Students in Montgomery County will still have off from school on Christmas and Yom Kippur -- but the school calendar will no longer call those holidays "Christmas" or "Yom Kippur."

The county's Board of Education voted Tuesday afternoon to remove any mentions of any religious holidays on the calendar next school year.

The issue stemmed from the schools being closed for Jewish holidays but not for Muslim ones.

The Muslim holiday of Eid Al Adha coincides with Yom Kippur on Sept. 23, 2015.

Since schools do not close for Muslim holidays, Montgomery County Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr recommended the Board of Education eliminate the references to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur on the 2015-2016 calendar.

The board voted to approve the recommendation Tuesday.

County executive Ike Leggett said Monday he would have taken a different tactic if the decision were up to him.

"I would simply add Eid to the existing holidays they already have without substituting any other holidays," Leggett said.

Parent Samira Hussein, who is also a school employee, has campaigned for the past 20 years to have the Muslim holiday added to the school calendar.

"The Eid is just the same exact as Christmas day or Easter day or Yom Kippur," she said. "The children want to home with their families. This is a family holiday that God designated and gave us the time to celebrate and be joyous."

Montgomery County Public Schools have closed for the Jewish high holidays since the 1970s because of the county's large Jewish population in the county would create a high absenteeism rate in the county.

County officials say the size of the county's Muslim population doesn't warrant closing schools.

"High absenteeism is the main reason" for schools being closed on the Jewish high holidays, said Dana Tofig with Montgomery County Public Schools. "The absentee rate on the Eid holidays, when they've fallen on a school day, haven't been considerably higher or lower than it is on any other given day."

Muslim groups who want equality for Eid said that they didn't think the Jewish holidays should be removed from the calendar.

"What we're asking for is... to also have both the Jewish holiday and the Muslim holiday Eid Al Adha both be recognized on the school calendar," said Zainab Chaudry of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Muslim students said they can fall behind when they celebrate Eid.

A pedestrian was injured in a hit-and-run crash in Rancho Bernardo Tuesday evening.

A Sig Alert was issued on Ranch Bernardo Road near Acena Drive after a vehicle hit the pedestrian and took off at 6:20 p.m., San Diego Police say.

The victim was taken to the hospital for a serious head injury.

The California Highway Patrol closed the road for about two hours as investigators gathered evidence in the felony case.

Check back here for more information on this developing story.

USS Recruit is returning to her former glory.

The landlocked vessel, located at the former Naval Training Center and visible from Harbor Drive, is undergoing renovations. On Veterans Day, a luncheon was held to thank the volunteers working on the refurbishing project.

USS Recruit was built in 1949 and is in need of some TLC, according to Kim Elliott with the Corky McMillin Companies, who is heading the project along with the USS Midway Museum.

Volunteers will be making repairs, painting and replacing items that have deteriorated.

“There were several things made out of wood on there, so some of the guns are being rebuilt and gun mounts put back on the ship,” Elliott said.

Affectionately called USS Neversail, the Recruit was built to mimic a warship and was once the first stop for new seamen.

“What it was used for was to take young recruits coming into the Navy and orient them to their float home,” said retired Rear Adm. Fran Holian.

“They learned how to board the ship, who to salute, the types of radar,” Elliott said. “Everything you need to know to be on a real ship they learned here first on land.”

USS Recruit was one of three such training vessels and the only one that remains today, Elliott said.

The Recruit was used until the Naval Training Center closed in the 90s. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a California Historic Landmark.

Drivers who use Interstate 5 in the North County may want to take notice of a construction project shutting down lanes for several nights this week.

Three of four lanes of I-5 will be closed in both directions between the Aliso Creek Rest Area and the San Diego-Orange County line for work on the Ocean View Rehab Project.

The closures are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday 7:30 p.m. to 5 a.m., Friday 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. and Saturday, 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. No closures are scheduled for Sunday.

The $43 million project will replace damaged concrete pavement slabs.

California Highway Patrol will monitor the closure.
 

If you get phone call supposedly from the Oceanside Police Department about a red light ticket violation, be on your guard. It may be a scam, police officials warn.

The OPD says many people have reported the scheme, which starts with a phone call from a man claiming to be Lt. Woods with the OPD.

The man tells the victim he or she has failed to appear on multiple red light camera violations and needs to pay fines as soon as possible. He says the person should go to a store to buy a Green Dot prepaid debit card to pay the debt.

