The San Diego Fire department reported a natural gas leak caused the evacuation of residents in Rancho Penasquitos on Sunday.
The incident was first reported at about 3:43 p.m. in the 12700 block of Kestrel St.
Officials said evacuations were underway just before 4 p.m. and residents on either side of the street were asked to leave.
At 4:20 p.m., officias with San Diego Gas and Electric said the repairs would be done in two about hours.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Nearly 100 firefighters were able to stop a brush fire from threatening nearly 30 homes in Moreno Valley Sunday afternoon, the fire department said.
The fire was reported at 3:18 p.m. at Central Avenue and Watkins Drive and quickly grew, consuming around 30 acres, according to county fire spokeswoman Cheri Patterson.
25-30 homes in the area were threatened but Cal Fire, Riverside County firefighters, and overhead personnel were able to prevent the fire from reaching the structures, Patterson said.
A fire captain sustained a minor injury during the blaze and was transported to the hospital.
California Highway Patrol was assisting with traffic control in the area, Patterson said.
Containment of the fire was expected sometime around 8:00 p.m. The cause of the fire was under investigation, she said.
Follow USA LOCAL NEWS for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: Twitter: @USA LOCAL NEWS // Facebook: USA LOCAL NEWS
Eight students recovering from alcohol poisoning were released from the hospital late Sunday following a dance party at Occidental College, the latest in a string of drinking party casualties over recent years at the school.
The on-campus "Splatter Dance'' at Bell Field was described as a "paint-themed dance party'' on the school's website. It was the second Occidental party this month to send drunk students to hospitals, according to news reports of an alcohol-drenched toga party earlier in October.
Los Angeles firefighters showed up shortly after midnight. The party, which was set to run until 2 a.m., was shut down.
The youths were taken to hospitals with alcohol poisoning symptoms, firefighters at the scene said.
Students are known for pushing boundaries, but they don't always show the best judgment, said Jim Tranquada, a spokesman for Occidental College.
It was not clear when the students became intoxicated. No alcohol was served at the dance and drugs were not involved, Tranquada said. Students were also searched before they entered the party, he said.
Seven students were treated and released from the hospital, Tranquada said. The eighth was believed to have been released but that could not be confirmed, Tranquada said.
The students could face disciplinary action.
Thirteen students were hospitalized after the 2010 toga party at an Occidental sorority house.
Occidental, founded in 1887, is one of the area's elite, private liberal arts colleges, with about 2,100 students.
President Barack Obama attended Occidental from the fall of 1979 to the spring of 1981, before transferring to Columbia University in New York City.
Follow USA LOCAL NEWS for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: Twitter: @USA LOCAL NEWS // Facebook: USA LOCAL NEWS
Iran is a dangerous place to practice journalism – and it’s all the more perilous if the journalist is a woman. Parisa Hafezi, who covers her native country as Iran Bureau Chief for Reuters News, has been warned to stop truth-telling. Her home and office have been raided, and she has endured beatings and arrests. Yet she keeps working. On Monday, the 41-year-old will receive a Courage in Journalism award from the International Women’s Media Foundation at a ceremony in Los Angeles.
Q. You were the first female journalist to work for a foreign news organization in your country. How did you get started?
A. I had studied engineering in college. But I couldn’t find a job because I was a woman. So accidentally I became a journalist and I loved it. For the first time in my life I became familiar with politics and news.
Q. You have lived through tumultuous times. Your country has adjusted to being an Islamic republic as you have been covering it. And you covered the 2009 election, which led to violent demonstrations and a crackdown after some people complained that the results were rigged. Of the stories you’ve covered, which are the most telling?
A. There were two. One was the 2009 election story. It was so challenging. But I had another one, years ago. It was a juvenile execution. This guy was 15 and he killed a schoolmate by accident in a school fight. The judge found him guilty. He waited in prison for three years before he became 18 and he was executed then. It was so heartbreaking. I did my best to convince (authorities) to pardon him, but it didn’t happen. He was hanged. It had a very negative impact for a long time. I lived a long time with that story inside myself.
Q. Tell us about the election. A girl, Neda Agha-Soltan, became a symbol of those protests after she was shot on camera during a demonstration.
A. We were banned from covering the protests. Three days after the election, we received a fax telling is that it’s better that we not cover those stories. But I had to go out. I went out. I was picked up by guards, riot police. They had electric batons. For a while, I couldn’t walk. But that is part of my job. I got arrested and detained by plainclothes agents. They took me, they questioned me for three or four hours, and then they let me go. My house was raided in front of my kids.
When Neda was killed I was in the area, but I was not at that spot. We got the film (of her death). It was a shocking thing. There was debate whether we should use it or not, because we had to make sure it was correct. We were debating if we should use it until three or four in the morning. Then we decided we had to use it.
Q. You have two daughters. How has your work affected them?
A. My daughters are 16 and 12. I really tried to keep them away from what was going on. I never told them I had such problems. When my home was searched they were scared. I lost custody of them and then I regained custody. Sometimes they are scared, and they are worried about me.
Q. Why do you keep doing journalism if you have to risk your safety?
A. This job becomes our life. People ask why I don’t quit. I say, “Why should I?” I love it. I just love it. Maybe this gives me some cover to fight also. I’m not a political activist. I fight my own way – reporting, letting people know, not being biased.
Follow USA LOCAL NEWS for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: Twitter: @USA LOCAL NEWS // Facebook: USA LOCAL NEWS
San Diego police reported they were investigating a robbery which occurred at a Fashion Valley jewelry store on Sunday afternoon.
The crime took place just after 1 p.m. at Maui Jewelers located at 7007 Friars Rd, according to police.
The store manager, first name Elias, told NBCSanDiego a man walked into the store with a bag and approached a service desk.
"Someone came in brandishing a weapon, demanding watches," said the manager.
Inside the store were a few customers and employees; however no one but the service clerks knew the man was robbing the store until after he left, according to the manager.
"The whole thing was really low-key," he added.
The service clerks gave the man about 20 watches before he fled the store on foot.
One of the employees pushed the security button during the incident, alerting police.
The manager said Maui Jewelers has been inside the mall for 15 year years.
Sunday's robbery comes weeks after a brazen heist committed by suspects who police have yet to catch.
"I think the mall really needs to step up and get more of a police presence in the area," said the manager.
Keep up to date on breaking news: Follow us on Twitter @nbcsandiego, fan us on Facebook, sign up for our breaking news e-mail alerts or text SDBREAKING to 622339 to receive text messages for local breaking news. (Standard rates apply)
Drilling is at a seven-year low in the North Texas natural gas fields.
