Latest news with #Charron
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Orange County man gets 26-years-to-life sentence for murder of estranged girlfriend
Craig J. Charron, who broke into his estranged girlfriend's Huntington Beach apartment and fatally stabbed her on the day she changed the locks to keep him out, was sentenced Friday to 26 years to life in prison. Laura Sardinha, 25, had been pursuing an online psychology degree with the hope of counseling women in abusive relationships. She had been trying to escape her relationship with Charron, who had perforated her eardrum in an earlier attack, and she had taken out a restraining order against him. On Friday, three months after a jury convicted Charron of first-degree murder for her September 2020 death, Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Cassidy called it a 'senseless and brutal' crime and gave him the maximum sentence allowed by law. 'All Laura wanted was to be free of the abuse and the torment,' the victim's mother, Marie Sardinha, told the judge. 'This man should not be out in society. He should never be let out.' The victim's brother, Shawn Sardinha, said he had struggled to find reasons to live after his sister's death. 'I now give updates of my life to a blue vase,' he said. At trial, Charron, 39, described himself as an Air Force veteran and former combat medic with a 100% disability rating. He was receiving psychiatric treatment at the VA. At the sentencing, Charron wore the green camouflage scrubs afforded to inmates who served in the military, and his lawyer said Charron had been participating in veterans programs at the county jail. The victim's father said he was a Vietnam veteran himself and hated any suggestion that Charron might get any leniency as a vet. 'It just makes me sick,' Manuel Sardinha told the judge. He recalled how she would play 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' on the piano at the family home during the holidays. He said injuries from a 2019 motorcycle accident had derailed her ambition of culinary school, but she was planning to use the financial settlement to open a therapy practice. Charron had been dating Sardinha just a few months. She had given him nearly $100,000 of the $750,000 she won in the accident settlement. Two weeks before he killed her, she texted him to say that she could not hear because he had broken her eardrum. She complained that he kept hitting her. He told police her injuries were the result of 'rough sex' and pressured her into dropping charges. On the morning of her death, she recorded herself begging him to get out of her apartment, saying, 'You terrify me, because you don't leave.' When he finally left, he bombarded her with calls and texts, which she ignored. Early that afternoon, at her request, a maintenance worker changed her locks, to keep him out. Nevertheless, Charron somehow slipped back inside around 1:15 p.m. — it is not clear how — while she was on a three-way call with her mom and her best friend. They heard her cry, 'Oh my God, he's here.' The friend hung up to call 911. Sardinha called her back and left a chilling 37-second voicemail, screaming, 'He's gonna kill me!' His voice was eerily absent from the voicemail, which the prosecutor suggested was a function of his calculated, unhurried mindset in killing her. She was dead when police arrived, with stab wounds to the chest and head. He had nearly sliced off her nose. Police found Charron with knife wounds to his chest and neck, which authorities suggested he inflicted on himself to create the fiction that she had attacked him. Deputy District. Atty. Janine Madera said it did not matter whether he faked the wounds or she inflicted them on him in self-defense, since he was the clear aggressor, muscular and towering over her by 9 inches. Three of Charron's ex-girlfriends, who took out restraining orders against him, testified that he had assaulted them. One said he had choked her, a second that he slapped her, a third that he pinned her to a wall. Charron claimed that his confrontation with Sardinha was 'hazy' in his memory but that he acted in self-defense. Defense attorney Michael Guisti said his client's violent history consisted of 'non-murderous violence,' and that he may have acted in the heat of passion when he killed Sardinha. Charron made no statement at Friday's sentencing, and gave no apology.
