San Diego Unified School District’s impending superintendent announced a formal partnership with parent advisory groups on Tuesday afternoon.

Cindy Marten, who will begin June 30 when Bill Kowba retires, said parents will have an active role when she starts her new job.

This is the first time that parent leaders from various groups, including the Parent Teacher’s Association and District Advisory Council, have come out in support of Marten since her new position was announced.

“We will not have to seek her out,” said District Advisory Council Amy Redding. “She will seek us out.”

Redding and other parents said that Marten’s beliefs align with their goal of academic success for the thousands of students in SDUSD.

Marten said that she will lean on the parent groups for advice and is looking forward to meeting with them this summer.

“We will continue to work this partnership,” said Marten. “The parents are central to making this work happen.”

An old military artillery shell was discovered in the backyard of an Ocean Beach resident Monday night.

A woman working in the garden of her new home at Saratoga Avenue and Santa Barbara discovered what looked like an explosive device and called 911.

When bomb experts arrived just after 6:30 p.m., they found the shell in the dirt outside the home.

Working with the U.S. Marine Corps, they determined it was a 75-millimeter shell that did not contain explosives.

“It’s just a big hunk of steel that they fire out of the artillery pieces or the tanks for practice,” said Capt. Eric Kelly with the San Diego Fire Department Bomb Squad.

Kelly, who was holding the shell in his hands after the scene was cleared, estimates it was likely dated between World War I and World War II.

“We get quite a few of these in San Diego. Tierrasanta and the areas around Camp Elliot used to be a WWI and WWII artillery range so we've dug up quite a few of these in that area,” he said.

Find stories on San Diego's military community in our special section: SD Military News

There are different types of shells and some are explosive.

Kelly said it can be very difficult to determine if a shell like this is safe.

Because they can be hazardous, he suggests that anyone who may stumble on a similar device should mark the site and then call in the experts before moving the item.

“They’re not in the best shape. Since WWII, they’ve been sitting in dirt. They get rusty. The numbers are all worn off,” Kelly said.

The ordnance will be turned over to the military.
 

A man driving along eastbound state Route 52 shot at a van on Tuesday afternoon, according to California Highway Patrol.

The incident happened around 4:30 p.m. when a suspect in a silver Toyota Scion allegedly shot two or three rounds at a van near Santa Road.

CHP said neither the victim nor the car were hit.

Officers found the suspect at his home on 8929 Ildica St. in Spring Valley and arrested him at the scene.

A Canadian man who visited San Diego was charged with rape by intoxication by the district attorney’s office.

Whistler resident Nelson Drake, 39, was arrested in Dallas, Texas on Feb. 20 after an arrest warrant for $1 million was placed the day before. He was then extradited to San Diego and placed in the South Bay Detention Facility.

At Drake’s arraignment, prosecutors said the rape occurred when he was in San Diego for a business convention.

Drake’s bail was placed at $100,000. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison.

Michelle Ross visits her Hillcrest neighborhood Whole Foods Market at least four times a week, but she's not buying groceries. She's buying ready-to-eat hot meals for lunch and dinner.

"It is easier than buying it all, keeping it in the fridge, I come here," said Ross.

She is part of a growing trend of people picking up hot meals at grocery stores. Today stores from Whole Foods to Ralph's and Vons are expanding their hot and cold food bars to accommodate an expanding demand.  Besides the popular soup and salad bar, the store is also including vegan menu items.

Paul Segraves says he could spend $4 on a greasy burger but would rather buy fresh food at his local grocery store.

"The quality, the health benefit, I rarely ever go to a fast food place," said Segraves.

Whole Foods has been expanding the hot meal section in many of its grocery stores. The Hillcrest market just expanded its food bar section by 60 percent. Most of the foods are prepared at the store location and include vegetables grown locally. 

Though many shoppers say the food is a little more expensive.

"It's a little pricey but it's worth it I think," said Veerpal Brar.

And as long as it fills a need, grocery stores will fill it with a growing selection popular dishes.

"Consumers just don't have the time these days to prepare meals," said Ray Kau with Whole Foods. 

