Latest news with #RickTaylor
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Veteran LA political adviser detained at US airport – and thinks having Obama-Biden T-shirt in his luggage may have been why
Customs and Border Protection held a veteran political adviser for 45 minutes after returning to the U.S. from a vacation. Rick Taylor thought it may have been because of his Obama-Biden T-shirt in his luggage. Taylor, 71, was returning home from a weeklong vacation in Turks and Caicos with his wife and daughter on June 20 when he was placed in a holding room along with several Latino families at Miami International Airport. 'I know how the system works and have pretty good connections and I was still freaking out,' he told the LA Times. 'I could only imagine how I would be feeling if I didn't understand the language and I didn't know anyone.' 'I was shaking a bit,' he added to the Westside Current. 'And all I could think was, if I'm feeling this—someone who's been in rooms with mayors and senators—what must the others in that room be going through?' Taylor has advised several prominent California politicians and is the co-founder of Dakota Communications, a public affairs firm based in Los Angeles. He served as the youngest chief of staff in Los Angeles history under Mayor Tom Bradley. The advisor and former staffer told the Current that the customs officer 'looked at me and said, 'You're from California, aren't you?'' 'I said 'yes, Los Angeles'. And that's when he slapped an orange sticker on my passport and told me to follow the green dots,' he added. He was then led to another screening area, where he said he was one of a few white people in a room with mostly Latino families. He was offered no explanation as to why he was being held. 'It was 90 percent Latino, Spanish-speaking folks,' said Taylor. 'Most looked like couples. Everyone seemed nervous. And you don't know why you're there. No one tells you a thing.' 'You go through every possibility in your head,' he added. 'I thought, 'Do I have something in my bag?' And then it hit me—I had packed an Obama-Biden T-shirt.' 'I actually started to panic. I thought, 'Oh my God, is this going to cause me trouble in this country right now?'' said Taylor. After waiting for close to an hour, Taylor was told to get his suitcase for inspection. 'It wasn't with me,' he said. 'I started to panic again, trying to figure out where it was.' It had already been picked up by his wife. It was sent through a scanner, but wasn't opened. 'They handed it to me and said, 'You're good to go,'' Taylor told the Current. He didn't ask why he had been stopped. 'Truthfully, I wanted to. But I just told myself, 'Get out of here. Don't ask questions. Just go'' he said. CBP told the Current that travelers may be subjected to secondary screening for 'a variety of reasons.' CBP Public Affairs Specialist Alan Regalado told the LA Times that 'If Mr. Taylor feels the need to, he is more than welcome to file a complaint online on our website and someone will reach out to him to try and get to the bottom of things.' 'I kept thinking, if we're in a country where packing an Obama T-shirt makes you nervous at the border, what kind of America are we living in? This isn't the America I was raised in,' Taylor told the Current. 'The agents have succeeded in making me reassess travel,' he added to the LA Times. 'I would tell others to really think twice about traveling internationally while you have this administration in charge.'
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Top advisor is detained 'for having t-shirt with a political message' after returning from Turks and Caicos
A political advisor who's worked on Democratic and Republican campaigns said he was detained by Customs and Border Protection agents after returning from a vacation in Turks and Caicos. On June 20, Rick Taylor, a Los Angeles-based political consultant, said he was abruptly pulled out of the security line at Miami International Airport and ferried into a holding room. 'I was shaking a bit,' Taylor, 71, told the Westside Current in an interview after the incident. 'And all I could think was, if I'm feeling this - someone who's been in rooms with mayors and senators - what must the others in that room be going through?' His only theory for why he was singled out was that he had an Obama-Biden T-shirt packed into his suitcase. 'You go through every possibility in your head,' Taylor said. 'I thought, "Do I have something in my bag?" And then it hit me - I had packed an Obama-Biden T-shirt.' Taylor was with his wife and daughter, who have Global Entry and breezed through security. Taylor does not have Global Entry and was in a separate line from his family. A CBP agent asked him, 'Are you from California?' He told the agent, 'Yeah, I live in Los Angeles.' The man who ran campaigns for Richard Riordan, Los Angeles' last Republican mayor, and for current Democratic Senator Alex Padilla when he was running for city council in the 1990s, soon found himself escorted to a waiting room. Taylor told The Los Angeles Times that '95 percent of the population' in the room was Latino and primarily Spanish-speaking. 'If it can happen to someone like me - white, older, plugged in - imagine what this must feel like to people who don't have English, who don't know their rights,' he said. 'What's the impact on them and their families?' Ironically, Taylor's wife, born in Vietnam and now a US citizen, had feared being flagged herself before the family trip. Taylor said he reached out to a contact in the Trump administration before leaving, but 'never thought it would be me.' Taylor waited in the holding room for about 45 minutes with barely any communication from the officers. 'They don't talk to you. They don't give you a reason. You're just left confused, angry and worried,' he said. He was allowed to keep his phone the entire time and was texting his wife and daughter updates. Eventually, an agent told him to collect his luggage and give it to them for inspection, after which he was released. Taylor still isn't sure why he was detained, but he keeps coming back to the shirt with the political message on it. 