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Marshall fire started by week-old embers on Twelve Tribes property and a sparking Xcel power line, Boulder sheriff says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

The most destructive wildfire in Colorado history started in two places — on the grounds of an international religious cult and from a broken power line about 2,000 feet away, Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson said Thursday, announcing the results of a 17-month investigation into the origin of the Marshall fire.Embers from a fire that was thought to have been extinguished on the Twelve Tribes‘ property at 5325 Eldorado Springs Drive a week earlier reignited under high winds and began the Marshall fire on Dec. 30, 2021, Johnson said. About an hour later, hot particles from a defective Xcel Energy line ignited a second blaze, he said.“The two fires became one at some point,” Johnson said during a news conference in Boulder.He later added that investigators did not examine when or where the two blazes merged, only where they began.Leaders of the Twelve Tribes did not immediately return requests for comment Thursday. A spokeswoman for Xcel Energy, Michelle Ag...

Orange County high school teacher placed on leave after LGBTQ sex discussed in anatomy class

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

A teacher at a Placentia high school has been placed on administrative leave after video of her anatomy and physiology lesson was released online and drew controversy.The El Dorado High School teacher, identified by the Orange County Register as Judy Rehburg, discussed the prostate and its role in providing sexual pleasure in homosexual relationships, the video shows. She also discussed sex toys being sold at popular retailers like Target.The video sparked outrage among some parents, who filed a complaint against Rehburg with the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, the Register reported.Placentia is a city in northern Orange County, next to Anaheim. Fights break out amid Glendale school board meeting on Pride curriculum While some parents have criticized Rehburg's lesson and said it was inappropriate for physiology class, others defended the teacher and the concept of teaching sexual education topics during the class.A syllabus posted to the school's website includes th...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tests positive for coronavirus

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tested has positive for coronavirus, her office said Thursday.Bass tested positive following a routine test Wednesday night.“The Mayor is feeling fine and will continue to work remotely as she follows public health guidelines,” officials said, adding that she is vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.The mayor released the same statement on her official Twitter account Thursday morning. Bass was scheduled to speak at the 42nd Lotus Festival celebration at Echo Park at 11 a.m., according to her press office.At 7 p.m. she was set to attend the LiUNA Local 300 scholarship dinner where she was supposed to deliver remarks. Though not open to the public, Bass was also supposed to meet with Xi Boule of Sigma Pi Phi to speak on key issues facing Los Angeles, her press office said. No further details about the mayor's diagnosis or condition were released.

Superman actor Dean Cain flees California, citing 'terrible' policies

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

Dean Cain is the latest celebrity to leave the Golden State. In an interview with Fox News the "Lois & Clark" star revealed he moved to Nevada because of his issues with some of California's "policies.""I love California. It's the most beautiful state," he told the network's Brian Kilmeade on Wednesday. "Everything's wonderful about it except for the policies. The policies are just terrible. The fiscal policies, the soft-on-crime policies, the homelessness policies."Real estate sources told TMZ that Cain sold his mansion for $6.25 million, which went for $1 million under his original asking price. The actor listed his home in March and it sold in May. Cain's departure follows actors Mark Wahlberg and Scott Baio, who also left California.Dean Cain and Terri Hatcher in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." (promotional image)"The things that our leaders in California have been doing have driven out anybody who can really afford to get out. People are flocking ou...

Officers find 19 tons of illegal fireworks in South Los Angeles warehouse, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

Tens of thousands of pounds of illegal fireworks were seized from a South Los Angeles warehouse Wednesday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.Around 3 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department was "conducting routine compliance inspections" in the 900 block of East 61st Street in the Florence neighborhood when marshals found "a large number of fireworks in a storage room," police said in a news release. The illegal, "commercial-grade" fireworks were seized by authorities, who "immediately began the process of packaging and removing the fireworks from the area, which totaled 38,000 pounds in weight," the release added. Two Angelenos, 64-year-old Lorenzo Ponce and 35-year-old Diego Ponce, were arrested for possession of illegal fireworks over 5,000 pounds. 2 years after botched police fireworks explosion, South L.A. residents are still displaced, angry CalFire will assist with the disposal of the fireworks, and the investigation is ongoing. Nearly two years ago, th...

