mercurynews--2020-07-17--Why an All-American pole vaulter wants to be exposed to coronavirus

While working on a research project on Irish folklore at the University of Pennsylvania last fall , Sean Clarke , an Ivy League champion and All-American pole vaulter , found words to live by in Gaelic phrase .
For Clarke the words rang out loud and true like church bells echoing through Dublin on a Sunday morning .
Three words that sum up how Clarke has spent his first 22 years .
If you were a bully targeting your next victim at Sabal Point Elementary or Rock Lake Middle School in Longwood , Florida near Orlando , you had to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mind that he was always the smallest kid in his class .
If you were an outcast , lonely , or needed a friend , you found Sean Clarke standing next to you .
“ Even when he was a little boy , he did what a man was supposed to do , ” said his mother , Kathy Johnson Clarke , an Olympic gymnastics medalist .
“ He was always the kid who would stand between somebody who may be bullying or in his mind was going to harm another person , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right in between them right then and he would protect the vulnerable.
” Clarke is standing up again .
With his final collegiate indoor and outdoor seasons and potential world class professional career looming , the Los Angeles-born Clarke has volunteered to take part in a coronavirus human challenge trial in which participants are deliberately exposed to the virus in hopes of speeding up the development of a vaccine and saving thousands , potentially millions of lives .
Clarke in May volunteered through 1DaySooner.org , an online registry looking for participants for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a controlled human infection study .
In doing so Clarke checked a box that reads “ I am interested in being exposed to the coronavirus to speed up vaccine development.
” “ To me it seemed like a really smart idea to start putting preparation in place just to start swaying minds because a lot of people I ’ m sure would be worried about these challenge trials .
And I felt being a very healthy , fairly young college athlete , like I was in a good position to possibly provide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ graduated from Penn in May with a B.S .
in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics .
He will compete next winter and spring for Texas A & M where he is in a graduate mechanical engineering program doing research on energy conversion .
After a vaccine is created in a laboratory , it is further developed through pre-clinical evaluations and tested for its safety and efficacy in three phases of clinical trials .
Participants in a traditional Phase III trial receive the vaccine candidate or a placebo enabling the drug ’ s efficacy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of infection in the vaccine placebo groups to show if significantly fewer participants in the vaccine group get infected .
A human challenge trial could expedite approval of a vaccine by months because participants are exposed directly to the coronvirus .
Like a traditional Phase III trial , participants like Clarke would receive a vaccine candidate or placebo .
After a period of time for the vaccine to take effect participants would be deliberately exposed to live coronavirus .
This process could make it possible to judge a vaccine ’ s efficacy sooner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Phase III trials .
Writing in the Journal of Infectious Diseases in March , Harvard ’ s Marc Lipsitch , Peter Smith from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine , and Rutgers ’ Nir Eyal maintained that “ every week that vaccine rollout is delayed will be accompanied by many thousands of deaths globally.
” Speeding up the development by one day could save 7,120 lives globally daily , according to 1DaySooner .
A three-month reduction could save more than 500,000 lives .
A human challenge trial would require approval by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ If done properly , live coronavirus human challenge trials can be an important way to accelerate vaccine development and , ideally , to save the lives of millions around the world as well as help rescue global economies , ” a group of 18 Nobel laureates wrote in a recent letter to Dr. Francis Collins , director of the National Institutes of Health , this week .
1DaySooner has been working with the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford .
The institute , backed by the British government , is developing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Merck .
Jenner director Adrian Hill told the Spanish Society of Rheumatology this week that clinical trial results could be available in August and September creating the possibility of a vaccine being delivered in October .
Like Lipsitch , Smith and Eyal in their March article , Clarke and 1DaySooner acknowledge the risk of participating in a human challenge trial .
Participants in a human challenge trial would likely be healthy individuals in the age 18 to 25 demographic , said 1DaySooner communications director Abie Rohrig .
1DaySooner currently has 31,254 volunteers from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both healthy and unhealthy individuals in 20-29 age group infected by coronavirus is one in 3,300 , according to the Lancet Journal of Infectious Disease .
“ The best care you ’ ll get is in one of these trials , ” Clarke said .
“ You ’ re so carefully monitored by a really strong ( medical and science professionals ) .
They ’ ll really keep a close eye on you.
” Kathy Johnson Clarke , who trained at the world-renown SCATS Gymnastics prior to the 1984 Olympic Games , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s decision .
Johnson Clarke and her husband , actor Brian Patrick Clarke ( “ Eight Is Enough , ” “ General Hospital ” ) found out about the move when contacted by a reporter this week .
After digesting the news it made sense to the couple .
“ My immediate reaction was surprise but not , ” Johnson Clarke said .
“ What has defined Sean in life , his whole mission is to do something for the greater good and to do something great .
I think he would like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at something but above and beyond all of that that ’ s important to him is doing something for the greater good.
” Along those lines , Clarke was inspired by a policeman grandfather and an uncle who served with the Marine Corps at the height of the Vietnam War .
“ There ’ s a history of public service ( in the family ) and I think this is what this would fall under , ” said Clarke , who hopes to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation after his pole vaulting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s so scary to people about this COVID crisis , the random of it , how it ’ s been so hard to predict who will have significant reaction .
But there ’ s been so many times in history where there ’ s been a call to action , be it World War II where a generation was called to fight for their country and people didn ’ t even bat an eye at that , and I think it ’ s because there was a different culture element around it as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up for .
These were volunteers and we do have a better understanding daily about this COVID crisis and I just feel this mitigates the risk in a lot of ways.
” In volunteering with 1DaySooner , Clarke said he was also inspired by his longtime hero Pat Tillman , the late NFL player , and his father ’ s potentially coronavirus-related health crisis in April .
Tillman turned down a $ 3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals and enlisted in the U.S. Army months after the terrorists attacks on September 11 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by friendly fire while in combat in Afghanistan .
Tillman ’ s example , Clarke said “ definitely occurred to me ” when making the decision to volunteer for coronavirus trial .
“ What he did was on a far bigger scale and with far more courage but he really always seemed to do the right thing , ” Clarke said .
“ ( Enlisting ) was something he felt he should do and that ’ s how I feel about this.
” Brian Patrick Clarke , a former Yale football player , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night of April 1 turned into April 2 .
Clarke , 67 , is a cancer survivor .
He underwent 44 rounds of radiation and five months of hormone treatment after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in May 2018 .
“ I was very concerned , ” he said .
Still Kathy Johnson Clarke was unable to find someone who would test her husband .
His 103 degree temperature on April 2 was still at 102 twelve days later .
He lost 11 pounds .
Finally he was taken the emergency room .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Sean said , ‘ No , no I should take him , ’ ” Johnson Clarke recalled .
“ I said , ‘ no I can do it.
’ All of sudden Sean goes , ‘ Mom , I ’ m pretty sure I already have it , ’ and he goes through the symptoms and now I ’ m going , so I ’ m taking him .
“ Now I have to send my kid off with my husband and now I ’ m afraid and I ’ m worried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the test and I said , ‘ When did you start having symptoms ?
’ And he said , ‘ Mom , I don ’ t have them , I just told you that because I did not want you to go.
’ “ And I said , ” Johnson Clarke continued , now able laugh at the memory , “ ‘ Damn you , really ?
’ ” Brian Patrick Clarke tested negative coronavirus and was eventually hospitalized with was diagnosed as urosepsis , a severe urinary tract infection .
“ That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his decision , Sean Clarke said .
“ It ’ s really scary when a family has the potential of becoming a broken family in some ways and I think it ’ s even scarier right now because there ’ s so little understanding of what ’ s happening .
And I feel if there ’ s any way to protect even a few families from dealing with that type of loss , especially young children losing these parents suddenly , it ’ s well worth any slight risk.
” The only real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a source that surprised Clarke : his former Penn teammates .
“ I was actually surprised , ” he said .
“ I thought that people would take to it more quickly .
There was some pushback actually .
I sent it , the link to the website in one of the group chats we have among Penn track team members .
I thought everyone would sign up since we ’ re all in a unique position to be really helpful and people were really surprised that I was so interested in doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
There ’ s risk in everything .
Nothing can be guaranteed , but I was surprised at the amount of push back from some of my teammates just thinking it wasn ’ t a smart idea .
‘ Let someone else do it , who ’ s not at athlete , someone who doesn ’ t rely so much on their physical health.
’ I recognize it is a risk but 1 ) I really trust the scientific research community that there will be thorough vetting of members who would be interested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just feel like every athlete believes in themselves so I don ’ t believe that I would struggle if the vaccine didn ’ t work and I were to come down with symptoms .
There ’ s been a number of college athletes diagnosed with COVID , fairly mild symptoms and I just feel like it ’ s a great opportunity , that we ’ re in a turning point for society to give back especially to the older generation that has provided so much for us.
” Clarke ’ s decision to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t be viewed as a rash move by a young man convinced of his invincibility , a pole vaulting dare devil who sees the coronavirus as just another bar to clear .
He knows that living without fear doesn ’ t mean living—or dying—recklessly .
“ I think it ’ s important to realize that some of the strength comes from fear , ” he said .
“ It can be used , it ’ s good that pole vaulters recognize there ’ s an element of danger .
There ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I just really like the idea of it being a goal to live a life without fear with the understanding that it always creeps in .
It ’ s how you manage it .
”

