Five candidates are vying for 2nd District seat on San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors
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5/24/22, 8:50 AM Five candidates are vying for 2nd District seat on San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors | News | fontanaheraldnews.com https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/five-candidates-are-vying-for-2nd-district-seat-on-san- bernardino-county-board-of-supervisors/article_f641cf3c-daca-11ec-976d-bf5cd5a564a3.html Five candidates are vying for 2nd District seat on San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors May 23, 2022 San Bernardino County Five candidates are seeking the 2nd District seat on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in the primary election. DeJonaé Shaw, Jesse Armendarez, Luis Cetina, Nadia Renner, and Eric Coker are trying to take the place of Janice Rutherford, who is being termed out. https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/five-candidates-are-vying-for-2nd-district-seat-on-san-bernardino-county-board-of-supervisors/article_f641cf… 1/4
5/24/22, 8:50 AM Five candidates are vying for 2nd District seat on San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors | News | fontanaheraldnews.com The 2nd District includes all of Fontana as well as Rancho Cucamonga and northern Upland. Armendarez and Renner are Fontana residents. The election is June 7. ----- SHAW is an LVN and small businesswoman, and also serves as the rapid response coordinator for her union, USW Local 7600 in Fontana. She has also been an active member of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Next Gen Committee, San Bernardino Rotary, the Democratic Party Central Committee, and the Inland Valley Democratic Club, according to a news release. Shaw said she will “fight for good-paying local jobs, cleaner air, and healthier San Bernardino County neighborhoods where everyone has a chance to thrive.” Shaw has been endorsed by Fontana School Board Member Jennifer Quezada as well as several local Democratic politicians, including State Sen. Connie Leyva, Assemblymember Eloise Gomez Reyes, and Congressmembers Pete Aguilar and Norma Torres. ----- ARMENDAREZ is a small business owner and a former member of the Fontana City Council. He ran for the 5th District seat on the Board of Supervisors in 2020 but lost to Joe Baca, Jr. This year, he has the opportunity to run in the 2nd District because the redistricting process changed the boundaries, moving Fontana out of the 5th District. “Public safety is my top priority because a safe community is a thriving community. That’s why I plan to increase firefighting and law enforcement services to our neighborhoods, reduce emergency response times, and increase protection against wildfires,” Armendarez said in his official candidate statement. Armendarez is endorsed by numerous local politicians, including Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren; Fontana City Councilmembers Peter Garcia, John Roberts, and Phillip Cothran; Fontana City Treasurer Janet Koehler-Brooks; Fontana School Board Members Joe Armendarez (Jesse’s brother) and Adam Perez; San Bernardino County Supervisors Curt Hagman, Paul Cook, and Dawn Rowe; and several public safety groups, including the Fontana Police Officers Association. ----- CETINA is a Cucamonga Valley Water District board member whose district includes part of Fontana. https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/five-candidates-are-vying-for-2nd-district-seat-on-san-bernardino-county-board-of-supervisors/article_f641cf… 2/4
5/24/22, 8:50 AM Five candidates are vying for 2nd District seat on San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors | News | fontanaheraldnews.com “I strongly support our public safety officers and will fight hard against any efforts to defund our police or weaken our laws,” Cetina said in his official candidate statement. He also said that he would address the issue of homelessness as well as the problem of inflation. “Inflation is skyrocketing. The best defense is good-paying jobs. I serve on the board of the Rancho Cucamonga Chamber of Commerce and Chair the Gateway Chambers Alliance. As your Supervisor, I’ll continue working to attract good-paying jobs,” he said. Cetina is endorsed by Fontana City Councilmember Jesse Sandoval in addition to Rancho Cucamonga Mayor Dennis Michael and Rancho Cucamonga Councilmembers Lynne Kennedy, Kristine Scott, and Diane Williams. He is also endorsed by some of the representatives of utility agencies. ----- RENNER, who owns a small business in Fontana, said in her official candidate statement that she approaches governance with two principles in mind: • "Only local communities can provide effective solutions to local problems. I believe neighborhoods freed from government oversight have the heart, motivation and expertise to deal with issues that affect their specific communities. • The size of government must shrink. Government at all levels has grown far beyond its proper role.” Renner, who holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, served as a bilingual radio host for Entravision Communications and hosted a local talk show covering county issues. ----- COKER, a business owner, said he would be accountable to the people who would elect him. “I will push for transparency and accountability. I will be responsive to my constituents and make sure county services are delivered in an efficient and equitable way. I will never vote to raise taxes and pledge to implement a balanced budget. County government should always prioritize public safety, quality infrastructure and protecting the best quality of life possible for the residents of San Bernardino County,” he said in his official candidate statement. https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/five-candidates-are-vying-for-2nd-district-seat-on-san-bernardino-county-board-of-supervisors/article_f641cf… 3/4
5/24/22, 8:50 AM Five candidates are vying for 2nd District seat on San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors | News | fontanaheraldnews.com Coker has been endorsed by the Red Brennan Group, a government reform organization. https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/five-candidates-are-vying-for-2nd-district-seat-on-san-bernardino-county-board-of-supervisors/article_f641cf… 4/4
5/24/22, 8:46 AM Results of 2022 point-in-time count: Letters – San Bernardino Sun
OPINIONLETTERS TO THE EDITOR • Letters
Results of 2022 point-in-time
count: Letters
Results of 2022 point-in-time count: Letters
By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR | opinion@scng.com | Southern California
News Group
PUBLISHED: May 22, 2022 at 9:43 a.m. | UPDATED: May 23, 2022 at 11:20 a.m.
