San Diego’s Bonkers Toys has signed a worldwide, multi-year licensing deal with Invisible Narratives, the digital studio created by Hollywood power brokers.

Under the terms of the agreement, the toy company, according to a news release, will manufacture and distribute toys based on the record-setting animated YouTube series “Skibidi Toilet.”

The partnership between Bonkers Toys and Invisible Narratives, led by former Paramount and Dreamworks SKG President Adam Goodman and Chief Creative Adviser Michael Bay (director of The Rock, Armageddon, films in the Transformers franchise and more), will bring “Skibidi Toilet” toys to major retailers beginning this fall.

The series, created by Alexey Gerasimov (aka Boom), has amassed over 65 billion views since its debut last year.  The sci-fi series chronicles the adventures of an alliance of humanoids with TVs, cameras and speakers for heads in their fight against Skibidi toilets – toilets that aren’t just bathrooms fixtures but living, scheming entities with ambitions of their own.

“‘Skibidi Toilet’ is a pioneer of its kind, the first epically viewed narrative series with all the right ingredients to position it as the next massive franchise,” said Brian Bonnett, CEO of Bonkers Toys. “As a toy company that specializes in non-traditional content that resonates with kids, we are thrilled to work with Michael Bay, Boom and Invisible Narratives to produce toys that capture the ‘Skibidi’ experience for its millions of fans worldwide.”

The upcoming toys, according to the company, “will capture the spirit and humor of the record-setting YouTube series, translating its digital charisma into tangible icons that resonate with a broad international audience.”

Bonkers Toys has become known as a leader in YouTube and creator-based toys, serving as the first licensee for Ryan’s World, with flagship toys including the Giant Mystery Egg & Cap’n Ryan’s Mega Mystery Treasure Chest. Bonkers Toys also has partnered with other top creators, including Lankybox and Aphmau, to create best-selling toy lines.

Grant funding secured by MiraCosta College is supporting 30 students through the new Affordable Housing Management certificate program.

The program was created through a collaboration between the college’s Short-Term Vocational Program, ConAm Management Corporation and the San Diego Housing Federation, the region’s strongest advocate for more affordable housing. 

Thanks to a $80,000 state grant, MiraCosta offered to pay tuition for students from the management classes to complete three real estate exam preparation courses at the college’s Technology Career Institute.

To obtain a certificate from the Affordable Housing Management program, students must complete two four-week courses offered in a hybrid and online format. Each course is limited to 20 students so learners can complete the certificate as a cohort.

Future paid internships are being developed through a collaboration with the housing federation and the San Diego Workforce Partnership.

Since its launch in Fall 2022, the program has graduated 55 students. Adult learners represented 76% of the students, while 69% were people of color and 84% were female. 

Marisol Martinez, a stay-at-home mother to four children, was in the program’s first cohort. When she completed the course, she applied for a temporary job as a leasing agent through a staffing agency. She was placed at Azure Point, a 55-and-older community in Encinitas. The post turned into a permanent job as an assistant manager. 

“It’s ideal,” she said. “I’m definitely learning and I’m preparing myself faster for a property manager position.” 

For more information on the certificate program, contact Erica Duran at eduran@miracosta.edu. Fall registration begins Aug. 19. Students may register online.

Coronado has found a home among Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches.

Florida International University professor Stephen Leatherman, known to many as Dr. Beach, releases his famed list each year ahead of Memorial Day weekend. 

Coronado is a mainstay, this year rounding out the Top 10, while also being the only California beach to make the cut.

He called Coronado Beach “the toast of Southern California” and a “veritable oasis by the sea.”

Duke Kahanamoku in Hawaii earned his top spot because of its white coral sand and clear water. It doesn’t hurt, Leatherman said, that an volcano crater sits as its backdrop at the west end of Waikiki Beach and it’s also the widest beach on a world-famous stretch.

Hawaii claimed two other slots – Wailea Beach in Maui at No. 3 and Poipu Beach in Kauai at No. 7.

Leatherman has selected the Top 10 Beaches since 1991. Previous national winners are retired and listed on his web site.

Fifty criteria are used to evaluate beaches, including water and sand quality as well as safety and management. He awards bonus points for beaches with smoking bans. 

Leatherman is a coastal scientist who has published 20 books and hundreds of scientific articles and reports about storm impacts, coastal erosion and ways to improve beach health and safety.

