Introduction:
Night onto the point. Fentanyl is the reason my daughter is not here. A teen's life is cut short. A mom is arrested as district attorneys go after fentanyl which leads to a death. More Californians are presented with limited insurance options. What state Republicans say needs to be fixed. This affects all ratepayers in California.
It affects all Californians and cleaning Lake Tahoe with robots. Tonight, a father is grieving. He lost his teen daughter to fentanyl after he says a friend's mom gave her a pain pill with a deadly dose of the drug. And now that mom is in jail and more and more we're seeing district attorneys go after people suspected of supplying the fentanyl that leads to a death.
Becca Ha Beggar has this dad's message for all of us. I got a pedicure down with the girls cuz I got to do those things Heff Dawkins says The girl he considered a daughter, 15-year-old Kamaria Evans, will always be in his heart. She's not my biological child. I just raised her from her first steps and he wears his heart on his sleeve.
This is my tattoo of me and my girls and on his shirt and his wrist. These are actually her ashes in there. In July of 2020, Kamaria went to her girlfriend's house and experienced menstrual cramps. So Dawkins says the girlfriend's mom offered Kamaria half a pain pill that turned out to contain fentanyl, enough to end Kamaria's life.
And as far as what I was told, she laid down. I never woke up. Dawkins received a middle-of-the-night phone call from the woman. Her words were I don't know what happened. Kamaria is not breathing. She's already on her way to the hospital. Dawkins rushed to his daughter's side in time to see The medical staff tried to revive her, but she was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.
I would never wish this type of pain on anyone because it's not something that you can get over at any point in time. You have to live with that, he says. The autopsy shows Kamaria died of fentanyl poisoning. The Sacramento Police Department tells ABC10 that the county coroner's office alerted them that Kamaria's death was suspicious. Now the woman accused of giving Kamaria that half a pill, Stephanie Bugs, is facing a felony charge of child endangerment. Bugs was arrested back in February. Keep in mind, that Kamaria died just over three years ago. So why did it take so long to make the arrest? A Sacramento County District Attorney, TN Ho, explains.
Building a case involving fentanyl is not simple. Sometimes we're working the investigation on the front side of it in terms of before the individual is arrested. We're building that case. We're going through the phones, we're going through search warrants, We're talking to witnesses. Stephanie Bugs is in jail pending the outcome of her case and is next to in court on September 28th, though Dawkins says there's nothing the criminal justice system can do to satisfy him.
What I would want is for no more parents to have to go through what I'm going through. That's the only victory for me. I think a lot of parents would agree with that, right? Becca? Becca Hobegger joins us now. Becca, what else is being done about this crisis? You know, Alex, for one more Das are cracking down on fentanyl dealers and providers.
You know, just last month a Plaster County man was the first person in the state to be convicted of murder and a fentanyl death. That's from a 2022 case that killed another 15 year old girl. Also thanks to settlement money from opioid manufacturers, more than $7,000,000 are coming to Sacramento County. That's according to county health officials who tell me it will be spent on things like outreach, education and prevention.
And Narcan is really another important tool to help fight this as well right called the miracle drug. Yes, we cannot say this enough. Narcan or the generic naloxone is an opioid overdose reversal drug. It's administered and easy to use, no spray. And it's now available over the counter at pharmacies. A medical professionals you've interviewed tell us they want everyone to add this to their first aid kit now. Yeah.
And if people do use this, you still need to call 911. So very important tip there. Becca. Thank you so much. All right. Sherry Papini is now out of federal prison several months early. The Northern California mother was convicted last year for faking her own kidnapping. Search teams looked for her for weeks. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Papini is either now under house arrest or in a halfway house, and a decommissioned fire truck is being driven around Sacramento and spraying water Tonight. Sacramento police say that they found the people responsible and let them know the rules of owning one of these trucks. They are not illegal to own, but there are rules that must be followed.