Re: “Homeless population has slight increase” (May 19): The results of San
Bernardino County’s 2022 “point-in-time” count shows that county-wide
“unsheltered” population, i.e. those most visible because they are living on the
streets and vacant lots across the county, in fact dropped by one from the last count
in 2020, from 2,390 to 2,389.
https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/22/results-of-2022-point-in-time-count-letters/?utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_med… 1/4
5/24/22, 8:46 AM Results of 2022 point-in-time count: Letters – San Bernardino Sun
The efforts of the Interagency Council on Homelessness, i.e. the county’s agency for
homeless policy making, should be recognized for its achievement.
The same can’t be said for the city of San Bernardino, whose “unsheltered”
population increased 20% during the same period from 823 to 992. This is a
significant difference than the county as a whole and should be the focus of further
study and action by our Interagency Council on Homelessness.
— James L. Mulvihill, San Bernardino
https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/22/results-of-2022-point-in-time-count-letters/?utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_med… 2/45/24/22, 8:45 AM DA files charges tied to subterranean High Desert pot farm
NEWS
DA files charges after massive
subterranean pot farm found in
Newberry Springs
Charlie McGee Victorville Daily Press
Published 5:11 p.m. PT May 23, 2022 Updated 10:47 p.m. PT May 23, 2022
The chief prosecutor of San Bernardino County has unveiled felony conspiracy charges
centering on the alleged operation of a years-long 14,000 square-foot marijuana facility
beneath the ground in a small High Desert town.
The Office of District Attorney Jason Anderson held a press conference Monday to discuss
the county’s plan to prosecute 11 named defendants for felony cultivation of
marijuana, violating environmental law, and misdemeanor possession of marijuana for sale.
Those facing charges are:
Cheng Lin, 30, who also faces a felony charge of conspiracy to commit a crime as one of
two alleged landowner in the operation
Qiaoyan Liu, 35, the other alleged landowner facing an additional felony conspiracy
charge
Zhonggui He, 59
Weijian Liu, 33
Aiqing Lin, 52
Wenren He, 42
Wu Lin, 33
Lijie Lin, 37
Bin Li, 38
Huang Lin, 27
Mingfeng He, 37
The charges are connected “to an industrial-sized subterranean illegal marijuana grow in
Newberry Springs, a processing warehouse, and other properties used in conjunction with
https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2022/05/23/marijuana-facility-discovered-newberry-springs-california-district-attorney-files-charges/9898876… 1/55/24/22, 8:45 AM DA files charges tied to subterranean High Desert pot farm the selling, manufacturing, and distribution of cannabis.” Joining the DA at the press conference on Monday were Code Enforcement Chief Igancio Nunez, Sheriff Shannon Dicus, and members of Dicus’ specialized Marijuana Enforcement Team. The case started with a search warrant served by Sheriff’s deputies on Aug. 20, 2020, at the home of the alleged underground facility, a property on the 46200 block of Palma Vista Road in Newberry Springs, according to Sheriff’s Department arrest disclosures. The property owner at the time was Cheng Lin, the DA’s Office said in a release Monday. During the August 2020 raid, deputies found eight greenhouses with 2,000 cannabis plants and over 100 pounds of processed marijuana. Two of the newly-named defendants, Zhonggui He and Wenren He, were detained at the property in this 2020 raid, according to the DA, who alleges that the landowner, Cheng Lin, sold the property a few months later to the other defendant now facing a felony conspiracy charge, Qiaoyan Liu. The new charges culminate in a second search on March 3. Deputies from the Sheriff’s Marijuana Enforcement Team on this more recent day found a red Conex box — a cargo shipping container — alongside the single-story house and several sheds on the property. 'Farm to table': High Desert CBD startup wants to help, not ‘bake your brains off.’ When eight new suspects separate from the previous arrestees attempted to flee, the deputies detained them and investigated further, according to the DA. “Upon searching the Conex box, deputies discovered the floor opened and were able to descend into an underground bunker,” the DA’s statement read. “The bunker was 230 feet in length by 60 feet in width. It was constructed with over 30 Conex boxes approximately 15 feet below the ground.” The industrial-scale farm encompassed about 14,000 square feet beneath the ground and illegally housed more than 6,000 marijuana plants, the DA alleges. Investigators estimate at least 6,000 gallons of water would be needed per day to sustain the growing operation for a black-market value of up to $9 million. Additionally, “processed marijuana was found in the residence of Cheng Lin, as well as a commercial lease agreement in Cheng Lin’s name, for a commercial building in which law https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2022/05/23/marijuana-facility-discovered-newberry-springs-california-district-attorney-files-charges/9898876… 2/5
5/24/22, 8:45 AM DA files charges tied to subterranean High Desert pot farm enforcement found numerous items used for the cultivation of marijuana and over (200) pounds of marijuana product,” according to the DA. On Monday, Anderson said this case is a sign of the core law-enforcement goal in the county’s ongoing cannabis crackdown: make illegal farming hurt for the property owners. “Once we can say that these properties are known to contain a nuisance, we’re gonna take the property,” the DA said Monday. “If those folks can’t remediate the properties through appropriate sentence(s) that we may get in this particular case, then we will work with the county to try to take that property and then sell that property,” he continued. “The taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for the illegal conduct that’s been engaged in here.” The DA linked the case to an economic goal of maintaining free and fair markets. “You’re putting unfair competition on an industry that’s trying to be regulated,” Anderson said of the burgeoning legal-weed industry. He drew a comparison to legitimately-run Amazon Inc. warehouses and distribution centers. “We have a bootleg Amazon selling illegal or counterfeit products out of a warehouse that’s buried underground,” he said. “Who can compete against that? Jeff Bezos couldn’t compete against that.” Deputies found 5,500 gallons of fuel in reserves at the underground Newberry Springs property “to fuel generators that were used to air out the space and cure the plants,” according to Anderson. “There’s a lot of people that can’t afford to put gas in their car to get to work every day.” The DA also cited heavier truck traffic and random gunfire, which multiple sheriff’s deputies and High Desert residents have reported encountering on random drives, as two examples of daily problems illegal grows are causing for residents of unincorporated regions. Dicus, the sheriff, said Monday that gunfire hasn’t been reported from the underground Newberry Springs location, but that “the bunker case, as we call it,” still points to deeper problems in the county. Deputies have faced gunfire from other sites of a similar scale, he says — not because the growers noticed a police presence, but “simply because they knew somebody was getting too close to their investment.” https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2022/05/23/marijuana-facility-discovered-newberry-springs-california-district-attorney-files-charges/9898876… 3/5
5/24/22, 8:45 AM DA files charges tied to subterranean High Desert pot farm The sheriff didn’t specify if the “the bunker case” is believed to be one part of a broader operation or the only farm operated by the suspects named Monday. He said county officials will “break down the hierarchy” that they believe is at work as time goes on. Successful prosecution of these charges would mark perhaps the biggest case yet in the nine months of mass raids and illicit-goods seizures by the sheriff’s Operation Hammer Strike. Dicus led the launch of the operation soon after being appointed sheriff amid calls for a crackdown on illegal cannabis grows by residents of sparsely-populated, unincorporated High Desert communities such as Hinkley and Lucerne Valley. Newberry Springs, home to fewer than 3,000 residents roughly 20 miles east of Barstow, is another unincorporated community where illegal farms have reportedly been sprouting up exponentially in recent years, residents say. Hammer Strike is on track to seize a total of $750 million-worth of “illegal product” when it eventually ends, Dicus said Monday, adding that he personally believes the number will end up closer to $1 billion. The sheriff’s Hammer Strike teams, as of April 24, had arrested more than 880 people through eight months of raids at hundreds