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Sportscaster: "I Was in Bad Shape"

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A San Diego television sportscaster described the February shooting outside his Scripps Ranch home and how, after he saw holes in his clothing, he realized he was "in bad shape" and crawled for 50 feet to get help.

Kyle Kraska said a man he had hired to paint his house threatened him in the days before the Feb. 10 shooting. 

It was Mike Montana who approached his silver Mercedes and told him, “You should’ve paid me my $2,200,” the KFMB-TV sportscaster testified.

Kraska said Montana walked around the vehicle, aiming a gun and firing several times.

When he saw bullets piercing the hood of the car, Kraska said he realized he was in terrible danger.

Several gunshots shattered the back window of Kraska's car's in the cul-de-sac south of Scripps Ranch Parkway.

“I looked down and saw holes in my clothing. I saw blood,” Kraska testified explaining how he ducked for cover and tried to keep the car between himself and the shooter.

“I was hoping he would run out of bullets at some point,” Kraska said.

After the shooting stopped, Kraska said he crawled 50 or 60 feet to another road to try and flag down someone to help.

On Tuesday, Michael Montana, 54, sat in a downtown San Diego courtroom and listened to Kraska’s testimony in a preliminary hearing.

He was taken into custody hours after the shooting. A countywide manhunt led investigators to an El Cajon home where Montana was arrested after a SWAT standoff.

Montana faces charges of first degree attempted murder with allegations the crime was premeditated, as well as charges of making a criminal threat and shooting at an inhabited vehicle.

On Tuesday, prosecutors entered a note into evidence that was left under Kraska’s front doormat in early February.

The note was signed by Montana and said, in part, “The work is good enough for you to keep using it. It’s in your best interest to pay me the money you owe me."

Kraska had agreed to pay Montana $2,200 once his house was painted. However, Kraska says Montana quit before finishing the work.

The sportscaster testified he had advanced $800 for supplies to Montana but refused to give him any more money in advance.

"The quality of the work was not what I expected,” Kraska said describing overspray on the lawn and trees as well as equipment that didn’t work properly.

Under cross-examination, Kraska said he could be considered an overly-particular person.

He also said he selected Montana to paint his home because he felt he needed the work and seemed enthusiastic about the job.

Kraska in the hospital for approximately six weeks and had to undergo a second round of surgery for a heart condition brought on by the gunshot wounds.

Montana has pleaded not guilty. If he is held over for trial, he will face 38 years and four months in prison if convicted.



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Road Rage Suspect Told Ex She’d Run Him Over: Docs

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A San Diego woman accused of intentionally running over a motorcyclist in a deadly act of road rage allegedly once told an ex she was going to run him over with her car, according to a temporary restraining order filed against her.

Imperial Beach resident Darla Jackson, 26, was arraigned Tuesday on one count of murder in connection with the death of motorcyclist Zacharia Buob, 39 – a Navy Chief Petty Officer.

On May 28, Jackson was driving her black Nissan Altima on northbound Interstate 5 near E Street in Chula Vista when officials said she got into some type of dispute on the roadway Buob, who was on his motorcycle.

After the two drivers transitioned from I-5 to eastbound State Route 54 and passed National City Boulevard, Jackson allegedly intentionally hit Buob’s motorcycle, running him over, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Buob was critically injured in the crash and died a short time later at a local hospital. Jackson was arrested and charged with murder in what investigators are calling an act of road rage.

According to a domestic violence report and restraining order filed against Jackson by an ex-boyfriend, she has a history of abuse that includes a July 2012 incident in which she allegedly tried to run over her ex with her car after they got into an argument.

“As I was getting out, the Respondent [Jackson] put the car in the wrong gear causing the car to make a thud sound. The Respondent accused me of kicking her car. I told the Respondent, “I did not kick your car.” I began to talk away and the Respondent told me, “I’m going to run your b**cha** over with my car,” the document reads.

The restraining order goes on to say Jackson began driving toward her ex as he ran away.

“The Respondent still proceeded to come at me and I pushed myself off her hood,” the document said. “I proceeded to run and I eventually jumped over a fence to get away.”

In the document, Jackson’s ex claims she called him more than 200 times and left more than 100 text messages for him after he told her to leave him alone. He said she threatened to kill him, said she would get him fired from his job and allegedly said she was going to hurt herself and then tell police he had hurt her.

The restraining order said Jackson allegedly showed up at her ex-boyfriend’s work unannounced and caused a scene. His supervisor called police.

After that incident, Jackson allegedly continued to call and text the ex, forcing him to have to change his phone number.

“The Respondent calls me continuously after I tell her to leave me alone. The Respondent calls hundreds of times. It got to the point where I had to change my phone number,” the restraining order stated. “The Respondent threatens to kill me and threatens to ruin my life.”

NBC 7 also obtained a temporary restraining order filed against Jackson by a second ex-boyfriend who claimed Jackson harassed him as well with multiple calls and text messages in September 2012.

In one instance, the ex said Jackson called 72 times and left threatening voicemails stating “I’m going to hurt you,” “I’m dead” and “I’m going to damage your property.”

That document also said Jackson drove by her ex-boyfriend’s father’s home and keyed the father’s car with profane language and that she also tried to climb through the window of the ex’s room when he wasn’t home.

When the ex’s brother saw Jackson trying to climb in, the restraining order said she ran outside and screamed, “I’m just getting started.”

