Police have arrested a 37-year-old man in connection to a shooting of a woman last week in an alley in the North Park neighborhood.

Police say Kenneth Ozua tried to rob the woman after asking her for directions and then shot her in the shoulder.

San Diego police arrested Ozua and booked him in the county jail on suspicion of attempted murder, attempted robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

Investigators zeroed in on Ozua after receiving an anonymous tip naming him as the suspect. The tipster told police Ozua had fled to Mexico after the shooting, according to a news release from the San Diego Police Department.

Police detained Ozua Monday evening after they say he was caught trying to enter back into the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.

The shooting happened last Thursday afternoon in the east alley of 4000 Ohio Street, as the woman was approached by a man and woman who drove up to her.

After she told him to go away, he demanded her purse, police say.

Refusing to give it up, the victim instead turned and ran. The suspect responded by pulling out a gun and shooting her through the back of her right shoulder.

The woman, found conscious and breathing, was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital for her injuries.

Police say Ozua’s wife, 38-year-old Mariela Ozua -- who was believed to be the woman in the SUV -- is still at large.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Mariela Ozua is encouraged to contact Sergeant Don Williams of the San Diego Police Department Mid-City Division at (619) 516-3006 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has cancelled six Washington Redskins trademarks, ruling that the polarizing moniker is "disparaging to Native Americans."

While the decision does not require the Redskins to change their name, it could intensify the ever-increasing pressure on the team to do so.

• Redskins to Senators: Team's Name Is "Respectful"

The ruling means the Redskins would lose several legal benefits associated with the trademarks (including the use of the ® symbol) and the ability to register with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to ensure that counterfeit foreign goods are not imported.

Federal trademark law does not allow the registration of trademarks that are considered disparaging to individuals or groups.

"We decide, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered," the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board wrote in its opinion.

• Activist Compares Redskins Foundation to "Bribery"

The Redskins, however, will be able to appeal to a federal court to have the ruling reversed.

Five Native Americans filed to have the trademarks cancelled in 2006 and the case was heard by the board in March 2013.

"The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board agreed with our clients that the team's name and trademarks disparage Native Americans," said Jesse Witten, the lead partner of Drinker Biddle & Reath, the law firm litigating the case. "The Board ruled that the Trademark Office should never have registered these trademarks in the first place."

• ALSO SEE: #RedskinsPride Campaign Goes Awry

Redskins owner Dan Snyder has vowed that he will never change the team's name. "NEVER -- you can use caps," he told USA Today last year.

When approached by reporters during Washington's minicamp practice Wednesday, Snyder declined to comment.

"This ruling -- which of course we will appeal -- simply addresses the team's federal trademark registrations, and the team will continue to own and be able to protect its marks without the registrations," Redskins trademark attorney Bob Raskopf said in a statement. "The registrations will remain effective while the case is on appeal."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a vocal critic of the team's name, took the Senate floor shortly after the patent office's cancellation was announced, applauding the decision.

"Daniel Snyder may be the last person in the world to realize this," Reid said, "but it's just a matter of time until he is forced to do the right thing and change the name."

This is the second time the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has been presented with a petition to cancel these trademarks. That case took 17 years to go through the legal system before the Supreme Court declined to intervene.

In 1992, Suzan Harjo and six other Native Americans brought a case against Pro Football, Inc., the corporate entity that owns the Redskins, and in 1999, the board ruled to cancel the registrations.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reversed that ruling in 2003 due to a technicality, Whitten explained. Under the doctrine of laches, the court found that Harjo and her fellow petitioners waited too long after turning 18 to file their complaint.

The petitioners appealed, and ultimately, in 2009, the D.C. Circuit Court affirmed the decision of the lower court.

“We’ve seen this story before," Raskopf said. "And just like last time, today’s ruling will have no effect at all on the team’s ownership of and right to use the Redskins name and logo.

"We are confident we will prevail once again, and that the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s divided ruling will be overturned on appeal."

Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamVingan and e-mail your story ideas to adamvingan (at) gmail.com.

Olympic swimming champion Amy Van Dyken-Rouen, who suffered traumatic spinal cord and brain injuries earlier this month, is smiling, talking, and trading her Arizona hospital bed for one in Colorado.

“I am now off to Denver, Colorado, to Craig Hospital to begin the next chapter in my life, doing some rehabilitation. So I will keep everyone updated on my Instagram and Twitter as always,” Van Dyken-Rouen, 41, told NBC's Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie in a brief video on Wednesday’s "Today" broadcast.

The six-time gold medalist has been keeping her Twitter and Instagram followers informed of her condition every step of the way. On Tuesday, she posted an Instagram photograph of the surgical incision on her back. “Healing fast! #PrayersAreWorking,” she wrote in the caption.

