San Diego police officers shot and injured a dog that they say charged at them in Rancho Penasquitos Thursday.

Officers arrived to an apartment on Paseo Montril near Rancho Penasquitos Boulevard just before 11 p.m. after an owner was bitten by the pet.

Officers said the dog, a pit bull, charged at them when they arrived. One of the officers fired, injuring the dog.

San Diego County Animal Control officers helped to contain the pit bull.

The dog named Princess was taken to the animal care facility in Carlsbad.

However, the family requested that the dog be euthanized following attacks on two family members recently over a short amount of time.
 

A pedestrian has died after being hit by a car in Chula Vista, police confirmed Friday morning.

According to the Chula Vista Police Department, the victim – a man in his 50s whose name has not yet been released – was struck by a car in the 600 block of Anita Street around 6:50 a.m. Friday.

He was fatally struck by an eastbound vehicle as he crossed the street, investigators said. The pedestrian was taken to a local hospital with head injuries and was in critical condition throughout the morning.

Police confirmed he had succumbed to his injuries just after 10 a.m.

The deadly collision is under investigation. Police said alcohol does not appear to be a factor. The man’s identity has not been released, pending notification of his family.

The family of a missing USC student and the private investigator handling the case say surveillance images of a man on a Los Angeles bus might provide a break in the month-old case.

Derek Seehausen, a 26-year-old fourth-year medical student at USC, was last seen Aug. 6 in the Echo Park area, according to family members. He was wearing a black sweater, maroon shirt, plaid shorts and "colorful" shoes.

At a news conference Friday, family members showed surveillance images of a man they believe might be Seehausen. The pictures show a man on a Metro bus Sept. 5.

Seehausen had weekend plans with friends before his disappearance, family members said. A friend at Friday's news conference described Seehausen as "incredibly athletic" and a top member of the class.

"We love him and we want him back," said mother Jean Gadra. "He's left such a void in our family. It's an unimaginable nightmare for our family. We don't understand it."

Classmates at USC's Keck School of Medicine said they were stunned by his disappearance.

"It's bizarre. There's no way to explain it," said Gabriel Waterman. "Again, this is a person who is at the top of our class."

Waterman said he spoke with Seehausen the day he went missing.

He told him he was excited to start a career in anesthesia.

"This couldn't be more shocking for me," Waterman said.

Friends have set up a website and a Facebook page called "Help Find Derek" and they hope the surveillance videos will lead to his return. 

"I can't imagine him picking up and leaving," said Rachael Goldstein, his ex-girlfriend.

Anyone with information can call the LAPD at 213-484-3400.

The chance of an attack the scale of 9/11 happening again on U.S. soil may have decreased, but the  threat is still very real and very worrisome, the head of the FBI said in San Diego Thursday.

“The threat is what we call homegrown violent extremism,” said FBI Director James Comey.

During his visit to San Diego, Comey opened up about the changing threat to America.

"Ten years ago it was not possible for someone to get all of the hateful poisonous propaganda of Al Qaeda and its progeny and the training they needed in their pajamas, in their basement,” he explained.

"Someone no longer needs to be directed by Al Qaeda or its progeny but instead can be self-directed, inspired and trained in a way that's very, very difficult for us to see.”

Today, Comey said it is possible, thanks to the internet, for terrorists to be living amongst us.

“Wherever the internet is available to troubled souls who convince themselves to participate in jihad here in the United States,” he said.

Comey says it's challenging for the FBI because there is a small window of opportunity to spot somebody between that radicalization, self-training and an actual terrorist act.

Plus, he says there is a decrease in their ability to collect electronic surveillance.

"We're going dark. In a lot of ways I can't see the bad guys the way I might have been able to a few years ago that worries me a great deal,” he said.

One of the main reasons, he says he needs everyone to help. Comey says his behavioral analysis unit reports that in nearly every case related to homegrown terror, somebody saw something.

And it's almost always friends and family, who notice a change in behavior but brush it off.

"If you see something that causes the hair to stand up on the back of your neck, just tell us. If it's nothing, no one is ever going to hear about it. That's why we investigate in secret," Comey said. "But if it's something, you may have saved a life.”

