Category: Regional News

California Bill That Would Provide Free College for Foster Youth Advances

A California Senate bill that would provide free college tuition for the state’s 60,000 foster youth advanced in the Senate Education Committee last week. The Senate Education Committee unanimously approved the bill during a March 29 hearing and referred it for a hearing in the state Senate Committee on Human Services in the coming weeks….


San Diego Supervisors Approve ‘No Confidence’ Vote Against Nathan Fletcher

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a vote of no-confidence in fellow Supervisor Nathan Fletcher April 11, after he admitted to cheating on his wife and said he would check into a treatment facility for alcohol abuse, trauma, and post-traumatic stress. Although the board has no power to forcefully remove Fletcher the 4–0…


Blackstone Sells Santa Ana Office Building for $47 Million Loss, Commercial Real Estate Woes Spread

Continuing a downward trend in California’s commercial real estate market, New York-based investment management firm Blackstone sold two 13-story office towers in Santa Ana for an estimated $47 million loss in March. Barker Pacific Group, a Los Angeles-based real estate management and development company, and Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a private equity firm in Las Vegas,…


Baltimore Mayor Announces Youth Curfew After 2 Teens Injured in Shooting

The mayor of Baltimore announced his intention to enact a 9 p.m. curfew for people 14 years old and younger after a shooting that wounded two teens the night of April 9. Fight among a group of more than 200 teens took place in the city’s Inner Harbor at 9 p.m., according to WBAL-TV. When…


Ohio ‘Families Against Fentanyl’ Launch Billboards in California, Seeking ‘Weapon of Mass Destruction’ Declaration

A nonprofit organization dedicated to tackling the opioid epidemic has initiated a billboard campaign along several Los Angeles and Orange County freeways that reads “Fentanyl is the number one cause of death for Americans 18 to 45.” Families Against Fentanyl—the nonpartisan nonprofit behind the billboards that first appeared March 30—was founded by Ohio resident Jim…


Ohio ‘Families Against Fentanyl’ Launch Billboards in California

A nonprofit organization dedicated to tackling the opioid epidemic initiated a billboard campaign along several Los Angeles and Orange County freeways that reads “Fentanyl is the number one cause of death for Americans 18 to 45.” Families Against Fentanyl—the nonpartisan nonprofit behind the billboards that appeared from March 30 to April 9 in Southern California—was…


Border Pollution Continues to Cause San Diego Beach Closures

Four beaches have closed, some multiple times, in San Diego County this year due to pollution associated with the Tijuana River, according to the California State Water Resources Control Board. Three of those beaches closed a combined 25 times last year due to the same reason, according to the agency. But efforts to reduce pollution…


California Governor’s Plan to Cancel Walgreens Contract Over Abortion Drug Blocked by Federal Law

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is backtracking on statements made last month, after federal regulations prevented him from pulling state contracts with Walgreens, over the abortion drug mifepristone the retailer refuses to dispense in 21 U.S. states. “California has no intention of taking any action that would violate federal Medicaid requirements, or that could undermine access…


California Democrat Removed From Committee After Voting Against Newsom’s Oil Penalty Bill

A California Democratic lawmaker has been removed from an Assembly committee after voting against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new law aimed at punishing oil companies for windfall profits. Newly elected Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains (D-Delano) represents a small community north of Bakersfield in central California. The region produces about 70 percent of the state’s oil. Bains published…


Huntington Beach Approves 90-Day Plan to End Homelessness

Huntington Beach city council unanimously approved April 4 a 90-day plan to end homelessness, first initiated by Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark last December. Included in the plan is $40,000 for social workers and overtime for the city’s homeless task force, which will be funded from its police and homelessness division budgets. Funds…