Tag: california

Wealthy Liberal Enclave of Santa Monica to Declare ‘Fiscal Emergency’ over Sexual Abuse Payouts

The city council of Santa Monica, California, will be asked to declare a “fiscal emergency” this week over hundreds of millions of dollars that it has paid in ongoing sexual abuse litigation.

The city by the beach, which has been hit by homelessness, crime, and an ongoing retail collapse, now faces fiscal catastrophe.

The Santa Monica Daily Press reported: “The dire financial situation is a result of a shortfall in revenue relative to forecasts combined with ongoing litigation, most notably the Uller sexual abuse case.”

The publication reported in 2023 that the city had reached a $229.8 million settlement over the claims: “Eric Uller was accused of abusing young boys between the late 1980s and early 2000s while he was employed by the City and volunteered in the Police Activities League (PALs), a city owned nonprofit. He committed suicide before his criminal trial in 2018.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that the case has crashed the city:

Services in Santa Monica are also suffering, according to the [city’s] report. During the COVID-19 pandemic, city leaders slashed the city’s budget and eliminated hundreds of positions. City services haven’t been restored to pre-pandemic levels, and several capital projects remain unfunded.

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The report also cites recent and proposed changes by the federal government, including tariffs and mass deportations, that could affect the local and national economies.

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In April, Santa Monica ended negotiations with Olympics organizers to host beach volleyball during the 2028 Games.

Santa Monica is often referred to as the “People’s Republic of Santa Monica,” due to its left-wing policies. It is one of the wealthiest towns in America, and diverts public resources to ideological policies as climate change, criminal justice reform, and resisting immigration enforcement (though it is not officially a “sanctuary city”).

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“Summer COVID Wave” Prompts Panic In California; Masks Recommended

At least one official in California has recommended that residents wear masks indoors due to an increase in COVID-19 in recent days.

Wastewater data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday show that California is seeing “very high” levels of the virus, while all states on the West Coast are either at “high” or “very high” levels.

As Jack Phillips reports for The Epoch Times, the top health official for Yolo County, located outside Sacramento, said in a statement last week that residents are advised to wear masks indoors. No mandate was issued.

“California is experiencing a summer COVID wave,” Aimee Sisson, the Yolo County health officer, said in the statement.

“Based on current wastewater levels of the virus that causes COVID-19, I recommend that everybody in West Sacramento wear a mask when they are around others in indoor public spaces.”

“I also recommend that people in the rest of Yolo County wear masks when they are around others indoors if they are 65 or older, have a weakened immune system, have an underlying medical condition that puts them at a greater risk of severe COVID-19, or spend time around people who fall into these categories.”

Sisson’s office also said in a news release issued by the county that “wearing a high-quality mask such as an N95, KN95, or KF94 that fits well continues to provide strong protection” before touting vaccines for the virus.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health told the Los Angeles Times, in an article published Sept. 3 that suggests multiple California officials have recommended masking, that it is also recommending people “consider wearing a well-fitted mask in crowded indoor spaces, including when traveling, and to stay at home if they feel sick.”

Multiple requests from The Epoch Times to the city health department have not been returned as of Friday.

In Canada, New Brunswick’s Horizon Health Network told The Epoch Times this week that it would mandate masks for certain clinical areas due to a rise in respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19. Several weeks ago, the government of Honduras announced it had reinstated a nationwide mask mandate in health care settings due to a rise in respiratory viruses.

Last year, multiple California counties implemented mandatory mask requirements in health care settings that lasted from November 2024 until the spring of this year, including counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Some of the countywide mandates were meant only for employees, while one county required all visitors and patients to wear a mask.

An Epoch Times review suggests that no counties in the United States have recently issued mask mandates or are planning to issue mask mandates for the coming fall or winter months.

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California Professor Indicted for Assaulting Federal Agents During Marijuana Farm Raid

A federal grand jury indicted a professor at California State University Channel Islands who is charged with throwing a tear gas canister at federal agents executing a search warrant at a marijuana farm in Camarillo this summer. The grand jury returned the indictment on Wednesday.

Jonathan Caravello, 37, of Ventura, California, is charged with one count of assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon. Caravello, who is free on $15,000 bond, is expected to be arraigned in the coming weeks in the United States District Court in Los Angeles.

