Starting today, the smell at the La Jolla Cove may be a bit more pleasant.

After an accumulation of bird droppings left an unwanted scent near the shoreline, a cleanup process began that will hopefully eliminate the unwanted odor.

The smell reduction involves spraying bacteria to eat away the bird poop. It's a 10-day, $50,000 process being run by a group called Blue Eagle. Crews will work to spread a certain kind of bacteria on the rocks, and biologists say the majority of the smell should be gone in a couple hours.

The long-awaited cleanup of the La Jolla Cove has locals ready for some fresh air. For months, the pervasive stench has been so bad, restaurants near the coast claimed it discouraged diners from eating there.

“The clean-up is an A+ on my list,” said Anton Marek from Goldfish Point Café.

It took many hurdles to get the plan in place. First, people had to wait for the bird’s nesting season to end. Then permits were obtained so that none of the product sprayed on the feces ends up in the water.

Mayor Bob Filner even called the problem a health and safety issue to get an exception from federal authorities.

“We’ve spent the last two weeks testing and we think it’s going to work,” he said.

But the big question ahead is: What happens when the birds come back? Filner said they’d have to look at a more long-term plan.

About a decade ago, the city put up a fence for safety reasons to get people off the rocks. Since then, birds took over, creating the mess.

If the fence stays, Filner said the city will have to look into another solution. He said the city can't keep spending money to clean the rocks every couple months.

“Unless there are people out there the way it has been for decades and decades, we’re going to have this problem,” he said.

Locals are happy to have the smell leave, but at the same time some said it’s only natural.

“I come to see the view. The smell comes with it… I ignore the smell,” said one visitor.

Firefighters extinguished an apartment fire in Chula Vista on Monday afternoon.

The incident happened shortly before 5 p.m. on G Street near Woodlawn Avenue at a two-story building.

Flames were contained to the bedroom area, and firefighters were able to extinguish it in 10 minutes.

A grandmother and a 4-year-old child suffered minor smoke inhalation, according to officials. They were transported to UC San Diego medical hospital.

Fire investigators also responded to the scene.

Check back for updates on this story.

One person died after a car veered off the road and into a ravine, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The accident happened around 4:15 p.m. Monday on westbound State Route 78 in Santa Ysabel.

CHP issued a Sig Alert. SR-78 was closed between Riverwood Road and Springview Road for several hours. Traffic was diverted to side streets.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash. The cause is still under investigation.

View SR 78 and Riverwood Rd. in a larger map

A pool of 40 potential jurors has been reached in the George Zimmerman trial, Circuit Judge Debra Nelson announced in court Tuesday.

Those potential jurors went through the initial round of questioning, which was focused solely on pretrial publicity.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the February 2012 shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. He has pleaded not guilty, saying he acted in self-defense.

Jury selection had resumed earlier Tuesday as defense attorneys and prosecutors worked to build the pool of potential jurors. Five hundred people were summoned overall for the case.

On Monday, Judge Nelson granted a defense motion to extend the timeline for securing the anonymity of jurors in the trial.

Judge Nelson did not say for how long anonymity would be extended to jurors. She previously ruled that jurors’ names would be kept anonymous until after a jury reaches a verdict.

Judge Nelson said Monday that she would consider the length of the extension after the verdict is reached. Defense attorney Mark O’Mara has asked for a six-month extension.

The jury that will eventually be selected to hear the case will be sequestered for the duration of the trial, Judge Nelson said last week.

A man who admitted to lying to a 911 dispatcher that he was robbed at gunpoint, leading responding police to fatally shoot an unarmed man in Pasadena, Calif., took a plea deal for three months in jail, authorities said.

Oscar Carillo called police after his backpack was snatched from him near a taco truck on the street. He wanted police to respond quickly, so he called 911 and lied that the thief had pulled a gun on him.

Responding officers shot and killed unarmed 19-year-old Kendrec McDade, believing he had a gun.