San Diego State University professor Michael Belch agrees.

"People are becoming money rich and time poor," said Belch. 

The marketing professor said some grocery stores are looking more like fast food restaurants with a catch.

"It is fast food, but it's a little better," said Belch.

But hot food isn't the only thing on the menu. The Whole Foods is now building a tavern inside its Hillcrest location. The name will be the 7th Avenue Pub and will include beer, wine and a limited menu.

If you're seeing black, chances are the broadcast is in commercial. Stay tuned.

NBC 7 can not live stream sports video because of licensing restrictions imposed by professional sports leagues.

If you have a news story you want to share, send an email to limsandiegonewstips@nbcuni.com.

If you have images of breaking news or weather around San Diego County upload them here.

The film "Inocente" based on San Diego teen Inocente Izucar’s true life story took home an Oscar a little more than a week ago.

Now 19-year-old Izucar is dealing with a sudden rise to stardom.

She’s been so busy she's hardly had time to just let it all sink in. But she said the exposure has been all positive, not to mention life-changing and the attention has put her art in high demand. 
 

Several of Izucar’s paintings have attracted a wait list of people around the world hoping to buy her work.

“It feels really good of course,” Izucar told NBC 7. “You know I don't want people to think that I'm like rich because I'm not."

But with some pieces selling from $25 to $5,000, the she can now support herself in her very own apartment.

“I adopted two bunnies,” she said. “It's a place of my own it's my own home so it is nice it's been life changing the whole experience."

Izucar even launched her own website called Inocente Art, where fans can buy her pieces. She donates 30 percent of the proceeds to ARTS: A Reason to survive. It's the National City nonprofit where art became her outlet.

“They basically saved my life and I've been here forever and I plan to stay here for a long time so it's nice to be able to help the way they helped me,” she said.

The City of San Diego will also honor Izucar for overcoming adversity by proclaiming March 26 as "Inocente Day."

It's the kind of story you only see in films, the kind that wins an Academy Award, and the kind of story that gives this once homeless teenager the chance to share her passion with the rest of the world.

“And sometimes it makes people happy and I think that's the biggest thing for me,” she said. “If it makes them happy, I did my job as an artist as you know touching someone through my art.”

A San Diego judge agreed to expedite a decision on whether the City of San Diego should release millions of dollars to the Tourism Marketing District (TMD).

There are four lawsuits pending involving the surcharge for hotel guests that nets about $30 million every year.

The city’s lodging industry says it has rights to that money raised through a special tax to promote San Diego as a tourist destination.

The longtime deal was approved by former mayor Jerry Sanders but he didn’t sign the paperwork before leaving office.

Mayor Bob Filner has refused to sign the contract releasing the funds without concessions that hotel owners have rejected.

Attorney David Ruderman, representing TMD in a downtown San Diego courtroom Tuesday morning, asked Judge Timothy Taylor to expedite his decision on whether the mayor must sign the contract and avoid loss of jobs.

“I have no desire to weigh into the political controversy today,” Taylor said when deciding to postpone the ruling until March 22.

He added that courtrooms are not good at running city government.

“We feel this is a victory for jobs and economic benefit to the city of San Diego because in order to expedite the case, it recognizes the impact the mayor's inaction has had on the tourism economy and community,” said Lorin Stewart, Executive Director of the San Diego Tourism Marketing District Corporation.

“They can afford the money to advertise right now,” Mayor Filner said to the media outside court referring to the hotel industry. “They are used to getting their own way – they want public money for their private benefit – and they finally have a mayor who is standing up to them.”

When Judge Taylor told Mayor Filner he had 17 days to hire an attorney to represent him, Filner argued with him saying “I don’t agree with your tentative ruling.”

He told the judge that it's wrong to assume he has personal funds to pay his own counsel.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, who has said he does not represent the mayor in this contract dispute, agreed with the judge’s suggestion.

Watch: My Client Is the City of San Diego

"Should it get to a point where the council is adamant on this strategy and the mayor is adamant on that strategy and I feel we have a conflict then under the law, a municipal law firm can create what's called an ethical wall and we can have one lawyer for the mayor and have one lawyer for the city," Goldsmith said.

