California Senate ‘Right to Repair Act’ could let us fix our broken stuff

• April 4, 2023

My “unfixable electronics” bin weighs almost as much as I do.

There’s the ancient iPad, where the kids made “Talking Tom” tell potty jokes, dropped one too many times. And ah, my beloved Microsoft Surface, where I could scribble notes with an electronic pen — it died immediately after I bought it that beautiful black-and-white leather case. And, um, there’s the Surface before it, with the spider-web shattered screen…. It was perched on the dining room table — cord taut to the wall — when the dogs gave chase. “Computer shotput” is how I remember it. And the phones … all those phones!

I’ve saved these seemingly useless electronics because, even though their makers said they couldn’t be fixed, it seemed clear that their makers simply wouldn’t fix them.

“When something breaks, you fix it. That’s just common sense. But manufacturers of everything from phones to appliances to tractors intentionally make things difficult to repair,” says a new study by the California Public Interest Research Group and its national affiliate.

Sforza’s dead electronics bin

Enter then “The Right to Repair Act,” Senate Bill 244 by Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton. It would allow individuals and independent repair shops access to the tools, parts and, vitally, manuals, needed to fix what’s broken.

It could shatter “manufacturers’ repair monopolies,” feed the growing independent “Repair Cafe” movement, lead to less electronic waste and save consumers money, supporters said.

American households spend about $1,767 every year buying new electronics, a 19% increase in just two years, despite falling prices for many items, CALPIRG found.

“And even as the financial burden of replacing broken laptops, refrigerators and other electronic products increases, so does the toll on the environment,” it said. “Disposable is not a word that should describe our electronics, but we are turning over our gadgets far too quickly. And when we dispose of electronics, we’re adding toxic elements such as lead, mercury and cadmium to our landfills. It’s time to unleash repair for our wallets and the planet.”

On average, Americans have 24 pieces of electronics in their homes, and the average American family generates about 115 pounds of electronic waste each year.

“When the cost of repair inches toward the cost of replacement, it might seem like buying the new product is cheaper,” CALPIRG said. “But fixing the product and extending its lifespan leads to big savings.”

Repair could reduce household spending on electronics and appliances by 21.6 percent, saving an average family nearly $400 per year, it found. With 13.4 million households in California, that could save folks $5.13 billion annually, which is almost real money.

“Repair makes our communities more resilient,” the report says. “Instead of relying on the global supply chain to bring a never-ending supply of new stuff, repair helps us keep devices going using only local resources. A robust repair ecosystem with more people in our neighborhoods working repair jobs, results in lower repair costs quicker and service. But if manufacturers further restrict repair, downtime and prices go up.”

Eggman’s bill is in committee, with a hearing slated for April 11. A similar bill died last year, but with “right to repair” becoming a national movement — Samsung, Apple and Google have loosened their grips on the parts and tools needed for folks to make simple fixes to their own devices — there’s hope that, someday, I may be able to use that beautiful black-and-white leather case on my rejuvenated, revived and reborn Microsoft Surface. Hope springs eternal.

​ Orange County Register 

Niles: Disney thwarts Florida’s bid to take over special district, but company needs oversight

• April 4, 2023

Disney CEO Bob Iger delighted the Internet last week when The Walt Disney Company smacked down Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with the slickest misdirect since Lightning McQueen learned to drift left by turning right.

But don’t let the jokes distract you from the fact that this was a conflict that never should have happened.

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DeSantis and his allies in the Florida legislature had been trying to scuttle the Disney-controlled Reedy Creek Improvement District that governs the Walt Disney World Resort’s land. Florida’s move came after former CEO Bob Chapek criticized the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. But before the legislature voted to approve Reedy Creek’s replacement with the new, DeSantis-controlled Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, Reedy Creek’s board approved a Declaration of Restrictive Covenants that gave Disney Parks control over the resort’s planning and zoning for years to come.

But Disney did not stop there.

To guard against a legal prohibition of perpetuities, Reedy Creek tied its declaration to the lifespan of the last surviving current descendent of King Charles III. Yes, that means that control of the Walt Disney World Resort is now tied to the life of a literal princess (or prince).

