Vanessa Bryant&#8217;s invasion of privacy lawsuit against the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles-county">Los Angeles County</a> sheriff&#8217;s and fire departments began Wednesday over explicit photos allegedly taken by first responders of her late husband <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kobe-bryant">Kobe Bryant&#8217;s</a> fatal helicopter crash that killed the NBA legend, their daughter Giana, and seven others in January 2020.
Bryant&#8217;s lawsuit, which she filed in U.S. District Court in September 2020, centers around photos of the deceased that L.A. County authorities allegedly took and then shared at a bar and other public events. Bryant argues the invasion of privacy has caused emotional distress to the widow of one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history.
&#8220;Mrs. Bryant feels ill at the thought that sheriff&#8217;s deputies, firefighters, and members of the public have gawked at gratuitous images of her deceased husband and child,&#8221; according to the lawsuit, per <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/trial-over-kobe-bryant-crash-photos-begins-2022-08-10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a>. “She lives in fear that she or her children will one day confront horrific images of their loved ones online.&#8221;
TMZ <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/10/kobe-bryant-vanessa-bryant-helicopter-crash-photo-trial-sheriff-deputies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> Bryant broke into tears during her lawyer&#8217;s opening statements. Her lawyer said the eight L.A. County sheriff&#8217;s deputies who took the photos of the bodies of her late husband and child took the pictures &#8220;for a laugh like they were souvenirs,&#8221; adding it &#8220;poured salt in an unhealable wound.&#8221;
Bryant&#8217;s attorney said Bryant lives &#8220;in fear, anxiety, and terror,&#8221; and the sheriff&#8217;s actions will forever haunt her.
CNN <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/10/us/kobe-vanessa-bryant-lawsuit/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> the lawsuit seeks undisclosed damages, claiming civil rights violations, negligence, emotional distress, and violation of privacy.
However, L.A. county officials argued that Bryant&#8217;s &#8220;severe and emotional and mental injuries&#8221; came from the crash itself rather than the photos.
Rob Pelinka, general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, took the stand Wednesday and could barely speak about his relationship with his former employee and late friend, according to TMZ.
Pelinka said he received the news about Bryant&#8217;s helicopter crash while in church before leaving in a rush to meet Mrs. Bryant at John Wayne Airport, where they would fly to the crash site in Calabasas, California.
He said Bryant has fought to keep the photos private from the public eye to protect the impact it could have on her daughters.
Following the fatal accident, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an invasion-of-privacy bill called the &#8220;Kobe Bryant Act&#8221; in September 2020. The bill makes it illegal for first responders to share photos of a deceased body at a crime scene &#8220;for any other purpose other than official law enforcement purpose.&#8221;
Those found guilty of the misdemeanor crime could receive charges up to $1,000 per violation.
CNN reports the jury includes six women and four men — a nun, an NBC Universal employee, and a college student. Also seated on the jury are a real estate investor, a pharmaceutical researcher, a computer science professor, and a restaurant host.
Bryant&#8217;s trial could last about two weeks, which would likely include witness testimony from L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
Villanueva said two months after the crash that the eight sheriff&#8217;s deputies responsible for allegedly taking and sharing the photos faced administrative action and have since deleted the photos.

Los Angeles Lakers Legend Kobe Bryant Memorialized Across L.A. In Murals

Trial Begins In Kobe Bryant Death Photos Case

Alex Villanueva

California

Kobe Bryant

Los Angeles County

Los Angeles Lakers

Sheriff

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles-county">Los Angeles County</a> will not bring back its indoor public <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mask-mandate">mask mandate</a> after several weeks of tracking cases and recent resistance from officials, residents, and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-27/debate-intensifies-over-potential-mask-rule-for-l-a-county">businesses</a>.
A new public mandate would have taken effect on Friday if it had been implemented. Health leaders in the county said they would reinstate the rule if COVID cases remained in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cdc">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s</a> (CDC) “high” rating for two weeks in a row.
The mandate would have <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-28/l-a-county-presses-pause-button-on-mask-mandate">meant</a> that anyone two years old and over would have had to wear a mask inside places such as gyms, educational centers, kids’ programs, venues, restaurants, shared office locations, stores, and more.
Masks must still be worn inside public transportation in Los Angeles, which includes taxis and airports, and health care locations, prisons, and other areas where they are required, per the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-28/l-a-county-presses-pause-button-on-mask-mandate">Los Angeles Times</a>.
According to the CDC’s website, Los Angeles County is <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html">still in a “high” community level.</a> The health department, however, has said its numbers show that the weekly COVID-positive rate of hospital admissions has dropped lower than the high level.
Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said local authorities will wait to examine information more, using its own, more recent measurements, per <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a-county-wont-reinstate-indoor-mask-mandate-as-cases-hospitalizations-see-downward-trend/">KTLA</a>. The outlet noted that Ferrer was hopeful that the county would go down in its level, and so they decided to hold off on bringing back the rule.
“Since most of our local data trends have just begun to decline, we decided to take a closer look at the hospital admissions rate using our own data … so that we can get a more precise sense of where we might be headed,” Ferrer <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a-county-wont-reinstate-indoor-mask-mandate-as-cases-hospitalizations-see-downward-trend/">said</a> Thursday, noting, “We will be pausing and not moving forward at this time.&#8221;
Ferrer suggested last week that a mask mandate might not be carried out right away.
“Should we see sustained decreases in cases, or the rate of hospital admissions moves closer to the threshold for medium, we will pause implementation of universal indoor masking as we closely monitor our transmission rates,” she explained to the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
COVID cases appear to be dropping around the state, the Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-28/l-a-county-presses-pause-button-on-mask-mandate">reported</a>, noting that the most recent information showed California with an average of 17,000 cases per day for the past week, which was a 17% drop from the week before.
The most recent surge in cases has not been as <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-18/l-a-county-faces-coronavirus-paradox-soaring-cases-but-hospitals-less-taxed">severe</a> as those in the past, leading many to push back on such a requirement. “I think now that we’re seeing that fewer people are getting serious cases of COVID, they just don’t really believe this mandate is necessary,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said this week, per the Times.
But Ferrer said she thought a new rule would protect people. “No one is suggesting that we need to wear masks forever; rather, that [there] are likely to be short periods of time when it makes sense,” she reportedly said this week.
Earlier this week, Chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Kathryn Barger (R) and the Beverly Hills City Council <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/l-a-county-supervisor-beverly-hills-city-council-come-out-against-possible-return-of-l-a-county-mask-mandate">publicly came out against</a> reinstating the indoor mask mandate.
Barger issued a public statement against the mandate, and the Beverly Hills City Council unanimously decided not to put any resources toward enforcing the mandate if the county health officials decided to bring it back.
Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-26/beverly-hills-wont-enforce-la-county-indoor-mask-mandate-if-implemented">initiated</a> a special gathering to talk about the city’s options.
“I feel it is our job to lead and I support the power of choice,” Bosse said. “Our job is to be proactive and public about what we believe. This is a united City Council and community that cares about health. We are not where we were in 2020, and now we need to move forward as a community and be part of the solution.”

