Top Stories
Lots of California Voter Data in Breach of 191 Million Records Nationwide
Researcher Chris Vickery discovered the database of nearly every registered voter in the country, exposed because of a misconfiguration. The data included names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses, but not Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, passwords and other more sensitive information. DataBreaches tried to track down the database owner, but didn’t get far. read more
Drought Blows Their Cover—58 Million Trees at “Severe” Risk
Instead of counting dead trees on the ground, the researchers went airborne to measure the moisture in tree canopies across the state and compared the results to 2012. They found “severe” canopy water content (CWC) losses of at least 30% in 58 million trees. "This pool could increase into the hundreds of millions of trees,” they said. The survey also found 888 million large trees in 41,000 square miles of forest had measurable loss of canopy moisture. read more
Typo in State Law Fuels Rush by Cities to Clamp Down on Marijuana
The Los Angeles Times counted 19 cities in its neck of the woods that have restricted or banned medical marijuana dispensaries recently and said dozens more in the state are considering it. The Times said there was “panic” among medical marijuana supporters. Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer said local officials were "stampeding to restrict cultivation without adequate consideration.” read more
Massive Gas Leak Could Put Crimp in New Porter Ranch Housing Development
The unfolding disaster has put a crimp in 10-year-old plans to add 188 homes along the community's border, on lots averaging 18,500 square feet. The development is to include a new 114-acre nature preserve, with horse riding trails and other recreational opportunities. Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, as a member of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), asked for a moratorium on annexation of the property. He called the leak “catastrophic.” read more
New, but Not Unexpected, Technology Derails State’s Plan to Squelch Prison Cellphones
The 2012 report by the California Council on Science and Technology said the system wouldn’t block 4G, Wi-Fi, MiFi, Skype, text messages or satellite transmissions. It can’t triangulate radio signals, limiting its effectiveness in identifying specific phones or users. And radio frequency leakage could interfere with regular cellphone usage, affecting the public’s access to 911 operators. But the state forged ahead, installing the system at 18 prisons before deciding it wasn’t working. read more
Inspector General Dings Solano State Prison for “Inadequate” Medical Care
Among the problems, there was no process in place for patients returning from outside hospitalization to ensure that hospital discharge summaries were seen by the registered nurse case manager and the primary care provider (PCPs). “The PCPs failed to sign and date any of the hospital discharge summaries to indicate they reviewed these documents,” the report said. Consequently, several patients suffered “serious lapses in care.” read more
Sierra Snowpack Is Above Normal; Let’s Scale Back Water Rationing
The staff at the State Board of Water Resources Control said it wasn’t reacting to the weather when it announced a draft proposal Tuesday to scale back the cuts to 22% overall and shift the burden around. Sara Aminzadeh, executive director of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, wondered what the hurry was. “It sends the wrong message to move back from the conservation target.” read more
Judge Says S.F. Police Waited Too Long to Fire Bigoted Cops
San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr tried to fire the officers in April, nine months after the text messages became public, but was blocked while the court considered the officer objections. Although the public didn’t find out about the texts until last year, law enforcement knew about them as part of a separate police-corruption investigation for three years. read more
CPUC’s Busy Alt Energy Week: A “Hero” One Day, a “Goat” the Next
On Tuesday, an administrative judge for the CPUC put a smile on the face of many of those critics by leaving intact, for the most part, a net metering system that pays solar-using homeowners for their excess energy. On Thursday, the commission voted 4-1 to nearly double a fee charged to community choice customers. read more
Port of L.A. Didn’t Enforce “Green” Pollution Agreement after Expansion
Tony Barboza reported that China Shipping North America, which operates a giant 130-acre terminal near Vincent Thomas Bridge, received a waiver from the port that let it ignore an agreement requiring ships to plug into on-shore electrical outlets instead of belching out pollutants while their diesel-engines idle. The waiver was issued shortly after an environmental impact report was approved for the terminal expansion in 2008. read more
U.S. Supreme Court Makes California Favor Arbitration over Class-Actions
In a 6-3 ruling Monday, the justices reiterated that when a corporation says it will only settle disputes via arbitration, thousands of mutually-aggrieved customers cannot file a class-action lawsuit. They must individually, and expensively, engage with the company, before an arbitrator not of their choosing. That's the way the high court has ruled for years in rulings that critics say make it harder to pursue cases against companies for fraud and defective products. read more
Kern County Sued over Decision to Fast-Track Drilling Permits Without Review
Last week, a coalition of environmental and social justice groups sued the county (pdf) in Superior Court to block the zoning amendment approved unanimously by the county supervisors that authorizes “the development of up to 3,647 new oil and gas wells and extensive associated construction and operational activities, each year for 20 to 25 or more years, without any further, site-specific assessment of those activities’ health and other environmental impacts.” read more
Industry Applauds SoCal Air Board for Rejecting Staff’s Stricter Pollution Standards
On a 7-5 vote, the AQMD board rejected a staff recommendation to cut nitrogen oxide emissions by more than half over the next seven years and opted for a less-exacting standard favored by industry groups. Around 25% of the region’s smog comes from the stationary sources overseen by the AQMD. read more
State Joins Ventura County Prosecution that Began over Flaming Wastewater
An investigation turned up falsified wastewater lab analyses and other transgressions to disguise dangerous environmental situations. The Ventura County Grand Jury indicted nine people, including CEO William Mitzel. Until the blast, the facility sent supposedly treated, non-hazardous wastewater through a 12-mile pipeline to the city of Oxnard's sewage plant. Oxnard put a stop to that. read more
Hundreds Relocating to Get Away from Massive Month-Old Gas Leak
SoCal Gas said Friday that 132 families accepted relocation assistance the company was ordered to offer by the county Department of Public Health a week ago, after news of the then-3-week-old leak gained broader attention. They reportedly spent Thanksgiving in cramped San Fernando Valley hotels. Other families are hitting the road using their own resources. As of Friday, 552 households had made inquiries about terms of the relocation. read more
Judge Won’t Toss RICO Racketeering Lawsuit Against PG&E
“UET has pleaded adequately a ‘pattern of racketeering’ because it credits at least ten different acts to the direction and supervision of each individual defendant, even if they were working together,” Judge Richard Seeborg wrote. UET supplies gas to 60,000 customers in PG&E’s territory, at times using an aggressive sales force that generates complaints. read more