California

California

A former LAPD officer was able to fly in and out of the country several times and live freely in Southern California for more than a year despite an active warrant for his arrest in the 2015 killing of a homeless man, according to his defense attorney and L.A. County prosecutors leading his pending murder case. A grand jury indicted Clifford Proctor, 60, in September 2024, after the district attorney's office reopened an investigation into the shooting death of Brendon Glenn.

A march supporting California's billionaires didn't exactly draw a huge crowd on Saturday - the San Francisco Chronicle counted around three dozen attendees, along with another dozen tongue-in-cheek counter-protesters. To be fair, organizer Derik Kauffman had predicted attendance of only "a few dozen" beforehand. But the "March for Billionaires" has drawn outsized attention on social media because it's such an incongruous idea, and according to Mission Local, journalists nearly outnumbered demonstrators at the event itself, where marchers carried signs with messages like "We ❤️ You Jeffrey Bezos" and "It's very difficult to write a nuanced argument on a sign."

A group of local activists took matters into their own hands Saturday and removed the controversial fence illegally blocking public access to Daly City's Thornton Beach. In a video shared on Instagram, a banner that reads, This is on stolen Ohlone land, is placed on the ground as the activists begin to remove the fence, declaring, Free the land. [F12Unity/Instagram]

The fundraiser benefits West Valley Community Services (WVCS), a nonprofit whose programs support low-income and homeless individuals and families in Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga and West San Jose. The evening features top Bay Area chefs competing to create a multi-course meal using ingredients found in the WVCS pantry, where clients receive food. A panel of professional judges chooses the winner; there's also a people's choice award.

Tickets are on sale for the 15th annual Chefs of Compassion: Cooking for a Cause gala on March 27. The fundraiser benefits West Valley Community Services (WVCS), a nonprofit whose programs support low-income and homeless individuals and families in Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga and West San Jose. The evening features top Bay Area chefs competing to create a multi-course meal using ingredients found in the WVCS pantry, where clients receive food. A panel of professional judges chooses the winner; there's also a people's choice award.

Milpitas is celebrating Lunar New Year twice this month. First up is the city's celebration of the Year of the Horse on Feb. 13, 6-8 p.m., at the Milpitas Civic Center Plaza, 457 E. Calaveras Blvd. The event will feature performances, food, music and activities. For more information, call 408-586-3225 or email specialevents@milpitas.gov.

Just one percent of Americans hold nearly a third of the nation's wealth. So it was fitting that after organizers announced an apparently earnest "March for Billionaires" for this Saturday at Alta Plaza Park, only a handful of pro-billionaire agitators actually showed. Mission Local contributor Benjamin Wachs coined a term for an event in which media observers outnumber participants: a panopticonference. This was close to that. Those in attendance did their best to field questions from the barrage of journalists that backed them into a tree.

Police said two women forced their way inside a fourth-floor unit and followed two women to a stairwell on the south side of the building. The victims took an elevator back to the fourth floor and were walking back to the apartment when one of the suspects pointed a handgun at the head of one of the victims, according to police.

Perhaps the best that can be said for the plight of California renters is that it could be worse. My trusty spreadsheet reviewed monthly rents and hourly wage data collected by United Way, comparing 2024 with 2019 for 96 U.S. metropolitan areas, including nine in California. Those statistics show that paychecks are not keeping up with monthly rent payments, both in California and nationwide.

California's ticketing industry could be undergoing some major changes. On Thursday, California state assemblymember Matt Haney introduced a new bill called the California Fans First Act. The bill would impose price caps on tickets sold in the resale market, limiting prices to no more than 10% above the ticket's face value. By making it illegal to sell overly expensive tickets, the bill, officially labeled AB 1720, is aimed at making resale tickets more affordable for fans.

This Sunday, tens of thousands of people will pass a mysterious burned sign on their way to Levi's Stadium for Super Bowl 60. A few NFL fans will likely strain their eyes to read the charred words "David's - Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner," but few, if any, will know the heartache that sign represents. The sign is for David's Restaurant, a beloved local eatery and event space that once hosted thousand-person events and even a presidential candidate.

The legal documents filed last week in Santa Clara County Superior Court assert that Puff Puff Pazz, a limited liability company doing business as the 818 Hookah Lounge at 2229 Lincoln Ave., and the officers running the club Johnathon Elliot and Bethelehem Bekele did not have valid tobacco retail and alcohol licenses nor a conditional use permit for late night activity.

A 15-year-old boy suffered severe burns to his chest and face and lost his right hand when a fireworks device detonated in his hand in Oceanside Thursday, officials said. The teen suffered the injuries, including the traumatic amputation of his hand, when the device blew up shortly before 9 a.m. on North Horne Street near Civic Center Drive, near the Walmart parking lot, police said.

FREMONT - A 19-year-old San Jose man has died from injuries he suffered in a crash last week in Fremont, police said. A BMW M4 coupe and a tractor-trailer collided around 1:50 a.m. on Jan. 27 at the intersection of Auto Mall and Cushing parkways, according to the Fremont Police Department. The driver of the BMW and their passenger were taken to an area hospital.

Travon Troupe, 39, of Hayward, allegedly drove drunk through a red light at Foothill Boulevard and 68th Avenue in Oakland, smashing into a big rig that had the right of way. The July 13, 2020 crash caused a fire, and Oakland police said they only realized Troupe was drunk after pulling him out of his burning car, where flames were spreading to the driver's seat.

The skier, who has not been identified, was attempting a run called Dropout 2 - among the steepest marked trails in California - which descends from the summit ridge of the 11,000-foot mountain. The run falls about 1,200 vertical feet below a slow, three-person lift that ferries expert skiers to some of Mammoth's most adventurous terrain.

The video, posted to an account bearing Propeck's name, pans to the man's face as he deploys a parachute, it states. A license plate reader detected Propeck's car entering the national park on Oct. 7 and leaving Oct. 8, and photos showed Propeck behind the wheel, wearing the same purple mirrored sunglasses the man was seen wearing in the Instagram video, according to the complaint.

The former rear commodore of the Ballena Bay Yacht Club is facing criminal charges for allegedly using false information to acquire a $224,276.43 federal grant and then spending a significant amount on himself, court records show. Nicholas Stellato, 53, is facing charges of grand theft, making a false statement on a financial form and money laundering, according to court records.

Firefighters went to 1301 Poe St. shortly before 4 p.m. after 911 callers reported the fire and that there might be a victim inside the burning building, Berkeley Fire Department Deputy Chief Keith May said. When firefighters arrived there were flames and smoke coming from three sides of the building, May said. They forced their way into one unit home and found a woman's body within, May said.

A 19-year-old has been arrested in connection with a shooting at a Halloween party in Santa Clarita that left two people dead. On Monday, Alejandro Trujillo of Newhall was arrested in connection with the deaths of 30-year-old Elijah Harts and 27-year-old Anthony Mora, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department news release. The deaths occurred Oct. 31 in the 25000 block of De Wolfe Road.

Maximo Macanas, a McKinleyville resident, was discovered by a local sport vessel on Tuesday, according to a Facebook post by the Del Norte County Sheriff's Office. He was pronounced dead by the county coroner's office on Tuesday afternoon. Macanas was fishing with a friend and his children at the Klamath River near 4351 Klamath Beach Road when he was swept away Saturday afternoon by what the Del Norte County Sheriff's Office described as a sneaker wave,