Los Angeles Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro has been vocal about his team's intensity this season.

He wanted nuts. Well, he got nuts.

If a 129-97 mauling of the Pistons wasn't enough for the Clippers, DeAndre Jordan nailed down a massive dunk on Pistons guard Brandon Knight that demoralized Detroit and set social media ablaze.

With 4:30 left in the second quarter, Clippers point guard Chris Paul found Jordan open in the paint for the monster alley-oop and the foul.

The face Jordan made after the dunk has already inspired memes. The dunk photo has already been called "a crime scene" and "embarrassing." The dunk has even influenced a series of photoshopped pictorials. The havoc extended to Knight's Wikipedia page, which read, "On March 10, 2013, Knight died in a game vs. the Los Angeles Clippers. The cause of death was determined to be DeAndre Jordan."

Check out the video below to see the dunk and "the face":

Hours after the game and into the next morning, the tweets continued.

"Tonight Brandon Knight made me embarrassed to be from Detroit," New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards tweeted. "DeAndre Jordan's dunk was the best other than Vince (Carter) over the 7 footer."

"DeAndre Jordan!!!! Dayyyuummmm!! Dunk of the year," Lebron James tweeted.

Some journalists were a bit more impartial and gave the much smaller Knight some credit.

"Brandon Knight should have gotten out of the way, but as a rule I'll take the guys who aren't afraid to get dunked on over the guys who are," The National Post's Bruce Arthur tweeted.

After the game, Jordan's teammates were still in shock.

''That was the best dunk of the year and the best I've seen in person,'' Clippers star Blake Griffin said.

Last month, Knight was the victim of another thrashing. The Cavs and reigning rookie of the year Kyrie Irving crossed over during the Rising Stars Challenge in what can only be called ankle shattering.

What are your thoughts? Is Jordan's dunk the best this season? Should Knight be embarrassed?

Fire spread through a Santee home Sunday night, leaving a family without a place to stay.

Heartland Fire crews were called to the home on Ellsworth Lane around 9:30 p.m.

Heavy smoke was rising from the roof and the fire alarm could be heard from the street.

Firefighters entered the home and used an ax to open the home’s roof.

No one was injured in the fire.

Five adults and three children living in the home were in need of a place to stay as a result of the fire.

Officials have not released a cause of the fire.

Power has been restored to a Spring Valley neighborhood after a hit-and-run driver struck a utility pole.

The crash happened near the corner of Orville & Kempton Streets around 11 p.m. Sunday.

California Highway Patrol officers say the driver lost control of the vehicle and hit the pole.

When they arrived the driver was not found at the scene.

The pole fell into the street, leaving several live electrical wires lying across the road.
 

Online betting site Intrade announced late Sunday that it has stopped trading on its website after the company said it had discovered "financial irregularities."

"With sincere regret we must inform you that due to circumstances recently discovered we must immediately cease trading activity on www.intrade.com," according to a statement on Intrade's website.

Intrade -- based in Dublin, Ireland, and known for its offbeat bets on world pope culture events like the Oscars and the pending papacy vote -- was recently embroiled in controversy after regulators filed a complaint last year that accused the company of taking bets from from the U.S. without regulatory approval, according to The New York Times.  The company said it would no longer accept bets from the U.S. hours after the complaint was lobbed, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In its latest chapter, Intrade said it has "closed and settled all open contracts at fair market value as of the close of business on March 10, 2013," but it cannot make payments to members until the investigation is over.

The exchange, founded in 1999 by Irish businessman John Delaney, was a popular place for people to bet on everything from the outcome of the U.S. presidential election to Israel's airstrikes against Iran.

The website shot to fame after users correctly predicted the outcome of the 2008 U.S. presidential election, according to Time.

The San Diego City Council will vote for a $35 million Capital Improvement program aimed at addressing neighborhood needs.

The program provides funding for fire stations, libraries, street improvements, and storm water projects.

Mayor Bob Filner said city leaders see the bond money as a down payment on the vast infrastructure needs of the city.

Filner said it has been a common theme at neighborhood meetings since his election in November.

"The major question at every event we attended was about infrastructure whether it came up under potholes, whether it came up under hours the rec center will be open, whether it was the way the streets were, whether it was the water mains,” Filner said. “Whatever it was, infrastructure was the key."

