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A broken water main sent water shooting up against a home in Mountain View with a force so powerful it damaged a parked car.
San Diego Public Utilities Department workers shut off the water around 6:20 a.m. at the home on South 44th Street near Logan Avenue.
Nearby residents said they were awakened just after 5 a.m. by the sound of the water hitting one of the homes on the street. The six-inch pipe burst sending water high into the air.
The resident was inside and at one point opened the front door to investigate the sound only to be hit with gallons of water.
The force of the water sent rocks from the broken pavement against a nearby parked Nissan Xterra cracking the rear window.
Crews have shut off water service to nearby homes - approximately 22 residents - and cordoned off the street to traffic as they begin repairs.
A public utility spokesperson said crews hope to have water service restored to the neighborhood by 1:30 p.m. Monday.
DEA investigators have launched an investigation involving a small marijuana grow inside a burned-out home in Vista.
Fire gutted a home in Vista early Monday injuring two people and one dog, officials said.
Firefighters were called to the home on Vale Terrace Drive near Foothill Drive just before 6 a.m.
When they arrived, flames were visible from the street.
Four people were outside the home waiting for firefighters.
A man needed to be treated for asthma symptoms complicated by the smoke and a woman was rushed to the hospital with burns to her hand.
Firefighters helped pull a dog from the fire according to officials. Two firefighters provided oxygen to the pet on the lawn outside the home and successfully revived the animal.
After dawn, the damage from the fire was visible from the air as the NBC 7 helicopter provided video. Flames destroyed the roof and scorched the inside of the home.
Fifteen marijuana plants were discovered inside along with lights, CO2 pumps and generators, officials said.
A DEA narcotics task force is now taking over this part of the investigation.
The two people not injured in the fire have been detained for questioning.
As for the cause of the fire, officials said they don't believe the marijuana grow is to blame. It may have been a space heater of some kind. But that could change as fire investigators still have some work in front of them.
Families of victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre appeared together Monday to make a brief but moving joint statement asking that America mark the approaching anniversary of the attack by performing acts of kindness and volunteering for charities in their hometowns.
"We hope that some measure of good may be returned to the world," they said.
The statement, read aloud by two red-eyed Newtown mothers in halting voices, concluded with relatives announcing their intent to light a candle on the eve of the anniversary in honor of the loved one they lost.
It started with with JoAnn Bacon, whose daughter was killed and who read the last half of the joint statement.
"I'd like to add that our family will be lighting a candle on the eve of 12-14, the last night we spent with our sweet Charlotte."
Then 13 more family members — representing about half of the shooting's victims — stepped up to say who they'd be lighting a candle for that night:
"Our beautiful girl, Jessica," Jesse, "our daughter, Emily," "my mom, Dawn Hochsprung," "our older sister, Victoria," "my sweet boy, Jack," "our beautiful girl, Grace," "our gorgeous daughter, Avielle," "our beautiful daughter, Ana," "our sweet son, Daniel," "my daughter, Lauren," Chase, "our irrepressible Benny."
The group slowly walked away, passing beneath a banner inscribed with the names of each of the 20 children and six educators killed on Dec. 14, 2012, when gunman Adam Lanza burst into the school and opened fire before turning a gun on himself. The names on the banner were shaped in a heart, with the the phrase "Always in our hearts" underneath.
The families said that they were all grieving in deeply unique and personal ways, but wanted to allow others to share remembrances of the victims and communicate with each other. So they created a website, My Sandy Hook Family.
"This will be a singular place for sharing, communication and contact with the families of those who lost their lives that day," said Krista Rekos, whose daughter, Jessica, was killed in the shooting. "MySandyHookFamily.org allows us the opportunity to honor those who were taken from us so violently."
Early in the day, officials in Newtown said they were trying to make the approaching anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre as uneventful as possible, urging media to stay away and asking people to focus on performing "acts of kindness" in their everyday lives instead of descending on their small town and triggering bad memories.
