On a day that had a lot of people talking about meteorites and asteroids, a fireball of some sort was seen streaking across the Bay Area skies.

The fireball was seen around 7:45 p.m.

There were reports into the newsroom from people as far north as Fairfield and as far south as Gilroy. It was also seen in Sacramento, Newark, Walnut Creek, and St. Helena.

It was bluish in color and appeared to be heading straight to the ground, according to one viewer in Santa Clara.

Meteors are pieces of rock and metal from space that fall to Earth. They burn up as they go through our atmosphere. The burning is what causes the bright flash of light.

"I saw that meteor/fireball over Solano County after spending the day reporting on asteroids and fireballs," said NBC Bay Area reporter Jodi Hernandez.

Candice Guruwaiya told us on Facebook she saw it in San Jose. "I was leaving Safeway on Branham and Snell when I saw it. It looked like it was headed for the Capital Auto Mall area. It was a bright green when it first appeared, then it went to a bright yellow. It was awesome!" Guruwaiya posted.

Gina Johnson also saw it in San Jose. She also posted on our Facebook page that she had just walked out of a Fresh and Easy in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood. "It looked just like the one I saw back in October except it was a little smaller. It was greenish in color just like the one on October. Everyone in the parking lot stopped and looked at it," Johnson posted

It comes on the same night a 150-foot-wide asteroid was due to come within 17,200 miles of Earth. It was not immediately clear if the fireball had any connection to the asteroid.

Chabot astronomers in Oakland said the meteor was not related to the asteroid passing near Earth.

Astronomer Gerald McKeegan said based on accounts he thinks it was a "sporadic meteor," which can happen several times a day. He told Bay City News that sporadic meteors bring as much as 15,000 tons of space debris to Earth each year.

He said it was likely smaller than another meteor that landed in the Bay Area in October, which caused a loud sonic boom as it fell in the North Bay.

It also happened about 24 hours after a huge meteorite fell from the skies over Russia's Chelyabinsk region, resulting in a powerful blast that injured nearly 1,000 people and shattered windows across the area.

Chelyabinsk health chief Marina Moskvicheva told the Russian news agency Interfax that 985 people in her city asked for medical help and 43 were hospitalized.

Many of the injuries were reportedly from broken windows as a result of a sonic boom that followed the initial impact of the meteorite.

Someone posted the following on YouTube within an hour of the fireball sighting.

The video was titled "Shooting Star across San Francisco 2/15/2013 7:44PM." The person who posted it said he was driving south on I-280 toward the peninsula.

Unfortunately for the security at Denver International Airport, furry troublemakers are invading their large parking lot.

Officials with the U.S. Agriculture Department's Wildlife Services in the Denver area claim that rabbits are chewing wires under the hoods of cars, according to the Los Angeles Times. The animals are causing hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in damage.

Although officials have been removing 100 rabbits from the area every month, the damage continues. The persistent presence of rabbits can be attributed to the fact that the airport is surrounded by a prairie and the rabbits look to the vehicles for warmth and food.

"They come to the recently driven cars for warmth, and once they're there, they find that many of the materials used for coating ignition cables are soy-based, and the rabbits find that quite tasty," Wiley Faris, a spokesman for the nearby Arapahoe Autotek repair center, said.

Apparently nearby apartment buildings have also been complaining about the animals. "A lot of people have called us," Faris said. "They return to their cars and either they won't start or they don't run well because the wires are all chewed up."

The perpetrators were identified by fur and pellets they left behind.
 
The damage the rabbits cause can be very serious due to repair costs that can run into the thousands and are often not covered by insurance. Airport officials also say parking permits specify that they are not responsible for damages, putting the burden on the driver.

"I see at least dozens every morning. They go hide under the cars, and the cars are warm," airport shuttle driver Michelle Anderson told CBS Denver.

Although the rabbits have caused problems, officials have only received a handful of complaints according to Laura Coale, a spokeswoman for the airport.

"We have 53 square miles of land," she said. "We had 4.3 million parking transactions in 2012, and we only received three claims. People are not coming to us. They go to the newspaper and say their damage happened here. Why here, versus any other place in Colorado?"

Officials are exploring ways to help solve the problem, including fencing, perches for hawks and eagles, and even coating wires with coyote urine.

"Predator urine is a good deterrent," Faris said. "Either coyotes or foxes. And you can pick it up at any professional hunting shop. That stuff can take care of the critter damage pretty quick."