As part of the program several libraries will get renovated, including Sky Hills, San Ysidro, Mission Hills, New fire station in Mission Valley.

Final action on the bond measure will take place today at 2 p.m.
 

Chicano studies educator, feminist and community activist Gracia Molina de Pick made a major donation to San Diego Mesa College Monday.

De Pick – who’s the founder of the Chicano Studies Department at Mesa College – donated $80,000 to support the school’s Chicano Studies Department and fund a lecture series that bears her name.

The donation came during the 2nd Annual Gracia Molina de Pick Feminist Lecture Series held on campus from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The lecture and panel discussion focused on Chicana activism in San Diego and honored Tommie Camarillo, a community activist and member of the Chicano Park Steering Committee.

Several other local leaders joined in Monday’s panel discussion, including Professor Dionne Espinoza, Ginna Rodriguez and Chicana artist Patricia Aguayo.
 

English "Hitchhiker's Guide" series author Douglas Adams was immortalized in a Google Doodle on Monday that celebrates his 61st birthday.

The writer is most famous for "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," which started out in 1978 as a show on BBC Radio 4. It later evolved into a cult-phenomenon science fiction "trilogy" that actually consists of five novels.

The Google Doodle includes elements from Adams' work: Marvin the Paranoid Android, a towel, which Adams wrote "is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have," and Arthur Dent's tea in "Hitchhiker's Guide."

Users can also click on the tablet resting on spaceship dashboard to reveal Easter eggs like the Babel fish language translator and the number 42, which served as a joke in the book as "the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything."

Adams died on May 11, 2001, at 49 years old.

Fire crews from all over San Diego County rushed to the Potrero community in San Diego’s Mountain Empire area Sunday to rescue a man who had fallen down a 35-foot well.

Jerry Fowler, 42, was hospitalized for head injuries he suffered after falling into his 35-foot home water well.

Fowler was knocked unconscious while trying to repair pipes inside the well at his home on Potrero Circle at around 4:15 p.m.

"They were working on pulling the pipes out of the well and the 2x4's broke and he fell straight through," said the victim's wife Jessica Fowler.

Rescue crews set-up a tripod above the well and lowered a firefighter into the hole to rescue Fowler and pulled him free around 6:18 p.m..

Rescue teams say Fowler was unconscious at first but then later, was able to communicate with them.

At one point during the "confined space" rescue mission, Cal Fire crews had to drop a pump down into the well, fearing ground water would rise up and possibly drown the victim.

"That's always a concern in this type of rescue mission,"  Cal Fire Capt. Mike Mohler said. "They had a lot of moisture down at the bottom of the well."

After two hours at the bottom of the well Fowler was finally pulled out.

He was immediately put on a gurney and provided fluids then taken to Sharp Hospital.

His wife Jessica was in tears, distraught but relieved to see medics tending to her husband.

"I lost it. I didn't look. I couldn't watch," she said. "I couldn't see him, he was all banged up."

As of Monday, Fowler remained hospitalized in critical condition, Sharp Hospital told NBC 7.

A judge overturned the wrongful conviction a man put in prison for 14 years on sex crime charges thanks to the help of students at Santa Clara University's Northern California Innocence Project who proved that DNA on a girl's T-shirt didn't belong to him.

Johnny Williams served his entire stint in a San Diego prison and was released in January. On Friday, an Alameda County Superior Court judge overturned his conviction - even after he was already a free man.

So, Williams does not get the benefit of being released from prison early, but his lawyers said that his exoneration means that his name can now be wiped clean off the sex offender's registry list.

The innocence project's supervising attorney Maitreya Badami also said Williams could be in line for a lot of money. He has to apply, but all eligible, exonerated prisoners can earn up to $100 a day for every day they wrongly spent in prison. In an interview with NBC Bay Area on Monday, Badami said that could be about $500,000, and even though it may take a long time to get it, Williams is definitely a candidate for that money.

Before his arrest 14 years ago, Williams had no prior criminal history.

Williams is now looking for work; he worked at a janitor in the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. And, according to Badami, his feelings are mixed. Badami said he feels thrilled that people can now "simply know that he's innocent and be relieved of the terrible stigma." Badami added that Williams has also been through an ordeal and now needs to put his life back together.

Williams has not yet chosen to speak publicly. But he did issue a statement: “Something terrible happened to that little girl and I hope they find the person who did it. I am thankful people finally know the truth about me so that I can rebuild my life."

