One person is dead and another injured after a suspect opened fire on a group of people in Chula Vista Friday night.

The shooting happened as four or five people were talking at an industrial complex’s parking lot in the 700 block of Anita Street.

Around 10:30 p.m., a man walked up to the group, pulled out a gun and started shooting at them, according to Chula Vista Police Lt. Kenny Heinz.

The suspect then took off, running westbound on Anita Street and leaving two people wounded.

When police arrived, Heinz says they found one man unresponsive on the ground and another person shot in the leg – a non-life threatening injury.

Both were taken to the hospital, but the unconscious man died soon after.

CVPD officers, K-9 units and the San Diego Police’s helicopter quickly spread out to try to find the man responsible, but they came up with nothing.

The suspect is described as an adult man wearing a black hoodie and black pants.

If you know anything about this crime, Heinz says you should call the CVPD at 619-691-5151.

 A high speed chase along Interstate 66 ended after the suspect lost control of the car and crashed into other vehicles Saturday afternoon.

Virginia State Police said a trooper stopped a Dodge Charger on eastbound I-66 for a traffic stop for driving on the shoulder of the road. During the stop near Exit 57, the trooper found out the driver, Ericka Oliver, 25, was wanted by a local police department and taken into custody.

While the arrest was taking place, a man in the passenger seat slid over and sped away from the scene. Virginia State Police said the Charger headed east on I-66, got off at Route 123, flipped around on Route 123, and got back on I-66 eastbound.

When the Charger caught up to traffic near Sycamore Street in Arlington County, the driver lost control and crashed into an SUV and rear-ended another car. The suspect driver, Anthony McCrae, 33, of Washington, D.C., was taken to the Virginia Hospital Center for serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

Five other people were injured in the crash. Four were treated at the scene and one suffered serious injuries and transported to Virginia Hospital Center.

The road was shut down for more than an hour as police and rescue personnel worked at the scene. By 5:55 p.m., all eastbound I-66 lanes were cleared and open to traffic.

Hops, barley, and malt are all important ingredients for beer.

But water is essential.

As California enters yet another month of an unprecedented dry spell, some brewers are expressing concerns about how the ongoing drought could affect the price and taste of their product.

"The future is the thing we have to worry about now,” Dan Gordon, co-founder of Gordon Biersch Brewing Company in San Jose, said.

Gordon said the brewery uses 2.5 gallons of water to make one gallon of beer. Most craft breweries use four to seven gallons of water for the same amount. If water companies impose mandatory restrictions, production could drop in the booming industry.

"If we were put in a position where we had to go to 20 percent restriction on the water usage, I have no idea how we would be able to cope with that,” Gordon said.

Even without mandatory restrictions in place, Gordon is feeling the effects of the drought. Changes in water can tweak the taste of beer, though the brewery can add or filter out some of the minerals to minimize the effect.

"What we notice is when the water supply gets a lot lower, the hardness of the water increases and that's absolutely been an indicator that we're running low,” Gordon said.

The concern is statewide. The California Craft Brewer’s Association Executive Director Tom McCormick fears if the drought continues for another two to three years, prices would jump.

"The industry has been good about water conservation in the past, but I think we need to get better. This year, we're learning to do that,” McCormick said.

California has more than 460 craft breweries. All are hoping those essential ingredients will be abundant for years to come.

"We have to prioritize. Swimming pools may have to go empty, lawns may have to go empty, but we got to keep brewing beer," Gordon said with a laugh. "We're going to have a lot of angry people out there.”

A Good Samaritan who rushed to the aid of two people after a small airplane crashed in a shopping center parking lot in Kearny Mesa, San Diego, said he reacted quickly because he wasn’t about to watch two people die before his eyes.

“We ran over and stopped and saw [the plane] was on fire. Then we saw the people inside and we thought, ‘We’re not going to watch two people burn alive.’ That’s when [we] ran over to do what we could,” witness Robert Sears, 24, told NBC 7 on Friday.

Sears – an employee at the Costco Business Center on Convoy Street, a building located right next to the site of the plane crash – had arrived at work on Wednesday at around 5:30 p.m. and was talking with a friend when they suddenly heard the crash.