“I just want to thank you guys and everyone who watches the 'Today' show for all of your support, all of your prayers and your positive vibes. It’s definitely helping,” Van Dyken-Rouen said on "Today."

Van Dyken-Rouen suffered an ATV accident on June 6 that severed her spine and nearly ruptured her aorta. She has been in treatment at Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center in Arizona, but is transferring to Denver’s Craig Hospital, which specializes in spinal-cord injuries, The Washington Post reported.

Before departing Scottsdale, Van Dyken-Rouen brought the balloons she was given to patients in the Intensive Care Unit. She gave her surgeon’s daughter a special Hello Kitty balloon for the girl's birthday.

On Monday, Van Dyken-Rouen posted a photo to Instagram of her husband, former Denver Bronco's punter Tom Rouen, and her yellow labrador Kuma keeping her company in the hospital.

Van Dyken took home four Olympic gold medals in the 1996 Atlanta games, and two more at the Sydney games in 2000.
 

Developers looking to build in downtown San Diego are now facing a steep hike in the city’s so-called “impact” fees.

The money will help pay for badly needed fire stations, parks and other public facilities.

The 78-percent increase came Tuesday at City Hall in a 5-to-4 vote that split the Democratic super-majority on the Council.

The move addresses a renewed building boom downtown at a time when there's no more redevelopment money to help underwrite public facilities.
           
Urban growth forecasts say downtown's population will more than double, to 90,000, by 2030.
           
City planners are seeking financing for two new fire stations that need to be built -- one across Broadway from Police Headquarters, another on Pacific Highway across from the County Administration Center – along with the replacement of a third existing station in East Village, and expansion of two more downtown stations.

Total cost: $90 million.

There'll also be demands for more open space and recreational facilities.

"I think they need to have a lot more parks around, they need to have a lot more playgrounds around -- because there's more families downtown that I've noticed,” said East Village resident Christine Warner.  "You need to have the personnel to support the numbers in that case. You can't have 100,000 people downtown with the resources we have now."

The new developer impact fees -- which won’t actually take effect until after a 10-month moratorium -- will rise to nearly $8,000 per new dwelling unit.
           
But downtown denizens say it's in the builders' own interests to pay more to make the neighborhoods sustainable.

"If the developer doesn't see the infrastructure, then why should he build that?” says East Village resident Gary Smith, who heads the Downtown San Diego Residents Group.  “What's going to attract people if there are no parks?  What's going to attract people if they don't feel safe because the fire station doesn't get built? These types of things are necessary and important."

Meantime, residents of communities beyond downtown wonder if the fee hikes will go far enough,  so the rest of the city’s taxpayers don't get stuck with covering shortages.

"If the fees are kept high enough and  it's pay-as-you-go, maybe we can address some of this,” said City Heights community activist John Stump. “But you add in a downtown  football stadium – which is the big talk, it may be a very good idea -- and if you do all of those things, the impacts on everybody else may be too high, and this may not be the right plan."

Council President Todd Gloria and colleague Myrtle Cole, both Democrats, joined the three Council Republicans in approving the measure.
           
The four Democrats who opposed it suggested the developers should be charged even higher impact fees --  and start paying them right away.

According to city experts, there'll still be a funding gap for downtown facilities that developer fees at "total build-out" won't cover.

“If we had a silver bullet, it would already have been announced,” said Tom Tomlinson, deputy director of planning for the neighborhoods economic development.  “It’s going to take a lot of hard work cobbling together different funding sources – which is how it usually works for large capital improvement projects.”

Members of a search team looking for a firefighter who went missing late last week in the mountains of Ventura County camped out overnight in the area after they were airlifted to near the site where the man disappeared.

The search for 36-year-old Mike Herdman, described by colleagues as a well-trained elite athlete, began Monday in the mountains above Fillmore. Herdman went missing Friday night after he and a friend arrived at their campsite -- a two-day hike from where they left Wednesday.

The friend -- fellow firefighter Taylor Byars -- hiked back out of the mountains and contacted authorities. He told the sheriff's department they were preparing to set up camp Friday night near a creekbed when Herdman's dog, a 50-pound Viszla named Duke, ran away from the camp.

• Updates: NBCLA News App

Herdman, barefoot and wearing a t-shirt and shorts, ran after the dog. Search teams found the Arcadia firefighter's backpack, footprints and other items near the campsite, which is out of range for cell phone communication.

Nine search-rescue team members camped overnight near the site where Herdman was last seen. Team members, including personnel from Los Angeles, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties, on the ground and in the air will continue looking for Herdman Wednesday morning.