“The Respondent continues to call and text me telling me I do not know who I’m messing with and that she doesn’t care that my family is around,” said the document. “Respondent also stated that she will come to my workplace and damage my property.”

Jackson was arraigned Tuesday in San Diego and a judge set her bail at $1 million.

Earlier in the day, Buob’s mother, Kathy Buob, told NBC 7 she had no comment on the accused road rage driver. Instead, Kathy released a statement about her son, including details on his time as a Navy service member and how friends and family loved his smile, humor and quick wit.
 


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Cop Stole Dead Man's Credit Card

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An NYPD officer is accused of stealing credit card information from a dead man she'd been asked to check on and using it to purchase a diamond ring, authorities say. 

The accused officer, 30-year-old Ymmacula Pierre, was on the job when she went to an apartment building on East 14th Street in Union Square last July to conduct a wellness check requested by the tenant's family, prosecutors said.

It turned out the man who lived there, 65-year-old Ken Sanden, had passed away. After notifying the man's family, Pierre obtained his credit card information and then allegedly bought a $3,200 diamond ring from Zales two days later.

She was arrested Tuesday after months of investigation following the credit card fraud last year. 

Pierre, who has been on the force for three years, was charged with possession of stolen property, identity theft and official misconduct. She pleaded not guilty in court.

The NYPD said the officer is currently suspended without pay for 30 days.

There was no response at her official address in West Hempstead Tuesday, but her lawyer told reporters at court his client is a good person. 


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Texas Politicians Question Stricter Flood Control Standards

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In the months before deadly flooding in Texas killed at least 24 people, some of the state's politicians objected to the imposition of stricter building standards for federally-funded projects in floodplains.

Engineers said that such standards are needed if taxpayer money is not to be flushed away in the next flood. 

An executive order from President Barack Obama, which has not yet been put into effect, substitutes a tougher flood risk standard when federal money is used to build or rebuild in the flood-prone areas.

U.S. representatives from Texas and elsewhere questioned how the order came about and whether as a result the administration's action is legal.

And if the order takes effect, many communities would be ineligible for such federal programs as port development projects, hazard mitigation grants and federally backed mortgages, the critics argue. 

“The negative impact would likely dry up economic investment in these areas,” read an April 22 letter from 55 members of the House, including Rep. Pete Olson, a Republican whose district borders Houston, and 12 others from Texas.

An earlier letter signed by eight U.S. senators, including Texas Republican John Cornyn, similarly criticized the procedure that was followed in Obama's executive order.

But flood control experts said the more stringent standards are necessary to ensure that rebuilding in Texas is more resilient to future flooding, especially as the state asks for costly federal aid. Obama has already declared the recent flooding a disaster and promised that requests for aid would be expedited.

“Taxpayers are going to be asked, yet again, for disaster assistance funds to repair and rebuild,” said Chad Berginnis, the executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers in Madison, Wisconsin. "If the new standard was in place for this event and for all future events, we could ensure that the American public is getting a much better return on investment."

No Statewide Floodplain Management Plan

Texas received a “D” in flood control in a 2012 report on its infrastructure by the state’s section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. It ranks among the top states in the country in dollars paid for flood claims — behind Louisiana and New Jersey and ahead of New York and Florida. But it still has no statewide floodplain management plan. Flood mitigation is divided among three state agencies, none of which has full authority to implement capital projects or manage the state’s 23 river basins.

The report warns that the population of Texas is expected to double in the next 30 to 40 years and development in the floodplains will likely increase, both of houses and commercial developments near the state’s streams, rivers and lakes and along the Gulf of Mexico.

Texas is also not a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program, though many of its communities are, the report notes. Standard homeowners insurance does not cover flooding but residents can get insurance through the program provided their community participates. In return communities agree to meet or exceed Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements for reducing the risk of flooding.

Between 1978 and 2011, the FEMA paid nearly $5.5 billion in payments for 237,251 flood loss claims in Texas — payments that accounted for more than 13 percent of the total dollars paid in the country.

What Obama's Order Says

The executive order, dated Jan. 30, grew out of the country’s response to superstorm Sandy, part of the president’s plan to improve the country’s ability to withstanding flooding and prepare for the effects of climate change.

Federal agencies are directed to select one of three approaches for establishing flood risk: using data that integrate current and future changes in flooding based on science, setting the hazard area at 2 or 3 feet above a 100-year flood elevation or setting it at a 500-year flood elevation.

The executive order now in effect, which was issued by President Jimmy Carter, directs federal agencies to avoid the adverse effects of building on floodplains and to choose an alternative when possible.

The new standard for the first time asks agencies to consider climate change and future development conditions when choosing a protection standard, Berginnis noted. Flood maps have traditionally used past and current data as well as historical flood records, he said. But as methods improve -- for example the ability to better predict sea level rise has gotten better over the last decade -- agencies might want to use the best available climate science approach, he said.

“This hits at a rather interesting irony: How folks that are fiscal conservatives could argue against a higher flood risk management standard for things such as disaster aid and other federal actions?” Berginnis said. “Shouldn’t we be safeguarding taxpayer funds and making sure that when they’re invested in rebuilding, that they’re invested wisely?”

Rebuilding after Sandy was not impeded by tougher standards put in place for areas hit by the storm, he said. And though a tougher standard will be more expensive to start, insurance will be cheaper, buildings will be more resilient and federal funds will likely be available for improvements, he said.