Mandatory evacuations were ordered Friday evening for a canyon area where a 1,600 acre brush fire was burning, Orange County Sheriff's officials said.

The fire broke out about 10:30 a.m. in the 30500 block of Silverado Canyon Road in a remote part of the Cleveland National Forest, about 20 miles east of Santa Ana, fire officials said.

The blaze was initially reported at about 15 acres, burning in Silverado Canyon near the Orange/Riverside County border, but grew to more than 1,000 acres by the afternoon, according to the U.S. Forest Service, which was leading the firefight.

No structures were immediately threatened.

"I didn't smell anything until the flames were outside when we looked," said Robert Walters who evacuated his home with his wife and dog, Jack. "I said, 'grab a bag, grab valuables and run.'"

Mary Feliz was worried about her daughter.

"I'm stuck out here," she said. "I can't get in there to get her, to bring her down. That's my biggest concern."

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued at 6 p.m. for residents living from 30500 Silverado Canyon Road east to the end of the canyon, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Some residents had already been voluntarily evacuating from the area.

The American Red Cross set up an evacuation center at El Modena High School, 3920 E. Spring St., in Orange.

A column of smoke could be seen from Irvine, Aliso Viejo, Lake Forest and other communities.

Fire crews said they were allowing the fire to burn to the canyon rim and would attack its flanks, said Capt. Larry Kurtz, of the Orange County Fire Authority.

"Fires that have happened in the past out here follow the same footprint," Kurtz said. "That helps us anticipate where the fire is going to be."

Water- and fire retardant-dropping aircraft  -- including helicopters and a heli-tanker -- responded to the location, deep in the forest's rugged canyons.

About 100 firefighting personnel were at the site, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

A few houses are located in the area, but no structures were threatened.

The fire appeared to be burning away from homes, but shifts in wind direction could change the fire's path.

The fire began during a stretch of dry, hot days in Southern California.

Triple-digit heat and dry conditions are expected through the weekend, but strong winds -- a major factor in a fire's rate of spread -- were not reported Friday in the Silverado Canyon area.

"It's very hot, but fortunately there's no wind," Kurtz said.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory for portions of Orange and Riverside counties due to the blaze. The areas "directly" affected by the smoke, according to the agency, include Saddleback and Capistrano valleys of Orange County and the Corona, Norco and Lake Elsinore areas of Riverside County.

Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said the agency sent four planes to the scene, including air tankers to drop retardant on the flames.

Tauhir Jones, U.S. Forest Service spokesman for the Cleveland National Forest, said the USFS had sent 10 engines, two water-dropping helicopters, one helitanker, one hand crew and two water tenders to the scene.

A pair of DC-10 retardant-dropping planes were also aiding in the firefighting effort.

A stretch of Silverado Canyon Road was closed in the area, but it reopened by mid-afternoon for residents as the flames moved deeper into the canyon.

The Orange County Emergency Operations Center established an information hotline at 714-628-7085.

A leading gastroenterologist at the clinic where Joan Rivers stopped breathing during a minor throat procedure last month is out as medical director of the facility, NBC 4 New York has confirmed.

Yorkville Endoscopy said that Lawrence Cohen, a board-certified gastroenterologist and associate clinical professor of medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital, was "not currently performing any procedures ... nor is he currently serving as medical director."

The 81-year-old Rivers went into cardiac arrest during a procedure at the 93rd Street facility Aug. 28, officials have said. The legendary comedian was put on life support and died a week later. The city medical examiner's office said an initial review of Rivers' case proved inconclusive, and further tests would be needed to determine Rivers' "cause and manner of death."

A spokesperson for Yorkville Endoscopy would not say if Cohen was Rivers' doctor, nor would the spokesperson say if he was performing the endoscopy on the day she stopped breathing. It wasn't clear if Cohen resigned or was fired. 

According to his online biography, Cohen’s primary research focus is gastrointestinal endoscopy and he lectures throughout the world on subjects ranging from colonoscopy and colorectal cancer screening to endoscopic sedation. An e-mail to his Mt. Sinai address bounced back, and the hospital could not immediately confirm if he still worked there.

