About 1 out of 10 women in the United States who tested positive for the Zika infection had a fetus or baby with Zika-related birth defects, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The CDC's Vital Signs report is the first to provide an analysis of a subgroup of 250 pregnant women in the U.S. with confirmed test results of Zika virus infection. Zika testing remains complex because there is a narrow timeframe for obtaining a positive laboratory result, and many infected people do not show symptoms, the CDC said. 

The lack of motivation for testing led the CDC to monitor all pregnant women with any evidence of recent Zika infection. In 2016, nearly 1,000 pregnant women from the 44 states who completed their pregnancies had some evidence of a recent Zika infection and were at risk of having a fetus or baby with Zika-related birth defects.

Most of the women acquired Zika during travel to an area where the virus was known to be present.

“Zika virus can be scary and potentially devastating to families. Zika continues to be a threat to pregnant women across the U.S.,” CDC acting director Anne Schuchat said in a statement. “With warm weather and a new mosquito season approaching, prevention is crucial to protect the health of mothers and babies. Healthcare providers can play a key role in prevention efforts.”

Zika infection during pregnancy can cause serious damage to the brain and microcephaly in developing fetuses. It also can lead to congenital Zika syndrome in babies, a pattern of birth defects that includes brain abnormalities, vision problems, hearing loss, and problems moving limbs. Babies may also appear healthy at birth but have underlying brain defects or other Zika-related health problems, the CDC said.

The report found Zika still poses a serious risk during pregnancy and it's important for pregnant women to continue taking steps to prevent exposure to the virus through mosquito bites and sexual transmission.

Nearly 1,300 pregnant women with evidence of possible Zika infection were reported to the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry from Jan. 15 to Dec. 27, 2016. Of the 1,000 pregancies completed by the end of the year, more than 50 had Zika-related birth defects. 

Confirmed infections in the first trimester posed the higest risk with 15 percent of those fetuses or babies having Zika-related birth defects, the report found. 

The CDC's registry data included all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and territories except Puerto Rico. The Zika Active Pregnancy Surveillance System is a separate system to monitor pregnancies in Puerto Rico.

In Puerto Rico, over 39,000 cases were confirmed last year and over 3,000 women confirmed with Zika infection were pregnant. Almost 400 pregnant women were hospitalized and the Zika infection led to 5 recorded deaths, according to the Puerto Rico’s health department.

Last week, the Puerto Rico Department of Health, who has worked with the CDC to combat Zika infections in Puerto Rico, showed in recent results a dramatic, continuing decline of the Zika virus. Currently, there are no pregnant women who are infected with the Zika virus and the number of infected women and men, combined is under 3000. 

Peggy Honein with the CDC's Zika Response team said that many babies born to mothers with possible Zika infection "are not receiving brain imaging after birth to help diagnose serious brain defects.” She called for healthcare providers to ask about possible Zika exposure when caring for pregnant women and their babies. 

The CDC recommended healthcare providers also educate families on Zika prevention, provide all needed tests and follow-up care and support babies and families.

The local group proposing to transform San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium into a place to live, work and play soccer announced plans Tuesday to bring the proposal before voters in November.

Goal SD – including FS Investors founder Mike Stone and Goal SD partners Nick Stone, Steve Altman and Juan Carlos Rodriguez – held a news conference to announce the development.

The investors said they first intend to submit the plan to the City Council to be placed on the Nov. 7 ballot. From there, Major League Soccer (MLS) will decide whether to bring a team to San Diego.

Investors noted that they expect MLS to make a decision on expansion into the San Diego market after the end of this year -- and upon the outcome of the election.

Goal SD’s “Soccer City” proposal includes a multi-use stadium for professional soccer and college football. The 166-acre site along the San Diego River would also include a new, 55-acre community park, a sports and entertainment district with new restaurants, bars and shops, nearly 5,000 residential units, two hotels and office space. The proposal is privately funded, without taxpayer money.

