75th Golden Gate Anniversary fireworks at the Marin Headlands. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

The Golden Gate Bridge celebrated its 75-year anniversary this Memorial Day weekend on Sunday, May 27, with dance, song, and nighttime fireworks.

A bright orange beacon for immigrants and a proud symbol of the city’s heritage, the Golden Gate Bridge was completed on May 27, 1937 and has served as an icon of both the city and the United States.

More Photos Below!

Considered a modern “Wonder of the World” by the American Society of Civil Engineers, this Sunday the bridge was celebrated with Irish pipe music, sailing, face painting, classic automobiles from the 30′s, and fireworks from both below and on the bridge.

Tens of thousands of tourists and San Francisco natives walked or biked across the span of the world’s most iconic bridge throughout the day, while visiting the local heritage museum booths and events.

The festivities were well organized by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, with hundreds of volunteers and local police guiding traffic across the busy throughway.

The Golden Gate Bridge is a symbol of hope for the millions of immigrants who traveled past it as they entered the United States. It serves as the western shore equivalent of New York’s Statue of Liberty.

The Golden Gate Bridge is also a symbol of remembrance. With Memorial Day weekend in their minds, attendees reflect on the hardship that was endured by the construction workers during the bridge’s creation. In addition, the Bridge Rail Foundation set up a memorial stand displaying the now empty shoes of those who have committed suicide off the bridge, over 1,500 in total, as a solemn reminder of the past so we can better cherish our present.

Photographers and tourists set up chairs and sun umbrella’s hours before fireworks were set to go off so they could capture the beauty of the bridge and this moment in time. When the event was over, a photographer said, “Wow. That was worth it.”

With hope and jubilation in their hearts the people of San Francisco start the next 75 with a bang.

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The California Highway Patrol at Torpedo Wharf. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

75th Golden Gate Anniversary fireworks at the Marin Headlands. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

People stop to see and photograph "Happy 75th" written in stars in the sky. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

Shoe exhibit in remembrance of those that have jumped from the bridge. The Bridge Rail Foundation educated the community about suicide prevention. An estimated 1,558 people have died from jumping off the bridge. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

75th Golden Gate Anniversary fireworks at the Marin Headlands. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)

A bluefin tuna caught off the coast of California was discovered to have low levels of radioactive cesium from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, according to reports on Monday.

Fifteen bluefin caught in August, several months after the Fukushima meltdown, contained cesium-134 and cesium-137, which were traced back to the accident, according to researchers CNN reported.

“There were fish born around the time of the accident, and those are the ones showing up in California right now,” Stanford University marine ecologist Dan Madigan was quoted by CNN as saying. “Those have been, for the most part, swimming around in those contaminated waters their whole lives.”

However, Nicholas Fisher, a researcher in the study, told The Associated Press that scientists “were frankly kind of startled.”

“That’s a big ocean. To swim across it and still retain these radionuclides is pretty amazing,” Fisher told AP.

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Three family members survived an airplane crash in a remote and mountainous part of Idaho, according to authorities on Monday.

Owyhee County Sheriff Daryl Crandall told Boise-based KTVB-TV that a couple and their daughter were in “surprisingly good condition” after their Cessna crashed. They were traveling from Sacramento, Calif., to Mountain Home, Idaho.

One of the passengers managed to use a cellphone to call 911 and reached Owyhee County authorities on Sunday morning, Crandall said.

The family had to wait 15 hours in the snow before being rescued, the KBOI radio station reported. One of the family members said they were suffering from head and back injuries in the crash.

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A small, banner-towing plane crashed into the San Diego Bay, with both people on board the aircraft surviving, it was reported.

Officials told KTLA the plane crashed on Saturday. Boaters in the vicinity of the crash picked up the two people on board the plane from the water.

“Thanks to the quick actions of boaters who were in the area, the two men were only in the water for minutes after making the emergency landing,” said Sgt. Michael Haas, a spokesperson with the Coast Guard, according to the network. “Boaters took exactly the right actions.”

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

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Dennis Mahon, 61, was convicted earlier this year of conspiracy to damage property with explosives and related charges.

In the incident eight years ago, a pipe bomb was hidden in a package and addressed to former Scottsdale, Ariz., Diversity Director Don Logan. When Logan opened the parcel, it exploded, leaving him severely injured.

Logan said he was satisfied with the sentencing, according to Fox-10. “For someone who is 61 years of age that basically means a life sentence,” he said.

Judge David Campbell called the attack an “act of domestic terrorism” to promote a racist and hateful agenda, according to Fox-10.

“In his house, we found hundreds of boxes of unopened LEGO sets,” Liz Wylie, a spokesperson with Mountain View police, told Mercury News. “He sold 2,100 items in just over a year on eBay, and made $30,000.”

Wylie said Langenbach’s motive “was clearly money.” She added, “For some people it’s boredom. For some it’s a compulsive thing.”

Deputy District Attorney Cindy Seeley Hendrickson told NBC that Langenbach was arrested on May 9 but posted $10,000 in bail several hours later.

A mountain lion that wandered into the Southern California city of Santa Monica was shot by police on Tuesday, according to a police report.

Police said they were forced to shoot and kill the 80-pound cat after they failed to tranquilize it or subdue it “with the use of water hoses and ‘less than lethal’ pepper ball rounds,” the release said.

“The mountain lion made several attempts to escape the courtyard and enter the public area,” it said, adding that “regrettably” officers had to shoot it to prevent it from escaping an enclosed courtyard area and thereby endangering people.

Officers told NBC Los Angeles that after the cat was shot with a tranquilizer, it continuously attempted to jump over the fence.

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Officials recovered 180 bales of marijuana floating near Dana Point Harbor in southern Orange County, Calif., saying their origin is a mystery.

There were no arrests made and there are no suspects in connection to the marijuana that, in all, weighs 8,068 pounds and has a street value of more than $4 million, the Orange County Register reported.

Michael Jimenez, a spokesperson with the Border Patrol, said it is unusual for traffickers to dump marijuana bales in the water unprovoked. The bales were found around 15 miles from the shore.

“At other events, they’ve dumped the bales to get rid of weight if they’re being chased,” he told the newspaper. “Generally in these cases, we’re aware they’re being dumped. What’s more unusual is that the bales were floating with no boat in sight.”

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Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) attends the National Clean Energy Summit 2.0 at the Cox Pavilion Aug. 10, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nev. Cantwell claims that adverse effects from mining could impact the entire Pacific Northwest region. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Large-scale salmon habitats could be harmed by mining near Bristol Bay on the Alaska Peninsula, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a draft report last week. However, the agency said it will not block the proposal for a large gold and copper mine in the area.

The Bristol Bay watershed, which includes Kvichak River and the Nushagak River, produces the most sockeye salmon in the world, with around 37.5 million fish produced in the annual run. The Nushagak also is the fourth largest producer of Chinook salmon in North America.

The wild salmon fishery in Bristol Bay and other resources in the area provide around 14,000 jobs, valued at 500 million dollars annually. There are also around 35 fish species, 190 bird species, and 40 other animal species.

“The report concludes that there is potential for certain activities associated with large-scale mining to have adverse impacts on the productivity and sustainability of the salmon fishery in the watershed,” the EPA said in a statement accompanying its draft report.

The preliminary findings suggest a potential loss of habitat used for salmon spawning and raising if the copper mine goes through.

Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals has said it would spend more than $100 million to prepare the Bristol Bay area for its Pebble Mine project by the end of 2012.

Last week, it said after years of “intensive geological, environmental, socioeconomic, and engineering study,” the company is in the final stages of creating a design for the mine that would focus on surface and groundwater hydrology, as well as preserving the water quality and fisheries resources.

The project, it said, would produce more than 80 billion pounds of copper, 107 million ounces of gold, and 5.6 billion pounds of molybdenum, which is used to make steel alloys. It would also generate around 2,000 jobs to construct the mine and 1,000 “high-skill, high-wage” jobs over the next 25 to 35 years, according to the Pebble Partnership.

