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Arrest made in L.A. arson spree; suspect may be linked to more fires

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:44 GMT

Authorities announced an arrest Friday of a man suspected of setting several fires in Los Angeles' Fairfax District.Delano Thompson, 34, was pulled over by police for speeding in Sunland on Wednesday and was subsequently taken into custody. He was said to be living in his car at the time of his arrest. In one of the cases, investigators say Thompson set fire to a shed door at Bais Chana Heritage School, a Jewish institution.Multiple families were forced to evacuate their homes after an intense fire ripped through a parking garage and destroyed two vehicles in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California on June 10, 2023. (KTLA)"We have no evidence to show that that particular fire was a hate incident,” LAPD Detective Roger Allen said at a Friday news conference. He said the LAFD House of Worship Task Force is still working to determine the motive. Thompson's arrest comes after two vehicles in the Fairfax District were torched on June 9. A garage in the same neighborhood caught fi...

June gloom to clear in time for Father’s Day 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:44 GMT

The "June Gloom" that has kept Southern California in a fog since the start of the month is finally going to make way for clear skies this weekend - just in time for Father’s Day. Marine layer clouds are expected to burn off by midday on Friday and are not expected to return until Sunday morning, where they are also expected to burn off quickly. “Saturday and Sunday are going to be beautiful days,” said KTLA meteorologist Mark Kriski. “Saturday [will be] the warmest day.” Most of Southern California will see more sunshine and an increase in temperatures as the June gloom begins to recede. The weather for Father’s Day is forecast to be mostly sunny throughout the region, with temperatures ranging from 70 degrees near the coasts and mountains to 84 degrees in the high desert. Visit the KTLA 5 Weather page for the most up-to-date conditions for your area.

L.A. police search for stolen car driver who hit 14-year-old bicyclist

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:44 GMT

Video captured the terrifying moment when a speeding stolen car careened into a 14-year-old boy riding a bike in Los Angeles last month. The child survived, but the driver and his accomplices got away.Los Angeles police released the video and surveillance photos on Friday that show the incident from several angles.On the evening of May 16, police say four males stole a black 2014 Kia Optima that was parked in the 300 block of West 14th Street. A short time later, video shows the sedan speeding and fishtailing in the southbound lanes of Main Street, and then striking the 14-year-old boy, identified as Julio Flores, who was riding his bicycle northbound with another bicyclist.Video from the LAPD shows the sedan speeding and fishtailing in the southbound lanes of Main Street, and then striking a boy who was riding his bicycle on May 16, 2023. “The child was launched into the air and landed on the sidewalk,” LAPD said in a statement. “The driver of the Kia fled from the scene ...

LA Preps for The Biggest Zalympix Yet

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:44 GMT

Los Angeles is preparing to crown its latest Zalympix champion after the most competitive version of the contest yet. Over the past couple of years, Greenwolf’s Zalympix has firmly taken hold of the title of L.A.’s elite cannabis contest. This was even as it expanded throughout the state with Mainstage in Sacramento and The Outpost in Santa Rosa now taking part in the distribution of the boxes. I think one of the things that makes Zalympix so fun is the fact it’s genuinely highlighting the best of the best. It’s a pure representation of the Ethos that Greenwolf has used to fill the shelves at the shops since day one. It’s also refreshing to see a bunch of names in one place that are all crushing it during these dark times in cannabis.This rendition of Zalympix was the wildest yet. It was simply massive. The initial amount of over 120 entries is considerably larger than all the previous Zalympix boxes combined. The Greenwolf team selected 25 judges to go through the entries and whitt...

The Hollywood Fringe Festival is Truly Outrageous

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:44 GMT

The Hollywood Fringe Festival is still going strong, showcasing the best in local alternative L.A. theater– and there’s still time to catch a show as it runs through June 25. If you’ve never been to a Fringe show, now is truly the best moment to do so.We suggest looking through the schedule and picking something at random based on its name– there are also reviews of each show, often done by people in the Fringe community. We’re very intrigued by The Jem and the Holograms Musical Parody (see photo) and Barry’s Gardening Service puppet show, but there are dozens more wonderfully weird offerings.We’re living in strange times and one of Fringe’s strengths has always been skewering pop culture’s surreal twists and turns. Fringe always seems to offer fresh perspectives on humanity and history as well personal stories and far out ideas, presented via comedy, drama and improv. Due to lack of resources, LA Weekly doesn’t get to cover L.A. theater like we used to, but ...

