A hiker was killed near Mt. Whitney on Sunday after being struck by a falling rock, marking the third fatality within a week near California’s highest peak, authorities said.

The hiker was in the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek Trail when bystanders reported that a rock fell and severely injured the individual, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office said.

Search and rescue crews immediately responded to the scene via helicopter and lowered a team member down to the site of the accident. Rescuers determined the injured hiker had died from their injuries, the sheriff’s office said.

The hiker’s body was then airlifted to Lone Pine and turned over to the Inyo County Coroner. Officials did not immediately release the identity of the hiker or provide additional details.

BODIES OF MISSING HIKERS RECOVERED, IDENTIFIED AFTER DISAPPEARING ON HIKE UP CALIFORNIA’S HIGHEST PEAK

It was the third hiker fatality in the Mt. Whitney region within a week. 

The bodies of two missing hikers were recovered from the north face of Mount Whitney on Thursday. The hikers were identified as Andrew Niziol, 28, a resident of South Lake Tahoe, and Patty Bolan, 29. The pair were on a long-term hiking trip across the state of California.

The two previous fatalities were Andrew Niziol, 28, and Patty Bolan, 29. Their bodies were found on the north face of Mount Whitney after the couple went missing.  (iStock/Andrew Niziol Facebook)

UTAH HUNTER FINDS SKELETAL REMAINS OF MAN MISSING SINCE 2019 IN REMOTE MOUNTAINS

Officials cautioned those visiting the area to be aware of the changing weather conditions as the seasons shift.

Mt. Whitney has an elevation of 14,505 feet. (Santi Visalli/ Getty Images, File)

“Early spring conditions prevail on the mountain, with treacherous steep snow, loose rock, and variable weather,” the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office said. “Parties venturing onto Mt. Whitney should stay together, turn around before deteriorating conditions become unmanageable, make responsible decisions, and be prepared and fit.”

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Mt. Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous U.S., reaching an elevation of 14,505 feet. More than 25,000 visitors per year seek to summit Mt. Whitney, according to the National Park Service.

Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

The wealthiest farming family in California is planning to expand an industrial warehouse complex to transform a small town into an international trading hub. 

Stewart and Lynda Resnick, the billionaires behind The Wonderful Company, already own a sprawling distribution center in Shafter, northwest of Bakersfield. 

Now they are eager to expand the center to create an international hub to position the county at the forefront of the global shift to online shopping, according to a report in The LA Times. 

The move would convert 1,800 acres of the company’s Kern County almond groves into additional warehousing space.

The proposal has come under fire over environmental concerns with critics saying it will increase truck traffic and worsen air quality. 

The development would transform Shafter from a small town, with a population of just 20,162, into a booming trade hub.  

As part of the redevelopment, the company is proposing building a new highway that would divert trucks from the center of Shafter. 

They also want to build an inland rail terminal – at a cost of at least $120 million – to funnel products from port by rail, reducing the reliance on State Route 99. 

Wonderful already build and lease warehouses to huge online shopping companies for the storage of goods and processing of orders. 

They say that the expansion project and the accompanying infrastructure plans are different to a flock of giant distribution centers that have proliferated in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. 

While many residents welcome the plans and the new jobs but others are concerned about the environmental impacts. 

Gustavo Aguirre, assistant director of the Delano-based Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment told the LA Times: ‘I understand that company says it will bring jobs; this is true to some extent.

‘But it is also true that it’s going to bring health and environmental impacts that are going to impact the neighbors who live near the industrial park.’

They want to expand the center to create a international hub to position the county at the forefront of the global shift to online shopping

The move would convert 1,800 acres of the company’s almond groves into additional warehousing space

The industrial park has generated about 10,000 jobs, including warehouse employees, truck drivers and services handling shipping logistics, according to Wonderful Co. 

They say that with the planned expansion the complex eventually could support 50,000 jobs.

But some are concerned that increased automation means the expansion won’t generate as many jobs as promised. 

As technology develops and more companies use robotics to manufacture, process and deliver goods, some industrial jobs have been made redundant.  

UC Riverside’s Ellen Reese told the LA Times: ‘Warehouses are both job creators and job destroyers.’

Wonderful build and lease warehouses to huge online shopping companies for the storage of goods and processing of orders

They want to build an inland rail terminal – at a cost of at least $120 million – to funnel products from port by rail, reducing the reliance on State Route 99

She added: ‘A lot of the research actually suggests that more automated warehouses have higher injury rates than less automated warehouses.’

The Resnicks are known for their philanthropy, donating to climate research, scholarships and wellness centers in the area. 

Through The Wonderful Company they own POM Wonderful, Fiji Water, Wonderful Pistachios and Almonds, Wonderful Halos, Wonderful Seedless Lemons, JUSTIN Wines, Landmark Wines, JNSQ Wines and the Teleflora floral wire service company.

Aguirre is helping negotiate with the company for a broader community benefits agreement to ensure the people who live near Shafter get more than jobs out of the expansion.