How very Disney. All that was missing from Reedy Creek’s action was a little old fairy godmother telling the Florida legislature, “Bless your heart.”

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After DeSantis and his applies complained, Disney issued a statement that “All agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law.”

To that end, the company bought classified ads in the Orlando Sentinel’s legal notices section in advance of the meeting, telling everyone who bothered to read them exactly what Reedy Creek planned to do, and when. Well, let that be a lesson — always read the newspaper.

Another lesson from this farce should be that the notion of a company running its own government is insane. Disney’s competitor Universal has built a world-class resort just up the road in Orlando, under the inspection of local city and county government. Not even Disney ought to be exempt from that kind of oversight.

But what DeSantis proposed was not voter-controlled oversight. It was a power grab.

​ Orange County Register 

What time is Trump’s arraignment?

• April 4, 2023

Former President Donald Trump will face a historic arraignment Tuesday in New York, following an indictment on criminal charges stemming from prosecutors’ long-running investigation into his business dealings. He will be the first current or former United States president ever in that position.

Here’s what we know about the arraignment:

What time is Trump’s arraignment?

Trump, 76, is expected to appear before State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan in Manhattan around 2:15 p.m. EST.

How will Trump be booked?

Trump is expected to arrive at the District Attorney’s offices several hours before appearing before the judge. There, authorities will fill out arrest paperwork, get his fingerprints taken and possibly a mugshot photo, too. That won’t be made public unless he shares it or it’s leaked.

Criminal defendants are usually handcuffed and kept in a courthouse jail cell upon surrender, though Trump’s lawyers said they don’t anticipate he will be. Armed Secret Service agents will accompany him at all times, and court officials plan to halt all other proceedings while he’s in the courthouse, sources familiar with the arrangements told The New York Daily News.

What will happen at the arraignment?

Once he’s finished being booked, authorities will bring Trump to the courtroom for his arraignment, where he’ll hear the charges for the first time and enter a plea. Though he doesn’t know what he’s charged with, Trump’s legal team said he plans to plead not guilty.

Protesters gather outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump will arrive later in the day for his arraignment on April 4, 2023 in New York City. With his indictment, Trump will become the first former U.S. president in history to be charged with a criminal offense. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

What are the charges?

The charges, expected to remain under seal until Trump appears in court, are believed to relate to his notorious hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump is expected to face multiple charges, including at least one felony related to business fraud, but it’s unclear whether they all relate to the hush money. The indictment stems from an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office spanning more than four years.

The charges against Trump are expected to be nonviolent and non-bail eligible. Merchan is not expected to find he poses a risk of flight, meaning the former president will most likely be released on his own recognizance. Prosecutors may ask the judge to impose other restrictions, possibly relating to travel, as Trump fights his case.

Once the indictment has been unsealed and Trump has answered to the charges, Merchan will give him and his lawyers and the prosecution a date to return to court. Trump’s attorneys have indicated they plan to file motions to have the case thrown out of court and moved to a different venue.

A supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a sign outside of Trump Tower on April 04, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Will media be allowed inside the courtroom?

Five pool photographers will be allowed inside the courtroom for the arraignment, Merchan ruled late Monday. Video cameras will be confined to hallways outside the courtroom, and reporters won’t be allowed to bring laptops or other electronics inside.

Contributing: Harry Parker, Evan Simko-Bednarski, Josephine Stratman and Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News

​ Orange County Register 

Coachella 2023: How to livestream performances from all of the festival stages

• April 4, 2023

This year, promoters of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival are bringing the fans that couldn’t attend the event in-person the most extensive livestreaming coverage it’s ever offered.

Goldenvoice has once again teamed up with YouTube to livestream performances during the annual festival, which is taking place April 14-16 and April 21-23 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio with headlining sets by Bad Bunny, Blackpink and Frank Ocean. Unlike in previous years, the 2023 livestream will include coverage of all six stages during both weekends of the festival.

Fans will be able to tune in to Coachella’s official YouTube channel, pick which stage they want to watch and, if they can’t watch it live, the performances will be on repeat after the evening’s final performance and until the live show picks up again the next day.

