Fields of flowers, the San Diego Padres and pretty much perfect weather could only mean one thing: it’s springtime in San Diego. Here are some ways to celebrate the season and frolic in America’s Finest City.

Carlsbad Flower Fields
Nothing says spring quite like a visit to the Carlsbad Flower Fields on Paseo Del Norte in San Diego’s North County. Open now through May 14, guests can enjoy the blooms daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $14 for adults, $13 for seniors and $7 for kids three to 10 years old. Children under 2 get in free. Besides a walk along the fields and endless photo opportunities, visitors can enjoy snacks from vendors and shopping at the on-site store and nursery. The Flower Fields also hosts a bunch of events each spring, including a special kid’s day, live music and a Mother’s Day celebration.

 

Balboa Park Botanical Building
Sure, it’s open year-round, but Balboa Park’s Botanical Building in the spring is truly a spectacular sight. At over 100 years old, the historic building is one of the largest lath structures in the world, not to mention one of the most photographed spots in Balboa Park. There are more than 2,100 permanent plants inside including cynads, ferns, orchids, palms and other tropical plants. The iconic Lily Pond is also right in front of the building, which makes this the perfect springtime stop. The Botanical Building is free to enter and open Friday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed Thursdays and holidays). Bonus: on the third Friday of each month, at 11 a.m., the San Diego Floral Association gives a free tour of the site. Tours leave from the south end of the Lily Pond and are open to the public.

San Diego Padres at Petco Park
Spring means baseball season! Head over to downtown San Diego's Petco Park and catch a San Diego Padres game. This year, the Padres Home Opener lands on April 7 when the team takes on the San Francisco Giants. Check out the full schedule of games here; tickets to most games start around $18.

Mission Beach Boardwalk
Take advantage of our gorgeous weather and visit the iconic boardwalk at Mission Beach. Last year, a portion of the boardwalk's seawall -- between San Fernando Place and Ventura Place, near Belmont Park -- was reconstructed to restore the seawall back to how it looked when it was first constructed in the 1920s. The spot is a popular place to take a stroll in the spring and summer -- or on any day when the temps are practically perfect. You'll often see locals and tourists walking, jogging and bicycling along the boardwalk. The exercise is great, but the clear view of the ocean is even better.

Picnic at a Local Lake
Get in touch with nature by having yourself a good old-fashioned picnic at one of our many local lakes. East County spots include Santee Lakes, Lake Murray and Lake Jennings. There’s also Dixon Lake in Escondido, Lake Miramar, Lake Morena and Chollas Lake, to name a few more.

Whale Watching (Yes, even in the spring)
Traditionally a winter activity, whale watching in San Diego has now become a year-round activity. Joe Terzi, president and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority, has said that San Diego should be considered the world's No. 1 destination for whale watching. Around this time in 2015, Flagship Cruises said gray whale sightings were on the rise in San Diego, with more than 200 spotted off our shores over the first few months of the year.

What kind of springtime activities do you enjoy as a San Diego resident or visitor? Share in the comments section below.

Also, share your photos of beautiful springtime in San Diego on Instagram using the hashtag #SanDiegoGram. We're constantly updating our gallery withyour photos here.

San Diego police are looking for the public's continued help in finding a serial sex assault suspect accused of targeting and groping young girls in Mira Mesa over the course of several months.

Since the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) released a sketch of a suspect in February, detectives followed up on tips and other leads, but have found not found the wanted man. 

SDPD officers said at least five sexual assaults happened between Sept. 1, 2016 and Jan. 24, 2017 at four locations including: 9000 Mira Mesa Blvd.; 9200 Hillery Dr.; Mesa Village Apartments at 10500 Caminito Baywood. There have been no new reported cases since then. 

The sex assault on Hillery Drive happened near Walker Elementary School.

Police said all of the cases happened in the early morning hours and are believed to be linked to the same man. The SDPD hopes the composite sketch – drawn after the Mira Mesa Boulevard assault – will help investigators identify the suspect.

The man in the sketch is described by police as having an average build, standing between 5-foot-1 to 5-foot-5. He’s likely in his late 20s to late 30s, with a bushy mustache. Police said he speaks Spanish and English and has a Spanish accent. In some incidents, he was reported to be wearing a baseball cap with the “California Republic” bear logo on the front.

SDPD Lt. Paul Phillips told NBC 7 all of the suspect's victims are minors. Police believe there may be additional victims out there who have not yet reported their cases.

