Latest news with #TheBee
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fresno area school founder charged for using public funds to pay lavish expenses
A former Madera charter school executive faces federal charges two years after an audit tied him to the misuse of public dollars. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it is charging Nicolas Retana, 67, with one count of embezzling money from a program that receives federal funding. His indictment was unsealed and Retana was arraigned Monday, according to a news release. Retana co-founded Ezequiel Tafoya Alvarado Academy in Madera in 2005 and served as its executive director until he was fired in 2020 following allegations he physically abused students. The school, which serves students in grades K-8, is now called Liberty Charter School. Two years ago, an audit of the school concluded $1.06 million in public funds were potentially misused between 2016 and 2020, and that Retana was tied to the alleged fraud. The FBI launched an investigation of Retana after the audit. Now, the federal government says Retana 'concealed the misused funds by mislabeling the expenses in school accounting records and misrepresenting the expenses when asked.' 'For example, Retana purchased new Ford F-150 Raptor pickup trucks for his two sons using school funds,' the federal news release says. 'He also had a personal relationship with a self-proclaimed sex worker turned relationship coach whom he paid $12,000 using school funds.' The 2023 audit of the school also found nearly $38,000 went to Retana's daughter's higher education expenses. If Retana is convicted of embezzlement, he faces 'a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine,' the federal news release says. John McClure, executive director of Liberty Charter School, said in a Wednesday statement to The Bee that it was the school that requested an investigation by law enforcement at the outset of the case. 'We want to thank both the FBI and Department of Justice for their hard work on this case,' McClure said in an email. 'The charter school and its board will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this case moves forward.' The Bee's attempts to reach Retana on Tuesday were unsuccessful. But in a 2023 phone interview with The Bee, Retana said the audit report's findings were simply 'not true.' He added that the motivation behind the report was racism against him because he is a Chicano who has spoken out about the lack of effort schools put into Latino students. 'There's no ifs, ands or buts about it,' Retana told The Bee in 2023. 'I've always been a target.' 2023 audit: Wild spending at Madera school In 2023, when Liberty Charter School was still called Ezequiel Tafoya Alvarado Academy, McClure said he had filed a police report related to some of the audit's findings three years prior. 'I can assure you that these issues all stopped when I took over as Executive Director and will never happen again,' McClure said at the time. The Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team, the state's school finance watchdog that provides financial guidance to schools, initiated the audit in 2021. The auditors found charter funds were used to make payments totaling $37,563 to colleges between 2016 and 2018. They also found Retana's daughter held several communications positions at the school before being hired as a teacher in 2016. 'Interviews with charter staff indicated that these charges were for (Retana's) daughter's college education,' the audit report said. The report also said Retana's two sons were hired as custodians and later became the school's night security officers. Both received gas cards from the charter and both were issued Ford F-150 Raptors. The audit found that both of them crashed their trucks – each of which cost about $40,000 – and that one of them used his in a hit-and-run. An invoice found in the report also showed the school's board approved a $12,000 payment to an 'Associate #2' for six '8th Grade Life Coaching Workshops' in 2019. The report stated that interviews with staff revealed Retana may have been romantically involved with the life coach, though he denied that in his 2023 interview with The Bee. The report found that the life coach did not possess any type of teaching or counseling credential in California. But Retana said a credentialed counselor is not what he was going for. 'I just wanted someone who was going to be able to do to deal with the eighth-graders, that they would like and that they could work with,' he told The Bee in 2023. Solve the daily Crossword
Miami Herald
01-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Colleen McCain Nelson to leave The Bee for executive editor position in Dallas
Colleen McCain Nelson, who has been the executive editor of The Sacramento Bee for more than four years, will become the new leader of the Dallas Morning News' newsroom. Nelson, 51, is returning to the publication where she was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing in 2010. 'I have loved every day at The Sacramento Bee, and I feel fortunate to have spent the last four-and-a-half years working with such a talented and innovative team that cares deeply about the community that we serve,' Nelson said. 'The Bee's journalists are committed to holding the powerful to account, delivering exclusive local journalism and helping our readers live their best lives in Sacramento. 'I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from this team,' she said. 'It's tough to leave The Bee newsroom, but I am returning to the city I called home for 12 years and the newsroom where I spent my formative years as a journalist.' Managing Editor Scott Lebar, a 40-year veteran of The Bee, will assume the role of interim editor. Lebar, 71, has worked as an editor in many capacities with The Bee since 1985, overseeing all aspects of news coverage, from local and state news to features to sports to investigations. He has served as managing editor since 2013. 