The EPA draft, which took a year to complete, did not make mention of the Pebble Mine in particular, but the Pebble Partnership CEO John Shivley criticized it as “rushed.”

“We believe that the EPA has rushed its assessment process, and that this is especially problematic in light of the large size of the study area,” Shivley said in a statement after the draft was released.

The project has been panned by tribal leaders, environmentalists, and Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, who asked the EPA to invoke the Clean Water Act to protect Bristol Bay and block the mine. Cantwell claims that adverse effects from mining could impact the entire Pacific Northwest region.

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Melodee Megia, a pregnant 37-year-old former employee at The Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino in Las Vegas who said she was fired for saying “bye bye” instead of “goodbye” to a guest on the telephone, has filed a lawsuit against the hotel this week.

Megia worked as a sales representative at the hotel from November 2010 to August 2011, when she said she was fired, according to court papers filed with the Clark County District Court in Nevada. Her job involved answering telephone calls from guests requesting room service. 

The Cosmopolitan is a modern hotel that opened in December 2010. 

The path of the ring-shaped solar eclipse spans from China to western Texas, across the Pacific Ocean. (NASA)

In the evening of Sunday, May 20, a ring-shaped solar eclipse will be visible from within a narrow corridor along the northern hemisphere from China to Texas, according to NASA.

The solar eclipse, which is expected to take place at the moon’s descending node in central Taurus, will begin in southern China at 10:06 p.m. GMT (6:06 a.m. local time Monday). The eclipse will then become visible for five minutes beginning at 10:32 p.m. GMT (7:32 a.m. local time) to over 10 million residents in Tokyo’s metropolitan area. 

The eclipse will then travel across the Pacific Ocean, a voyage that should last a good two hours before it finally reaches land along the coastlines of southern Oregon and northern California at 1:26 a.m. GMT (5:26 p.m. local time Sunday). The eclipse path also includes Central Nevada, southern Utah, and northern Arizona. 

The eclipse will be visible for 4.5 minutes in New Mexico starting at 1:34 a.m. GMT (6:34 p.m. local time). The eclipse will end its track above western Texas. The entire process lasts for 3.5 hours, covering approximately 13.600 kilometers or 8,450 miles. 

The next solar eclipse will be a full solar eclipse, taking place on Nov. 13, 2012. It will be visible to the South Pacific, southern Latin America, and part of Antarctica.

Learn more about the solar eclipse, when and how it view it, and see a video of a past Annular eclipse here.

In a video on YouTube, Brown made the announcement and said more budget cuts would be instated. He said the state budget shortfall grew from $9.2 billion in January.

“We can’t fill this hole with cuts alone without doing severe damage to our schools. That’s why I’m bypassing the gridlock and asking you, the people of California, to approve a plan that avoids cuts to schools and public safety,” Brown said.

“We are still recovering from the worst recession since the 1930s,” Brown said. “Tax receipts are coming lower than expected and the federal government and the courts have blocked us from making billions of necessary budget reductions.

Brown, a Democrat, is asking voters to approve a ballot initiative in November to raise the state’s sales tax. He is also asking voters to implement a 3 percent surtax on wealthy Californians earning incomes of $1 million or more.

Stockton resident Armando Rodriguez, 34, was arrested May 15. The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office charged Rodriguez with refusing to comply with orders to take medication, according to the Record.

“Rodriguez is charged with failing to comply with an order of the Health Department for tuberculosis control,” Stephen Taylor, San Joaquin County deputy district attorney, told the network.

According to the Record, a case manager for Rodriguez said that his client told him: “I didn’t want to hurt my liver,” as the reason why he didn’t take the medication.

Pulmonary tuberculosis is an airborne disease that affects a person’s lungs and can be spread via sneezing, coughing, or yelling loudly. The bacteria can stay in the air for hours.

Shindy Cai (L) and Emily Pan (C), both students at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts California, perform in a parade in San Francisco on May 5. (Li Ming/The Epoch Times)

SAN FRANCISCO—Middle school students at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts California proudly accepted first, second, and third places, and an honorable mention in the short story category of the citywide Young at Arts competition, on Saturday, May 12.

This is the first time in the 26 years of the contest that a single school has won all the prizes in one category.

The awards ceremony was held in the city’s de Young Museum where competition judges presented the winning students with plaques and gift books.

Judge of the short story category, Beth Lisick, a Bay area writer and performer, said she was moved by the bravery of the winning storytellers.

Addressing the winners at the ceremony, Lisick said, “Something about the way you wrote these pieces stuck out to me so strongly, in the way that you were brave, or some risk that you took, or something that you did that made it seem so original.”

Lisick told New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television that after reading the entries multiple times, she chose the winners based on their use of language, their ideas, and original voices, not necessarily the best grammar.

“I look for the things you can’t quite put your finger on but make you sit up and take notice,” Lisick said of her judging criteria. She had no idea all the winners would be from the same school.

This is the second year Fei Tian students have been prizewinners. Last year three middle school students won the first three prizes in the short story category as well.

The Stories

The main characters of the prizewinning stories are young girls who find hope and courage in the face of great challenges. All three are either orphaned or forcibly separated from their family and each finds her own way to overcome tragedy.

‘When the Silver Jay Sings’

A plucky pioneer girl, Addie, was the character created by first place winner Shindy Cai, 8th grade. Addie finds the hope to go forward in the song of the Silver Jay, singing out “near the purple horizon,” after a dramatic fire kills her father and destroys all her family’s possessions.

Lisick said, “I found Shindy’s story so interesting because it was from a different time period; she really used her imagination and was able to evoke this whole world, something that she could not have possibly experienced.”

Lisick was a bit surprised to learn that Cai is a first-generation American born Chinese, given her vivid description of pioneer life and western grassland vistas.

Cai told The Epoch Times she reads a lot of fiction in her spare time and especially likes reading stories about magic and things that we would not ordinarily encounter in this world.

When asked what advice she would give to other students, she said she’d tell them not to give up.

“There’s always hope somewhere,” she said. “Everything is okay in the end, so if it is not okay, it’s probably not the end.”

‘Song of the Phoenix’ and ‘Ninja of the Truth’

Lisick said she was impressed with the sophistication of the worlds created by Emily Pan, 7th grade, and Alice Kuang, 8th grade, who won 2nd and 3rd prizes.

“I was so amazed that somebody of that age could somehow come up with something like that; it seemed like it could be published by a major publisher. It was very great writing,” Lisick told NTD.

Friendship and the rebirth of a Chinese princess was the subject of Pan’s story. Narrated by a young girl who was violently removed from her parents’ house to become the princess’ servant, the story follows their friendship and is deepened by rich detail. In one scene the princess puts on a stunning dress embroidered with phoenixes, mythical creatures which die in flames and are reborn from the ashes.

Pan wrote: “The exquisitely sewn rainbow phoenixes arched delicately on the pale yellow silk which was made from the finest cocoons, and small gemstones glittered and gleamed from the folds of the sleeves that draped elegantly on the floor. Flowers of every design and color were stitched on to the hem of the dress and the dress itself, and one phoenix with dazzling multicolored plumes curled around from the middle of the dress all the way down.”

Like the phoenix, the princess is reborn in the form of a willow tree which grows above her grave where a loyal servant comes to sit in her old age.

Pan said she entered the contest in order to improve her writing. She had originally wanted the princess to sacrifice herself so that the serving girl could dance, but found that the plot made more sense if the princess died. The idea for the princess to be reborn emerged as she wrote, Pan said.

Pan’s words of wisdom to her peers were to think positively “because when you think positively it really has an influence and affects what you think and what you become in the future.”

In Kuang’s story, a young girl named Shao Mai becomes responsible for taking care of her toddler brother when both of her parents are killed by Chinese police.