While working on a research project on Irish folklore at the University of Pennsylvania last fall, Sean Clarke, an Ivy League champion and All-American pole vaulter, found words to live by in Gaelic phrase.
Saol gan eagla
Life without fear
For Clarke the words rang out loud and true like church bells echoing through Dublin on a Sunday morning.
“I loved it right away,” Clarke recalled.
Three words that sum up how Clarke has spent his first 22 years.
If you were a bully targeting your next victim at Sabal Point Elementary or Rock Lake Middle School in Longwood, Florida near Orlando, you had to get through Sean Clarke first. Never mind that he was always the smallest kid in his class. If you were an outcast, lonely, or needed a friend, you found Sean Clarke standing next to you.
“Even when he was a little boy, he did what a man was supposed to do,” said his mother, Kathy Johnson Clarke, an Olympic gymnastics medalist. “He was always the kid who would stand between somebody who may be bullying or in his mind was going to harm another person, he was like ‘boom!’ right in between them right then and he would protect the vulnerable.”
Clarke is standing up again.
With his final collegiate indoor and outdoor seasons and potential world class professional career looming, the Los Angeles-born Clarke has volunteered to take part in a coronavirus human challenge trial in which participants are deliberately exposed to the virus in hopes of speeding up the development of a vaccine and saving thousands, potentially millions of lives.
Clarke in May volunteered through 1DaySooner.org, an online registry looking for participants for a human challenge study, also referred to as a controlled human infection study. In doing so Clarke checked a box that reads “I am interested in being exposed to the coronavirus to speed up vaccine development.”
“To me it seemed like a really smart idea to start putting preparation in place just to start swaying minds because a lot of people I’m sure would be worried about these challenge trials. And I felt being a very healthy, fairly young college athlete, like I was in a good position to possibly provide something,” said Clarke, who graduated from Penn in May with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics. He will compete next winter and spring for Texas A&M where he is in a graduate mechanical engineering program doing research on energy conversion.
After a vaccine is created in a laboratory, it is further developed through pre-clinical evaluations and tested for its safety and efficacy in three phases of clinical trials. Participants in a traditional Phase III trial receive the vaccine candidate or a placebo enabling the drug’s efficacy to be determined by comparing the prevalence of infection in the vaccine placebo groups to show if significantly fewer participants in the vaccine group get infected.
A human challenge trial could expedite approval of a vaccine by months because participants are exposed directly to the coronvirus.
Like a traditional Phase III trial, participants like Clarke would receive a vaccine candidate or placebo. After a period of time for the vaccine to take effect participants would be deliberately exposed to live coronavirus. This process could make it possible to judge a vaccine’s efficacy sooner and with fewer participants than a standard Phase III trials.
Writing in the Journal of Infectious Diseases in March, Harvard’s Marc Lipsitch, Peter Smith from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Rutgers’ Nir Eyal maintained that “every week that vaccine rollout is delayed will be accompanied by many thousands of deaths globally.”
Speeding up the development by one day could save 7,120 lives globally daily, according to 1DaySooner. A three-month reduction could save more than 500,000 lives. A human challenge trial would require approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“If done properly, live coronavirus human challenge trials can be an important way to accelerate vaccine development and, ideally, to save the lives of millions around the world as well as help rescue global economies,” a group of 18 Nobel laureates wrote in a recent letter to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, this week.
1DaySooner has been working with the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford. The institute, backed by the British government, is developing a vaccine in collaboration with Advent and Merck. Jenner director Adrian Hill told the Spanish Society of Rheumatology this week that clinical trial results could be available in August and September creating the possibility of a vaccine being delivered in October.
Like Lipsitch, Smith and Eyal in their March article, Clarke and 1DaySooner acknowledge the risk of participating in a human challenge trial.
Participants in a human challenge trial would likely be healthy individuals in the age 18 to 25 demographic, said 1DaySooner communications director Abie Rohrig. 1DaySooner currently has 31,254 volunteers from 140 countries.
The mortality rate for both healthy and unhealthy individuals in 20-29 age group infected by coronavirus is one in 3,300, according to the Lancet Journal of Infectious Disease.
“The best care you’ll get is in one of these trials,” Clarke said. “You’re so carefully monitored by a really strong (medical and science professionals). They’ll really keep a close eye on you.”
Kathy Johnson Clarke, who trained at the world-renown SCATS Gymnastics prior to the 1984 Olympic Games, was caught off guard by her son’s decision. Johnson Clarke and her husband, actor Brian Patrick Clarke (“Eight Is Enough,” “General Hospital”) found out about the move when contacted by a reporter this week. After digesting the news it made sense to the couple.
“My immediate reaction was surprise but not,” Johnson Clarke said. “What has defined Sean in life, his whole mission is to do something for the greater good and to do something great. I think he would like to do something great, be great at something but above and beyond all of that that’s important to him is doing something for the greater good.”
Along those lines, Clarke was inspired by a policeman grandfather and an uncle who served with the Marine Corps at the height of the Vietnam War.
“There’s a history of public service (in the family) and I think this is what this would fall under,” said Clarke, who hopes to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation after his pole vaulting career. “I think what’s so scary to people about this COVID crisis, the random of it, how it’s been so hard to predict who will have significant reaction. But there’s been so many times in history where there’s been a call to action, be it World War II where a generation was called to fight for their country and people didn’t even bat an eye at that, and I think it’s because there was a different culture element around it as in people understood what was being signed up for. These were volunteers and we do have a better understanding daily about this COVID crisis and I just feel this mitigates the risk in a lot of ways.”
In volunteering with 1DaySooner, Clarke said he was also inspired by his longtime hero Pat Tillman, the late NFL player, and his father’s potentially coronavirus-related health crisis in April. Tillman turned down a $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals and enlisted in the U.S. Army months after the terrorists attacks on September 11, 2001. He was later killed by friendly fire while in combat in Afghanistan.
Tillman’s example, Clarke said “definitely occurred to me” when making the decision to volunteer for coronavirus trial.
“What he did was on a far bigger scale and with far more courage but he really always seemed to do the right thing,” Clarke said. “(Enlisting) was something he felt he should do and that’s how I feel about this.”
Brian Patrick Clarke, a former Yale football player, began suffering coronavirus like symptoms as the night of April 1 turned into April 2.
“April Fool’s Day, right,” Brian Patrick Clarke said.
Clarke, 67, is a cancer survivor. He underwent 44 rounds of radiation and five months of hormone treatment after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in May 2018.
“I was very concerned,” he said.
Still Kathy Johnson Clarke was unable to find someone who would test her husband. His 103 degree temperature on April 2 was still at 102 twelve days later. He lost 11 pounds. Finally he was taken the emergency room.
His son drove him.,
“I was going to take Brian and Sean said, ‘No, no I should take him,’” Johnson Clarke recalled. “I said, ‘no I can do it.’ All of sudden Sean goes, ‘Mom, I’m pretty sure I already have it,’ and he goes through the symptoms and now I’m going, so I’m taking him.
“Now I have to send my kid off with my husband and now I’m afraid and I’m worried to death and he comes back after the test and I said, ‘When did you start having symptoms?’ And he said, ‘Mom, I don’t have them, I just told you that because I did not want you to go.’
“And I said,” Johnson Clarke continued, now able laugh at the memory, “‘Damn you, really?’”
Brian Patrick Clarke tested negative coronavirus and was eventually hospitalized with was diagnosed as urosepsis, a severe urinary tract infection.
“That definitely was a big input” in his decision, Sean Clarke said. “It’s really scary when a family has the potential of becoming a broken family in some ways and I think it’s even scarier right now because there’s so little understanding of what’s happening. And I feel if there’s any way to protect even a few families from dealing with that type of loss, especially young children losing these parents suddenly, it’s well worth any slight risk.”
The only real pushback to his decision has come from a source that surprised Clarke: his former Penn teammates.
“I was actually surprised,” he said. “I thought that people would take to it more quickly. There was some pushback actually. I sent it, the link to the website in one of the group chats we have among Penn track team members. I thought everyone would sign up since we’re all in a unique position to be really helpful and people were really surprised that I was so interested in doing it. I don’t understand. There’s risk in everything. Nothing can be guaranteed, but I was surprised at the amount of push back from some of my teammates just thinking it wasn’t a smart idea. ‘Let someone else do it, who’s not at athlete, someone who doesn’t rely so much on their physical health.’ I recognize it is a risk but 1) I really trust the scientific research community that there will be thorough vetting of members who would be interested in doing this and 2) I just feel like every athlete believes in themselves so I don’t believe that I would struggle if the vaccine didn’t work and I were to come down with symptoms. There’s been a number of college athletes diagnosed with COVID, fairly mild symptoms and I just feel like it’s a great opportunity, that we’re in a turning point for society to give back especially to the older generation that has provided so much for us.”
Clarke’s decision to volunteer for a human challenge trial shouldn’t be viewed as a rash move by a young man convinced of his invincibility, a pole vaulting dare devil who sees the coronavirus as just another bar to clear.
Saol gan eagla
He knows that living without fear doesn’t mean living—or dying—recklessly.
“I think it’s important to realize that some of the strength comes from fear,” he said. “It can be used, it’s good that pole vaulters recognize there’s an element of danger. There’s always a little bit of fear.
“I just really like the idea of it being a goal to live a life without fear with the understanding that it always creeps in. It’s how you manage it.”


mercurynews--2020-07-17--Comic-Con canceled: Here’s how creators and fans will experience the con ‘At Home’

