Posts

Two Dead and 18 Injured After Plane Crashes Into California Building

/1 Comment/in , /by

A small plane crashed into a commercial building and started a fire in Southern California on Thursday, killing two people and injuring 18.

The flight-tracking website FlightAware shows a four-seat, single-engine aircraft crashed about a minute after takeoff, but it is unknown what type of plane it was or whether those injured were in the aircraft or on the ground, according to a Fullerton, California, police spokesperson.

Police received a report about the crash at around 2:09 p.m. local time, and firefighters fought the fire that erupted after the plane struck the building’s roof. The fire damaged the warehouse, which appeared to contain sewing machines and textile stock. The building was used by Michael Nicholas Designs, a furniture upholstery manufacturer, according to a sign on a door.

Ten people were hospitalized, and eight were treated at the scene and released. The police spokeswoman, Kristy Wells, said there were two confirmed deaths.

Security camera footage shows the plane hitting the building and exploding. The crash happened after the aircraft took off from Fullerton Municipal Airport, a small airport with two runways and a helipad. The cause of the crash is still being investigated. (Read more from “Two Dead and 18 Injured After Plane Crashes Into California Building” HERE)

State to Require Home Insurance Coverage Be Offered to High-Risk Areas

/0 Comments/in , /by

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara introduced a new regulation Monday aimed at expanding coverage to areas at high risk of wildfires after insurers have limited options for those areas in recent years.

In recent years, wildfires have been costly, which has pushed several insurance companies to pull coverage out of the state, especially in areas at high risk for wildfires. The regulation introduced by Lara would require insurers to increase their coverage to these high-risk areas by making policies that account for 85% of their state market share. The new requirement would allow insurers to ease into the 85% by increasing their percentage by 5% every two years.

“Californians deserve a reliable insurance market that doesn’t retreat from communities most vulnerable to wildfires and climate change,” Lara said in a statement. “This is a historic moment for California.”

“My Sustainable Insurance Strategy is focused on addressing the challenges we face today and building a resilient insurance market for the future. With input from thousands of residents throughout California, this reform balances protecting consumers with the need to strengthen our market against climate risks,” he added.

The state Office of Administrative Law will review the new regulation before it takes effect. (Read more from “State to Require Home Insurance Coverage Be Offered to High-Risk Areas” HERE)

Women Accused of Shoplifting in Blue State Shocked to Learn Punishment Has Changed

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Police in California released a video of a trio of alleged shoplifters who were shocked to find out that the penalty for their crime had recently changed.

In the viral surveillance video shared by the Seal Beach Police Department on Sunday, three women can be seen walking into an Ulta Beauty store, browsing the shelves, then casually exiting the business with what police said was nearly $650 worth of stolen merchandise.

“… a friendly reminder that Proposition 36, which increases punishments for some retail theft and drug possession offenses, went into effect Wednesday morning in California,” the Seal Beach Police Department wrote in the caption of the video on their Instagram account.

The video shows the women entering a Kohls store and allegedly stealing more merchandise, totaling nearly $1,000 in stolen goods. (Read more from “Women Accused of Shoplifting in Blue State Shocked to Learn Punishment Has Changed” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Campaign Manager Charged With Acting as Chinese Agent in California Election

/1 Comment/in , /by

A man was charged for allegedly acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government while working as a campaign manager for a political candidate in Southern California who was elected in 2022 to the city council.

Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, was also accused of conspiring with another man — John Chen — who had been plotting to target U.S.-based practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice banned in China, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday. Chen was sentenced last month to 20 months in prison for acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and bribing an Internal Revenue Service agent.

Sun, a Chinese national who resided in Chino Hills, California, had served as the campaign manager and “close personal confidante” for a political candidate who ran for city council in Southern California in 2022, prosecutors said. According to the complaint, Sun communicated with Chen about his efforts to get the candidate elected.

“Chen allegedly discussed with Chinese government officials how the (People’s Republic of China) could ‘influence’ local politicians in the United States, particularly on the issue of Taiwan,” prosecutors said.