Last week, the group reported they have gathered enough signatures to get the Soccer City proposal in front of the San Diego City Council for consideration. The City of San Diego requires signatures from at least 5 percent of registered voters to get to this step. The registrar must also validate those signatures for it to get to the City Council.

The project is likely to face challenges from other developers and environmental groups.

The group’s redevelopment plan for Qualcomm Stadium has generated a lot of chatter about whether San Diego – now without an NFL team – should become a soccer town.

As NBC 7’s Derek Togerson reported last week, research shows San Diego is a strong market for soccer. San Diego is one of 12 markets trying to secure a new Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise.

A mother and daughter died after a home in Mission Hills erupted into flames early Tuesday, San Diego Fire-Rescue officials confirmed.

The women, one of them described by a battalion chief as bed-ridden, lived in the home on Fort Stockton Drive.

Someone walking their dog called 911 just after 5 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they found the home engulfed in flames.

It was impossible and unsafe for crews to attack from inside the home so crews took a defensive position to protect nearby homes, fire officials said.

The intensity of the fire caused part of the roof to collapse.

The body of one victim was found near the front of the home, according to fire officials. The second victim was found in the back of the home.

"Search efforts were complicated and delayed because of the extensive fuel load, large fire involvement, and various portions of the structure collapsed," SDFD spokesperson Mónica Muñoz said.

There was a lot of furniture and hoarding conditions inside the home.

“The first thought I had was it’s probably that one (on Fort Stockton) because it’s so unkempt,” neighbor Holly Raley said. “It looked like it was falling down.”

"We do not know at this time if there was a smoke or carbon monoxide detection device in the home," Muñoz added.

The victims were mother and daughter and the deaths have sent shock waves through the quiet neighborhood. People who knew them say the mother and daughter rarely left the house.

Julia Lafferty said she woke up and looked across the street to see her neighbor’s home was engulfed in flames.

“Just absolutely terrifying. I’ve never seen a fire that big so close, right across the street from my house,” Lafferty said. “We actually started to gather a few personal belongings just in case, to be ready.”

The home to the left of the fire appeared to be undamaged. The home to the right was lined with a number of trees. It was unclear if that home has sustained any damage.

San Diego police blocked the street to all traffic including residents.

The neighborhood is located north of Washington Street and east of Interstate 5. Smoke from the fire was visible by commuters along I-5 and Interstate 8 to the north.

“I had a glass of red wine right there and I was just walking back to sit down and I...I don’t know how I did it,” Cathy Woith said.

She said she accidentally spilled a glass of red wine on her cream-colored furniture she purchased from Living Spaces in 2014. After she spilled the wine, Cathy said she wasn’t too worried since she paid close to $500 extra for a five-year “stain guard protection” plan with the company Service USA.

“The way it was presented also was that if it gets dirty, we’ll come out and clean it,” Cathy said.

After blotting the wine stain, Cathy said she pulled out her paperwork and called Service USA. She said the company representative asked for her receipt, contract information, and photos of the damage.

“Once she saw the pictures, she said sometimes if they can’t get it out they’ll replace it and I said ‘wow, that never even entered my mind,’” Cathy said.

After weeks without hearing from the company, Cathy said she contacted Service USA again. This time, the company’s tune changed.

“She just kept saying no, you cleaned it and I was like any normal person would blot and wipe with water, any normal person,” Cathy said.

Cathy said her Service USA warranty information recommended blotting stains. When she brought this up to the representative, nothing changed. Cathy said the company wouldn’t even send a cleaning crew out to see her furniture. So, Cathy said she decided to call NBC 7 Responds.

NBC 7 Responds reached out to Service USA but the company has not responded. A week after we reached out to the company, Cathy received an unexpected call.

“I got a call from Living Spaces corporate office, not Service USA,” Cathy said.

Cathy said a representative from Living Spaces called her and said although her furniture had since been discontinued, the store would offer a full replacement. She said Living Spaces acted above and beyond and she learned a valuable lesson.

“Don’t eat or drink red wine on your couch, drink white wine,” Cathy said.

