California Dolphin

The McCallum Theatre’s Open Call Talent Project, an annual competition featuring local, non-professional artists and groups, will begin Saturday. The competition will get underway with performances at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday before the final performance is held at 3 p.m. Sunday in the McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive. “To have local aspiring artists collaborate, learn and perform on the McCallum stage and share their work with the larger community is the main goal of Open Call,” theatre officials wrote in a statement in February. “And McCallum Theatre Education leans on the support of a large group of generous sponsors and returning audience members who help make Open Call a reality on an annual basis.” The show will feature 42 community members between 8 and 79 years old, performing solo as or as members of a groups. The finalists include Doug Arbulu, Michael Blake, Richard Caldera, Kimberly Cofer, Isabella Gaxiola, Vincenza Gist, Victoria Mendoza, Isabelle Martinez, Lara Marriott and Daniel Stewart. “Our ambition is to produce an engaging show that highlights the value of the performing arts, spotlights local residents and inspires a

A 31-year-old man who sexually assaulted a Lake Elsinore girl was sentenced Friday to two years in state prison. Christian Javier Ramirez Padilla last month admitted one count each of lewd acts on a child and unlawful intercourse with a minor under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors dropped five related charges and various sentence enhancements against Padilla. During a hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta on Friday, Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson certified the terms of the plea deal. He additionally ordered that Padilla register as a convicted sex offender for life under Penal Code section 290, which bars offenders from working around kids and limits where they can go. The defendant was arrested in March 2021 following a sheriff’s department investigation. According to Sgt. Julio Olguin, deputies were informed about the offenses in early 2021, although the victim, identified in court documents only as “E.G.,” told investigators the attack occurred in June 2020. The victim’s age was not revealed. Olguin said that Padilla encountered the girl at a residence in

April 19, 2024 2:14 PM PT 1 Trevor Bauer was back in the news this week. He posted a video in which he gave a short address that started this way: “One of the women who accused me of sexual assault just got indicted for committing felony fraud against me. Imagine that.” Bauer, the former Dodgers pitcher, has not pitched in the major leagues since 2021. Four women accused him of sexual assault; he denied all their claims and alleged each of the women had turned consensual sexual encounters into an opportunity for extortion. 2 So what exactly happened this week? In 2022, an Arizona woman named Darcy Adanna Esemonu filed a lawsuit against Bauer, alleging sexual assault. Bauer countersued, claiming fraud and extortion — in particular, that she claimed he had gotten her pregnant and demanded millions. According to court filings, Esemonu never had the baby; Bauer said that was because she never was pregnant and Esemonu said that was because she miscarried. Esemonu was indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury in March. The indictment, made public this week, charges Esemonu with two

A house burns near Ono, Calif., in a 2020 wildfire. Two more companies, Tokio Marine America Insurance Co. and Trans Pacific Insurance Co., have joined a growing number of home insurance providers that have pulled out of the wildfire-prone state. (Ethan Swope / Associated Press) April 19, 2024 2:06 PM PT Two more insurers are pulling out of California’s troubled homeowners insurance market, straining a marketplace that already has seen the pullback of several other companies that have cited increase costs related to wildfire risks. Tokio Marine America Insurance Co. and Trans Pacific Insurance Co. submitted filings to the California Department of Insurance stating they will not renew 12,556 homeowners policies with a premium value of $11.3 million starting July 1. Also not being renewed are 1,624 dwelling fire and liability policies with a premium value of $1.7 million typically sold to owners of rental properties, as well as personal umbrella coverage. The companies, subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Tokio Marine Holdings, are completely exiting the homeowners marketplace. Several major insurers, meanwhile, including State Farm, Farmers and Allstate, have limited their exposure in California by cutting back

