Philadelphia Police have raided the home of the man who operated a backhoe at the site of Wednesday's deadly building collapse in downtown Philadelphia. The raid comes hours after NBC10 Philadelphia learned the man had drugs in his system the day of the collapse.

Sean Benschop, 42, had marijuana and prescription painkillers in his blood two hours after the outer wall of 2136 Market Street tumbled down onto the Salvation Army Thrift Shop Wednesday morning, sources tell NBC10.

Investigators went into Benschop's home along the 4900 block of North 7th Street in the Olney section of Philadelphia around 4:30 p.m. Friday.

NBC10 was there as detectives removed several boxes, notebook and desktop computers and a hard drive from the home.

Benschop's whereabouts are currently unknown. Neighbors tell NBC10 that investigators were asking them if they had seen the man. Neighbors replied they hadn't seen him in some time.

The Center City collapse buried nearly two dozen people under brick, cement and wood. Six people were killed and 13 hurt in the collapse. One woman was buried for 13 hours under rubble before being rescued.

Sources say Benschop was taken to a nearby hospital after the four-story building came down to take a blood and urine test. Those tests were expedited for quick results.

Benschop is a convicted felon and lists himself as self-employed, sources say.

An investigation into the cause of the collapse is ongoing and criminal charges have not been filed. However, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office's Homicide Unit was at the collapse scene Thursday.

The DA Office's spokeswoman Tasha Jamerson said it was too early to comment further on any potential criminal charges.

Benschop was operating the crane for demolition contractor Griffin Campbell Construction. City officials stopped work at two other Griffin Campbell sites in the city's Midtown Village section on Thursday.

Construction company owner Griffin Campbell had a valid contractor license, issued this January, but owed thousands of dollars in unpaid city, state and federal business taxes.

Campbell, 49, also has a criminal history — having pleaded guilty to theft and insurance fraud charges in 2009.

Construction workers and everyday citizens called Griffin Campbell Construction's demolition practices at the site into question prior to and following the collapse.

Stephen Field told the City of Philadelphia's Philly311 customer service center about a lack of safety gear being used by workers as they hacked away at the brick building. He also voiced his concern that pedestrians could be hit by falling debris or that a complete collapse could happen.

City officials said they sent out a building inspector to an adjacent work site at 2134 Market Street after being provided with that site's address. They say the inspector found no violations. Officials also said demolition work had not begun at the site of Wednesday's collapse and so that demolition project was never inspected.

Field disputed that claim, saying there was "no doubt" both building were being demolished at the same time. City officials have not responded to Field's dispute.

A lawsuit has already been filed on behalf of two of the victims — one shopper and one employee.

Crews had been working to clear the collapse site since Wednesday, but work will be halted Saturday as attorneys involved in the suit will be allowed to inspect the site and remove evidence.

Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.

A gunman believed to have opened fire on a bus and other vehicles near Santa Monica College is in custody Friday after at least three people were injured and firefighters discovered two bodies at a nearby house.

Authorities are investigating reports that the sequence of events began with a break-in at a home (map) about one mile northeast of the campus. Two bodies were discovered in the house, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.

A woman also was found with a gunshot wound in a car outside the burned home, a Santa Monica Fire Department official said.

Three victims shot near the Santa Monica, Calif., campus were taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center — two in critical condition and one in serious condition, according to the hospital.

The President's Santa Monica fundraiser is several blocks north of the campus.

"We are aware of the incident and it is not impacting the visit. It’s a local police matter at this point," said Secret Service Spokesman Edwin M. Donovan.

At about noon, witnesses reported a "fully armed" subject discharging a firearm at vehicles in the area of Pearl Street and 17th Street (map), according to the California Highway Patrol. The gunman opened fire on public transit bus and cars, according to CHP Sgt. Denise Joslin.

"This guy just stepped out with a big rifle," a bus passenger told NBC4 Southern California.

Student Marta Fagerstroem told NBC4 she was studying on the bus, pictured above, when a gunman opened fire on the transit vehicle, which was on Pico Boulevard. The gunman came out from the passenger seat of a car, she said.

“Everyone threw themselves on the floor, screams,” Fagerstroem said. “The bus driver, she panicked. She couldn’t drive away. She was able to, after a while.”

