Homeless man arrested in downtown L.A. chainsaw tree mystery
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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Protesters clash with police as Van Nuys homeless encampment clearing starts
Protesters were seen clashing with police once city crews opened the gates to start clearing a large homeless encampment in Van Nuys on Thursday morning. At least one person was seen being arrested as city sanitation workers and LAPD officers moved in to dismantle tents and remove debris along Oxnard Street near the 405 Freeway. The cleanup effort began around 6 a.m. in the 15300 block of Oxnard, near the Burbank Boulevard exit, where officials say the encampment has drawn complaints from residents and business owners for months. A portion of the street has been blocked off as city crews begin clearing the area. KTLA spoke to some of the people impacted by the cleanup. One unhoused individual, currently packing up belongings, shared her fears about the uncertain future ahead. 'I'm nervous. I'm scared because I don't know what we're gonna do. Like, I know we're gonna get possible housing, but that can always just… they can snap, snatch that away from us. There's no guarantee,' she said. 'A lot of us don't have jobs, and we're unemployed and just trying to make it. We don't do bad things because we want to be bad. We do bad things because we don't have any other ways to get what we need.' On Nov. 14, 2024, the same site was the scene of a fire that sent thick black smoke across the San Fernando Valley. The fire broke out the same day as a small plane crash near the Sepulveda Dam, overwhelming first responders across the region. Sky5 aerials Thursday morning showed police securing the area as sanitation workers staged nearby. KTLA's Rich Prickett noted that some residents had previously placed makeshift fencing around the camp, limiting access for city crews. Outreach workers were also seen offering services and temporary housing options to those being displaced. The Van Nuys cleanup comes as local leaders face mounting pressure from both the state and federal government to remove homeless encampments from public spaces. In May, Governor Gavin Newsom introduced a model ordinance urging cities to 'resolve encampments' using billions in state funding and recent legal clarity from a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that allows enforcement of anti-camping laws. The plan prohibits long-term camping in one location and requires local officials to offer shelter and give notice before clearing a site. 'There's nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,' Newsom said. 'Now we're giving [cities] a model they can put to work immediately—with urgency and with humanity.' Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, whose Inside Safe initiative has moved more than 4,000 people indoors since 2022, praised Newsom's support and said the program has cleared 95 encampments so far. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on July 25 directing federal agencies to assist cities in clearing encampments and enforcing bans on urban camping, drug use, loitering and squatting. The order emphasizes civil commitment for individuals with serious mental illness and addiction, and it restricts federal funds from supporting harm-reduction programs like drug injection sites. According to the latest estimates, roughly 187,000 people are experiencing homelessness in California, including 72,000 in Los Angeles County. City officials say homelessness in L.A. dropped by 4% this year—the first decrease in several years—but clearing encampments continues to outpace permanent housing placements. A small group of community members gathered near the Van Nuys site Thursday morning in support of the unhoused residents, some holding signs and voicing concern over the cleanup. One supporter emphasized the difficulty of accepting the city's offers when plans remain unclear. 'I know many people who do want to take an offer, and of course, we support everyone taking an offer, but it's really hard to do when they're unclear about where you're going to go,' the community member said. The city says services will continue to be offered throughout the day. The cleanup remains ongoing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Axios
3 days ago
- Axios
ICE raids leave abandoned pets and property in their wake
Federal immigration raids across the U.S. are leaving many immigrants no choice but to abandon their vehicles, work tools and even cherished family dogs and cats. Why it matters: The forsaken pets and property can pose safety problems for cities and towns, along with ramping up the stress for family members who also fear being detained. Unlike local law enforcement agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents don't appear to be impounding property after arrests, leaving work trucks, food carts and lawnmowers for the taking. With few systems in place to confiscate property or pets after immigration arrests, new networks of volunteers have erupted and cities are scrambling to come up with solutions. Zoom in: The abandoned pets and property phenomenon appears to be most common now in Southern California, especially after what activists are calling the "Summer of ICE," referring to federal immigration raids that began in June. Immigrant advocates from San Diego