The case rattled residents in Mira Mesa including parents and guardians of children.

Grandmother Lyn Hertley told NBC 7 this is concerning, especially since her grandkids go to school near the crime sites.

"I would worry," she said. "But that's why we don't let our children go [walk] by themselves. We always accompany them."

Police are asking for the public's help in finding the suspect. The investigations are ongoing; officials with the SDPD’s Child Abuse Unit are taking the investigative lead on each case. Anyone with information can reach the unit at (619) 531-2260 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Eater San Diego shares the top stories of the week from San Diego’s food and drink scene, including a news about a high-end movie theater and restaurant project planned for downtown’s Gaslamp Quarter.

Gaslamp Scores New Luxury Cinema, Restaurants & Rooftop Bar
A long-dormant movie theater on 5th Avenue will get a multimillion-dollar renovation and emerge as Theatre Box, a new high-end multiplex with food and drink service at every seat and a Hollywood-inspired design. Slated to open by the end of the year, the cinema will be paired with a rooftop bar and multiple eateries, including a bistro, gelato stand and chocolate lounge and a causal concept from singer-turned-restaurateur Jimmy Buffet. 

Preview: Rick Bayless’ Menu for Red O Restaurant in La Jolla
The fourth location of Red O Restaurant is scheduled to debut in the UTC-area this May. The upscale Mexican restaurant, which will span over 10,000-square-feet and include an outdoor dining patio with fire pits, boasts award-winning celebrity chef Rick Bayless as its culinary director. Eater has a sneak peek of the menu, which ranges from classic Mexican dishes to prime meat and seafood.

New Italian Market, Eatery & Wine Bar Sets Due Date in Little Italy
After more than two years of planning, the operators of a new Italian market and restaurant project in Little Italy have announced that it will aim to open its doors in May. Roma Market will stock Italian specialty goods, produce, beer, wine and spirits while featuring an in-house deli, bakery and pizzeria with a large array of hot and cold prepared food. With plenty of sidewalk seating, it will also feature a morning coffee bar that will transform into a beer and wine bar in the evenings. 

Chef Steve Brown Opening Baja-Inspired Bar in Barrio Logan
Local chef Steve Brown, who is opening a shipping container brewery restaurant in Imperial Beach, will also be the chef-partner of Bar Logan, a new bar scheduled to open this summer in Barrio Logan. Brown will create the Baja-inspired small plates menu for the bar, which will also feature a Baja-heavy beer and wine list. The chef is also launching a new high-end dinner series in Barrio Logan; dubbed “A Beautiful Contradiction,” the dinners will feature Brown collaborating with guest chefs and highlighting local produce and Japanese luxury beef.

Dallas' Fast-Casual Cowboy Chicken Plans Local Expansion
A popular eatery with over 20 locations in Texas and other southern states has set its sights on San Diego. Cowboy Chicken, which specializes in wood-fired rotisserie chicken and scratch-made sides, is seeking to open four to six outposts in the area. The concept, which also services Texas-sized sandwiches and TexMex dishes, is currently looking at neighborhoods ranging from Encinitas and Del Mar to Mission Valley, with the hopes of opening its first store later this year.

A small Alabama city reached a legal settlement with the Southern Poverty Law Center Tuesday to end a federal lawsuit that accused it of running "a modern-day debtors prison," NBC News reported.

The lawsuit filed by the public interest law firm alleged that Alexander City was jailing people for being too poor to pay fines and fees for traffic tickets and misdemeanor offenses.

The law center says at least 190 poor people were wrongly jailed within two years. Indigent defendants had to pay off fines by serving time in the municipal jail at a rate of $20 a day.

Under the $680,000 settlement, people will get at least $500 for each day they were jailed illegally. A judge still must hold a final hearing on the settlement.

A New York-based Secret Service agent's laptop was stolen from her car in Brooklyn, but the device is encrypted and sensitive data is not at risk, law enforcement sources told NBC News and NBC New York on Friday.

The sources said the laptop requires a keycode to access, and two unsuccessful attempts to log in will destroy the device's memory.

"An investigation is ongoing and the Secret Service is withholding additional comment until the facts are gathered," the agency said in a statement.

Early media reports had suggested the laptop -- stolen Thursday -- contained sensitive information, like data on the layout of Trump Tower or the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation.

But two sources said that was not the case.

While the laptop does contain some basic, public information on Trump Tower, the sources indicated it did not carry any sensitive information or data that would compromise President Trump's security.

Besides the laptop, a baton and pins giving access to certain secure areas were stolen; those were subsequently recovered. One official said that suggested the robbery may have been a routine one.

In an unanimous vote, the Berkeley City Council passed a resolution this week to divest from any company involved with President Donald Trump’s border wall.

Berkeley, home of the Free Speech Movement, where a protest against right- wing provocateur and former Brietbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos recently turned violent, became the first city in the country to pass such a law, the East Bay Express reported.

Berkeley is also a sanctuary city.

"Our city is one that is known for breaking down walls, not building them," Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin said, according to the Express. "We will continue in that tradition regardless of what happens at the federal level.”

The city will divest not just from contractors who work on the construction of the wall, but also anyone who designs, finances or involves itself with the project in any way.

The Express published names of the companies which have expressed interest in building Trump’s border wall, as published on the federal website FedBizOpps.gov.

One of the companies on the list include Shimmick Construction company, which has existing contracts with the Bay Area Rapid Transit System, whose directors last month introduced a "sanctuary in transit" policy to protect its riders. In response to the president's budget proposal released Thursday, BART tweeted the proposal, as it stands right now, would eliminate 32 perent of funding for the agency's extension to San Jose. 

"The president’s change in policy would drastically shift funding downstream, and likely hit local users the hardest," BART tweeted.

The Berkeley City Council’s agenda item includes the following statement regarding the divestment:

“The City of Berkeley recognizes the harm and stigma such action causes Latino people in California and throughout the nation, We recognize that immigration has been a part of our country’s history since its founding and do not believe in demonizing people of Mexican and Latin American descent. Furthermore, the construction of a border wall would waste an enormous amount of taxpayer money, hurt the environment, contribute to climate change, divide ancestral native lands, disrupt tribal communities, increase international tensions, and reinforce failed Cold War policies of isolationism and exclusion.”

The City of Oakland is also working on approving similar legislation.

A calf from a critically endangered species of porpoise was found dead in the waters off Baja California, according to Sea Shepherd, the organization known for battling illegal fishing and poaching in the oceans.

The body of the vaquita, believed to be a newborn, was found floating in the Gulf of California just south of San Felipe on Sunday, March 12.

Locals gave the crews of the Sea Shepherd vessels photos of a second, adult vaquita they said was found nearby. The adult vaquita was not located.

The calf's body was turned over to Mexican authorities to determine a cause of death, the organization said.

More than half of the population has been lost in the last three years, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Now, with only 30 vaquita porpoises left in the world, Rep. Todd Gloria (D-78th District) has introduced a bill in California to help save the rare sea mammal from extinction. The bill would make it illegal to possess or sell fish products caught in the northern Gulf of California with a gillnet.

More often than not vaquitas get entangled in nets meant for a fish known as the totoaba, which inhabits the same territory. The vaquitas are unable to surface to breathe and drown as a result.

The gillnets have led to a 90 percent decline in the vaquitas' numbers over the last five years, according a study by an international committee of experts.

In 2016, 31 illegal fishing nets for the totoaba were pulled from the Gulf of California.

Mexico has temporarily banned the use of gillnets for fishing of shrimp and other sea creatures in an effort to protect the vaquita.

However, there is a loophole that allows for the use of gillnets for fishing of Gulf corvina, a practice used to capture the totoaba fish.

Considered "aquatic cocaine," the fishing for totoaba is highly lucrative. Sea Shepherd estimates the fish is worth $20,000 per kilo. 

On Tuesday, March 14, the crews of Sea Shepherd vessels discovered a net with 66 dead totoaba. Operation Milagro campaign leader Capt. Oona Layolle said the crew has never seen that many dead totoaba in one net.

J.C. Penney released a list Friday of the 138 stores it plans to close in an effort to cut costs and grow sales at its strongest locations.

The closures, first announced in February, represents about 13 to 14 percent of the Plano-based company's current store count, and less than 5 percent of total annual sales. Roughly 5,000 jobs will be affected by the closures.

The company expects to save roughly $200 million per year by closing this locations, which contributed less than 5 percent of its annual sales, CNBC reported.

In addition to the store closures, JC Penney's is also shutting down a distribution center in Lakeland, Florida, and relocating another in Buena Park, California.

Liquidation sales will begin on April 17, the company said on Friday.

A registered sex offender was sentenced Thursday for taking cell phone video of a 10-year-old girl inside a Walmart restroom last year.

Robert Becker followed a 10-year-old girl into a bathroom at a Walmart in El Cajon on Aug. 17, 2016, according to San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO).

