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Larimer County dealer who sold fentanyl that killed woman first to be sentenced under new law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:55 GMT

A woman sentenced Thursday for selling fentanyl that killed another woman in 2022 was the first to be sentenced under a new 2022 law that aims to fight the fentanyl epidemic, the Eighth Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.Andrea Branco was sentenced Thursday in Larimer County to ten years in prison after pleading guilty in August to a charge of fentanyl distribution causing death, a Class 1 drug felony, after she sold the fentanyl to Kara Gorman that killed her Sept. 1, 2022, according to the news release.The charge, which became law in May 2022, carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.Eighth Judicial District Attorney Gordon P. McLaughlin called Thursday’s sentencing the “first of its kind” and praised the collaboration between the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force, Fort Collins Police Services, and the Larimer County Coroner’s Office to target fentanyl dealers.“(Thursday’s) sentence marks a turning point in our abi...

Woodland Hills church keeps getting vandalized, targeted by thieves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:55 GMT

A Woodland Hills church and police are asking for the public's help in identifying the person or persons who burglarized and vandalized the house of worship several times over the past two weeks.Woodland Hills Community Church, a United Church of Christ congregation located at 21338 Dumetz Road, was first targeted last month after an Oct. 21 altercation with a MeetUp group that agreed to gather at the church without permission, a WHCC representative told KTLA.The MeetUp members tried to get into the church, and when questioned by the children and youth minister, they responded with "aggressive and racial threats," according to the church.An entry for that day on the MeetUp Los Angeles website shows a game-night social was planned, and 68 people had indicated that they would attend, though it's unclear if that's the same event that brought people to the church.Later that day, a rainbow peace sign artwork was vandalized with black paint, according to the church, and it was struck agai...

Elderly woman found in L.A.'s Chinatown; ID unknown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:55 GMT

Los Angeles General Medical Center is asking for help identifying an elderly woman found in Chinatown.The patient, believed to be approximately 90 years old, was recently found on North Broadway, hospital officials said. The circumstances were not released, but efforts to identify her have been unsuccessful thus far.The woman is 5-feet tall, weighs 91 pounds, and has "salt/pepper" hair and brown eyes. A photo released by the hospital shows her apparently awake in bed.Anyone with information is asked to contact Dayanira Diaz, a social worker at Los Angeles General Medical Center at 323-409-3377.

These 4 Southern California lottery players just became millionaires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:55 GMT

Southern California has four new millionaires.Raul Reyes Arreola recently won the $20 million top prize on a Set for Life Scratcher he purchased at Big A Liquor in Anaheim, the California Lottery announced on Thursday.Also in Anaheim, Daniel Peramaki, the self-proclaimed "King of the Scratchers," hit the $5 million jackpot on a Neon Cash Party ticket he purchased from Star Liquor on South State College Boulevard.Peramaki has been playing $20 scratcher tickets for many years and told lottery officials that he generally has good luck, but never this good.Daniel Peramaki’s winning Neon Cash Party scratcher ticket. (California Lottery)"I'm very superstitious. If I scratch them right away, it’s a loser. I usually buy them, put them in my pocket, and wait," he said. “I didn’t scratch this one until midnight."Peramaki initially thought he had come up short of the $5 million prize again - until he scratched the 25th and final square. Like many jackpot winners, he says it didn’t immediately ...

Bryan Cranston talks SAG-AFTRA strike and how he's helping those out of work

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:55 GMT

Actor Bryan Cranston has been a motivating force amid the ongoing Hollywood actors' strike. The "Breaking Bad" star was effective on the podium at a massive rally in New York City over the summer. Cranston revealed to KTLA 5's Sam Rubin what prompted him to speak out."I am one of them," he explained. "We are all together. You know, my humble beginnings were that we started out just trying to eke out a living as enterprising young actors, and we needed all the revenue streams possible. Those have disappeared by and large and so our union is really, really fighting hard at this moment, to preserve the middle-class actor, so that we can all make a living."Bryan Cranston is hosting the Lights! Camera! Ante Up! Celebrity Poker Tournament. This segment aired on the KTLA 5 Morning News on Nov. 3, 2023.He then provided an update on where negotiations stand now. "It's a critical moment in the history of our union," he continued. "This current work stoppage is vital for us to be able to main...

From Doja Cat to Pussy Riot — the New LA Weekly Playlist is Live

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:55 GMT

From Doja Cat to Pussy Riot: The 181st LA Weekly playlist, reviewing the musicians that we’ve been writing about all week, is live now. There’s electronic music from Neil Frances, hip-hop from Doja Cat and Bia, R&B from Chxrry22, punk from Circle Jerks and Scream, and so much more.Find us on Spotify here,or on Soundcloud here.Don’t forget to “Like” the playlists and “Follow” the profiles.Pussy Riot (TARA TJÖRVADÓTTIR)From Doja Cat to Pussy RiotAlso this week:Masha Alyokhina of print stars Pussy Riot told us that, “Riot Days is not a usual musical concert. It’s a story with a beginning and an end. You can expect a lot of statements and manifesto words, and the songs of Pussy Riot, from the period of the Red Square action which I participated in — and that’s how my Pussy Riot story started — to the last day of prison where I spent two years. With additions regarding the war with Ukraine, and current political prisoner situations in Russia. So it’s musical, theatrical, political an...

Cindy Chavez won’t run for San Jose mayor in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:55 GMT

South Bay labor icon Cindy Chavez will not run for San Jose’s top political seat next year, according to an emailed announcement sent out on Thursday evening.“San Jose has wrapped her arms around me and I have done my best to do the same,” Chavez wrote in the email. “While I have decided not to run for Mayor of San Jose, I will continue to help move our city forward and help tackle the critical issues impacting our residents and community.”Chavez, a fixture of Silicon Valley politics for decades and currently serving as Santa Clara County’s District 2 supervisor, ran against Mayor Matt Mahan during last year’s election in a race considered by many to be a major upset that pitted a longtime elected official against a relative newcomer.The decision by Chavez on Thursday leaves Mahan, a moderate who was supported by the city’s business bloc, without a clear opponent going into next year’s primary. The deadline for candidates to appl...

S.F. play canceled after Bay Area actor killed in pedestrian accident

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:55 GMT

A San Francisco revival of the classic drama “Death of a Salesman” has been canceled after a cast member, Richard D. May, 64, was struck and killed by a car while walking to a rehearsal for the show, reports and theater company officials said.The African-American Shakespeare Company, which performs adaptations of classic stage plays with BIPOC casts, was set to open a production of Arthur Miller’s tragic drama last weekend. But a real-life tragedy intervened.Cast member May, 65, reportedly was walking to a rehearsal on the morning of Oct. 28 when he was struck and killed by a car at Post and Hyde streets in San Francisco’s lower Nob Hill district, officials at AASC said. According to AASC and S.F. Police Department reports, a white BMW ran a red light and struck another car, which hit and killed Ray. The BMW driver was arrested and an investigation is continuing, reports said. No other details of the accident were available.May was reportedly walking to Taube...

Steinbeck’s famous ‘Western Flyer’ sails back to Monterey after years of restoration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:55 GMT

The original captain’s desk sits in the wheelhouse, where legendary author John Steinbeck may have jotted notes for his Log from the Sea of Cortez. A guy wire like the one he wrote would “sing under the wind,” stabilizes the mast. Nearby is the galley ventilator where “the odor of boiling coffee” soothed his senses.Neglected, twice sunk and now painstakingly restored, the ‘Western Flyer’ — dubbed the world’s most famous fishing boat for bearing Steinbeck and his biologist friend Ed Ricketts on an ecological adventure — returns Saturday to Monterey for the first time in 75 years to begin a new life in science education.Now docked at the Moss Landing harbor, the Western Flyer will be escorted to Monterey by a decorated boat parade, honoring an end-of-season fishing community celebration held the day before Steinbeck and Ricketts headed out on their journey. The event will include tours of the boat, activities and live music.&...

Review: Legendary rock act kicks off 50th anniversary tour in grand style

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:55 GMT

The music kept right on building, growing more intense and fierce with each passing second, as the players onstage pushed both themselves and their instruments. Then, right as the music was hitting such an absurdly towering peak, Mark Mothersbaugh tore into the words of “Gut Feeling”:“Something about the way you taste, makes me wanna clear my throat,” the Devo vocalist belted out as the crowd pulsed sharply in rhythm with the music. “There’s a message to your movements that really gets my goat.”Um, wow. Really? This is what 50 looks like for Devo? Because the band — which got its start in 1973 and is currently celebrating a half century of making music — showed on Thursday night at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium that it can still rock with the best of them.It was opening night of the North American leg of the Devo’s 50 Years of De-Evolution tour, which also includes dates on Sunday (Nov. 5) and Nov. 14 at the Golden Gate T...