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Letters: Water consumers | Property crime | Medi-Cal coverage

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Rein in egregiouswater consumersRe: “Snowpack level at 10-year low” (Page A1, Jan. 3).The unpredictability of the winter snow season is certainly having an effect on California’s water supply, but that is not the only risk to our increasingly unreliable water supplies.Food & Water Watch has found that oil and gas operators devoured 3 billion gallons of freshwater between 2018 and 2021. Expanded nut crop acres required more than 520 billion gallons more water in 2021 than just four years prior, and alfalfa irrigation guzzles around 945 billion gallons of water per year. Mega-dairies use more than 142 million gallons per day.Gov. Newsom must use his executive and emergency powers to stop the egregious misuse of California water by both preventing the expansion of large-scale farming operations and oil and gas drilling, and investing in truly sustainable climate projects. If we don’t do so q...

Supreme Court to decide if ER docs can perform necessary abortions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

By Devan Cole | CNNThe Supreme Court said Friday that it will decide whether emergency room doctors can perform medically necessary abortions in states that prohibit them, bypassing the court of appeals to resolve on an expedited basis a lawsuit brought by the United States against Idaho.It’s the second major abortion case the court will consider this year amid the fallout from the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022. The justices are already set to hear a case about access to the abortion drug mifepristone – even in states where the procedure is legal.Idaho’s Defense of Life Act is a near total ban on abortion, but there is an exception to prevent the mother’s death. The law imposes penalties on doctors who perform prohibited abortions unless the “physician determined in good faith medical judgement and based on the facts known to the physician at the time, that the abortion was necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” Physicians who violate the law could face criminal pe...

Volunteers needed for Alameda County's annual point in time homeless count

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

(BCN) -- Oakland and Alameda County are asking for volunteers to help with the annual "point in time" count of homeless residents. The count is scheduled for Jan. 25 and officials are looking for 350 volunteers -- so far 230 people have signed up as of this week."The annual Point in Time count enables us to better allocate resources and implement effective programs to tackle this issue head-on," Mayor Sheng Thao said in a news release. "Together, as One Oakland, we can create a compassionate and inclusive Oakland where no one is left behind." Moraga murder-suicide victim identified The count includes individuals and families sleeping outside, in vehicles, in emergency shelters and transitional housing and is intended to be a snapshot of homelessness on a single night in Alameda County, according to organizers.Volunteers will help conduct surveys, collect data and interact directly with homeless residents and will receive training prior to the event. People can sign up by visiting...

Ex-cop gets 14 months in jail in death of Elijah McClain, whose mom calls him ‘bully with a badge’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

FILE - Former Aurora, Colo., Police Department officer Randy Roedema leaves the courtroom after being convicted of charges in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain during a trial in the Adams County, Colo., Courthouse, Oct. 12, 2023, in Brighton, Colo. The only police officer convicted of killing McClain faces anywhere from probation to several years behind bars when a judge decides his punishment Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)(AP/David Zalubowski) FILE - Former Aurora, Colo., Police Department officer Randy Roedema leaves the courtroom after being convicted of charges in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain during a trial in the Adams County, Colo., Courthouse, Oct. 12, 2023, in Brighton, Colo. The only police officer convicted of killing McClain ...

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake shakes a wide area of Southern California. No injuries are reported

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A magnitude 4.2 earthquake was felt widely across the nation’s second largest city Friday and shook things off shelves near the epicenter in a small mountain community east of Los Angeles, but there were no reports of major damage or injuries.The U.S. Geological Survey said the 10:55 a.m. quake was centered about a mile (1 kilometer) northwest of Lytle Creek, in the San Gabriel Mountains about 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of downtown Los Angeles. The depth was put at 5.5 miles (8.8 kilometers).It came less than a week after a similar quake with a magnitude of 4.1 also hit the Los Angeles area and was felt by people watching the Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Year’s Day.Michael Guardado, who works at the front desk of the San Bernardino National Forest’s Lytle Creek Ranger Station, said after Friday’s quake the “building shook hard” and he had heard that “a lot of rocks” had fallen onto Lytle Creek Road.Cari Torguson, a bartender at M...

