County

After years of resisting subpoenas to testify under oath about deputy gangs, former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has reversed course and agreed to appear in front of the Civilian Oversight Commission.His lawyer notified the commission of the decision in a December letter stating that Villanueva “is very willing to testify” in January and that he will “answer any question you have under oath.”The change of heart comes days after a county judge scheduled a hearing to decide whether to order the former…

A crackling fire on Christmas Day might feel cozy, but for air quality officials in Southern California, the pollution ain’t worth it.All wood burning, both indoor and outdoor, is banned on Monday and Tuesday for everyone living in the South Coast Air Basin, which includes Orange County and nondesert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.Manufactured fire logs, such as those made from wax or paper, also are banned while the No-Burn Day Alert is in effect.Officials from the South Coast Air…

A once-in-a-millennium storm brought flooding to roadways across Ventura County and a brief tornado warning early Thursday, with more rain expected for Southern California through Friday.For an hour, more than 3 inches of rain fell on the Oxnard plains in Ventura County, according to the National Weather Service. The Ventura County Fire Department reported that 911 dispatchers received over 275 calls for help over a five-hour period as floodwaters rose in the coastal communities of Port Hueneme and Oxnard.“The…

Six people will face organized crime charges in Weld County for an alleged scheme involving the suspects acquiring and redistributing thousands of stolen catalytic converters. The Weld County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations announced the arrests Friday, reporting a warrant sweep police conducted Wednesday in Brighton, Commerce City and Parker, as well as the Las Vegas area in Nevada. Julian Baros, 31, Nicholas Handley, 25, and Devin Garcia, 40, were booked into the…

Hundreds of feet underground, in a long-dormant portion of Chiquita Canyon landfill, tons of garbage have been smoldering for months due to an enigmatic chemical reaction.Although operators of the Castaic landfill say there’s no full-blown fire, temperatures within the dump have climbed to more than 200 degrees, and area residents have complained of a burned garbage odor wafting through the neighborhoods.Meanwhile, 12 miles to the southeast, Sunshine Canyon landfill has suffered water intrusion from torrential storms…

By the time Sheriff Robert Luna ousted his predecessor and became L.A. County’s top cop in late 2022, the nation’s largest sheriff’s department was awash in controversy.The half-century-old problem of deputy gangs had brought the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department under increasing national scrutiny. Jail conditions were becoming increasingly dire, and the decades-old lawsuits about them seemed no closer to resolution. On top of that, the department was short on staff, mired in scandal and often at odds with county…

Ventura County firefighters on Saturday were battling a brush fire fueled by Santa Ana winds that has burned about 300 acres and triggered evacuations in the Somis area near Santa Paula.The fire, dubbed South fire, was first reported at about 9:38 a.m. on South Mountain near the 118 and 126 freeways, with initial reports indicating 3 to 4 aces in size. By late morning, Andrew Dowd, public information officer for Ventura County Fire Department, said the wind-driven fire had ballooned to 300 acres. “I don’t have any…

California Forever, the quixotic, billionaire-backed effort to craft a new city out of $800 million in Bay Area farmland parcels, continues to struggle. The project, which is owned by an opaque parent company, Flannery Associates, and backed by a slew of Silicon Valley luminaries, envisions a utopian new community nestled in Solano county. Backers of the project have promised locals new jobs, economic growth, a vibrant, “walkable” community, and local infrastructure improvements, but, so far, opposition has been…

When she met a jagged-eared German shepherd puppy named Pickles at the Palmdale Animal Care Center, rescuer Alyssa Benavidez thought the former stray was being overlooked by adopters and wanted to find him a home. To draw attention to the playful 10-month-old, Benavidez recorded videos of Pickles to post online — in a red bandanna with heart designs, rolling on his back for belly rubs, a red rose rope toy in his mouth.The shelter, though, did not give her a deadline when she emailed to ask how much time she’d have to…

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A new research report has raised concerns that policing efforts targeting "county lines" drug operations in the U.K. rely on discriminatory assumptions about minority groups and contribute to the criminalization of minoritized communities. This study was carried out by the Sociology department in collaboration with University…