Borenstein: MLB’s abusive gaslighting of A’s fans, Oakland officials

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:44 GMT

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred’s gaslighting of A’s fans and Oakland officials shows why it’s time for the city to quickly extract itself from this abusive relationship.The fate of the team seemed sealed on Thursday when Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a bill granting $380 million in public subsidies for the construction of a new ballpark in Las Vegas.And then Manfred turned around and tried to blame the fans for the team’s poor attendance and the city for its departure.“I think that the real question is ‘What is it that Oakland was prepared to do?’,” he said. “There is no Oakland offer. They never got to the point where they had a plan to build a stadium at any site.”Anyone who has paid attention to the negotiations knows what a distortion of reality that is. It wasn’t the city that stood in the way of the team getting a new East Bay ballpark, it was A’s billionaire owner John Fisher’s greed.Thanks to Manfred and Fisher, this is turning into an ugly divorce. R...

Arson arrest: Mariposa man, 71, accused of starting last summer’s huge Oak Fire

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:44 GMT

A 71-year-old Mariposa man was arrested Friday on suspicion of starting last summer’s Oak Fire, which burned almost 200 buildings west of Yosemite.The felony charges include multiple arson counts, said the law enforcement division of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It did not say what led investigators to suspect the man.The fire was reported on the afternoon of July 22, 2022, near the store in the community of Midpines, along Highway 140.In the first day after its ignition, the fire exhibited extreme behavior,  spreading unusually quickly and producing a pyrocumulus cloud that could be seen as far away as Reno.It eventually burned 19,244 acres (30 square miles) and destroyed 127 homes and 66 outbuildings. Three firefighters were injured.At the time, it was the state’s biggest wildfire of the season. Large fires in the early fall bumped it to No. 5.CalFire was assisted in the investigation by agencies including the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Off...

Outpouring for two East Bay pilots who died in plane crash near Rio Vista airport ‘almost beyond words’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:44 GMT

CONCORD — Lizzy Fenner took note of the money already received on a fundraising page dedicated to helping her brother-in-law’s family in the wake of his death, and she was humbled.“Almost beyond words,” she said.It’s been more than a week since a small plane crash near the Rio Vista Municipal Airport killed 41-year-old Concord resident Benjamin Shreve and 33-year-old Martinez resident Jesse Buckner, two friends and, according to Fenner, two beloved and unforgettable people.Friends and pilots Jesse Buckner, left, and Benjamin Shreve bonded over their love of flying and their kind personalities, according to Shreve’s relative. The two died June 8 in a plane crash near Rio Visa Municipal Airport. Photo courtesy Lizzy FennerThe fundraiser for Shreve, created a week ago by Fenner, had generated about $68,000 by noon Friday. It seeks $100,000 to help support his two children, ages 7 and 2.A fundraiser for Buckner had raised about $57,135 of the $10...

346 people died from drug overdoses in San Francisco in 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:44 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Within the first five months of 2023, 346 people died in San Francisco from accidental drug overdoses, according to data recently released by the city's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The city's overdose crisis spiked last month with 74 deaths reported in May. Fentanyl -- a highly addictive, cheap, and deadly street drug -- is the primary culprit behind overdoses. Fentanyl was detected in 275 of the 346 victims. According to city data, 77 percent of the overdose victims were between ages 35-64 years old. Eighty-two percent were men, 41 percent were white, and 32 percent were Black. San Francisco recorded 725 overdose deaths in 2020, 638 in 2022, and 640 in 2021, data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shows. 2023's overdose numbers are tragically outpacing 2022 and 2021. 2023-SF-Overdose-ReportDownloadAccording to the Department of Public Health, fentanyl first became prevalent in local street drug supplies in 2018. The opioid spread through...

Opinion: Canada urgently needs a FEMA-like emergency management agency

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:44 GMT

By: Ali Asgary, York University, CanadaDisasters often bring politicians, policymakers, researchers and the public to the discussion table. Due to their catastrophic impacts, disasters and emergencies prompt a large array of stakeholders to focus intently on the issues at hand, providing windows of opportunity for change.This focus often exposes the operational, co-ordination and governance deficiencies and weaknesses of emergency management systems. Disasters like the ongoing wildfires in Canada raise questions about whether the current system and approaches are best suited to protect people, property and the environment from hazards — and can bring about change and investment in corrective measures.Many of the world’s leading emergency management governance approaches and national agencies have gone through extensive changes and enhancement following major disaster events, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the United States following hurricane Katrina in ...