When he ran into the parking lot of the shopping center, Sears saw the wreckage of the fixed wing, single-engine Mooney M20L, which had landed near parked cars but away from the main entrances to stores.

The aircraft had missed bystanders on the ground, but a pilot and her passenger remained inside.

Sears said someone handed his friend a fire extinguisher and as his friend sprayed the plane, they both tried repeatedly to open the aircraft’s only door, located on the passenger side of the plane.

When it finally opened, the men were able to get the passenger’s seat belt unfastened and get her out of the plane.

But they still had to get the pilot out, which proved difficult given the position of the door.

“There was still fire and everything. My buddy, Roy, he kept spraying. There were people on the other side of the airplane who were able to reach their arms inside the window and get the [pilot’s] seat belt undone. I was able to get halfway into the cockpit and then get her out,” Sears recounted.

“There were people behind me, so when I pulled her out they were able to take her and carry her to the sidewalk,” he continued.

With bandages on his hands covering his second-degree burns, Sears said he could not have helped save the women from the wreckage alone.

The pilot of the airplane, identified by family members as Devon Logan, 52, survived the crash. Her passenger, 78-year-old Joy Gorian, suffered serious burns and later died at the hospital.

On Friday, NBC 7 spoke at length with the pilot’s husband, who said Devon had undergone more surgery and was still recovering at the hospital. He said his wife’s injuries included a broken ankle, knee and tibia, as well as cuts and bruises.

The husband told NBC 7 that Devon is aware that she didn’t hurt any bystanders with her crash landing, but feels guilt about Gorian’s death. Gorian was Devon’s mother, her husband said.

The husband, who was too grief-stricken to go on camera, said the people who helped his family, including Sears, are the ones who should be getting the attention. He’s extremely thankful to all of the Good Samaritans who stepped in to help and hopes to connect with the heroes in person.

Sears said he would love to meet the Logans someday and wishes nothing but the best for Devon as she recovers.

“I just hope she gets better. I hope she’s okay and her family [is okay] because of everything,” he added. “I’d love to see her.”

The plane crash remains under investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) taking the lead.

Bernadeta Thenoux only had her new iPhone for two days before she dropped it.

“Because of the shorts you’re always carrying it in a hand or small tiny shorts that doesn’t even fit,” said Thenoux.

But she’s getting a new screen and Christopher Luna is getting a lot of business.

“July and August is like my prime time, I’m just non-stop busy,” said Luna, owners of i-Geeks in Pacific Beach.

Independent iPhone repair shops like his have been growing around the country. As more people carry the popular phones they’re looking cheaper and faster ways to fix broken screens.

“I heard the crack and I knew is was gone,” said Heejin Marshall.

She says she needed someone who could fix her phone while she waited.

Luna says he can generally replace an iPhone screen in about 15 minutes, with a charge of between $65 and $100 dollars depending on the model.

Luna says the most common ways people break their phones are dropping them when they get out of a car, children throwing them and having then slip out of a pocket or purse.

In the summer, water damage increases when phones drop into the ocean, pools and toilets.

“I ask them to sanitize it before they come in first of all,” said Luna.

And while Bernadeta is happy to have a new screen on her phone, will this be the last time she drops it?

“I’m going to try to be more careful obviously, But I’m sure it’s going to happen again,” said Thenoux
 

 The city of San Diego’s plan to expand its convention center could be dead in the water after a court of appeals ruled the funding strategy for the $520 million project is unconstitutional.

The panel of judges decided Friday that surcharges hoteliers planned to collect on room rates needs to go to a citywide vote.

Two years ago, hotel owners voted to self-assess a fee of 1 to 3 percent to be paid by hotel guests. That surcharge would fund the bulk of the center expansion, and the plan sailed through the San Diego City Council with a 7-1 approval.

However, opponents -- including San Diegans for Open Government (SDOG) -- took the issue to San Diego County Superior Court, arguing the tax is illegal because those who will pay the fee did not get a vote on it.