6D1220B0-4FD4-4A7E-AD68-DA06A75D7119_1_105_c

L.A. County Won’t Bring Back Indoor Mask Mandate

L.A. County Won't Impose Indoor Mask Mandate

COVID

COVID-19 Vaccine

Los Angeles

Mask Mandate

Chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Kathryn Barger (R) and the Beverly Hills City Council came out against reinstating the indoor mask mandate in Los Angeles County on Monday as health officials are set to make a decision in the coming days. 
Barger issued a public statement against the policy, and the Beverly Hills City Council unanimously decided to prohibit using city staffers or resources to help enforce the countywide requirement, should it be renewed.
Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-26/beverly-hills-wont-enforce-la-county-indoor-mask-mandate-if-implemented">initiated</a> a special gathering meeting to discuss the city&#8217;s options.
&#8220;I feel it is our job to lead and I support the power of choice,&#8221; Bosse said. &#8220;Our job is to be proactive and public about what we believe. This is a united City Council and community that cares about health. We are not where we were in 2020, and now we need to move forward as a community and be part of the solution.&#8221;
Supervisor Barger, the lone Republican on the powerful L.A. County Board of Supervisors, sent an open letter to her constituents on Monday, saying that a mask rule could be brought back for the entire county by the end of this week.
“I have not seen any empirical data that conclusively shows that masking mandates make a difference in decreasing or stopping COVID-19 transmission rates,” Barger <a href="https://kathrynbarger.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Open-Letter-to-5th-District-Residents-Mask-Mandate-FINAL-07-25-2022.pdf?utm_content=&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_name=&amp;utm_source=govdelivery&amp;utm_term=">said</a> in the letter, adding, “I believe masking mandates are polarizing and are unenforceable.”
“We are learning to live through its countless mutations, spikes in infections, and corresponding strains on our hospitals and workforce,” she added. “In order to maintain consistency and public trust, I remain committed to advocating for our county to remain aligned with the state’s COVID-19 public health policies.”  
She <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/la-county-supervisor-kathryn-barger-publicly-opposes-return-of-indoor-mask-mandate/">said</a> a mandate &#8220;will not make a meaningful improvement to the underlying systemic healthcare inequities that are the true drivers of inequitable rates of COVID-19 deaths and long-term, negative effects.&#8221;
The Board of Supervisors is <a href="https://signalscv.com/2022/07/supervisor-issues-statement-opposing-forthcoming-mask-mandate/">expected</a> to get an update from Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Tuesday. Ferrer previously said that if the county <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/la-county-supervisor-kathryn-barger-publicly-opposes-return-of-indoor-mask-mandate/">remains</a> in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&#8217;s high level of virus activity for two consecutive weeks, the indoor mask mandate will return. The two-week threshold comes on Thursday, and the rule would theoretically go into effect on Friday. 
Businesses are bracing for the possible return of the mandate, trying to find ways to avoid the rule.
“I never thought I’d be doing this again,” Roberta Chavez, a restaurant co-owner, <a href="https://californiaglobe.com/articles/la-county-restaurants-bars-prepare-for-indoor-mask-mandate-return/">told</a> the California Globe. “But we are bringing back outdoor seating. &#8230;The number of people not wanting to eat somewhere where masking is mandatory is way higher than you’d think. People accepted it early on in the pandemic, but when things improved and masking stayed in place, people stopped coming. We were essentially a take out place and we only survived because of outdoor eating. Take out paid the bills, and outdoor eating paid the employees.”
An anonymous restaurant owner told the outlet, “You can be sure that we will be looking for, and finding loopholes. We did last time and found a way to be largely maskless. It wasn’t easy, but we found a way.”
Julie Hamill, an attorney representing the Alliance of Los Angeles County Parents, recently <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/ferrer-faces-claims-of-conflict-of-interest-as-l-a-county-nears-possible-return-to-mask-mandate/">told</a> the L.A. County Board of Supervisors in a letter that she would file a lawsuit if the mask mandate is reinstated for L.A. school kids. Hamill is requesting that the supervisors take away some of Ferrer’s authority.