Memorial Day began as a way to honor the nation’s Civil War dead. Initially known as Decoration Day and marked in local communities by adorning the graves of the lost with flowers, the tributes went national in 1868.

Over the decades, people began to refer to the commemoration as Memorial Day. After World War I, the day expanded to include honors for all the nation’s war dead. For many years it fell on May 30, but legislation passed in 1968 designated Memorial Day as a national holiday and moved it to its familiar home – the final Monday in May.

San Diego County offers those who want to pay their respects a range of options throughout the region. You may head to the USS Midway Museum all weekend to view the Remembrance Wall or on Saturday go to Miramar National Cemetery where Rotary District 5340 has sponsored 17,000 American flags to be placed on the gravesites of fallen veterans. The event starts at 2:30 p.m.

There are several events on Monday – here’s a selection:

Midway Museum – hosts a 9 a.m. wreath-laying ceremony on the flight deck, followed by musical from the Troy Athens High School Band, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Arizona Band and Bonita Vista High School’s Music Machine until the 3 p.m. National Moment of Remembrance.

North County Cemetery District – hosts two events, one at Oak Hill Memorial Park in Escondido with VFW Post 1513 and Auxiliary, 2540 Glenridge Road, at 9 a.m. and the second, at San Marcos Cemetery, 1021 Mulberry Drive, at 10 a.m.

Veterans Association of North County – holds a 10 a.m. ceremony with a speech by Col. Chuck “Dude” Dudik, chief of staff of Marine Corps Installations West, Camp Pendleton; at the association’s resource center, 1617 Mission Ave in Oceanside.

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery – hosts a public service at 10 a.m.

Coronado Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2422 – hosts speakers and a presentation of colors at Star Park, 1030 Park Place, at 10 a.m.

Mira Mesa Senior Center – offers a community remembrance ceremony and flag-raising; 8460 Mira Mesa Blvd. at 10:30 a.m.

Fallbrook Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1924 – hosts a remembrance at the Masonic Cemetery, 1177 Santa Margarita Drive, at 11 a.m., followed by lunch at the VFW post, 1175 Old Stage Road.

American Legion Post 468 – hosts an 11 a.m. remembrance at Julian Pioneer Cemetery, 2948 A St., followed by a potluck at the post, 2503 Washington St.

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church – hosts an 11 a.m. community service in Del Mar featuring Dan Donoghue, CDR, USN, (Ret.); with a Memorial Roll Call, during which names of members of the armed forces who died in active service will be read; 1 Parish Lane.

American Legion San Dieguito Post 416 – hosts 11 a.m. remembrance with food and music by the Dollar Bill Band to follow the ceremony; 210 West F St., Encinitas

Miramar National Cemetery – the 1 p.m. ceremony marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Speakers include Gregory A. Daddis, U.S. Army (Ret.), director of the San Diego State Center of War and Society, and Consul General of France Julie Duhaut-Bedos; 5795 Nobel Drive.

Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial – 2 p.m. ceremony honors Marines killed while serving in Sangin, Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011. The Marines were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, known as “Darkhorse,” based at Camp Pendleton. Keynote Speaker will be Maj. Gen. Jason Morris, director of operations at Headquarters Marine Corps; 6905 La Jolla Scenic Drive South.

The University of San Diego added a tournament title to their regular-season crown Saturday by defeating Portland 8-6 at the West Coast Conference tourney.

With the win in Las Vegas, the Toreros (40-13) clinched their second WCC Tournament title since 2022, which hands them an automatic berth in the NCAA regionals as teams try to reach the College World Series.

They also became the first WCC team to win the conference baseball tournament a third time. In addition, USD recorded its 10th straight victory as well as its 18th win in its last 19 games. 

Down 1-0 in the fourth inning, the Toreros rode a five-run rally, aided by two walks with the bases loaded, to take the lead for good. Portland (39-19), though, continued to nip at their heels, scoring three in the fifth to make it a one-run game.

USD continued to play small ball, as runs scored on two ground outs and a sacrifice fly in the seventh and ninth. Portland added runs in the eighth and ninth inning, but Conner Thurman induced Pilot Jack Thomson, representing the game-winning run, to hit a deep fly ball that made it to the warning track but landed in the glove of Dustin Allen to seal the victory.

Calvin Schapira pitched 2.2 innings to get the win, after he spelled starter Logan Reddemann, who went 4.2 innings.

Meanwhile, USD placed four on the WCC All-Tournament Team – infielders Justin DeCriscio and Angelo Peraza and pitchers Ivran Romero and Austin Smith, who also slots in as a DH.

