New York politicians are remembering former three-term Gov. Mario Cuomo as a leader, public servant and friend who loved, and was loved by, New Yorkers.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Chuck Schumer and others expressed their condolences on social media Thursday, just after the elder Cuomo died at the age of 82.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy hailed the former governor as an inspiration, while former mayor Mike Bloomberg called him simply "a friend."

President Barack Obama also lauded the "Italian Catholic kid from Queens" for his life of public service in "the state he loved." And President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement that Cuomo's life was "the embodiment of the American dream."

Cuomo died Thursday evening following weeks of reports that he was ailing, and just hours after his son, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was inaugurated for his second term.

Here are some of the responses on Twitter to the former governor's death.

A Northern Virginia yoga teacher is being mourned Friday evening at a vigil at the Sterling yoga studio where he taught, hours after he was found dead in a ravine in Mexico near where he had gone hiking four days ago.

Searchers found the body of Hari Simran, 25, in a narrow gorge in the rugged Tepozteco Mountains in the colonial town of Tepoztlan, a Mexican civil defense official told the Associated Press. Simran and his wife, who live in Leesburg, Virginia, were attending a yoga retreat there.

Simran appeared to have fallen from a cliff, another official for Morelos State told the AP. His family said he appeared to have suffered a fatal injury to his head and died instantly.

"This journey has been a testament to the enormous amount of love and goodness he shared with us all during his time on earth," his family said on the site they had been using to find him. "His last picture said 'Looking down on you.' We know he is an angel in the heavens now looking down on all of us."

Simran had sent his wife a photo of himself hiking in the Tepozteco Mountains around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, pointing to the yoga retreat in the distance. 

The hike was supposed to be short, and as the hours passed, Smith's worry grew. After contacting local authorities, she told News4 Washington she was concerned searchers hadn't consistently used a helicopter with infrared radar while looking for Simran.  

Hundreds of members of the Sikh community are gathering for a prayer service and vigil at the worship center and yoga studio in Sterling where Simran taught at 7 p.m. Friday night, organizers said. 

"If I could just be one-hundredth of him, I think I could be a much better human being," Simran's friend Prabhjit Singh said. "He literally came [to Virginia] to raise people's consciousness, that's what he did as a meditation and yoga teacher. He lifted people up."

A house fire that caused over $100,000 in damage on New Year’s Day could have been much worse had it not been for fast-acting neighbors.

Around dinner time Thursday, Johnathan Rice and his father-in-law investigated blaring smoke alarms they heard coming from the next door home in the 1700 block of Woodburn Avenue. The family of four that lives there was not home at the time.

“The fire was on the whole walls on both sides of the wall, and it was also on the porch ceiling,” Rice said.

The flames started on the back patio and crept into the eves above. Without hesitation, Rice called 911, and the two men grabbed a half-inch garden hose and a bucket.

“It was pretty intense at first. It went out, then it started reflashing and I was like, ‘Oh no, am I going to be able to contain it?’” Rice asked himself.

The two went to work, managing to hold the flames at bay.

The fire had gotten into the attic, but when El Cajon firefighters arrived, it took just ten minutes to knock it down.

The fire chief was grateful for the help, crediting the neighbors with preventing the fire from spreading. Rice breathed a little sigh of relief.

“Both houses next door were saved and no one got hurt. There were no pets inside really, so probably the best case scenario,” Rice said.

While Rice has no firefighting experience, he figures the instincts came from his uncle, who is a Chula Vista fire captain.

Police are looking for a 15-month-old Moreno Valley girl they believe was abducted by her biological parents and may have been taken to Las Vegas.

Investigators are also looking for her 19-year-old mother.

Around 9 a.m. Wednesday, the toddler's abduction was reported to the Moreno Valley Police Department. She was allegedly taken by Sadie Leomiti and Nathan Reed from the 24000 block of Horton Court.