A spokeswoman for Olson, Melissa Kelly, said that he was not opposed to federal standards for flood management, but the way that the executive order was put in place. Olson thinks communities that are directly affected should have a say in any changes made, she said.

He and the other lawmakers said the administration should have gotten opinions from governors, mayors and others before drafting the order — as ordered to by Congress.

Sessions to gather public comments, including from governors and mayors, were held through March and April and guidelines for executing the order are now being revised. Agencies will not make changes to existing regulations until the federal Water Resources Council issues amended guidelines.

The Fort Bend County judge, Robert Hebert, the county’s top administrative official, said that the county’s levees held up well during the rains. They were built to federal standards but with local tax money and are maintained with local funds.

“This executive order as proposed, it’s very unclear as to how it would be applied,” said Hebert, who has written to FEMA with his concerns that the new standards will go beyond federal construction to encompass disaster preparedness assistance, federal highway aid and other funding.

If the tougher standard is applied only to federal property, he said he had no objections.

"But it doesn't say that," he said. "It doesn't restrict the order to that function."

Rebuilding on Floodplains

Carol Ellinger Haddock, the senior assistant director in Houston’s Infrastructure Planning Branch, was part of a team reporting on the need for a national strategy for flood risk management. The federal government is very good at helping people recover from floods, she said.

“But the opposite of that is all the land use decisions are made at the local level," she said.

Decisions on where buildings can be constructed in flood-prone areas and how are set at the local level and those can vary between communities, she said. Texas has to balance property taxes and other benefits from building with keeping people and buildings safe.

"When the flood comes, it doesn’t respect political boundaries," she said.

A strong attachment to private property rights has gotten the United States into a cycle of spiraling flooding losses, said Nicholas Pinter, who in August will join the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Mitigation is far more expensive than avoiding floodplains in the first place, he said.

“This is a not a short-term problem in Texas, this is a nation-wide imbalance,” he said. “This is the history of our development, management of our floodplains.”

After massive flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in 1993, the country spent $87 million in taxpayer funds to remove flooded structures, and stayed off the floodplain for three to five years, he said. But 10 years later, $2.2 billion of new infrastructure had been built on land that was under water.

“That’s the problem, it’s one step forward, two steps back,” he said.



Photo Credit: Michael Crane

Dad's Anti-Shaming Video Goes Viral

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A Fort Lauderdale, Florida, dad turned tables on parents publicly shaming their children by posting a parody of the "kid shaming" videos. 

When Wayman Gresham sits his son Isaiah down and pulls out the clippers, it's easy to assume he's about to give him the "old man haircut."

"I'm here to teach my son a lesson," Gresham says. "I'm pretty sure you've seen many videos with parents cutting their kids hair. And today, I think I'm going to follow suit."

Instead, Gresham flips the script and delivers a surprising and heartfelt message that's anti-shaming and pro-loving.

It's time for me to discipline my kid the tough way! Why? I don't play that!

Posted by Wayman Gresham on Wednesday, May 27, 2015

As Gresham turns on the clippers to give Isaiah what he calls the "bald head messed up haircut challenge" he stops, instructs young Isaiah to sit up, and gives him a loving embrace saying "the devil is a lie."

As the young man giggles and walks out of view, Gresham says, "There is no way in the world I would ever embarrass my son like that. It doesn't take all of that. Good parenting starts before he even gets to the point of being out of control."

Gresham stresses that parenting starts with getting up in the middle of the night and praying for your child, telling your child you love them, and "showing them the way by example."

He noted his lack of profanity, and the fact that he never put his son down.

Gresham's anti-shaming message appears to be resonating with many people. Since it was posted to Facebook on May 27th, the video has been liked more than 275 thousand times, has more than 500 thousand shares and has racked up 19 million views and counting.

Dr. Barbara Greenberg, an adolescent and family psychologist, told Today.com that public humiliation and shame are not effective in teaching children worthwhile and meaningful lessons.

"Kudos to the father who did the parody. Love and warmth are much better teaching tools," added Greenberg.



Photo Credit: Facebook: Wayman Gresham

Biker Gang Arrests "a Sham": Couple

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A Texas husband and wife said they're both outraged and relieved to be out of jail more than two weeks after they were arrested at a Waco restaurant following a deadly biker shootout there.

William English, 33, and his wife Morgan, 30, were among the 177 people arrested after a shootout between biker gangs and police left nine people dead and 18 more injured at a Twin Peaks restaurant May 17. 

William, who said he went to the restaurant for a monthly meeting to talk about Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, told KCEN-TV in Central Texas the meeting put him in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"This whole thing is a sham," William said. "My wife and I are presumed guilty until innocent, which is not the way our due process should be."

Both were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, a felony that carries a penalty of 15 years to life in prison, according to their attorney. The couple bonded out of jail 16 days later. 

"I'm kind of upset we had to pay to get out of jail when we did nothing wrong," William said.

When the shooting started, Morgan said she and her husband took cover.

"[William] had me completely shielded and protected," she said.

After the shooting ended, authorities began sorting through the injured and dead at the restaurant. Police then began arresting people and taking them to the McLennan County Jail, which Morgan said was the worst part for her.

"It's just violating, because I had to be searched in front of all these men," she said. "In my head, I'm thinking, 'I did nothing wrong. Why are you treating me the same way as some of these women who committed horrible crimes?'"

The attorney for the Englishes agreed to represent them for free. He had their bail reduced from $1 million to $25,000. Each paid $2,500 to bond out of jail June 1.

