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California Democrats 'playing dirty tricks' to keep Prop 47 reform off ballot, GOP leader says
California Democrats are playing “dirty tricks” in response to bipartisan efforts to place a measure to reform Proposition 47 on the November ballot in favor of other public safety bills, officials said.
Prop 47, a voter-approved initiative passed in 2014, loosened the penalties for drug and theft crimes in California and has been blamed for California’s rampant theft problems. Californians for Safer Communities, a bipartisan group made up of law enforcement, elected officials and businesses, said it has collected more than 900,000 signatures in support of the proposed amendment to reform Prop 47 in order to increase penalties for criminals.
However, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and some elected Democrats don’t support the effort and are pushing some public safety bills circulating through the state Capitol that attempt to address organized retail theft, car break-ins and other crimes. They prefer those bills go before voters instead of the Prop 47 reform measure.
Some Democrats plan to introduce inoperability clauses into the set of proposed public safety bills to prevent them from going into effect if voters approve the Prop 47 reforms. They contend that it’s a way to ensure there aren’t any inconsistencies in the law.
NEWSOM PROPOSES DEFUNDING LAW ENFORCEMENT, PRISONS, PUBLIC SAFETY AS CALIFORNIA FACES MASSIVE DEFICIT
A large group of 30-50 people were caught on video ransacking a Nordstrom in Los Angeles at Topanga Mall in Los Angeles. (Courtesy: Instagram / @ella_ise24.)
“The Democrats are playing dirty tricks to try and stop it,” California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher told Fox News Digital. “They think that Prop 47 is good policy. I think the majority of Californians disagree with them and want to change it.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the California Democratic Party and Californians for Safer Communities.
Prop 47 made several crimes, including shoplifting, grand theft and receiving stolen property, a misdemeanor instead of a felony if the value of the property did not exceed $950. It also lowered the penalty for the personal use of most illegal drugs below a certain weight.
Many law enforcement officials have blamed the measure for the uptick in theft and smash-and-grabs that have plagued California in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic. Around the same time, California became synonymous with smash-and-grab crimes as videos of groups of thieves brazenly ransacking stores gained traction online.
Recently, Newsom has come out tougher on public safety as many Californians are voicing concerns about crime in their communities.
SACRAMENTO MASS SHOOTING SUSPECT FOUND DEAD IN JAIL CELL WHILE AWAITING TRIAL
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was recently ripped by critics for describing California as a “national model” for combatting homelessness. (California Governor Gavin Newsom YouTube channel)
“There’s a lot of moving parts, a lot of negotiations concurrently happening,” Newsom told reporters on Friday. “Prop 47 is included.”
Those bills being pushed by Democrats, however, don’t address personal theft, as opposed to smash-and-grabs, the trafficking of fentanyl and drug treatment incentives, said Gallagher.
“Those are three things that the initiative does that we need, that this (Democratic) retail package doesn’t do,” said Gallahgher.
California has some of the toughest thresholds for prosecutors to charge suspects with a felony for theft up to $950, in contrast to other states that have higher thresholds, Newsom’s office said Monday.
Last year, the Democratic governor announced more than $267 million to increase arrests and prosecutions for organized retail crime across the state. Earlier this year, Newsom recalled how he witnessed a shoplifter stealing from Target in Sacramento. He confronted a store employee moments later.
“I said, ‘why didn’t you stop him,’” Newsom said during a Zoom meeting on mental health in January. “She goes, ‘oh, the governor.’ Swear to God, true story on my mom’s grave. ‘The governor lowered the threshold, there’s no accountability.’ I said that’s just not true.”
“That’s exactly the kind of situation that happens every day that his package does nothing about,” Gallagher said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks on Dec. 17, 2021, at a news conference in Dublin, Calif., about headline-grabbing smash-and-grab robberies at high-end stores. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group via AP)
Regarding the possible inoperability clauses, Republicans have called it a “poison pill.”
“To combat the California crime wave, we need to strengthen our laws, both in the Legislature and at the ballot box,” Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones previously said in a statement. “It’s irresponsible to force voters into a false choice between the two. Unfortunately, some Democrat politicians are too prideful to admit their mistake with Prop 47 and they continue to deny the desperate need for reform.”
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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — According to a new audit, the San Francisco Zoo violated city rules by spending $12 million on projects without required approval.
The report looks at the zoo’s finances from 2019 to last year. It claims the zoo was operating under a budget deficit for years while dealing with failures in management and financial planning.
Zoo officials must get permission from the city’s Park and Rec Commission for projects worth more than $50,000.
The report also details claims from zoo employees, saying the zoo has a toxic work environment because of favoritism and discrimination.
KRON4 received the below statement from the zoo’s CEO.
