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Opinion: The taint of Trump lingered at the Western Conservative Summit with Jenna Ellis and Kyle Rittenhouse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:51 GMT

“Smoke taint” was the metaphor that came to mind as I read social media posts from the Western Conservative Summit held at the Denver Convention Center last week.Smoke taint is what happens when grapes growing close to wildfires absorb compounds released by burning wood. The affected grapes taste fine but later on, when the cork is popped the wine tastes burnt. Dirty ashtray notes don’t pair well so the wine must be discarded.Likewise, although Donald Trump is out of office and will never live in the White House again, his pernicious influence lingers in the conservative movement like smoke phenols in fruit. It must be thrown out if conservatives ever want to be successful in this state again.Overall the Western Conservative Summit featured quality speakers including two 2024 presidential hopefuls, representatives from noteworthy national conservative organizations, and three of Colorado’s representatives in Congress. Had I been there, I would have enjoyed hearing Seth D...

Man found dead on Sylmar sidewalk

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:51 GMT

A man found dead on a sidewalk in Sylmar Thursday morning had been shot multiple times, according to investigators.The incident was reported around 12 a.m. in the 15000 block of Foothill Boulevard.Officers responding to a shooting call located a man in his 50s down on the sidewalk who was unconscious and not breathing, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed. The unidentified victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses said they heard eight shots fired and saw a car flee the area. Multiple shell casings were found at the scene and a white canopy was placed over the body during the investigation. Police have not released a description of the suspect or suspects.

$3.3 million going to students scammed by California-based debt-relief company

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:51 GMT

Federal regulators are sending payments totaling $3.3 million to students who were bilked by an Orange County business claiming it would reduce their student loan debt.The Federal Trade Commission alleges Arete Financial Group and its related businesses tricked more than 37,800 students into making illegal, upfront payments of up to $1,800, along with subsequent monthly fees, by pretending to be affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education.The company used radio, television, online ads and telemarketing calls with the promise of student loan forgiveness, consolidation and repayment programs, the agency said.“In reality, the scammers pocketed customers’ payments and never provided the promised relief,” the FTC said.Representatives with Arete Financial and its affiliated businesses could not be reached for comment Wednesday.In 2019, the FTC obtained a temporary restraining order that halted operations at Arete Financial, Arete Financial Freedom, CBC Conglomerate LLC and Diamond Ch...

U.S. Marine and accused accomplice charged with firebombing California Planned Parenthood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:51 GMT

A U.S. Marine and a suspected accomplice accused of using a Molotov cocktail to firebomb a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa were arrested on Wednesday, June 14, and are facing federal charges.Chance Brannon, a 23-year-old San Juan Capistrano man and active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, and Tibet Ergul, a 21-year-old Irvine man, are suspected of carrying out what a federal official described as a “brazen” attack during the early morning hours of March 12, 2022.Each man is charged with using an explosive or fire to damage real property affecting interstate commerce, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Donald Alway, an assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said in a statement that the two men committed a “depraved act of launching an improvised explosive device into a public facility,” while U. S. Attorney Martin Estrada called it a “brazen attack that targeted a facility that provides critical healthcare services to thousands of people in Ora...

Former California college basketball player who killed ex-girlfriend dies in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:51 GMT

A former Cal State Fullerton basketball player who killed his ex-girlfriend in Las Vegas, dumped her body in the desert and set her on fire in 2010, recently died in prison.Justin Burns, 39, was pronounced dead at High Desert State Prison on June 8, according to a statement from the Nevada Department of Corrections.“The autopsy will determine cause of death, but no foul play is suspected,” said Teri Vance, a deputy public information officer for the department of corrections.Prison authorities didn’t release details on who found Burns and where.Burns was serving 10 to 25 years for the second-degree murder of Michele Carson, 25, of West Covina.The victim’s father, John Carson, found out about Burns’ death from an automated notification system for victims of crime and called his victim advocate in Nevada. She told him Burns was found dead in his cell.“I was relieved. He would never, ever hurt another person,” John Carson said.He also feels relieved because he doesn’t have to go to par...

