Tag: Southern California OC News

Laguna Niguel Mayor Sandy Rains Resigns

March 6, 2023
CaliforniaLaguna NiguelLaguna Niguel City CouncilRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSandy RainsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
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Laguna Niguel Mayor Sandy Rains resigned as the city’s mayor Feb. 27, but will continue to serve as a councilor. Mayor Pro Tem Rischi Paul Sharma is temporarily serving in her place until the five-member city council selects a successor on March 7. The move comes after controversy erupted over a Feb. 21 council meeting…

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Irvine Surgeon Faces 50-Year Prison Sentence for Bribery

March 6, 2023
briberyCaliforniaPacific HospitalRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
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LOS ANGELES—An orthopedic surgeon was found guilty of accepting more than $315,000 in bribes and kickbacks for performing spinal surgeries at a now-defunct Long Beach hospital whose owner was imprisoned for committing workers’ compensation insurance fraud, officials announced March 6. Dr. David Hobart Payne, 65, of Irvine, was found guilty late Friday at the conclusion…

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Daughter Accused of Killing Mother Had Restraining Order Filed Against Her 8 Years Prior

March 4, 2023
CaliforniaLake ForestRegional & State NewsRegional Newsrestraining orderSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
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SANTA ANA, Calif.—A 32-year-old Lake Forest woman was charged March 3 with stabbing her mother to death in her home. Courtney Elizabeth Baker was charged with murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. The deadly weapons used in the attack were a screwdriver and a fork, according to the…

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Lake Forest Man Convicted of Killing Stepmom with Pick Axe a Decade Ago

March 3, 2023
CaliforniaLake ForestmurderRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
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FULLERTON, Calif.—A 30-year-old man was convicted Mar. 2 of killing his stepmother with a pick axe in Lake Forest nearly a decade ago. Since the defendant pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, another phase of the trial will begin later this month. Oscar Luis Morlett III was convicted of first-degree murder with jurors finding…

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Man, 23, Pleads Guilty to Fatal DUI Crash in Huntington Beach

March 3, 2023
Californiafatal DUIHuntington BeachRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
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SANTA ANA—A 23-year-old man pleaded guilty Mar. 2 and was immediately sentenced to four years in prison for a DUI-fueled crash in Huntington Beach that killed his passenger. Miguel Angel Guzman Jr. pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, according to court records. He accepted a plea deal from Orange County Superior Court Judge…

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Half a Million Dollars of Stolen Goods Recovered in Orange County and LA

March 2, 2023
ANAHEIMCaliforniaCrime and IncidentsLynwoodRegional & State NewsRegional Newsretail theftSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUSUS News
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The California Highway Patrol (CHP) Border Division continues to crack down on organized retail theft after uncovering an organized group of thieves last month, operating in part, in Anaheim. Anaheim resident Yolando De La Rosa, 49, and Jesus Ortiz, 48, of Lynwood were booked in Orange County jail Feb. 24 on charges of organized retail…

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House Republicans Introduce Bill to Combat Foreign Espionage, Influence on College Campuses

March 2, 2023
CaliforniaChinese Communist PartyConfucius Instituteforeign espionageMichelle SteelNational SecurityPolicies & ImpactsRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsTed CruzUSUS News
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As threats from foreign influences in the U.S. educational system have started to receive national attention, two U.S. representatives introduced a House bill last week that would counter espionage and influence campaigns on American colleges and universities by foreign entities such as the Chinese Communist Party. Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.), announced the Stop Higher Education…

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Orange County Power Authority ‘Skirts Board Oversight’ in Awarding Contracts: State Audit

March 2, 2023
Brian ProbolskyCaliforniaOrange County Power AuthorityRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
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The executives of the embattled Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) sidestepped their company guidelines to avoid board supervision, the California State Auditor said in an audit report released Feb. 28. Staff members of the green power agency—which procures energy for Irvine, Huntington Beach, Fullerton, and Buena Park—“skirted [their] board’s oversight” when awarding contracts to certain…

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Orange County Homeless Deaths Nearly Quadruple Over Last Decade: Report

March 2, 2023
Don BarneshomelessnaloxoneRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
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Deaths in the homeless population have sky-rockered over the last decade in Orange County, California, primarily due to drug-related overdoses from fentanyl, according to a Feb. 27 report from county law enforcement. In light of increasing homeless deaths in the region, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes last year created the county’s first committee to analyze…

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Woman Arrested on Suspicion of Fatally Stabbing Mother in Lake Forest

March 1, 2023
Lake ForestRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
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LAKE FOREST, Calif.—A 32-year-old Lake Forest woman allegedly stabbed her mother to death in their home on March 1, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said. The victim’s husband called authorities to the 22000 block of Bellcroft Drive at about 1:50 a.m. Wednesday, according to spokeswoman Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The victim, whose name…

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