The end of July usually means more than 130,000 fans , creators , collectors , merchants , nerds and geeks of all manner head to San Diego Comic-Con .
But since the event was canceled in April due to concerns over the novel coronavirus pandemic , no one is going to San Diego Comic-Con this year , and it ’ s going to be weird .
Actually , it ’ s going to be Comic-Con @ Home , which will allow fans unable to come to experience at least some of the fun they ’ d normally have at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are missing out on a big sales event .
We picked 17 virtual events we can ’ t wait to experience — and there are lots more .
To find out more about how the Comic-Con cancellation is affecting those who normally would be heading there this week , we talked to artists and writers , business owners , cosplayers , even a couple of kids who are famous for the cardboard superheroes they make .
Todd Nauck hasn ’ t missed a Comic-Con since his first trip to San Diego in 1994 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California to work for Rob Liefeld at Image Comics .
For him , the end of July meant packing up the car and driving south from his home in Costa Mesa .
It ’ s a trip he won ’ t be making this year .
“ I ’ m interested in finding out what that will be like next week , ” says Nauck , whose career has included lots of Spider-Man work for Marvel , a run on “ Young Justice ” for DC , and his own “ Wildguard ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m not missing is gearing up for the trip .
Getting all the materials ready , loading up the car .
“ But it will feel weird , ” he says .
“ It will feel maybe a little bit like a void , or I ’ m out of step with time because that is five solid days of July .
“ I hope I ’ m not cowering in the corner , sucking my thumb and rocking back and forth by the weekend , ” Nauck says , laughing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he did signings and sketches at the Image or DC booths .
Every year since 2005 , however , he ’ s had his own table in Artists Alley , drawing commissions and signing comics for all the fans who stop by .
“ It is my chance to be an extrovert , ” Nauck says of those days spent on the floor at Comic-Con .
“ I kind of test right in the middle of the scale between introvert and extrovert .
I love to do my work at home , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I come to a convention it ’ s my chance to meet other like-minded geeks and have fun .
“ I really have been missing that , since I have done zero conventions this year.
” Publication of his latest book — Marvel ’ s “ Gwen Stacy , ” the story of Spider-Man ’ s girlfriend before they met — was paused due to the coronavirus after the publication of the first two issues .
But he ’ s kept busy with studio commissions as well as those for fans while stuck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It ’ s kept me feeling as normal as possible , ” Nauck says .
“ That I have a direction to go each day.
” Nauck will do art livestreams on his YouTube channel during Comic-Con weekend at Youtube.com/toddnauck .
Also , find him @ toddnauck on Instagram and Twitter .
Writer Darcie Little Badger planned to make her first-ever trip to San Diego Comic-Con this year in part to promote her debut novel “ Elatsoe ” but also fulfill a lifelong dream .
“ It ’ s been a childhood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always see these images from the convention and think of it as the place to be as a comic book fan , ” says Little Badger , who lives in Corona Del Mar with her fiance .
Chosen as a special guest for the Con , she ’ d planned on giving away advance copies of her book , the story of a teenage girl from the same Lipan Apache heritage as Little Badger who embarks with her ghost dog on a quest to avenge the murder of her cousin in a vampire-infested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the idea of how cool it would be if there was a world where animal ghosts roamed around , and you could have a ghost dog and teach it supernatural tricks , ” she says of the book that features illustrations by Rovina Cai and arrives in August .
Little Badger , who is also co-writer of the “ Strangelands ” comic book series , says she ’ d been looking forward the opportunity to debut her first major piece of cosplay as well as enjoying the social aspect of networking and hanging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I wanted to make my interpretation Poison Ivy using beadwork in the style of my mother and grandmother , ” she says .
“ We ’ re Lipan Apache and I thought it would be cool to bead the entire top of Poison Ivy ’ s outfit .
“ Turns out that takes a long time with beads that are about the size of grains of sands , ” she says , laughing .
Being in San Diego — a dream now delayed — would also have been a joy in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sometimes it can feel a little lonely being a fan of sci-fi comics , especially now , ” Little Badger says .
“ Loneliness has been on my mind lately .
“ Just to be in an area where you realize you are not alone would have been nice.
” Find her online at darcielittlebadger.wordpress.com or @ ShiningComic on Twitter .
Brandon Jackson remembers visiting his grandmother in San Diego in 1993 and while downtown stumbling onto Comic-Con for the very first time .
“ I went there , and it was like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A few years later he joined the Navy , and before he retired in 2018 as a chief petty officer , he always went back to Comic-Con when he wasn ’ t deployed in some far-off land .
He ’ s been every year since 2010 , and since 2016 has served as a staff photographer for Comic-Con , cosplaying himself and documenting the costumes of others .
“ The thing about being a staff photographer : It is fun , it is extremely fun , ” he says of his work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wars group photos each year as well as at other conventions and cosplay events around Southern California .
“ Ninety-nine percent of all my costumes are Star Wars , ” says Jackson from his home in Murrieta .
“ One of the things I ’ m most known for is playing Finn .
I have all the Finn costumes .
All of his movie costumes .
The only one I ’ ve not done yet is the bubble suit after he comes out of a coma in ‘ The Last Jedi.
’ ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reveal at Comic-Con this year .
Now it must wait ’ til next year .
Asked what it will be like to experience Comic-Con this year he lets out a long sigh before answering .
“ The way I see it is I ’ m trying to treat this whole quarantine life as a deployment at home , ” Jackson says .
“ As someone who ’ s deployed many times before , I ’ m doing my best to bide my time and be active .
“ I ’ m a little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to see my friends and have fun , but at the same time I ’ m optimistic .
I have my family and we ’ re all healthy.
” Jackson ’ s photography can be found at facebook.com/chiefgeekphotography “ This would have been our 20-year anniversary at Comic-Con , ” says Kenny Jacobs , owner of Nuclear Comics , when reached one recent morning at his shop in Laguna Hills .
“ We do anywhere from 4 to 6 , sometimes 7 , shows a year .
And obviously that ’ s the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of time and it ’ s intense .
I ’ s a whirlwind of a day.
” Jacobs says his day at the Nuclear Comics booth begins when he arrives at the exhibition hall no later than 7 a.m. to get ready for the crowds that will soon come .
It ends early in the evening after packing up , grabbing dinner , and maybe staying awake half an hour after getting back the hotel room .
For Jacobs and Nuclear Comics , going to Comic-Con isn ’ t so much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about building a customer base for the store year-round .
“ What we offer is what very few people offer , so we cultivate customers from the show that translates to business at the store , ” he says .
“ Obviously business at the show is good , but it ’ s big gross , not big profits.
” Afterwards , though , the customers who ’ ve discovered Nuclear Comics stay customers — no matter where they live .
“ We ” ve been doing shows up in the Bay Area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I ’ ve got customers there I haven ’ t seen in five years but they still order .
I have a regular customer that I met at the Las Vegas show two or three years ago and he has me ship comic books monthly.
” He ’ d planned to have a big sale weekend during the dates he wouldn ’ t be going to Comic-Con this year , but the resurgent coronavirus pandemic nixed that plan .
Instead , he ’ s heading up to the Central Coast for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It ’ s the best alternative to not doing Comic-Con , ” Jacobs says .
“ I could just stay home and go to the beach , but as a small business owner , I don ’ t actually get away until I ’ m out of the area .
I can ’ t get my head out of it otherwise.
” Visit Nuclear Comics at 24741 Alicia Parkway , Laguna Hills or online at Nuclearcomics.com Keithan Jones went to his first Comic-Con when he was 15 .
Until walking into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wide-eyed San Diego teen had no idea you could actually meet the people who wrote and illustrated your favorite comic books .
The next year , 1986 , he brought his portfolio and left with a deal to do a Dracula story for Apple Comics .
Since then , with the exception of a few years at college , he ’ s been a fixture as a fan and eventually a creator .
“ For me , Comic-Con is always exciting to meet the people I see in the credits of my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work , or just talking with people who know what I like to talk about , ” says Jones , who launched Kid Comics as an independent company to publish his own “ Power Knights ” series and work by other artists .
“ I was a Teen Titans fan as a kid and I created Power Knights when I was 11 years old , ” he says .
“ At that point , it was just pure innocent fun , wide-eyed , bushy-tailed .
I didn ’ t know how things worked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comic.
” Five or six years ago while working at an advertising firm , he decided it was time to follow his passion for comic books and he rebooted the comic book of his childhood as the real deal .
“ I felt I owed my younger self the opportunity to bring those characters to the market , ” Jones says .
Since then he ’ s traveled the country to cons and comic stores to promote his book and his company , sharing part of a booth at Comic-Con across from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bobby Rubio , a Pixar animator .
“ It sucks not being there , because this was going to be my first year featured as a special guest , ” Jones says .
“ Of course , COVID hits .
I ’ m like , ‘ Yeah , this would be the year that happens.
’ But they gave a rain check for next year.
” In February , before the pandemic shutdowns began , Jones organized his third annual Black Com !
x Day in San Diego , bringing Black comic writers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Park .
“ I guess the planets lined up for me because our very first show — I ’ m not kidding — I picked a random date in February and it just so happened to be the day ‘ Black Panther ’ premiered .
“ Talk about riding a wave .
People were really amped up and it just all came together for me.
” Patrick Ballesteros has been to many comic conventions around the world .
But for the San Diego artist , there ’ s no place like home .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ me living here , you walk in there and it ’ s like the essence of a comic con is breathing in you , ” he says .
“ Not to sound all hokey but I ’ ve been to cons lots of other places and there really is no place like this .
“ The overall positive there is an energy at Comic-Con that you really can ’ t find at any other con .
It ’ s like this vibe when you walk in you ’ re like , ‘ Oh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” That means this year will definitely feel different for him .
Ballesteros has had a table in Artists Alley since 2012 when he applied almost on a whim and got in .
“ I didn ’ t know what to expect , ” he says .
“ I was pretty green going in so when I attended conventions that were held prior to Comic-Con I would walk Artists Alley and see what people were doing .
I would also walk up to some artists that I knew and ask , ‘ So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should I be aware of ?
’ ” His artwork aims for what Ballesteros describes as “ childhood nostalgia , ” taking well-known characters and recasting them as younger versions of themselves .
“ Taking a lot of things I grew up with and putting my little twist on them , ” he says .
“ They ’ re recognizable characters , but I always try to come up with a story that relates to you .
“ I try to relate them , pair them , and put them in a scene @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where it ’ s from but more importantly connects with you .
So you go , ‘ Oh , yeah , I remember I used to do that , ’ or ‘ I did that just the other day with my kid.
’ ” Find Ballesteros at Patrickballesterosart.com or on Twitter at @ patrickballest .
Dana Jazayeri says he and his two co-owners of Yesterdays went to Comic-Con as fans for years before they launched their pop culture enamel pin company in Santa Ana a handful of years ago .
“ We ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entertainment industry , ” he says of himself , Quang Le and Suman Chatterjee .
“ So once we started making our products , it was a natural fit to want to be there .
We went from being fans to being an actual brand that ’ s there.
” Yesterdays was an early entrant into the world of pop culture pins , carving out a niche for unique and artistic enamel pins that range across the worlds of music , movies , comics , TV and more , often with a weird @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are you going to find a pin of E.T .
wrapped up in a burrito ? )
“ Our position was pins are a small representation of who you are , what you like , how you align yourself , ” Jazayeri says .
“ We wanted to make collectible pins .
Things you will cherish for years .
It ’ s nice to see our products getting flipped on eBay .
“ The name is Yesterdays ; it ’ s what happened yesterday .
It ’ s our childhood , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we played , the comic books we read.
” For Comic-Con , Yesterdays made an exclusive heart-shaped pin that shows the San Diego Convention Center with the words “ I Miss SDCC ” in the foreground .
Limited to 100 pins , it ’ s sure to sell out .
The company also has a deal with the gothic punk band the Misfits for exclusive merchandise it releases each year , and this year , with sales open to anyone regardless of whether or not they have a Comic-Con ticket , Jazayeri says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three times normal .
That might help the business side of things , Jazayeri says .
But it can ’ t make up for the more fleeting kinds of joy the Con always delivers .
“ It ’ s seeing the people that we see every year , ” he says .
“ It ’ s a community .
We may only see each other at cons , but when we see each other it ’ s good.
” Not only are brothers Connor and Bauer Lee creative — let ’ s see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suit out of nothing but cardboard — but they ’ ve got moxie , too .
“ Last year when we went we heard that they were launching Comic-Con Museum we got in touch with them and we ran our first big event there , ” says Bauer Lee , who is , we should note,13 years old , two years younger than Connor .
At that December event in San Diego , the Woodland Hills teens who have formed a non-profit called Cardboard Superheroes were stunned to see 600 people turn out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Thor ’ s Hammer in cardboard .
We were actually not expecting as much , ” Connor Lee says .
“ Just seeing how many people were interested was super awesome.
” The Comic-Con people loved them — how could they not ?
— and not only asked them to host a virtual panel for WonderCon once the pandemic shut it down but also got them to do weekly cardboard craft tutorials online this summer before giving them a Comic-Con panel at noon on Sunday , July 26 .
The main part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big reveal of the project that me and my brother have been working on , which is the Hulkbuster , ” Bauer Lee says .
“ We ’ ll also go more into our origin story ” — because even Cardboard Superheroes need an origin story — “ and give tips on how we go about building some of the models and how other people can.
” They ’ ve been to Comic-Con in person each of the past two years and loved it .
Being a panelist ?
Well , that ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ little bit faster than they might have guessed .
“ We ’ re shocked , ” Bauer Lee says .
“ That ’ s something my brother and I have always dreamed of .
We ’ ve always wanted to do this.
” Adds Connor , “ Ever since I was little , I ’ ve always heard about Comic-con .
When we eventually went there , I went to my first panel and had so much fun .
I said , ‘ I really want to do this one day.
’ ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to the Comic-Con website .