3C42FC3A-211E-4982-B59F-2DD773594B1A_1_201_a

L.A. County Supervisor, Beverly Hills City Council Come Out Against Possible Return Of L.A. County Mask Mandate

LA County Supervisor Barger, Beverly Hills City Council Publicly Come Out Against Possible Reinstatement Of L.A. County Mask Mandate

The man suspected of killing two <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california">California</a> police officers was out of jail on probation for a gun charge, according to a new report.
Two El Monte <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/police">police</a> officers were killed during a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/murdered-by-a-coward-two-california-police-officers-killed-after-being-essentially-ambushed">shooting</a> while responding to a domestic violence call at a motel on Tuesday afternoon. The man suspected of killing the officers is named Justin Flores, who sources tell the L.A. Times had been released from jail on probation.
“Two sources with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office identified the gunman as Flores. One said Flores was on probation for a gun possession offense at the time of the shooting and had been arrested last year for possessing a firearm and narcotics,” the Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-15/gunman-in-killing-of-el-monte-police-officers-was-on-probation-for-gun-charge">reported</a>.
According to the Times, in February 2021, Flores pleaded no contest to being a felon in possession of a firearm as part of a plea deal that dismissed a drug charge and an ammunition charge.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/murdered-by-a-coward-two-california-police-officers-killed-after-being-essentially-ambushed">shooting</a> took place at a motel in El Monte, a city in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles-county">Los Angeles County</a>, where both officers and the suspect accused of killing them were shot dead. The officers, one in his first year on the job and another with more than 20 years of experience, had arrived at the scene responding to a domestic violence call, according to city officials. A third officer also responded to the call and was at the shooting.
“As our officers do on a daily basis, they were acting as the first line of defense for our community members when they were essentially ambushed while trying to keep a family safe,” El Monte Mayor Jessica Ancona <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/el-monte-police-officers-killed-in-los-angeles-county/">said</a>.
The nature of the domestic violence call appeared to be a reported stabbing, and police said the two policemen “immediately took gunfire” after they arrived at the motel. The identity of the suspect has not yet been released.
According to authorities, the gun battle started in a motel room, then the suspect fled to the parking lot where more gunfire was exchanged.
“They paid the ultimate sacrifice serving their community trying to help somebody,” El Monte interim police chief Ben Lowry said. “They do what hundreds of thousands of men and women do every day across the United States. They took an oath to protect people and to serve them. These two heroes paid the ultimate sacrifice. They were murdered by a coward.”
Flores’ mother was upset that her son had been called a coward.
“It hurts to hear them say that. He was a person, too. He had a daughter,” she said. She also said her son was “loving and caring.”

Ring of keys hanging from a slightly ajar jail cell door

Suspected California Cop Killer Was Out Of Jail On Probation For Gun Charge: Report

Suspected California Cop Killer Out Of Jail On Probation For Gun Charge: Report

Gun Violence

Police

Shooting

Two <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/police">police</a> officers in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california">California</a> were shot and killed Tuesday afternoon when they were “essentially ambushed&#8221; after responding to a call. 
The shooting took place at a motel in El Monte, a city in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles-county">Los Angeles County</a>, where both officers and the suspect accused of killing them were shot dead. The officers, one in his first year on the job and another with more than 20 years of experience, had arrived at the scene responding to a domestic violence call, according to city officials. 
&#8220;As our officers do on a daily basis, they were acting as the first line of defense for our community members when they were essentially ambushed while trying to keep a family safe,&#8221; El Monte Mayor Jessica Ancona <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/el-monte-police-officers-killed-in-los-angeles-county/">said</a>. 
The nature of the domestic violence call appeared to be a reported stabbing, and police said the two policemen “immediately took gunfire” after they arrived at the motel. The identity of the suspect has not yet been released.
According to authorities, the gun battle started in a motel room, then the suspect fled to the parking lot where more gunfire was exchanged. 
&#8220;I&#8217;ve heard that the only way to take the sting out of death is to take the love out of life. Believe me, they were loved. These two men were loved. They were good men,” El Monte interim police chief Ben Lowry said. 
He added the slain officers were heroes.
&#8220;They paid the ultimate sacrifice serving their community trying to help somebody,&#8221; Lowry said. &#8220;They do what hundreds of thousands of men and women do every day across the United States. They took an oath to protect people and to serve them. These two heroes paid the ultimate sacrifice. They were murdered by a coward.&#8221;
El Monte, the city police department, and the El Monte Police Officer Association released a joint statement calling the killing of the officers a “senseless act.”
“There are no words to describe our grief and devastation by this senseless act as we learned about the passing of two of our police officers. It weighs heavy on our hearts and we are sending our support to their families,” the statement <a href="https://www.sgvtribune.com/2022/06/14/two-el-monte-police-officers-shot-and-injured-suspect-down/">said</a>. “We would also like to thank the El Monte community and our surrounding government agencies for the outpouring support we have received in the last few hours.”
According to CBS Los Angeles, “dozens” of police cars escorted the vehicles carrying the bodies of the slain officers to the coroner’s office from the hospital they had been transported to after the shooting.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Dozens of police cars in El Monte traveled together to County USC Hospital to join in the procession to escort the two fallen officers to the Coroner&#39;s Office <a href="https://t.co/rpvioKcogS">https://t.co/rpvioKcogS</a> <a href="https://t.co/8UgzUsaVgx">pic.twitter.com/8UgzUsaVgx</a>
&mdash; CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSLA/status/1536956548022472704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Closeup view of police car LED lights

