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USD Rolls to Lopsided Win Behind Carter III, Williams

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Olin Carter III and Tyler Williams both sank 5 of 8 from 3-point range with Carter scoring 21 and Williams adding 17 to power San Diego to a 95-47 romp over NAIA-member San Diego Christian on Thursday night.

Carter made all three of his attempts from inside the arc and Williams made his only 2-pointer as the duo combined to shoot 70 percent from the floor. Williams added six assists and six rebounds. Jose Martinez came off the bench to score 15 on 7-of-12 shooting for the Toreros (3-1), while Isaiah Pineiro pitched in with 12 points and nine boards. Yauhen Massalski scored 12 on 6-of-8 shooting as the Toreros sank 54.5 percent from the floor for the game.

Hayden Fredrick topped the Hawks with 13 points, while Derek Novsek scored 10. San Diego Christian is 0-6 all-time versus San Diego.

The Hawks grabbed a 3-0 lead on Crankshaw's 3-pointer 57 seconds into the game, but Carter and Williams answered with back-to-back 3s and the Toreros never trailed again.



Photo Credit: Thomas Christensen/USD

'Higher Education:' UCSD Launches Drugged Driving Campaign

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Research shows marijuana has become the most commonly detected drug in drivers killed in crashes and UC San Diego has launched a campaign to warn of the dangers. 

The four public service videos launched by UCSD's Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS) are meant to teach drivers of the consequences of driving while drugged. 

"We want to learn from the mistakes we made from drunk driving. We don't want to wait another 30 years to have the rates of... fatal crashes from driving high come down," said UCSD School of Medicine Professor Linda Hill, who has been working with TREDS for 15 years. 

When drivers killed in crashes were tested for drugs or alcohol, they were more likely to have drugs in their system (43 percent tested positive) than alcohol (38 percent tested positive), according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Marijuana was the most commonly detected drug followed by opioids among drivers killed in collisions in 2016, the NHTSA data showed. 

"When somebody is driving high, their reaction time decreases, their ability to make good decisions decrease, they aren't able to respond to the things that are around them," Hill said. 

Hill said estimates show about 7,000 new cannabis users every day and there are many misconceptions among them about the ability to drive while high. 

"Whether you smoke it, eat it, dab it or vape it – It’s illegal to drive high," one spot said. Each spot ends with the tagline, "Driving high is a DUI."

Hill said, like those who consume alcohol, people who use cannabis products should wait before driving. 

"Our advice for people who are smoking cannabis is to wait for four hours," Hill said. The effect of edible cannabis can be delayed and last for eight hours, she added. 

Funding for TREDS' "Higher Education: Driving High is DUI" comes from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Man Sentenced to Prison for North Park Fatal Stabbing

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A homeless man was sentenced to 14 years behind bars Friday for the stabbing death of his friend. 

Brandon Kyle Cooper was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the death of Spencer Thompson.

The two men knew each other and got into an argument on May 29, 2017, according to police. 

That night, Thompson, who lived in North Park, was found laying on the sidewalk with a stab wound along University Avenue, police said. 

Officers took Cooper into custody in the Marina neighborhood the next day. Cooper was described as a transient at the time of his arrest. 

First Phase of Wastewater Treatment Project to Begin in 2019

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Construction will begin next spring for the first phase of a project to transform wastewater into purified drinking water in San Diego.

The San Diego City Council voted Thursday to move forward with the Pure Water San Diego project, which intends to provide one-third of San Diego's water supply by 2035.

The vote allows the city to award contracts for the first phase of the project, which will involve pipeline 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 then be stored at the Lake Miramar Reservoir before it’s sent to the nearby treatment plant. Next, the water will be blended with other imported water before making its way to taps.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer said the Pure Water Project is "one of the most important infrastructure projects in city history."

The cost to import to San Diego water from the Colorado River and the Northern California Bay Delta has tripled in the last 15 years, according to the city. 

San Diego City Council Member Scott Sherman said he voted against authorizing the mayor to award construction contracts for the first phase of the project because it was unfair to non-union construction workers.

The city said contracts will be awarded to the lowest responsible and reliable bidders. 

Brent Edison, External Affairs Deputy Director for the city’s Public Utilities Department, told NBC 7 last year the water will be highly purified and completely safe for consumption. 

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

The first phase of the project will be built on city-owned land east of Interstate 805 north of Miramar Road. Click here to see maps of the pipeline routes and facilities. 

Residents who receive water from the Miramar Water Treatment Plant and the city of Del Mar will be the first to receive the potable water supply. 

The Pure Water Program is scheduled to open in 2021 and would replace the use of imported water by expanding the city's production up to 30 million gallons a day, according to the mayor's office. 