Photos: Palm Springs home built by actress Lindsey Gort, developer husband asks $5.1 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:51 GMT

The dining area. (Photo by Lance Gerber Studio)The kitchen. (Photo by Lance Gerber Studio)The double-sided glass breezeway. (Photo by Lance Gerber Studio)The primary bedroom. (Photo by Lance Gerber Studio)The primary bathroom. (Photo by Lance Gerber Studio)The San Jacinto mountain range provides a backdrop to the pool and outdoor kitchen. (Photo by Lance Gerber Studio)Show Caption of ExpandA newly completed Palm Springs home actress Lindsey Gort and her husband, restaurateur-turned-designer and builder Beau Laughlin, helped dream up is on the market for $5.1 million.The couple worked with local architect Sean Lockyer of Studio AR+D, expanding the blueprint of the 4,185-square-foot home with five bedrooms, five bathrooms and a disappearing glass wall in the combined dining and living area.Laughlin made his debut in single-family residential development and design with this project, which borrows from his experience as a serial restaurateur.“I’ve had to consider not just the food but ...

Opinion: Newsom can honor Bobby Kennedy’s legacy helping farmworkers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:51 GMT

Nearly six decades ago, the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy came to California and gave a resounding speech on the virtues of decency that holds permanence today.“If there is one overriding reality in this country,” he proclaimed, “it is the danger that we have an erosion of a sense of national decency.” Famously, he continued, “Poverty in this country is indecent.”With news of a $31.5 billion budget deficit reverberating across the California, there is no better time to summon the late senator’s words and place them in the context of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to address it.In a state so full of riches and wealth, poverty is a policy choice. I see it every day in Half Moon Bay, a luxurious coastal enclave where the farmworker community perpetually struggles to afford a basic living.In the coming days, the budget decisions this governor and Legislature make will shape the contours of morality for the next generation to emulate.Already, Newsom’s latest announcement that California will...

Longshore union, employers reach labor deal, ending 13 months of West Coast tensions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:51 GMT

The West Coast longshore union and its employers have agreed to a tentative six-year contract, ending 13 months of negotiations that saw tensions rise in recent weeks, as well as accusations and recriminations about bad-faith actions, and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach fretting about lost business.The two sides announced the deal on Wednesday evening, June 14.Gary Herrera, president of the union’s local chapter, confirmed the deal.The deal, which would apply to 22,000 dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports, still needs to be ratified by longshore union members, Herrera said. It’s unknown when a ratification vote would occur.The union and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents employers, said in a joint press release Wednesday that they would not release contract deals at this time.But the announcement came a day after the Journal of Commerce, a trade publication that covers ports, reported PMA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union had agreed to a “cool...

Necropsy finds beloved California mountain lion P-22 had kidney disease, organ damage, mange

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:51 GMT

A combination of incurable kidney disease, organ damage most likely from being struck by a vehicle and a debilitating skin infection led veterinarians to euthanize Los Angeles’ most famous mountain lion six months ago, according to a report released Wednesday, June 14.Details from a necropsy confirmed what biologists feared after they captured a sickly P-22 last December after noticing that he was acting erratically. The wild puma, beloved by Southern Californians and the world, living on his own for 10 years mostly within the confines of the city’s Griffith Park, would not have survived very long in a wildlife sanctuary, the National Park Service reported.Two issues doomed the wild cat: kidney disease found when veterinarian pathologists did a computed tomography (CT) scan of P-22 at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and a hernia that violently moved his liver and connective tissue from his abdomen into his chest cavity.P-22 would have required major surgery to repair the organ damage...

Texas migrants bused to Southern California in latest salvo from immigration wars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:51 GMT

Mirroring recent moves by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, dozens of immigrants were bused from the Texas border area to Los Angeles and dropped off on Wednesday, June 14, at downtown’s Union Station, at the behest of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, prompting a swift rebuke from L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who slammed the action as a “cheap” political stunt using humans as “pawns.”Blankets are brought to St. Anthony’s Croatian Parish Center in Los Angeles for migrants who were bused to Los Angeles from the Texas border with no food or water for 23 hours on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass slammed the action by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as a “cheap” political stunt using humans as “pawns.” (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)Public health workers leave St. Anthony’s Croatian Parish Center in Los Angeles after attending to 42 migrants who were bused to Los Angeles from the Texas border with no food or water for 23 hours on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass ...