California on Tuesday awarded nearly $17 million to 44 community and tribal organizations to develop and increase youth substance use prevention services through civic engagement and culturally competent programs.
These grants are part of Elevate Youth California, a state program that addresses substance use disorder.
These investments will seek to help grassroots community and tribal organizations develop substance use prevention services for youth living in communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.
“California is committed to reaching young people struggling with substance use and mental health issues where they are, with the resources they need to stay healthy,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.
“We are investing in our community partners who work day in and day out to help vulnerable youth access the quality, culturally competent services they need and deserve,” she added.
Mental health and substance use challenges for youth are at an all-time high in California, especially for youth of color and 2S/LGBTQ+ youth, said California Department of Health Services (DHCS) Director Michelle Baass.
“Through Elevate Youth California, DHCS continues to provide safe spaces where youth have an equitable opportunity to receive preventive behavioral health services.”
Support will empower youth to create policy and systems change through civic engagement, implement culturally and linguistically competent youth development programs, peer support, and mentoring that are healing-centered and trauma-informed, and prioritize harm reduction and public health solutions that build resilience and prevent substance use disorder.
The state of California once again became the state in the American union with the highest number of people defrauded by romantic scams with 2,189, as well as the one with the highest losses for said crime for 158.1 million dollars.
This is according to figures from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), an agency that detailed that Texas moved to second place, losing $60.3 million, and Florida fell to third, losing $53.4 million.
Nearly 70,000 Americans lost a record $1.3 billion to romance scams in 2022, according to the Federal Trade Commission, up a staggering 138 percent from $547 million in 2021.
According to a study by the online research service Social Catfish, this 138 percent jump from last year is by far the largest the country has ever seen, and despite mounting government warnings, pop culture shows like “The Tinder Swindler,” which aired last year on Netflix, and increased public awareness, romance scams continue to leave unprecedented numbers of Americans broken and heartbroken.
Romance scams are when criminals steal photos of attractive people and create fake profiles on dating apps or social media platforms, then develop a relationship with the victim by showing romantic interests over a long period of time or through elaborate schemes involving multiple people to lure them into money laundering, cryptocurrency or gift card scams.
While the methods used by scammers have evolved over time, the results remain the same: people are left penniless and heartbroken, with little recourse to justice due to government jurisdictional interviews.
Most romance scams come from Nigeria
The original romance scam was the infamous Nigerian prince scam that began during the infancy of the Internet in AOL chat rooms. Today, romance scams take place in large office buildings in Nigeria, where criminals operate using a combination of strategies from Corporate America and other crime syndicates, Social Catfish said.
He detailed that offices are manned 24/7 by dozens of “employees” who are responsible for finding “clients,” also known as victims. Operating like a mafia syndicate, when a scammer steals money from a victim, a good percentage of the profits goes to the senior leaders, or “Boss,” of the organization. Senior leadership provides new workers with infrastructure, training, and support.
Social Catfish claims to have infiltrated these organizations and works with several reformed Nigerian romance scammers who serve as on-the-ground consultants in Nigeria.
These reformed scammers, he said, have provided Social Catfish with leaked training manuals, details about how these organizations are run, and will track down information about specific cases of romance scams that Social Catfish is trying to help solve on behalf of its users.
Cryptocurrencies and gift cards
The research also showed that one way to recognize you're dealing with a romance scammer is not just whether they ask for money, but what form of payment they request.
Nearly 35 percent of all money lost to romance scams in 2022 was sent using cryptocurrency. However, the most common form of payment requested by scammers is gift cards.
Analysis by Social Catfish based on a survey of 3,047 romance scam victims from May to August 2022 revealed that 75 percent of romance scam victims have a college education, and 13 percent earned graduate degrees.
Middle- and lower-class Americans account for 84 percent of romance scam victims, with 44 percent of them earning less than $100,000 a year and an additional 40 percent earning less than $40,000 a year.
Overall, 84 percent of victims earn less than $100,000 and only 16 percent earn six figures, showing a strong socioeconomic correlation that those with less money are more susceptible.