"We are trying to respect the world's interest in us, but we also have a real need in our community to gain a foothold," First Selectman Pat Llodra said at the start of a 50-minute press conference meant to satiate intense media demands for comment. "We pay a price when the media is here, because we're a small community."
She and other officials stressed that Newtown was on the first leg of a long journey toward healing, and was in no need of being reminded of the shooting.
"Newtown is cracked," said Matt Crebbin, the senior minister for the Newtown Congregational Church and coordinator of the Newtown Interfaith Clergy Association, paraphrasing a lyric by songwriter Leonard Cohen.
"He writes in one song that there's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in," Crebbin explained. "I'd say Newtown is cracked. We've been through a devastating experience and yet in the midst of our cracks and our brokenness there is light shining through."
Crebbin noted, for example, that in addition to honoring those who died, his congregation would be baptizing a baby this weekend.
Interim Schools Superintendent John Reed said the district would attempt to have as normal a day as possible on Friday, the day before the anniversary. A majority of students and staff are expected to come to school.
The goal is to "maintain as much as possible the consistency and ebb and flow of the school day," Reed said.
The district has been operating an intense mental health program in which it has monitored the progress of its students — not only those who were in the school at the time of the shooting, but across the entire local system, Reed said. That observation will continue until they graduate high school, he said.
Newtown is in the process of developing a school to replace Sandy Hook Elementary, which was demolished weeks ago. Llodra said there was no plan for a memorial at the new building.
Police Chief Mike Kehoe said there would be an "increased law enforcement presence" in Newtown all weekend to ensure a sense of safety and security. Other than that, "we're going to do what we can to make it a routine day, like any Friday, Saturday and Sunday."
His officers were among the first to arrive at Sandy Hook Elementary as the massacre was unfolding. Asked how those officers were doing, Kehoe said the department had "made remarkable gains."
"We're showing a resilience that I expected from a law enforcement agency," Kehoe added. "But I know we have a long road to go."
Disgraced former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner was sentenced Monday morning to 90 days home confinement after he pleaded guilty to three counts involving sexual harassment in October, including a felony.
Because of the felony count, he must agree not to seek or hold public office and surrender his city retirement.
But what about Filner’s long-term future? Will he be able to make a personal comeback after a humiliating end to his long political career?
Psychiatrist Clark Smith says yes – like a Roger Hedgecock or a Bill Clinton, Filner can find his way back.
“People might be willing to listen to his point of view, whether it’s politics or economics,” Smith said. “People might be interested in what he has to say.”
Special Section: Mayor Under Fire
“We see people who are intelligent and knowledgeable and experienced who have a role to play as a commentator or as a consultant,” he said. “I think he can do that.”
But Smith says that acceptance doesn’t mean forgiveness. For that, he says Filner must be truly honest about what made it all come to this – without self-deception or denial.
“It’s possible he needs to make amends to people he has harmed through this. It’s going to be hard because he’s going to be subjected to civil lawsuits, and he’s going to have to defend himself,” Smith said. “I think that makes the situation even more difficult.”
Gloria Allred, the famed attorney representing one of Filner’s alleged victims in a civil suit, was in court for Monday’s sentencing.
After weeks of controversy, recall efforts and women coming forward with sexual harassment claims, Filner resigned from office Aug. 23.
A Connecticut woman made a frightening discovery after biting into a Dunkin' Donuts croissant and feeling something sharp cut her mouth.
Priscilla Salas said she almost swallowed the razor pieces she discovered after biting into a croissant she bought last week at the Dunkin' Donuts on Boston Post Road in Windham. She didn't realize what was inside the pastry until she bit down and cut her mouth on the metal shards, some of which were up to a quarter inch long.
“I was just floored completely,” Salas said.
After calling the police and the restaurant's corporate office, Salas was told the metal in her food could have been part of a box cutter.
“They felt It was probably a frozen croissant from distribution center and they were going to find the exact location of it,” Salas said.