A voice recording at New York Gastroenterology Associates on East 79th Street, where Cohen also worked, said he was no longer part of the team. A cellphone number for Cohen wasn't immediately available.

Yorkville Endoscopy is accredited by the the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities. The association said it was investigating the facility's accreditation.

The state health department has also said it's investigating the clinic, and is examining documents and medical records, observing the facility, and interviewing staff members and doctors to make sure the center is complying with state health regulations.  

Follow Pei-Sze Cheng on Twitter @PeiSzeCheng4NY

Copyright Associated Press / NBC 7 San Diego

A natural gas leak at the La Mirage Apartments in the Grantville area prompted resident evacuations Friday morning, officials said.

According to Lee Swanson with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD), officials were alerted to the gas leak just after 11:30 a.m. at the very large apartment complex located at 6554 Ambrosia Dr.

As of 12:20 p.m., officials said approximately 160 residents had been evacuated from their homes due to the gas leak, which caused a strong, lingering odor.

Swanson said the cause of the leak is under investigation, but it appears it was caused by workers who accidentally struck a gas line.

SDFD Battalion Chief Dan Froelich said the 1-inch gas line was struck by a backhoe in an area of the complex that's under construction.

“The gas is being released into the air and dissipating; you can hear it,” Froelich explained. “We’ve evacuated about 160 occupants from five different complexes.”

Froelich said fire crews remained on scene in case any type of small fire broke out as a result of the natural gas leak. He said it was fortunate that the leak happened in an unoccupied area of the apartment complex, away from residents.

San Diego Gas & Electric crews were called to the complex to assist. Froelich said crews hoped to complete repairs within a couple of hours so evacuated residents could return to their homes.
 

The murder trial of the man charged with killing two Kaufman County district attorneys, along with the wife of one of them, will begin this month as planned, after a judge refused Friday to postpone it.

State District Judge Mike Snipes ruled that Eric Williams' defense has had enough time to prepare after Williams' lawyers filed a 14-page motion for continuance to review all of the evidence.

Jury selection is set to begin Sept. 22, and opening arguments will begin Dec. 1.

“The defense will have had nearly 20 months to prepare for this case, assuming the case begins on Dec. 1, which is significantly more than the other death penalty cases that I have presided over,” Snipes said.

Williams, a former Kaufman County justice of the peace, appeared in court Friday in a business suit, not his jail outfit.

Investigators say revenge was the motive for the January 2013 murder of Assistant Kaufman County District Attorney Mark Hasse and the March 2013 murders of District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia. They contend Williams was angry after his conviction on burglary and theft charges prosecuted by the DA and his assistant.

Williams' estranged wife, Kim, is also a co-defendant in the case. But she is to be tried separately with no date scheduled. She has confessed to helping her husband commit the murders, is listed as a witness against him and is widely believed to be helping prosecutors in many ways with their case.

Federal agents searched Williamses' former Kaufman County home again Thursday and left with several bags of what appeared to be new evidence.

Eric Williams' lawyer Matthew Seymour accused prosecutors of concealing a deal with Kim Williams for her cooperation.

“It seems disingenuous to me that some type of agreement has not been reached with Mrs. Williams for her substantial participation in this case as a witness or to provide additional evidence,” Seymour said. “There is something afoot with Mrs. Williams case and it’s not proceeding like this case is and we think we know why.”

Special prosecutor Bill Wirskye bristled at Seymour's suggestion.

“No one at this table is being disingenuous. I’ll tell everyone in the courtroom, there is no deal with Kim Williams. Very simple,” Wirskye said. “It’s the state’s purgative who we try first. We decided to try Mr. Williams first. We will deal with Mrs. Williams at the appropriate time and the appropriate way. There simply is no plea bargain or any other agreement.”

The first trial will be for the death of Cynthia McLelland. Eric Williams' lawyers Friday sought to exclude evidence pertaining to the Hasse murder and Williams' burglary and theft case, but Judge Snipes said those issues should be heard by the jury.

“I agree that the allegations at least do go to show an overarching plan of the defendant to seek revenge,” Snipes said.

Judge Snipes from Dallas has asked two other judges with death penalty trial experience to help him with jury selection when it begins this month to guard against errors.

