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3/18/2010
2 people died in a Kern County plane crash yesterday. Investigators say the war bird-style trainer went down near the Frito Lay plant and Buttinwillow Cattle Company off hiway 58. The type of aircraft that went down was typically used to train pilots during World War 2. Eyewitnesses say the plane broke apart and burst into flames before it hit the ground.
Six masked gunmen forced their way into a home south of Selma Tuesday afternoon. An elderly woman and a 7-year-old boy were tied up and held at gunpoint while the home was ransacked. The robbers also stole the woman's SUV, but abandoned it a short distance away. A similar home invasion took place at a home in a neighborhood near Atwater, in Merced County, on Tuesday. There's no evidence the home invasions are related ... Or if there's any connection to a home invasion that occurred in a Kerman neighborhood on Monday.
New unemployment numbers were released yesterday. The seasonally adjusted rate for January, and the December revised rate settled at 12.3 percent for the state while in the valley, the unemployment sits at 18%. Statewide, over 300,000 jobs were lost in construction, manufacturing and retailing. The two sectors that gained over 10,000 workers included education and health services.
The son of Victor Lopez, the Mayor of Orange Cove, is facing a trial on drug charges. Investigators say they found six methadone pills in Lopez's home. In a preliminary hearing, a doctor said she prescribed the pills for Lopez but the drugs were found two days before the prescription was issued. A Superior Court Judge Ordered Victor Lopez Jr. to be arraigned next month.
California farmers will produce more valencia oranges this year, according to a federal government report. It predicts growers will ship 34 million cartons this year, a 21 percent increase over last season. Favorable weather is a main reason cited for the harvest hike. California produces about 15 percent of the nation's total of valencia oranges. Late-season varieties of navel oranges and imported navels have reduced demand for valencia oranges in recent years.
The Morning Wake Up Call, weekday mornings 5:30 - 10a.m., Darrin Cantrell delivers local news on air and you
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