of suspected illegal cannabis grows, according to a Daily Press analysis of Sheriff’s Department disclosures. At least 111 of these people were arrested in Newberry Springs, at one of the dozens of locations the sheriff’s special teams have raided since the operation launched. However, most Hammer Strike arrests aren’t leading to jail bookings. Instead, they've produced citations and same-day releases as required by California’s Proposition 64, which in 2016 made all illegal cannabis farming a misdemeanor no matter the scale, contrary to most legalized states that have maintained a felony status for grows that exceed around half- a-dozen plants. Some residents and public officials say this lenience is why illegal pot farms have been surging in the growth-rich High Desert. The DA is seeking to escalate its charges for the growth of more than six plants to a felony based on a provision in California law that allows such an upgrade if the growth harms the environment and public lands. The specific allegation against the Newberry Springs growers is “illegal discharge of waste and intentionally and with gross negligence causing substantial harm to public lands and https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2022/05/23/marijuana-facility-discovered-newberry-springs-california-district-attorney-files-charges/9898876… 4/5
5/24/22, 8:45 AM DA files charges tied to subterranean High Desert pot farm other public resources.” In an interview earlier this month, Sheriff Shannon Dicus said Mexican and Chinese cartels have specifically fueled the trend. The department has identified 29 Hammer Strike arrestees as residents of Newberry Springs. Many more hail from places far beyond the county: at least 85 arrestees residing in Mexico, 11 living in China, and dozens from far-off states, including New York, Texas, and Massachusetts. Charlie McGee covers California’s High Desert for the Daily Press, focusing on the city of Barstow and its surrounding communities. He is also a Report for America corps member with The GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world. McGee may be reached at 760-955-5341 or cmcgee@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @bycharliemcgee. https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2022/05/23/marijuana-facility-discovered-newberry-springs-california-district-attorney-files-charges/9898876… 5/5
5/24/22, 8:46 AM "INADVERTANT DISCHARGE" RESULTS IN MARINE BASE LOCKDOWN - Z107.7 FM Joshua Tree
“INADVERTANT DISCHARGE” RESULTS IN MARINE BASE
LOCKDOWN
Local News
May 23, 2022 Z107.7 News
https://z1077fm.com/inadvertant-discharge-results-in-marine-base-lockdown/ 1/35/24/22, 8:46 AM "INADVERTANT DISCHARGE" RESULTS IN MARINE BASE LOCKDOWN - Z107.7 FM Joshua Tree The 29 Palms Marine Base was placed into a lockdown today after an unconfirmed report of shots fired. Basic Public Affairs Officer, Capt. Zachary Colvin, told Z107-7 News that about 9:00 this morning the base Provost Marshalls office received an anonymous report of shots fired. Out of an abundance of caution the base was locked down until investigators could verify the report. The subsequent investigation revealed the gunshot heard was an “Inadvertent discharge” and no one was injured in the incident. At about 12:20 p.m. the Provost Marshall’s office lifted the lockdown. https://z1077fm.com/inadvertant-discharge-results-in-marine-base-lockdown/ 2/3
5/24/22, 8:46 AM Twentynine Palms Marine Corps’ base lockdown caused by inadvertent weapon discharge – San Bernardino Sun
NEWS • News
Twentynine Palms Marine Corps’
base lockdown caused by
inadvertent weapon discharge
By ASSOCIATED PRESS |
PUBLISHED: May 23, 2022 at 11:38 a.m. | UPDATED: May 23, 2022 at 1:56 p.m.
An accidental discharge of a weapon put a U.S. Marine Corps training center in
the Southern California desert on lockdown for several hours Monday, a base
statement said.
No injuries were reported in the incident at the vast Marine Corps Air Ground
Combat Center located at Twentynine Palms, 125 miles (201 kilometers) east of
Los Angeles.
The statement said the incident remained under investigation. It gave no details
of who was involved in the the inadvertent discharge, where it occurred and the
type of weapon.
A shelter-in-place order was lifted at 12:20 p.m.
“The installation is secure and base personnel are free to resume activity,” the
statement said.
The base earlier reported that an anonymous report of shots fired was received at
8:52 a.m. and a lockdown was implemented.
