NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—Several hundred local leaders and business owners gathered in Newport Beach to celebrate a new tradition at the first State of the County Luncheon July 19. During the event, county officials discussed such things as public safety, homelessness, government finances, and residents’ quality of life. “We need to make sure law enforcement has…

TEMECULA, Calif.—A Southern California school board has voted to approve a social studies curriculum for elementary students, resolving a dispute with Gov. Gavin Newsom over lesson plans that mentioned the state’s first openly gay elected public official. The Temecula Valley Unified School District had previously voted to reject the curriculum in part because some board members…

WASHINGTON—The deadly crash of a Marine V-22 Osprey in California last year was caused by mechanical failure, according to an investigation that ruled out pilot and maintenance errors. The more than 400-page report released on Friday concluded that the Marines were doing routine flight operations when a “catastrophic, unpreventable, and unanticipated mechanical failure occurred.” The…

Commentary Continued from Part II Experts say that with all religious cults, the brainwashing process begins early and slowly gets people in the habit of complying. And from there, the screws are tightened as the requests become more and more outlandish. The cult members gradually seem to lose all sense of self and can no…

A dog who went missing around the Fourth of July was reunited with his family at San Diego Humane Society’s El Cajon campus—335 miles from where he went missing. Ryder, a 9-year-old Chihuahua-terrier mix, was brought into the El Cajon campus as a stray on July 17. The person who found him said the dog…

Two teenagers attempted to steal a catalytic converter at a movie theater in Glendora, triggering a vehicle pursuit and the eventual recovery of 14 stolen catalytic converters as well as a loaded handgun and the tools used to cut the converters from vehicles, authorities said on July 22. Officers were dispatched at about 11:50 p.m….

A California organization is hoping to gather enough signatures to place an initiative on the November 2024 ballot to let voters decide if magic mushrooms should be decriminalized. If successful and voters approve it, psychedelic mushrooms could be sold anywhere, including such places as the local supermarket or yoga studios, to anyone over 21. It…

A Lake Forest city councilman charged with domestic violence said on July 21 that he was innocent of the allegations. Benjamin Yu, 40, was charged on July 7 with corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and false imprisonment, both misdemeanors, according to court records. He is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 23 in the…

An 87-year-old woman was struck and killed by a Jeep Wrangler in Irvine, authorities said on July 22. The motorist driving the jeep stayed at the scene and cooperated with police, according to Lt. Cathy Scherer of the Irvine Police Department. The victim was identified as Maria Servas, Ms. Scherer said. The black Wrangler was…

Limited supply is driving up housing prices in Orange County, with sales records indicating declining inventory and an uptick in price in June as compared to the same time last year. “It’s not insatiable demand,” Steven Thomas, founder of Reports on Housing—which publishes biweekly analyses of the real estate industry since its founding in 2004—told…