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

The Associated Press reported last week that at least a dozen permits have been issued by the state since the late ‘90s for offshore use of the controversial process, formally known as hydraulic fracturing. The drilling is taking place in Santa Barbara waters, where a giant oil spill in 1969 prompted a state moratorium on new offshore oil leases all along the coast.   read more

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s appeal for a stay while it appeals a lower-court edict—to the justices—that it shed another 9,600 inmates from its dangerously overcrowded prison system by the end of the year. The 6-3 vote was the second time the high court has ruled against the state and, although the ruling was more emphatic than the first, the Brown administration is not done.   read more

In what amounts to as much a political statement as a quest for reparations, the city of Richmond sued Chevron Corporation over the Bay Area oil refinery fire a year ago that darkened the skies with toxic smoke and sent residents scrambling for medical assistance. The introduction to the 39-page lawsuit leads with a condemnation of corporate practices that pose an immediate threat to the community and long-range threats to the planet.   read more

California Attorney General Kamala Harris and eight other state attorneys general sent a heated letter to Congress protesting a bill that has a high potential of gutting a range of environmental protections enjoyed by Golden State residents. The letter protests “unduly broad” language that would preempt state laws and “seriously jeopardize public health and safety.”   read more

The state has posted a statewide advisory that women of child-bearing age and children should stop eating bass, carp and large brown trout caught in state lakes and reservoirs because of excessive methylmercury. Women over 45 and men can eat those fish once a week. Women 18–45 and kids can eat rainbow trout twice a week, while women over 45 and men can chow down on it six out of seven days.   read more

Embattled San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, facing allegations from at least eight women that he sexually harassed them, blamed his problems on the city for failing to give him mandatory training in sexual harassment prevention required for new managers. Jay Goldstone, the city’s former interim chief operating officer, said Filner’s office cancelled the scheduled briefing, not the city.   read more

The city is strongly considering using the power of eminent domain to seize the homes, which are worth less than the amount owed on the mortgage, and sell them back to the owners at fair market prices. It would be the first city in the nation to use eminent domain in this fashion. Besides threatening court action, banks are seeking legislation at the state and federal level to snuff out the nascent movement, and revving up advertising campaigns to argue their case.   read more

Eighty-two of the top 100 publicly-traded companies in the United States, including 13 that are California-based, keep $1.17 trillion outside the country to avoid U.S. taxes, according to a new study (pdf) by the California Public Interest Research Group (CalPIRG). General Electric keeps the most money in tax havens, $108 billion, followed by California’s own Apple, at $82.6 billion.   read more

The yearlong probe implicated 56 clinics in schemes that may have ripped off the state’s version of Medicaid for $94 million over a two-year period. That’s about half the money spent through the program on drug rehabilitation for the poor. Clinics allegedly round up clients from foster care, board-and-care homes and off the street who don’t have addictions or need rehabilitation and submit paperwork based on their participation in the program.   read more

Not only does the settlement contain no admission of guilt by JPMorgan, it will have no “material impact” on JPMorgan earnings because the company had already set aside money in its reserves to cover the costs, according to the Los Angeles Times. JPMorgan had $97 billion in revenue last year. That’s billion, with a “b.”   read more

The 4-0 vote by the city council asks Governor Jerry Brown, Attorney General Kamala Harris and state environmental agencies to demand an immediate cleanup. The underground toxic stew wasn’t discovered until 2008 when testing of a nearby manufacturing plant led back to the Carousel neighborhood. Testing immediately turned up high concentrations of benzene (a recognized carcinogen) and methane (a gas that poses a fire and explosion hazard).   read more

A law enforcement task force that includes the FBI, the IRS, the U.S. Attorneys office and the Orange County District Attorney’s office is investigating allegations of widespread public corruption. It is still unclear if the probe has a particular focus. A grand jury report in May gave an indication of at least one potential target, CalOptima.   read more

The next president of the California State Bar, Luis J. Rodriguez, will be the first Latino and the first public defender elected to the position. The 46-year-old Rodriguez was born in the United States, but moved to Cuidad Juarez with his family when he was an infant and spent his first 10 years in Mexico.   read more

In years when high raisin production threatens to cause prices to fall substantially, the RAC can decide that the government should seize part of the crop and keep it off the market by storing it in “reserve,” specifically in warehouses located in California. The result should be higher raisin prices. Here’s the rub: the government often does not pay the raisin growers for the raisins seized.   read more

A video of the pepper spray incident went viral on the Internet, prompting international criticism of the confrontation, and the university’s handing of it and the aftermath. The Sacramento Bee reported in August of last year that Pike received 10,000 text messages, 17,000 emails and “numerous items being ordered delivered to his home” as a result of the publicity. Hackers posted his personal information online and he was reportedly the subject of death threats.   read more

California Attorney General Kamala Harris wants to know why the famed museum is selling 119 cars from its collection of 400 vehicles, at least 10 of which were either donated or loaned to the Petersen by the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. Members of the attorney general’s staff met with museum officials last week.   read more