Latest news with #D-Sanger
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘Believe in accountability': Kern County lawmaker asks Newsom to deny parole to convicted killer
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Kern County lawmaker is speaking out on the case of Amanda Zubia, the 17-year-old brutally murdered in 2004. 17 News has been in close contact with the Zubia family ever since. In a shocking twist for them, the only convicted killer who remains in custody has been granted parole, and local efforts to reverse that decision are ramping up. In any parole case, California Governor Gavin Newsom has the power to deny someone's release. We're awaiting his response in 47-year-old Maricruz Galaviz's case, and State Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) is pushing the governor to reverse the granting of parole for Galaviz. In July 2004, Amanda Zubia was tortured for hours, suffocated to death, then buried inside a cement barrel in an east Bakersfield home by Maricruz Galaviz and four others. Galaviz was sentenced to 25 years to life for first-degree murder. Comedian Marlon Wayans set to perform at the Fox Friday But she was granted parole mid-April. Shortly after, state Sen. Hurtado wrote in a letter to Governor Newsom in part, 'In the Central Valley, we believe in second chances—but we also believe in accountability.' Hurtado emphasized, 'Releasing Amanda's killer would not reflect the values our communities live by. It would betray them.' In response, Newsom's team stated they would consider her remarks when making their decision on Galaviz's parole. We asked the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation what happens next. The department clarified that while Galaviz was eligible for a parole hearing — and was granted parole — she will have to wait until at least her minimum eligible parole date of July 2029 to actually be released. Simply put, that's due to ongoing state litigation on the topic of early parole for criminals. But again, this parole decision may not even matter, if Governor Newsom, reverses it. Only time will tell. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A new bill could require California to monitor wastewater for disease in the Central Valley
State Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) is frustrated by the lack of wastewater monitoring for H5N1 bird flu in the state's most at risk communities: regions of the Central Valley where dairy workers, dairy herds and commercial poultry operations are most concentrated. On Tuesday, she introduced a bill to fix that. Called the Wastewater Surveillance Act, if passed, it would require at least one wastewater monitoring site in every California county. The bill would require the state's department of public health to expand its current wastewater network, known as Cal-SuWers, to include all counties "and prioritize underserved and high-risk areas." California is ground zero for the H5N1 bird flu virus in dairy cattle and dairy workers. Since the virus was first reported in dairy herds in March 2024, California has accounted for 77% of all U.S. dairy herd infections and 38 of the nation's 68 human cases. Hurtado has said her father and niece were both sickened last summer by an unknown respiratory virus. She said they live in the Central Valley near poultry and dairy operations — but they were not tested for H5N1. The Central Valley, where the majority of California dairy herds are located, has been center of the outbreak. However, when it comes to wastewater surveillance — which health officials use to alert them to the presence and concentration of pathogens, such as H5N1, seasonal influenza, COVID-19 and norovirus — little is being done in this area of the state to monitor for the virus. In fact, it's nonexistent in some of the counties most at risk, including Tulare and Kings. In California, health officials say they are monitoring 78 sites in 36 counties for a range of viruses; in all but two sites they say they are looking for bird flu. "We have a bird flu outbreak. It's running amok among dairy cattle and herds which are largely in the Central Valley," said Hurtado. "And right now we don't have any waste monitor, wastewater monitoring going on there. This law would change that." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
14-02-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
A new bill could require California to monitor wastewater for disease in the Central Valley
State Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) is frustrated by the lack of wastewater monitoring for H5N1 bird flu in the state's most at risk communities: regions of the Central Valley where dairy workers, dairy herds and commercial poultry operations are most concentrated. On Tuesday, she introduced a bill to fix that. Called the Wastewater Surveillance Act, if passed, it would require at least one wastewater monitoring site in every California county. The bill would require the state's department of public health to expand its current wastewater network, known as Cal-SuWers, to include all counties 'and prioritize underserved and high-risk areas.' California is ground zero for the H5N1 bird flu virus in dairy cattle and dairy workers. Since the virus was first reported in dairy herds in March 2024, California has accounted for 77% of all U.S. dairy herd infections and 38 of the nation's 68 human cases. Hurtado has said her father and niece were both sickened last summer by an unknown respiratory virus. She said they live in the Central Valley near poultry and dairy operations — but they were not tested for H5N1. The Central Valley, where the majority of California dairy herds are located, has been center of the outbreak. However, when it comes to wastewater surveillance — which health officials use to alert them to the presence and concentration of pathogens, such as H5N1, seasonal influenza, COVID-19 and norovirus — little is being done in this area of the state to monitor for the virus. In fact, it's nonexistent in some of the counties most at risk, including Tulare and Kings. In California, health officials say they are monitoring 78 sites in 36 counties for a range of viruses; in all but two sites they say they are looking for bird flu. 'We have a bird flu outbreak. It's running amok among dairy cattle and herds which are largely in the Central Valley,' said Hurtado. 'And right now we don't have any waste monitor, wastewater monitoring going on there. This law would change that.'