Filner listened in on Goldsmith's comments outside of court and then said he would discuss hiring his own counsel with the city council.

“C’mon you guys have seen, I’m not going to get zealous representation by an attorney who thinks I’ve already done, my positions are illegal,” Filner said.

Watch Filner: I Won't Get Zealous Representation

On Feb. 20, Filner crashed a news conference called by Goldsmith concerning the hotel surcharge.

The exchange was heated with Filner arguing he hadn't been advised by the city attorney's office and Goldsmith arguing he hadn't been consulted by the mayor's office. Read more
 

Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s fiery president and the most prominent leftist leader in South America, died today after a long battle with cancer.

The 58-year-old, who rose through his country’s military ranks and led a failed coup before winning the presidency, died at 4:25 p.m. local time, Vice President Nicolás Maduro said in an address.

"Much strength, much prayer and this difficulty in life must be carried with the greatest of loves that Hugo Chávez Frías planted in our heart," Maduro said on state television after imploring Venezuelans to avoid violence and hate in the wake of the polarizing leader's death.

For more on the death of Hugo Chávez, visit NBCNews.com.

Maduro will assume the interim presidency and will also be the government candidate when elections are called 30 days from now, the country's foreign minister said Tuesday night.

A seven-day period of mourning will begin Tuesday, the government announced just after the president's passing, and his official state funeral ceremony will take place Friday morning.

Top government officials from the defense minister to the central bank chief paid tribute to Chávez on Tuesday night and urged national unity.

"This is a difficult moment, but we need to continue on," central bank chief Nelson Merentes said in an interview. "There were people who were against him, but this is not a moment to concentrate on that. It's one to come together."

Foreign Affairs Minister Elías Jaua said Tuesday night that Chávez's remains would be moved to the Military Academy of Venezuela in Caracas on Wednesday, and funeral services would begin Thursday, with the official ceremony set for 10 a.m. local time (9:30 a.m. ET) Friday.

Chávez died Tuesday following a battle with cancer that brought him to Cuba repeatedly and forced the postponement of his inauguration for his fourth term.

He traveled to Cuba most recently in December after abruptly announcing that he needed emergency surgery for his cancer, which had returned. He underwent a six-hour surgery on Dec. 11, his fourth operation for cancer, and also underwent chemotherapy.

The details of his illness, first treated in June 2011, had been closely guarded secrets, though Venezuela’s information ministry did reveal Monday that Chávez was facing a "severe" new infection and trouble breathing.

Before heading to Cuba, Chávez designated Maduro as his preferred successor if he were no longer able to lead. Under the country's constitution, elections should take place within 30 days of a president's death. In the meantime, the vice president assumes power.

Chávez was set to be sworn in for his fourth term on Jan. 10, but in a last-minute move, and amid growing confusion over the leadership of the country, the Supreme Court ruled that Chávez could be officially inaugurated at a later date, with the expectation that his health might improve.

During his 14 years in office, Chávez transformed Venezuelan society through a leftist brand of governing that poured money into social welfare programs and offered free medical care and education to the poor, while broadly nationalizing everything from ranches to the country’s largest telecommunications company.

He famously argued once for the seizure of golf courses, too, to free up land for housing, deriding the sport as a bourgeois pastime on his weekly television program. "I respect all sports," he said. "But there are sports, and there are sports."

For many of the nation’s poor, he was a hero, and it was their support that won him reelection three times by convincing margins, even as the nation’s crime rate soared, inflation lingered above 20 percent and electricity shortages forced regular rolling blackouts.

The country’s upper class, professionals and pro-business groups vehemently opposed him, as did press freedom advocates who protested his shuttering of many news outlets and support for laws that would punish "media crimes."

His ex-wife, Marisabel Rodriguez, even campaigned against his move to eliminate presidential term limits — a battle he ultimately won in a 2009 referendum. She told The Associated Press that her intentions weren’t personal. "This struggle is against the danger posed by leaving a person in power for a long time," she said.