Carillo, an immigrant from Mexico who faces the possibility of deportation upon his release, said he didn't feel as though it was his fault.

"I don't feel guilty about anything," Carillo said. "Only God knows, I don't do anything. I feel sorry. Nobody deserves to die."

Pasadena City Attorney Michelle Bagneris said Carillo's case should serve as an example for people who report false information to police.

"There are serious, potentially serious consequences when people make false reports," she said. "It's a threat to public safety, a drain to public resources."

The McDade family lawyer said prosecutors should have filed more serious, felony charges and tried to put Carillo away for longer.

"The recent slap on the wrist of Mr. Carrillo serves as yet another disappointment to the McDade family following the failure of the District Attorney's office to charge him with a felony."

Carillo might not be deported immediately, as he is named as a defendant in a lawsuit that McDade's family has filed against the city.

Carillo said the case has weighed on him heavily.

"Sometimes I feel sad," Carillo said. "But then I look at my kids. I feel better."

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A large San Diego company could cut up hundreds of jobs after it asked its employees to voluntarily resign last week.



On June 12, many Ashford University employees received a distressing email from their employer, informing them of a “voluntary work-force reduction program." The offices affected include locations in Kearny Mesa and Carmel Mountain in San Diego, and locations in Iowa and Colorado.


WATCH Video: Ashford University asks employees to resign

Now workers face a difficult choice: Leave voluntarily now with a severance package, or risk being laid off later, without those benefits. They are offered three months of severance pay and extended health care coverage if they resign.

San Diego County leaders voted to support so-called Hazel's Law, a bill that would close a loophole in current sex trafficking legislation. 

The proposed legislation is named for a native San Diegan who was abducted as a minor, held captive for nine months and forced into prostitution in 2010.

Hazel C. was the victim in a San Diego case which was delayed while the prosecution struggled to prove the trafficker knew his victim was a minor.

In high school, Hazel was on the debate team and was an honor student. It was at that time she said she fell victim to a “guerrilla pimp.”

She explains there are several types of traffickers that are defined by the tactics they use – force, fraud or coercion.

Guerrilla pimps are the most dangerous Hazel said.

“They beat, they maim, they are very, very violent,” she said.

Right before her senior year, she said he moved her an hour away from North Park where he kept her for nine months.

She remembered the day she broke free and spoke about it on the steps of the Hall of Justice in April. 

“He was angry and he assaulted me and broke my nose and bloodied my lip. Out of anger, he left and forgot his cell phone. I ran, locked the door, snagged his phone, made a call and was gone 20 minutes later,” she said. 

On Tuesday, Hazel C. encouraged the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to recommend H.R. 1690, a bill proposed by Congressman Juan Vargas that would close a loophole by removing knowledge of a victim's age as a requirement for child sex trafficking cases.

“There’s nothing that these men should be able to say to receive less time for selling our kids,” Hazel C. said Tuesday.

Supervisors agreed and voted to unanimously support the bill.

Alicia Kozakiewicz of The Alicia Project is a victim whose story is similar to Hazel’s. At 13, she was approached by a man online.

“I was raped. Raped and tortured,” Kozakiewicz said.

“This monster kidnapped me and took me to Virginia where I was held captive in his basement dungeon,” she said.

Through her organization "Alicia Project," Kozakiewicz speaks nationwide about her experience.

She's pushing for her own law, which would send more funding to agencies that specialize in rescuing children.

“Parents, people in general, need to pay attention to the laws that are out there and contact their legislators. Tell their legislators what they need and they support a certain law,” Kozakiewicz said. 

The bill, HR-1690, was referred to committee on Friday. Read the full text of the bill here.
 

The Oxford English Dictionary is catching up to the high-tech world.

The word "tweet," appearing both as a noun and a verb, was added to the dictionary despite the OED's own rule that "a new word needs to be current for ten years before consideration for inclusion," according to Chief Editor John Simpson, who made the announcement in a blog post.

