A driver led police officers on a pursuit through the Mission Beach area before escaping arrest Tuesday.

A San Diego police patrol car tried to make a stop on Mariners Way near West Mission Bay Drive around 8:30 a.m.

The driver took off and at one point drove on the sidewalk, then crashed into a parked car and a police car on Castelar Street in Ocean Beach.

Officers ended the pursuit before they could apprehend the driver.

A bumped fell off the car involved in the chase. The vehicle officers are looking for is a white Honda Civic with CA license 6MQD413.

SDPD believes the vehicle was stolen at the time of the pursuit.

With the Chargers’ move from San Diego to Los Angeles, it may be time to make a change to a street in Clairemont named after the former home team.

Some residents want to change the name of Charger Boulevard, located near Balboa Avenue, to Mark Hamill Boulevard – in honor of actor Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars.”

When Hamill was a boy, he lived in Clairemont with his family and was a student at the now-closed Hale Junior High School. He attended James Madison High School in San Diego for one year, too.

The street spans seven blocks. Per City of San Diego regulations, in order for a change to a street's name to be considered, a petition must be circulated to all property owners on that street. At least 25 percent of those homeowners must sign the petition in favor of the name change. After that, a "Street Name Change Coordinator" figures out the costs involved if the name change is implemented. A proposal and the petition is then handed over to city staff.

After that, the proposal needs approval from the San Diego City Council.

Arian Collins, spokesperson for the City of San Diego, said the city is aware of the possible push by some Clairemont residents to make the name change happen.

A California doctor removed a 130-pound tumor from a Mississippi man who had been told by other physicians that he was just fat.

Roger Logan, 57, had the non-cancerous growth removed on Jan. 31 at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, where he will remain for another week or so before returning to Gulfport, Mississippi.

The tumor probably started as an ingrown hair that became infected, swelled and developed its own blood supply, Logan's surgeon, Dr. Vipul Dev, told the Bakersfield Californian.

It sprouted from his lower abdomen more than a decade ago.

Doctors told him: "You're just fat, it's just fat," Logan told KERO-TV in Bakersfield.

The tumor grew so massive that it hung to the floor when he sat.

"I used to equate it, you just put a strap around your neck and carry three bags of cement around with you all day long, just swinging," Logan said.

Virtually unable to move, he spent most of his time in a recliner in one room of his home.

By the time the tumor reached 130 to 140 pounds, doctors told Logan it was too risky for him to have surgery, giving him only a 50 percent chance of surviving it.

But his wife, Kitty, scoured the country for specialists to perform the operation and found Dev, who had performed similar surgeries.

"She just kept pushing," Logan told the Californian. "She wouldn't let me quit."

Logan finally made the 2,000-mile, 40-hour trip to Central California with his chair bolted to the floor of a cargo van, "just like I was in my living room at home," Logan told the paper.

Logan is now recovering and last Thursday he was able to walk for practically the first time in years.

"My feet are together," Logan said, wiggling his toes in his hospital bed. "They haven't been together in years."

He is looking forward to returning home and resuming his life, out of an armchair.

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Classes were canceled Tuesday at El Capitan High School in Lakeside due to a power outage, a district official confirmed.

At around 8:30 a.m., Grossmont Unified High School District (GUHSD) spokeswoman Catherine Martin said school was canceled and students would be dismissed for the day due to an unplanned power outage.

Martin said students who drove themselves to school were being released; students who rode the bus would be taken to Grossmont High School so parents could pick them up there. All remaining students were being released to the Rodeo Grounds parking lot off Mapleview Street for pickup, Martin said.

According to San Diego Gas & Electric, the outage began just before 7:30 a.m. and impacted some customers in parts of Lakeside’s San Vicente, Foster and Moreno communities – including El Capitan High School. Power was expected to be restored within a few hours.

California Highway Patrol (CHP) officials said power lines were toppled across traffic lanes near the campus, possibly the result of a car hitting a power pole.

The CHP issued a traffic alert for Wildcat Canyon and Willow roads at 9:30 a.m., with Ashwood Street blocked off to traffic between Mapleview Street and Willow Road. The road closure was expected to last at least an hour-and-a-half.

El Capitan High School is located at 10410 Ashwood St. in rural Lakeside. It serves students in grades nine through 12.

One man was killed and another was injured in a shooting at a Lemon Grove home early Tuesday.

San Diego County Sheriff's investigators were looking into the deadly shooting on Edding Drive.

Detectives say two men with handguns broke into the home, just before 2 a.m.

