LA County looks to increase price gouging penalties to $50,000
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Thursday, February 06-February 12, 2025
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Protesters against Trump immigration policy take to SoCal streets
Altadena residents who lost homes
By Joe Taglieri
joet@beaconmedianews.com
in Eaton Fire sue Edison utility By Joe Taglieri
joet@beaconmedianews.com
U
pwards of 1,000 protesters demonstrated in Los Angeles and Santa Ana on Monday to voice opposition to President Donald Trump's plans for mass deportations and a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration. The largest number of demonstrators were in downtown Los Angeles, where police detained an estimated 200 people and arrested one person for allegedly possessing a firearm, according to published reports. After initially gathering at LA City Hall, protesters marched along First and Spring streets to an intersection near Crypto.com Arena. There they waved flags and chanted before heading back northward, joined by hundreds more protesters and motorists who joined the demonstration that processed through the downtown. The Los Angeles Police Department declared unlawful assembly about 4:45 p.m. Monday after officers said people in the group threw bottles and rocks at them, according to published reports. The majority of demonstrators acted peacefully, as police permitted the crowd to process through streets. By early afternoon, approximately 1,000 protesters assembled at the Hollywood Freeway's Spring and Main street overpasses. Police, however, were on alert to prevent them from attempting to walk onto
"Photogrammetry" video displays flames from the Eaton Fire under SoCalEdison power lines, according to attorneys representing fire victims. | Photo courtesy of LA Fire Justice
the highway, as many did on Sunday, when protests against Trump's immigration agenda began, the Times reported. The protests Monday were part of coordinated actions nationwide called "A Day Without Immigrants." In downtown Santa Ana, hundreds of protesters gathered at Sasscer Park and across the street at the Ronald Reagan federal courthouse. About 150 people assembled at Fifth and Ross streets to voice opposition to Trump's policies and his campaign promise to deport thousands of people who live in the U.S. without legal permission. Demonstrators were also present on Fourth Street,
Orange County's historic Latino corridor. OC protest organizers Tonali Un and Carla Valencia told the Times they chose the location for the protest because it was near the federal buildings for courts and immigration services. "I think people are finally opening their eyes," Un said. "A lot of people I talk to now regret" voting for Trump, she said. "People are finally realizing they have to do their research." Un said many Latino Trump supporters she has spoken with did not believe he would crack down on immigration or follow through with many of his campaign pledges. See Protesters Page 05
A protest also took place Monday in North Hollywood, according to published reports. In Perris, a protest was declared an unlawful assembly after nine hours, resulting in six arrests, according the Riverside County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday. Individuals throwing rocks and bottles at deputies led to the declaration, sheriff's officials said in a statement. That claim was disputed by some who said the dispersal orders were issued when the protest was still peaceful, according to published reports. Protesters assembled at several Perris Boulevard intersections starting at 9 a.m. Monday. Authorities estimated the crowd to be as many as 500 people. Riverside County deputies and California Highway Patrol officers were monitoring protests throughout the day. The protests were peaceful until 6 p.m., when the sheriff's department reported that some in the crowd were throwing item, according to the statement. Video posted online later showed law enforcement personnel appearing to shoot "less lethal" projectiles in the direction of demonstrators a few minutes after a deputy's announcement to disperse. Sheriff's officials said deputies and CHP officers were able to clear protesters from the area without any
"Photogrammetry" video displays flames from the Eaton Fire under SoCalEdison power lines, according to attorneys representing fire victims. | Photo courtesy of LA Fire Justice
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ltadena homeowners have sued Southern California Edison Corp., claiming the utility's equipment ignited the devastating Eaton Fire, their attorneys announced Tuesday. Plaintiffs Walt Butler, Luis Gonzalez and Denise Diaz Gonzalez lost their homes in the wind-fueled wildfire last month that caused 17 deaths, charred over 14,000 and destroyed more than 9,400 structures, many of them residences. Attorneys from the Law Office of Douglas Boxer and the Watts Law Firm in association with the advocacy organization LA Fire Justice filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court against SoCalEdison and its parent corporation Edison International. “In my career, I’ve worked on twenty-two wildfires, representing 21,000 fire survivors in six different states,” attorney Mikal Watts said in a statement. “This is the clearest evidence that I’ve ever seen of utilities’ equipment being the start of a fire.” LA Fire Justice’s team of wildfire investigators, fire origin and causation experts and digital mappers used the "photogrammetry" technique to make a 3D model of Eaton Canyon in an attempt to find the blaze's exact point of origin, according to the organization. Photogrammetry "takes videos obtained from surveillance footage and witnesses, and stitches them together to recreate the canyon’s shape and details in an exact digital model." Edison spokeswoman Kathleen Dunleavy said, "Our hearts go out to everyone in Southern California impacted by these wildfires. We do not know what caused the Eaton Fire, and our investigation is still in the early stages. It is disappointing plaintiffs' attorneys choose to first go to See Altadena residents Page 28