OPD officials warn this type of call would never legitimately come from them. Although the department does have a red light camera enforcement program, police do not collect the fines or make calls to violators.

If someone called the OPD to pay a ticket, he or she would be told to either go to court to hand in the payment or mail it to the courthouse.

Plus, no Lt. Woods works for the OPD.

If you believe you have been a victim of this scam, call your local police or sheriff department to report it, or call the OPD at 760-435-4900.
 

The doctor accused of taking hundreds of nude pictures of his patients, including an  8-year-old girl, has posted the $1.5 million bail for his release.

Jeffery Abrams, 67, walked away from the San Diego Central Jail Tuesday after he was charged with 15 felony counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious victim, eight counts of sexual battery of an unconscious victim and one count of possession of child pornography.

He pleaded not guilty to all the counts at his arraignment Monday.

Eight women have come forward to accuse Abrams of taking advantage of them when they were patients at the Volunteers in San Diego free clinic in El Cajon between June 1, 2010 and June 2014.

Abrams was arrested last week after state investigators said they found more than 1,300 photos of women's vaginas, breasts and buttocks on the doctor's work phone. A search warrant alleges investigators also found a video of a patient touching herself in the exam room with Abrams.

Longtime San Diego residents may remember Abrams from another high-profile story. In the late 1990s, he and his family were rocked by scandal, but this one involved his son Eric.

Eric is Abram's oldest son and in many ways, a hometown hero.

Eric was a straight-A student at La Jolla Country Day and a star high school athlete. Parade Magazine named him National Football Player of the Year in 1991. Then Eric went to play football at Stanford under Coach Bill Walsh.

But in the Bay Area, the scandals began.

In 1996, Eric pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of phone harassment. Prosecutors said Eric, posing as a Stanford football scout, asked teen boys to send him naked photos of themselves for recruitment purposes.

Then in 1999 in San Jose, Eric was sentenced to two years in prison, convicted of sex charges involving a 14-year-old boy. Prosecutors said he posed as a Nike salesman to lure a boy inside his apartment.

Now it's Eric’s father who faces the charges.

Psychiatrist Dr. Mark Kalish talked with NBC 7 about the similarities between father and son.

“There’s no genetic component to sexual deviation. It’s not passed on in any fashion. There’s no evidence for that,” said Kalish.

Dr. Kalish said there is evidence, however, that people who commit crimes like this are more likely to have been victimized themselves.

“It’s unusual, that’s for sure. It certainly raises the question of whether or not this is learned behavior, and we don’t know yet,” he said.

Abrams' medical license has been temporarily suspended by the State Medical Board, and he has been ordered to surrender his passport.

If convicted, he could face 40 years in prison. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 5.

A former Navy diver, Scott Bowles lived for two things: his daughter and the ocean, his family said Tuesday.

So it wasn’t unusual for the 37-year-old Ocean Beach resident to go for a fitness swim in the cold ocean waters. But on Halloween, he mysteriously disappeared, baffling investigators for days because he left behind his vehicle and cellphone.

A kayaker found his body past the surf off Mission Beach a week later.

His family said they don’t know exactly what happened to Scott, but that he somehow got into trouble and “met his fate there.” This could have been a dangerous rip tide or cramping or hypothermia from the cold waters.

The medical examiner told the family there were no signs of foul play.

“He simply drowned,” said John Bowles, Scott’s father. “He died doing what he enjoyed, which is somewhat of a comfort to us.”

John Bowles described his son as the model of physical fitness. He was in the Navy for four years, serving as both a sonar technician and a diver on a submarine.

After the military, he was a commercial diver and had recently embarked on a new career when he died.

The ocean and swimming was Scott’s great love, which is why he lived in Ocean Beach, his father said.

That’s what makes his death not only tragic, but “ironic,” John Bowles said.

“I never imagined my son would get in trouble in the water,” he said.

The father now has a message for other swimmers:

“The ocean is a place of recreation for so many people,” he said. “But it’s also a place … where the ocean will take you before you know it.”

His family is planning a memorial service at Presbyterian church in La Jolla for Wednesday. Scott leaves behind a teenage daughter.

On Tuesday -- Veterans Day -- his family was remembering him as a hero.

“He always was very patriotic. And he and I would go and put a flag on his grandfather’s grave when he was in high school,” said Kathy Bowles, his mother. “And then when he had a family of his own, we received pictures because they went out to a national cemetery and put flags out.”