"My lawyer came and he said, 'You're getting out,'" Morgan said. "It was the best feeling I'd ever had, because it was just inhumane how we were treated."



Photo Credit: NBC 5 News/McLennan County Sheriff's Office

Caltrans Proposed Raising Speed Limit on Coronado

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Homeowners are taking on Caltrans in a speed limit debate involving two dangerous streets marking the main entrance and exit to and from Coronado.

Caltrans plans to increase the speed limit from 25 mph to 30 mph along several city blocks of 3rd and 4th streets which run west of the San Diego Bay Bridge and east of Orange Avenue as part of State Route 75.

Upset homeowners showed up at Coronado’s Monday night city council meeting to voice their concern.

“This whole notion of increasing the speed is absurd” said Quelene Slattery, a Coronado homeowner.

Slattery’s son, Frankie was nearly killed when he was hit by a car on April 21st, 2014 while crossing 4th Avenue.

The 16 year old suffered a traumatic brain injury prompting his mom to become a vocal advocate for safer roads along the busy corridor.

Locals say crashes happen all the time, including the fatal collision involving an elderly man who was killed while trying to cross 4th Street on May 11.

“Between my son’s injury and this man’s death, hopefully people can come together and do what is right for the whole community” said Slattery.

The Coronado City Council opposes any increase to the speed limit, but the decision ultimately rests with Caltrans.

Caltrans says a 5 mph increase to the speed limit is necessary given the results of a recent speed survey which found an overwhelming majority of drivers averaging close to 10 mph faster than the current limit.

Many Coronado homeowners worry an increase in the speed limit will only make people drive faster, but Caltrans says their studies don’t support that conclusion.

“Increasing the speed limit is not going to change the actual speed limit the public is driving” said Marcelo Peinado, a Caltrans District Division Chief in Traffic Operations.

Coronado’s Police Chief understands the community concern, but cautioned locals to keep their passion in perspective.

“In most communities, I think most people would want their speed limits to be 25mph on every street, but speed surveys try to equalize that a little bit to make it more scientific or fair,” said Chief Jon Froomin.

Public speakers at Monday’s council meeting blasted the police department for failing to cite speeders in the area.

In fiscal year 2014, Froomin said his officers wrote roughly 400 speeding citations on the two streets.

But, when the previous speed survey for the cooridor expired in January, the department was no longer able to use electronic surveillance as a tactic.

“We cannot legally use Lidar and radar in those areas where a survey is not in place” said Froomin.
 


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Soccer Star Fled Taliban at 10

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Nadia Nadim sits at the dining room table of the New Jersey home she shares with her Sky Blue FC teammates, quietly studying. But it’s not a soccer playbook the star striker thumbs through.

It’s something called "Medicinsk Kompendium Lommebog," a medical handbook written in Danish, one of five languages she speaks.

"Five and a half, really," Nadim quickly corrects. Her French is admittedly a little rough these days. English, German, Persian and Urdu round out her list of languages, and Nadim is likely to use any one of them in a text back to her family and friends in Denmark.

She has a lot on her plate. When not busy scoring goals -- seven in her first six games with Sky Blue FC -- the 27-year-old is a dedicated medical school student with plans to become a plastic surgeon. She is nearing the end of her 6-year program at Aarhus University back in Denmark.

"Sometimes I'm like, 'Why am I doing this?'" she says of the endless hours of studying and soccer. But then she explains that the ability to save lives is something she feels strongly about, perhaps because of so many along the way who had a role in saving hers.

Leaving Afghanistan

Nadim remembers the day her father first handed her a soccer ball. She and her four sisters played dodgeball at first, eventually learning to kick the ball around within the secrecy of the walls that surrounded the family’s home in Kabul. Rabani Nadim was really into sports, but the father of five girls was also well aware that young women playing soccer was just not acceptable in 1990s Afghanistan.

He was a general in the Afghan army. And then one day, he was gone.

Nadia was 10 years old when she learned the Taliban had executed her father. Her mother, Hamida Nadim, knew they could not stay in Kabul.

"I can't even imagine that – we probably wouldn't be alive," says Nadim. "My mom and five girls in the family? That is hard to live in Afghanistan."

So they fled, first to Pakistan and then to Italy. Eventually, they arrived in Denmark, not speaking a word of Danish. While her mother worried about logistics like passports, schools and housing, Nadim used soccer to fend off the fear that accompanied their journey.

"We used to live in this refugee camp beside a soccer club with all these fields. I knew we were safe. We had tons of balls and all the kids were the same age," she said.

She had soccer, but she missed her father.

"There are moments when you see other people with families and you'll be like, 'I wish my dad was here,'" she said.

Jersey Shore

The big surfboard lying on the front porch of the yellow cape belongs to Nadim. She is somewhat obsessed with the beaches of New Jersey, and talks a little faster as she explains how determined she is to master surfing, as if she has time to learn anything else in between soccer and studying.

The Jersey Shore feels a little like home in Aarhus, Denmark. That was a big reason why she returned to Sky Blue FC, after lighting up the league with seven goals in six games last August while on loan from her team in Denmark.

Sky Blue FC and the National Women’s Soccer League are loaded with players who later this week will suit up for their respective national teams in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Nadim just missed the roster – “next time,” she laments – but is unquestionably a star in the NWSL. She lives for the pressure that comes with that territory.