The Federal Trade Commission recommends consumers weigh whether or not they should pay extra for coverage or warranties. For more information, including questions you can ask yourself when debating an extended warranty purchase, click here.

A 51-year-old husband and father of three children has been identified as the construction worker crushed by a six-foot concrete wall in El Cajon Monday. 

Fernando Martinez, 51, was digging a trench with another worker at the site of a new car dealership when, shortly after 12 p.m., the wall - estimated to weigh between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds - collapsed onto the pair. 

One worker managed to escape and suffered non life-threatening injuries. 

However, the wall toppled onto Martinez, trapping him underneath. An hours-long rescue effort turned into a recovery effort, and rescue crews pulled out Martinez's body. Cal/Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation into the fatal accident.

The ME's report on Fernandez's death states that he was taking his lunch break and had gone into the trench for lunch when the wall collapsed on him. No cause of death has been released. 

Martinez was a 30-year employee of Southland Paving Company, his family said in a statement. 

"Fernando was all smiles and always had a funny story to brighten your day. Please pray for his family and help his wife and three young kids in the expenses to come," read a statement on the GoFundMe page.

A GoFundMe has been set up for the family. Click here to donate. 

Four people were taken to the hospital after two MTS buses collided in National City Tuesday evening.

According to the National City Police Department (NCPD), the crash occurred at 3:33 p.m. on E 18th Street and Euclid Avenue.

Police said a MTS bus going westbound on E 18th Street turned on Euclied Avenue and slammed into another bus that had been stopped at a bus stop.

The impact was enough to knock the glass out of several windows on that bus. 

Four people complaining of pain were taken to a local hospital. Their injures are not considered to be life threatening.

No other information was available.

Both the board president for the San Diego Unified School District and an independent water quality treatment expert say they expect leaders will find water quality problems at a number of San Diego schools.

The San Diego Unified School District began testing its schools' water Tuesday after lab reports confirmed "higher than allowable" lead levels were found at one campus.

NBC 7 Investigates has been covering water quality in schools since San Ysidro district officials discovered unsafe levels of lead, bacteria and copper in one of its elementary schools in early February.

"Stay informed. As the results come from the city, we will put those results on our website and communicate results with parents," Board President Richard Barrera said. "We expect we're going to find issues at a number of schools and then we will immediately provide bottled water, step in and take action to fix the problems, but parents should be paying attention."

An independent water quality expert, Bob Bowcock, has been reviewing parts of the massive amounts of documentation and data NBC 7 Investigates has obtained during the course of our series "Safe to Drink?" including data on the levels of pH and inhibitors in city water at different sampling locations throughout the city.

Bowcock also said it is likely problems will be discovered with lead or other contaminants as the city and school district aims to test nearly 200 schools by the end of the school year.

"They’re going to find high lead levels and just because they don’t find lead in particular locations, it doesn’t mean it isn't there, it just means it wasn't when they actually took the sample," Bowcock said.

Bowcock said lead is not a contaminant that would be in water unless their are problems with both the plumbing and the water.

"The one thing that is always misunderstood is that when people think of a water sample for lead, they think it's like a contaminant that's actually found in the drinking water," Bowcock said. "It's very important to understand that lead enters the drinking water as a result of the corrosive nature of water."

City of San Diego Senior Engineer Doug Campbell has said city water is not corrosive. The city treats it and tests the water for lead as it leaves the treatment plant, and for its level of corrosivity at hundreds of different locations throughout the city.

Campbell provided NBC 7 Investigates data for water at hundreds of sampling locations near schools. When San Ysidro School District officials discovered lead at La Mirada elementary, the city also went back to sampling sites closest to schools, retested and discovered no lead.

Unlike in Flint, Michigan, where many homes were found to have astronomical levels of lead coming from taps, San Diego has replaced most of the lead pipes in its water distribution system.

Another water expert said yesterday from the limited information he's seen in San Diego, the city does a good job managing the level at which its water is corrosive.

