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Encinitas Toddler Gets Hand Stuck in Blender

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A toddler in Encinitas was rushed to the hospital on Tuesday after getting her hand stuck in a blender, fire officials said.

Emergency officials responded just before 11:30 a.m. to a report of a rescue needed in the 400 block of Chesterfield Drive.

They found a toddler could not get her hand out of a blender. The young girl was conscious and breathing. She was taken to the hospital with her hand still in the blender, officials said.

She is being treated at Scripps Encinitas. Her condition wasn't immediately known.

No other information was available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

SANDAG Board Members Call For Independent Investigation Into Measure A Sales Tax Estimates

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Board members at the San Diego County Association of Governments are calling for an independent investigation into the agency’s use of overly aggressive revenue forecasts to sell Measure A, a tax increase voters rejected in November.

In emails sent to NBC 7 Investigates and the Voice of San Diego, eight of the 21 board members said they were not informed of errors in the agency’s economic forecast, which were used to create revenue expectations for both Measure A and the agency’s existing sales tax, TransNet.

The board members submitted a letter to SANDAG requesting an “independent investigation of all the materials and personnel relevant to the issue,” following a series of revelations from Voice of San Diego that SANDAG staff members knew of the incorrect revenue forecasts months before Measure A was put on the ballot, but went forward with the incorrect projection anyway.

“I have no remembrance of having been informed of any of this,” Bill Wells, City of El Cajon Mayor and SANDAG Board Member said. “I learned about this from the VOSD article.”

Steve Vaus, City of Poway Mayor and SANDAG Board Member, told NBC 7 Investigates and VOSD the same thing. “I was not aware of the Measure A revenue forecast discrepancies until reading coverage of the issue earlier this month.”

In a letter, to SANDAG Board Chair Ron Roberts, Vaus, Wells and five fellow board members, Dianne Jacob, Richard Bailey, Catherine Blakespear, Kristine Alessio and Jerry Jones, are asking for an independent review into the incorrect revenue forecasts.

“None of us are suggesting the result of such an examination is a foregone conclusion - it may indeed exonerate SANDAG - but for the public to be well-served an impartial and thorough examination must be conducted,” Vaus, Wells and five fellow board members write to SANDAG Board Chair Ron Roberts. “At the very least we, and our constituents, need answers to the questions: Who knew about the revenue forecast discrepancies? When did they know? What was known? Who was the information shared with? Why wasn’t the Board or Executive Committee informed?”

Such a review, they write, “may be inconvenient; time-consuming and expensive. But the need to restore confidence in the agency is of the utmost importance.”

SANDAG is a regional agency that leads planning and transportation efforts for the region and conducts research on issues like population growth. The board is made up of elected officials throughout the county.

Measure A was a proposed half-cent tax for a period of 40 years. According to the measure, a portion of the funds raised would have gone to specific transit projects throughout the county.

Prior to the November election, SANDAG Officials including board chair and County Supervisor Roberts told voters Measure A was expected to generate about $18 billion over 40 years. That dollar amount was included in a commercial that urged voters to approve Measure A.

“Collecting 23 cents a day from each person in the region could make a big difference. These pennies add up to $18 billion over 40 years. That is local money, that leveraged with federal and state dollars, could fund hundreds of projects to keep San Diego Moving forward,” one commercial touted. 

Newly obtained emails show SANDAG staff, specifically, SANDAG chief economist Ray Major and a technical services staff member, became aware, as early as 2015, that the $18 billion was unrealistic.

The formula used to calculate estimated income growth and taxable retail sales estimates were incorrect and too high.

In a written statement published by the Union-Tribune, SANDAG Executive Director Gary Gallegos said, “The Measure A revenue estimate was created separately by long-time agency economist Marney Cox...It wasn’t until November that staff identified the root cause and were able to conclude there was an error in the agency’s forecast model that had caused the income growth, and therefore the taxable retail sales estimates, to be high. These numbers had been used in the process of calculating the Measure A revenue forecast.”

