To the editor: Regarding Joel Rubin's article on the City of Hesperia trying to close down transitional homes for nonviolent offenders: Where is the compassion for people trying to turn their lives around? Equating human beings with "cockroaches" is disgusting and says more about the people governing Hesperia than any of their pronouncements about protecting the citizenry. To the editor: Virtually every man or woman who spends time in jail or prison will someday be released. Realignment was intended to provide services so that when someone is released from jail or given probation, he or she will be less likely to commit another crime. Providing room and board to people trying to get their lives together and helping them find work is an excellent way to do this.

Retail sales fell in August, during what is traditionally back-to-school shopping season, as shoppers continued to rein in their spending. It was the first drop since March. U.S. retail sales fell 0.3% last month compared with July, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. July sales, however, were revised up slightly to 0.1% growth from an estimate of no growth. A drop in auto sales was expected to drag down overall August retail sales.

The bodies of a man and woman were found Wednesday in the Orange home of former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon. Robert Gordon, 68, and Sharon Gordon, 57, were discovered at 5 p.m. in the 1400 block of North Kennymead Street, according to the Orange County Sheriff's-Coroner Department. Property records show Robby Gordon has owned the home since 1989. Few details about the couple's death have been released, but Lt. Fred Lopez told KTLA-TV that family members asked a neighbor on Wednesday to check on the couple's welfare. The neighbor entered the home and discovered the two were dead.

It's an adage that one should not speak ill of the dead. But when conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly died last week, I was among the many liberal writers who didn't hesitate to call her a hatemonger. Schlafly, who built her 40-year career on stoking intolerance, was a vocal supporter of segregation and discrimination in housing, voting, and the workplace. She pushed to make anti-gay activism a core feature of the conservative movement. Even as the national consensus evolved toward greater rights for many Americans who had once been marginalized, Schlafly remained staunchly opposed to progress.

To the editor: Regardless of the vaccine debate, making sweeping medical conclusions without examining a patient is both unethical and negligent. I think Dr. Bob Sears has let his ideology trump medical practices. To the editor: I think there are two things to keep in mind when choosing a doctor for your child. First, choose one that relies on competent, vetted research to best help your child. Anyone spouting "theories" that have not been supported by current research, or in this case, have been refuted by research, puts a child at risk.

A deep growl came from the other side of Shaniqua Roland's front door. She was pregnant at the time and headed to a doctor's appointment, but she knew she couldn't leave the house. For half an hour, as she tried to shoo them away, a pack of pit bulls snarled and snapped at her metal door. She thought of her sister, who'd recently lost a chunk of her calf in a dog attack. She'd see her doctor another day.

A man was killed and a woman was injured in a shooting Wednesday afternoon at a residence in Long Beach, authorities said. Officers were dispatched about 4:30 p.m. to a home in the 5400 block of Atlantic Avenue, said Marlene Arrona, a spokeswoman for the Long Beach Police Department. Officers found a man outside the apartment with gunshot wounds, Arrona said. Paramedics later pronounced him dead. The woman was also found with gunshot wounds and taken to a hospital. Her injuries are not life-threatening, Arrona said.

A veteran California Highway Patrol officer is on administrative leave after being arrested this week on suspicion of transmitting child pornography. Placer County sheriff's detectives arrested Patrick Francis Cooney Jr., around 4 p.m. Monday. An ongoing investigation revealed that Cooney, 54, allegedly sent child pornography that depicts sexual acts involving persons under 18, officials said. Authorities searched his Auburn residence and seized his electronic devices. "CHP is aware of the arrest of one of its officers by the Placer County Sheriff Department for alleged behavior that occurred while the employee was off duty," Chief Janice Mulanix of the CHP Valley Division in Sacramento said in a statement.

A growing number of U.S. workers are covered by health insurance that sticks them with a bigger share of the medical bill but also softens that blow by providing a special account to help with the expense. Companies are turning more to these so-called consumer-directed health plans, which push patients to shop around for the best prices for care, because they can cost less than other types of coverage and help hold down future increases. Nearly 3 in 10 employees have this kind of coverage, up from 2 in 10 in 2014, according to an annual study of private insurance trends from the Kaiser Family Foundation released Wednesday. A decade ago, these plans were almost unheard of. Patients and employers generally pay less toward the premium, or cost of the coverage itself.

Authorities say they have made an arrest in the arson fire that heavily damaged the Florida mosque Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen occasionally attended. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office spokesman Bryan Beaty confirmed in an email Wednesday that an arrest had been made but wouldn't disclose any details until a news conference scheduled for later that evening. The Islamic Center of Fort Pierce sustained extensive damage in a fire set late Sunday on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. The fire burned a 10-by-10-foot hole in the roof at the back of the mosque's main building and blackened its eaves with soot.