A woman on the bus was hit and was bleeding from her head, she said. A spokesman for UCLA Medical Center said the woman was in good condition with a flesh wound and was likely hit by shrapnel.

The Santa Monica Big Blue Bus had several visible bullet holes. There were reports of injuries involving bus passengers, said CHP Officer Kerri Rivas, a department spokeswoman.

The agency received several 911 calls involving reports of shots fired in the area.

"We are aware of at least one suspect, there may possibly be others," Joslin said.

The two-year college in the 1900 block of Pico Boulevard is on lockdown Friday afternoon. All schools in the Santa Monica area are on lockdown, according to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

Refresh this page for updates.

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Federal prosecutors are recommending former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. get four years in prison for misusing $750,000 in campaign money.

In a sentencing memo filed Friday, prosecutors also urged that Jackson get three years of supervision after his release from prison and return $750,000 to his campaign.

They suggested Jackson's wife, former Chicago Ald. Sandi Jackson, get 18 months for filing false joint federal income tax returns and restitution of $168,550.01.

Prosecutors want the couple to serve staggered sentences with Sandi Jackson serving first.

Jesse and Sandi Jackson pleaded guilty in February and were warned they could be sentenced to nearly five years and two years, respectively.

Prosecutors said Jackson spent thousands of campaign dollars on fan memorabilia, including $4,000 on a Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen guitar. Other charges included more than $4,000 for a cruise, $2,300 at Walt Disney World and $5,600 at a spa on Martha's Vineyard.

Court documents show Sandi Jackson failed to claim about $600,000 on her income tax returns between 2005 in 2011.

They are scheduled to be sentenced July 1. 

A man was killed in a collision involving two motorcycles that closed a major northbound highway through National City.

The crash happened around 2 a.m. along Interstate 805 near Sweetwater Road.

Four people were riding together from a motorcycle event, traveling approximately 90 to 120 miles per hour witnesses told California Highway Patrol officers.

When the riders encountered slower traffic, the first two avoided the vehicles. The third motorcycle crashed into the back of a pickup truck, ejecting the driver.

The body of one rider landed about 100 yards from where the motorcycles came to rest CHP officials said. The man, described as a 27-year-old National City resident, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A fourth rider on a white Honda swerved to avoid the crash and was thrown from his bike. He jumped into another vehicle and left the scene officials said.

CHP investigators believe the riders knew one another.

Some family members of the victim were on the scene and very distraught.

After northbound traffic was halted for several hours in the investigation, I-805 northbound was reopened again before 6 a.m.

Witnesses with any information regarding this collision can contact CHP at (858) 637-3800.

 

A woman who had just finished getting her nails done at an El Cajon salon, got into her car and drove into a bar Friday.

The collision happened at 9:15 a.m. at the Quarter Deck Bar located at 979 Broadway, in El Cajon.

Witnesses say the woman's red Hyundai was parked in the spot in front of the Quarter Deck when she drove through the front of the building.

The front window of the bar was knocked down, but luckily no one was in the building and nobody was hurt.

Officials say a building inspector was requested to evaluate its structural integrity.

A key prosecution witness in the corruption case involving more than a dozen current and former school officials claims he not only treated defendants to meals and entertainment, but that he also purchased jewelry for some of the officials and their wives.

The testimony was found in the Grand Jury transcripts released in the bribery and perjury case of current and former officials from Sweetwater, San Ysidro and Southwestern College school districts.

More than a dozen people were indicted in December in a major "pay-to-play" public corruption case. Prosecutors allege school officials traded votes on multimillion dollar construction contracts in exchange gifts and other favors. All the defendants have entered "not guilty" pleas and their trial is set to begin in February 2014.

Construction executive Henry Amigable testified that on a couple of occasions while dining out with board members and school officials at Baci’s restaurant, he purchased jewelry and offered it to his prospective clients’ wives.

Tony D’Amato, the owner of Baci’s, a Bay Park restaurant serving Sicilian-based cuisine, said Tuesday that his wife makes jewelry pieces that are sometimes sold to restaurant patrons.

He said the jewelry is made of precious stones but the pieces are not very expensive, “about $50 for a bracelet or $65 for earrings, ”he said.

Dan Greene, Amigable’s attorney, said former Sweetwater Superintendent Jesus Gandara, Ph.D, returned the jewelry because he didn’t feel comfortable keeping it, but former Sweetwater trustee Greg Sandoval kept the jewelry for his wife.