He said: ‘The residents recognize that [this project] could bring jobs, but they come with a price.   

‘Because of this, they say, “What are you going to do for our community?”‘

DailyMail.com contacted The Wonderful Co. for comment.  

California utility regulators are proposing rejecting a request by AT&T to eliminate its responsibility to provide traditional landline phone service. That could have implications nationwide, a consumer advocate said.

Fewer telephone companies are offering basic landline phone service as the utilities say the copper-wire infrastructure is old and expensive to maintain and demand for landline phone service is low as consumers move to mobile and other services.

But consumer advocates nationwide have cried foul, saying basic landline service is important for the country’s most vulnerable, including senior citizens who don’t want to rely on cell service, consumers who can’t afford cellular service and those in rural areas that may not have good access to cell or broadband internet services.

What happened in California?

Earlier this year, the California Public Utilities Commission opened public comments on an application by AT&T to waive its responsibilities to be what’s called “Carrier of Last Resort” (COLR), meaning the utility has to offer the copper-wire landline service. 

The utility and many of its peers have been petitioning state utility commissions and legislators, asking to be relieved of the task.

On Friday, Administrative Law Judge Thomas J. Glegola wrote a decision proposing that the Caifornia commission reject AT&T’s waiver. The proposal will be voted on by the commission at its June 20 meeting. The judge also proposed that the commission look at the rules outlining the carrier of last resort service obligations.

In a press release announcing the upcoming vote, the commission said public response to AT&T’s request “was extensive with over 5,000 public comments received into the record and eight Public Forums held in-person in three cities and virtually across the state, drawing more than 5,800 attendees.”

The proposed rejection “underscores the critical importance of ensuring universal access to essential telecommunications services for all Californians,” the commission said in its statement. “As the designated COLR, AT&T plays a pivotal role in providing reliable telephone service to communities across the state.”

The commission added that while the communications company said mobile wireless and other services could fill the void, “the CPUC found AT&T did not meet the requirements for COLR withdrawal. Specifically, AT&T failed to demonstrate the availability of replacement providers willing and able to serve as COLR, nor did AT&T prove that alternative providers met the COLR definition.”

Public commenters also highlighted the unreliability of voice alternatives such as cell service or Voice Over Internet Protocol services (VoIp) which are internet phone providers, the commission said.

What is AT&T’s response?

AT&T in a statement said it was disappointed in the proposed rejection. Competition for other more reliable phone alternatives is robust, said Marc Blakeman, president of AT&T California. Blakeman said there are less than 5% of households in California that AT&T serves who still use copper-based landline phone service.

“We are disappointed by the CPUC’s proposed dismissal of our application for relief from Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) regulation, as we’d hoped the commission would allow us the opportunity to demonstrate why the number of options for voice service available to customers make the COLR obligation unnecessary,” Blakeman said.

Not surprisingly, Blakeman said, no providers were interested in bidding on the carrier of last resort service “with a declining number of customers given the competitive options available in today’s marketplace. We remain committed to keeping our customers connected to voice service and will continue working with state leaders on policies that allow us to bring modern communications to Californians.”

AT&T made the request in California for a waiver and has also lobbied successfully for legislative reform in 20 other states, which eliminated the utility’s requirement to provide traditional landline service.  

Blakeman said during climate disasters, when staying connected is essential, AT&T’s fiber network is more reliable “than our outdated copper network” and that old copper cables take significantly longer to repair following weather events, in some cases taking weeks to dry due to damage from extensive rain and flooding.

Consumer advocates point to the need for electricity for most alternatives to traditional landlines and note that when there is no electricity, consumers can still use their landlines.

Is the proposed rejection expected to pass?

While the rejection is a proposal and still needs to be approved by the commission, Regina Costa, telecommunications policy director for The Utility Reform Network (TURN) in California, said she fully expects the board to approve it.

“What AT&T really wants is to stop providing essential telecom service to 99% of its service area, without providing a shred of evidence that there are real alternatives. This includes many areas threatened by wildfires, earthquakes, floods and power shutoffs,” Costa said in a press release. “If AT&T gets its wish, it would significantly jeopardize public safety.”

In an interview with USA TODAY, Costa, who is also chair of the telecommunications committee for the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, said California’s proposed rejection of the landline waiver is on top of a recent rejection in Utah for another utility to waive its obligation to provide landlines.

“I think it’s very important for consumers nationwide,” Costa said. “I think that would give other states the impetus to look at the same thing.”

Loss of landlines? Phone companies want to eliminate traditional landlines. What’s at stake and who loses?

When deregulation took place in telecom, the assumption was there would be lots of alternatives to landlines, she said.

“I think California and Utah are stepping up to the plate and saying no, we need to think about this carefully,” she said. “We need to make sure that all of our people have service. How do you let the largest carrier in a state walk out the door and the markets that they want to abandon are the ones that are most at risk?”

Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays,
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