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4 years after approval for release, search to find Santa Cruz County housing for sexually violent predator continues

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:45:12 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — State contracted officials who have spent nearly four years unsuccessfully hunting for local housing opportunities for a convicted rapist most recently were limiting themselves to locations at least a mile from any school or beach, authorities revealed Tuesday.“That’s quite a set-off,” defense attorney Stephen Prekoski said of the geographically limiting factors.Prekoski’s client, 71-year-old Michael Cheek, was found eligible for monitored community release after serving more than four decades in prison and treatment. Cheek’s release falls under specific state mandates related to “sexually violent predators.”Unless the court makes a finding of extraordinary circumstances, a group of officials signed to Cheek’s personal housing committee are limited to home-hunting within Santa Cruz County, considered Cheek’s county of primary residence.Prekoski suggested that Cheek’s lengthy wait to be placed in housing since he was deemed eligible for release might be considered a suff...

Opinion: Writers deserve more for contribution to OpenAI’s success

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:45:12 GMT

Last month, it was reported that OpenAI — the company behind the generative AI chatbot ChatGPT — was on track to make $1 billion in revenue this year from user subscriptions and by licensing its technology to other companies. ChatGPT was introduced into the world only last November, and its explosive growth shows the demand for AI-powered chatbots and their potential to transform lives.But there are still pressing ethical issues that need to be addressed, such as, what do AI companies owe to the creators whose work informs their chatbots?Generative AI chatbots, which can conduct human-like conversations and generate unique written responses to prompts from users, are taught to communicate using writing samples from hundreds of thousands of writers whose work is available on the web. Even though the written work is publicly available, much of it is protected under copyright law.According to OpenAI, ChatGPT doesn’t produce plagiarized outputs — it only learns from the ideas of the boo...

Southern California school board OKs policy banning pride, other flags from schools

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:45:12 GMT

The Temecula school board approved a policy to limit which flags can be flown on school property, a rule that some called a way to ban pride flags, at its Tuesday night, Sept. 12, meeting.A similar policy was adopted by the Chino Valley Unified School District board in June.The Temecula Valley Unified School District board proposal passed 3-2, with the board’s conservative majority in favor and trustees Allison Barclay and Steven Schwartz voting no.The proposal, which was adopted before an overflow crowd with some small language changes, does not specify which flags are barred. It contains two alterations to the district’s flag protocols.RELATED: Fallout from Sunol school ban on Pride flag, as parents keep kids home and consider recallOne reads: “No flag other than the United States of America and State of California may be displayed on school grounds, including classrooms, unless it is a country, state, or United States military flag used solely for educational purposes within the ...

Teen arrested on suspicion of intentionally striking 3 bicyclists in Southern California, leaving 1 dead

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:45:12 GMT

A teenage driver was arrested on suspicion of intentionally striking three different bicyclists in Huntington Beach in less than an hour late Sunday night, Sept. 10, killing one.A possible motive was not disclosed by police. Nor was the minor’s name or age released.The first hit-and-run collision occurred around 10 p.m. that night when a bicyclist said he was riding near Edwards Street and Warner Avenue when a black Toyota sideswiped him, leaving the cyclist with minor injuries, said Jessica Cuchilla, a police spokeswoman.Around 30 minutes later, another bicyclist was struck a quarter of a mile north of the first, at Brad Drive and Edwards, police said. That cyclist described being aggressively sideswiped by a black Toyota — leading authorities to believe that the collisions were intentional.Another 15 minutes passed and, at Springdale Street and Heil Avenue, a black Toyota sedan then struck Steven Gonzales, a 70-year-old Huntington Beach resident, who was alive when paramedics show...

Robbers take vitamins and medications from California Rite Aid store

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:45:12 GMT

Three thieves threatened a Rite Aid worker in Brea with pepper spray Wednesday evening during a robbery in which they filled several trash bags with vitamins and over-the-counter medications, police said.The robbery occurred around 7:54 p.m. at 405 West Imperial Highway, near Brea Boulevard. Two men and one woman entered the store, filling multiple trash bags with vitamins and medicine, including GNC supplements, said Brea Police Sgt. Richard Wildman.Police said the thieves reportedly cleared an aisle full of merchandise.No injuries were reported. The robbers fled in a white Jeep Cherokee with a getaway driver, said Wildman.Details on the total value of the items stolen were not immediately available.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Sunnyvale shooting leaves man in critical condition Crime and Public Safety | East Bay woman shot and killed during domestic dispute Crime and Public Safety | Oakland rapper arrested after four months o...

