Free Republic

New ordinance set to take effect in 2027The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that will, in a little more than two years, ban the sale of filtered cigarettes in unincorporated areas of the county. The Supervisors will hear a second reading and final adoption on Oct. 29. Santa Cruz-based Save Our Shores says that volunteers picked up more than a half-million cigarette butts in the Monterey Bay area over the past decade, a problem made more pervasive by the toxic chemicals in the plastic filters. Worse, they remain in the environment for years. “This...

City Council wants to raise costs to cut sales of sugar-sweetened drinksSanta Cruz’s sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax measure is shaping up to be not only a battle over potentially higher soda prices, but also over a state law that bans cities from proposing measures like it at all. City officials say Measure Z would promote a healthier community and a healthier democracy, while the opposition says it amounts to a regressive tax on consumers already struggling to get by. Measure Z was put on the Nov. 5 ballot by the Santa Cruz City Council and seeks to create an additional...

COACHELLA, Calif. (KABC) -- The Las Vegas man who was arrested with weapons outside a Trump rally in Southern California is suing for alleged defamation following claims from the local sheriff that his deputies thwarted a third assassination attempt against the former president. After the arrest, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a press conference and media interviews that deputies who prevented Vem Miller from entering the event in Coachella over the weekend "probably" stopped a "third assassination attempt." Miller denies those claims. The 49-year-old, who is believed to be associated with a "Sovereign Citizens" group, has since been...

During her first FOX News interview with Bret Baier on Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris responded to Donald Trump disputing her characterization that he is a "threat to democracy." She responded to a clip of Donald Trump's response to her attacks: BRET BAIER: Are they misguided, the [people who thin the country is going in the wrong direction]? Are they stupid? KAMALA HARRIS: I would never say that about the American people. And in fact, if you listen to Donald Trump, if you watch any of his rallies, he's the one who tends to demean, and belittle, and diminish the...

A Lancaster man has been taken into custody, facing allegations that he operated a drone to deliver narcotics, including fentanyl. One of the recipients died from an overdose, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California. Christopher Patrick Laney, 34, is facing a spectrum of charges, which includes the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. Laney's indictment was announced today, after a grand jury decision on September 17 that was only recently unsealed. The indictment describes how Laney allegedly utilized an unregistered drone to make drug deliveries from his home to a church parking lot on January 17,...

A Bellflower woman was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend the same day she obtained a restraining order to keep him away from her and her son, who was also shot when the suspect burst into their apartment Tuesday night, authorities said. Deputies responding to a shooting call on the 8500 block of Artesia Boulevard found a 26-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to his hip around 11:30 p.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Hugo Reynaga said. ... Reynaga said the woman killed in the shooting had obtained a restraining order earlier Tuesday against the suspect, who “happens...

The most fecund arsenal of dirty tricks in the history of the country has failed to derail President Trump’s campaign for a second term. How refreshing it is to see the Democratic Party in full panic mode. Nothing is working and as a result, the entire and profoundly unsuccessful Obama-Biden interlude is stricken and faltering. In fairness to the voters, the country could not have voted Republican in 2008 after the disaster of President George W. Bush — the Iraqi war topped out by the financial collapse and panic traceable to President Clinton’s requirement that the financial markets be flooded...

Election Day is rapidly approaching, bringing with it the possibility that one Orange County city will soon allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. Measure DD, which is on the Nov. 5 ballot in Santa Ana, would allow “noncitizen City residents to vote in all City of Santa Ana municipal elections” beginning in November 2028, the city says on its website.

University of California (UC) San Diego has introduced a mandatory program for all new students, regardless of major: “Climate Change Education.” The graduation requirement, officially named the Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement (JTCCER) after a Scripps Institution of Oceanography professor who died in July 2022, was implemented this fall, the school announced in a press release. The initiative was “designed to ensure that undergraduates across all majors on campus are equipped to understand and address climate change,” the university said. Over 7,000 first-year students will need to complete a one-quarter course from a list approved by the UC San...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed another law Monday, claiming to be taking action against gas prices but without lowering taxes, removing the state’s onerous “cap-and-trade” system, or easing regulations on refineries. Those are the factors that the industry, and independent experts, say are the main contributors to the fact that the Golden State pays an average price of $4.677 per gallon, the highest in the nation, well above the average of $3.203. Instead, Newsom has again blamed the oil and gas industry, as in previous years. The new law, which he pushed through in a special legislative session, requires...