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https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/23/marine-corps-california-desert-base-put-on-lockdown/?utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_campaign=socialflo… 1/25/24/22, 8:45 AM Jennifer Turpin defends Public Guardian employee ‘to clean my conscience’ – San Bernardino Sun
NEWSCRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY • News
Jennifer Turpin defends Public
Guardian employee ‘to clean my
conscience’
Jennifer Turpin in a screenshot from a TikTok video she filmed in May 2022. (TikTok)
By BRIAN ROKOS | brokos@scng.com | The Press-Enterprise
PUBLISHED: May 23, 2022 at 5:57 p.m. | UPDATED: May 23, 2022 at 6:12 p.m.
Jennifer Turpin has come out to staunchly defend a former county employee who
came under scrutiny in a November “20/20” segment about alleged difficulties that
Turpin and her adult siblings had getting assistance after the family’s 13 children
were freed in 2018 from years of abuse and neglect by their Perris parents.
“This is literally to clean my conscience and to let you guys know what happened,
through my eyes,” Turpin said in a nearly eight-minute video posted on TikTok on
Sunday, May 22.
https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/23/jennifer-turpin-defends-public-guardian-employee-to-clean-my-conscience/?utm_campaign=socialflow&… 1/45/24/22, 8:45 AM Jennifer Turpin defends Public Guardian employee ‘to clean my conscience’ – San Bernardino Sun
In the “20/20” interview, ABC News identified Vanessa Espinoza as the deputy
Public Guardian official assigned to the conservatorship of what at the time
consisted of seven adult children.
Jennifer and Jordan Turpin told the ABC-TV show of having insufficient housing,
food and life-skills training. Joshua Turpin said he was denied money for a bicycle
from a trust fund that held hundreds of thousands of donated dollars being
administered by the Public Guardian.
And on that show, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin told reporter
Diane Sawyer that the Turpin adults were living in a “crime-ridden neighborhood”
and in “squalor.”
Recently unsealed conservatorship documents show that Espinoza rejected the
apartments the Turpins wanted to rent as either too expensive or too far away, and
instead steered them toward housing that the Turpins considered substandard.
But in the video, Jennifer Turpin said it was unfair to put so much of the blame on
Espinoza.
“Most of the stuff that happened wasn’t even her fault,” said Turpin, the eldest child
at 33. “Any of the bad stuff that I could go on and on and on about, it was because of
her bosses.”
It was Espinoza’s idea, Turpin said, to use $30,000 in her trust fund to pay off loans
that funded Turpin’s medical-assistant schooling.
“Even in the beginning, she always would treat us to Starbucks, so many things,”
Jennifer Turpin said. “She would go out of her way and do something for us. But she
got in trouble.
“She was afraid of losing her job, so she stopped,” Turpin said. “Then she would
secretly give us something. She would go out of her way to make sure we got our
trust funds we needed. …
“(But) each one of us probably has a different story.”
On “20/20” Joshua Turpin said Espinoza told him to “Google it” after he sought life-
skills advice.
Espinoza has declined to answer reporters’ questions about the conservatorship.
Her departure from the Public Guardian’s office in 2021 was her choice, she said in
a social media post shortly after the “202/20” special aired, and had nothing to do
with the Turpin case or any other client.
https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/23/jennifer-turpin-defends-public-guardian-employee-to-clean-my-conscience/?utm_campaign=socialflow&… 2/45/24/22, 8:45 AM Jennifer Turpin defends Public Guardian employee ‘to clean my conscience’ – San Bernardino Sun
She now sells real estate.
“Anything and everything said about me in the ’20/20′ interview is false,” Espinoza
wrote.
In summarizing the conservatorship, Turpin said, “There was bad, there was good
that came out of it.
“We have a place to live. We got into therapy,” she said. “There was a lot of stuff they
didn’t teach us. We ended up having to figure it all out.
“But all in all, I think it made me smarter in trying to figure out things, and I did
real well figuring it out.”
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https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/23/jennifer-turpin-defends-public-guardian-employee-to-clean-my-conscience/?utm_campaign=socialflow&… 3/45/24/22, 8:45 AM Man shot to death at Bloomington cemetery – San Bernardino Sun
NEWSCRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY • News
Man shot to death at
Bloomington cemetery
By QUINN WILSON | qwilson@scng.com |
PUBLISHED: May 23, 2022 at 8:57 p.m. | UPDATED: May 24, 2022 at 12:30 a.m.
A man was shot to death at a Bloomington cemetery, the San Bernardino County
Sheriff’s Department said Monday, May 23.
The shooting happened Sunday, May 22, at about 12:40 p.m. at the Green Acres
Memorial Park and Crematory, located at 11715 Cedar Ave., the Sheriff’s
Department said. Deputies responded and found 41-year-old Rogelio Gonzalez of
Bloomington with traumatic injuries in the cemetery, authorities said.