Treatment facilities are also planned for Central San Diego and South Bay. They are to be completed in phase two and three of the project and bring an additional 53 million gallons per day to the region. 

Voting 'Supercenters' Could Replace Neighborhood Poll Places

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San Diego County voters could see the end of their neighborhood polling places by the 2020 Presidential Election if the county decides to adopt a measure passed by the state legislature. 

Five counties in California have already adopted the Voter's Choice Act, which was passed by the state legislature in 2016.

The act allows a county to decide that all registered voters within their limits would get mail-in ballots 28 days before the election.

The voter would then drop the postage-paid ballots in the mail, in drop boxes or at "Vote Centers" instead of going to polling centers to fill out a ballot on Election Day. 

San Diego County Registrar Michael Vu said it could mean the hundreds of polling centers across the county could instead be swapped out for larger voting hubs. 

"If the county chooses and opts into [the Voter's Choice Act] then polling locations as we know it today may go away for something like a 'supercenter' where a lot of voters could go to specific sites throughout the entire county to vote," Vu said. 

Doreen Ballinger has offered her garage as an official polling place for her Talmadge neighbors for 10 years and would miss the opportunity to do it again.

"It's kind of nice having the neighbors come by. That's one of the nice things about having the polls here," Ballinger said.

The change would allow the voting process to become more streamlined by consolidating the number of voting locations.

San Diego County has more than 1,500 poll locations staffed by 7,000 poll workers who get an average stipend of $150 dollars, according to the Registrar's office.

The county has not decided yet whether it will opt into this new process of mail-in ballots and voting centers.

Camp Fire Evacuees Made a Run for It Victim Tells Daughter

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A woman driving out of Paradise, California on the day the Camp Fire broke out was on the phone with her daughter when she described people getting out of their cars and making a run for it, her daughter recalled Thursday. 

“My mom is 70 years old and she couldn’t possibly outrun the fire,” Stacy Fuller said, recalling the conversation she had while her mother on Nov. 8. Her mother was behind the wheel of her car as flames were raging on both sides of the road. 

Fuller's parents grabbed what they could and jumped in their cars along with Fuller's younger sister and her nephews and niece. She estimates they left their homes between 9 and 9:15 a.m. and took Clark Road out of town.

Her nephew riding in the passenger seat described how the family's car was moving inches at a time with flames on both sides of the road. 

Fuller lives in San Diego but her first home was Paradise, a small mountain town where seniors tend to retire.  

“Lots of pine trees, lots of hills,” Fuller recalled Thursday as she spoke with NBC 7 about the pain of seeing the devastation. 

At least 63 people are dead and officials say they have a missing person list with 631 names on it in an ever-evolving accounting of the victims of the nation's deadliest wildfire in a century.

"There are not too many roads to get you out of Paradise," Fuller said. "The fire had started to the east so one of those routes wasn't an option anymore." 

She sent her family texts advising them to leave the area as soon as possible. 

“My mom and dad grabbed just a few things, medications,” Fuller said. “My mom grabbed her overnight bag. She had one kind of ready.” 

But with three kids and three dogs to wrangle, Fuller’s younger sister, Jen Inman, prioritized her late husband Paul’s ashes. Her husband was killed last summer in a car collision.

The family grabbed “his urn,” Fuller said. “Because they wouldn’t want to leave without that.” 

As they rushed to the main road out of town, fire surrounded the line of cars. 

Her family told Fuller it looked like it was raining or snowing but that it was ash in the air. 

“There were big chunks of ash coming down,” Fuller said. “Hot embers flying all over the place. 

Her sister, father and mother were all in separate cars.

It wasn't until late afternoon Thursday that they started to see the sun in the sky.

Her family escaped with their lives, but her childhood home and her sister’s home were destroyed. 

“She’s saying, 'Oh I should have grabbed more things,’” Fuller said of her sister. “There was just no time.”

Now, Fuller realizes that the only thing that matters is family.

She said she's tried to convince them to travel to San Diego where she can house them but her family is concerned they need to be close by to manage the loss of their homes and property.

She has posted an online fundraising page to help her sister and parents. 

When asked about how her family will rebuild, Fuller can't imagine. 

"If it's just a house," she said. "But it's everybody's houses. It's all of your friends, it's your neighbors, it's everybody you know." 

Some 52,000 people have been displaced to shelters, the homes of friends and relatives, to motels — and to a Walmart parking lot and an adjacent field in Chico, a dozen miles away from the ashes.

The high number of missing people probably includes some who fled the blaze and don't realize they've been reported missing, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said. He said he's making the list public so people can see if they are on it and let authorities know they survived.