But even as drilling pace slackens in the Barnett Shale, it's booming in other oil and gas fields of Texas, such as the Permian Basin of West Texas and the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that the number of active drilling rigs in the Barnett Shale fields in North Texas have fallen to their lowest level since June 11, 2004.
That fall-off comes even as drilling booms in the long-drilled Permian Basin of West Texas and the newly exploited Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas. Those fields offer more liquids such as oil and liquefied gas, drawing higher prices than the drier Barnett Shale natural gas fields.
Family and friends filled a Pennsylvania funeral home Saturday to mourn the lives of a wife and mother and her two children, who were killed last week in their home.
The caskets remained closed as those said a final goodbye. All three were buried at the Monterfiore Cemetary, a short distance from where Amy Friedlander grew up, and miles away from where the tragedy unfolded last week.
Police say Sam Friedlander beat his wife to death, then shot his children as they slept before killing himself in the basement.
Gary and Roberta Perez mourned their daughter and grandchildren along with dozens of friends who traveled from New York. Meanwhile, the Westchester community where the Friedlanders lived held a memorial at the families synagogue in South Salem. Friends and neighbors were still in shock over the murder-suicide.
Philadelphia police have arrested more than a dozen protesters who camped out in the middle of the street across from police headquarters overnight.
Deputy Commissioner William Blackburn says a group had marched Saturday from the Occupy Philadelphia encampment outside City Hall to police headquarters to protest alleged police brutality across the nation.
Protesters say the group gathered on the sidewalk across the street, and after several hours police closed the road and asked them to move.
Police say about 20 to 30 people moved into the middle of the blocked-off street and remained there until about noon Sunday, ignoring requests to disperse.
Blackburn said police then arrested 15 people on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a highway. A few dozen protesters remained on the sidewalk in the area.
Fan, follow and download: Get the latest from NBCPhiladelphia.com anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, our mobile site and USA LOCAL NEWS. Sign up for our breaking news newsletter. And, get breaking news delivered right to your mobile phone -- just text PHIBREAKING to 639710 to sign up. (Message and data rates may apply.)
Two people died when their motorcycle hit a truck on I-5 Sunday morning, but it was not immediately clear whether they were participating in the annual charity Love Ride, which was taking place on the freeway at that time.
In a hastily written update on the fire department’s web page, spokesman Erik Scott placed a question mark next to the words “Love Ride,” apparently indicating that it was not yet certain whether the two were on the ride.
At a concert in Castaic meant to be the culmination of the ride, music blared and an emcee roused the crowd even as organizers struggled to get information on the two riders.
Spokeswoman Susan Harrison said officials with the ride were initially told that the two were treated for minor injuries and then released. By early afternoon, she said she could not confirm whether the two were indeed killed, or whether the two riders who fire officials said had died were registered with the ride.
City News Service, meanwhile, quoted a witness saying that hundreds of participants were present on I-5 near Pacoima when paramedics arrived to treat the downed motorcyclists.
The Love Ride is an annual charity event that attracts hundreds of motorcyclists. This year, the organization was to raise money to combat autism. Celebrity backers included actor Peter Fonda and NBC's Jay Leno.
Navy Criminal Investigative Service officials are looking to the public for help to solve the death of a former Penthouse model whose body was found in an restricted piece of Camp Pendleton beach.
Anneka Vasta, known as Anneka Di Lorenzo in the 1970s, was found with a broken neck and back on the base on January 4.
Vasta was known for being the 1975 Penthouse Pet of the Year and appeared in the 1979 movie "Caligula," which was co-produced by the late Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione – a man she later sued and won a case against for sexual harassment, according to the New York Times.
Back in January, joggers reportedly found Vasta’s body washed-up along a beach where Marines train.
Vasta, 58, was raising a daughter and working as a nursing assistant in Los Angeles just before her death, according to NCIS. An autopsy showed she drowned, however her family and NCIS investigators are now asking for public's help in closing the case.
Investigators reportedly do not know if she committed suicide or may have met with foul play around New Year's Eve.
Had she jumped off the roughly 60-foot sea cliff, investigators don't believe her body would have ended up in the water.
Vasta was born Marjorie Thoreson and left her home at the age of 14 for Los Angeles where she later established herself. In 1990 she won a lawsuit against Guccione for sexual harassment and was awarded more than $4 million in 1990 by a New York judge.
Vasta was divorced at the time of her death and reportedly in and out of jobs.
According to the San Diego Union Tribune she lived with her sister in Sherman Oaks and took a Lithium-based drug for a mood disorder and Xanax for anxiety.
NCIS investigators determined Vasta left Los Angeles on January 2 just before 6 a.m. and later got a room at the Motel 6 on Raintree Drive, near South Carlsbad State Beach.
The Union-Tribune reported that she never checked out, and there's no evidence she ever used the room.
Vasta's cellphone records show she drove around until about 8:30 a.m., making calls to family and friends. The last call was placed from the vicinity of the I-5 vista parking area.
When investigators discovered the car, her phone and purse were still in it. So were Vatsa's leopard-print blouse and a sports bra, stained with blood and wrapped in a plastic bag.
A bloody steak knife was also found on the passenger floorboard. The blood was matched to Vasta, according to officials.
Along with the broken neck and back, an autopsy showed shallow cuts on Vasta's wrists and two stab wounds to her chest, none of which would have caused her death.
Investigators said there was no sign of sexual assault.
Anyone who saw the youthful-looking blonde in the area on Jan. 2, or her car, was asked call the NCIS office at (760) 725-5150. Cellphone tips can be texted to 274637.
One person was killed and seven others were injured in a Fort Worth shooting early Sunday morning.
Around 4 a.m., investigators say a gunman opened fire at a group of people gathered at a residence in the 3700 block of Frazier Avenue.
The man approached the residence on foot and began shooting at the victims, Fort Worth police say.
One person died at the scene, while the other seven injured were taken to area hospitals. Two victims required surgery and five others did not suffer life-threatening injuries, police say.
Protesters inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement are camping out in a tent city in a park across from the state Capitol.
Plaxico Burress had the big breakout game the New York Jets have been waiting for.
The veteran wide receiver caught three touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score that was set up by another interception by Darrelle Revis, and the Jets stormed back in the second half to defeat the San Diego Chargers 27-21 on Sunday.