"I kind of like the pressure," says Nadim, admitting she often catches herself lying in bed wondering how all this happened.

"I'm grateful I'm here and alive. And playing soccer, which I love."  


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NH Fugitive Arrested in Fla.

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A New Hampshire man wanted for allegedly killing his parents last year has been arrested by U.S. Marshals in Florida.

Matthew Dion, 39, had been wanted since March 2014, when the bodies of his parents, Robert and Constance Dion, were found after an explosion and fire at their Manchester home. 

The death certificates show Robert and Constance Dion were strangled with a wire. Investigators concluded the fire was intentionally set. Authorities obtained arrest warrants in September of 2014 charging Matthew Dion with two counts of second-degree murder and arson.

Last fall, authorities believed he was in the Tampa Bay, Florida, area. They said he also has familiarity with the Atlanta area.

A reward of up to $25,000 was offered for information leading to Dion's arrest.

Dion was arrested Wednesday morning at a hotel in Orange Park, Florida, where he had been working in construction.

U.S. Marshal David Cargill said a lead came in Tuesday from a person who said they had seen someone resembling Dion's wanted poster. He was reportedly living under the name Cameron Bouchard.

"He's an intelligent individual," Cargill said, when asked how Dion was able to evade capture for so long.

U.S. Marshals said they will now attempt to extradite Dion from Florida to face charges in New Hampshire. It isn't clear how long that process could take. 

Once he is returned to New Hampshire, Dion is expected to be arraigned in Manchester District Court.



Photo Credit: U.S. Marshals

Insurance Co. to Sponsor Padres in Multiyear Deal

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Insurance company The Hartford said Tuesday it will sponsor the San Diego Padres, along with four other teams and Major League Baseball itself in a multiyear deal, and will use former Padres closer Trevor Hoffman in some of its advertising.

The Hartford will become an official MLB sponsor and will be the exclusive business insurance, homeowners insurance and employee benefits partner for the league. It will also sponsor the MLB’s Reliever of the Year Awards, named after Hoffman and former New York Yankee Mariano Rivera. Both pitchers will be featured in Hartford ads.

Financial terms of the sponsorship were not disclosed.

The other teams included in the deal are the Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. Hartford said it chose the five cities based on opportunity for agent and broker engagement growth. More team sponsorships are expected in 2016.
 


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Would-Be Bank Bandit Tests His Luck

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Suspects in area bank robberies - caught in the act on camera.

Photo Credit: FBI

Mom Threatened Suicide: 911 Caller

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Police are investigating the suspicious deaths of a 5-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl found in an East Haven, Connecticut, home on Tuesday afternoon and a 911 call from a woman who identified herself as a friend of the mother said the mom threatened suicide.

“My friend sent me a letter that she was going to kill herself,” the woman told 911 dispatchers around 2:40 p.m. on Tuesday, according to calls police released late on Wednesday morning.

The woman placed the call from outside 541 Strong Street after trying to get in and finding the doors locked.

“She says she cut herself, but I can’t get in the house,” the woman said.

The caller also told police she spoke with her friend over the phone and children were inside the home.

“Are you talking through the door?” the dispatcher asked.

“No, I was talking to her on the phone and when she told me she cut herself, I hung up and called you guys,” she said.

When East Haven police and firefighters arrived at the house, they found a 36-year-old mother, despondent with apparent injuries.

They then discovered the gas was on in the house. When they searched for other occupants, they found the two children dead inside.

Police have not identified the mother or two children.

Responding officers didn't report seeing any trauma on the childrens' bodies and said the position of their bodies didn't reveal anything suspicious. Police are classifying the deaths as "suspicious,"

East Haven Police Chief Brent Larrabee said. Police didn't elaborate on why but said it will be up to the medical examiner to determine the causes of death.

Police said it's unknown whether the gas was in the air because of a breakage or whether someone turned it on, but Larrabee said, "I would say from observation it was probably turned on."



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Sandberg Pens Tribute to Husband

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Facebook COO and "Lean In" author Sheryl Sandberg penned a loving Facebook tribute Wednesday to her late husband, Silicon Valley entrepreneur David Goldberg, 30 days after he died after collapsing on a treadmill at a Mexican resort.

She began her post with a reference to their Jewish faith, and the fact that the sheloshim period, or monthlong bereavement, completes the “religious mourning for a spouse.”

"I have lived thirty years in these thirty days. I am thirty years sadder. I feel like I am thirty years wiser," she wrote.

In two hours, the post had garnered nearly 60,000 likes, including ones from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his sister Randi Zuckerberg, and more than 17,000 shares.

Religion was important to Goldberg. The day he was buried, Sandberg had posted that it was her husband of 11 years who took her to temple for the Jewish holidays.

In her tribute Wednesday, Sandberg described spending moments “lost in the void” over the last 30 days and wrote that “many future moments will be consumed by the vast emptiness as well.” But she hopes it won’t always be that way.

Sandberg described how parents at school and co-workers have been trying to do and say the right thing, but many have avoided her eyes because they simply don’t know the proper protocol. To those who feel awkward, she said, she appreciates real, honest questions about her loss.

What really inspires her, Sandberg wrote, has been hearing stories like a colleague’s wife going back to school to get her degree to show her support. “Yes!” Sandberg wrote.

Sandberg wrote that she has come to some realizations, both philosophical and practical, in the month since her husband's death.