Caregiver Found Guilty in Deadly Push of Elderly Woman

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A caregiver was found guilty of elderly abuse and murder Thursday for an incident caught on video that showed a 94-year-old woman pushed through a screen door, resulting in her death days later. 

A jury found William Sutton, 68, guilty of second-degree murder and elderly abuse resulting in death for the April 16, 2016 incident that led to Margaret Wood's death 11 weeks later. 

Sutton cared for 93-year-old Marian Kubic at her Oceanside home. On the day of the incident, Kubic was paid a visit by her best friend -- Wood. 

Surveillance video captured by cameras next door showed Wood being pushed through Kubic's front door and down three porch steps. She stumbled backward onto the concrete and cracked her skull and broke her nose. 

The man who pushed Wood was identified as Sutton, who had been Kubic's caregiver for two years. He was arrested on murder charges on July 11, two days after Wood's death.  

Kubic died less than two months after the altercation and before Sutton's murder trial could begin, but she recorded testimony for the trial while in hospice care. 

Sutton faces 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on December 2017.

Police Warn of Jewelry Thieves Targeting Asian Community

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San Diego police are issuing a warning about jewelry thieves who are targeting older people in the Asian community.

For the past several weeks, the thieves, possibly of Middle Eastern descent, have been targeting victims who are wearing high-end jewelry, San Diego police Sgt. Kenneth Impellizeri said.

The thieves trick their victims into trying on costume jewelry that appears to be high-end and then took off with the victim's high-end jewelry, he said.

Hai Nguyen, who was almost a victim himself, said the suspects are also using another trick to steal people's jewelry.

He said the suspects approached him at the Convoy Pointe Plaza Shopping Center asking for help because they are new to the area.

Nguyen said his first instinct was to help but felt something was off when he noticed one of the suspects eyeing his gold necklace. He said several people he knew have fallen victims to the same stunt.

Nguyen shared with NBC 7 a Facebook post warning people of a similar scam in the Mira Mesa area. The incidents described in the post was similar to Nguyen's experience.

In both incidents, the suspects were driving an SUV with two children in the back seats.

Police said the suspects used several rental vehicles to flee the scene. 

Recently, the suspects were seen casing Buddhist temples in City Heights area, Impellizeri said.

There may have been other victims who have not come forward, he said.

Anyone who's been a victim or has information about the suspect was urged to contact the San Diego Police Department at (619) 531-2000.


East Village Rape Suspect in Custody

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A 51-year-old man was arrested Friday morning for allegedly raping a woman in East Village nearly two weeks ago, police said.

Gary Ryan Cushinberry was arrested around 6:45 a.m. in the 200 block of 17th Street, about five blocks from where the alleged crime happened, San Diego police Lt. Jason Weeden said.

Cushinberry allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman around 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 5 in the 400 block of 13th Street, near San Diego Central Library, he said.

The victim was walking back to her car when Cushinberry allegedly grabbed her from behind, pulled her into the bushes and raped her, Weeden said.

Police released a composite sketch of the suspect the next day and, through tips and several leads, led investigators to Cushinberry.

He was booked into the San Diego Central Jail on one count of rape, two counts of sexual penetration by force and one count of sexual battery.



Photo Credit: SDPD

SDSO Identifies 3 Deputies Involved in Shooting Death of Suspect in Alpine

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The San Diego County Sheriff's Department identified three deputies who were involved in the shooting death of a suspect Monday in Alpine.

The department said deputies Kevin Nulton, Sean McGillicuddy and Sergeant Chris Katra responded to the apartment complex where the 31-year-old Daniel Ayala was killed, but didn't specify if all three deputies fired shots or how many rounds were fired.

The SDSO said Monday that multiple deputies shot Ayala outside his apartment on the 2600 block of Alpine Boulevard at around 3 p.m. when he lunged at them with a knife.

Deputies responded to Ayala's residence after receiving multiple reports from neighbors that said Ayala was screaming and saying that he was going to kill someone.

Paramedics rendered aid to Ayala but he was pronounced dead, the SDSO said.

According to the SDSO, Nulton is a 10-year veteran of the department, McGillicuddy is a 12-year-veteran, and Sgt. Katra has been with the department for 18 years.

A family member of the suspect told NBC 7 they were called to the scene to pick up Ayala's 4-year-old son at 5 p.m. They said they found out from local media that Ayala was killed instead of hearing it from SDSO officials.

They also said they've received conflicting information from officials since they've been at the scene.

"They are saying that it happened outside and then someone else is saying it happened inside," Ayala's uncle Juan Ruiz said.

His cousin Vanessa Moore said the family's been told by one official that Ayala's body was at the hospital and that it was still inside the apartment by another.

