California and the Nation
Methane Gets Much More Blame for Global Warming from Two State and National Studies
Two new studies of the greenhouse gas methane, one based in California, indicate that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other scientists have vastly underestimated how much of the noxious stuff is being emitted into the atmosphere.
One study, recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, found that methane emissions are 1.3 to 1.8 times as high as those calculated by the California Air Resources Board. read more
L.A. Gets Fitted for a Nuclear Halo by Homeland Security
Critics of the program argued that their really was no evidence of an urban nuclear threat and that development of the technology to detect such a threat may not be possible. They also warned of interagency operational limitations across a multi-jurisdictional region. Some observers wondered if the time and effort at detection might better be applied to figuring out how the city would respond if the bomb were actually triggered. read more
California Sinks to Dead Last in Alternative Census Bureau Measure of Poverty
California is the poorest state in the nation based on alternative figures provided by the U.S. Census Bureau that take into account a state’s cost of living among other factors. It also factors in income from existing government benefits and mandatory expenses like taxes and child support. SPM also changes basic poverty measure concepts about what constitutes income, a household and poverty thresholds. read more
“Melting” Starfish Washing up All Along the Coast
A mysterious affliction is killing huge numbers of starfish, causing them to lose their arms and disintegrate in a short period of time. Large numbers of diseased starfish have been spotted in Santa Cruz, Monterrey and Santa Barbara. This outbreak is not only occurring from Orange County to Alaska on the West Coast of the nation. It's happening on the East Coast, too. read more
The Quiet Plan to Bring Toxic Canadian Tar Sands to California Refineries by Rail
Valero Energy is ramping up its rail delivery system to refineries in Wilmington (L.A. area) and Benicia (Bay Area) for receiving crude oil from Canada, but denies it will be bringing in the dreaded tar sands product that produces more pollution. Skeptics think Canadian tar sands are inevitably heading toward California. As Brant Olson at the Natural Resources Defense Council put it, “For California, rail is the equivalent of the Keystone pipeline.” read more
UN Wants to Investigate California Prisons for Torture
The California prison strike is over, but United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture Juan Méndez still wants to take a tour of the state’s solitary confinement facilities.
However, he’s not getting any further now than he did in May, just before thousands of prisoners began a 60-day strike protesting indefinite isolation that sometimes lasts for decades. read more
Why Foster Farms Hasn’t Recalled Chickens after Salmonella Poisonings
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced two weeks ago that the tainted chicken, which had sickened people in 20 states, came from Foster Farms, but the law makes chicken recalls voluntary. Salmonella is legally regarded as a common contaminant in chicken that can be controlled by proper cooking. read more
African-American Inmates Sue Private Prison Company for Endangering Them by Housing Them with Hispanic Gangs
All 2,400 prisoners at the North Fork Correctional Facility in Western Oklahoma are from California, which shipped them there in 2007. The lawsuit alleges that CCA and its former warden, Fred Figueroa, didn’t train guards properly and left some positions understaffed, which led to the “severe and permanent physical and mental injuries” suffered by the four plaintiffs. read more
Brown Vetoes Limits on Biotech Generic Drugs that Don’t Yet Exist
Senate Bill 598 would have made it harder for generic versions of expensive biotechnology drugs to be approved for use in the state by setting a standard for them that required they be “interchangeable,” i.e. near exact replicas, of the original drug rather than just similar. The bill also would have required pharmacists to inform patients when a biosimilar version of a product was being dispensed and send that information back to the prescriber. read more
Shutdown Slows Federal Response to Salmonella Outbreak that Started in California
The FSIS, which is part of the USDA, has not been shuttered by the shutdown, but it is working with reduced staff, according to Reuters. The USDA website, itself, is down “due to the lapse in federal funding.” The Associated Press reported that the CDC has recalled some furloughed workers to help with the outbreak. The CDC coordinates multi-state outbreaks like this by organizing local and state resources to detect it, define its size and identify the source. read more
California Bucks Feds on Two Fronts: Deportation and Detention
State lawmakers and Governor Jerry Brown made it a little harder last week for the U.S. to deport undocumented immigrants in California and the military to place people it claims are terror-related suspects in indefinite detention without charges or trial. read more
Judge Smacks Down Rep. Issa's Special Request for Exemption from Shutdown
“There are no exigent circumstances in this case that would justify an order of the Court forcing furloughed attorneys to return to their desks," the judge wrote. "Moreover, while the vast majority of litigants who now must endure a delay in the progress of their matters do so due to circumstances beyond their control, that cannot be said of the House of Representatives, which has played a role in the shutdown that prompted the stay motion.” read more
Obamacare Critics Freaking Out as if Sign-up Was a One-Day Event
Health care exchanges across the country opened Tuesday and none were busier than in California, where the state’s aggressive planning couldn’t prevent its system from being overwhelmed by inquiries. Computers crashed, links didn’t work, wait periods were long and tempers were short.
In other words, it was a typical rollout of a complicated technological system. read more
California Legalizes Growing Hemp, but Waits for Federal Blessing
Senate Bill 556 only takes effect once the federal government quits enforcing the law that forbids growing, possessing and selling cannabis in any form. One stumbling block may be the federal law’s requirement that a state possess “strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems.” The federal government was none too impressed with California’s effort at regulating medical marijuana. read more
California Whooping Cough Epidemic Connected to Anti-Vaccine Parents
A study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics said that people who refused vaccinations for their children, largely for religious reasons, were 2.5 times more likely to be living in areas where whooping cough, also called pertussis, showed up. The disease is highly contagious and deadly, especially for infants, who cannot be vaccinated. read more
Federal Judge Tells Navy to Back off North Coast Sonar Testing Plan
U.S. District Magistrate Judge Nandor Vadas ruled (pdf) Wednesday that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) failed to consider the best available science in assessing the effect of sonar on marine mammals. He agreed with environmental groups and local tribes that more up-to-date studies indicate dolphins and whales have “greater susceptibility” to mid-frequency sonar than previously thought, and ordered the NMFS to consider them in reassessing its permit for the Navy. read more