In October, Voice of San Diego learned SANDAG’s economic forecast for an existing sales tax called Transnet has collected 25 percent less revenue than it promised voters. The economic forecast is the formula used to predict how much money will come in to pay for big projects.

In December, SANDAG adopted a new, more conservative revenue forecast for the remainder of TransNet. According to that forecast, TransNet would end up bringing in around $9 billion for transportation projects, $5 billion less than voters were told when it was on the ballot more than a decade ago.

In a report to its board members in December, SANDAG staff said in order to finish all the highway expansion, new transit lines and other transportation projects promised in the 2004 Transnet tax, it would need to find as much as $17.5 billion from unknown federal and state sources.

SANDAG used the same formula to come up with the numbers for Measure A.

“Given the facts, they should in their periodic disclosures, their continuing disclosures and official public statements, they should be telling this story,” Peter Kiernan, an attorney with Schiff Harden who specializes in public finance and infrastructure, said. “They have to come clean on this. It’s very dramatic.”

In a previous statement, Helen Gao, a spokeswoman for SANDAG said “...revenue forecasts by their very nature are an educated guess of what might happen in the future. What the agency did become aware of in December 2015 was that its computer model was producing aggressive forecasts for taxable retail sales. Taxable retail sales estimates are one of a large number of factors that went into revenue forecasting for Measure A.”

Earlier this month, NBC 7 Investigates and Voice of San Diego sent a letter to each SANDAG board member asking them if and when they became aware of the incorrect revenue forecasts and what they, as board members plan to do about it.

Click here to read the letter. 

Board members Wells, Vaus, Dianne Jacob, Catherine BlakespearJerry Jones and Myrtle Cole responded.

Click here to see who else is a SANDAG board member. 

According to Gallegos, SANDAG has or will generate an independent forecast for TransNet sales tax program, make changes to employee positions, ask more experts to review its next growth, provide more updates to the TransNet taxpayer oversight group and develop forecasts with a range of possible outcomes to better capture uncertainty.

An agenda for SANDAG’s February 24 meeting shows the board will be provided background information and asked to provide feedback on SANDAG’sforecasting process and sales tax revenue projections.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

5 Rescued From Flooded Golf Course in Northern California

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On Tuesday, fire crews rescued five homeless people from the Los Lagos Golf Course in San Jose after a swollen creek flooded the area. 

A series of storms in the South Bay, combined with runoff from nearby hills and water spilling from the Anderson Reservoir has overwhelmed Coyote Creek, triggering a swift-moving torrent of water to flow right through the golf course.

Rescue crews waded through waist deep water to save those stranded at a homeless encampment along the Coyote Creek river, including two who were inside a tent on the third hole tee box. One rescued man said he was surprised by the rising flood waters.

"Everything was surrounded," he said. "It rose so fast."

San Jose Fire Department Capt. Mitch Matlow said city officials have actively warned people to move their encampments away from waterways since the beginning of this season's "wet-winter."

That message was made even more urgent this past week when water started spilling out of the Anderson Reservoir in Morgan Hill, swelling waterways to flood levels. 

"I don't know if the individuals who were trapped today ever heard the message or if they simply chose to disregard it," Matlow said.

Residents living along low-lying areas near the Coyote Creek were also rescued Tuesday and an evacuation order was in effect for the San Jose neighborhood inundated with flood water. 

Rescue crews and residents had to rinsed off to prevent them from being sickened by floodwaters that had traveled through garbage, debris and over sewer lines. The conditions of the people rescued were not immediately clear.

A Calfire helicopter assisted in the search of several people believed to be trapped in trees on the golf course.

The once-drought-stricken region has been saturated by a series of storms and left about half the state under flood, wind and snow advisories.

Several homeless people were rescued Monday from rising flood waters throughout the South Bay.