Deputies and paramedics rendered Gonzalez medical aid, but he was pronounced
dead at the scene, the Sheriff’s Department said.
The suspect immediately fled the scene after the shooting and was not located,
officials said. No suspect information was immediately available.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Deputy Vanayes Quezada at 909-387-
3589.
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https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/23/man-shot-to-death-at-bloomington-cemetery/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_s… 1/25/24/22, 8:46 AM Pfizer says 3 COVID shots protect children under 5 – San Bernardino Sun
NEWS • News
Pfizer says 3 COVID shots protect
children under 5
FILE – A nurse holds a vial of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11,
right, and a vial of the vaccine for adults, which has a different colored label, at a
vaccination station in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V.
Solis, File)
By ASSOCIATED PRESS |
PUBLISHED: May 23, 2022 at 9:40 a.m. | UPDATED: May 23, 2022 at 9:46 a.m.
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
Three doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine offer strong protection for children
younger than 5, the company announced Monday. Pfizer plans to give the data to
U.S. regulators later this week in a step toward letting the littlest kids get the shots.
https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/23/pfizer-says-3-covid-shots-protect-children-under-5/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_… 1/45/24/22, 8:46 AM Pfizer says 3 COVID shots protect children under 5 – San Bernardino Sun
The news comes after months of anxious waiting by parents desperate to
vaccinate their babies, toddlers and preschoolers, especially as COVID-19 cases
once again are rising. The 18 million tots under 5 are the only group in the U.S.
not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
The Food and Drug Administration has begun evaluating data from rival
Moderna, which hopes to begin offering two kid-sized shots by summer.
Pfizer has had a bumpier time figuring out its approach. It aims to give tots an
even lower dose — just one-tenth of the amount adults receive — but discovered
during its trial that two shots didn’t seem quite strong enough for preschoolers. So
researchers gave a third shot to more than 1,600 youngsters — from age 6 months
to 4 years — during the winter surge of the omicron variant.
In a press release, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said the extra shot did the trick,
revving up tots’ levels of virus-fighting antibodies enough to meet FDA criteria for
emergency use of the vaccine with no safety problems.
Preliminary data suggested the three-dose series is 80% effective in preventing
symptomatic COVID-19, the companies said, but they cautioned the calculation is
based on just 10 cases diagnosed among study participants by the end of April.
The study rules state that at least 21 cases are needed to formally determine
effectiveness, and Pfizer promised an update as soon as more data is available.
The companies already had submitted data on the first two doses to the FDA, and
BioNTech’s CEO, Dr. Ugur Sahin, said the final third-shot data would be submitted
this week.
“The study suggests that a low, 3-microgram dose of our vaccine, carefully
selected based on tolerability data, provides young children with a high level of
protection against the recent COVID-19 strains,” he said in a statement.
Pfizer’s conclusion that the tots produce antibodies similar to levels that protect
young adults was encouraging, said Dr. Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University,
a former FDA vaccine chief.
If FDA confirms the data, the vaccine could “be an important tool to help parents
protect their children,” Goodman said. But he cautioned that it’s essential to track
how long protection lasts, especially against serious disease.
What’s next? FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks has pledged the agency will “move
quickly without sacrificing our standards” in evaluating tot-sized doses from both
Pfizer and Moderna.
https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/23/pfizer-says-3-covid-shots-protect-children-under-5/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_… 2/45/24/22, 8:46 AM Pfizer says 3 COVID shots protect children under 5 – San Bernardino Sun
Moderna is seeking to be the first to vaccinate the littlest kids. It submitted data to
the FDA saying tots develop high levels of virus-fighting antibodies after two shots
that contain a quarter of the dose given to adults. The Moderna study found
effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 was 40% to 50% during the omicon
surge, much like for adults who’ve only had two vaccine doses.
Complicating Moderna’s progress, the FDA so far has allowed its vaccine to be
used only in adults. Other countries allow it to be given as young as age 6, and the
company also is seeking FDA authorization for teens and elementary-age kids.
The FDA had set tentative dates in June for its scientific advisers to publicly debate
Moderna’s and Pfizer’s data. The latest target: June 14 to consider whether to allow
Moderna vaccine for older kids and June 15 to debate vaccinations for tots under
5, from either or both companies depending on the status of the applications.