There’s also all kinds of exclusive content on the channel, including backstage interviews with artists, behind-the-scenes bits and views of the sprawling festival grounds, the fans, art installations and other attractions.

Those that join the livestream can also interact with each other through a live chat option and purchase exclusive merchandise from more than a dozen artists through YouTube Shopping. Premium subscribers will also have access to backstage pre-parties.

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​ Orange County Register 

Donald Trump set to be arraigned in historic court moment

• April 4, 2023

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, ERIC TUCKER, JENNIFER PELTZ and WILL WEISSERT (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — An extraordinary moment in U.S. history will unfold in a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday: Former President Donald Trump, who faces multiple election-related investigations, will surrender and be arraigned on criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments.

The booking and appearance before Judge Juan Merchan should be relatively brief — though hardly routine — as Trump is fingerprinted, learns the charges against him and pleads, as expected, not guilty. Merchan has ruled that TV cameras won’t be allowed in the courtroom.

Trump, who was impeached twice by the U.S. House but was never convicted in the U.S. Senate, will become the first former president to face criminal charges. The nation’s 45th commander in chief will be escorted from Trump Tower to the courthouse by the Secret Service and may have his mug shot taken.

Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina said Tuesday that the former president wouldn’t plead guilty to lesser charges, even if it might resolve the case. He said he didn’t believe the case would ever make it to a jury, but conceded, “Really, there’s a lot of mystery here because we’re doing something that’s never been done before.”

“I think there will be a typical processing, which does not take long, 20-30 minutes. There won’t be handcuffs,” Tacopina told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “But, yeah, he’ll be processed the way anyone else would be — to a degree.”

New York police are braced for protests by Trump supporters, who share the Republican former president’s belief that the New York grand jury indictment and three additional pending investigations are politically motivated and intended to weaken his bid to retake the White House in 2024.

Trump, a former reality TV star, has been hyping that narrative to his political advantage, saying he raised $8 million in the less than a week since the indictment on claims of a “witch hunt.” He has assailed the Manhattan district attorney, egged on supporters to protest and claimed without evidence that the judge presiding over the case “hates me” — something his own lawyer has said is not true.

Trump is scheduled to return to his Palm Beach, Florida, home, Mar-a-Lago, on Tuesday evening to hold a rally, punctuating his new reality: submitting to the dour demands of the American criminal justice system while projecting an aura of defiance and victimhood at celebratory campaign events. At least 500 prominent supporters have been invited, with some of the most pro-Trump congressional Republicans expected to attend.

A conviction would not prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

Inside the Manhattan courtroom, prosecutors led by New York’s district attorney, Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, are expected to unseal the indictment issued last week by a grand jury. This is when Trump and his defense lawyers will get their first glimpse of the precise allegations against him.

The indictment contains multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press last week.

After the arraignment, Trump is expected to be released by authorities because the charges against him don’t require that bail be set.

The investigation is scrutinizing six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both say they had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics. Trump denies having sexual liaisons with either woman and has denied any wrongdoing involving payments.

The arraignment will unfold against the backdrop of heavy security in New York, coming more than two years after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to halt the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s win.

Though police said they had no intelligence suggesting any violence was likely, they were on high alert for any potential disruptions.

“While there may be some rabble rousers thinking of coming to our city tomorrow, our message is clear and simple: Control yourselves,” Mayor Eric Adams said. He also singled out Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters in Congress, who is organizing a rally Tuesday at a park across from the courthouse: “While you’re in town, be on your best behavior,” Adams said.

Trump pollster John McLaughlin said the former president would approach the day with “dignity.”

“He will be a gentleman,” McLaughlin said. “He’ll show strength and he’ll show dignity and … we’ll get through this and win the election.”

But Trump was also defiant. In a post late Monday night on his social media network he lashed out at Biden, suggesting the current president should be facing legal troubles of his own.

Despite that, the scene around Trump Tower and the courthouse where Trump will stand before a judge was mostly quiet. There were some arguments, but police tried to keep protesters supporting the former president and those opposing him apart, confining them to separate sides of the nearby park using metal barricades.