Cision Canada
06-06-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Quarterhill Appoints David Charron as Chief Financial Officer
Experienced public technology company CFO brings deep capital markets and M&A expertise to support Quarterhill's next growth phase TORONTO, June 6, 2025 /CNW/ - Quarterhill Inc. ("Quarterhill" or the "Company") (TSX: QTRH) (OTCQX: QTRHF), today announced the appointment of as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), effective June 17, 2025. Mr. Charron brings more than 15 years of public company CFO experience and a proven track record of driving growth and operational excellence in global technology businesses. "We are pleased to welcome David to our leadership team at this pivotal moment in Quarterhill's evolution," said Chuck Myers, Chief Executive Officer at Quarterhill. "We have made important progress in our turnaround efforts over the past 18 months and are now in the late innings of this transformation. David's extensive public technology company experience, governance expertise, and proven M&A track record make him the ideal leader to help us execute on our next phase of growth." Mr. Charron most recently served as CFO at Maropost Inc., a global private SaaS company. Prior to that, he spent three years as CFO of Tiny Ltd./WeCommerce Holdings Inc., a publicly traded technology holding company. His public company experience includes four years as CFO of Terago Networks Inc., during which time he also served as Interim CEO for six months, as well as at Redknee Solutions Inc., where he served as CFO and Corporate Secretary for eight years. At Redknee, Mr. Charron successfully closed and integrated five acquisitions, while completing $240 million in equity and credit financings. Mr. Charron currently serves as Board Director and Chair of the Audit Committee for NowVertical Group, a publicly traded AI-focused data services company. He holds a Chartered Director designation from The Directors College at McMaster University, is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Certified Management Accountant, and earned his MBA from McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business and Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) from McMaster University. Added Mr. Myers: "I'd also like to thank Morgan Demkey for his dedicated service as Interim CFO during this transition period. Morgan will return to his full-time role as Vice President of Operations for our Safety & Enforcement unit, where he has consistently delivered strong results." About Quarterhill Quarterhill is a leading provider of tolling, safety and enforcement, and logistics solutions in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) industry. Our goal is technology-driven global leadership in ITS, via organic growth of our businesses, and by continuing an acquisition-oriented investment strategy that capitalizes on attractive growth opportunities within ITS and its adjacent markets. Quarterhill is listed on the TSX under the symbol QTRH and on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol QTRHF. For more information: Forward-looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Such forward-looking statements relate to future events, conditions or future financial performance of Quarterhill based on future economic conditions and courses of action. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of any words such as "seek", "anticipate", "budget", "plan", "goal", "expect" and similar expressions. Specifically, this news release contains forward-looking statements relating to, but not limited to: the Company's turnaround efforts and results thereof; and the success and impact of the Company's execution of its next phase of growth. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Material risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this news release include, among others, demand for Quarterhill's products and services; general economic and market conditions; competition; risks relating to technological advances and cyber-security; force majeure risks; and other risks set forth in the Company's most recent annual information form available on SEDAR+ at The Company believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. Material factors and assumptions used to develop the forward-looking statements contained in this news release include, among others: Quarterhill's ability to execute on its business plan; demand for Quarterhill's products and services; operating assumptions; and financial projections and cost estimates. These foregoing lists are not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other factors which could affect the Company's operations or financial results are included in the Company's most recent annual information form and other public documents on file with the Canadian Securities regulatory authorities on The forward-looking statements represent the Company's views as at the date of this news release. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual events and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities law.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho Medicaid to be privately managed in 2029, health officials officials expect
