West Covina Fire Chief Vincent Capelle has been fired by the city Capelle and a city official confirmed Wednesday he was given a notice of separation pending an appeal hearing “I was blindsided and completely shocked,” Capelle said Wednesday evening Mayor Brian Calderon Tabatabai said he received an email from City Manager Paulina Morales on Tuesday which said the chief had been placed on administrative leave When Tabatabai spoke with Morales he was told Capelle had been given termination papers and that the city manager had lost trust in the chief “At this time there is no comment,” Morales said in an email Wednesday afternoon Tabatabai said Capelle had been a target of Mayor Pro Tem Tony Wu since an incident where Wu allegedly yelled at Capelle at a public event because State Sen. Josh Newman did not speak at a pinning ceremony “I was not surprised,” Tabatabai said Wednesday “There’s a cruelty to this to do it the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.” According to a Human Resources memorandum dated Aug “Don’t you ever (expletive) disrespect me again!” Wu told this newspaper in 2023 that he was upset but denied shouting the statement Wu could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday night with Letty Lopez-Viado abstaining and Tabatabai voting no which would have funded 15 firefighter positions for three years Morales said the city had a negative experience in the past when using SAFER grant funding and that after three years the city would be on the hook for paying the 15 new employees Capelle fielded questions from council members about the grant including Wu asking Capelle about why he applied for the grant without approval from the city manager’s office “That isn’t how city hall is run,” Tabatabai said Wednesday of Wu’s premise Capelle’s departure would leave the city with openings at the head of both public safety departments with Police Chief Richard Bell’s retirement date effective Dec Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. You must be logged in to post a comment © 2024 Claremont CourierAll Rights Reserved Print Edition Latest News Obituaries City Government Homes & Apartments Police Blotter Real Estate News Privacy Policy Subscribe / Renew West Covina, CA, March 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The West Covina Unified School District (WCUSD) proudly offers Parenting Workshops through its Community Schools Initiative These workshops provide families valuable guidance on effective parenting strategies and job search training quickly become favorites among parents who look forward to attending and learning new ways to support their families and build a strong foundation for success parents have shared how the workshops have helped them better understand their children's emotions and create a more positive home environment Topics covered include positive discipline Certified experts and community partners facilitate the workshops ensuring families receive the most relevant and practical strategies to support their children These parenting workshops are made possible through strong collaboration with our community partners including the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health the Los Angeles County Office of Education and others committed to supporting families in WCUSD WCUSD Superintendent Dr. Emy Flores expressed the district’s commitment to providing families with essential resources we believe that strong family engagement is key to student success These workshops provide parents and caregivers with valuable tools to create supportive home environments where children can thrive academically and emotionally We thank our community partners for joining us in this important effort." Denise Knutsen Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services also emphasized the importance of collaboration in delivering these workshops: "We are grateful for the partnerships that allow us to provide these meaningful resources to our families By working together with experts in mental health we can equip parents with the knowledge and tools they need to support their children’s growth and success." With an increasing number of parents expressing interest WCUSD remains committed to expanding these workshops and ensuring that every family has the tools to support their children’s academic and personal success WCUSD invites all parents, guardians, and caregivers to these free, enriching workshops. For more information on upcoming sessions, visit www.wcusd.org/programs/community-school West Covina Unified School District is dedicated to supporting students and families through innovative programs and strong community partnerships WCUSD fosters an inclusive learning environment where students can thrive academically 2025-05-05T07:41:43-07:00May 5 2025-05-02T09:39:58-07:00May 2 2025-05-02T08:40:53-07:00May 2 2025-05-04T09:32:06-07:00April 30 2025-04-30T17:06:48-07:00April 30 211 West Temple StreetSuite 1200Los Angeles is charged with the sexual assaults of two female students beginning in 2022 CA – Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced today that Covina high school teacher Joshua Daniel McGinn is charged with committing sex acts upon two underaged female students beginning in 2022 “Prosecutors from our Sex Crimes Division are working tirelessly to ensure justice is served for the victims and their families,” District Attorney Hochman stated “We also want to encourage anyone who may have additional information or has been victimized to come forward and report information to the Covina Police Department and we are here to ensure justice is served.” Joshua Daniel McGinn is charged in case 24WCCF01182 with four felony counts of oral copulation of a person under 18 years; one felony count of sexual penetration by use of force; one misdemeanor count of sexual battery; two felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor more than three years younger; one felony count of contact with a minor for sexual offense; and one felony count of possession of child or youth pornography the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 13 years and six months in state prison The case is being prosecuted by the office’s Sex Crimes Division and investigated by the Covina Police Department Additional victims or anyone with information are asked to contact Detective G Hagle at 626-384-5621 or the Covina Police Department at 626-384-5808 *The charges filed in this case are allegations The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law L.A. County Home211 L.A. CountyLA County Helps  © 2020 Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Welcome, Mickeymickey@disney.comManage MyDisney AccountLog Out2 injured in shooting outside sports bar in West CovinaMonday 2024West Covina police are looking for the gunman who shot and injured two people outside a sports bar over the weekend.WEST COVINA (KABC) -- West Covina police are looking for the gunman who shot and injured two people outside a sports bar over the weekend Saturday during an altercation outside Tina's Tavern sports bar on Glendora Avenue Officers found the two victims when they arrived at the scene Both were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries Additional details about the gunman or the altercation that led up to the shooting were not available a collaborative investigation by fraud investigators from San Bernardino County Human Services and Apple Valley Police resulted in the arrest of two individuals from West Covina for fraudulent activity involving EBT cards The investigation focused on three banks in Apple Valley where electronic benefit transfer thefts were reported Early morning surveillance identified individuals suspected of withdrawing funds from compromised EBT accounts and Mackis were found with multiple fraudulent EBT cards The arrests led to the recovery of approximately $17,000 in cash was deemed a flight risk and is being held in lieu of $350,000 bail Adinis Mackis is being held in lieu of $30,000 bail Both suspects face charges including money laundering Authorities encourage anyone with further information on the case to reach out to Investigator Flores at (909) 252-4365 or Detective Gates at (760) 240-7400 Anonymous tips can be submitted through the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78CRIME or via the We-Tip website 📢 Stay connected with the High Desert’s largest news community 🔗 For more local news, visit VVNG.com we’re dedicated to keeping the Victor Valley informed with essential Our newsroom works tirelessly to bring you the latest stories that matter—news that fosters awareness If you value our reporting and want to see it continue local news accessible to everyone—because an informed community is a stronger community Access to the Catalog and My Account will be unavailable Friday Come celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the library Learn some interesting facts about Mexican culture and then learn to make vibrant tissue paper flowers West Covina Library has been located in the West Covina Civic Center since 1961 The first County library designed as a Regional Headquarters Today West Covina Library still serves as the East Regional County Library for the County of Los Angeles Public Library County of Los Angeles Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.