Panera Bread has been sold to JAB, the owner of Caribou Coffee and Peet's Coffee and Tea, for $7.5 billion, CNBC reported.

The Luxembourg-based company has bought several U.S. breakfast and coffee companies in recent years, including Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Keurig Green Mountain. One consumer researcher called Panera the "crown jewel" for JAB, and said the move "makes a lot of sense."

Panera has 2,000 cafes throughout the U.S. Through the last six quarters, they have reported better-than-expected earnings per share. 

Under the deal, JAB will assume Panera's $340 million debt. 

President Donald Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon was removed from the National Security Council Wednesday, NBC News reported.

As part of the shakeup announced Wednesday, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry was added to the NSC's Principals Committee. Two other officials were also added back to the committee: the director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford. 

A White House official told NBC News that Bannon was originally placed on the NSC's Principals' Committee as a "check against Michael Flynn," Trump's former national security adviser.

[[401181025, C]]  

Flynn resigned in February after it was revealed he misled Vice President Mike Pence about a conversation he had with Russia's ambassador prior to Trump's inauguration. 

Petco has purchased Philadelphia-based startup PetCoach, a digital services company connecting pet owners with veterinary professionals, and hired its co-founder and CEO to be a senior executive at the San Diego-based specialty retailer.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The personalized information PetCoach gives pet owners is touted as being highly convenient and sourced from experts in the field.

PetCoach CEO Brock Weatherup, now executive vice president of strategic innovation and digital experience, agreed to move to San Diego from Philadelphia, where he was active in the city’s startup community and served as voluntary president of industry group Philly Startup Leaders.

Weatherup previously sold another pet-based digital service, Pet360.com, to PetSmart for a reported $160 million.

According to news website PhillyMag.com, Weatherup bought PetCoach in November and, as CEO, secured $2 million in seed funding led by Comcast Ventures.

Petco operates more than 1,500 Petco and Unleashed by Petco stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

A man was arrested after leading police on a pursuit in Hillcrest Tuesday night and crashing into a store that sells police uniforms, San Diego Police Department (SDPD) confirmed.

The pursuit began around 8:49 p.m. on the 3800 block of Park Boulevard after the suspect, a 34-year-old man, took off during an attempted traffic stop. 

Police said during the pursuit, the suspect crashed into a Toyota Tacoma at the 1700 block of Robinson Avenue.

He then lost control of the vehicle on Park Boulevard and crashed head-on into a shop which supplies police uniforms.

According to police, the driver attempted to run away but was arrested a short time later on Robinson Avenue. 

He was taken to Mercy Hospital for a severe head injury.

A passenger in the suspect's car was not apprehended, police said.

Investigators said he will possibly face felony fleeing and DUI charges.

No other information was available.

NBC 7's Gaby Rodriguez was reporting on the crash of a vehicle into a line of parked cars when an SUV slammed into a parked truck just 100 yards from the original crash.

"Game of Thrones" creator George R.R. Martin will stop in San Diego for a public talk next month. 

The popular author will visit UC San Diego on May 2 to talk about his life and work with science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson. 

Martin's series, “A Song of Ice and Fire", chronicles an epic struggle for power in a vast and violent kingdom. The books were the basis for the Emmy-winning fantasy series on HBO, "Game of Thrones." 

The talk will start at 7 p.m. at the Price Center Theater on campus, sponsored by the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination. 

"Game of Thrones" fans can nab tickets online starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 7 at UC San Diego Box Office. Tickets will also be available at the Box Office, located at the Price Center. Those interested in attending can also order by phone at 858-534-TIXS.

New Jersey teen Ziad Ahmed wrote "#blacklivesmatter" 100 times on his application to Stanford University and to his surprise, Stanford accepted. 

Ahmed, a senior at Princeton Day School in Princeton, New Jersey, tweeted a screenshot of the essay and acceptance letter Saturday afternoon with the caption "I submitted this answer in my @Stanford application, & yesterday, I was admitted... #BlackLivesMatter"

Since Saturday, the tweet has garnered over 3,000 retweets and 7,000 likes. 