Signs that were also pro- and anti-Trump were stuck to nearby posts. One urged passers-by to donate to help fund Trump’s presidential library while another showed a shouting Trump behind bars.

The public fascination with the case was evident Monday as national television carried live images of Trump’s motorcade from his Mar-a-Lago club to a private, red, white and blue Boeing 757 stenciled with his name. From there, Trump was flown to New York, where cameras followed his motorcade into Manhattan and he spent the night at Trump Tower as he prepared to turn himself in.

The former president and his aides are embracing the media circus. After initially being caught off guard when news of the indictment broke Thursday evening, Trump and his team are hoping to use the case to his advantage. Still, they asked the judge in a Monday filing to ban photo and video coverage of the arraignment.

Though prosecutors routinely insist that no person is above the law, bringing criminal charges against a former president carries instant logistical complications.

New York’s ability to carry out safe and drama-free courthouse proceedings in a case involving a polarizing ex-president could be an important test case as prosecutors in Atlanta and Washington conduct their own investigations of Trump that could also result in charges. Those investigations concern efforts to undo the 2020 election results as well as the possible mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Top Republicans, including some of Trump’s potential rivals in next year’s GOP presidential primary, have criticized the case against him. Biden, who has yet to formally announce that he’s seeking reelection next year, and other leading Democrats have largely had little to say about it.

Prosecutors insist their case against Trump has nothing to do with politics.

___

Tucker and Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Jill Colvin, Bobby Caina Calvan, Larry Neumeister, Karen Matthews, Larry Fleisher, Deepti Hajela, Julie Walker, Ted Shaffrey, David R. Martin, Joe Frederick and Robert Bumsted in New York and Colleen Long and Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of former President Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.

​ Orange County Register 

Try these kitchen storage alternatives instead of single-use plastics

• April 4, 2023

The environmental issues caused by single-use plastics are plentiful: The items have short lifespans, don’t biodegrade and require fossil fuels to produce them.

Reducing the reliance on single-use plastics at home is a challenging task, however. Take the kitchen as an example, where single-use plastics are frequently the default materials used in food packaging and storage.

“In the 1970s, we started using single-use plastic for everything, and it’s just become the nature of our consumer market,” explains Emily Parker, coastal and marine scientist for Heal the Bay. “It’s hard to find products that aren’t made out of disposable plastic that are useful. That’s a major hurdle, that a lot of these products just don’t exist.”

However, it’s becoming easier to find replacements for items like plastic baggies and plastic wrap, which can’t be recycled and pose major problems when they enter our waterways.

“What’s tricky about plastic films and thin plastic bags is that they are hard to see, hard to clean and they’re often easily mistaken for food,” says Parker, noting that this can harm animals like sea turtles, who feed on jellies. “These plastic bags are easily mistaken in the wild for jellies and are then consumed and they can cause all kinds of problems for the digestive tract, which is majorly problematic.”

There are alternatives. Food-grade silicone storage bags from Stasher, which come in a variety of sizes and colors, can be a good, long-term substitute for plastic bags. Beeswax wrap, which has become more accessible in recent years, can take the place of plastic wrap.

The drawback, though, can be the upfront cost.

Julie Darrell, owner of Bring Your Own Long Beach, holds up a large, green Stasher bag during a recent Zoom call.

“This one here is $22,” she says. “It’s really expensive – but then it’s made from food-grade silicone, so you’re using it for several years, probably ten years minimum if it’s taken care of.”

While the cost might make sense in the long run, it’s not necessarily something that everyone can afford to budget right now, especially if you need multiple bags. But as both Darrell and Parker point out, there are other options.

“You can use simple things like a jar, a pasta jar, instead of plastic baggies,” says Darrell.

“In my home, I try really, really hard to reduce the amount of single-use plastic that I use. Instead of using things like Ziplock baggies or wrap,” says Parker. “I keep all the containers from the grocery store that my food comes in, the ones that are keepable, I wash them and I reuse them over and over again.”

To cover food, beeswax wrap and food huggers — food-grade silicone caps that fit snuggly over cut fruits, cans and jars and are sold at BYO Long Beach — are worthy alternatives. But like Stasher bags, they might not be the most budget-friendly option for people who want to reduce plastic waste at home.

