Unusual News
Democrat vs. Democrat in Congressional Race Puts Spotlight on Republicans
When state redistricting forced Democratic congressional stalwarts Howard Berman and Brad Sherman into head-to-head competition, party leaders hoped that one of them would step aside to avoid a primary spectacle.
They didn’t get their wish. read more
Death Valley Reclaims World Record for Hottest Day
Record-breaking temperatures were recorded across the country this year, but the new record for the highest temperature ever, in California’s Death Valley, is actually an old record made new.
Ninety years after the all-time highest temperature of 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit was allegedly recorded in El Azizia, Libya, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has tossed out that reading and moved Death Valley—and its 134-degree reading from July 10, 1913—to the top of the list. read more
Congressional Candidate Backs off Claim that Abortion Causes Cancer
It didn’t take long for GOP congressional candidate Doug LaMalfa to revisit the latest research and determine that it doesn’t support his assertion—in a televised debate Monday—that abortion causes cancer. read more
Something Stinks Besides the Rotting Fish at the Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is fading away, but its smell remains more pungent than ever and may be the source of stench that lingered over a broad swath of Southern California Monday. read more
Alleged Forger Scammed out of $500,000 by Internet “Fiancé”
A Southern California woman who admits stealing $700,000 from her employer using forged checks lost $500,000 of the money in an internet scam that promised her love and a new life.
Instead, Luellen Leyva, 58, of Moorpark is sitting in the Ventura County jail with a $200,000 bond. read more
Ghost Busters Scam Older Asian Women in S.F.
A good ghost scam is apparently hard to keep down.
Stories began surfacing in San Francisco earlier in the year about older Asian women being approached on the street by other Asian women who convinced them that they were cursed, with ghosts attached to them. The only way the older women could rid themselves of the curse was to go home and gather up their jewelry and valuables, put them in a bag and bring them back to the suspects for a purification ceremony.
read more
Court Tells Costa Mesa Insolence Isn’t a Reason to Boot Someone out of a City Council Meeting
You can be proud, disdainful, haughty, arrogant and overbearing—all synonyms for insolent—at city council meetings in Costa Mesa, but you can’t be profane or slanderous.
That’s the ruling from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which, on a 2-1 vote, struck down a portion of Costa Mesa’s municipal code that prohibits “insolent” behavior by attendees at city council meetings. read more
Airline Kicks California Teen with Down Syndrome to the Back of the Plane
Joan and Robert Vanderhorst of Bakersfield never had a problem with their son, Bede, a 16-year-old with Down Syndrome, during the 30 or so airline flights they made together.
But that was always in the economy section, and, last Sunday, the Vanderhorsts decided they wanted to see how the other half lived. read more
Hospital Fined for Leaving Towel in Surgical Patient
Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno was fined $50,000 by the state after one of its patients underwent a second abdominal surgery—after four painful months—that turned up a misplaced towel. read more
Freed Inmate Allegedly Swipes Parting Gift—Jail Pants—and Ends up Back in Lockup
Marcus Garcia celebrated release from jail in Los Angeles County Monday after serving time for felony petty theft by apparently swiping a pair of inmate jumpsuit pants on his way out the door. read more
Divorcee Keeps Alimony by Rebranding New Wedding as “Commitment” Ceremony
Andrea Left has a new “husband” but is still collecting alimony from her old one after convincing two California courts that she never really remarried.
When the Lefts divorced in 2008, stock trader Andrew Left agreed to pay his ex-wife $32,547 a month in alimony, plus $14,590 in monthly child support. read more
L.A. Can Be a Tough Town for Good Samaritans and Victims of Violent Crime
The city of Los Angeles has indicated a desire to bill two good Samaritans—both electrocuted while trying to save an accident victim—for paramedic services, as required by municipal ordinance.
The authorities are still sorting out the horror of August 22 when the solo occupant of an SUV lost control and took out a utility pole and a fire hydrant, before leaving two good Samaritans dead and five others injured. read more
Cash-Strapped Lancaster Pays for an Eye in the Sky to Watch City Residents
If you are in Lancaster . . .look up and smile. You may be on a live video feed to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department dispatch center shot by a plane flying overhead.
The inaugural flight of Lancaster’s first law enforcement aerial surveillance unit, a small 33-year-old Cessna aircraft, took place on Friday and marks somewhat of a hallmark. read more
Anaheim High Schoolers Give Themselves a Lesson in Racism
A high school in the race-torn city of Anaheim has canceled an annual seniors week event that featured students dressed as demeaning Latino stereotypes and U.S. border patrol agents. read more
Filmmakers Dispute Allegation that Prominent Asian Black Panther Was FBI Informant
Richard Masato Aoki, the only Asian to hold a prominent official position with the Black Panther Party in Oakland during the 1960s and who is credited with giving its members some of their first weapons training, was allegedly an FBI informant, according to a book published this week.
But filmmakers Mike Cheng and Ben Wang, who made the 2009 documentary Aoki, dispute the allegation. read more
San Francisco Thinks Small, Ponders Shoebox Apartments
They are cozy, not cramped.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering a developer-backed ordinance that would allow the minimum living space of an apartment to shrink from 290 square feet to 220, about the size of a one-car garage. That is also about four times the size of a typical prison cell and about one-fortieth the size of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Upper East Side townhouse. read more