The OED got on board with other tech lingo. The words "big data," "crowdsourcing," "e-reader," "mouseover," "stream" and "redirect" also made their debut in the century-old dictionary.

"Flash mob," 3D printer" and "live-blogging" made the cut as well.

Check out new additions to the OED here.

The FBI and NYPD released new video Tuesday of the suspect in the 2008 bombing of an armed forces recruiting station in Times Square, and announced a reward of up to $65,000 for information leading to the arrest.

The video shows a shadowy figure on a bicycle riding up to the recruiting station, moments before the bomb exploded on March 6, 2008. No one was injured in the attack.

“Someone, somewhere, knows something about a bomber who’s still on the run,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos. “Today we’re asking for the public’s assistance in finding those responsible and encouraging the public to look closely at these photos and video, which could be the key to breaking the case.”

Authorities say the suspect was riding a blue Ross bicycle, and came from the east. He is believed to have ridden west on 37th Street, up Sixth Avenue, west on 47th Street and then down Seventh Avenue to the station, and the video released Tuesday shows that path.

Authorities say he rode away south on Broadway after planting the bomb, and police later found a Ross 10-speed bicycle in a Dumpster on East 38th Street that they believe belonged to the bomber.

Although the suspect appears to be working alone, he or she may have had a lookout or surveillance team of as many as five other individuals in Times Square at the time of the attack.

At the bomb scene, investigators recovered a metal ammunition can filled halfway with black powder and detonated with a fuse.

The device is believed to be similar to two other unsolved bombings by a suspect on a bicycle in Manhattan -- one outside the British consulate on East 42nd Street in 2005 and another outside the Mexican consulate on East 37th Street in 2007.

The FBI tipline is 212-384-1000. 

A lawsuit threatening this summer's 60th annual Over-the-Line (OTL) tournament is getting serious attention at city hall, as well as in superior court.

The plaintiffs, onetime promoters of those boozy Floatopias of recent years, claim they're getting second-class treatment.

Behind the scenes, there’s word a solution is in the works.

But in the court of public opinion, people are denouncing FreePB.org's case against the city -- saying it's holding OTL hostage, unless FreePB gets a special event alcohol permit it failed to obtain from city officials.

"What (FreePB) ought to be doing is look what OTL has done,” said Clairemont resident Robert Scott. “ Looks like (OTL has) gone to great lengths to actually have areas where people can drink -- and areas where people absolutely cannot drink."

OTL has matured quite a bit since 1954 -- especially over the last few years after city voters passed Proposition D, a ban on booze at beaches and waterfront parks.

Now, the sponsors -- those free-spirited members of the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club -- need special event permits for alcohol consumption, calling for designated beer tents, security guards and ID checks.

FreePB.org activists -- cheerleaders for the "Floatopias" on Sail Bay whose ringleaders exploited a legal loophole that eventually was closed -- want a permit from the city for a BYOB "Leisure Olympics" at Crown Point Shores late next month.

Organizers have told NBC 7 they can't afford the expense of complying with the police department's regulations that apply to OTL -- which they claim is getting preferential treatment by not having to undergo an environmental review.

"Now what the city's trying to say is, if you're an old-timer connected to the political structure, that you get this special treatment," FreePB spokesman and lawsuit plaintiff Rob Rynearson said in an April 29 interview with NBC 7, before City Council’s Public Safety & Neighborhood Services Committee rejected the group’s appeal of the police department’s denial of a special event permit application.

Rynearson could not be reached for comment Monday, and FreePB’s attorney Cory Briggs withheld comment pending back-channel talks with city officials.

According to sources familiar with potential settlement discussion at city hall, FreePB's Leisure Olympics might be permitted to share space at Fiesta Island during OTL, subject to the same on-site rules and restrictions.

FreePB was on the losing end a similar court case in 2010.

