A Shelltown man initially suspected in the shooting murder of San Diego Police Department Officer Jonathan De Guzman is seeking damages from the city.

Family members claim SDPD damaged their home during an extensive SWAT standoff that began soon after suspected gang members shot and killed De Guzman and seriously injured his partner, Officer Wade Irwin.

The San Diego Reader first reported on the claims after obtaining them through a routine public records request with the city.

De Guzman and Irwin were on gang suppression patrol when they attempted to make contact with Jesse Michael Gomez, 52, and another man. Gomez shot at the officers and both took off, prosecutors say. In the minutes after the shooting, seriously-injured Irwin identified Marcus Cassani as a potential suspect.

Police found Gomez, bleeding from gunshot wounds, in a nearby ravine about half an hour after the July 29 fatal officer-involved shooting.

During the manhunt that followed, police and SWAT officers surrounded Cassani's family home on Epsilon Street around 6 a.m. They called into the home on a bullhorn and fired pepper balls into the house, trying to convince Cassani to come out.

It was later determined Cassani was not in the home police surrounded.

"They were doing their job," said a neighbor who remembered the long summer day very well. "It was very controlled. Nobody was running like hot-headed. And it must have been very difficult because an officer had been shot and people forget that part."

Around noon, Marcus Cassani finally called police on the phone, and told them they could pick him up at a nearby Northgate market. Police arrested Cassani nearby on an outstanding narcotics warrant, but eventually cleared of being involved in the murder and attempted murder.

Neighbor Deborah Pasco said she almost wrote District Bonnie Dumanis a letter praising the professionalism of the SWAT officers at the Epsilon home.

"I was gonna say that I was proud of our police force under such stressful circumstances to do a good job," Pasco told NBC 7.

Pasco said the Cassani's home was badly damaged and an NBC 7 reporter spoke to Cassani's sister the day after the standoff while she was cleaning up glass windows that had been broken during the standoff. 

Marissa Cassani told NBC 7 off-camera on July 30 that the ordeal was very stressful and she did not know where Marcus was during the standoff.

The neighbor said she thought even though police did nothing wrong, Cassani's grandfather shouldn't have to pay for the damages.

"I guess if the homeowner's insurance will not pay, somebody has to because he's an old retired veteran and he doesn't deserve to have his house shot up," Pasco said.

San Diego Risk Management Department Director Julio Canizal confirmed the city was aware of the family's six claims.

“The City has received the claim and corresponded with the claimants' attorney,” Canizal said in a written email statement.

The claimants also accuse SDPD of false detainment. Police were asking family members at the home near Epsilon and 41st to remain on the scene and help them contact Marcus.

Family members at Cassani's home Friday declined an interview request. It remains unclear why Cassani did not tell police where he was before the standoff stretched on for more than six hours.

The second suspect in De Guzman's murder was never identified or apprehended.

California is on the brink of raising its gas prices by 12-cents a gallon for regular and 20-cents a gallon for diesel.  So is the price at the pump the main reason we pull into one gas station over another?  Not necessarily.

According to research by Market Force Information, 77% of drivers do use price as the main component for where they fill their tank.  That would include driver Vanessa Shaefer, "Mostly has to do with price."

But drivers also look for other things when they pull into a station.  Those things, according to Market Force are Security, Fuel Quality, Payment Form and Easy Entry and Exits.

Nancy Repaire says she goes to the Shell station in Pt. Loma because of its location. "It's easy to get to all the freeways from this particular area."

Security includes how well a station is lit and maintained.

Fuel quality often means using major brand stations.  

Payment form means being able to use different forms of payment like credit cards, debit and cash.

And easy entry and exits include being able to have your choice of turning left or right and getting back out on the highway.

As for California's pending gas tax increase, once the Governor signs the bill, the tax for regular and diesel gas will start November 1st, the increase of fees will start January 1st, 2018.

A Mexican attorney general was in San Diego federal court this morning for allegedly smuggling and trying to distribute drugs for years.

The charges stem from an indictment filed by the state of New York in March.

Edgar Veytia was arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border at the Cross Border Xpress bridge last week which connects the Tijuana airport to the United States.

Veytia’s attorney, Jan Ronis, said that Veytia had to admit or deny that he is the person sought in New York while in court today.

He waived his right to contest that issue and will be flown to New York for the rest of the trial.

“That is where the case has been charged, that is where the case will be tried. Because he was arrested here, he has to be transferred there which is not uncommon. When people are arrested in one jurisdiction, they have to be transferred to another,” said Jan Ronis, attorney for Veytia.

Veytia was expected to fly out of San Diego on Friday night.

Veytia’s attorney said the indictment by New York alleges that he conspired with others to distribute more than 5 kilos of cocaine.

At the time of his arrest, Ronis said that his client didn’t have any drugs on him and there are no allegations he actually ever possessed drugs or contraband.