Reed and Leomiti may have taken their daughter, Teulia Leomiti-Reed, to Las Vegas, police said. Investigators are asking for the public’s help in locating Leomiti and the baby.

Sadie Leomiti, 19, is 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 240 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. Teulia Leomit-Reed has brown hair and brown eyes.

Police do not think the little girl is in any immediate danger, according to a statement from the department.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department at 951-776-1099.

Three men suspected of stealing a car led police on a 40-mile chase with speeds reaching 100 mph early Friday morning before surrendering in Rancho Santa Fe.

The situation started at about 1:30 a.m. at a 7-Eleven in the 10000 block of Campo Road in Casa De Oro, when sheriff’s deputies officers said they questioned the men about their vehicle.

This triggered a pursuit by the California Highway Patrol that continued onto Del Dios Highway before ending at Lake Drive, officers said.

The chase ended because the suspects’ vehicle ran out of gas. A short standoff ensued as officers tried to corral the men out of the vehicle, leading them to shoot out the back window of the vehicle, officers said.

The men were detained for questioning. As of 8 a.m., the CHP hadn’t released the names of the suspects nor the charges they face.

On what is essentially the eve of the start of the trial of Boston Marathon bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, his attorneys are taking one last shot at both delaying the trial and moving it out of Boston.

Defense attorneys have asked the First Circuit Court of Appeals to step in and overrule U.S. District Court Judge George O'Toole's decisions to deny a change of venue and a continuance.

NECN Legal Editor Randy Chapman says while this is an extraordinary case and the appeals court could certainly delay the proceedings, it's not likely.

"The appeals courts generally give great deference to the trial court's decisions," said Chapman.

Pending a decision by the appeals court, the defense asked Judge O'Toole to at least delay jury selection, which is scheduled to start Monday.

But the judge even denied that, saying it would be a disruption to the 1,200 prospective jurors scheduled to report to court next week.

Chapman says at the very least, Tsarnaev's defense team could be laying the groundwork for appeals later on.

"This is a case that he is potentially going to be put to death," said Chapman. "There will be extraordinary scrutiny of every decision that the court makes in the course of the case."

But for the survivors of the marathon bombings, like Heather Abbott, who's been waiting nearly two years to see this case go to court, the sooner the trial can be over with, the better.

"I'm, I guess, anxious for it to kind of come and go, but I'm certainly interested in what will happen and we'll probably attend part of the trial," said Abbott.

The first phase of jury selection is scheduled to take place over six sessions Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

Undocumented immigrants in California began applying for driver's licenses on Friday, and one office especially set up to help these soon-to-be drivers in San Jose was bustling with customers.

Starting at 5 a.m. about 30 people had lined up outside the office on Senter Road in the chilly temps to get their permits and take their tests. By 7:30 a.m., the line had grown to more than 100, with people snaking around the corner of the building, waiting for the office to open at 8 a.m. Each had a stack of papers in their hand; the new law requires valid ID from their home country's consulate.

One of those driver hopefuls was Roselio Nicholes, who said that fears of being stopped by the police will no longer scare her.

"It's a blessing," she said.

Hermenegilo Reyes also said is glad he won't be stopped when he gets behind the wheel. In an interview Thursday, he told NBC Bay Area in Spanish, "I have been studying. If God allows, it will be doable."

And Gilberto Flores drove away Friday morning from the San Jose office in his pickup - legally for the first time since coming to the United States from Mexico 15 years ago. "It's exciting," he said, noting that he can't wait to have ease of mind when he takes his daughter to school or go to work and "contribute to this economy."

The California Department of Motor Vehicles expects 1.4 million people to seek a license in the first three years of the AB 60 program, which was written by Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Salinas,) an agricultural town and home to a burgeoning population of migrant workers.