Dunkin' Donuts said in a statement that Salas' experience was an isolated incident. The company said it is concerned about the safety of its customers and is working with the store in question to investigate. Salas said she stops by that Dunkin' Donuts almost every day and said she'd never had a problem before.
“I just want the public to know and be aware of what they buy and look over everything they eat,” she said.
Salas said Dunkin' Donuts apologized to her and told her the company would send a gift card. But she said she isn’t after the company’s money; she just wants the public to be aware.
American Olympic figure skating champion Evan Lysacek will not be competing in the Sochi Games because of a hip injury, he said in a interview on Tuesday's "Today" show.
"It's very difficult for me to say that now, but my road to Sochi ends here," said Lysacek, who appeared emotional during his interview with "Today" host Matt Lauer.
Lysacek, a 28-year-old native of Naperville, Ill., outside Chicago, has not competed since he took home the gold in Vancouver in 2010. He said that he has "unmanageable pain" from a labral tear in his left hip and a muscle tear in his abdomen resulting from an accident in August.
Lysacek has stayed busy since Vancouver with endorsement deals and charity work. He finished second as a celebrity contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2010.
"It's a difficult decision, for sure," Lysacek said of not competing in Sochi.
With the help of his doctors, Lycasek fast-tracked his rehabilitation so he could return to the ice in October to train for a December event that would qualify him for Sochi. But the pain intensified as he resumed training and Lysacek said knew he would never fully recover if he kept skating.
"My doctor warned me that if I continued to train, with 100 percent certainty the injury would get worse, the pain would get worse every single day," he told Lauer. "I could be doing permanent and severe damage."
Lysacek sidestepped questions about his retirement, saying his focus right now is to get healthy.
"I love to represent my country and I'm determined to be healthy and skate again and really be the one who decides when it's over," he said.
A staff member at the University of California Riverside has an active case of bacterial meningitis, the school announced Monday.
“Although the risk of transmission is low, it is best to take precautions,” UCR said in a statement.
“The university will notify any students, staff and faculty who could have had repeated contact with the individual. The campus is offering resources at the campus health center for any student who is concerned.”
The diagnosed employee is off campus and anyone who may have come into contact with them will be contacted individually, the school said.
Further details about the sickened staffer were not immediately available and it isn't clear whether they came down with a similar strain of meningitis that has sickened students at UC Santa Barbara and Princeton University.
Bacterial meningitis can be spread through kissing, coughing or prolonged contact. Symptoms can include fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting.
It is vital that treatment be started as soon as possible and appropriate antibiotic treatment of the most common types of bacterial meningitis should reduce the risk of dying from the disease to below 15 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Monday’s revelation out of Riverside comes one week after an 18-year-old student at UC Santa Barbara had both of his feet amputated after he contracted meningitis in an outbreak that sickened three other students at his university.
More than 500 students on the Santa Barbara campus were provided with antibiotics to prevent the potentially deadly sickness from spreading, the school said.
Across the country, another university continues to grapple with bacterial meningitis. Last month, Princeton University reported its eighth confirmed case of meningitis this year.
The outbreak on the New Jersey campus forced the Ivy League school to offer an emergency vaccine that has not been approved by the FDA and is aimed at halting the strain’s spread.
Nearly 2,000 Princeton students lined up on campus Monday to receive the shots, NBC News reports.
In a statement, UC Riverside said it is “following standard protocols mandated by public health laws and by general practice” in light of the case on its campus.
More Southern California Stories:
A thief has ruined a Christmas tradition from a Point Loma family.
On Monday morning, Charo Mouritzen discovered that Baby Jesus had been stolen from the nativity scene in the front yard of her Chatsworth Boulevard home.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Mouritzen said. “Why would somebody take Baby Jesus?”
The nativity decorations are simple, just figures painted on fiberboard, but they hold special meaning for the Mouritzen family. Mouritzen said she and her husband brought the nativity scene from her native Panama 18 years ago.
“This is all we have left of our Baby Jesus, just these pictures,” she said. flipping through a family photo album.