"If someone comes out with a knife, you don't shoot them over 10 times," Moore said. "It just doesn't make sense. Even if he was upset. We all get upset."

Deputies did not confirm how many times Ayala was shot or if a weapon was recovered. They also did not say where Ayala's son was when the shooting happened, or if the deputies who fired the shots were wearing body cameras.

The boy was reunited with his mother, according to the family.

No deputies were injured in the incident.

Explained: How You Can Help Victims

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There are many ways that San Diegans can help the victims of the recent tragedies across our state.  We have compiled this list to help you find a place you might want to contribute.

Justin Meek, a Coronado High School graduate, was shot and killed during the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks.  The community has established a GoFundMe account to assist his family.  You can find it here.

The Doona family lost their home and all of their belongings in a house fire in Ramona. 

“The hardship one faces with the catastrophic loss of all personal possessions is inconceivable,” the family wrote on the GoFundMe page set up for them by a friend,  “At this moment any and all things donated are appreciated." 

You can find the GoFundMe account benefitting the Doonas here.

If you'd like to help the victims of the devastating wildfires, you can go to this article.

In Los Angeles, the organizations accepting donations include the American Red Cross.  You can also text the word CAWILDFIRES to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

The Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation needs help to fund hydration backpacks for all its firefighters. If you would like to support them, please make a donation here.

The United Way has created a Disaster Relief Fund "to support our low-income neighbors … affected by the current wildfires in Southern California."  

Other organizations include the California Fire Foundation, the Pepperdine Strong Foundation, the Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation, the Pasadena Humane Society and the Humane Society of Ventura County.



Photo Credit: Aliya Jasmine

Homes Reserve for Homeless Vets in Search of Tenants

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A brand new apartment complex reserved for homeless families is having a hard time finding people to move in.

Fifty-two new homes at the Vista del Puente apartment complex in Southcrest is set to have people move in beginning Thanksgiving week. However, 20 of those apartments are vacant.

Vista del Puente was built by the non-profit group, Townspeople. The group's projects regularly focus on homeless military veterans with disabilities, HIV or AIDS. The 20 vacancies at Vista del Puente are reserved specifically for homeless families of veterans with disabilities.

“That’s a fantastic, awesome idea,” said Jeanette Bell, who feeds and clothes the homeless with other Skyline Church volunteers in downtown San Diego.

The apartments in the complex have one, two, or three bedrooms and cost roughly $700 to $1,100 a month. Townspeople executive director Jon Derryberry told NBC7 there are roughly 1,200 people on a waitlist but few of them qualify as a homeless family of a veteran with disabilities.

“The problem is there is over 10,000 units needed and they’re not being built [today],” Derryberry said.

Instead, Townspeople started with the next 52 apartments.

“I’m frustrated most of the time,” He said. “I think we can do more.”

Anyone who qualifies or knows someone who does was urged to contact Townspeople directly.

Behind-the-Scenes Look at Marines' 'Border Hardening' Mission

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At a fabrication site in Otay Mesa, one can see miles of barbed wire, rows of concrete roadblocks and countless bundles of rebar.

Together, the pieces will form reinforced barriers that Marines who have deployed to the border have been using to block lanes at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry.

More than 1,100 Marines have been deployed to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection with Operation Secure line, a “border hardening” mission meant to prepare the area’s infrastructure for the arrival of thousands of people among the migrant caravan seeking asylum in the United States.

Thousands more troops from other branches have also deployed to the border to assist in other ways. For example, Army Military Police are there to protect the Marines who are not armed and are prohibited from enforcing the law. The Department of Defense insisted last week that the troops were sent there to help CBP and nothing else.

Analysts and the Pentagon estimate that the entire deployment operation could cost $200 million, maybe more, leaving some Americans to wonder if it’s a justifiable use of taxpayer money.

“As far as that question is concerned, I am not designed or able to answer that question because it’s not my place. My place is not to think about fiscal restraint, that’s for Congress. We’ve been asked to do a job and that’s what we’re here to do," Army Captain Guster Cunningham said.

CBP said the Marines' specific duties include installing barbed wire to make walls less scalable, and reinforcing construction areas so that people could not cross into them.

Another example of their work can be seen along the stretch of the border fence that separates Border Field State Park and Playas De Tijuana, Mexico.

Coils of concertina wire were strung along the top of the fence to deter caravan members who had climbed to the top of it to get a better look at their final destination.

In October, President Donald Trump threatened to close the southern border to address the caravan if the situation worsened. Since the arrival of the first troops at the border, CBP has acknowledged that option is still on the table.