The homeowner and his 22-year-old son were inside.

During a struggle, the son was shot several times. 

One suspect is dead. Another suspect is at-large.

No motive for the shooting has been determined, according to deputies.

More than a half ton of marijuana was seized from suspected smugglers onboard a pleasure boat docked at Shelter Island on Monday.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Air and Marine Operations (AMO) agents became suspicious of the boat and its two passengers as it returned from Mexico waters at approximately 2 p.m.

AMO agents boarded the boat and determined that the two men onboard were citizens of Mexico illegally present in the United States. Agents proceeded to conduct an inspection of the boat and found several wrapped packages of pot hidden in compartments inside the boat.

The vessel was transported to a secure facility where further inspection revealed more hidden bundles. In total, agents found 66 packages totaling 1,192 pounds.

AMO agents arrested the two men, ages 23 and 48, and turned them over to the San Diego Marine Task Force.

The secret's out. And it has been for a while.

San Diego, with its beaches, year-round sunshine and endless outdoor activities, has been named the No. 22 best place to live in the U.S., according to a recent US News & World Report ranking.

“San Diego offers world-class dining, professional sports and entertainment options typical of a large metro area, but the patchwork of distinct neighborhoods fosters strong community ties,” the ranking read.

We concur.

You might ask: Which cities beat out San Diego?

The ranking looks at the desirability of a city, how comfortably residents can afford to live, the job market, quality of life and migration trends.

Unsurprisingly, America’s Finest City scored a “perfect 10” in desirability, but took a huge hit when it came to living comfortably (a ranking of 4.4).

The ranking points out that San Diego offers a lower value than “similarly sized metro areas when you compare housing costs to median household income.” (Yes, we call that the “Sunshine Tax.”)

Overall, San Diego was given a score of 6.9 out of 10.

Our city was among three in California that made the top 25 and 10 statewide on the list.

San Jose ranked No.3 and San Francisco came in at No. 16. While both cities also have high cost of living, the ranking points out a much stronger job market and ability to afford housing.

What do you think? Do you agree with the ranking? Let us know in the comments.

A family in Encinitas is amped for their new business venture: a boutique motel inspired by the cool, laid-back surf culture that makes San Diego’s North County a favorite spot among surfers.

Brothers and avid surfers Nikki and Sander Harth, along with their parents, will soon open Surfhouse, a surf-inspired boutique motel located at 960 North Coast Highway 101.

An open house is planned for Saturday, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., so locals and visitors can check out the digs at the prime location. Fittingly, poke bowls and fish tacos will be served at the celebration.

“This corner is the central hub of the Leucadia surf community,” Sander told NBC 7.

The motel, located just one block from the beach and local eateries, features eight rooms, each named after well-known surf breaks in San Diego, from Grandview in Leucadia to Seaside in Solana Beach.

“Each room has custom art work [that ties into its theme],” Nikki, who will serve as the on-site manager at Surfhouse, explained.

The motel is currently in its final stages of construction. The Harth brothers said they should be ready to open for business later this month. All bookings will be done through airbnb; potential guests can begin the booking process by visiting the Surfhouse Adventures website here.

The Harth brothers, who both also work as surf instructors, said Surfhouse will also offer guests surf lessons and tours on the water – the “expedition” portion of the family business.

“We want guests to experience the California lifestyle – not just stay here,” Sander added.

Deputies in Vista are searching for an at-large suspect they believe stole a forklift from a construction site and used it to try and steal a nearby ATM.

The incident happened at around 5 a.m. on Sunday at the Chase branch at 985 E. Vista Way in Vista.

Detectives with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO) are still waiting for Chase to release surveillance footage of the attempted theft.

Significant damage to the bank building and ATM were done, according to the SDSO, and the cost to replace the ATM could reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Deputies have no description of the suspect at this time.

A new schedule of construction projects will be announced Tuesday at the San Diego Unified School District board meeting.

Earlier in the day, Board of Education President Richard Barrera provided an update on work funded by Propositions S and Z.

More than 110 projects have been completed so far at a cost of $1.32 billion. The district has built 53 new buildings and replaced 371 portable classroom buildings.

Among the projects is the new School Stanley E. Foster School of Engineering, Innovation and Design facility at Kearny High School. Instructors and students will have access to items like computer design tools and 3-D printers. It's scheduled to be open in Fall 2017.

"We are investigating in state-of-the-art technology," Barrera said. "We're investing in preparing students to develop the skills today for the careers they're going to need in the future."

A new three-story classroom building is planned for Hoover High School along with a performing arts center.