Sandoval’s defense attorney did not return three requests for comment.

Baci’s was a favored dining establishment among South County elected leaders and Amigable.

Amigable’s expense reports to Gilbane Building Co. show that he brought various Sweetwater officials to the family-owned restaurant at least 18 times, spending more than $8,000 on the officials in the months leading up to Gilbane being
unanimously awarded a three-year $7.5 million contract for program management on the $644 million Proposition O bond program.

Defense attorney Paul Pfingst, who represents Gandara, said he wasn’t surprised by the extra exchange of goods at the dinners because he has long questioned how the meal tabs became so high.

“Dr. Gandara has no personal knowledge of any exchange of jewelry, but we have always thought the bill was padded and we never knew why,” Pfingst said. He denied that his client ever accepted any jewelry at the meals.

Both Amigable and D’Amato said the extra jewelry items were not included on the dinner tabs.

“He (Amigable) purchased jewelry, and he didn’t think it was on that same check,” Greene said of his client. “It wasn’t that much money and so he wasn’t even sure he expensed it.”

Receipts from Baci’s don’t clarify whether jewelry or any other commerce besides food and wine were included in the tab because many receipts are not itemized.

One $1,203 bill in Amigable’s expense reports is the credit card signature receipt only.

In another, three items are documented – Spumon for $.95; Chocolate Tort for $7.95 and Canoli for $7.95 – but the tab totals $550.71.

The other line items are just asterisks.

In another instance, entrees such as “New York Steak” ($27.95) and “Grilled Calamari Salad” ($11.95) are itemized but the Dec. 4, 2007 date on the receipt is scratched out and replaced with a handwritten date that indicates the meal actually took place on March 14, 2007.

The billing includes a handwritten note from the owner: “Sorry for the incovenience (sic). Computer due to daylight saving time went crazy. Sorry. Thanks. Tony D’Amato. Baci.

A spokeswoman for the District Attorney said her office could not comment on the ongoing case.

A website for Baci’s Ristorante describes the atmosphere at the establishment as private, elegant, but “with a casual Southern California flair.”

“Specialties include steaks, fresh fish, seafood, veal, lamb, pork, poultry, pastas, salads and house-made desserts. Baci welcomes guests’ special requests,” the website states.

A business tax representative with the City of San Diego said the only activity listed on Baci’s business license was the restaurant business, and selling jewelry was not included in approved activities at the location. The restaurant is not under investigation by the District Attorney's office.

Amigable, 48, pleaded guilty in March 2012 to a misdemeanor charge of offering a thing of value to a member of a school board, agreeing to cooperate with the prosecution in exchange for a lesser charge. He had originally faced felony bribery charges.

Amigable worked for Gilbane Building Co. and then Seville Construction Services, and then Echo Pacific. All three construction companies were chosen to manage million-dollar construction projects at three South County school districts: Sweetwater Union High School District, Southwestern College and San Ysidro School District.

School leaders at all three districts are facing corruption charges, accused of dining out at many other high-end restaurants, and accepting entertainment and other gifts in exchange for their votes on the contracts.

A California Highway Patrol pursuit ended with the driver crashing into a South Park home early Friday.

The chase began around 1:45 a.m. when the driver did not stop for CHP near Fashion Valley Mall in Mission Valley.

After several minutes, the vehicle crashed into a home at 28th and Date Street. The driver took off running. Officers found him hiding under a car a couple blocks away.

He was arrested for felony failure to stop for authorities.

 

A leak led to an investigation and then a shutdown. Now, more than a year later, two reactors inside the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) will be retired.

The announcement that Unit 2 and Unit 3 reactors will retire was made by Southern California Edison early Friday.

The company cited “continuing uncertainty about when or if SONGS might return to service” as the cause for their decision.

Edison International CEO Ted Craver said the company concluded that questions over when or if the plant might return to service was not good for customers or investors.

It will take years to retire the units. The company said it's "top priority will be to ensure a safe, orderly, and compliant retirement" of these two reactors.

The seaside plant between Los Angeles and San Diego has been shut down since January 2012.

Timeline: Shutdown of San Onofre

Local activist Donna Gilmore has been working with local groups in San Diego and Los Angeles to educate others on what she considered the dangers of the whole nuclear industry.