Before his arrest, Veytia was an attorney general for the Mexican State of Nayarit.

Veytia has dual-citizenship with the U-S and Mexico.

The project that will eventually transform wastewater into purified drinking water in San Diego is moving forward, with engineering and design concepts of the first phase about 60 percent complete.

Pure Water San Diego will provide one-third of San Diego’s water supply locally by 2035. Construction on the project is set to begin at the end of 2018.

The first phase will involve pipe line construction to move wastewater from a planned pump station in the Morena area to the North City Pure Water Facility in Miramar. The water will be then stored at the Lake Miramar Reservoir before it’s sent to the nearby Water Treatment plant. The water will then be blended with other imported water before making its way to taps.

“At the end of these processes, we’re coming up with purified water, nearly distilled water quality. It’s highly purified,” said Brent Eidson, External Affairs Deputy Director for the city’s Public Utilities Department.

Once the project goes on-line in 2018, it will mean a big change for water stored at Lake Miramar. It will be purified.

“This will be highly purified, safe and reliable water going in, already meeting state and federal drinking water status. We’re talking about high quality water,” said Eidson.

But members of San Diego’s fishing community have expressed concern over the impact purified water could have on the bass population at Lake Miramar. Eidson says the issue is still being studied.

And while there still may be a ‘toilet to tap’ stigma associated with treated wastewater, Eidson says a survey shows 73 percent of the region supports potable re-use. He says if you’ve ever been to Orange County, chances are you’ve had water treated the same way planned for San Diego.

“If you’ve been to Disneyland, if you’ve been to any of those amusement parks, you’ve already had this water,” said Eidson.

Right now, tours of the North City Pure Water Facility are available for the public to see the filtration process firsthand. In May, city officials will begin meeting with local community planning groups to update the Pure Water San Diego Project and address any concerns.

So far, Eidson says most of those concerns have not so much been about the water, but rather the impact construction connected to the project will have.

San Diego’s new downtown courthouse -- scheduled to open July 17 -- is plagued by a serious security problem that could allow dangerous criminals to escape through the courthouse front door.

The problem is detailed in a document written by the Sheriff’s department and a top county official, who asked the state for an extra $3 million a year for added security throughout the new building.

The January 2016 document, obtained this week by NBC 7 Investigates, reveals there is no effort currently being made to eliminate or reduce the major risk factors for an inmate escape on the building’s ground floor.

According to the Sheriff, the public entrance and exit to the new 22-story courthouse are located very close to two felony arraignment courtrooms, which “presents an increased security risk for a successful escape of in-custody prisoners charged with serious felony crimes.”

The document also said that the courtroom doors can’t be locked to help prevent an escape, due to the city’s fire code, which requires those doors to to remain unlocked so the public and court personnel can get out of the courtrooms quickly in an emergency.

If prisoners were to escape from the courtroom, the Sheriff warned that deputies stationed at the building’s entry and exit would not see them flee the building, because a wall will block their view.

“Due to the close proximity of these these (felony arraignment) courtrooms to the front exit, there would not be sufficient time to seal off the exit should an escape be attempted,” the report states.

Despite the escape threat, the Sheriff did not ask the state to provide money for deputies to guard that specific area. “Even though there is a higher potential of escape… the Sheriff’s Department is not requesting additional staff for this purpose.”

A Sheriff’s department spokesman declined to comment for this story, and would not explain why his department is not seeking additional staff or building alterations to minimize the escape risk on the first floor. The spokesman said the department will not discuss specific security issues at the new courthouse.

But Superior Court Judge Tony Maino, who has criticized the design and financial management of the $555 million courthouse project, told NBC 7 Investigates the escape threat is a serious challenge for security.

“This is worse than shocking,” Maino said. “It is another example of gross incompetence by the architects of this building.”

The Sheriff’s document also takes a swipe at the design and planning process, which was supervised by the state Judicial Council and paid for with funds administered by the Council. The Sheriff’s report notes that the section of the building in question was “...designed by the new Central Courthouse architect without Sheriff’s Department input.”

A spokesman for the Judicial Council disagreed, “Sheriff staff is included in all space programming meetings for the screening and holding areas,” the spokesman said in a written statement. “They have direct input on the number and type of holding cells, screening stations, and support areas.”

The spokesman also said the Sheriff’s staffs are included in all design meetings and worked with project architects on the design of all Sheriff’s department work spaces in new courthouses throughout the state..

See the Judicial Council’s full response here.

Overall, the Sheriff said he needs at total of 33 additional community services officers, deputy sheriffs and Sheriff’s Sergeants to provide extra security throughout the new courthouse. Salary and benefits for those officers is $3.2 million dollars a year, and increases annually with inflation and pay raises. There’s also a one-time, $453,000 cost for “start-up supplies.”