The essay question that prompted the response asked, "What matters to you, and why?"

After gaining attention for his acceptance to Stanford, Ahmed tweeted "it's important to note that this response was one answer on one application. Not my college essay or etc. There's a lot more to it." 

"Also, I want to clarify that I know this one answer on one application does not qualify as 'activism,'" he said. "This is a statement, not work." 

Stanford University confirmed Ziad's acceptance to NBC News but declined to further discuss the student's application.

Ahmed told Mic.com, "It's critical to realize that one-fourth to one-third of the Muslim community in America are black ... and to separate justice for Muslims from justices for the black community is to erase the realities of the plurality of our community."

Ahmed is also the founder of Redefy, an organization centered around defying stereotypes, and JUV Consulting, centered on youth counseling. 

The teen activist has also been accepted into Princeton University and Yale University.

Using an Earth-sized telescope, scientists may be able to see a black hole for the first time, NBC News reported.

Eight radio observatories across the globe will be pointed toward the supermassive black hole in the Milky Way’s center, which scientists hope will allow them to image the black hole’s event horizon, the gravitational point of no return, for the first time.

Such an image would back up evidence that black holes exist, while putting Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity to the test. It would also assist astronomers in understanding the way black holes rule over their respective galaxies.

"We hope to see the un-seeable," said Shepard Doeleman, director of this Event Horizon Telescope. "We want to see something that by its very nature tries to do everything it can not to be seen. It's the ultimate cloaking device."

Concerns continue to brew at local schools, after more than 1,400 teachers and staff received pink slips.

The students have been realizing what huge layoffs could mean for them.

Camille Zambro is a teacher at Cesar Chavez Elementary and told NBC 7 the layoffs are real and even teachers who have been with the district for some time are affected first-hand.

"I have a ninth year teacher. That's a veteran teacher who got a layoff notice," she said.

One in seven educators could be affected by the cuts.

Low-income schools just like Cesar Chavez Elementary are set to see the most layoffs where 14 teachers and staff members have received pink slips.

NBC 7's media partner, Voice of San Diego reported for 16 of the 20 schools in San Diego Unified School District facing the most layoff notices, at least 75 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch; a rough measure of a school's poverty level.

School Board President Richard Barrera told NBC 7 classroom sizes won't be affected, but restructuring and shifting positions most likely will happen.

"There will be a teacher in the classroom to keep class sizes low, the question is who that teacher will be, and that's the process that we're going through right now," Barerra said.

The Board said they have already received more notices for the early retirement incentive by teachers than expected, so they are hoping to rescind a good portion of those layoffs.

But they won't know that until a new proposed state budget comes out in mid-May.

Ed. Note: A previous version of this article overstated the number of pink slips issued. We have corrected the article and regret the error.

A fighter jet crashed Wednesday morning in a wooded area near Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, after he had mechanical trouble and steered the aircraft away from a neighborhood, officials say. 

A witness said the pilot's first concern was residents' safety. 

"I asked him if he was OK and he didn't even respond to that. He asked if everyone in the neighborhood was OK," Patrick Dodson said. 

The D.C. Air National Guard F-16C fighter jet crashed about 9:15 a.m. in Clinton, Maryland, about 6 miles southwest of the base that is home to Air Force One, base officials said. Homes are about 200 yards from the crash site. 

The pilot, who was on a routine training mission, was able to eject from the jet assigned to the 113th Wing. He parachuted to the ground and was picked up by a military helicopter. Video captured by a witness shows the pilot drift toward the ground.

The pilot was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries. No one else was reported to have been hurt, according to the chief of the Prince George's County fire department, Ben Barksdale.

"For the pilot to be able to eject and not be injured and the plane to go down in a wooded area without affecting the homes, [we are] absolutely very fortunate that we didn't have any lives lost today." 

Military officials have the area, which is about 15 miles southeast of Washington, D.C., locked down as they work to learn more about what went wrong. 

