David Portillo, Reporter

September 20, 2019 • No Comments

Tragedy struck a dive boat team Labor Day weekend when a fire broke out on the dive teams’ boat, killing 34 of the 39 that were aboard. This all occurred Monday, Sept. 2, off Santa Cruz island. But the cause of the fire is still unknown. The boat left the harbor at Santa Barbara with 33 passengers and 6 crew members aboard on Aug. 31, at 4 in the morning. 2:13 in the afternoon that same day the boat visits the Southside of Santa Cruz Island, and anchors for the night. Once Sunday approaches the boat reaches the North side of the island at around 8 in the morning and explores the area and anchors about 20 yards offshore. Monday, Sept. 2, the vessel reportedly catches fire. Police say that the fire started at 3:15 in the morning and escalated...

Luis Rojas, Reporter

September 20, 2019 • No Comments

Drunk driving statistics keep escalating dramatically in California  Recent studies show that fatalities in California involving drivers with high Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) have jumped more than 6 percent in only one year. California’s BAC limit is currently 0.08 percent and there has been an increment in alcohol-related fatalities in the last year.  These studies show that drunk driving has escalated significantly and a third of car accidents are by driving impaired.  All states across the country have regulated these limits and have agreed to keep it at 0.08  percent or under. On average it takes about three drinks to reach the 0.08 percent limit but it depends on the person’s weight and type of alcohol.  One drink...

Laura Lanfray, Senior Features Editor

September 20, 2019 • No Comments

Johnson and Johnson, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, recently lost a lawsuit against the state of Oklahoma for allegedly marketing their opioid prescriptions as beneficial to their patients and underplaying their dangers. In Kern County alone, estimates show that at least 42,752 people misused opioids in 2016. Nationwide, 70,237 people died from drug overdoses in 2017; 47,600 of those deaths were opioid-related. In 2018, 91 people in Kern County died from an opioid overdose. Johnson and Johnson was ordered to pay the state of Oklahoma $572 million to go into funding treatment for those suffering from opioid dependence, potentially creating a new path for many users to find help.  Despite a noteworthy...