Specially trained dogs will join the search

• Read: Construction Beams Fall on 405 Fwy
  

"We're still hoping against hope we can find Mike Herdman alive," said Sgt. Eric Buschow, of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. "This is still a rescue.

"It's a huge challenge. Huge boulders, it's very remote."

Arcadia Fire Chief Kurt Norwood said Herdman, who planned to be home on Father's Day, was capable of surviving in the wilderness.

Sonic Drive-In plans a June 23 opening for its newest San Diego County restaurant, to open in National City.

The restaurant, featuring car-hop service among other purchase options, will debut at 3005 Highland Ave., according to the local franchisee, SPG Management LLC of San Marcos.

The National City location will be the seventh in San Diego County for SPG, which also operates the Sonic in Murrieta.

Oklahoma City-based Sonic Corp. (Nasdaq: SONC) was founded in 1953 and operates more than 3,500 locations. The company recently announced plans to open 1,000 new restaurants over the next 10 years.

The nostalgia-oriented fast-food eateries also have drive-through and dine-in service, with a menu that includes burgers, sandwiches and desserts.
 

Break out the chopsticks, or better yet, just use your hands. Wednesday marks National Sushi Day and Yelp search results have turned up some of the most fantastic flights of fish in north San Diego. Just say “omakase” and leave the sushi to the local pros.

Kaito Sushi (Encinitas)
Reservations are recommended for this popular locals joint and Yelpers report it’s open only for dinner, maxing out around 40 seats. The chefs behind the counter create stunning and tasty items with the freshest of catches. Specials can be noted on the eatery’s Facebook page. A few weeks ago the list featured Kamasu (barracuda), Kohada (gizzard shad) and Anago (salt water eel).

Hana Sushi (Temecula)
Happy Hour at Hana boasts hand rolls for about $5, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. every day. Chef Jake puts perfect Ono, Hirame (halibut), Ebi (shrimp) and Tai (red snapper) in front of his guests’ daily – and he doesn’t just do this live. The chef also makes handy, how-to videos on his YouTube channel, revealing recipe details for some of his signature dishes like the Moon River Roll or the Golden Hana.

Sushi Huku (San Marcos)
Huku is Japanese means “happiness” and we’re thrilled this sushi spot is open for both lunch and dinner. Snag an FM Roll, made with teriyaki steak and avocado on top of a Lobster Roll, or the Golden Dragon, fresh salmon on top of a California Roll. The sashimi list is extensive and features Cajun tuna and giant clams, and if you have to get back to the office, they offer the whole menu for take-out, too.

Blue Ocean Robata and Sushi Bar (Carlsbad)
“Robata” means cooking around the hearth and the practices in place here reflect those ancient traditions. In addition to the vast sushi offerings, this place uses hardwood charcoal to create awesome skewered menu items. Work your way through more than 20 different sashimi options ranging from Toro to Maguro, and make sure you try the Padres Roll: tempura shrimp, crab and cucumber topped with avocado, green onion, soft shelled crab, spicy mayo and eel sauce.

Sushi N’ Joy (Oceanside)
Reviewers rave about the portion sizes and the absolute freshness placed on their plates: Sushi joy? Absolutely! It’s an unassuming location with fantastic service and all of your favorites: octopus, markel, smelt eggs, shrimp and a huge selection of unique special rolls created by the chef. If you can’t decide, order the combos. The “Osaka” comes with 10 pieces of assorted sushi and the “Tokyo” comes with eight pieces of California Roll and eight pieces of assorted sushi.
 

Trish Sanderson is the community manager and marketing director for Yelp North County San Diego. She leads the local community of Yelp reviewers both online and off.

Apparently not everyone is lovin’ McDonald’s.

The Illinois-based chain ranks the lowest of all big-name fast-food chains in terms of customer satisfaction in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, released Tuesday.

McDonald's dropped 3 percent compared to last year, giving the chain an ACSI rating of 71 out a possible 100. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Barely inching out McDonald’s was Taco Bell, which also dropped 3 percent for a rating of 72.

KFC, which had an all-time high of 81 last year, dipped 9 percent to 74, the biggest decline among all restaurants — fast food or full service.

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Subway, which held the top spot in the fast-food category for several years, and Starbucks also saw major declines, with the coffee giant dropping 5 percent to 76 and the sandwich hub dipping 6 percent to 78.

Papa John’s and Pizza Hut were the only fast food chains that didn’t see a decline. Papa John’s remained steady and Pizza Hut increased by 3 percent, with both coming in at 82.

• Patent Office Cancels 6 "Disparaging" Redskins Trademarks

Americans ate out an average of four meals per week in 2013, according to data from the ACSI, marking a 60 percent increase since the end of the Great Recession.