Three of the four have local prep ties – Peraza attended St. Augustine High, Romero, Poway High and Smith, Granite Hills High.

The Toreros will find out what comes next at 9 a.m. Monday on the NCAA Selection Show, airing on ESPN2. The regionals begin May 31.

Five San Diego State athletes qualified at the NCAA West Preliminaries at the University of Arkansas on Saturday to move on to the NCAA Championships.

Individually, Shaquena Foote (400m) and Xiamara Young (triple jump) punched their tickets to Eugene, Ore. along with the 4x100m relay team consisting of Foote, Hannah Waller, Jada Moore, and Aji Mbye.

The 4x100m relay team qualified in the first event of the day. Waller opened the race followed by Moore and Foote, with Mybe running the anchor leg. They finished the race in 45.35 seconds, the second fastest time in both San Diego State and Mountain West history.

They finished third in heat number one and ranked seventh overall in the field.

With the quartet advancing, San Diego State is the only non-Power Five program to send their 4x100m relay team to at least five of the last eight NCAA Championship meets.

Qualifying this year marks the sixth time the Aztecs have performed the feat. They also did so from 2016-18 and 2021-22.

Foote added a second event for her trip to Hayward Field, barely advancing in the 400m dash. Running a 51.85, she placed 12th to claim the final qualifying spot.

She is the sixth Aztec to advance to the 400m championships in program history and first to do so since 2018.

Young, on her third and final attempt in the triple jump, she recorded a personal best of 13.51m (44-4) to climb to 11th place for a qualifying spot.

She is the seventh Aztec triple jumper to reach the outdoor championships and fifth to qualify for both indoor and outdoor nationals in the same season.

In the other quarterfinal races on Saturday, Charlize James finished 15th in the 100m hurdles with a wind-aided time of 13.19 seconds while Jessica Kain was 16th at 4:20.00 in the 1,500m.

Sameerah Evans finished 39th in the triple jump with a wind-aided mark of 12.58m (41-3.25). The final event of the weekend was the 4x400m relay with Rhea Hoyte, Waller, Sydney Bentley and Foote posting a time of 3:36.12 to finish 20th.

The NCAA Championships take place June 6-8.

UC San Diego reliever Izaak Martinez has been named a semifinalist for 2024 National Pitcher of the Year.

Martinez is one of 14 hurlers named to the watch list, announced by the College Baseball Foundation, and one of two pitchers from the Big West.

The left-hander has added to his growing list of accolades, after earning a spot on the Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalists list. He was also part of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year midseason watch list, which recognizes the best relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball.

The Glendora native served as the Tritons’ closer in his fifth season, leading the Big West in earned run average, opponent batting average and saves for the majority of the campaign.

Martinez also spent multiple weeks atop the nation in ERA and currently ranks second overall with a 1.85 ERA.

He led the Tritons with 25 appearances out of the bullpen, collecting 61 strikeouts in 63.1 innings of work. He ranks first in the Big West in hits allowed (40), runs allowed (16), earned runs allowed (13), doubles allowed (5), home runs allowed (1) and second in saves (9).

Opponents hit .183 against him this season, which ranks third in the conference.

Nick Pinto of UC Irvine, with nine victories this year, is the other finalist from the Big West.

Attorneys offered closing arguments Friday in the murder trial of a social media personality accused of killing his wife and another man in the East Village.

Ali Abulaban, 32, who was known in online circles under the handle “JinnKid,” is charged in the Oct. 21, 2021, slayings of Ana Abulaban, 28, and Rayburn Cardenas Barron, 29.

Both victims were shot on a couch inside the Abulabans’ 35th floor unit at the Spire San Diego apartments on Island Avenue.

Jurors began deliberating late Friday afternoon after the attorneys’ closing arguments and will resume deliberations next week.

Neither the prosecution nor the defense disputes that Abulaban killed his wife and Barron. Instead, the jury will be tasked with deciding whether the killings were intentional and premeditated or committed in the heat of passion.

If Abulaban is convicted of first-degree murder, he faces a possible sentence of life without parole, or he could receive a far shorter prison term if convicted of a lesser charge such as voluntary manslaughter.

Prosecutors allege Abulaban killed both victims because he was angered that his wife wanted to end their marriage.

Deputy District Attorney Taren Brast told jurors Ana Abulaban made it clear she was through with her husband following multiple incidents of domestic violence and his sexual encounter with another woman.