Chávez’s opponents did manage to topple him in a 2002 coup, though his supporters restored him to the presidency a mere 47 hours later — a shocking turn of events that burnished his legend.

In spite of his critics, he continued to garner enough support at home to win elections and, thanks to his nation’s vast oil wealth, enough power to be influential overseas.

The son of schoolteachers, Chávez was born in a small farming town in the western province of Barinas on July 28, 1958. He grew up there with several siblings, in a household that struggled to make ends meet.

As a teenager, he became a talented baseball player and landed a spot on a national team, the Criollitos de Venezuela, before earning a degree in military arts and sciences at the Military Academy of Venezuela. 

Chávez joined and quickly rose through the ranks of the country’s armed forces and eventually led an elite unit of paratroopers.

During his time in service, he became increasingly angered and vocal about his country’s vast corruption and severe economic disparities. By 1992, he had gained a following within the military and led a failed coup against President Carlos Andrés Pérez. The effort landed Chávez in jail, where he remained for two years.

Four years later, he won his first presidential election by a comfortable margin on a populist platform of radical wealth distribution, anti-corruption and anti-imperialism, becoming the youngest president in the country’s history.

After taking office he quickly began implementing his vision of nationalization, putting steel mills, farmland and massive chunks of the country’s oil industry under government ownership.

The United States was Chávez’s top political foe, and he freely and regularly railed against it in colorful televised tirades. In a 2006 speech at the United Nations, Chávez famously referred to President George W. Bush as "the devil," adding that the room "still smells like sulfur" from the American leader’s presence the day before.

He later defended his rhetoric, claiming in an interview with Time magazine that Bush had called him worse things. "Tyrant, populist dictator, drug trafficker, to name a few," Chávez said. "I'm not attacking Bush; I'm simply counterattacking."

Chavez also stirred up controversy when he began offering heating oil to poor U.S. communities at steeply discounted rates, earning praise from some U.S. politicians and disdain from others.

Tensions grew between the two nations after Chávez’s brief 2002 ouster. He swiftly laid blame on the U.S., and CIA documents uncovered nearly two years later revealed that the U.S. was in fact aware that pro-business groups and their military supporters had been plotting to topple the Venezuelan president.

Though he continued to criticize U.S. foreign policy and capitalist system after President Barack Obama took office, he had warmer feelings for the current commander-in-chief than he did for Bush. In September, he said on state TV that he would vote for Obama if he were from the U.S., adding that he hoped his comments wouldn’t prove harmful.

Chávez won his fourth reelection Oct. 7 against Henrique Capriles, who campaigned for ending crime and cutting waste. Chávez won 54 percent of the vote in what was expected to be a tighter race.

"Truthfully, this has been the perfect battle, a democratic battle," Chávez said in a victory address from the balcony of the presidential palace, as he waved a replica of the sword of Simón Bolívar, NBC News reported. "Venezuela will continue along the path of democratic and Bolivarian socialism of the 21st century.”

As Chávez’s health took a turn for the worse, questions abounded about the future of the Venezuelan president’s so-called Bolivarian revolution — inspired by Bolívar’s 19th-century revolution for freedom from the Spanish Empire — and its growing influence from Brazil and Uruguay to Argentina and Ecuador.

Fears that his death may embolden opposition groups across Latin America speak to the powerful pull he had gained in the region over his last decade and a half of life.

Chávez is survived by five children. He was married twice — first to Nancy Colmenares, whom he divorced in 1992, and later to Marisabel Rodriguez, whom he divorced in 2007. 

Dozens of animals were seized when San Diego County sheriff’s deputies discovered a cock fighting ring near Fallbrook Tuesday.

Deputies were conducting a probation search on Rainbow Glen Road at 7 a.m. when they discovered the illegal cock fighting operation.

Forty-six gaming cocks were seized along with sharp metal tools that are attached to the birds to cause more harm during the fights.

Rolando Carbajal who was listed as the primary tenant of the property was taken into custody along with 39-year-old Blanca Campos who was wanted on an unrelated outstanding warrant.
 

The San Diego man who suffered brain damage when an electronics store security guard assaulted  him after shoplifting has agreed to a settlement in his civil case.