Shao Mai’s parents practice Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Kuang said her story was inspired by true stories she read about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in contemporary China where hundreds of thousands are jailed and thousands killed for adhering to the practice.

Shao Mai and her brother eventually find a home with relatives, but their courageous friend Moi Moi, who took care of them on the streets, was also killed for her belief in Falun Gong.

Kuang said the advice she would give her peers is to live by what they feel is right and not care “what other people say if you know what is truly right in your heart.”

Fei Tian Academy of the Arts California is a full time middle school and high school offering a rigorous education in traditional arts. The school specializes in traditional Chinese dance, an art form that was nearly lost during China’s Cultural Revolution.

Seventh-grader Hannah Jao received the honorable mention for her short story and Jessica Beckenbach, also in 7th grade, received an honorable mention in poetry for her nine-stanza rhyming poem about animals, adventure, and her grandmother in her backyard.

June Kellum teaches American history, world history, and English as a second language (ESL) at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts California.

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Since April 22, eight of the quakes have registered between magnitude 3.8 and 4.7—strong enough to be felt by Washington residents. The activity has left some scientists wondering whether the flurry of rumblings will lead to a larger, more deadly quake in Seattle and surrounding areas.

A series of light, almost nonexistent earthquakes are still registering with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Vancouver Island, just north of the Seattle area, has also seen a stream of non-threatening earthquakes during roughly the same period. In fact, a magnitude 4.4 hit off the west coast of Vancouver Island May 11, at approximately 6 a.m. Pacific Time, according to USGS.gov.

The activity is focused along the Raveer Delwood Fault, a 12.5-mile-long area located about 125 miles offshore—Natural Resources Canada

The activity is focused along the Raveer Delwood Fault, a 12.5-mile-long area located about 125 miles offshore. National Resources Canada holds that these “swarms” of earthquakes are natural and will last for a few days to a few weeks.

During recent activity, the largest magnitude earthquake for Canada was a magnitude 5.0 on May 4. “In the very thin crust that we have out there off our west coast of Vancouver Island, it often fractures in a series of small earthquakes, usually about this size being the maximum,” Seismologist Gary Rogers of the Pacific Geoscience Centre told nwcn.com. “They often go on for days. There’s been a lot of smaller ones, so eventually they’ll wind down, but typically, what we’ve seen in the past is that most of these swarms last a few days to a week or so.”

Additionally, three more faults exist in the Bellingham Basin along the coast of Washington near the Canadian border.

“We’ve known for a long time that the whole Pacific Northwest region is contracting very slowly north-to-south, at the rate of a few millimeters per year,” Richard Blakely, a geologist with USGS in Menlo Park, Calif., told MSNBC. “It doesn’t sound like very much, but when you concentrate that contraction on specific faults, they can become rather dangerous.”

The three faults found in the Bellingham Basin are located near Birch Bay, Sandy Point, and Drayton Harbor. These faults are about 20 miles north of the city of Bellingham and run along the Pacific coast of northern Washington.

However, according to Blakely, the plates only move a few millimeters per year; thus, it could take a long time for sufficient tension to build up and produce a large earthquake. The last big quake in that area happened over 1,000 years ago, and is still a legend among Native Americans of that area.

Up-to-date earthquake information can be found on the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network site at pnsn.org.

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it is going to probe the appearance of a mysterious object that was seen by a pilot over the skies of Denver, according to reports.

“A remote-controlled aircraft, or what? Something just went by the other way … About 20 to 30 seconds ago. It was like a large remote-controlled aircraft,” a pilot said to air traffic control on Monday, according to WFMY-2.

The FAA confirmed with CNN that it is investigating the pilot’s claims.

“The FAA is investigating the incident and will try to positively identify the object the Citation pilot reported, where it came from, and who was operating it,” the agency said in a statement obtained by the network.

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Multiple forest fires sent smoke as far south as Phoenix, Ariz., on May 15. Of the four fires, none are contained, and no dates for containment have been announced. The National Weather Service issued a “Red Flag” warning of critical fire-weather conditions, which may continue through the week.

One of the fires, named The Gladiator Fire, started when a propane tank exploded from a fire at an unidentified man’s house on May 13. His wife fled the house while he stayed behind to successfully rescue his dogs, according to a report by the Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team.

“He handed the dogs out and then crawled out. He almost didn’t make it,” neighbor Margaret Henningsen said, as quoted by the Arizona Republic.

Mandatory evacuation of the community of Crown King and the Horsethief Basin near the Gladiator fire started May 13, according to Inciweb, a joint government agency website. Though Gladiator is the smallest of the four fires, it poses the greatest threat to a populated area. All roads leading to the community are closed. Three structures have been destroyed. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

Tough terrain and dry, windy weather are making the firefighter’s work difficult. Ponderosa pines and chaparral are fueling the fire. Winds are gusting up to 35 mph from the south and southeast.

“Firefighters will focus on perimeter control when they can do so safely and effectively. In areas where direct attack is not feasible, they will focus on protecting individual structures ahead of the fire,” incident commander Joe Reinarz said in a statement. The land is steep and rocky, with mineshafts, heavy brush, and poisonous snakes.

The Southwest Coordination Center, an interagency support website, showed the four fires north and east of Phoenix. The winds from the south and southeast are likely to push the fires north.

As of May 15, eight new, smaller fires had started in the Southwest, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report. The Gladiator fire covers 1,600 acres in Prescott National Forest and is only 5 percent contained.

The largest fire at Bull Flat at the Fort Apache Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) spans 5,000 acres and is 35 percent contained. The next largest is the Sunflower fire in Tonto National Forest, affecting 4,600 acres and only 5 percent contained. The Elwood fire is the smallest. It covers 1,505 acres in San Carlos Agency, BIA, and is 5 percent contained.

The spring fires suggest 2012 may be another heavy fire season for the West. In 2011, 86 wildfires burned 365,000 acres of national lands in the arid region, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The Wallow Fire of 2011 was the largest in Arizona history. According to Inciweb, 538,049 acres total and 15,407 acres in New Mexico burned in 2011.

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Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton speaks to Policy Fellows at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs on July 14, 2011 in Minneapolis, Minn. The stadium will replace the team’s current home, the Metrodome, which fell into disrepair after its roof collapsed under heavy snowfall in 2010. (Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed an agreement to a build the $975 million Minnesota Vikings stadium.

Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, in a video on the team’s website, called it “a great day for all of Minnesota.”

“We’ve known from day one that this is where we want to be … but we have a lot of hard work ahead of us,” Wilf added.

The stadium will replace the team’s current home, the Metrodome, which fell into disrepair after its roof collapsed under heavy snowfall in 2010.

The Vikings said the team will play at the University of Minnesota campus while the new stadium is being constructed.

“I’m proud of those who stepped forward and said, ‘This is what makes Minnesota special,’” said Dayton after signing the measures, according to the Minneapolis StarTribune.

The Vikings will first play in the stadium in 2016, according to the official estimate.

“These bills, that involve major public investments, are understandably controversial,” Dayton added, responding to protesters at the state Capitol building. “They’re hotly debated. They’re closely inspected—as they should be. That’s democracy, and that’s Minnesota.”

The protesters who gathered at the Capitol building chanted “Shame! Shame!” or “Zygi got bailed out, we got sold out!” while holding signs, the StarTribune reported. The crowd prominently featured supporters wearing Vikings jerseys.

However, the completion of the deal to build the stadium is not completely under wraps, as one final step needs to be completed by the Minneapolis City Council.

The Vikings, under the deal, will pay $477 million in the deal and around $13 million per year on average in operating costs. The state will pay around $348 million and the measure will be primarily supported by gambling.

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Arizona firefighters are battling wildfires that have consumed several thousand acres, as the fire season in the state begins on a tumultuous note.

There are at least five wildfires raging across the state, with the two largest fires consuming around 3,000 acres each.