CBP said it expects the waves of migrants in the most recent caravan to total more than 4,000 people.

SDPD Has Investigated More Than 200 Alleged Hate Crimes Since 2015

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San Diego police have investigated 225 reported hate crimes from January, 2015 to the present, according to data released Friday by the department.

Its busiest year so far was 2016 when hate crime investigators logged 69 hate crime reports.

Investigations have resulted in 57 hate crime arrests since 2015 city-wide. The most arrests were made in 2015, when 24 suspects were apprehended. Officers made eight arrests in 2016, 11 in 2017, and 14 arrests so far this year.

The vast majority of those arrests were for misdemeanor crimes, though at least two defendants were booked on felony hate crime charges.

According to data, at least five places of worship have been the target of alleged hate crimes. Those targets include Sacred Heart Church in Ocean Beach, the Beth Montessori Jewish school in La Jolla, and a Buddhist Temple in City Heights.

A sample of the data reveals most of the alleged crimes that led to arrests occurred in central San Diego, though at least one incident occurred close to the city's eastern boundary with La Mesa. Other arrests were connected with alleged hate crimes in Carmel Valley, and north of State route 56 near Rancho Santa Fe.

County-wide, hate crimes and incidents increased last year, with the victim's race, religion and sexual orientation -- in that order -- the target of those attacks.

The FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics report for 2017 reveals three local cities had an especially high ratio of reported hate crimes to population.

Carlsbad had seven reported incidents last year, and El Cajon and Oceanside each had six incidents, according to the FBI’s latest report.

The county’s unincorporated area had 14 reported hate crimes and incidents, the second highest number in the state, behind rural Los Angeles County's 15 reported incidents.

Deputy District Attorney Leonard Trinh, lead prosecutor for the D.A.’s hate crimes unit, said reported incidents in San Diego increased slightly more than the national average.

Trinh said hate crimes are on the rise nationwide, in part because of an increase in hate speech in social media and other public forums.

“The greater the frequency of hate speech, the greater the frequency of hate crimes,” Trinh told NBC 7.

The prosecutor said he often sees repeat offenders in hate crimes, which can make it easier to document bias and hatred as a motive and help win a conviction.

But Trinh says hate crimes can be hard to prove, because victims often don't know, or see, their attacker. That can limit the number of cases that make it to court and end with guilty verdicts or plea bargains.

Of the 25 alleged hate crimes referred by local law enforcement for prosecution last year, Trinh said his office rejected eight cases, filed 13 cases as hate crimes and four more as non-hate crimes.

The prosecutor said most local victims are targeted for their race, with African-Americans accounting for 60 percent of victims in local race-based hate crimes.

Trinh said Jews are the target of half of all religion-based hate crimes.

He also said he’s “shocked” that only 2,000 of more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide reported hate crimes or incidents in their communities last year.

"We have agencies in our county that are very small, and they report incidents that occur,” Trinh said. “So I know they're happening, and I find it hard to believe that none are occurring” in so many other communities across the nation.

Nationally, hate crimes across the United States spiked 17 percent in 2017 — marking a rise for the third straight year — with a 37 percent increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes, according to an FBI report released Tuesday.

Fire Leaves Behind Nothing but Ashes in Paradise

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A mother searching for her son, a husband who lost his wife to a stroke two months ago, two roommates just trying to survive — all victims of California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire, all living in their cars in the Chico Neighborhood Church parking lot because they want to be near the only thing they have left — their dogs.

None of them know what’s going to happen next.

Jean Eisenbarth escaped with Sweeney, her 8-year-old Great Pyrenees and her turtle, Kelly Winslow and Tim Joyner evacuated with their dogs Hazel, Moose, March, Delbert, and their two rats, Jay Raynor drove off with his yellow lab Gus, leaving behind homes in Paradise and the neighboring city of Magalia as a wildfire tore them apart, turning everything into ash within hours.

These are their stories.

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I Feel Like I’ve Been in a War

Jean Eisenbarth. Tuesday, Nov. 13, 12:55 p.m., The Neighborhood Church parking lot

How did you escape the night of the wildfires?

“My name is Jean Eisenbarth and this is my dog Sweeney — so if anybody sees us we’re okay. We’re from Shadowbrook Apartments in Paradise behind the DMV off of Clark. From what I hear, a lot of the apartments burned, some still are standing. There was a lot of explosions going on — it was like a battlefield, but we made it down here and there’s been a lot of donations and a lot of help. People are very kind but it was very scary. I didn’t think I was gonna make it out. I was one of the last ones in my family to make it out and I feel like I’ve been through a war. Everybody else here has gone through the same thing so I feel like I’m in the right place and hoping that we can go up and see our place sometime soon to see what we can salvage, and it’s just awful.”