'I kept thinking, if we're in a country where packing an Obama T-shirt makes you nervous at the border, what kind of America are we living in? This isn't the America I was raised in,' he said. 'Next time, I'll think twice about what I pack. That's not something I ever thought I'd have to consider in this country.' His advice to others is to 'really think twice about traveling internationally while you have this administration in charge.' Daily Mail reached out to Customs and Border Protection about this incident. 'If Mr. Taylor feels the need to, he is more than welcome to file a complaint online on our website and someone will reach out to him to try and get to the bottom of things,' CBP Public Affairs Specialist Alan Regalado told the LA Times in an email. Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was outraged by the alleged mistreatment of Taylor, who once served as Yaroslavsky's chief of staff. Yaroslavsky compared it to how Sen. Padilla was arrested and handcuffed during a June 12 Homeland Security press conference in Los Angeles. Padilla had been asking questions to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem about the ongoing ICE raids in Los Angeles. 'My former chief of staff and political consultant, Rick Taylor, was detained at Miami International Airport by federal authorities after returning from an international vacation,' Yaroslavsky told the LA Times in an email. 'As Senator Alex Padilla said a couple of weeks ago, "if it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone." This Federal government operation is OUT OF CONTROL! Where will it end?!' CBP has been criticized as of late for allegedly having a heavier hand under the Trump administration. For example, a Norwegian tourist recently claimed he was denied entry to the United States after immigration officers found a meme of Vice President JD Vance on his phone. Mads Mikkelsen, 21, was sent away after arriving at New Jersey 's Newark Airport on June 11 for a holiday. The guards were said to have found a meme on the device's camera roll showing an edit of Vance with a bald, egg-shaped head. Mikkelsen said after discovering the image the authorities sent him home to Norway the same day. CBP denied this version of events in a statement, saying that 'Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons.'
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Are you from California?' Political advisor said he was detained at airport after confirming he's from L.A.
Veteran Los Angeles political consultant Rick Taylor said he was pulled aside by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents while returning from a trip abroad, asked if he was from California and then separated from his family and put in a holding room with several Latino travelers for nearly an hour. 'I know how the system works and have pretty good connections and I was still freaking out,' said Taylor, 71. 'I could only imagine how I would be feeling if I didn't understand the language and I didn't know anyone.' Taylor said he was at a loss to explain why he was singled out for extra questioning, but he speculated that perhaps it was because of the Obama-Biden T-shirt packed in his suitcase. Taylor was returning from a weeklong vacation in Turks and Caicos with his wife and daughter, who were in a separate customs line, when a CBP agent asked, "Are you from California?" He said he answered, 'Yeah, I live in Los Angeles.' The man who ran campaigns for L.A.'s last Republican mayor and for current Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla when he was a budding Los Angeles City Council candidate in the 1990s found himself escorted to a waiting room and separated from his family. There, Taylor said he waited 45 minutes without being released, alleging he was unjustly marked for detention and intimidated by CBP agents. 'I have no idea why I was targeted,' said Taylor, a consultant with the campaign to reelect L.A. City Councilwoman Traci Park. 'They don't talk to you. They don't give you a reason. You're just left confused, angry and worried.' The story was first reported by Westside Current. Read more: Most nabbed in L.A. raids were men with no criminal conviction, picked up off the street Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the incident brought to mind Sen. Alex Padilla, who was arrested and handcuffed June 12 while trying to ask a question during a Los Angeles press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. 'My former chief of staff and political consultant, Rick Taylor, was detained at Miami International Airport by federal authorities after returning from an international vacation,' he said in an email. 'As Senator Alex Padilla said a couple of weeks ago, 'if it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone.' This Federal government operation is OUT OF CONTROL! Where will it end?!' A representative from the Customs and Border Protection in Florida said an inquiry made by the Los Angeles Times and received late Friday afternoon will likely be answered next week. 'If Mr. Taylor feels the need to, he is more than welcome to file a complaint online on our website and someone will reach out to him to try and get to the bottom of things,' CBP Public Affairs Specialist Alan Regalado said in an email. Taylor, a partner at Dakota Communications, a strategic communications and marketing firm, said he was more concerned about traveling and returning to the U.S. with his wife, a U.S. citizen and native of Vietnam. He said he reached out to a Trump administration member before leaving on vacation, asking if he could contact that individual in case his wife was detained. Read more: ICE arrests at L.A. courthouse met with alarm: 'Absolutely blindsided' The family flew American Airlines and landed in Miami on June 20, where he planned to visit friends before returning to Los Angeles on Tuesday. In a twist, Taylor's wife and daughter, both Global Entry cardholders, breezed through security while Taylor, who does not have Global Entry, was detained, he said. He said after the agent confirmed he was a Los Angeles resident, he placed a small orange tag on his passport and was told to follow a green line. That led him to another agent and his eventual holding room. Taylor described '95% of the population' inside the room as Latino and largely Spanish-speaking. 'I was one of three white dudes in the room,' he said. 'I just kept wondering, 'What I am doing here?'' Read more: ICE seizes 6-year-old with cancer outside L.A. court. His mom is fighting for his release He said the lack of communication was 'very intimidating,' though he was allowed to keep his phone and did send text message updates to his family. 'I have traveled a fair amount internationally and have never been pulled aside,' he said. About 45 minutes into his holding, Taylor said an agent asked him to collect his luggage and hand it over for inspection. He said he was released shortly after. 'The agents have succeeded in making me reassess travel,' Taylor said. 'I would tell others to really think twice about traveling internationally while you have this administration in charge.' Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Serengeti Springs at Hattiesburg Zoo offers new amenities
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – Serengeti Springs at the Hattiesburg Zoo is gearing up for its second season. The water park is set to reopen on Memorial Day Weekend. This year, the park is focusing on expansion to better accommodate growing crowds. New cabanas and upgraded VIP premium cabanas are being added, offering guests more shade and comfort. Experience Twilight Nights at Hattiesburg Zoo this summer To keep families entertained during storms, the park will now offer indoor games and activities for kids. The park will also host several family and teen nights throughout the season. 'Our goal this year is to try to avoid turning anybody away,' said Rick Taylor, executive director of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission. Day passes will cost $23 to $35. Season passes are also on sale for $139. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hattiesburg Zoo marks 75 years with year-long wildlife festivities
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – The Hattiesburg Zoo will kick off its 75th anniversary on Saturday, April 26. The year-long celebration will include a full slate of activities. The Kamper Park Zoo opened on Easter Sunday in 1950. Throughout the past 75 years, the zoo has experienced a vast array of milestones and transformations during that time, including its name. Hattiesburg Zoo launches youth volunteer program 'The arrival of this 75-year milestone is truly special for the Hattiesburg Zoo,' said Rick Taylor, executive director of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission. 'We are very proud of what the Hattiesburg Zoo has become and how we have been able to grow it into one of the Southeast's premier family attractions. The Hattiesburg Zoo provides guests opportunities to explore the wild, and embrace the wonder in this extraordinary place.' 9:45 a.m. Unveiling of the timeline highlighting moments in the Zoo's 75 years of operation. Unveiling of the 75th Anniversary Zoo stories and photos webpage Viewing of the Hattiesburg Zoo's EXPLORE THE WILD, EMBRACE THE WONDER! 75th Anniversary Commercial Presentation of a very special guest. Cutting of the ribbon for the new Flamingo Habitat 10:30 a.m. Birthday Cake Enrichment for Colobus Monkey, Mojo (Africa) 11:00 a.m. Giraffe Feeding (tickets for purchase, available on first-come, first served basis at Zawadi Market under the Giraffe Pavilion) 12:00 p.m. Birthday Cake Enrichment for Hyena, Pili (Africa) 1:00 p.m. Mini Birthday Cupcakes at the front of the Asbury Discovery Center (500 available) 1:30 p.m. Singing of the Happy Birthday song, Ribbon Cutting at Tiger Training and Tiger Training Demonstration 2:00 p.m. Birthday Cake Enrichment for Giraffe, Alberta (Bertie) All Day Face Painters – Lakeview Pavilion Splash Pad Party with the addition of large animal printed beach balls Roaming Animal Experiences (throughout the zoo) Create your own Birthday Hat at Flamingo Pavilion Birthday cake flavored Snow Cones (available for purchase) 75th Anniversary photo props at the new Hattiesburg Zoo photo-op sign (In front of the Splash Pad) Jump Houses Ropes Course Adventure Mining Exhibit Bug Hub Playground Earth Day Activities (All Day) Seed bombs – (Prairie Dog Plaza) Guests will combine MS Milkweed with a combination of soil and clay to take home and plant. Seed bombs are a great way to casually plant seed in the fall or early spring. Milkweed seed is a low-maintenance perennial that is a 'must-have' for any pollinator garden. Educational Carts located around the zoo will have opportunities for guests to learn about various facets of science related to animals at the zoo. Crosby Arboretum Staff (Prairie Dog Plaza) – native plants Hattiesburg Zoo adds new residents: A skunk and a kinkajou Second Saturday Celebrations will take place on the following dates with a different theme each month: 2025 May 10 – Zoo Tunes June 14 – Wild Wonders Scavenger Hunt July 12 – Christmas in July August 9 – Wildlife Dance Party September 13 – Wellness in the Wild October 11 – Into the Wild Costume Parade and Contest November 8 – Kookaburra Karaoke and Zoo Idol December 13 – Lights of the Wild with Saint Nicholas 2026 January 10 – Wild Wisdom Trivia & Bingo Bongo February 14 – Love in the Wild March 14 – Animal Art Extravaganza April 11 – Birthday Blowout! Hattiesburg Zoo will become cashless venue, increase admission prices The Hattiesburg Zoo's 75th Anniversary Kick Off and Second Saturday Celebrations are regular zoo admission prices, and annual passes do apply. Guests are encouraged to purchase online tickets in advance. Online ticket sales end at 9:00 a.m. for same-day entry. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