In March 2013, Superior Court Judge Ronald Prager sided with the city. He ruled the funding mechanism is a legitimate method of generating money to cover construction costs for community facilities.

Challengers soon requested an appeal, which landed the case on the Court of Appeals desk this year.

On Friday, opponents got the ruling they were hoping for: the plan is unconstitutional.

The appeals judges, who voted unanimously against the plan, wrote in its conclusion, "while we understand the City would like to expand the convention center, we are duty bound to uphold the provisions of the California Constitution and the City Charter that require that the City’s registered voters approve the special tax at issue in this case."

Cory Briggs, an attorney for SDOG, said the surcharge should have needed the approval of two-thirds of San Diego’s electorate, not just hoteliers.

"Because if you just ask the people who benefit from taxes to approve them, you're completely leaving out the people who bear the burden of the tax,” said Briggs.

Thomas Mitchell, a spokesperson for the city attorney’s office, said the 2012 city council and mayor was testing legal boundaries when it agreed to the funding system.

On Friday, he echoed what his office stated in 2012, that “the most reliable way to impose this tax is to place it on the general ballot. Two and a half years later, it still is.”

But now, the future of the convention center is up in the air, possibly jeopardizing future events.

For example, the contract with Comic-Con International – a $178 million cash cow for the city – is set to expire in 2016, and without a bigger space, organizers could decide to relocate the mother ship.

Former Mayor and Chamber of Commerce President Jerry Sanders weighed in on the ruling Friday, calling it a “great loss for our city.”

“It is unfortunate that this project will now be delayed even further, increasing the strain on our city’s ability to attract convention business that bolsters the economy and creates thousands of jobs for San Diegans,” Sanders said in a statement.

The city must now decide if it wants to appeal the court’s ruling to the California State Supreme Court or revise its plan to fund the convention center expansion.

 The family of two small plane crash victims released new details Friday about the chaotic landing in a parking lot and thanked everyone who tried to save the two women on board.

Pilot Devon Logan, 52, remains in stable condition at the hospital after Wednesday’s crash in the parking lot of a Kearny Mesa Costco store.

While her health is improving, her family says she is dealing with the loss of her mother, 78-year-old Joy Gorian, who was riding by her side when the plane went down.

According to the family’s statement, Logan and Gorian were returning from a short trip to San Bernardino Wednesday.

From what Logan can recall, the two took their fixed wing, single-engine Mooney M20L in for a landing at Montgomery Field in San Diego, but the plane bounced as she was landing – not an unusual event, the family’s statement says.

Logan decided to take off and circle around to try a second landing.

However, when Logan applied full power and started to climb, the landing gear and flaps retracted. Soon after, the engine lost power.

Logan realized she could not clear the power lines in her way, so she turned the nose down to fly under them.

“She knew she needed to turn away from the buildings ahead, so she turned toward the parking lot. She recalls starting through her emergency procedures to troubleshoot the problem,” said her family’s statement.

As the plane continued to descend, the left main landing gear may have struck an air conditioning unit on one of the buildings, and a wing struck a light pole, forcing the plane to come crashing down in the parking lot.

Fire quickly engulfed the plane.

Nearby good Samaritans, including Costco employee Robert Sears, rushed to help the partially pinned Logan and Gorian, using a fire extinguisher to fight back the flames.

After the women were freed and taken to the hospital, Gorian passed away, while Logan was treated for a compound fracture to her ankle, a broken knee, a broken tibia, broken thumbs and facial injuries.

But the victims’ family says without the help of “their heroes,” Logan may not have been with them today.

“… we want to thank the real heroes that day, the people who risked their own lives to rescue Devon and her mother from the airplane,” the family’s statement reads. They also thanked first responders, hospital staff and air traffic controllers.

Logan will remain at the hospital for an undetermined amount of time.

The family has not set a date for Gorian’s memorial service.

“In the end, the family wants to thank everyone again for all their help and support. It’s truly appreciated,” the statement says.

A good Samaritan is credited with helping to save four people tossed into the water when their boat capsized under the Coronado Bridge Saturday.