The Sheriff has asked the Department of Finance to pay those costs with money from the state’s general fund. Though the request for funds was made more than a year ago, the finance department still has the issue under consideration.

Meanwhile, with the courthouse opening in just three months, it’s unclear if the Sheriff has found another source of funding for the additional security.

A sheriff’s spokesman told NBC 7 Investigates that he’s researching that issue.

Henry Smith had only been married for two days when he was robbed at gunpoint. Smith worked as a security guard a North Park marijuana dispensary in 2014 when two armed men came in, took his security belt with his gun and pushed him into the back room with the store’s owner. When the robbers left the room Smith was able to retrieve his gun and fatally shot one of the men when they returned. He took a bullet from the other suspect who was later arrested.

“I was thinking about my wife,” Smith tells NBC 7. “We had just got married a couple days before. On April 18th, and she was pregnant at the time too. So I mean, I was just trying to survive, anything to survive.”

Friday, Smith was honored by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis along with six other people at the annual Citizens of Courage Luncheon at the Hilton Bayfront in downtown.

Aaron Bianco, a lay pastoral associate, was at his church in October when a man came in threatening his life with a pair of scissors. Bianco managed to text a police officer friend for help while keeping the man clam before waiting for the right moment to run away.

“I was scared to death the whole time,” he admits. Bianco’s quick thinking and calmness in the face of danger likely saved his life and two others at the church that day.

Honoree Debbie Reynolds caught a predator hiding in her daughter’s bedroom. Reynolds caused so much of a commotion that the man jumped from their second story balcony to try to get away. He cut himself and police later used his DNA to catch him.

“I'm very thankful that they've chosen me,” she says, “but for me, as I said, it was very much about surviving. I wanted to go home to my family that night.”

That sentiment of surviving and not ‘being a hero’ was echoed by most of the honorees – but at least for one day maybe even these humble people might have to admit their actions were heroic.

The Citizens of Courage event is now in its 27th year.

Ellen Siebern has made a career out of working for free.

The 88 year old started volunteering at Rady Children's Hospital 25 years ago, and has since put in more than 5500 hours helping nurses with their daily tasks.

"Their job is to take care of the children, and our job is to make things as easy as we can for them," she said.

Siebern does not usually go room to room visiting sick kids.  Her tasks are more tedius, but no less important.  She counts medical supplies, delivers blood, and does it with a smile.

"She radiates, and she's just happy," said nurse Kimberly Faimon.

"She smiles all the time," echoed Hemotologoy Oncology director Dolores Esparza. "It's very contagious.  You can't help but smile, if she's smiling."

While Siebern's trademark around the hospital hallways seems to be happiness, the job started out in darker times for her.  Sibern had lost her husband of more than 30 years.

"Very selfishly I guess I was trying to get over the loss of my husband," she said.  And that's not the only reason this job is personal to her. 

Siebern's oldest granddaughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was 18 months old, and was treated at Rady Children's Hospital.

"When she grew up, she was validictorian of her high school and went on to Berkeley," said the proud grandmother.

That experience gave Siebern a first hand look into this hospital.

"The nurses are so great," she said. "They care so much about each child."

And over the past 25 years, she's gained an appreciation for the patients as well, even at arm's length.

"I don't have to interract with them.  I just enjoy seeing little kids.  They are so fun to watch, and they are so tough, they really are."

April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month.  Ellen Siebern technically works for free, but like so many other volunteers, would tell you she's paid in other ways.

"I think most of the time, when you talk to a volunteer, they don't consider it work.  It's something they enjoy.  And I enjoy this," she said.

A man’s body was found on State Route 78 in Escondido Friday night; investigators believe the victim was killed in a hit-and-run and likely dragged on the freeway.

California Highway Patrol (CHP) Sgt. David Morenberg said investigators believe the victim may have been dragged approximately 700 to 1,000 feet after being struck by the car.

“[He] got hit and [was] pushed forward, depending on how fast the vehicle was going,” Morenberg explained.

CHP officials said the victim – identified, for now, only as a man in his 20s – was walking at around 9:45 p.m. either in the eastbound center divide or in the No. 1 lane of eastbound SR-78, west of Centre City Parkway.

An unknown driver – possibly a sedan – hit the pedestrian and then fled the scene. The victim was critically hurt and left behind in the center divide. Officials declared him dead at the scene.

No arrests have been made.

According to Morenberg, the hit-and-run suspect’s car may be missing the driver side mirror and likely sustained significant damage to its front end, including the bumper or hood. The windshield may have also been shattered in the collision. No further description of the car was immediately available.

Anyone with information on the deadly hit-and-run can call the Oceanside CHP office at (760) 643-3400 or the 24-hour dispatch line at (858) 637-3800.