In a statement on Sunday, fire officials said more than 2,700 acres were burned in the Sunflower Fire in Tonto National Forest, located around 21 miles from the town of Payson.

Meanwhile, firefighters are battling the 3,000-acre Gladiator Fire at Prescott National Forest, which is said to be human-caused.

“The human caused fire, which originated from a structure fire on private property has now moved onto the Prescott National Forest,” a statement from the forest service reads on Monday.

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Officials were still searching for a missing FBI agent on Monday, four days after he disappeared, it was reported.

Stephen Ivens, 35, left his home in Burbank on Friday and was reported missing by his family, the Burbank Leader reported.

Around 100 police officers had been deployed to search for Ivens along with bloodhounds and helicopters, the newspaper reported.

Officials told the Los Angeles Times that they believed Ivens was carrying a handgun with him and was not considered a threat to anyone except himself. His family told CNN that he was distraught and could possibly be suicidal.

He is believed to be out in the Verdugo Mountains, located near the greater Los Angeles area.

FBI agent Steven Gomez told CNN Ivens was mainly involved in “national security-type” work. “That’s all I can really say about his casework.”

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The Department of Justice on Thursday sued Joe Arpaio, the famed Arizona sheriff known for his tough stance on illegal immigration, and said he engaged in discrimination against Latino residents.

The complaint alleges that Arpaio’s office intentionally racially profiled Latinos and unlawfully arrested Latinos, which violated their constitutional rights.

“At its core, this is an abuse of power case involving Sheriff Arpaio and a sheriff’s office that disregarded the Constitution, ignored sound police practices, and did not hesitate to retaliate against perceived critics in a variety of unlawful ways,” stated Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.

Arpaio, who has been called “America’s toughest sheriff,” is in a re-election bid in November in Maricopa County, which includes the Phoenix metropolitan area.

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Working with the state of Montana, the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Crow Tribe Apsaalooke Nation enacted the Crow Tribe-Montana Water Rights Compact last month. The agreement will bring precious water to the Crow Tribe to help conserve a threatened native population.

The official signing took place at the Department of the Interior April 27. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Crow Chairman Cedric Black Eagle, and Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana all signed the compact.

“Today is an important day in Montana history,” said Gov. Schweitzer in a DOI press release. “The signing of the Crow-Montana Compact evidences the State’s dedication to successfully resolving both Indian and federal reserved water rights claims through settlement negotiations.”

Since the inception of the United States, relations with tribes changed directions many times. The latter part of the 20th century brought more focus on tribes, and now many officials help conserve tribes and reservations the same way they would a natural resource.

The historic compact is a major step forward in the Crow Tribal Water Rights Act of 2010, which was designed to overhaul the Crow Irrigation Project and bring clean drinking water to the Crow people.

“The Compact not only ensures delivery of a much-needed safe supply of water for the Crow community, but will also bolster their economic security,” said Salazar, in a DOI press release.

The Crow Reservation comprises approximately 2.3 million acres of land and is the largest Native American reservation in the state of Montana. There are 11,900 Crow members listed; 8,000 of those members live on the reservation.

April’s compact brings a closer end to more than three decades of legal bureaucracy and negotiations, as litigation over the tribe’s water rights began in 1975. Negotiations with the tribe and the state of Montana started in the 1980s, but it wasn’t until June 1999, that Montana reached an agreement with the Crow tribe and the compact could be ratified.

“Today is a significant day for the Crow people. We began negotiating the Crow-Montana Compact over a decade ago and with continued commitment by all of the parties, including the State and the United States, we were able to come together today and sign the Compact,” said Chairman Black Eagle in a DOI press release. “Water is life. This compact ensures that Crow people will have water and the necessary infrastructure for generations to come.”

The current utility that supplies water to the tribe is the Crow Irrigation Project. The irrigation system is currently in a state of disrepair and can’t reach the goal of supplying the Crow people’s demand, which includes farming and ranching needs, as well as residential needs. The water quality of the old system is questionable, and in need of redesign.

In late 2010, the Claim’s Resolution Act (Public Law 111-291) was signed by President Obama and authorized $131.8 million for the Crow Irrigation Project’s restoration, and another $246.4 million for improvement to water systems for other reservation communities. An additional $81 million was directed for tribal water administration, irrigation, and municipal water systems.

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In December 2004, Huang was charged with five felonies and five misdemeanors for illegally turning two of his unlicensed auto-wrecking yards into hazardous-waste sites in Kent, according to the Environmental Resource Center website. He then opened a third site in Seattle and repeated the process.

After dumping over 500 gallons of gasoline, oil, and other hazardous material into the ground near Green Lake, Huang created one of the state’s worst toxic-waste sites. He was later fined $1 million and sentenced to three years in prison. Investigators said Huang drained fuel and other fluids from the vehicles that he was about to crush and dumped it all into holes he dug specifically for that purpose, the Seattle Times reported.

“I am a businessman, not a criminal. I just made a mistake,” Huang told the court in 2005, according to the Seattle Times.

However, according to court documents, Huang’s sites were inspected around 24 times between 1999 and 2003. After each inspection, Huang was notified of the violations but disregarded the notices, the Seattle Times reported.

Huang recently stopped paying his fines and missed a court appearance. Just as authorities were preparing to serve warrants for Huang’s arrest, investigators say he left the country and may be in China, according to NWCN.com

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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) apologized for forgetting about a University of California–San Diego student, who said he was left in a holding cell for five days without food, water, or access to a toilet, according to UC–San Diego.

Daniel Chong, 24, told KABC television that he spent several days in intensive care for near kidney failure due to the incident.

He was swept up in a drug raid on April 21, and was told by an official that he would be released and not charged. However, he was instead handcuffed and placed inside a tiny cell for several days, which was confirmed by DEA spokesperson Amy Roderick.

“As soon as they said they were going to let me go, that door never opened, and I never got released. I did what I had to do to survive,” Chong was quoted as saying.

Oregon’s Port of Morrow is the site of a controversial struggle between environmentalists, the coal industry, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over approval of facilities used to export coal to Asia.

As Ambre Energy North America awaits Army Corps of Engineers approval to construct a transloading dock that would handle the shipments, the EPA, in a letter to the Corps of Engineers, called for a review of the impact of coal exportation through Northwest ports. Such ports include the Port of Morrow, along the Columbia River near Boardman, Ore. The agency cited possible impacts on human health and the environment.

“Transporting and transloading up to 8.8 million tons of coal with 11 trains, 12 loaded barge tows, and 3 Panamax ships per week, has the potential to significantly impact human health and the environment,” said Kate Kelly, the EPA’s director of the Office of Ecosystems, Tribal, and Public Affairs, in a letter to the Corps of Engineers earlier last month.

The coal, which originates from mines in Montana and Wyoming, would travel via rail to transloading docks like the Port of Morrow, where it would then be transferred to other barges headed to an Ambre facility in Port Westward Industrial Park, at the Port of St. Helens. From there, the coal would be transferred to ships headed for China, India, and other Asian countries.

The EPA’s concerns over the coal transfer include possible contamination through coal dust and diesel emissions from trains and barges traveling through the Columbia River Gorge.

However, according to Port of Morrow officials, the coal would be offloaded from covered rail cars to a warehouse, then through enclosed conveyors to barges. The barges would also be covered during their trip to St. Helens, where an enclosed system would then transfer the material to ocean vessels.

There would be no open-air coal piles or visible movement of coal; all of it will reportedly be covered. The area itself is strategic in its location of coal transfer from Union Pacific main lines (rail) to the Port of Morrow. The Port already approved an option to lease property for the transloading of bulk commodity (coal).

“Utilizing the river system incorporates the safest, and most economical and environmental mode of transportation of product,” Gary Neal, general manager of the Port of Morrow. “Why wouldn’t this be the preferred way to move this commodity? The capital investment in our area and the jobs that this creates is good for the economy of our region and our state.”