Police arrested a California man accused of raping a woman he met on a Christian online dating website.

Sean Banks, 37, of Del Mar, Calif. has been known to use other aliases online including Rarity, Rylan, Rylan Butterwood and Rylan Harbough.

Banks is accused of raping a woman he met on the website Christianmingle.com officials said.

The woman told police after Banks arrived to her home in La Mesa, he was sexually aggressive toward her and ultimately raped her.

“This was the first time she met him face-to-face,” said La Mesa PD Officer Matt Nicholass.

He said that the woman felt comfortable with the individual coming to her house and it was only until he was inside the home that he became forceful.

The incident occurred in November 2012. Banks was arrested by La Mesa police on Feb. 11.

Banks was booked on a number of charges including rape by force, digital penetration by force and residential burglary.

When contacted by NBC 7 San Diego, the dating website said they have reached out to the La Mesa police department and are willing to assist in the investigation in any way they can.

"The safety and security of our members is of critical importance to us," said spokesperson Arielle Schechtman. "We take tremendous precautions to protect the safety and privacy of our community members."

She said the website has profile review experts who manually review all profile text and photos submitted by members.

"We have also developed several proprietary, automated tools to help identify questionable profiles and to eliminate fraudulent activity in our communities," she said.

Now detectives are asking for the public’s help. They are concerned Banks may have been using other names and may have more victims.

Banks has moved around the country so investigators are concerned there may be victims outside of San Diego County and perhaps California.

The suspect may have been working on other websites.

Anyone with information can call La Mesa Police at (619) 667-1400.

A member of the Mexican Mafia will spend 14 years in federal custody after admitting to stabbing a man for his boss in a drug trafficking ring.

Robert Mercado, of San Diego, was one of 36 people arrested as part of Operation Carnalismo. He was described by the U.S. Attorney’s office as a “high-ranking” member of the notorious prison gang.

Mercado was a trusted lieutenant to convicted Mexican Mafia member Salvador Colabella who ran a methamphetamine trafficking ring prosecutors said.

Court documents show Mercado pleaded guilty to stabbing a drug dealer who he believed was not properly paying Colabella.

As of Feb. 15, 30 of 36 defendants have been convicted and 12 of those 30 have been sentenced.

Court filings described the Mexican Mafia as a notorious, violent prison gang that controls a large portion of the criminal activity committed by Southern California Hispanic street-gang members.
 

Police in Irvine filed a warrant last week to search the home of the mother of alleged murderer and ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner. That house was his last known residence, and the document clears up the early timeline of the manhunt for the killers of newly engaged couple Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence in Irvine.

The search warrant notes there were two clues left at the crime scene: shell casings and a beanie. Police were preparing to retrieve DNA from Dorner but it was clear they had no idea where to find him.

A warrant was also served at the Palo Alto offices of Facebook, the social media site on which Dorner had posted his manifesto. The company was ordered to save all information including Dorner’s list of Facebook friends. One of those friends named in the warrant was Jason Young, a restaurant manager in Nevada.

Dorner had a home in Las Vegas. According to the court documents, Young showed police pictures of firearms, weapons sights and silencers which he said the former LAPD officer planned to sell.

Another warrant was served at the Dallas offices of Backpage.com. Detectives say it’s a website used by people trying to conceal sales of weapons or drugs.

Two days after the Irvine murders, police in National City, Calif., discovered surveillance video taken in an alley behind an auto parts store. The video was turned over to detectives who then called LAPD to return police uniforms, duty gear, high capacity magazines and a badge, all found in a dumpster behind that auto parts store and thrown away by Dorner, based on the video.

The 22-page warrant goes on to say when authorities searched the La Palma home Dorner shared with his family, it was his sister who gave them cell phone numbers and email addresses for her missing brother.

But perhaps the most haunting insight was the fact that police believed Dorner had conducted background on his intended targets, that he may have kept journals, maps and photographs of both Lawrence and the entire Quan family.

A San Diego man is paying a huge price for shoplifting. He claims he was caught and allegedly physically beaten by a store security guard.

Now, that shoplifter – local resident Kevin Hoopfer – could get millions of dollars from a jury.

Hoopfer admits he stole a laser pointer in September 2010 from the Fry’s Electronics in Murphy Canyon.

But his lawyer alleges a security guard went wild when he caught Hoopfer with that stolen merchandise.