‘Murdered By A Coward’: Two California Police Officers Killed After Being ‘Essentially Ambushed’

Two California Police Officers Killed In Shooting In El Monte

Some Los Angeles County lifeguards protecting California beachgoers are making a hefty salary.
 “This has been years in the making,” Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of government spending tracker OpenTheBooks.com, told The Daily Wire.
A recent <a href="https://openthebooks.substack.com/p/top-paid-la-lifeguards-earned-up?s=r">report</a> by OpenTheBooks.com found that some lifeguards made up to $392,000 in 2019, but today, the salary and benefits are even more substantial.
Daniel Douglas, the highest-paid lifeguard, made $510,283, up from $442,712 in 2020. He earned more than 1,000 of his fellow lifeguards, with a salary of $150,054, added perks of $28,661, benefits in the amount of $85,508, and $246,060 in overtime compensation.
The person with the next highest earnings was lifeguard chief Fernando Boiteux, who earned $463,517 — an increase from $393,137 last year.
Andrzejewski told The Daily Wire that each year, OpenTheBooks auditors capture “virtually every public employee salary record at every level — federal, state, and local across the country” through Freedom of Information Act requests.
They then use forensic auditing to examine “egregious circumstances,” of which he said the LA lifeguards’ compensated perks and pensions are a significant example of “taxpayer abuse.”
Auditors at the site discovered that 98 lifeguards in Los Angeles County made at least $200,000 with benefits last year, and 20 earned between $300,000 and $510,283.
The perks keep going, with LA County lifeguards allowed to retire at age 55 with 79% of their compensation after they’ve worked for thirty years.
The report also discovered that most of the top-earning lifeguards were men — 18 out of 20. Lifeguard captain Virginia Rupe made $307,664 in 16th place, and Lauren Dale, an ocean lifeguard specialist, made $303,518 in 19th place. However, according to <a href="https://www.zippia.com/beach-lifeguard-jobs/demographics/">Zippia</a>, a job-finding site, 67% of beach lifeguards in the U.S. are men, and only 33% are female.
The group pointed out that lifeguards also continued to work during the pandemic — sometimes by carrying out stay-at-home mandates, helping at COVID testing locations, or <a href="https://time.com/5832968/lifeguards-coronavirus/">through</a> water rescues.
Overtime compensation is also a massive factor in the mega salaries. Last year, 37 lifeguards earned overtime from $50,000 to $247,000. In a six-year span, between 2016 and 2021, the top three high earners garnered between $505,579 and $980,007 in just overtime earnings.
Sometimes, lifeguards are awarded for acts of bravery, but the OpenTheBooks report noted that many lifeguards who won Valor Awards didn’t get top earnings. However, some winners of Exemplary Service Awards did earn leading salaries.
Pool lifeguards, on the other hand, don’t make nearly as much, with the top paid “pool lifeguard” earning $45,030 with benefits and pay.
Andrzejewski said the LA County lifeguards are “outliers” as far as the earnings of their peers in California and throughout the country. When asked why he thinks the pool lifeguards are making so much less than the beach lifeguards in California, he told The Daily Wire in a statement over email, &#8220;This is a question the LA taxpayer should be asking. Why can the county hire ten pool lifeguards for the price of a top-paid beach lifeguard?”
“Baywatch lifeguards have staggering comp packages and it is unsustainable. On its face, a lifeguard paid over a half million dollars is just ridiculous. Taxpayers understand this,” he said.
Pool lifeguards and beach lifeguards, however, do not share exactly the same responsibilities. The Lifeguard Store <a href="https://thelifeguardstore.com/blog/pool-guard-vs-ocean-guard-responsibilities/#:~:text=An%20ocean%20and%20beach%20lifeguard,more%20unpredictable%20than%20a%20pool.">notes</a> that an ocean lifeguard “undergoes a slightly more rigorous training and certification regimen than pool lifeguards because of the different working environment.” Since lifeguards at the beach are working outside in a natural source of water, the situations are not as foreseeable as those that can happen at a pool. Beach lifeguards receive training to deal with ocean water conditions, as well as the possibility of dangerous weather.

