Latest news with #JeffFlores
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘We're gonna clean it up': Kern County runs multi-agency encampment clearing
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The sheriff's office and public works joined by code enforcement and animal control cleared multiple homeless encampments Friday morning. Kern County District Three Supervisor Jeff Flores organized and joined the agencies in this feat. The county started clearing homeless encampments around 7 a.m. and they hit spots around Oildale and east Bakersfield. 'We can't allow trespassing, we cannot allow drug use, we cannot allow these unsafe encampments, enough is enough, and everyone working together we can make a difference,' said Supervisor Flores. Officials remind drivers — especially teens — to exercise caution during the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer Five areas total, on North Chester Avenue and Roberts Lane, the on-ramp on Olive Drive, an empty lot on North Chester, and on Mt. Vernon Avenue and Niles Street. Fernando Loaiza, a three-year Oildale resident walks down North Chester Avenue and Roberts Lane daily. Loaiza sees the homeless and is very happy that the county is clearing the encampments. 'It's all cleaned up and the governor is doing a very good job, and kern county, and the sheriff's department are doing a very good job,' Loaiza said. On the Olive Drive on-ramp to Highway 99, upset homeless watched as their belongings were picked up and put in trash. 'They told me I could grab one thing or two, but…oh my god he's gonna. That dollhouse he spent months trying to find get me and they just threw it away,' said Melanie Armstrong, as she watched a dollhouse she owned get put in the trash. Armstrong has lived homeless with her boyfriend, Adam Lewis for almost two years. She says she has mental health issues and Lewis has a mental disability, hindering them on finding steady work. Never miss a story: Make your homepage 'No one helps us, we just kind of get pushed on the backburner in a way, and it feels like they're always after us,' said Lewis. KCSO has not released the results of the encampment clearings. 'Folks will get the message that help is available, you don't have to live like this, and we're gonna clean it up,' said Supervisor Flores. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Man accused of threatening Kern County Supervisor Jeff Flores says he sent emails to all supervisors, insists he's the one being threatened in jailhouse interview
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The 61-year-old man accused of threatening Kern County Supervisor Jeff Flores is due back in court next Thursday. This week, Parrish Buzzard agreed to speak with 17 News for a jailhouse interview. He has been charged with three felonies and is being held without bail at the Lerdo Pre-Trial Facility. 17's Jenny Huh: 'You're being accused of sending threatening messages.' Parrish Buzzard: 'No, no, they're threatening me, man.' 17's Jenny Huh: 'So, going back to Jeff Flores, tell us more specifically how Flores is threatening you?' Man arrested after allegedly sending threats to member on Board of Supervisors Parrish Buzzard: 'It's the whole Board of Supervisors. It's the whole thing. They never reached out; they took my money.' Parrish Buzzard also called Supervisor Jeff Flores a creep. But Buzzard said he sent emails to all five county supervisors, not just Flores. 'It was really to different ones, it means all of them [supervisors], I just didn't have time to type it all in and stuff,' Buzzard said. 17's Jenny Huh: 'So, it just happened to go to Jeff Flores, but you're not targeting him?' Parrish Buzzard: 'No, I sent it to different, other supervisors too, to all of them. 17's Jenny Huh: 'I don't think they received it, they said it was only Flores?' Parrish Buzzard: 'That's false.' Buzzard faces three felony charges — stalking, making criminal threats and threatening a state official. Charges filed against man accused of threatening Supervisor Jeff Flores A public defender entered not guilty pleas on Buzzard's behalf. But during his arraignment, Buzzard lashed out, using numerous profanities. 'Well, I had a real bad headache, and I was in a lot of pain in. My foot and arm and stuff, and I was filthy and all this stuff, and they weren't being cool at all,' Buzzard explained. 'I think when she was saying I was stalking, I thought what are you talking about? I'm the one that's been stalked for years, many, many years.' He also said he's been homeless, suffers from PTSD, has had seizures and said many people have tried to kill him. A significant portion of the 50-minute-long conversation was filled with tangents, incoherence and countless references to politicians, books, movies and music, including 'Silence of the Lambs,' 'Jeepers Creepers,' 'The Truman Show,' Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer. Buzzard also lamented about not being able to receive Social Security and disability benefits — as well as healthcare and housing assistance — for years. Through the interview, 17 News learned Buzzard is an introvert who was born and raised in Fresno. He said he moved to Bakersfield in May 2022 because he felt Fresno was like a 'death trap.' Buzzard also had scratches on his face. He said he claws his skin during his sleep and said he has frequent nightmares and 'very terrible nights.' Man charged with threatening Jeff Flores removed from court after profane outburst In a statement to 17 News, Flores said: 'Prior to the recent hundred-plus emails from Mr. Parrish Buzzard I, nor my staff, have ever had any interaction with him. I do not know him, nor have I ever met him. Additionally, I have never threatened Mr. Buzzard in any way. Unfortunately, he's the one who's threatening me. I am always committed to serving all my constituents who reach out for assistance to the best of my ability.' 17 News asked Buzzard about allegations he had threatened former District 3 Supervisor Mike Maggard. Buzzard denied those allegations, saying he doesn't know who Maggard is. 17 News also asked about a prior arrest in Fresno for the same charge — criminal threats. Buzzard was unable to detail specifics about the incident. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
