Top Stories
Six California Cities on State’s Financial High-Risk Watch List
Chico, Monrovia and Ridgecrest got the light touch, but Hemet, Maywood and Richmond will be heavily scrutinized. The auditor made the determinations after reviewing 450 cities for the “potential of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement, or . . . major challenges associated with their economy, efficiency, or effectiveness.” read more
FBI Bugged San Mateo County Courthouse Steps to Catch Foreclosure Bid-Riggers
Defense lawyers filed a motion this month in U.S. District Court to suppress more than 200 hours of warrantless recordings made outside the front of the San Mateo County courthouse in Redwood City. They also want tossed any evidence that might be related to information on the recordings. They argued their clients had a reasonable right to believe they were having private, unbugged conversations in public space, behavior protected by the Fourth Amendment. read more
Chronic Homelessness up 55% in L.A. Area over Two Years
More than one-third of the country’s chronically homeless people and 21% of all homeless folks live in California. Many of them are in the L.A. area, where chronic homelessness grew 55% since 2013, the report said. That’s the biggest jump in the nation. Much of the HUD data used in the report was extrapolated from a street count conducted over three days in January. read more
Gas Leak in Los Angeles―a Fourth of State’s Methane Emission―Won’t Be Plugged Soon
On Friday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a 3-page report that the methane being released from a Southern California Gas well’s 40-year-old broken pipe 8,750 feet below the ground is not only making San Fernando Valley residents at Porter Ranch nauseous, it’s making a mess of the air. An attempt to plug the month-old leak failed and a new well is being drilled to intercept the natural gas. read more
“Misuse” of Data Accessed by Law Enforcement Network Draws Skimpy Oversight
The EFF, using the California Public Records Act, found that cases in which data in an investigation was misused doubled in the past five years to a total of 389. Most of the perps were peace officers and more than 20 of the cases resulted in criminal charges being filed. These numbers are only a small indication of the problem, since the only incidents included are self-reported by government agencies. And not all agencies deign to file their mandatory annual misuse disclosures. read more
85,000 More Ripped-Off Corinthian Students Can Dump Their Loans
Most of the students, attendees at Corinthian schools between 2010 and 2013, were in California at Everest College and WyoTech. “Corinthian preyed on vulnerable students who are now buried under mountains of student debt,” California Attorney General Kamala Harris said. “Today’s joint investigation findings will expand the pool of Corinthian students eligible for streamlined student loan relief options.” read more
SoCal Water District Goes Island Shopping in the Delta
The district has no intention of pursuing the present owner’s goal of building reservoirs that could store 70 billion gallons of water during wet years. MWD General Manager Jeff Kightlinger said the islands could facilitate building the $15.3-billion twin tunnels under the Delta that Governor Brown wants by reducing eminent-domain needs and providing a storage place for construction dirt. read more
Governor Pegs Another Year of Drought Measures to El Niño
Governor Jerry Brown issued a new executive order Friday that extends to November 1, 2016, the drought restrictions he announced last April after declaring a state of emergency three months earlier. But the extension doesn’t kick in if the four-year drought is deemed over by January 31. The governor did not mention El Niño is his order, but many in the climate biz think it will drench the state beginning in January and ending in March. read more
California’s Death Penalty Reanimated on a Legal Technicality
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District unanimously overturned U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney’s 2014 ruling that California’s entire death penalty process was unconstitutional because of all the delays and arbitrariness. Judge Carney said it violated the Eighth Amendment ban on “cruel and unusual punishment.” read more
Shootings by L.A. Police Are Nearly Double This Year, but Info Is Limited
Shootings by Los Angeles police officers have nearly doubled this year, to 45, according to the city's police commission, and 19 civilians have been killed. But, in keeping with the nation's practice of secrecy about police shootings, those were about the only numbers made available during a wild commission meeting Tuesday. read more
Medi-Cal Cancer Patients Get Lousier Care and Die More Often
A new study from UC Davis’ Institute for Population Health Improvement found that cancer patients covered by Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid, died more often and weren’t as likely to receive recommended treatment. Their health results were similar to people without insurance. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the state and nation. read more
California Proposes a One-Drug Solution to Re-Animate the Death Penalty
In December 2006, 11 months after Clarence Ray Allen became the eleventh, and last, man executed in California using drugs, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel shut down California’s administration of lethal injection. He found numerous deficiencies in the drugs used, how they were administered, the awful prison conditions and the generally inept handling of executions. But the judge invited the state to keep trying, which it did. read more
San Francisco Voters Love Their Airbnb
Prop. F would have limited short-term home and apartment rentals to 75 days a year, and require all the owners to register with the city and pay hotel taxes. The law would have empowered private citizens to sue violators living within 100 feet of them. Airbnb, and short-term rental outfits like it, have been blamed for a host of urban ills, including rising prices and fewer available rental units.. read more
36% of Californians Don’t Know They’re Missing Out on Free Obamacare Money
“This lack of understanding of the subsidy is a striking finding,” Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee said. He contrasted it to the fact that 16% of a random sample―in a survey (pdf) of 2,200 California legal residents between 18 and 64―didn’t realize they will be penalized if they don’t sign up. read more
Money to Decommission San Onofre Nuclear Plant Used Instead to Store Waste on Site
Associated Press reported over the weekend that already-shuttered plants, like the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station between San Diego and Los Angeles, have been dipping into funds for decommissioning facilities in the future, with the government's blessing, to pay for storing on site the spent fuel the feds failed to take off their hands as promised.
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Researchers Are 99.9% Sure of Major L.A. Earthquake Within Three Years
The researchers drew their conclusion after studying the 5.1 quake in nearby La Habra on March 28, 2014. They predict an L.A. shaker of between magnitude 5 and 6.3. They used airborne radar data to measure surface deformations in the Earth's crust after the quake and concluded that pent up energy is going to be released soon. read more