According to the indictment and court documents previously filed in this case, on July 10, federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and United States Border Patrol executed a high-risk search warrant at a marijuana farm sitting on a 160-acre property in Camarillo. A group of protesters gathered near law enforcement personnel around the farm’s entrance and used their bodies and their vehicles to impede law enforcement from exiting the location.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Los Angeles, protesters became violent, throwing rocks at the government vehicles attempting to depart the location because of the danger posed by the protesters. The thrown rocks broke windows and side-view mirrors, among other damage to the government vehicles driven by authorities participating in the immigration enforcement action.

The indictment indicated law enforcement agents on the scene in Camarillo deployed tear gas to assist with crowd control and ensure officer safety. The measure also allowed law enforcement to depart the location. Border Patrol agents rolled tear gas canisters by protesters’ feet at which time the indictment alleged Caravello ran up to one of the canisters and attempted to kick it. After the canister rolled past him, Caravello turned around, ran towards the canister, picked it up, and threw it overhand back at Border Patrol agents.

Border Patrol agents eventually arrested Caravello, who continuously kicked his legs and refused to give agents his arms during the arrest.

Breitbart Texas reported in July that federal officials were offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of another suspect in the assaults on agents during this operation.

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Fake Students Plague California Community Colleges, Displacing Real Enrollees

California’s community colleges are grappling with a surge in fraudulent enrollments, with 1.2 million fake applicants last year accounting for nearly 30 percent of new students, blocking real students from classes and costing millions in stolen financial aid, according to college officials.

The problem, exacerbated by the shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, affects at least 90 of the state’s 116 campuses, said Marvin Martinez, chancellor of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, and Jeannie Kim, president of Santiago Canyon College.

Before the pandemic, most classes were in-person, making fraud more difficult, Martinez said. But with 80 percent of courses moving online, bots and fake students can enroll from anywhere, including other states or countries.

“It’s happened on a massive scale,” Martinez told Epoch TV’s California Insider host Siyamak Khorrami.

“What’s made this situation of fraudulent enrollment so different than anything that I’ve seen before in my 36 years in higher ed is that it’s happened in almost 80 percent now of the campuses.”

At Santiago Canyon College, fall 2024 enrollment initially spiked 10 percent to 13 percent, Kim said, but faculty discovered many registrants were fraudulent. In one anthropology course, administrators raised the enrollment cap by 30 daily, only for bots to fill slots instantly, leaving just 12 to 15 genuine students. 

Faculty identified fakes through non-engagement, identical assignments, or invalid contact details, like phone numbers tied to businesses or defunct entities. Removing fraudulent enrollments cut the college’s headcount by 10,000 to 12,000 spots, with some bad actors enrolled in up to five classes each.

The fallout is severe. Real students are denied access to required courses, delaying graduations, certificates, and transfers to four-year universities.

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Gavin Newsom Blames Trump for California’s Unemployment Rate – That Is One Point Lower than It Was a Year Ago when Joe Biden Was President

California Governor Gavin Newsom attempted to blame President Trump for the unemployment rate today in the once Golden State.

The latest numbers show that California has an unemployment rate of 4.4%.

Newsome wrote on X: “The unemployment rate has increased to 4.3% This is the highest unemployment rate since the pandemic. Donald Trump is wrecking our economy.”

Of course, this is another Newsom lie.

According to the St. Louis Fed, the unemployment rate one year ago in September, 2024 under Joe Biden was 5.5%, higher than it is today.

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Orange County Woman Charged with Illegally Registering Her Dog to Vote in California and Casting Mail-In Ballots in Her Dog’s Name – Harmeet Dhillon Responds

An Orange County, California, woman was arrested and charged with illegally registering her dog to vote and casting mail-in ballots in her dog’s name.

Laura Lee Yourex, 62, of Costa Mesa, illegally registered her dog to vote in California and cast ballots in her dog’s name in the 2021 Gavin Newsom recall election and the 2022 primary election.

According to Orange County DA Todd Spitzer, the dog’s vote was successfully counted in the 2021 election but was rejected in the 2022 primary.