The agency also expressed concerns over toxic particles—including mercury—produced from coal burning in Asia, which could travel on trade winds from Asia to the West Coast, affecting the ozone and the atmosphere.

Environmentalist groups, such as Earthjustice, are heavily opposed to any coal exportation through the West Coast. According to an Earthjustice.org press release, even Oregon and Washington’s remaining coal plants have shut down, and to send those emissions overseas would be counterproductive.

Additionally, Earthjustice argues that the pollution produced in Asia will not only end up in our air, but could end up in our fish through contaminated ocean water.

Currently, there are no West Coast coal exportation facilities. But, with other facilities planned at Bellingham, Longview, the ports of Grays Harbor and Coos Bay, and other sites, outgoing coal exports at peak are expected to reach 150 million tons a year. As demand for coal in the United States decreases, demand for coal in Asian countries increases, which is seen as a great potential market for energy producers.

“The Morrow Pacific project will create 105 much-needed jobs and provide millions of dollars annually to both Columbia and Morrow counties as early as mid-2013,” said Brian Gard of Gard Communications, spokesperson for Ambre Energy.

The EPA statement initially came as positive news for environmental groups such as Earthjustice, and local Native American tribes near the Columbia River. However, the EPA has yet to recommend to the Army Corps of Engineers a full analysis of all six planned projects in the area.

May Day protesters caused a ruckus in downtown Seattle on Tuesday, breaking the windows of several buildings, setting fires, and blocking traffic, according to local reports.

Protesters clad in all black with their faces covered used sticks to smash in windows of the Niketown complex and other buildings, including a Wells Fargo branch and the old federal courthouse, according to KIRO-TV. Cars, including a Porsche, were also broken into and their windows were smashed.

Some of the protesters harassed news photographers and some threw paint bombs at them, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. Later, KTVB-TV reported that police were also seen on bikes and on foot, clad in riot gear in an attempt to move protesters away from businesses.

At least three people died and one person is missing after a yacht race accident on the California coast near the Mexican border, according to the race’s organizer, the Newport Ocean Sailing Association (NOSA).

The 37-footlong vessel was taking part in a race from Newport, Calif., to Ensenada, Mexico, according to a statement from NOSA. The vessel appeared to have collided with a larger ship.

“An investigation was continuing, but it appeared the damage was not inflicted by an explosion but by a collision with a ship much larger than the 37-foot vessel,” said the statement. It is not yet clear if the owner and the captain of the ship, Theo Mavromatis was killed in the accident.

The ship’s image “vanished from the online race tracking system in place for the race” early in the morning on Saturday, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard to launch a search and rescue operation, according to the organizers.

A man suspected of killing his family on April 15 was found dead on April 28 in an elaborate, fortified bunker carved into the side of a mountain outside of Seattle.

A SWAT team tried to destroy part of the bunker during the standoff but could only damage part of it, KIRO-TV reported.

When officers entered the facility, they found the body of 41-year-old Peter Keller, who had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Keller was wanted for the murders of his wife and daughter.

Authorities found his bunker by tracing footprints and smoke around a mile from a trailhead near North Bend, Wash., The Seattle Times reported. The bunker was built into a hillside and had several ladders and entrances.

“This isn’t a hole in the ground. It’s an elaborate structure,” King County Sheriff Steve Strachan told the Times.

Police are trying to piece together what happened. King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Cindi West said they wanted to know, “Did he snap? Why did he kill his wife and daughter and hole up in this bunker in the woods?”

A magnitude-3.8 earthquake struck Southern California on April 28, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The Los Angeles Times said that there was no damage or injuries recorded in the region.

Ashley Elledge, a resident of Crestline, told the Los Angeles Times that people were hardly disturbed when the quake struck. “We all looked at each other and said, ‘That was an earthquake,’” she said.

The USGS said the center of the quake was around two miles northwest of the town of Devore. The quake was originally 4.1 on the Richter scale but was later downgraded.

A minor, magnitude-2.0 aftershock hit around two minutes later around the same location.

The screeners allegedly received as much as $2,400 to allow suitcases filled with cocaine, methamphetamines, and marijuana through security. One was arrested Tuesday night, with the other three picked up Wednesday morning, according to a statement by the office of the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.

“The allegations in this case describe a significant breakdown of the screening system through the conduct of individuals who placed greed above the nation’s security needs,” U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that it confirmed a new case of mad cow disease in a dairy cow in California.

“The carcass of the animal is being held under state authority at a rendering facility in California and will be destroyed,” USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford said in a statement.

The cow “was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so at no time presented a risk to the food supply or human health,” he said, adding that milk does not transmit the disease.

The cow’s location was not disclosed, with Clifford only saying the case was discovered in Central California, the state’s main dairy-producing region. Clifford also did not specify when it was discovered.

One person was killed and four are missing after a yacht ran aground during a race near San Francisco, according to reports.

Eight crew members on the 38-foot sailing boat, the Low Speed Chase, were taking part in a race that began in San Francisco, reported NBC. The vessel ran aground on the Farallon Islands Saturday afternoon.

The owner of the vessel, James Bradford, was one of the survivors and doubled as the ship’s captain. The crew are said to be experienced sailors.

The National Guard deployed two boats to rescue crew members from the stricken boat, the station reported. One crew member was pulled out of the water and was pronounced dead.

At least 15 racing teams signed up for the race and all the other vessels returned safely, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The California Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that employers must make it possible for their employees to take scheduled breaks, but added businesses are not liable if employees choose to work instead.

The court’s ruling cleared up uncertainty over the responsibilities employers have over meal and rest periods.

“Under state law, an employer must provide its employees an uninterrupted 30-minute duty-free period, during which the employee is at liberty to come and go as he or she pleases,” wrote Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar.

The case was initially filed around nine years ago at Brinker International, which owns the restaurant Chili’s and others, after employees claimed they missed such breaks, in violation of labor laws.

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday that it is investigating the shooting deaths of two of its members at a communications station on the Alaskan island of Kodiak, located approximately 250 miles southwest of Anchorage.

“It is possible that the suspect remains at large,” said Capt. Jesse Moore, the commanding officer on the base, in a statement.

“Since we don’t have all the details, we strongly advise … all Kodiak residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to local law enforcement officials,” he said, adding that he cannot give out the names of those who were killed until the Coast Guard notifies their family members.

The base and nearby Petersen Elementary School have been put on lockdown until further notice, Moore said.

(L) In this handout photo from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, convicted mass murderer Charles Manson, 74, is seen March 18, 2009 at Corcoran State Prison, California. (R) Photo dated 1978 of Charles Manson. (Getty Images)

A California prison panel on Wednesday denied parole for convicted mass murderer Charles Manson, according to media reports.

The next parole hearing for Manson, 77, is in 2027, likely making Wednesday his final bid for freedom, CNN reported. It is the 12th time that he has applied for parole.

California Board of Parole Hearings Commissioner John Peck said that Manson, during his time in

prison, had 108 violations and showed no signs of remorse, the network said.

He read a statement that Manson gave to a psychologist last November. “I am special. I am not like the average inmate. I have put five people in the grave. I’ve been in prison most of my life. I’m a very dangerous man,” Manson said at the time, according to Peck at the hearing.

DeJon R. Lewis, the state-appointed lawyer for Manson, said that he had never met his client. Manson did not show up for the hearing, CNN reported.

The students who received the letters were on the waiting list to get in to UCLA, where competition for admission is tough, according to the Los Angeles Times report.

“We realize this is a particularly anxious and stressful time for students and their families as they try to make decisions about college admissions,” Ricardo Vazquez, a spokesperson, told the Times. “We sincerely apologize for this mistake that may have led some of them to think they were admitted when they remain on the waiting lists.”

The acceptance letter included the sentence: “Once again congratulations on your admission to UCLA. We hope that this information will assist you in making your decision to join the Bruin Family in the fall,” NBC Los Angeles reported.