The U.S. Coast Guard says the small boat overturned around 2:50 p.m., dumping the four on board.

A person in the area spotted the people in distress and began the rescue effort.

Harbor Police and Coast Guard crews soon arrived to help pull people out of the water. All victims were brought to San Diego to be checked out, but no one was injured.

Harbor Police was tasked with towing the abandoned vessel out of the waterway.

Investigators are still looking into the cause of the capsize.

Dallas Police are investigating a triple homicide in East Oak Cliff.

This happened around 6:40 a.m. Saturday at a house located on the 5100 block of Wynell Street. The neighborhood is just south of the Dallas VA Medical Center.

Late Saturday, Dallas police identified the victims:  21-year-old Tyteanna Lyahanee Brown, 36-year-old Kimberly Montgomery and 37-year-old Demarcus Walton.

Neighbors woke up to the sound of multiple gunshots Saturday morning. When officers arrived, they found three people dead inside a white house.

"There is evidence at the location that the house is a probably point of sale for narcotics," said Major Jeff Cotner with the Dallas Police Department. Cotner said a fourth shooting victim sought help from a neighbor and was taken to Baylor Medical Center. That victim's condition was unknown at last check.

Later in the morning, three cars were towed away from the property where the shootings occurred.

"We have a black male that’s a suspect, I’m not going to release some of the information that we have developed because it’s important to our case, so we believe the individual should be known to the victims," said Cotner.

Grief filled the street as those who knew the victims came out after hearing the news.

Cotner said the suspect was encountered by two witnesses as he was fleeing. He said no weapons were recovered at the scene, but there is no need for neighbors to be concerned about their safety.

"At this point right now we believe this incident to be isolated to the incident at this house and no one else is in imminent danger," he said.

Bail was denied for a Philadelphia man after he was arrested and charged Saturday for his alleged role in the death of a 3-year-old girl, who was killed after a gunman opened fire on a neighborhood street.

Twenty-two-year-old Douglas Woods, of the 1400 block of South Ringgold Street, was arraigned Sunday morning around 4 a.m. on multiple charges, including murder, three counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault.

Authorities said Woods and another suspect who is still on the loose are responsible for the shooting Friday that killed 3-year-old Tynirah Borum and wounded three others.

"My baby was an innocent bystander at the wrong place at the wrong time," said Tynirah's mother, Tamika Borum while tears streamed down her face. "Now her life is taken because of someone else's stupidity."

Woods and his accomplice were on the 1500 block of South Etting Street in the Grays Ferry section of the city around 9:40 p.m. Friday when they began arguing with another man, according to police.

The argument led one of the suspects to pull out a gun and start firing, officials said.

Tamika had dropped Tynirah off at a friend's house on the block to get her hair done. The girl was outside when a stay bullet struck her in the left side of her chest, according to investigators. Police officers rushed the child to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, but doctors were unable to save her. Tynirah was pronounced dead at 10:21 p.m. Friday.

A 24-year-old man, who was the shooter's intended target, is in critical condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, according to police. He suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

Two other bystanders were also hit by the hail of gunfire. A 21-year-old man was hit in the right leg and a 28-year-old woman suffered a gunshot wound to her left arm, according to authorities.

Both were transported by police to HUP. The female victim was treated and released, while the man remains hospitalized in stable condition, according to police.

Despite filing charges against Woods, police are still searching for a second suspect.

A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

And the young victim's mother implores the remaining suspect to surrender to police.

"Please, please turn yourself in," Tamika said.

Contact Alison Burdo at 610.668.5635, alison.burdo@nbcuni.com or follow @NewsBurd on Twitter.

Family members are reeling from what they call a senseless tragedy after a loving mother and grandmother was gunned down by her common-law husband in front of seven of the family’s children inside their Panorama City apartment.

The shooting occurred around 10 p.m. Friday at an apartment in the 8700 block of Tobias Street, the Los Angeles Police Department said. 

Narcisa Adela Ramirez was shot by her husband, who had been drinking, after an argument, police said. He turned the gun on himself after being pushed out of the apartment.