Immigrant advocates have cheered the licenses as a way to integrate immigrants who must drive to work and shuttle children to school. But critics have questioned state officials' ability to verify the identity of foreign applicants, citing security concerns. In fact, opponents planned to protest in Long Beach outside the office of state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) who is chairman of the Latino legislative caucus. The critics are supportive of those who have fallen victim to car accidents where undocumented drivers were behind the wheel.

And in San Jose, Ken Sligar, who was at the DMV to get his teenager a driving permit, said he had "mixed emotions" about the new law because he wants immigrants to become citizens "just like everyone else." As for giving the undocumented driver's licences? "No, no," he said.

Officials said they cannot predict how many people will line up immediately to apply, but the number of people making appointments for a license more than doubled when immigrants were allowed to sign up. In San Jose, authorities were bracing for up to 500,000 people who would eventually apply.

Appointments are required to apply for a license except at four newly-created DMV offices, including the one in San Jose, which features nearly 100 windows to process the expected rush of new applicants. There are three other such centers across California. In San Jose, applicants must take a 36-question test, and then take their road test elsewhere.

Undocumented immigrants interviewed over the past several weeks in San Jose said they have been studying for months and are ready to take the drivers license test. The San Jose Mexican Consulate also has been offering classes to help immigrants with the written exam.

“We have been doing, every 15 days, four hours teaching people how to take the exam,” Mexican consulate spokeswoman Nuria Marine said in an earlier interview. “We want people to pass the exam the first time, not second.”

California is one of 10 states that now provide licenses to immigrants in the country illegally. The licenses issued to immigrants without legal status will include a distinctive marking and are not considered a valid form of federal identification.

Law enforcement officials say the program will improve road safety because licensed drivers must be tested and insured. A DMV study based on 23 years of crash data found that unlicensed drivers were more likely to cause a fatal collision than licensed drivers. State insurance officials hope the change will increase the number of drivers holding auto insurance.

For Reyes, the undocumented resident of San Jose, road safety and insurance issues are not as important to him as simply being able to drive to work and get his errands done, without fear of getting arrested or deported.

"It's a necessity in this country," he said.

NBC Bay Area's Damian Trujillo and the Associated Press contributed to this article.

A car crashed into a home in Spring Valley Friday, trapping a man and a woman inside the vehicle.

The car drove off the road, rolled onto its side and hit the home in the 9900 block of Estrella Drive at about 2:15 p.m.

Both people inside the car had to be freed by emergency crews, according to Cal Fire. It's unclear if anyone was inside the house at the time.

The man and woman were taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

It’s that time of year when car envy kicks into high gear. The San Diego International Auto Show is back at the San Diego Convention Center.

From Maseratis to Lamborghinis, there is plenty for car lovers to salivate over. The venue is displaying more than 400 new models, all ready for guests to sit in, inhale that new car smell and envision themselves driving.

Some car makers are offering visitors a chance to get behind the wheel. Check out times and vehicles here.

If your taste is more exotic, a 15,000-foot “vault” holds the jewels of the collection (though not for driving): vehicles from Bentley, Lotus, Rolls-Royce, Ferrari and more.

On Friday, eco-friendly cars take center stage for Electric Vehicle Day, and kids 12 and under get a free ride on Sunday for Ford Family Day. Other attractions rolling in are a Thunderbird retrospective, a motorcycle pavilion and Camp Jeep, which challenges its vehicles to get over a 8-foot-high “trail rated pass.”

Change is ramping up in the industry much faster than in decades past, show officials say. Companies used to take about seven years to release a new model; now, it takes only three years – half the time to design and build a brand new vehicle.

Organizers hope to keep San Diego enthusiasts up-to-date, wetting their appetites with the latest and greatest from each manufacturer.

The auto show is parking at the convention center for the first four days of the year. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets for adults are $12, $9 for military (with ID) and seniors 62 and over, $8 for children 7 to12, and kids 6 and under get in for free when accompanied by an adult.

NBC 7 will have a live broadcast from the Auto Show Friday night at 6:30 p.m.