This is the second innocent person the innocence project at Santa Clara County has exonerated in this year, and its 16th victory since its creation in 2001. The class at Santa Clara University also helped free Ronald Ross, 51, who was convicted in 2006 for an attempted murder, and was released at the end of February, when the judge dismissed the case.

“We are thrilled the state has recognized Johnny’s innocence and cleared his name,” said Linda Starr, the legal director for the Northern California Innocence Project. “Thus, in cases relying almost exclusively on eyewitnesses, we’ve learned that DNA evidence is the only way to conclusively prove innocence.”

Added his other attorney, Melissa Dag O'Connell: “To be convicted of such a terrible crime and spend 14 years in prison, labeled a sex offender, is a nightmare most people could never imagine. Without DNA evidence, we would not have been able to prove his innocence.”

On Sept, 28, 1998, a man who called himself “Johnny” sexually accosted a 9-year-old girl as she walked home from school. The next day, while walking in the same area, the same man attempted to rape her.

Williams was a former neighbor of the girl and familiar with her family. When the girl first reported the assault she did not say she knew the attacker, which suggested a stranger.

However, people who knew the girl suggested to police that “Johnny” may be Williams, according to the Innocence Project.

One week after the attack, Oakland police collected the clothes the girl was wearing during the assault. Forensic tests at the time of trial were unable to confirm biological evidence and no DNA testing was performed. On June 8, 2000, Williams was convicted of two counts of forcible lewd conduct against a child and one count of attempted rape.

Last year, the Northern California Innocence Project, with the assistance of California DNA Project, re-tested the girl’s T-shirt. Investigators found enough biological material to yield a complete male DNA profile that conclusively excluded Williams as the perpetrator. According to Badami, while the results showed the DNA to belong to a man, that man's DNA was not in any criminal database to compare it to.

Williams’ exoneration was made possible by a grant which paid for the costs of retesting, which the innocence project wanted to highlight and add that the funding, unfortunately, is set to expire in September.

Whoever is elected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI will be taking on the awesome responsibility of leading a church with more than 1 billion followers, a job that comes with eight official titles — none of them "Pope."

To hear Dr. Terrence W. Tilley, Chair of the Theology Department at Fordham University, tell it, calling the pope "pope" is a little like calling your CEO "chief."

"'Pope' comes from the Italian 'papa,'" explains Tilley. "It's actually a colloquial term rather than a formal term. In America, we often use the phrase, especially the bishops — 'Holy Father,' 'Sancta Papa,' — which is where you get 'Pope.'"

The pope's proper title, according to the Vatican's website, is Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the State of Vatican City, Servant of the Servants of God.

What does it all mean?

Bishop of Rome
"Bishop" comes from the Greek "episcopas," meaning "overseer," and Rome of course being HQ for the Catholic Church. The term "pope," or "papa," didn’t emerge until later.

St. Peter is considered by many to be the first Bishop of Rome, but Father Raymond Schroth of America Magazine says there is a fair amount of doubt surrounding that claim.

"Raymond Brown was the best scripture scholar we had, and he's written several things on this. (He) said it would be a mistake to say that Peter was the first pope, as if he were the founder of the church. That's an exaggeration. The evidence for Peter's presence in Rome is not airtight — that's a nice way of putting it. They have a tomb under St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, where it's believed that St. Peter is buried. But, you know, it took 'em a long time to find the grave," says Schroth with a laugh.

Vicar of Jesus Christ, aka Vicar of Christ
"A less formal title that is rooted in his primacy," says Tilley. "That is, his political headship of the universal church. So a vicar would be something like a vice regent. I believe it is a medieval or early modern title."

Successor of the Prince of the Apostles
Another direct reference to St. Peter, who was deemed Prince of the Apostles on the strength of Jesus declaring in Matthew 16:18, "That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." Another dubious claim, according to Schroth.

"Historically, this is a stretch, in the sense that the evidence is not there that Peter was the first leader of the church," says Schroth. "If you said to Peter, if you were to flash back in history and say, 'Are you the pope?,' he wouldn’t know what you were talking about. That term 'pope' did not come along for another couple hundred of years.

"This is a baroque title. It's one of those 'let's puff up the pope' titles," concedes Tilley.

Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church
The word "pontiff" comes from the Latin "pontifex," meaning "bridge-builder." "Pontifex maximus" was the great bridge-builder of ancient Rome, a title held by the likes of Julius Caesar. Tilley believes the title was assumed by the Bishop of Rome post-Reformation, as an assertion of his "juridical and communicative status."

"More hierarchical jargon that keeps emphasizing that he's the number one guy," says Schroth. "What I think is implied (by Universal) is that this includes the Greek Catholic Church — not the Orthodox — as well as the Roman Catholic. They don’t call themselves Roman Catholics, but they are Catholics, and they acknowledge the sovereignty of the Bishop of Rome... It's power talk."

Primate of Italy
Nothing to do with monkeys. Like with any massive bureaucracy, the Catholic Church has layer upon layer of jurisdictions, and this title affirms the pope's status among the other bishops in his home country.

"A 'primate' is the head — or the 'primus,' the first one — of a region of the world. So the 'primate of Italy' says that he is the first in line of the Italian bishops," says Tilley. "As primate of Italy, he is the number one bishop of Italy... So when the Italian cardinals meet, he would be in charge of the cardinals."

Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province
Yet another layer. The universal church is divided into regions, for which there are primates, and then the diocese, for which there is the "archbishop and metropolitan" (in this instance "metropolitan" is a noun, not an adjective) — think Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.

Sovereign of the State of Vatican City
"He's a king! He's a king of 29 acres," says Tilley. "In previous centuries, the pope was the sovereign of the papal states, so they had political jurisdiction over much of central Italy."

Following the unification of Italy in 1870, Vatican City's status — "The Roman Question" — was up in the air until the Lateran Treaty of 1929 established it as a sovereign state within Benito Mussolini's Italy.

Servant of the Servants of God
From the Latin "Servus servorum Dei" and rooted in Matthew 20:26-27, which says, "whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant."

"That's a great title, because it's the most biblical — it's probably the only biblical one," says Schroth. "At the Last Supper, Jesus gets down on his knees and washes the feet of the 12. He's saying, 'I'm trying to show you something: you're servants.' And there are plenty of these little incidents in the Gospels.

"The apostles think this is a power trip. They think Jesus is going to be made king or messiah or have some earthly power. And they want jobs in the administration. One guy sends his mother, the mother of James and John, and she says to Jesus, 'Take care of my boys when you come into power.' And he says, 'We'll see how well they take persecution.' The apostles are not perfect in that they have certain ambitions, and he's trying, up to the very end, to teach them to get over it."

The San Diego Humane Society (SDHS) is looking for the suspect responsible for shooting and killing a two-year-old female pit bull last month in El Cajon.

According to the SDHS, the dog was fatally shot in early February in the 500 block of Millar Avenue. Officials said a resident in the area had heard gunfire and saw the dog collapse. When police arrived, they found the dog dead at the scene.

The person responsible for killing the dog and the dog’s owner have not been located.

SDHS and SPCA director of Humane Law Enforcement Randy Lawrence said the dog “had no collar, but appeared well cared for.”

Investigators say the dog is a medium-sized, tan and white female pit bull mix.

Lawrence says SDHS investigators are now working with the El Cajon Police Department to find the shooting suspect and dog’s owner. Officials are asking anyone with information on this case to contact the SDHS at (619) 243-3466 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

A $1,000 reward is being offered by Crime Stoppers for any information that leads to an arrest in this case of animal cruelty.
 

The oaths of secrecy, locked doors and smoke signals that give modern papal elections an air of intrigue trace their roots back to a political solution much more practical than mysterious.

Their origins date back more than 700 years to a papal election that dragged on so long that two cardinals died before a successor was selected.

The chaos of that election prompted a series of reforms, which, after a few bumps — a Papal Schism, monarchial meddling and a string of "secret" elections tainted by blatant leaks — ultimately formed the more orderly foundation of modern conclaves.

RATIONING AND UNROOFING
When Pope Clement IV died in 1268, partisan cardinals were unable to muster the requisite two-thirds majority to elect a successor — leaving the seat of the Supreme Pontiff vacant for nearly three years.

Frustrated by the enduring deadlock, citizens of Viterbo, Italy, where the cardinals were gathered, sealed the doors of their meeting place and drastically restricted the voters' food supply in an effort to hasten their decision-making. As weeks passed, a crowd went a step further to "unroof" the building, presumably hoping exposure to the elements might expedite consensus.

