Unusual News
Wells Fargo Typo Victim Lost His Condo and then His Life, in Court
Wells Fargo said Larry Delassus of Hermosa Beach didn’t repay the bank for two years worth of property taxes they paid for him, so it had no choice but to double his mortgage payment to recoup the lost funds.
Delassus didn’t pay that either, so they took his condo, but not before he found out that his legal problems were the result of a Wells Fargo typo that incorrectly identified him as a scofflaw. read more
Website Posts Hacked Financial Info from Celebs, Politicians—and the L.A. Police Chief
An A-list of celebrities and politicians—and Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck—have had what looks like their hacked personal ID information and, in some cases, financial records posted on an Internet website.
Beck was arguably the least famous. read more
Conservative Activist Pays $100,000 to Ex-Acorn Employee after One Smear Too Many
On Tuesday, the conservative activist agreed to pay the money to former ACORN employee Juan Carlos Vera, who was videotaped in 2009 at his office in National City, just south of San Diego, engaged in what O’Keefe depicted as illegal behavior. The heavily-edited video purported to show Vera willing to help O’Keefe smuggle underage girls into the United States to be prostitutes. read more
City of Lancaster Moves to Require Solar on Every New Home Roof
Four years ago, the Los Angeles Times was skeptical of Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris’ push for solar power and his avowed goal of eliminating the city’s carbon footprint within 10 years. The reporter called it an “unlikely development” in the “straight-laced conservative area.”
The mayor announced last week that the city will rewrite its residential building code to require all newly-constructed single-family homes to have solar panels starting January 1, 2014. read more
Scientists Find Asian, African Dust Affects California Snowfall and Water Supply
The study was part of a larger project called CalWater, which began in 2009 as a 3-year, $3 million inquiry. Lauren Morello at Climate Central describes its mission succinctly: “How do aerosols affect cloud formation and precipitation? Where are the aerosols that reach the Sierra Nevada coming from? And how will atmospheric rivers—weather systems that transport huge amounts of water across the Pacific into California—change as the climate warms?” read more
Fraud Complaints Rise, Led by Angst over Banks and Government Benefits
The Consumer Sentinel Network (CSN), an online database of complaints gleaned from hundreds of local, state, federal and foreign sources, ranked California third in identity theft complaints per capita, behind Florida and Georgia, in 2012. That’s about a 5.4% rate increase over 2011, although the state’s rank didn’t change. read more
Transgender Student Who Came Out on MTV Sues California Baptist University for Expelling Her
Domaine Javier says California Baptist University (CBU) kicked her out of school for being transgender. The school says they gave her the boot because she lied on her application form by saying she was female.
They will settle the matter in court. read more
L.A. County’s Beleaguered Top Cop Is Nation’s Sheriff of the Year
The National Sheriffs’ Association overcame whatever reservations its members may have about selecting a heavily criticized officer under investigation by the FBI and picked Los Angeles County’s top cop, Lee Baca, as its annual Sheriff of the Year.
Not everyone loved the choice. read more
Parents Sue School District for Teaching Kids Yoga
The National Center for Law & Policy (NCLP), on behalf of Stephen and Jennifer Sedlock and their two elementary school children, sued in San Diego Superior Court to suspend the yoga program already instituted in half the district’s schools. They claim it promotes Hinduism and teaches religious doctrine in place of state-required physical education. read more
L.A. County Asks Feds to Help with Tuberculosis Outbreak among Homeless on Skid Row
On Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Los Angeles County Department of Health had asked the federal government to help control an outbreak of TB that has already exposed 4,650 people.
“This is the largest outbreak in a decade,” Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, told the Times. read more
Body Found in Hotel Water Tank Leaves Guests Horrified and Queasy
The good news is that the water guests were drinking and bathing in at the Hotel Cecil in downtown Los Angeles was found to be free of disease-causing bacteria. The bad news is the tank atop the hotel roof, where the water came from, had the body of a dead woman in it for two weeks. read more
Court Gives Wiccans a Chance at Getting Chaplains in Prison
A decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit may help determine once and for all how many Wiccans—nature worshiping pagans who practice witchcraft—there are in California prisons and whether they get a chaplain to attend to their religious needs. read more
Bag of Uncounted November Ballots Found in Warehouse Won’t Affect Election
Thousands of California ballots cast in the election last November will never be counted. Late postmarks, questionable signatures and other anomalies doomed thousands of vote-by-mail ballots, as they do every year.
But at least 407 perfectly fine ballots also weren’t counted because of a snafu in Sacramento County, where election workers found an unopened, sealed bag of ballots sitting on a shelf in a warehouse. read more
Ex-San Diego Mayor O’Connor’s Billion-Dollar Gambling Habit Lands Her in Court
O’Connor pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge Thursday after agreeing to a plea deal that lets her try to pay back $2.1 million she took from her deceased husband Robert O. Peterson’s charitable foundation to cover gambling debts. She has two years to make good on her promise or prosecution could resume. read more
Motorcyclists Who Want to Split Lanes Should Drive Slow and Not be Old
There appear to be two kinds of motorists in California: those who hate motorcyclists who dart between lanes … and motorcyclists.
Now the state has a manual, produced by the California Highway Patrol, which settles once and for all the rules of the road for “motorcyclists who are competent enough riders to lane split.” read more
Catholic Church Considers Launching Fund-Raising Campaign Even as Scandal Swirls
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times wrote that the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese was considering launching a campaign to raise $200 million for its coffers, depleted by a $660 million settlement in 2007 with hundreds of alleged priest abuse victims, and legal costs for its ongoing priest abuse scandal. read more