“In a weaker economy, price plays a more important role in determining dining preferences and smaller restaurants that compete on quality rather than price may be more challenged to thrive,” the report states. “But in a strong or improving economy — as is the case now — the opposite is true.”

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Full service restaurants are reportedly keeping customers happier, with a rating of 82, an increase of more than 1 percent. Fast food followed with an ACSI score of 80 and large.

But perhaps the biggest contenders in keeping customers pleased are smaller chain restaurants like Panera and Chipotle, which were up 2 percent for an overall score of 83.

Four children were hospitalized Tuesday evening after they were thrown from a moving car being driven by an intoxicated parent, Crowley police say.

Kisha Young, 39, let six children ride on the hood and trunk of her Chevrolet Malibu because their clothes were wet; the group, including another adult, had been swimming at the Creekside Community Pool, according to police.

The children, ranging in age from 8 to 14, slipped off the car and were flung into the road after Young took a corner too fast along the 400 block of Angler Drive, witnesses said. Young initially didn't realize the kids were injured until she got to the end of the block. She turned around and drove back to help, appearing panicked, witnesses said.

Demi Garcia was in the front yard of her home with her father when they both witnessed the kids fall off the car.

“Then the mom started backing up after my dad ran over there to the kids. Cause they were trying to lift up the little girl,” she said.

Four of the children riding on the trunk were seriously injured and transported to Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth. All of the injured children have been treated and released except for a 12-year-old girl who was taken by CareFlite to an area hospital due to a severe head injury.

Neighbors said they were shocked by what happened.

“Anybody, they can’t be in their right mind to do that with their own kids!” said Geneva Carpenter, who lives on the street where the incident happened.

“Who in their right mind think[s] a little kid can hang on to a hood? You can’t hang onto a hood,” Carpenter said.

Police said Young was arrested and charged with intoxication assault, a third degree felony. She remained in jail Wednesday; bond has not been set. 

Officials have not revealed the second adult's name and are still investigating the incident. Police said additional charges are pending on both adults.

Child Protective Services has been contacted and is expected to investigate.

NBC 5's Amanda Guerra contributed to this report.

A crumbling limestone cliff overlooking Lake Whitney in Texas could soon be blasted with dynamite or pried off with inflatable balloons, days after a luxury home perilously perched on its edge was burned to the ground.

Those are just two of the plans being mulled by authorities hoping to hasten the cliff's collapse, since experts believe the fault line through it will only grow.

The home that sat atop the cliff was razed on Friday, after a landslide had caused part of the ground beneath the home, and part of the home itself, to collapse into the lake. Authorities intentionally burned the home to the ground, rather than wait for the rest of it to tumble into the water below.

• Lake Whitney Cliff House Set on Fire, Burned to the Ground
• House Built Along Cliff Falling Into Lake Whitney

What remains on the property are the home's slab and a large crack in the ground that experts believe will only get bigger.

Randy Cephus of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday that they are working with Hill County officials and homeowners in White Bluff Estates to determine the best method of removing the rock.

One of their options is to blow the cliff face into the lake with dynamite. Another is to drop inflatable balloons into the fault line and then inflate them until the rock separates from the cliff and falls into the lake.

There is no set time for the demolition, but Cephus said they would like to have it completed before the busy Fourth of July holiday, when the lake is full of boaters.

A decision on a method and schedule may be made early next week.

Until the demolition is complete, the area of the lake near the cliff is off limits.

The mothers of two UC Santa Barbara students slain in an Isla Vista apartment last month are calling on parents worldwide to teach their children compassion and keep a closer watch on them, weeks after the bloody rampage that claimed six young innocent peoples' lives.

“We are not living our lives any more. We are surviving day by day,” said Kelly Wang. Her son, George Chen, 19, of San Jose, was fatally stabbed May 23 in his friends' apartment amid Elliot Rodger's killing spree in Isla Vista.

“Something needs to change,” she added, clutching the hand of Jane Liu,  whose only son, Weihan “David” Wang, a 20-year-old from Fremont who was roommates with Rodger in the apartment where the men were killed, was also killed.

• Photos Show Grieving Fathers of Isla Vista Gunman, Victim at Private Meeting

The two women and Chen’s father, Junan Chen, a software engineer at Juniper Networks, spoke exclusively to NBC Bay Area on Wednesday in the Chens' San Jose living room, adorned with uplifting Buddhist sayings to pass to guests as they exit their modest home.

A small shrine to their son was created in a small bedroom facing east – his photo, incense, a candle, Buddhist music and his favorite treats, potato chips and a bottle of Coke – were arranged to help his soul pass to a more peaceful place, his mother said.

"It is the parents’ responsibility to watch their children," Wang said, adding that her family's Chinese heritage meant close bonding between parents and their children. "We teach them community service and to care and love others. It is the parents’ responsibility to make sure their children are not so full of hatred."

“Our pain,” she added, “is unbearable, unspeakable. We hope we are the last family who has to experience this.”

• Weihan "David" Wang Wanted to Move Out of Apartment With Gunman

Liu added that responsibility extends even further to that - to property managers who rent apartments, to police who conduct welfare checks, to family psycholgists - and basically to anyone who notices inklings of trouble in a young person who may need help. 

"Everybody in society has a responsibility," said Liu, an oncology nurse at Washington Hospital in Fremont. "This can be preventable."

George Chen’s ashes, along with the ashes of David Wang, will be buried somewhere together in the Bay Area, their parents said.

The parents of a third friend killed in the apartment that night — C.H., 20, of San Jose, whose family requested that his initials be used instead of his full name — were in China on Wednesday, burying their son’s ashes.

All three men were sophomores at UC Santa Barbara, and Chen had simply been visiting his buddies at the apartment they shared with Elliot Rodger.

Wang and C.H. had ended up rooming with Rodger after the complex's property manager randomly selected the three to live together based on the students' applications.

Kelly Wang specifically directed her words Wednesday to their sons' killer's father, Peter Rodger, a Hollywood director who worked on "The Hunger Games" and has an upcoming interview exclusive with ABC’s Barbara Walters.

Wang said they are worried all the attention will increase the focus on "the killing part of the story.”

Peter Rodger and his ex-wife said in a statement after the killings that they were "crying in pain" for the victims and their families. "It is now our responsibility to do everything we can to help avoid this from happening to any other family," they said.

Rodger did not immediately respond to an NBC Bay Area request for comment on Wednesday.  However, a spokesman at Rodger Pictures said he would pass an emailed question to Rodger and his lawyers.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff told the public that Peter Rodger and Elliot Rodger’s mother had seen their son's violent 137-page manifesto just minutes before the rampage and had begun racing toward Santa Barbara – but it was too late.

Before they could get to Santa Barbara, Elliot Rodger had fatally stabbed the three men in his apartment and had begun a shooting spree that left another three UC Santa Barbara students dead.

Those victims were sorority sisters Katherine Breann Cooper, 22, of Chino Hills, and Veronika Elizabeth Weiss, 19, of Westlake Village, as well as Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez, 20, of Los Osos, who was gunned down at a deli.

Elliot Rodger killed himself after the rampage.

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Kelly Wang, a software engineer at SeaChange International, said she had tried to teach her son George to practice love and compassion from a young age.

When George was little, his mother taught him early to volunteer at such places as the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, where he learned to care for anyone in need. They would also feed the homeless together as a family and George often sang at a local nursing home. In high school, he tutored students in math.

Parents are their childrens' first teachers, she said. And if children show signs of mental illness, she said, then parents must do everything in their power to stay at their sides and help.

“Children are hungry for parents’ time, to be physically with them,” she said. “I would quit my job. I would check on him every day. I would invite friends to come over. I would make sure he was taking his medicine. This is more important that money.”

The irony, Wang and Liu said, was that if their sons had known that Elliot Rodger was in need or suffered from mental illness, they would have been the first to help.
 

An Ocean Beach 4th of July tradition is on the chopping block. No, not fireworks – marshmallows.

The OB community marshmallow fight dates back decades, but if members of the Ocean Beach Community Council succeed with their newly implemented “Mallow Out” campaign, the sticky event will not continue into the future.

“The marshmallow war has to end. It’s become unsafe. It’s definitely unclean for the community, it’s a mess” said Dave Cieslak, a member of the OB council.

Cieslak said last summer’s 4th of July marshmallow fight went too far, spilling off the beach onto the sidewalks and streets, leaving behind a giant mess. This included more than 2,300 pounds of trash on local streets and beaches, as well as some injured bystanders.

Today, remnants of the marshmallows can still be seen as stains on the sidewalk where a veterans’ memorial is built. The 2013 war also raised safety concerns when some people started throwing frozen marshmallows.

During the past year the OB Town Council has done surveys and fielded what they say are hundreds of complaints from locals.

“We’re encouraging the businesses not to sell marshmallows, we’re asking the people to not come to OB with marshmallows, to not purchase them and throw them here,” said Cieslak.

But not everyone is happy about the end of the marshmallow war.

“It’s unique, I never seen it anywhere else other than here. I think it should continue every year,” said Maserati Seaton.

Supporters say concerned locals should just stay away and don’t believe the “Mallow Out” campaign will succeed.