Crawford High School is getting a new athletics facility as well as a performance hall. Nearby, Mann Middle School will soon have a new three-story classroom building.

“When you drive through that neighborhood, those schools are going to look a lot different in the next few years,” said Chief Facilities Planning and Construction Officer Lee Dulgeroff.

Barrera said one of the projects to be funded in 2017 will be a $30 million renovation of the San Diego High School property.

He said the oldest middle school in San Diego, Memorial Middle School, will be rebuilt. At the same time, a new career pathway themed high school will be constructed on the same campus, Barrera said.

Wilson Middle School in City Heights will also be rebuilt, he said.

There has also been an effort to get classrooms equipped with air conditioning.

“We’ve air conditioned 2,030 of our hottest classrooms so far in 66 schools,” Dulgeroff said. “By 2019, we’ll have completely air conditioned the entire school district.”

Prop. S, passed in 2008, is a 23-year capital facilities program that is funded by a $2.1 billion general obligation bond measure. In 2012, voters passed Prop. Z which is a 15-year capital facilities program funded by a $2.8 billion general obligation bond measure.

W. Vista Way near Thunder Drive in Oceanside has been closed to traffic in both directions due to a sinkhole in the eastbound lane, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) confirmed.

The sinkhole is between 3 and 4 feet deep, according to Lt. Robert Smith of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department (SDSO). A Sig alert has been issued.

Initial reports of the sinkhole came in at around 1:12 p.m. No injuries have been reported.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story.

A coalition of groups trying to help military veterans from being deported took their fight to Capitol Hill Tuesday.

Ashley’s Memory Project and United Deported Veterans met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, DC.

The groups are trying to make citizenship automatic for all honorably discharged service members.

Right now, citizenship is not required to enlist in the military. That means legal permanent immigrants – who reside in the US and serve in the military – can be deported if they commit crimes.

U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-CA, 32nd District, wants President Donald Trump to support those veterans who may be living in the shadows and fearing deportation.

“If Trump said veterans ought to be recognized, veterans anywhere, anyhow - no matter the circumstance - should be recognized,” Napolitano said. “Especially the Gold Star mothers. I mean, what more do they want?”

Carlos Luna, a U.S. citizen born abroad, was almost mistakenly deported. Now he works to educate fellow veterans on immigration rules.

“I hope military families, veterans and Gold Star Families can be in this country without fear of being deported,” Luna said.

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-AZ 3rd District, is about to re-introduce legislation that would protect vets and their families from deportation and bring back vets who have already been sent away.

The only Wet Seal store in San Diego County is having a closing sale after the apparel retailer filed for bankruptcy last week.

The teen retailer announced just before the bankruptcy proceedings that it was shuttering all remaining 137 Wet Seal stores across the country.

The local store is at Plaza Bonita in National City. A news release from Wet Seal states that the closing sale “will run while inventory lasts,” and does not provide an end date.

The Irving, Calif.-based company cited lagging sales and a difficult market for teen apparel for filing for bankruptcy.

The chain first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2015 and scaled back the number of its stores as it attempted to recover from changing spending habits among young people.

Wet Seal filed for bankruptcy again this month and closed all remaining stores.

Legal cannabis is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States with a projected annual growth rate of 31%. The total market projection for legal cannabis sales in 2020 is $21.8 billion.                    

Many entrepreneurs in San Diego are looking to capitalize on the cannabis business boom. 

“You keep your wine in wine fridge, your liquor in a bar, your cigars in a humidor, why are we keeping our high quality cannabis in a shoebox under the bed,” said Whitney Beatty, Founder and C.E.O. of Apothecarry, a stylish storage system designed to keep cannabis at its optimum condition.

Cannabis capitalists, like Beatty, are looking to hit it big with a unique business opportunity. In a non-descript office building in Mira Mesa, there are roughly a dozen entrepreneurs, working to make money  off marijuana. The sign on the front of the door reads “Canopy San Diego,” it’s a business accelerator program for technology based ancillary products and service companies targeting the legal cannabis industry.

Jack Scatizzi and Eric Gomez are the founding partners of Canopy San Diego.  According to Scatizzi, Canopy San Diego offers each individual business $20,000 upfront, plus 16 weeks of training and mentorship, in exchange for 5 to 10% equity in their company.

“What we’re looking to do is import people with backgrounds from other industries and drop them into the cannabis industry to develop the right solutions for this business,” said Scatizzi.

The hope is that these business ventures will be up, running and ready to be successful when recreational marijuana use becomes legal in California in 2018.

