1. SATURDAY, NOV. 8, 2014
1
LOCAL
1
I have a small dog, a Jack
Russell terrier named Jake.
Between his high energy
level and my strange work
hours, Jake and I take walks
at all hours of the day and
night.
Jake sees things I don’t
see and hears things I don’t
hear. Late at night as we
walk around the neighbor-
hood, he occasionally stops
and stares off into rustling
bushes.
That’s when it sets in: my
fear that he’ll be eaten by a
coyote.
I know it’s ridiculous.
Coyotes don’t wander in the
urban neighborhood where I
live.
But they didn’t used to
wander through all parts of
Seal Beach, either, or right
up near the water in Long
Beach’s Belmont Shore
area.
Coyotes in our neighbor-
hoods are nothing new, of
course. My favorite dog
park, at Seal Beach’s Arbor
Park, is next to a Los Alami-
tos neighborhood where
coyotes are a regular pro-
blem every few years. Sight-
ings are also common in ci-
These roaming coyotes remind me of dogs
SEE COYOTES ● PAGE 2
DAVID MEDZERIAN
STAFF COLUMNIST
FILE PHOTO: ANA VENEGAS,
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Residents in Seal Beach and
nearby areas are concerned
about recent coyote attacks.
MARK RIGHTMIRE, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Alan Joffe of the San Fernando Valley gets
ready for the start of the Injured Warrior Ap-
preciation Run from Orange County Harley-
Davidson in Irvine to Camp Pendleton. PAGE 5
RUNNING HOG WILD
SANTA ANA ● A chil-
dren’s book author
was found not guilty
Friday of molesting
two girls after a jury
determined that
while he may have
touched one of the
children without her
permission, there
was no indication
that he sexually assaulted
either of them.
An Orange County Supe-
rior Court jury ac-
quitted Michael
William Snyder, a
San Clemente-
based author and il-
lustrator, of felony
lewd acts and oral
copulation charges.
Instead, they found
him guilty of three
lesser, misdemea-
nor counts of battery.
Snyder, 47, sniffled and
wiped away tears after the
jury’s verdict was an-
nounced.
Outside the courtroom,
jurors told the attorneys
that while some of Snyder’s
interactions with the girls
may have been inappro-
priate, they didn’t think
there was enough evidence
to prove that he sexually
abused them.
One girl testified Snyder
had molested her when she
was12, shortly after she was
adopted
and moved
to the Unit-
ed States
fromChina.
A second
girl testi-
fied that
Snyder sex-
ually assaulted her several
times.
Both children, now in
their teens, had difficulty
remembering many details
on the stand. Jurors told at-
torneys that they believed
the second girl had been
coached to make the accu-
sations.
Snyder’s parents, who vi-
sited him every weekend
and attended the entire
trial, said they were over-
joyed at the verdict.
“The truth was re-
vealed,” said Michael’s
mother, Linda.
Bill Snyder, Michael’s
father, said the high-profile
allegations have jeopar-
dized his son’s career.
Known as “Mr. Mike,” Mi-
chael Snyder was a fre-
quent speaker at local
schools prior to his arrest.
“That was all taken away
from him,” Bill Snyder said.
Michael Snyder’s wife,
Kersti, first alerted author-
ities about the allegations.
Author found not guilty in molestation case
SEAN
EMERY
STAFF
WRITER
Snyder
SEE AUTHOR ● PAGE 4
People here illegally, particu-
larly Mexican nationals, would
have an easier time acquiring a
California driver’s license un-
der new regulations proposed
Friday by the
California De-
partment of Mo-
tor Vehicles.
The DMV re-
leased an ex-
panded list of
documents it
will accept to es-
tablish identity
and proof of re-
sidency before
issuing a driver’s license to
someone living in the country il-
legally. The state agency is rac-
ing to prepare for 1.4 million
new drivers over the next three
years. People living here illegal-
ly can begin to apply for licenses
after Jan. 1 thanks to a law
passed by California legislators
last year.
Members of the Drive Cali-
fornia Coalition welcomed the
updated regulations.
“We’ve been waiting for this
moment for 20 years, and it’s fi-
nally within our grasp,” said
Luis Nolasco of the ACLU of
Southern California. “With
these updated regulations, now
we can move forward and help
community members gather
their documents, study for the
test, and make history on Janu-
ary of next year.”
DMV officials said Friday
they are seeking emergency ap-
proval of the new rules through
the state Office of Administra-
tive Law.
Until the early 1990s, immi-
grants living in California ille-
gally could apply for licenses. In
Washington, that is still the
case. In Oregon, which was set
to begin issuing driver’s licens-
es to all, voters on Tuesday
overturned a legislative bill and
rejected driver’s licenses for
people in living the U.S. without
legal permission.
In California, the latest pro-
posed regulations would allow
Mexican nationals to prove
their identity with any one of
these: a Mexican passport is-
sued after 2007, a voter’s card
from 2013 or a consular card
known as a “matricula consu-
DMV eases
path to
licenses for
immigrants
ROXANA
KOPETMAN
STAFF
WRITER
SEE LICENSES ● PAGE 6
ANAHEIM ● Lake Forest’s Art
Sundby is a semiretired 62-
year-old who dabbles in finance.
But to his “World of War-
craft” brethren, he is a level-90
warrior.
Sundby is one of the more
than 25,000 gamers flocking to
the Anaheim Convention Cen-
ter this weekend for BlizzCon,
an annual gathering hosted by
Irvine-based Blizzard Enter-
tainment.
The sold-out, two-day con-
vention that costs $199 to attend
and ends today is offering an-
nouncements on upcoming
Blizzard video games, panel dis-
cussions, a costume contest
hosted by comedian Chris
Hardwick, and competitions in
“StarCraft II” and “Hearth-
stone: Heroes of Warcraft.”
Metallica is booked to per-
form tonight.
On Friday, attendees cheered
during the trailer of “Over-
watch,” a new team-based on-
line shooter game set in the
near future that has grabbed
the attention of the video-game
PHOTOS: KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Victoria Jones of Hesperia, dressed as a female Ragnaros, rests her feet after during the opening day of the annual BlizzCon event.
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
More than 25,000 turn out for
annual ‘Warcraft’ convention
BY ANDERS HOWMANN
STAFF WRITER
SEE BLIZZCON ● PAGE 5
After tackling online strategy and
role-playing games, Blizzard Entertain-
ment Inc. is taking aim at the shooter
genre with its first new franchise in 17
years.
Blizzard, the company behind “World
of Warcraft,” announced plans Friday to
release a multiplayer shoot-’em-up PC
game called “Overwatch.”
A beta test for “Overwatch” will
launch in 2015 and a demonstration of
the game is available at the convention
this weekend, said Blizzard’s chief of sto-
ry and franchise development, Chris
Metzen.
“You guys know that with Blizzard
games, we like to find genres and game
types that we’re in love with and take the
best elements of those and really amplify
Blizzard
reveals new
shooter game
THE ASSOCATED PRESS
SEE GAME ● PAGE 5
Dong-wook Lee,
Kohei Yano and
Hwan Park of Japan
snap a selfie with a
costumed character
at the Anaheim
Convention Center
on Friday.
SEC: Local DT: 11-08-2014 ZN: 1 ED: 1 PG #: 1 PG: Cover_B BY: jgish TI: 11-07-2014 20:22 CLR: CMYK