After the candidate was elected to office in November 2022, prosecutors alleged that Chen instructed Sun to submit reports on the election that could be sent to Chinese government officials. Chen remained in frequent contact with Sun and told him in early 2023 that the two men were “cultivating and assisting (politician’s) success,” according to the complaint. (Read more from “Campaign Manager Charged With Acting as Chinese Agent in California Election” HERE)

Mentally Ill Calif. School Shooter Fired at Kids as ‘Countermeasure’ for U.S. Involvement in ‘Genocide of Palestinians’: Note

/2 Comments/in , /by

The mentally ill gunman who shot and wounded two kindergarteners at a small California school Wednesday wrote that he was deploying a “countermeasure involving child executions” in response to “America’s involvement with genocide and oppression of Palestinians,” in a twisted note he left behind.

The shooter who turned the gun on himself after opening fire in the playground of the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists was identified Thursday as Glenn Litton, a 56-year-old homeless man who was sprung from jail just two days before the shooting, according to police.

Litton, who was pronounced dead at the Oroville school, had a long history of mental health issues, alarming criminal behavior, and past stints in prison, Butte County officials said at a press conference Thursday.

Cops believe his deranged writings — in which he called himself a lieutenant of “the international alliance” — stemmed from his compromised mental state.

“Countermeasure involving child executions has now been imposed at the Seventh Day Adventist school in CA, U.S. by the international alliance,” he wrote in the disturbing note recovered by investigators. (Read more from ‘Mentally Ill Calif. School Shooter Fired at Kids as ‘Countermeasure’ for U.S. Involvement in ‘Genocide of Palestinians’: Note” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

‘National Punchline’: Major State Extends Ballot-Counting From November Election to December!

/0 Comments/in , , /by

While most political strategists and campaign operatives are finally enjoying a post-election repose, making their favorite Thanksgiving fixings and preparing to deck the halls, California’s election officials and party leaders are still on the job.

Once again this year, California is the last state to finish its vote-counting, thanks to a set of vote-by-mail election laws the Democratic Party’s supermajority in the state legislature passed beginning last decade – purportedly to encourage more voter participation.

But making it easier to vote has come with a cost: The state is now a national punchline for election inefficiency, and critics assail it as rife for fraud. As of Tuesday night, two fiercely contested congressional races are hanging in the balance, and three state Assembly races remain too close to call.

“We’re still working,” lamented Jessica Millan Patterson, who chairs the California Republican Party. “Not just as Republicans, but as Californians, it’s embarrassing that we’re the last state in the nation. We’re the home of Silicon Valley, and we can do better. Florida has their elections tabulated in three hours.”

Yet three weeks after the election, there are still 109,485 votes to count across 58 counties, according to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. And even when all the votes are counted, they won’t be certified until mid-December. (Read more from “‘National Punchline’: Major State Extends Ballot-Counting From November Election to December!” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Left Coast Goes Right: California’s Bay Area Kicks Out Liberal Mayors and DA in Stunning Votes — ‘Ideology Does Not Match Reality’

/0 Comments/in , /by

. . .Fed-up voters in the ultra-liberal Bay Area of California have voted to clean house after blaming far-left politicians for rampant crime, spreading homelessness and a general sense of fear on the streets.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao capitulated on Nov. 11 after an overwhelming 62% of voters opted to remove her from office — a historic result coming just two years into a term marked by complaints of mismanagement and an FBI raid on her home.

Following Thao out the door with a losing 64% recall vote will be Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, whom critics characterized as a progressive ideologue pushing “catch and release” policies that routinely turned criminals back out on the streets to continue preying on the people of Oakland.

And across the bay, San Francisco Mayor London Breed lost her re-election to Daniel Lurie, a Levi Strauss heir and fellow Democrat who ran on a promise to clean up the streets.

