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Oregon to crack down on illegal pot growers by holding landowners responsible

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon has long been known as a mecca for high-quality marijuana, but that reputation has come with a downside: illegal growers who offer huge amounts of cash to lease or buy land and then leave behind pollution, garbage and a drained water table. Now, a bill passed by the Oregon Legislature seeks to tackle that by making the landowners themselves responsible for the aftermath. The bill also prohibits the use of rivers or groundwater at the illegal site, as well as criminalizes seizing the identity papers of migrant workers who tend the plants or threatening to report them for deportation.Under the bill, local governments are authorized to file a claim of lien against property used for illicit marijuana, if the owner doesn’t pay for the cleanup. A leader of the state’s cannabis and alcohol regulatory agency has said southern Oregon is to marijuana what Bordeaux is to wine. But the state faces challenges on two fronts: The regulated industry has a glut of product t...

Pat Robertson united evangelical Christians and pushed them into conservative politics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Pat Robertson united tens of millions of evangelical Christians through the power of television and pushed them in a far more conservative direction with the personal touch of a folksy minister. His biggest impact may have been wedding evangelical Christianity to the Republican party, to an extent once unimaginable.“The culture wars being waged today by just about all the national Republican candidates — that is partly a product of Robertson,” said veteran political analyst Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Robertson died Thursday at the age of 93. Robertson’s reach exploded with the rise of cable in the late 1970s. He galvanized many viewers into a political force when he unsuccessfully ran for president in 1988.The next year, he created the deeply influential Christian Coalition. He sought to “influence and impact the trajectory of the Republican Party and turn it into a pro-life, pro-family party,” said Ralph Reed,...

Car-obsessed California seeks to follow New York’s lead and save public transit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sadaf Zahoor has bucked California’s car culture by never owning one, yet she and other residents who rely on public transit worry its bleak financial outlook could soon leave them standing at empty train stations and bus stops.The agencies running the public transit systems, particularly in San Francisco and Oakland, California, where Zahoor lives, have been living off billions of dollars in federal aid that will soon expire. Ridership plummeted by as much as 94% during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving a gaping budget deficit. Fare box revenues have rebounded a bit, but with more people working from home, some systems haven’t returned to even half their previous levels.The transit agencies have asked Democrats who control California’s government to rescue them, much like Democrats in New York recently did with a $227 billion spending plan. The request is proving to be a much tougher sell in the nation’s most populous state, where majestic mountain highways a...

Frayed nerves and uprooted lives in Russian city close to Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

A week after fleeing her home in southern Russia to escape cross-border shelling from Ukraine, Irina Shevtsova is adjusting to life as a refugee inside her own country.Shevtsova is one of thousands of Russians who have abandoned their homes and taken shelter in Belgorod, the nearest big Russian city to the border with Ukraine.They spend their time drinking coffee, lounging on beds in temporary shelters, picking through piles of donated clothing and wondering when they will be able to go home."It’s very scary, we’re frightened, we don’t believe in anything, lately we’ve stopped believing. We jump every time we hear a noise," Shevtsova, 62, said. "Our children and old people are very scared."The number of uprooted Russians is a tiny fraction of the millions of Ukrainians who have become refugees and seen their towns and cities destroyed in the conflict.But more than 15 months after President Vladimir Putin sent his army into Ukraine, Belgorod and its surrounding region are feeling the...

Loved ones mourn death of Southern California BMX star Pat Casey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

Loved ones are mourning the death of Orange County BMX star Pat Casey following a fatal crash at a motocross competition in San Diego County on June 6.The 29-year-old X Games medalist was known as a dedicated husband, a loving father of two and a talented athlete whose life was cut tragically short.While competing in an X Games competition in Ramona, Pat missed a landing while performing a jump from a ramp, losing control of his bike before being ejected.Bystanders called 911 but by the time paramedics arrived at the track, they found Pat pulseless and apneic, according to the medical examiner's office. Despite life-saving measures, Pat was pronounced dead at the scene.Donations have been pouring into a GoFundMe campaign created by a family friend to help with funeral expenses."I haven't looked at it,” said Chase Casey, Pat’s wife, of the GoFundMe. “Thank you for donating if you have. I just can’t bring myself to because it makes it seem real and I don't want it to be."Pat Casey pic...