There was a Web link to check their status but the website still showed that they were on the waiting list to get in.

The San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant sits at the edge of the Pacific Ocean and provides much of Southern California’s power. The plant was shut down after a leak was detected earlier this year, and federal regulators still don’t know when it will be running again. (Mark Ralson/AFP/Getty Images)

A radiation leak prompted a shutdown at a California nuclear plant early this year, and federal regulators still can’t say when the plant will be running again.

In January 2012, operators at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) detected a leak and found severely damaged equipment in the plant’s newly built steam generators. SONGS has since been closed, undergone extensive testing, and visited by a team from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), but so far experts say they don’t have a permanent fix.

On Friday, NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko joined Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to meet with plant managers and discuss SONG’s future.

Critics have accused Southern California Edison of withholding important details about the facility, and for being too eager to restart SONGS amid lingering technical problems. In a press conference, Chairman Jaczko addressed transparency and safety concerns, and stressed that he took the steam generator issue “very seriously.”

“And after some frank discussions with California Edison today, I can say that they take it very seriously too,” he said. “They are working in a productive and conservative way.”

Jaczko added that he had set very “firm conditions” on how the plant could restart, but couldn’t indicate how long a fix might take.

“I don’t want to speculate on a timeline at this point,” the chairman told reporters.

While officials have repeatedly stated that safety is the project’s top priority, critics contend that too much attention has been paid to bringing back profits. The shutdown has cost the power company dearly—as much as $1 million a day, according to one expert.

The biggest issue, however, is the steam generators. The SONGS original generators operated safely for over a quarter century, but the 2010 replacements haven’t fared so well. In less than 2 years, tubes in all of the facility’s new steam generators have shown significant deterioration, which experts say could lead to a catastrophic release of radioactivity in the event of rupture.

The NRC says that other plants have had problems with similar tubes, but only SONGS has seen a shutdown. The vulnerability appears to be in San Onofre’s unique design.

A report from Southern California Edison shows that the energy company purchased identical replacement reactors, but the equipment found at the plant tells a different story. Two of the reactors SONGS had installed were heavily modified, and according to a recent evaluation from Fairewinds Associates, the untested materials and techniques used in the elaborate redesign are to blame for the rapid degradation of tubes.

According to researchers, management at Edison and SONGS intentionally misled the NRC when they reported that the steam generator replacements were identical, because “such a distinction is actually part of a procedure that San Onofre developed in order to avoid the requisite NRC oversight of a steam generator replacement process.”

Although Southern California Edison has warned that residents could see rolling blackouts if San Onofre isn’t up and running soon, many in the surrounding community are more concerned that the job is done right.

Fearing the worst, organizers have drawn ominous parallels to the recent disaster in Fukushima, and have been pushing the NRC to keep SONGS shut down until the root of the problem can be clearly determined—and permanently fixed. Jaczko indicated he heard the message loud and clear.

A 13-year-old middle-school student steered a school bus to safety in Washington after the bus driver had a seizure and lost control of the vehicle, reports said.

Jeremy Wuitschick of Milton, Wash., rushed to grab the wheel of the careening school bus and then turned off the ignition, reported the Q13 Fox television station.

Soon after, a school worker was driving by, got on the bus, and performed CPR on the driver, according to surveillance footage posted by the station.

“Everyone was asking questions,” Wuitschick told the station. “‘What happened? Whoa, there’s a bus out there! What did you do Jeremy?’ And I was just like, I just drove the bus to the side. Everyone was excited about that.”

Wuitschick was praised by police for acting quickly to remedy the situation.

This Lamborghini along with twenty stolen luxury vehicles, were recovered from warehouses while awaiting export to Asian countries recently. (Robin Kemker/The Epoch Times)

LOS ANGELES—Hot cars sit near the pier. Hot-looking and hot—as in stolen—the vehicles will be returned to their owners. The 20 luxury cars on display are only a small percentage of stolen goods being exported to Asia for sale.

According to a press release from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Outbound Enforcement Team (OET), these particular vehicles were bound for Hong Kong and Vietnam. The OET regularly audits warehouse manifests to compare serial numbers and descriptions of container contents. Inspectors check online to determine if a vehicle that is outbound has outstanding leases or loans, or is stolen.

Recent audits found 20 stolen outbound vehicles.

The vehicles were listed as used fitness equipment. Among them were a Lamborghini, a Ferrari 458 Italia, and other models such as the BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes, and Audi brands. The cars had a combined estimated value of $1.5 million, according to the CBP.

In fiscal year 2011, the CBP at Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport seized 61 vehicles and 49 engines set for overseas delivery. Of that total, 24 were stolen, 73 were undeclared, 7 were undervalued, and 6 had fraudulent documents, the CBP said in a statement.

Losers in the Game

CBP officers discovered that smugglers using false identities had leased or purchased the new vehicles, defrauding several local California dealerships, financial institutions, and insurance companies. If the vehicle is leased or has a loan, it cannot be released for export to another country, according to Carlos Martel, director of field operations in Los Angeles for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, reported the Monterey Herald.

Cranes at the Port of Los Angeles in Long Beach. The combined LA/Long Beach Seaport is the eighth-largest port complex in the world. The number of containers coming and going through the seaport exceeded 38,000 per day in 2011. (Hector Mata/AFP/Getty Images)

Sgt. Michael Stefanoff of the California Highway Patrol said, “The total number of vehicles recovered for illegal export in the past year for California was about 230 vehicles from the [Mexican] border to here.” CHP has seven investigators assigned to directly related vehicle problems.

In this type of investigation, “We investigate three areas when we locate these people … vehicles, money and money laundering, and drugs. They go hand-in-hand with these kinds of people,” said Stefanoff.

When discussing the overall problem, he said, “We have seen stolen vehicles come in from other states to avoid detection. Last year, there was one driven from Florida to California.”

Stefanoff said a bigger problem is that outbound containers do not require placement into an approved warehouse and possible inspection/audit before being released for export. The massive number of containers is beyond the seaports’ ability to inspect them.

The combined LA/Long Beach Seaport is the eighth-largest port complex in the world. The number of containers coming and going through the seaport exceeded 38,000 per day in 2011.

The California Highway Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection cooperate in investigations where vehicles are concerned. Both are part of the Department of Homeland Security.

International Agency Cooperation

The two men who were arrested early on Sunday in connection with a shooting spree that left three dead in Tulsa made their first court appearances on Monday, it was reported.

Neither man had an attorney present and the Tulsa public defender’s office was contacted on their behalf, the KWGS radio station reported.

Alvin Watts, 32, and Jake England, 19, are being held on complaints of three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of shooting with the intent to kill, and possession of a firearm. Their bonds were set at $9.16 million each, the Tulsa-based KTUL station reported.

The men have not been officially charged while their cases are being reviewed by the local district attorney’s office, the station said.

A western Washington man who escaped police several days ago has continued to update his Facebook status while on the lam, local reports said.

Travis A. Nicolaysen of Port Angeles updated his status and received responses from people who warned him that the police were searching for him, the Penninsula Daily News reported. 

“Cops all over you,” one friend said, to which Nicolaysen replied: “got away thanks bro,” the Daily News said.

“Your not getting any younger and [you’re] looking at a lot of time,” one post reads. “I love ya man but set an example for your kids.”

Seattle-based KIRO TV reported that Nicolaysen, 26, escaped from Port Angeles police on foot last Wednesday. He has in the past been convicted of five felonies.

Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith told the station that they were checking his Facebook page as part of their search.

“People are giving him advice” to surrender, Smith told KIRO, “and he might want to follow it.”

A woman uses her SNAP card to purchase food in a grocery store in this photo provided by the USDA. (courtesy US Department of Agriculture)

Over the past four years, Idaho has seen the nation’s second largest increase in food stamp enrollment, with the largest increase taking place in Nevada.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a federally funded program that aims to provide food to low- and no-income families to improve nutrition and promote self-sufficiency.

