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Santa Cruz County homeowners face $4.7 million in fines for blocking public access to beach walkway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:17 GMT

APTOS — A group of beachfront homeowners in Aptos are facing millions in potential fines levied by the California Coastal Commission following allegations that they have obstructed the public’s access to a walkway next to Seacliff State Beach for decades.Citing violations as far back as 1982, the commission will weigh a staff recommendation to fine the Rio Del Mar Beach Island Homeowners Association – and its estimated 27-home membership, most of which are vacation rentals – more than $4.7 million. Allegations include blocking the public’s access to a 37-foot-wide, almost quarter-mile long stretch of walkway adjacent to the beach and failure to maintain native plants along a revetment abutting the walkway and row of properties.Lisa Haage, chief of enforcement at the commission, confirmed it is the most costly Coastal Act penalty the agency has recommended in Santa Cruz County history.“This type of violation particularly affects disabled persons, moms and dads pushing strollers and o...

Man, woman now face separate trials in fatal freeway shooting of 6-year-old California boy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:17 GMT

A man and woman charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old boy on the 55 Freeway in Orange will be tried separately, a judge ruled on Friday, with the jury trial of the alleged shooter scheduled to get underway early next year.The trial of Marcus Eriz, who faces murder and firearm charges in what police described as the road rage shooting that killed Aiden Leos, will continue as scheduled in early January. But Wynne Lee, who prosecutors say was driving at the time and is accused of being an accessory after the fact, is now scheduled to be tried separately at a later date.The move to two separate trials was made at the request of the prosecution and approved by Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard King. The motivation for the request was not specified during a hearing Friday morning in a Santa Ana courtroom, but neither Lee’s attorney nor Eriz’s attorney objected.Leos’ mother was driving him to kindergarten on the 55 Freeway around 8 a.m. on May 21, 2021 when...

Pleasant Hill: Barricaded detective opens fire at police Saturday morning, shelter-in-place order continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:17 GMT

PLEASANT HILL — The retired detective who barricaded himself inside his Pleasant Hill home after allegedly shooting and injuring his wife opened fire at police stationed outside Saturday morning, authorities said.The Central County SWAT team and crisis negotiators attempted to speak with Chunliam Saechao, a 40-year-old retired detective from the Pittsburg Police Department, throughout the night, according to a Pleasant Hill press release.Rather than surrender, police said Saechao fired numerous shots around 5 a.m. from a rifle and shotgun at nearby armored police vehicles from inside his home, located in the 200 block of Cleopatra Drive.Police said no injuries were reported from anyone on the scene.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Man charged with follow-home slaying, 3 killings of homeless men in Southern California Crime and Public Safety | Suspect arrested in East Bay house party shooting that killed teen Crime and Public Safety | ...

First Lady Jill Biden visits Cedars-Sinai to see research on women’s health

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:17 GMT

First Lady Jill Biden toured the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center and Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Friday, Dec. 8, as part of the White House’s initiative on women’s health research.She arrived at the Cedars-Sinai media center at 1:50 p.m. and was greeted by, and accompanied on the tour by, 36th District Congressman Ted Lieu and his spouse Betty Lieu; Thomas M. Priselac, president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Dr. Shlomo Melmed, executive vice president of academic affairs and dean of the medical faculty at Cedars-Sinai; Dr. Noel Bairey Merz, director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center; and Maria Shriver, founder of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement — and the former first lady of California.“Research on women’s health has been underfunded for decades and many conditions that mostly and only affect women, or affect women differently,  have received limited attention — like those debilitating migraines and undiagnosed heart attacks,” ...

Joe Biden rolls into Southern California amid glitzy fundraisers, large-scale protest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:17 GMT

President Joe Biden landed at LAX aboard Air Force to board a helicopter bound for Santa Monica where he will attend a wave of fund-raising as the clock ticks closer to the 2024 Presidential Election, in Los Angeles on Friday, December 8, 2023. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)President Joe Biden landed at LAX aboard Air Force to board a helicopter bound for Santa Monica where he will attend a wave of fund-raising as the clock ticks closer to the 2024 Presidential Election, in Los Angeles on Friday, December 8, 2023. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)President Joe Biden landed at LAX aboard Air Force to board a helicopter bound for Santa Monica where he will attend a wave of fund-raising as the clock ticks closer to the 2024 Presidential Election, in Los Angeles on Friday, December 8, 2023. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)President Joe Biden landed at LAX aboard Air Force to board a helicopter bound for Santa Monica where he will attend a w...