The victim’s name has not yet been released, pending notification of his family. No one else was hurt in the incident.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

A 79-year-old woman was the victim of a home invasion in Pacific Beach late Friday when a young man tried to steal her purse while threatening her with a pair of scissors.

The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said the woman was in her house in the 1500 block of Moorland Drive when, just after 11:40 p.m., she walked out into the living room. There, she found a stranger trying to steal her belongings.

The woman’s purse was on a table. She stepped between the bag and the suspect and that’s when the suspect grabbed a pair of scissors and pointed them directly at her stomach, SDPD Officer Robert Heims said.

The victim moved out of the way; the suspect nabbed the purse and fled the home.

Police said the suspect was described by the victim as being around 18 years old, with a medium build. He wore a light-colored shirt and dark pants.

Anyone with information on this case can call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Top-level athletes from across San Diego competed in both Junior and Adult divisions Saturday in the 39th Annual Wheelchair Over-the-Line (OTL) Tournament.

The tournament was sponsored by the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club (OMBAC), a non-profit organization that focuses on amateur sports, youth athletics and local charities. The OTL Tournament is a main fundraising event for the OMBAC.

Wheelchair OTL, which features three-player teams that play on four concrete courts, is a variation of OMBAC's traditional OTL Tournament, a summertime tradition that takes place each July on the sand on Fiesta Island.

OMBAC member and San Diego attorney Jeff Briggs took part in Saturday's event. They needed extra players, so he got into a wheelchair and played.

Briggs has been playing OTL for nearly 50 years. His peers consider him an expert of the sport.

"I've been playing for a long, long time," he told NBC 7. "I've been playing Over-the-Line my whole life and it's meant a lot to me and I think everyone should have the opportunity to play."

Briggs said he hopes the Wheelchair OTL Tournament grows into a large-scale event like the annual July OTL event.

He wants everyone to be included in the sport.

"It's tough for people who are in wheelchairs to get out to the sand on Fiesta Island and really participate. Out here they get to enjoy the sport like the rest of us do," Briggs added.

Sonny Petersen, another longtime OMBAC member, echoed Briggs' feelings about making OTL a sport for everyone.

"Everyone in the community of San Diego should have an opportunity to play this sport, so we modified it and made it for adaptive athletes to also to be able to play," said Petersen.

Athlete David Ochoa played in Saturday's tourney. He told NBC 7 he had a lot of fun on the court and the game brought him back to the old days. 

Ochoa was shot in April 2015. A bullet broke his spine and he suffered permanent injuries. Today, he's quadriplegic.

Before the shooting, Ochoa had been playing baseball his entire life. The Wheelchair OTL Tournament gave him another chance to grab a bat and play ball.

"It's awesome," he said, smiling. "It's a little bit emotional; baseball is all I knew."

OMBAC's annual Fiesta Island OTL will take place over the course of two weekends this summer -- July 8-9 and July 15-16. In its 64th year, tournament typically gathers approximately 1,200 teams from around the world to play OTL, a bat and ball sport first played in Mission Beach in the 1950s.

The rules are simple: games last three innings, no one had to run bases and the main goal is to hit the ball “over the line” about 55 feet in front of the batter. Teams dress up in wacky costumes and bring tents, chairs, beer and hilarious signs to the beach for the carefree, daytime tournament. 

The night after the U.S. military launched missiles into a Syrian air base, protests brewed across the country. From San Francisco to New York, people spoke out against President Donald Trump’s show of power.

The Syrian military said the strike killed at least seven people and wounded nine others, according to The Associated Press, after the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield in response to a gas attacked unleashed in Idlib on Tuesday.

"I'm vehemently opposed to bombing of Syria," said David Welsh of Berkeley, California. "We need to pull back from the brink. This is a terrible development."

Trump said he ordered the action after seeing proof that Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons to kill civilians.

However, protesters aren't convinced Assad is responsible.

The president may view the attack as a success if the use of chemical weapons stops. But political experts say with the show of force is risky, with Russia backing Assad.

"This plunges us into an arena that puts us in a position of danger," said Karthika Sasikumar, a political science professor at San Jose State University. "Risking escalation with Russia – we might regret doing this."

Russia called the bombing a significant blow to U.S.-Russian relations.

“The U.S. needs to come home, take care of business here, and stop interfering in other countries in the world,” Welsh said.

Protesters are urging people to rally together and show the Trump administration that they don't support military involvement in the Middle East.

In Manhattan, New York, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Midtown and Union Square to voice their opposition to the U.S. strikes on Syria on Friday night.

"It's only going to escalate the violence," protester Martin Jennings said. "I'm really concerned about the future of the Syrian people."

Thursday's attack was the first direct American assault on the Syrian government and Trump's most dramatic military order since becoming president just over two months ago. The strikes also risk thrusting the U.S. deeper into an intractable conflict that his predecessor spent years trying to avoid.