The state flags hangs from the rotunda of the Idaho State Capitol Building in Boise on Jan. 7, 2025. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Idaho health officials say it'll take years to switch all Idaho Medicaid benefits to being managed by private companies. Through a sweeping bill meant to cut Medicaid costs, the Idaho Legislature this year directed the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to change a range of Medicaid policies — including to pursue switching Medicaid benefits to being run by private companies. That model, called managed care, is used widely across the country. Right now, Idaho Medicaid already uses managed care — somewhat. But it's more of a patchwork approach, where some services are managed by the state health department, some by managed care organizations, and some by doctors' offices. Shifting Idaho Medicaid to managed care will take time to do well, Idaho Medicaid Deputy Director Juliet Charron told a panel of state lawmakers late last month. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare expects the new comprehensive Idaho Medicaid managed care contract to start in 2029, following years of prep work, she told the Idaho Legislature's Medicaid Review Panel on May 22. 'We have been evaluating all of the different scenarios and timelines under which we could implement this — looking at it as early as 2027 or 2028 — and have determined' that going much earlier is risky, Charron said. 'Because you're going to start to have pieces overlapping throughout this. And that will be particularly challenging for our provider communities.' Medicaid is a largely federally funded health care assistance program that covers about 260,000 Idahoans, including low-income earners, people with disabilities, pregnant women, and some older people. Roughly 92,000 Idahoans are enrolled in Medicaid expansion, a voter-approved policy that raised the income eligibility cap. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Idaho governor signs bill to privatize management, add work requirements to Medicaid program The new Idaho Medicaid cost cutting bill also called for Idaho to seek federal approval for Medicaid work requirements for able-bodied adults. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare plans to apply for that by July 2026. The federal spending and tax cut bill being considered by Congress might ease the process for Idaho to seek Medicaid work requirements. Instead of applying for a Medicaid waiver that could temporarily allow for work requirements, Idaho could seek a longer-lasting state plan amendment for Medicaid work requirements — if the federal bill becomes law, Charron said. (The bill would require nationwide Medicaid work requirements years later. After passing the U.S. House, it heads to the Senate, where changes are expected.) Other states' experiences and a federal watchdog report suggest costs for Medicaid work requirements are high, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. Since almost half of Idahoans on Medicaid are already working, some advocates say work requirements are effectively just expensive administrative barriers to access the program. Overall, only 6% of Idaho Medicaid enrollees are in comprehensive managed care — the roughly 27,000 Idahoans dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, Idaho Idaho Medicaid Deputy Administrator Sasha O'Connell told the legislative panel. CONTACT US Idaho's existing Medicaid managed care contracts mostly carve out private management for certain benefits, like mental health, medical transportation and dental. That split makes it complicated for the state to oversee, O'Connell said. 'What this has led to is we have particularly high turnover, I would say, in state agencies. And I think that that happens in Medicaid as well,' she said. The various contracts have put Idaho Medicaid's limited staff in a cycle of 'amending these contracts constantly,' she said, instead of putting the contracts up for a new competitive bid, a process called procurement. 'Because procurement is such a huge lift,' O'Connell said. Idaho is also on track to end doctors' offices managing Medicaid benefits next year, Charron told lawmakers. The new Idaho Medicaid cost cutting bill called for the end of that model, called value-based care, which is unique to Idaho and has existed for a few years. The new Idaho Medicaid managed care contract is likely to become the biggest contract given out by the state of Idaho. Idaho's contract for the company Magellan to run mental health Medicaid benefits is already the state's largest contract, initially pegged at $1.4 billion over four years. Like under Idaho Medicaid's first managed care mental health organization, Idaho Medicaid providers have reported payment delays from Magellan, the Idaho Capital Sun reported. Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls, raised that issue to Idaho health officials. 'You're saying, I'm getting reports back from the (managed care organization), and they're saying, 'Everything is great. All of our providers are happy. They're loving it,'' Cook said. ''That's like asking the fox, … 'How's the hen house?'' Idaho's existing managed care contracts will be phased out for the broader contract to come. Idaho Medicaid mental health contractor hires three state government employees 'Idaho is a very large state. But our health care infrastructure is somewhat limited. And people access health care all over the state. Frequently, we are sending Medicaid participants to different parts of the state, based on the service that they need,' Charron said. The new contract will task three different managed care organizations to run Idaho Medicaid benefits, for a few reasons, she explained, like: Federal requirements for Medicaid enrollees to have choice under managed care; Creating competition between companies to drive efficiencies; and Redundancy, in case a plan terminates. Before Idaho launches the new managed care contract, Idaho has a lot of preparation to do, state health officials say. Like engaging stakeholders, seeking out more information and contracting out for actuarial services, a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM), a new enrollment broker for Medicaid enrollees to pick managed care plans, and Idaho Medicaid's information system. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Our Planet Our Power': Earth Day and clean energy in Alabama
