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Death rates among Los Angeles County homeless population continues to increase, latest report shows

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:18 GMT

The mortality rate among homeless people in Los Angeles County increased by 55%, according to the most recent years of data analyzed in the latest public health report, Los Angeles County officials announced.In 2019, 1,289 people experiencing homelessness died. This number increased to 1,811 in 2020 and 2,201 in 2021, a news release said.The report also found that drug overdoses continue to be the leading cause of death among unhoused individuals in the county. Drug overdoses have been the leading cause of death among homeless people since  2019 and accounted for 37% of all deaths in 2020 and 2021 combined, officials said. Revamped homeless count returns to Los Angeles Researchers found that overdose rates among unhoused Black and Latinx people in the county are higher in comparison to their white counterparts. The report also said that fentanyl-related overdoses have nearly tripled since 2019 when the rate was just 20% and rose to 58% by 2021.Coronary heart disease and traffic in...

3 Pedestrians Hurt in Hit-and-Run Collision on Santa Monica Boulevard [West Hollywood, CA]

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:18 GMT

Three Injured in Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accident near San Vicente BoulevardWEST HOLLYWOOD, CA (May 12, 2023) – Early Sunday morning, three pedestrians were hurt in a hit-and-run collision on Santa Monica Boulevard.Police received dispatch calls in the area around 2:00 a.m., near North Vicente Boulevard.Video footage from the scene shows a Mini Cooper veering right onto a sidewalk where multiple people were crossing the street.There, a pedestrian hit the back window and shattered it causing the driver to spin around the intersection and strike three other pedestrians.Moreover, investigators say the Mini Cooper continued traveling with one pedestrian still on the hood. The driver then fled the scene without contacting authorities or rendering aid to any of the victims.Medics arrived and took the three victims to a nearby hospital for further treatment.Those with more information about the hit-and-run collision on Santa Monica Boulevard can contact the West Hollywood Sheriff’s St...

Former Trump prosecutor mostly mum before Congress

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:18 GMT

By Stephen Groves | Associated PressWASHINGTON — An ex-prosecutor who once oversaw Manhattan’s investigation of former President Donald Trump declined to substantively answer questions at a closed-door deposition Friday of the House Judiciary Committee, according to a Republican lawmaker in the meeting. The prosecutor and his boss said he was merely abiding by grand jury rules.Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, exited the meeting after roughly one hour and said Mark Pomerantz, the former prosecutor, repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment that protects people from providing self-incriminating testimony.Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to bury allegations of extramarital affairs that arose during his 2016 White House campaign. GOP lawmakers have decried the investigation as a “political persecution” and launched an oversight probe.Pomerantz in a written opening statement called the committee’s inquiry itself ̶...

Judge tosses motion to remove DA Pamela Price from former San Leandro officer’s manslaughter case

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:18 GMT

A judge on Friday rejected a former San Leandro police officer’s bid to remove Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price from overseeing his prosecution, ruling out the possibility of the state’s attorney general taking over the case.Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Reardon’s ruling comes about two weeks after the attorneys for the former officer, Jason Fletcher, raised concerns about the county’s new top prosecutor, including that Price had “consistently, publicly proclaimed animosity against the police profession in its entirety.”Fletcher was charged three years ago with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Steven Taylor, 33. The case was originally filed by Price’s predecessor, Nancy O’Malley, marking the first time in more than a decade that a law enforcement officer had faced criminal prosecution in the death of a civilian.On Friday, Taylor’s grandmother, Addie Kitchen, praised Reardon’s decisi...

How Newsom solves California budget that went from a $97.5 billion surplus to $31.5 billion deficit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:18 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who a year ago was extolling an unprecedented $97.5 billion budget surplus, said Friday that California must close a projected deficit that has grown since January to $31.5 billion, about 10% of his proposed $306.5 billion spending plan.But Newsom said that although the deficit has swelled by $9 billion since he unveiled his preliminary budget in January, most that will be absorbed through accounting maneuvers that won’t require significant program or service cuts beyond those he proposed five months ago.Newsom said that the state’s “$31.5 billion challenge” is “well within the margin of expectation, and well within our capacity to address,” crediting his and state lawmakers’ “prudent” budgeting that avoided committing windfall surplus revenues to ongoing program spending.“We don’t get ahead of our skis,” Newsom said. “This was not an easy budget. We try to do the best to hold the line, ...