NY seeks $370 million in penalties in Trump’s civil fraud trial. His response: ‘They should pay me’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York state lawyers increased their request for penalties to over $370 million Friday in Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial. He retorted: “They should pay me.” The exchange came as lawyers for both sides filed papers highlighting their takeaways from the trial in court filings ahead of closing arguments, set for next Thursday. Trump is expected to attend, though plans could change. It will be the final chance for state and defense lawyers to make their cases. The civil lawsuit, which accuses the leading Republican presidential hopeful of deceiving banks and insurers by vastly inflating his net worth, is consequential for him even while he fights four criminal cases in various courts. The New York civil case could end up barring him from doing business in the state where he built his real estate empire. On top of that, state Attorney General Letitia James is seeking the $370 million penalty, plus interest — up from a pretrial figure of $250 million, nu...

Feds to investigate entire New York City subway system after derailment injures more than 20 people

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal transit safety investigators will be reviewing all of New York City’s subway operations in response to a collision and derailment that caused minor injuries to more than 20 people, the chairperson of the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.Chair Jennifer Homendy said the NTSB was expanding its investigation beyond Thursday’s collision between two trains in Manhattan because there have been two serious episodes in just over a month involving the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. On Nov. 29, an MTA subway worker was dragged under a train and killed while working as a rail safety flagger.“This is the second accident on New York City transit’s property in 37 days. That’s not typical,” Homendy said at a news conference at the 96th Street station, where Thursday’s collision happened. “The NTSB has been very focused on system safety … so coming here we are going to want to look at the entire system including how ...

US fugitive accused of faking his death to avoid rape charges is extradited to Utah from Scotland

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — An elusive U.S. fugitive accused of faking his own death and traveling the globe to avoid rape charges has been extradited to Utah from Scotland, the Utah County prosecutor’s office said Friday.The man known in the U.S. as Nicholas Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, is charged with sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in Orem, Utah, in 2008, according to local prosecutors. He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence.Rossi, 36, was Utah-bound on Friday and will stand trial in Utah County for felony rape charges, county prosecutor David Leavitt said.“This is a great day,” Leavitt said in a statement thanking his staff for working with U.S. and international authorities to identify Rossi and bring him to justice more than a decade after his alleged crimes.In response to an inquiry from The Associated Press about Rossi’s return, Police Scotland would only confirm it assisted other law enfo...

Dog care facility struggles amid outbreak of canine respiratory illness

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

ROXBOROUGH, Colo. — A dog daycare and boarding facility is asking for help making ends meet after it says business plummeted due to an outbreak of a canine respiratory illness. A Dog’s World, located in Littleton, is open 24 hours a day as a boarding, daycare and grooming facility. Dogs have access to a large outdoor play area and indoor rooms that include soft furniture, a ball pit and television sets.  Dogs in Colorado are some of the most spoiled in the US, Forbes Advisor says “We’re unique in that we’re free roam," said Nancy Murphy. "You can choose to board your dog here 100% cage-free.” Murphy and her husband Mike have been caring for dogs in the Roxborough area for 18 years. They expanded their in-home business to a full-service facility in August 2020. “Very, very rough timing,” Murphy said. “Right in the middle of the COVID pandemic.”She says the business survived a slow start during the pandemic thanks to grants and loans. Earlier this year, Murphy says th...

Intersection of Colfax and Peoria to reopen next week

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- As crews continue to investigate and demolish the crumbling remains of a burnt multi-family structure at the corner of East Colfax Avenue and Peoria Street, many are looking for answers about when the major intersection reopens.The intersection has been closed since Dec. 16, when a fire broke out at the under-construction building. Smoke could be seen from miles away, prompting a five-alarm response. Aurora Fire gets help from robots, drones in construction site fire cleanup Currently, Colfax Avenue is closed to all traffic between Moline Street and Peoria Street, and Peoria Street is fully closed between 14th and 17th Avenues. As areas of the structure are demolished, roadways will be reopened "incrementally," according to Aurora Fire Rescue.AFR is leading the investigation and demolition of the structure, hiring a third-party contractor that has autonomous robots to enter the buildings, and AFR is using its drones to scan the structure and see inside. "This phas...