Yourex posted a photo of her dog in 2022 wearing an “I voted” sticker and posing with her ballot.

Yourex was charged with one felony count of perjury, one felony count of procuring or offering a false or forged document to be filed, two felony counts of casting a ballot when not entitled to vote, and one felony count of registering a non-existent person to vote.

She faces up to six years in state prison if convicted.

Per Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer:

A Costa Mesa woman has been charged with five felonies for illegally registering her dog to vote and casting ballots in her dog’s name in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election. The dog’s vote was successfully counted in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election but was rejected in the 2022 primary.

Laura Lee Yourex, 62, of Costa Mesa, has been charged with one felony count of perjury, one felony count of procuring or offering a false or forged document to be filed, two felony counts of casting a ballot when not entitled to vote, and one felony count of registering a non-existent person to vote. Yourex is scheduled to be arraigned at the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center in Westminster on September 9, 2025, in Department W12. She faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison if convicted on all counts.

On October 28, 2024, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office was contacted by the Orange County Registrar of Voter’s Office about a resident who self-reported that she had registered her dog to vote and had in fact cast a mail-in ballot she received addressed to her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, for the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election.

According to the California Elections Code, in order to vote a person must be registered as a voter by filling out and submitting an Affidavit of Registration which includes the voter’s name, residence, mailing address, date of birth, political party preference and a certification that the voter is a citizen of the United States. The affidavit must be signed under penalty of perjury.

Proof of residence or identification is not required for citizens to register to vote in state elections nor is it required to cast a ballot in state elections. However, proof of residence and registration is required for first time voters to vote in a federal election. As a result, the 2022 primary ballot cast in Maya Jean’s name was challenged and rejected. The 2021 election to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom was voted down by 61.9% of voters.

Following an investigation by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation, sufficient evidence was discovered to file criminal charges against Yourex for illegally registering her dog to vote and then casting mail-in ballots issued to her dog based on the fraudulent voter registration. On her social media, Yourex posted in January 2022 a picture of her dog wearing an “I voted” sticker and posing with her ballot. Another post from October 2024, showed a photograph of Maya’s dog tag and a vote-by-mail ballot with the caption “maya is still getting her ballot” even though the dog had previously passed away.

Harmeet Dhillion, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, recently filed a lawsuit against Orange County Registrar of Voters Robert Page for refusing to hand over records showing non-citizens are registered to vote and receiving ballots in federal elections.

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California To Spend $239 Million Turning San Quentin Into “Scandinavian-Style Rehab Center”

California is spending $239 million to transform San Quentin State Prison into what Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office once called the state’s “most notorious prison” into a Scandinavian-style rehabilitation center. Construction is set to finish in January 2026, with the first incarcerated people moving in soon after, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Chronicle writes that the plan dates back to Newsom’s 2018 election, when he halted executions, began dismantling Death Row, and ordered transfers of San Quentin inmates. In 2023, he unveiled a full-scale conversion into a Nordic-inspired campus aimed at preparing prisoners for life outside.

Modeled after systems in Norway, Denmark, and other Nordic countries, the project emphasizes rehabilitation through work, education, and “normalizing spaces” such as a self-service grocery store, café, farmers market, and podcast studio. Prisoners will have single rooms, reducing San Quentin’s population from 3,400 to about 2,400.

“The holistic initiative leverages international, data-backed best practices to improve the well-being of those who live and work at state prisons,” said Todd Javernick, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He added the goal is “creating safer communities and a better life for all Californians, by breaking cycles of crime for the incarcerated population, while improving workplace conditions for institution staff.”

The state hired Danish architecture firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen and convened an advisory council of reform advocates, which recommended measures like making “good nutrition foundational to the San Quentin experience.”

Supporters hope the California Model will serve as a national blueprint, but critics argue the money should instead go to crime victims. Families of incarcerated people also worry transfers will send loved ones far from spouses and children.

San Quentin has already shifted from maximum to medium security, allowing in prisoners deemed lower-risk. Officials also note that closing Death Row reduces costs, as housing death-sentenced inmates can be twice as expensive.

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California grants parole to Satanic killers who ritually murdered 15-year-old ‘blonde, blue-eyed virgin’

Two men who participated in the satanic ritual-murder of a girl in 1995 have been granted parole in California, including the admitted ringleader of the killing. One is still behind bars for the gruesome murder.

