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Los Angeles No. 1 in organized retail theft, again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:03 GMT

For the fifth year in a row, Los Angeles has the dubious distinction of being the number one city in the nation when it comes to organized retail theft.The annual report from the National Retail Federation, which surveyed 177 brands, found that the average “shrink rate" climbed from 1.4% in 2021 to 1.6% in the U.S. last year. "Shrink rate" is the industry term for lost inventory.While that might not seem like a significant percentage change, the trade group says it represents an additional $18.2 billion in losses. The San Francisco Bay Area was second for the third straight year. Sacramento was 7th.“Retail crime, violence and theft continue to impact the retail industry at unprecedented levels,” NRF said in its report. “The effects of these criminal acts are not isolated to large national brands or large metropolitan cities. Daily media reports show that no business is immune, and these issues touch retailers of all segments, sizes and locations across the United States.”Video shows...

April Zoglauer Fatally Struck in Hit-and-Run Crash on Blossom Hill Road [San Jose, CA]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:03 GMT

21-Year-Old Pregnant Woman Killed in Two-Vehicle Collision near Winfield BoulevardSAN JOSE, CA (October 26, 2023) – Tuesday evening, April Zoglauer lost her life in a hit-and-run collision on Blossom Hill Road. Authorities arrived at the scene around 8:40 p.m., near Winfield Boulevard.Per reports, the driver of a black 2008 Nissan sedan heading eastward collided with a white 2013 Hyundai sedan traveling southbound. Shortly after, two men from inside the Hyundai fled the scene without providing assistance to the injured Nissan driver.Further investigation revealed that the Hyundai was stolen, although this information came to light only after the collision occurred.Medical personnel rushed 21-year-old April Zoglauer, the Nissan driver, to a hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. Despite the grave circumstances, Zoglauer’s child was delivered but remains in critical condition.San Jose officials are urging anyone with additional information to promptly contact local ...

Gallery: PleasureMed Opens In WeHo – Here’s What’s Popping Up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:03 GMT

Welcome to the pleasure dome. Located in the heart of West Hollywood, PleasureMed will open three concepts under one 6,500 square roof today – an elevated design-forward dispensary patterned after a Cuban pharmacy; a California-inspired destination restaurant, Irie, with a comfy consumption lounge; and an al-fresco cocktail bar, Hind. The hedonist complex dubbed the pleasure campus is designed to please all five senses, where the food is as good as the smoke. PleasureMed neighbors the Pleasure Chest, the legendary erotic boutique that has survived in the same West Hollywood spot since 1980.The campus with interiors designed by Studio UNLTD is the brainchild of Brian Robinson, whose family has owned the Pleasure Chest franchise since it opened in 1971 in New York and then made its way out west. The first location was on LaCienega Boulevard and moved to its present home on Santa Monica Boulevard in 1980. Robinson has been eyeing the old single-story machine shop next door to the bouti...

Kim Petras Takes On YouTube

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:03 GMT

Kim Petras Takes On YouTube: Kim Petras has been shaking up the world for the past couple of years, not least with her performance alongside Sam Smith at the Grammys. She brings her Feed the Beast world tour to L.A. on Wednesday, her biggest production yet, and it promises to be spectacular and subversive. We spoke to Petras back in 2020 and she told us that, “I started in Germany in my bedroom, on my keyboards with GarageBand. I started making my own tracks and writing every single day. I was really determined. It wasn’t very good in the beginning, It took me hundreds of songs to get good. But it was my passion and it became almost a diary of stuff that happened to me.” Look at her fly now.“I love writing,” she continued. “I don’t feel like there’s any time to waste. Also, I just got lucky. Inspiration just dropped and I wrote the Clarity project which came out last year. It just came out and I felt blessed. But I’m 24/7 music. I barely have a personal life and I ...

Santa Clara housing project site is grabbed by NYC real estate buyer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:03 GMT

SANTA CLARA — An empty lot in Santa Clara where more than 1,000 homes were proposed — but never built — has been bought by an East Coast real estate investment firm.Cerberus Capital Management, acting through an affiliate, has paid $50 million for the property, according to documents filed on Oct. 25 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.The just-bought land totals 13.3 acres, which points to a price of slightly under $3.8 million an acre.Greystar, a big developer of apartment and residential sites, sold the undeveloped land to Cerberus.It appears that Greystar harvested a tidy profit on the property deal, a review of county real estate records shows.In 2017, Greystar paid $35 million for the site. That suggests a 42.9% increase in the property’s value over the roughly six years that the residential developer owned the site.Related ArticlesHousing | ‘Death spiral’: It’s getting obscenely expensive to build housing in...

