Controversies
Lancaster Mayor’s Election Mailer Recommends “No” Vote for “Gang Candidate”
The mayor’s attack on Ervin, an Air Force veteran who served in the Middle East, featured a picture of the council candidate at a 2012 rally in response to the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida under the headline, “Anti-Law Enforcement Candidate Johnathon Ervin Attacks Our Lancaster Deputy Sheriffs.”
The mailer says Ervin wants to “make Lancaster a magnet for street gangs and section 8 housing abuse once again.” read more
Owner of Gun Parts Store Refuses to Give Client List to ATF
A Southern California seller of firearms components engaged in a legal battle with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) after the agency sought the names of customers who purchased an illegal gun base. Ares Armor sold thousands of the bases, used to build the AR-15 assault weapon. The store's owner refused to comply, prompting the ATF to threaten to shut down his business. The next day ATF agents raided the store. read more
AQMD OKs Exide Plan to Stop Polluting, but Doesn't Really Believe It Will Work
The AQMD approved a plan submitted by Exide to address some of its pollution issues although agency executive officer Barry Wallerstein said he doubts Exide's “ability and/or desire” to execute it. He noted for the Los Angeles Times a string of misdeeds by the company, its poor track record at making meaningful adjustments and resistance to regulation.
He also essentially called them liars. read more
L.A. Cops Argue in Court that All Vehicles and Their Drivers Are Under Investigation
The cops argued that their arbitrary scanning and storage of license-plate information is legal because, “All [license plate] data is investigatory.” In other words, if the cops do it, it must be legal.
The EFF responded, “The agencies’ arguments would allow law enforcement to conduct around-the-clock surveillance on every aspect of our lives and store those records indefinitely on the off-chance they may aid in solving a crime at some previously undetermined date in the future.” read more
Legislation Would Give Owners Some Control of Their Car Data
Black boxes record critical data that is used to operate, repair and maintain a vehicle. The information can also be used to track and analyze the behavior of drivers and passengers in real time.
Senate Bill 994, introduced Tuesday, would require a manufacturer to give a vehicle owner access to the vehicle's data and the ability to transmit the information to a third party. read more
Bureau Overseeing Private Colleges Faces Sunset after Another Negative Review
Pronouncing the public “at risk,” the auditor noted that the bureau inspected only a fraction of the required number of institutions and then took way too long to finish the ones they did.
The auditor found 1,100 license applications that were awaiting a bureau decision, some for as long as three years. On average, the bureau took three times as long as the statutory 60-day limit to process the 3,200 applications it did look at during a three-year period ending in 2012-13. read more
100 L.A. Pot Shops Closed, Many More May Have Opened
Last week, City Attorney Mike Feuer announced that his office had closed more than 100 pot shops that weren't in compliance with the new law, which limits the number of dispensaries by various means. He said more than 300 people had been prosecuted; fines and probation were handed out, but no jail terms.
Meanwhile, the city's finance department reported that 300 more dispensaries had taken out business licenses since Prop. D took effect, although they would not be legal businesses. read more
Store Selling “Smart Gun” Surrenders to Attacks on Online Forums
This smart gun communicates with a wristwatch that comes with it. The gun user must be wearing the watch, or else the weapon won’t fire. Gun control advocates say it's a great example of gun safety that could help end the black market for stolen firearms. But that’s not how many gun owners see it. Gun-rights organizations like the NRA have long hated smart guns. Also, Smith & Wesson was nearly boycotted out of business after agreeing to develop the technology. read more
As Prison Size Goes in Wrong Direction, Counties Push Back Against State Realignment
County prosecutors are exercising their discretion and charging more offenders with second felonies, mandating a prison term and helping thwart state efforts to direct less dangerous felons to county control. Second-strike convictions had been on the decline since 1999, until realignment took hold in 2011. read more
State Finally Looks for Lead Near Exide Battery Plant and Finds Lots of It
The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) tested soil at 39 homes and two schools near the plant, which recycles up to 40,000 batteries a day, and found elevated levels of lead. Every one one of the homes, within around a half-mile of the plant, had levels exceeding 80 parts per million (ppm), the level that requires further testing. One of the homes showed 580 ppm and a Headstart program location registered 95 ppm. Averages were over 160 ppm. read more
Whistleblower at State Mental Hospital Awarded $1 Million
Melody Jo Samuelson alleged in her complaint that she was pushed to have patients declared competent “regardless of the actual competency of individuals to stand trial.” The goal was to “falsely prop up the Program’s positive results, or favorable outcomes.” Last week, a judge affirmed the jury’s decision in February that she was wrongfully terminated and, after being reinstated, was harassed as a whistleblower. read more
Two More Tesoro Refinery Workers Sprayed with Sulfuric Acid
One month after officials at Tesoro Corp.’s Golden Eagle Refinery in the Bay Area denied federal investigators access after workers were sprayed with sulfuric acid, two more workers were doused in the same area of the plant.
The incident Monday was thought to be less serious than the one February 12, but that couldn’t be confirmed because investigators for the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) say they still lack critical information from the first accident. read more
Medical Data of 168,500 L.A. County Patients Stolen from Private Company
The data included first and last names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, billing information and medical diagnoses. L.A. County Assistant Auditor-Controller Robert Campbell told the Los Angeles Times, “I'm not aware of another breach of this significance ever having occurred.”
Police said they don’t know if the thieves were after the data or even knew what they had. They presumably know now if they pay attention to news reports. read more
“Denigrated” Contractor Threatens to Pull Plug on 911 at L.A. Fire Dept.
The fire department announced earlier in the month that it was overhauling its 911 procedures and ditching the process that has dispatchers reading through a complicated list of questions with multiple complex question branches, which can take a lot of time and frustrate callers. But instead of a smooth transition, the contractor gave 60 days notice he was going to cut the city off. read more
Federal Judge Rules Lake Elsinore’s Ballpark War Memorial with Crosses Is Unconstitutional
City Council members knew that secular humanists in the Southern California community didn’t like the religious symbol and that the city attorney said it was probably unconstitutional. Now they know that a federal judge isn’t fond of it either. “The Court concludes that Lake Elsinore’s veterans’ memorial was designed without a predominantly secular purpose, and that its principal effect is to advance religion,” the judge wrote. read more
California Court Allows Drivers to Check Cellphone Maps while Driving
Steven Spriggs had appealed his conviction for using the map function on his phone while stuck in traffic on a Fresno highway. In hearings in traffic court and Superior Court, Spriggs claimed the law prohibits only talking and listening on a phone. The appeals court pointed out that when the law under which Spriggs was charged was written in 2006, smartphones with map functions weren’t common. read more