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Murrieta Valley High wins Riverside County mock trial tournament
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M O N D AY, F E B R U A RY 27- M A R C H 05, 2023
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California AG opens civil rights Man dies at hospital after being shot by Hemet police investigation into Riverside County Sheriff’s Office By City News Service
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emet police said Wednesday an officer fatally shot an armed man while conducting a theft investigation, but the wife of the man who died said her husband was not the target of the police search and was killed in “cold blood.” According to Hemet police, the shooting occurred around 10:10 a.m. Tuesday in the 800 block of South Harvard Street, where officers were conducting a follow-up investigation regarding a recent theft. While searching the backyard of a residence, officers encountered an
By City News Service
| Image courtesy of the Hemet Police Department
armed man “in an adjacent backyard,” police said, prompting an officer to open fire. The man suffered a gunshot wound and died
at a hospital. Officers later discovered See Hemet police Page 24
CalFresh pandemic relief food benefits set to expire By Staff
T Sheriff Chad Bianco. | Photo courtesy of Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
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mid allegations relating to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office jail conditions, excessive force and other misconduct concerns, state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday he is opening a civil rights investigation into the agency to determine if it has engaged in unconstitutional policing. The probe will be aimed at identifying any possible practices violating state or federal law, according to the state Department of Justice. “When some communities don’t see or feel they are being treated equitably by law enforcement, it
contributes to distrust and hurts public safety,” said Attorney General Bonta in a statement. “Unfortunately, it is clear that -- amid concerning levels of in-custody deaths and allegations of misconduct -- too many families and communities in Riverside County are hurting and looking for answers.” Bonta said his office has not reached any conclusions or determinations about any specific allegations against the department or its policies. But the state will consider “all relevant information, including from community members and organizations,
local officials, oversight entities, RCSO and individual deputies.” The sheriff’s department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the investigation. Bonta urged anyone with relevant information to the investigation to contact the DOJ’s Civil Rights Enforcement Section at policepractices@doj.ca.gov. “Whether you have a loved one in jail or are worried about crime in your neighborhood, we all benefit when there is action to ensure the integrity of policing in our state,” Bonta said in a statement.
he additional emergency CalFresh food benefits that millions of Californians relied on to put food on the table during and after the pandemic are expiring soon. For the past three years, Californians receiving CalFresh impacted by pandemic shutdowns qualified for extra benefits to supplement their monthly grocery budgets. Known as CalFresh emergency allotments, Riverside County households received an average of $192 in additional food benefits each month since March 2020. The extra pandemic relief ends in February and the State will issue its final allotment on March 26. The change follows the end of the federal public health emergency and means approximately 165,279 households in Riverside County will no longer receive the additional emergency portion of their CalFresh food benefits, according to the state’s CalFresh data dashboard. “The extra benefits have been a great help in providing our customers with nutritious food throughout the pandemic and during the recovery,” said Assistant Director Allison Gonzalez of the Self Sufficiency program at the county’s Department of Public Social Services. “The reduction in benefits may have a significant impact for some families. We urge customers to contact us with any changes to their household or income to ensure they receive all CalFresh benefits they are eligible for.” Customers can contact the Department of Public Social Services at 1-877-410-8827. Customers who qualify for CalFresh will continue receiving their regular monthly benefits, which are based on an individual or family’s household size, income, and deductions. Since the elimination of emergency CalFresh is due to a change in federal regulations, current CalFresh recipients do not need to take any further action. CalFresh is the state’s largest food program and issues monthly electronic benefits which can be used to buy groceries at many stores, farmers markets, and online through retailers including Amazon and Walmart. Some recipients may use their CalFresh See CalFresh Page 23