Eventually, Pope Gregory X was named — but not before two cardinals died and another left because of poor health.

Inspired by the lockdown's success and eager to limit outside influence, which often made for rocky transitions of papal power, Gregory introduced new election procedures in a charter that set the foundation for modern-day conclaves.

Under his decree, all cardinals would be barricaded in a voting room and forced to share sleeping quarters until they could achieve a two-thirds vote. Under threat of excommunication, no one was permitted to leak or receive messages from the outside world. If after three days a pope had not been elected, food rations would be reduced.

(A number of present-day conclave procedures, from the use of cell phone jamming devices to the tradition of burning ballots and emitting those famous smoke signals, are tied to Gregory's efforts to curb information leaks.)

Gregory's reforms at least initially expedited elections. But they were no match for some of the corruption that would later find its way into the papacy.

ANGRY MOBS
In 1309, the papacy relocated to Avignon. But by 1377, Romans, eager to see a local pope return the papacy to their hometown, gathered outside the Lateran Palace, where cardinals were voting for a successor, and chanted their demands.

In the end, the cardinals picked Urban VI — an Italian, though not a Roman. Fearful that the crowds might not like the selection, cardinals discussed ushering him out through a back door and presenting the crowd with a well-known elderly Roman cardinal in papal robes, in the elected pope's stead. Some accounts indicate that the cardinals actually carried out their plot.

Shortly after Urban's reign began, cardinals who came to believe they had elected an insane pope ordered new elections. Pope Clement VII was selected, but Urban clung to power. He and Clement excommunicated each other, divided the church and ushered in decades of utter confusion amid what became known as the Papal Schism.

LEAKS, BETS AND POLITICKING
The papal conclave of 1549 to 1550 had all the signs of corruption Gregory X's decree had aimed to stamp out.

The conclave dragged on for weeks. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King Henry II of France had their favorites and did everything they could to sway the vote, with Henry threatening to pull funding if the pick weren't to his liking. After voting began and France’s ambassador saw it didn't favor his country, he convinced authorities to halt voting until several French cardinals still en route had arrived.

Even after the missing cardinals had trickled in, the process was delayed once again — after a cardinal died in the conclave of possible poisoning. Meanwhile, bookmakers in Rome were solidifying their bets on the outcome — something that was legal and commonplace at the time.

Thanks to a compromise, an Italian named Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte won out as pope. He took the name of Julius III.

The election of Pope Julius III was one of the best-reported conclaves ever, thanks to the incessant leaks both into and out of the "secret" proceedings, according to history professor and "Behind Locked Doors: A History of the Papal Elections" author Frédéric J. Baumgartner.

"For one thing, the ambassadors were allowed to enter the conclave," Baumgartner said. "They could bring in information and carry out information to their kings. On top of that, conclavists were in close touch with the bookies of Rome."

More than a dozen seal lion pups have been rescued along San Diego’s coastline in just the past week.

Ten of those rescues occurred in the last 48 hours.

Another sea lion pup wandered ashore in Mission Beach Sunday night.

Around 10:30 p.m., the pup was spotted sitting on the steps at El Carmel Place on the boardwalk.

Sea lion pups have been landing on our shores in large numbers lately. Many have required medical attention.

In the past week, SeaWorld San Diego's rescue team has been called to pick up 16 injured pups.

Ten of those calls came in this weekend alone.

An NBC 7 San Diego news crew captured another rescue Saturday.

A small sea lion appeared to be stranded on the sand between a trashcan and boardwalk wall near Zanzibar Court at around 7 a.m.

“This has been happening quite often,” explained SeaWorld San Diego Rescue Specialist Heather Ruce. “We’ve been seeing this a lot lately -- malnourished, emaciated, dehydrated, sometimes injured sea lions.”

Ruce said specialists have noticed a large number of pup rescues when the weather is rainy and the waves are choppy and rough.

She said many pups become tired in the water and come up to the beach for a break.

Anyone who comes across a stranded sea lion or seal can call SeaWorld rescuers at 1-800-541-SEAL.
 

Several people were injured when they jumped from windows in an East Village fire.

Fire destroyed the second story in a three-story residential hotel on 9th and Island around 2 a.m. Monday.

Firefighters say they found thick smoke when they arrived at the Hotel Heritage that officials described as an extended-stay hotel.

