It's going to be a hot one, San Diego!
As another heat wave rolls into the county today and brings high temperatures to the region, meteorologist Megan Parry has your microclimate forecasts to help you prepare for the next few of days of scorching heat and high humidity.
Plus, if you’re thinking of remodeling your home, we have the story of a local couple in the middle of a major project when their contractor left without finishing the job and their money.
We're also following through on another round of action taking place in the South Bay to once again warn residents of the ongoing Tijuana Sewage crisis.
We have all of that and more in the August 20 edition of the morning newsletter:
TOP STORY:
An intense late-summer heat wave will descend on inland San Diego County starting today, generating dangerously high temperatures in some locations into the weekend.
The expected onset of scorching conditions prompted the National Weather Service to issue an Extreme Heat Warning for local desert communities, effective from 10 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Saturday. Over the period, daily highs in those areas could reach 110 to 116 degrees, the NWS reported.
Across the inland valleys and in the mountains, meanwhile, the mercury is likely to climb into the mid-90s to around 100 degrees or a little higher, according to meteorologists. For those locales, the weather service issued a less-urgent Heat Advisory, slated to run from 10 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Friday.
Authorities advise people to prevent potential heat-related ill health effects during such acute hot spells by drinking plenty of non-alcoholic fluids, staying out of the sun during the warmest times of the day, taking shelter in air-conditioned spaces if possible and checking up on at-risk friends, relatives and neighbors.
WEATHER RESOURCES:
Story by City News Service
MICROCLIMATE FORECASTS:
Coasts
Inland
Mountains
Deserts
BREAKING OVERNIGHT:
BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO defense chiefs are holding a virtual meeting to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine as part of efforts to end Russia's war on its neighbor.
Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone says 32 defense chiefs are participating in the talks. U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich is also involved.
Last Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and on Monday he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.
No concrete progress emerged from those meetings.
Kyiv’s European allies are looking to set up a force that could backstop any peace agreement, and military chiefs are figuring out how that security force might work.
RELATED STORY: https://www.10news.com/world/europe/switzerland-offers-to-host-peace-talks-between-russia-and-ukraine
CONSUMER:
It was supposed to be their perfect retirement home, but a San Diego couple said they paid tens of thousands of dollars to a contractor, only for him to take off and not finish the job.
The Lopezes decided to share their story to warn others before they do work on their own homes.
“We paid for the cabinets to be completed, and he never showed up with the cabinets,” Dominic Lopez said.
That’s only one of the broken promises from the Lopezes’ contractor.
“We just couldn't live like this because we were living in a like in a plastic bubble,” he said.
Lopez said their personal belongings were left abandoned covered underneath plastic tarps.
According to the contract, the Lopezes and the contractor agreed on a 575-square-foot ADU extension to their home, which included demolition, framing, and electrical and plumbing improvements.
The extension centered around the kitchen area.
It’s been a long, stressful journey for the Lopezes that started in the summer of 2023 when they hired a contractor -- who ABC 10News is not naming at this time since he hasn’t been charged with any crime.
The Lopezes said the contractor was supposed to be done with the work in less than a year, but he wasn’t.
“The workers are not showing up, and then he's not showing up. He's giving us excuses all the time,” Lopez said.
He then said the contractor disappeared.
“He cleaned pretty much our savings accounts … our bank account,” Lopez said.
To date, the Lopezes spent more than $100,000.
“With the funds that we have now, we're broke,” Lopez said.
Lopez thought he did the right thing when he contacted a couple of other contractors to compare before signing with this one.
But the Lopezes and the civil attorney they’ve been working with said the person they hired was using the license number of another contractor -- a legitimate and registered one.
That contractor told ABC 10News anchor Melissa Mecija over the phone that at one point, he worked with the person the Lopezes hired but never gave that person permission to use his license.
The Lopezes had no idea.
“We would very much want to see that this individual communicates with us and try to rectify the damage that he's done. I don't understand how somebody could leave somebody like this,” said attorney John Case.
Mecija reached out to the contractor who the Lopezes said left their home incomplete. The contractor said he would do an interview to explain his side, but he never showed up.
The contractor whose license number was being used told ABC 10News he only learned of the situation after the Lopezes contacted him. The contractor reported what happened to the state.
There are steps consumers should take before starting any home improvement project:
-- ask to see the contractor’s pocket license and a photo ID
-- pay no more than 10% down or $1,000, whichever is less
-- the contract should detail everything agreed upon, including the work, price and when the job will be finished
-- obtain a contact information list for not just the contractor, but also subcontractors and suppliers.
WE FOLLOW THROUGH:
More warning signs are coming to the South Bay, this time to mark two major Tijuana River sewage hot spots.
On Wednesday, San Diego County leaders -- including San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre -- will be in the Nestor neighborhood to officially unveil the signage on Saturn Boulevard that will warn residents of the dangers of toxic gases and contaminated air in the area.
The new signs come almost a month after the U.S. and Mexico reached a deal to come together to address the crisis that has plagued the region for many years.
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