The end of July usually means more than 130,000 fans, creators, collectors, merchants, nerds and geeks of all manner head to San Diego Comic-Con.
But since the event was canceled in April due to concerns over the novel coronavirus pandemic, no one is going to San Diego Comic-Con this year, and it’s going to be weird.
Actually, it’s going to be Comic-Con@Home, which will allow fans unable to come to experience at least some of the fun they’d normally have at the event — and support comic shops who are missing out on a big sales event. We picked 17 virtual events we can’t wait to experience — and there are lots more.
To find out more about how the Comic-Con cancellation is affecting those who normally would be heading there this week, we talked to artists and writers, business owners, cosplayers, even a couple of kids who are famous for the cardboard superheroes they make.
Here’s what we heard:
The artist
Todd Nauck hasn’t missed a Comic-Con since his first trip to San Diego in 1994 after he’d moved to Southern California to work for Rob Liefeld at Image Comics.
For him, the end of July meant packing up the car and driving south from his home in Costa Mesa. It’s a trip he won’t be making this year.
“I’m interested in finding out what that will be like next week,” says Nauck, whose career has included lots of Spider-Man work for Marvel, a run on “Young Justice” for DC, and his own “Wildguard” series for Image. “One thing I’m not missing is gearing up for the trip. Getting all the materials ready, loading up the car.
“But it will feel weird,” he says. “It will feel maybe a little bit like a void, or I’m out of step with time because that is five solid days of July.
“I hope I’m not cowering in the corner, sucking my thumb and rocking back and forth by the weekend,” Nauck says, laughing.
Early in his career at Comic-Con, he did signings and sketches at the Image or DC booths. Every year since 2005, however, he’s had his own table in Artists Alley, drawing commissions and signing comics for all the fans who stop by.
“It is my chance to be an extrovert,” Nauck says of those days spent on the floor at Comic-Con. “I kind of test right in the middle of the scale between introvert and extrovert. I love to do my work at home, get my pages done, but when I come to a convention it’s my chance to meet other like-minded geeks and have fun.
“I really have been missing that, since I have done zero conventions this year.”
Publication of his latest book — Marvel’s “Gwen Stacy,” the story of Spider-Man’s girlfriend before they met — was paused due to the coronavirus after the publication of the first two issues. But he’s kept busy with studio commissions as well as those for fans while stuck at home this spring and summer.
“It’s kept me feeling as normal as possible,” Nauck says. “That I have a direction to go each day.”
Nauck will do art livestreams on his YouTube channel during Comic-Con weekend at Youtube.com/toddnauck. Also, find him @toddnauck on Instagram and Twitter.
The author
Writer Darcie Little Badger planned to make her first-ever trip to San Diego Comic-Con this year in part to promote her debut novel “Elatsoe” but also fulfill a lifelong dream.
“It’s been a childhood dream of mine because I’d always see these images from the convention and think of it as the place to be as a comic book fan,” says Little Badger, who lives in Corona Del Mar with her fiance.
Chosen as a special guest for the Con, she’d planned on giving away advance copies of her book, the story of a teenage girl from the same Lipan Apache heritage as Little Badger who embarks with her ghost dog on a quest to avenge the murder of her cousin in a vampire-infested Texas town.
“I started with the idea of how cool it would be if there was a world where animal ghosts roamed around, and you could have a ghost dog and teach it supernatural tricks,” she says of the book that features illustrations by Rovina Cai and arrives in August.
Little Badger, who is also co-writer of the “Strangelands” comic book series, says she’d been looking forward the opportunity to debut her first major piece of cosplay as well as enjoying the social aspect of networking and hanging out with others of shared passions.
“I wanted to make my interpretation Poison Ivy using beadwork in the style of my mother and grandmother,” she says. “We’re Lipan Apache and I thought it would be cool to bead the entire top of Poison Ivy’s outfit.
“Turns out that takes a long time with beads that are about the size of grains of sands,” she says, laughing.
Being in San Diego — a dream now delayed — would also have been a joy in the camaraderie it would have offered.
“Sometimes it can feel a little lonely being a fan of sci-fi comics, especially now,” Little Badger says. “Loneliness has been on my mind lately.
“Just to be in an area where you realize you are not alone would have been nice.”
Find her online at darcielittlebadger.wordpress.com or @ShiningComic on Twitter.
The cosplay photographer
Brandon Jackson remembers visiting his grandmother in San Diego in 1993 and while downtown stumbling onto Comic-Con for the very first time.
“I went there, and it was like dreams come true,” he says.
A few years later he joined the Navy, and before he retired in 2018 as a chief petty officer, he always went back to Comic-Con when he wasn’t deployed in some far-off land.
He’s been every year since 2010, and since 2016 has served as a staff photographer for Comic-Con, cosplaying himself and documenting the costumes of others.
“The thing about being a staff photographer: It is fun, it is extremely fun,” he says of his work at Comic-Con. He coordinates the Star Wars group photos each year as well as at other conventions and cosplay events around Southern California.
“Ninety-nine percent of all my costumes are Star Wars,” says Jackson from his home in Murrieta. “One of the things I’m most known for is playing Finn. I have all the Finn costumes. All of his movie costumes. The only one I’ve not done yet is the bubble suit after he comes out of a coma in ‘The Last Jedi.’”
That was supposed to be his big reveal at Comic-Con this year. Now it must wait ’til next year.
Asked what it will be like to experience Comic-Con this year he lets out a long sigh before answering.
“The way I see it is I’m trying to treat this whole quarantine life as a deployment at home,” Jackson says. “As someone who’s deployed many times before, I’m doing my best to bide my time and be active.
“I’m a little sad because I’m not going to see my friends and have fun, but at the same time I’m optimistic. I have my family and we’re all healthy.”
Jackson’s photography can be found at facebook.com/chiefgeekphotography
The comic-book shop owner
“This would have been our 20-year anniversary at Comic-Con,” says Kenny Jacobs, owner of Nuclear Comics, when reached one recent morning at his shop in Laguna Hills. “We do anywhere from 4 to 6, sometimes 7, shows a year. And obviously that’s the biggest one.
“It’s a lot of time and it’s intense. I’s a whirlwind of a day.”
Jacobs says his day at the Nuclear Comics booth begins when he arrives at the exhibition hall no later than 7 a.m. to get ready for the crowds that will soon come. It ends early in the evening after packing up, grabbing dinner, and maybe staying awake half an hour after getting back the hotel room.
For Jacobs and Nuclear Comics, going to Comic-Con isn’t so much about making piles of money as it about building a customer base for the store year-round.
“What we offer is what very few people offer, so we cultivate customers from the show that translates to business at the store,” he says. “Obviously business at the show is good, but it’s big gross, not big profits.”
Afterwards, though, the customers who’ve discovered Nuclear Comics stay customers — no matter where they live.
“We”ve been doing shows up in the Bay Area starting in 2004,” Jacobs says. “I’ve got customers there I haven’t seen in five years but they still order. I have a regular customer that I met at the Las Vegas show two or three years ago and he has me ship comic books monthly.”
He’d planned to have a big sale weekend during the dates he wouldn’t be going to Comic-Con this year, but the resurgent coronavirus pandemic nixed that plan. Instead, he’s heading up to the Central Coast for his first July vacation in two decades.