Jacob Delashmutt, 15 at the time, as well as his classmates Royce Casey, then-16, and Joseph Fiorella, then-14, had a passion for death metal music, and had a band called “Hatred.” Elyse Pahler, 15, sneaked out of her bedroom in 1995 to go smoke weed after a boy got her number and invited her to come along.

Delashmutt, who is now aged 45, told authorities that after they all smoked weed, he, Casey and Fiorella attacked the young girl, who fit the description of “a blonde, blue-eyed virgin,” per the LA Times. One of their favorite acts from the group Slayer was about worshipping Satan and sacrificing a girl who fit such a description. Delashmutt wrapped his belt around her neck as Fiorella stabbed her several times. They each took turns using a 12-inch knife to stab her in the neck, back, and shoulders. 

In the gruesome murder, Casey said he stomped on the back of the girl’s neck as she screamed out for her mother and Jesus Christ. The three criminals hid her body in the woods but had thought about violating her remains. The girl was found dead in the woods eight months later.

Casey and Delashmutt are now out on parole, while Fiorella remains behind bars. There have been claims that he had a learning disability and that his case was not handled properly. The release of Casey and Delashmutt comes as high-profile murder convicts from the 1990s are going through the parole process.

The murder also occurred when the Menendez brothers were on trial. The convicts in that case were recently denied parole for the 1989 murder of their parents. However, in the case of the Satanic ritual-murder, the two convicts are out of prison.

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Teachers Union Helps Fund Newsom’s Radical Redistricting Push Ahead of 2025 Vote

According to Campus Reform, “The California Teachers Association (CTA) has given $3 million to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign for Proposition 50, a redistricting measure that will appear on the state’s Nov. 4, ballot, according to state campaign finance filings.”

The CTA or California Teachers Association’s contribution went directly to Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 50.

The radical vengeful measure originated from a three bill package in July where the Dems used a ‘gut and amend’ tactic on A.B. 604, S.B. 260 and A.C.A. 8 in order to help give the legislature control of redistricting for 2026, 2028, 2030 election cycles.

The state’s independent Group would eventually assume control, finally in the year 2031.

According to Assemblyman Carl DeMaio “If this redistricting scheme goes through, voters will have no reason to trust politicians.”

DeMaio told Campus Reform. “Politicians will choose their voters; voters will not choose their politicians.”

Sonja Shaw, who’s running for Superintendent of Education in California, condemned the Union’s support for this proposition.

Shaw wrote on X “The California Teachers Association is behind every attack on our kids, pushing confusion in classrooms, protecting only those who fit their narrative, and selling out teachers to back Newsom’s gerrymander…”

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California Democrat Lobbyist Gets Six Months in Jail for Wire Fraud

The downfall of Melahat Rafiei, once an influential figure in Orange County Democrat politics, is now official. 

On Friday, a federal judge sentenced Rafiei to six months in prison for attempted wire fraud, closing a case that has lingered since her 2019 arrest. 

The ruling not only punished her crimes but also highlighted how deeply corruption has penetrated Democrat politics in California.

Rafiei, who previously led the Orange County Democrat Party and worked as a prominent lobbyist, admitted guilt in 2023 under a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.

In addition to acknowledging the wire fraud charge, she admitted that she attempted to bribe two Irvine City Council members to secure favorable cannabis legislation. 

Although she was not charged with the bribery allegations, her plea agreement made it clear that she had actively used political influence for personal and financial gain.

The judge imposed a sentence of six months in federal custody, a $10,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. 

He also emphasized that Rafiei had been able to build her career because of democrat institutions and that she had abandoned those principles in pursuit of power and money. 

Rafiei has been ordered to surrender to authorities by late September.

In court, Rafiei offered little defense beyond expressing that she would accept whatever penalty the court determined. 

Her legal team argued that she had made a positive contribution to the community in the past and highlighted the number of friends and relatives who supported her at sentencing. 

They portrayed her as someone who had already lost her career and reputation, even before serving time in prison.

The case had been stalled for years, mainly because Rafiei agreed to cooperate with federal investigators after her arrest. 

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