___

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A U.S. soldier was killed while conducting operations against ISIS in Afghanistan late on Saturday, a U.S. military spokesman said in a message posted on Twitter, Reuters reported.

"The soldier was mortally wounded late Saturday during an operation in Nangarhar Province" in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. Navy Captain Bill Salvin said in a message on the official Twitter account of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission.

He was the first U.S. soldier casualty in Afghanistan in 2017 for the Resolute Support mission, a NATO spokesman confirmed to NBC News. The circumstances of his death were unclear.

In 2016, nine American service members were killed in action in Afghanistan as part of the mission.

“Lock him up!”

They shouted those strong words in front of the El Cajon Police Department Saturday.

The group, led by the National Action Network and members of Alfred Olango's family, marched from the taco shop where Olango was shot last September to the police station on Civic Center Way. 

The words referred to Officer Richard Gonsalves, who fatally shot Olango and who the marchers want removed from the department. 

“We hope that people will all gather together and see what’s going on, and support the removal of racist, violent offending police,” participant Yusef Miller told NBC 7. “Not all police are this way, but the ones that are need to be removed right away. We cannot afford to have our children and our family members targeted by people who are supposed to protect and serve us.”

Emotions ran high at the march where participants hoped to keep Olango’s memory fresh in the mind of the community.

“This is terrorism on our streets and we will not put up for it,” Miller added. “And everyone is here today to support the family of Alfred Olango and for the whole nation to know that this police brutality will not be tolerated.”

Olango was one in a series of unarmed black men who have been shot by police in the last few years, sparking outrage and protests across the country.

“Part of the reason I am here is because we want the death of Alfred Olango to be a trigger that allows people to realize there is something really wrong with the police department, all over, not just in El Cajon.” Charlie Lakony, a member of Olango’s extended family told NBC 7. “The fact that my brother … was killed here when the police could have done something different speaks to the issue of the system being wrong.”

Lakony, who spoke at the rally, said there are three things the marchers want: Richard Gonsalves removed from the department, some type of civilian watchdog group that oversees the police department and for the department to work with the community to solve the problem.

“I want to make sure that ultimately the community where all the police brutalities are taking place realize that it is up to them to say to the department ‘we cannot tolerate racism the way it is being demonstrated blatantly by the police departments in our community,” Lakony added.

He said the police need to engage with the community because they are part of the community.

“These young men and young women who are wearing this uniform, they come from this community, they are members of this community. When they take those … uniforms off they’re my brothers, my sisters, my uncles, my nephews.”

In January, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said that Gonsalves was justified and would not face charges.

Welcome to your weekend, San Diego! The Padres swing into the 2017 baseball season with the Home Opener on Friday, plus a two-day block party in East Village that should be a hit among baseball fans. It’s also a great weekend to enjoy the spring flowers, a musical, stand-up comedy from a familiar face and live music from Green Day. It’ll be a weekend for the books.

Thursday, April 6

Fashion, Flowers & Fido Show
6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., The Flower Fields at Carlsbad
Calling all furry fashionistas! Head over to the barn at The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch Thursday for an evening of fashion, food, brews and pups. The night includes designer fashions from Carlsbad Premium Outlets strutting down a runway, accompanied by dogs up for adoption from the Rancho Coastal Humane Society. Attendees will also be treated to food and beer tastings. Tickets are $40.

Finding Neverland
7:30 p.m., San Diego Civic Theatre
This new Broadway musical directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus comes to the San Diego Civic Theatre this week, telling the story of Peter Pan. Described as a story of “a little bit of pixie dust and a lot of faith,” it’s all about the protagonist finding his way to Neverland, a world where the wonder of childhood lasts forever. The show runs in San Diego from April 4 through April 9; tickets to Thursday’s show start at $22.

An Evening in Conversation with Yanni and His Piano
7:30 p.m., Balboa Theatre
Renowned musician Yanni delivers this intimate show at Balboa Theatre, in which he plans to share stories, philosophies and ideas about his composing process, all while playing his piano. Tickets start at $39.50.

Campanile Music Festival Concert
7:30 p.m. (Tuesday through Thursday), Scripps Cottage at SDSU
Acclaimed musicians from around the country converge at San Diego State University (SDSU) this week for the Campanile Music Festival Concert, offering students and local music enthusiasts a chance to learn from the pros. The event is produced by SDSU’s School of Music and Dance, and this year’s musicians include composer Clancy Newman, Jesse Mills and Jonathan Moerschel. Thursday’s gathering is at Scripps Cottage on campus (5500 Campanile Dr.); all events during the multi-day festival are free and open to the public.

Jeezy
8 p.m., House of Blues
Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy brings his swagger and skills to the stage at House of Blues in downtown San Diego as part of his “Trap or Die Tour.” Joining him are supporting acts Lil’ Durk and Yfn Lucci; the doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets range between $45 and $75.

