The San Fernando Sun's Podcast

Gina Perez of San Fernando is asking the public for help to locate her son, who was last seen in Venice 59-year-old Gina Perez usually knows where her mentally ill homeless son is. That has been mostly the case since Joseph Lee Zamora started living on the streets in the early 2000s, sticking around in the San Fernando area and occasionally other parts of the Valley.  But now the 43-year-old man has gone missing for two months and his mother is concerned about his welfare. “I don’t know where he is and I’m worried because he may not be...

Cindy Montañez, councilmember for the City of San Fernando and CEO of TreePeople, passed away Oct. 21 at 49 years old, leaving an indelible mark on both her native city and those who knew her. Funeral services are pending and both a private and public ceremony is expected. “My great friend Cindy Montañez lived up to her name as a person who climbed mountains and helped others to as well,” said Adan Ortega, chair of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. “Watching Cindy never giving up, accepting richly deserved accolades, but also literally issuing assignments to those of us...

Cindy Montañez, councilmember for the City of San Fernando and CEO of TreePeople, passed away Oct. 21 at 49 years old, leaving an indelible mark on both her native city and those who knew her. Funeral services are pending and both a private and public ceremony is expected. “My great friend Cindy Montañez lived up to her name as a person who climbed mountains and helped others to as well,” said Adan Ortega, chair of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. “Watching Cindy never giving up, accepting richly deserved accolades, but also literally issuing assignments to those of us...

ACTON (CNS) – An inmate walked away from a work camp in Acton and officials today are seeking the public’s help locating him. Julian Ochoa Ruiz, 38, was discovered missing about 11 a.m. Wednesday from the Acton Conservation Camp, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “Staff immediately launched a search of the camp buildings and grounds,” according to a news statement. “CDCR’s Office of Correctional Safety, Los Angeles County Fire, and local law enforcement agencies have been notified and are assisting in the search.” Ruiz was described as a 5-foot, 8-inch Latino man weighing 145 pounds with...

With the arrival of two large solid rocket motors (SRMs) Oct. 11, the California Science Center is entering the next phase ofGo for Stack –the complex, multi-phase process of moving and lifting each of the space shuttle components into place for Space Shuttle Endeavour’s upcoming awe-inspiring 20-story vertical display. The SRMs, donated by Northrop Grumman, had been stored at the Mojave Air and Space Port, and are the final elements of the space shuttle system to arrive at the center. The components that will make up the world’s only authentic, “ready-to-launch” space shuttle stack include the orbiter Endeavour, two solid.

Young Latinas in the Northeast San Fernando Valley are continuing to receive educational support through DIY Girls, a nonprofit organization that provides free science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to girls and gender-expansive youth. “When I was an engineer, I was often the only woman in the room, the only Latina in the room, the only person of color in a meeting room. And I wanted to change that,” said Assemblymember Luz Rivas.  She attributes her start in STEM to a teacher in Pacoima who encouraged her and showed her that this could be a career path. That inter...

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors weighed in Tuesday, Oct. 17, on the conflict in the Middle East, unanimously supporting a resolution in support of Israel and condemning terrorist acts of Hamas — though the board heard an earful from dozens of residents who blasted the action as supporting what they called an Israeli “genocide” of Palestinians. The resolution adopted by the board states that the county “unequivocally condemns Hamas for this deplorable and unprovoked attack on the State of Israel.” It goes on to state that the county “unequivocally supports the right of the...

PANORAMA CITY (CNS) – A woman died and three other people were hospitalized following a fire today in a Panorama City house, authorities said. Firefighters sent to the 8000 block of North Matilija Avenue at about 8:10 a.m. found the woman in a bedroom of the single-story building, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes, the LAFD reported. The cause of the fire was under investigation. “During an aggressive and well-coordinated fire attack, firefighters discovered an adult female, described by residents as mobility impaired, lifeless in a rear bedroom,” the LAFD said...

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed first-of-its-kind legislation Oct. 7 to prohibit the use of four dangerous chemicals in processed foods and drinks sold in California. Authored by Assemblymembers Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) and Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), Assembly Bill (AB) 418 – the California Food Safety Act – would prohibit the manufacture, sale or distribution in California of any food product containing red dye No. 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil or propyl paraben. AB 418 was amended in the State Senate to remove titanium dioxide from the list of banned additives and to delay implementation of the bill until 2027 to give...

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A woman who allegedly admitted drowning her three young children in a Reseda apartment pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity today to three murder charges. Liliana Carrillo, 32, entered dual pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity in connection with the April 10, 2021, killings of her 5-month-old daughter Sierra, 2-year-old son Terry and 3-year-old daughter Joanna. The murder charge involving her youngest daughter includes an allegation that she used a knife during the commission of the crime. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Richard S. Kemalyan noted that Carrillo’s not...