ICE agents have reportedly claimed to be police officers to gain consent to enter a person’s home – a tactic that is viewed as unethical, but within the powers granted to the officers. Civil rights groups supported Kalra’s bill, looking to stymie the Trump administration’s promise to use any and all available tools to deport undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes. Many groups fear Trump will expand deportations to include all undocumented immigrants, their families and relatives.   read more

Dr. Raymond Patterson said it before—over and over again for years—but he probably won’t be saying it again: California prison conditions are so bad, they lead to an intolerably high inmate suicide rate. On Wednesday, the court-appoint mental health expert filed yet another scathing report , with five other experts, on the state’s miserably overcrowded prisons and said it would be his last because “further recommendations are futile.”   read more

Judge A. Wallace Tashima said Hamid Hayat was being punished for a crime that hadn’t been committed and called the case “a stark demonstration of the unsettling and untoward consequences of the government’s use of anticipatory prosecution as a weapon in the ‘war on terrorism.’ ” The judge said the government’s case was “largely based on dire, but vague, predictions that he might commit unspecified crimes in the future.”   read more

The Southern California branch of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) was expelled by the national parent association this week, bringing to an end a pay-to-play scandal that stretched back to 2010. The local bureau, largest in the nation, claimed it was just following orders when it bumped up the ratings for dues-paying members, an allegation denied by the home office in Arlington, Virginia.   read more

Although it’s been more than a year since the Legislature passed a law requiring the state Medical Board to post a list of all the outpatient centers, their doctor-owners and other pertinent accreditation information, the board’s effort is a dismal failure, according to separate studies by Consumers Union and KPCC public radio.   read more

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

Apparently the cost of outraging a city’s municipal leaders, insulting religious groups and stirring up culture bias is around $5,000. That’s what the San Francisco Muni system says it will donate to the local Human Rights Commission to balance revenues received from the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) for its inflammatory anti-Islam ads posted this week on buses in the city.   read more

Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit organization that advocates on a range of issues— including political reform, insurance, health care, and energy—alleged conflicts of interest among senior officials at the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) last week and said they should be fired.   read more

A novel approach by neighborhoods concerned about sex offenders in their midst may usher in a golden age of pocket parks, but its contribution to public safety remains up for debate. The city of Los Angeles is building three tiny parks in two communities that are home to clusters of convicted sex offenders, in an effort to drive them away. Jessica’s Law prohibits persons convicted of sex crimes from living within 2,000 feet of a park or school, greatly limiting their ability to find housing.   read more

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

The California Coastal Commission unanimously rejected a plan by the U.S. Navy for explosives and sonar training last week, saying damage to whales and other sea life was badly underestimated. But the Navy ignored similar opposition in 2007 and 2009, according to the Associated Press, and if they decide to go ahead with the plan the commission may have no recourse but to sue.   read more

Two Californians accused of directing the fraudulent notarization of mortgage foreclosure documents had their case thrown out by the judge, who objected to prosecutors characterizing it as forgery and introducing "irrelevant and highly inflammatory evidence" about how the evictions affected the homeowners.   read more

One month after lawmakers said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was sitting on a document that indicated operators of the San Onofre nuclear plant knew in advance about potential problems at the troubled facility, a redacted version was released to the public last week. Upon review, critics detected the acrid smell of a smoking gun while plant designer Mitsubishi and operator Southern California Edison seemed satisfied they had complied with all regulatory requirements.   read more

Bankrupt San Bernardino doesn’t want to give the state $528.9 million it says it is owed, but it’s not necessarily because the city is, you know, bankrupt. City officials say the state is wrong in pursuing millions from its now-defunct redevelopment agency, claiming that the assets reside in forms and in places that can’t be touched. State Controller John Chiang wants the money.   read more

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

Jane Fonda can come out of hiding. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) says the U.S. cannot target the actress and author with a Hellfire missile while she is in the country, despite what fellow Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) implied during his 13-hour filibuster Wednesday in Washington, DC.   read more

The three most onerous work commutes in the country, depending on how you measure them, are in California, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. If you measure the trek by the highest mean distance traveled, the Top Three in the country are San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara and Salinas.   read more