Then, he got into a stall next to the victim's and used his cell phone to record her while making lewd comments.

Becker was arrested after he was identified as the suspect through surveillance video.

On Thursday, he was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.

Deputies said they discovered Becker had entered the same bathroom a day before the reported incident and believed there could have been other victims.

According to Deputy District Attorney Chantal De Mauregne, Becker was already registered as a sex offender and was not supposed to be near children or film them at the time of the incident.

Mauregne told NBC 7 she was frustrated with the sentencing but it was the maximum sentence he could have received.

The developer behind several Del Dios-area homes recently evacuated due to the earth beneath them sinking, told NBC 7 on Friday that an investigation into the matter is underway.

“Rancho Cielo Estates (RCE) does not have any comment to provide at this time,” said Peter Fagrell, president of Rancho Cielo Estates, Ltd., in an email statement. “We are aware of the situation, and investigations are presently underway to determine the extent of the problem and the source of the issue. Until such investigations are completed, RCE does not have a statement or position on this matter.”

Recently, three homes in the upscale Cielo development near Rancho Santa Fe were evacuated after the earth beneath them began to move. The homes, built by Taylor Morrison, stand on steep hills high above Lake Hodges and – as the development’s Spanish-influenced name suggests – offer magnificent views of the skies.

In the 18000 block of Avenida Apice, residents were evacuated from their homes due to cracked sidewalks and pavement near their properties. Many said the cracks showed up in the past two weeks. The properties – built just 18 months ago – are worth millions of dollars.

San Diego geologist Dr. Pat Abbott said the shifting of the earth beneath the homes may be due to “an arcuate failure or pull away service where this mass of earth is being pulled by gravity down slope.

Abbott said that although these kinds of slides are slow-moving, they can still be dangerous and, ultimately, destroy homes.

"If it cracks a natural gas line, you can asphyxiate,” Abbott said.

Rancho Santa Fe fire inspectors examined the damage to the three homes in the Cielo development and homeowners were told to move out.

Abbott said the hills on which the homes stand are, in his words, “equilibrium situations.”

“Gravity is trying to pull them down all the time; that equilibrium can be upset by that development of just by heavy rains like we've had,” he explained.

While Rancho Cielo Estates, Ltd., said an investigation has been launched, the cause of the sinking has not yet been identified.

Earlier this week, San Diego County Works Department spokesman Mike Workman said county crews would be inspecting the properties for damage.

On Tuesday, county inspectors posted "Restricted Use" notices on three homes in the development. 

Residents were allowed to enter and exit the homes, but are not allowed to live there until the "Restricted Use" is lifted. In order for this to happen, Workman said the county requires permits and inspections for remediation improvements conducted by the builder.

The builder, Taylor Morrison, told NBC 7 the problem with the homes is not a builder issue, but rather an issue stemming from the master plan designed by Rancho Cielo Estates.

Taylor Morrison released this statement:

"Taylor Morrison recently discovered soils movement on three specific homesites located on Avenida Apice in our Estancia at Cielo community. The Taylor Morrison homesites in Estancia at Cielo were purchased from Rancho Cielo Estates, the masterplan developer, and form part of a larger masterplan community, Cielo Rancho Santa Fe. As soon as we determined that the soils movement at the homesites could pose a safety issue, we took steps to provide the affected homeowners with relocation assistance and we notified the local Homeowners Association. Together with our outside experts, we are continuing to actively investigate the causes and scope of the issue and currently believe that the condition of the affected homes is not related to any element of their construction."

Taylor Morrison said its company bought finished homesites directly from Rancho Cielo Estates. As the masterplan developer, Taylor Morrison said Rancho Cielo Estates is "responsible for designing, preparing and finishing the sites for ultimate construction. This includes the masterplan developer, Rancho Cielo Estates, obtaining county approval for the site prior to sale, upon which ultimate purchasers, such as Taylor Morrison, would have relied."

San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies in Encinitas have arrested a man accused of attempting to lure a toddler away from the gated area of a preschool.

Deputies were called just before 11 a.m. to the preschool on La Mesa Avenue where a man tried to get a 3-year-old child to leave the school’s gated area.

The man was not able to get the child and left the area, deputies said.

Soon after, deputies found the suspect at the volleyball courts near Moonlight Beach.

The man, identified by deputies as a transient from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was placed under arrest.

Deputies said the man had just arrived to San Diego by train three days before his arrest.