Friday, April 7

The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (season runs through May 14), Carlsbad Ranch
The famous Flower Fields in Carlsbad Ranch continues its vibrant spring run, offering visitors spectacular views of bright blooms in all of their gorgeous glory. The fields are open daily, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., through May 14. Patrons will enjoy nearly 50 acres of colorful displays of Giant Tecolote Ranunculus flowers, which are in bloom for six to eight weeks. The famous fields also include roses, orchids, sweet pea blossoms, petunias and poinsettias. Keep checking the Flower Fields website, too, because the venue hosts special events throughout the bloom season.

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Infinity Cube
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Birch Aquarium
Birch Aquarium will launch its newest installation on Friday: the “Infinity Cube,” an immersive, 8-foot cube that explores bioluminescence, light produced by living organisms in the marine world. Artist Iyvone Khoo worked alongside Scripps Institution of Oceanography marine biologist Michael Latz to bring this project to life, filming more than six hours of footage of single-celled marine organisms called dinoflagellates reacting to various stimulants, such as the human heartbeat, music, water flow and air pressure. The “Infinity Cube” revolves around these videos, which will be projected and reflected into larger-than-life images of bioluminescence accompanied by soundscape, immersing patrons in this interesting world. The exhibition is ongoing, but Friday is opening day.

7th Annual EVA Opening Day Block Party
10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Friday and Saturday), East Village
The San Diego Padres Home Opener is Friday (see details a couple of blurbs down) and East Village will celebrate the start of baseball season with this annual two-day block party. The shindig includes music, food, drinks, vendors, a rock wall, and a carnival with games and rides – all among baseball fans, of course. The free event goes down on J Street, between 6th and 10th avenues, from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday and again from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

18th Annual Tea & Tonic
1 p.m., Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines
This 18th annual fundraiser – which benefits the Center for Community Solutions in its mission is to support prevention and intervention programs focused on ending relationship violence, sexual assault and stalking – starts at 1 p.m. at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines. The event includes a champagne reception, a high tea service, live and silent auctions, raffles and entertainment, plus celebrity keynote speaker, actor Terry Crews. Tickets are $150, with proceeds benefitting the organization.

San Diego Padres Home Opener
3:40 p.m., Petco Park
Welcome to baseball season, San Diego. The Padres host the San Francisco Giants for the 2017 Home Opener at Petco Park on Friday. The game starts at 3:40 p.m.; attendees will receive a free Opening Day T-shirt, while supplies last. Play ball!

San Diego Gulls vs. Ontario Reign
7 p.m., Valley View Casino Center
The San Diego Gulls take on Ontario Reign Friday night on the ice at Valley View Casino Center. The doors open at 6 p.m.; tickets start at $19.

David Koechner
7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m., The American Comedy Co.
You know him as Champ Kind from the “Anchorman” movies and from stints on many TV shows like “The Office,” “The Goldbergs” and “American Dad.” This weekend, funnyman David Koechner stars on the stage at downtown San Diego’s American Comedy Co., headlining shows on Friday and Saturday (7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on both nights) and again on Sunday (one show at 7 p.m.). Tickets are $18. Whammy!

Chris Botti
7:30 p.m., California Center for the Arts Escondido
Grammy-winning trumpeter Chris Botti plays the California Center for the Arts in Escondido Friday night, performing jazz standards and famous classical masterpieces in his signature style. Over the past three decades, the trumpeter has played alongside music legends such as Sting, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Steven Tyler, Andrea Bocelli and even Frank Sinatra, to name a few. Tickets start at $40.

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Saturday, April 8

Healthy Living Festival
10 a.m., Del Mar Fairgrounds
San Diego’s largest health and fitness expo returns to the Del Mar Fairgrounds on both Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., respectively. The event educates attendees on everything involving health and wellness and will feature 30 expert-led lectures and workshops on topics like fitness, healthy eating, better sleep habits and how to reduce stress. In addition, there will be free medical screenings, too, and attendees will also enjoy cooking demos and tips from renowned chefs.
Also on the agenda: free yoga and qigong classes, belly dancing shows, Zumba and karate demonstrations. Organizers say more than 200 exhibitors will fill the event space offering the latest products and services in the health and fitness world. Admission is $10 at the door, but if you print out this pass ahead of time online here (http://www.healthylivingfestival.com/freepass.html), you can get in for free.

Imperial Beach Derby Daze
12 p.m., Imperial Beach Pier Plaza on Seacoast Drive
Join the San Diego Small Business Forum this Saturday as they support the Imperial Beach Fire Department with their Derby Demolition Car that will be participating at the Del Mar Fair. The day will feature local business displays, delicious food, live music from Cuban Band Buena Vista SoCal Club, dance performances by Italia’s Dance Academy, and more for the whole family. Admission is free.