Parker points out that DIYers can make beeswax wrap at home. For beginners, there are plenty of tutorials available online. As well, Darrell holds up a plate and a bowl as the easiest, environmentally-friendly solution for covering food. “Instead of putting Saran Wrap on your bowl, just putting a plate on top before you put it in the fridge is the most simple thing you can do that costs no money,” she says.

Another area where you might want to make a plastic-free swap is around the sink. Darrell uses a loofah instead of a sponge. Her dish brush, which is sold at BYO Long Beach, has a wood and metal handle with a replaceable head that can be composted.

Both Darrell and Parker stress that the most important thing is using what you already have on hand at home.

“We don’t want you to go home, throw everything away and start all over plastic-free,” Darrell says. “Use what you have first and then you can make those small steps to make replacements along the way, instead of spending the money to replace everything at once. It’s just small steps.”

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In fact, when people stop by BYO Long Beach to refill dish soaps and shampoos at the store, it is sometimes with plastic bottles left over from previous purchases. “We encourage them to bring whatever container they want,” says Darrell.

Parker points out that sustainability at home can take shape in many different ways. “People think of reuse culture as this sort of white-washed, Instagram-perfect kind of behavior, but it doesn’t have to be,” says Parker. “You can be incredibly sustainable and opt to use refillable products in a way that costs little to no money,” she says.

And it doesn’t have to be stressful. “If you’re feeling stressed about reducing plastic in your home. Take it one step at a time,” says Parker. “The most sustainable thing you can do is use what you already have.”

​ Orange County Register 

Finland joins NATO, dealing blow to Russia for Ukraine war

• April 4, 2023

By LORNE COOK and MATTHEW LEE

BRUSSELS — Finland joined the NATO military alliance Tuesday, dealing a major blow to Russia with a historic realignment of the continent triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Nordic country’s membership doubles Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance and represents a major change in Europe’s security landscape: The nation adopted neutrality after its defeat by the Soviets in World War II. But its leaders signaled they wanted to join the alliance just months after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine sent a shiver of fear through Moscow’s neighbors.

The move is a strategic and political blow to Putin, who has long complained about NATO’s expansion toward Russia and partly used that as a justification for the invasion.

Russia warned that it would be forced to take “retaliatory measures” to address what it called security threats created by Finland’s membership. It had also warned it would bolster forces near Finland if NATO sends any additional troops or equipment to what is its 31st member country.

The alliance says it poses no threat to Moscow.

Neighboring Sweden, which has avoided military alliances for more than 200 years, has also applied. But objections from NATO members Turkey and Hungary have delayed the process.

Alarmed by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Finland, which shares a 1,340 kilometer (832 mile) border with Russia, applied to join in May, setting aside years of military non-alignment to seek protection under the organization’s security umbrella.

“I’m tempted to say this is maybe the one thing that we can thank Mr. Putin for because he once again here precipitated something he claims to want to prevent by Russia’s aggression, causing many countries to believe that they have to do more to look out for their own defense and to make sure that they can deter possible Russian aggression going forward,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said just before accepting the documents that made Finland’s membership official.

The U.S. State Department is the repository of NATO texts concerning membership.

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the country “will be forced to take military-technical and other retaliatory measures to counter the threats to our national security arising from Finland’s accession to NATO.”

It said Finland’s move marks “a fundamental change in the situation in Northern Europe, which had previously been one of the most stable regions in the world.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, meanwhile, Tuesday that Finland’s membership reflects the alliance’s anti-Russian course and warned that Moscow will respond depending on what weapons NATO allies place there.

But Peskov also sought to play down the impact, noting that Russia has no territorial disputes with Finland.

It’s not clear what additional military resources Russia could send to the Finnish border. Moscow has deployed the bulk of its most capable military units to Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg earlier said that no more troops would be sent to Finland unless it asked for help.

“There will be no NATO troops in Finland without the consent of Finland,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels a few hours before the country joins.