The Social Catfish survey also found that 10 percent of victims lost more than $100,000 and 4 percent lost more than $200,000.
"As noted above, 84% of % victims earn less than $100,000 a year, meaning many had to sell their assets or take out loans to pay their scammers. Additionally, 35% of victims retired, and many had to re-enter the workforce," the document states.
Notably, there are four new states in the top 10 in the 2022 national rankings, including Arizona – No. 5 instead of No. 14 – Ohio – No. 8 instead of No. 17 – North Carolina – No. 9 instead of No. 15 – and Illinois – No. 10 instead of No. 13 –.
While four states dropped out of the top 10 this year, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Colorado and Massachusetts.
Three East Bay men have been arrested in connection with robberies targeting AAPI — Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders — communities across the Bay Area, San Jose police said Monday.
The trio, suspected of a series of armed robberies between December and February, were identified as Joel Contreras Barrón, 26, of Antioch, Francisco Rincón, 28, of Richmond, and Juan Rodríguez Ramírez, 26, of Richmond.
Investigators say the men are linked to 13 robberies, five grand thefts and countless vehicle thefts in the region.
San Jose detectives, working with police in San Pablo Santa Clara and Stockton, identified the suspects and obtained arrest warrants, as well as search warrants for their homes.
On February 25, Rodriguez Ramirez was arrested by Stockton police for robbery and remains in custody.
On April 14, 2023, a series of vehicle thefts occurred at the Grand Century Mall and San Jose Police located a car associated with a suspect. Contreras Barron was arrested in connection with the vehicle thefts and his outstanding arrest warrant.
On April 26, the San Jose Police Undercover Response Unit located and arrested Rincon in Richmond.
The suspects were booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail and the San Joaquin County Jail on suspicion of multiple felonies.
Anyone with information regarding these or similar cases is asked to contact Detective Yee #4342 of the San Jose Police Robbery Unit by email: 4342@sanjoseca.gov or 408-277-4166.
Submit crime tips and remain anonymous by using the P3TIPS mobile app, calling the tip line at (408) 947-STOP or at www.svcrimestoppers.org.
If information leads to an arrest, a cash reward may be available through the Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers program.
The Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation on Monday declaring May 2023 as “Small Business Month” in the state of California.
The decree states that California's economy is home to more than 4.2 million small businesses, a figure that exceeds that of any other state.
"Small businesses and entrepreneurs accelerate economic growth and mobility in California, creating two-thirds of net new jobs, building wealth, innovating to solve global problems, launching future growth industries, bringing diversity to our economy and defining Main Streets in our local communities," Newsom said in the statement.
California small businesses account for more than 99 percent of all businesses in the state and employ more than 7 million people, nearly half of the state's private sector workforce.
“Our small businesses are global leaders in innovation and economic competitiveness, and they embody the entrepreneurial spirit that drives the Golden State’s economy,” the governor added.
California leads the nation in business creation, with 20 percent annual growth from 2019 to 2020, receives more than 50 percent of the nation's venture capital, and produces more patents per capita, research and development than any other state in the country.
California is the center of U.S. manufacturing production, with more than 35,000 manufacturing companies employing more than 1.2 million Californians.
Newsom noted that the state's manufacturing companies have created new industries and supplied the world with manufactured goods spanning aerospace, computing and electronics, and most recently, zero-emission vehicles.
“For our economy to maintain its global leadership, we must ensure that all Californians, no matter who they are or where they come from, can pursue their dreams of starting, managing and growing resilient businesses in the Golden State,” he said.
He also explained that California continues to make historic investments to support diversity, equity and an inclusive economy.
In that regard, she recalled that AB 2019, enacted in 2022, seeks innovative ways to increase diversity in state contracting and codifies a goal of 25 percent small business participation in contracting. The Small Business Technical Assistance Program, which was extended indefinitely in 2022, supports underserved small businesses and entrepreneurs so they can start, grow, and be resilient in California.