The Mouritzens are devout Catholics. They hope someone will hear their story and return Jesus.
“You’ve taken away a big tradition from our family,” Mouritzen said. “We would love to have it back.”
The family said they will file a police report. Anyone with information can call the San Diego Police Department.
Hash oil extraction labs are popping up around San Diego County. Thirty have been found so far this year, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“No one knows where they are and when the next one will blow up,” said Norm Clay, a property manager.
In January, people were rushed to the hospital after a hash oil lab exploded at the Heritage Inn.
In June in Encanto, a home explosion was so strong that it blasted a hole in the ceiling and sent a refrigerator flying into another room. A 7-year-old boy was caught in the middle of the explosion.
On Monday in Vista, a home was gutted by a fire where 14 marijuana plants were found.
“It’s an extremely dangerous process, and many people have been injured in the process with third degree burns,” said Todd Burton of the San Diego County HazMat Team. “We’re lucky that nobody has lost their life at this point.”
The DEA is working with local law enforcement to crack down on extraction labs and grow operations. But officials say it’s going to take a community effort.
"The smell of these lab operations is quite pronounced, and we can report an unusual smells or activity that may indicate one of these dangerous operations in our neighborhood,” Clay said.
Marijuana By The Numbers
(Source: Drug Enforcement Administration)
In the span of just a few days, Spring Valley resident Jonathan DeGuzman went from being happy and healthy to fighting for his life. Deguzman won the fight to survive, but that fight cost him things most people take for granted.
In May of 2005, then-23-year-old DeGuzman was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis after days of flu-like symptoms. His condition quickly deteriorated. Doctors told DeGuzman’s parents to prepare for the worst.
"I was in a coma for 12 days," he said. "They started planning my funeral arrangements already."
On the 13th day came a miracle when Jonathan woke up. But the bacterial meningitis had spread and his life was at risk. A drastic medical procedure was needed.
"They amputated all ten of my fingers and both of my feet," he said.
The meningitis was gone, but so were DeGuzman’s hands and feet.
"I was frightened at beginning but I was able to say this is my reality and I have to make it work for me," he said.
He went through months of rehab and basically relearned how to live, teaching himself new ways to do basic human functions like picking things up and drinking.
"It’s just basically adapting to my new environment using what I have now," he said.
Now he's a meningitis survivor success story. DeGuzman lives indepently, and does other things like driving and jogging. He's a grad student at SDSU and works with disabled kids at the educational culture complex.
He says the key to his recovery was personal patience and support from family and friends.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday snapped a selfie at Nelson Mandela's memorial service in South Africa, proving once and for all that the portraits are not just for self-obsessed millennials.
An Agence France-Presse photographer captured the president posing for the photo alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. First Lady Michelle Obama, by contrast, looks straight ahead at the memorial service.
The moment caught the attention of news sites across the web, and the three leaders' smiles appears to reflect the jovial mood of Mandela's raucous memorial.
The self-portrait has prompted the mastermind behind "Selfies at Funerals" to post one last picture before officially calling it quits. The last post on the viral Tumblr site was originally supposed to have been one posted on Nov. 13.
"I'd intended for the post below to be the final one here, but then this just happened at Nelson Mandela's memorial service -- not exactly a funeral, to be fair, but I'll go ahead and take credit for the whole thing," wrote Jason Feifer, the Fast Company editor who created the Tumblr in late October.
Selfies were so popular in 2013 that Oxford University Press named it the word of the year in November.
While the three world leaders' selfie moment may be going viral, they broke Kim Kardashian's cardinal rule of selfie-taking.
"You always need it to be a little bit higher," Kardashian said, referring to the position of the phone, in a YouTube video on selfie-taking in November. Obama appears to have the smartphone positioned below the eye level.
The move helps picture-takers capture their best angles, said Kardashian, who herself appeared in a viral selfie in October that showed off her post-baby body.
Other famous selfies this year include one that First Lady Michelle Obama took with first dog Bo. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton snapped one with daughter Chelsea in June.