An Independence Day celebration for Ukraine is happening at the Capitol tonight. Our region is home to one of the largest populations of Ukrainian refugees in the United States. The event includes performances, war, photographs, and artifacts. And there is an insurance crisis in California. Companies are changing the way they do business because of wildfires, storms, and the rising cost of repairs.
And now Senate Republicans are calling on California's Insurance commissioner to do more to help people. They say that the insurance industry is broken and only Ricardo Lara has the power and responsibility to fix it. Look, let's face it. This is not a Democrat versus Republican issue in California. This affects all ratepayers in California.
It affects all Californians. Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones is one of seven Republican state senators calling on California Commissioner Ricardo Lara to fix the home insurance crisis. One of the things that you know we could do right away is begin new developments. Areas that are developed and no longer fire danger get them removed.
We need to do a better job of getting their rates adjusted appropriately, Senator Jones says. Just today three people called him saying they're running out of options, a business owner, that their business, property, and home are being impacted by these rates from a constituent that lives out in the east county that their entire neighborhood had been dropped by each of their different homeowners insurances and have had to go on the fair plan.
State Republicans say the legislature has failed to act for years. There have been conversations about forest thinning and rate adjustments but were ultimately shot down either by the governor or the Democratic leadership in the legislature. We reached out to Commissioner Lara's office to get a response to the letter, The office responded with the statement saying in part, Commissioner Lara's top priority is making insurance available across California within a competitive and stable marketplace.
He is already taking action to modernize our market with the nation's first insurance discounts for wildfire safety and other long-term fixes. The California Senate Republicans Caucus invited Commissioner Laura to speak with them in the next couple of weeks before the winter recess. No word yet on if Laura has accepted the invitation and new developments.
A company that mysteriously bought land for years and now owns these 52,000 acres surrounding Travis Air Force Base has apparently been identified. A Flannery Associates consultant tells us investors are a group of who's who in Silicon Valley and their intentions are to create a new city. Congressman John Garamendi has taken issues with these land purchases.
As a member of the Armed Services Committee, he's called on the military to investigate these purchases. So we caught up with the Congressman this afternoon. This story is not over. We also know that this organization has left a very, very bad reputation in Solano County. Five years of secrecy, refusing to reveal what was going on, and frankly very strong-armed mobster-type tactics to force landowners to sell their land. The company bought these parcels of land from farmers paying much more than the market price. Flannery Associates also tells us quote we care deeply about the future of Solano County and California and believe their best days are ahead. We are proud to partner on a project that aims to deliver access to good-paying jobs, affordable housing, clean energy, sustainable infrastructure, open space, and a healthy environment to residents of Solano County.
We are excited to start working with residents and elected officials as well as with Travis Air Force Base on making that happen. Next on to The Point homeowners reporting thefts at their nearby target. The issue Costing all of us a much cooler day today with temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s, but it has been a roller coaster of a month.
But temperatures ranging from 82 to 105, what you can expect this weekend and how hot it may get. And using technology to make sure what happened at Lake Tahoe over the 4th of July weekend holiday does not happen again. All right, It was a beautiful day outside. How's the weekend looking? Hopefully just as good. Yeah, we had tolerable temperatures today, upper 80s, low 90s, just kind of nice to be outside, not too hot, but things are going to gradually change for the weekend with temperatures increasing into the mid to upper 90s but right
now in the big mountain backyard. Take advantage of the temperatures in the mid-80s this evening as you're heading out maybe to a Friday Night Football game or to dinner in Marysville at 90 degrees, 72 right now in Tahoe with some cloud coverage. Now the 24-hour temperature change ranges anywhere from 2 to 8 degrees cooler than it was yesterday at this time from the foothills through the valley.
So definitely feeling that cool down warm and dry through next week. But we're seeing temperatures ranging from 90 to 100 degrees, a light delta breeze moving in with that low-pressure system just offshore, fires burning in northern portions of California and Southern Oregon that's rotating some of that smoke over that low and funneling it into Northern California, Sacramento Bay Area and even into Tahoe.
