Latest news with #Westfall
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Operation Graduation taking place this weekend
May 21—Law enforcement, city officials and prevention agencies encouraged parents — and students — to celebrate graduation weekend and the rest of the summer safely during a news conference Wednesday the Odessa Police Department. Project Graduation, a safe, substance-free celebration held on graduation night, is one way of doing that. It will be held this year for Permian and Odessa high schools at Urban Air. It's designed to keep seniors off the roads and away from risky environments, according to information from Project Graduation Chair Clara Pride. Mayor Cal Hendrick appeared on video to congratulate the 2025 graduates on a job well done. Sara Hinshaw, director of prevention programs at Basin Lighthouse, formerly Permian Basin regional Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, said they encourage people not to have underage drinking parties. The organization helped the city enact a social host ordinance in 2017 to help local law enforcement. The reason for the ordinance is that "we care about our youth," Hinshaw said. "We need to be protecting our youth. We need to help out law enforcement by not providing these underage drinking parties. Let's provide sober parties. We encourage them all to go to Project Graduation. It's a party for our seniors. It's an all-night party. It's at Urban Air this year so this is where we encourage our seniors to go," Hinshaw said. Ector County ISD Police Lt. Chancey Westfall, who is over west side operations and training, extended congratulations to all graduates. "But what we want to also focus on is the dangers of graduation night, when students choose to go out to these parties, consume alcohol and then drive. The last thing that we want to deal with, anyone in this room that works law enforcement, any parent, anyone in our community, is ... the death of one of our kids because they made a poor choice the night of graduation," Westfall said. "We have a lot of places that you can go. Specifically Project Graduation is a wonderful program that's been going on for many years. We encourage our students to go to Project Graduation, because that is going to be a safe place to then go and enjoy and celebrate. That is only one night, though," Westfall said. He added that he would like to encourage everyone to avoid alcohol parties over the summer as well. "I cannot express how heartbreaking it is to lose someone that's just now starting their adult journey in life. To our other students, to our parents, I would like to discourage you from hosting an alcohol party where one of these kids could get intoxicated and get hurt. If you have information or receive information concerning an alcohol party that's going to be hosted in the next few weeks, I would strongly encourage you to reach out to the Odessa Crime Stoppers. You can leave an anonymous tip, and we can have officers that can go and investigate that to prevent that party from turning into something deadly," Westfall said. "If you're not comfortable making the phone call, there's also the P3 app, the tip app, online. You can submit a tip there. We please encourage you to reach out if you have that information, because you could save a life," he added. Odessa Police Chief Mike Gerke said everyone remembers their graduations and wants to see their children and grandchildren graduate and move on to live a productive life. With several different agencies represented, Gerke said you can see the dedication from law enforcement to help make that happen. "Parents, please make sure that your children are safe, make sure your children make better decisions, make wise decisions, so that they can have those happy, fulfilling lives. That's what's important to us. (The) number one goal of Odessa Police Department is protection of life. That's what this is about today. It's not about making arrests, it's not about writing citations. It's about our young people being safe and having a joyful time at graduation," Gerke said. Council Member At-Large Craig Stoker echoed many of the sentiments Wednesday. "This is a great opportunity for our graduating seniors to have a safe place to celebrate and really just an opportunity to gather together and not have opportunities to get in trouble," Stoker said. "There was not such an emphasis on providing spaces like this when I graduated so I applaud the efforts of those putting this on." Westfall noted that the mission of the ECISD Police Department is always the safety of the students. "Even though these kids are graduating, they're still ours. They came up through our school, and our officers build a relationship there. It's like a family, especially for our officers that had these kids in middle school and watched them grow up. It is a very much something we take a lot of pride in. It's very personal for us to go protect our students," Westfall said. The best way to prevent something from happening is talking to your students or your children, interacting with them and talking about concerns. "A lot of people leave things unsaid. When things are unsaid and you don't speak to your children about them, curiosity will get the better of them, and they will go seek out these things based on peer pressure. The best tool to fight peer pressure is education. Teach your kids what to avoid and not go to these parties. If you receive information or you believe that you're going to have students that are going to host a party, I would like to push out there that you should reach out to the Crime Stoppers Odessa program, call them, give them the information. We can go and investigate it. It's all anonymous. If you're not comfortable using the phone, P3 apps; you can download that app online. You can submit it anonymously, and for the students that are listening to this, if you get information on this party, those tips pay cash. If you give us a tip, it solves one of those parties that we get to go out and bust. It prevents a kid from getting hurt. We pay them. I want you all to keep that in mind that that is a big incentive for our students is going to be those tips and that program," Westfall said. Gerke said graduation is something near and dear to the OPD's heart because they want young people to be safe and enjoy graduation. "I think a lot of people mischaracterize this as, hey, we're out there trying to bust up parties and take kids to jail and write tickets, and that's absolutely not it, because over the last few years, we've actually seen a decline in the number of tips we get for this, which means it's working. The whole idea behind this is to keep those graduates that have just passed one of the major milestones of life safe. That's all we really want, and that's our main focus at the Odessa Police Department, is that protection of life and sanctity of life," Gerke said. He added that this is a great effort that brings the community together. Gerke said social host ordinance fines can be up to $2,000. "That's a pretty significant fine. We haven't written an enormous amount of those, but we have written those. Those have been issued, and we'll do it again. ... We're not blind. We understand that we can't prevent juveniles from drinking alcohol constantly, but we can, we can surely try to diminish the number of times that happens, and focus on the safety involved with that," Gerke said. Although a large focus of Operation Graduation is alcohol, drugs are also a concern. "Any type of thing that's going to that it's going to cause harm because you think about these parties and there's overdoses; there are overdoses on narcotics; there are overdoses on alcohol. ... We also are concerned about drinking and driving, or using drugs and driving. Those things cause harm for society, also," Gerke added. According to information from Basin Lighthouse, formerly the Permian Basin Regional Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse: — 12 percent of seniors in this region get their alcohol at parties most of the time compared to the 9 percent state average. — When surveyed, 87.8 percent of seniors in this region reported that they have drunk five or more alcoholic drinks in a two-hour span in the last month. — Two metropolitan statistical areas in Region 9 (Odessa and Midland) account for No. 1 and 2 in most alcohol-related driving fatalities in Texas. — The Teen Court of Odessa handles approximately 30 to 40 cases annually involving minors cited for alcohol violations. Repeat offenders face judicial proceedings and citations can have lasting impacts on their records. — Alcohol-to-Go concerns: A study highlighted that nearly 70 percent of alcohol-to-go orders in the area lacked proper ID verification, raising concerns about increased access for underage individuals. — Youth who drink before age 15 are four times more likely to face alcohol dependence or misuse as adults. — Furnishing alcohol to someone under 21 can lead to a $4,000 fine and up to a year in jail. Selling alcohol to a minor is a Class A misdemeanor, which can bring a $4,000 fine and a year in jail.
Los Angeles Times
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Around Town: Newport Beach Historical Society to host speaker Douglas Westfall
Author, publisher and teacher Douglas Westfall will be the featured speaker when the Newport Beach Historical Society meets from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 19 at the Fun Zone upper level back building, 600 E. Bay Ave., Newport Beach. Westfall, an author, publisher and teacher, has written 50 titles on a wide variety of historical topics. In 2016, he was given the National Daughters of the American Revolution History Award for his work. In 2017, he received Congressional recognition for his efforts related to America's history. At the May 19 lecture, Westfall will share stories on the history of the area. His book, 'Corona del Mar- My Kind of Town,' will be available for purchase. Reservations can be made at The 21st annual Rossmoor Woman's Club Spring Outdoor Living and Garden Tour will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 18. Six to seven gardens and yards will be featured; the amenities include popular design trends with potted plants, pools, bars and outdoor kitchens. Tickets for this community fundraiser are $20 and available for purchase online at or on the day of the event in the Arbor Village, 10651 Los Alamitos Blvd., Los Alamitos. Ticket holders can also attend the outdoor marketplace in the Arbor Village for free refreshments, live music with keyboard and vocals by Danny Kolano, a book signing by local author, Chrysteen Braun and an opportunity to purchase plants, outdoor décor and raffle tickets for the assorted gift baskets prepared by the club. All net proceeds of the fundraiser support local charities and college scholarships for Los Alamitos High School students.
CBS News
22-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Justice Department effort to step in for Trump in E. Jean Carroll case "nearly 2 years too late," her lawyers say
Lawyers for the writer E. Jean Carroll say the Department of Justice should not be allowed to stand in for President Trump in his appeal of a jury's decision to award her $83.3 million. It's the second time Mr. Trump has sought the Justice Department's protection in the case, but Carroll's attorneys said his "13th hour" effort "comes nearly two years too late." Carroll is opposing an effort by the Justice Department, which is a taxpayer-funded agency, and Mr. Trump's personal attorneys, to shield Mr. Trump from damages. The government and Mr. Trump say the Westfall Act, which protects federal workers from lawsuits related to conduct within the scope of their employment, entitles him to absolute immunity from personal lawsuits. A unanimous federal jury found in Carroll's favor in January 2024, concluding that Mr. Trump made defamatory statements when denying that he sexually abused Carroll. The Justice Department had stepped in on Mr. Trump's behalf during Mr. Trump's first presidency and more than half of former President Joe Biden's term in the White House, but that protection was rescinded after another jury in 2023 found Mr. Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll, as well as separate defamation allegations. She was awarded $5 million by the jury in that case. Mr. Trump has denied all of Carroll's allegations and appealed both cases. Carroll's lawyers, led by Roberta Kaplan, said Monday that Mr. Trump missed a court ordered deadline for "a second (or third, or fourth) bite at the apple," referring to Westfall protections. After the Justice Department reversed course in 2023, the judge presiding over the case gave Mr. Trump a July 13, 2023 deadline to further pursue the Westfall issue. He did not. Carroll's lawyers wrote he instead pursued the "last-ditch claim of presidential immunity," which was rejected — as it relates to this case — later that year. They argue the plain text of the Westfall Act means the clock ran out when Mr. Trump's civil trial began in January 2024. The law says that a federal employee who is sued may pursue Westfall certification "at any time before trial," Carroll's lawyers wrote. "It would be patently unfair to permit a defendant to wait to learn the results of a trial before asserting a defense under the Westfall Act," they wrote. That conclusion jibes with an analysis by Northwestern School of Law professor James Pfander, who highlighted to CBS News the Westfall Act's use of "before trial." "The statute would seem to suggest that a motion to substitute at the appellate stage of the litigation comes too late," Pfander said on April 16. In a book excerpt published in New York magazine in 2019, Carroll accused Mr. Trump of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Mr. Trump denied the allegations and called Carroll a "whack job." He said he had never met Carroll, accused her of "totally lying" and said, "she's not my type." She sued him for defamation later that year. The Justice Department said in an April 11 filing that Mr. Trump was acting in his official capacity as president when he made the allegedly defamatory statements. The Justice Department and Mr. Trump's lawyers argue the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is required to substitute the United States for Mr. Trump in the case. Carroll's lawyers noted that the case history includes several findings to the contrary. "Every decisionmaker to reach the question (with the exception of Trump and the Department of Justice when it has been under his control) has concluded that Trump acted outside the scope of his employment when he denied an accusation of 'personal wrongdoing' concerning a sexual assault that he committed years before he ever ran for office," they wrote.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Experts Clash on Amazon's (AMZN) Outlook
Two guests on Schwab Network had very different views of Amazon (AMZN) stock today. "Alarm bells" are ringing for AMZN, said Ron Westfall, Research Director of The Futurum Group. Amazon is "undervalued" because of the strength of its cloud business, AWS, countered Chris McMahon, CEO of Aquinas Wealth. McMahon has a $280 price target on AMZN. Ken Wolter / Westfall's Bearish Take on AMZN Many of the "alarm bells" ringing for AMZN relate to "macro factors," according to Westfall. Both Walmart (WMT) and Delta (DAL) recently reported that consumer spending was softening, he noted. Moreover, Amazon's first-quarter fulfillment guidance came in slightly below expectations. And with U.S. tariffs being raised on China, AMZN is likely to take a significant hit from the latter development, since 25% of the products that the tech giant sells are made in the Asian country, he stated. Finally, AMZN's cloud business is likely to be hurt as companies become more cautious due to macro factors, Westfall warned. McMahon's Bullish Take on AMZN AWS generates $100 billion of annual revenue and is growing at a 20% annual clip, McMahon noted. Further, amid high inflation, AMZN can benefit from consumers' search for value, according to the investor. And finally, AMZN's retail business is outperforming Walmart (WMT) and Costco (COST), he said. While we acknowledge the potential of AMZN, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMZN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires Disclosure: The author owns shares of AMZN but has no intention of trading them in the next 48 hours. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
CBS News
19-03-2025
- CBS News
Two people in custody following another gun store robbery, this time in Marshall Township
An exclusive new video obtained by KDKA on Tuesday night showed the burglary at the Keystone Shooting Center in Marshall Township on Monday morning. Two people are now in custody in connection with the burglary, one adult and one teenager. The alarm went off at 5:44 a.m. and it was initially reported as a false alarm. However, when the manager discovered the break-in, it showed that the window was smashed in with a hammer and three people went into the store. One of them stayed behind to wait for them in a stolen car. The suspects busted three glass cases and grabbed other guns right off the wall. In all, they stole 20 handguns, six semiautomatic AR-15 and AK-47-style rifles, and two suppressors. They also dropped five guns while leaving. Six of them were reportedly recovered by law enforcement during a vehicle stop and a house search. Police uncovered plans to break into a second gun store in Allegheny County just 24 hours earlier. "It's troubling," said Tom Westfall. "It just seems there's no way that anyone is able to stop it. They just keep doing it because they are not getting caught and they just keep bolder and bolder." Police also believe they stopped a second plan to break into an Allegheny County gun store a day before. West Mifflin's police chief said on Sunday morning two teenagers were arrested trying to steal a car. A cell phone recovered in that arrest had Legion Arms in the GPS. Police believe that stopped another break-in attempt. One of the kids was sent to Shuman Detention Center and the other was released. An ATF spokesperson said they are looking into potential connections to other gun store burglaries in Bethel Park, Stoneboro, Mercer County, and near Youngstown, Ohio. "Part of it is the juvenile correctional system and part of it is just parenting and how they're raised," said Westfall. "If there are no repercussions, then there is no reason for them to stop." We've reached out to Allegheny County District Attorney about the recent gun store break-ins but we have been told he is not available to comment at this time, but added that the robberies are being investigated.