Dry weather was expected to return Wednesday.


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SANDAG Board Members Call For Independent Examination Into Measure A Sales Tax Estimates

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Board members at the San Diego County Association of Governments are calling for an independent examination into the agency’s use of overly aggressive revenue forecasts to sell Measure A, a tax increase voters rejected in November.

In emails sent to NBC 7 Investigates and the Voice of San Diego, board members said they were not informed of errors in the agency’s economic forecast, which were used to create revenue expectations for both Measure A and the agency’s existing sales tax, TransNet.

The board members submitted a letter to SANDAG requesting an “independent examination of all the materials and personnel relevant to the issue,” following a series of revelations from Voice of San Diego that SANDAG staff members knew of the incorrect revenue forecasts months before Measure A was put on the ballot, but went forward with the incorrect projection anyway.

“I have no remembrance of having been informed of any of this,” Bill Wells, City of El Cajon Mayor and SANDAG Board Member said. “I learned about this from the VOSD article.”

Steve Vaus, City of Poway Mayor and SANDAG Board Member, told NBC 7 Investigates and VOSD the same thing. “I was not aware of the Measure A revenue forecast discrepancies until reading coverage of the issue earlier this month.”

In a letter, to SANDAG Board Chair Ron Roberts, Vaus, Wells and five fellow board members, Dianne Jacob, Richard Bailey, Catherine Blakespear, Kristine Alessio and Jerry Jones, are asking for an independent review into the incorrect revenue forecasts.

“None of us are suggesting the result of such an examination is a foregone conclusion - it may indeed exonerate SANDAG - but for the public to be well-served an impartial and thorough examination must be conducted,” Vaus, Wells and five fellow board members write to SANDAG Board Chair Ron Roberts. “At the very least we, and our constituents, need answers to the questions: Who knew about the revenue forecast discrepancies? When did they know? What was known? Who was the information shared with? Why wasn’t the Board or Executive Committee informed?”

Such a review, they write, “may be inconvenient; time-consuming and expensive. But the need to restore confidence in the agency is of the utmost importance.”

SANDAG is a regional agency that leads planning and transportation efforts for the region and conducts research on issues like population growth. The board is made up of elected officials throughout the county.

Measure A was a proposed half-cent tax for a period of 40 years. According to the measure, a portion of the funds raised would have gone to specific transit projects throughout the county.

Prior to the November election, SANDAG Officials including board chair and County Supervisor Roberts told voters Measure A was expected to generate about $18 billion over 40 years. That dollar amount was included in a commercial that urged voters to approve Measure A.

“Collecting 23 cents a day from each person in the region could make a big difference. These pennies add up to $18 billion over 40 years. That is local money, that leveraged with federal and state dollars, could fund hundreds of projects to keep San Diego Moving forward,” one commercial touted. 

Newly obtained emails show SANDAG staff, specifically, SANDAG chief economist Ray Major and a technical services staff member, became aware, as early as 2015, that the $18 billion was unrealistic.

The formula used to calculate estimated income growth and taxable retail sales estimates were incorrect and too high.

In a written statement published by the Union-Tribune, SANDAG Executive Director Gary Gallegos said, “The Measure A revenue estimate was created separately by long-time agency economist Marney Cox...It wasn’t until November that staff identified the root cause and were able to conclude there was an error in the agency’s forecast model that had caused the income growth, and therefore the taxable retail sales estimates, to be high. These numbers had been used in the process of calculating the Measure A revenue forecast.”

In October, Voice of San Diego learned SANDAG’s economic forecast for an existing sales tax called Transnet has collected 25 percent less revenue than it promised voters. The economic forecast is the formula used to predict how much money will come in to pay for big projects.

In December, SANDAG adopted a new, more conservative revenue forecast for the remainder of TransNet. According to that forecast, TransNet would end up bringing in around $9 billion for transportation projects, $5 billion less than voters were told when it was on the ballot more than a decade ago.

