Latest news with #MorganHill
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Initiative to legalize adult cannabis use in Florida in 2026 qualifies for judicial review
Morgan Hill (center) from Safe & Smart Florida led the discussion with Leon County School Board member Darryl Jones (her immediate left) and former Democratic House Rep. Sean Shaw (immediate right) in Tampa on June 13, 2024. (Photo credit: Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix) Smart & Safe Florida, the political committee working to get a constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults before the voters next year, has collected enough petition signatures to trigger a review of its ballot language and financial impact – a significant step toward ultimately getting the amendment before voters in 2026. Smart & Safe Florida has collected more than 377,000 signatures. That's well above the number required to trigger a state Supreme Court review. Specifically, at a minimum Smart & Safe Florida needed to collect 220,016 signatures — or 25% of the 880,062 valid signatures from registered voters, with a minimum of 8% coming from voters in at least half of the state's 28 congressional districts. A similar proposal to legalize recreational cannabis in 2024 known as Amendment 3 received 56% of the vote, short of the 60% required for passage. Following that electoral loss, Smart & Safe secured approval to launch its campaign for the 2026 election. The petition drive process comes at the same time that Smart & Safe Florida and other organizations are fighting a new law passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature last month that will make it significantly more difficult for citizen-led constitutional amendments to make it on a ballot in Florida. Two weeks ago, Smart & Safe Florida and Florida Decides Healthcare, another group working to get a measure on the 2026 ballot, went before U.S. Federal District Judge Mark Walker to request that he block certain provisions of the law from taking effect – including the requirement that sponsors turn in completed petitions within 10 days after the voter signs the petition, a change from the previous deadline of 30 days. Tallahassee attorney Glenn Burhans Jr. said, prior to the new law taking effect, Smart & Safe Florida was collecting 78,000 signatures per week. Since the law took effect, he told Walker, the group was collecting between just 12,000 and 15,000 signatures per week. The next step in the process is for Florida Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier to submit the proposed amendment's ballot language to the Florida Supreme Court so it can begin its review. The court's review is limited to whether the amendment conforms to a single subject and whether the ballot summary is clear. When then Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody transmitted her letter to the Florida Court regarding Amendment 3 two years ago, she also informed the justices that she opposed the measure. Uthmeier will likely do the same when he sends his letter to the Supreme Court. He chaired a political committee a year ago called Keep Florida Clean that was formed to oppose the weed measure.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chick-fil-A opens new location in the South Bay
(KRON) – Chick-fil-A is opening its first location in Morgan Hill. Located at 18599 Sutter Blvd., the store is across the street from Cochrane Plaza, which has a Walmart, Baskin-Robbins and more. The restaurant officially opens on Thursday, May 29. The hours of operation will be from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and of course will be closed on Sunday. San Francisco has the highest fast food prices in the US: study The owner of this location is a Northern California native named Kevin Donohue. He first became a Chick-fil-A team member six years ago and has grown with the company. This location will be honoring 100 local heroes with free Chick-fil-A entrées for a year. The Morgan Hill Chick-fil-A plans to also participate in Chick-fil-A Shared Table, a program for local Owner-Operators to donate surplus food to charitable organizations in their community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Mother of teenager who died by suicide over 'sextortion' scam speaks out after arrest of cruel African gang
The mother of a teen 'sextortion' victim who died by suicide is 'amazed' an international gang of 'evil' online scammers who allegedly targeted her son have finally been arrested in West Africa following a three-year manhunt. Speaking to Pauline Stuart, 56, also urged other parents to be vigilant so a similar tragedy does not befall their own children. Authorities have said the gang targeted 'thousands' of people - including minors - in the U.S. Canada and Europe. Stuart's high school senior son, Ryan Last, 17, was 'excited for life' but took his own life in February 2022 after sending intimate photos of himself to someone online posing as a 20-year-old woman. The contact, however, was allegedly a man in Côte d'Ivoire, aka the Ivory Coast, who repeatedly demanded money from the teen to keep the explicit photos offline. The terrified straight-A student, who attended Ann Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill, 22 miles south of San Jose, California, feared the photos would be leaked on the internet. A few hours later, he took his own life at home while his parents were in another room. 