The program is individually managed and administered by each state through its Department of Health and Welfare. The program is not intended to be a permanent means of support for families or individuals.

In a statement the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Richard Armstrong said, “We are confident that temporary help today will reduce many of the stresses families are facing, so people can concentrate on finding work and becoming self-sufficient again.”

According to the USDA, more than one in seven Americans receives food stamp assistance, nearly half are children. However, it is estimated that one in five Americans is considered to be experiencing “food hardship.”

“The program started growing in 2007,” says Tom Shanahan, Public Information manager for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. “Back then, about 86,000 were enrolled, and there are about 238,000 today. From fall of ’07 into spring of ’12, we’ve tripled enrollment.”

The 170 percent increase in Idaho’s SNAP enrollment over the past four and a half years may be closely related to the rising unemployment rate, which has tripled in the past five years. While the SNAP enrollment rate in Idaho is about 15 percent, the unemployment rate is about 8 percent.

“A lot of this [increase in enrollment] is due to the economy, to the recession,” says Shanahan. “A lot of people may qualify, but do not apply because they can rely on family, friends, and churches to provide support. With the recession, perhaps these supports are not as able to provide and people are turning to government aid.”

When SNAP switched to a debit card format from actual food coupons in the 1990’s, it offered a new level of discreteness for beneficiaries. Formerly, food aid beneficiaries were subject to a social stigma when proceeding through the grocery line, but now using food stamps is just like using a bankcard. For many, there is no longer any hesitation when considering whether or not to apply for the program, perhaps contributing to higher enrollment.

Shanahan describes the effects of high enrollment on the department: “Such large enrollment has put a strain on our staff. We have about 10,000 applicants per month, and we have to recertify as well. It is very time consuming. We have 14,000 recertifications per month. Our main focus is on how to handle the caseload.

“Before 2007, enrollment would go up and down. Many people would have agriculture jobs in the spring and not need food aid, and then they would get on the program during the winter when they were not working—there was an ebb and flow. Enrollment has steadily gone up every month since 2007.”

In 2011, the Recovery Act increased federal spending on entitlement and public benefit programs by $53 billion to amount to $840 billion. However, some current reform proposals suggest a cut in SNAP’s funding by $133.5 billion over the next decade.

Such a cut would cause either a reduction in SNAP recipients or fewer benefits per recipient, even though the national average monthly benefit per family of four is already just $154.

An Idaho resident comments on her SNAP benefits, “They are a lifesaver for me. We get $300 a month for food stamps, and we end up spending about 50 bucks on food outside of that.”

To help regulate SNAP, the federal government established Program Evaluation, a system that assesses how well Idaho is managing the program. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “SNAP has one of the most rigorous quality control systems of any public benefit program.”

Based upon a study conducted by the Food Research and Action Center in which SNAP benefits were included as household income, SNAP lifted just over 16 percent of households in Idaho out of the poverty guideline.

“As far as performance, Idaho has exceeded expectations,” states Shanahan.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, SNAP is not contributing to the nation’s long-term fiscal strain, and it is expecting SNAP enrollment to return to prerecession levels as a share of Gross Domestic Product by 2022.

Shanahan adds, “Hopefully as the economy recovers we’ll see a reverse of this [increase].”

Although SNAP legislation emphasizes improving nutrition among low-income families, junk food such as candy, chips, and soda can still be purchased with benefits. SNAP benefits however, may not be used to purchase alcoholic beverages or tobacco products, as well as other nonfood items.

“People in general think that eating on a budget means getting cheap, discount food—junk food that makes you fat,” says an Idaho SNAP recipient.

Multiple studies report that SNAP participants weigh more and have a higher body mass index than eligible nonparticipants. Some studies suggest that perhaps the small amount of money allotted to families, in addition to a lack of nutritional education, contributes to SNAP recipients buying cheap junk food instead of healthy foods.

According to Shanahan, “There are nutrition education classes that are offered but are not mandatory.”

In some states, programs are in place to reward the use of SNAP benefits on healthful foods by doubling the food stamp value when used on healthy items such as produce. In other states, there is a push to prohibit certain items from being purchased with food stamps—items such as junk foods like chips or soda and extravagant foods like prime rib or lobster.

“Some states are working with the government to make it so only nutritious foods can be purchased with benefits,” says Shanahan. “If there is concern, it’s about the kinds of food that can be purchased with food stamps.”

Instances of Fraud

While about three-quarters of SNAP recipients are genuinely needy households with children and over a quarter are households with seniors or disabled, there are gaps in the program.

Like other social welfare programs, there are a small number of recipients that intend to gain at the expense of the system.

An Idaho resident and SNAP recipient, who will remain anonymous, explains what she’s seen of food stamp fraud: “I know it’s common for people to ‘sell’ their food stamps, and there are a lot of people who abuse the system.

“My friend sells his food stamps in order to pay his rent, but he is avoiding getting a regular job. My other friend is a bum who gets food stamps just because he can, but he’s not trying to support himself at all.”

Exchanging SNAP benefits for cash is referred to as ‘trafficking,’ and in the final quarter of 2011 the United States Department of Agriculture identified over 225 stores that were violating SNAP rules and disqualified over 350 stores for trafficking.

On the whole, the White House’s website reports that SNAP abuse is relatively rare, affecting about one cent on the dollar. However, the public is strongly encouraged to report any incidences of abuse in order to maintain the integrity of this program.

Abuse of SNAP benefits is misuse of taxpayer money and against the law. Knowingly using, transferring, acquiring, changing, or possessing SNAP benefits in any manner not permitted by SNAP is a felony in most states, some with fines up to $250,000 and imprisonment up to 20 years.

Buford, Wyoming street sign pictured in 2006. Buford was reportedly bought Thursday by a businessman from Vietnam for $900,000 in an auction. (Flikr user 'frankenstoen'/Creative Commons)

A Wyoming town that has a population of just one person was bought Thursday by a businessman from Vietnam for $900,000 in an auction, it was reported.

The auction of the small town of Buford, which has only a convenience store, a gas station, and a single home, gathered international attention.

Buford’s lone resident, Don Sammons, owned the town and decided to auction it. “My family is gone. Our purpose for moving here has kind of been completed, and now I want to find out what other adventures I have in store,” Sammons told Reuters.

Williams & Williams, the firm that held the auction, said the buyer will also get “10+/- acres of land, five buildings, United States Post Office Boxes, inventory, furnishing, tools, plow and three vehicles” as well as a wireless tower, and a parking area.

The identity of the buyer was not disclosed and once Sammons moves, it is unclear if the town will have any residents living there, Reuters said.

Police pepper sprayed at least 30 demonstrators at a Santa Monica College protesting higher course fees. The demonstrators were trying to forcibly enter a trustee board meeting on Tuesday night, according to reports.

The campus police attempted to prevent dozens of students from entering, who were saying, “Let us in, let us in” and “No cuts, no fees, education should be free,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Priscillia Omon, 21, a witness, told NBC that a police officer sprayed the mouths and eyes of people standing close by.

College spokesperson Bruce Smith told the station that “the crowd was getting out of hand” and that “there was a safety issue. A couple of students had sort of broken into the boardroom. It was a judgment call and a question of safety.”

Trustee David Finkel said the college needs to investigate the matter.

Land development in the Puget Sound flood plains of Washington state under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood insurance program could lead to harm or the complete destruction of local fish populations, according to environmentalist groups.

The Puget Sound area has over 10,000 rivers and streams following channels carved by retreating glaciers. These rivers and streams flow from the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges and support a rich ecosystem.

Over 4 million live in the area, which includes the cities of Seattle and Tacoma, Wash. Natural resources including lumber and shellfish, and recreational areas support an economy ideal for continued development and harvesting. Many environmentalists fear over-development could lead to trouble for wildlife populations.

