​
    The Tea House is now officially open! Brooklyn Yheng held her grand opening on Monday August 14th and it was quite the cultural display. Assistant Manager Misha Yheng and several other staff members offered out sample cups of tea along with fresh sushi. While sushi is not normally on the menu, the Tea House does coordinate with the bakery uptown to offer fresh baked goods! With tea selections from all around the world, everyone is sure to find something they'll enjoy!

Brooklyn Yheng, owner 

The staff of the Tea House

Who needs drugs when you can get your High Times from a book? Go see Miller today!

​District Attorney Martinho Larsson has been missing since Monday morning, the 7th of August. If anyone has any details on the whereabouts of Mr Larsson or any known Immortals, you are encouraged to contact the police department. 

District Attorney Eva Perry has been missing for about a week. If anyone has any details on the whereabouts of Ms Perry you are encouraged to contact the police department. 

​ On Saturday The 5th of August, Asmus Zero's trial took place to answer for the charges of attempted murder in the first degree, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer. Mr Zero was represented by Omidon Zeller and had several family members present in support.

     The courtroom seemed to be a mix of tension, anger, and quiet yet friendly chatter. Several reported members of the Immortals seemed to be in the gallery along with other members of the community. Police Captain Ming Yheng was also present and seemed to be giving anyone that neared Asmus a jealous look. Perhaps this is proof of the rumored relationship between the two?
    
   It should be noted that no jury was present during the trial which means the outcome was determined by Judge Martinho Larsson and prosecution will be determined at a later date. Captain Yheng was the first to point this out and stated " Yo Owner, I think you need to eliminate this case because in every movie there is a judge, this is not a gen..geni..ehm..genuine trial, lah" There were several shocked faces that this sort of statement came from the Captain of the police force. 

     As the trial began, attorney Zeller made his opening statement saying "I motion that the charges be dismissed on lack of discovery to the defense team, promoting as well, lack of evidence. It is known and documented that my client has an extensive issue with Anger and Rage management, to which he is being treated for professionally. However since there are no prior convictions on my client, as well as the basis that discovery of evidence was not shared by the ADA's office, I feel that continuation of this situation is a waste of time and tax payers money to move forward." Of course anyone would expect the defense attorney to protest the case on behalf of their client, but lack of evidence and no prior convictions definitely seems to lead one to think that maybe Mr Zero isn't the criminal everyone seems to think he is?

     Of course, the police were continued to be represented in a rather embarrassing way as Captain Ming Yheng proceeded to kick against the panel behind attorney Zeller as if to get his attention. This seemed to go unnoticed by the attorney at first but others, including Mr Zero, took notice and did not give her the nicest of looks. The judged ordered her silent for a second time and she dismissed herself from the room. Later in the trial Captain Yheng returned to the courtroom unchallenged and seemed to confirm suspicions that she is involved with Asmus by yelling out "Injection!! The article in the paper is true, Yo Honor! I've read it myself!" when my previous article "In bed with the enemy" was mentioned. 

     It should also be noted that the sergeant mentioned in the article, Teddy 'Dora' Phokos, was not only the victim involved in this case but the officer in charge of working it. Sergeant Phoko's also arrived at the trial late and seemed to deem herself prosecutor, which went unquestioned by anyone in the court room. 

     Through the course of the trial, attorney Zeller and Mr Zero maintained his innocence and pointed out that the ADA had not provided required information to them. It was also mentioned that while Mr Zero has anger management issues, he does seek out professional counseling to work on the problem. In the end, he was determined guilty of attempted murder of a police officer. This verdict came swiftly and without little consideration given the conflicting stories and lack of properly filed or shared evidence. There was an outcry from the gallery and all seemed shocked at the verdict. Even Sergeant Phokos was shocked at the verdict and that should tell you something was sketchy. 

      Just about a month ago, the court was featured in the paper as lacking the proper staff to handle and process the growing backlog of cases. Judge Larsson stated "The Police Department put there lives on the line every day in the front line and law and order simply must be respected, therefore I am going to be making an example out of you Mr Zero." Given the goings on in court on Saturday, it is clear that no matter what verdict was right or wrong, Asmus Zero is serving a sentence just so the court can say they are handling cases. It has become ever obvious that we can only rely on a rare few of the local officers to do their job correctly, but with this seemingly predetermined verdict, it is clear we cannot rely on our sixth amendment right to fair trial. 


Reported by Kara Dumitru

    I've had two bits of advice sent to me recently for the gossip section but it feels as if there should be more attention brought to this! Both reports mention a police captain in the arms of a rumored Immortal. The twist is that its not one police captain, its both!

   Captain Ming Yheng hasn't always had the cleanest past and its no secret she really didn't work for the force before being hired as co-captain for the department. Its also no big surprise that some of her supposed family even have a record or work for the seedier businesses in town. Just the other night, I was informed from an anonymous source that Captain Yheng is sharing a bed with none other than Asmus Zero, a supposed member of the gang "Immortals". This recent bit of information serves to help confirm that her loyalties lie with the criminals of the island rather than its good citizens. 

    One Captain involved with criminals is enough to raise question, but it seems that even Captain Luke Morningstar is involved with a member of the Immortals. It is said that a few weeks ago Captain Morningstar was seen outside the doors of the Aristocrat with Kayla Calhern, a psychiatrist at the hospital and a suspected gang member. 

    It seems the interaction trickles even further down the ranks with hints that one of the Sergeants is dating Dr Gael Zero, confirmed family member of some of the Immortals. This, along with the previous accusations, are all hearsay at this point in time and need to be looked into further for validation. 

Reported by Kara Dumitru

​*You know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you still remember dreaming? Between Bed and that First mug of Coffee, that place where you aren't quite ready for a shower? That's where the TV turns on and Eyes tune into the local CH 68 For news and weather. Somehow you find yourself here as the scene comes up.* 

*Standing at the familiar sight of the Coast Guard Dispatch Center where numerous uniformed DEA officers are unloading what looks like large tubs sealed with red "Evidence Seal" tape is Kaylynn Garcia, the camera panning around to show several other men being loaded into a large Police truck to be taken away*  

Kaylynn: "Campbell returned to port after a two month counter drug cruise with Coast guard naval officers and DEA officials on board.  During this time they have seized an estimated one-hundred Sixty million dollar haul in illegal drugs.  Primarily cocaine and Heroin that was being smuggled on board numerous vessels.  As you can see behind me the crew of the last ship seized in this endeavor are being taken away for processing and questioning, and the narcotics will be held as evidence and eventually disposed of."  

*The Screen shows some file footage of video taken of the Various drugs piled up outside the containers as if on display with many bricks of the illegal substances before cutting back to Kaylynn*  

Kaylynn: "The Coast Guard and DEA report that no agents were killed in the two month endeavor, and only one injured when he slipped on a wet deck and fell on his side fracturing his arm in the process. Live from Coast Guard Bay area dispatch, I'm Kaylynn Garcia."  

*The camera cuts back to the main news desk with Ariana Bening and Raymond Wages* 

Raymond: "Quite an impressive haul. Nearly two hundred million in illegal narcotics.  Bet that put somebody in a bad mood south of the border."  

Ariana: "Not all drugs come from south of the border Ray."  *She smirks as he rolls his eyes a bit*  "But speaking of things that do come across the borders.  Here's Tammi Bean filling in for Wilbert Woods with the latest weather coming in from Canada and all points south.  Tammi?" 

*The camera pans over to Tammi standing in front of the weather map...holding her hand up with a little Sock puppet on it making "Rawr Rawr" Noises and Miming the puppet biting at the Precipitation radar clouds.  Wearing her usual revealing outfit just this side of shameless with low front and high skirt, and a scarf about her neck that in front of the Screen blacks out her neck and part of her shoulder as being part of the background.  Poor girl hasn't learned not to wear green in front of the screen yet.*  

Tammi: "Rawr...Rawr...Chomp Chomp take that green stuff....Hrm?!?"  *She looks up blinking as somebody tells her that's her cue*  "Oh...OH!  HIIIII Everybody! "  *She turns and waves the sock puppet at the screen it's eyes googling all over the place as she does*  "That's right we have lots and lots of weather coming in...I really don't know where we're going to put it all! Hopefully we can give a lot of it away before we get filled up with all this.  Anyway! "  

*She Smiles big and moves like Vanna White to motion to the board...Remembering the Sock puppet and taking it off her hand to stick down her front so she has a Googly-eyed monster bursting out of her ample cleavage*  

Tammi: "So for today we have Really really good temperature circles.  Like lots of them even with all the rain and clouds.  getting to be in the Eighty-five little circles by the afternoon!  But the rain keeps coming all through the day making it really difficult to enjoy the heat.  Tomorrow those clouds stick around but let up to be just cloudy in the afternoon with the temperature sending us lots of little circles, getting near ninety of them! But with a lot of humidity...That's going to make my hair look all poofy....Heh...Poofy...POOOfy..." 

*She seems to drift off a bit stroking her hair and then blinks*  

Tammi: "Oh yes...Wednesday is when the sun comes back for tanning with light clouds all over and ninety three little circles as the high amount.  But Thursday has to be a buzzkill and bring back rain and clouds and other showers with only Seventy Nine little circles for us."  *She pouts and stops bouncing a bit but the googly eyes on the puppet keep moving*  "And Friday isn't much better with bringing in some thunder storms and cold winds only Seventy Five little circles expected that day.  which is still a lot but not nearly as good as Wednesday.  Then Saturday and Sunday come along to save the day with sunshine and back to Eighty nine and Ninety Eight little circles to make for a big happy weekend! So lets everybody say Yaaay for Wednesday and Saturday and Sunday for being great and booo on Thursday and Friday for not playing nice!"  

*The camera cuts back over to Aria and Ray who are trying to keep from laughing it seems*  

Raymond: "As always Tammi, thank you and well done."  *The camera focuses more on Ray as Ari covers her Mic and holds her hand over her mouth to muffle her giggles*  "have you visited Arcadia Park recently?  If so you might have seen new signs put up prohibiting Electric Bicycles on certain trails.  With that story we go to Dean Knopinski.  Dean?"  

*The camera cuts to Dean holding his microphone with one hand, a Electric motor powered bicycle with his other hand standing in front of the sign prohibiting electric or other motorized vehicles o the trail behind him*  

Dean: "Thanks Ray.  Electric bicycles have become increasingly popular here in the last couple of years, especially with people who don’t have as much strength or stamina as they used to but would still like to cycle around the park. The Rangers say that's fine, so long as they stick to the paved roads such as Big Loop, Small Loop or any of the Gravel firetrail roads.  But electric bikes are not permitted on the park’s 45-mile network of carriage roads."  

*The camera shows a Overview map of the park indicating which roadways are listed as such marked out in brilliant Orange on the relief with Dean speaking in voiceover*

Dean: ~Voiceover~ "Park regulations state that the carriage roads are closed to all motorized vehicles except for sections of roads where snowmobiles are allowed. Originally conceived and designed as a way of enjoying the mountains and lakes separate from motor vehicles.  Visitors can travel the historic carriage road system with its bridges and gatehouses and have a truly unique experience free from the distraction of motor vehicles. The ban applies to 
modes of transportation with internal combustion engines and to electric vehicles such as Segways, eBikes and hoverboards."  

*As each method is listed a Image of them appears on the screen with a "No" X Marking them out as the Image Cuts back to Dean on the trail entrance*  

Dean:  "The management challenge has been in determining what constitutes a motor vehicle. Electric bikes are equipped with a lithium-ion battery and a motor that supplements the rider’s own muscle power, providing an extra boost. You can set it up for whatever terrain you’re riding, If it’s hilly, there’s a power mode that helps get you up over the hills. It’s about being able to make the hills without moaning the whole time." 

*he demonstrates the different settings on the handlebars and then Climbs on the bike Starting to move away as the camera keeps on him* 

Dean: "So the next time you want to take grandpa or Grandma out for a ride make sure you OMPH!!! ~~BLEEEEP~~"  

*He curses as the bike propells him into a low hanging branch near the edge of the pathway.  Clotheslining him and sending him falling backwards...Keeping his Grip on the handlebars the bike topples up on it's hind wheel and flips with him landing on top of him and Still running with a WHRRRRRR noise kicking up some dirt and gravel.  The Camera cutting back to the News Desk*  

Raymond:  "I'm sure he'll be fine."  

Ariana:  "One of the stories we have been following is a Hike on sales tax coming before the State legislation when it comes to the selling of Recreational marijuana. Several localities still have it legalized for recreational sales, and now representatives at the state level, many from districts that have enacted a moratorium on it, are pushing legislation to add an additional sales tax on it similar to the hike done to cigarette sales over the past years. There's no word on whether the governor will sign this legislation if it passes or not.  We'll have a full story on that after the break."  

