Riverside County high school students compete in mock trial contest
Assemblyman seeks limits on pet euthanasia in animal shelters
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Thursday, February 16-February 22, 2023
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein will step down at end of term
VOL. 7,
NO. 108
Report: Inflation rises over 7% in Riverside area during 2022 By City News Service
By City News Service
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rice inflation throughout the Riverside metropolitan area jumped 7.3% over the last year and was up more than 1% just in the last two months, fueled by higher energy expenses, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The agency's bimonthly report, which covers northwestern Riverside County, as well as the cities of Ontario and San Bernardino, indicated that food and energy were the main drivers pushing the metro area's Consumer Price Index higher over the last 12 months. Energy prices jumped 15.3% year over year, with natural gas price spikes that began in December offsetting a months-long gradual softening of prices at the gasoline pump, data showed. Natural gas costs per thermal unit more than doubled in December and January due to higher demand amid polar blasts across the nation's midsection, supply shortages in California generally and commodities speculation, according to analysts. In the previous 12 months, food costs were up 9.8%, the BLS stated, noting that there were "increases across (all) food-athome expenditure categories." In December and January, the metro CPI was up 1.3%,
Senator Dianne Feinstein. | Photo courtesy of Senate Democrats (CC BY 2.0)
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en. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, officially announced Tuesday that she will not be seeking re-election in 2024. Feinstein, 89, has held the U.S. Senate seat since 1992. There was rampant speculation that she would not seek another term. Southland Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, and Katie Porter, D-Irvine, previously announced bids to seek Feinstein's seat in 2024, anticipating that she would not run again. Feinstein insisted in a statement that while she will not seek re- election, she will serve out the remainder of her current term. She said she intends "to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends." "I campaigned in 2018 on several priorities for Califor-
nia and the nation: preventing and combating wildfires, mitigating the effects of recordsetting drought, responding to the homelessness crisis, and ensuring all Americans have access to affordable, highquality health care," she said. "Congress has enacted legislation on all of these topics over the past several years, but more needs to be done -- and I will continue these efforts. "I also remain focused on passing commonsense legislation to fight the epidemic of gun violence, preserving our pristine lands and promoting economic growth -- especially to position California for what I believe will be the century of the Pacific. And I will use my seniority on the Appropriations Committee to ensure California gets its fair share of funding. I'm confident we can achieve these
goals because we've done it before." She added, "Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass bills that will improve lives. Each of us was sent here to solve problems. That's what I've done for the last 30 years, and that's what I plan to do for the next two years. My thanks to the people of California for allowing me to serve them." Schiff issued a statement hailing Feinstein as "one of the finest legislators our state and country have ever known." "As the longest-serving woman senator, Senator Feinstein is trailblazer, and her accomplishments are immense and far from over," Schiff said. "From the torture report and her dogged pursuit of gun safety to her championship of LGBTQ+ rights and
conservation of California's greatest resources, Senator Feinstein's expansive body of work and defense of our democracy will define her legacy. "But her important work goes on. Her championing of the Assault Weapons Ban and so many other measures critical to California and the nation will make a continuing contribution to the safety and welfare of our people." Porter, on her Twitter page, also hailed the state's senior Senator. "Senator Dianne Feinstein has had a remarkable career serving the people of California," she wrote. "She created a path for women in politics that I am proud to follow. I thank the Senator for her leadership and appreciate all that she has accomplished for our state."
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Dad to trek for sentencing of man who sold daughter fatal fentanyl By City News Service
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Temecula dad whose 20-year-old daughter died from fentanyl poisoning will begin a roughly 60-mile trek next week that, over the course of three days, takes him from his home to the federal courthouse in Riverside, where the dealer who sold his child the deadly pills will be sentenced. On Feb. 24, Matt Capelouto will initiate his "Walk for Justice" in memory of Alexandra Capelouto, who died in December 2019 after she consumed what she believed to be Oxycodone capsules but were actually tablets containing fentanyl. Brandon Michael McDowell, 24, pleaded guilty in August to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl for causing Alexandra's death. McDowell, who is facing a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, is slated for sentencing on Feb. 27. "Since that fateful night three years ago, Matt has been on the front lines of a fight to hold drug dealers criminally responsible for knowingly causing the deaths of thousands of See Fentanyl poisoning Page 32