“He walked outside, the security guard rushed up behind him, grabbed him, pressed his arms to his side, spun him around, turned him around and piled-drived him head-first into the concrete," Hoopfer’s attorney Julie Parker told NBC 7 in an exclusive interview.

Parker says security guard Eric Ayala continued to physically abuse her client, in a Fry’s interview room, after that beating.

She told the jury in the civil case now underway at San Diego’s downtown Hall of Justice that Hoopfer had worked as an IT and computer repair specialist prior to the beating.

"Very smart, very capable, and now he looks at a computer and doesn't know where to start," the attorney said.

Today, jurors heard testimony from a neurologist, who said that beating left Hoopfer with a traumatic brain injury.

Hoopfer’s symptoms include headaches and depression.

His lawyer says Hoopfer now lives in a care-home, and has difficulties setting goals, planning and solving problems.

"So he is really unable to function as a human being," Parker told NBC 7.

She says life-time care from that violent incident will cost more than $5 million.

Defense attorneys declined NBC 7’s request for an interview.

But Fry's Electronics issued a statement, telling NBC 7:

"Fry’s strongly disputes plaintiff’s allegations in this action, and is presenting its case to a jury and the court. The plaintiff was convicted of shoplifting in connection with this very incident, and his alleged injuries arose while he was fleeing the scene of the crime. Fry’s respects the judicial process and will defer any further comment until after the verdict. We trust the jury will return a just verdict, one which will not reward theft by a convicted shoplifter against a family-owned business and law-abiding shoppers."

Parker told the jury her client admitted stealing that $35 item, and accepted the consequences by pleading guilty at a criminal hearing.

"But a loss prevention guy is not allowed to be judge, jury and executioner for petty theft," she argues.

The trial has two parts.

Parker says the jury has already agreed the security guard was negligent and committed assault and battery on Hoopfer.

Jurors will now hear more evidence, and then decide how much, if anything, Hoopfer should get for his injuries.
 

An 82-year-old woman accused of shooting and killing her 57-year-old roommate in their Bay Park home last July was sentenced to 10 years in state prison Friday.

According to police, Barbara Brand shot Paul Slysh Jr. several times inside their trailer park home in the 1500 block of Morena Boulevard on Jul. 12, 2012.

Investigators say Brand shot Slysh after he allegedly made insulting comments about her granddaughter. Brand became upset over the comments, took out a gun that belonged to her deceased husband and shot Slysh. She then called authorities to report what she had done.

Brand was taken into custody.

Initially, Slysh was expected to survive his injuries. However, his condition deteriorated and he died at the hospital two days after the shooting.

Brand and Slysh had been on-and-off roommates for years, investigators said. They had known each other since 1984.

Slysh's father, Paul Slysh Sr., told NBC 7 his son and Brand had a "mother-son" type of relationship. He also said Slysh suffered from paranoia and schizophrenia.

Following the shooting on Jul. 12, Brand’s neighbors told NBC 7 that Brand and Slysh appeared to have a strained relationship and would often argue about money.

Brand pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on Dec. 11. She will now be booked into state prison.

A suspected bank robber led police on a high-speed chase Saturday, authorities said.

The hour-long pursuit reached speeds of 95 mph leading officers from Kearny Mesa to Tierrasanta to Santee and Spring Valley. It eventually ended in Balboa Park on Quince Street.

San Diego police said three individuals took off in a silver Dodge van after robbing the Wells Fargo on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and Ruffin Road in Kearny Mesa. Police said one of the trio told victims they had a gun, but no gun was ever seen during the robbery at 11:11 a.m.

Police then stopped the vehicle in Tierrasanta on Antigua Boulevard and the driver and a passenger exited the vehicle, according to Sgt. Ray Battrick with the San Diego Police Department.

A third individual refused to exit the vehicle even though police had their guns drawn. He jumped into the driver seat and sped away. The chase led police and California Highway Patrol officers east on the state Route 52 to southbound on the 125 freeway to state Route163 northbound.

The driver's car began leaking fluids and the vehicle eventually came to a stop on Quince Street. The suspect again initially refused to exit his vehicle, but he was finally taken into custody a little after noon.

San Diego held a party for a 25-foot tall couple along the Embarcadero Saturday as the sculpture Unconditional Surrender” was welcomed with a public dedication.