'I'm amazed because it's been over three years and kind of you get to a point that you don't think anything's ever going to happen about it,' Stuart said of authorities who made the arrests. 'I knew that they were still working on it. I was just surprised that it finally did happen. But I shouldn't be, because all the people involved were truly touched by Ryan's story.' The youngster's death prompted a huge international investigation which led to the arrest of ringleader Alfred Kassi. He was arrested on April 29 - when it was discovered that he still had the menacing messages he allegedly sent to Last on his phone. Three other men were also arrested. The probe was led by the San Jose Police Department, the FBI with assistance from Meta. A May 9 statement by the Department of Justice read: 'Through a lengthy, coordinated investigation involving U.S. and Ivorian law enforcement, the evidence ultimately led law enforcement to identify Alfred Kassi, an Ivorian citizen living in Côte d'Ivoire, as the individual allegedly conducting the sextortion. 'On April 29, Kassi was arrested by Ivorian law enforcement. 'At the time of his arrest, Kassi allegedly still had the sextortion messages he sent to the 17-year-old victim in February 2022 on his phone.' Three of Kassi's alleged accomplices were also arrested. Oumarou Ouedraogo was picked up for money laundering and two others, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse, were arrested for 'sextortion crimes.' Another accomplice, Jonathan Kassi - unrelated to Alfred Kassi - was convicted in a California court in 2023 and sentenced to 18 months in jail for his part in the scheme. According to the DoJ, 'The government of Côte d'Ivoire does not extradite its own citizens, so these defendants will be prosecuted in their own country under Ivorian cybercrime statutes.' Stuart said the arrests do not soothe away any of her immense pain. 'There's no closure,' she said. 'Yesterday was Mother's Day. There's always going to be a huge hole in there.' She often gives talks about about her experience in order to warn other parents. 'Telling Ryan's story helps me survive,' she said. 'I hope people learn about it because even to this day, there are some who have never heard of of these scams. 'People say 'It could never happen to my family. My kid wouldn't do it." 'Well, we're the example that it could happen. We had parental controls on his phone. We were close to our kids, we spoke with them but it still affected our family. 'So people need to realize that this could happen to any kid, and my kid had a lot going for him.' 'He was a straight-A student. He was looking forward to going to college and experiencing new things. 'He was excited for life, and it still was able to happen to him. 'People should realize this could happen to any child out there, and we need to start talking to them before things could happen. 'So maybe if it does, they'll remember that it's okay - I can go talk to my mom, my dad, my friend, somebody about this.' The heartless scammers who targeted her son are 'evil,' according to Stuart. 'They can do this all anonymously and they don't feel like they're hurting anybody because they haven't met that person or that family that has been devastated by it,' she said. Stuart said the parental controls on her son's cell phone had blocked him from being able to wire cash abroad. Initially, he was told to send $5,000 but the scammers settled for $150 which was sent electronically to 'money mule' Jonathan Kassi, located in the U.S., using Zelle, and then he in turn forwarded it to his namesake in Africa. Last would have turned 21 on April 14 had he still been alive. Stuart and husband Hagen Last, 54, moved from San Jose to Oregon in order to be close to family and their college freshman son, Aidan, 19. The brothers were 'very close,' she said. They attended Scouts together studied martial arts. 'We chose to go and be surrounded by family,' said Stuart of leaving California. Stuart is still coming to terms with the grief. 'It's hard because there are always constant reminders of what I'm missing and milestones,' she explained. She lamented that her son is 'not going to be able to have a family.' 'It's really, really hard,' she added. 'It was bittersweet moving because we moved away from a house that we have so many memories of. 'But you also you move away from those memories because they can be hard and overwhelming for you because everything you look at reminds you of him.' She reveals that Elton John's classic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was a favorite of Ryan's after he used it as a soundtrack for a school video project. 'Anytime I hear that song come on, it's hard,' she said. 'It will always tie him to me.' Ryan's death is part of a growing 'sextortion' trend where scammers target young boys as the FBI reported more than 18,000 cases in 2021, with families losing more than $13 million.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Four men arrested after suicide of high school 'sextortion' victim