SFJAZZ appoints Grammy-winner Terence Blanchard as executive artistic director

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

Terence Blanchard, a seven-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee, has been named the new executive artistic director at SFJAZZ.“I am honored and excited to become a part of such an amazing and historic institution,” Blanchard says. “SFJAZZ has meant so much to the development of America’s greatest art form. I am looking forward to collaborating with the staff while also bringing my own ideas about how to move our music forward and continue the SFJAZZ mission to explore the full spectrum of jazz — from its origins to its diverse and evolving expressions around the world today. I cannot wait to continue this journey.”Blanchard, who is starting immediately, is taking over from Randall Kline, the SFJAZZ founder who has been \preparing to step down this year from the arts organization he started back in 1983.“Terence Blanchard is an extraordinary artist whose experience and accomplishments make him an ideal creative leader for SFJAZZ, building on...

California State Parks Week: Forest bathing, butterfly seed-bomb making and other events

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

Ever hear of a “butterfly seed bomb”? That would be a clay ball full of native wildflower seeds you huck into the wild, where it’ll sprout to provide nectar for migrating Monarchs.You can make a butterfly seed bomb – and go birding in salt marshes, take guided tours of wildfire burn zones and partake in shinrin-yoku aka “forest bathing” – during California State Parks Week that runs from June 14-18.Now in its second year, the event celebrates California’s 280 state parks with an array of unique activities geared to get you out of the house and exploring nature. You can find the full list at castateparksweek.org, but in the meantime here’s a sampling of what’s happening around the Bay Area. Note that some events require advanced reservations, and others marked as free still require entrance or day-use fees for those parks:June 14Mount Tamalpais State Park, 9:15 a.m., “Forest Bathing”“Forest bathing, a literal translati...

Wrongful death lawsuit filed in connection with Redwood City street-racing crash that killed parents of twin girls

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

REDWOOD CITY – A pair of Redwood City men already facing criminal accusations have now been hit with a wrongful-death lawsuit for their alleged roles in a street-racing crash that killed the parents of twin girls last year.The suit also names the parents of one man, who was 17 years old at the time, and two others who were in his car and “egged on” the race, said Niall McCarthy, an attorney for the girls.“What we’re trying to do with the lawsuit is hold everyone who has responsibility accountable so you can see some change in behavior in the future,” said McCarthy of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP. “The family is hopeful that this lawsuit will shed some light on this conduct and maybe the next driver will stop and think and do something differently.”The fatal crash happened around 8 p.m. Nov. 4, 2022, at the intersection of El Camino Real and Finger Avenue in Redwood City. According to the lawsuit, Gregory Ammen, 44, and Grace Spiridon, 42, both of San Carlos, were heading home ...

Attacker stabs 4 children, 2 adults in French Alps

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

By John Leicester | Associated PressPARIS — As bystanders screamed for help, a man with a knife stabbed four young children at a lakeside park in the French Alps on Thursday, assaulting at least one in a stroller repeatedly. The children between 22 months and 3 years old suffered life-threatening injuries, and two adults also were wounded, authorities said.The helplessness of the young victims and the savagery of the attack sickened France.A suspect, identified by police as a 31-year-old Syrian, was detained in connection with the morning attack in the Alpine and lakeside town of Annecy. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said he had refugee status in Sweden.Witnesses reported scenes of terror as the man roamed the park, ambushing victims with his blade.“I said to the police, ‘Shoot him, kill him! He’s stabbing everyone,'” Anthony Le Tallec, a former professional soccer player who was jogging when he came across the attacker, said.Lead prosecutor Line Bonn...

A small world: How caste discrimination came to California

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:25 GMT

Like many recent arrivals to California, Prem Pariyar searched for work and a home within communities of fellow immigrants.So when coworkers at a South Asian restaurant in Davis refused to room with him in an apartment his employer provided, he was shocked by their reason: his caste. Not his race, religion or nationality, but the centuries-old social hierarchies still prevalent in some South Asian societies.Pariyar is Dalit, which means “broken” in Sanskrit and is considered the lowest-ranking caste, formerly known as “untouchables.” In Nepal, he said, his family faced violence and harassment.  He thought he had escaped that here.“I was speechless,” he said of his coworkers’ actions, which left him depressed, traumatized and living in a van for a month in 2015 until he quit the restaurant. “Why did these people practice these kinds of things here in the U.S.?”Today Pariyar, who won asylum and became a U.S. citizen, is one of California’s most vocal activists for a ban on caste discr...