On March 26 the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) started legal action to stop the federal government from issuing flood insurance policies for new Puget Sound development, thereby halting new development in the flood plain areas of Puget Sound.

This follows a similar lawsuit filed by NWF in 2003 against FEMA to protect threatened fish populations, according to NWF Senior Environmental Policy Specialist Dan Siemann.

The movement to block development started with NWF attorney Jan Hasselman. Hasselman asked U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez to issue an injunction to block future development in approximately 70 river valley communities in Puget Sound.

According to NWF, they are “taking steps necessary to recover species.” NWF wants to stop FEMA from supporting more harm to the fish habitats. Last week’s hearing was a request for preliminary action.

NWF claims that FEMA’s flood insurance program for the Puget Sound area hasn’t been changed, as federal fisheries experts recommended 3 years ago. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and NWF, development in that area will harm already endangered salmon and orca populations.

“We’re requesting that the judge put a hold on new insurance until FEMA makes the changes that are necessary in order to prevent further harm to salmon and orca,” Siemann said.

According to NWF, FEMA’s flood plan will likely lead to extinction of salmon, unless FEMA changes its approach.

NMFS wants FEMA to change the way it maps flood plains and change the standards for flood plains.

“FEMA’s national flood program jeopardizes salmon and orca that rely on Chinook salmon for about 60 percent of their food source,” Siemenn said.

NMFS came to the conclusion in 2008 that FEMA’s flood insurance plan encourages destructive construction in flood plain areas. Construction in flood plains damages important fish habitats. NMFS gave FEMA a series of reforms the agency should make to refine the flood insurance program and not violate the Endangered Species Act.

NWF stands firm that FEMA was given from 2008–2011 to change and they haven’t done so.

“This situation is a federal agency contributing to the demise of an iconic species in Puget Sound—a species that’s persisted through thousands of years,” said Siemann.

A gunman shot five people dead on Monday at Oikos University, a Christian school in Oakland, Calif., according to local media reports.

Police told the local ABC-7 station that an Asian man with a heavy build wearing tan or khaki clothing began shooting at 10:33 a.m.

A spokesperson with the Oakland Police told KTVU that the department apprehended the suspect. “We do believe we have detained an individual responsible for the shooting at the college,” Johnna Watson said.

The police deployed SWAT agents to comb the campus and areas nearby to find other victims and to see if there were other possible suspects.

Pastor Jong Kim, the founder of the school, said the shooter may have been a previously enrolled nursing student, reported The Oakland Tribune.

LOS ANGELES—It was graduation day for a 70-year-old-plus veteran at the Orange County Combat Veterans Court on March 27. Telling his story, he said the first time he drank a beer was when he was in junior high school. He laughingly added, “And it was a party every night thereafter!”

Standing in the Veterans Court were two police officers, who both told a few stories of their encounters with this gentleman. Both were smiling as the audience laughed, though we could sense it had not been easy for them to deal with him over the years.

The veteran then pulled out a two-page statement and proceeded to tell about his life over 50-plus years as an alcoholic. He and his wife had been homeless during some of those years because of his drinking. She was there at his graduation, standing by his side. He thanked the court, his family, his mentor, and the VA for helping him finally conquer his alcoholism.

In the audience were more than 20 much younger non-violent veteran offenders with their volunteer veteran mentors.

After the celebration, each of the young offenders took his or her turn with their mentor by their side and reported to Judge Wendy S. Lindley their compliance with their program agreement. Lindley responded with very positive encouragement and compliments. This is not your typical justice setting. She complimented one veteran for his honesty in admitting a minor violation of his agreement with the court; the audience clapped with support as each veteran reported. This supportive activity is normal in these courts.

VA social workers also play a very critical role in coordinating this new treatment program. The VA funds the entire treatment program, while the local court enforces agreements it has with offenders and penalizes those who fail to meet that agreement. Complying with the agreement means not going to jail or prison.

The volunteer veteran mentors are also a key element in assisting the offenders.

According to an article in the Buffalo Sunday Express, Judge Russell of the Boston Veteran Court (the first such court in the country) had matched a discouraged veteran with a member of his court who was also a veteran. He said, “When they came back from a short meeting I saw straightaway that the veteran’s behavior had totally changed. He stood erect, [and] gave more open responses.”

“I thought it was very interesting that even the briefest meeting with another vet could have had this effect. So we discussed setting aside a day just for veterans. It was a unique idea.”

Nationally these Veteran Court programs use volunteer veterans as mentors. There are 88 such courts in the country.

Successes

The Buffalo Veterans Treatment Court in New York was started in 2008. A report issued in 2010 provides a glimpse at the effectiveness of these courts. Of the 300 veterans that completed the program during the first two years, the recidivism rate is zero—meaning no graduates had, to their knowledge, reverted back into their old habits and crimes.

The Orange County Combat Veterans Court has 48 currently enrolled veterans with a total of 89 enrollees since the program began.

Orange County’s Combat Veterans Court also started in 2008. The court has seen 22 graduates in the past two years with an average treatment period of two years. In discussing the differences in the number of graduates between the Buffalo and Orange County programs, the Orange County court only accepts veterans that were deployed (served in a combat zone), whereas the Buffalo court accepts all veterans, regardless of combat service.

Veterans that have seen combat duty tend to have more serious issues to deal with. A 2008 RAND study on combat-related “invisible wounds” indicates that one in five veterans have PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) or TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), or both, with major depression following deployment.

Worth the Money?

California Governor Jerry Brown returned, unsigned, a bill in August 2011 to help fund the expansion of Veteran Courts in California. His signed cover letter said, “While the provisions of this bill are well-intended, they create a clear expectation that our courts—already struggling with painful budget cuts—will establish a new program.”

The Heritage Foundation has suggested combining both the drug courts and veteran court treatment programs to gain efficiencies, since many of the non-violent drug users are returning veterans.
Also, the effectiveness of the courts may suggest the costs are worthwhile: The Buffalo Veterans Court program reported an initial two-year zero recidivism rate, while the national general prison three-year recidivism rates are about 65 percent.

A hiker in Northern California claimed he was attacked by a mountain lion only to be saved by a bear.

Robert Biggs, 69, told the Paradise Post that he was watching a mother bear and cubs from a distance when a mountain lion pounced on him. He hit the lion in the head with a rock pick but it didn’t let go of him.

“They usually grab hold of your head with all four paws, but my backpack was up above my head and (the mountain lion) grabbed it instead,” Biggs told the Paradise Post. “It must have been stalking the little bear, but it was on me in seconds.”

He added that bears are “pretty territorial.”

Colorado officials said on Tuesday that two people were found dead, killed by a wildfire raging in the foothills near Denver.

Authorities issued a warning to 6,500 homes in Jefferson County as 4,500 acres have been burned in the Lower North Fork Fire, according to the county sheriff’s office. The homes are located north of a pre-existing evacuation area that was issued earlier.

The two people who were found dead were within the perimeter of the fire, reported The Denver Post. Local officials are also looking for a third person who was reported missing and declined to give more information about the victims or where they were found.

San Francisco detectives arrested a man wanted in the gruesome slaying of five people and detained the man’s brother on drug charges, according to media reports on Monday.

Binh Thai Luc, 35, was arrested on five counts of homicide that took place in a quiet home that stunned neighbors, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

Police Chief Greg Suhr said that the victims suffered from blunt trauma but added that “an edged weapon” was also involved in the killings, the newspaper reported.

However, he added, “We don’t know the circumstances until we get that from the medical examiner,” according to the local KGO-7 television station. The victims have also not been identified.

“No one really knows what happened in there except the people that were in there,” neighbor Mike Byrnes told the station.

Suhr added that there was also a likely relationship between Luc and the victims, noting that he has a criminal record and could possibly have “prior gang ties,” according to the Chronicle.