Asked this spring to identify the most important issue facing California lawmakers, the leader of the state Senate didn’t hesitate: wildfires. Two months later—with fires blazing from the Oregon border to San Diego—legislators are poised to wade into a political firestorm sparked by last year’s historic fires and mudslides, which destroyed about 10,000 buildings and…
In some regions of California, former vineyards are being converted to cannabis farms, wine conferences are having sessions about marijuana, and an up-and-coming job is cannabis sommelier. While the wine and marijuana industries are similar in some ways, blending those worlds isn’t always easy. Winegrowers and cannabis cultivators increasingly square off over customers, land and…
Raudel Felix García of Fontana thought someone was playing a cruel joke on him when he was told a decade ago that his brother had died after working in the grape fields of Kern County. Audon Felix García had arrived from Zacatecas, Mexico just days before to work in the fields as he had done every other…
Get a zookeepers’ perspective on the OC Zoo Saturday, July 21. Zookeeper Appreciation Day will feature various “keeper chats” as well as a special talk at 10:30 a.m. on “So You Want to be a Zookeeper.” Children’s activities are planned throughout the day, including crafts and games. There will also be the chance to make…
With a bundle of plans and permits approved by the Westminster City Council, Bolsa Row is just about ready to build on 6-acres of undeveloped land at Bolsa Avenue and Brookhurst Street – though at the reluctance of some of its neighbors. With a 144-room, five-story hotel, a 201-room, five-story apartment complex and an about 37,550…
Homebuying in Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel and San Clemente fell 13 percent in May vs. a year earlier. May is traditionally a strong sales months for Orange County, as the prime spring selling season hits full stride. So we decided to see how neighborhood housing markets fared in this key period. ICYMI: O.C. housing’s…
FULLERTON — A 30-year-old Irvine man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to breaking into a home when a resident was home and peeping into three homes in La Habra. Pedro Chaverria Garcia was charged Tuesday with a felony count of burglary and three misdemeanor counts of peeking into homes, according to court records. He is accused…
SANTA ANA — A former Santa Barbara physician dubbed the “Candy Man” for writing illegal prescriptions for a high volume of narcotics for his patients, including one who died, was again sentenced to 27 years in federal prison, his attorney said Tuesday. Julio Gabriel Diaz, 69, was sentenced in December 2015 to 327 months behind bars…
SANTA CLARITA — A woman who led California Highway Patrol officers on a chase from the San Diego area to Santa Clarita was pulled from the vehicle and taken into custody Tuesday night on the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway. The chase began about 7:30 p.m. on the westbound state Route 52, approaching state Route…
It was a horrific scene: a screaming woman running from her house — her upper torso sliced by a chainsaw. Her husband, the alleged assailant, came out “showered in blood,” a neighbor said. At least two of the couple’s three young boys, all witnesses to the attack, were also sprayed by their mother’s blood, another…
