Connect with us

California

California residents successfully BAN Airbnbs in their quaint neighborhood after complaining about round-the-clock drug-fueled parties in rented homes where one person was shot

Published

on

California residents successfully BAN Airbnbs in their quaint neighborhood after complaining about round-the-clock drug-fueled parties in rented homes where one person was shot


Outraged California residents successfully petitioned to ban short term rentals in their neighborhood after reaching the breaking point with partying neighbors.

Andy Oliver, 50, formed a coalition to end un-hosted rentals in his Long Beach neighborhood when a shooting victim staying at a rental next door crawled into his home seeking shelter on January 2.

He launched the Long Beach Neighborhood Coalition and began petitioning in his census block group to restrict un-hosted short-term rentals in the College Estates section of their neighborhood.

Members of the group spoke at a city council meeting in April, where officials voted to start looking at increasing restrictions on short-term rentals.

Advertisement

‘Imagine that you buy your dream home and then all of a sudden, your next-door neighbor turns his house into an Airbnb. You spend over a year putting up with loud parties, marijuana smoke wafting into your vents, film shoots, hourly rentals, strangers coming in and out all the time and many other issues,’ Oliver said.

Andy Oliver (pictured), 50, formed a coalition to ended un-hosted rentals in his Long Beach neighborhood when a shooting victim staying at a rental next door crawled into his home

Outraged California residents successfully petitioned to ban short term rentals in their neighborhood

Outraged California residents successfully petitioned to ban short term rentals in their neighborhood

Airbnb rentals in the quaint neighborhood of College Estates range from $179 to $433 per night. Pictured: a $433 per night rental in the College Estates neighborhood

Airbnb rentals in the quaint neighborhood of College Estates range from $179 to $433 per night. Pictured: a $433 per night rental in the College Estates neighborhood

‘Then on a sunny Tuesday morning with children playing outside, a 21-year-old renter who is targeted from this Airbnb is chased by a masked gunman and shot right in your front porch.’

‘The victim jumps your fence, tries to bust in your house seeking protection, spilling his blood all over your property. Your house is turned into a crime scene, you miss work, families are forever traumatized and then new renters come in that very same night,’ said Oliver.

Melissa Rakiey said renters staying at her neighbor’s Airbnb often block her driveway and threaten residents.

‘On March 16, customers of the short term rental hosted a birthday party which escalated and resulted in the Long Beach PD breaking up a party of 52 people in a three bedroom house,’ Rakiey said.

Advertisement

‘The Airbnb brought into my neighborhood a large group of hoodlums, flushed them into the streets with open containers, smoking weed and racing cars.’

Melissa Rakiey (pictured) said renters staying at her neighbor's Airbnb often block her driveway and threaten residents

Melissa Rakiey (pictured) said renters staying at her neighbor’s Airbnb often block her driveway and threaten residents

On Friday, Oliver was informed his petition had passed. According to the Long Beach Community Development Department of the 735 petitions delivered, 375 came back signed, meaning it passed with 51 percent support. 

‘I don’t have the final count, but there are something like 755 homes, and we just got enough signatures,’ Oliver told the Los Angeles Times.

‘I heard it was close and I don’t have confirmation of the final vote, but I was informed [last week] that we succeeded.’ 

‘There were two previous petition drives that failed, so I wasn’t sure if we would have success,’ he said. 

Advertisement

Now there are eight other census tract block groups with pending petitions to ban un-hosted short-term rentals through out Long Beach. 

Long Beach banned un-hosted short-term rentals in 2020, but loosened restrictions to allow people to use their second properties as Airbnbs. Pictured: College Estates Neighborhood

Long Beach banned un-hosted short-term rentals in 2020, but loosened restrictions to allow people to use their second properties as Airbnbs. Pictured: College Estates Neighborhood

According to the Community Development Department there are 626 non-primary short-term rentals registered in the city. Pictured: a $350 per night rental on the border of the College Estates neighborhood

According to the Community Development Department there are 626 non-primary short-term rentals registered in the city. Pictured: a $350 per night rental on the border of the College Estates neighborhood

Airbnb rentals in the quaint neighborhood of College Estates range from $179 to $433 per night.

Long Beach banned un-hosted short-term rentals in 2020, but loosened restrictions to allow people to use their second properties as Airbnbs.

According to the Community Development Department there are 626 non-primary short-term rentals registered in the city.

Jean Young, 67, is one of those short-term rental owners who told the LA Times she understands the backlash from the shooting at Oliver’s home but would be sad to lose the ability to earn money from her rental.

Advertisement

‘I’m a part-time writer, and the income from rentals just smooths out the rough edges and has been wonderful,’ she said.

‘My son has since moved on to college and my mother passed away, so there’s all this room in my house to share. It would be sad to lose that ability.’ 



Source link

California

Northern California’s House of Clocks has stood the test of time for 55 years

Published

on

Northern California’s House of Clocks has stood the test of time for 55 years


While we may lose an hour of sleep this coming weekend, one clock store in California is gearing up for one of its busiest times of the year: daylight savings.

It’s the House of Clocks, the largest clock company in Northern California, which was recently celebrating 55 years of business.

It’s a place frozen in time. Just visit the store’s 240-year-old grandfather clock. It’s got plenty of stories to tell, dating back to 1780.

“This is the oldest piece we have right now,” clocksmith Joey Hohn said.

Advertisement

The House of Clocks is on the outskirts of Downtown Lodi in San Joaquin County.