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Earth Day was founded 55 years ago by several U.S. congressmembers in response to rampant pollution. Decades later, people from all over the globe come together on Earth Day to celebrate our common home and advocate for sustainable policy. 'The environment's for everybody,' said Earth Day Spokesperson Aidan Charron. 'Doesn't matter what side of the aisle you're on, our mission still remains the same.' 📲 to stay updated on the go. 📧 to have news sent to your inbox. Charron said that Earth Day is a yearly reminder that we are all connected, and our natural resources are worth protecting. 'We rely on everything on our planet,' he said. 'The clean air we breathe is dependent on how we treat our planet. The food we eat depends on how well we treat our planet.' This year, Earth Day's theme is 'Our Power Our Planet.' It alludes to the Earth Day Organization's goal to triple our use of clean and renewable energy by 2030. Energy Alabama is a nonprofit that advocates for clean energy in Madison County. Executive Director Daniel Tait says there are misconceptions around renewable energy being expensive or inefficient, but it can be more affordable in the long run. 'Clean energy, things like solar and wind, even, and wind coupled with battery storage right now are cheaper than the fossil fuel plants, like coal and gas,' said Tait. 'If you've spent a summer in Alabama, you know that the sun is quite powerful, right? And then we also have batteries and other types of technologies to store that and use it for later, when the sun's light shining, so we know how to solve these problems from a reliability standpoint and from a cost standpoint.' Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant already supplies power to several different states, but Energy Alabama's goal is to have the state rely completely on clean energy by 2050. Tait said that solar communities, or neighborhoods that draw from a communal solar grid, are a cost-effective way to use clean energy. 'It would take some legislation in order to allow that to be able to happen, but it would be a tremendously beneficial resource because it's extremely low cost and efficient and really gets the whole community working together towards the same goal,' he said. Tait and Charron said that you can celebrate Earth Day by taking steps as small as turning off the lights when you leave a room, to contacting your utilities company or representatives to advocate for clean energy. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
21-04-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Trial begins for man accused of abusing, killing girlfriend after he was kicked out of Huntington Beach apartment
Prosecutors making opening statements Monday in the trial of Craig Charron said he beat and manipulated Laura Sardinha before she kicked him out of their Huntington Beach apartment Sept. 2 2020, but he came back and killed her while she was on a conference call with her mother and best friend. Attorneys for the defendant did not dispute Charron stabbed his girlfriend to death nearly five years ago. But they say he acted in the heat of passion and in self defense. The couple began dating in June 2020, and had moved into an apartment on the 8400 block of Jenny Drive by July, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Text exchanges between them suggest he had become physically abusive just weeks later. 'I'm locking myself in a box because I can't even drive anymore,' Sardinha wrote in a message to Charron dated Aug.15 of that year. 'You blew out my ear drum.' Charron was heard threatening to 'end this relationship' if the victim refused to massage his calves in videos recorded the following day, before she went to a hospital. Medical records that will be presented in court verify her injury, Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Janine Madera said. In footage captured the morning Charron killed Sardinha he is heard repeatedly asking for her permission to have a friend over, noting that the visitor and defendant had been intimately involved. 'You're trying to f—- with me and be mean,' Sardinha replied. '...I can't wait to tell her how you beat the s—- out of me.' By that point, she was done with Charron, according to testimony from her mother and best friend. They were among about a dozen of Sardinha's loved ones who showed up at the trial Monday and heard detailed accounts about her final moments alive. Some embraced each other while sobbing in the hallway outside of the courtroom between proceedings. The victim went to her apartment's leasing office, had Charron evicted at about 11:30 a.m. Relatives said she felt relieved to be rid of him. 'She was happy, and I was happy for her,' the victim's friend of 21 years, Shaina Smith, recalled of the last conversation she had with Sardinha. 'And then things changed very suddenly.' Charron showed up at the apartment in the middle of that call. Cries of 'Please don't hurt me,' and 'No' are heard before Sardinha's phone falls to the ground, according to transcripts and recordings played Monday. The victim's mother, Marie Sardinha, who was still on the line at the time, said her daughter 'just kept screaming.' She and Smith hung up to call police. Laura Sardinha called back and wound up leaving a voice message for Smith, in which she is heard 'narrating a portion of her own murder,' Madera said. First responders found Charron's girlfriend curled up in a ball on their bathroom floor, Madera said. She had suffered two stab wounds to the chest as well as numerous slashes to her hands and face. Charron, who is 10 years older than the victim and 10 inches taller, sustained cuts to his left hand as well as lacerations to his chest and throat. He had to be rushed to a hospital for what defense attorneys described as 'nearly mortal' injuries. They claim the defendant acted on impulse, and then on instinct as the altercation unfolded in order to defend himself. Prosecutors claimed the lacerations to Charron's throat were self-inflicted. They also accused the defendant of planting one of the three bloody knives found in their apartment near the victim's body. Madera also pointed out that Laura Sardinha had difficulty gripping knives or reaching out with her right arm following a motorcycle crash in 2019. However, defense attorneys noted that the victim worked as a bar back at HQ Gastropub in Huntington Beach, and would have had the ability to hold at least some objects — or a potential weapon — with her hands. Laura Sardinha was 25 when she died. She was pursuing a psychology degree online with Purdue Global, her mother said.