When contacted early Friday, Gilmore called the news unbelievable.

“Finally! This is amazing,” Gilmore said. “Didn’t expect this quite this way. This is great news.”

She said the issues at San Onofre have “kind of woke up the community in California and it’s growing. This is just the beginning as far as I’m concerned.”

In a statement Friday, California Public Utility Commision (CPUC) President Michael R. Peevey called the decision “understandable.”

He said the closure of the nuclear power generating station “will require even greater emphasis on energy efficiency and demand response programs.” Utility companies will also need to add transmission upgrade and find new generation resources.

Solana Beach resident Torgen Johnson who has worked with SanOnofreSafety.org said Craver has made the right decision.

“He did the right thing for the people of Southern California and the right thing financially for Southern California Edison,” Johnson said.

He said he hopes the utility can invest in safer energy technologies.

“Let’s do the right thing and turn this Cold War-era relic mistake into a really progressive, clean energy-based solution,” he said.

Who pays for the shutdown? The CPUC urged a meeting of ratepayers, community activists and SoCal Edison to determine how the costs will be borne.

The shutdown will also mean job loss. Staff at SONGS will be reduced from approximately 1,500 to approximately 400 employees before the end of the year.

Before it was closed, San Onofre produced enough power for 1.4 million homes. It is owned by SoCal Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric and the city of Riverside. 

Earlier this year, SoCal Edison had asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission if it could change the plant's federal operating rules to permit the Unit 2 reactor to run at no more than 70 percent power, which company engineers and consultants believe will limit unusual tube wear. 

Just last month, Senator Barbara Boxer wanted the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Southern California Edison and its statements to federal regulators about swapping out generators.

Sen. Boxer, Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said Friday she was relieved by the news.

“This nuclear plant had a defective redesign and could no longer operate as intended. Modifications to the San Onofre nuclear plant were unsafe and posed a danger to the eight million people living within 50 miles of the plant,” Sen. Boxer said in a written statement.

She stressed that the nuclear plant be safely decommissioned so that it doesn’t become a continuing liability for nearby residents.

Earlier this week, former Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan visited San Diego to share his perspective on nuclear power. Kan was in office when the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear catastrophe, that persists to this day.

The panel included San Diego County Supervisors and the former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair Gregory Jaczko.The purpose of the Southern California discussion was to help settle the San Onofre power plant controversy.

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San Diego County's health officials say because of the delay in symptoms from hepatitis A, we could be seeing just the beginning of an outbreak connected to a frozen berries package sold at Costco.

The berries were packaged as Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend.

There are at least 49 victims in seven states including eight cases here in San Diego County.

Read: Local Hepatitis A Cases Linked to Frozen Berry Product

Encinitas resident Geoff Soza, who loved to include the berries in his breakfast, is one of the locals affected.

His wife told NBC 7 San Diego her husband almost underwent a surgery he didn't need because it was so tough for doctors to diagnose his illness.

“It's a violent injury. You wouldn't wish it on anybody,” Rita Soza said.

Soza says it was her husband's regular breakfast of yogurt and these berries that caused him to become seriously ill on their anniversary trip to Yellowstone National Park.

"We never would have associated the berries with his condition in a million years,” Soza said.

She was able to take just one picture of him on the trip before things took a bad turn.

“He didn't want to have anything to deal with food. This general discomfort was worsening. He started to get hot to the touch,” she explained.

Rita says her husband was rushed to the hospital. After tests, doctors determined something was wrong with his gall bladder but just as he was getting ready to go into surgery, they learned the operation was impossible because of Soza's elevated liver enzymes.

"The surgeon rushes in and says I can't operate on this man,” she recalls.

After more tests, doctors realized Soza had Hepatitis A.

They were able to later determine he was a part of an outbreak linked to the Townsend Farm berries sold at Costco stores.

Fred Gordon represents another San Diegan who also came down with Hepatitis A. She's suingTownsend Farms.

"The filing of suits like this enhance the future of food safety of all the foods in the United States,” Gordon said.

Rita says she's not sure if they will also take legal action. Though Geoff is recovering, she says that is still her main priority.

“Right now we're only concerned with Geoff getting well,” she said.

It can take up to six weeks from the time you were exposed to the time you come down with the illness.