“It’s the best alternative to not doing Comic-Con,” Jacobs says. “I could just stay home and go to the beach, but as a small business owner, I don’t actually get away until I’m out of the area. I can’t get my head out of it otherwise.”
Visit Nuclear Comics at 24741 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Hills or online at Nuclearcomics.com
The comic creator
Keithan Jones went to his first Comic-Con when he was 15. Until walking into the old convention center that day, the wide-eyed San Diego teen had no idea you could actually meet the people who wrote and illustrated your favorite comic books.
The next year, 1986, he brought his portfolio and left with a deal to do a Dracula story for Apple Comics. Since then, with the exception of a few years at college, he’s been a fixture as a fan and eventually a creator.
“For me, Comic-Con is always exciting to meet the people I see in the credits of my favorite comics, or showing them my work, or just talking with people who know what I like to talk about,” says Jones, who launched Kid Comics as an independent company to publish his own “Power Knights” series and work by other artists.
“I was a Teen Titans fan as a kid and I created Power Knights when I was 11 years old,” he says. “At that point, it was just pure innocent fun, wide-eyed, bushy-tailed. I didn’t know how things worked but I thought I was making a comic.”
Five or six years ago while working at an advertising firm, he decided it was time to follow his passion for comic books and he rebooted the comic book of his childhood as the real deal.
“I felt I owed my younger self the opportunity to bring those characters to the market,” Jones says.
Since then he’s traveled the country to cons and comic stores to promote his book and his company, sharing part of a booth at Comic-Con across from the massive DC Comics booth with childhood friend Bobby Rubio, a Pixar animator.
“It sucks not being there, because this was going to be my first year featured as a special guest,” Jones says. “Of course, COVID hits. I’m like, ‘Yeah, this would be the year that happens.’ But they gave a rain check for next year.”
In February, before the pandemic shutdowns began, Jones organized his third annual Black Com!x Day in San Diego, bringing Black comic writers and artists together with fans in Balboa Park.
“I guess the planets lined up for me because our very first show — I’m not kidding — I picked a random date in February and it just so happened to be the day ‘Black Panther’ premiered. “Talk about riding a wave. People were really amped up and it just all came together for me.”
Find Jones and Kid Comics at kid-comics.com
The Artist II
Patrick Ballesteros has been to many comic conventions around the world. But for the San Diego artist, there’s no place like home.
“San Diego Comic-Con, aside from me living here, you walk in there and it’s like the essence of a comic con is breathing in you,” he says. “Not to sound all hokey but I’ve been to cons lots of other places and there really is no place like this.
“The overall positive there is an energy at Comic-Con that you really can’t find at any other con. It’s like this vibe when you walk in you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is Comic-Con.’”
That means this year will definitely feel different for him. Ballesteros has had a table in Artists Alley since 2012 when he applied almost on a whim and got in.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” he says. “I was pretty green going in so when I attended conventions that were held prior to Comic-Con I would walk Artists Alley and see what people were doing. I would also walk up to some artists that I knew and ask, ‘So what advice do you have? What should I be aware of?’”
His artwork aims for what Ballesteros describes as “childhood nostalgia,” taking well-known characters and recasting them as younger versions of themselves.
“Taking a lot of things I grew up with and putting my little twist on them,” he says. “They’re recognizable characters, but I always try to come up with a story that relates to you.
“I try to relate them, pair them, and put them in a scene that not only takes you back to where it’s from but more importantly connects with you. So you go, ‘Oh, yeah, I remember I used to do that,’ or ‘I did that just the other day with my kid.’”
Find Ballesteros at Patrickballesterosart.com or on Twitter at @patrickballest.
Pop culture pin-makers
Dana Jazayeri says he and his two co-owners of Yesterdays went to Comic-Con as fans for years before they launched their pop culture enamel pin company in Santa Ana a handful of years ago.
“We’re avid fans of the entire comic entertainment industry,” he says of himself, Quang Le and Suman Chatterjee. “So once we started making our products, it was a natural fit to want to be there. We went from being fans to being an actual brand that’s there.”
Yesterdays was an early entrant into the world of pop culture pins, carving out a niche for unique and artistic enamel pins that range across the worlds of music, movies, comics, TV and more, often with a weird, funny twist. (Where else are you going to find a pin of E.T. wrapped up in a burrito?)
“Our position was pins are a small representation of who you are, what you like, how you align yourself,” Jazayeri says. “We wanted to make collectible pins. Things you will cherish for years. It’s nice to see our products getting flipped on eBay.
“The name is Yesterdays; it’s what happened yesterday. It’s our childhood, it’s pop culture, the video games we played, the comic books we read.”
For Comic-Con, Yesterdays made an exclusive heart-shaped pin that shows the San Diego Convention Center with the words “I Miss SDCC” in the foreground. Limited to 100 pins, it’s sure to sell out.
The company also has a deal with the gothic punk band the Misfits for exclusive merchandise it releases each year, and this year, with sales open to anyone regardless of whether or not they have a Comic-Con ticket, Jazayeri says their pre-orders for the Misfits T-shirt are three times normal.
That might help the business side of things, Jazayeri says. But it can’t make up for the more fleeting kinds of joy the Con always delivers.
“It’s seeing the people that we see every year,” he says. “It’s a community. We may only see each other at cons, but when we see each other it’s good.”
Find Yesterdays at Yesterdays.com
The teen panelists
Not only are brothers Connor and Bauer Lee creative — let’s see you make a massive Iron Man Hulkbuster suit out of nothing but cardboard — but they’ve got moxie, too.
“Last year when we went we heard that they were launching Comic-Con Museum we got in touch with them and we ran our first big event there,” says Bauer Lee, who is, we should note,13 years old, two years younger than Connor.
At that December event in San Diego, the Woodland Hills teens who have formed a non-profit called Cardboard Superheroes were stunned to see 600 people turn out to learn how to make a replica of Thor’s Hammer in cardboard.
We were actually not expecting as much,” Connor Lee says. “Just seeing how many people were interested was super awesome.”
The Comic-Con people loved them — how could they not? — and not only asked them to host a virtual panel for WonderCon once the pandemic shut it down but also got them to do weekly cardboard craft tutorials online this summer before giving them a Comic-Con panel at noon on Sunday, July 26.
The main part of the Comic-Con panel will be the big reveal of the project that me and my brother have been working on, which is the Hulkbuster,” Bauer Lee says.
“We’ll also go more into our origin story” — because even Cardboard Superheroes need an origin story — “and give tips on how we go about building some of the models and how other people can.”
They’ve been to Comic-Con in person each of the past two years and loved it. Being a panelist? Well, that’s just the plan come true a little bit faster than they might have guessed.
“We’re shocked,” Bauer Lee says. “That’s something my brother and I have always dreamed of. We’ve always wanted to do this.”
Adds Connor, “Ever since I was little, I’ve always heard about Comic-con. When we eventually went there, I went to my first panel and had so much fun. I said, ‘I really want to do this one day.’”
Find Cardboard Superheroes at Cardboardsuperheroes.com
For more about Comic-Con @Home, go to the Comic-Con website.


mercurynews--2020-07-17--‘It hurts so bad:’ California family seeks answers in Army paratrooper’s slaying

Griselda Martinez describes her brother , Army Spc .
Enrique Roman-Martinez , as an introvert who didn ’ t pick fights and didn ’ t like drama .
“ He was always so cheerful and sweet and loveable , and any time someone felt down , he would be there to cheer them up , ” said Martinez , 26 .
So it was shocking to the family that on May 23 , Roman-Martinez , a 21-year-old Chino resident , was reported missing during a campout with fellow soldiers from Fort Bragg , North Carolina , and six days later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the shore nearby .
Investigators say they consider Roman-Martinez ’ s death a homicide .
No arrests have been announced .
“ It hurts so bad because he ’ s not that guy , he ’ s not someone who would confront someone .
He doesn ’ t fight with people .
He doesn ’ t even yell at people , ” Martinez said Wednesday , July 15 .
Chris Grey , chief of public affairs for the Army ’ s Criminal Investigation Command , said Wednesday that the investigation is continuing and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rep. Norma Torres , D-Pomona , in a news release on Tuesday , urged the public to assist in the investigation and added , “ The claim of leaving no one behind on the battlefield rings hollow when service members are murdered without justice just miles from their base.
” Torres quoted Roman-Martinez ’ s mother , Maria , as saying , “ No one has the right to take someone ’ s life , my son ’ s life , away .
That was my youngest , my baby , and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only his memories .
I demand justice for him.
” The family ’ s wait for answers has been painful .
They hope a witness will come forward , and the Army has offered a $ 25,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of Roman-Martinez ’ s killer .
“ Someone out there knows , ” Griselda Martinez said .
In the Army at 17 Roman-Martinez was very shy as a young child and even though he became more social , he still loved staying home and playing video games .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ you got to know him — Martinez said .
He was the youngest of three children ; the oldest , Veronica Martinez , is 28 .
Her brother attended Don Lugo High before transferring to Buena Vista High , a continuation school , when his grades suffered .
He was having a rough time , Martinez said , because his father was deported when he was about 11 years old and his mother was working two jobs while raising three children .
Roman-Martinez joined the Army in 2016 when he was 17 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thought the military would help him achieve his goal of attending college .
He hoped for a career medically treating people who suffered from mental illnesses , Martinez said .
Roman-Martinez attended airborne school in Fort Benning , Georgia , and was assigned to Fort Bragg in 2017 , where he became a human resource specialist and a paratrooper in Headquarters Company , 37th Brigade Engineer Battalion , 2nd Brigade Combat Team , 82nd Airborne Division .
His decorations included the Army Good Conduct Medal , National Defense Service Medal , the Global @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Army Service Ribbon and the Army Parachutist Badge , the Army said .
He called his mother before his first jump and asked her to pray for him because he was nervous , Griselda Martinez said .
“ He figured it would be good to have that on his record .
He really liked it .
He said he felt free every time he jumped off the airplane , ” she said .
Otherwise , Roman-Martinez didn ’ t talk much about Army life .
He did mention his closest friends in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not include the group of about seven with whom he went camping .
She said the Army told her that they were “ guys he hung out with ” and that they were being questioned .
The soldiers were vacationing on South Core Banks , the 21-mile-long middle barrier island of the three that make up Cape Lookout National Seashore just under 200 miles east of Fort Bragg .
It ’ s a popular destination for day-trippers who can ride a ferry from the mainland to visit the Cape Lookout Lighthouse .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 23 , about 12:03 a.m. , according to a 911 call obtained by ABC/11 in Raleigh-Durham .
“ That is the last time we saw him , ” the caller said .
That call was placed at about 7 p.m. the same day .
“ We woke up .
He was not here .
And we ’ ve been looking for him all day .
We were trying to find the park ranger , or their offices , or anything , ” the caller said , according to another part of the 911 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Adding to the mystery , Martinez said , her brother left his phone , wallet and glasses behind at the campsite .
“ He can ’ t see well without his glasses , ” she said .
“ That ’ s how I know something awful happened.
” Searches , including paratroopers from Roman-Martinez ’ s unit , combed the area — sometimes in rain , wind and rough seas — until his remains were found May 29 on Shackleford Banks Island , where the prevailing tides have washed ashore others ’ bodies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Over Memorial Day weekend we lost Enrique to a senseless act of violence , ” Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue , the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne , said in a written statement .
“ We are doing everything we can to support his family and find justice for Enrique .
I ’ ve personally spoken with his family to assure them that we will not stop in our pursuit to bring those responsible to justice.
” Griselda Martinez said the Pitt County Medical Examiner ’ s Office told her that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consistent with dismemberment ” and that “ There ’ s not an animal in that sea that could have done that.
” Kelly Haight Connor , a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services , said no information on Roman-Martinez ’ s injuries would be publicly released until the investigation was complete .
Services have not yet been scheduled .
Martinez said that according to her family ’ s Catholic faith , her brother ’ s soul will not have peace until his killer has been identified .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my brother peace , ” she said .
Though painful , Martinez said she tells her brother ’ s story in the hope that someone will come forward with information .
She has busied herself by contacting agency after agency , office after office until finding officials who could give her authoritative answers to her questions .
She has to do it , Martinez said , because she is haunted by a long-ago conversation with her brother .
“ He asked me one time , ‘ Will you always be there to protect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Martinez said .
“ Now that it ’ s happened , it breaks my heart .
I feel guilty that I couldn ’ t protect him .
The most I can do is find out what happened to him .
”

Griselda Martinez describes her brother, Army Spc. Enrique Roman-Martinez, as an introvert who didn’t pick fights and didn’t like drama.
“He was always so cheerful and sweet and loveable, and any time someone felt down, he would be there to cheer them up,” said Martinez, 26.
So it was shocking to the family that on May 23, Roman-Martinez, a 21-year-old Chino resident, was reported missing during a campout with fellow soldiers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and six days later, his partial remains washed up on the shore nearby.
Investigators say they consider Roman-Martinez’s death a homicide. No arrests have been announced.
“It hurts so bad because he’s not that guy, he’s not someone who would confront someone. He doesn’t fight with people. He doesn’t even yell at people,” Martinez said Wednesday, July 15.
Chris Grey, chief of public affairs for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command, said Wednesday that the investigation is continuing and that no other information was available.
Rep. Norma Torres, D-Pomona, in a news release on Tuesday, urged the public to assist in the investigation and added, “The claim of leaving no one behind on the battlefield rings hollow when service members are murdered without justice just miles from their base.”
Torres quoted Roman-Martinez’s mother, Maria, as saying, “No one has the right to take someone’s life, my son’s life, away. That was my youngest, my baby, and I don’t have him anymore, only his memories. I demand justice for him.”
The family’s wait for answers has been painful. They hope a witness will come forward, and the Army has offered a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of Roman-Martinez’s killer.
“Someone out there knows,” Griselda Martinez said.
In the Army at 17
Roman-Martinez was very shy as a young child and even though he became more social, he still loved staying home and playing video games. He’d open up — if you got to know him — Martinez said. He was the youngest of three children; the oldest, Veronica Martinez, is 28.
Her brother attended Don Lugo High before transferring to Buena Vista High, a continuation school, when his grades suffered. He was having a rough time, Martinez said, because his father was deported when he was about 11 years old and his mother was working two jobs while raising three children.
Roman-Martinez joined the Army in 2016 when he was 17 to learn responsibility and discipline and because he thought the military would help him achieve his goal of attending college. He hoped for a career medically treating people who suffered from mental illnesses, Martinez said.
Roman-Martinez attended airborne school in Fort Benning, Georgia, and was assigned to Fort Bragg in 2017, where he became a human resource specialist and a paratrooper in Headquarters Company, 37th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. His decorations included the Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and the Army Parachutist Badge, the Army said.
He called his mother before his first jump and asked her to pray for him because he was nervous, Griselda Martinez said.
“He figured it would be good to have that on his record. He really liked it. He said he felt free every time he jumped off the airplane,” she said.
Otherwise, Roman-Martinez didn’t talk much about Army life. He did mention his closest friends in the service, Martinez said, which apparently did not include the group of about seven with whom he went camping. She said the Army told her that they were “guys he hung out with” and that they were being questioned.
Roman-Martinez vanishes
The soldiers were vacationing on South Core Banks, the 21-mile-long middle barrier island of the three that make up Cape Lookout National Seashore just under 200 miles east of Fort Bragg. It’s a popular destination for day-trippers who can ride a ferry from the mainland to visit the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.
The soldiers went to bed early May 23, about 12:03 a.m., according to a 911 call obtained by ABC/11 in Raleigh-Durham. “That is the last time we saw him,” the caller said.
That call was placed at about 7 p.m. the same day. “We woke up. He was not here. And we’ve been looking for him all day. We were trying to find the park ranger, or their offices, or anything,” the caller said, according to another part of the 911 call reported by NBC/7 in Greenville.
Adding to the mystery, Martinez said, her brother left his phone, wallet and glasses behind at the campsite. “He can’t see well without his glasses,” she said. “That’s how I know something awful happened.”
Searches, including paratroopers from Roman-Martinez’s unit, combed the area — sometimes in rain, wind and rough seas — until his remains were found May 29 on Shackleford Banks Island, where the prevailing tides have washed ashore others’ bodies, an 82nd Airborne news release said.
“Over Memorial Day weekend we lost Enrique to a senseless act of violence,” Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne, said in a written statement. “We are doing everything we can to support his family and find justice for Enrique. I’ve personally spoken with his family to assure them that we will not stop in our pursuit to bring those responsible to justice.”
Roman-Martinez was identified through dental records.
Griselda Martinez said the Pitt County Medical Examiner’s Office told her that her brother’s injuries were “consistent with dismemberment” and that “There’s not an animal in that sea that could have done that.”
Kelly Haight Connor, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, said no information on Roman-Martinez’s injuries would be publicly released until the investigation was complete.
Services have not yet been scheduled. Martinez said that according to her family’s Catholic faith, her brother’s soul will not have peace until his killer has been identified.
“We want to be able to give my brother peace,” she said.
Though painful, Martinez said she tells her brother’s story in the hope that someone will come forward with information. She has busied herself by contacting agency after agency, office after office until finding officials who could give her authoritative answers to her questions.
She has to do it, Martinez said, because she is haunted by a long-ago conversation with her brother.
“He asked me one time, ‘Will you always be there to protect me?’ I said yes,” Martinez said. “Now that it’s happened, it breaks my heart. I feel guilty that I couldn’t protect him. The most I can do is find out what happened to him.”


mercurynews--2020-07-17--Online petition calls for newly released pedophile to register as a sex offender in California

An online petition calling for a newly-released admitted pedophile to be forced to register as a sex offender has drawn thousands of supporters , as the mother of the man ’ s victim requested the governor ’ s intervention .
Cary Jay Smith , 59 , was released from his lengthy forced stay at a mental hospital this week , two decades after he wrote a letter about his urge to kidnap and molest a 7-year-old boy in his Costa Mesa neighborhood .
Lynn Vogt , the boy ’ s mother , wrote in a public letter to Gov .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ incredibly fortunate to not have been harmed ” by Smith but that she was concerned that “ other children will not be as lucky.
” Vogt also noted Smith is not being required to register as a sex offender , for reasons local law enforcement officials have yet to determine .
As a result , his name is not included in the publicly accessible Megan ’ s Law database of sex offenders and there are no restrictions on where he can live .
“ I am appalled at his release and even more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be in place has been removed , ” Vogt wrote .
As of mid-Thursday afternoon , more than 4,800 people had signed a change.org petition calling for Smith to be required to register as a sex offender .
Orange County leaders issued their own warning about Smith earlier in the week , with District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Supervisor Michelle Steel writing their own letter to Newsom that described Smith ’ s release as “ unconscionable.
” DA officials said on Thursday that they have not received a response to that letter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testified numerous times that Smith poses an imminent danger to society due to his fantasies about harming children .
Smith has admitted to writing letters and poems about having sex with minors and referring to himself in the third person as Mr. RTK , ” an acronym he said stood for rape , torture and kill .
Due to privacy regulations , it isn ’ t clear what change of opinion , if any , medical officials made regarding Smith ’ s mental status prior to his release .
In the past , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have contended that Smith has learned to suppress his fantasies .
State hospital officials did not send county attorneys a petition to renew Smith ’ s mental health hold before it expired earlier this week .
It isn ’ t clear why Smith wasn ’ t required to register as a sex offender upon his release .
He has at least one conviction in the past – for a 1983 case in which he payed a young boy $ 1 to run through sprinklers in the nude – that authorities previously believed would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ designation .
Authorities have previously indicated that they believe Smith would return to Orange County since he used to live in the area and has unspecified ties to the community .
But his exact whereabouts were not clear on Thursday .

An online petition calling for a newly-released admitted pedophile to be forced to register as a sex offender has drawn thousands of supporters, as the mother of the man’s victim requested the governor’s intervention.
Cary Jay Smith, 59, was released from his lengthy forced stay at a mental hospital this week, two decades after he wrote a letter about his urge to kidnap and molest a 7-year-old boy in his Costa Mesa neighborhood.
Lynn Vogt, the boy’s mother, wrote in a public letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom that her son was “incredibly fortunate to not have been harmed” by Smith but that she was concerned that “other children will not be as lucky.”
Vogt also noted Smith is not being required to register as a sex offender, for reasons local law enforcement officials have yet to determine. As a result, his name is not included in the publicly accessible Megan’s Law database of sex offenders and there are no restrictions on where he can live.
“I am appalled at his release and even more so knowing that the safety net that should be in place has been removed,” Vogt wrote.
As of mid-Thursday afternoon, more than 4,800 people had signed a change.org petition calling for Smith to be required to register as a sex offender.
Orange County leaders issued their own warning about Smith earlier in the week, with District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Supervisor Michelle Steel writing their own letter to Newsom that described Smith’s release as “unconscionable.” DA officials said on Thursday that they have not received a response to that letter.
Over the years, psychologists have testified numerous times that Smith poses an imminent danger to society due to his fantasies about harming children. Smith has admitted to writing letters and poems about having sex with minors and referring to himself in the third person as Mr. RTK,” an acronym he said stood for rape, torture and kill.
Due to privacy regulations, it isn’t clear what change of opinion, if any, medical officials made regarding Smith’s mental status prior to his release. In the past, court appointed attorney’s representing Smith have contended that Smith has learned to suppress his fantasies.
State hospital officials did not send county attorneys a petition to renew Smith’s mental health hold before it expired earlier this week.
It isn’t clear why Smith wasn’t required to register as a sex offender upon his release. He has at least one conviction in the past – for a 1983 case in which he payed a young boy $1 to run through sprinklers in the nude – that authorities previously believed would have led to a life-long sex offender designation.
Authorities have previously indicated that they believe Smith would return to Orange County since he used to live in the area and has unspecified ties to the community. But his exact whereabouts were not clear on Thursday.


mercurynews--2020-07-17--Desperate parents pay whatever they can to escape online schools

Parents , fearing their kids won ’ t see the inside of a classroom this fall , are ginning up an alternative familiar to the Home Depot crowd : Do-it-yourself .
Amid the pandemic , enterprising families , especially those with means , are hiring tutors on their own or in groups or joining the already growing movement of homeschooling .
Their efforts include preschoolers , as well as elementary and beyond .
For five Los Angeles families , that has meant spending $ 22,500 in the last three months to create what they ’ re calling a “ micro-school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They hired an interior designer to build a makeshift classroom with an art pavilion at one of their homes and contracted the services of a local teacher to come three days a week .
She creates bespoke lesson plans about age-appropriate topics , like the alphabet and human emotions .
“ This is healthier for the both of us , ” said Jodi Lederman , a single mom who sought out the alternative to her daughter ’ s pre-school in order to keep working as head of global communications for streaming service Pluto @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teacher will come Monday through Friday .
Weeks away from the start of the academic year , millions of families across the U.S. still don ’ t know what school will look like this fall .
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said on Sunday it ’ s not dangerous for children to be in school and threatened to withhold federal funding for districts that don ’ t fully resume classes in schools .
Health officials quickly pushed back , noting the science is murky , especially as Covid-19 surges in parts of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken varying approaches .
Some , like Los Angeles , will be online only , while others , such as New York City , will attempt a hybrid model : Students will come in for class up to three days each week and study online for the rest of the time .
Outside the U.S. , countries that have reopened schools have had mixed success .
Denmark , the first European nation to send kids back to classrooms , hasn ’ t seen a COVID spike since it resumed in-person learning in April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , blamed in-person learning for the country ’ s latest wave of infections .
“ Our kids learning remotely is better than our kids sick or dying.
” Back in the US , some parents with means aren ’ t waiting to see what the fall will look like .
In the last three months , Weekdays , a Seattle-based company that helps parents set-up in-home daycares and schools , said it has helped organize 100 micro-schools around the country .
“ We ’ ve been overwhelmed with inquiries , ” Shauna Causey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The costs vary but can run into the thousands of dollars each month .
Some parents say they pay $ 100 to $ 200-an-hour for private tutors .
On Weekdays and a similar service called School House , teachers are encouraged to set their own rates , but the organizations say the cost is comparable to daycare .
Parents who can ’ t afford additional childcare costs will have far fewer options this fall .
In addition to the spotty plans for school reopenings , surveys have found that thousands of daycare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic .
A bill introduced to the U.S. Senate to provide $ 50 billion in grants for childcare providers has stalled .
Educational experts worry these class divides will exacerbate inequalities .
In families who can ’ t afford private childcare , “ those children are going to miss out on a lot of educational opportunities , ” said Simon Workman , director of early childhood policy at the Center for American Progress .
“ Or , the family is not going to be able to work—and that has a huge financial and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ daughter back on-site to Chicago Public Schools for second grade , Jenny Ludwig plans to keep her home for remote learning , which means putting her own career on hold so she can help monitor lessons .
She already has a master ’ s degree in English , but was hoping to go back to school for social work .
Her husband is a high school teacher , and what his work-life will look like this fall is unclear .
“ Our kids learning remotely is better than our kids sick or dying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of the 59 million school-aged children in the U.S. were homeschooled in 2016 , but the Home School Legal Defense Association says it has seen a jump in membership in recent months .
HSLDA , which charges $ 130 a year for access to consultants and curriculum help , now has a record 85,000 members in the U.S. Nicole De Los Reyes hasn ’ t decided what she ’ ll do for her stepchildren , ages 9 and 6 , this fall .
The project coordinator at a Portland law firm doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handle another semester of virtual school for her first and fourth graders .
Before the pandemic , De Los Reyes and her husband spent $ 400 per month for an after school program , for which they also received financial aid .
Now , finding a full-time option in her budget is proving difficult .
“ My stepdaughter is starting out her educational career really far behind , ” De Los Reyes said .
“ She can ’ t read and she can ’ t write yet , and she missed basically half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instruction.
” • Gov .
Newsom to update school reopening Friday as more Bay Area districts drop in-class plans • Poll : Most Americans think returning to schools is unsafe • Teachers are so worried about returning to school that they ’ re preparing wills • San Jose Unified finds itself in quandary with school just a month away