Pacific Beach resident John Savage rejects the notion that FreePB has been treated unfairly: "They're quite frankly the reason that the bans got put in place -- the kinds of litter, the issues and problems that they don't want to be responsible for."

Meeting with reporters Monday, City Councilman Kevin Faulconer lauded OMBAC’s approach to its alcohol exemption.

"They've spent a lot of time and effort on security, very clear rules of the road, and it's a process that works," Faulconer said. "I think the lawsuit's unfortunate (for) a group that has proven that it can follow the rules, and that's all we ask.”
 

Detectives are searching for a man who dined and dashed in the Gaslamp District earlier this month.

On June 5 around 7 p.m. a man ate dinner at Toscana Café on 238 Fifth Ave. and received his bill worth more than $100. The suspect then told the hostess he was going outside to smoke a cigarette, but then never returned.

Police said one of the managers then searched for the suspect twice, ultimately finding him at nearby restaurant Lou and Mickey’s.  The suspect had changed into a different outside and was carrying a tan brown bag.

When the manager confronted the suspect, he pepper sprayed the manager and ran off to a parking structure on 289 Sixth Ave.

Witnesses then followed the suspect, and when he spotted them he allegedly threateningly pulled out a handgun. He then fled, and surveillance video showed he left the garage after changing clothes again.

The suspect’s other clothing was later found under a car in the garage along with a replica 357 revolver pellet gun. 

He is described as a man between ages 30-40, standing at 5-foot-6 and weighing between 150-160 pounds. The suspect was last seen wearing a blue shirt, black shorts, black socks and carrying a canvas bag.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
 

Treasury Secretary Jack "Lewpty" Lew has a new and improved signature – and it will soon be appearing on your dollar bills.

Some people, including President Barack Obama, thought Lew needed to improve his penmanship and worried about his illegibly loopy signature being showcased on U.S. currency.

"Jack assures me that he is going to work to make at least one letter legible in order not to debase our currency," Obama joked back in January.

Apparently Lew has done some work on his John Hancock. The Treasury Department tweeted a photo of his new signature Tuesday afternoon that is set to premiere on dollar bills this fall.

The new one is less loopy, but it still isn’t that legible.

It’s not the first time a Treasury Secretary has tried to change his signature before its dollar debut. Lew’s predecessor Timothy Geithner did the same, saying he wanted to make his name legible.

Gay pride is showing up like never before in some new places this month. The question some are asking - is it about social values or is it about money?

In Hillcrest, rainbow stickers and flags are a way of life. For business owners, they are a welcome sign to the gay community.

Some consumers say the symbol often used to promote Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender pride makes them feel welcome and accepted.

Others even go as far to say they opt to give those companies their business just for supporting their lifestyle.

Leslie Evans, owner of Creative Futons and Furnishings, says she is shocked by how quickly the marketing of the LGBT lifestyles has taken root in corporate America.

"I'm totally blown away that it's changing so quickly," Evans said.

Evans said she has found that kind of support in new places like Macy's which recently launched its a Pride & Joy campaign - complete with clothes out of the closet and on store shelves.

"Anytime there is a decision made for marketing it's a business-related decision, somebody’s talking about it, looking at the bottom line," said San Diego State Marketing Professor Michael Belch.

Recent attitude surveys among consumers show more tolerance towards diverse markets - spelling opportunity Belch said.

Even the NFL Players Association is selling Pride T-shirts with players’ names who've given their support to the movement.

"You're tapping into a market that has a lot of money," Evans said.

However, there is the gamble a company may see some loss of another consumer group.

“You're treading the line between alienating people who still have conservative values and looking at attracting people who may have more liberal values," Belch said.

June - increasingly the month where social values and business decisions collide around a word called diversity.
 

It looks like the world is going to have to wait a bit longer for Rod Blagojevich's version of why he deserves a new trial.

The former Illinois governor was convicted in 2011 of 17 counts of corruption — including trying to sell President Barack Obama's former Senate seat — and is now serving a 14-year prison sentence.