She said she has a “more profound understanding of what it is to be a mother," and she realizes “moving to the side of the road for ambulances is extremely important." She also realizes that saying it’s going to be OK is not the right thing to say when someone is grieving.

“Real empathy is sometimes not insisting that it will be okay but acknowledging that it is not,” she wrote.

Here is the post in full:

Today is the end of sheloshim for my beloved husband—the first thirty days. Judaism calls for a period of intense mourning known as shiva that lasts seven days after a loved one is buried. After shiva, most normal activities can be resumed, but it is the end of sheloshim that marks the completion of religious mourning for a spouse.

 

A childhood friend of mine who is now a rabbi recently told me that the most powerful one-line prayer he has ever read is: “Let me not die while I am still alive.” I would have never understood that prayer before losing Dave. Now I do.

 

I think when tragedy occurs, it presents a choice. You can give in to the void, the emptiness that fills your heart, your lungs, constricts your ability to think or even breathe. Or you can try to find meaning. These past thirty days, I have spent many of my moments lost in that void. And I know that many future moments will be consumed by the vast emptiness as well.

 

But when I can, I want to choose life and meaning.

 

And this is why I am writing: to mark the end of sheloshim and to give back some of what others have given to me. While the experience of grief is profoundly personal, the bravery of those who have shared their own experiences has helped pull me through. Some who opened their hearts were my closest friends. Others were total strangers who have shared wisdom and advice publicly. So I am sharing what I have learned in the hope that it helps someone else. In the hope that there can be some meaning from this tragedy.

 

I have lived thirty years in these thirty days. I am thirty years sadder. I feel like I am thirty years wiser.

 

I have gained a more profound understanding of what it is to be a mother, both through the depth of the agony I feel when my children scream and cry and from the connection my mother has to my pain. She has tried to fill the empty space in my bed, holding me each night until I cry myself to sleep. She has fought to hold back her own tears to make room for mine. She has explained to me that the anguish I am feeling is both my own and my children’s, and I understood that she was right as I saw the pain in her own eyes.

 

I have learned that I never really knew what to say to others in need. I think I got this all wrong before; I tried to assure people that it would be okay, thinking that hope was the most comforting thing I could offer. A friend of mine with late-stage cancer told me that the worst thing people could say to him was “It is going to be okay.” That voice in his head would scream, How do you know it is going to be okay? Do you not understand that I might die? I learned this past month what he was trying to teach me. Real empathy is sometimes not insisting that it will be okay but acknowledging that it is not. When people say to me, “You and your children will find happiness again,” my heart tells me, Yes, I believe that, but I know I will never feel pure joy again. Those who have said, “You will find a new normal, but it will never be as good” comfort me more because they know and speak the truth. Even a simple “How are you?”—almost always asked with the best of intentions—is better replaced with “How are you today?” When I am asked “How are you?” I stop myself from shouting, My husband died a month ago, how do you think I am? When I hear “How are you today?” I realize the person knows that the best I can do right now is to get through each day.

 

I have learned some practical stuff that matters. Although we now know that Dave died immediately, I didn’t know that in the ambulance. The trip to the hospital was unbearably slow. I still hate every car that did not move to the side, every person who cared more about arriving at their destination a few minutes earlier than making room for us to pass. I have noticed this while driving in many countries and cities. Let’s all move out of the way. Someone’s parent or partner or child might depend on it.

 

I have learned how ephemeral everything can feel—and maybe everything is. That whatever rug you are standing on can be pulled right out from under you with absolutely no warning. In the last thirty days, I have heard from too many women who lost a spouse and then had multiple rugs pulled out from under them. Some lack support networks and struggle alone as they face emotional distress and financial insecurity. It seems so wrong to me that we abandon these women and their families when they are in greatest need.

 

I have learned to ask for help—and I have learned how much help I need. Until now, I have been the older sister, the COO, the doer and the planner. I did not plan this, and when it happened, I was not capable of doing much of anything. Those closest to me took over. They planned. They arranged. They told me where to sit and reminded me to eat. They are still doing so much to support me and my children.

 

I have learned that resilience can be learned. Adam M. Grant taught me that three things are critical to resilience and that I can work on all three. Personalization—realizing it is not my fault. He told me to ban the word “sorry.” To tell myself over and over, This is not my fault. Permanence—remembering that I won’t feel like this forever. This will get better. Pervasiveness—this does not have to affect every area of my life; the ability to compartmentalize is healthy.

 

For me, starting the transition back to work has been a savior, a chance to feel useful and connected. But I quickly discovered that even those connections had changed. Many of my co-workers had a look of fear in their eyes as I approached. I knew why—they wanted to help but weren’t sure how. Should I mention it? Should I not mention it? If I mention it, what the hell do I say? I realized that to restore that closeness with my colleagues that has always been so important to me, I needed to let them in. And that meant being more open and vulnerable than I ever wanted to be. I told those I work with most closely that they could ask me their honest questions and I would answer. I also said it was okay for them to talk about how they felt. One colleague admitted she’d been driving by my house frequently, not sure if she should come in. Another said he was paralyzed when I was around, worried he might say the wrong thing. Speaking openly replaced the fear of doing and saying the wrong thing. One of my favorite cartoons of all time has an elephant in a room answering the phone, saying, “It’s the elephant.” Once I addressed the elephant, we were able to kick him out of the room.