The trial was moved to Rockwall from Kaufman County where the murders occurred.

A key element in the controversial development One Paseo was rejected by local officials at a packed Carmel Valley planning commission meeting Thursday.

One Paseo is a mixed-use village proposed for the corner of Del Mar Heights Road and El Camino Real in Carmel Valley. Plans include a parking structure, movie theater expansion, and new stores and eateries.

On Thursday, the Carmel Valley Planning Board voted against the plan's Reduced Main Street but voted in support of the plan's Reduced Mixed Use Alternative with additional square footage to allow the retail portion to hit 198,500 square feet, according to chair Frisco White.

“Our thinking is something is going to get approved so we just want to weigh in on what we think of the project and they can make their decision,” White said.

A third motion was passed adding multiple conditions to whatever project is ultimately approved including some design notes and the hiring of a third-party project manager to take care of the traffic and landscaping items the community wants to make sure are not forgotten.

Kilroy Realty said it will move forward with the proposed project.

"Like all major projects, One Paseo generated a robust public discussion, and we’re proud of the enormous base of support the project earned from Carmel Valley families who welcome a true main street experience to our neighborhood. We appreciate the consideration of the Carmel Valley Planning Board and look forward to moving the project as currently proposed on to the next steps in the approval process."

White said the panel that met Thursday night has more of an advisory role to the city's planning commission and the City Council.

"They can elect to take our advice or they can ignore it," he explained.

"I’m sure as the project proceeds into the city council it will have its proponents and opponents," he said.

The official acceptance of the motions discussed Thursday should take place next week.

Developers will go before the city of San Diego Planning Commission on Oct. 2.

If approved, construction is expected to begin in late 2015 and conclude in mid‐2017, officials said.

San Diegans often boast about having the best weather in the world.

That won’t ring true this weekend, as temperatures are expected to climb into the 90s at the beaches and into the triple digits inland.

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for San Diego County from Saturday at 10 a.m. until Monday at 7 p.m.

The temperatures – a predicted 88 degrees on Saturday, 92 on Sunday and 94 on Monday on the coastline – will run 10 to 15 degrees hotter than what’s normal for this time of year.

Expect a tropical feel.

“The monsoonal moisture will be edging back in so it will be very hot and muggy,” said NBC 7’s Whitney Southwick. “The humidity levels will be higher.”

The National Weather Service says you can expect a slowing cooling trend starting on Tuesday.

Already, locals have endured a hot summer and calls to heating and cooling businesses have dramatically increased.

Guthrie and Sons Heating and Air Conditioning in San Diego has had the best business in five years. Owners say they receive about 100 calls for service daily and they have a weeks-long waiting list.

"They call and we tell them our first appointment isn't for two or three weeks, so they say, 'No, we got to have something sooner than that,'" said Mark Guthrie of Guthrie and Sons Heating and Air Conditioning. "And a lot of times, we find they call back 10, 15 minutes later, saying they called everyone else and everyone else is booked out the same distance."

One of those calls came from Carl Doughty of La Jolla, who just had his AC installed. He described the heat as unbearable, especially for his mother-in-law who has COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

"Just for us it can be unbearable, but my mother-in-law has COPD, so it's really tough for her when it gets hot and humid, especially the humidity." Doughty said. "It's tougher for her to breathe."

SDG&E crews will be on standby for an increase in demand for electricity with the weekend heat.

One of the hottest days of the year will coincidentally fall on the same day the San Diego Chargers' home opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

The Chargers plan to hand out "fan clappers" to fans to help stay cool.

You won't find any fans at two San Diego Target stores. They've sold out. Fans are still available at Lowe's in Mission Valley, but they're selling quickly.

The mountain lion killed in Cupertino this week was indeed the animal that attacked a 6-year-old boy, and the big cat did not have rabies, lab results released Friday showed.

California Department of Fish and Game Lt. Pat Foy said the testing was completed Wednesday at the agency's wildlife center in Sacramento, confirming the DNA of the mountain lion was one and the same. He was 74 pounds and about two years old, the results showed.

The UC Davis California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory said the rabies test came back negative, which means the boy can discontinue the rabies shots.