A large crowd of people celebrated the giant sculpture many call the "Kissing Statue" or "The Kiss"  in downtown San Diego Saturday.

“We are in San Diego, we have the greatest number of veterans and active duty of any community in the nation,” San Diego Mayor Bob Filner said. “This belongs here.”

Filner and a number of public officials spoke, a military band played and many couples took their own pictures re-enacting "The Kiss" in front of the statue.

The infamous embrace starring a sailor and a nurse is an iconic image of the end of World War II. 

Port Commissioner Lou Smith said he’s always seeing young people whose parents weren’t even born before 1945 taking photos in front of the sculpture.

“This is the most magical place of all,” Smith said. “Whoever sprinkled pixie dust on it did a great job.”

It made its grand return on Wednesday morning – just in time for Valentine’s Day.

For the ceremony, the theme of renewing love continued when nearly a dozen couples renewed their vows at the foot of the statue.

David Moore flew bombing runs over Germany in World War II.

He said he and his wife, Claire, remember seeing the embrace on the news after the end of the war.

They joined the couples in renewing their vows.

“It’s very sentimental,” Moore said of the public sculpture.

When he sees it, he thinks of how happy he was that they could get back to civilian life.

David and Mary Flohr, engaged in 1947, also renewed their vows Saturday. The couple has three children 8 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren all living in San Diego.

John Sax, who served in the South Pacific in World War II as well as in Korea, was very happy to see the statue return.

He called it, “a perfect example of people showing their love of the serviceman."

"Unconditional Surrender" left San Diego last May. That statue was owned by Santa Monica-based Sculpture Foundation and was on loan to the Port from 2007 to 2012.

Since then, more than $1 million was raised through public donations to bring a permanent replica back to the bayfront.

Bill Craddock is a member of San Diego’s Pearl Harbor Survivors. The chapter, one of the largest in the nation according to Craddock, has 42 members here in San Diego.

As for the controversy over whether the statue is a worthy piece of public art, he has this to say.

“Art lovers don’t love it but the people love it and that’s what counts,” he said.

Thousands of dolphins spanning across 7 miles of ocean were sighted off the coast of San Diego on Thursday, a boat captain told NBC 7 San Diego.

Capt. Joe Dutra of Hornblower Cruises said he saw a “super mega-pod” of common dolphins Thursday around noon while he was on his daily tour. He said the pod was more than 7 miles long and 5 miles wide.

Dutra said the boat tour followed the pod for more than an hour and said he’s never seen anything like it.

“When you see something that is honestly truly beyond belief,” the captain said.

Guests aboard the boat started screaming and pointing when they first saw the school of adult and juvenile common dolphins. Dutra estimated there were about 100,000 dolphins swimming in the area.

“They were coming from all directions, you could see them from as far as the eye can see,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of stuff out here… but this is the biggest I’ve ever seen, ever.”

Whale and dolphin watching tours have done particularly well this year, with dozens of animal sightings reported.

Marine mammal expert Sarah Wilkin said the reason the large pod might be there is because there’s plenty of food in the area, including sardines, herring and squid.

“They’re attracted to kind of the same thing, they might wind up in the same place,” she said.

Though dolphins typically travel in groups of 200 or less, Wilkin said “super-pods” are not unheard of.

“They’re definitely social animals, they stick together in small groups,” she said. “But sometimes, the schools come together.”

Dutra, who’s been boating for decades, said he felt lucky to enjoy such a rare phenomenon.

“You had to be there to experience it,” he said.  “It was truly spectacular.”

The clock is ticking as officials with California Pacific Airlines struggle to get approval from federal officials.

The new airline that was supposed to start flying out of McClellan - Palomar Airport last year is still grounded.

The new airline was scheduled to launch with two 70-passenger jets offering flights to the Bay Area, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Cabo San Lucas.

Now the airline must be approved by federal authorities by Feb. 25, a deadline few think it will make.

"The holdup is getting the documentation that the FAA requires telling you how you're going to train, how you're going to operate the airplane in line with what their inspector requires of them," said retired airline captain Ron Mackenzie.

That includes proving to the FAA and Department of Transportation, that your airplane has enough room to stop in case of emergency.

One report says the McClellan-Palomar Airport runway simply isn't long enough for California Pacific's 70-passenger aircraft.

Mackenzie said he understands that the problem has been resolved.

"You must make sure you have enough runway to start your takeoff, lose an engine and either safely stop or safely takeoff," Mackenzie said.