In a report to its board members in December, SANDAG staff said in order to finish all the highway expansion, new transit lines and other transportation projects promised in the 2004 Transnet tax, it would need to find as much as $17.5 billion from unknown federal and state sources.

SANDAG used the same formula to come up with the numbers for Measure A.

“Given the facts, they should in their periodic disclosures, their continuing disclosures and official public statements, they should be telling this story,” Peter Kiernan, an attorney with Schiff Harden who specializes in public finance and infrastructure, said. “They have to come clean on this. It’s very dramatic.”

In a previous statement, Helen Gao, a spokeswoman for SANDAG said “...revenue forecasts by their very nature are an educated guess of what might happen in the future. What the agency did become aware of in December 2015 was that its computer model was producing aggressive forecasts for taxable retail sales. Taxable retail sales estimates are one of a large number of factors that went into revenue forecasting for Measure A.”

Earlier this month, NBC 7 Investigates and Voice of San Diego sent a letter to each SANDAG board member asking them if and when they became aware of the incorrect revenue forecasts and what they, as board members plan to do about it.

Click here to read the letter. 

Board members Wells, Vaus, Jacob, BlakespearJonesMyrtle Cole and Bailey responded. Click here to view the responses in a single spreadsheet.

Click here to see who else is a SANDAG board member. 

According to Gallegos, SANDAG has or will generate an independent forecast for TransNet sales tax program, make changes to employee positions, ask more experts to review its next growth, provide more updates to the TransNet taxpayer oversight group and develop forecasts with a range of possible outcomes to better capture uncertainty.

An agenda for SANDAG’s February 24 meeting shows the board will be provided background information and asked to provide feedback on SANDAG’sforecasting process and sales tax revenue projections.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Officials ID Man Killed on I-5 in Mission Bay

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California Highway Patrol officers have identified a man whose body was struck by multiple vehicles Sunday along Interstate 5 in Mission Bay.

Shane Comet, 27, of Oceanside was pronounced dead in the southbound lanes of I-5 near the Sea World Drive exit. 

The incident was reported at 3:30 a.m. Sunday. However, CHP officers are not sure why Comet was on I-5 at the time of his death.

They're trying to determine whether Comet jumped from one freeway to the other before getting hit, or if he was walking on I-5 when he was struck.

The driver stayed at the scene and has not been charged at this time.



Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego

VIDEO: Are your UGG Boots or Shoes Real or Fake?

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According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the UGG boot and shoe brand is one of the most counterfeited brands across the world. 

So how do you know if the next pair of UGG boots or shoes you buy are the real deal? 

Heather Marshall, a spokesperson for the UGG brand, told NBC 7 Responds consumers should always verify the retailer, both online and in-store locations selling UGG boots and shoes. 

UGG created a tool for consumers to use when checking online or in-store retailers, to see that tool click here.  

In an email, Marshall told NBC 7 Responds, “We combat counterfeiting to safeguard our relationship with customers and give them best possible experience. We take the global issue of counterfeiting very seriously and have dedicated UGG® anti-counterfeit social media pages on Facebook and Twitter to get updates on new scams counterfeiters are using or to allow customers to ask us questions.”



Photo Credit: NBC 7 Responds

Pacific Beach Man Encounters Trouble Returning UGG Boots

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A Pacific Beach man said he purchased a pair of UGG boots for a friend but when she tried to exchange them at the store the boots were bought from, the store said the boots were counterfeit. 

Eddie Griffith said he was doing something nice for a friend when he took her to Boot World on Midway Drive to get her a new pair of UGG boots. 

“I’ve purchased plenty of them from actually that store, I’ve probably purchased four or five pairs,” Eddie said. 

This visit Eddie found a deal on some women’s sand-colored, classic tall boots. Eddie paid $167 and said the clerk told them they could not return the shoes but they could exchange them if there was a problem. 