“What are you going to do? Arrest a bunch of people? I don’t think so,” said Montana Kent.

The Ocean Beach Town Council is looking for volunteers to sign up as peace patrol officers who will collect marshmallows on the 4th of July. They also plan to hold a joint news conference with members of the San Diego Police Department in the days prior to the holiday as part of the effort to stop the marshmallow war.

Food prices are rising as California is seeing its driest year on record and farmers are having to rely more on costly irrigation to grow their crops.

Food prices rose half a percent in May, the largest hike since August 2011, according to the US Labor Department.

In April, Timothy Richards, a professor of agribusiness at Arizona State University who conducted research on probable crop price increases stemming from the drought, told CNBC that lettuce and avocados would see considerable cost increases.

In Southern Cailfornia, some farmers talked about how they're coping with the drought.

• Updates: Download the NBCLA News App 

Ray Graesser, the owner of the Temecula Berry Co. has managed to stave off price increases. His farm has managed to keep the cost of a pint of blueberries, for example, at $5 for the past 10 years.

But there's a downside.

"We've had to irrigate more often," he said. "So it kind of eats into the profit."

Produce buyer and Corona resident Delaney Forsythe complains about the prices.

"They're a lot higher than normal and produce hasn't been as good of quality either," she said.

The drought is to blame. California's Central Valley is hard hit by the drought as much of the state's produce is grown there and it is among the nation's most productive farming regions. If the area sees no rain in the foreseeable future, food prices could skyrocket.

"A drought situation is just terrible for everyone," Graesser said.

Experts say that El Nino will likely return this summer after a five-year absence, bringing rain and hope to many in California.
 

A just-released report brings up some key concerns about the county’s response to last month’s wildfires. Read the full report here

San Diego County invested $285 million in fire preparedness since the 2007 Cedar Fire, an investment that Supervisor Dianne Jacobs said likely saved a lot of homes and kept more people safe in the May Firestorm.

However, some residents complained the county did not keep fire perimeter maps up-to-date.

“I couldn't get a lot of information that was current,” said San Elijo resident Andy Lisoskie, who evacuated in the Cocos Fire.

Lisoskie downloaded the county’s emergency app, which was launched in 2012, but said, “It’s not terribly useful if they don’t update it.”

Jacobs agreed the county needs to work on getting information to the public and the media more quickly.

“I want us to take a look at where we've been, where we are and, more importantly, where we need to be,” she said.

Cassio Cappelossa of San Elijo said he was pleased with the county’s response.

“They got people out of their homes a lot sooner than the 2007 fires,” Cappelossa said. “We received a reversed call text, all the phones in the house, the cell phones.”

“We were well informed,” he said.

The 18-page “May 2014 San Diego County Wildfires After Action Report” addressed more than 20 issues, including clarifying roles to out-of-area crews, creating perimeter maps in the initial stages of fires and reaching out to vulnerable populations.

The report also discussed the need for more air support.

According to the report, the fires destroyed 65 structures including 46 homes. The estimated cost to the county and cities is more than $28 million.
 

Family members have identified the San Diego man who was shot and killed outside a National City restaurant while attending a World Cup viewing party Tuesday evening.

According to loved ones, Josue Crook, 36, died from injuries sustained in a shooting outside the Rincon Del Mar restaurant at 324 Highland Avenue. As of Wednesday morning, his killer remained at large.

Crook’s family members, who didn’t want to speak on camera, told NBC 7 that Crook was active at Cornerstone Church of San Diego, giving sermons there on occasion. A family friend said the devout church man was “loved by many” and “touched many lives."

Crook’s family said he was watching the Mexico-Brazil World Cup game with friends at Rincon Del Mar, enjoying the afternoon, when violence struck. They believe he was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Family members said Crook wasn’t a violent or aggressive person. The family has set up a memorial fund and an "In Memory of Josue Crook" Facebook page in honor of the victim.

A neighbor who has lived near Crook for 17 years said she was in utter shock over his shooting and can’t believe someone would do this to him.

"I'm going to miss seeing him every morning," said neighbor Maryann Rodriguez, holding back tears.

"My heart goes out to his family because he was such a loving man, and he didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve this at all," she added.

National City police were called to investigate reports of gunfire outside the restaurant on Tuesday around 5:40 p.m. When officers arrived on scene, they discovered Crook suffering from several critical gunshot wounds. He was taken to UCSD Medical Center and succumbed to his injuries a short time later.

The suspect or suspects responsible for the deadly shooting were not immediately located.

Investigators said the violence stemmed from an argument that began inside the Rincon Del Mar restaurant. The fight spilled into the street and Crook was shot outside, about 30 feet away from the business. The restaurant had been hosting a World Cup celebration at the time, though it’s unclear if the fight had anything to do with the soccer game.