Obama's selfie was not the first to be taken at a serious event.
In October, a Florida teenager found Internet fame after he took a self-portrait while his teacher appeared in the background swooning from labor pains.
Just last week the New York Post shamed a woman on the tabloid's cover for taking a selfie as crowds watched a suicidal man on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Defense attorneys for former Mayor Bob Filner attribute some of the former congressman's aggressive behavior to a sudden stop in psychiatric medication, originally prescribed by congressional doctors.
A memo from defense lawyer Jerry Coughlan said that “the sudden disruption in his medications, coupled with long-standing issues of anxiety and the stress of assuming a new, intensely political, executive position” were contributing factors to Filner's behavior.
Probation paperwork describes the medication Filner is currently taking including: Lexapro, Buspirone and Lamictal - medications used to treat anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder.
Coughlan's memo was submitted to court ahead of Filner's sentencing hearing Monday in which Filner received three years of probation and three months of home confinement with GPS monitoring. In October, Filner entered a guilty plea to felony false imprisonment and two counts of misdemeanor battery.
In the memo, Coughlan refers to letters from Drs. Robert Bray and Michael Lardon, which are under seal.
Of Filner's current medical condition, Coughlan writes:
"His psychiatrist describes him as clinically stable, 'committed to treatment,' with an 'excellent' prognosis now that he is receiving regular and and appropriate treatment."
Filner will be allowed to attend medical and counseling sessions as well as meet monthly with his psychiatrist, according to terms of his sentencing. He also will be allowed to vote, contrary to prior reports, according to state Attorney General spokesman Nick Pacilio.
Pacilio acknowledged the possibility that upon completion of the sentence Filner's felony charge might be reduced to a misdemeanor. That idea was floated in court Monday by Filner's defense team, but the judge did not rule on it.
Special Section: Mayor Under Fire
Filner received letters of support from his son, Adam Filner, his former fiance, Bronwyn Ingram, both of his former wives and even the attorney who is currently in a relationship with his first wife, Barbara.
His son, Adam Filner, wrote that his relationship with Filner "has been rocky." But, much of that changed over the last few years, and even more so during the last few months.
"These recent months have been some of the most trying times he has had in his life and I'm glad he has shared with me how much he has learned," Adam Filner wrote. "These lessons will live with me in my professional and personal life."
His former wife, Jane Merrill Filner, said her former husband had been successful in righting both individual wrongs and systemic wrongs.
"He works harder than anyone I've ever known and has gone to great lengths to right a wrong or provide assistance to someone who asked for his help," she wrote.
His first wife, Barbara Filner, wrote the court that these last months have been difficult for Filner, but that he's come out of them with an ability to understand others points of view.
She wrote that his consistency "has caused both our children to view him as a 'hero' in terms of his political positions and his willingness to engage in 'battle' to support them."
Former fiance Bronwyn Ingram wrote that Filner will continue doing what he does, which is achieve his goals.
"Although he has more work to complete on his journey of recovery, I believe he has already made significant strides in a short time and I expect that he will continue to do so until he achieves his goals," she wrote.
None of the women Filner was accused of grabbing, groping, kissing or restraining in a headlock were in court Monday. An attorney for another victim says Filner's punishment is not nearly enough.
Employees of public transit systems in California may soon be barred from going on strike under new legislation proposed Monday.
Senate Republican leader Bob Huff, who represents Diamond Bar, was in San Francisco on Monday to discuss the bill proposed in light of a possible upcoming BART strike.
Huff said lawmakers have an obligation to make sure public transportation keeps running so long as there are Californians reliant on it.
Under Huff's legislation, an employee who breaks the no-strike law would be docked in pay for every day the law is broken.
There has been no comment from union reps.
BART unions ratified a new contract in November after months of vicious negotiations and two crippling transit strikes, one in July and one in October.
Neighbors, firefighters and cops turned into Christmas-time elves this week pitching in to replace $1,500 in toys, winter coats and gift cards stolen from a car on a quiet cul-de-sac on the northern edge of the Bay Area.
