Controversies
State Moves Slowly on Oil Extraction Rules Favored by the Feds
When state regulators responded to criticism last year from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about lax enforcement of oil and gas drilling regulations, they tightened up rules on injection wells that included a controversial practice called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Governor Jerry Brown responded to the regulators by firing them and returning to the status quo. read more
Davis Doctor Provides Cheap Embryos, Raises Ethical Questions
In a medical field that does not lack for controversy, Dr. Ernest Zeringue of Davis appears to have broken new ground in bioethics with an innovative business model for in vitro fertilization.
Zeringue has cut the price of his services in half, and provided unheard of money-back-guarantees, by opening a new revenue stream. read more
Fed Pot Policy Takes Environmental Toll on Unregulated Farms
While medical marijuana dispensaries, blessed by state government, duke it out with U.S. Attorneys enforcing federal pot prohibition laws, growers are having their way with the land unfettered by environmental regulation. read more
Oakland Police Union Rips Department as Feds Ponder Takeover
Federal authorities are poised to take control of the Oakland Police Department more than a decade after a rogue group of officers called the Rough Riders exposed widespread deficiencies in the agency and attracted national attention by planting evidence, using excessive force and falsifying police reports. read more
San Francisco Bans Nudity in Public (Except for Street Fairs, Festivals and Parades)
Before a raucous crowd of partisans, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 6-5 to ban public nudity, except at designated parades, street fairs and festivals―like the annual gay pride event, the Bay to Breakers race and the Folsom Street Fair, which celebrates sadomasochism and other sexual subcultures. read more
Judge Won't Block Santa Monica Ban on Christmas Display
Atheists and Christians, whose nose-to-nose battle last year over holiday displays at Santa Monica’s Palisades Park in Los Angeles County received national attention, won’t get a chance to reprise their clash this year.
A federal judge this week upheld Santa Monica’s ban on all unattended private displays in city parks, effectively ending a 60-year tradition of colorful nativity scenes along the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. read more
Waste Company with History of Fines Cited for 72 Landfill Spills It Didn’t Report
Trucks bring hazardous and nonhazardous material to the Kettleman landfill from all over California, and when accidents happen they are apparently duly noted by the facility’s operator, Chemical Waste Management (CWM).
The waste company, however, doesn’t always share this information with the state and is facing heavy fines for its lack of diligence. read more
Coastal Commission Derails Dangerous Underwater Seismic Mapping near Diablo Canyon
The question before the California Coastal Commission this week was whether Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) needed to blast underwater air cannons near Morro Bay―with a lethal impact on threatened and endangered marine animals―to properly map earthquake fault lines near the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo.
The answer was not only a resounding 10-0 vote “No,” commission members questioned why the surveys were even necessary. read more
Oakland Pays $4.6 Million for Public Strip Searches but Keeps Policy on the Books
Thirty-nine men who were strip-searched in public by police from 2002 to 2009 will collect $4.6 million from the City of Oakland, but their lawyer says the city still hasn’t come up with a policy to prevent future abuse.
The Oakland City Council voted this week to compensate the men after a federal judge ruled that the searches were unconstitutional and awarded $1 million in damages and attorney fees to two other men who sued. read more
Hearing on San Onofre Nuclear Plant Cancelled on Account of Too Much Interest
A long-awaited U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission public hearing with San Onofre nuclear power plant operator Southern California Edison, scheduled for this week, was abruptly cancelled. The DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Doheny Beach begged off, citing the prospect of 500 agitated citizens descending on the facility and disrupting the hotel’s ambience. read more
Judge Blocks Human Trafficking Proposition
A federal judge, responding to a complaint that Proposition 35 is unconstitutionally overbroad, put the human trafficking initiative temporarily on hold. read more
State Medical Board Doubles Investigations of Unlicensed Medical Practice
Although the State Medical Board is quick to acknowledge in its Sunset Review Report has known for a long time that consumers are “being injured by unlicensed individuals working out of garages, back office clinics, etc.,” it has only sporadically run a separate unit for dealing with the unlicensed practice of medicine. read more
Arrested Development: Fudged Prison Population Projections Fall Short
Faced with a two-month deadline to produce a plan that meets court-ordered prison population reductions, California state officials admit that the long-term projection is for prison growth and that they exaggerated the number of low-level offenders eligible for transfer to county jails. read more
Judge Rules California Unfairly Limited Third Parties Access to Ballot
A federal judge has handed down a decision that California's rule requiring qualification for the ballot 135 days before the primary election is unconstitutionally restrictive and must be changed. read more
Charter School Business Booming in State, but Oversight of Spending is Lax
Charter schools are growing by leaps and bounds in California, but apparently without the requisite financial oversight the law requires.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of the Inspector General has released an audit of the agency’s division that oversees the burgeoning charter school industry and found that federal grants and fiscal activities were not being properly monitored. read more
Orange County Destroying 500 Guns, Leaving Just 310 Million in the Country
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department, mirroring activities across the state, is shipping 500 guns that it seized to a factory to be melted down for rebar. That leaves an estimated 310 million guns in the hands of U.S. citizens and an untold number of guns in the hands of Californians. read more