Who helped you get out of Paradise?

"It was an old man and he was just walking in the neighborhood and I opened the door and I go, 'how do you get out of here,' and he goes, “It looks like everybody’s lost.” And I said, “We are,” and he didn’t even ask me to get in the car. He said, “Go to the stop sign, make a left and you’ll hit Skyway.” But he didn’t panic or nothing. I don’t know if I would have made it out if he wouldn’t have told me how to get out of there. I don’t know who he was and he didn’t seem scared, I think he was an angel, I honestly do."

Did you get any warning from anybody, or the city or anything like that?

"They were coming to warn us, but not beforehand. I didn’t get any warning through phone or anything."

"When I woke up in the morning the sky was orange and I told my friend that was staying with me, 'Pete, I think there’s a fire,' and he goes 'No, I think it was just a weird overcast.' And then we started hearing the explosions and then it got to midnight, totally dark. I had one candle and the reason I stayed so long was I was trying to catch my cats, they were scared. So I saw the police go into the other apartment complex so I ran out there and the cop car came up and I asked do we need to leave and he says, 'Oh my God yes.'"

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We’ll starve, the Dogs Won’t

Kelly Winslow, Tim Joyner, Tuesday, Nov. 13. 1:30 p.m., The Neighborhood Church parking lot

Where are you guys from?

TJ: "We’re from Magalia, and upper Magalia — right now we’re kind of in a flux because the fires are getting to that point so we’re kind of waiting for news you know day by day."

Are you staying here are all night?

TJ: "Yeah we have been safe here. I’m finding that people are putting aside their differences and just coming together, I think that’s what is happening. It’s incredible. Everyone’s in the same boat."

But you don’t know if the fires reached your house or what’s going on?

TJ: "We’re getting the same information everyone is online. I just found out by accident on Google. But we don’t really know … We’re just two roommates trying to survive."

Who are your other roommates?

TJ: "This is Hazel, this is Moose, March is on the floor, and Delbert, and two rats. I got them covered very well so they’re warm."

What are they eating?

TJ: "We have dog food, the dogs are eating well. We’ll starve, the dogs won’t. We’re realizing that this is going to be a long ordeal."

So what’s next?

"If you don’t own your home and are renting like we are, you’ll really have no other recourse than to go after the company. That company no longer has a home itself. So now you have to go try to find them. Actually we got a letter from our realtor and she said that it’s gonna be a while so …"

It’s gonna be a while before the electricity goes back up there. So even when we do go up there we’re gonna have to have everything in place cause we’re gonna have to have food, gas, water. It’s like camping in your own home. We’re gonna get a little propane thing, we’re already thinking ahead."

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Mother’s Intuition

We came across a Paradise evacuee in the parking lot of The Neighborhood Community Church who didn’t want to go on camera or be identified. She was emotional as she told us she was searching for her son. “Nobody’s seen him since two days before the fire, he was in a homeless camp in the woods. It’s devastating to see — If it hadn’t been for our neighbor who begged my husband and I to leave, we wouldn’t have left. So bless Virginia for saving us. We didn’t take anything — our computer or our meds. But it’s just things. At least we got out alive.”

Before we left she added:

“Just pray that they find my son, I'm hoping that he’s not dead, when you are a mother you have that mother’s intuition, and I can’t feel him,” she said. “The miracle out of this is that we have come together as one.”

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Everything’s gone but I got my car ... and my dog

Jim Raynow, Tuesday, Nov. 13. 1:45 p.m., The Neighborhood Church parking lot

JR: "What do you wanna know?"

Just your story, how you got here, how things are going.

JR: "Long story."

Are you from Paradise?

JR: "No I’m from Magalia. I lost my wife two months ago to a stroke and two months later I lose my house so I’m here."

When did you get here?

JR: "Thursday."

And you know for sure that your house is gone?

JR: "Well yeah my neighbor, it was kind of weird, he found me here about an hour ago and how he found me was that he was watching the news and saw me behind a reporter. I haven’t seen him since last Thursday but he tracked me down. He had a friend of his take a picture of his house from the street and it’s burned to the ground. I’m right next to it and at the edge you can see that my house is gone. Everything’s gone but I got my car."

Is that your dog? What’s his name?

JR: "Gus! It’s our dog, my wife’s baby. He’s 14 years old and he lost his mommy so we’re living in our car — it sucks. He’s got the backseat and I got the front. It’s funny I know everybody says that, it is what it is."

Do they have shelters inside?

JR: "They’re full. I got here Thursday and they were full. But I can’t have a dog. They do a good job, I got brand new clothes from these people it was amazing. Showers."