He was booked into the Vista Detention Facility on a change of annoying a child.

An earthquake shook parts of Baja California Friday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The initial magnitude of the quake was reported to be 3.9 magnitude immediately after it occurred at 1 p.m.

Moments later, USGS upgraded the quake to a 4.1 magnitude.

The quake was centered approximately 80 miles southeast of Ensenada.

No other information was available.

A search was underway Friday for multiple people who broke into the Mission Valley Neiman Marcus store and stole up to $150,000 in purses.

The robbery happened just before 3:30 a.m., when a suspect used an unknown tool to break a glass door of Neiman Marcus on Friars Road.

Then, 15 other suspects ran into the department store and grabbed the luxury bags.

The estimated loss is between $100,000 to $150,000, according to San Diego CrimeStoppers.

All of the suspects exited through the broken glass door and drove off in five different vehicles.

The suspects were dressed in dark clothing, wearing hooded sweatshirts with their faces covered.

Neiman Marcus says that they will be cooperating with local authorities in their investigation.

The store inside Fashio Valley located near the connector between State Route 163 and Interstate 8.

San Diego Crime Stoppers and the San Diego Police Department are encouraging anyone with information on the case to call (619) 692-4800 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477.

Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to an arrest in this case.

While family members and friends prepare to bury an Escondido woman shot and killed on her way home from a church event, prosecutors prepare for the first court appearance by the suspected gang member accused in the crime.

Prosecutors allege Dionicio Crespin Torrez, Jr., 24, was the sole gunman in the shooting that took Catherine Kennedy's life.

Torrez faces one count of murder, one count of attempted murder of rival gang members and two counts of shooting at an occupied vehicle.

Because of the alleged gang affiliation, Torrez faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of the charges.

He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail.

Parishoners of St. Timothy's Church gathered Friday before 11 a.m. for a rosary service held in honor of Kennedy.

Officials said Kennedy was struck and killed by a bullet fired by the suspects, believed to be gang members. She was driving along Grand Avenue on March 7 on her way home from a church event.

Officers also arrested a second suspect, a juvenile. The 16 year old will face a judge Monday, Escondido police said. A San Diego County Deputy District Attorney said the juvenile is believed to have been an accomplice, not the shooter.

Both suspects will be charged with her murder. 

California's astronomical housing costs have reached a point where economists say hundreds of thousands of "affordable” units are now needed.

Besides scarcity of money for that cause, the will of the voters is in serious question – they have a history of rejecting ways of fundraising.

But a state lawmaker from San Diego has an idea.

State Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) wants to charge what she calls a "modest" $75 fee on the recording of certain real estate transactions.

That could generate around hundreds of millions of dollars a year for a housing trust fund that would bankroll low-income projects.

“It’s something that’s been done in nine other states to help provide funding,” Atkins told NBC 7 in an interview recorded Friday for Sunday’s edition of “Politically Speaking”.

Her legislation, SB 2, has worked its way through two committees in the State Senate and is headed for review on the Assembly side.

Atkins notes that one in eight Americans lives in California - and one in five Californians spend at least half their income on housing.

California’s average rent is twice the national average.

Atkins says every $500 million dollars would create nearly 30,000 jobs.

The state has lost a billion dollars of revenue a year since redevelopment was eliminated back in 2011.

Leading credit ratings firms say the housing shortage is a drag on the state's economy.

According to Atkins, 22 percent of the country's population listed as "homeless" is in California.

"The reason our poverty percentages are so high is all directly related to housing costs,” Atkins said. “We've done so much in the state to provide for our vulnerable Californians, but if we don't deal with the housing crisis, everything else we try to do is going to keep those numbers high."

SB 2 has been endorsed by the California Realtors Association and other business organizations.

Meantime, there's an Assembly proposal circulating in the capitol’s processes to eliminate vacation-home tax credits and apply the new revenue to 3,000 affordable housing units.

The SoundDiego South by Southwest adventure continues: Day 3 in Austin, Texas featured amazing sets courtesy of Third Eye Blind, Crocodiles, Trishes, Mint Field, Delicate Steve, and more! For our Day 2 video recap, go here (http://bit.ly/2mUEnUs), and here (http://bit.ly/2nsRFJv) for our Day 1 activities.

The 24th annual Latino Film has kicked off in San Diego.

Over 160 films from the U.S and Latin America are being showcased on the big screen.

The festival has become a tradition in San Diego, but with immigration taking center stage in Washington, politics is also a big part of the conversation.