John Bowles echoed his wife’s thoughts:

“On this Veterans Day, we’re very proud of him.”

Rigel Ruiz is married with two children and finds it hard to put money away into a savings account.

"It is important do," said Ruiz. "I'd love to save more money, but it's not that easy."

Ruiz is part of the so-called millennial generation, adults under the age of 35. And she's not alone in finding it difficult to save.

"I think it's tougher," said Danny Bradley. And the numbers back them up.

According to Moody's Analytics, younger Americans currently have a savings rate of negative 2 percent. In other words, they are spending more of their savings or going into debt. While people over the age of 35 have a savings rate of 3 percent, people 55 and older save at a rate of 13 percent.

Certified Financial Planner Mary Beth Storjohann works with millennial. The 30-year-old founder of Workable Wealth says starting out in debt will have a long negative impact.

"It's extremely important," said Storjohann. "Having a savings is what's going to provide you a cushion, not only against emergencies but also the ability to meet your goals."

Millennial tied down by debt will hurt future spending including home sales. The problem is that young people can get into debt so easily. Storjohann says you can go on the internet and apply for five different credit cards in five minutes.

College debt is also a major stumbling block for young people. The average student debt for a graduating senior is more than $19,000. But creating a savings plan is important no matter how much money you owe.

Nikki Rasor says it's all about priorities.

"Once you start saving," said Rasor, "you say, wow, I've got a thousand bucks in the bank, this is great."

Storjohann agrees, "Whether you're saving $25 dollars a week, $25 a paycheck, whatever it might be, set something aside for yourself so you're not continuing the debt spiral."

As longer deployments become the new norm for military service members, their families are forced into a type of services as well, making sacrifices of their own.

The standard six-month deployment has been lengthened to eight, nine or ten months over the past few years.

It takes a toll on those back home, like Ruth Salgado, whose husband serves in the U.S. Navy.

When her son was a toddler, he would continually cry for his father and ask where he was.

“I had almost a year that I’m taking this kid to psychology because, ‘I want daddy, I want daddy,’” Salgado said. “Every time he would see me, he would just ask for daddy.”

Salgado’s son is a teenager now, but her little girl is starting to ask the same questions.

Together, they’ve endured deployment after deployment without their father. The longest stint was 10 months.

“No Christmas, no birthdays, no Mommy's Day and no Father's Day. It's been hard. And you're going to make me cry,” said Salgado as she recounted the missed holidays.

For Stacy Farrar, wife to a Marine Corps officer now serving as a reservist, deployments accounted for about half their first five years of marriage.

During one departure, Farrar had to deal with a death in the family alone.

"As the person at home, I personally, and I think that a lot of spouses of active-duty military guys and gals, they don't want their spouses deployed to worry about them,” said Farrar. “So you really put on that good face, you buck up and then you experience all that stuff when you get home."

She said the military community offers great support through fellow families, but so much time apart can begin to break a marriage.

The lack of communication took the biggest toll on the couple, who did not have a child at the time. Farrar told NBC 7 she and her husband were proactive about the problems military life would inflict on their marriage, but shorter deployments would make a significant difference.

"The part that I would say is confusing to me is that six-month rotations have worked, and it's still hard on the family, but it's not near as hard as an eight-month or longer rotation,” said Farrar.

Navy Lt. Timothy Hawkins said from Operation Inherent Resolve in the Middle East to Operation United Assistance in West Africa, the demand for the U.S. military is growing.

But he acknowledges eight to ten-month deployments are not sustainable.

“They’re taking a toll on our equipment; they’re taking a toll on our people and families,” said Hawkins.

He explained while service members knew what they were getting into, families – especially children – don’t necessarily volunteer for the long absences.

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert has said his goal is to get deployments down to six and seven months again, but Hawkins says the longer deployments will probably last at least another year.

So this Veterans Day, Farrar said she hopes everyone takes a moment to appreciate the liberties our country offers.

“It's truly not free. The only reason we have it is because men and women risk their lives and are willing to spend time away from their family for months at a time to protect our country," she said.

Two San Diego-area high school students were sent to a nearby hospital after a car accident outside school in Tierrasanta Wednesday.

Police responded to the report of a student hit by a car near Junipero Serra High School at Porto Court and Santo Road at 7:30 a.m.