His appeal was due next Monday, but his legal team has quietly filed a motion asking for nine extra days, "through and including July 3, 2013."

"This motion is necessitated, not by lack of diligence, but because of the length of the trial record," wrote attorney Leonard Goodman, who also cited the complexity of the issues, and the work he is doing on other cases.

Goodman wrote that he and co-counsel Lauren Kaesberg have analyzed more than 10,000 pages of trial transcript and "dozens of tape recorded conversations."

"Additional time is required to finish researching the law and writing the argument sections of the brief," Goodman writes. "Counsel has discussed the need for an extension of time with Mr. Blagojevich, who understands and accepts the need for this request."

Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He is serving his sentence at the federal prison in Englewood, Colo. Even with time off for good behavior, his earliest release date would come in 2024.

The City of San Jose has filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball Tuesday regarding the Oakland A's move to San Jose.

San Jose claims MLB is unjustly standing in the way of the A's move, which owner Lew Wolff has been attempting to do since 2004.

The lawsuit names MLB Commissioner Bud Selig specifically.

According to the lawsuit, MLB has stalled any progress in getting the MLB owners to vote on whether the A's can move to San Jose. Click to view lawsuit (PDF).

San Jose has been in the mix as a possible location for the team since at least 2009. The city has a stadium site, a sponsor and artist renderings of the field (photos to the right).

But any potential move by the A's to San Jose would need MLB approval. That's because the San Francisco Giants claim they have the exclusive rights to Santa Clara County under the MLB Constitution.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and city leaders held a news conference to announce the suit Tuesday.

City Councilman Sam Liccardo noted a recent incident at coliseum that left players without the use of the locker room showers as proof the team needs a new stadium.

"Nothing says do you know the way to San Jose like backed up sewage in locker rooms," Liccardo said. On Sunday, backed up pipes from a big crowd had raw sewage spewing into the clubhouse. Liccardo said San Jose can do better. "Hopefully, MLB still knows that tune."

Reed noted that the city has made an "exhaustive" four-year effort to work with Major League Baseball to resolve any concerns about our city’s capacity to host a major league ballclub. 

“During that time, it has become abundantly clear that Major League Baseball prefers to use territorial restrictions as an excuse to restrict commerce and prevent the Athletics from relocating to San Jose. This restriction is costing San Jose residents millions of dollars in new annual tax revenues that could go towards funding more police officers, firefighters, libraries, gang prevention efforts, road repairs and other critical city services," Reed said.

The lawsuit claims it comes after "the blatant conspiracy by Major League Baseball (“MLB”) to prevent the Athletics Baseball Club from moving to San Jose. For years, MLB has unlawfully conspired to control the location and relocation of major league men’s professional baseball clubs under the guise of an “antitrust exemption” applied to the business of baseball."

"I have no details," A's owner Lew Wolff told NBC Bay Area. "However, I am not in favor of legal action or legal threats to solve business issues."

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said she is still hoping the A's will stay in Oakland. 

"Instead of lawsuits, Oakland is focused on building a new stadium for the A’s here in their hometown. We’ve offered two sites: Howard Terminal is a beautiful waterfront location facing the Bay, and Coliseum City is one of the great development projects of our time. Both would make fantastic sites for a new stadium," Quan said.

San Jose hired high-powered lawyer Joe Cotchett to represent San Jose.

The San Francisco law firm of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy explained the suit this way:

The City of San Jose, individually and as successor agency to the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Jose, and the San Jose Diridon Development Authority, sued Major League Baseball and Major League Baseball Commissioner Huber “Bud” Selig. The Complaint alleges that Major League Baseball interfered with San Jose’s prospective economic advantage and conspired to prevent the Athletics Baseball Club from relocating to San Jose, California, in violation of Federal and California antitrust laws.

The firm has handled some of the largest antitrust cases in the nation and represented the NFL in similar litigation.