Kevin Hoopfer stole a $35 laser pointer in September 2010 from the Fry’s Electronics in Murphy Canyon.

Attorneys for the former IT and computer repair specialist was jumped by a store security guard and thrown head-first onto the concrete, causing traumatic brain injury.

Moments before jurors were to return with damages in the civil trial, Hoopfer reached a settlement with Fry’s. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Jury foreperson Camille Davidson said that they had decided to give Hoopfer $10 million total for medical costs, pain and suffering -- plus lost earnings. Jurors had also agreed to go on to a second phase of the trial where they would decide additional punitive damages.

“We felt that the punishment did not fit the crime," said  You know, he stole an item worth less than $40. He could have been asked to come back into the store. He could have been just asked to hand it over. Anything should have happened rather than him being physically assaulted.”

She also said the jury believed the Fry’s security guard was wrong to take Hoopfer  to the ground without first asking him to give up the item.

“I frankly think that your ability to function is priceless,' Davidson said. "And so there's no amount of money that's going to be able to compensate him for the damage not only to his physical self, but to his life.”

In the lawsuit, Hoopfer’s attorneys said life-time care for her client would cost more than $5 million. The plaintiff sought an additional $20-25 million for emotional damage in addition to pain and suffering.

Hoopfer now lives in a care-home and has difficulties setting goals, planning and solving problems according to his attorney. His symptoms include headaches and depression.

Jurors had already agreed the security guard was negligent and committed assault and battery however the defense argued that Hoopfer resisted efforts to surrender the item.

Fry’s also cited expert testimony claiming that he is not actually brain damaged. The defense had offered to pay a maximum $100,000 settlement before the case went to the jury.

Instead of taking their chances with the jury, which had deliberated for three days, both sides just hours ago agreed to the confidential settlement.

State regulators ordered Aristotle University in Carlsbad to shut down or face a fine. The school must also stop enrolling students.

The Bureau for Postsecondary Education gave NBC 7 a copy of a letter they sent to Aristotle University. Read letter here

In the letter, the agency says the university has been operating without a license.

If Aristotle University does not comply, the letter states, co-founder and dean Xanthi Gionis will be fined $50,000.

A spokesperson for the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, Russ Heimerich said Gionis had not yet responded to the letter.

She did not return NBC 7’s requests for comment on the letter.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also launched an investigation into Aristotle University.

The DHS oversees the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) which manages schools and student visas.

Special agents want to know how Aristotle University was authorized to issue student visas, which they said is a stringent process.

The investigation was launched after an NBC 7 Investigates story revealed that some of the students say they used their life savings to attend the school for a Master's Degree in Public Health.

On its website, which has now been taken down, Aristotle University claimed it was licensed by the Bureau for Private Post-Secondary and Vocational Education, but a spokesperson from that bureau told NBC 7 there is no record of it ever being
licensed by the state.

Students say they attended class once a week for months, with little instruction.

Students also claim Xanthi Gionis threatened to take away their visas and have them deported if they were late on tuition payments.

Gionis challenged the allegations against the school first brought to light and reported by the NBC 7 investigation.

“The allegations against Aristotle University are ridiculous and unfounded,” she said at a news conference held last month.

The skateboarding thief who allegedly stole $460 from a San Bernardino County Girl Scout troop selling cookies was charged Wednesday with petty theft and giving false information to a police officer.

Colin Sawyer, 20, of Phelan, rolled past the scouts’ cookie stand on his skateboard Sunday and grabbed a money bag, according to witnesses. He was set to be arraigned on the two charges on Wednesday afternoon in Superior Court in Victorville.

The theft occurred as the girls were breaking down the stand for the night, after a day of selling Thin Mints, Tagalongs and other treats in front of a Stater Brothers market.

Stater Brothers shared surveillance footage from the store with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The footage revealed a clear image of Sawyer, which was published and aired across media outlets.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies spotted Sawyer at a gas station Monday night in Phelan. Upon arrest, Sawyer falsely identified himself to police before they took him into custody, prosecutors said in a complaint filed Wednesday. As a result, he now faces a second misdemeanor for giving false information to a police officer.