Now, ten children - two of whom are cancer patients at Children's Hospital in Oakland - will receive their toys and gifts thanks to their efforts, as Benicia police are actively trying to track down the thief.
"It's just incredible how people stepped up," Marci Moriarty, 32, of Benicia told NBC Bay Area on Tuesday. Her Honda Pilot was broken into late Sunday night or early Monday morning - her piles of gifts intended for cancer families stolen from the backseat of her car.
"I didn't ask," she said. "People did it because they wanted to."
What people did was replace the stolen gifts, with toys from the city's annual firefighting toy drive and the police department's union fundraising efforts. Moriarty's neighbors also wrote checks totaling $600 - surplus money she will donate to social workers at Children's Hospital.
The oncology department's Adopt-a-Family program began 15 years ago, when Dr. Caroline Hastings and some others identified the neediest families, and volunteers bought them gifts for the holidays. The program has grown to about 20 to 30 families each Christmas season.
Moriarty, a bone marrow transplant nursing coordinator at Children's Hospital, has been buying gifts for nearly a decade, asking her extended family to pitch in. She raised about $1,500 and over two weekends, went shopping in Walnut Creek and Roseville to buy winter clothes, jackets, toys and gift cards for ten children from two families. She wrapped the gifts Sunday night and packed them in her car.
"I live in a quiet neighborhood," she said. "I didn't think twice about it."
When she went to pull out of her driveway on James Court Monday morning, she noticed her back window was broken and the gifts were gone.
"I was shocked. I was so deflated," she said. "I didn't know how I was going to be able to get those presents again."
WATCH: Surveillance Video of Suspect Breaking Into Car
Two of her neighbors on Chadwick Court also had their cars broken into during the same time period. One home surveillance camera caught an African-American man, about 20 to 30 years old, with dreadlocks or long braids, peering into a light colored Mini with a flashlight. Neither of the homeowners on Chadwick Court had anything stolen, but Benicia police think Moriarty's break-in and the two attempted robberies are related. Since Thanksgiving, there have been six car burglaries in Benicia, including these three on Monday, according to Police Lt. Frank Hartig.
Sarah Schooley, a police dispatcher, got wind of the news and told the fire and police departments. Both agencies stepped up to help replace the stolen gifts. Benicia Police Officers’ Association President Kevin Rose said his union members have already replaced the stolen gift cards.
And Benicia Fire Association President Todd Matthews "opened his toy barrels" to Moriarty on Monday night to pick out gifts from his department's annual Toy Drive.
"The toys are for people in need," he said. "These people met that need."
As for Moriarty, she's learned not to be so trusting of her so-called "safe" neighborhood. But all the anger she initially felt is now gone - even for the Grinch.
"Somebody that desperate is really in a bad place," she said. "He probably never felt the love and support that I felt all day."
Anyone with information should call the Benicia Police Department at (707) 745-3412. If they prefer to remain anonymous, they can all also call Crime Stoppers, 707-644-7867, Crime Stoppers offers rewards for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.
U.S. President Barack Obama implored thousands gathered in a cold, rainy stadium and millions watching around the world on Tuesday to carry forward Nelson Mandela's mission of erasing injustice and inequality.
In a speech that received thunderous applause at FNB stadium and a standing ovation, Obama called on people to apply the lessons of Mandela, a "giant of history" who emerged from 27 years in prison under a racist regime, embraced his enemies when he finally walked to freedom and ushered in a new era of forgiveness and reconciliation in South Africa.
He called Mandela "the last great liberator of the 20th century," comparing him to Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
"We, too, must act on behalf of justice. We, too, must act on behalf of peace," said Obama, who like Mandela became the first black president of his country. Obama said that when he was a student, Mandela "woke me up to my responsibilities — to others, and to myself — and set me on an improbable journey that finds me here today."
"And while I will always fall short of Madiba's example, he makes me want to be a better man," Obama said of Mandela, who died Thursday at age 95. "He speaks to what is best inside us."
