ICE agents have reportedly claimed to be police officers to gain consent to enter a person’s home – a tactic that is viewed as unethical, but within the powers granted to the officers. Civil rights groups supported Kalra’s bill, looking to stymie the Trump administration’s promise to use any and all available tools to deport undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes. Many groups fear Trump will expand deportations to include all undocumented immigrants, their families and relatives.   read more

Californians for Population Stability (CAPS) has been trying to save the Earth by attacking immigration and multiculturalism since 1986, so it's not surprising that the group has embraced Earth Day today with particular zeal. The Santa Barbara-based nonprofit CAPS has been running an ad on television for a week in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego blaming immigrants for the state's water shortage, traffic congestion, air pollution and general environmental degradation.   read more

The judge called her 2005 exclusion an “inexcusable error” and noted, “At long last, the government has conceded that plaintiff poses no threat to air safety or national security and should never have been placed on on the no-fly list.” But Alsup said he read the classified information cited by the government and “if accurate, warranted denial of the visa.” However, Ibrahim and her lawyers can't see it because of the “state secrets privilege.”   read more

Venture capitalists poured money into California startup companies in the first quarter of 2014 at a rate not seen since the dot-com burst in 2001 that ended moments later in bust. Eight of the Top 10 recipients of investor largesse are based in California. Of course, there are bubbles and there are BUBBLES. Even if venture capitalists keep up the first-quarter pace for a year, they won't have invested half of the $100 million poured into startups in 2000.   read more

The decision came after it received 13,000 letters protesting the three-day February event at which around 40 coyotes were shot and submitted for prizes. Thousands of such contests reportedly take place across the country, but California tends to discourage killing contests in the wild. However, the fact is, just about anyone with a hunting license in the state can kill as many coyotes as they want any time and any place they can shoot a gun.   read more

A few refineries are experiencing problems after making the annual switch to spring fuels. The price of ethanol, a component of California gas, is soaring on the heels of failed Midwest corn crops. Turmoil in the Ukraine has oil companies nervous and Tuesday’s “blood moon” has made everyone insane. One of those explanations is more ludicrous than the others, but all are suspected of being somewhat short of truthful by cynics who have watched the oil industry whipsaw California for decades.   read more

An investigation began last year after an anonymous tip to the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), according to the Monterey County Weekly. As Monterey County Deputy DA Dije Ndreu pointed out, “It's more expensive and a lot more work to do the proper channels and send it off as hazardous waste.”   read more

A new book by journalist Jo Becker reveals that Cooper learned his stepdaughter Ashley was gay as the legal fight careened through state and federal courts on its way to Washington. That apparently didn't stop him from arguing, “It is reasonable to be very concerned that redefining marriage . . . as a genderless institution, could well lead, over time, to harms to that institution and to the interests that society has always has always used that institution to address.”   read more

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Saturday that the company that designed the bridge warned Caltrans in 2010 that welds holding the road deck together were at risk because the agency let the builder proceed with mismatched Chinese-manufactured steel sections. Just days before, the Sacramento Bee reported that a key cable—with 137 steel strands—and connecting rods were already rusting because chambers designed to be airtight and watertight were not.   read more

An Arizona-based political organization funded almost entirely by the conservative Koch brothers—and that was fined for laundering political contributions in California—was awarded tax-exempt status by the IRS despite the agency knowing this. “Social welfare” groups are not eligible for tax exemption if they spend the majority of their money on politics. But Americans for Responsible Leadership, which had received 98% of its money from a Koch group, received that status from the IRS.   read more

The report by USPIRG's Education Fund found that states in general “are making progress toward comprehensive, one-stop, one-click transparency and accountability for government state spending.” But that assessment does not include California. California residents have no way to search contracts and expenditures by recipient, keyword or agency. And there is no web-based data on economic development, including public benefits, tax-expenditure reports and recouped funds.   read more

The decision affirms a proposal by the department last August to allow 10 parts per billion (ppb) of the chemical made famous by the movie Erin Brockovich in 2000, although CalEPA suggested a goal in 2011 of 0.02 ppb. “A 10-parts-per-billion standard is certainly better than nothing,” said Environmental Working Group Director Renee Sharp. “But when you know that the standard is not truly protecting the public from cancer and other health impacts, it doesn't feel like a victory.”   read more

Even before the State Controller’s Office began auditing the small city of Cudahy in southeastern Los Angeles County, it was apparent he wasn’t going to like what he found. And he didn’t. Cudahy tied with the City of Industry for last place in the 2012-13 Los Angeles County Grand Jury study ranking the existence of internal financial controls in its 88 cities. Two city councilmembers and a former city manager pleaded guilty to bribery and extortion in 2012.   read more

The California Chamber of Commerce calls them “job killer” bills and released its annual list of the 27 most egregious affronts to common sense and oligarchy in a state where “economic recovery is still the number one issue.” The chamber, which is a symbol as well as mouthpiece for business in the state, could not have enjoyed its success at killing these bills regularly without help from Democrats.   read more

The $204-million-dollar figure is actually the report's conservative estimate on how much the city pays annually on a plethora of fees. The authors had to root around in city documents for the unpublicized information it cobbled together but suspect there is much more to be learned. “Alarmingly, we have concluded that the fees we were not able to document may exceed those we could document,” they wrote.   read more

The Associated Press reported last week that drug screening last year showed that at least 23% of prisoners had used illegal substances. The number is considered on the low side because 30% of the inmates refused to take the test despite a promise that a positive result wouldn't be held against them. Marijuana was the drug of choice, showing up in half the positive tests, followed by morphine (20%), methamphetamine (14%), amphetamines (11%) and cocaine (2%).   read more

Burls, the knotty growth found on ancient redwoods, are the focus of the wanton destruction that has left massive scars on the trees and endangered their growth and reproduction. Poachers prize the burls because they contain intricate wood patterns sought by makers of tabletops, clocks and other home furnishings. Items made from burls can fetch hundreds if not thousands of dollars, making the collection of burls a lucrative—and often illegal—trade.   read more