In addition to the designer marijuana storage box by Apothecarry, other businesses include a platform for medical marijuana patients to achieve better health outcomes, a cloud based marijuana business solution, an electric tracking system for commerical cannabis cultivations and even a digital news network to cover the business of pot.

Adelia Carrillo, C.E.O. of Direct Cannabis Network, says her marijuana news based website is getting more visitors each month and credits the growth to the ability to collaborate freely with fellow entrepreneurs at Canopy, “To be able to bounce ideas off of other people, to be able to see what their hardships are, what their similarities are even though we are different companies.  So it was very inspiring, motivating and everybody kinds of keeps everybody accountable.”

Canopy San Diego accepts up to 10 companies every 6 months into their accelerator program, it does not invest in companies that directly cultivate or dispense cannabis.

It’s an early morning training mission for Camp Pendleton military personnel.

A private contractor has them loaded onto a bus heading to an offsite training location to take part in controversial trauma training.

Once there, they'll be trained on lifesaving techniques using living pigs and goats who are cut, shot and have limbs severed to simulate battlefield conditions. It's training to save the lives of their comrades but critics say it's cruel, ineffective and inefficient.

“It doesn’t really benefit as much as it sounds,” one of the Marines told NBC 7 Investigates.

Two Marines shared their experience and first-hand knowledge of the training program. Both have been in the Corp for over ten years. Their names and faces have been concealed to protect them.

They said the training is done with some secrecy. According to the Marines who spoke to NBC 7 Investigates, Navy Corpsmen and Marine special forces are told to wear civilian clothes for the training and "before they get on the bus, they take everyone's cell phone away.”

"They don’t want anyone taking pictures or video and putting it on YouTube or social media," one Marine said.

Both said they believe the U.S. Marine Corp. and the U.S. Navy are under pressure to stop the program which is funded by U.S. Department of Defense contracts.

The Marines said the men and women being trained are at times conflicted by what happens during the live animal trauma training.

"We are compassionate people, trying to save lives but you are part of something that inherently inflicting pain and suffering on an animal,” one of the Marine’s said.

According to published reports and government documents, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army don't use goats and pigs to train their personnel to prepare for responding to medical emergencies on the battlefield; they use simulators.

One type of simulator is called a “cut suit,” made locally by Strategic Operations. They are manikins with special effects and are sometimes worn by humans to simulate the realistic responses that come with responding to traumatic injuries.

You can see video from Strategic Operations of the "cut suit."

WARNING: This video is graphic.

The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other animal rights groups argue live animal trauma training is cruel. The groups also say they are flawed because of the anatomical differences between humans and animals. For example, they say goats and pigs have smaller torsos than humans.

One animal advocacy group, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine provided NBC 7 Investigates with a study from the University of Minnesota. The study was done on behalf of the DoD and according to the study, “simulators are cheaper than animal use,” because, according to the study, live animals are cheaper initially but after approximately 300 uses the simulators becomes more cost effective to use in training.

Click here to read the study.

According to a statement sent to NBC 7 Investigates, the Department of Defense's goal is to reduce the use of live animals in medical training. However, according to the statement, the department is continuing to assess its training methods and cites training studies that suggest using a combination of simulation and live tissue training is appropriate.

The live animal trauma training the Marines described were part of a contract awarded to Simmec Training Solutions. California State records show the corporation’s Chief Executive Officer is Merri Tyrre. According to DoD records the company is based in Virginia Beach, Virginia and has an office location in Oceanside.

Since 2008, the company has been awarded more than $6 million in DoD contracts nationwide, according to the website usaspending.gov. According to a December 2015 contract,  the company was awarded $1.2 million to train personnel at Camp Pendleton.

Click here to see more details on the contracts. 

Simmec’s Tyrre declined to comment for the story.

PETA has been actively advocating for the military to eliminate animals from the training program for years. 

In 2016, 71 members of Congress sent a letter to then Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter urging the secretary to reduce the use of live animals in combat medical training. It was a bipartisan effort and one of the signers of the letter, Congresswomen Jackie Speier (D-San Franciso/San Mateo Counties) told NBC 7 Investigates she remains a lead on this effort but the position on the new administration on this issue is unknown and no immediate action is expected.

