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Voters overwhelmingly OK Prop 50 congressional redistricting
Cabazon child abuser who killed toddler son sentenced to 32 years to life
By Joe Taglieri
By Paul J. Young, City News Service
joet@beaconmedianews.com
A
convicted Cabazon child abuser who killed his 7-monthold son — after which, prosecutors allege, he conspired with his wife to cover up the crime — was sentenced Monday to 32 years to life in state prison. Jake Mitchell Haro, 32, pleaded guilty on Oct. 16 to second-degree murder, child assault and filing a false police report. His spouse, 41-year-old Rebecca Rene Haro, did not join in the plea, which was made straight to Riverside County
C
alifornia voters approved by a large margin a new set of congressional district boundaries in Tuesday's special election for Proposition 50. The Election Rigging Response Act, as supporters call it, has received 63.8%36.2% with all election night precincts partially reporting as of Wednesday morning, according to the Secretary of State's Office. Voter turnout was just over 35%. Prop 50 enacts new congressional district maps for the 2026 midterm elections and subsequent elections in 2028 and 2030. The move is likely to shift five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to Democrats, according to the election news website Ballotpedia. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has said he's considering a run for the presidency, spearheaded the ballot initiative after Texas adopted mid-decade congressional redistricting that favored Republicans. "What happened here in California tonight is a victory for the people of this country," Newsom posted on social media, adding "(President Donald Trump's) attempts to rig the midterm elections are backfiring. His attempts to silence you are backfiring. His entire presidency is backfiring." The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Democrats have a 43-9 advantage in California's House delegation.
Superior Court Judge Gary Polk, without negotiations between the defense and prosecution. Rebecca Haro, who is charged with murder and filing a false police report, is slated to appear for a felony settlement conference on Jan. 21. She's being held on $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail and has no documented prior felony convictions. Baby Emmanuel's body has not been located. Jake Haro did not address the court, and there
See Child abuser Page 28
Board approves ag commissioner contract to enforce bollworm policy By City News Service
This map shows voting results in California counties for Proposition 50 congressional redistricting. | Image courtesy of MapperGuy87/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
Other Republicancontrolled states such as Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nebraska and South Carolina are also considering efforts to approve redistricting — which usually takes place every 10 years to reflect new census data. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told CNN in August, "If California tries to gerrymander, find more districts, listen, Texas has the ability to eliminate 10 Democrats in
our state." Texas' House delegation currently is 25 Republicans and 12 Democrats, in addition to one unfilled vacancy after Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner died in March. Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair Mark Ramos hailed the proposition's passage. “Yesterday, Californians lit a fire for democracy," he See Prop 50 Page 09
said in a statement. "Voters stood up and said enough to rigged maps and broken promises. The Los Angeles County Democratic Party is proud to have contributed to this historic victory, proof of what we can accomplish when we organize, mobilize, and refuse to back down. Prop 50 is more than a win; it’s a vow to defend our democracy with everything we’ve got. This victory
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he Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved the Riverside County Office of Agriculture Commissioner's contract with the state to monitor programs intended to ensure containment of any pink bollworm threats to cotton crops countywide. The office has entered into agreements with the California Department of Food & Agriculture annually for the last decade or so to manage the Pink Bollworm Cotton Plowdown Program. The new contract, valued at $5,000, is retroactive to
Nov. 1 and expires on June 30, 2026. Under the agreement, the county's agricultural inspectors will be responsible for tallying all acreage reserved for cotton crops and track whether those parcels where pink bollworm populations were previously identified remain plowed down, uncultivated. No recent evidence has emerged of major bollworm activity in cotton growing areas of Riverside County. However, the pest remains an ongoing concern to
See Bollworm policy Page 27