The country is now protected by what Stoltenberg called NATO’s “iron-clad security guarantee,” under which all member countries vow to come to the defense of any ally that comes under attack.

But Stoltenberg refused to rule out the possibility of holding more military exercises there and said that NATO would not allow Russia’s demands to dictate the organization’s decisions.

“We are constantly assessing our posture, our presence. We have more exercises, we have more presence, also in the Nordic area,” he said.

Meanwhile, Finland’s Parliament said that its website was hit with a so-called denial-of-service attack, which made the site hard to use, with many pages not loading and some functions not available.

A pro-Russian hacker group known as NoName057 (16) claimed responsibility, saying the attack was retaliation for Finland joining NATO.

The claim could not be immediately verified.

The hacker group, which has reportedly acted on Moscow’s orders, has taken party in a slew of cyberattacks on the U.S. and its allies in the past. Finnish public broadcaster YLE said the same group hit the Parliament’s site last year.

Finland’s entry, to be marked with a flag-raising ceremony at NATO headquarters, falls on the organization’s very own birthday, the 74th anniversary of the signing of its founding Washington Treaty on April 4, 1949. It also coincides with a meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers.

Finland’s president, foreign and defense ministers will take part in the ceremony.

Turkey became the last NATO member country to ratify Finland’s membership protocol on Thursday. It will hand over the document officially enshrining that decision to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the ceremony.

Finland’s membership becomes official when its own foreign minister hands over documents completing its accession process to Blinken. The U.S. State Department is the repository of NATO texts concerning membership.

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​ Orange County Register 

54 ghost guns seized as part of unique California program

• April 4, 2023

By STEFANIE DAZIO

LOS ANGELES — California law enforcement took away 54 so-called ghost guns last year from people who can’t legally own firearms, a 38% jump in the number of the hard-to-trace weapons seized since 2021 under a unique state program, officials said Monday.

The ghost guns, which are privately made firearms without a serial number, were part of nearly 1,500 guns taken statewide last year through an only-in-California program called the Armed and Prohibited Persons System, known as APPS.

The California registry cross-matches databases to find people who legally purchased weapons but are now banned from ownership because they have been convicted of felonies or a violent misdemeanor, or have a history of domestic violence or mental illness. State and local authorities then can move to seize the weapons under the program, which began in 2006.

Generally, firearms manufactured by licensed companies are required to have serial numbers that allow officials to trace the gun back to the manufacturer, the firearms dealer and original purchaser. That’s how the registry can find the people who are prohibited from having guns, as well as the weapons linked to them.

Ghost guns, however, are made of parts and are then assembled together — without the serial numbers that can be used to follow the gun’s path. Law enforcement working to find the legal firearms listed on the state registry coincidentally found the ghost guns and seized those as well.

The number of ghost guns discovered by law enforcement through their APPS work has jumped dramatically in recent years. In 2018, officials seized just eight ghost guns through their work on the registry, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said.

Bonta has ordered the state’s Department of Justice to focus more on ghost gun investigations in general after years of increased illegal activity.

Guns without serial numbers have been used in deadly violence over the past year, including in New York, where a teenage girl was killed outside a high school in the Bronx, and in Sacramento, when a man fatally shot his three daughters inside a church.

The APPS registry included 23,869 people as of Jan. 1, including nearly 9,300 active cases. The remaining cases — almost 15,000 — include people who are incarcerated, have moved out of state or cannot be located after multiple attempts, Bonta’s office said.

In one case, an attempt to contact a man in Costa Mesa led to an eight-hour armed standoff in Southern California after he fired at the officers. The suspect was on the state’s list because he had a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence, as well as an active misdemeanor arrest warrant. He eventually surrendered and authorities recovered a rifle, a shotgun and multiple handguns, the attorney general’s office said.

Last year, the total seizure included 712 handguns, 360 rifles, 194 shotguns, 80 assault weapons, three short-barreled shotguns and a machine gun, as well as more than 281,000 rounds of ammunition, according to a report released Monday.

That’s roughly comparable to seizures in 2021, when 1,428 firearms — including 39 ghost guns — were taken by law enforcement under the APPS program.

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​ Orange County Register