The mountain lion attacked the boy on Sunday about 1 p.m. along the Picchetti Ranch Zinfandel Trail, biting his neck and body. The boy was released from the hospital the following day.

On Friday, Amanda Kim, spokeswoman for the MidPeninsula Regional Open Space District, said the trail is still closed for "cleanup." Updates about the trail can be found here.

Trackers killed the lion on Wednesday near the same spot where the boy was injured.

An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions live in California.

The Normal Heights woman who was the victim of a brutal attack near 33rd Street and Meade Avenue is warning North Park residents “there are still suspects out there.”

She wants police to do more to emphasize the threat so people stay vigilant. She says when David Drake was arrested for the series of attacks on women in North Park, she wasn’t relieved.

“I honestly don't feel relief, and I don’t think the other women either,” she told NBC 7 in an exclusive interview. “They haven't caught the people who did it to me and the case after me.”

San Diego police confirm her case is on-going, but they’ve removed it from the series. Drake was not charged in her case. San Diego Police Captain Dave Nisleit spoke to NBC 7 acknowledging there is at least one other attacker, and people still need to be vigilant.

The woman says on June 17, she got off the bus and was walking home on Meade Avenue around 11:30 p.m. when two men ran up to her from behind.

“I was grabbed from behind and tripped down and one guy had his arm pinned behind me, like he was pinning my arms up. The other guy got on top of me and was trying to take my clothes off, my pants off, fondling me, biting me,” she recalled holding back tears.

Four days later, another attack happened on Lincoln Avenue also involving two suspects. She believes the men who assaulted her were responsible for that attack as well. She wants police to emphasize, although one suspect is behind bars, there may still be attackers who have not been caught preying on random women walking alone.

“That really makes me angry. It's like [police] don’t want to alarm the residents of North Park. I just want people to know there are still suspects out there and probably more than what they think. It's not finished.”

San Diego police say, at this time, there are no new leads in this woman’s case. In a recent press conference about the arrest of David Drake, they stated there are other investigations.

“There were a lot of cases that came in we worked in conjunction to the community, the DA's office, all of the units,” said Lt. Sandra Albrektsen with SDPD’s Sex Crimes Unit.

When asked if Drake acted completely alone, Lt. Albrektsen responded, “Anything is possible and it's part of the process. You have to be objective and open to any possibilities. At this point he is the only person we have in custody for [the North Park series].”

In a previous press release for the June 17 attack, police provided the suspects’ descriptions:

The first suspect was described as a Hispanic male 28 to 29 years old, 6-foot, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, and he spoke with a Spanish accent.

The second suspect was described as a light skinned Hispanic male, 23 to 24 years old, 5-feet 7-inches to 5-feet to 8-inches, wearing a black shirt, black and white checkered long sleeve shirt and braces. The attached composite sketch was created to help catch the second suspect.

In preparation of intense heat expected this weekend, San Diego Gas & Electric will have crews on standby if needed to help handle an increase in demand.

A heat advisory has been issued for San Diego from 10 a.m. Saturday through 7 p.m. Monday.

The utility will be working with the California Independent System Operator Corporation to coordinate power resources for customers.

To help conserve energy – and save money on your monthly utility bill – SDG&E has some suggestions for the weekend.

• Set the temperature for summer air conditioning in your home to 78 degrees.
• Use a fan instead of air conditioning
• Close blinds and window coverings when it’s hottest outside
• Power down items you’re not using or use a smart power strip.

There’s also the option of turning off your air conditioning and spending the bulk of the day at one of the designated cool zones in the area.

There are more than 30 cool zone locations open on Sundays. Click here for the list. 

A North Texas music teacher has been arrested for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy he says he met on the gay dating app Grindr, police say. 

Roger Kessler, 43, who has taught music at RISD Academy in Richardson for 14 years, was arrested Thursday by McKinney police responding to a report of a suspected burglary in progress at the teen's home. When police arrived, they found the teen's mother holding Kessler.

Kessler told police that he and the boy met four times, had oral and anal sex and used protection every time except once. He said he has HIV but did not tell the boy, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News.

Kessler said he knew the boy was 15 years old but didn't know his name, police said.

According to court documents, during a forensic interview the boy denied there was sexual contact.