Obama pointed out that "around the world today, men and women are still imprisoned for their political beliefs; and are still persecuted for what they look like, or how they worship, or who they love."
Among the nearly 100 heads of state and government were some from countries like Cuba that don't hold fully democratic elections. On the way to the podium, Obama shook hands with Cuban President Raul Castro, underscoring a recent warming of relations between Cuba and the U.S. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush also attended the ceremony.
In contrast to the wild applause given to Obama, South African President Jacob Zuma was booed. Many South Africans are unhappy with Zuma because of state corruption scandals, though his ruling African National Congress, once led by Mandela, remains the front-runner ahead of elections next year.
The weather and public transportation problems kept many people away. The 95,000-capacity stadium was only two-thirds full.
Some of the dozens of trains reserved to ferry people to the stadium were delayed due to a power failure. A Metrorail services spokeswoman, Lilian Mofokeng, said more than 30,000 mourners were successfully transported by train.
The mood was celebratory. A dazzling mix of royalty, statesmen and celebrities was in attendance.
Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president who succeeded Mandela, got a rousing cheer as he entered the stands. French President Francois Hollande and his predecessor and rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, arrived together. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon waved and bowed to spectators who sang praise for Mandela, seen by many South Africans as the father of the nation.
"I would not have the life I have today if it was not for him," said Matlhogonolo Mothoagae, a postgraduate marketing student who arrived hours before the stadium gates opened. "He was jailed so we could have our freedom."
Rohan Laird, the 54-year-old CEO of a health insurance company, said in the stadium that he grew up during white rule in a "privileged position" as a white South African and that Mandela helped whites work through a burden of guilt.
"His reconciliation allowed whites to be released themselves," Lair said. "I honestly don't think the world will see another leader like Nelson Mandela."
Workers were still welding at a VIP area as the first spectators arrived amid an enormous logistical challenge of organizing the memorial for Mandela, who died Dec. 5 in his Johannesburg home at the age of 95.
Mandela's widow, Graca Machel, and former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela were at the stadium, and gave each other a long hug before the ceremonies began. So were actress Charlize Theron, model Naomi Campbell and singer Bono.
Tuesday was the 20th anniversary of the day when Mandela and South Africa's last apartheid-era president, F.W. de Klerk, received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to bring peace to their country. De Klerk, a political rival who became friends with Mandela, was also in the stadium.
Mandela said in his Nobel acceptance speech at the time: "We live with the hope that as she battles to remake herself, South Africa will be like a microcosm of the new world that is striving to be born."
The sounds of horns and cheering filled the stadium. The rain, seen as a blessing among South Africa's majority black population, enthused the crowd.
"In our culture the rain is a blessing," said Harry Tshabalala, a driver for the justice ministry. "Only great, great people are memorialized with it. Rain is life. This is perfect weather for us on this occasion."
People blew on vuvuzelas, the plastic horn that was widely used during the World Cup soccer tournament in 2010, and sang songs from the era of the anti-apartheid struggle decades ago.
"It is a moment of sadness celebrated by song and dance, which is what we South Africans do," said Xolisa Madywabe, CEO of a South African investment firm.
The soccer venue was also the spot where Mandela made his last public appearance at the closing ceremony of the World Cup. After the memorial, his body will lie in state for three days at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, once the seat of white power, before burial Sunday in his rural childhood village of Qunu in Eastern Cape Province.
Police promised tight security, locking down roads kilometers (miles) around the stadium. However, the first crowds entered the stadium without being searched.
John Allen, a 48-year-old pastor from the U.S. state of Arkansas, said he once met Mandela at a shopping center in South Africa with his sons.
"He joked with my youngest and asked if he had voted for Bill Clinton," Allen said. "He just zeroed in on my 8-year-old for the three to five minutes we talked."
Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, is coming to Kearny Mesa Dec. 12 to officially sign a recently announced agreement between his company and San Diego-based Bridgepoint Education that lends the Forbes name to Bridgepoint’s Ashford University subsidiary business school.