Leading 21-17, the Chargers appeared to be driving for a possible game-sealing score when Philip Rivers threw to Vincent Jackson and the ball tipped off the receiver's hands and right to Revis, who returned the interception 64 yards to the Chargers 19.
Revis had two interceptions on Monday night, including a 100-yard touchdown return, in the Jets' 24-6 win against the Miami Dolphins.
After a few runs by Shonn Greene and a defensive holding penalty -- the Chargers' 11th penalty in the game -- Mark Sanchez found Burress on a slant for a 3-yard touchdown to give the Jets (4-3) the lead for the first time with 8:41 remaining. It was Burress' second three-TD catch game of his career, and first since 2007 while with the Giants.
San Diego turned it over again on its next possession when the Chargers (4-2) faced a third-and-6 from their 41 and Kyle Wilson picked off Rivers for the first interception of his career.
Nick Folk's 30-yard field goal with 1:36 left made it 27-21. San Diego had one last shot for a winning drive, but couldn't really threaten against New York's defense.
With the victory, the Jets headed into their bye-week break with two straight wins -- both at home -- after a three-game road losing streak.
They also are off to their first 4-0 start at home since 2004.
Sanchez finished 18 of 33 for 173 yards and three touchdowns, all to Burress, and an interception. Burress had just four catches for 25 yards, but he provided the red-zone presence the Jets hoped he'd be when they signed him as a free agent after he served 20 months in prison on a gun charge.
Greene had a season-high 112 yards on 20 carries. LaDainian Tomlinson, facing his former team for the first time since signing with the Jets last offseason, became the fourth running back in NFL history with 600 catches before leaving in the fourth quarter with what the team called an illness.
The game had some added spice when Jets coach Rex Ryan created a coast-to-coast stir when he said he would've won a few Super Bowl rings if he had been hired as the Chargers' coach in 2007. That job went to Norv Turner, who shot back at Ryan asking if Ryan had those rings stored with the ones he has guaranteed with the Jets.
But it was the Chargers who jumped out to an early lead and would have been up by a bunch if not for their mistakes. San Diego, coming off its bye, was sloppy as it was called for a whopping 13 penalties that kept the Jets in it early.
Mike Tolbert gave San Diego a 21-10 lead with 1:16 remaining in the first half on a 1-yard touchdown run.
The drive went 87 yards on 11 plays, helped by a 29-yard run by Tolbert that drew an angry first pump on the sideline from Ryan. Three plays later, Malcom Floyd made an acrobatic one-handed catch on which many of the fans at MetLife Stadium wanted Ryan to challenge, thinking the ball might have hit the ground on Floyd's way down.
On second-and-goal from the 8, Jim Leonhard was called for pass interference while defending Antonio Gates. After two runs for no gain, Tolbert bulldozed his way into the end zone from a yard out.
New York had an impressive drive on its second possession of the second half, capping a 10-play drive on Burress' 4-yard touchdown catch that made it 21-17 with 2:57 left in the third quarter.
The Chargers took a 7-0 lead just 1:49 into the game when they took advantage of a turnover by the Jets.
After three straight runs -- and a rare first-quarter first down by the Jets -- Sanchez was hit and threw a wobbly pass to Dustin Keller, who caught the ball but had it ripped out of his hands by Donald Butler. The Chargers' linebacker ran down the sideline and clear into the end zone, and capped his touchdown with a mock tribute to Tomlinson by sticking out his arm and flipping the ball off his fingertips as the Jets running back does when he scores.
Tomlinson, sixth on the NFL's career rushing list, reached his milestone midway through the first quarter when he joined Larry Centers (827), Marshall Faulk (767) and Keith Byars (610) as running backs with 600 or more receptions. He got No. 600 on a 6-yard shovel pass from Sanchez on third-and-7 from the Chargers 22. The Jets kicked a field goal on the next play to cut the deficit to 7-3.
New York appeared to take a 10-7 lead on its next possession on a 23-yard touchdown catch by Santonio Holmes, but the score was negated by a holding penalty on center Nick Mangold. Two plays later, Sanchez went for the end zone again, tossing a pass to Burress that was easily picked off by Eric Weddle and returned 25 yards to the Chargers 24.
San Diego took advantage of the turnover, going on a 14-play scoring drive that was capped by Gates' 2-yard touchdown catch with 12:11 left in the first half, putting the Chargers up 14-3.
Gates had missed three straight games with a flare-up of plantar fasciitis in his right foot after tearing scar tissue near the injury Sept. 18 against New England. He finished with five catches for 54 yards.
The Jets came right back as Burress caught a 3-yard touchdown pass with 7:18 left in the opening half to make it 14-10. The Jets were helped by four Chargers penalties -- two pass interference calls and two offsides -- on the drive.
A father of four was shot and killed by police in a case of mistaken identity following an armed robbery in Downey, investigators said Sunday.
The Los Angeles County sheriff's department said Michael Nida, 31, was most likely not the robbery suspect Downey police were searching for following an armed robbery near Imperial Highway and Paramount Boulevard around 7:20 p.m. Saturday.
"Officers were responding to a robbery of a citizen on the street, '' Downey police Sgt. Perry Miller. "When they saw two suspects matching their descriptions, a pursuit started."
Officers contained the area and found Michael Nida, 31, in the yard of a nearby house. Nida tried to flee again but was captured at Imperial Highway and Paramount Boulevard, police said.
Nida escaped detention a third time and led officers on a short foot pursuit. According to police, at one point, Niida turned toward the pursuing officers in an aggressive manner.
Fearing he was armed, an officer fired at Nida, striking him, police said.
Nida was detained and transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The Los Angeles County sheriff's department said Nida was not armed.
Two suspects are still at large, sheriff's deputies said.
Nida's sister told CBS2 that her brother was just out getting cigarettes.
"My brother and his wife were getting gas. He went across the street to get some cigarettes," Terri Teramura said. "He jaywalked, I guess. And the police saw him. Confronted him. I don't know what happened, but they shot him ... in the back. Five times. Killed him."
Follow USA LOCAL NEWS for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: Twitter: @USA LOCAL NEWS // Facebook: USA LOCAL NEWS
Prosecutors may begin to offer more insight Monday into a case involving accusations of Social Security fraud and the kidnapping of mentally disabled adults that has stunned local law enforcement and social service providers.
Linda Ann Weston, 51, her boyfriend Gregory Thomas, 47, and Eddie “the Reverend Ed” Wright, 50, allegedly held four mentally disabled adults captive in a filthy basement as part of a benefits fraud scheme.