By Marin Wolf and Leslie Patton, Bloomberg
Parents, fearing their kids won’t see the inside of a classroom this fall, are ginning up an alternative familiar to the Home Depot crowd: Do-it-yourself.
Amid the pandemic, enterprising families, especially those with means, are hiring tutors on their own or in groups or joining the already growing movement of homeschooling. Their efforts include preschoolers, as well as elementary and beyond.
For five Los Angeles families, that has meant spending $22,500 in the last three months to create what they’re calling a “micro-school” for their pre-school aged kids. They hired an interior designer to build a makeshift classroom with an art pavilion at one of their homes and contracted the services of a local teacher to come three days a week. She creates bespoke lesson plans about age-appropriate topics, like the alphabet and human emotions.
“This is healthier for the both of us,” said Jodi Lederman, a single mom who sought out the alternative to her daughter’s pre-school in order to keep working as head of global communications for streaming service Pluto TV. Starting in September, the teacher will come Monday through Friday.
Weeks away from the start of the academic year, millions of families across the U.S. still don’t know what school will look like this fall. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said on Sunday it’s not dangerous for children to be in school and threatened to withhold federal funding for districts that don’t fully resume classes in schools. Health officials quickly pushed back, noting the science is murky, especially as Covid-19 surges in parts of the country.
Thus far, cities have taken varying approaches. Some, like Los Angeles, will be online only, while others, such as New York City, will attempt a hybrid model: Students will come in for class up to three days each week and study online for the rest of the time.
Outside the U.S., countries that have reopened schools have had mixed success. Denmark, the first European nation to send kids back to classrooms, hasn’t seen a COVID spike since it resumed in-person learning in April. Israeli public health officials, however, blamed in-person learning for the country’s latest wave of infections.
“Our kids learning remotely is better than our kids sick or dying.”
Back in the US, some parents with means aren’t waiting to see what the fall will look like. In the last three months, Weekdays, a Seattle-based company that helps parents set-up in-home daycares and schools, said it has helped organize 100 micro-schools around the country.
“We’ve been overwhelmed with inquiries,” Shauna Causey, Weekdays’s founder, said.
The costs vary but can run into the thousands of dollars each month. Some parents say they pay $100 to $200-an-hour for private tutors. On Weekdays and a similar service called School House, teachers are encouraged to set their own rates, but the organizations say the cost is comparable to daycare.
Parents who can’t afford additional childcare costs will have far fewer options this fall. In addition to the spotty plans for school reopenings, surveys have found that thousands of daycare centers have permanently closed due to the pandemic. A bill introduced to the U.S. Senate to provide $50 billion in grants for childcare providers has stalled.
Educational experts worry these class divides will exacerbate inequalities. In families who can’t afford private childcare, “those children are going to miss out on a lot of educational opportunities,” said Simon Workman, director of early childhood policy at the Center for American Progress. “Or, the family is not going to be able to work—and that has a huge financial and economic impact.”
Rather than send her daughter back on-site to Chicago Public Schools for second grade, Jenny Ludwig plans to keep her home for remote learning, which means putting her own career on hold so she can help monitor lessons. She already has a master’s degree in English, but was hoping to go back to school for social work. Her husband is a high school teacher, and what his work-life will look like this fall is unclear.
“Our kids learning remotely is better than our kids sick or dying,” Ludwig said.
Just 3.3% of the 59 million school-aged children in the U.S. were homeschooled in 2016, but the Home School Legal Defense Association says it has seen a jump in membership in recent months. HSLDA, which charges $130 a year for access to consultants and curriculum help, now has a record 85,000 members in the U.S.
Nicole De Los Reyes hasn’t decided what she’ll do for her stepchildren, ages 9 and 6, this fall. The project coordinator at a Portland law firm doesn’t know if her family can handle another semester of virtual school for her first and fourth graders. Before the pandemic, De Los Reyes and her husband spent $400 per month for an after school program, for which they also received financial aid. Now, finding a full-time option in her budget is proving difficult.
“My stepdaughter is starting out her educational career really far behind,” De Los Reyes said. “She can’t read and she can’t write yet, and she missed basically half of a year’s worth of instruction.”


mercurynews--2020-07-17--Large dog was used to help steal Caltrans truck, police say

A Caltrans worker bolted from the cab of his work truck on Thursday , July 16 when a man tossed a large dog onto the passenger seat of the vehicle and then allegedly stole it .
Irvine police pursued the truck , which crashed at John Wayne Airport .
Caltrans employees were performing electrical work in the parking lot of Boomers !
near Harvard Avenue and Michelson Drive at the time of the incident , Caltrans spokeswoman Angela Madison said .
One worker was sitting in the truck and became startled when he saw a man standing at the passenger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a news release .
He asked what the suspect was doing , but the man did not reply .
Instead , the suspect tossed a young , large-breed dog into the passenger side of the vehicle .
The worker fled the truck , and the suspect hopped into the driver ’ s seat in his place , police said .
He proceeded to drive out of the parking lot , and was briefly pursued by a second Caltrans Employee in another work truck that had been parked next to the stolen vehicle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1:43 p.m. while tailing the suspect , Irvine Police Sgt .
Karie Davies said .
Officers located the stolen vehicle , and followed it to John Wayne Airport .
The suspect tried to drive into the second floor of a parking structure near JWA ’ s departure terminals , police said .
When the top of the stolen , oversized vehicle collided with the building , the suspect intentionally backed into a police vehicle , authorities said , before continuing the chase .
The man eventually surrendered , and was identified as 31-year-old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was taken into custody without incident and uninjured , along with the dog that had frightened the Caltrans worker , Davies said .
“ I guess it was a really nice , beautiful dog , but the victim didn ’ t know that at the time , ” Davies said .

A Caltrans worker bolted from the cab of his work truck on Thursday, July 16 when a man tossed a large dog onto the passenger seat of the vehicle and then allegedly stole it.
Irvine police pursued the truck, which crashed at John Wayne Airport.
Caltrans employees were performing electrical work in the parking lot of Boomers! near Harvard Avenue and Michelson Drive at the time of the incident, Caltrans spokeswoman Angela Madison said. One worker was sitting in the truck and became startled when he saw a man standing at the passenger door, Irvine Police Department officials said in a news release. He asked what the suspect was doing, but the man did not reply. Instead, the suspect tossed a young, large-breed dog into the passenger side of the vehicle.
The worker fled the truck, and the suspect hopped into the driver’s seat in his place, police said. He proceeded to drive out of the parking lot, and was briefly pursued by a second Caltrans Employee in another work truck that had been parked next to the stolen vehicle.
Caltrans employees called 911 at about 1:43 p.m. while tailing the suspect, Irvine Police Sgt. Karie Davies said. Officers located the stolen vehicle, and followed it to John Wayne Airport.
The suspect tried to drive into the second floor of a parking structure near JWA’s departure terminals, police said. When the top of the stolen, oversized vehicle collided with the building, the suspect intentionally backed into a police vehicle, authorities said, before continuing the chase.
The man eventually surrendered, and was identified as 31-year-old Erik Baumle by Irvine police. He was taken into custody without incident and uninjured, along with the dog that had frightened the Caltrans worker, Davies said.
“I guess it was a really nice, beautiful dog, but the victim didn’t know that at the time,” Davies said.


Bridge: July 17, 2020

When today ’ s South opened one heart , North ’ s 2NT response was a conventional forcing raise .
South ’ s three hearts showed slam interest — he would have bid four hearts if he were content to play there — and they reached a good slam .
West led the jack of spades .
Declarer won and led a trump to dummy ’ s ace … and East discarded .
“ It ’ s like playing the lottery , ” South growled .
“ You never know how Lady Luck will treat you.
” “ Lots of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” North said mildly .
“ Don ’ t take it personally.
” South returned a trump to his king and next led a diamond to dummy ’ s queen .
The finesse lost , and the result was down one .
South ’ s play was unlucky — and thoughtless .
At Trick Two he must take the king of trumps .
Even if West discards , South ’ s slam is safe .
South continues with a trump to dummy ’ s ace , a second high spade and three high @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in dummy , and if East doesn ’ t overruff , South exits with a trump to end-play him .
You hold : S A K H K J 10 5 3 D 7 6 C A K 9 6 .
The dealer , at your right , opens two diamonds ( a weak two-bid ) .
What do you say ?
ANSWER : Your opponent ’ s preempt has done its job , taking away room you need to describe your hand .
To double would be reasonable , planning to try @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
My preference would be to overcall two hearts .
Then if he bid spades with no encouragement , I could raise .

When today’s South opened one heart, North’s 2NT response was a conventional forcing raise. South’s three hearts showed slam interest — he would have bid four hearts if he were content to play there — and they reached a good slam.
West led the jack of spades. Declarer won and led a trump to dummy’s ace … and East discarded.
“It’s like playing the lottery,” South growled. “You never know how Lady Luck will treat you.”
“Lots of people fail to win the lottery,” North said mildly. “Don’t take it personally.”
DOWN ONE
South returned a trump to his king and next led a diamond to dummy’s queen. The finesse lost, and the result was down one.
South’s play was unlucky — and thoughtless. At Trick Two he must take the king of trumps. Even if West discards, South’s slam is safe. South continues with a trump to dummy’s ace, a second high spade and three high clubs. He ruffs his last club in dummy, and if East doesn’t overruff, South exits with a trump to end-play him.
DAILY QUESTION
You hold: S A K H K J 10 5 3 D 7 6 C A K 9 6. The dealer, at your right, opens two diamonds (a weak two-bid). What do you say?
ANSWER: Your opponent’s preempt has done its job, taking away room you need to describe your hand. To double would be reasonable, planning to try three hearts if partner responded two spades. My preference would be to overcall two hearts. Then if he bid spades with no encouragement, I could raise.
South dealer
N-S vulnerable
NORTH
S Q 4
H A 9 7 4 2
D A Q 9 3
C Q 3
WEST
S J 10 9 7
H Q 8 6
D 10 8
C 10 8 4 2
EAST
S 8 6 5 3 2
H None
D K J 5 4 2
C J 7 5
SOUTH
S A K
H K J 10 5 3
D 7 6
C A K 9 6
South West North East
1 H Pass 2 NT Pass
3 H Pass 4 D Pass
4 NT Pass 5 H Pass
6 H All Pass
Opening lead — S J
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