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Colorado legislature poised to create “last resort” property insurance plan as crisis looms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:11 GMT

Colorado wildfires are making it harder for homeowners and businesses to buy property insurance, and now the General Assembly is poised to create a public insurance plan to serve as a last resort for those who can’t find policies on the open market.A bill introduced Thursday would create an insurance-of-last-resort plan — what’s being called a “fair plan” — that would protect Colorado property owners from losses due to wildfires, floods, hail, theft, vandalism and civil disturbances when no other options exist.The bill is necessary because destructive wildfires, floods and hailstorms are increasing amid global climate change and the risks that come with those disasters are making property insurance companies skittish about doing business in Colorado, according to the state’s insurance commissioner and the bill’s sponsors.In the 15 months since the Marshall fire caused $2 billion in damages in Boulder County, the Colorado Division of In...

Loveland Walmart employee dies after being hit by car in store parking lot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:11 GMT

A worker at the north Loveland Walmart location was killed in a crash in the store’s parking lot Thursday afternoon, according to a release from the Loveland Police Department.At 1:19 p.m. Thursday, LPD dispatch received a report of a vehicle versus pedestrian accident in the parking lot of the north Walmart location, 250 W. 65th St., according to the release. Police and other emergency personnel responded to the scene and found a 27-year-old man trapped under a 2016 Chevrolet sedan driven by an 83-year-old Loveland woman.The release added that rescue efforts were “unfortunately unsuccessful” and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. While the man’s identity was not released by the LPD, the department confirmed that he was an employee of the Walmart location and was in the process of returning carts into the store when the crash occurred.Bob Coleman, the police department’s public information officer, said it is unknown at this time if charges will ...

Sheriff's deputy charged with unlawfully owning assault rifle, tracer ammunition in Los Angeles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:11 GMT

A deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been charged with unlawfully possessing an AR-15 assault rifle and tracer ammunition, officials announced Wednesday.  Deputy Brad Garmon was charged with one felony count each of possession of an assault weapon and possession of a destructive device, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.  The unregistered AR-15 and incendiary ammunition were discovered while authorities were executing a search warrant at Garmon’s home in April 2020, according to the DA's office. “While I support the rights afforded to use under the Second Amendment, I also respect the laws of our state. It is illegal to possess an AR-15 assault rifle in California and I expect everyone, including sworn officers, to follow the law,” DA George Gascón said in the release. “These weapons have repeatedly led to massive loss of life across this and I fully intend to enforce the ban in Los Angeles.”  Offici...

Video shows Fontana teacher using racial slur in classroom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:11 GMT

Parents and students are outraged after a middle school teacher who was caught on camera using a racial slur has been allowed back on campus at a Fontana school.The cellphone video of the Sequoia Middle School teacher was allegedly recorded by an eighth-grade student during an English class last week.In the video, the teacher is heard repeatedly saying the N-word to a seated student as others look on shockingly. The student appeared to be uncomfortable during the exchange and wasn’t speaking.“You asked me how to spell it, so go ahead and pronounce it after me,” the teacher is heard saying, allegedly referring to the N-word.A Fontana Unified School District spokesperson confirms the exchange between the student and teacher happened during a lesson on a Mark Twain novel.The student who filmed the conversation explains the events leading up to the exchange, saying, “The student asked the teacher how to spell it [the N-word] and out of nowhere, she just starts screaming at the student, ...

California Lottery players win $1 million each from scratcher games

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:11 GMT

Two California Lottery players are now millionaires after winning $1 million each from scratcher games, the state lottery office announced Thursday.Kaleb Heng, who played the lottery for the first time on his 18th birthday, won $1 million from the Perfect Gift scratcher game. Heng was given the scratcher as a gift from his grandmother, who purchased the ticket at Oasis Market in Turlock in Central California. Multiple California residents win a combined amount of $7 million from scratcher games “My mom was driving me to go fishing, and on the way, I scratched it. We had to pull over. It was a million dollars, and I didn’t even have an ID yet!” Heng said in a statement. “We turned around and went home because I had to get an ID before I could even claim the ticket.”Heng told the lottery office that he plans to use the money to pay for college and invest in his future. Some California lottery winners not claiming prizes; unclaimed tickets add up to tens of millions Another state l...