The suspects are set to make their first court appearances in Philadelphia on Monday on charges of kidnapping, assault, false imprisonment and other counts.
Wright's attorney, Louis D'Onofrio, told The Associated Press on Sunday that his client would plead not guilty at the hearing. Weston's attorney has not returned several calls, and no lawyer is listed for Thomas.
A landlord discovered the victims in a dank boiler room of his Philadelphia apartment building Oct. 15. Police said the disabled adults, who have the mental capacity of 10-year-olds, were malnourished; one was chained to a boiler.
Weston, Thomas and Wright had recently moved into the building in the city's Tacony section with Weston's daughter Jean McIntosh, police said.
Authorities characterized Weston as the ringleader in a plot to lock people up and cash their Social Security checks.
Investigators are working to discover the extent of the scheme after finding more than 50 Social Security cards, power of attorney documents and other such forms in McIntosh's apartment.
McIntosh, 32, also faces charges including kidnapping, assault and false imprisonment. She was slated to appear in court Wednesday. Her could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.
Eight children and four young adults linked to the defendants are in protective custody.
Court documents indicated that Monday's arraignment status hearing for Weston, Thomas and Wright will be held before Common Pleas Court Senior Judge Felice Rowley Stack.
Fan, follow and download: Get the latest from NBCPhiladelphia.com anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, our mobile site and USA LOCAL NEWS. Sign up for our breaking news newsletter. And, get breaking news delivered right to your mobile phone -- just text PHIBREAKING to 639710 to sign up. (Message and data rates may apply.)
San Diego police are searching for a suspect who led officers on an early morning purist from Midway to La Jolla on Sunday.
Police said the chase started at about 7:23 a.m. in the 3300 block of Kemper Street when an officers tried to pull over a green Honda Civic, according to SDPD.
The Honda’s driver would not stop the vehicle, at which point a purist began.
Just about ten minutes later the pursuit ended when officers lost site of the suspect when the driver took off into the fog near the intersection of La Jolla Mesa Drive and La Jolla Scenic Drive.
Officers later located the vehicle without the suspect inside.
Police believe the suspect fled the scene on foot.
A Chicago police officer is being investigated by the FBI for killing a suspect in June, according to a published report.
The investigation centers around a video that reportedly shows Officer Gildardo Sierra firing several shots at a man who'd already been hit, and was lying on his stomach on the ground, the Chicago Tribune reported. Those fatal shots hit the man, Flint Farmer, in the back. Sierra later said he feared for his life and thought Farmer had a gun. But in reality, according to the Trib, he just had a cell phone.
All told, Sierra fired 16 shots at Farmer, hitting him seven times -- three in the back.
The Independent Police Review Authority ruled that the shooting was justified. But now, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says it's "a big problem," and Sierra should not have been on the street.
Sierra was involved in two previous shootings this year, one of them fatal. The Police Department ruled all of them justified.
The report is raising questions about the validity of such department investigations, and whether police are capable of policing themselves.
McCarthy acknowledged to the Tribune that the department previously did not have a system in place to track officers involved in multiple shootings -- even if they happened in a short period of time. And it also did not keep track of whether officers who'd been involved in shootings were emotionally or psychologically impacted by them. McCarthy said the department has since implemented such policies.
McCarthy told the paper the first two shootings Sierra was involved in were justified, but after they happened, he should have been put on desk duty rather than back on the beat.
Sierra has been stripped of his police powers. He responded to the Tribune report, saying the video does not show everything that happened.
"It's only part of the incident," he said.
Just before the shooting, police had been called to respond to a report of Farmer allegedly beating his girlfriend and her 3-year-old daughter. He had a prior domestic violence arrest.
Farmer's family has filed a federal lawsuit against the city.
Authorities in northern New Jersey say two men have been wounded in separate shootings in Paterson.
Investigations are underway to determine the cause of a three-alarm fire at a restaurant in South Whitehall.
Firefighters were dispatched to Charlie Brown Steak House at 1908 Walbert Avenue at 1 a.m. Sunday and spent three hours battling the blaze before bringing it under control. There is no word yet on the extent of the damage.
Stay with USA LOCAL NEWS.com for more on this developing story.
Four men in Queens who attempted to rob a man walking his dog in Queens may have regretted their target when they found out he was an off-duty detective.
A wildfire that briefly shut down part of Highway 38 near Yucaipa has been completely contained, the U.S. Forest Service said Sunday.
The 100-acre blaze, dubbed the Mill Fire, was contained late Saturday, a spokeswoman said. It started Friday shortly after 2 p.m. on Yucaipa Ridge about a quarter mile from the Mill Creek ranger station in San Bernardino County.
Firefighters expected to under full control on Sunday.
Highway 38 in the area was closed Friday afternoon, but re-opened at about 7 p.m.
The fire did not threaten any buildings, firefighters said.
A Mira Mesa business was left with major damage after a fire occurred in the early morning on Sunday, according to the San Diego Fire and Rescue Department.
At about 6:30 a.m. SDFRD officials received a report of a blaze inside a medical sterilization company located in the 9000 block of Activity Road.
Officials said there may have been two fires inside the building.
The first fire was said to be inside a concrete vault, according to an SDFRD official. That fire was knocked down at about 6:58 a.m.
There were reports of another fire being distinguished at about 7:31 a.m.
Officials said hazmat crews were called onto the scene because the business uses radioactive materials.
"We had the County come out and check the stability of the materials to make sure everything was ok," said an SDFRD Watch Commander.
The damage to the business was estimated to be $1.1 to $1.2 million.
Units were at the scene until about 9 a.m.
A Cerritos shopping center ravaged by fire early Sunday has been nearly destroyed, Los Angeles County firefighters told NBC LA.
The blaze, at the Fountain Plaza Mall at South Street and Gridley Road, started in a two-story Chinese restaurant at the strip mall, Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Mark Savage said. Firefighters were called at about 2 a.m. - too late to save the building, Savage said.
"It started collapsing when we were here so we had to pull out," he said.
The flames jumped from the restaurant and raced through ten businesses on the top floor.
Firefighters were hindered in their efforts to fight the fire because the building was collapsing. They were still at the scene well into the morning on Sunday, fighting remaining hot spots, Savage said.
"This building is pretty much destroyed," Savage said. "The restaurant is all fallen over. The facades have come down."
It was still too dangerous for investigators to go to in see how the three-alarm fire started, he said.
Businesses at the mall included the restaurant, a driving school, a nail salon and an accounting office, Savage said. Damages were estimated at $5.5 million - $4 million for the building and $1.5 million for its contents, he said.
There were no injuries.
A man has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a cab driver in Northeast.
Police arrested 20-year-old Rashad Slye of Southeast Sunday morning and accused him of shooting 40-year-old Domingo Ezirike of Prince George's County hours earlier.
Police discovered Ezirike suffering from a gunshot wound shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday in the 4300 block of Ponds Street, Northeast. The unconscious and unresponsive man was pronounced dead at the Chief Medical Examiner's office.
Ezirike worked for Silver Cab in Landover and a dispatcher confirmed to News4 that he was driving cab number 426. Requests to speak to his manager were not immediately answered.
The driver of a bus taking passengers from Chicago to Iowa City and Des Moines was arrested on drunken driving charges Friday night.
The Iowa State Patrol pulled over the Megabus around 10 p.m. Friday on Interstate 80 near Iowa City. The driver, 52-year-old Carl Smiley, of Chicago, was being held Saturday in the Johnson County jail on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
According to court documents, this would be Smiley's second DUI offense.
Chicago attorney John Tantazis was among the 30 to 40 passengers on the bus. He told The Press-Citizen the bus had been swerving but he thought it was the wind.
Police records say Smiley smelled of alcohol, admitted to drinking and failed a sobriety test.
The company is investigating the incident, according to Megabus director Edward Hodgson. He declined to comment on whether Smiley would be fired.
An El Cajon man was arrested Saturday after police said he assault a laundromat employee with a skateboard and pepper spay.
Five years after it started, federal prosecutors have ended their investigation into U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's relationship with a nonprofit agency in Hudson County.
One Marine was in custody Saturday after officials said he attacked a fellow Marine on Friday with a machete while on the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base.
Our media partner, the North County Times, reported the story Saturday.
According to the paper, the victim Marine was listed in stable condition after he was taken to the hospital for his wounds.
The suspect was taken into custody Friday and the incident was under investigation.
Officials told the paper they could not release any specific details about what happened, nor the name of the suspect.
Once the fog burns off it’s going to be a wildly perfect Southern California day.
Highs will range around 84 degrees in Burbank, 71 degrees in Santa Monica, 73 degrees in Fullerton and 88 degrees in Palmdale.
Later in the week expect some clouds Monday and Tuesday, but the sun will be back out by Wednesday and it will get warm again, with warm Santa Ana winds on the way through next weekend.
You can get details for your neighborhood on our weather page - just pop in your zip code!
As thousands of Illinois social service agencies, hospitals, schools and vendors were waiting months for overdue payments from the state, Gov. Pat Quinn's office pushed out a $285,000 payment to a prominent Chicago Democrat last month, just two weeks after a settlement was reached in a lawsuit, state records show.
Former Chicago alderman Martin Oberman and four other lawyers were the winners in a lawsuit that forced a special election last fall to fill the last 60 days of President Barack Obama's term in the U.S. Senate. As governor, Quinn was named as a defendant, and therefore the state was required to pay legal fees after a federal appeals court ordered the special vote.
Quinn's office agreed to a settlement on the fee with Oberman on Aug. 29, but the invoice to pay the bill was dated June 30, and the state cut the check Sept. 15, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press through the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and other state records.
In one email about the bill, a staffer in the governor's office writes to another that the attorney general, who defended Quinn in court, was pressing ``to get it paid quickly, I'm not sure why.'' The governor's budget office then sent the bill to the comptroller, who paid it two days later.
Both state officials and Oberman dismissed questions about whether political connections or clout had anything to do with the expedited payment. Like Oberman, Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan are Chicago Democrats. Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, whose office ultimately pays the bills, is a Republican, but a spokesman said her staff relies on the governor's priorities in making those calls.
"Why it was paid when it was paid? I'm not privy to how those things are figured out,'' said Oberman, an alderman from 1975 to 1987 and a three-time candidate for state attorney general.
He said he did not make speedy payment a condition of the settlement and expected to wait some period of time given the state's finances.
As of early September, the state owed $5 billion to vendors and social service agencies it depends on to carry out some of its most important tasks. Nearly half of the bills were more than a month overdue, and some stretched back to last year. An AP analysis of state documents revealed that the intervention of state legislators or other influential politicians often meant faster payment of bills in which vendors claimed a hardship.
Kelly Kraft, spokeswoman for the governor's budget office, said the payment to the attorneys was not the same as paying a bill for goods or services, even though it came out of the general revenue fund, the main state checking account tt finances the vast majority of overdue bills.
"We lost the case and were required to pay his attorney fees," Kraft said. "As the losing party, it is not unusual to have attorney fee payments expedited."
But not all payments of the state's legal debts are rushed. State records analyzed by the AP show that in September, the state owed $2.9 million to 72 individuals, law firms, unions and insurance companies for legal awards and settlement fees from the same general revenue fund, some of which were more than 10 months old.
One of them was Mark Wetzell of Tampico, who settled a case against the state for a March 7 traffic accident in northern Illinois in which a state-operated truck pulled out in front of his rig. The trucks collided and Wetzell's flipped and slid down an embankment.
Wetzell agreed to about $23,500 for medical bills and truck replacement on July 18 and was told to expect a check in about 100 days. He was paid 73 days later, on Sept. 29, according to state records.
"When this (accident) happened, everybody knows the shape the state is in, so I wasn't expecting any fast payment. I was happy to get what I got," he said.
In the election case, Oberman and the other attorneys represented two taxpayers who sued Quinn and then-U.S. Sen. Roland Burris after Burris was appointed to the seat in 2008 by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. They argued that after a governor fills a Senate vacancy, the U.S. Constitution requires a timely election to let voters decide who should represent them, and appellate judges agreed.
At the polls in November, voters therefore voted twice for the same seat, choosing Sen. Mark Kirk for a 60-day stint until the official end of the Obama/Burris term, as well as the standard six-year term the Republican is now serving.
Oberman and the other lawyers would have gone back to court to compel Quinn's office to pay their fee if the two sides hadn't settled. The five lawyers splitting the fee agreed to a discount of about 25 percent because they didn't have to return to court to collect, Oberman said.
Some lawyers who regularly litigate against the state in court were surprised by the speedy payment. One, Springfield attorney Carl Draper, said judgments he wins against the state wait in line like everybody else's.
"In my years of experience in litigation with the state, a major problem is late payment," Draper said. "Even if there is a judgment, payment comes months or even up to a year late."
A judge ruled with Draper in December that the Executive Ethics Commission was operating improperly and ordered the state to pay Draper $9,400 in attorney's fees. State records indicate he got paid Sept. 19, nine months after the order.
Kraft said the voucher for the election-lawsuit payment was properly dated June 30 _ the last day of the 2011 fiscal year _ because the litigation occurred in that fiscal year. But the settlement wasn't signed until August, in the 2012 fiscal year, and without a settlement, the case would have continued with Oberman back in court.
When asked if the comptroller's office should more closely scrutinize the checks it writes, Topinka spokesman Brad Hahn said the governor's office communicates regularly with state vendors, "so it makes good sense for the comptroller to rely" on the governor's priorities for accelerated payment.
Natalie Bauer, spokeswoman for Attorney General Lisa Madigan, said payment decisions are the governor's to make.
"We don't handle the purse strings," Bauer said.
To explore a searchable database of the Illinois government's unpaid bills from Sept. 8, go to >
The woman accused of murdering her co-worker at a Lululemon store in Bethesda is set to stand trial on Monday.
Brittany Norwood is accused of killing Jayna Murray on March 11.
Police say Norwood beat and stabbed Murray to death after the victim found suspected stolen merchandise in Norwood's bag.
Norwood then allegedly tried to cover up the murder by cutting herself, tying herself up and claiming she and Murray were attacked by two masked men.
Norwood's defense team entered a not guilty plea back in September.
Even with the trial looming, Norwood's attorney said he's still open to negotiating a plea bargain.
Northwestern University students are on alert after a student was attacked and robbed Saturday night.
It started around 11:30 p.m. at Sheridan Road and University Place on the Evanston campus. The attacker came up behind a male student and at first, just asked him what time it was. The student pulled out his smart phone to check the clock, and told him the time.
As the student walked away, the man again came up behind him, this time grabbing the student and demanding his phone. The thief claimed to have a knife, punched the student in the face, and grabbed his smart phone. The man then pushed the student to the ground and ran away.
The student chased his attacker, but was not able to catch him.
Police described the attacker as a black man, 18 to 22 years old, about 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing about 180 pounds with an average build. He wore a multi-colored hat with stripes, and blue jeans.
Police ask anyone who thinks they saw the suspect or the attack to give them a call.
Balboa Park December Nights is celebrating its 34th year of the renowned multicultural experience.
Nearly 30 people carrying shotguns, rifles and pistols gathered at Pacific Beach in a demonstration supporting open carry of firearms on Saturday.
The protesters said they decided to hold the event after a recent decision by Governor Brown.
Police were forewarned about the event which took place at corner of Felspar and Ocean Front Walk on Pacific Beach.
“They know that we are law abiding people and we're not out to harm anyone,” said Sam Wolanyk, a member of Responsible Citizens of California.
The heavily armed group took issue with Governor Jerry Brown's signing of Assembly Bill 144, making it illegal to carry an exposed unloaded handgun in public effective January 1st.
“That leaves us with the only option to exercise our second amendment rights to carry long guns which means rifles and shotguns,” Wolanyk said.
Saturday’s protest was the group's first effort to get the public used to seeing firearms in public.
Police said all of their actions were legal, but they needed to dedicate resources to deal with calls and questions from frightened people.
“[We are] just calming the public down with these individuals walking around with guns,” said Asst. Chief Shelley Zimmerman of San Diego Police Department.
Many beach goers were shocked at the sight and disagreeing with the group's premise.
“You've got criminals that are carrying firepower, how are we going to protect ourselves but it doesn't make the whole society any safer,” said one woman.
For Leighann Nickle , an Ontario resident and activist, carrying a 357 magnum revolver is an important option.
“I love my life, I love my family, I love my daughter and I love my community and everyone around it,” said Nickle, “I want to be able to protect them if and when the need should arise.”
The North Texas Tollway Authority has disclosed to potential investors that the FBI has questioned several of its officials over possible conflicts of interest by past and present board members.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports the disclosure was made in a preliminary bond offering statement. It stressed the authority had "no reason to believe" it was under investigation.
The announcement came on the eve of a $674 million bond offering Nov. 2 to help fund the Chisholm Trail Parkway.
The authority said it was fully cooperating with the FBI. The statement did not indicate who was under scrutiny or what sort of possible conflicts of interest were being scrutinized.
Chief Financial Officer Janice Davis says she believes the inquiry will have little or no impact on the bond sale.
A teen driver and a group of juveniles led police on a chase through Vista Friday evening before colliding with another car, San Diego County Sheriff’s officials reported Saturday.
The incident began at about 11:30 p.m. when the Oceanside police attempted to make a traffic stop on a Honda, said Deputy Kenneth Werner, in a media release.
The Honda fled, beginning a pursuit that led police eastbound on Hacienda Drive into Vista.
Sheriff’s officials reported that all of those present inside the vehicle were juveniles and that they were going more than 60 miles an hour during the chase.
As the Honda drove through the intersection of Matagual Drive and S. Melrose Drive, the vehicle reportedly collided with a car driven by a man named William Van Laethem.
Van Laethem was later transferred to Palomar Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Werner said.
The minors were also transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
It turned out that the Honda driven by the teen was an unreported stolen vehicle, Werner added.
Both the OPD and SDCS are handling the investigation and it wasn’t made immediately clear whether the suspects were later taken into custody.
Two years after the Department of Justice said it would respect state laws, U.S. attorneys based in California announced a crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries.
“What we’ve seen, unfortunately, is the Compassionate Use Act has really turned into the Commercial Use Act,” said Andre Birotte Jr., U.S. attorney for California’s central district.
Birotte claimed that although California voters approved of Proposition 215 in 1996, which created a legal, medical defense for the use of marijuana, many dispensaries in the Southland are operating as for-profit entities and are selling high volumes of marijuana to other states.
We’ve been receiving feedback from law enforcement circles and communities throughout the state that this has been a growing problem, Birotte said.
Eight Lake Forest dispensaries, all operating out of the second floor of a strip mall, shut their doors earlier this week after federal authorities requested asset forfeitures from their landlords.
Birotte said the Department of Justice has requests these forfeitures in instances when repeated attempts to shut down the dispensaries have failed.
California legislatures have asked the federal government to pull back on their marijuana crackdowns, claiming the closures affect people who are ill.
While Birotte said he respected those differing opinions, he added that marijuana is a controlled substance and the federal authorities will continue targeting those dispensaries that violate state and federal law.
It is estimated about 1 million Californians hold a medical marijuana card.