Read the full statement from the DoD below:

“As stated in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2013, the Department's goal is to reduce the use of live animals in medical training and to increase the use of validated simulation training platforms. However, the combat casualty care training studies suggest that the DoD's current approach to combining both simulation and live tissue training to prepare corpsmen to care for those injured in combat is appropriate given the fact that management of complex trauma has not been successfully simulated with current technology. DoD will continue to assess its training methods as new data become available and as innovative technologies present opportunities for enhanced realistic training that improves care provided to service members in a combat environment. Medical training courses prepare corpsmen to diagnose and successfully treat wounds they will encounter on the battlefield, consequently saving the lives of thousands of wounded Marines and Sailors.”

A Carlsbad woman said she found a Macy’s gift certificate from over five years ago but when she tried to use it, the store told her it was expired. 

Diane said it was a pleasant surprise when she found a certificate she had forgotten about worth $344.59 in a desk drawer. 

“When my husband and I were getting married we went to Macy’s and we registered for the bridal registry there,” Diane said. 

When Diane and her husband returned some of the gifts, she said Macy’s gave them some cash back and some store credit. Diane said the last time they used it, Macy’s issued them a Merchandise of Credit certificate for their next visit. That was five years ago. 

“They first issued it and we said that’s a lot of money, it may take years to use it all. And they said well there’s no expiration date on a Merchandise of Credit,” Diane said. 

Diane finally went back to Macy’s to use the rest of her credit but there was a problem. Macy’s told her the certificate had expired. 

“So I read it and re-read it and in all the fine print there’s nothing that says it expired,” Diane said. 

Not only did they tell Diane the certificate had expired, Diane said they also told her the certificate wasn’t showing up in their system. Diane said the Macy’s store manager was very nice but didn’t budge on letting her use the certificate. 

When she wasn’t able to use the certificate, she called NBC 7 Responds for help. 

NBC 7 Responds contacted Macy’s corporate offices and a spokesperson told us Macy’s searched their archives for Diane’s missing credit. A week later, Macy’s said they found proof the certificate was valid and it had not been redeemed.

The company issued Diane a new certificate for the full value.

A spokesperson for Macy’s sent NBC 7 Responds this statement in an email, “"Ms. Pal was satisfied with the outcome. We appreciate you reaching out so that we could be of service to this customer."

Two men, wanted in connection to three separate Metro PCS armed robberies across San Diego, were suspected of another robbery Tuesday in Clairemont, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) reported.

The robbery was reported at 12:28 p.m. on the 5400 block of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard near Interstate 805.

Police said the two suspects made a demand to employees and then ran away out of the back of the store. One suspect was armed with a handgun.

It is unknown what was stolen.

This robbery is connected to the three others reported at Metro PCS stores, police told NBC 7.

The first incident occurred on Jan. 27 at 1:14 p.m. inside the Metro PCS store on the 4200 block of El Cajon Boulevard in the Kensington area. The second was reported on Jan. 30 inside another store on the 3400 block of Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. The suspects also targeted a store on the 1800 block of Coronado Avenue in Egger Highlands on Feb. 1.

On Feb. 2, San Diego police released surveillance video and pictures of the two suspects.

In the most recent robbery, one suspect had his face covered with a bandana and was wearing a blue hoodie, black jacket and jeans. The second suspect was wearing a red hoodie and jeans. He had used his shirt to cover his face.

According to police, one suspect uses a handgun in every reported robbery. He is considered to be armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information is asked to call SDPD or Crime Stoppers at (888)580-8477.

We're just one week away from Padres pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training. Before the Friars head to Peoria, Arizona they’re reaching out to football fans in San Diego.

Yes, the team is looking to turn the baseball diamond into a safe haven for disappointed gridiron fanatics.

In addition to the Celebrate San Diego Rally at Petco Park on Saturday February 11th, The Padres and Sycuan Band of Mission Indians are offering up free entry to Chargers season ticket holders for a game in the first two months of the upcoming baseball season, the team announced in a release on Tuesday.

In January the Chargers moved from San Diego to Los Angeles leaving some fans in San Diego with a lot of room on their sports calendars. With football season now officially over, San Diegans can set their sights on their lone major sports franchise as Major League Baseball season is on the horizon.

Here is what the Friars have in mind:

Chargers season ticket holders can go to Padres.com to receive up to four complimentary tickets for a Friars’ baseball contest in April or May. In exchange they’ll be asked to fill out a form to gauge their interest in Padres season tickets.

The Padres aren’t the only San Diego sports team to reach out to Chargers fans. The San Diego Gulls invited Chargers season ticket-holders to a game later this month. To that end, the Gulls are also part of the Celebrate San Diego Rally. San Diego State University, University of San Diego, UCSD and other area colleges will also be participating in the effort to show Chargers fans they do have other options in America’s Finest City.