San Diego's "Crown Jewel" has just taken on a brighter shine as Balboa Park's iconic California Tower welcomed visitors Thursday after being closed for 80 years.

The tower's reopening on New Year's Day celebrated the centennial of Balboa Park's 1915 Panama-California Exposition, which brought San Diego worldwide recognition.

The building was a showpiece then but was shuttered in 1935 during the depths of the Depression, and there hasn’t been the money or civic motivation to reverse that until now.

"Over the intervening years at various points, someone would raise a hand every now and again and say, 'Couldn't we open it?' And somebody else would say, 'Well I just don't think that would be possible. Too difficult, too expensive,'” explained Hope Carlson, chief development officer for the San Diego Museum of Man.

"But with the centennial approaching,” Carlson continued, “our CEO Micah Parzen decided, ‘You know what? Now's the time. We really should do this’ … it's really an all-hands coming together to make this happen — including San Diegans too, who have donated generously to be able to pull this off."

It took $3 million in philanthropy, three years of planning and a whirlwind three months of structural upgrades to ready the tower for accepting visitors.

"It's one of only a few structures (in the park) that were designed to be permanent,” Carlson noted in an interview Thursday. “And it was always a museum — originally named the San Diego Museum, now the Museum of Man — and what we love about this building is that it has symbolized Balboa Park and San Diego to so many people over the last 100 years. And we're really thrilled to be able to bring people inside for that climb once again."

Carlson guided NBC 7’s crew up 125 stairs to the newly opened observation deck, more than 100 feet above El Prado, to find a breathtaking array of vistas that sweep for miles at all points of the compass.

Message to naysayers and skeptics about the city's ability to get meaningful things done?

"This is an example of something where San Diego came together and built real greatness,” said U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D-52nd), addressing a gathering of dozens of locals and tourists during noon-hour ribbon-cutting formalities that included window-dressing such as an early 20th-century roadster and some back-in-the-day bikes on hand.

“We are a great city; we've been a great city,” Peters added. “And if we think like this, we'll continue to be a great city."

Out-of-towners marveled as they took in the scene and the born-again tourist attraction.

"We feel like we need to dress up for the occasion, right?" said Albuquerque resident Patty Braden, turning to her companion Tom Grasser.

"I know, exactly,” Grasser replied. “It's amazing. Amazing history here. Beautiful."

While the tower tours are sold out through Sunday, other visitors vowed to return to San Diego someday to make the climb.

"We'll come back,” said Baton Rouge, Louisiana resident Beth Courtney. “My brother is president of the Spreckels Organ Society; he put on the show last night. He was the chair of it, so we had to come out here for that."

As for tackling the tower at some future date: “Absolutely, we're looking forward to it,” Courtney enthused. “We're also happy to see it during the day — as we were here last night."

Thursday’s first tower visitors, after media crews and dignitaries, had to wait until late afternoon to reach the observation deck.

The tours are guided in groups of twelve at 40-minute intervals.

The adult price is $22.50, which includes admission to the Museum of Man.

Not only is the California Tower in the National Register of Historic Places, according to online research, it's San Diego's most-mentioned building in American architectural studies and the city's most photographed landmark.

The original construction cost for state taxpayers: a quarter-million dollars.
 

Slain NYPD officer Wenjian Liu will be laid to rest this weekend in Brooklyn with eulogies from the mayor and police chief, as well as a ceremony led by Buddhist monks to mourn the city's first Chinese-American police officer shot and killed in the line of duty.

A viewing for Liu, 32, will be held at the Ralph Aievoli & Son Funeral Home in Dyker Heights Saturday, and the funeral will be held at the same location Sunday. He will be buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn. 

Liu was fatally shot alongside officer Rafael Ramos as they sat in their patrol car Dec. 20 in Bedford-Stuyvesant by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who fatally shot himself in a nearby subway shortly after the ambush. 