Birotte said he could not guess how many of those holders were erroneous, but said it is fair to question their legitimacy.
“There is some question as to whether all those million people are those who righteously deserving of a medical marijuana recommendation,” Birotte said.
Details about the new sex education curriculum in New York City public schools are out -- and some fear they're too racy.
The New York Post obtained workbooks that will be used for the new recommended curriculum, which begins in the spring in middle schools and high schools around the city. Parents, they say, may be shocked by details of the work.
Middle school students will be assigned "risk cards" that rate the safety of different activities, the paper says, from French kissing to oral sex.
The workbooks for older students direct them to a website run by Columbia University, which explores topics such as sexual positions, porn stars, and bestiality. The lessons explain risky sexual behavior and suggest students go to stores to jot condom brands and prices.
The Department of Education says the curriculum "stresses that abstinence is the best way to avoid pregnancy and STD/HIV" and reminded the Post that parents have the option to exclude their kids from lessons on "methods of prevention."
When given details of the new programs, one Manhattan mom -- who has a child in middle-school -- was surprised.
"I didn't know how much detail they would get," she said.
In August, Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs commended the return of mandatory sex ed, saying the DOE wants to give students the correct information about sexual activity if they do choose to engage in it.
"We want to help kids to delay the onset of sexual activity, and if they choose to engage in sexual activity, to do it in a healthy way," she said.
The classes will be coeducational, and can be incorporated into existing heal education courses.
Police continued to search Sunday morning for a masked gunman who killed a Chicago man at his birthday party.
Just before 2 a.m., the gunman opened fire from the street, shooting into the second floor of an apartment building in the 2100 block of North LeClaire Avenue.
That's in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood on the city's Northwest Side.
The gunman shot 23-year-old Harry Rodriguez, and a 21-year-old man. Paramedics took both to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where Rodriguez died.
The other victim was in critical condition Sunday morning.
Police were unsure of a motive for the shooting. They continue to investigate.
Anti-Wall Street demonstrators of the Occupy Chicago movement stood their ground in a downtown park in noisy but peaceful defiance of police orders to clear out, and about 130 were arrested early Sunday, authorities said.
Occupy Chicago spokesman Joshua Kaunert vowed after the arrests that the demonstrators would be coming back.
"We're not going anywhere. There are still plenty of us," Kaunert told The Associated Press after police carried out the arrests for more than hour.
Police began taking people into custody just before 1 a.m. Sunday, first taking people away one by one and then in groups to vans and two large white buses. Some waiting to be arrested shouted to police: "Take me next! Take me next!" Others chanted: "We'll be back!"
Officers had begun placing metal barricades around the part of Chicago's Grant Park known as Congress Plaza about 11:10 p.m. Saturday, minutes after the park had closed. Soon after that, police went through the crowd and warned people to leave or risk arrest for remaining in the closed park in violation of a city ordinance.
Several of the protesters who remained inside the barricades in the park sat on the ground in the chilly Chicago night air. Others locked arms and then the arrests began as trickle before picking up speed.
Police said they made approximately 130 arrests early Sunday, a number which protest organizers confirmed.
Kaunert said arrests were made without violence.
"Everybody was very peaceful and smiling and there was no violence, though a lot of chanting," he added.
He urged authorities to let the people protest peacefully against the perceived corporate greed and other ills they see on Wall Street and elsewhere. He noted it was the second straight weekend that arrests had been made after at least 175 arrests in the same park the previous Sunday after protesters set up tents past public hours.
"The police came in and again took away our right to free speech and assembly," he said before dawn Sunday, adding those led off weren't immediately released. "Several paddywagons left and they had two very large prison buses and those are gone now."
As the arrests were underway, organizers said they were upset that Mayor Rahm Emanuel did not make an exception and allow them to stay in the park after it closed.
“Other mayors with the same sorts of laws have not only done that but they have come out to speak” at rallies, said Cathy “Sugar” Russell, a spokeswoman for Occupy Chicago. Russell, 33, a marketing student at DeVry who lives in Avondale, said while protesters will remain at LaSalle and Jackson around the clock, where the protests started, they sought to move to Grant Park because they “need an appropriate space where we can do the work for social and economic justice.”
“Freedom of speech has no curfew” James Cox, who was arrested both last week and Sunday morning, said in a statement from Occupy Chicago. “Daily this movement is growing and getting louder, until the people up top hear us, the occupation will continue!”
Paulina Jasczuk, a 24-year-old dental receptionist, watched as her boyfriend, Philip Devon, was led away. She threw him a white sweater against the chill.
"I'm proud of everyone who got arrested tonight," she told AP, adding she hoped they would inspire more demonstrators to join in the movement in the weeks ahead.
Demonstrators were taken away one by one and handcuffed with white plastic ties. Some on the scene shouted: "This is what democracy looks like!"
Drums banged and some people clanged on metal.
"One: We are the people! Two: we are united! Three, the occupation is not leaving!" people shouted, including others just outside the park.
Jonathan Sumner, 25, of Chicago, watched the arrests from outside the park and began shouting at officers: "Why are you doing this?"
"It's a sad day for the CPD" he said, using the acronym of the Chicago Police Department.
Some said earlier that arrests only signal the importance of the Occupy movement.
"This movement will not be a serious movement until we take a stand, and getting arrested is just one way of taking a stand," said Max Farrar, 20, a junior political science major at DePaul University, speaking Saturday to a reporter.
About 1,500 people gathered for Saturday's protest, descending on the city park with hopes of making it the movement's permanent home. The group started in Chicago's financial district and marched to the park.
Along the way, marchers chanted "Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!" and held signs that read "Greed Sucks" and "No War But The Class War" while police on horses blocked them from walking on the street on Michigan Avenue, leaving them with just the sidewalks to occupy.
Occupy Wall Street began a month ago in New York among a few young people, and has grown to tens of thousands around the country and the world.
A city ordinance prevents the Occupy Chicago group from camping outside the Federal Reserve Bank and although the protesters want to make Grant Park their permanent home, they lack permits for their occupation. Some called the ordinance "unconstitutional."
D.C. Police are searching for three suspects this morning after a deadly shooting in Northwest Washington late Saturday night.
Police responded to the scene at Georgia Avenue Northwest and W Street, near Howard University Hospital, just after 10 P.M. The 20 year old victim was rushed to that hospital, but did not survive.
Police are looking for three men, and no arrests have been made. Howard University Hospital tells News4 that the shooting is not related to the hospital or the university, which was celebrating its homecoming this weekend.
Over 100 firefighters responsed to a two-alarm fire in a Brooklyn synagogue early Sunday morning.
Maryland State Police are investigating a fatal accident on Route 301 in Charles County.
Investigators say that two vehicles collided early Sunday morning near Fairgrounds Road in La Plata. State Police say that one of the vehicles was traveling the wrong way on the highway when the accident occurred. The driver of the vehicle at fault was killed in the accident, while the driver and passenger of the other vehicle were transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police have not released the names of any of the involved parties and investigators are not certain what caused the crash, though alcohol is being considered as a possible factor.
Stay with usa-local-news.blogspot.com for more on this story as it develops.
Police are investigating a fatal shooting that took place in Chester early Sunday morning.
Police found the 19-year-old black male unconscious and bleeding from the head in the 1000 block of West 7th Street shortly after 1 a.m. The victim was transported to Crozer Chester Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5:30 a.m.
The victim's is name is being withheld by police until his family is notified. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Chester Police Detective Patrick Mullen at (610) 447-8463 or Detective William Gordon at (610) 891-4700.
Philadelphia police say an 8-year-old boy was struck by a car in West Philadelphia Saturday night.
It happened around 9 p.m. on the 1400 block of North Hobart Street. Witness say the boy ran in front of the vehicle. The driver initially fled the scene but was arrested moments later.
The young victim was transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and is listed in stable condition.
We’ll provide more details on this story as they become available
Fan, follow and download: Get the latest from NBCPhiladelphia.com anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, our mobile site and USA LOCAL NEWS. Sign up for our breaking news newsletter. And, get breaking news delivered right to your mobile phone -- just text PHIBREAKING to 639710 to sign up. (Message and data rates may apply.)
There are so many things to consider when starting your own business that it's easy to miss a huge one: Do you need another co-founder?
Charity-minded local company GiveForward is a big advocate of companies having two types of founders: a business savvy one and a tech-savvy one. Although COO and co-founder Ethan Austin admits his company didn't follow this advice, he has a good reason: They didn't know any better. And he sorely doesn't want you to make the same mistakes he did, or waste time like he did in getting his fundraising service off the ground.
While emailing with Austin's director of IT, Chris McKeever on an unrelated topic for another interview idea that didn't pan out, Chris suggested I give Austin a call to further explore this typically overlooked area. (You can read my previous interview with Chris on how startups can protect themselves against hackers here.)
What sort of hiccups did you run into starting without a tech co-founder?
Ethan Austin: A lot of advice you hear on startup blogs or other people is that you should have one business person and one technical co-founder. I think we started with two business people who knew absolutely nothing about business. [Laughs.] We weren't off to the most auspicious start. In the beginning we were so naive that we didn't even know you needed a technical co-founder. I think we've certainly learned a lot more about startups in the last three years -- in the beginning we didn't know that much so we just dove in. We didn't have the money.
What we could've done is do it on equity and bring on a third, technical person. But we honestly didn't know how much of a difference that would make at the time.
Where would you find someone like that to help co-found a company if you don't have one in your network?
Ethan Austin: I'm talking to a lot of startups now who are doing that. A lot of single founders are actually asking me that same question. There's something called the Founder Institute. There's accelerators in Chicago, like Excelerate Labs, but there's also pre-funding companies to help single founders find other single founders. Those are good and helpful, obviously to get in there means someone has selected you.
Those are like incubators?
Ethan Austin: Yeah, they're like incubators but they're for really early stages, like the idea stage. A couple of founders will meet each other and decide whether they want to work together. Only a few people are going to get into that. For the majority of people, I think where they have luck is at networking events. There are other startup people there looking to do things and join teams.
We've seen companies start out of weekend events, like hackathons. There's something called Cloudbot that got put together at a hackathon. That's another option. I think most people, you just keep going to networking events. I just talked to someone yesterday who's technical but he's also looking for another technical co-founder, and he potentially found on the old way: A buddy of his from college is working at Microsoft and he's trying to get him to come down and work with him.
It's a tough thing. I keep getting a lot of questions [on this] a lot from people who are starting out.
What problems did you run into by not having a technical co-founder that others could maybe avoid?
Ethan Austin: We just went a lot slower. We had a development shop to help build the website in Chicago. With development shops, what happens is that we have a contract and inevitably those go over time. Three months turns into six months, and then you end up with a product that's late to market and you can't really make iterations on it because you paid for a fixed contract. Once you have something on the market and it's out there, it's out there, and you can't test it or keep improving it. You don't really know how good your product is or if the market even likes it until it's out there. When you have a fixed bid contract, you can't keep paying them to fix things and change things and make things better. You're kinda stuck with what you have for long periods of time.
Were there any advantages at all you could see to not have a technical co-founder? Or is it a huge mistake everyone should avoid?
Ethan Austin: We got through it in spite of not having one. I advise companies to go find one. One of my buddies last year asked what dev shop I'd recommend and I said, "Nothing against dev shops, but if you can, go find yourself a technical co-founder instead of working through a dev shop." You can just build so much faster than you can with dev shops. It's all about speed and getting things to market and getting them tested. That's the main advantage. For us, if we wanted to make some changes, we had to wait three months or save up money until we could afford to pay. So you're progressing at a pace that's glacial and doesn't allow you to make the changes you need to make when you need to make them.
We did it out of necessity. We were boot-strapping. We didn't have any money. We didn't realize we should've had a third person. That's what we could afford, so that's the way we did it.
What would you say is the average "getting to know you" period when you meet a potential technical co-founder? I'm inclined to think people can't decide about diving in together immediately.
Ethan Austin: I was literally talking about this with someone yesterday. It's that person who's bringing on a friend. There's a big advantage to working with a friend in that the most important thing between business owners is trust. You have to trust each other. It takes a bit longer if you don't know the person at all.
You want someone who can solve your problems and do cool things. If you're hiring someone in Chicago, a dev shop, or in India, or in Russia, they're gonna build stuff to spec. That means you're going to give them something, and they're going to build it as you requested. But bringing on a co-founder? They're going to think of ways to constantly improve your product and site. That's all they think about 24 hours a day, how they can make this awesome. When you have a dev shop, they're really just building to contract, to build what you want, and then move onto the next contract.
You don't want a developer. You want a hacker. In essence, a hacker is someone who is constantly thinking of how they can solve problems. Not someone who's just coding; someone who's coming up with creative ways to solve problems. A founder is going to be so much more invested in your company.
