Prosecutors fight bail release for reputed Mexican Mafia chief in OC - Anaheim news - NewsLocker (2024)

To those in his corner, Johnny Martinez is a brilliant, caring, jailhouse lawyer who has unfairly spent his entire adult life behind bars for a murder he did not commit.
But to those trying to keep him locked up, Martinez is the ultra-violent capo of a notorious prison gang who has extorted drug dealers and ordered hits on people who crossed him.
The two faces of Martinez — the reputed leader of Orange County’s Mexican Mafia — will be presented to a federal judge May 24 in Sant

Laguna Woods Video Club celebrates its own Oscars

Members of the Laguna Woods Video Club once again celebrated their own version of Hollywood’s Oscars, the Goldies, awarded to the best videos club members produced in the previous year.
For the 13th year, attendees of the recent festivities watched 10 four-minute video entries before getting down to the business of voting for their top three favorites.
As the gleaming Goldies statuettes stood sentry among a bevy of door prizes, Video Club Vice President Tom Nash announced the three winners

Swanson: Only something truly substantial could knock these Dodgers off course

LOS ANGELES — You know it’s going to take something truly and seriously substantial to knock these Dodgers off track.
Something much more than, say, miscommunication in the outfield. More than a Mookie Betts error. A Betts day off. More than Freddie Freeman hitting .295 instead of .300-something. More than a season-long Chris Taylor conundrum.
More any bobblehead-induced hassle to dim the vibe at Dodger Stadium, where on Sunday the majority of the announced sellout crowd of 52,656 wa

UCLA softball routs Grand Canyon, advances to NCAA Super Regionals

Taylor Tinsley #23 of UCLA pitches in the first inning. UCLA played Grand Canyon in theNCAA Women’s College World Series, Los Angeles Regional on May 19, 2024 in Westwood, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
UCLA celebrates after defeating Grand Canyon 9-1. UCLA played Grand Canyon in the NCAA Women’s College World Series, Los Angeles Regional on May 19, 2024 in Westwood, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)
Fans cheer as UCLA played Grand Canyon in t

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UCLA softball routs Grand Canyon, advance to NCAA Super Regionals

LOS ANGELES — UCLA softball needed to produce its fifth comeback of four or more runs this season to earn a spot in the Los Angeles Regional final. Another dose of “Bruin Magic.”
That level of desperation wasn’t necessary Sunday as the Bruins (40-10) jumped on Grand Canyon in the first inning, extending their lead enough to end the game after the fifth inning via the run-rule. With UCLA’s 9-1 victory over Grand Canyon (50-13), the Bruins advanced to the NCAA Super R

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson win Huntington Beach Open in pre-Olympic showdown

Melissa Humana-Paredes, left, scores during AVP’s Huntington Beach Open on Sunday, May 19, 2024. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
From left, Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes celebrate after scoring one during AVP’s Huntington Beach Open on Sunday, May 19, 2024. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Kristen Nuss bumps the ball during AVP’s Huntington Beach Open on Sunday, May 19, 2024. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photogra

Xander Schauffele wins 1st major at PGA Championship in a thriller at Valhalla

By DOUG FERGUSON
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Xander Schauffele cashed in at just the right time Sunday by making a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the PGA Championship for his first major with the lowest score in major championship history.
The Olympic gold medalist got something even more valuable in silver — that enormous Wanamaker Trophy after a wild week at Valhalla.
Schauffele closed with a 6-under 65 to beat Bryson DeChambeau, entertaining to the very end with a 10-foot

Shohei Ohtani’s first walkoff hit as a Dodger beats Reds in extra innings

LOS ANGELES — It was Shohei Ohtani weekend in Los Angeles.
They lined up hours in advance to get his first bobblehead as a Dodger on Thursday. The LA City Council proclaimed May 17 ‘Shohei Ohtani Day’ in Los Angeles. And on Sunday, Ohtani capped it off with his first walkoff hit as a Dodger, driving in the winning run in the 10th inning of a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Ohtani’s RBI single secured the Dodgers’ 20th win in their past 26 games. It featured mo

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Shohei Ohtani’s first walk-off hit as a Dodger beats Reds in extra innings

Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate his game winning single with Will Smith #16 and Miguel Rojas #11, to score Jason Heyward #23 for a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds, during the 10th inning at Dodger Stadium on May 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts during his at bat during the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium on May 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Jo