'Scott's steady leadership of The Bee staff through the years, combined with his deep ties to Sacramento, make him the perfect person to step into the interim role,' said Robyn Tomlin, McClatchy's Chief News & Membership Officer. 'The newsroom and The Sacramento Bee readers couldn't be in better hands.' McClatchy will conduct a nationwide search for the next leader of The Bee. Nelson will assume her new role as executive editor and vice president in Dallas on Aug. 11. She replaces Katrice Hardy, who left in February to become CEO of The Marshall Project. 'We conducted a nationwide search to find the best executive editor in the United States, and I am confident we found that leader in Colleen,' Grant Moise, CEO of DallasNews Corp. and publisher of the Dallas Morning News said in a news release. 'Colleen is an outstanding journalist and has been at the forefront of journalism's digital transformation. We can't wait to welcome her back to the Dallas Morning News. 'Colleen is relentlessly committed to journalistic excellence, and it has been clear throughout her career that accountability journalism, which is highly valued by our subscribers, is her top priority,' Moise said. Nelson leaves The Bee and its parent company, McClatchy Media, where she was previously the national opinion editor and the vice president and opinion editor of The Kansas City Star. In California, she was also the regional editor over McClatchy's five newsrooms, supervising editors and newsrooms at The Modesto Bee, The Fresno Bee, the Merced Sun-Star and The Tribune of San Luis Obispo. McClatchy's local newsrooms cover California's capital, Northern California, the Central Valley and the Central Coast. 'Colleen has brought remarkable vision, integrity and tenacity to our journalism,' Tomlin said. 'Under her leadership, the newsroom has produced deeply impactful work on California's most urgent issues — from government accountability and wildfire policy to housing, equity and criminal justice. That work has changed lives, informed communities and upheld the highest ideals of our profession.' In Sacramento, Nelson championed investigations into Lodi skydiving fatalities, inappropriate behavior by leaders at St. Hope Public Schools, the finances of the city of Sacramento, contracts related to Butte County fires and Cal-OSHA hiring practices. Nelson also spearheaded other community endeavors, including a cookbook highlighting Sacramento restaurant recipes and The Bee's Change Makers series, which honors key community leaders in partnership with the Nehemiah Emerging Leaders Program. 'Colleen has left an enduring legacy — one defined by courageous public service reporting, deep community connection and an unwavering commitment to journalistic excellence,' Tomlin said. 'She will be deeply missed by her team and by her colleagues across McClatchy.'
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What's up with Javier's restaurant? Work on empty Fresno building started, stopped
When the popular Javier's Mexican Restaurant closed last summer, fans were heartbroken. The restaurant's owners held out hope they could reopen the nearly 50-year-old restaurant, but it never happened. Now major work is happening on the building, leaving Fresnans driving by on busy on Kings Canyon Road to wonder what's next for the high-profile spot. The Bee did some digging and though very few people could be reached for comment, we found some details about the status of the building — including some drama involving illegal work done on the property. The restaurant closed last summer, three years after founder Louis Duran died at age 88. He originally started the business in 1974 in a different building down the street, eventually moving it to its most recent location in a former bank. His family took over running the business. They sold the building in March for $2.2 million, according to county records. The new owner is a limited-liability company based in Bakersfield. Over the past few weeks, work on the building has drastically changed its look. The awnings that covered the patio out front are gone. So is the fencing that surrounded the patio. The palm trees in front were cut down. The interior of the building has been stripped clean. Heavy construction equipment and a dumpster have been on site, the building surrounded by fencing. But the new owners didn't have permits for the work, according to the City of Fresno. On June 10, the city inspected the property and 'red-tagged' it, issuing a stop-work order, according to city spokesperson Sontaya Rose. Now, the owners must pay four times as much when they apply for the permit they need, she said. None of the people associated with the company that bought the building returned messages from The Bee, or could be reached for comment. The Duran family members who most recently ran the restaurant could also not be reached for comment. City spokesperson Rose said the new owners started a draft application on the city's permit system for tenant improvements for a commercial use — but never finished or filed that application, she said. 'It looks to be commercial, not retail or restaurant,' she said, adding that the use could change if and when they file an application. Regardless of the building's future, it does not appear Javier's Mexican Restaurant and its enchiladas and margaritas will ever make a comeback, noted another family member, Greg Rodriquez, the grandson of Louis and Lupe Duran, who once oversaw brunch at the restaurant. 'No,' he said. 'They're done.'
USA Today
29-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Scripps National Spelling Bee 2025 finals: How to watch, stream, start time
Scripps National Spelling Bee 2025 finals: How to watch, stream, start time An orthographic, prepubescent champion will be crowned Thursday when the 2025 Scripps Spelling Bee wraps up with its final round outside of Washington D.C. Nine spellers, ages 12-14, advanced to the final round over the first two days of the national competition. That is a cutdown from the 99 who made it to the quarterfinals Wednesday, with 57 advancing to the semifinals. The remaining nine will square off in the finals beginning at 8 p.m. ET on ION with The Scripps Cup (and a $50,000 cash prize) on the line. Faizan Zaki, the 2024 runner-up, is among the group from which a champion will be named during the Bee's 100th anniversary celebration. Scripps National Spelling Bee finals live stream, TV channel The Bee's finals will air on Scripps-owned channel ION. The finals will also air on Scripps' other national networks: Bounce, Grit, ION Mystery and Laff, as well as its free, ad-supported streaming channels ION Plus, Scripps News, Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More and Scripps National Spelling Bee finals start time The finals begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Fans can head to and enter their zip code for instructions on how to watch the Bee in their specific area. Who will win the 2025 Spelling Bee? Zaiki, a 13-year-old from Dallas, Texas, is a strong candidate based on track record. He's the lone returning finalist and is competing in his fourth Bee. He advanced to the quarterfinals with a perfect score of 35 in the Round 3 preliminaries test Tuesday afternoon (the minimum score needed to advance was 13).
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Pedro Pascal Helps Emma Stone As She Fights a Bee at Cannes 2025
At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, a bee stole the spotlight, and Emma Stone had to take the help of her co-stars, Pedro Pascal and Austin Butler, to save the day. The unexpected red carpet incident happened during the premiere of Eddington, Ari Aster's upcoming film, which brought a star-studded cast to the event. A routine photo op turned into a hilarious showdown at Cannes 2025 when a bee decided to join the Eddington cast on the red carpet. Videos from the event show Pedro Pascal spotting the insect first, blowing air towards it to shoo it away. Emma Stone immediately noticed his reaction and mouthed, 'Is that a bee?' When Pascal confirmed her suspicions, Stone alerted Butler, who tried to help by blowing the bee away, only to accidentally redirect it toward her. The Poor Things actress dramatically ducked as the bee swooped near her face, prompting Pascal to laugh while shielding her. Butler then joined in, waving the insect away until it finally buzzed off. The viral moment led to endless memes and edits online. One user dubbed it ''Emma Stone vs The Bee' a short film.' While another wrote, 'Oh my god i LOVE this picture Emma Stone trying to back off from flying at her bee Pedro Pascal wheezing at the scene and Austin Butler just there serving jawline and side profile.' The incident added a touch of levity to the otherwise intense premiere of Eddington, a Western film set in pandemic-era New Mexico. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as a small-town sheriff and Pascal as a mayor caught in a tense community standoff. Stone and Butler also play key roles in the film, which explores the psychological unraveling of a town during lockdown. Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on ComingSoon. The post Pedro Pascal Helps Emma Stone As She Fights a Bee at Cannes 2025 appeared first on Mandatory.