 

At the same time, there are moments when I can’t let people in. I went to Portfolio Night at school where kids show their parents around the classroom to look at their work hung on the walls. So many of the parents—all of whom have been so kind—tried to make eye contact or say something they thought would be comforting. I looked down the entire time so no one could catch my eye for fear of breaking down. I hope they understood.

 

I have learned gratitude. Real gratitude for the things I took for granted before—like life. As heartbroken as I am, I look at my children each day and rejoice that they are alive. I appreciate every smile, every hug. I no longer take each day for granted. When a friend told me that he hates birthdays and so he was not celebrating his, I looked at him and said through tears, “Celebrate your birthday, goddammit. You are lucky to have each one.” My next birthday will be depressing as hell, but I am determined to celebrate it in my heart more than I have ever celebrated a birthday before.

 

I am truly grateful to the many who have offered their sympathy. A colleague told me that his wife, whom I have never met, decided to show her support by going back to school to get her degree—something she had been putting off for years. Yes! When the circumstances allow, I believe as much as ever in leaning in. And so many men—from those I know well to those I will likely never know—are honoring Dave’s life by spending more time with their families.

 

I can’t even express the gratitude I feel to my family and friends who have done so much and reassured me that they will continue to be there. In the brutal moments when I am overtaken by the void, when the months and years stretch out in front of me endless and empty, only their faces pull me out of the isolation and fear. My appreciation for them knows no bounds.

 

I was talking to one of these friends about a father-child activity that Dave is not here to do. We came up with a plan to fill in for Dave. I cried to him, “But I want Dave. I want option A.” He put his arm around me and said, “Option A is not available. So let’s just kick the shit out of option B.”

 

Dave, to honor your memory and raise your children as they deserve to be raised, I promise to do all I can to kick the shit out of option B. And even though sheloshim has ended, I still mourn for option A. I will always mourn for option A. As Bono sang, “There is no end to grief . . . and there is no end to love.” I love you, Dave. — with Dave Goldberg.



Photo Credit: Getty Images/FILE
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Coaster Dad Launching Nonprofit

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An Orinda father who is the Bay Area’ s self-described “Roller Coaster Dad” has launched an online fundraising campaign to create a nonprofit center dedicated to 3D printing, robots, YouTube videos and of course, roller coasters.

Will Pemble is hoping his fundraising efforts, which he kicked off Tuesday, will garner anywhere between $15,000 to $35,000 to buy power tools, a slow motion camera, laser cutters, 3D printers and more. As of Wednesday, his Indiegogo site had raised almost $3,000.

He’d also like to use that money to renovate and rent a 4,300-square-foot warehouse in Concord, hopefully by the end of August, to put up a sign introducing the "CoasterDad MakerSpace."

Pay-as-you-go classes will be offered along with a $50-a-month membership to use the space to create math and science projects. The center will be nonprofit, and Pemble has vowed to visit underserved schools to offer his skills and instructions free to interested classrooms. Scholarships for those in need will also be granted, he said.

Pemble made headlines in May 2014 after he created a roller coaster for his kids in his backyard. He was inspired by his son, Lyle, who asked: "Wouldn't it be cool if we had a roller coaster in our backyard?"

Pemble said he now wants other kids to be able to have that cool experience, too.



Photo Credit: Courtesy of Will Pemble
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$1M Bail for Accused Road Rage Driver

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A judge set $1 million bail for a San Diego woman accused of killing an active duty service member in an apparent road rage incident.

In an arraignment Tuesday, Imperial Beach resident Darla Jackson, 26, was charged. The prosecution asked for $3 million bail but the judge set bail lower. Jackson's mother, Margie, cried and shook in court today as the bail was announced. 

Jackson's attorney, Stephen Cline, said she is sorry and explained how the deadly crash happened. 

"The guy sped past her with a motorcycle, he got mad about something, he kicked her car, she chased after him and they collided in the end when they ran into traffic," Cline said. 

On May 28, at around 5:30 p.m., Jackson was driving her black Nissan Altima northbound on Interstate 5 near E Street in Chula Vista when officials said she got into some type of dispute on the roadway with U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Zacharia Buob, who was on his motorcycle.

After the two drivers transitioned from I-5 to eastbound State Route 54 and passed National City Boulevard, Jackson allegedly intentionally hit Buob’s motorcycle, running him over, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Buob was critically injured in the crash and died a short time later at a local hospital. Jackson was arrested and now faces one count of murder in what investigators are calling an act of road rage.

A witness to the incident captured the alleged road rage on cellphone video just moments before the deadly collision. In the footage, a dark-colored car can be seen tailing a motorcycle.

Court records show two ex-boyfriends filed for temporary restraining orders against Jackson, weeks apart from each other. 

Buob’s mother, Kathy, is now left with the pain of her son’s death, planning a funeral for him. She released a statement to NBC 7 Tuesday, titled “Memories of Zach Buob," that called him "a loving son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend."

Read the statement in full by clicking here. 

Kathy said the family simply had no comment about Jackson, the alleged road rage driver.

Jackson’s mother, Margie Jackson, told NBC 7 her daughter is not a murderer and the crash was an accident.

"They made it sound like she viciously went after him," said Margie. "Please, who does that? No. Not my daughter."
 



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Suspects Sought in Attempted ATM Theft

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Two men attempted to pull an ATM from inside a Rancho Penasquitos store Wednesday using a heavy chain and a pickup truck.

The pharmacy is located near Twin Trail Drive and Black Mountain Road just north of State Route 56.

Two men riding in a pickup truck forced the front door open just after 4 a.m. and then backed the truck up to the door, police said.