Long Beach celebrates LGBTQ community during 41st Pride Parade

Long Beach’s waterfront once again overflowed with the “rhythm” — and the colors — of the rainbow, as thousands of people converged on Ocean Boulevard to celebrate the city’s 41st annual Pride Parade.
There were colorful outfits — pink cowboy hats and rainbow tanktops. There was a biker in a leather jacket and a Freddie Mercury cosplayer. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were out in force. There were more Pride flags than you could count. And there wa

José Soriano leads Angels to series victory over Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas — José Soriano stretched his starter legs.
The Angels right-hander had not pitched more than six innings in any of his first seven big league starts, but he got through 7-2/3 innings in the Angels’ 4-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
Soriano was so efficient that he still only needed 93 pitches. He struck out five and walked two, one intentionally. The only run was on a Corey Seager homer.
The Angels (18-29) won a series for only the third time all s

OK, Gen X, Y, Zers, you got your slang, we got ours

By Shaun Tumpane
Laguna Woods Globe columnist
It’s been said that the United States and England are two nations divided by a common language. It is sometimes attributed to Oscar Wilde and other times to George Bernard Shaw.
I find the attribution fascinating and hysterical as both Oscar and George were Irishmen. American vs. English. French fries are chips. Potato chips are crisps. Pants are trousers, underwear are pants. A sweater is a jumper. A wallet is a purse. A cookie is a biscuit. G

Just Like Heaven in Pasadena delivers indie rock fun to a crowd full of babies

As the Postal Service neared the end of its set at Just Like Heaven on Saturday, singer-songwriter Ben Gibbard paused to thank fans for their love and support of an album, 2003’s “Give Up,” the group’s only studio release, that no one in the band expected to become the huge hit it did.
“When Postal Service made this record, we thought it would be a tiny little record that our friends would like and then go away,” Gibbard told the crowd that filled Brookside at

Dodgers’ Mookie Betts on transition to shortstop: ‘It’s really, really hard’

LOS ANGELES – Mookie Betts sounded like a man worn down by the demands of a new job when he slumped into the chair at the front of the interview room outside the Dodgers’ clubhouse following Friday’s game.
“This is really hard. It’s really, really hard,” Betts said of the main thing he has learned about playing shortstop at the major-league level. “It is what it is. Gotta do it. I enjoy doing it, but the main thing is that it’s really, really hard.

In this colorful world, we are all unique yet alike at the same time

Coyotes, crows and crayons. How does such a combination fit together? It is in Laguna Woods Village.
“Crayons?” you ask? Well, maybe we don’t all have those coloring sets, but Crayola has produced a box of 32 colors. All flesh tones. They call it “Colors of the World.” Mother Nature has bestowed upon us a spectrum of pigments, each as unique as the individual it adorns.
We might call this a place where the colors of the world come together. Not only in the colors of

Want to fix the border crisis? Stop playing politics and start working together.

Recently, I visited our Border Patrol agents at the Campo station in East County San Diego. This was the most recent of my regular visits to our Southern border, and there is no question the situation on the ground has changed for the worse in the last couple of years and is untenable.
The men and women of the Border Patrol are doing their job as best they can under extremely difficult circ*mstances. It is clear to me that they are overwhelmed. Our asylum system is broken. The numbers of people

Biden faces Pro-Palestinian silent protest at Morehouse College graduation

President Joe Biden renewed his call for a temporary cease-fire in Gaza in a speech at Morehouse College’s graduation ceremony, where some participants donned Palestinian colors in protest at Israel’s military incursion.
Biden’s address at the historically Black school in Atlanta brought him face to face with some of the campus unrest set off by the Israel-Hamas war, which has inflamed US politics and added risk to his reelection campaign. Several students and at least two facu

Helicopter carrying Iran’s hard-line president apparently crashes in foggy, mountainous region

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray.
The likely crash came as Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel last month and has enriched uranium cl

Angels’ Jo Adell showing improved plate discipline this season

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jo Adell hit his eighth homer — equaling his career high — and he threw out a runner at the plate on Saturday night.
But amid all that, the Angels outfielder was just as proud of another recent improvement in his game. He drew two walks.
It was only the second time in Adell’s career that he walked twice in a game, and the first time he’d done it in a game with another hit.
“Honestly, the homer is great, but that was a really important part o