“She (his friend) preferred a different color,” Eddie said. 

Two weeks later, Eddie said his friend decided she wanted a darker color so she took the box with the shoes and the receipt back to the Midway Drive Boot World store. 

“They immediately started attacking her, saying these aren’t their boots, they didn’t come from our store,” Eddie said. 

With his friend unable to exchange the boots, Eddie went back to the store himself to make the exchange. The manager also told him the boots were fake and denied the store sold him the boots. Eddie said the manager told him to leave the store. 

“I bought these here and they’re like no you didn’t, those shoes did not come from our store,” Eddie said. 

Eddie said he felt humiliated and that he had no idea if the boots were counterfeit or not, all Eddie knew was that he bought the boots from that store. 

“How am I supposed to know, I’m not a shoe expert,” Eddie said. 

Not being able to get help from the store, Eddie turned to NBC 7 Responds. We met with Boot World President Ed Stone and after looking over the boots, Mr. Stone determined they were authentic UGG boots, just an older model with labels he had not seen before. Stone apologized to Eddie and his friend and offered them an exchange for a more expensive pair of boots. 

In an email, Stone sent us this statement, “”Ugg does an excellent job keeping the market as clean of counterfeiters as possible. They have responded quickly and vigorously to the market and are constantly in effort to keep the market clean. My recommendation for the consumer is to only buy Uggs from a reputable authorized Ugg retailer. And to further reduce the risk of a possible counterfeit, strongly consider buying the product in person at a brick and mortar store and ask to see the anti-counterfeit measures that are built into every pair of Uggs and then, enjoy the comfort, style and absolute luxurious decadence of a genuine pair of Uggs.” 

The UGG boot brand is one of the most counterfeited brands around the world, so how can you tell whether or not your boots are real? NBC 7 Responds created a video checklist so that you can determine whether or not your boots are authentic. 

To watch the video, click here or watch below.

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SDUSD Board to Meet to Discuss Budget Cuts

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The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) leadership will make some big decisions over the next few weeks in the face of a budget deficit, starting Tuesday night when the Board will meet for the first time to discuss what to cut to balance its budget for the 2017-2018 school year. 

The District must cut $124 million out of its budget - approximately 10 percent of its total budget. 

“We expect there to be a reduction in every department in the district," said Chief Financial Officer Patricia Koch. “Part of our approach was to try to have a fair share...We’re shrinking the entire organization by keeping more or less the same distribution.”

The cuts, she said, start at the top at the Central Office.

Those jobs include some positions in finance, human resources, legal, labor relations, payroll, and benefits. There will also be cuts in transportation, landscaping, custodial services, maintenance, security, and school police.

Koch said some positions will be eliminated altogether.

Those employees who do remain face a reduction in their work year, which amounts to a pay cut.

“Less work, less pay,” said Koch.

Koch said teachers are the only district employees whose department is not facing a shortened work year. Core class sizes will remain the same in light of the deficit.

Still, some teachers could get lay-off notices.

Some elementary school vice principals will be moved back into the classroom, as will resource teachers whose job it is to support classroom teachers. As they move back, other teachers could be displaced, bumped to other schools or out of a job altogether. Koch says an early retirement incentive to senior teachers could mitigate some of that “bumping.”

“This is a huge step the Board is taking toward getting us back on solid ground,” said Koch.

The Board meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday night.


Gang Member Arrested by Border Patrol Agents Near Potrero

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A 32-year-old documented gang member was arrested by Border Patrol agents after he illegally crossed the border near Potrero.

He was one of three men arrested by agents around 8 a.m. on Sunday. 

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the three men had been hiding in the brush near the border when they were arrested by agents.

The 32-year-old man, a El Salvadaor citizen, was determined to be a Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang member and taken into federal custody.

He is facing charges for reentering the U.S. as a previously deported foreign national.

CBP did not identify the man by name.

2 Arrested After Robbery at Pacific Beach Metro PCS Store

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Two men were arrested after a robbery at a Pacific Beach Metro PCS store, San Diego Police said. 

The robbery happened at the store located on the 900 block of Grand Avenue, SDPD officers said. 

When officers responded, they took two suspects into custody. One suspect has been identified as Justin Caldwell, 30. Both men will be charged with commercial robbery. 

No one was injured. 

At least nine other Metro PCS stores have been robbed recently, though police have not tied this recent robbery to the spree. Some of the other robberies were reported in KensingtonEgger Highlands,Normal Heights, and ClairemontCollege East and San Marcos.

Police are investigating the incident. 

No other information was available.



Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego

Mylar Balloon Collides with Power Pole, Causing Explosion

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A Mylar balloon collided with a power pole in National City, causing a small explosion and repotedly cutting off power to some in the area. 

The incident happened at approximately 3:58 p.m. Tuesday on the 3400 block of Plaza Boulevard in National City, fire officials said. The location is near the Sweetwater River, just east of Interstate 5. 

The balloon drifted into a power pole in the area of E 8th Street and Plaza Boulevard, according to the National City Fire Department. 

The collision created a "potential electric issue". There have been no reports of injuries or property damage, though some have reported losing power. 

SDG&E officials are en route to investigate. 

At the same time, an unplanned outage was reported nearby by SDG&E officials. Sixty three customers are out of power. 

No other information was available.

Check back for updates on this breaking news.



Photo Credit: Getty Images/File

22-Year Old Texts Dad for Help During Home Invasion Robbery

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A 22-year-old woman texted her dad for help after hearing an intruder inside the family's home, the Escondido Police Department confirmed.

The home invasion robbery occurred at approximately 12 p.m. Tuesday on the 100 block of East 6th Avenue.

According to Escondido police, the woman heard someone inside the home and sent a text to her dad, who called 911.

Officers saw the suspect leaving the home and arrested him.

Police said he stole a lighter before leaving the house.

No one was hurt in the incident.

$7B Water Bond Goes Largely Unspent in Calif.

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The latest storms hitting California have caused flooding, levee breaks, sinkholes and concerns about the state's dam safety.

Rain continued in some areas Tuesday even as a new storm was forecast to bring more rain next weekend.

The storms were the result of what's known as atmospheric rivers, which produced floods up and down the state and heavy winds that led to several weather-related deaths. There also have been broken levees and caused other stresses to the state's aging flood-control systems.

Money that could have been used to modernize the state's water infrastructure and build more water storage has been held up due to red tape at the state level that requires a lengthy regulatory and bidding process, CNBC reported.

In 2014, California voters approved a water bond that authorized about $7.45 billion in spending, but as of Tuesday $7.39 billion had not been issued, the state Treasurer's office told CNBC on Tuesday.



Photo Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Surveillance Video Shows Thieves Stealing Cancer Wigs

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San Diego Police are searching for two suspects who were caught on surveillance video stealing custom made wigs for cancer patients.

The burglary happened Sunday night at La Jolla Hair Clinic, a salon on Friars Road in Mission Valley.

Collete Peterson, the owner of salon, told NBC 7 that the wigs take 2 to 3 months to make, each one personally molded to a client’s scalp. In addition to cancers patients, the wigs are made for clients with all types of medical and non-medical hair loss issues.

“These are people that are in need of hair, not just want. It’s devastating, I am sad,” said Peterson.

Salon employees spent Monday and Tuesday calling clients and telling them their wigs are gone.

Fighting back tears Peterson said, “It’s devastating how much they took. Now we have to make that phone call to our clients and it’s very hard on us and it’s hard to be here at the salon.”

Surveillance cameras inside the salon, clearly show two people involved in the burglary. Besides the wigs, the burglars took expensive hair salon equipment, broke into offices and shattered displays.  The salon owners hope someone can identify the suspects captured in the surveillance video.