1 dead, 3 injured in multi-car crash on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

Authorities in Long Beach are investigating a four-car crash that killed one man and sent three other men to the hospital Thursday night.  Officers with the Long Beach Police Department responded to the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Junipero Avenue at around 7:19 p.m. on reports of the multi-vehicle collision.  Early reports suggest that the male driver of an SUV who was traveling westbound on PCH at Junipero Avenue went into eastbound lanes of traffic and crashed into three other vehicles, an LBPD news release stated.  Despite life saving measures by personnel with the Long Beach Fire Department, the male driver, who was the sole occupant of the SUV, was declared dead at the scene. Three other male adults from different vehicles were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. It is unknown at this time if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.  East and westbound lanes of traffic on PCH remained closed from Junipero Avenue t...

Investigation underway into Oakland freeway shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

OAKLAND — An investigation is underway into a shooting last week on Interstate 880 in Oakland, authorities said.The shooting was reported June 2 around 10:30 p.m. in northbound lanes north of High Street, the California Highway Patrol said in a media advisory Thursday night.The CHP said shots were fired at a Toyota Sienna occupied by four men. No injuries were reported.The victims were unable to provide a description of the suspect or the suspect vehicle, the CHP said.The CHP said road rage did not play a role in the shooting.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Man charged in Antioch shooting that left woman dead, her husband injured Crime and Public Safety | Former KTVU anchor Frank Somerville charged after most recent arrests Crime and Public Safety | Jasper Wu killing: Man pleads guilty to weapons charge after murder charge tossed Crime and Public Safety | Ankle-monitor wearing parolee committed Livermore robberies,...

San Jose: Suspects point gun at homeowner during burglary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

SAN JOSE — Two burglars pointed a gun at a San Jose woman after she found them inside her Rose Garden neighborhood home Thursday night, authorities said.The interrupted residential burglary was reported around 7 p.m. in the 1300 block of Emory Street.The burglars broke into the home through a back sliding glass door, said San Jose police Officer Mario Tatom.“They thought no one was home,” Tatom said.The burglars came face to face with the woman, who was home alone, and pointed a gun at her, Tatom said. The woman backed away and the burglars left the scene.Officers swarmed the area and entered the home with guns drawn just before 8 p.m., leaving nearly a dozen patrol vehicles parked on the street. A helicopter circled overhead.They exited the residence 25 minutes later. Tatom said no one was found inside the home.Additional details about the burglary were not immediately available.Anyone with information related to the case can contact Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or...

BART fare increase: Here's how much more you will be paying

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

(KRON) -- The BART Board of Directors approved a new budget on Thursday. Among the changes that the transportation agency will implement are fare increases and a revised parking policy. BART said it has a $93 million deficit looming over the 2025 financial year. It has relied on federal funding since the COVID-19 pandemic, but it expects the funding to run out around March 2025. After that, BART could face deficits of $300 million a year without temporary state funding. Bay Area real estate value is fastest dropping in the nation, report says “Despite our best efforts to hold the line on expenses and grow revenues with modest fare increases, we are still facing a structural, ongoing budget gap,” said BART Board General Manager Bob Powers. “It’s a stark reminder that BART alone cannot solve the financial crisis created by the pandemic. Right now, BART needs temporary state funding to bridge the gap while we pursue a sustainable source of operating funds to help advance the Bay Are...

Joran van der Sloot, acusado de extorsionar y estafar a la madre de Natalee Holloway, comparece el viernes ante un tribunal federal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

(CNN) — Joran van der Sloot debe comparecer este viernes ante un tribunal federal en Estados Unidos, donde se le acusa de extorsionar con decenas de miles de dólares a la madre de Natalee Holloway, cuya desaparición durante un viaje para celebrar su graduación de secundaria en 2005 se convirtió en un misterio internacional.Van der Sloot, una de las últimas personas a las que se vio con Holloway (entonces de 18 años) antes de que desapareciera, fue trasladado el jueves de Perú a Birmingham, Alabama, en compañía de un equipo de agentes especiales del FBI.Está previsto que el ciudadano holandés esté representado por un abogado federal de oficio en su comparecencia a las 11.00 a.m. hora de Miami.Van der Sloot fue acusado en 2010 de cargos federales de extorsión y fraude electrónico en relación con un complot para vender información sobre el paradero de los restos de Holloway a cambio de US$ 250.000, según una acusación presentada en el Distrito Norte de Alabama.Joran van der Sloot...