“It was pretty scary, very scary. I had to walk down a hallway filled with smoke and I was bending over and I got outside and I could breathe again,” said resident Bob Russum.

He said some people jumped out the side windows along the alley.

Six people were transported to a nearby hospital. Three of them for injuries suffered after jumping from windows. Three others suffered smoke inhalation according to San Diego Fire Rescue spokesperson Maurice Luque.

Luque said as the fire progressed, there was a lot of panic among the occupants of the hotel.

“We know the fire was accidental. We know that from talking to the person who was living in the unit where the fire originated,” Luque said. “There are a couple of possibilities as to what caused the fire.”

It took fire crews 20 minutes to put out the fire. The first floor suffered a lot of water damage officials said.

More than a dozen people have been displaced. The San Diego chapter of the American Red Cross has arrived on scene to help those who can't go back inside their rooms.

Check back for updates on this developing story.
 

Friends and local sailors are deeply saddened over the loss of a local, 36-year-old man killed in a sailboat racing accident off San Clemente Island.

On Friday night, Silver Gate Yacht Club member Craig Williams was killed aboard a 30-foot sailboat competing in the Southern California Islands Race.

The 32-foot sailboat – named “Uncontrollable Urge” -- experienced rudder failure around 9:30 p.m. As the crew, which included Williams and five others, tried to anchor and launch a life raft, they drifted closer to the island located southwest of Catalina off the coast of Southern California.

The sailboat was eventually ripped apart by rocks and waves in an 8-foot surf and the crew was forced to abandon the vessel.

San Diego-based U.S. Coast Guard crews had launched a rescue mission to save the crew, eventually pulling the six sailors from the water.

Williams was among the crew, and was the only person who died in the sailing accident. Officials say he was found unresponsive in the water.

Five surviving sailors were rescued from the surf in hazardous weather conditions caused by a powerful winter storm. They were treated and released from the hospital.

“[The rescue was captured] all on night-vision goggles and infrared camera, which we use to help locate the people. The winds were quite stiff for down here in Southern California – 25 to 30-knots out of the west and the seas were anywhere from six to eight feet,” explained John Bartel with the USCG.

The “Uncontrollable Urge” is a Columbia Carbon 32 owned and skippered by James Gilmore of the Silver Gate Yacht Club on Shelter Island. The day before the race, Gilmore posted updates on Twitter about taking his new boat out on the water.

Williams, also a member of the Silver Gate Yacht Club, owned his own boat named “Uproarious.”

Family and friends spoke to NBC 7 about Williams Saturday night, saying they would forever remember him as an avid sailor and devoted father and husband.

Loved ones say Williams, an architect who lived in Serra Mesa, was taken much too soon doing what he loved.

Silver Gate Yacht Club commodore Carey Storm said Williams was an important part of the local club.

“He was a very integral member of our yacht club and it’s a tragic loss,” said Storm.

Chuck Hope of the San Diego Yacht Club told NBC 7 the loss of Williams is a devastating blow to the local sailing community.

“These guys take their sport very seriously and there are risks involved and they don’t take losing a sailor lightly,” said Hope.

Besides his passion for sailing, friends told NBC 7 Williams was a dedicated husband and father to a two-year-old daughter. He was anticipating the birth of his second child due this summer.

Following the tragic sailing accident, the Island Race website posted the following message to their homepage: “Our deepest sympathies and prayers go out to the crew and family of the Uncontrollable Urge.”

The website released the names of the five surviving sailors aboard the vessel, which included owner and skipper James Gilmore and sailors Mike Skillicorn, Doug Pajak, Ryan Georgianna and Vince Valdes.

On Sunday, Gilmore, the owner and skipper of the “Uncontrollable Urge” posted the following message to the San Diego Yacht Club website:

“As we try to piece together the horrific events of Friday night and early Saturday morning, the crew of Uncontrollable Urge wants to express their appreciation for the support of the sailing and land-based communities at this difficult time. We are all grieving and share in the loss of this loved family man and team member. There are no words to express how much Craig meant to each of us, and we know how much his loss is felt in the Williams family. We would also like to thank the US Coast Guard for their assistance and professionalism. Without their heroism, the outcome of this tragedy would have been much worse.”

