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

When Mark Zuckerberg announced in February that Facebook would go public and unveiled the company’s prospective board of directors, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) registered a formal objection to the all-male lineup. It wasn’t the last time CalPERS, and other California pension funds would be disappointed by Facebook.   read more

Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno was fined $50,000 by the state after one of its patients underwent a second abdominal surgery—after four painful months—that turned up a misplaced towel.   read more

At just about the same time the CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) was telling the press Thursday that the deadly 2010 San Bruno gas explosion might cost the company $1 billion, a court computer mistake inadvertently revealed for the first time a private lawsuit settlement figure from the disaster.   read more

As seemingly inexorable pressure builds in California schools for some form of teacher evaluations that encompass standardized student test scores, a bill that would have tied a statewide framework to local collective bargaining was withdrawn just before the legislative session ended last week.   read more

Marcus Garcia celebrated release from jail in Los Angeles County Monday after serving time for felony petty theft by apparently swiping a pair of inmate jumpsuit pants on his way out the door.   read more

California taxpayers are shelling out $54 million a month for use of the disabled San Onofre nuclear power plant that—by law, according to the Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC) own Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA)—must be “used and useful” in order for owner Southern California Edison to get paid. San Onofre is neither.   read more

Health officials have sent out more than 2,900 emails and letters to people who may have been exposed to the deadly hantavirus that has infected at least six visitors (two fatally) to a Yosemite campsite in California, but they may have missed opportunities twice over the past five years to mitigate the threat.   read more

A resolution passed overwhelmingly this week by the Assembly, which encourages institutions of higher learning in California to discourage anti-Semitism on campus, was attacked by free-speech advocates who think it goes too far.   read more

At first glance, it appeared that maybe Eric Eggena, a Bell city official who was fired amid a wide-ranging scandal, might be worth the $837,000 he was suing for because he apparently rarely, if ever, missed a day of work. A big chunk of the money the former director of general services is seeking is for 329 days of sick leave and vacation time he never took, in addition to severance pay.   read more

Disabled veterans waiting months for benefits is not a new story in California. Congressman Henry Waxman commissioned a report in 2004 that detailed six-month waits for Southern California vets. Veterans are still stuck in interminable waits for benefits, but now they have an alternative: move to St. Paul, Minnesota, or Lincoln, Nebraska, where the wait times are about one-third as long as California’s.   read more

Declining enrollment of historic proportions, accompanied by shrinking class offerings in California community colleges have whipsawed students and impeded their education, even as further cuts loom.   read more

Andrea Left has a new “husband” but is still collecting alimony from her old one after convincing two California courts that she never really remarried. When the Lefts divorced in 2008, stock trader Andrew Left agreed to pay his ex-wife $32,547 a month in alimony, plus $14,590 in monthly child support.   read more

Governor Jerry Brown and key lawmakers reached a deal on pension reform Tuesday that the governor says “will take public retiree benefits back to below where they were when I was governor the last time.” The Legislature is expected to vote on a finished bill by the end of the week that is expected to save between $18 billion and $30 billion over 30 years.   read more

Gregg Laskoski at U.S. News and World Reports says that California’s high gas prices are “self-inflicted wounds” caused by too few refineries, too many state regulations and too much “green” orthodoxy, which blind it to the realities of the energy market. On Tuesday, California Senator Dianne Feinstein cast aspersions upon the industry and that line of reasoning, and asked the Federal Trade Commission if gasoline prices weren’t being manipulated by corporate interests.   read more

What happens in Tijuana doesn’t necessarily stay in Tijuana, especially when it’s a sewage spill. Beaches in the San Diego area were closed on Tuesday when 1 million gallons of raw sewage washed up in Border Field State Park, Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge Shoreline and Imperial Beach after a pipe broke a mile south of the border.   read more

The city of Los Angeles has indicated a desire to bill two good Samaritans—both electrocuted while trying to save an accident victim—for paramedic services, as required by municipal ordinance. The authorities are still sorting out the horror of August 22 when the solo occupant of an SUV lost control and took out a utility pole and a fire hydrant, before leaving two good Samaritans dead and five others injured.   read more