Police notified the Richardson Independent School District of the arrest. Kessler has been placed on administrative leave.

"Kessler has been a music teacher in RISD for 14 years, all at RISD Academy, with no history of complaints of this nature," the district said in a statement. "RISD Academy parents were informed through a letter home Thursday."

Kessler was booked at the Collin County jail. His bail was set at $250,000.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC 7 San Diego

An Orange man was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison Friday for the 2012 murder of his roommate, a Cal State Fullerton student and Army veteran.

Kwang Choi “KC” Joy, 55, was convicted July 29 of killing 36-year-old Maribel Ramos, whose body was found in Santiago Canyon two weeks after she disappeared.

Joy has maintained his innocence, and at the sentencing hearing did not admit to killing Ramos. He spoke to the court and said he had fond memories of Ramos.

He said he cared for her as much as anyone else and recalled going on walks with their dogs together.

Family members also delivered victim impact statements, and said how much Ramos was missed, and how they felt betrayed by Joy.

"He was in our lives. As a family, we befriended him," cousin Andrea Leonardo said. "He took her away from us. She had such a bright future ahead of her."

Prosecutors said Joy was in love with Ramos, and the two got into a fight after she asked him to move out of their apartment for failing to pay rent. They argued that during the altercation, he killed her.

The night of her disappearance, she was seen on surveillance video dropping off the rent check and was not seen again.

During his trial, prosecutors showed video of Joy walking into an Orange library branch the same day Ramos’ body was located.

There, his search history revealed he looked up “How long does it take a human body to decay?” as well as the site where Ramos’ body was eventually discovered on Google Earth.

During opening statements, Joy's attorney acknowledged that she had died and his client had "improperly disposed" of her body.

The power of social media has reconnected a man with a photo that was once sitting on his desk on the 77th floor of the World Trade Center.

A friend of Elizabeth Stringer Keefe found the photo at ground zero, just a few weeks after 9/11.

Keefe, an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Education at Lesley University, and a PhD candidate at Boston College, posted the photo to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on the anniversary of the attacks for years, hoping to find the people in the picture alive and well.

Every year on #911 I post this photo hoping 2 return 2 owner. Found at #groundzero #WTC in 2001. Pls RT pic.twitter.com/mZ9LdQqE7x

— E. Stringer Keefe (@ProfKeefe) September 12, 2014

Each year, the photo got more shares, more retweets, and more likes.

"Every year I go dig it out," Keefe told the Boston Globe over the phone on Friday. "I've been posting it for years, and it's literally never gone anywhere."

By Friday night, the day after the 13th anniversary of 9/11, the people in the wedding party were identified, and none of them were victims of the attacks, like Keefe feared.

Attention wonderful world: ALL SIX PEOPLE ARE ALIVE AND WELL AND I HAVE JUST SPOKEN TO ONE OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!! #Happyending #911photo

— E. Stringer Keefe (@ProfKeefe) September 12, 2014

The man on the far left of the photo, Fred Mahe, contacted Keefe. The picture belonged to the former New York City resident. He said the photo was taken in Aspen, Colorado, in 2001.

@ProfKeefe I KNOW THE PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE! I was at the wedding.

— Fred Mahe (@FredWMahe) September 12, 2014

"The picture was at my desk in the World Trade Center, Tower Two, on the 77th floor," said Mahe in a Facebook message to Boston Magazine. "The picture has been kept safe by [Keefe] for the last 13 years."

Dear Everyone: introducing the very much alive & well @FredWMahe!! #FARLEFT #weallknowyou #911photo #AMAZING #NYC Thank you to ALL

— E. Stringer Keefe (@ProfKeefe) September 13, 2014

Mahe said he was not at work on 9/11, telling Boston Magazine he "thankfully never got a chance to go up to my office."

Hundreds of thousands of people shared the photo. 

Foodies, this one is for you: San Diego’s top-notch dining scene will be showcased once again later this month as San Diego Restaurant Week (SDRW) returns.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, SDRW will run from Sept. 21 through Sept. 26. Over the course of those six delicious days, foodies can dine at more than 180 participating restaurants across 12 regions throughout San Diego County, including Downtown San Diego, La Jolla, North County Coastal and Inland and Coronado, just to name a few communities.

