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California voters in Bay Area to decide fate of controversial sheriff
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to hold a special election on March 4, 2025, amid a longstanding feud with Sheriff Christina Corpus.
The special election, which reportedly will cost millions of taxpayer dollars, will allow voters to decide on an amendment to the county charter that, if approved, would grant the board the power to remove a sitting sheriff “for cause, including for violation of law related to a Sheriff’s duties, flagrant or repeated neglect of duties, misappropriation of public funds, willful falsification of documents, or obstructing an investigation.” The measure was sponsored by Supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller.
The board approved the special election on Tuesday by a 4-0 vote, with Supervisor David Canepa absent, KNTV reported.
The ballot measure would shake up the allocation of powers among independently elected branches of government if approved by a simple majority of voters.
“I trust the voters of San Mateo County to make informed decisions,” Corzo said, according to FOX 2 KTVU.
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Sheriff Christina Corpus speaks about a shooting at the Half Moon Bay IDES Society in Half Moon Bay, California, on Jan. 24, 2023. (SAMANTHA LAUREY/AFP via Getty Images)
Corpus, who is also facing a mounting recall campaign and demands for her resignation, sent a letter to the board decrying the move she says will usurp her elected authority.
The vote comes after retired Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell released a 408-page report last month detailing allegations that Corpus “uttered and texted several racial and homophobic slurs in the workplace,” retaliated against sheriff’s office employees, and granted unmerited powers to her civilian chief of staff, Victor Aenlle.
The report alleges that the sheriff has an inappropriate personal, and likely intimate, relationship with Aenlle, a claim Corpus has denied.
“The Board of Supervisors and the County Executive Team has appointed itself judge, juror, advocate and executioner,” the sheriff wrote, according to FOX 2.
The sheriff condemned Cordell’s report as “a salacious broadcast of unfounded allegations.”
“There are so many questions about how the County went about this despicable chapter,” Corpus wrote. “There will be a chance for these questions and more to come out in the public, but for now, the real question is whether the County’s actions to date and the proposed Charter Amendment can be a good justification to take away the voter’s choice.”
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus speaks during a press conference in downtown Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
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“I ask that you continue this matter to protect the sheriff’s rights,” Corpus’ attorney, Tom Mazzucco, said at Tuesday’s San Mateo County Board of Supervisors meeting. “This is the right thing to do. When you did the pledge of allegiance, you said justice for all.”
“We need to give the sheriff an opportunity to respond. This is premature for you to usurp the authority of the voters,” he added.
Corpus is also facing a complaint brought by the deputy’s union and the Office of Sheriff’s Sergeants (OSS) for unfair labor practices. It cites an alleged violation of the Brown Act.
“It prohibits an employer from interfering with union matters, retaliation for union business and intimidation of the union,” Deputy Sheriff’s Association attorney Sean Currin said, according to FOX 2.
San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office vehicle in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (SAMANTHA LAUREY/AFP via Getty Images)
Some members of the public defended the sheriff at Tuesday’s meeting.
“I think she’s done amazing things for the sheriff’s office, like crime is down,” Half Moon Bay resident Monica Berlin said. “For you, all of you to be attacking her just shows more about you. And I know you’re all corrupt.”
Corpus requested a chance to address the allegations. The board on Tuesday approved a chance for Corpus to speak under sworn testimony on Dec. 10, though Corzo abstained.
“I’m, again, extremely concerned that even under oath, our sheriff will use this as a platform to continue to lie, so I’m going to abstain on this one,” Corzo said.
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MONTICELLO, Utah (KUTV) — The second-largest wildfire in the nation has burned more than 87,500 acres and destroyed five structures in southeastern Utah.
The Babylon Fire reached a total of 87,554 acres in San Juan County, officials with the U.S. Forest Service said in a Saturday morning update.
More resources arrived in the area, with 730 firefighters now working to control the wildfire, which remains at 0% containment.
The cause of the fire, which ignited on June 26, has not yet been determined.
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Utah has the two largest wildfires in the nation, with the Babylon Fire about 9,000 acres smaller than the Cottonwood Fire. The Cottonwood Fire has burned 94,417 acres in Beaver and Piute Counties and is 25% contained.