Residents said they saw the plane flying low, the pilot eject via parachute and then heard at least one huge boom. Then, they saw a plume of black smoke and smelled a fire. 

Dodson, who lives nearby, said he was on his porch talking on his cellphone when he heard a loud noise and then saw the plane nosedive toward the ground.

"I screamed into the house, 'Get out of the house!' I thought the plane was coming here. Luckily, it landed in the woods," he said.

Then, Dodson said he ran into the woods to help. He said he saw the pilot standing. That's when the pilot asked if everyone else was OK. 

"He said he tried to direct the plane away from the neighborhood," Dodson said.

Then, the pilot was taken away in a helicopter.

Clinton Grove Elementary School was on lockdown, and residents who were directed away from their homes were sent there. Residents were allowed to return home once officials secured the perimeter of the crash scene. 

The fire department is asking anyone who sees debris that could be a part of the plane to not touch it or move it. Debris has been found miles away in National Harbor, officials said. To report debris, officials asked residents to call 240-612-4428 or 240-612-4430.

What Witnesses Saw and Heard

People in the area said the impact was terrifying. 

"I heard a really loud boom, wasn't sure what that was; it sounded like maybe construction work. And then I heard a second boom, but it was so loud," one resident said. "My house shook, like an earthquake. But it almost sounded like a bomb."

Resident Nick Bobotis said he was inside his home when he felt a boom.

"I thought maybe a tree fell. So I went outside and started looking around, and then I started to smell this funny smell of something burning. It smelled like when you light a match, that first sulfur smell, and I'm like, 'That's strange.' And then I started seeing all kinds of emergency vehicles."

Kent Roberson was driving through a residential area nearby when the plane crashed. 

"...I just heard a loud boom, I guess... like how a large tree falls and shakes the ground," he said. "That's what it felt like and what I heard."

Roberson said he saw flames and smoke rising from the ground.

An Air Force veteran who had to evacuate from her home said the crash scared her.

"I was in the Air Force for like 26 years, so I'm used to seeing things like that, but not that close," she said.

What Went Wrong?

As the pilot trained, he realized something was wrong with his jet, military officials said at a news conference.

"The pilot experienced a mechanical issue and immediately took actions," said Brig. Gen. George Degnon, acting adjutant general of the D.C. Air National Guard. "Once he realized he would not be able to safely land the aircraft, he made a decision to maneuver to a wooded area to avoid the risk to local community and ensure public safety."

The pilot, who officials did not name, dumped the fuel he was carrying, looked for somewhere to crash and ejected.

"We're talking seconds, not minutes," his commanding officer, Lt. Col. Michael Croker said about the pilot's decision-making process.

The Air Force told Congress the pilot is a 31-year-old lieutenant and that an engine malfunction caused the crash, sources told News4's Scott MacFarlane.

The jet was carrying training inert training bullets that were no threat to the public, officials said.

No prior mechanical issues with the jet, which is worth about $20 million, had been reported, officials said.

"It's quite a blessing that everything turned out like it did and nothing worse occurred," Croker said.

The pilot had been released from a hospital by mid-afternoon Wednesday.

"Word is he's in good spirits," his commanding officer said.

The investigation continues.

Local Impact

The plane crashed between the Woodelves Way and Maui Street cul-de-sacs in Clinton, Maryland. The pilot landed about a mile away, on Steed Road. 

The crash sparked fires in the woods, which firefighters extinguished using water and foam. 

Some roads in the area are closed. 

Homes near the scene of the crash were evacuated as a precaution because of the possibility that the crash released hazardous materials, Brady said. Authorities knocked on doors and alerting residents. Residents were allowed back into their homes about 11 a.m. 

Hyde Field/Washington Executive Airpark, located nearby, is closed until further notice during the investigation.

More on the F-16 and Its Unit

The 113th Wing guards Washington's airspace. They are one of the busiest wings in the country, with as many as 3,000 flights per year. 

The single-engine F-16 that crashed was designed to fly fast and be agile but not to glide, aerospace expert Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic & International Studies said on News4. 