If either vaccine is cleared for the littlest kids, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention would have to recommend whether all kids under 5 should receive
them or only those at high risk.
While COVID-19 generally isn’t as dangerous to youngsters as to adults, some
children do become severely ill or even die. And the omicron variant hit children
especially hard, with those under 5 hospitalized at higher rates than at the peak of
the previous delta surge.
It’s not clear how much demand there will be to vaccinate the youngest kids.
Pfizer shots for 5- to 11-year-olds opened in November, but only about 30% of that
age group have gotten the recommended initial two doses. Last week, U.S. health
authorities said elementary-age children should get a booster shot just like
everyone 12 and older is supposed to get, for the best protection against the latest
coronavirus variants.
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https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/23/pfizer-says-3-covid-shots-protect-children-under-5/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_… 3/45/24/22, 8:52 AM Suspected monkeypox case reported in Sacramento County - capradio.org
Suspected monkeypox case reported in
Sacramento County
Chris Hagan
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 | Sacramento, CA
The monkeypox virus seen through an electron microscope.
Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP, File
A suspected case of monkeypox was reported in Sacramento County Tuesday, as a rare
outbreak of the disease continues to move around the globe.
Sacramento County health officials say confirmation testing is still pending from the
California Department of Public Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control, but based
on the patient's symptoms, a monkeypox diagnosis is likely. It would be the first
reported case in the state.
https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/05/24/suspected-monkeypox-case-reported-in-sacramento-county/ 1/45/24/22, 8:52 AM Suspected monkeypox case reported in Sacramento County - capradio.org “This case appears to be related to recent travel to Europe,” Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said in a press release. “Public Health is working with CDPH to conduct contact tracing, and risk to the general public is extremely low.” Health officials said the patient is isolating at home and not in contact with any other people. According to the Associated Press, at least 90 people have been infected in 12 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Spain and England. Health officials aren't yet sure how the outbreak started, but are concerned the spread could signal a change from its typical behavior. A White House officialtold NPR on Monday that the risk to the general public is low. Dr. Raj Panjabi, Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense at the National Security Council, said that vaccines and even treatments are available for monekypox. "The cases reported among Americans so far have been limited to those who've traveled to affected countries or have had very close contact with symptomatic patients," Panjabi said. "And so far, the cases we've seen have not been severe. The majority of infected individuals have flu-like symptoms and a rash, which can be painful but resolves in two to four weeks." He noted that in previous U.S. outbreaks in 2021 and 2003, all patients fully recovered. What is monekypox? Monkeypox is a disease that causes fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes. The lesions are similar to those caused by smallpox. https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/05/24/suspected-monkeypox-case-reported-in-sacramento-county/ 2/4
5/24/22, 8:52 AM Suspected monkeypox case reported in Sacramento County - capradio.org
Despite the name monkeypox, it doesn't come from monkeys. The disease was first
discovered in 1958 in colonies of monkeys kept for research, which led to the name.
Unlike COVID-19, monkeypox does not spread through the air, but only through "close
contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such
as bedding," according to the WHO. There is a vaccine available for monkeypox.
"There is no evidence, to date, that person-to-person transmission alone can sustain
monkeypox infections in the human population," a WHO factsheet says.
While the disease most often occurs in central and west Africa, cases and outbreaks
have happened throughout the world, including one in the midwestern U.S. in 2003.
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https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/05/24/suspected-monkeypox-case-reported-in-sacramento-county/ 3/45/24/22, 8:45 AM Third Rialto educator charged with failing to report suspected sexual abuse – San Bernardino Sun
LOCAL NEWS • News
Third Rialto educator charged
with failing to report suspected
sexual abuse
The prosecutions mark the first time in San
Bernardino County history that public school
officials have been charged with violating their
obligations under state law
David Shenhan Yang, 39, and Natasha Harris-Dawson, 37, were arrested on
Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Wilmer Amina Carter High School in Rialto on suspicion of
failing to report to police complaints of sexual assault by two students in September
and November, 2021. (Courtesy of Rialto school district)
By JOE NELSON | jnelson@scng.com | San Bernardino Sun
PUBLISHED: May 23, 2022 at 6:26 p.m. | UPDATED: May 23, 2022 at 6:26 p.m.
https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/23/third-rialto-educator-charged-with-failing-to-report-suspected-sexual-abuse/?utm_medium=social&utm_c… 1/55/24/22, 8:45 AM Third Rialto educator charged with failing to report suspected sexual abuse – San Bernardino Sun
A counselor at Wilmer Amina Carter High School in Rialto has been criminally
charged for failing to alert police to allegations of sexual assault against a student,
making her the third defendant charged in the case.