While the fires both saw little growth overnight, officials said hot, dry weekend temperatures could potentially lead to increased fire activity. They said a Fire and Fuels Advisory has been issued for the state of Utah.
“This extreme dryness, combined with an unstable atmosphere, will naturally increase the potential for the fire to flare up and create large smoke columns,” officials said.
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National stand guard near the Washington Monument at the national mall, during an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary on Saturday.
Rahmat Gul/AP
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Rahmat Gul/AP
Washington’s National Independence Day Parade has been canceled, according to an announcement from organizers late Friday night.
The parade had been scheduled to mark the nation’s 250th birthday and begin at 10:30 a.m EST. Saturday.
Todd Marcocci, president of Under The Sun Productions, which was overseeing the parade, said the move followed consultation with the National Park Service, the D.C. city government and Freedom 250, the nonprofit overseeing the anniversary celebrations. “This decision was made after extensive and careful consideration of the safety of our participants, spectators, and staff as the top priority,” he said.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued an extreme heat warning for the D.C. area, in effect from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET Saturday. The agency said heat index values, which combine temperature and humidity, are expected to reach between 110°F and 115°F, and warned that “heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events.”
The NWS said that alongside the high humidity, early morning low temperatures in the 70s and 80s would mean “little to no overnight relief.” The service also warned that “prolonged excessive heat may impact power, water, and transportation systems.” A separate Code Purple air quality alert — indicating “very unhealthy” — is also in effect for D.C. on Saturday.
The cancellation came hours after Washington recorded its hottest day in decades. Reagan National Airport hit 102°F on Friday afternoon, breaking a record of 101°F for that specific date, which had stood since 1966. Saturday’s temperatures are forecast to approach or match that figure, which would make it the hottest July Fourth on record for the city.
The parade cancellation affected participants who had traveled specifically for the event, including 80 students in the Grand Island Senior High marching band from Nebraska, who had been due to perform. Their school district confirmed to a local TV station Friday night the band would no longer participate.
The heat has already disrupted other celebratory events in the city. The Great American State Fair on the National Mall shut its doors for several hours Friday afternoon before reopening at 5 p.m. U.S. Capitol police also confirmed that entry to Friday night’s “A Capitol Fourth” concert was delayed.
Cancellations and disruptions extend nationwide
Multiple events in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, were impacted by the extreme temperatures. A Friday Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade was canceled, while a Saturday fireworks show was postponed until midnight.
People watch as the French Air Force acrobatic squad Patrouille de France perform a flyover during the International Aerial Review on Saturday in New York.
Sydney Schaefer/AP
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Sydney Schaefer/AP
Many communities in Colorado, including Durango and Vale, have canceled their fireworks displays due to the risk of wildfires.
In Haddon Township, New Jersey, authorities canceled the Independence Day parade due to “oppressive heat and humidity” that was predicted. Parades in Leesburg and Fairfax, Virginia, and in Takoma Park and Laurel, Maryland, were also canceled because of the heat.
The heat wave extends well beyond the capital region. Around 120 million Americans across a swathe of the eastern and southern U.S. are facing some form of major or extreme heat risk on Saturday, according to the NWS’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
The backdrop to all of this is an anniversary for which the Trump administration has spent months preparing. In a proclamation issued Friday from Mount Rushmore, President Trump marked the semiquincentennial by invoking the Founders, Washington’s crossing of the Delaware and Valley Forge.
Runners in patriotic-colored tutus participate in a run on Independence Day in Huntington Beach, Calif. on Saturday.
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Jae C. Hong/AP
He also outlined a series of future ambitions — returning Americans to the Moon, reaching Mars, and leading in artificial intelligence. The administration organized tonight’s National Mall celebrations under the Freedom 250 banner, drawing criticism from Democrats.
Saturday’s fireworks display, billed by the White House as the largest in the country’s history, remains scheduled and is set to begin at 10:30 p.m. from the Washington Monument grounds, after a presidential speech that Trump promised would be “really long.”
However the NWS also warned of the possibility of “severe thunderstorms” into the afternoon and evening, that could produce “destructive wind gusts up to 70 to 80 mph.”
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