Taste of Julian
1 p.m., Julian Town Hall on Main Street
Explore Julian on a self-guided culinary tour this weekend during the town’s Taste of Julian. Local restaurants, wineries and breweries – including Orfila Vineyard and Winery, Apple Alley Bakery and Nickel Beer Co., as well as many more - will participate in the event. Tickets to the rural dining adventure are $25 in advance and will be validated when brought to the event. Parking is free.

VinDiego Wine and Food Festival
3 p.m., Liberty Station
Wine fans only at this event, please! The largest “wine only” tasting event rolls into San Diego’s Liberty Station this weekend. Spend the afternoon enjoying hundreds of California’s finest vintage award-winning wines, plus: gourmet food samples and live music. The event is for those 21 years and older. Tickets start at $95.

Eggstravaganza
9 a.m., The Village Community Presbyterian Church in Rancho Santa Fe
It’s about that time of year again – Easter! Enjoy one of the holiday’s traditions this Saturday by participating in an Easter egg hunt. In addition, there will be a petting zoo, balloon artist, face painting and crafts on the church campus. The event is free.

Green Day
7:30 p.m., Valley View Casino Center
American punk rock band Green Day comes to the Valley View Casino Center this Saturday night to rock San Diego. Supporting act Against Me! Opens the performance. Tickets start at $30.

First Date: A New Musical Comedy
4 p.m., Horton Grand Theatre
A blind first date transforms into a hilarious dinner when blind date newbie Aaron meets Casey, a serial dater. Watch as the pair - and their friends, restaurant patrons and more - sing and dance their way through a high stakes evening as each takes a chance on finding love. The San Diego Musical Theatre production plays at the Horton Grand until May 7. Tickets start at $40, though discounts are available for seniors, children, students and groups. Find more theater spring picks here.

Old Town Showdown: Improv Comedy Show
7 p.m., Old Town Improv Co.
Spend your Saturday night laughing and laughing and laughing at the Old Town Showdown. At this interactive, past-paced show, an ensemble of improvisers will perform short-form comedy based off the audience’s suggestions. All ages welcome. Tickets start at $7.

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Sunday, April 9

La Jolla Concours D’Elegance
9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Ellen Browning Scripps Park
The well-known auto show returns to La Jolla this weekend (Friday through Sunday),with more than 150 rare, spectacularly restored vehicles on display at the La Jolla Cove lawn against ocean view backdrops. This year’s event also includes an aviation show featuring vintage, restored aircraft, plus a “champagne and honey tasting garden” where attendees can sample flights of sweet honey from different regions, as well as live music and a cheese tasting zone. General admission tickets to Sunday’s party cost $70 for adults the day of the event, $30 for military and children ages 11 to 18; kids 10 and under get in free.

Puesto Turns 5
10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Puesto at The Headquarters at Seaport
Puesto, the popular Mexican eatery at The Headquarters at Seaport, turns five this weekend and will mark the special occasion with a fiesta. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, the restaurant will serve free tacos and aguas frescas in the courtyard of the Headquarters. The family-friendly shindig will also include face painting, balloon artists and jump houses for the kids – perfectly fitting for any 5-year-old’s birthday party.

Bill Magee
1 p.m. to 5 p.m., The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch
Blues musician Bill Magee will perform at The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch Sunday, strumming some toe-tapping tunes as visitors enjoy the vibrant blooms.

The Who’s Tommy
2 p.m., OB Playhouse
The Who fans will not want to miss this musical production playing at the OB Playhouse. The five-time Tony Award-winning musical is based on the iconic 1969 rock concept album and shares a story of hope, healing and human spirit. Tickets start at $29.

Red Velvet
2 p.m., The Old Globe
Fall back to the turbulent backstage world of London’s Theatre Royal in the early 1800s in “Red Velvet”, a play at The Old Globe until April 30. Lolita Chakrabarti’s award-winning play follows a young American actor who steps into the role of Othello after one of the era’s most treasured actors can’t go on – but the role has never been played by a black man before. Tickets start at $34.

Free or Cheap Things to Do in San Diego
Times and locations vary
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Looking to save some, but still enjoy the city? In San Diego, there are still plenty of activities to enjoy for free or on the cheap. Go for a hike at Torrey Pines State Park or Cowles Mountain, stroll Balboa Park, try a new craft brewery, admire the murals of Chicano Park or read a book at a downtown park. Get out there and explore America’s Finest City.

As usual, in lightning, superhero-style speed, badges for San Diego Comic-Con International 2017 completely sold out Saturday morning, within hours of being made available to the general public.

Comic-Con's "open registration" took place bright and early. The pros geared up for the competitive ticket-buying process.

As the morning unfolded, fans offered one another luck on social media on their quest to land the coveted passes.

The struggle, as they say, was real:

Soon enough, every pass to the pop culture extravaganza was gone. The event typically sells out quickly, just like this, year after year.

Throughout the morning, the open registration badge sale process had folks on Twitter feeling all kinds of emotions, from elation for those who scored badges to disappointment for those who weren't so lucky.

Many fans used photos and GIFs to express their feelings:

Comic-Con returns to the San Diego Convention Center this summer, from July 20 through July 23; preview night is on July 19.

Comic-Con was born in 1970 in the basement of the U.S. Grant Hotel in the heart of San Diego, California. Over the decades, the “little event that could” has grown into a behemoth, taking over the Convention Center, neighboring hotels and downtown San Diego for a long summer weekend every year.

Comic-Con’s fervent fans typically attend the convention in elaborate costumes, transforming the city into a metropolis straight out of the pages of fantasy and science fiction. The event has also become famous for celebrity sightings.

NBC 7 will bring you coverage from the event in this special online section.

A grieving widow is asking the City of San Diego to make changes to a street in Lincoln Park after her husband was hit and left for dead in the middle of the busy road.

Ruben Mesa, 57, was killed by a hit-and-run driver in the 1200 block of South 47th Street on Wednesday night.

His niece told NBC 7 the victim left behind a large family including his wife, kids, grandchildren, sisters and many friends.

"He was a great man," she said.

Two days later, Meza's loved ones are still in shock that his life was so suddenly taken in the hit-and-run, which happened close to his home.

According to the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) Meza was walking across the street to go home to his apartment when he was hit. He had lived in the area with his wife for several years. 

His family members told NBC 7 that the road is not safe for pedestrians.

Neighbors couldn't agree more.

"It isn't safe. Not even for kids, grown-ups, anybody," said one local.

Meza's widow was too distraught Friday night to speak on camera but she wanted her plea to improve street safety in her neighborhood to be heard loud and clear. Her niece spoke on her behalf.

"That a wife is not asking for justice, she's asking for a change. This is about making a change in order for the accidents to stop," the niece told NBC 7.

Lincoln Park neighbors said they've started a petition in hopes of making this stretch of road a little safer.

The driver who hit Meza has still not been arrested. The investigation into the deadly hit-and-run is ongoing.

Kaiser Permanente gave visitors a glimpse Saturday of its new facility in Kearny Mesa that will begin accepting patients at the end of this month.

The San Diego Medical Center (SDMC) is located at 9455 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Its first patients will be admitted come April 25.

Saturday's sneak peek kicked off with activities such as ping-pong tournaments, nutritional and wellness presentations and games for kids. Food trucks and farmer’s market vendors were also there.

The new state-of-the-art SDMC includes some of the most advanced technology in health care, such as robotic and image-guided surgical equipment. There are even remote-controlled rooms were patients can adjust blinds, temperature and lighting.

The facility only uses LED lighting and is one of four health centers in the word to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. LEED-certified buildings are resource efficient, using less water and energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Jane Finley, senior vice president and general manager of Kaiser Permanente San Diego said one clinical tool in the facility – a 75-inch screen – also doubles as a screen to watch movies.

Finley said Kaiser’s newest medical center will keep the company caring for San Diegans. It will also add local jobs.

“We are now taking care of about 610,000 San Diegans, so about one in five San Diegans we care for,” she explained. “We’ve also added quite a few jobs, just for people working in the building.”

The new facility wowed guests, including former longtime nurse Katie Moran and former VA employee Rich Moran.

“I was pretty amazed, I’m a retired nurse of 42 years and I’ve worked in a lot of hospitals and they’ve thought of just about everything,” said Katie. “Including how you feel as a patient.”

“We have a ways to catch up in the VA, to catch up to this building,” added Rich. “This is building is really something and you can see it’s all directed at the patient.”

Finley said Kaiser Permanente worked closely with the City of San Diego to make sure the traffic flow around the building will be efficient.

“We’ve added a street light in front of the building; widened the lane on Clairemont Mesa [Blvd.] and the retaining wall, we built that to prevent any erosion that might occur,” she explained. 

The preview event featured tours of the facility; those tours will continue to be given in the coming months. Visit the SDMC to schedule a tour.

San Diego police are investigating a strange shooting near a park in Linda Vista that left several cars peppered with bullet holes.

According the San Diego Police Department (SDPD), the shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. Friday near Linda Vista Community Park in the 7000 block of Levant Street.

Police said witnesses reported seeing a man carrying a bat, running down the street apparently chasing someone. A short time later, a car pulled up in the area and someone in that car fired off several shots at the man who had the bat.

Witnesses heard about four or five shots; the bullets hit several parked cars in the area.

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

The shooting happened very close to an apartment complex, as well as the park. There were still people at the park when the shots rang out.

Both the man with the bat and the shooting suspect fled the scene. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing.