Latest news with #Esparza
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bakersfield mother fights to get late daughter's name in graduation ceremony
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — 'I think of her 24/7, yes, I miss her dearly, I miss you know, the utter silence of not having silence in my house because she was the joy to our life,' said Daniela Esparza. Sitting in her late daughter's room, Daniela Esparza is fighting for the memory of 13-year-old Jasid Garcia who died by suicide. Grief has only worsened for the mother, after learning Jasid's name will not be mentioned in the graduation of her school, Ollivier Middle. She was also left out of the class t-shirt. When Esparza contacted the Principal, this is what she was told… 'We will provide for you her yearbook, her gown, and her diploma prior to the ceremony,' Esparza reads from her phone. 'While I know this is a heartbreaking time for you and your family, it's also a day of celebration for the other 380 students and their families.' 17 News contacted the Greenfield Union School District. We received a statement saying that, according to district policies, it was decided Jasid would be recognized at a different time. Adding this decision is to preserve the privacy and integrity of sensitive matters. The San Francisco Giants are taking a different approach, honoring Jasid, a Junior Giant, by expanding mental health resources to the youth. The 13-year-old also won the Willie Mac Award for 2024, but passed before she could receive it. 'I don't need a special chair, I don't even honestly need to be present but if that's just that extra step where I could be honored to walk my daughter's footsteps and receive that diploma, I would,' said Esparza. 'I just want her name to be said.' The graduation ceremony is set for May 28th. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
13-05-2025
- New York Post
Cyclist sues NYPD alleging cops wrongfully dole out red light tickets: ‘Malicious and outrageous'
This battle is shifting into high gear. NYPD patrols are wrongfully ticketing Big Apple cyclists who run red lights, despite laws already on the books allowing them to follow pedestrian crossing signals, a new federal lawsuit claims. Although cops have been increasingly issuing tickets to riders, it completely contradicts a local law passed by the City Council in 2019 that permits cyclists crossing intersections to 'go with the walk' signals — not traffic lights — according to the federal suit filed on May 7 by cyclist Oliver Casey Esparza. Advertisement 4 A New York City cyclist says NYPD patrols are wrongfully doling out traffic tickets – and more recently, issuing criminal summonses – to bikers running red lights. R Umar Abbasi 'Despite this clear and unambiguous statute, the city maintains a policy and practice of detaining, ticketing, and prosecuting cyclists who lawfully ride through an intersection when the pedestrian control signal indicates white/walk,' the lawsuit reads. Lawyers for the cyclist are demanding that the city shell out damages to the 'hundreds' who have been ticketed, detained or arrested as a result of the years-long dispute — and also educate misinformed NYPD rank and file with 'immediate' training. Advertisement 4 Cyclists must 'go with 'the walk'' pedestrian sign unless there is a bike signal or sign, according to a city infographic. Department of Transportation For Esparza, the final straw came when he was slapped with a ticket last October, after crossing Third Avenue and East 42nd Street in Manhattan. NYPD officer Kenney F. Vega issued him a summons for crossing the intersection during the white/walk pedestrian signal. Vega allegedly said he was '99 percent sure' Esparza was wrong about the 2019 law and issued him a $190 ticket – which apparently cited the wrong subsection of NYC traffic code 'so it did not even apply to the alleged violation,' according to the lawsuit. 4 Delivery workers ride bicycles down Fifth Avenue in New York City during the COVID-19 lockdown in May 2020. Bloomberg via Getty Images Advertisement The court filing also names NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and her three predecessors, alleging the bigwigs knowingly violated New Yorkers' civil rights. 'This policy and practice is so consistent and widespread that it constitutes a custom or usage of which policymakers … must have been aware,' the suit claims, calling the ticketing 'knowing, purposeful, malicious, and outrageous.' While Esparza's October ticket was eventually dismissed in court last month, the cyclist decided to launch the legal filing to combat the NYPD's 'ongoing policy and practice of issuing tickets and/or criminal summonses.' The number of tickets issued to cyclists, according to the lawsuit, increased 'dramatically' in the first quarter of 2025 compared to any of the last four years. Advertisement 4 Two men on bicycles stopping at an intersection in Times Square in April 2020. Getty Images The NYPD declined The Post's request for comment. The filing also comes less than a month after the city's launch of a new policy to issue criminal summonses, rather than typical traffic tickets, to cyclists who run red lights or blow stop signs — triggering activists' concerns that the enforcement will target migrant delivery workers. In 2024, 92% of criminal summonses for reckless bike operation went to New Yorkers of color, according to Transportation Alternatives. 'In a time of mass deportation, the mayor and police commissioner are working for President Trump's agenda of extralegal harassment, detention, and deportation,' TransAlt said in a statement about the new policy. 'This is an obscene escalation from the police department — and not one that's grounded in real safety, data, or best practices.'
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Charges: Woman, 23, fatally shot man in his rural Minnesota home
A Kennedy, Minnesota woman is charged with the murder of a 42-year-old Hallock man, according to court filings in Kittson County. Jordan Hanson, 23, is charged with one count each of 2nd-degree and 3rd-degree murder in the death of Justin Esparza. A tribute to Esparza is contained in a GoFundMe set up by family, which states Esparza had moved away from the Twin Cities to be closer to his father and half-brother, "hoping to build a connection with the family he had never known growing up." "Justin found joy in his work while living there. He labored in the potato fields and tended to bees as a beekeeper — work he loved so much that it never felt like a job to him. He took pride in it and often spoke of how much he enjoyed it," the fundraiser post reads. The family is raising funds for Esparza's funeral service and other costs. As of Tuesday afternoon, it has raised over $,1700 of its $10,000 goal. Warning: Some of the following contains graphic content. The Kittson County Sheriff's Office received a call on March 13 around 1:30 p.m. from a woman that reported her daughter — identified as Hanson — had said she had been as Esparza's Hallock home and shot him in the head. Hanson's mother said her daughter was recently at a drug treatment center and "evidently got picked up by someone during the night and came back to Kittson County." The mother said Hanson was also in possession of Esparza's dog and vehicle. Authorities went to Esparza's home and found the 42-year-old in the living room, lying "face down with his lower half on the floor and upper half on the couch." There was a significant amount of blood on the couch around his head and on the floor, according to the complaint. Esparza was pronounced dead at the scene. Deputies found a semi-automatic handgun lying on the couch, a couple of feet away from Esparza. A Smith and Wesson 9mm was also found near his body, with a single casing found on the floor in the living room. When law enforcement attempted to arrest Hanson, her family told a deputy she was "completely delusional from using drugs." At one point she asked the deputy "what all the sugar beets were still doing on the ground." A witness told investigators that her had been smoking meth with Hanson and Esparza at the latter's home, and that he saw Hanson shoot Esparza. Hanson is set to make her initial appearance in court for a Rule 8 hearing on Wednesday morning.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Adults-only hotels are all over California. Are they even legal?
Can hotels legally ban children? With spring breaks starting momentarily and summer vacations not far away, the question is puzzling a wide scope of California travelers — parents booking their next family vacation as well as adults looking for a child-free escape. And the answer is complicated. The issue flared in February when the Alila Marea Beach Resort in Encinitas, part of the Hyatt hotel empire, announced it would exclude children as overnight guests, thus becoming the self-described "only adults-only oceanfront resort in Southern California." Read more: High-end San Diego County resort bans children from overnight stays This move at a high-profile beachfront property sparked a debate about state law and hotels' obligations and has turned eyes on other California hotels that exclude children. In the Palm Springs area, the Colony Palms, the Fleur Noire, the Ingleside Estate and La Maison Palm Springs are among the lodgings whose websites say they are adults-only. The Whisky Hotel, which opened March 12 in Hollywood, promotes itself similarly. "We cater to adults only, because that's kind of our vision," said Whisky Hotel general manager Alan Esparza, noting the grown-up atmosphere in the hotel's Hollywood neighborhood. Still, in a pinch, Esparza said, "We make exceptions." The focus of the conversation is Section 51 of the state's Civil Code, widely known as the Unruh Act, which is designed to prevent discrimination by race, religion, sexual orientation and 10 other "protected characteristics." Attorneys, industry veterans and consumer advocates have cited this act when asserting that banning children from hotels is illegal. However, Section 51 doesn't specify age as a protected attribute, and state officials do permit rental car companies to refuse rentals to drivers under 25. But California courts have decided that the Unruh Act prohibits landlords from refusing to rent to families with children. Asked if it's legal for a California hotel to ban children, a representative from the state Civil Rights Department said via email that "the law's application with respect to age discrimination depends on the specific facts and circumstances." The state Attorney General's press office was equally vague, saying, "We are unable to provide legal advice or analysis." Neither agency cited legal precedents or earlier cases. Until state officials provide more clarity, industry veterans and consumer advocates suggested, families should take care to make sure of a hotel's policy before booking. That might mean talking to a reservations agent before making a reservation online. "I think it's really problematic legally" to ban children. "I'm not sure why it hasn't been challenged before," said Jamie Court, president of Los Angeles-based A hotel "is a place of public accommodation and you're discriminating based on family status." In Court's view, "Someone can sue. But it should be the attorney general who is going to court if the hotels don't back down after a warning. And it should be the attorney general writing warning letters. ... I don't know why the A.G. and the state have become so timid." Read more: 72 awesome things to do with kids in L.A. before they grow up In a 2023 handout to its members, the California Hotel & Lodging Assn. warned hoteliers that the Unruh Act "prohibits hotels from discriminating against minors based on age," adding, "Some lodging operators assume that because some young children or other minors might engage in improper conduct, the hotel has a right to refuse accommodations. This is a dangerous misconception." Even when minors are unaccompanied, the association wrote, "It is unlawful to have a blanket policy" prohibiting them. However, the association said, a hotel "can refuse to accommodate individual children and their parents" if there is "just cause." The association's spokesman declined to comment on any specific cases. Another industry veteran surprised by the situation is Laurie E. Sherwood, a partner at the Irvine-based law firm Walsworth, who has handled travel-related cases for close to 30 years. "My initial, gut-level reaction is that hotels are places of public accommodation," Sherwood said, and that "it's a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act because you're excluding families with children." Many California hotels have finessed the issue by restricting children's access without banning them. Some hotels, like the River Lodge Paso Robles, officially welcome children but ban anyone under 21 from the pool and hot tub. Other hotels, such as the elite Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, limit occupancy to two people per room. At vacation rental properties too, families might find mixed messages. Airbnb's nondiscrimination policy forbids U.S. hosts from banning children or "charging for fees for guests of a certain age." But Airbnb hosts often describe their properties as "unsuitable" for children under 12. Read more: 11 staycation ideas around SoCal, from the Idyllwild forest to picturesque Santa Barbara At the Alila Marea Beach Resort in Encinitas, which recently banned children, general manager Richard Sorensen did not respond to a request for comment. The Alila chain, a high-end international sub-brand of Hyatt, also includes hotels in Big Sur ("an adult-only experience reserved for those 18 years of age and over") and Napa Valley (where a reservationist said families are theoretically allowed, but all rooms and suites are limited to two occupants). Meanwhile, some consumers have taken to social media to talk about how children can ruin a hotel experience. A Reddit user going by WowOwlO opined in a thread on the topic that "children are just loud, messy, and simply don't belong at a five star hotel. We should be able to have establishments that separate them." Beyond California, many destinations allow hotels to bar children. The Sandals resorts, all located in the Caribbean outside the U.S., have made the absence of children a key part of their identity. "There's definitely a demand for child-free spaces, especially when we're talking about honeymoons and things like that," said D.C. Vekic, president of Cosmopolitan Travels in Northridge. Sign up for The Wild newsletter to get weekly insider tips on the best of our beaches, trails, parks, deserts, forests and mountains. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
18-03-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Adults-only hotels are all over California. Are they even legal?
Can hotels legally ban children? With spring breaks starting momentarily and summer vacations not far away, the question is puzzling a wide scope of California travelers — parents booking their next family vacation as well as adults looking for a child-free escape. And the answer is complicated. The issue flared in February when the Alila Marea Beach Resort in Encinitas, part of the Hyatt hotel empire, announced it would exclude children as overnight guests, thus becoming the self-described 'only adults-only oceanfront resort in Southern California.' This move at a high-profile beachfront property sparked a debate about state law and hotels' obligations and has turned eyes on other California hotels that exclude children. In the Palm Springs area, the Colony Palms, the Fleur Noire, the Ingleside Estate and La Maison Palm Springs are among the lodgings whose websites say they are adults-only. The Whisky Hotel, which opened March 12 in Hollywood, promotes itself similarly. 'We cater to adults only, because that's kind of our vision,' said Whisky Hotel general manager Alan Esparza, noting the grown-up atmosphere in the hotel's Hollywood neighborhood. Still, in a pinch, Esparza said, 'We make exceptions.' The focus of the conversation is Section 51 of the state's Civil Code, widely known as the Unruh Act, which is designed to prevent discrimination by race, religion, sexual orientation and 10 other 'protected characteristics.' Attorneys, industry veterans and consumer advocates have cited this act when asserting that banning children from hotels is illegal. However, Section 51 doesn't specify age as a protected attribute, and state officials do permit rental car companies to refuse rentals to drivers under 25. But California courts have decided that the Unruh Act prohibits landlords from refusing to rent to families with children. Asked if it's legal for a California hotel to ban children, a representative from the state Civil Rights Department said via email that 'the law's application with respect to age discrimination depends on the specific facts and circumstances.' The state Attorney General's press office was equally vague, saying, 'We are unable to provide legal advice or analysis.' Neither agency cited legal precedents or earlier cases. Until state officials provide more clarity, industry veterans and consumer advocates suggested, families should take care to make sure of a hotel's policy before booking. That might mean talking to a reservations agent before making a reservation online. 'I think it's really problematic legally' to ban children. 'I'm not sure why it hasn't been challenged before,' said Jamie Court, president of Los Angeles-based A hotel 'is a place of public accommodation and you're discriminating based on family status.' In Court's view, 'Someone can sue. But it should be the attorney general who is going to court if the hotels don't back down after a warning. And it should be the attorney general writing warning letters. ... I don't know why the A.G. and the state have become so timid.' In a 2023 handout to its members, the California Hotel & Lodging Assn. warned hoteliers that the Unruh Act 'prohibits hotels from discriminating against minors based on age,' adding, 'Some lodging operators assume that because some young children or other minors might engage in improper conduct, the hotel has a right to refuse accommodations. This is a dangerous misconception.' Even when minors are unaccompanied, the association wrote, 'It is unlawful to have a blanket policy' prohibiting them. However, the association said, a hotel 'can refuse to accommodate individual children and their parents' if there is 'just cause.' The association's spokesman declined to comment on any specific cases. Another industry veteran surprised by the situation is Laurie E. Sherwood, a partner at the Irvine-based law firm Walsworth, who has handled travel-related cases for close to 30 years. 'My initial, gut-level reaction is that hotels are places of public accommodation,' Sherwood said, and that 'it's a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act because you're excluding families with children.' Many California hotels have finessed the issue by restricting children's access without banning them. Some hotels, like the River Lodge Paso Robles, officially welcome children but ban anyone under 21 from the pool and hot tub. Other hotels, such as the elite Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, limit occupancy to two people per room. At vacation rental properties too, families might find mixed messages. Airbnb's nondiscrimination policy forbids U.S. hosts from banning children or 'charging for fees for guests of a certain age.' But Airbnb hosts often describe their properties as 'unsuitable' for children under 12. At the Alila Marea Beach Resort in Encinitas, which recently banned children, general manager Richard Sorensen did not respond to a request for comment. The Alila chain, a high-end international sub-brand of Hyatt, also includes hotels in Big Sur ('an adult-only experience reserved for those 18 years of age and over') and Napa Valley (where a reservationist said families are theoretically allowed, but all rooms and suites are limited to two occupants). Meanwhile, some consumers have taken to social media to talk about how children can ruin a hotel experience. A Reddit user going by WowOwlO opined in a thread on the topic that 'children are just loud, messy, and simply don't belong at a five star hotel. We should be able to have establishments that separate them.' Beyond California, many destinations allow hotels to bar children. The Sandals resorts, all located in the Caribbean outside the U.S., have made the absence of children a key part of their identity. 'There's definitely a demand for child-free spaces, especially when we're talking about honeymoons and things like that,' said D.C. Vekic, president of Cosmopolitan Travels in Northridge.