“It’s interesting to get the perspective of Latinos themselves, producing their own content, producing their own stories,” said Ethan Van Thillo, who founded the Latino Film Festival over two decades ago. “It allows you to get a larger view of what's really happening.”

The festival includes a little bit of everything, from a movie about health care in Peru, to a film about girls with autism who start a swim team.

The films range from feature pieces to documentaries.

When it comes to hard hitting issues, Van Thillo said many of the same issues being addressed right now, have been talked about for years. The only difference is that now the issues have a national spotlight.

“After so many years, we're still dealing with the same arguments about building walls and immigration,” Van Thillo said. “Unfortunately a lot of the same issues still exist today. The stereotypes in the mainstream media, Hollywood, lack of diversity in front and behind the camera still exist. It’s also true that we've seen wonderful advancements."

Joey Molina is the producer La Ruta Madre. It’s a coming of age film about a teenager who lives in San Diego and goes to Mexico to explore his roots.

The film is being showcased in the festival.

“It’s a Mexican story told through American eyes so you're not really excluding anyone,” said Molina. “You’re actually including and bringing people into this world, into this culture.”

Even though San Diego’s art and film scene is often overshadowed by Los Angeles, Molina said the cultural scene is giving artists a chance to showcase their experience while also being part of the conversation.

“I think there's a lot of anger out there. There's a lot of miscommunication,” said Molina. “If there's anything that we can do as artists to bridge that, to kind of bring common ground, I think it's our obligation to do it,” said Molina.

He added, “With different people, personalities, temperaments, nationalities, you always have people with different opinions. I think the most important thing, what we take from all of this is that we try to develop an ear so we can listen to each other…maybe everyone just take a second and take a listen."

Organizers say the Latino Film Festival isn’t just about movies. There will also be food, workshops and music for moviegoers.

The Latino Film Festival will run until March 26 in Fashion Valley’s AMC Theatres.

The suspect in the mysterious killing of a young woman whose body was found dumped on the side of a road in unincorporated Escondido has been extradited to San Diego. 

Antonia Herrera, 23, was shot to death. Her body was discovered on Jan. 12 on the side of the road in the 27600 block of Champagne Boulevard near the Interstate 15.

According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO), 27-year-old Paul Castro, a resident of Las Vegas and a documented gang member, is suspected in Herrera's death.

Castro was arrested in Las Vegas in February.

He was extradited to San Diego and booked into the Central Jail on Friday.

A billboard depicting an image of President Donald Trump appeared on Phoenix's Grand Avenue in Arizona on Friday, NBC affiliated station KPNX reported.

Unlike any other Trump billboards people are used to seeing during his election campaign of 2016, the Phoenix billboard illustrates a menacing photo of Donald Trump, wearing a Russian flag pin on his collar, surrounded by mushroom clouds and 'swastika dollar' signs.

"I think a lot of people are feeling this way and I'm just trying to express what I think is on a lot of people's minds these days," the billboard's artist, said in an interview Friday, according to KPNX.

Karen Fiorito posted on her facebook page when billboard went up saying "Still awaiting the backlash, death threats and the like."

The billboard art was commissioned by the owner, Beatrice Moore, a longtime patron of the arts on Grand Avenue, KPNX reported.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) named Lars Herman, CEO of Herman Construction Group, Inc., as the recipient of California’s Small Business Person of the Year Award on Friday.

Herman Construction is a nationwide company based out of Escondido that has been in operation since 2009, maintaining contracts with the federal government, Department of Defense (DOD) and private sectors.

Herman said the SBA San Diego District Office gave him guidance and support, and helped his company to grow.

“A lot of our work came through set-asides for small businesses,” said Herman in a statement. “It is the SBA and its emphasis on these set-asides that has allowed us to grow into a thriving business.”

Herman is a U.S. Navy veteran and said his concern and compassion is to give back to other veterans, as evidenced in the contracts his company pursues, which often involve renovating hospitals for the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a statement.

Since 1963, the first week of May is celebrated as National Small Business Week. The SBA annually selects one small business owner from each of the 50 states and U.S. territories to receive an award for their success and contributions locally and nationally.

“It’s an incredible honor to be selected,” said Herman in a statement. “This award is more about the people who work for the company. We have a great team working on challenging projects and getting them done.

Herman and winners from the other states will be honored at the SBA ceremonies in Washington D.C. on April 30 and May 1. The winner of the prestigious National Small Business Person of the Year will also be announced at that time, according to the SBA.