The Rincon Del Mar restaurant addressed the incident on its Facebook page Tuesday night, posting: "We are glad everyone inside is OK and we are in disbelief just like all of you."

The restaurant manager spoke with NBC 7 on Wednesday morning and said Rincon Del Mar would remain closed for the day out of respect for the victim. The manager said the victim was a longtime patron who visited the restaurant several times a week.

NBC 7 spoke with two of Crook’s friends who visited the site of the fatal shooting Wednesday. They said a prayer, lit a candle and left behind flowers and a bible to pay tribute to their slain friend.

Joshua Rodriguez said he grew up with Crook, who was like a brother to him.

Rodriguez said Crook was a man of God who always carried a bible and enjoyed preaching the gospel. He said Crook worked in construction and had his own mechanic shop in Chula Vista. Rodriguez said Crook leaves behind four children, including three girls and one boy.

The friend said Crook was trying to break up a random fight at the restaurant when he got caught in the crossfire. Rodriguez said that was in Crook’s character, trying to help until the very end.

A pastor at Cornerstone Church also briefly spoke with NBC 7 and said the church will likely arrange a memorial service for Crook with his family, but plans have not been set yet.

The National City Police Department said the investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information should contact the NCPD Communications Center at (619) 336-4411, ext. 0.
 

San Diego police are looking for four people in connection to a deadly attack in the Gaslamp District.

In the early morning hours of June 15, 25-year-old Michael Beaver was found unconscious on a sidewalk in the 500 block of F Street. He later died at the hospital.

Police believe Beaver got into an altercation with two men and a woman.

Suspect No. 1 is described as about 6-foot tall and 175 to 190 pounds with a moustache, long dreadlocks in a ponytail and black rimmed glasses. He was wearing a green V-neck sweater with dark jeans.

The second suspect is said to be 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9 and 180 to 190 pounds with facial hair and a bushy ponytail. He had on a white short-sleeved collared shirt, a green baseball cap with an emblem and black bill, and dark jeans.

Suspect No. 3 is a woman with short, curly hair who was wearing a blue dress and jean jacket. She is around 5-foot-6 and 130 to 140 pounds.

Police said the fourth person of interest wasn’t involved in the attack, but was with the other three suspects. She is between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-9 and 120 to 130 pounds with long, straight hair. She had on a green blazer and skirt.

All the suspects appear to be between 20 and 30 years old.

Anyone with information is asked to call SDPD’s Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
 

San Diego Padre players stood around a large No. 19 etched on Petco Park's field Wednesday night as the entire stadium fell silent to remember the iconic Tony Gwynn.

It lasted 19 seconds.

The players displayed Gwynn's number on their uniforms and the No. 19 was featured throughout the stadium grounds.

Some fans wiped away tears as they draped flowers beneath the Gwynn statue outside the stadium.

It was part of an emotional ceremony preceding the Padres' first home game since the hall of famer died on Monday.

The evening was filled with Tony.

Aztec players, wearing No. 19 jerseys, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Then, fans in the stadium watched a video tribute to Gwynn, showing highlights from throughout his 20-year season.

In anticipation of Wednesday night’s game, the Padres added No. 19 patches to team jerseys and batting practice hats. Gwynn’s jersey was also being displayed inside the stadium and “Mr. Padre” lit up the scoreboard.

Since Gwynn’s death, a steady stream of fans have flocked to the statue at Petco Park, paying respects and draping flowers there.

On Thursday, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is encouraging San Diegans to wear Gwynn gear to the workplace.

“I encourage all of San Diego to pay tribute to Number 19 on the 19th,” Faulconer said in a news release.

So what happened Wednesday?

A board of the U.S. Patent Office canceled six Redskins trademarks, ruling 2-1 that the marks were disparaging to Native Americans. They were ruling in a case brought by five Native Americans in 2006. The Redskins have said they will appeal.

So does this mean the Redskins can no longer use that team name?

No. First of all, this ruling addresses only one question: Whether the Redskins can use federal trademark protection to go after people who are counterfeiting its name or trademarks. They can continue to use the name -- but, if this case stands, other people may feel empowered to do so, too, though other protections remain. (Anyone feel like renaming their book club after Washington's football team?)

Anyway, the Redskins will appeal -- and any change to the Redskins trademark will be put on hold during the appeals process.

Why were the trademarks canceled?

U.S. patent law specifically says that trademarks may not disparage a group of people -- they can't expose that group to ridicule or contempt. The patent office says specifically that it did not consider whether all Native Americans were disparaged, or even most, but whether a "substantial composite" of Native Americans would be.