Driver killed in solo crash on Soquel San Jose Road

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:03 GMT

A driver was killed Tuesday night in a solo crash near Soquel, the California Highway Patrol said.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Oakland pedestrian killed after being pinned between vehicles in hit-and-run crash Crashes and Disasters | Driver charged in killing of 4 Pepperdine students was being chased, his attorney says Crashes and Disasters | Amtrak train strikes, kills man in Berkeley Crashes and Disasters | Driver in crash that killed 4 Pepperdine University students is held on $8 million bail Crashes and Disasters | Pregnant San Jose woman killed but baby survives after hit-and-run crash The crash was reported at 7:49 p.m. on Soquel San Jose Road south of Los Robles Road, near the Seventh-Day Adventist Conference Center.A 2004 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that was northbound on the two-lane road veered off the roadway, hit a raised curb, then overturned and hit a chain-link fence.The dr...

Carjacked Palo Alto motorhome recovered, suspect arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:03 GMT

(KRON) -- A motorhome that was allegedly carjacked last week has been returned to its owner and a suspect, 27-year-old Omar Alexis Romero Perez of East Palo Alto, has been arrested, the Palo Alto Police Department announced Thursday. The alleged carjacking occurred overnight on Friday, Oct 20 at about 12:35 a.m.Palo Alto PD got a call reporting a carjacking on the 400 block of Matadero Avenue. At the scene, officers were unable to locate the suspect.A preliminary investigation revealed that a man in his sixties had been asleep in his parked vehicle when he awoke to the sound of his motorhome's engine starting. The man saw the suspect, later identified as Perez, seated in the motorhome's driver's seat and climbed the side step to confront him. 5 suspects steal $100K worth of items from Apple Store in Burlingame: police A struggle ensued and the victim fell down the driver's side step as the suspect drove the motorhome away, police said.On Wednesday shortly before 11 a.m., East Palo...

Judge finds former Ohio lawmaker guilty of domestic violence in incident involving his wife

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:03 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio judge found former Republican state Rep. Bob Young guilty on domestic violence charges Thursday over an incident involving his wife in the summer.Judge Edward O’Farrell found Young, who waived his right to a jury trial and instead left his fate in the hands of the judge, “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” of causing physical harm to his wife, but not guilty of an assault charge in a later confrontation with his brother over striking his wife.Attorneys for Young did not immediately respond to request for comment Thursday.In July, a grand jury indicted the Summit County representative on domestic violence and assault charges after he allegedly struck his wife in the face and threw her phone in their pool to prevent her from calling 911. When she sought safe haven at Young’s brother’s home, Young followed her and charged his brother after he refused to let him inside, resulting in a shattered glass door and injuries to both men, authorities said.Youn...

Federal judge rules that Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts are discriminatory

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:03 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge ruled Thursday that some of Georgia’s congressional, state Senate and state House districts were drawn in a racially discriminatory manner, ordering the state to draw an additional Black-majority congressional district.U.S. District Judge Steve Jones, in a 516-page order, also ordered the state to draw two new Black-majority districts in Georgia’s 56-member state Senate and five new Black-majority districts in its 180-member state House.Jones ordered Georgia’s Republican majority General Assembly and governor to take action before Dec. 8, saying he wouldn’t permit 2024 elections to go forward under the current maps. That would require a special session, as lawmakers aren’t scheduled to meet again until January.Jones’ ruling follows a September trial in which the plaintiffs argued that Black voters are still fighting opposition from white voters and need federal help to get a fair shot, while the state argued court intervention on behalf of ...

Ottawa’s Shane Pinto suspended 41 games, becomes the 1st modern NHL player banned for gambling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:03 GMT

The NHL suspended Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto for 41 games on Thursday, making the 22-year-old American the first modern-day player banned for sports gambling. The league said the half-season ban was for “activities relating to sports wagering” and that its investigation found no evidence Pinto bet on NHL games.“I want to apologize to the National Hockey League, the Ottawa Senators, my teammates, the fans and city of Ottawa and most importantly my family,” Pinto said in a statement released by the team. “I take full responsibility for my actions and look forward to getting back on the ice with my team.”The NHL Players’ Association did not immediately respond to a message asking if the union would appeal the suspension.The league said it considers the matter closed and would have no further comment. Coach D.J. Smith told reporters at the team’s morning skate in New York that the Senators would help Pinto and welcome him back with open arms when he̵...