A spokesperson for the airline told NBC 7 San Diego through email that the company has a great relationship with the regional FAA office and that "they're working with us to get through the certification process."

Comic-Con International 2013 may be more than five months away, but tickets to San Diego’s most famous four-day pop culture extravaganza officially went on sale at 9 a.m. Saturday.

According to San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) organizers, badge sales attendees were required to register for a valid Comic-Con Member ID prior to the day of the sale.

An email was sent to fans holding member IDs. The email contained a link to a waiting room. Once inside, the user received a number to indicate his or her place in line.

“At 9:02 I get this ‘We are sorry, but the EPIC online waiting room has reached capacity and it is unlikely that badges are still available’," Julie Howard Salmons posted on NBC 7 San Diego’s Facebook page.

Jeanette Ocampo posted, I got into the waiting room with #1373...30 seconds passed and I was booted out and given that ‘We are sorry blah blah blah.’ Oh well, not meant to be.”

The Member ID system closed Feb. 12 and will not reopen until badge sales are over, according to the SDCC website.

This year, Comic-Con runs from Thursday, Jul. 18 through Sunday, Jul. 21. There’s also a preview night Wednesday, Jul. 17.

That being said, the prices for badges are as follows: $175 per adult for a four-day badge with preview night included and $87 for juniors (ages 13 to 17) and U.S. military and seniors.

For a four-day badge without preview night the price is $150 for adults and $75 for juniors, U.S.
military and seniors. Single-day passes for Thursday through Sunday are $42 for adults and $21 for juniors, U.S. military and seniors.

For a single-day Sunday only badge, the price is $24 for adults and $12 for juniors, U.S. military and seniors.

As always, the event is being held at the San Diego Convention Center located at 111 W. Harbor Dr. This year marks the 44th annual SDCC.

For details about Comic-Con 2013, including the latest news on scheduled panels and celebrities appearing at the show, visit the event website.

Did you see it?

On a day that had a lot of people talking about meteorites and asteroids, a fireball of some sort was seen streaking across the Bay Area skies.

The fireball was seen around 7:45 p.m.

There were reports into the newsroom from people as far north as Fairfield and as far south as Gilroy. It was also seen in Sacramento, Newark, Walnut Creek, and St. Helena.

It was bluish in color and appeared to be heading straight to the ground, according to one viewer in Santa Clara. 

Meteors are pieces of rock and metal from space that fall to Earth. They burn up as they go through our atmosphere. The burning is what causes the bright flash of light.

"I saw that meteor/fireball over Solano County after spending the day reporting on asteroids and fireballs," said NBC Bay Area reporter Jodi Hernandez.

Candice Guruwaiya told us on Facebook she saw it in San Jose. "I was leaving Safeway on Branham and Snell when I saw it. It looked like it was headed for the Capital Auto Mall area. It was a bright green when it first appeared, then it went to a bright yellow. It was awesome!" Guruwaiya posted.

Gina Johnson also saw it in San Jose. She also posted on our Facebook page that she had just walked out of a Fresh and Easy in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood. "It looked just like the one I saw back in October except it was a little smaller. It was greenish in color just like the one on October. Everyone in the parking lot stopped and looked at it," Johnson posted

It comes on the same night a 150-foot-wide asteroid was due to come within 17,200 miles of Earth. It was not immediately clear if the fireball had any connection to the asteroid.

Chabot astronomers in Oakland said the meteor was not related to the asteroid passing near Earth.

Astronomer Gerald McKeegan said based on accounts he thinks it was a "sporadic meteor," which can happen several times a day.  He told Bay City News that sporadic meteors bring as much as 15,000 tons of space debris to Earth each year.

He said it was likely smaller than another meteor that landed in the Bay  Area in October, which caused a loud sonic boom as it fell in the North Bay.

It also happened about 24 hours after a huge meteorite fell from the skies over Russia's Chelyabinsk region, resulting in a powerful blast that injured nearly 1,000 people and shattered windows across the area.

Chelyabinsk health chief Marina Moskvicheva told the Russian news agency Interfax that 985 people in her city asked for medical help and 43 were hospitalized.

Many of the injuries were reportedly from broken windows as a result of a sonic boom that followed the initial impact of the meteorite.

Someone posted the following on YouTube within an hour of the fireball sighting.