Peek inside Joe Biden’s fundraisers, where big money mingles with old jokes in swanky California homes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:17 GMT

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and WILL WEISSERT  | Associated PressLOS ANGELES   — If you’re a Democrat with money to burn and friends in high places, you can spend thousands on tickets to a fundraiser with President Joe Biden. If not, keep reading to see what you’re missing.With an election year around the corner, Biden is accelerating his fundraising to prepare for an astronomically expensive campaign. (Think billions, not millions.) In this rarefied world, money equals access, and supporters regularly pay top dollar for a personal glimpse of the world’s most powerful man.Biden is collecting cash across the Los Angeles area this weekend, and his first stop was a sprawling West L.A. estate where the host joked “it’s just a normal Friday at our house” as hundreds of donors sipped wine in the backyard.“You’re the reason why we’re gonna win, God willing, in 2024,” Biden told the audience.“I’m the only thing standing between you and Lenny Kravitz,” Biden joked before yielding the stage for a perfo...

T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach ‘fume’ while their exes leave for romantic weekend: reports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:17 GMT

As Andrew Shue and Marilee Fiebig loaded their cats into a Jeep Wrangler Friday morning to reportedly take off for romantic weekend, their scandalous exes, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, were said to be “livid” over the startling news that Shue and Fiebig are dating.The former “GMA:3” co-hosts were said to be “fuming” because they feared that this news about Shue and Fiebig overshadowed Tuesday’s launch of their eponymous podcast, Page Six reported. Indeed, the news, first reported by Page Six, broke several hours after Robach and Holmes released the first episode of their “Amy and T.J. Podcast.” Page Six quoted one source who said that Robach suspected that her ex, Andrew Shue, the former “Melrose Place” star, may have leaked the news, thinking he “is trying to steal her thunder.”“She’s convinced he did this to coincide with the debut of her podcast,” the source said.In their first podcast episode, Robach an...

Photos: Bay Area high school 2023 CIF State Football Championships

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:17 GMT

 Mission Viejo 24, De La Salle 14See a photo you like? Click Here to see these and more and to purchase high-quality prints or a keepsake photos on mugs, buttons, greeting cards, and more.De La Salle’s Keon Harris (29), left, and Anthony Dean (26) get their ankles taped before their game against Mission Viejo during their CIF state football championship Division 1-AA game at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) De La Salle’s Kaleo Augustin (24) wears a t-shirt in memory of former De La Salle defensive line coach Steve Jacoby before their CIF state football championship Division 1-AA game at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. Jacoby died suddenly in October of this year. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) De La Salle head coach Justin Alumbaugh speaks to his players before the start of their CIF state football championship Division 1-AA game ...

Santa Clara Council approves plan to revive downtown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:17 GMT

(BCN) -- Santa Clara is planning a major facelift of its five-acre downtown after years of neglect, thanks to a determined group of residents.The Santa Clara City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved rezoning for a new downtown plan and environmental impact report. Mayor Lisa Gillmor recused herself. The plan revitalizes the downtown grid, which can accommodate up to 1,071 new homes and more than 700,000 square feet of commercial space. Concord apartments have been without water for 3 days The redevelopment will be a mix of streets and public spaces that are pedestrian and service oriented, laid out in a restored grid pattern with at least one new bike lane. The new zoning allows increased heights for mixed-use development of residential and commercial projects."It will be the beginning of our downtown," resident Mary Grizzle said at the meeting.Grizzle is a leading member of Reclaiming Our Downtown, a grassroots group formed about three years ago to kick-start a community-led ...

Icy conditions cause traffic issues on mountain roads

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:17 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Slick road conditions caused traffic issues, especially for people trying to get into the mountains Saturday morning, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.A crash on westbound Interstate 70 west of Idaho Springs closed the right shoulder, causing major traffic issues. Colorado snow totals for Dec. 8-9 The right shoulder was still closed as of 10 a.m., according to CDOT.The westbound lane of U.S. Highway 6 west of Golden was also closed for a semi-truck crash.The lane was still closed as of 10 a.m.