In 2023, a report from the Police Executive Research Forum called for police to put the brakes on car chases unless a violent crime has been committed and the suspect poses an imminent threat. The report noted a spike in fatalities and an increase in pursuits by some departments, including in Houston and New York City.
At Stellantis headquarters, driving a company car gets you the best parking spots - but driving anything else can get you the boot. When the Jeep parent company ordered employees back to the office five days a week at its Auburn Hills, Michigan campus, workers discovered that parking a Tesla or Hyundai in a spot reserved for Stellantis vehicles could earn them a ticket from security.
Because so many American cities are so heavily car-dependent, most U.S. residents have no choice but to pony up the cash and drive anyway. Indeed, even when gas prices climbed above $5 a gallon in 2022, driving did not plummet; a Time magazine analysis at the time found that 'the only time that fuel consumption really took a hit in the last 23 years was during the pandemic.'
A ragtag group of predominantly business interest representatives has been selected by the city of Portland to weigh in on economic challenges to the city's core. The hotshot team-called the Central City Roundtable-will convene for the first time on Friday, March 6. They'll look at recommendations offered by the infamous task force that Governor Tina Kotek designed in 2023, which proved a predictably contentious practice due to its secrecy and lack of record-keeping.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is delivering his first State of the City address today. You expect the 25% drop in crime to figure largely. [KTVU] As earlier announced, the City of Oakland has now installed speed-detection cameras at 18 locations around the city, following in SF's footsteps. [KPIX] There was a 3.1M earthquake this morning, just before 6:55 am, centerned near Alum Rock in Santa Clara County. [KTVU]
Cops in Los Angeles on Wednesday arrested five people in Corona on shocking charges of operating a multi-million dollar cargo theft ring. The LAPD said the suspects were collared in a long-running investigation that focused on a series of thefts targeting cargo and container chassis, which carry shipping containers for big-rig trucks. Cops, along with three other agencies executed search warrants on the suspects Wednesday and discovered an eye-popping amount of allegedly stolen loot.
A car being pursued by California Highway Patrol officers early Sunday, Jan. 25 flew off the 105 Freeway and crashed to the ground below near Los Angeles International Airport, the CHP said. The driver's face was bloody, and he appeared dazed after El Segundo firefighters cut him out of a Chevrolet Camaro, as seen in a video by freelance news organization OnScene.TV.