The video was titled "Shooting Star across San Francisco 2/15/2013 7:44PM."  The person who posted it said he was driving south on I-280 toward the peninsula.

More Local Stories

• Sheriff's Officials: Dorner Died of Gunshot Wound to Head
• Author Po Bronson on "Warriors" and "Worriers"
• Thousands of Dolphins Seen Off Coast
• Bay Area Man Charged with Threat to State Senator
• Google Has 5 Weeks to Remove Nasty Comments

Five people were injured in a three-vehicle accident at Garnet Avenue and Mission Bay Drive Saturday.

A black Nissan Titan ran through a red light at full speed and collided with a black sedan according to witnesses.

The truck spun around before hitting a traffic pole while the wheels continued spinning the witnesses told NBC 7 San Diego.

San Diego police were called around 9:45 a.m. to help the injured and manage traffic. Two patients had to be extricated from their vehicles officials said.

Two people were taken to Scripps La Jolla in serious-critical condition according to San Diego Fire Rescue crews.

Another two were sent to Kaiser with moderate injuries firefighters said.

One man was in the truck. It’s not known if he was injured according to the NBC 7 San Diego news crew at the scene.

Officials described the driver of the black sedan as elderly. His injuries were not known.

A white minivan was dented on the driver's side. No one was injured in that vehicle.

Check back for more updates on this developing story.
 

Jeremy Evans didn’t win this year’s dunk contest, but he did manage to leave his mark on the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk contest at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

In his first dunking attempt in the final round, the Utah Jazz power forward brought out an easel with a large picture covered in a black cloth, according to NBC Sports. He placed it inside of the restricted area and proceeded to run and perform a left handed dunk over it.

Afterward, he removed the black cloth and revealed a painting depicting himself dunking in midair over the black cloth covered easel.

He got the idea for his creative dunk from one of his coaches.

“Actually, a player development coach helped me out with that,” he said. “He knew I was a painter, so why not do that?”

Evans created the painting himself, taking a week and a half to finish. It wasn't completed until the night before the contest because he wanted to ensure the ball that appeared in the work was accurate.

Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors was given the trophy for 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk champion, getting 58 percent of the vote from fans. But Evans' performance will not be forgotten.

San Diego held a party for a 25-foot tall couple along the eastern waterfront of the Port of San Francisco Saturday as the sculpture "Unconditional Surrender” was welcomed with a public dedication.

A large crowd of people celebrated the giant sculpture many call the "Kissing Statue" or "The Kiss"  in downtown San Diego Saturday.

“We are in San Diego, we have the greatest number of veterans and active duty of any community in the nation,” San Diego Mayor Bob Filner said. “This belongs here.”

Filner and a number of public officials spoke, a military band played and many couples took their own pictures re-enacting "The Kiss" in front of the statue.

The infamous embrace starring a sailor and a nurse is an iconic image of the end of World War II. 

Port Commissioner Lou Smith said he’s always seeing young people whose parents weren’t even born before 1945 taking photos in front of the sculpture.

“This is the most magical place of all,” Smith said. “Whoever sprinkled pixie dust on it did a great job.”

It made its grand return on Wednesday morning – just in time for Valentine’s Day.

For the ceremony, the theme of renewing love continued when nearly a dozen couples renewed their vows at the foot of the statue.

David Moore flew bombing runs over Germany in World War II.

He said he and his wife, Claire, remember seeing the embrace on the news after the end of the war.

They joined the couples in renewing their vows.

“It’s very sentimental,” Moore said of the public sculpture.

When he sees it, he thinks of how happy he was that they could get back to civilian life.

David and Mary Flohr, engaged in 1947, also renewed their vows Saturday. The couple has three children 8 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren all living in San Diego.

John Sax, who served in the South Pacific in World War II as well as in Korea, was very happy to see the statue return.

He called it, “a perfect example of people showing their love of the serviceman."

"Unconditional Surrender" left San Diego last May. That statue was owned by Santa Monica-based Sculpture Foundation and was on loan to the Port from 2007 to 2012.

Since then, more than $1 million was raised through public donations to bring a permanent replica back to the bayfront.

Bill Craddock is a member of San Diego’s Pearl Harbor Survivors. The chapter, one of the largest in the nation according to Craddock, has 42 members here in San Diego.

As for the controversy over whether the statue is a worthy piece of public art, he has this to say.

“Art lovers don’t love it but the people love it and that’s what counts,” he said.