Peterson said the burglars “Violated not just us, they violated our clients. It’s just terrible, they should feel really bad, not only should they get in trouble, they should feel terrible.”

If anyone has information about this crime contact San Diego Police or CrimeStoppers at 888 580-8477.

Sweetwater Special Education Aide's Felony Charge Dismissed

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A judge has dismissed the case against a special education aide at Bonita Vista Middle School, charged with felony for allegedly breaking a student's arm in March 2016, according to the District Attorney. 

Michael Cobb, 44, a special education aide with the Sweetwater Union High School district since 2012, appeared in court for his preliminary hearing on Tuesday, when the court dismissed the case. 

Cobb was charged last month with one felony count of inflicting corporal injury on a child, for an injury that resulted in a broken elbow. He was also accused of misdemeanor cruelty to a child for a separate incident in February 2016. At his January arraignment, he pleaded not guilty. 

Defense attorney Jon Pettis said the case was dismissed because there was not enough sufficient evidence to proceed. 

Pettis called the felony charge a misunderstanding and said the student - well known to throw himself around when he was angry - made up that Cobb hit him, when he in fact threw himself. 

“Mr. Cobb is looking forward to getting back to doing what he loves doing, and that’s helping kids,” Pettis said.

The father of the student involved called the dismissal bogus, and said he thinks the teacher should lose his license.

The father said he did not learn of the dismissal until he got a letter from the DA. 

A district spokesman said Cobb is not a teacher, but rather a classified employee. The spokesman said he could not comment further on the legal and personnel matter.



Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego

Locals React to New Immigration Enforcement Policies

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San Diego residents had mixed reactions to the newly announced change in immigration enforcement policies, which makes millions of people living in the U.S. illegally targets for deportation. 

Any immigrant who is in the country illegally and is charged or convicted of any offense, or even suspected of a crime, will now be an enforcement priority, according to Homeland Security Department memos signed by Secretary John Kelly.

The change could include people arrested for shoplifting or minor offenses — or simply having crossed the border illegally.

U.S. Representative Scott Peters (D-52) said the announcement is a move in the wrong direction, and positions Mexico as an enemy of the U.S. 

"Look, I’m horrified about the attitude that we have in this administration toward Mexico, which is one of our best allies, and toward it’s people and toward the descendants of these people who are here as part of our economy," Peters said.

He said many San Diegans don't necessarily see the border as a threat, and called the recent change in policy as "very counter-productive." 

"San Diegans know that that’s the wrong way to go," Peters said, referring to policy change.

Some San Diegans waiting in front of Congressman Darrell Issa's office for an event said the move was for the better. 

"I think it's good to do that, so we can the criminals, the illegals, who are criminals," said Juliet Cunningham.

"It's just a matter of security and safety for this country," she added.

Another supporter said she thought the guidelines were a positive move on Trump's part because she wanted good people in the U.S. 

"I went them all to go back," she said. "Because we're paying a lot of money the illegal immigrants and we want good people here, we don't want people that commit crimes."

In response to Tuesday's announcement, Consul General Marcela Celorio released the following statement:

“The consulate is going to work very closely and carefully to follow how the measures are going to be implemented. We will be very vigilant on the impact of the measures these will have. We will be protecting the human rights of the Mexican nationals in the country, we are going to protect their rights.

This is very important to stress, every case is different. We are going to analyze every case. Focus on how we can implement a legal defense. In the cases of people who are facing expedited removal, in those cases, they don’t have the right to go before a judge. But because they still have human rights, that is where we will step in and do whatever it takes to defend them.”

The new enforcement documents are the latest efforts by President Donald Trump to follow through on campaign promises to strictly enforce immigration laws.

The new guildelines will not affect the 750,000 young immigrant students protected by DACA. The so-called dreamers will remain protected from deportation.