Counselor Lindsay Morton now faces charges along with Assistant Principals
David Shenhan Yang and Natasha Harris, who were arrested in February by Rialto
police for allegedly violating the state’s mandated reporter law, which requires
educators and others to report suspected child abuse to police or child welfare
authorities.
Authorities allege all three failed to report sexual abuse allegations against a 17-
year-old male student at the school, who now faces criminal charges for the
alleged offenses in Juvenile Court.
The misdemeanor prosecutions mark the first time in San Bernardino County
history that public school officials have been criminally charged for mandated
reporter violations, District Attorney Jason Anderson said.
Wilmer Amina Carter High School in Rialto is seen here in this file photo from
Dec. 8, 2015. (Micah Escamilla/The Sun)
Additionally, Harris, who also goes by the surname Harris-Dawson, and Yang
were each charged with a felony count of child abuse under circumstances or
conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death.
Yang and Harris are charged with failing to report the allegations made by three
female students, which authorities said allowed the abuse to continue.
https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/23/third-rialto-educator-charged-with-failing-to-report-suspected-sexual-abuse/?utm_medium=social&utm_c… 2/55/24/22, 8:45 AM Third Rialto educator charged with failing to report suspected sexual abuse – San Bernardino Sun
About a week after the arrests of Yang and Harris, police learned that one of the
alleged victims had initially reported the offending student to Morton, claiming
he had touched her inappropriately. Morton also failed to report it to police,
Rialto Police Chief Mark Kling said in a statement.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office charged Morton, 42, with
one misdemeanor count of failure of a mandated reporter to report child abuse or
neglect on March 7, court records show. Kling said Morton was neither arrested
nor cited. Instead, detectives referred the additional details of their investigation
to the District Attorney’s Office, which filed the charge.
Morton, Yang and Harris are scheduled to next appear in Rancho Cucamonga
Superior Court on June 23 for a pretrial hearing before Judge Michael R. Libutti.
Kling said the charges against Morton concluded his department’s investigation.
“There is no further investigation at this time by Rialto PD,” he said in his
statement.
Reached by telephone Monday, Morton’s attorney, Brady Clay Schwartz, declined
to comment.
Rialto Unified School District hired Morton in 2018, and she has served as a
counselor at Carter High School since then, district spokeswoman Syeda Jafri
said. She said Morton remains on paid administrative leave but would not
comment further, citing the ongoing administrative investigation.
On Thursday, May 19, attorney Michael Alder filed a lawsuit in San Bernardino
Superior Court on behalf of one of the alleged victims, now 16, alleging the girl
was “sexually, physically and verbally assaulted and attacked” at the school by a
17-year-old male student on Nov. 5, 2021, when the girl was 15 years old.
The girl reported the incident to Yang on Nov. 8, according to the lawsuit. After
making the student fill out a formal written statement, Yang called Harris into his
office and asked the girl to wait outside a moment.
“As defendant Natasha Harris walked out of defendant David Shenhan Yang’s
office, she stated ‘they are just boys’ and she ‘can’t know more, (she’s) not going to
do this,’ ” according to the lawsuit.
Harris, the lawsuit states, asked the girl if she said “no” loudly enough to her
alleged assailant, how many times she said “no” and asked the girl if “she was
seeking attention.”
https://www.sbsun.com/2022/05/23/third-rialto-educator-charged-with-failing-to-report-suspected-sexual-abuse/?utm_medium=social&utm_c… 3/55/24/22, 8:45 AM Third Rialto educator charged with failing to report suspected sexual abuse – San Bernardino Sun
Yang told the girl they would speak to the boy. But for months afterward, the
problems continued.
From Nov 8 to Feb. 16, 2022, the 17-year-old student “continued to make lewd and
suggestive sexual comments to and towards plaintiff,” the lawsuit alleges.
Things came to a head on Feb. 16, when the boy walked into a class he had with
the girl and said something to her that made her cry. When the teacher pulled the
girl outside to see what was wrong, she recounted what had occurred in the
months prior. The teacher then instructed her to report it again, this time to
Assistant Principal Johanna Cuellar, the lawsuit states.
Cuellar called the girl’s mother and informed her what happened. Furious, the
girl’s mother reported it to Rialto police, which launched the criminal
investigation leading to the arrests of Harris and Yang, and the subsequent
charges against Morton.
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