Abulaban testified that his wife may have threatened to divorce him out of anger, but Brast argued that Ana’s position was obvious.

“He wouldn’t let her go,” Brast said. “She wanted to be single. She didn’t want to be married to him. She told him that over and over, but he refused to accept it.”

Abulaban’s defense attorney, Jodi Green, argued that on the day of the shooting, months of suspicions about his wife’s infidelity were confirmed upon entering his apartment and seeing Ana cuddling on the couch with Barron.

In that moment, Abulaban, “overcome with what he’s seeing,” and “in a fog,” began firing, Green said.

Abulaban, who spent nearly three full days on the stand, testified that he “snapped” and “couldn’t take the (expletive) betrayal.” He said that the next thing he knew, “I’m shooting and I can’t stop.”

Green argued that though Ana stated many times that she wanted to leave her husband, she would repeatedly take him back, giving him “breadcrumbs of hope.”

Abulaban’s encounter with another woman – which he characterized as a massage rather than anything sexual – was the final straw for Ana, according to the prosecution. Shortly after that, Ana’s relationship with Barron began.

Green argued that Ana did not come clean about seeing Barron, leading Abulaban to believe there was still a possibility of reconciling. The attorney said Ana instead told her friends and Abulaban’s family members that he had cheated, but she denied it when Abulaban questioned whether she was seeing anyone else.

Brast argued Ana had no reason to reveal the relationship with Barron, because history showed that would simply make her the target of abuse.

Abulaban conceded on the stand to punching and pushing his wife on various occasions leading up to the shooting. Prosecutors also allege Abulaban punched her in the face while stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Japan, leading to his discharge from the military.

According to Brast, Abulaban was “possessive and controlling” throughout their entire relationship, dictating how Ana should act, what she could wear and with whom she could associate.

The prosecutor said Abulaban’s intention to kill Ana and any man she was with was formulated well before the day of the shooting. In early October, for instance, he texted his cousin that he saw Ana with another man.

“I’ll kill him, Abulaban wrote.

In another message, Abulaban wrote that he would “go to jail” if he saw Ana with a man.

Brast argued that multiple audio recordings of the shooting capture the sound of gunshots about one second after Abulaban entered the apartment.

Abulaban advanced towards the victims as he fired and both victims were shot in the head, Brast said. The presence of soot on Barron’s cheek indicated one bullet was fired at close range to his face, according to the prosecutor.

“Ana was his property and Ray couldn’t have her and that’s why he killed them,” Brast told the jury.

The defense’s case included a deep dive into Abulaban’s alleged mental health struggles, childhood trauma and escalating cocaine addiction, all of which attorneys argued played a role in his mindset both before and during the shooting.

Green said the collective issues mounting with his marriage and his mental health left him “emotionally manipulated, psychologically impaired and ill-adapted for all of this.”

Green, who asked the jury to convict Abulaban of voluntary manslaughter, said that the potential verdict would not represent “a free ride out.”

Instead, she said a voluntary manslaughter conviction “just means that’s how we label the behavior is appropriate and legally sound.”

– City News Service

A 48-year-old man was arrested in an undercover operation on suspicion of soliciting sex from a minor in Lemon Grove, authorities announced Friday.

Robert Owens was taken into custody Wednesday, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said.

A group of citizens in Lemon Grove brought detectives several postings that had been affixed to utility poles in the community advertising the “AZ24.CO” website. The posts claimed to be selling various items, including women’s clothing, as well as looking for partners to “cuddle” and “drink,” said Sgt. Jason Clark of the sheriff’s department.

A member of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force posed as a 16-year-old girl and answered the ad. The detective was then solicited for sex acts by a man, later identified as Owens, Clark said. He arranged to meet with the decoy for sexual intercourse and when he arrived at the meeting location, detectives arrested Owens.

The trafficking task force is seeking the assistance from the public to determine if anyone else has been victimized or seen similar advertisements posted in other areas of the county.

Anyone with pertinent information can call the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 888-580-8477 or visit the website at sdcrimestoppers.org.

– City News Service

A San Diego Fire-Rescue Department crew on Friday aided a mountain biker in an open space area around Lake Hodges, an official said.

According to the department, the person fell off the bike shortly before 6 p.m. in the recreation area. Crew members removed the person from the scene, the official said.

No further details were available about the rider, what type of injuries the person may have suffered or if they required treatment at a hospital.

– City News Service