“He didn’t say one word. It happened so fast,” said James Rini, whose girlfriend is Ramirez’s 19-year-old daughter. Police said Rini was able to push the man - who has not been identified - out of the apartment, possibly preventing anyone else from being harmed.

Rini and his girlfriend, who is 7-months pregnant, were inside the home along with six children who are members of the extended family.

“He had it wrapped up in a sweater,” Rini said of the sawed-off shotgun used in the shooting. He said he and his girlfriend never saw the gun, but they heard the gunshot that killed Ramirez.

“He was going to turn around and shoot himself but we tackled him to try and get the gun,” he said. “I pushed him out of the door and down the stairs and he got up and grabbed the gun.”

The man ended his own life at the bottom of the stairs.

Rini said Ramirez was known for her kind nature.

“She always gave you second chances if you burned bridges with her,” he said. “She was a good person.”

Ramirez, who was the apartment manager of the building in the 8700 block of Tobias Street, had complained about relationship troubles for years, neighbors said.

“She’s afraid to report it to police,” said Tony Chao. “I’ve been warning her about it, now it’s too late.”

Chao said Ramirez worked at his donut shop in addition to managing the complex and helped the elderly.

“Her smile, her kindness,” is what he said he’d remember about Ramirez. “She’s always smiling. A hard working lady.”

Ramirez’s family members said four of the seven kids - the other three who lived in the home are Ramirez’s daughter’s children - have been turned over to child protective services.

Ramirez’s daughter said she plans to fight for custody of those kids.

Chao is trying to raise money to help the family with funeral expenses. Donations can be made at Good Day Donuts at 8245 Sepulveda Blvd. in Panorama City. 

It may have outsmarted a hare, but a tortoise found in Alhambra couldn't outrun the police on Saturday. 

It took two officers to take a 150-pound tortoise into custody, the Alhambra Police Department said in a Facebook post. 

"The tortoise did try to make a run for it; but, our officers are pretty fast. Almost had a pursuit!" the post said.

Officials said they received a call about the animal when someone found it at 6th Street and Norwood Place. 

The tortoise has distinct markings, police said, and was picked up by animal control. 

The animal's owner can contact the Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control center in Downey at 562-940-6898. 

A man was rescued from a light shaft Saturday night after he fell from a ledge while at a party at a condo in Chicago's South Loop neighborhood.

Officials said the 30-year-old man fell backwards off a ledge at a condo in the 2300 block of South Michigan Avenue and landed 30 feet below, becoming trapped in a light shaft.

The man was conscious and talking to rescuers, according to Fire Chief Pat Maloney.

A rescuer was lowered down to the man, who was then stabilized on a backboard. The two were then raised up out of the shaft and the man was transported to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in good condition.

"The way he landed, he was very fortunate," said Maloney.

The rescue took roughly 30 minutes, officials said.

“We don’t do this as frequently, but we train frequently,” said Battalion Chief Michael Conroy. “It was a hard place to access except by ropes.”

Conroy estimates that 15-20 people were at the party at the time of the incident.

Decked out in blue and gold, Bolts fans headed to Qualcomm Stadium Saturday for the 2014 San Diego Chargers FanFest – their first chance to check out the team before football season.

Enthusiastic fans packed the stadium for the free event, which included a performance by the 2014 Charger Girls, a hard-hitting practice and meet-and-greets with some San Diego alumni.

“I’m here to see the players, hopefully watch them practice, get some autographs,” one fan told NBC 7.

He predicted the Bolts would have a strong team this year and “take out the Broncos.”

Richard Nguyen, there with a large group, said he was amped to see the 2014 team.

“Chargers, NFL season is about to start. I’m excited,” said Nguyen. “We’ve got a good team – we’ve got a lot of good, young guys.”

“I just want to see what they’re about,” added his friend, Johnny Tran.

Fans were able to watch the team’s newest additions in action on the field, including first-round draft pick Jason Verrett and free agent cornerback Brandon Flowers. Fan favorites, including Philip Rivers, Eric Weddle, Antonio Gates and Malcolm Floyd also returned to the field.