The California Superintendent of Public Instruction today urged all elligible students for the California Dream Act to apply. The deadline is March 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 



Photo Credit: Roll Call/Getty Images

San Diego Ranks 47 on List of Most Congested Cities

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Rush hour is San Diego may not be as bad as other cities in the United States, or even around the world but it still causes a headache for commuters.

According to a study by Inrix, San Diego ranks number 47 on the list of the most congested cities in the world. Topping the list was Los Angeles with drivers spending around 104 hours in traffic, followed by San Francisco in third place, where drivers are stuck 83 hours in traffic.

The study analyzed more than 1,000 cities in 38 countries and based the list off of how many hours drivers spend in traffic.

Although San Diego did not make the top 10 on the list, many drivers NBC 7 spoke with Monday said their commute is usually carefully calculated but still long.

"I have to leave home at about 6:30 and get here at around 7:45 sometimes,” said Chula Vista resident Armando Duron.

Duron told NBC 7 that he commutes from Chula Vista to Kearny Mesa every day and spends about two hours a day, sitting in rush hour traffic.

“There's no short cuts anymore, everybody knows all the shortcuts," one person said.

For some residents, traffic has become a normal part of their commute.

"I just try to relax, take a deep breath and sit through it," said College Area resident Rich Wayman.

"I'm used to it now, but it's pretty bad," said Berenice Gil, a Chula Vista resident.

Some local residents expressed their concern over being rear-ended or involved in an accident due to traffic.

"One small accident and then everyone just stops to take pictures and texts all their friends," 10-year-old Hunter Freet told NBC 7.

According to Inrix, traffic congestion cost drivers in the U.S. almost $300 billion in 2016.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Lawmakers Pressed on Trump Policies at Town Halls

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Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley was greeted at a town hall Tuesday in Iowa with a shouted question about "impeachment" as voters there and at other events across the country pressed lawmakers about the moves and goals of President Donald Trump's administration, NBC News reported.

"I am so unsettled. It feels like we have a juvenile running our country," Doug Thompson, a Democrat and farmer from Kanawha, told Grassley at an event in Garner. Grassley outlined the process but didn't give his opinion.

In Kentucky, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed back at around 1,000 anti-Trump protesters who showed up outside his event, telling a crowd of business leaders inside that "winners make policy and the losers go home."

And in Maquoketa, Iowa, members of a crowd booed and chanted "do your job!" at Republican Sen. Joni Ernst near the end of a roundtable, NBC affiliate WHO of Des Moines reported.



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SDG&E Offers Bill Credit to Customers Driving Electric Cars

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If you drive an electric vehicle and you're a San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) customer, you can apply for a credit on your bill.

SDG&E rolled out the Electric Vehicle Climate Credit program on Tuesday.

Any customers who drive an all-electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid can enroll for up to a $50 credit on their bill, which will be applied this summer.

“In San Diego, transportation produces more than half of all harmful air emissions," said Michael Schneider, SDG&E Vice President of Operations Support and Chief Environmental Officer. "With more than 40 percent of SDG&E’s energy generated from renewable resources, each mile driven using electricity from the local power grid reduces the region’s carbon footprint.”

You can sign up for the program online using your SDG&E account number and DMV registration card.



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Most Americans Worried About US Getting in Major War: Poll

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Nearly two-thirds of Americans are worried that the United States will become engaged in a major war in the next four years, according to results from the latest NBC NewsSurveyMonkey poll.

NBC News reported that nearly nine in 10 Democrats and Democratic-leaning Americans say they are worried about a major war, but only about four in 10 Republicans and Republican-leaners say they are.

An overwhelming majority of Americans, 80 percent, say that NATO is good for the United States, according to the poll, conducted online from Feb. 13 through Feb. 19 among a national sample of 11,512 adults. 

When it comes to allies, about 60 percent of Americans think the U.S. should take their interests into account, even if it means making compromises. And the same amount think Russia is either unfriendly to the U.S. or not an ally.



Photo Credit: Getty Images, File
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