The annual culinary event features discounted prix-fixe menus at each restaurant, meaning foodies can try different dishes at special prices that range between $10 to $20 for a two-course lunch or $25 to $45 for a three-course dinner.

No passes are required to attend SDRW, just pick the local restaurant where you’d like to eat and go there – easy as pie.

This year, participating restaurants include The Patio on Goldfinch in Mission Hills. That location will offer a $15 “Locals Who Lunch” menu that includes any sandwich, a choice of a French market vegan salad or watermelon salad, plus a mini dessert.

Downtown San Diego’s BiCE Ristorante in the Gaslamp Quarter will offer a $45 three-course dinner that includes ahi tuna served with zucchini, creamy shallot sauce and quail egg, followed by braised rabbit ravioli with kale and Mediterranean olives and creamy leek and thyme sauce. For dessert, the menu will offer dark chocolate crostata with apricot and spicy mango tequila sauce. You might want to make reservations at this restaurant ahead of time.

Other downtown businesses taking part in SDRW include the new Mexican eatery, Don Chido, renowned chef Brian Malarkey’s Searsucker, the elegant Grant Grill, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, Puesto at The Headquarters, Mint Downtown Thai and Yard House, among many others.

In the La Jolla area, Beaumont’s Eatery in Bird Rock will offer a three-course, $35, prix-fixe dinner menu that boasts dishes such as pan-seared day boat scallops, grilled local yellow tail and a baked local apple cobbler with salted caramel ice cream.

The seaside community’s Brockton Villa will offer prix-fixe options for both lunch and dinner. Some of the SDRW dishes on the menu include the eatery’s “Epic Chowder,” which includes sea clams, blue crab, bacon, Yukon potatoes and saffron cream, the ginger chili-glazed Atlantic salmon and the whiskey and grana padano crusted filet.

In the North County Inland area, AVANT at Rancho Bernardo Inn will dish out tasty offerings like calamari bites, “Mary’s Chicken” with fresh garden squash grown on site and pistachio macarons.

Ocean Beach newcomer, OB Warehouse, will make its SDRW debut. The new Cohn Restaurant Group eatery plans to offer a $35, three-course dinner that includes a kale salad, a Moroccan-spiced flat iron and coconut tapioca.

In Little Italy, the newly-revamped Indigo Grill will showcase comforting Latin-inspired dishes like roasted poblano bisque, handmade pappardelle pasta and fresh churros with Mexican chocolate on the $25 prix-fixe dinner menu.

For the full list of participating restaurants by cuisine, price and neighborhood, visit the SDRW website.

By the way, last year’s San Diego Restaurant Week was such a hit that organizers extended the event by a full week. Here’s to hoping that happens again. Cheers!

Police now say a composite sketch of a suspect in a June 17 attack of a woman in North Park is not believed to be related to the series of assaults they believe were perpetrated by David Angelo Drake.

“Since Mr. Drake’s arrest, evidence obtained has eliminated Drake as the suspect in case No. 2 dated June 17, 2014,” a San Diego Police Department news release issued Friday said.

The sketch showed a light-skinned Hispanic man described as 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-8 and having braces – which does not describe 23-year-old Drake.

Many people have taken to social media to express confusion and doubt over Drake’s arrest, citing the discrepancy of the composite sketch.

Police say the June 17 attack, which occurred when a woman was walking alone in the 3200 block of Meade Avenue, is still an active investigation.

Drake was arrested Tuesday and has been charged with the attacks of seven women all in the residential area of San Diego west of Interstate 805 and south of El Cajon Boulevard.

He remains in jail on $5 million bail.

News that there's still another attacker at large unsettled residents and visitors to North Park.

"Knowing that someone else (is) out there, I, as a woman, feeling very vulnerable and kind of terrified that we're not safe in our community," said North Park visitor Taylor Stonack.

Another North Park resident expressed shock that there's another suspect on the loose.

“Well, that’s news to me hearing there’s another guy. It's shocking, it’s horrible, I don’t know, it’s messed up," said Riley Jordan.