In order to override the Giants' territorial claim, Wolff would have to convince at least 75 percent of MLB team owners and Selig to favor moving the A's to San Jose. So far, the owners have not even called for a vote on the issue.

For now, the A's continue to play in the aging O.co Coliseum in Oakland.

San Jose officials cited an independent economic analysis report that showed the ballpark would generate the following benefits:

•   $5 million per year in new tax revenues to the City and other local governments
•   $130 million per year in total net new economic output
•   Nearly 1000 new full and part-time jobs.

 Major League Baseball representatives said the league will have no comment on the suit.

The man accused of luring an Escondido boy across the country now faces federal charges.

36-year-old Tony McLeod of Tampa, Fla., has been charged with enticement of a minor, according to federal officials.

The San Diego District Attorney’s Office already filed charged against McLeod last week. They include child abduction, meeting with a minor to commit a sex offense, online enticement of a minor, contact with a minor to commit a felony and enticing a minor to produce child pornography.

A 14-year-old boy from Escondido was reported missing June 10. Phone records showed he had been communicating with someone named “Tony,” according to officials.

Officials tracked McLeod to the Los Angeles International Airport. Officials said he was traveling to Florida with the boy, who boarded the plane under a fake name.

McLeod was arrested when they landed. He remains in custody in Florida.
 

Coffee drinkers might soon reconsider splurging on 460-calorie Java Chip Frappuccino at Starbucks.

Beginning next week, the coffee giant will post calorie counts on their menu boards, getting ahead of the federal menu-labeling requirements that will go into effect later this year.

The company’s decision follows its recent smoking ban within 25 feet of stores. These moves demonstrate Starbucks commitment to becoming a health-conscious leader in the food and beverage industry.

It seems as if the change will be a win-win for customers, according to two departments. The Stanford Graduate School of Business found that when calorie information was posted, consumers ordered items with 6 percent fewer calories.

“We are encouraged by the findings highlighted in the Stanford study that show posting calories can have a positive impact on an individual's daily caloric intake,” Starbucks spokeswoman Linda Mills said.

Additionally, market research firm NPD Group found that consumers spent 20 cents less on average per purchase.

So, what does this mean? Restaurants with calorie counts posted on their menu boards may be selling healthier choices to their customers, but may also be losing money in lieu of the change.

A man faces charges of driving under the influence after his car slammed right into a police patrol car in Pacific Beach Tuesday.

The San Diego police officer was traveling on Garnett Avenue around 2:30 a.m. Monday when his patrol car was struck by an oncoming driver.

Officials say the driver of a Hyundai Accent ran a stop sign on Morrell Street and struck the patrol car.

The officer used his radio to request an ambulance for himself officials said. Both drivers were transported to a nearby hospital for minor injuries.

The 28-year-old officer, who was not identified, was described as a 5-year veteran of the department.

The Accent driver is 23 and was arrested on one count of driving under the influence officials said.
 

Officials have arrested the suspect in a statewide Amber Alert - a father believed to be high on drugs and traveling with a 5-month-old baby, deputies said.

Kenneth Welch, 42, was wanted for allegedly trying to run over the child's mother at a Valley Center home, deputies said.

He was believed to be heading towards La Jolla or Oceanside with his infant son in the vehicle when the alert was issued Tuesday.

San Diego County sheriff’s deputies spotted a black Toyota pickup with 20-inch chrome rims and license 4X99472 at 958 Mar Vista Drive in Vista.

Deputies said they arrested Welch about a block away from the truck. Officials said the baby was found safe but did not release details about where they located the child.

Welch is a high-risk parolee who has served time in prison.

He's accused of attempting to run down his girlfriend at a Valley Center home around 2 a.m. Tuesday.

When deputies arrived to the home on Poomacha Road they found the woman in need of emergency care. She was transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries deputies said.

Officials told the public to be on alert for Welch and the truck saying they thought he was armed and  under the influence of methamphetamine.