Hepatitis A can be spread by the ingestion of a microscopic amount of fecal matter from an infected person, typically a food worker who hasn't washed their hands.

Symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal pain and jaundice -- a yellowing of the skin or eyes. There is no specific treatment.

The Centers for Disease Control said the recalled berries included products from Argentina, Turkey and Chile, in addition to the United States.

But the packaging convinced the Sozas the fruit was all-American because it bears the slogans "Grower. Processor. Distributor." and "Field to Farm to Family, since 1906."

"It was our distinct impression that these are raised under U.S. standards, especially organic food standards," Rita Soza said.

A Southern California beach business that hosts a popular kids’ summer camp was the distribution center for a local methamphetamine ring moving large quantities of drugs officials alleged Friday. 

The Mission Bay Sports Center and its owner Jason Boone were the targets of a year-long drug investigation titled “Operation Boone’s Farm.”

Investigators announced arrests in the case Friday accusing Boone and eight others of using the business, known to many San Diegans as a place to rent water equipment or take lessons, as a drop location for drug suppliers and buyers.

Boone has been charged with 15 counts including transportation, sale, and possession for sale of methamphetamine.

San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced the arrest describing the 40-year-old business owner as a leader in the drug ring.

“The defendants in this case brazenly centered their drug-dealing operation out of a popular Mission Bay business where kids attended summer camp,” Dumanis said.

Law enforcement officials served a search warrant Thursday at the Santa Clara Place business.

About five pounds of methamphetamine along with heroin, marijuana and prescription pills were removed from the building officials said. They also found $48,000 in cash a bullet proof vest and a loaded .22 handgun.

Nine people have been charged in the case. Seven have been arrested in connection with the investigation.

Officials also arrested Vincente Garcia, 41; Jacquelin Miller, 32; Joe Bean, 52; Michael Gifford, 41; Janelle Shryock, 21 and Tamara Delar, 20.

Seven of the defendants will be arraigned in court Friday. More are expected to be arraigned on Monday. If convicted of the charges, their prison sentences range from 16 months to 10 years.

A DEA spokesperson said the investigation also involved San Diego police, San Diego County sheriff’s deputies and U.S. Border Patrol agents.

During the warrant search, officials also found a firecracker and called out the San Diego Fire-Rescue bomb experts to handle.

The center offers summer camps, boat and water sport rentals and lessons ranging from standup paddleboarding to surfing or sailing.

On Friday, it was business as usual at the sports rental facility with customers renting equipment.

“Decisions people make do not affect us here. We were not involved,” said one staff member.

Employees told NBC 7 San Diego the summer camp will go on as scheduled Monday.

A Mira Mesa man killed by San Diego police on an Escondido street corner was heavily armed with homemade firearms and explosives, including several small devices hidden on his body, officials said Friday.

William Mayes had 17 explosive devices on him when he was shot and killed by officers Wednesday night at the corner of Del Lago and Avenida Magoria.

Investigators say 37-year-old Mayes was under investigation as a suspect in a felony elderly abuse case.

As detectives were investigating the alleged attack on Mayes’ father, they learned Mayes may be building a cache of homemade guns, pipe bombs and smaller explosives known as "crickets."

To serve a search warrant on Mayes’ family’s home, investigators concocted a ruse to lure him to a park-and-ride lot at 3300-block of Del Lago.

Once officers attempted to pull Mayes over just after 8 p.m., he drove away and crashed his SUV.

When Mayes got out of the SUV, he had a gun slung around his neck. Officials say he raised a black-barreled weapon at authorities. 

Four San Diego police officers fired at Mayes, killing him.

Investigators still do not know how many shots were fired or if Mayes fired a weapon.

"There’s no doubt in my professional opinion that he had every intention of firing at the officers," said Lt. Neil Griffin.

Dozens of evidence markers surrounded the red SUV near the intersection hours after the shooting.

Read: Officer Involved in North County Shooting

When investigators briefed reporters on the evidence collected at the scene, they had several homemade firearms displayed on a table.

Officers found 7 pipe bombs in the suspect's car including 2 firearms. Officials revealed the devices Friday adding that Mayes had ten smaller explosive devices called "crickets" hidden on his body.

"The pipe bombs were very, very sensitive," said Capt. John Wood explaining how the devices exploded when they attempted to render them safe. "Something inside there was very sensitive. I don’t know what it was."

