for Zamora's daughter. (NOTE: The fundraising page was created on Dec. 11 for an uncle, but the information was swapped out after Zamora's death.)

"We feel really bad for the other family that was involved," Prado said Monday in a phone interview. "Our hearts go out to them. This is a shocker. Cherish every moment with your family. You never know what will occur."

Prado would not go into any more personal detail about Zamora, including whether her niece had a tendency to drink and drive or suffered from an alcohol problem. All Prado would say was, "Alcohol played a role, but it's still under investigation."

Ybarra said that Zamora's Snapchat storyline from the night in question shows she was given free drinks from a nearby bar. NBC Bay Area could not independently confirm the Snaps, and the bar manager did not want to speak on the record about what occurred.

Alongside the Roman candles, teddy bears and flowers at Zamora's memorial were dozens of Pacifico and Rodelo beer bottles, where some say it can be a custom among some communities to pour out a bit of alcohol on the site of where a death occurred.

But before noon on Monday, Zamora's family members, and even strangers, came  to remove the bottles, which had drawn sharp criticism on social media as being highly inappropriate. Some of Zamora's family asked that well-wishers refrain from putting any more beer bottles at the scene.

Marking a memorial site with alcohol has been long-steeped in popular culture, but can be viewed by critics as a cruel symbol, according to groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The custom of placing alcohol at memorial sites has roots in African religious tradition of pouring libations in honor of fallen ancestors, according to a sociologist interviewed in a 2002 feature by the San Francisco Chronicle. In modern urban life, alcohol bottle markers have become increasingly common in certain cultures, the Chronicle reported.

In Hawaii, a memorial site in that was dotted with beer bottles at a teen's memorial site raised the ire of the MADD chapter there, WALB, an NBC affiliate, reported. "It just seems so insensitive," Abigail Nickell, the executive director there told the station.

On NBC Bay Area's Facebook, several people were also criticizing the beer bottles, before they were cleaned up.

"What's with the beer?" Gustavo Nunez wrote. "The memorial should be taken down. It's offensive."

Fani Gonzalez wrote, "how disrespectful for the boy and his family for people to put more beer bottles at the memorial." 

Sunday's crash marks San Jose's 47th fatal collision and the 49th and 50th victims of 2016.

Two children and one adult was taken to the hospital after a crash in Clairemont Monday.

According to the San Diego Police Department (SDPD), the crash occurred at 5:34 p.m. on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and Clairemont Mesa Drive. 

At least two vehicles were involved in the collision in front of a Chilli's restaurant. 

Police said two people were taken to Rady Children's Hospital and one person was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital.

The injuries are not considered to be major, according to police.

No other information was available.

If you're heading to the Holiday Bowl Parade this week, San Diego's Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is offering special services for the event.

The Green Line Trolley service will arrive around every seven minutes between Qualcomm Stadium and downtown San Diego. The line will operate from 8:30 to 10 a.m.

MTS will also offer direct service to Qualcomm Stadium before the 4 p.m. game.

To get the best access to the parade, MTS recommends going to select Trolley stations.

• County Center/Little Italy Trolley Station
• Santa Fe Depot
• Seaport Village Trolley Station

The Holiday Bowl Parade kicks on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.

Click here for more information on the bus and Trolley services.

The 7-year-old Syrian girl whose tweets gave a harrowing look at the crisis in Aleppo over the last few months took questions with her mother on Facebook Monday, one week after the family was evacuated from the war-wracked city, NBC News reported. 

In the session, Bana al-Abed and her mother, Fatemah, said it was their hope to return to their city after the war was over and help other Syrians affected by the violence.

"I will be back to help my people," Fatemah said in one response.

The pair took questions exactly one week after their family had been bused out of eastern Aleppo and taken to Ankara, Turkey. They said they were all safe following their evacuation and that Bana was hoping to go back to school.

The stage was set Monday for the Gulls to snap their 5-game losing streak with the Tucson Roadrunners in town.

Even Santa was in the house – enjoying a ride on the Zamboni – one day after Christmas.

San Diego defenseman Brandon Montour assisted on the Gulls first three goals and then in the 3rd period, he lit the lamp himself to give San Diego a 4-3 lead.

But the roughly 7,500 fans were in for a surprise ending when former Gulls center Chris Mueller spoiled the party.

Mueller found the back of the net twice and added an assist to lead the Roadrunners. His second goal forced overtime when he knotted the game 4-4 with under two minutes left in regulation.

Neither side could find a difference-maker in the extra period, so the game went to a shootout.

After each goalie stopped three shot attempts, Mueller tricked Gulls goalie Dustin Tokarski and ended the affair with the game-winner.

"You want to play well every game but it’s a good feeling coming to San Diego,” said Mueller.

“I loved it here and was always welcome here. I have a lot of friends still on that team and in the San Diego area,” added Mueller with a smile, “but it is good to get a couple goals and get a win (against them) for sure.”

Mueller’s heroics sent the Gulls to their 6th straight defeat.

San Diego will try to get back on track Tuesday night at home against Ontario. The puck drops at 7 p.m.

Members of Congress would be fined up to $2,500 for taking photos, audio or video on the House floor under new rules proposed by Republicans Monday, NBC News reported.

The proposition comes six months after a dramatic sit-in in the chamber, where Democratic lawmakers, including iconic Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., took part in an hourslong protest for a vote on gun control legislation and live streamed it because it was not being broadcast publicly.

"These changes will help ensure that order and decorum are preserved in the House of Representatives so lawmakers can do the people's work," a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement Monday.

California Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat who was a leading figure in the June sit-in, tweeted in response, "Bring.It.On."