Four men have been arrested in connection to a California teen who died by suicide hours after he became the target of an international sextortion scheme. Ryan Last, 17, sent intimate photos of himself to someone he thought was a 20-year-old woman - but turned out to be part of a blackmail gang in West Africa. The straight-A high-school senior, fearing the photos would be leaked on to the internet, tragically took his own life shortly after the scammers demanded money to keep the images private. Authorities revealed on May 9 that 'thousands' of victims in the U.S., Canada and Europe - including minors - had been targeted by the group. Last was a student at Ann Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill, 22 miles south of San Jose. His death in February 2022 sparked an investigation which has led to the arrest of ringleader Alfred Kassi who lives in the Ivory Coast, also known as Cote d'Ivoire. Kassi was arrested on April 29 when it was discovered that, years later, he still had the menacing messages he sent to Last on his phone. Three other men were also arrested. The investigation was led by the San Jose Police Department, the FBI with assistance from Meta. A May 9 statement by the Department of Justice read: 'Through a lengthy, coordinated investigation involving U.S. and Ivorian law enforcement, the evidence ultimately led law enforcement to identify Alfred Kassi, an Ivorian citizen living in Cote d'Ivoire, as the individual allegedly conducting the sextortion. 'On April 29, Kassi was arrested by Ivorian law enforcement. 'At the time of his arrest, Kassi allegedly still had the sextortion messages he sent to the 17-year-old victim in February 2022 on his phone.' Three of Kassi's alleged accomplices were also arrested. Oumarou Ouedraogo was picked up for money laundering and two others, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse, were arrested for 'sextortion crimes.' Another accomplice, Jonathan Kassi - unrelated to Alfred Kassi - was convicted in a California court in 2023 and sentenced to 18 months in jail. According to the DoJ: 'The government of Cote d'Ivoire does not extradite its own citizens, so these defendants will be prosecuted in their own country under Ivorian cybercrime statutes.' Last's mother, Pauline Stuart, previously said in a video posted by the San Jose Police Department, that the gang 'catfished my son and gained his trust through flirting and showing interest.' She described her beloved son as a trusting person who had been looking forward to attending Washington State University. 'People can pretend to be anyone,' added Stuart. 'The fact that he was told that they would send out or post the pictures on social media had a devastating effect on Ryan. 'He chose to end his life, rather than have the pictures distributed on social media. He believed his reputation would be destroyed and he was terrified of what his friends and family would think.' In a note written before his death, Last apologized for 'not being smarter.' Stuart previously told ABC7 following the latest arrests: 'To him, he wasn't smart because he fell for this scam. 'He believed in somebody and that devastates me that he felt that he wasn't smart because somebody took advantage of him.' The scammers immediately demanded $5,000 from Last after he sent them an intimate photo of himself which they reduced to $150. He paid them the amount from his college fund but the gang demanded more money. She said: 'Somebody reached out to him pretending to be a girl, and they started a conversation.' Stuart also previously commented to CNN: 'He really, truly thought in that time that there wasn't a way to get by if those pictures were actually posted online. 'His note showed he was absolutely terrified. No child should have to be that scared. 'They kept demanding more and more and putting lots of continued pressure on him.' His family didn't know anything about the extortion until after Last's passing. 'How could these people look at themselves in the mirror knowing that $150 is more important than a child's life,' she told CNN. 'There's no other word but "evil" for me that they care much more about money than a child's life. I don't want anybody else to go through what we did.' Last's father also previously commented on Facebook: 'We thought we did everything correctly protecting our boys from any online threats. 'But Ryan still became the victim of an online scam that ended with blackmail. In the end he got so embarrassed and scared that he only saw one way out. 'We want to help to make sure that this will not happen to any other family. And the best way to do that is to help educate parents and children about what dangers exist on the internet.' The FBI says sextortion schemes are on the rise. According to their Internet Crime Complaint Center, there were over 54,000 victims in 2024, up from 34,000 in 2023.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Four men arrested after suicide death of high school 'sextortion' victim
Four men have been arrested after a California teen died by suicide hours after he became the target of an international 'sextortion' scheme. Ryan Last, 17, sent intimate photos of himself to someone he thought was a 20-year-old woman - but turned out to be part of a blackmail gang in West Africa. The straight-A high school senior, fearing the photos would be leaked onto the internet, tragically took his own life shortly after the scammers demanded money to keep the images private. Authorities revealed on May 9 that 'thousands' of victims in the U.S., Canada and Europe - including minors - had been targeted by the group. Last was a student at Ann Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill, 22 miles south of San Jose. His death in February 2022 sparked an investigation which has led to the arrest of ringleader Alfred Kassi who lives in the Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire. Kassi was arrested on April 29 - when it was discovered that, years later, he still had the menacing messages he sent to Last on his phone. Three other men were also arrested. The investigation was led by the San Jose Police Department, the FBI with assistance from Mark Zuckerberg's Meta. A May 9 statement by the Department of Justice read: 'Through a lengthy, coordinated investigation involving U.S. and Ivorian law enforcement, the evidence ultimately led law enforcement to identify Alfred Kassi, an Ivorian citizen living in Côte d'Ivoire, as the individual allegedly conducting the sextortion. 'On April 29, Kassi was arrested by Ivorian law enforcement. 'At the time of his arrest, Kassi allegedly still had the sextortion messages he sent to the 17-year-old victim in February 2022 on his phone.' Three of Kassi's alleged accomplices were also arrested. Oumarou Ouedraogo was picked up for money laundering and two others, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse, were arrested for 'sextortion crimes.' Another accomplice, Jonathan Kassi - unrelated to Alfred Kassi - was convicted in a California court in 2023 and sentenced to 18 months in jail. According to the DoJ, 'The government of Côte d'Ivoire does not extradite its own citizens, so these defendants will be prosecuted in their own country under Ivorian cybercrime statutes.' Last's mother, Pauline Stuart, previously said in a video posted by the San Jose Police Department, that the gang 'catfished my son and gained his trust through flirting and showing interest.' She described her beloved son as a trusting person who had been looking forward to attending Washington State University. 'People can pretend to be anyone,' added Stuart. 'The fact that he was told that they would send out or post the pictures on social media had a devastating effect on Ryan. 'He chose to end his life, rather than have the pictures distributed on social media. He believed his reputation would be destroyed and he was terrified of what his friends and family would think.' In a note written before his death, Last apologized for 'not being smarter.' Stuart previously told ABC7 following the latest arrests: 'To him, he wasn't smart because he fell for this scam. 'He believed in somebody and that devastates me that he felt that he wasn't smart because somebody took advantage of him.' The scammers immediately demanded $5,000 from Last after he sent them an intimate photo of himself which they reduced to $150. He paid them the amount from his college fund but the gang demanded more money. She said: 'Somebody reached out to him pretending to be a girl, and they started a conversation.' Stuart also previously commented to CNN: 'He really, truly thought in that time that there wasn't a way to get by if those pictures were actually posted online. 'His note showed he was absolutely terrified. No child should have to be that scared. 'They kept demanding more and more and putting lots of continued pressure on him.' His family didn't know anything about the extortion until after Last's passing. 'How could these people look at themselves in the mirror knowing that $150 is more important than a child's life,' she told CNN. 'There's no other word but 'evil' for me that they care much more about money than a child's life,' she added. 'I don't want anybody else to go through what we did.' Last's father also previously commented on Facebook: 'We thought we did everything correctly protecting our boys from any online threats. 'But Ryan still became the victim of an online scam that ended with blackmail. In the end he got so embarrassed and scared that he only saw one way out. 'We want to help to make sure that this will not happen to any other family. And the best way to do that is to help educate parents and children about what dangers exist on the internet.' The FBI says sextortion schemes are on the rise. According to their Internet Crime Complaint Center, there were over 54,000 victims in 2024, up from 34,000 in 2023.