We appreciate the thorough work of the audit team and welcome recommendations that will strengthen the Zoo’s operations and long-term sustainability. Many improvements are already underway, and we are committed to implementing the remaining recommendations. We are grateful to the Mayor, Supervisor Melgar, and Rec and Park for working with us on a responsible loan structure that gives the Zoo the ability to continue this progress and fully deliver on the audit’s recommendations.
San Francisco Zoo CEO Cassandra Costello
The zoo is facing a more than $6 million budget deficit.
Ken Roczen led Hunter Lawrence into Round 16 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver with a four-point advantage and a newly acquired red plate. With Lawrence’s win and the reduction of three points, the two riders head to Salt Lake City in a winner-take-all scenario.
Lawrence won his heat, while Roczen finished third in Heat 2.
Lawrence took the feature lead early, and once he sniffed clean air, he steadily increased his gap on second.
“It’s good,” Lawrence told Peacock’s Will Christien. “[At the] five-second board, I’m just so excited. Let’s go out, have fun, and do what I love to do. It couldn’t have been much better than that.”
Lawrence cut the championship deficit to a single point heading into the season finale. The two riders each have five victories.
If Lawrence and Roczen manage to tie in points, which will happen if they finish in the middle of the pack with Lawrence on spot ahead of Roczen, the tiebreaker would come down to second-place results. Lawrence finished second five times early in the season; Roczen has two runner-up results.
Meanwhile, Roczen had a modest start and had to come through the pack. Once he settled into second, he lost the tow of the leader, and ultimately lost more than 12 seconds to Lawrence.
Returning from an injury suffered in Cleveland, Eli Tomac thrilled the hometown crowd with the final podium position. He stalled his bike in sand in the opening laps but executed Beast Mode in the middle stage of the feature.
Fourth-place Malcolm Stewart and Chase Sexton rounded out the top five.
In-Race Notes
Jorge Prado earned the holeshot, but Lawrence took the lead quickly.
Roczen slotted into fourth on the opening lap. There is a five-point gap between first and third in Supercross scoring.
But Roczen secured second from Prado on Lap 3, and trimmed three points from the gap.
Roczen lost 4.5 seconds to Lawrence as he made his way into second.
The third title contender, Cooper Webb, took third from Prado on Lap 5.
Lawrence had the flow in the opening laps. He extended his lead to 6.2 seconds on Lap 7.
Tomac stalled in the sand and fell outside the top five, but found his rhythm and climbed to fourth on Lap 8. Webb lost a position to Prado earlier in that lap.
Lawrence was on a rail, forcing Roczen to ride on the edge of his comfort zone.
A little further back in the field, Justin Barcia was sixth on Lap 10 in his second race back.
Tomac secured third from Prado on Lap 12.
Roczen fell to eight seconds behind on Lap 13. Eight minutes remained on the clock.
The top three settled into a rhythm with seven minutes on the clock. The gap between them was slowly widening.
Cooper and Dylan Ferrandis tangled while challenging for sixth.
One lap later, Webb tangled with Jorge Prado, and both riders lost momentum. Webb hit the dirt and dropped outside the top 10. That ended his dim hope of securing a fourth Supercross championship.
Malcolm Stewart moved into fifth.
One lap later, Stewart grabbed fourth from Sexton.
In all the chaos, Justin Barcia (eighth) climbed into the top 10 in his second race after returning from a scary crash in the season opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
Seattle Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh is day-to-day with “general soreness” after being pulled from the lineup before Saturday’s game, manager Dan Wilson told reporters after a 3-2 loss in 10 innings against the Kansas City Royals.
Wilson said Raleigh underwent imaging, though he did not specify what on, and the team will assess their star catcher’s status Sunday.
“We’re trying to be as cautious as possible,” Wilson said.
Raleigh was originally slated to start at catcher and bat second in the middle game of the three-game series, but he was scratched from the lineup about 90 minutes before first pitch.
Mitch Garver got the start in place of Raleigh and went 1 for 4 at the plate and struck out three times, including to lead off the 10th inning.
Saturday’s game was the first Raleigh has missed this season. He had started 32 of the previous 33, including 25 at catcher, and came in as a pinch-hitter in the only game he didn’t start.
Raleigh is batting .186 with a .652 OPS, seven homers and four doubles this season. He has hit five home runs in his past 10 games.
Raleigh finished as the American League MVP runner-up during a record-setting campaign in 2025. He led baseball with 60 home runs, setting single-season MLB records for most home runs by a catcher and switch-hitter, as well as the Mariners’ single-season homer mark. Raleigh also drove in an AL-best 125 RBIs while hitting .247 with a .948 OPS.
The Mariners added a third catcher to their 26-man roster shortly after Raleigh was scratched from the lineup. Jhonny Pereda was called up from Triple-A Tacoma and infielder Will Wilson was placed on the 10-day injured list with fractured left thumb.
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