Thousands attended the funeral for Ramos last weekend in Queens, including Vice President Joe Biden, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio. Large crowds are similarly expected for Liu's funeral.

In addition to the Chinese ceremony, a traditional NYPD ceremony is expected, including uniforms and bagpipes, and the mayor and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton will offer eulogies.

On Friday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and other religious leaders paid their respects to Liu's family ahead of services.

Liu, whose family emigrated from China when he was 12 years old, had been a member of the police force for seven years, after serving previously in the police auxiliary. He moved this year to a home in Brooklyn's Gravesend section and got married just three months ago.

He attended Lafayette High School, then Kingsboro Community College and the College of Staten Island.

"He was looking forward to having his own family," his family said in a written statement after Liu's death. "Wenjian was proud to be a New York City officer."

Both Liu and Ramos were posthumously promoted to detective. The city also plans to honor them by naming streets near their homes for them, the mayor and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced this week. 

The NYPD announced the following street closures this weekend: 65th Street between 12th and 14th avenues will be closed from noon through 10 p.m. Saturday, and there will be no parking. There will also be no parking on 13th Avenue between 64th and 68th streets. 

On Sunday, 65th Street between 11th and 18th avenues will be closed to all vehicles from 7 a.m. through 2 p.m. There will be no parking on 13th Avenue between 64th Street and Bay Ridge Parkway. 

A Manhattan man said he was "dying to kill NYPD" in a series of threatening 911 phone calls in which he urged the dispatcher to send officers to him, police said. 

Rayshawn Dixon, 27, called 911 from his cellphone three times at about 5 a.m. Tuesday and told the dispatcher he had a gun, according to a criminal complaint containing a transcript of the calls.

"Come up here, I'll blow their ******* heads off," he allegedly told the 911 operator, adding that he was on 91st Street near Central Park. 

Minutes later, he called 911 again and allegedly said, "I don't know why you can't come here yet, 'cause I am dying to kill NYPD. I am waiting for them." 

When asked how the officers could identify him, Dixon allegedly said: "They'll figure it out. They'll see me pull that hammer out, they'll figure it out." 

Investigators traced the cellphone and the next day tracked the phone to a Domino's pizzeria at 592 Columbus Ave., where Dixon was apparently waiting to pick up a pizza order, according to the criminal complaint. His voice appeared to match the one on the 911 calls, authorities said. 

Dixon was arrested as he left the restaurant carrying several boxes of pizza, police said. He was carrying a cellphone that matched the number that placed the threatening calls. 

Dixon was charged with making a terroristic threat and second-degree criminal contempt. He has a prior arrest for robbery and two prior gun arrests, according to police. Prosecutors also say he has an active order of protection against him by an unidentified woman. 

He was arraigned Thursday night and ordered held on $100,000 bail. Dixon is being represented by Legal Aid, which does not offer public comment in ongoing cases. 

He's next scheduled to appear in court January 6. 

The NYPD has been stepping up security at some stationhouses after the deadly shootings of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos in Brooklyn last month. There have been several arrests in terroristic threat cases against the NYPD in recent weeks.

A woman in Fallbrook has been arrested after sheriff’s deputies say she provided LSD to her 16-year-old sister, causing the girl to overdose.

The 18-year-old woman, Danielle Hensley, was booked in the Vista jail on suspicion of furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and child endangerment.

Sheriff’s deputies said they were called to the 3000 block of Overland Trail in Fallbrook just before 1:30 a.m. Friday. The 16-year-old girl was under the influence of LSD and hallucinating and “creating a disturbance at home,” sheriff’s deputies said.

Friends said the incident took place at the girl's friends' home.

Sheriff's Sgt. David Pocklington said the girl was assaulting others in the home and caused a scare among those there.

Hensley called 911 and told authorities her sister was "having a bad trip on LSD," Pocklington said.

The girl was taken to the hospital for treatment of a LSD overdose. Deputies investigating the situation said they determined the LSD was provided to the girl by her adult sister.