On the other hand, he pointed out that the state has renewed the Accelerate California program to help expand the technological ecosystem to include more diverse founders, support new technological sectors, drive growth and create high-quality jobs in regions beyond the coast. “Our small businesses are constantly adapting to an evolving market, integrating technology at a higher rate than ever before and developing innovative ways to connect with customers. This month, we recognize the tremendous success of our small businesses and their contributions to the California economy. We affirm our commitment to helping California small businesses thrive and, above all, we commit to ensuring that the California Dream is a reality for all,” he concluded.
On Monday, it was announced that JPMorgan Chase Bank has acquired First Republic Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), with the vast majority of its assets and assumed deposits and other liabilities.
As part of the purchase, JPMorgan Chase is assuming all deposits, insured and uninsured.
“Our government invited us and others to step forward, and we did,” said Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase. “Our financial strength, capabilities and business model allowed us to develop an offer to execute the transaction in a manner that minimized costs to the Deposit Insurance Fund.”
Dimon added that the acquisition is modestly beneficial to JPMorgan Chase overall, “is beneficial to shareholders, helps further advance our wealth strategy and is complementary to our existing franchise.”
Key elements of the transaction following the FDIC's competitive bidding process include the acquisition of the vast majority of First Republic Bank's assets, including approximately $173 billion in loans and approximately $30 billion in securities.
Also assuming approximately $92 billion in deposits, including $30 billion of large bank deposits, which will be repaid after closing or eliminated in consolidation.
The FDIC will provide loss-sharing agreements covering acquired single-family residential mortgage loans and commercial loans, as well as $50 billion in five-year, fixed-rate term financing.
It is worth noting that JPMorgan Chase will not assume First Republic's corporate debt or preferred stock.
While San Francisco-based First Republic Bank was closed Monday by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, branches opened Monday, May 1, as usual, and customers continued to receive uninterrupted service, including digital and mobile banking capabilities. However, they now serve as just another JPMorgan Chase branch.
As a result of this transaction, JPMorgan Chase said in a statement that it expects to recognize a one-time upfront after-tax gain of approximately $2.6 billion, which does not reflect the approximately $2 billion of anticipated after-tax restructuring costs over the next 18 months.
The bank also expects the transaction to be modestly accretive to earnings per share and generate more than $500 million in incremental net income per year, not including approximately $2.6 billion in one-time after-tax gains or approximately $2 billion in after-tax restructuring costs expected over the course of 2023 and 2024.
The acquired First Republic businesses will be overseen by JPMorgan Chase's Community and Consumer Banking (CCB) co-CEOs Marianne Lake and Jennifer Piepszak.
“First Republic has built a strong reputation for serving customers with integrity and exceptional service,” Lake and Piepszak said. “We look forward to welcoming First Republic employees back. As always, we are committed to treating employees with respect, care and transparency.”
The Redwood City Police Department RCPD is searching for a suspect in a fatal hit-and-run in Redwood City on March 31 on Veterans Boulevard.
In response, authorities have called on residents to come clean about the incident that occurred in the 1100 block of Veteran's Boulevard, near the intersection with Walnut, at 9:23 p.m. on March 31.
RCPD has very limited information on the suspect. They said they only know the suspect vehicle is a late 1990s Toyota or Honda Sedan that is gold or white in color. There is no description of the driver.
If you or anyone who knows information about this case is asked to contact Detective James Schneider at 650-780-7607.
For information on any Redwood City case, call the tip line at 650-780-7110.
The Orion alternative school in Redwood City has a full agenda this May, which among other events has prepared an exhibition to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month - Asian American and Pacific Islanders - in which participating students can win gift cards.
Orion students are invited to participate in the AAPI Heritage Month Student Exhibition, where they will be asked to write about an Asian American or Pacific Islander individual of their choice, whether it be a famous person or someone who means a lot to them.
Acceptance of proposals will be from May 1 to 18 and is optional.
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All participating students will have their name entered into a drawing for prizes—gift cards to support local AAPI businesses—and the student’s work will be displayed during an open house on May 24 in the school’s former administration building.
This event includes a virtual cooking class to raise funds for Mother's Day.