Kern County Supervisors were not informed of ongoing EBT theft by District Attorney's office
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. KGET) — A month after discovering Kern County EBT beneficiaries had been losing millions to theft, 17 News and the community, had yet to hear from county supervisors on this topic until District 3 Supervisor Jeff Flores confirmed supervisors were not made aware of the thefts. 'I have been notified actually through the press, in the great work of [17 News] covering these stories,' said Flores. Kern County In Depth: Millions in EBT cash benefits stolen The thefts have been going on for years with millions being stolen, but law enforcement had not mentioned it to members of the Kern County Board of Supervisors. 'I've not been notified by the DA on this specific amounts in Kern County, or EBT fraud,' Flores said. 'I am periodically updated by the DA on a number of crime issues, enforcement issues, things in my district, but not on EBT yet.' Flores assumed office on January 2, 2023. EBT theft ramped up years before that, during the pandemic. Since July 2021, over $439 million in benefits were stolen statewide. In the last two years, around 22,000 theft reports were made in Kern County, but arrests started being made only this November, resulting in three cases involving five Romanian nationals. Kern County District Attorney warns of EBT fraud after millions in benefits lost Supervisor Flores says there are things the county can do. 'In terms of strengthening the sanctions, that's one way my serve on the Legislative Committee for the county along with my colleagues, and we're tasked with improving, managing our legislative platform, weighing in on bills in Sacramento,' Flores said. Though county supervisors do not manage state programs like CalWORKs or CalFresh, Flores says it's important to talk about this. 'These people are living check to check, card to card, for basic needs,' he said. 'For food, for medicine, for gasoline, and so it hurts the most vulnerable.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Flores also wants to bring the EBT thieves and scammers to justice. 'I'm all for the maximum amount of sanction to prosecute these people to the fullest extent to the law,' he said. 'If those need to be changed and strengthened, I'm also for that as well.' To learn more about how to keep your EBT benefits safe, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Our View: Make election integrity top reform priority
A proposal to transfer oversight of elections to the elected Kern County Board Supervisors may have benefits, but it also is concerning. Politicians, who are focused on getting reelected would seem to be the last people who should have the power to hire and fire the county registrar of voters. But that is what Kern County supervisors are proposing in their reform of local elections. Conflicts and appearances aside, the fact is that the complexity of conducting elections is no longer a part-time job handled as just a department head's added responsibility. It requires a registrar who is focused on ever-changing election laws and assuring voting is easy and accessible for all citizens. It requires a full-time registrar of voters. But for public confidence in elections to be maintained requires transparency. The process used by supervisors to recruit and hire a new registrar of voters must be vigorous and transparent. The new registrar that supervisors hire must not be a politically-connected partisan. Rather, he or she must have proven abilities to conduct elections in a fair, unbiased and efficient manner. The registrar must be required to report regularly to the public about the election process. The appointment of a bipartisan oversight committee could help build public confidence in the system. Presently the registrar of voters is just one of many jobs assigned to Kern's elected Auditor-Controller-County Clerk. Beginning in the 1990s, the Board of Supervisors consolidated county departments. Sold as a way to save money, it also was a way to eliminate some pesky elected department heads. With a few exceptions, state law requires elected county clerks to oversee elections — for the same reasons noted in this Californian editorial. Exceptions include some charter counties that are empowered to somewhat set their own rules. And in recent years, the state Legislature has passed laws to exempt a few, mostly small counties from the requirement. Last year, the Legislature added Sonoma County, which has a population of about half of Kern's, to the list of exempted counties. Sonoma County officials have started the process of moving the registrar of voters' responsibilities to the Board of Supervisors. 'The task of administering elections has become increasingly challenging in the past decade, to the point it has become a full-time assignment for a department head,' Sonoma's Board Chairwoman Lynda Hopkins said as she promised to conduct a nationwide search for a new registrar of voters. In addition to conducting elections, registrars participate in Homeland Security Department audits, meet regularly with the FBI about cybersecurity and with the Secretary of State about election issues, and coordinate election security with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Of the proposal to hire a full-time registrar for Kern, District 3 Supervisor Jeff Flores said, 'Our board is committed to ensuring that our local elections are not simply conducted in line with California state law, but truly exceed the baseline requirements for transparency and accountability.' But first, county supervisors must convince the state Legislature to add Kern to the list of counties that are allowed to have an appointed, rather than elected, registrar of voters. Kern has until Feb. 21, the last day bills can be introduced by lawmakers, to begin the legislative process. And because Kern County Auditor-Controller-Clerk Amy Espinoza's term does not end until 2027, the board's hiring of a full-time registrar of voters to oversee local elections may be at least two years away.
