Mari is a senior investigative reporter leading the award-winning NBC 7 I-Team and a Weekend News Anchor for NBC 7. Mari’s stories have prompted local, state, and federal investigations and caused law and policy changes. She is a regular contributor to the award winning NBC 7 Insight Investigative podcast. Subscribe to Insight on your favorite podcast app: Apple, Google Play, Spotify or Stitcher.
She has won numerous Emmy awards for her investigative stories and for her live reports. She's reported breaking news live on the TODAY show, MSNBC, and other NBC stations across the country. She’s also received numerous awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and Press Club.
Before working in San Diego, Mari worked at WLBT, the NBC affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi. While at WLBT, she was sent to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where she rode out the storm and covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She also won an Associated Press award for a piece on the obesity epidemic in the state of Mississippi.
Mari graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California with a double major in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science.
She was a Renaissance Scholar and graduated from the Annenberg School for Communication.
Mari is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association and Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE).
When she’s not reporting, Mari is chasing her two young kids around. She loves the local food and wine scene, traveling, cool hotels and watching USC football.
If you have a story idea, restaurant recommendation or a cool suggestion on family-friendly activities, drop Mari a line!
The Latest
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‘We're Devastated': Family of Sisters Killed in Mother's Day Hit-and-Run Crash in Bay Terraces
The Cano sisters were riding in a Honda Civic when it was T-boned by a pickup at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday.
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Deadly Shooting in City Heights Was Accident, Suspect's Sister Says. Others Aren't So Sure
Alex Leyva and Alan Bahena were friends for years. Until May 12, 2023. It was close to midnight and the pair was hanging out at a small gathering of friends in City Heights. Some women, including Leyva’s fiancé Anjelica Martinez, were inside the home when they heard at least one gunshot. “I came outside and I found him on the…
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Parent Left in Dark After Accusing Special Ed. Teacher at Otay Ranch High School of Assaulting Son
A South Bay mother questions whether her son can return to Otay Ranch High School after he was allegedly assaulted by his special education teacher.
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San Diego Police Department Asking Former Officers to Return
Last fiscal year, the San Diego Police Department lost 241 officers, a 51% increase from the year prior. Another 138 officers have already left this year.
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California Stockpiling Abortion Pills Amid Legal Battle. What's Next?
Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will stockpile an emergency supply of 2 million abortion pills known as misoprostol. This move is in response to a Texas ruling against the authorization of another medication that is used to end pregnancies.
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Despite State Law, San Diego Hospitals Accused of ‘Patient Dumping'
Transient hospital patients in San Diego are sometimes discharged and put back on the streets after receiving treatment, even after the passing of SB-1152, which requires hospitals to have a homeless discharge policy in place.
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San Diego Cliffs Likely to Collapse as Rain Continues
It’s a race against the rain as Encinitas city workers try to stabilize a growing sinkhole on Lake Drive. Rainfall last Friday totaling 1.3 inches caused the pre-existing sinkhole on Lake Drive to expand.
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Judge Resentences Convicted Murderer Under New State Law
Rene Ruiz was found guilty by an El Cajon jury for causing the death of a 24-year-old and injuring a passenger in a 2018 crash. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison, but that was changed Wednesday thanks to a new California law.
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Solana Beach Woman Gets 25 Years to Life for Stepfather's Murder
A Solana Beach interior designer convicted of murdering her stepfather because she found hundreds of nude photographs of herself on his computer was sentenced Monday to 25 years to life in state prison.
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San Diego Catholic Diocese Transferred Properties to Avoid Paying Sex Abuse Victims: Attorney
A lawsuit was announced Wednesday alleging the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego fraudulently transferred real estate to dummy corporations in order to avoid paying out legal settlements to hundreds of victims of childhood sexual abuse.