to Los Angeles to the Inland Empire are reporting immigrants "disappearing" after masked agents quickly arrest them, forcing them to leave their cars behind with keys and phones inside. Ontario resident Chris Ames told KTLA-TV that agents took away two gardeners mowing his lawn last month. "They left the lawnmower going right here on the front lawn ... They threw my gardeners' phones in the car with the car keys, left everything open, and just took off." Zoom out: An immigrant family was seen in a video shown on KTLA-TV earlier this month giving an emotional farewell to a dog after receiving orders to leave the country. In California, Nina Thompson of the San Diego Humane Society tells Axios they had to take in two dogs in June, resulting from an ICE detention case. In Texas, a spokeswoman for Harris County Public Health tells Axios that Houston-area shelters have seen an increase in stray pet intake this year, but does not know if it is connected to ICE raids. In Florida, Janet Steele, director of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, told the Miami New Times that she's aware of at least 19 pets surrendered to the shelter or its rescue partners this year "as a specific result of immigration detention." In North Carolina, an immigrant rights group is providing information on how to care for pets in the event of an arrest. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to Axios that "ICE does NOT impound property." The department didn't offer any more comment. What they're saying:"What we've seen gets arrested and their property just stays there," Tamara Marquez of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ) tells Axios. "Either organizations or community members take it upon themselves to find the family members so they can go back and get their property back." Marquez said so far in the city of San Bernardino, California, there haven't been reports of people stealing left-behind property because activists have been aggressive in keeping track. Meanwhile, police in Santa Ana, California, are urging residents to report any abandoned vehicles or belongings they believe may belong to someone detained by federal immigration officers, per a social media post. Between the lines: The breakdown in property and pet abandonment is likely a result of local police refusing to cooperate with ICE on immigration enforcement. Typically, local police are responsible for impounding property and turning pets over to animal control or shelters. What we're watching: The issue of vacated property and pets has even become a campaign issue in the mayoral race in Albuquerque, New Mexico — a city that routinely has one of the country's highest rates of auto theft. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Tim Keller is facing a challenge from fellow Democrat Alex Uballez, a former U.S. attorney, who is making how the city responds to immigration detentions part of his campaign. Uballez says on his campaign website that the city should "direct city services to recover and reconnect the property, personal belongings, and pets of those taken by ICE to family members."
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Miami Herald
Beloved CA cafe owner with ‘kind soul' shot dead at Nevada casino, friends say
A Southern California restaurateur described by friends as a 'kind soul' is among three people killed in a shooting outside a Reno casino, Nevada police reported. Andrew Canepa, 33, died in a shooting spree Monday, July 28, at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, along with two others, Sparks police said in a news release. Four others were injured, including the accused gunman, police said. Canepa co-owned the Side Street Café in Newbury Park near Los Angeles, KABC reported. 'Andrew was a kind soul, a dedicated business owner, and a loving father to his young son,' wrote Andrew Gorell, a Ventura County supervisor, on X, formerly known as Twitter. Canepa, who had a 6-year-old son, was remembered for his welcoming presence at the café, a popular breakfast spot, KTLA said. 'He would sit down with people at the booth, share with them and make them feel at home,' friend Rick Bucaria told the station. 'Andrew was so warm and welcoming. He was always so happy.' 'He probably greeted and waited on almost everybody in this city,' friend Israel Rodriguez told KTLA. Canepa and a friend, Justin Aguila, 33, of Southern California, were in the Reno area for a bachelor party, police said in the release. They were shot in the back and killed while waiting outside the casino for a ride to the airport, police said. Angel Martinez, 66, of Reno, also died when he was shot while driving through the parking lot, police said. Two others are hospitalized but expected to recover, and one person was treated and released, police said in an earlier news release. Dakota Hawver, 26, of Reno, hospitalized in critical condition after being shot by an officer, is accused of firing more than 80 rounds from a 9mm pistol in the incident, police said. Authorities in Sparks, just outside Reno, are leading the investigation because it involves a police shooting, the release said. Investigators have not found a connection between Hawver and any of the victims or the casino, police said. Police ask anyone with information to call 775-353-2231. Newbury Park is about a 45-mile drive northwest from downtown Los Angeles.
