California and the Nation
California's Marijuana Regulator Admits She Doesn't Know How it Affects People or "What it Does"
California’s medical marijuana czar says she believes there’s a need for weed, although she’s never smoked pot herself. “Unlike regulating alcohol, I’m not a user of marijuana, so I am not familiar with how that affects people or what it does,” Lori Ajax said. “But from the outreach I’ve done since I got here, it appears there is a medical need, and I’m tasked with doing this, and I’m going to do it.”
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California Still Ships Troubled Kids Out of State
ProPublica estimated that at least 900 youthful miscreants were stashed outside California in 2015, mostly in Utah. Local school districts provided the most kids, 600. County probation departments accounted for around 235 and child welfare agencies supplied another 52. ProPublica saw “signs that California has a limited ability to guarantee the health and welfare of the children it sends beyond its borders.” read more
Disneyland-Bound Muslim Family of 11 Barred at London Airport Gate
No story of the family’s plight failed to mention Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Stella Creasy, a Labor Party member in the British Parliament, told NPR, “U.K. Muslims believe they are ‘being Trumped,’ ” referring to his declaration a couple weeks ago that if elected President he would, at least temporarily, stop all entry of Muslims into the country. read more
California Regains Top Spot on Conservative List of “Judicial Hellholes”
The foundation did not rely solely on California’s accomplishments in the area of lead abatement in reaching its decision. “California is the epicenter for lawyers trolling to bring disability access lawsuits against small businesses and ridiculous class action lawsuits against food and beverage companies,” the report said. “Certain areas of the state are also a hotbed for asbestos litigation.” read more
Sea Lions Damaged by Algae Toxin “Have No Sense of Which Way to Go”
Tests showed the brain-damaged animals couldn’t remember where their food was and the imaging showed they had a shrunken hippocampus, a region known to affect navigational abilities and memory. Previously, the clinical effects of the toxin were known, but this study showed the behavioral effects in the wild. read more
A Tale of Two Cities Faced with the Same “Terrorist” Threat
The decision to close the schools and send 640,000 bewildered students home to frantic parents was made by LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines, who said he had no choice. New York Police Commissioner William J. Bratton, a former chief of LAPD, decided it was a “hoax” and chided L.A. for its “significant overreaction.” read more
Kern County Leads U.S. in Per Capita Killings by Police
Despite recent high-profile police shootings in places such as Chicago, St. Louis and Baltimore, it’s not a big city that leads the U.S. in killings by police. Kern County is where America’s deadliest police forces patrol the streets. A new study shows that officers in the county, including Bakersfield, kill more people per capita than in any other U.S. jurisdiction. read more
Six of the Nations Seven Worst Traffic Bottlenecks Are in L.A. Area
If the 30 worst highway bottlenecks in the country were fixed, the nation would save $39 billion in lost time and 830 million gallons of gasoline while preventing 211,000 accidents and stopping 17 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions over 20 years, according to a new study by the American Highway Users Alliance. Much of that savings would accrue to the Los Angeles area, where six of the top seven bottlenecks make driving hell, read more
The Upside in California’s Worst Bar Exam Scores in 30 Years
Exam scores have been dropping across the country for years, along with the number of bar applicants and first-year law students. Law school enrollment numbers haven’t been this low since 1973. Despite there being fewer lawyers seeking employment, their declining placement rates after graduation indicate a glut of legal practitioners remain. read more
Riverside County Is Wiretap Capital, but Did It Earn the Title Legally?
USA Today and the Palm Springs Desert Sun reported that ex-Riverside County D.A. Paul Zellerbach, who left in January, told them he rarely signed off on the slew of wiretap requests from mostly federal agents, sloughing the job off on a subordinate. That could be a problem because federal law, which applies to the states in this case, clearly requires they be approved by a senior official. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said in 2013, in the D.A.'s office, that means the D.A. read more
8 California Dems in House Vote to Cripple Obama’s Syrian Refugee Plan
Currently, admission requires they undergo an 18-month to two-year vetting process. It includes fingerprinting, database checks, involvement of several agencies and personal interviews. That is not enough for those lawmakers who say they fear a terrorist might slip through and want more scrutiny―and others who simply want to keep Muslims out of the country. read more
Claremont McKenna Dean Quits After Campus Bias Protests
The administrator, who has held her post for nearly six years, resigned after an e-mail she wrote October 25 to a Latina student was made public. The note pledged that the school was working “to better serve students, especially those who don’t fit our CMC mold.” The student body is 43% white, 12% Latino, 10% Asian-American, 8% mixed race and 4% black. read more
When It Comes to State Integrity, It’s Hard to Beat California’s C- Rating
Only Alaska was better, with a C. Eleven states failed. The ratings were based on 245 questions in 13 categories, including lobbying disclosure, ethics enforcement, electoral oversight, budget processes, procurement and legislative, executive and judicial accountability. “In two-thirds of all states, ethics oversight entities regularly fail to initiate investigations or impose sanctions." read more
WalletHub Says California Has the 23 Worst Small Cities in America
WalletHub ratied Bell, in Los Angeles County, last among 1,268 small cities surveyed nationally, based on 22 criteria. As usual, high-priced California gets massacred on affordability. Only seven cities in the state are in the top half, compared to 198 that are not. One hundred are in top half of the list of economic health, compared to 106 that aren’t. Only 25 cities are in the first half for education & health and 96 make the cut for quality of life. read more
West Nile Has Killed Record Number of Californians
According to new data from the state, there have been 32 deaths from 512 cases of West Nile in 30 counties. There were 31 deaths all of last year and 642 cases reported last year at this time. Last year’s death count had been the highest recorded since West Nile turned up in the state in 2003 and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) began keeping track of it. read more
High-Desert Immigrant Detainees on Hunger Strike at Private Prison
Somewhere between 30 and 410 people (depending on who is asked) are on a hunger strike, following similar protests in at least three other facilities in the nation. Civil rights groups and others have complained about poor conditions, bad treatment and awful medical care since the facility opened in 2011. They were not happy when ADC-operator GEO Group, Inc. received permission from ICE to add 650 beds and 29 congressional supporters signed a letter of protest to the agency in July. read more