Single-family residence sells in Fremont for $1.5 million

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:18 GMT

1832 Berry Court – Google Street ViewA house located in the 1800 block of Berry Court in Fremont has new owners. The 1,204-square-foot property, built in 1962, was sold on March 30, 2023. The $1,520,000 purchase price works out to $1,262 per square foot. The property features three bedrooms, two baths, and a garage. It sits on a 7,719-square-foot lot.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:A 1,146-square-foot home on the 1900 block of Lockwood Avenue in Fremont sold in August 2022, for $1,520,000, a price per square foot of $1,326. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Valorie Street, Fremont, in September 2022, a 1,232-square-foot home was sold for $1,557,000, a price per square foot of $1,264. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In July 2022, a 2,130-square-foot home on Castillejo Way in Fremont sold for $2,090,500, a price per square foot of $981. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

Report: Suspect in crash that killed bride had 3X legal BAC limit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:18 GMT

By Maxime Tamsett and Devon Sayers | CNNJamie Komoroski’s blood alcohol level was over three times the legal limit when she allegedly drove her car into a golf-cart style vehicle carrying a newly married couple away from their wedding reception last month, killing the bride, according to a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division toxicology report.In the report shared with CNN by the Folly Beach Police Department, Komoroski, 25, was found to have had a blood alcohol content of 0.261%. South Carolina law prohibits driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher.The bride, Samantha Hutchinson, 34, from Charlotte, North Carolina, died of blunt force injuries according to the Charleston County Coroner’s Office. Her husband, Aric Hutchinson, and two others were also injured in the crash.Komoroski is charged with one count of reckless homicide and three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily harm, according to online court records. Her vehicle was traveling 65 m...

‘Diablo IV’ Server Slam happening this weekend among other gaming events

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:18 GMT

It’s a busy weekend for video games. Plenty of people will be on their Nintendo Switch playing “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” but if adventuring in Hyrule isn’t your thing, you could head over to Sanctuary for the “Diablo IV” Server Slam.Blizzard has the other highly anticipated sequel coming out this spring, and to test out the game’s online component, they’re stressing out the servers. The game is open to anyone on PC, Xbox Series X and Series S as we all as the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. Players can jump in and get a taste of “Diablo IV” from today until noon May 14. If players are able to reach certain milestones, they’ll earn some extras for participating. That includes the following:The Initial Casualty title (earned by reaching Kyovashad with one character)The Early Voyager title (earned by reaching Level 20 on one character)The Beta Wolf Pack Cosmetic (earned by reaching Level 20 with one c...

Authorities say Dublin woman stabbed, beat her boyfriend in Dublin’s first murder of 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:18 GMT

DUBLIN –A 23-year-old woman has been charged with murder in the city’s first homicide of the year: the stabbing and beating death of her boyfriend earlier this month in an apartment, according to authorities and court documents.Crystal Espinoza is charged in the death of Jesus Gallegos, 23.The killing was uncovered about 9 p.m. May 5 in an apartment in the 5400 block of Campbell Lane.Police said the two people had been in a dating relationship for two years and that Gallegos occasionally stayed at the apartment.According to court documents, firefighters and paramedics were initially called to the apartment. Espinoza greeted them at the front door and led them to the bathroom, where they found an unconscious and bleeding Gallegos. According to court documents he had multiple stab wounds, lacerations and bruising. Despite the efforts of paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the apartment.Police were called and found a large kitchen knife with dried blood on it on a kitchen...

Dublin prison guard 'Dirty Dick' charged with sexually abusing inmates

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:24:18 GMT

(KRON) -- A sixth prison guard has been charged with sexually abusing female inmates at Federal Correctional Institute at Dublin in the East Bay.Darrell Wayne Smith, 53, is named in court documents by his legal name, as well as his nickname, "Dirty Dick Smith." The U.S. Department of Justice charged Smith with 12 counts, including aggravated sex abuse. The federal prison is located across the street from Alameda County's Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. The prison's former warden, Ray Garcia, was convicted last year on eight counts of sex abuse and lying to FBI agents. Garcia abused his power and encouraged a "rape club" culture, according to former inmate Genesis Preciado.According to court documents filed in April and unsealed on Thursday, between 2019-2021 Smith sexually abused three women identified as S.L.H., C.A.H. and L.J.Smith had sex with inmates inside a janitor's closet and a laundry room, court documents state. He also groped inmates in their cells, prosecutors said. The abuse...