The student was in a crosswalk but walking against a red light when he was struck by a small car driven by the mother of another student, school district officials said.

The teenager then landed on another student. Both teenagers - described as an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old - were transported to Sharp Hospital with minor injuries, officials said.

Check back for updates on this developing story.
 

A judge has denied a motion by defense lawyers for former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez seeking to change the location of his trial, saying there is no reason to believe he won't be able to get a fair trial in the Boston area.

Hernandez's attorneys had argued that pre-trial publicity would make it hard for the former football star to get a fair trial in Bristol County. They said the jury pool had been "poisoned" by prejudicial pretrial publicity and suggested moving the trial "outside the Boston media market" to  Hampden County or Worcester County.

However, Judge E. Susan Garsh disagreed with the arguments made by Hernandez's attorneys.

"Hernandez has not demonstrated by a solid foundation of fact that there exists in Bristol County so great a prejudice against him that he cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial there," Garsh said in her ruling. "Nothing about the polling proffered by the defendant provides any reason to believe that impaneling a jury in Worcester or Hampden County would be any more or less difficult.

"The reality is that the extensive media coverage of this case is not driven by local media or by any particular local interest," the judge added. "Because the defendant is an athlete from a nationally prominent professional football team, the case is of interest to people across the state, New England, ann the country."

Garsh said the court will reconsider its ruling if, during jury selection, it becomes apparent that it will not be possible to pick "a fair and impartial jury" in Bristol County.

Hernandez is set to go on trial in January for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd in North Attleboro, Massachusetts.

Green Flash Brewing Co. of San Diego has announced it is acquiring the East County-based Alpine Beer Co. for an undisclosed price.

Alpine Beer officials said in a statement that each company will remain independently operated and maintain their distinct brands and cultures. Alpine founder Pat McIlhenney will remain Alpine’s president and brewmaster, overseeing all of its operations.

Officials said the acquisition will provide more widespread distribution for the relatively small Alpine brewer, founded in 1999, which employs 20 and produces about 3,000 barrels annually. Green Flash began brewing three styles of Alpine beer in November 2013 at its San Diego facility, under a “handshake agreement” between the two companies.

“It was both intriguing and challenging to meld our philosophies while we worked together to scale up Pat’s recipes to be brewed in larger quantities,” said Green Flash Brewmaster Chuck Silva.

In 2015, Green Flash will begin bottling select Alpine brews in 22-ounce bottles, adding to the three current draft offerings.

Green Flash Brewing, founded in 2002 and based in Mira Mesa, is the fourth-largest of approximately 90 craft beer makers headquartered in San Diego County. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Mike Hinkley and reported 2013 revenue of $17.5 million from production of approximately 60,000 barrels.

Green Flash currently employs about 100. It is in the process of expanding production to facilities in Poway and Virginia Beach, Va.

 The Business Journal is the premier business publication in San Diego. Every day online and each Monday in print, the Business Journal reports on how local business operate and why businesses leaders make the decisions they do. Every story is a dose of insight into how to run a better, more efficient, more profitable business.

Officials rescued two workers trapped in a scaffold dangling more than 60 stories high off One World Trade Center Wednesday. Here's a selection of photos shared by onlookers and responding officials on social media:

San Diego Police are searching for the suspect who shot two people, killing a 42-year-old woman and seriously injuring a 36-year-old man in El Cerrito Tuesday.

Witnesses told police the two victims were standing in a driveway in the 4200 block of 54th Place when a man walked up to them at about 4:45 p.m.

The three got into an argument, and police say the suspect pulled out a handgun and shot both people in the chest.

According to witnesses, the suspect drove off in a dark-colored sedan.

Both victims were taken to a nearby hospital, where the woman later died there. The man is expected to survive.

The suspect is described as an Asian man between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8, wearing a light-colored, short-sleeved shirt and long pants.

Police are withholding the names of the victims until their families are notified.

If you know anything about this shooting, call the SDPD homicide unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

A popular rugby coach gunned down inside his car in Golden Hill is being remembered as a devoted father and ever-helpful friend as his team makes one final gesture in his honor.

Flowers and a candle mark the spot where Vaafuti Togiailua, 41, was shot a half dozen times in the chest and head on Oct. 9, just two blocks from his Golden Hill apartment.

The memorial was left there by a neighbor who didn't even know him but was compelled by the life he had led.

Togiailua is remembered as man with a heart as big as his passion for his family and rugby.

Vaafuti, or "Vaa" as his friends called him, was a player and, for the last three years, the assistant coach of the Old Mission Bay Athletic Club Rugby team.

Head coach Jason Wood thought the world of him.

“He was a devoted father and just a great person. He was always helping people out,” Woods said.

Wood and the team shared a collective shock over this mysterious death.

“The last five or six days has been a team mourning over the loss of such a great guy,” Wood said.

Now, San Diego Police are searching for the motorcyclist who witnesses say pulled the trigger. The suspect is described as a person with full helmet and a long sleeved, gray jumpsuit.

Wood says the victim was on his way to work when the suspect parked beside the car and fired in the driver-side window.

“Let's put it in the hands of San Diego's finest and let them figure it out and trust that they will,” Wood said.

This is the second such brutal killing in the OMBAC organization in as many years.

Last April, well-known San Diego architect Graham Downes was beaten to death by a coworker. Vaa and Downes were teammates.

Vaa is Samoan, so with almost all his family overseas, the team went to work on raising money to fly them here.

So far they've raised $12,000, and they hope to return his remains to Samoa for burial.

The team gets together for practice for the first time since Vaa's death this Thursday. They are planning a memorial service to coincide with the season opener next month.

The former campaign staffer who brought sexual harassment accusations against congressional candidate Carl DeMaio has been arrested after a suspected confrontation with his mother, according to San Diego police.

Todd Bosnich, 29, was processed at the San Diego Central Jail and put up bail Tuesday for an incident on Nov. 7.

SDPD Lt. Mayer says during an argument with his mother, Bosnich allegedly pushed her, threw a drinking glass at her and disabled her phone.

Court records show a domestic violence case was filed against him Monday, and he was booked into jail Tuesday for battery, disabling a telephone line and assault with a deadly weapon.

Shortly after being released from jail, Bosnich ducked into a nearby bail bonds office.

Over the past couple of months, Bosnich became embroiled in the scandal that plagued DeMaio’s campaign for the 52nd Congressional District seat.

In October, Bosnich accused his boss of unwelcome touching and repeated sexual harassment. In one alleged incident, he said DeMaio had called him to his office, only to expose himself there.

DeMaio flatly denied the allegations, calling them outrageous lies. The candidate in turn accused Bosnich of breaking in and vandalizing campaign headquarters in May. During that incident, confidential campaign documents were taken.

The San Diego District Attorney and San Diego Police Department investigated both the sexual harassment claims and the break-in, but no charges were filed in either case.

But search warrants unsealed just last week say Bosnich is the one who gave the stolen campaign documents to DeMaio's opponent, U.S. Rep. Scott Peters.

Bosnich said everything he gave to Peters' campaign were items he had been working on and had access to without breaking into DeMaio's offices.

Peters went on to win the tight, contentious race when DeMaio conceded on Sunday.

The DeMaio campaign has declined to comment on this latest development.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story cited the jail watch commander's information that said Bosnich was accused of assaulting an officer. Lt. Mayer corrected the information to the current charges above.

A quick-thinking teenager got herself and her brother out of their burning townhome without injury Wednesday, Oceanside officials said.

The fire occurred just after 4 a.m. on Via Esmarca, east of Interstate 5 and west of El Camino Real just north of State Route 78.

A 14-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy were alone in the home and asleep when they were awaked by the fire alarm.

The teenager was able to get her brother out of the home safely and then called 911 and her father and grandfather who were at work at the time.

The children's grandfather who identified himself as Lionel said he had just left the home at 3 a.m. for work. When he learned of the fire, he rushed home to find the children safe.

"I smelled the smoke a block away, two blocks away," he said.

No one was in the room where the fire started, officials said. The children’s mother was out of town.

Firefighters cut open windows of the townhome and made a hole in the roof. They say they were able to get the fire out in minutes.

Even though the fire was kept in one room, there was smoke damage throughout the second.

No one was injured.

Oceanside Fire Battalion Chief Terry Collis said the teen did everything right when she got up and out of the home quickly and dialed 911.

He also said homeowners should make sure the batteries in their smoke detectors have fresh batteries and are working properly.

“They heard it, they got up and they got out and it probably saved their lives,” Collis said.

The San Diego chapter of the American Red Cross has offered to help the family find a place to stay.