Following department protocol after an officer-involved shooting, five San Diego police officers were placed on administrative duty.

McManus and Griffin would not release the identities of the police involved.

Mayes had a criminal history. He was sentenced in 1997 to 3 years and 8 months for arson and was required to register as a arson offender.

"We know clearly he was a violent person," said Capt. Terry McManus adding that investigators may never know Mayes’ mindset or his motivation for manufacturing the weapons and pipe bombs.

"We’re not in possession of information that he had a specific plan to target anybody," McManus said.

The pair of reactors at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station now slated for retirement will join more than a dozen other plants in the country that are in the process of being cleaned up and permanently shuttered.

It’s a long and costly process that won’t even begin for Units 2 and 3 at the San Onofre plant until all nuclear fuel has been removed from the reactors—something Ted Craver, Edison International Chief Executive, says could take up to three months to complete.

Precisely how much time and money the units' full retirement will require are tougher figures to estimate.

“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission considers the plant to still be an active operating plant,” Craver said on a call Friday morning with reporters, noting that, although Unit 2 has not been active for well over a year, it’s still holding fuel.

“The final point,” he added, “is that full decommissioning of the site is going to be a multi-decade process.”

The NRC, which closely monitors the process, gives operators up to 60 years to clean up a site—an intentionally wide window that allows radioactive materials to naturally break down, and a company's decommissioning funds to accrue interest.

Leaving behind traces of radioactive materials is by far the NRC's largest concern and the agency will therefore not sign off on a plant's retirement until residual radioactivity levels are deemed safe.

While some plants opt to safely store radioactive materials on site, relying on time to slowly break down the most dangerous components, other plants opt for a more immediate decontamination and dismantling process.

"It's a pretty gruesome, labor intensive activity," said Christine King from the Electric Power Research Institute, adding that the toughest part of the process is decontamination and waste management.

"A lot of this involves brute force—just taking apart really large pieces of equipment."

If San Onofre plans to begin dismantling the site right away, as opposed to going the so-called SAFSTOR or safe storage route—a decision Southern California Edison has not yet announced—plant operators would still have to wait a while before they could jump in and begin the decontamination process.

Even though the units have not been operating in about a year and a half, King points out, any spent fuel currently sitting at the plant would still need months to cool before it could be transferred to dry storage, one of the first steps of the retirement process.

Once that's done, it's more brute labor—sand blasting, laser ablation. "When you get into different systems, you're literally talking about cutting systems into a size that's transportable and disposable," King says.

Whichever route they take—immediate or deferred dismantling—the process is costly.

Carver said that the plant currently has $2.7 billion set aside for decommissioning, about 10 percent short of what's needed.

The cost and time needed for cleanup could vary depending on what plans Edison may have for the site's future, and what resources it will have at its disposal. A company aiming to leave the property available for "unrestricted" or "greenfield" use would face more stringent requirements than one opting for brownfield status post-cleanup.

Most plants, the NRC points out, at least plan to release their sites to the public for unrestricted use, meaning residual radiation levels would have to fall below a strict safety threshold.

Just 12 of the 31 plants that have entered decommissioning since 1963 have finished the retirement process, according to data from the NRC. San Onofre 1, located on the same site as San Onofre units 2 and 3, was closed in 1992 and is just now approaching completion.

Duke Energy's Crystal River plant in Florida and the Kewaunee plant in Wisconsin were the latest to enter the shuttering process, both opting for the deferred dismantling, or SAFSTOR route.

Whatever route is in store for the San Onofre units, King says, a couple things are for sure: There will be a lot of waiting before decommissioning can begin, and a long, long time before the process is complete.

An attorney for the San Diego school district has weighed-in on the controversy surrounding a trustee taking a job with the Labor Council.

Outside Counsel Mark Bresee says trustee Richard Barrera has no conflict-of-interest serving on both the school board, and as the chief of the Labor Council.

School trustee Barrera was recently elected as the leader of an umbrella organization that represents 135 unions, some of which are present in the San Diego schools.

"We are pretty much defined as a citizen's board," said Barrera about the school board. "So, obviously, people are going to have other jobs. If my compensation at the Labor Council was structured in a way that if a teacher's union gets a raise, then I get a raise, then I would be required to recuse myself but that's just not the case. My compensation has nothing to do with member union benefits."