A lifeguard complete with rescue float monitors their beach

Los Angeles County Lifeguards Earn Mega Salaries

Los Angeles County Lifeguards Earn Top Salaries

Jobs

Swimming

A Los Angeles woman recently found a box of approximately 104 mail-in ballots lying on a sidewalk while walking her dog, but county officials say that foul play shouldn&#8217;t be suspected in the strange discovery.
Christina Repaci was walking in East Hollywood over the weekend when she noticed a box of unopened ballots. She attempted to alert the sheriff&#8217;s office, but was reportedly told by authorities to get in touch with the postal service instead.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Registrar&#8217;s Office confirmed to The Daily Wire that the ballots were for California&#8217;s upcoming primary election on June 7. Under a new state law, every registered voter in California <a href="https://ktla.com/news/california/ballots-mailed-out-for-june-7-primary-election-in-california-heres-what-to-know/">will receive</a> mail-in ballots for that election.
&#8220;I turned the corner and I just saw this box of envelopes, and it was a USPS box,&#8221; Repaci <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/woman-finds-box-of-mail-in-ballot-on-east-hollywood-sidewalk-la-county-registrar-investigating">told</a> Fox 11. &#8220;I picked some envelopes up and I saw they were ballot.&#8221;I actually called the Sheriff&#8217;s Department,&#8221; Repacci explained. &#8220;I couldn&#8217;t get through, so I emailed them.&#8221;
Repaci kept the ballots in her possession as she waited for an answer, but she received &#8220;an email back from a deputy basically in so many words saying it wasn&#8217;t their problem, and to contact the USPS.&#8221;
Eventually, she was put in touch with Los Angeles County&#8217;s Registrar&#8217;s Office. Registrar Dean Logan picked up the ballots from Repaci.
&#8220;He (Logan) picked them up. I made sure he was legit,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;He gave me a card, and took a photo of the box.&#8221;
&#8220;It was so much stress and for just one person to get back to me. What do I do here? Now if it happens to someone else, they don&#8217;t know what to do,&#8221; Repaci remarked. &#8220;They&#8217;ll just put them in a dumpster or throw them in the trash. I just don&#8217;t think it should have been this hard to figure out what to do with legal ballots.&#8221;
For its part, the L.A. County registrar&#8217;s office released a statement saying, &#8220;Thanks to the cooperation of the person who found the ballots, we were able to quickly respond and coordinate the secure pickup of the ballots.&#8221;
&#8220;We have reissued new ballots to the impacted voters,&#8221; the office added. &#8220;Early signs indicate that this was an incident of mail theft and not a directed attempt at disrupting the election. We are cooperating with the United States Postal Service and law enforcement to investigate.&#8221;
Repaci, however, appeared dismayed the ballots went missing in the first place.
&#8220;This is a country of freedom and our votes should matter and something like this should never happen,&#8221; Repaci told the media.
The Daily Wire reached out to California&#8217;s Secretary of State&#8217;s office Elections Division staff for a comment regarding this report. This story will be updated if a response is given.

Dog wearing a “Vote” sticker

L.A. Woman Finds Box Of More Than 100 Mail-In Ballots On Sidewalk While Walking Dog

Los Angeles Woman Finds 104 Mail-In Ballots While Walking Dog 

Elections

Mail-In Voting

Last week, a political campaign in California celebrated an impactful milestone, as the “Recall DA George Gascón” group announced it had collected over 400,000 signatures as of May 1, raising more than $6 million.
In order to get the recall question on the ballot, the campaign must collect 566,857 signatures from registered voters in Los Angeles County. This amounts to approximately 10% of registered voters, as county officials logged 5,690,406 total registrations for September’s gubernatorial recall election.
“Perhaps worse than any one specific policy, Gascón has sent a loud and clear message to criminals that he will always have their backs, whether that means lowering sentences or declining to prosecute certain crimes altogether,” a spokesperson with the Recall DA George Gascón campaign told The Daily Wire. 
“That mentality has turned the streets of Los Angeles into a living nightmare — criminals feel emboldened, residents feel unsafe, and victims feel completely betrayed. That is why you see convicted killers saying they are going to tattoo Gascón name on their forehead or toasting Gascón with homemade alcohol from inside a prison cell.”
In an earlier press release, the campaign said that it was “starting to see light at the end of the tunnel,” and that “there is a legitimate pathway to qualifying the recall by the July 6th deadline if we do not let up.”
“In addition to paid and volunteer signature gathering, the recall is preparing to mail out petitions with pre-paid return envelopes to targeted Los Angeles County voters,” the campaign added. “This is the make-or-break phase of the recall, and if we can pull off this monumental task, Gascón will be voted out in a landslide.”
According to <a href="https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/gascon-recall-is-being-funded-by-hollywood-power-players/">Los Angeles Magazine</a>, the effort to recall the controversial District Attorney is surprisingly bipartisan, with “help from some deep-pocketed Democratic donors and Hollywood grandees,” with some “big-name Democrats” entering “the fray in the early days of 2022.” The outlet described numerous early contributors to the campaign, including notable Democrats with links to the Clinton and Biden administrations.
Calls to recall Gascón follow a concerning rise in lawlessness in Los Angeles, with dozens of cities in America&#8217;s most populous county issuing votes of “no confidence” in the District Attorney. These include San Gabriel, Santa Clarita, Beverly Hills, Pico Rivera, Whitter, La Mirada, Covina, Rosemead, Azusa, Santa Fe Springs, Diamond Bar, Redondo Beach, Arcadia, Manhattan Beach, Temple City, Palos Verdes Estates and Lancaster.
The Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA), the “collective bargaining group for more than 800 deputy district attorneys in the county,” <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/south-gate-city-council-issues-vote-of-no-confidence-in-da-george-gascon">voted</a> in support of the recall effort, with 98% of Gascón&#8217;s own line prosecutors voting in favor. Approximately 83% of association members took part in the vote.
&#8220;This vote is by those who are intimately familiar with how Mr. Gascón&#8217;s policies actually play out on a day-to-day basis,&#8221; ADDA President Michele Hanisee said in a statement announcing the vote. &#8220;We believe the vote of our members will resonate with the voters of Los Angeles as they decide whether to recall Gascón from office and restore public safety as the priority of the District Attorney&#8217;s Office.&#8221;
On the campaign’s <a href="https://www.recalldageorgegascon.com/why-recall-da-george-gascon/">website</a>, a summary of George Gascón&#8217;s directives include the elimination of cash bail, the redefinition of 13 crimes as misdemeanors (such as trespassing, driving without a license and resisting arrest), and treating repeat violent offenders as first-time offenders.
Ian Haworth is a writer for The Daily Wire and contributor to Morning Wire. Follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/ighaworth"> Twitter</a>,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ighaworth"> Facebook</a>, and<a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/IanGHaworth"> YouTube</a>.

George Gascon

Radical DA ‘Has Turned The Streets Of Los Angeles Into A Living Nightmare’: Campaign To Recall Gascón Raises More Than $6 Million

Recall DA George Gascón Celebrates 400,000 Signatures and $6 Million Raised To Remove Radical Los Angeles District Attorney

Crime

Recall

Los Angeles County is requiring residents to wear face masks on all public transportation and airports beginning on Friday.
&#8220;Public transportation hubs that are indoors are places where there is A, a lot of mingling, B, they are often crowded, and C, in some of those settings it&#8217;s really hard to have adequate ventilation,&#8221; Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said at a Thursday press briefing, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/la-county-to-require-masks-on-all-public-transit-starting-friday/">CBS News</a>. 
&#8220;They are experts,&#8221; Ferrer continued. &#8220;They made a determination that at this point having that requirement in place is necessary for the public&#8217;s health, and that resonates with us.&#8221; 
A statement from the Metro Transit Agency added that “Metrolink will ask all passengers aboard Metrolink trains systemwide to once again wear a mask aboard all Metrolink trains and at station platforms” beginning on Friday morning. The order will apply to all passengers above the age of two “regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status.” 
L.A. County is America&#8217;s most populous county, with more than ten million residents.
The developments from Los Angeles County come days after U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-federal-judge-in-florida-voids-bidens-national-mask-mandate-at-airports-planes-public-transit">ruled</a> that the federal travel mask mandate was unlawful because it “exceeded the CDC’s statutory authority, improperly invoked the good cause exception to notice and comment rulemaking, and failed to adequately explain its decisions.” Major <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/major-u-s-airlines-each-reveal-if-they-will-continue-to-enforce-bidens-mask-mandate">airlines</a> subsequently revoked their mask mandates, alongside <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/amtrak-removes-mask-mandate-for-passengers-employees">Amtrak</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uber-lyft-drop-mask-mandates-for-riders-and-passengers">ridesharing</a> companies Uber and Lyft.
In response to the ruling, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-cdc-tells-doj-to-pursue-appealing-ruling-that-voided-bidens-national-mask-mandate">asked</a> that the U.S. Department of Justice proceed with its appeal.
“To protect CDC’s public health authority beyond the ongoing assessment announced last week, CDC has asked DOJ to proceed with an appeal in Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc., et al., v. Biden, et al.,” the statement reads. “It is CDC’s continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health. CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary. CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health.”
The statement from the CDC followed the DOJ <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-biden-admin-to-appeal-court-decision-that-ruled-mask-mandate-on-airplanes-was-unlawful">saying</a> in a statement on Tuesday that it disagrees with the court’s ruling and that it would file an appeal if the CDC said that masks were still needed.
“The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health,” the DOJ said. “If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the public’s health after that assessment, the Department of Justice will appeal the district court’s decision.”
On Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fauci-suggests-judge-did-not-have-authority-to-overturn-mask-mandate">said</a> that he was “both surprised and disappointed” by the ruling “because those types of things really are the purview of the CDC.”
“If you look at the rationale for that, it really is not particularly firm, and we are concerned about that, about courts getting involved in things that are unequivocally a public health decision,” Fauci continued during a CNN+ interview. “This is a CDC issue, should not have been a court issue.”

Barbara Ferrer

Los Angeles County Enacts New Mask Mandate For Public Transportation And Airports

airport

Homeless deaths in Los Angeles County rose in 2021, with an average of five people dying per day.
Nearly 2,000 homeless people died in L.A. County last year, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/18/us/homeless-deaths-los-angeles.html">report</a> by The New York Times. Hundreds of those who died did so in plain view of passersby, with 287 dying on the sidewalk. Another 72 were found on the pavement and 24 died in alleys, the report found, which was based on data from the L.A. County coroner.
The deaths represent a massive increase in homeless deaths over the past half decade. Between 2015 and 2020, the homeless population in L.A. County grew by 50%, the Times reported. During that same period, homeless deaths increased at a rate of 200%. L.A. County alone accounted for nearly half of the homeless deaths in all of California last year.
About 4,800 homeless people are estimated to have died in California in 2021. The state is home to about a quarter of America’s 500,000 homeless.
The Times listed several factors as resulting in the increase in deaths, including the cumulative age of the homeless population increasing and the fact that “living and sleeping outdoors” leads to shorter life expectancy. “The wider availability of fentanyl, a particularly fast-acting and dangerous drug, has been a major cause of the rising death toll, but many homeless people are dying young of treatable chronic illnesses like heart disease,” the Times reported.
There are programs to provide free health care to homeless Americans, but those programs are not always used and treatments are not always maintained.
Those most at risk of dying while homeless are men in their 50s and 60s, who were largely looked over during the coronavirus pandemic when health officials became focused on COVID-19 to the exclusion of almost everything else. One of the largest aspects of health care to be ignored during the pandemic was mental health care, which is what the vast majority of homeless Americans need.
“These are profoundly lonely deaths,” David Modersbach, who researched homeless deaths in Alameda County, told the Times.
Men make up 67% of the homeless population in Los Angeles County, but account for 83% of the homeless deaths, meaning there are issues men are facing that are not being addressed. At least some of that is alcohol and substance abuse related, but violence is another issue. The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/theres-a-serial-shooter-loose-in-nyc-and-dc-police-say-its-the-same-man">reported</a> in March that a serial killer was murdering homeless men in New York City and Washington, D.C.
But drug and alcohol issues remain the biggest threat. The L.A. County Department of Public Health released a study that found “homeless people are 35 times as likely as the general population to die of a drug or alcohol overdose. They are also four times as likely to die of heart disease, 16 times as likely to die in a car crash, 14 times as likely to be murdered and eight times as likely to die of suicide,” the Times reported.

US-SOCIAL-HOMELESSNESS

The Homeless Are Dying At An Alarming Rate In L.A. County

Homeless

You&#8217;ve heard of the roommate from hell. They don&#8217;t pay their rent, they move in a boyfriend, they trash the apartment.
But there are nightmare tenants, too. They&#8217;re the same people, but living in your home — the home you own.
Scenarios like this have become daily life for some Los Angeles landlords, who have been unable to evict delinquent tenants ever since emergency protections went into effect for renters who say they have been financially hurt by the pandemic.
One Pasadena couple who spoke to The Daily Wire says they have been unable for months to collect rent from a tenant who leased a new car and frequently buys new clothes and gets food delivered.
Another couple purchased a house last summer in nearby Carson. Months later, they still <a href="https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2022/02/03/carson-homeowner-unable-to-move-into-new-house-due-to-pandemic-renter-protections/">could not</a> move in as a tenant from the previous owner refused to leave. Yet another couple in Riverside, which is outside of L.A. County and located in Riverside County, <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/riverside-family-finally-moves-into-new-home-after-standoff-with-squatter-that-lasted-nearly-a-year">was unable</a> to move into their new house when the sellers became squatters and continued to live in the home for more than a year.
Los Angeles County extended its eviction moratorium again in January, just days before it was set to expire, to the chagrin of landlords who had hoped to finally start making up some of the money they lost over the last two years. The Board of Supervisors voted on January 25 to extend the moratorium so that it protects some tenants all the way up to well into 2023.
Tenants earning at or below 80% of the area median income <a href="https://dcba.lacounty.gov/noevictions/">cannot</a> <a href="https://rentalhousingjournal.com/apartment-associations-file-suit-over-la-county-eviction-moratorium-extension/">be evicted</a> before June 2023, and they do not have to prove their income level to their landlord. Until the end of this year, landlords are also <a href="https://housing.lacity.org/highlights/renter-protections">not permitted</a> to evict a tenant for nuisance, unauthorized occupants, or pets.
The Pasadena couple&#8217;s troubles started as soon as they moved into their new home, according to the husband, who spoke to The Daily Wire on the condition of anonymity.
He and his wife bought the home, which has been valued at over $1.5 million according to Redfin, at the end of 2020. The seller assured them that the woman renting the property&#8217;s guest house was a good tenant, but she immediately began paying her rent later and later in &#8220;dribs and drabs,&#8221; the husband said. This was a significant issue for the couple because, he said, they had been counting on the rent money to pay their property taxes.
The couple appealed to Housing Is Key, California&#8217;s emergency rent relief program, and was able to recoup some of the rent money after five months of waiting.
However, the program <a href="https://housing.ca.gov/covid_rr/resources.html">shuttered</a> at the end of March. Meanwhile, the eviction moratorium will continue for another year and change. Currently, they are missing about three months of rent from the tenant, the husband said.
&#8220;The moratorium is going to continue. So that&#8217;s the problem,&#8221; the husband told The Daily Wire. &#8220;There is no more money to even get paid late, yet they&#8217;ve continued it for an additional year, and there&#8217;s no plan whatsoever.&#8221;
The husband said he was passed around from one government office to another in a circle as he tried to get clarity on his options. He spoke with all five county supervisors&#8217; offices and was passed to the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, which passed him to Housing Is Key, which passed him to his state representative, which passed him back to the county supervisors, he said.
Overall, the county&#8217;s approach has been a &#8220;​headless wonder masquerading as a master plan,&#8221; the frustrated landlord said.
Last weekend, the situation took another turn, he said. His tenant allegedly drove down the driveway at close to 30 miles per hour and ran over the family cat. She left the gate open despite having been asked to keep it closed, and coyotes came into the yard during the night and ate the dead cat, he said. The husband added that he found pieces of the cat in her tire well, and when he confronted her, she denied it and accused him of being racist towards her. As the confrontation escalated, the tenant got in her car and drove away, nearly running the landlord over in the driveway, he said. At that point, he says he called the police.
Besides causing a mountain of trouble and financial loss, the situation has also caused the couple to delay their plans to have children even though his wife is in her mid-30s, and they would like to start a family soon, he said.
&#8220;The government would rather have me go and become homeless or have to sell my house, my house that I&#8217;ve worked for my whole life,&#8221; the husband said. &#8220;This is the first house I&#8217;ve ever bought. I lived in a tiny little apartment for 11 years, saved up. I never missed a payment.&#8221;
The lone Republican elected to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, Kathryn Barger, opposed extending the eviction moratorium. Barger and another board member later proposed relieving landlords of property tax penalties, and the board approved that measure on March 15.
“I’ve heard repeatedly from many property owners the devastating financial toll the pandemic has taken on them,” Barger <a href="https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2022/03/15/county-to-cancel-tax-penalties-for-landlords-impacted-by-eviction-moratorium/">said</a>. “Some are elderly individuals who depend on their rental income to make ends meet. We can’t in good conscience balance COVID-19 relief on the backs of property owners. The county needed to put some skin in the game, and this motion was about delivering on the promise to share in the financial burden.”
However, the tax penalty relief is a &#8220;joke&#8221; and provides cold comfort for struggling landlords, the Pasadena landlord who spoke with The Daily Wire said.
Earlier this month, two landlord associations sued Los Angeles County over the eviction moratorium, signaling that many landlords are ready to go on the offensive.
The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) and the Apartment Owners Association of California (AOA) filed a joint lawsuit on behalf of landlords, including the groups&#8217; members. The suit seeks a preliminary injunction against the extended eviction moratorium, arguing that it was supposed to be temporary.
Elsewhere in California, property owners have become caught in demoralizing and futile eviction attempts as well.
Another couple, Myles and Tracie Albert, bought a $650,000 dream house on a hilltop in Riverside. But when they tried to move in, the seller suddenly <a href="https://www.fox6now.com/news/riverside-family-finally-moves-into-new-home-after-standoff-with-squatter-that-lasted-nearly-a-year">refused</a> to turn over the keys. The COVID-19 pandemic began shortly afterward, and California&#8217;s COVID-19 eviction protections allowed the sellers turned squatters, identified in court documents as Sam Boktor and his wife Miriam Khalil, to remain in the home for a total of 15 months, according to a local report.
Back in October 2020, Tracie Albert and some friends went to the home with a locksmith and tried to get inside. Video from FOX 11 <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/riverside-family-finally-moves-into-new-home-after-standoff-with-squatter-that-lasted-nearly-a-year">shows</a> Boktor coming to the door screaming at Albert and waving a tire iron. The squatters called law enforcement, who told Albert she must leave, and she did.
The Alberts were finally able to take possession of their home in April of last year, but by then there were so many bad memories attached that they decided to sell it and stay in their old house.
Myles Albert says he blames California&#8217;s short-sighted approach to COVID restrictions for his family&#8217;s nightmare.
&#8220;The opposite of what would be the right thing to do is how everything seems to be run out here. It&#8217;s just insane,&#8221; he told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;It seems so odd to me that California goes, &#8216;you just don&#8217;t have to pay rent,&#8217; and it&#8217;s like okay, well, what about the people paying mortgage?&#8221; he said. &#8220;How could you not even think one step beyond the first step of saying &#8216;no you just don&#8217;t have to pay rent?'&#8221;