LeBron James is not trash. He does not suck. The Lakers superstar proved those points, and then some, in a series of videos his youngest son, Bryce, posted to his Instagram stories on Thursday. The clips show James shooting hoops at night with both of his sons — Bronny, 19, who has declared for the NBA draft and entered the NCAA transfer portal but also could still return for his sophomore season at USC; and Bryce, 16, a high school junior who plays for Sierra Canyon — in the driveway at the family’s home in Brentwood. In the first two videos, James is shown attempting some long-range shots with Bryce calling out some good-natured trash talk from behind the camera. James was not rattled. “You trash!” Bryce yelled before one shot. Swish. Sierra Canyon’s Bryce James warms up before the second half against Christopher Columbus on Jan. 16, 2023, in Springfield, Mass. (Gregory Payan / Associated Press) “You suck!” Bryce tried next. Swish. “It’s not going in,” Bryce said before another shot. Swish. James responded after that one: “I’m [the] GOAT, bro. G-O-A-T! What’re you

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to three separate alarms at GardaWorld’s Sylmar cash storage facility on the day that thieves stole as much $30 million from its vault during the biggest heist in the city’s history. Despite the officers’ presence at the property in the early hours of Easter Sunday — including around the time it is believed the sophisticated burglary was carried out — the criminals remained undetected, according to three law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation of the incident. During at least one of the responses by a patrol car, GardaWorld was alerted, according to the officials, but the Montreal-based security services company did not register the intrusion. The Times has previously reported that GardaWorld did not learn of the crime until opening the vault the following day, April 1. It wasn’t until then, officials said, that LAPD investigators were notified that a substantial amount of money had been taken. The sequence of events, partly disclosed in an LAPD call-for-service log obtained by The Times, raises questions about the security GardaWorld maintained at the Roxford Avenue property, which is used to

Businesses in Topanga want everyone to know that they are still open but struggling with the extended closure of a section of Topanga Canyon Boulevard due to a landslide in early March. On Thursday, Caltrans announced the closure would likely extend until the fall as thousands of tons of dirt, rock and debris are still covering the road and can’t be safely cleared for now. State Road 27 remains closed from Grand View Drive, just south of Topanga, to Pacific Coast Highway, which means the town is essentially a dead-end for now. Topanga Canyon still ‘too dangerous’ to reopen “People used to drive through here to go to work, and now they use the 101 or the 405,” Claire Denis, owner of Café Mimosa, told KTLA on Friday. “People were coming for the weekend and tourists, and people from the city … Now, they either don’t come, or they don’t drive all the way down here.” The landslide is also causing trouble for business owners who don’t rely on foot traffic. Cafe Mimosa is among several businesses struggling amid the extended closure of Topanga Canyon

A $25,000 reward was announced Friday for information about a street takeover in Los Angeles’ Florence neighborhood that may have resulted in a death after a vehicle spun out of control into a crowd of spectators. Video released by the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Traffic Division shows an unidentified woman being struck by an INFINITI G37 as she was taking a selfie among a crowd of spectators near Manchester Avenue and San Pedro Street on Sunday. Investigators said the victim’s head hit the ground and she appeared unconscious when bystanders took her away. Police are trying to identify a person who was taking a selfie when she was struck by a vehicle during a street takeover in Florence on April 14, 2024. (LAPD South Traffic Division) “Some of our investigators … intercepted some chatter that would lead us to believe that there’s a slight chance that this girl might be deceased. We don’t know who she is, where she is, or how serious her injuries are,” LAPD Det. Ryan Moreno said during a news conference to announce the reward on Friday. Police are trying

By Michael Roppolo April 19, 2024 / 5:14 PM EDT / CBS News Taylor Swift’s new album drops Taylor Swift’s new album drops with surprise 15 additional tracks 03:32 Two married Swifties embarked on a mission to recreate all of Taylor Swift ‘s album covers after the singer announced her new record ” The Tortured Poets Department ” at the Grammys in February. Charlie Bird — the “major Swiftie” of the two, according to husband Ryan Clifford — had the idea after Swift made the surprise announcement while accepting  the Grammy for best pop vocal album . The project is a continuation of what the couple had done for Halloween last year — dressing up as Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce . Charlie shaved his head and Ryan had painstakingly recreated the red “Reputation” costume Swift wore during her Eras Tour in four days’ time — with sequins galore. They documented the project for their YouTube page and when they posted the final results on social media, their followers loved it.  Charlie Bird as Travis Kelce and Ryan Clifford as Taylor Swift during Halloween