Pocklington said the 16-year-old was in stable condition. He described the situation as a serious incident.

"What people have to realize is that you can be held liable for providing a location or substance to minors or unintended consequences," he said.

"Fortunately, the juvenile didn't die," he said.

The sergeant said deputies are still determining where the 18-year-old obtained the LSD; it's not a common drug they see on the streets.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the sheriff’s department at 858-565-5200 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

A family home in Lakeside was heavily damaged on Friday by a fast-moving two-alarm fire.

Cal Fire and Lakeside Fire crews were called just before 11 a.m. to the fire in the 9100 block of Single Oak Drive. Officials said the fire started in the garage and then spread to the attic and rest of the home.

A neighbor spotted the flames shooting from the home and called 911, as other neighbors ran over to help.

The couple who lives at the home wasn't there, though their small dog, Sassy, was at home. A man rescued her from the backyard as the flames were approaching.

Neighbor Lucie Lee said the flames quickly spread from one side of the house to the other.

No one was injured, though Sassy the dog was shaken up.

Firefighters said the home and garage were heavily damaged.

The cause of the fire has not been released.

Undocumented immigrants in California can start applying for driver's licenses on Friday, and in San Diego that meant crowds at the Hillcrest office.

More than 50 people had appointments at the Department of Motor Vehicle office on Normal Street and the next appointment isn't available for another two weeks.

Many of the undocumented immigrants who came to Hillcrest's office had made their appointments months ago.

The DMV had prepared for an influx, opening four locations in San Diego County on Saturdays: Clairmont, Chula Vista, San Ysidro and El Cajon.

In San Jose, it was more of the same. Starting at 5 a.m. about 30 people had lined up outside the office on Senter Road in the chilly temps to get their paperwork and take their tests. By 7:30 a.m., the line had grown to more than 100, with people snaking around the corner of the building, waiting for the office to open at 8 a.m. Each had a stack of papers in their hand; the new law requires valid ID from their home country's consulate.

One of those driver hopefuls was Roselio Nicholes, who said that fears of being stopped by the police will no longer scare her.

"t's a blessing," she said.

Hermenegilo Reyes also said is glad he won't be stopped when he gets behind the wheel. In an interview Thursday, he told NBC Bay Area in Spanish, "I have been studying. If God allows, it will be doable."

The California Department of Motor Vehicles expects 1.4 million people to seek a license in the first three years of the AB 60 program, which was written by Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Salinas,) an agricultural town and home to a burgeoning population of migrant workers.

Immigrant advocates have cheered the licenses as a way to integrate immigrants who must drive to work and shuttle children to school. But critics have questioned state officials' ability to verify the identity of foreign applicants, citing security concerns. In fact, opponents planned to protest in Long Beach outside the office of state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) who is chairman of the Latino legislative caucus. And in San Jose, Ken Sligar, who was at the DMV to get his teenager a driving permit, said he had "mixed emotions" about the new law because he wants immigrants to become citizens "just like everyone else." As for giving the undocumented driver's licences? "No, no," he said.

Officials said they cannot predict how many people will line up immediately to apply, but the number of people making appointments for a license more than doubled when immigrants were allowed to sign up. In San Jose, authorities were bracing for up to 500,000 people who would eventually apply.

Appointments are required to apply for a license except at four newly-created DMV offices, including the one in San Jose, which features nearly 100 windows to process the expected rush of new applicants. There are three other such centers across California. In San Jose, applicants must take a 36-question test, and then take their road test elsewhere.

Undocumented immigrants interviewed over the past several weeks in San Jose said they have been studying for months and are ready to take the drivers license test. The San Jose Mexican Consulate also has been offering classes to help immigrants with the written exam.

“We have been doing, every 15 days, four hours teaching people how to take the exam,” Mexican consulate spokeswoman Nuria Marine said in an earlier interview. “We want people to pass the exam the first time, not second.”