Daily Life In Los Angeles Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Los Angeles Landlords Face Nightmare Scenario: Tenants Who Stay And Don’t Pay

COVID-19

Eviction

Readers Pass

A biological male who now claims to identify as a woman was sentenced this week to two years in a juvenile detention center, where he&#8217;ll <a href="https://twitter.com/peterjhasson/status/1486885949481136129">reportedly</a> be housed with females, for molesting a 10-year-old girl in a women&#8217;s bathroom.
Hannah Tubbs, formerly James Tubbs, pleaded guilty to molesting the girl in a women&#8217;s bathroom eight years ago, when Tubbs was two weeks from turning 18, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/transgender-ca-woman-molesting-sentenced">reported</a> Thursday. It was only after Tubbs was taken into custody that he began identifying as a woman, prosecutors said.
Notably, Tubbs wasn&#8217;t connected to the case until 2019.
Tubbs will &#8220;be housed with females in juvenile detention facility for molesting female child,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/peterjhasson/status/1486885949481136129">reported</a> senior editor for Fox News Digital Peter Hasson. &#8220;Tubbs began identifying as female after being taken into custody. DA refused to try as adult.&#8221;
&#8220;In L.A. County, juvenile facilities can house both females and males, but in separate areas. Tubbs will be housed with the females,&#8221; a Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/transgender-ca-woman-molesting-sentenced">report</a> elaborated.
Tubbs went into a female restroom at a Denny&#8217;s restaurant in 2014, grabbed a 10-year-old girl by the throat, locked her in a stall, and molested her until another person walked into the bathroom, reports say.
Far-left District Attorney George Gascón decided to try Tubbs as a minor, and Tubbs was sentenced to the maximum available sentence of two years.
&#8220;Tubbs is 26 years old,&#8221; said Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami. &#8220;Unlike George Gascon’s false narrative, she is not a ‘kid.'&#8221;
&#8220;There was evidence presented at the juvenile proceedings which showed that Tubbs sexually assaulted two young girls in different incidents in the past,&#8221; Hatami said. &#8220;The child victims will suffer lifelong trauma. Tubbs also has prior violent convictions and conduct as an adult.&#8221;
&#8220;Because of George Gascon&#8217;s blanket policy against transferring any juvenile to adult court, even if the 17-year-old rapes or murders an innocent child, James Tubbs will not have to register as a sex offender, will not spend any time in county jail or state prison, will be 26 and housed with juveniles for a very short period of time, and will be released with no probation or parole monitoring,&#8221; he blasted. &#8220;The victims will get no justice. The public will get no safety.&#8221;
&#8220;It’s an injustice against all of us, especially the young victims,&#8221; Hatami added.
Judge Mario Barrera blasted Gascón, too, but ultimately said his hands were &#8220;tied&#8221; and could not direct Tubbs to be housed in county jail.
&#8220;I want to be clear,&#8221; Barrera said. &#8220;The filing of a transfer motion is entirely within the discretion of the district attorney.&#8221;
According to Fox News, Tubbs was only linked to the case of the assault on the 10-year-old in 2019, when Tubbs&#8217; DNA was entered into a database for another arrest. Charges were filed against Tubbs in 2020.
&#8220;Tubbs has previously been arrested for battery, drug possession and probation violations in Idaho and Washington,&#8221; the report noted.
He was also accused of sexually assaulting a minor in Kern County, California, though he was never prosecuted.

Biological Man, 26, Who Molested Girl To Be Housed With Females In Juvenile Detention After Identifying As Woman

Transgender

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