Bezos’ Blue Origin resumes space tourism with latest launch

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin LLC resumed sending tourists to space on Sunday, launching six private passengers on a short flight more than 60 miles above the Earth.
The passengers included Ed Dwight, a former Air Force captain who was selected as the first Black astronaut candidate in 1961 but never got to fly to space with NASA. “This was fabulous,” he said after emerging from the crew capsule after touchdown.
The flight was delayed by an hour before taking off at about 9:35 a.m. l

Diddy admits beating ex-girlfriend Cassie, says he’s sorry, calls his actions ‘inexcusable’

LOS ANGELES — Sean “Diddy” Combs admitted that he beat his ex-girlfriend Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016 after CNN released video of the attack, saying in a video apology he was “truly sorry” and his actions were “inexcusable.”
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” the music mogul said in a video statement posted Sunday to Instagram and Facebook.
The security

May is Older Americans Month, and here are some things to consider

The month of May has been set aside to focus on us – the older crowd.
It’s Older Americans Month. President Biden made it official by calling “upon all Americans to celebrate older adults for their contributions, to support their independence and recognize their unparalleled value to our nation.”
The formal recognition of older Americans began with President Kennedy in 1963. That was a time when only 17 million Americans reached their 65th birthday, in compari

State high court should uphold Proposition 22

On Tuesday, the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over the constitutionality of Proposition 22. Approved by over 58% of voters in 2020, the measure allowed app-based transportation and delivery companies like Uber and Lyft to continue to work with drivers hired as independent contractors.
The measure came after the passage of Assembly Bill 5, which broadly made independent contracting illegal in California under many circ*mstances, including in the way typified by Uber, Lyft and

Ditch the subsidies to get more housing

There’s little disagreement that California has a housing-affordability crisis, as the state’s average home value is close to $800,000 and well over $1 million in coastal markets. These astounding prices have put a squeeze on lower-income Californians and exacerbated the homelessness problem, so lawmakers — and voters — continue to approve subsidies for affordable-housing projects.
As is common any time the government subsidizes something, the influx of cash is inflationa

Does your city have elected attorneys, clerks, treasurers? And how much do they make?

City Attorney Michael Gates at a “Save Huntington Beach Victory Rally” for Republican candidates for city council in 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
When Huntington Beach city councilmembers wanted to demand identification from voters (despite threats that this violated state law), and fought more low-income housing (despite state commands), their city attorney didn’t grimace or drag his hand across his neck or shake his head vehemently “NO!&rd

Cal State Fullerton physicists are key players in new age of exploration

If you wanted a true-life plot for a movie about the thrill of discovery, you could do worse than borrowing from the short, productive, slightly geeky history of the Nicholas and Lee Begovich Center for Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy at Cal State Fullerton.
And if you wanted the perfect prop for that movie, you’d want to straight-up steal the whiteboard hanging in the office of one of the center’s leaders, Jocelyn Read, a 44-year-old physicist and an expert in rare celestia

When you don’t plan ahead, your life and finances suffer

Change is hard, and often, the first step toward this is the hardest. Such was the case with my friend, Paul.
Paul prided himself on not setting goals or planning ahead. “Life is too short to box yourself in,” he used to quip. “I prefer to take it as it comes and be surprised.”
About three years after he shared this with me, Paul reached out to let me know his spouse was divorcing him. “She said she was tired of always guessing in our relationship, that I was reacti

Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks for Sunday, May 19, 2024

The consensus box of Santa Anita horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Terry Turrell, Eddie Wilson and Kevin Modesti. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Sunday, May 19, 2024.
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How California’s bursting budget morphed into a $45 billion deficit in just two years

The much-revised 2024-25 state budget that Gov. Gavin Newsom released last week contains hundreds of spending reductions and other actions to close what he says is a $44.9 billion deficit.
Exactly two years earlier, Newsom boasted as the state enjoyed a $97.5 billion budget surplus, thanks to surging revenues from the post-pandemic economic recovery.
“No other state in American history has ever experienced a surplus as large as this,” Newsom said as he unveiled a revised $300 billion

Schauffele and Morikawa are tied at the PGA Championship with a lot of company

Bryson DeChambeau celebrates after a eagle on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Scottie Scheffler waits to play on the second hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Scottie Scheffler reacts to his chip to the green on the fourth hole during