As you can see here with our smoke moving into our evening hours, you just see it just off the coastline there and then into Saturday starting to make its way in as we see mostly for the Tahoe area here, but into Sunday starting to push this way from the Bay towards Sacramento just a bit. So maybe a few people who are just sensitive to smoke in general may find this a little unhealthy.
Otherwise moderate. So not too bad out there as we see some of the winds 10 to 15 mph in the valley again on Saturday as well and then on Sunday we start to see things slowing down. Sunday into Monday as temperatures start to heat up. You see this big Dome of high pressure here over areas of the central US from Texas over toward the desert southwest that will start moving its way toward us.
That low pressure that's currently bringing as cool air will move over us and in place, we'll see some upper 90s triple digits. But by Labor Day weekend things could be changing as we start to see a bit of a cool down headed our way. Upper 90s as we start off the work week with maybe that triple-digit temperature there for your Wednesday and upper 90s Thursday.
Then we drop off into the following weekend Labor Day weekend in the 80s to low 90s with partly sunny skies. It looks like it's going to be a nice time to be outside. Next to the Point, retail theft is costing us all what's being done about it. Retail theft in California and across the country is costing us.
Retailers say this type of crime is reaching unprecedented levels, forcing the average family to pay an estimated $500 more each year on purchases. And this has been a growing problem since the pandemic. And thieves are getting bold. Our Devon Truby shows us how homeowners are taking matters into their own hands.
Brazen, blatant buyers beware. This is what recently happened at the Target store off-Broadway in the Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento. A man walks out the side door with a card full of stolen items. You can hear the siren triggered by the man using the side door going off. You know it's brazen. Land Park residents are taking it upon themselves to record these steps.
The Sacramento Police Department says they received a call about the theft but did not send an officer to investigate this week. Target has a hands-off policy so they don't stop people from exiting with stolen items. They don't. When I've reported issues that I've seen in the past, they have no desire to report it to the police, Target said in a statement to ABC10.
We are actively working with city officials, law enforcement, and retail industry partners to advocate for public policy solutions to combat theft and organized retail crime. But as Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, tells us, those policy solutions failed. This year no amendments were made to Prop 47.
People will come into stores, they steal under that $950 threshold, and there's zero consequence for the behavior, Michelin says. There are also no consequences for repeat offenders. We now we're working on a grant program for local law enforcement to give them some more resources to deal with retail theft.
But fundamentally we need changes to the law. Exporting Goods just blamed an increasingly serious theft problem at its stores for a 23 drop, 23% drop in its profits overall. The California Retailers Association says they are open to pursuing other outlets, like diversion programs for those committing crimes.
It's not just all about jail time. And if you have an issue surrounding retail theft that you want us to know about, text me and the team. You can text me at 916-321-3310. Again, that's 916-321-3310, increasing the amount of affordable housing. Mayor Steinberg is now proposing a half-cent sales tax on the 2024 ballot that would raise about $9 billion over the next 40 years.
He says it would be invested directly into a countywide Housing Trust fund, public transportation, and safer streets. About 1/3 of it would be going to affordable housing, and it's up to Sacramento voters to decide whether or not they're on board. Mortgage rates are now at an A2 decade high. The average 30-year fixed mortgage now comes with an interest rate of about 7.23%.
Higher rates are making it harder for the housing market to pull out of its current slowdown. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, applications for mortgages are at their lowest since 1995. Many Northern Californian families are finding themselves working full-time but still struggling to make ends meet.
So next week on To the Point. Reporter Becca Ha Becker sits down with people in Solano County who make too much money to qualify for low-income assistance programs, but not enough money to pay the bills. And they're not alone. the United Way of California says that about a third of all households in California do not earn enough income to meet basic needs.