Raymond:  "Also after the Break.  Cruise Ship Moratorium for docking. Why you may be waiting a long time before seeing the big ships pulling up and disembarking passengers. Whale Deaths Raise Concerns. Oceanographers are concerned about six whales on the critically endangered list having been found dead, what this may mean and the suspected cause. Also the Skipper finally sentenced for shooting a seal. And of course Nacho Mama's Vandalized with numerous posters stuck to the outside with the words 'Szechuan sauce matters!' So far no group has taken responsibility or claim for this or what it means.  More on that and more, after these messages.  "

~Cut to Commercials~ 

    We've seen several calls for justice lately but the stories from concerned citizens have yet to slow. Is Asphyxiation Point reaching a breaking point and spiraling into chaos? We've had months of discord and about the time we think it is safe to step outside our doors again, we are swiftly corrected with a shoot out or bombing or torturous kidnapping. 

   In the last few weeks, I've tried to reach out to the officers of our town and get some answers on these events. Sadly, I was dodged by most until Officer Eli Vicente kindly set aside some time to speak with me. While he did mention that the cells below had been nick named "Hotel Yheng" before Captain Ming Yheng stepped up, he did say that the officers have been working almost day and night to keep the citizens of Asphyxiation Point safe. He also somewhat repeated Captain Luke Morningstar's sentiment that the police rely on the people as much as we rely on them, but it seems the people have "this  Bonnie and Clyde hero worship of terrible people, a fascination with serial killers. And they aren't bad people, they just... have these... fetishes." If we expect our fine officers to aid us, we have to help them by giving statements and not withholding evidence. There are many cases that just get forgotten because witnesses will not step forward and victims change their minds about pressing charges. 

   Another officer finally came forwards as well, but wishes to remain anonymous. The officer did notify me that the DA will be moving forward with some of the backlogged cases so that some of these criminals can finally meet justice. The first of these cases will be auto shop owner, Xelan Morgath, who is to be brought up on charges of kidnapping, criminal threatening, and disorderly conduct. The other case is Asmus Zero who is being charged with murder in the first degree, assault with a deadly weapon, assaulting a police officer, and resisting arrest. 

   When I contacted District Attorney Martinho Larsson, he stated he didn't have anything on his desk at the moment and declined any further comments. Perhaps he is just doing his job and not giving out information that could alert these criminals? Maybe he is not going to pursue criminal action against known felons? Could it be the information the officers gave me is false?

    One concerned citizen sat down with me the other day and when the subject of the Immortals came up they mentioned " Anyone with the last name Zero or Calhern should would likely be a concern to the public. The medical director at APH is a high official in the group. Since he is running the group and the hospital he has hired on a number of others that are known attackers and rapists. As far as I know they are able to come and go as they please. They also have access to medical files and patients when they are most vulnerable making APH for the most part unsafe and corrupt."

    With all the conflicting information and the recent bombing, its time to dig a little deeper. I went straight to the center of some of these stories and asked Dr Gael Zero to speak with me on these matters and he willingly obliged. 

Kara Dumitru: "As head of the local hospital, have you seen a rise in patients? Are you adequately equipped to handle all the shootings and things like the van bombing the other day?" 

Gael Zero: "So far we are able to handle the difficulties, and when there is a complication to big for us, there are stronger equipped hospital in reach. Criminality has always been a high factor why my beds are filled"

Kara Dumitru:  "There are some whispers about town that some of these criminal responsible for the victims in your bed actually work on your staff? Is this true? Do you require any sort of background checks in your hiring process?"

Gael Zero: "When I hire my staff, yes, I do a check upon them, criminal records, where they come from, if their reference is honorable or not. However, no matter how hard I do try to fend corruption, its not always in my control"

Kara Dumitru: "I guess another side of the question is do any of your patients get favoritism over others?"

Gael Zero:  ""I don't really like what you are insinuating here, every patient is equal and every one gets fair treatment regardless what happened, or where they come from"

Kara Dumitru: "Its my job to ask the uncomfortable questions so, there are rumors you are associated with a group called the Immortals. Is there any truth to that?"

Gael Zero: "That rumor comes from many sides and usually I give the same answer as I normally give. Some are family and.. family you can't pick. I do not approve what they do, however up until now, I have not turned my back against them either. And yes, I said up until now" 

    Some of my questions seemed to offend Dr Zero but, some of the officers had not been to pleased either. It is understandable that, for legal reasons, not all information is available to the public but this muddled mess of truth and lies leaves the citizens at risk.  We here at the Times promise to keep digging and reaching out! If you have any information regarding criminal activity, please report it to the police first then give us a call!

Reported by Kara Dumitru