The attorney, from the Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo firm hired by the district to do a legal analysis on the situation, agreed.

Barrera should refrain from participating in decisions on which the Labor Council has advocated a specific position, the lawyer also wrote.

In the meantime, an assistant to the board said Friday the board office has received more than 100 phone calls from the public expressing a negative opinion of the situation.

Tony Krvaric, chairman for the Republican party, said a robocall is going out to district parents informing them of Barrera's new job and connecting them to the district to complain.

"The board's own legal opinion urged caution when SDEA or CSEA issues are involved," Krvaric said. "What decisions on a school board don't affect the teachers unions, and who is going to pay for the legal analysis on each vote?"

To read the full legal opinon of the district's outside counsel, click here.

Infrared video shows a pursuit on the high seas that netted three drug smugglers and approximately 50 bales of marijuana off the coast of San Diego.

Navy and Coast Guard vessels and aircraft chased down a boat loaded with drugs near the Channel Islands in a pursuit that ended about 90 miles southwest of San Diego.

A suspicious fishing boat was detected by a U.S. Coast Guard plane patrolling the waters in the early hours of the morning Wednesday. Then, the boat tried to flee south towards Mexico officials said.

In the video provided by the Coast Guard, a 45-foot interceptor boat closes in on suspected drug smugglers.

The three suspects surrender and Coast Guard officials take control of their panga.

Pangas are typically used for fishing but this boat has 3,200 HP engines, 2 large fuel tanks, and 2 large storage compartments.

The Coast Guard says the suspected smugglers reached speeds up to 40 miles per hour as they threw bundles of marijuana overboard.

As Navy and Coast Guard helicopters and surface vessels chased them nearly 400 miles south.

"They employed warning shots - when the small boat ultimately got on scene they charged their weapons for warning shots and disabling fire to shoot the engines of the panga but ultimately once the smugglers saw that they stopped," said Capt. Sean Mahoney.

Around 50 bales of marijuana were recovered in this operation.

USCG officials said Friday the operation is one example of recent inter-agency successes in drug interdiction off the U.S. coast.

They say those efforts have seized or disrupted more 60,000 pounds of marijuana so far this year in the waters off San Diego.
 

Police and emergency crews rushed to City Heights Friday after an SUV collided with a school bus carrying dozens of students.

The crash happened around 12:30 p.m. at 47th Street and El Cajon Boulevard, near Menlo Avenue.

Officials said three of the children aboard the school bus were taken to the hospital after complaining of aches and pains.

According to CHP officials, the driver of the SUV was trying to make a last-minute left turn when the car collided with the school bus.

No other injuries were reported.
 

The FBI and robbery detectives are searching for a suspected bank bandit wanted in a series of bank robberies in which he used the threat of being armed with a bomb.

According to officials, the so-called “I Have a Bomb Bandit” is believed to have robbed three different banks in San Diego last week.

On May 29, the suspect allegedly hit two banks within 20 minutes: a California Coast Credit Union located at 4265 Genesee Ave. at around 9:25 a.m., and a Mission Federal Credit Union located at 269 West Washington St. at around 9:46 a.m.

Investigators say he struck again on May 30 just before 5 p.m. at a Mission Federal Credit Union located at 4205 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.

In all three robberies, the suspect’s tactic was the same. He used a demand note asking for money and used the threat of a bomb, investigators said. In the May 30 robbery, the man was seen getting into the passenger side of a getaway vehicle, possibly a red, two-door Toyota or Honda sedan.

No bomb was ever seen and no one was injured in the bank robberies.

Investigators say the man was captured on surveillance tape (see photos above). He’s described as a possibly Hispanic, Asian or Indian man between 30 and 40 years old. He’s between 5-foot-4 and 5-foot-9 with a thick build and black hair worn in a ponytail.

Anyone with information on the identity and whereabouts of the “I Have a Bomb Bandit” is urged to contact the SDPD Robbery Unit at (619) 531-2299 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
 

Fire officials say "human error" within New York City's 911 system caused a more than four-minute delay in dispatching an ambulance to help the 4-year-old girl who was struck by an SUV on Manhattan's Upper West Side earlier this week.

"Somebody made a mistake," New York City Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said at a news briefing Friday. 