LA Preps for Free Seed Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:11 GMT

Since we first sat down with Masonic Smoker back in early 2021, he’s continued his rise on the genetics scene, locals might argue one of their favorite Masonic impacts on the community in those two years is Free Seed Day.This year, Free Seed Day will take place on April 15 at Masonic’s on Fairfax. Now one of the most significant events on the calendar for Angelino cultivators, the event initially got its start as an homage to Free Comic Book Day. Before the pandemic, Masonic had been participating in Free Comic Book Day for a decade. “I was hanging out at my store and then Free Comic Book Day is usually on the first Saturday of May, but because of COVID they kind of messed it up,” Masonic told L.A. Weekly. As he sat in his shop dealing with the FOMO of missing out on the rescheduled festivities, the idea popped into his head. “So it all kind of came to fruition there when I was doing FOMO on previous comic book days, I made my own Free Seed Day, and here we are.”Masonic went a bit m...

San Mateo mayor’s vote-buying scheme allegations hold no water, DA says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:11 GMT

SAN MATEO — District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe announced Thursday his office found no evidence to support San Mateo Mayor Amourence Lee’s allegations that there was an attempt to corrupt the voting process during the city’s mayoral transition crisis in December.The District Attorney’s office completed its investigation, conducted at the request of San Mateo City Attorney Prasanna Rasiah, into allegations related to votes occurring in December 2022 on the San Mateo City Council to select a mayor and fill an empty council seat, according to a press release.The controversy left the city without a ceremonial head of the City Council for over a week and put front and center the city’s political divisions, pitting neighbor against neighbor and leading to hours-long meetings as two pro-housing council members pleaded with their slow-growth counterparts to stop throwing a wrench into the mayoral selection process.While voters in large cities like San Jose, Oakla...

IRS vows to audit more wealthy folks, provide better service

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:11 GMT

By Fatima Hussein | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The IRS released details Thursday on how it plans to use an infusion of $80 billion for improved operations, pledging to invest in new technology, hire more customer service representatives and expand its ability to audit high-wealth taxpayers.While some Republicans have suggested without evidence that the money from the Democrats’ landmark climate change and health care bill would help create a mob of armed auditors to harass middle-class taxpayers, new IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel said it will not include spending for new agents with guns.The agency’s newly released strategic operating plan lays out the specifics of how the IRS will allocate the $80 billion, through fiscal year 2031, that was approved in that legislation.Some improvements have been long expected, such as bringing more paper-based systems online and answering taxpayers’ phone calls promptly. Others are more ambitious: continuing to explore ways to...

Jury can’t decide if Pittsburg man killed exploited Oakley teen, but acquits him of first-degree murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:11 GMT

OAKLAND — Nearly seven years after a 17-year-old girl was gunned down behind a recreation center along International Boulevard, her accused killer finally had his day in court.But at the end of a trial that spanned nearly two months, jurors were unable to reach a complete verdict for 28-year-old Pittsburg resident Darion Brown. They did acquit Brown of first-degree murder, but couldn’t decide on second-degree murder or manslaughter, according to court records.The partial result led to a mistrial in Brown’s case, which could now either be tried again, set for plea bargaining, or dismissed outright. Brown is charged with killing 17-year-old Alexis Leann Ervin, an Oakley girl who was shot a half-dozen times a little before 7 a.m. on June 8, 2016, behind the Rainbow Recreation Center, 5800 International Blvd. in Oakland.During Brown’s trial, which began in February, his attorney argued there were several other people present during the shooting, any one of whom c...

Suspects at large after UPS driver robbed outside sporting goods store in Brentwood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:11 GMT

(KRON) -- A UPS driver was robbed last week outside of Sportsman's Warehouse, and the suspects are still at large, the Brentwood Police Department said in a Facebook post. The alleged robbery happened around 9:58 a.m. on March 30 when there was a reported strong-arm robbery behind the store. Attempted car break-in leads to Brentwood shootout Police said the UPS driver was robbed as they were unloading merchandise that was being delivered to the sporting goods store. The UPS driver was not injured, but the department said several firearms were stolen in the robbery.As of Thursday, there are two male suspects in the robbery -- both wearing masks and gloves. One suspect was wearing a black hoodie and black pants. The other was wearing a gray hoodie and dark-colored pants.Police believe there could have been a third suspect inside the suspect vehicle. A picture of the suspect vehicle was posted by Brentwood police (below).Police believe this Toyota Camry is the suspect vehicle in the...