“We have new, we have vintage, we have antique,” co-owner Sandy Hohn shared. “Honestly, it feels like not a day goes by that we don’t get a phone call or an email of somebody wanting to sell something for 100 different reasons.”

The clock store has been with the Hohn family for three generations. It’s all thanks to one family heirloom.

“When the first war started, [my grandparents] left everything and had to move,” Joey Hohn explained. “After the Second World War, my grandpa was stationed in Germany. They went back to the house that had been abandoned and the neighbor who they left the property to said, ‘As far as I’m concerned, everything in the house is still yours.’ They went back and got this, so this is my great-great-grandparents’ clock.”

You can find just about anything in the House of Clocks, from old grandfather clocks to clocks that can fit in the palm of your hand.

Advertisement

What you can’t find anywhere else is the Hohns’ love for Lodi.

“We’ve made so many friends over the years out of customers,” Sandy Hohn said. “Friends that are just wonderful, that love collecting, and we keep them repaired for their families, which is awesome. They have sentimental value that’s passed down.”

That same love for the city and their community runs in the family.

“We had a customer that wanted to repaint their dial,” Joey Hohn explained. “We told them no because it was her father’s who had passed away. Every time he went to wind the clock, he placed his thumb in the same spot. When we told her that smudge there on the dial was her father, she said, ‘Back away, don’t you dare.’ It was just a good memory we have.”

While you can’t turn back time, what we can do is keep memories alive and treasure the present moment.

Advertisement

“There’s so many personalities,” Sandy Hohn said. “We just try to find a good home for them.”



Source link

Continue Reading

California

Signs of spring blooming at Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve after wet, warm winter

Published

on

Signs of spring blooming at Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve after wet, warm winter


It’s beginning to look a lot like spring!

The warm and wet weather this winter has led to the start of a dazzling super bloom at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.

“We had an unseasonably warm winter as well, so there’s actually a lot of growth,” said Callista Turney with California State Parks. “We’re having early wildflowers that are already at the park. So if you look at the poppy live cam, it shows a lot of orange already.”

The rain has helped the early blooms, but it’s actually the heat that accelerated the growth of the flowers.

Advertisement

“It will actually speed up the growth of the plants, so some of them were already blooming and that’s going to cause those blossoms to accelerate faster towards seed production. And the blossoms that are in the process of being formed, those are going to open up soon as well.”

We also sometimes see great super blooms in Death Valley National Park, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Joshua Tree and the Mojave National Preserve.

“It’s definitely a rare occurrence because we don’t always have the right conditions. It’s gotta be the weather, the wind, the rain, all coming together,” said Katie Tilford, Director of Development and Communications with the Theodore Payne Foundation.

If it continues to stay unseasonably warm, we’ll see a shorter bloom. The key to a longer season is milder weather.


Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

California

Republican governor candidate Chad Bianco says he’s the ‘antithesis to California state government’

Published

on

Republican governor candidate Chad Bianco says he’s the ‘antithesis to California state government’


We are counting down to the California governor’s race. Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, is one of the two biggest names running on the Republican ticket.

In a one-on-one interview with Eyewitness News political reporter Josh Haskell, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said, “I am the antithesis to California state government because I am going to take a nuclear bomb into that building and absolutely destroy everything that they do to us behind closed doors.”

Although he’s been elected by the voters twice, Bianco says he’s not a politician — which is why he believes his campaign for California governor is resonating, as reflected in the polls.

“President Trump, in one year, from 2025 when he took over, until now, did absolutely nothing to harm California. What’s harming California is 30 years of Democrat one-party rule that have created an environment here that no one can live in anymore. They’ve only been successful here in California because we vote D no matter what. You vote D or die. I mean, that’s it. Charles Manson would be elected in California if he was the only Democrat on the ballot,” Bianco said.

Advertisement

Bianco isn’t the only conservative Republican running for governor, and according to polling, he’s neck-and-neck with former Fox News host Steve Hilton.

SEE ALSO: CA governor candidate Steve Hilton says ‘everybody supports’ Trump’s immigration policies

Leading in some polls in the wide-open California Governor’s race as the June primary creeps closer is Republican and former Fox News host Steve Hilton.

“Steve has no chance of winning in November. The Democrats know that I’m going to win in November, and so they have to do everything they can to keep me out of that,” Bianco said.

When asked about the affordability crisis in the state, Bianco said, “Almost the entire issue of affordability in California is because of regulation, excessive regulation imposed by government. Every single regulation can be signed away with the governor’s signature.”

Advertisement

“It is a drug and alcohol addiction problem that, and a mental health problem,” he said about the homelessness crisis. “Every single bit of money that is going to these nonprofits that say ‘homeless,’ zero money. You’re getting absolutely nothing. I can’t tell you that we would end what we see in the homeless situation within a year, but I guarantee you we would never see it again after two years.”

When challenged on that prediction, pointing to how the state doesn’t have the facilities to treat the number of people living on our streets, Bianco responded, “We have been conditioned to believe that buildings take five years to build. It takes 90 days or less to build a house, but in California, it takes three to five years because the government won’t allow it. The regulations that are destroying this state are going to be removed with me as the governor.”

Bianco also said California jails shouldn’t have to play the role of treatment facilities.

Although he says he supports the Trump administration and wants the president’s endorsement, Bianco has been traveling the state — meeting not just with Republicans, but Democrats and independents as well. He says all of our state government officials have failed.

The primary election is June 2.

Advertisement

No clear front-runner in race for California governor, new poll shows

A new poll shows there’s still no clear front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending