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

The class-action lawsuit alleged that the 249 girls were employees, not independent contractors, and were illegally forced to fork over a portion of their earnings to the club. The club claimed that it was due a percentage of tips received by the dancers to cover rent, staffing, security and advertising. The judge and jury disagreed. The law allows dancers to keep all the tip money handed to them by customers.   read more

The administration is cutting $8 billion worth of environmental improvements in the old plan down to $300 million and reducing the area of wetland and wildlife habitat restoration from 100,000 acres to 30,000, according to Associated Press. Environmentalists long complained that the delicate ecosystem was being treated as an afterthought in the state’s rush to move more water from the Delta to farmers in the Central Valley and thirsty Californians further south.   read more

When the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Los Angeles County in 2013 for the wretched way its Sheriff’s Department systematically treated minorities in the Antelope Valley cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, it recommended a $12.5 million figure as compensation for the abused. The county signed off on a settlement that puts aside just $700,000 for people whose civil rights had been violated. The deal also includes a list of department reforms for training and use of force.   read more

A group of former Southern California Edison computer workers who were replaced by foreign workers on H-1B guest-worker visas sued DHS, contending the visa program violates immigration laws and unfairly hurts them get new jobs.The utility forced the workers about to be laid off to train their foreign replacements in order to qualify for severance benefits. Starting May 26, they will compete in the computer job market with H-4 visa holders.   read more

The City of Industry, which is actually a narrow, 12-mile-long strip paralleling State Route 60, has around 400 or so residents and the government has been controlled since its incorporation in 1957 by what might easily be described as an oligarchy. The audit said that billings from companies controlled by the Perez family were poorly documented and could have included huge overpayments.   read more

The number of known entanglements doubled to 30 between 2013 and 2014. Seven were killed, seven were freed and the outcome of the others is uncertain. The count is already up to 25 this year. The actual number of entanglements is unknown because reports are based on what NOAA calls “opportunistic sightings.”   read more

A U.S. Postal Service administrative law judge said it was not his job to determine the ultimate membership of the tribe and sounded as if he didn’t really want to get involved. “The Tribe’s chaotic governance is mired in continual litigation,” he wrote in the decision. “Allegations of fraud, embezzlement, forgery, and perjury abound even within this administrative case dealing only with mail delivery.”   read more

Utah’s Community Impact Fund Board signed off on a decision earlier this month to invest $53 million in an Oakland shipping terminal nearing construction for the purpose of securing leased space for their coal. Environmentalists are not happy at the prospect, but the terminal’s project manager said there’s nothing they can do about it.   read more

A new report by PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE), profiles the Bay Area’s growing income inequality amid the region’s economic boom and projects a white San Francisco bastion of high-wage earners in 25 years, surrounded by increasing diversity and disparity.   read more

Former Blue Shield of California chief technology officer Aaron Kaufman and his ex-employer have exchanged nasty accusations of late about who did what to whom during his two-year tenure. They include raunchy pictures of his “Sharknado” actress girlfriend, thousands of dollars in personal expenses charged to company credit cards, sweetheart deals with vendors and an abrogated bonus agreement.   read more

Orange County-based Corinthian announced that its 28 remaining institutions of higher learning, often located in strip malls and office parks, are closing today, stranding their 16,000 students. For-profit companies like Corinthian target low-income students and veterans because they have access to state and federal education financial assistance. Federal money accounted for nearly half of Corinthian’s annual revenue.   read more

The 1,000-square-mile water mass, around 100 yards deep, is, on average, around 5.5 degrees warmer than surrounding ocean. The CBS San Francisco headline about the blob said it “may be making California’s drought worse.” The London Daily Mail said it “could be causing California’s mega-drought." USA Today explained “how ‘the blob’ caused USA’s weird weather.” And CBS News asked, “Could the blob end California’s drought?”   read more

The 11th annual education survey by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that 55% of public school parents had heard nothing about the computer-based Smarter Balanced Assessment System being rolled out. Thirty-six percent had heard a little about them and 8% said they heard a lot. The Common Core-like tests of math and English are replacing paper-and-pencil exams, which had more multiple choice questions and less critical thinking and writing.   read more

California has arguably the most effective data security laws in the country—and they’re not very good. Myriad important deficiencies surrounding data remain unacknowledged, much less addressed. But H.R. 1770 would seriously undermine California’s effort in fundamental ways. The federal bill redefines what a data breach is by requiring action only when there is a potential for “financial harm,” a significantly narrower basis than the state uses.   read more

“These cities were also found to have contravened Federal Justice Department forfeiture regulations numerous times,” a report by the Drug Policy Alliance says. Under forfeiture laws, police and prosecutors can seize property and cash from suspects before a conviction has been obtained. The law was originally developed as a powerful federal tool against organized crime, especially drug traffickers. But then it morphed.   read more

Senate Bill 643, with the tentative support of California NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and other medical marijuana advocates, passed its first legislative hurdle on April 20, the counterculture pot holiday 4/20. Like its predecessors, the bill establishes a licensing system for cultivation, distribution, transportation and testing that have been haphazardly attended to by local government.   read more