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This will take place on Sunday, May 7 at 4:00 p.m., and will be taught by chef Shushu Xie, who specializes in French pastries.
Attendees will be able to learn how to make profiteroles, and the class will be held in both English and Mandarin, at a cost of $35 per person. Proceeds will benefit Redwood City Mandarin Immersion Scholars.
On Friday, May 12, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Orion will host the Dragon Boat Festival cultural celebration on the school campus, where students and their families can learn how to make zongzi, a traditional Chinese rice dish, build a dragon boat, and participate in cultural games and activities.
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To register for this event, those interested can click here.
Finally, on Sunday, May 21, the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
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At this event, students can explore math in a collaborative environment by choosing a table with a puzzle or game and solving it before moving on to the next table. The deadline to register is Friday, May 12.
This Monday, the Redwood City Police Department invites the community to join an in-person or webinar session on progress on security initiatives in Redwood City, including the Annual Report on the Use of Military Equipment and the City’s proposed Automated License Plate Reader Program.
Those interested in attending the question-and-answer session with officials should visit the downtown library, located at 1044 Middlefield Road in Redwood City. The meeting will take place from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
While those who prefer to participate online will be able to join the meeting through the Zoom platform by visiting RedwoodCity.Zoom.us and using the meeting ID: 915 9521 4528.
For the in-person event, Spanish interpretation, childcare, and refreshments will be provided.
According to the established agenda, at 7:00 p.m. the Annual Report on the Use of Military Equipment will be presented, where residents will be able to learn about and ask questions about the policies that govern the use of said equipment, how it has been used during the last year and the associated costs.
At 8:00 p.m., the proposed Automatic License Plate Reading Program will be presented, which will address the public safety value of license plate readers and how license plate information is used in criminal investigations, assisting in the recovery of stolen vehicles, and finding the location of vehicles flagged as associated with criminal activity in real time.
A motorcycle driver died after a fatal motorcycle crash in Redwood City collided with a Toyota sedan on US Highway 101 Saturday night, prompting northbound lane closures.
The crash occurred on northbound U.S. Highway 101 just south of State Highway 92 at about 11:59 p.m., according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Art Montiel.
The driver of the sedan remained at the scene and cooperated with investigating CHP officers.
All northbound lanes were closed after the collision, and drivers were diverted onto State Highway 92. All northbound lanes remained closed as of 1 a.m.
A woman died after being struck by a vehicle in a fatal collision in San Jose this Monday morning.
La policía de San José respondió a Tully Road y Lanai Avenue a las 4:32 horas después de recibir informes de que un peatón resultó herido en una colisión. La víctima fue llevada a un hospital, donde sucumbió a sus heridas, dijo la policía.
El conductor permaneció en la escena y estaba cooperando con la investigación. Las carreteras en el área se cerraron mientras se investigaba la escena y se instó a los conductores a usar rutas alternativas.
Este accidente marca la decimotercera muerte de tráfico de San José y la décima muerte de peatones este año.
De acuerdo con el Sistema Integrado de Registros de Tránsito Estatal ‒SWITRS, por sus siglas en inglés‒, cada año, más de 3 mil de estos accidentes resultan en la muerte en California, lo que lo convierte en uno de los tres estados con mayor número de muertes por accidentes de tráfico en la nación.
Se cree que la mayoría de las muertes por accidentes de tránsito podrían evitarse si los errores del conductor, como la mala toma de decisiones, la falta de concentración, el uso inadecuado o nulo del equipo de seguridad y la conducción cansada, no fueran un factor.
Hay casi 200 mil accidentes automovilísticos que resultan en lesiones en California cada año. Si agrega todos los accidentes menores en los que no se producen lesiones, la cantidad estimada de incidentes totales, tanto informados como no informados, aumentaría a más de medio millón.
California se encuentra entre los cinco primeros estados a nivel nacional en cuanto a accidentes fatales, junto con Texas y Florida. Alrededor de 3 mil muertes por accidentes de tránsito ocurren en cada uno de esos estados cada año.