California is one of 10 states that now provide licenses to immigrants in the country illegally. The licenses issued to immigrants without legal status will include a distinctive marking and are not considered a valid form of federal identification.

Law enforcement officials say the program will improve road safety because licensed drivers must be tested and insured. A DMV study based on 23 years of crash data found that unlicensed drivers were more likely to cause a fatal collision than licensed drivers. State insurance officials hope the change will increase the number of drivers holding auto insurance.

For Reyes, the undocumented resident of San Jose, road safety and insurance issues are not as important to him as simply being able to drive to work and get his errands done, without fear of getting arrested or deported.

"It's a necessity in this country," he said.

NBC Bay Area's Damian Trujillo and the Associated Press contributed to this article.

A Volvo filled with water and seaweed emerged from Mission Bay Friday, the remnants of a crash from which one man was lucky to escape.

Lifeguard divers secured a line from the car to a tow truck, and with police looking on, the vehicle, with a badly damaged front end, was pulled slowly onto the beach.

It’s the end to a strange story that started after midnight on New Year’s Day.

The driver told San Diego police he misjudged a road as he drove home at about 2 a.m. His path took him from the street into the bay, completely covering his 2002 Volvo.

“It appears that he just drove straight off the turn without hitting the brakes, went straight into the water,” said SDPD Lt. Scott Wahl.

The man was able to roll down his window and escape without any injuries. He was the only one inside.

But instead of notifying 911 immediately, he waited until about 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon to call in the crash.

The man told police he thought officers would be busy and shouldn’t be bothered with something that was not an emergency, according to Wahl.

"Whether or not he had been drinking, we don't have any evidence of that at this time. We have some concerns about environmental issues here in the water,” said Wahl.

He said at this point, Coast Guard and lifeguard officials have not detected any damage to the environment, but they are still investigating.

The man will not face any criminal charges, but he will pay for the tow truck and damage to his Volvo. If any additional information about the crash comes in from witnesses, police could reevaluate charges, Wahl said.

Several women who walk and run the five-mile trail loop around Scripps Ranch’s Lake Miramar say they’ve been startled by a man who is acting suspicious.

The complaints range from being followed, to watching him dart in and out of the bushes, to hiding in the brush-filled areas off the main path where there aren’t dirt trails.

San Diego Police confirm the complaints.

“The person has been identified and spoken to. A long-term solution is being worked on,” said Lt. Kevin Mayer.

The situation is complicated because the man hasn’t broken any laws, but it is a startling reminder for women who walk the trail to be alert.

“I have heard of the problems they’ve had here, and I take that to heart,” said Dorothy Engel, who carries a whistle attached to her key ring.

The trail is generally well trafficked, but there are coves where single walkers or joggers might find themselves alone.

“I remember the Chelsea King incident back in Poway and that is when I started to bring my mace and rape whistle anywhere I go,” said Sammy Mahew.

Most women say they feel comfortable and safe walking the trail, but are leery of walking alone when it starts to get dark.

“It closes at 6:30 typically so we tend to come way before the sun goes down,” said Anna Nguyen.

Two fetuses wrapped in a blanket were discovered outside a Fallbrook home Friday evening.

San Diego County Sheriff's officials say a homeowner spotted a blanket on the side of the 1700 block of St. Peters Drive at 1:45 p.m.

When the person looked under it, he found two, full-term fetuses and called 911. Fire crews confirmed the fetuses were dead.

According to the sheriff's department, the babies were at least 20 weeks old, and each still had its umbilical cord, which were both attached to one placenta.

The cause and manner of their death has not been determined, and homicide detectives have blocked off the area as they investigate. The crime scene is down the street from a church.

Now, deputies are searching for the mother of these children: someone who recently pregnant but has no baby to show. If you know anything about this case, call the homicide detail at 858-974-2321 or after hours at 858-565-5200.