Opinion: How California can give Latinos a bigger voice in government

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:45:12 GMT

One of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s primary responsibilities is appointing individuals to fill vacancies within state boards and commissions. However, his office lacks a public system to check whether these appointees reflect the communities they are meant to serve.Regrettably, these seats often fail to mirror the diversity inherent to California, particularly when it comes to the underrepresentation of Latinos. Despite making up 39% of the population, Latinos remain marginalized within these appointments, and lack of transparency around data on the governor’s appointments obscures the true extent of this underrepresentation.There is a promising solution before us. Senate Bill 702, authored by state Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, would require the office of the governor to create and publish an annual report on the demographic composition of all appointees made that year to state boards and commissions. This report would offer the transparency needed for targeted advocacy to diversify ...

Builders want to see buyers’ wish lists

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:45:12 GMT

Homebuyers may wonder how new-home builders determine which features and amenities are best to incorporate into upcoming home plans, master-planned communities and lifestyle amenities.Each new release seems to include exceptional elements. And buyers may not have even considered some of the items important. At least not until they see how the builder can incorporate them.Fortunately, new-home buyers are in luck, given the features of today’s new construction homes in California. And the future new-home buyer whose next home hasn’t even been built or even had its foundation poured may be in even greater luck.That’s because the further out construction is, the more choices on home specifications the buyer has. In some cases, builders may still welcome input about floor plans and design features. That’s especially true with coming-soon communities or master-planned communities that have yet to introduce their next phases.But perhaps there’s a construction or design feature you wish wou...

New Zealand keen to fix the basics in second Rugby World Cup match

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:45:12 GMT

TOULOUSE, France (AP) — New Zealand should rack up a pile of points against Namibia on Friday in the Rugby World Cup.It has more important needs, though.New Zealand’s set-piece has been unsteady in its last two matches — both historic defeats to France and South Africa — and coach Ian Foster wants his side to start fixing its foundations.The All Blacks are traditionally quick to repair issues, so after the record-sized thrashing from South Africa last month, they were expected to make a statement against France in the World Cup opening match in Paris last Friday. But the same issues persisted, and New Zealand lost a pool game for the first time in tournament history.It has three more pool games — Namibia, Italy, Uruguay — to get its mojo back in time for an expected quarterfinal against probably South Africa or Ireland.“We still want to play (an attacking game) but we also know in those big games that you’ve got to get some basics right,” Foster said.NEW ZEALAND vs NAMIB...

First human case of West Nile virus in Maryland discovered in the Eastern Shore

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:45:12 GMT

The first human case of the West Nile virus in Maryland has been discovered, state health officials announced on Wednesday.According to the Maryland Department of Health, an adult from the Eastern Shore region tested positive for the virus. The person is currently receiving treatment and is recovering from the infection.The virus is usually transmitted from mosquitoes that feed on infected birds but can also spread “through organ donation, blood transfusion, breastfeeding or from pregnant mother to fetus,” officials said in a release. While most do not develop symptoms, the disease can attack the nervous system, causing those infected to develop a fever, rash, body aches or vomiting.It is not the first trace of the West Nile Virus in Maryland this year. In July, mosquitoes carrying the virus were found in two parts of Anne Arundel County. State officials reported last year an adult in the Baltimore metropolitan area tested positive for the virus.The virus was first detec...

El espeleólogo estadounidense Mark Dickey dice que “definitivamente seguirá explorando cuevas”

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:45:12 GMT

(CNN) — El espeleólogo estadounidense Mark Dickey, rescatado este martes de una de las cuevas más profundas de Turquía tras una operación internacional, dice que “definitivamente seguirá explorando cuevas” y que le encantaría volver a visitar la cueva en la que quedó atrapado.“Definitivamente continuaré explorando cuevas. Hay riesgos en toda vida y en este caso, la emergencia médica que ocurrió fue completamente imprevista, desconocida y única, pero se puede sufrir un accidente automovilístico. Innumerables personas resultan heridas en sus baños, en sus propias bañeras y duchas. ¿Por qué dejaría de explorar? Sinceramente, la espeleología es uno de los deportes más seguros que existen”, dijo Dickey este jueves durante una conferencia de prensa en Mersin, en el sur de Turquía.Dickey había sido parte de un grupo de investigación en una misión de exploración en la cueva de Morca, ubicada en la Cordillera de Tauro en el sur de Turquía, cuando, según los informes, comenz...