Ariel Russo died at the hospital a short time after she was hit Tuesday morning. Her grandmother, who was also pinned by the SUV, was taken to the hospital in unknown condition.

Cassano said that a dispatcher received the emergency call after the crash near 97th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, but didn't see it immediately and left the terminal for a break.

Four minutes later, a different operator sat down, saw the call and dispatched the ambulance. 

By that point, eight minutes had passed since the crash — and police at the scene had radioed 911 four separate times in an effort to get the little girl medical help, the Daily News reported.

Russo was still alive but "semiconscious" at the time officers at the scene radioed in their fourth call for help, according to the paper.

Cassano said the department is talking to the dispatcher.

"The screen should never be left unread," he said. "These are life-saving calls. We'll look at the person that handled that call improperly, and if discipline is required, we'll discipline people."

Russo and her grandmother were hit Tuesday by a 17-year-old driver with a learner's permit allegedly trying to evade police who had pulled him over for alleged reckless driving. The teen has been arrested on charges of vehicular manslaughter.

Cassano says glitches in the city's new 911 system were not to blame for the delay.

"It had nothing to do with the system," he said, adding that suggestions the technology malfunctioned were "offensive" and "irresponsible." 

He says it's not clear whether a faster response would have helped Russo.

The FDNY is investigating the error.

Deputies discovered more than 400 marijuana plants growing at a property in Lakeside this week, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department confirmed Friday.

On Wednesday morning, deputies from the Santee Community Oriented Policing & Problem Solving (COPPS) unit executed a search warrant at a property in the 12000 block of Old Barona Road.

Officials had been investigating the property for suspicion of marijuana cultivation.

During the search, deputies discovered two women, ages 83 and 61, living on the property in tents. The original home on the property had burned down in the Cedar Fires and had not been rebuilt, investigators said.

In its place were the women’s tents, as well as five large, newly-constructed sheds all being used for indoor marijuana cultivation. Deputies also discovered marijuana plants being grown in outdoor greenhouses.

In total, deputies found 433 pot plants in various stages of growth, along with 59 dried and cut marijuana plants and multiple jars of marijuana buds.

Deputies also discovered suspected psilocybin spores and a hash oil extraction lab on the property.

The investigation into this large Lakeside marijuana grow is ongoing, and deputies say no arrests have been made just yet. The women living on the property were detained for questioning, and investigators are now searching for additional suspects tied to the grow.

Anyone with information on this case should contact the Sheriff’s Department at (858) 565-5200 or the Crime Stoppers tip line at (888) 580-8477.

A mother of six traveled to Fort Worth to thank the woman who gave her a home when she was a young, pregnant immigrant with no money and no home nearly 30 years ago.

Patience Menakaya was just weeks from giving birth, but her husband was stuck thousands of miles away in Nigeria. Because of her pregnancy, she couldn't attend classes at Dallas Baptist University, so her student visa was in jeopardy.

Lolamay Daugherty, the wife of the pastor at the church Menakaya attended, heard her story and knew just what to do.

"So we just moved her in with us," Daugherty said. “And she was pregnant, so we spent the night at the hospital with her when the baby was born. It was an exciting time."

It was no big deal for the Daughertys, whose children were grown. They bought baby supplies and taught Menakaya, a first-time mother, how to care for her newborn.

In a few months, she and her family moved on, and that was that.

Or so they thought.

After 27 years with no contact, Daugherty and Menakaya reunited.

Menakaya lives in Maryland after years of ups and downs and of moves across the United States to Nigeria and back.

She has six children, all successful. She told them all about Daugherty's kindness, saying her actions changed her life.

Recently, she asked her oldest daughter, Chidinma, to track Daugherty down.

"I kept telling my daughter about her and how she provided for me during the time I was pregnant with her," Patience Menakaya said. "And she was able to go to the Internet and she kept saying, 'Mommy, if you can give me her name, I might be able to find it.'"

They did — and returned to the same house in Fort Worth for an emotional thank you.

"I feel like what happened and how she helped my mom helped me to become who I am," Chidinma Menakaya said.

Daugherty is her godmother.

Daugherty had no inkling of how she had affected the Menakaya family but was thrilled to hear it.

"I think that's what we're here for on Earth, is to help each other," she said. "It does more for me to help somebody than it does for the person I'm helping, I think."