A legal statement of election contest claims 15 invalid votes should have been counted in the very close Chula Vista City Council race.

The lawsuit, filed Friday by Aurora Clark, says Registrar of Voters Michael Vu failed to count contested ballots in the race for city council Seat 1, which John McCann won by just two votes over Steve Padilla.

The statement of election contest calls for a judge to compel the registrar to count the ballots, an action that could upend the election's result.

Clark says 15 mail-in and provisional votes were declared invalid because there was a problem with the addresses or signatures on them.

According to the court document, the lack of address on a mailed-in envelope does not affect the vote’s validity as long as the signature compares with the signature on file. The signatures on ten of the contested provisional ballots matched voting records, Clark says.

In two other cases, people not registered to vote by mail showed up at a polling place and turned in mail-in ballots. The legal statement says the votes should count because poll workers should have given them a regular ballot.

One mail-in vote was deemed invalid because registrar employees determined the signature did not match the one on record – something Clark contests. And in the final case, the registrar’s office says the person voted twice.

“The errors and conduct described above have unlawfully and unconstitutionally disenfranchised eligible voters in the City of Chula Vista,” the lawsuit states, “and have denied them their fundamental right to vote and their rights to due process and the equal protection of the laws.”

It is not clear if the ballots will change the outcome of the race to help Steve Padilla.

Defendants John McCann and Michael Vu have 30 days to respond to the legal claim.

The Seat 1 race ended in a recount in December, but after a week in, Padilla suspended the recount and conceded to McCann.

Chula Vista is no stranger to tight races. In 2010, U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas won the 40th state Senate District seat by just 22 votes.

Will the day come when neighborhood housing projects find a welcome mat in industrial zones regulated by the California Coastal Commission?

That idea is being proposed by commission staff officials intent on expanding the supply of affordable property for housing near “light industry” employment and transit centers.

But it faces likely pushback from leery business interests.

In San Diego's Barrio Logan, residents and maritime companies don't quite co-exist happily.

There are other coastal-zone industrial areas in this region where housing interest might be better-served.

However, fears among local industrial firms range from restrictions that could shut them down in their current locations, and longer odds of expanding or relocating onto what little shovel-ready acreage is left.

Barrio Logan community activists have pushed aggressively to gentrify and make their neighborhoods more livable – all the while in the shadow of an entrenched maritime industry that helps anchor the local economy by making its living on the nearby waterfront.

Now Coastal Commission officials are looking to harmonize things with a new zoning scheme not only there, but in places such as Center City, Mira Mesa, Torrey Pines Mesa, San Ysidro and University City.

The state agency has final oversight in governing land use near the ocean, bays and tributaries.

"In San Diego County we need thousands -- tens of thousands of homes to get built,” says Voice of San Diego Editor Scott Lewis. “Housing affordability is cited as the biggest restraint on business growth, on people moving their businesses here."

But will the hybrid approach recommended by Coastal Commission staffers – a local coastal plan zoning overlay called “IP-3-1” -- wind up driving businesses away?

"We do anticipate conflict,” said industrial real estate broker Linda Greenberg, who co-chairs the “Working Waterfront” business coalition.

“We have a number of industries that are very location-specific, obviously the shipyards are one,” Greenberg noted in an interview Friday. “The bio-meds, bio-techs, bio-device industries are another. And if we take the little remaining developable land and convert 49 percent to residential use, we're diminishing the ability of those critical, base-sector industries to expand -- and potentially remain in San Diego."

Other government forces figure to be in play here.

"The Port (of San Diego) has a mandate to support industrial and maritime uses, and they're one of the major parts of this coastal zone in San Diego,” Lewis pointed out. “And it's not going to be a clear fight. This is one layer of regulation that might get streamlined, but there's a lot of other areas."

Coastal Commissioners will consider the new zoning proposals Wednesday in Santa Monica.

A Barrio Logan community plan revision is expected to undergo review at City Hall sometime in June.