Meanwhile, the Silver Gate Yach Club website posted the following message about the accident:

“This is a very difficult time for the Williams family, the skipper of Uncontrollable Urge and the other surviving crew members. Silver Gate Yacht Club and the entire Southern California racing community is a close family, and the loss of one of our members impacts us all greatly. Our thoughts and prayers are with all who have been impacted by this tragic occurrence and we will continue to offer support and provide whatever privacy we can for them during this trying time.”

The Silver Gate Yacht Club has established a memorial fund for the Williams family. Those who wish to donate can do so by visiting this webpage.

As of Sunday, dozens of donations had been made to the Williams family memorial fund. The donations were accompanied by touching online posts from friends mourning the loss of Williams, whom they regarded as a good friend and mentor.

Some of the posts read:

“Craig I'm gonna miss you. All those talks we had about sailing, races we'd love to do on Uproarious, that voice mail I left you before I found out... I'll always be waiting for that return call from you.”

"You will be in our hearts forever, you are missed. As always, remain Committed To Excellence! We love you."

"Words are insufficient to express the sorrow this community feels for your loss."

“Craig, I am going to miss you. You taught me a lot about racing, and opened my eyes to lifestyles that I can have to maintain sailing in my life. Thanks for having me on board.”

This marks the second fatal sailboat racing accident in our region in less than one year.

Last April, four sailors were killed in a sailboat race from Newport to Ensenada. Parts of that vessel were found scattered near the Coronado Islands.

When it comes to condors, keepers at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park know what they’re doing.

Over the years, Safari Park has taken the lead in a condor breeding program designed to bring more condors to the wild.

According to park officials, when the California Condor Recovery Program began in the 1980s, there were only 22 condors left in the world.

Since then, the Safari Park has hatched 173 condor chicks and released more than 80 birds into the wild, adding to the species population.

Today, park experts say there are nearly 400 California condors, half of which are flying free at release sites in Baja California, Mexico, California and Arizona.

On Monday, Safari Park’s senior condor keeper Ron Webb was photographed as he examined a condor egg on the brink of hatching (pictured below; photo by Ken Bohn). Using a technique known as “candling,” Webb is able to closely examine the egg using a bright, warm light.

The egg is part of the park’s successful condor breeding program.

Park officials say Webb has been working with California condors for more than 15 years. He’s able to monitor growth and development of blood vessels, and gauge when a chick will be able to break through their egg.

Webb says the egg he examined on Monday will hatch in about 21 days.

The park saw the first condor birth of the current season on Feb. 24, when “Wesa” (pictured above) was born.

Since then, keepers say Wesa has been growing strong, maintaining a healthy weight and quite an appetite. Keepers say the two-week-old condor eats up to 15 mice each day.

Webb has been monitoring the baby condor, puppet-rearing the chick as part of preparing Wesa to be released into the wild one day. In the photo above, Wesa cuddles up to a condor puppet.

“The puppet is like a fancy glove”, said Webb. “It covers our hands so the chick does not get any beneficial experiences from people. We do not want it imprinting on people or getting used to us when it goes out into the wild. We want it to be a nice, wild animal, not relying on people for food.”
 

Several book signings by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick have been canceled due to threats of violence against Vick and his family, according to a family spokesperson.

Vick was scheduled to sign copies of his book “Michael Vick: Finally Free” at Barnes and Noble stores in Atlanta, New Jersey and Exton, Pa. All three appearances have been canceled however because of safety concerns.

“This was a joint decision between Michael Vick’s advisers and the publisher,” said Vick family spokesman Chris Shigas. “They were canceled because of a recent uptick in credible threats of violence against Michael Vick, his family, the bookstores and the book store employees.”

Shigas claims multiple threats were made, with some even being posted on Vick’s Facebook page.

“There just seemed to be a collective, very few extremists who were noting the time and the place where these events would be,” said Shigas. “They were working to gather support to commit acts of violence.”

Police continue to investigate the threats.

“We’re going to work with authorities and we’re confident that they’re taken the threat seriously and that they’ll investigate it accordingly,” said Shigas.

Byron Williamson, the President of Worthy Publishing, the company that published Vick’s book, also told Philadelphia Magazine the following:

While we stand by Michael Vick’s right to free speech and the retailers’ right to free commerce, we cannot knowingly put anyone in harm’s way, and therefore we must announce the cancellation of Mr. Vick’s book-signing appearances. We’ve been assured these threats of violence, which have been reported to the police, are being taken very seriously by local authorities.