Fans also had a chance to meet a group of Bolts alumni and get autographs and pictures. The alum roster included: Hank Bauer, Rolf Benirschke, Willie Buchanon, John Carney, Luis Castillo, Burt Grossman, Mark Seay, Billy Shields, Billy Ray Smith and Doug Wilkerson.

The stadium also offered some football eats for cheap, including $2 hot dogs. Fans were also able to shop for new Chargers gear including jerseys, hats and T-shirts in anticipation of football season.

Last season, the Bolts memorable Week 17 overtime win against Kansas City propelled San Diego into the playoffs. Fans said they’re ready for the team to make it even further this season.
 

Some much needed rain is drizzling across arid San Diego County, just one day after the region was put under Stage 2 drought alert.

The county’s mountains and deserts are under a flash flood watch until Sunday evening. A beach hazard was also released to warn people to stay out of the water in case of lightning. That warning is in effect until 8 p.m. Saturday.

NBC 7’s Lauren Lee said that could mean periods of heavy rainfall, lightning and possibly hail.

“The combination of monsoonal moisture and an area of low pressure moving out of Mexico will bring showers and isolated thunders to our area this weekend,” said Lee.

Sprinkles have been reported in La Jolla, Eastlake, Normal Heights, Miramar, Vista and other sites throughout the county.

Just one week after a man was killed by a lightning strike at Venice Beach, San Diego County lifeguards are taking extra precautions. 

The lifeguard captain at Moonlight Beach says he has been and will remain in constant contact with the National Weather Service, monitoring lightning conditions. 

If the thunderstorms get too close to the beach, they will ask beachgoers to relocate inland. 

But the gloomy weather did not stop those determined to enjoy the ocean. 

One man in La Jolla told NBC 7 he usually uses his beach umbrella for shade, but Saturday, he used it for shelter. 

Despite the showers, more than half of California is now suffering from exceptional drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

While the situation is not as bad in San Diego, the drought is still considered extreme in the region.

If you feel some of that rain, snap us a picture and send it to us using the email isee@nbcsandiego.com, our website, our Facebook page or the hashtag #NBC7 on Twitter or Instagram.

A 3-year-old girl drowned in a swimming pool in an exclusive San Diego neighborhood.

The drowning happened around 6 p.m. Saturday at a home on Rutgers Road in La Jolla, according to San Diego police.

CPR was performed on the toddler, but was unsuccessful, police said.

No other details are available at this time.
 

A 71-year-old New Haven, Connecticut, man has been arrested after shooting a neighbor in his apartment building, police said.

New Haven police responded to an apartment building at 25 Donna Drive at 7:49 a.m. on Sunday after receiving a 911 call from resident Anthony Anamasi, 71, who told police he shot a person who attacked him with a knife and that he'd gone back to his apartment unit to wait for police.

Police and EMTs found the reported attacker Leroy Brown, 23, a resident in the building, in the "front common hallway" of the apartment complex with a gunshot wound in the side of his head, police said. An ambulance rushed him to the emergency department at Yale-New Haven Hospital to be treated for critical injuries.

Anamasi is charged with first-degree assault. The incident remains under investigation.

More information will be provided when it becomes available.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Flash Flood Warning for the north-central part of San Diego County.

Flooding is “increasingly likely” on Highway 79 in the Palomar Mountain area, according to NWS. Ramona and Warner Springs are also at risk of flooding.

Motorists are reminded not to drive through roads covered in water.

The Flash Flood Warning is in effect until 4 p.m. Sunday. The rest of the county remains under a Flash Flood Watch until 8 p.m. Sunday.

Stay up-to-date on the severe weather

A 2-month-old baby boy is dead and his father is behind bars Sunday.

Twenty-year-old Brian Armstrong brought his infant son, Hassan, to a local hospital Friday in extremely critical condition.  The child succumbed to his injuries -- which were extensive -- at 1:55 p.m. Sunday, according to hospital officials.