It's just virtually impossible for a single income to make it anywhere here. I have a good job. I make a decent wage. It doesn't keep up with the rise in inflation. What am I going to do? See what one lawmaker is doing to try to correct this problem and why. He says California's minimum wage has a flaw stretching back to its creation more than a century ago.
(15:19) That's next Thursday onto the point. It's 22 miles long and 12 miles wide. Lake Tahoe has more than 40 beaches along its shoreline. Chief Meteorologist Monica Wood shows us how new technology is helping keep Tahoe blue. For some, it's a bucket list destination Lake Tahoe. As the number of visitors grows, so do the harmful impacts.
More and more organizations are turning to robots to help keep the beaches and water clean. Lake Tahoe is a world-renowned vacation destination, from skiing and snowboarding in the winter to summer recreation in the crystal clear blue water. Extra people, though, can mean extra trash. Posing a threat to Tahoe's fragile ecology, Tahoe is more in demand than ever.
The more people who enjoy the lake, the more the impacts we're seeing. The status quo for protecting the lake is no longer enough. Working alongside Eco Clean Solutions, they're bringing in robots like the B Bot to clean beaches and now the Pixie Drone to clean the lake. The Pixie Drone picks up both aquatic invasive weeds, and it also picks up small pieces of litter or small pieces of plastic, Laura says It's kind of like a Roomba for Lake Tahoe collecting trash and also recording data to help find ways to keep Tahoe blue We're working on different solutions to really make sure that what happened on the 5th of July never happens again in terms of the impacts from litter. If you're looking for a way to get involved, they'll have a clean-up at Kings Beach Recreation Area on Labor Day. Next on to the point riding the so-called Smoky Beast in the Yosemite Mountain.
Every Friday John Bartel takes us on the back roads. Tonight John goes to the edge of Yosemite for a ride through a sugar pine forest on a historic lodging train. Take a look just outside the gates of Yosemite National Park. A smoke-billowing beast makes daily trips through the Sugar Pine Forest in the town of Fish Camping.
The beast is known as Engine #10A Steam powered Shea Locomotive All aboard and for the price of a ticket you can ride the smoky beast that Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. This engine specifically was built in 1928. She is 95 years old. Conductor Karen Bradshaw doesn't like to brag, but she's one of the few people in the world still conducting the very rare Shay locomotive.
I know that there are only about 20 to 30 Shea locomotives left in the world. What sets the Shay apart from other locomotives are the vertical Pistons and the very noticeable gears connecting to the wheels. Shays are virtually 12-wheel drive. That extra traction allows the shade to climb steep hills and weave through turns.
Unfortunately, though, it also made the locomotive slow, so they were in the lumber bits inside the railroad business, so they weren't made to go fast, about 15 miles an hour. Ed me is the engineer, he says. On top of the shade being slow, it's also hot. Today the steam engine is fueled by motor oil but originally ran off wood, which inadvertently put out a lot more heat in this small engine room and on summer day you get to 135 in here if you're here in the engine room.
Yet you probably needed a lot of deodorant that you were sweating a lot. Probably the powerful and hot shades were necessary for the logging operations in this area. Much like the mighty Redwood or the girthy Sequoia, the old-growth sugar Pines in this area were massive. From 1899 to 1931, the Madera Sugar Pine Company used the Shea engines to transport trees to the mill, about 1.5 billion board feet worth.
If we had it stacked up next to us, that rough-cut lumber, we would be able to lay it around the Earth's equator and go around the world 11 times during the Great Depression. Then diminishing glumber supplies ultimately put an end to logging in this area. Today tourists can enjoy the regrowth of the once clear-cut forest and they're welcome to bring along their furry friends.
We are pet-friendly dogs. Ride for free and after your excursion, be sure and stop at the logging museum. You can learn what a steam donkey is and you can look at a section of the 54-mile-long flume that also transported lumber to the mill from the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. I'm John Bartel.
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