At his arraignment on Wednesday, Sawyer entered a plea of not guilty. 
 

A case of tuberculosis was recently reported at Montgomery Adult School in Chula Vista, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) confirmed Wednesday.

According to the HHSA, an individual at the school was recently diagnosed with TB and may have exposed students and staff. The period of exposure was from October 1, 2012, through November 13, 2012.

The HHSA says symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss. It can be treated and cured with medication.

HHSA is now working with the Sweetwater Union High School District to notify those who were potentially exposed. Free TB testing for students and staff is being offered at the school – located at 3240 Palm Ave. – on Mar. 11.

Health officials say TB is not uncommon in San Diego. Last year, a total of 234 cases were reported in the county.

For more information about the exposure, call the County of San Diego TB Control Program at (619) 692-8621.
 

A San Diego toddler was hospitalized after running out into the street and getting hit by a car Tuesday.

The boy’s father was injured when he dove into the street to try and protect his son.

At one point, the 2-year-old boy had no pulse and wasn’t breathing after the accident on Brookhaven in Bay Terraces.
A San Diego police officer began CPR.

Emergency personnel were able to get a pulse and transported the toddler to Rady’s Children Hospital.

The boy’s parents were talking in the driveway of their home around 6:30 p.m. when the boy darted out from the house and into the street.

"I could hear the impact," said the boy's grandmother Angie Fernandez.

Investigators say it appears the child’s grandmother was watching him inside the house and had opened the door just moments before the accident.

A Mercedes was traveling along Brookhaven at a normal rate but the dark street prevented the driver from seeing the child, according to San Diego police investigators.

“This is nothing more than a tragic accident. It is unfortunate but speed didn’t play a factor in this, nor did alcohol,” said SDPD Lt. David Rohowits.

Even though the 52-year-old driver will not face charges, one neighbor said the road is often used a high-speed shortcut through the area.

“Speed bumps, another stop,” said resident Vince Valdez. “Does it take the life of a kid to realize that people gotta slow down?”

The child suffered two broken arms, a broken wrist, a broken leg and a head injury. His father suffered minor injuries. Both are expected to survive the accident officials said. 

The San Diego hub managing air traffic for most of Southern California has the highest reported number of errors in the country according to a federal audit.

The report from the Department of Transportation shows mistakes by air traffic controllers in the region rose more than 473 percent from 2009 to 2010.

Ten facilities saw the largest percentage of errors, according to the audit released Feb. 27., ranging from the event of two planes arriving at the same altitude on side-by-side runways to planes arriving at unexpected altitudes or positions.

Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), based in San Diego, showed the highest increase in errors with 189 reported errors in 2010, up from 33 reported errors the year before, according to the report.

Central Florida, Houston, Miami and the Potomac facilities round out the top five facilities reporting more than or nearly twice the number of errors than the previous year.

Nationally, the number of reported operational errors overall rose 50 percent.

The SCT is the world's busiest approach control, handling more than 2 million aircraft per year including those planes flying in and out of Lindbergh Field.

Controllers are responsible for managing the 7,000 aircraft in U.S. airspace at any given time and providing instructions to pilots to maintain those standards. While staffing concerns have increased with the recent sequester cuts, the report says there are a number of factors to blame.

Improved radar and other tools as well as the implementation of a system that automatically reports errors have helped the FAA review mistakes as or soon after they occur. 

Pilot "read back" has been given greater importance. If the pilot repeats the information incorrectly and the controller doesn't catch it, that is reported as an error.

Also, the Southern California TRACON had been running under a waiver allowing landing aircraft to be closer than normally allowed. That waiver was revoked in 2010.

When explaining the staffing challenges faced by the FAA, the audit states that the agency has 16 staff members investigating these so-called "close calls" by aircraft.

Due to the recent federal budget cuts, the FAA has said it plans on closing more than 100 air traffic control towers at smaller airports nationwide.

In addition, overnight shifts at air traffic control facilities could be scrapped at three airports, including Chicago's Midway according to NBCChicago.

The audit recommended increased reporting of "separation losses" and suggested the FAA not only hire the staff needed to review all error reports but also review the effectiveness of its training.

Ian Gregor, Public Affairs Manager with FAA Pacific Region tried to put the audit in perspective.

In 2010, there were a total of 133,649,786 tower, TRACON and en route air traffic control operations he said.

A total of 1,887 errors were reported, indicating that such reports occurred in 0.001412 percent of the time according to Gregor.

The FAA released this official statement:

The FAA is committed to conducting safe operations throughout the National Airspace System. In January 2012, the FAA significantly changed the way it reports, analyzes and acts upon safety data, including the loss of separation. These changes improve the use of the Air Traffic Safety Action program (ATSAP), a non-punitive reporting system, and the Traffic Analysis and Review Program (TARP), which electronically identifies losses of separation. As a result, the FAA has seen a dramatic increase in reporting, and is now collecting unprecedented amounts of qualitative safety data through ATSAP and quantitative data from TARP. Validation and analysis have greatly enhanced the agency’s ability to identify and prioritize risk, then mitigate it through the most effective means available, including training, procedures and technological improvements.

One local business traveler was shocked by the details in the report.

"I travel every week so that puts a little fear in my skin, sure," traveler Dave Herbst said.  "I think now more than ever we're relying on air travel and it would concern me to know that there's less people capable of getting us where we need to go."

A fire sparked at an apartment building in City Heights Wednesday night, fire officials said.

The blaze began around 4 p.m. at a two-story apartment building in the 3500 block of Van Dyke Street.
When firefighters arrived, smoke and flames were stemming from an apartment on the second story.

Fire crews evacuated the building and worked to extinguish the blaze, while police provided traffic control in the area. No injuries were reported.

Officials were able to knock down the fire by 4:30 p.m. The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist several displaced residents.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Check back for updates.
 

Several roads have been blocked in the downtown area after a water main break was reported just before 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Water crews were called to 14th and F Streets in the East Village.

As a precaution, traffic on the following streets is being redirected:

• Southbound 14th Street at E Street
• Eastbound F Street at 15th Street
• G Street at 14th Street

Two weeks ago, a different water main break caused a sinkhole along F Street that shut down the road to traffic between 13th and 15th. Also, 14th Streets were closed between E and G Streets.

In that incident it was a 16-inch cast iron pipe installed in 1911 that burst according to Arian Collins with the water department.

No word yet on what caused today's water main break.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

A man accused of killing his girlfriend in National City in 2005 has been arrested more than seven years after the alleged homicide.

According to the National City Police Department, suspect Victor Hugo Sanchez, 47, was wanted in connection with the murder of his girlfriend, 36-year-old Agapita Gonzalez.

On October 24, 2005, Gonzalez’s body was discovered by family members inside her apartment on the 500 block of East 16th Street after loved ones had been unable to reach her for two days.

Investigators say her body was found in her bedroom with obvious signs of trauma.

National City detectives honed in on her boyfriend, Sanchez, early on in the 2005 investigation, but he fled to Mexico.

An arrest warrant for murder was obtained against Sanchez and the U.S. Marshals and Mexican law enforcement were notified. Ever since then, authorities have been looking for him.

Now, more than seven years later, officials have arrested Sanchez on suspicion of Gonzalez’s murder. Officials say he was taken into custody on Friday in Yucatan, Mexico.

Investigators in the U.S. received a call from Mexican authorities reporting they had detained a man matching Sanchez’s description. His identity was confirmed shortly thereafter and he was extradited back to the U.S.

Sanchez arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday and was turned over to U.S. Marshals. National City police traveled to L.A. and took custody of the fugitive, who has since been booked into San Diego Central Jail.

Sanchez is now facing a first-degree murder charge and a charge for violating parole. He’s scheduled to appear in court Mar. 13.

Authorities say this case exemplifies the importance of efficient, working relationships between the National City Police Department, U.S. Marshals and Mexican police authorities.

Working together, officers on both sides of the border were able to capture Sanchez and reopen a case that had grown cold.