Still, Sean Karafin, the vice president of the North Park Community Association, sympathizes with the plight of police in all this.

"The city and the police department are trying to catch these guys," said Karafin. "We know they are. At the same time, they can't give to many details because they don't want the attackers to know what they know." 

Copyright Associated Press / NBC 7 San Diego

The former teacher accused of molesting female students has pleaded not guilty to allegations against him.

Robert Noel Anderson, 58, made his first San Diego County court appearance Friday, where he was arraigned on eight counts of child molestation. A judge held his bail at $800,000, despite arguments from his attorney that he has lived in San Diego County and did not flee when the accusations first surfaced.

Prosecutors say between 2003 and 2006, Anderson molested five former students in eight incidents at Dehesa Elementary School while working there as a fourth and sixth grade teacher.

All alleged victims -- who are now adults -- claim he touched them on their genitals. To some girls, it happened once, but others were victimized multiple times, according to Deputy District Attorney Chantal DeMauregne.

The latest accusation is from 2006, but the girl -- now an adult -- came forward with the allegations just 13 months ago. Her testimony prompted the San Diego County Sheriff's detectives to reinvestigate Anderson.

"Throughout the years there's been more information, recently more information, and more investigation came about which allowed us to file charges at this time," said DeMauregne.

Retired Dehesa Superintendent Barbara P. Rohrer said the suspected problem was first reported to her toward the end of the 2004-2005 school year, after the elementary school’s Pajama Day.

A girl in the sixth grade class told her parents something had happened with the married teacher, but school officials were unable to prove it, Rohrer said.

The next year, the superintendent assigned Anderson, a popular teacher among students, to the fourth grade, thinking it "would be a healthy environment for him,” she said.

However, in May 2006, a child in the fourth grade reported another incident. It prompted school officials to put Anderson on administrative leave.

Under his lawyer Kerry Armstrong’s advice, Anderson agreed to stop teaching, though he denies all the claims.

"He's been adamant from day one. He says, 'Look I taught those kids.' He remembers their names after all these years. He says, 'Look I would never touch a child. I'd never touch a child inside my classroom or anywhere else,'" said Armstrong.

The attorney said he feels so strongly about his client's innocence that he allowed Anderson to talk with detectives during their initial investigation -- something he rarely advises clients to do.

According to Rohrer, the school contacted the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department after the first incident, but detectives had a hard time building a case against the accused teacher.

Anderson was paid by the school district through 2007, according to a San Diego County Schools’ Music Watson. In 2010, his CalPERS retirement benefits kicked in.

Watson said Anderson did not work in any capacity in Dehesa or another school district after 2007. His attorney says since that time, he has been working as a proctor and test administrator for professionals trying to pass board certifications.

The suspect will be back in court on Oct. 1. If convicted, he could face up to 22 years in prison.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC 7 San Diego

San Diego Councilwoman Marti Emerald, 54, has been diagnosed with breast cancer, she and her press secretary confirmed Friday.

Emerald, who represents Council District 9, confirmed she is battling breast cancer on a message posted to her Facebook page around noon. In her note, she says she was diagnosed this week and is now preparing for outpatient surgery.

“I got the news while in Washington, D.C., on a mission with the Chamber of Commerce to bring more federal resources to the people of San Diego. I was thinking water, energy, affordable housing and transportation. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine bringing back this intimate appreciation and new sense of advocacy for a disease that strikes women and men so randomly,” Emerald writes.

The councilwoman goes on to say her doctors have told her she has an “excellent prognosis for full recovery.”

“I am growing a new and deep appreciation for those who have walked this path before me,” Emerald writes, citing the names of close friends who have battled breast cancer.

She also thanks her fiancé and Rabbi for their support during this difficult time, according to her
Facebook post.

“I look forward to a full recovery and getting back to work and back to the business of serving our city. I also look forward to the opportunity to serve those also struggling with breast cancer and will use this Facebook site to guide you to resources that may help you or loved ones in your journey for a cure,” she adds.

Emerald, a former broadcast journalist of 30 years, joined the San Diego City Council in 2008. In addition to leading District 9, the College Area resident is currently serving her sixth year as the Chair of the Public Safety & Livable Neighborhoods Committee.