Controversies
Governor Brown Tells Critics of His Delta Twin-Tunnel Plan to “Shut Up”
Speaking of his critics on the Delta project, Governor Brown told the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) this week, “Until you put a million hours into it, shut up, because you don’t know what the hell you are talking about.” His remarks, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, were greeted with laughter and applause. read more
Drought Killed More Than 12 Million Forest Trees Last Year; Lawns Are Next
The State Water Resources Control Board adopted sweeping water restrictions Tuesday that will strongly encourage homeowners to crisp their lawns and urbanites to cut their water use 25%, on average, as per Governor Jerry Brown’s executive order on April 1. The regulations will take effect in the summer, when outdoor sprinkling usually accounts for 50% to 80% of residential water use. read more
Huntington Beach Is the First City to Repeal Plastic Bag Ban
Councilman Mike Posey told the conservative website Breitbart, “It’s a freedom issue. . . . Litter from plastic bags is caused by misuse and not use, and I object to punishing everyone because some people choose to litter.” Posey is talking about the estimated 10 billion plastic bags that California dumps in the environmental every year. The city staff projected that the number of plastic bags in use locally each year could increase from about 5.1 million to 104 million after repeal. read more
State Blows Deadline for Taking Guns from Felons and Mentally Ill
The state Department of Justice (DOJ) said it had spent 40% of the $24 million allocated but has only seized weapons from 17% of the people and might reach half by the deadline in June 2016. Officials asked for understanding, more money and another three years at a state Senate budget subcommittee hearing last week. read more
Phone App Lets Users Send Video of Police Actions to ACLU for Safekeeping
“Anyone interacting with law enforcement should announce that they are reaching for a phone, and that they are attempting to access the app to record the exchange,” the ACLU warns. Some would say users’ safety relies, to some extent, upon how the police respond to some a pronouncement, although it is against the law for them to grab and destroy a camera or videographer. read more
Caltrans, Not Quake Threat, Blocks Millennium Hollywood Skyscraper Project
Caltrans publicly expressed concerns in May 2011 that the project might cause vehicles to queue up on surface streets waiting to hop on the ever-clogged 101 Freeway. In December 2012, after reading the city’s draft EIR, the agency conveyed a series of “major concerns” about its traffic analysis. “The city was not entitled to disagree with Caltrans,” the judge said. read more
L.A. County Settles with the Feds over Sheriff’s Harassment of Minorities
When the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Los Angeles County in 2013 for the wretched way its Sheriff’s Department systematically treated minorities in the Antelope Valley cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, it recommended a $12.5 million figure as compensation for the abused. The county signed off on a settlement that puts aside just $700,000 for people whose civil rights had been violated. The deal also includes a list of department reforms for training and use of force. read more
American Workers Clash with Homeland Security Dept. over Hiring of Spouses of Foreign Workers
A group of former Southern California Edison computer workers who were replaced by foreign workers on H-1B guest-worker visas sued DHS, contending the visa program violates immigration laws and unfairly hurts them get new jobs.The utility forced the workers about to be laid off to train their foreign replacements in order to qualify for severance benefits. Starting May 26, they will compete in the computer job market with H-4 visa holders. read more
Parents Flunk Survey About New School Standardized Testing
The 11th annual education survey by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that 55% of public school parents had heard nothing about the computer-based Smarter Balanced Assessment System being rolled out. Thirty-six percent had heard a little about them and 8% said they heard a lot. The Common Core-like tests of math and English are replacing paper-and-pencil exams, which had more multiple choice questions and less critical thinking and writing. read more
This Season's Crop of Medical Marijuana Bills May Be the Last Before the Storm
Senate Bill 643, with the tentative support of California NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and other medical marijuana advocates, passed its first legislative hurdle on April 20, the counterculture pot holiday 4/20. Like its predecessors, the bill establishes a licensing system for cultivation, distribution, transportation and testing that have been haphazardly attended to by local government. read more
Realtors Kill Ellis Act Eviction Reform in Legislature—Again
The bill would have preserved affordable housing and limited evictions by forcing new property owners to wait five years before invoking the 1986 Ellis Act, which lets landlords evict tenants and sell the apartment buildings. The Act was originally intended as a way to allow landlords to exit the rental business without undue hardship. But speculators have used it to flip buildings in San Francisco’s overheated real estate market and driven eviction rates higher. read more
European Hospitals Got Medical Alerts on Deadly Scopes 2 Years Before U.S.
Olympus sent out warning letters in January 2013 to hospitals across Europe, asking them to sign and return a form acknowledging they were spreading the word about difficulty in cleaning the specific part of the scope. But, somehow, the word did not make it across the giant watery expanse that separates the two continents in any meaningful way, although it was not totally unknown. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told the Times it learned of the European letters last summer, read more
Blind Passengers Can Sue Uber over Bias and Treatment of Their Dogs
The plaintiffs claimed to be aware of at least 30 instances of discrimination and abuse. The lawsuit cited instances of Uber charging blind passengers a cancellation fee after drivers refused to accommodate their guide dogs. The fees were refunded after the passengers complained in writing. One blind woman was allegedly denied a ride 12 times and others were abandoned in inclement weather when the driver saw their dogs. read more
Oakland Cops Escape Discipline Because of “Broken, Haphazard” Process
Oakland lost arbitrations "time and again" because the City Attorney's office "has generally done a poor job of representing the City’s interests,” according to the report by court-appointed investigator Edward Swanson. In addition to doing a lousy job of representing the city in disciplinary cases, the office has a “dysfunctional” relationship with the police department that “has only exacerbated problems with the discipline system.” read more
Delta Survey of Once Dominant Smelt Finds Just One
The end is near for Delta smelt in the wild. They were once the most abundant fish in the estuary. While they will be mourned, their passing will be accompanied by a certain horror at what the demise of this indicator fish means for the Delta ecosystem. They were the poster child for short-sided neglect and awful water policy, and the vanishing canary in the coal mine warning of impending devastation. read more
Chamber of Commerce Prepares for the War on “Job Killers”
Last year, 24 of the 27 bills targeted by the chamber ended up in “The Graveyard,” despite a distinct minority of Republican lawmakers. So, the April release of its preliminary list of 16 new targets is not without interest, although the moniker may not be appropriate. A study analyzing 381 "job killer" stories in mainstream media concluded that fewer than 10% justified use of the term, read more