The revolt was not just at the local level. The Bay Area voted for Kamala Harris by a landslide — but President-elect Donald Trump did 3.5 percentage points better in Alameda County this year than in 2020. In San Francisco County, where Harris made her career as district attorney, she performed more than 5 points worse than President Biden did four years ago. (Read more from “Left Coast Goes Right: California’s Bay Area Kicks Out Liberal Mayors and DA in Stunning Votes — ‘Ideology Does Not Match Reality’” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Californians Overwhelmingly Pass Anti-Crime Proposition 36 Measure That Dems Strongly Opposed

/0 Comments/in , /by

California voters approved by a massive margin a ballot measure to more harshly punish certain crimes — with the initiative garnering a whopping 70.6% support with nearly 7.6 million ballots counted.

The outcome of the state’s Proposition 36 reflected a backlash to light penalties for shoplifting and drug-related crimes — and it passed despite opposition from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Prop 36 authorizes felony charges for possession of drugs including fentanyl and for thefts under $950 if the offender has two prior drug or theft convictions, according to the official summary of its provisions.

The nascent law creates a new category of crime called “treatment-mandated felony” that allows a person to have their drug conviction set aside if they complete rehab.

“Defendants who plead guilty to felony drug possession and complete treatment can have charges dismissed,” according to the measure’s summary. (Read more from “Californians Overwhelmingly Pass Anti-Crime Proposition 36 Measure That Dems Strongly Opposed” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

California Election Officials Registered ‘Self-Confessed’ Noncitizens To Vote: Report

/2 Comments/in , /by

A county registrar is the first line of defense in keeping a noncitizen off the voter roll. But registrars in Alameda County, California, have approved dozens of voter registrations from “self-confessed foreign nationals” — some of which tried to vote — according to records obtained by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF).

Alameda County disclosed in a dataset provided to PILF that there were at least 54 noncitizens who had been on the voter rolls, with at least one voter having been on the rolls for 14 years, though the “average time” on the voter roll was four years. The earliest known illegal registration began in 2004, according to PILF.

One individual, identified by his first name “Gang,” listed his place of birth as China and indicated foreign citizenship, according to PILF. He had his registration canceled in June of 2023 1 three years after his initial registration.

Another ineligible individual, known by his first name Shahid, was registered for at least two years but “revealed” his ineligibility when, in 2016, he sought a provisional ballot after his “original mail ballot was lost,” according to PILF. The ineligible voter had his voter registration canceled in 2018 after he “came to the office with documentation” that confirmed he was a noncitizen, according to PILF.

Notably, at least 12 noncitizens attempted to register to vote while admitting their non-citizen status but had their applications rejected. (Read more from “California Election Officials Registered ‘Self-Confessed’ Noncitizens To Vote: Report” HERE)

‘Yacht Killer’ Inmate Got Taxpayer-Funded Sex-Change With Kamala Harris’ Blessing: Report

/1 Comment/in , /by

A transgender [“woman”] convicted of killing a couple to try to get money for [his] sex change ended up having the procedure covered by California taxpayers — thanks to radical policies backed by VP Kamala Harris.

The notorious so-called “Yacht Killer” — who was born John Jacobson Jr. and now goes by Skylar Deleon — is currently serving life without parole after initially being sentenced to death for the slaying of Thomas Hawks, 57, and his wife Jackie, 47, in 2004.

Deleon, 45, duped the couple into letting them and several associates board their 55-foot yacht and take them out on it after feigning interest in purchasing the vessel.

While out at sea somewhere between Newport Harbor and Santa Catalina, Deleon used a stun gun to incapacitate the couple and forced them to give up their bank-account information and sign over the boat’s title — before tying them to the anchor and tossing it overboard.

Last year, nearly two decades after the murders, the killer finally got a sex-change operation — courtesy of California taxpayers. [He] is now waiting to be transferred to a women’s prison. (Read more from “‘Yacht Killer’ Inmate Got Taxpayer-Funded Sex-Change With Kamala Harris’ Blessing: Report” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr