Sailor Faces Arson Trial; 1st Office of Gun Violence Prevention | California Today - Sept. 22

Good evening. Welcome to California Today. I'm Ling Zeng. Here's a preview of some of today's stories. Midterms are fast approaching. What will fellow Californians be voting for? One expert demystifies that language and ad campaigns and talks about what the measures really will do to the state. A somewhat uncommon case is carrying out in Silicon Valley County. The sheriff is facing a civil trial for corruption. We'll have the details on that. And after one of the Navy's worst non-combat maritime disasters, the accused is putting his faith in one person. The trial over the USS Bonhomme Richard is now underway. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind office in the United States. It's the California Department of Justice's Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Specifically, this new office will examine a broad range of factors to prevent gun violence from firearm availability to effective resources for crisis prevention. Reduce gun violence by promoting research and data collection. We believe that evidence-based approaches and data-driven approaches are effective approaches. Bonta said the unit will be dedicated to developing strategies and working with the stakeholders statewide to address gun violence. The new office will support the Department of Justice's ongoing gun violence reduction efforts led by the Bureau of Firearms and DOJ's litigation sections. That includes the department's seizure of illegal firearms, prosecution of firearms trafficking cases, and defense of California's gun laws. Bonta also announced a nationwide search for the office's first director. As the November midterm elections approach, advertisements and campaigns are everywhere, trying to make certain ballot measures sound as appealing as possible. But what are Californians really voting for? An expert explains what's hiding behind a lot of the titles and short summaries. Will Swaim is the president of the California Policy Center and an award-winning journalist. He explains to California Insider's Seema Karami the potential impact of the seven initiatives on the ballot this November. One of the most controversial ones is Proposition 1 on abortion. So we're trying to balance these two, I think, really critical claims of the right to life. The woman has a right to life also. I totally grant that. The question is, do Californians really want almost an inability of the government to regulate in any way a woman's access to abortion? Does the unborn child have any claim at any time up to the minute of birth, which is how this initiative is written? That's the dilemma for all of us to try to resolve on this. And I think that probably there are reasonable arguments on both sides that would be shut down immediately by this constitutional amendment. Proposition 26 and 27 would revolve around sports gambling, but are appealing to voters in a very different way. Prop 26 would allow in-person roulette, dice games, and sports wagering on federally recognized Native American tribes. Prop 27 would legalize online and mobile sports wagering through federally recognized Indian tribes and eligible online businesses like FanDuel and DraftKings. Prop 27 would also generate taxes for the homeless. The propositions are opposites of each other. Both of these are powerful, embedded interests who are trying to appeal. On the 27th side, it's we're going to resolve homelessness. On the 26th side, it's we are a proud Native American people who have been harmed by the arrival of Europeans here, and you owe it to us to protect our right to have these gamblers. Look at how well we do. It serves our tribal community. Prop 30 is another initiative that has received a lot of attention. It would increase tax on personal income over $2 million to fund programs to reduce air pollution and prevent wildfires. It pushes for zero-emission vehicle programs. Governor Newsom has made ads in opposition to Prop 30. We're going to tax these people, and they won't leave. They won't go. Well, they are going, and as they go, we are damaging the California economy. They take their businesses with them. We've seen that they take jobs with some of these people. They take their jobs, and ironically, they take their tax revenue. They take the amount of money that they would be paying on taxes in California, and they just move it to Texas or Florida or Tennessee or wherever. Swaim also talked about issues on other initiatives like Prop 29 on regulating dialysis providers and Prop 31 on banning flavored tobacco products. To hear Swaim's analysis on the other initiatives, watch the full California Insider Program on YouTube or Epic TV on the Epic Times website. A longtime San Francisco Bay Area Sheriff heads to trial on public corruption allegations. Allegations involve her office granting concealed carry weapons permits and costly jail mismanagement. The unusual case against Santa Clara County Sheriff Lori Smith is a civil process to seek removal of an elected official, but is similar to a criminal case. Prosecutors allege that Smith's office traded concealed weapons permits for donations to her re-election campaign. They also claim she mismanaged the jails where mentally ill inmates died or were injured. Smith is also accused of withholding documents concerning an internal affairs jail investigation and lying on campaign finance forms. She has In March, Smith announced she wasn't running for re-election. Her term ends in January, but if the jury finds just one count to be true, she would be removed from office early. Last year, the County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Smith and requested outside investigations by the State Attorney General Rob Bonta as well as the County Civil Grand Jury. Bonta is investigating the case, trying to determine whether her office, quote, engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct that could merit corrective action. In December, the Civil Grand Jury filed a Superior Court complaint that accused Smith of six counts of willful and corrupt misconduct. In December 1998, Smith was sworn in to serve as Santa Clara County's 28th Sheriff, becoming the first female sheriff in the state. Prosecutors are from a different jurisdiction to avoid conflicts of interest. Attorneys on both sides declined NTD's request for a comment. Jury selection began on Wednesday. A green energy storage facility caught fire Tuesday morning. The fire was put out within 10 hours. The fire didn't cause blackouts or influence the grid, but one air pollution expert says such fires can emit toxic acids. A Tesla Megapack battery caught fire Tuesday morning at a PG&E energy storage facility in Monterey. John Hauslinger, fire captain with North Monterey County Fire, told CNBC that two companies and four fire engines responded at around 1.40 a.m. By 11 a.m. the fire was put out. Hauslinger said the firefighters followed recommended protocols by PG&E and Tesla to, quote, let the initial Megapack burn out. He said the cause is not known yet, but an investigation is underway. The California Highway Patrol closed a stretch of Highway 1 following the incident and traffic was redirected to take a detour. Some nearby residents received shelter-in-place advisories due to fire emissions. According to Richard Stedman, an air pollution control officer for the Monterey Bay Air Resources District, lithium-ion battery fires can emit toxic constituents such as hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid. PG&E spokesperson Jeff Smith said the fire didn't cause any power outages or injury. The 182.5 megawatt Tesla Megapack system was commissioned by PG&E earlier this year. It gives grid operators the flexibility to move extra capacity between counties and store power from intermittent sources such as wind and solar for later use. A former dean of the University of Southern California's School of Social Work has pleaded guilty to allege the federal bribery charges in a political corruption case. The case also involves a former Los Angeles City Councilman and a potentially a sitting Democratic representative. The charges carry a potential term of up to 10 years in a federal prison. On September 19th, Marilyn Louise Flynn, a former dean of the University of Southern California or USC's School of Social Work, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement for one count of federal bribery. She is accused of funneling a hundred thousand dollars from the campaign account of former Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley Thomas through the School of Social Work. The money was then distributed to a non-profit organization that was operated by Ridley Thomas's son. Prosecutors claimed that he did not want these funds to be linked to him or his campaign. Ridley Thomas was suspended from City Council last October for his alleged involvement in the bribery scheme. He pleaded not guilty to one count each of conspiracy and bribery, two counts of honest services mail fraud, and 15 counts of honest services wire fraud. According to Flynn's plea agreement, she was to receive a contract for nine million dollars per year. In exchange, Flynn gave the former councilman's son admission to the graduate school, a full scholarship, and a paid professorship. In early September, the Los Angeles Times also reported that Democratic representative Karen Bass, who's a leading Los Angeles mayoral contender, allegedly received a full scholarship from Flynn in exchange for passing legislation for the school's federal funding. Last week, USC stated, quote, after the university learned during the summer of 2018 about unethical conduct by the former dean, we quickly disclosed the matter to the U.S. Attorney's Office. David Lam, NTD News, California. On Monday, a court trial started in San Diego regarding a young sailor accused of igniting a fire on a naval ship. It was one of the military's worst non-combat ship disasters. Here's how he plans to face the trial. This past Monday, Navy sailor Ryan Sawyer Mays waived his rights to a jury and agreed to place the outcome in the hands of a Navy judge who will make the final decision. Mays is being accused of igniting the USS Bonham Richard in 2020, making it one of the military's worst non-combat ship disasters. The court-martial started on Monday at Naval Base San Diego, where the young sailor has opted for a military judge, Captain Derek Butler, to preside over the court-martial instead of having a military jury hear the case. The prosecutors allege that Mays was seeking revenge against the Navy. They say he was angry for being tasked to deck duty after failing to become a Navy SEAL. As for Mays, his Military Defense Council Lieutenant Taylor Haggerty responded in her opening remarks that investigators accused Mays before completing their investigation by ignoring evidence and witness accounts. We're going to take a short break, but here's a look at what we got for you when we come back. This holiday season, shipments will likely be slow at the state's most major ports. On top of that, supply chain issues from lockdowns are still not resolved. New research has pinpointed some of the most dangerous areas to drive in the state. That's based on data from fatal accidents. We'll have where drivers need to watch out for. And producers of 007 have been honored with their hand and footprints in Hollywood. We'll see what happened at the ceremony. That and more on California Today. Newsom signs legislation declaring a contract avoidable if it relates to a bribery of a public official. The new law was inspired by the aborted Angel Stadium sale in the city of Anaheim. Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 34 into law on September 13th. The new legislation allows officials to void any contracts produced by corruption. The law will apply to contracts executed on or after January 1st, 2023, including those negotiated before that date. The law will come into effect exactly one year later, starting in 2024. The bill was inspired by the aborted Angel Stadium sale in the city of Anaheim. According to an FBI affidavit, former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu resigned in May after allegedly leaking secret information to Angels baseball team owner Artie Moreno. That was during negotiations of the stadium sale in hopes of later receiving a political campaign contribution. The author of the bill, Senator Thomas Umberg of Santa Ana, said he hopes to address future scandals similar to this and restore the trust of the residents. Experts and port officials have predicted that the number of arriving cargo ships at the port of Los Angeles will slow down over the holiday season, but they're warning consumers that the supply chain crisis is not over yet. The National Retail Federation, which is the largest retail trade association, reported a slowdown in the cargo search this month for the port of Los Angeles. Jonathan Gold, the organization's Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, said that although consumers are continuing to buy, the two-year surge has begun to slow down. But according to Sam Mercoliano, a maritime historian and former merchant mariner, he stressed that the supply chain crisis is not over. On his September 6th video blog, What is Going on with Shipping?, he said that the supply chain crisis is not over, it's just that ships have relocated to other American ports. He added that volumes were increased earlier this year due to expected union contract negotiations between the international longshore and warehouse unions that could have affected operations at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Gene Serica, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, said that long wait times are another factor due to the backups in Chicago, Kansas City, and Dallas. Serica also praised the railroad union for negotiating and diverting a looming rail labor strike. He stressed how much railroads play a vital role for the Port of Los Angeles and stated, quote, this is great news for our nation's supply chain and all Americans. While most people rarely think about it when getting into their car, driving is one of the most dangerous activities we take part in on a daily basis. New research helps pinpoint some of the most dangerous areas for driving in the state. California drivers can now be sure which are the most dangerous stretches of road in the state. That's according to analysis from personal finance company Money Geek, who reviewed data from several federal sources from 2017 to 2019. The most dangerous section of road is part of I-15 between exits 129 and 138. That's in the of Hesperia, 35 miles north of San Bernardino, heading towards Las Vegas. The 4.5-mile stretch of road saw 19 traffic deaths for the research dates. The second and third most dangerous places to drive were both in the San Francisco Bay Area. Berkeley came in second, with its often congested section of I-80 between exits 8A and 14A. The 5-mile stretch of road saw 15 fatalities. Not far north, also along I-80, the 5-mile stretch of highway passing through Richmond saw 13 fatal accidents. In total, the state saw over 10,000 crash-related deaths for the two-year time period. In 28% of the deaths, speeding was a factor. 27% of those deaths were due to drunk driving. 4% of the deaths were due to distracted driving, a statistic that California drivers are much better in compared to the rest of the country. Money Geek ranked California 47th in terms of worst distracted driving cases. 60 years have passed since James Bond came into our lives. Well, take a look at how Hollywood celebrated the Bond film franchise anniversary. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Bond films franchise, and by Hollywood tradition, the sibling producers were honored with a hands-and-feet ceremony on Wednesday. Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson took over the Bond films from their father. It's a huge, huge honor, and you know, my dad, Cubby Broccoli, has his star on the Walk of Fame not far away from here, so it really feels very special, and we can't help but really think about him today, because he's the one who, you know, started it all. It's an extraordinary honor for Barbara and I to be here today at the TCL Chinese Theater. We love film, and we love making films. To be included in this historical Hollywood tradition celebrating cinema is an absolute honor. He recalls his childhood memory of growing up and becoming a star and having his hands and feet memorialized in Hollywood. In the newsreels, we'd see stars placing their hands and feet in the concrete, and after school, I and my friends would come up here, sneak up here, and put our hands and feet in the same impression, and at that age, I'd never dreamed that for one second that over 70 years later, I'd be standing here today with my best producing partner anyone could ever have, my sister Barbara. As for all the die-hard Bond fans wondering when the next Bonds film will be out, we'll start thinking about Bond next year. There have been a total of 25 Bond movies that have garnered over 7 billion dollars at the box office to date, making it the fifth highest grossing film series of all time. Now let's check in with NTD's Thomas Christian for today's Sports Roundup. I'm Thomas Christian giving you the California Today Sports Roundup. And in the case of Chicharito, as I've been saying all along, I've decided to go with other forwards. Mexican national team head coach Gerardo Tata Martino had to defend his decision to the media Wednesday on why he felt it was necessary to leave famed striker Chicharito off of their World Cup roster. Javier Chicharito Hernandez has been ruled out from representing Mexico in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after representing his nation in three other World Cups, making their trips to the round of 16 all three times before losing. The 34-year-old striker currently plays for LA Galaxy and has played for clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United, but has always held a special place for Mexican soccer fans wanting to see their team perform on the world stage. Coach Martino has said that he will only bring three forwards to the World Cup and there are only so many options that are actually better than Chicharito. Likely to make the roster over him is Raul Jimenez, a forward for the Wolverhampton Wanderers in the British Premier League, Irving Lozano of Italian club Napoli, as well as Carlos Vela of LAFC. Martino was speaking in Carson, California, where the Mexico team was holding a media day ahead of World Cup friendlies against Peru and Colombia on September 24th and 27th. For the matches against Peru and Colombia, which are Mexico's last friendly before the World Cup, Martino chose 31 players and it is expected that final 26 going to Qatar will be selected from that pool of players. In the World Cup, Mexico is in Group C and have their debut match on November 22nd against Poland. Four days later, they will face Argentina and then Saudi Arabia on November 30th. Blake Snell took a no-hitter into the inning and Austin Nola singled home the only run in the second as the San Diego Padres beat the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 1-0 on Wednesday. The Padres blanked the Cardinals for a second straight night. St. Louis took a third consecutive shutout loss for the first time since the final three games of the 2015 season. San Diego logged its fifth straight win and third straight shutout victory in four games. Snell wound up allowing two hits and two walks in seven innings while equaling his career high with 13 strikeouts. Josh Hader worked a perfect inning for his 34th save. Padres 1, Cardinals 0. Madison Bumgarner gave him one run on one hit over six innings as Arizona finished off a victory at Los Angeles. Bumgarner beat his longtime NL West nemesis for the first time since 2017, having been winless over a stretch of 12 prior starts versus the Dodgers. He struck out five and walked one. Christian Walker had a pair of RBI singles for the Diamondbacks and Corbin Carroll hit a three-run double. Mookie Betts homered for the Dodgers' lone run. Diamondbacks 6, Dodgers 1. Logan Webb took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning. Wilmer Flores had three hits and San Francisco beat Colorado in Denver. Brandon Crawford, Austin Wins, Jacques Peterson, and Lamont Wade Jr. had two hits each for the Giants, who won their third straight game. Webb gave up one hit and no walks in five and one-third innings. He struck out five. Eli Harris Montero homered for the Rockies. Herman Marquez yielded four runs, three earned on nine hits in five innings. Giants 6, Rockies 1. And that's all for sports. That's all we have got for you tonight. We'd like you to join us again on California Today every weekday at 8 30 p.m. Make sure to check out our broadcasts on our California Today web page. You can find it at ntd.com slash california dash today. You can also find all of our top latest clips there, ready to share with friends and family. Send us a message on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or through our email california.today at ntd.com. I'm Liang Zhang. Have a wonderful evening.