How long have you lived in Magalia?

JR: "Twenty-five years, I like it. I’m like in limbo. It’s like gravity and space, I’m in between."

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We Lost Everything

Gary Brand, Nov. 13, 3.32 p.m. The Neighborhood Church parking lot

Where did you live in Paradise?

"34 Wayland Road, Space #12. Lived there for 47 years."

Can you tell us how you escaped?

“We just got out of there the best way we could. We lost everything. I’m coping the best I can but my wife ain’t. She lost her Chihuahua. He got so scared he went under the couch and would not come out and the officers told us we had to leave, now, so we left.”

____________

Burned out of Paradise

Chris Hughes, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 3:59 p.m., Burrito Bandito, Chico

What Happened?

"Burned out of Paradise, born and raised there — Feather River Hospital — went to high school there, and drove around those streets, and it’s all gone. I really don’t know what to think about it. Just taking it a day at a time. Three dogs crammed into a car, trying to make life work."

How are they doing?

"They’re coping, but they’re all a little stressed out. It’s a crazy situation right now. Everybody’s a little dazed. But yeah, trying to stay focused."

____________

Waiting For FEMA

Terry Black, Nov. 13, 6 p.m., Wal-Mart Parking Lot, Chico

How long have you been here?

“We’ve been here about four days, I can’t remember anymore. It was like a movie at first, like you see people panicking on TV all over town, that’s how it was. The sky was red, and then I heard a boom!"

How long do you think you’ll be here for?

"We don’t know yet, we are waiting for FEMA."

____________



Photo Credit: Jennifer Gonzalez / NBC Bay Area
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San Diego Mayor Pushes for Transportation Options for Airport

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In Los Angeles and San Francisco, two major hubs for air travel in California, flyers can take public transportation from their hotels directly to the airport. Not so in San Diego.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said enough is enough. He’s vowing to make something work.

There have been talks — decades-long talks — about connecting public transportation, such as the Trolley, to the airport.

There have also been talks about having a transit hub near the airport, people movers from the trolley and special bus lanes to alleviate traffic on Harbor Drive, however, none that has come to frustration — at least, not yet.

As the airport seeks to upgrade and renovate its aging Terminal 1, Faulconer seized the opportunity to call a meeting with SANDAG, the Port of San Diego, MTS, and the Airport Authority to address airport transit.

In a statement, Faulconer said he is confident the group can prioritize connectivity while reducing traffic congestion and improving access to the waterfront.

“It could be a great first step," Airport Authority vice president of development Dennis Probst said. "If the mayor's successful in bringing people along, it'd be a great day for all of us.” 

The mayor plans to sit down Nov. 20 with some of the city’s biggest stakeholders to try to determine the future of how you get to and from the airport.

Travelers told NBC 7 their experience getting from the Trolley to the airport was terrible.

Right now, to get to the airport on the Trolley, travelers would have to get off at the Middle Town Trolley Station, the closest stop to the airport, cross several lanes of traffic on Pacific Highway to catch the free shuttle that takes them to the airport. Imagine making the trek with luggage in hands.

“It's not an attractive option for people,” Circulate San Diego’s executive director Colin Parent said. “The problem right now is people really don't have good choices for how to get to the airport. It's basically car or nothing for most folks.“

In order to make transit to the airport a reality, several agencies would have to work together, Parent said.  

“One agency can't do it alone,” he said. “It's not fair to say that the airport is the only player in this. We need to see some leadership from them, along with the mayor and along with these other agencies to make this a priority.”

It's not just travelers who would benefit from improved transit to the airport, he said. Simpler transit could really help the 8,000 or so employees that work day in and day out to make the airport run.

Father Says Psychological Abuse Led Him To Shoot and Kill Son

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The defense attorney for a 92-year-old man accused of shooting and killing his son argued his client was being psychologically tormented by his son who was "blind drunk" every day and shot him in self-defense.

Richard Landis Peck was booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree murder Wednesday after police responded to his Old Town home and found his son, 51-year-old Robert Landis Peck, dead in his bed.

SDPD said officers responded to a 911 call from a neighbor who reported the elder Peck called out for help and said he had just shot his son.

Peck was across the street at a neighbor's house when officers arrived.

At Peck's arraignment Friday, his attorney Douglas Gilliland said the victim was "blind drunk every day by 2 p.m.," and was threatening and abusive toward his father.

Gilliland said on the night of the shooting, the victim smashed his father's landline which was his primary mode of communication. Before going to bed, he told his father he would see him again later that night which made the elder Peck afraid to go to sleep, Gilliland said.

Peck's son was going through a divorce and had recently moved into his father's home, according to court records.