Ashford’s College of Business and Professional Studies is being renamed the Forbes School of Business.
Bridgepoint announced last month it will pay Forbes Media $15 million plus a percentage of revenue the school generates over a 12-year term for the naming rights.
Joining Steve Forbes, who ran for the Republican Party’s nomination for president in 1996 and 2000, for the ceremonial signing will be Forbes Media CEO Mike Perlis, Bridgepoint CEO Andrew Clark and Ashford University President Richard Pattenaude.
The Business Journal is the premier business publication in San Diego. Every day online and each Monday in print, the Business Journal reports on how local business operate and why businesses leaders make the decisions they do. Every story is a dose of insight into how to run a better, more efficient, more profitable business.
Flames shot through cracks in the road near the Oakland Zoo Tuesday morning after a 4-inch natural gas pipeline erupted and caught fire for hours.
About 25 Oakland firefighters and a hazmat team raced to the fire, first reported about 8:30 a.m., at Golf Links Road and Fontaine Street off Interstate Highway 580 near Holy Redeemer College and the Oakland Zoo.
PG&E crews shut off the flow of gas at 11:37 a.m., and the flames died down by early afternoon as crews let the fire burn itself out.
“We wanted to make sure natural gas wasn’t migrating into homes, which could pose a greater safety risk,” said PG&E’s Brittany Chord. “It’s like a pilot light. We want to make sure you know exactly where that natural gas is that it’s burning off into the atmosphere.”
At least 20 EBMUD customers were without water as lines were shut off as a precautionary measure.
Six homes were evacuated, and no injuries were reported. Other residents were told to shelter in place. By 1 p.m., the evacuation order had been lifted.
"I started thinking about San Bruno," evacuee James Gouig said. "Now, I'm freaking out. What do I got to grab out of the house? You always think, 'Grab photos,' but we don't have photos anymore, so I just grabbed the iPhone."
Gouig was referring to the Sept. 9, 2010, San Bruno pipeline explosion when a natural gas pipeline owned by Pacific Gas and Electric exploded into flames and killed eight people.
PG&E says this situation was much different from San Bruno.
"Two very different pipelines,” Chord said. “The transmission pipe in San Bruno was much bigger in diameter and operating in a much higher pressure.”
The San Bruno pipeline is 36 inches in diameter, with natural gas being pushed through at 300 pounds per square inch. The Oakland Hills pipeline that caught fire Tuesday is 4 inches round, with 60 pounds of gas pressure per square inch. It pipeline was isntalled in 1946.
After the San Bruno explosion, the NTSB made recommendations that PG&E install automatic shutoff valves on its underground pipelines. PG&E says it made a decision to begin installing shutoff devices on its larger transmission sites. So far they’ve stayed away from implementing the same technology on its small distribution pipelines like this one.
That’s information Gouig says he just has to live with.
"I’m grateful no houses blew up and nobody got hurt,” Gouig said.
The cause of the rupture is under investigation, though PG&E crews said they didn't think the cold weather had any part in the leak. PG&E crews set up lights and planned to work into the evening Tuesday night.
The co-owner of an e-cigarette and vape bar in Carlsbad will challenge a recent city ban on e-cigarettes.
Dan Daniel with Mix Vapes will be speaking at a city council meeting at 10 on Tuesday.
The city's ban cites a 2009 FDA study that showed e-cigarettes release carcinogens, but Daniel arguest that the data in that study is outdated.
Last week, the Carlsbad City Council voted to ban smoke e-cigarettes in businesses or restaurants. The ban will take effect after the New Year. E-cigarette business owners, however, maintain that vaping can actually help people quit smoking.
“It’s not a ban on the product, but it will protect the public health from what’s essentially an unknown and unregulated product,” said Lorenzo Higley, chairperson of the San Diego Tobacco Control Coalition.
E-cigarettes don’t contain tobacco. Instead, users inhale vaporized liquid that usually contains nicotine.