Is a claim of disparagement common?

Challenges to trademarks and patents are common, but usually the objection comes from other trademark holders who say a trademark application is too close to their own and could be confusing to customers.

Challenging a trademark on the grounds that it is disparaging is unusual, say patent experts -- but it does happen.

"These marks have to be adopted very carefully," said Q. Todd Dickinson, exeutive director of the of American Intellectual Property Law Association and a former director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. "Over time, the use may change and the sensitivities may change." 

In fact, the Redskins faced an identical challenge way back in 1992, when another group of Native Americans claimed the name was disparaging. That case took years to resolve, but eventually was dismissed because the plaintiffs waited too long to file a claim.

Wait, why was that ruling in the case filed in 1992 overturned?

It was overturned initially because a federal court ruled there was not enough evidence that the plaintiffs were disparaged, and also because the court said the plaintiffs waited too long to file their case.

There's a concept in trademark law that if someone is being hurt by a mean trademark, they have to argue that point as soon as they experience the injury -- which, for lawsuit purposes, is usually when someone turns 18 and is able to sue.

In the 1992 case, the plaintiffs were much older, and that became a major issue in the appeal. (Interestingly, after saying that there was not enough evidence of disparagement, the appeals courts did not address that issue again.)

In the new case, the plaintiffs are much younger.

How will this ruling affect the Redskins' day-to-day business?

It won't affect it much, for now. Again, the team will appeal and the trademarks will remain while the appeal continues.

If this ruling stands, it would mean that the team will not be able to protect its trademark using federal trademark law. That means people could counterfeit Redskins goods, though there are still some protections under common law for trademarks. Licensed merchandise is a big source of revenue for any NFL team.

Could this ruling affect other NFL teams?

Well, yes -- if the ruling stands. If so, and if the Redskins lose merchandising revenue, all but one of the other NFL teams could be affected, because they share merchandise licensing revenue. The lone exception is the Dallas Cowboys.

So what does this mean for the Atlanta Braves? The Kansas City Chiefs?

Nothing. This case was specifically about the Redskins. Someone could bring a case against those other teams, but they'd have to prove to the board that ruled today that the names were disparaging.

What's the Redskins' next step?

They will certainly appeal, though they face a choice about where they will do that. They can appeal either to the the federal circuit court in D.C. or to the federal court in the eastern district of Virginia. That second option wasn't available to the 'Skins in the previous case.

Rady Children's Hospital spends lots of time and money protecting its patient information from outside hackers.  But it was a mistake by an employee that exposed more than 14,00 patients' information.

"Unfortunately when the file was emailed," said Rady Children's Hospital acting President Donald Kearns, "attached to it was the original file, it was complete human error."

The attachment was sent to potential job applicants for an internal evaluation.  But instead of sending approved information, a collection of real patient data was released to six applicants. The breach included names, dates of birth, primary diagnoses, medical records and insurance carrier claim information.  But no social security or credit card numbers were included, nor were street addresses or parent and guardian names.

Over the weekend, the hospital created a communication center staffed by physicians, managers and other employees to call the 14,121 families included in the breach.  The file contained information on patients admitted to Rady Children's between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013.

"Some families were upset," said Kearns. "But the vast majority understood that this is something that was not done purposely. This is something that was done on a human error."

Eva Velasquez with the Identity Theft Resource Center said internal breaches like this are a big problem.

"As much as companies are trying to stem the tide of these breaches," said Velasquez, "employee negligence is actually going up when we categorize breaches."

Velasquez says 7 percent of identity theft breaches were from internal negligence in 2012. That number climbed to 9.3 percent in 2013 and year-to-date in 2014, the number is 10.2 percent.

Rady Children's has notified county and state officials and will also need to report the breach to federal regulators. When hospital officials investigated the problem, they discovered a second breach of inpatient or outpatient treatment information between June 2009 and June 30, 2010.  That breach included 6,307 patients.

Rady Children's hospital will be sending out letters to everyone included in the breach.

A rise in the cost of ingredients has prompted price hikes at fast-food restaurants.

The popular double-double at In-N-Out has increased 15 cents since last month.

Hamburgers and cheeseburgers went up 10 cents each and drinks increased 5 cents, the chain told NBC Bay Area. French fry prices were unchanged.

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"We make every effort to keep our menu prices as low as possible," In-N-Out EVP of Planning and Development Carl Van Fleet said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we have seen some pretty significant cost increases over the last year and we had to take a small price increase in order to maintain our quality standards."

Overall food prices have jumped nearly 3 percent since April, which is the highest increase in more than three years, officials said.

Other popular fast-food chains like Chipotle have also been adjusting prices.