Gilliland said that Peck's daughter had recently tried to get him to move in with her in Georgia but he didn't want to leave his home.

He also said that Peck had called police on his son twice in the last three months. The first time, officers took his son in for a psychological evaluation and he was later released. At the second response, police determined the incident to be a family matter and left.

"At the end of the day, the defendant took a gun and shot and killed his own son. He took someone else's life and he did not have the right to do that," Deputy District Attorney Daniel Shim said.

Peck pleaded not guilty to murder with a special allegation of using a shotgun.

If convicted, he faces 50 years to life in prison.

The motive of the shooting is still under investigation.

Neighbors told NBC 7 the elder Peck was once a successful lawyer in San Diego.

Vigil Held For Chicago Bar Security Guard Shot by Cop

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Jemel Roberson graduated from Lane Tech High School on Chicago's North Side in 2010.

This evening hundreds gathered on campus to remember their classmate. Meanwhile, activists are calling for swift action against the officer who shot and killed him.

Community activist Jedidiah Brown says witnesses to the shooting and the moments leading up to it need to speak out.

“Today, I’m breaking the silence and I’m appealing to them to come on and come forward and the community will stand with them because we cannot let Jemel stand by himself," Brown said.

Brown says he’s received videos that clarify what happened but witnesses who shot them he says are fearful.

“Because those who have it are afraid of retaliation and the view that’s come forward is that they’ve been intimidated by law enforcement," he said.

Roberson, 26, was working as a security guard at Manny’s Blue Room Lounge in Robbins early Sunday. While trying to subdue a suspect he was shot by a white Midlothian police officer responding to the scene.

“Jemel saved lives that night only to lose his life," Pastor Leaundre Hill said. "So, we want answers. We want results. And we want them now."

Illinois State Police say witnesses told them Roberson was ordered by the officer to put down his gun several times before he was shot. Midlothian’s police chief called it a “blue on blue shooting” and a tragic case of friendly fire.

Others have disputed that.

This morning dozens of clergy, community activists and family members gathered in Midlothian demanding the firing of the unnamed officer.

“And they need to charge him with murder," said Rev. Michael Pfleger. "That’s what it was. It was murder."

Again, this evening former classmates and supporters of Roberson held a vigil here at lane tech and released balloons. Meanwhile, the police officer, a 4-year-veteran, remains on administrative leave.

Racist Hate Speech Found on Campus at Mira Costa College

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Mira Costa College has increased security and police patrols after administrators were made aware of a racist threat found in a men's bathroom.

College spokesperson Kristen Huyck said the threat was a form of hate speech aimed at African Americans. It was found on Thursday and is believed to be an imminent threat to the student body, according to Huyck.

Huyck said that white supremacy-related stickers and posters were placed in several spots around campus last week.

"Our neighbors in higher education have also experienced this," Huyck said. 

Huyck said the school is working with local law enforcement to investigate the threat and to communicate with students and staff.

A police bulletin went out to the school community describing the threat. It also asked anyone with information to come forward.

Huycks aid police do not have any information on a possible suspect.

Mira Costa College Police is handling the investigation and the increased patrols. The Oceanside Police Department and the FBI have both been made aware of the threat, Huyck said.

No other information was available.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.

Coronado FD Crew Returns After Assisting in Woolsey, Hill Fire Fights

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Some San Diego-area firefighters who joined the fight against destructive fires burning across Southern California returned home Friday.

Among the local firefighters helping our neighbors to the north was a crew from Coronado that was deployed in Los Angeles and Ventura counties for more than a week.

"It was very emotional; I saw a lot of tragedy and loss,” Coronado Fire Department firefighter Nathaniel Diaz said. He’s only been with the department for seven months.

"We did mop up, taking care of hot spots, making sure there was no rekindles with fire, making sure there were no flare-ups as well,” he said, explaining his crew’s duties while fighting the Woolsey and Hill fires.

"It hit very close to home for me, because it's very sad, seeing them dig through old pictures, find whatever they can out of basically nothing,” he said.

Fellow firefighter Nate Ramos tells said his crew had to be re-routed several times during the firefight because flames advanced and cut them off.

"The fire behavior we saw the first day was some of the more active fire behavior I've ever seen in my career and I was on the Witch Creek fire back in 2007,” Ramos said.

The firefighters said one of the worst parts about their time up north was seeing so many homes destroyed.

"A lot of the days we were there we were just offering support,” Ramos said. “If we were driving around and saw someone digging through their house, we stopped and offered assistance."

Ramos and Diaz’ strike team was part of a larger crew made up of 22 members from all over San Diego County, including San Diego, Lakeside and Chula Vista.

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