The men then wrapped a chain around the ATM and pulled on the machine, knocking down a Coinstar kiosk next to it.

The would-be burglars left the ATM and ditched the pickup truck off the SR-56 and Black Mountain Road, police said.
 



Photo Credit: NBC 7

Shots Fired at Vista Gas Station

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Shots were fired when two people were carjacked at a North County gas station Tuesday, officials said.

San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies from the Vista station were searching for two suspects after the shooting at the Chevron on Emerald Drive just north of State Route 78.

The men fired shots to get two people out of a white sedan parked outside the gas station just before 11 p.m.

They drove the stolen vehicle out of the parking lot and then slammed into a power pole about a mile away on Sunset Drive just east of S Melrose Drive.

A witness told deputies the two people inside the crashed car had gotten out and jumped into another car. It’s not known if the carjacking suspects were injured in the crash.

The victims of the carjacking ran into the Chevron and asked clerk Rodolfo Carbajal if they could use the phone.

“Makes you wonder,” said Carbajal. “Never know if they were going to rob the store,”

No one was injured in the shooting.
 

Verdict in South Bay Classroom Molestation Case

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Jurors will announce their verdict in the case of John Kinloch, a former elementary school teacher accused of molesting a student in his classroom at a San Diego-area school.

Kinloch, 41, faces 36 counts of molestation, possession of child pornography and committing a lewd act on a child. 

His defense attorney Kerry Armstrong told jurors his client was guilty of three charges including possession of child porn and two molestation charges involving a 14-year-old boy the defendant met online in the 1990s. There was physical molestation, Armstrong confirmed. 

The other 33 charges involving molestation online do not meet the legal definition, the attorney said.

The case stems from Kinloch's November 2012 arrest in a nationwide child porn investigation.

A video was shown in court last week in which Kinloch admits to investigators that he posed as a 13-year-old girl in online chat rooms to get boys to send him nude photos.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigator testified nearly 2,000 photos and more than 250 videos of child pornography were found on Kinloch’s hard drive.

However, additional charges were filed against him including accusations of lewd acts with students and non-students age 8 to 15.

One alleged victim, identified in court as “John Doe 1”, was a student in Kinloch’s 2nd grade class at Feaster Charter School on Flower Street in Chula Vista.

Kinloch is currently on unpaid leave from the Chula Vista Elementary School District. If convicted on all charges, he faces between 450 years to life in prison.

Kinloch was teaching first grade at Wolf Canyon Elementary School at the time of his arrest. He had passed background checks designed to protect students, according to district officials.

Coronado’s Free Summer Shuttle Revs Up

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A free shuttle service is returning to Coronado this summer, making it easier for visitors to cruise around the island and get to popular spots.

This year, Coronado’s Free Summer Shuttle service will run from June 7 through Sept. 13 – the peak summer tourist season.

Each bus begins and ends its round trip at the Coronado Shores, stopping along the way at hot spots like Hotel del Coronado, downtown, the Civic Center, shops and, of course, the beach.

The summer shuttle buses will run every 20 minutes, seven days a week. The service runs from 9:02 a.m. to 9:42 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 9:02 a.m. to 10:42 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

 

This year, a third bus has been added to increase the service frequency from 30-minute to 20-minute intervals at every stop. A ride schedule will be available at local hotels, businesses and in each shuttle.

The summer shuttle service is paid for by the Coronado Tourism Improvement District. It’s the Metropolitan Transit System’s highest performing route in terms of passengers carried per hour of operation. The service replaces the normal MTS 904 route, providing four more hours of daily service during its summer run.

This year, the shuttles will be adorned with a bright wrap featuring a red VW van topped with a surf board, so they will be easy to spot and board.



Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego
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Woman Swindled Out of Savings

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A man is on the run after he allegedly swindled a 92-year-old woman out of her life savings and an apartment building she owned after she helped raise him and put him through college, police said Tuesday.

Carlson A. Jackson, 58, allegedly got Mable Miles to sell an eight-unit apartment building — appraised for $850,000 to $1 million — to his company, CAJ Properties, LLC, for $250,000, police said.

Miles was best friends with Jackson's mother in Detroit. She had a hand in raising Jackson and helped put him through college, Miles and police said. Her entire life savings was in the building, a place she's lived in and owned for 40 years.

"There’s a special place in the netherworld for someone like this," LAPD Detective Carmine Sasso said.

The building was free of any mortgage debt and was Miles' only source of income.

"The way he took her property and then put the money in the bank and somehow transferred it out, she was left literally broke," niece Carol White said.

Jackson allegedly opened a joint bank account with his name and Miles' name and transferred the money for the building, located in the 1900 block of Palm Grove, to the account, police said.

Rental checks for the apartments were rerouted to a P.O. Box in Los Angeles, where Jackson has allegedly been collecting them, police said.

Miles told police she doesn’t remember signing anything but does remember the notary and loan officer coming to her home.

Police said Jackson lived on her couch and kept her secluded from everyone, including her family.

"I hope they catch you, and put you on into jail," Miles said of her message to Jackson.

Anyone with information to Jackson’s whereabouts should immediately call LAPD Wilshire Area Detective Veda Young at 213-922-8257. During nonbusiness hours or on weekends, call 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247).

To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or text to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S), with all text messages beginning with the letters “LAPD.”

Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.



Photo Credit: Ernesto Torres/LAPD
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