In a seismic shift, Republicans overtook Democrats in voter registration in Orange County’s highly competitive 47th district, boosting Scott Baugh. The flip is part of a larger trend of Republican gains across competitive California races. Republicans in Orange County — and across the state — have been making inroads this election cycle with registering voters. That shift to the red has been seen across the state as well, according to recent research from the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan think tank. PPIC found that Democrats are losing younger voters, as well as Latino, Black and Asian American voters....

The Commissars of California are so concerned about enforcing political uniformity that they are denying the military's right to launch from Vandenburg Air Force Base using SpaceX rockets. Why? Elon Musk owns Twitter/X, and he is a supporter of Donald Trump. The California Coastal Commission on Thursday rejected the Air Force’s plan to give SpaceX permission to launch up to 50 rockets a year from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County.Some members of the commission complained about Elon Musk and his political statements. pic.twitter.com/rbdGWUYA1F— 🇺🇸Travis🇺🇸 (@Travis_4_Trump) October 12, 2024When the Biden administration dropped Starlink from its rural broadband...

“Trump Trains”—convoys of cars and trucks festooned with flags and signs promoting Presidential candidate Donald Trump—have been rolling across Southern California during the 2024 presidential campaign season. On October 6, a Trump Train formed at Bridgeport School in the Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita and headed for the Route 66 Classic Grill on Soledad Canyon Road, several miles to the east.

Vem Miller is a registered Republican who tried to present fake VIP credentials at a Trump rally on Saturday and then found himself arrested on illegal firearms charges. The 49-year-old Las Vegas resident describes himself on LinkedIn as an 'investigative journalist' and is the cofounder of what appears to be a fringe, far-right website that vows to 'rage against the mainstream media.' On Saturday, the Riverside County Sheriff claimed Miller was 'probably' seeking to assassinate former President Donald Trump. But a source close to Trump campaign downplayed the threat and told DailyMaill.com that there was no assassination attempt. Miller was...

A man was arrested outside of a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump in Southern California, and multiple guns were illegally in his possession, according to authorities. The arrest took place at a checkpoint at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive in Coachella at 4:59 p.m. on Saturday, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said. The rally was scheduled to start at 5 p.m. The driver of a black SUV, who was later identified as 49-year-old Vem Miller of Las Vegas, was found to be in illegal possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine....

Former President Donald Trump has made gains in 19 states in the past week, according to a major election forecast. Pollster Nate Silver's forecast shows that the Republican presidential nominee has made marginal gains in six swing states during the past week and in Florida, Texas and New Mexico. Trump has also made gains in New Hampshire, California, Montana, Washington, Massachusetts, Indiana, Missouri, Maryland, Rhode Island and Nebraska, including in its 2nd Congressional District. Nebraska does not use the "winner takes all" system for awarding Electoral College votes. Two votes are awarded to the winner of the statewide popular vote,...

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is scheduled to hold a press conference at 3 p.m....6 p.m. EST, regarding the arrest at the Trump rally Saturday night. The press conference will be live-streamed on YouTube, Facebook, and Riverside County Sheriff's website according to the department. It comes after a Las Vegas man was arrested Saturday near the site of former President Donald Trump’s rally in the Coachella Valley, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. A shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine were seized from the vehicle. Officers took the driver into custody without incident and he was booked...

A third assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump was thwarted at the last minute Saturday when local cops stopped a man armed with guns and fake passes outside his rally at Coachella Valley, the local sheriff said. The suspect was caught about a mile from the rally venue with a phony-entry pass, according to police. He was also carrying a loaded shotgun, handgun and high capacity magazine. “We probably stopped another assassination attempt,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said. The suspect, identified as Vem Miller, was intercepted by police at a checkpoint about a half-mile from the rally entrance....

BREAKING: Man arrested near Trump's California rally was armed and tried to use fake VIP pass to enter venue, sheriff says

Donald Trump seems to have faced yet another threat to his life when a man presenting fake VIP credentials was taken into custody after a shotgun, high capacity magazine and loaded handgun was found in his vehicle at a rally over the weekend. Local law enforcement claims the incident is 'probably' a third assassination attempt. But a source close to the Trump campaign says the Riverside County Sheriff is mistaken. 'There was no assassination attempt in CA yesterday,' the source told DailyMail.com. 'A man at a perimeter checkpoint had a gun but there was no incident.' Vem Miller, 49, was...