"If you have a problem at a low altitude, you're in trouble," he said. "There's very little time to recover, especially if it's something catastrophic." 

The jets date back to the 1980s. In some cases, they are older than the pilots operating them. National Guard officials testified before a Senate committee in 2010 about their concerns with the fleet.

In 2011, the Guard suggested that much of the F-16 fleet could reach the end of its service life expectancy by 2018.

Prior Military Jet Crashes in the Area

An Air National Guard pilot crashed an F-16 from the 113th Wing near Chincoteague, Virginia, in 2013. The jet and another jet from the same unit clipped wings. One pilot was injured after being rescued at sea.

An F-18 Navy jet on a training mission crashed into an apartment complex in Virginia Beach in 2012, injuring seven people and destroying 27 apartments. The Navy said a rare dual-engine malfunction caused the crash.

A colorful display featuring 1,800 pinwheels in front of the Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children's Hospital this month pays tribute to abused and neglected children seen at the center this past year. 

To mark April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the royal blue pinwheels were placed on the front lawn of the Rose Pavilion of the Chadwick Center at 3020 Children's Way, near the fountain. 

Each pinwheel stands for an abused or neglected child seen or treated over the past year at the Chadwick Center. 

"Today we have 1,800 pinwheels, But if we put how many children were actually the subject of an investigation by county child welfare and child protection officials, that number would be 44,000," said Charles Wilson, Senior Director at the Chadwick Center. 

Wilson urged families, neighbors and communities to watch over each other and keep an eye out for child abuse and neglect. 

San Diego is one step closer to increasing a tax on hotel rooms to fund an  expansion of the downtown convention center.

The City Council Rules Committee voted Wednesday to approve a ballot measure to increase the city’s transient occupancy tax (TOT). After a unanimous vote, the measure will now go to the full council for review.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer is proposing a hotel room tax hike of 1 cent on the dollar citywide, and up to 3 cents downtown.

Supporters say that could generate $15 million in revenue.     

Faulconer will use the TOT hike to pay for the convention center expansion as well as road repairs and homelessness programs.

Some hoteliers are worried higher taxes might steer prospective guests and conventions to other cities. There are some hoteliers who say they are also interested in discussing the idea.

District 3 Councilmember Chris Ward said the proposal will need more scrutiny and public input before moving forward.

Ward represents residents of Downtown, Little Italy, Bankers Hill, Mission Hills, Middletown, Hillcrest, University Heights, North Park, Normal Heights, Old Town, South Park, and Golden Hill.

When it comes to municipal utility bills, which cost the city of San Diego about $50 million a year, taxpayers can't be sure they're getting all the “bang for the buck” they could.

The City is one of San Diego Gas & Electric’s biggest customers, and many dollars could fall through the cracks.

Its auditors say there aren't enough internal control programs to reliably catch incorrect billings or rate categories.

San Diego's utility accounts number more than 3,500 and cover 1,600 properties, from City Hall and other buildings to 60,000 street lights and traffic signals at some 1,500 intersections.

Auditors have now discovered that among accounts recommended for study by SDG&E, 40 percent actually qualified for cheaper rate categories.

The company recently gave the city a $1.7 million credit for overcharging on meters at a sewage station.

To get the lowest possible rates and reduce the number of overpayments, city departments were advised to upgrade their training, monitoring and analysis of utility invoices.

“We made three recommendations to improve the process,” City Auditor Eduardo Luna, told NBC 7 in an interview Wednesday. “Management agreed to implement all three recommendations, and I think they came up with a timetable that's going to work for them. They're taking steps to try to resolve those, hopefully next year."

The audit originally began with a look at street light bills, and then went system-wide.

"We realized that there were bigger issues with how the city was processing the utility payments, how they were reviewing the invoices,” Luna explained. “And we decided to expand it and try to get a little efficiency on our part and make some comprehensive recommendations."

Energy-saving moves already have lowered projections for the city's utility costs -- among them, replacing 14,000 street lights with LED lamps this summer.