Police began questioning Armstrong Friday evening after his account of what happened did not match up with the injuries sustained by Hassan. The next day, authorities charged the father with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children and other related offenses. Charges are expected to be upgraded now that the baby has died.

Armstrong frantically ran out of his home on the 6200 block of Old York Road in the city's West Oak Lane section Friday afternoon with the child limp in his arms, according to witnesses.

Screaming for someone to help, the father, the child's grandfather and Hassan, who had blood coming out of his ear, were rushed by a passerby to Albert Einstein Medical Center, witnesses said.

Officials with Albert Einstein informed police around 5:20 p.m. Friday that the 2-month-old was in the emergency room with injuries to his ribs and skull.

The infant was transferred to Saint Christopher's Hospital for Children, where he was resuscitated at least once and placed on life support before succumbing to his injuries Sunday, according to officials.

The father was arraigned Sunday morning and bail was set at $5 million.

Police say the mother was at work at the time of the incident.

Shopping bags in hand, a steady stream of San Diegans lined up Saturday morning at Fish Harbor Pier to be the first customers at the grand opening of the city’s new open-air fish market.

The Dockside Fish Market at the downtown waterfront near Tuna Harbor and Seaport Village set up shop on the pier bright and early with local fishermen displaying their finest fresh catches in pop-up canopies as customers browsed the maritime merchandise.

Tables of freshly caught seafood on ice – including fish, lobster, crab and sea urchins – caught the eyes of many. The open-air marketplace buzzed with the chatter of deals being made between eager customers and local fishermen.

The harbor fish market was spearheaded by San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox who announced plans to open the market to the public last month. Cox said the market would benefit the city, residents and fishermen.

On Saturday, as Cox watched locals line up to shop, he said the excitement on the pier was palpable.

“I think the San Diego region has been waiting for this for a long time,” Cox told NBC 7. “Just the people lining up here before they even open – it’s obviously a novelty because we haven’t had anything like this for a long, long time.”

“These were all fish that were out swimming out in the ocean yesterday. It’s a great opportunity for the fishermen and a great opportunity for the citizens of San Diego County,” he continued.

San Diego fisherman Peter Halmay has been fishing for 44 years and said having the open-air market at the harbor is a great way to create a bond between the community and the fishermen.

“Now we have the market that we’ve been wanting for many years. The idea is to bring the people down here, bring the fishermen down here to sell their fish directly. It’s a simple purpose,” Halmay explained. “They’re coming down to the harbor – getting reacquainted that the harbor exists.”

He said customers will be able to get fresh fish at a good price while fishermen get business and support.

Also, customers will be able to see exactly where their seafood comes from.

“There’s no cleaner traceability than ‘here’s the fish, here’s the fisherman, here’s his boat and he brought it in yesterday and here’s where he fished.’ Now you will know exactly [where your fish comes from] – you’re talking to the direct guy,” Halmay said.

The fisherman said he expects the market to get bigger and better each week, as it progresses.

Many seafood lovers walked away satisfied Saturday, saying they’d likely return to the pier.



Pacita Barangan bought some several red rockfish for a good price. She called the fresh food as “organic” as it gets.

“I’ll come every Saturday,” she said.

Shopper Mike Nunnally went to the pier with his family and said he was in the market for some rock crab, bluefin tuna and maybe some cod.

“We’re looking to buy some good fresh fish this morning,” said Nunnally. “It’s right off the boat, so this is as fresh as it gets. I’m excited to see what it looks like.”

Customer Heri Gallego walked away with a solid catch: a 5-pound rock cod he bought for $20. He had big, delicious plans for his purchase.

“I’m going to take it home and slice it and maybe plate it with banana leaves and some rice,” he said, smiling.

Gallego also said he’d be back.

“I hope that they continue doing this every Saturday. I think it’s good for everybody – it’s a winning situation for everybody here in San Diego. I’m surprised it took the city so long to do this,” he said.

For now, the plan is for the seaside marketplace to open for business every Saturday from 8 a.m. until the fishermen run out of seafood.

Cox said his vision is for the open-air fish market to become San Diego’s very own version of Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market against the picturesque backdrop of the city’s waterfront.