California and the Nation
Feds Want to Lift Protection for Gray Wolf, Dimming Prospect of California Return
Conservationists think the move is premature. “This is like kicking a patient out of the hospital when they’re still attached to life support,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director with the Center for Biological Diversity. Gray wolves remain scarce or non-existent in California, New England, upstate New York and parts of the Northwest where researchers say they would thrive if given a chance. read more
California Plays Nice with China and Japan as the Two Asian Giants Square off
Following up on his trip to China, the governor met with Chinese officials this past week in California to talk about economic development opportunities. Meanwhile, Japanese troops are coming to California to participate in joint military exercises. China, which is fighting with Japan over islands they both claim, is not happy. read more
When It Comes to Polarized State Legislatures, California Is Unique
The larger the median, the larger the ideological disparity between the parties. The congressional median is around 1.2. Louisiana is the least divisive state at 0.5.
California is literally off the grid, which only goes up to 2.5. California’s score looks to be around 3.0. The next closest to California is Colorado at 2.2. read more
Blacks Don’t Use Pot More Often than Whites, but Are Twice As Likely to be Arrested for It in California
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) crunched federal data from 2010 and found the state disparity was only half that of the nation as a whole, and considerably less than most states. Blacks are 6.7% of the California population, but make up 16.3% of the pot arrests. The disparity between blacks and whites in the state was 2.2x, the seventh-best mark in the survey. read more
Global Warming Threatens to Destroy Native California Fish
Is it a bad sign when your state is considering plans to store cold water behind dams so that global warming doesn’t kill 82% of the native fish?
A study by researchers at the University of California, Davis predicted that warmer water from climate change would have a devastating effect on native fish, including Delta smelt, Central Valley Chinook salmon and Kern River rainbow trout, if current trends continue. But only 19% of non-native fish would be similarly threatened. read more
“Tawdry” Treatment of Reporter Who Broke Story on CIA-Contra-Crack-Cocaine Connection Is Revisited
It’s been nearly 10 years since reporter Gary Webb shot himself in the head following a torrent of criticism over his series of stories for the San Jose Mercury News about the crack-cocaine epidemic ravaging Los Angeles and the country. read more
State Researchers Say Exotic Lice Causing Deer Hair Loss and Endangering Their Lives
State officials began noticing the hair-deprived deer in 2009. They found 240 balding deer outside Yosemite National Park in a five-month period, and started a research project that is ongoing. Hair-challenged deer have been found in 15 counties, as far south as San Diego County. Deer in other Western states have reportedly been similarly afflicted. read more
San Francisco Bay Area News Sources Disappear in Merger
The "one powerful newsroom" will not be covering the Bay Area much. CIR stories will now “transcend geography” and cover national and international issues that “actually make a difference in people’s lives,” so “it doesn’t matter if they are about San Francisco or Sacramento or Washington, D.C.”
Instead of the 1,000 stories covered last year, they are aiming to publish 200 this year. read more
Frogs with a Deadly Fungus Feared Worldwide Are All over the State
They established for the first time that the frogs are spreading Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, known as Bd or chytrid, which was first described by scientists in 1999. The disease causes cardiac arrest in amphibians by thickening and hardening the skin, which interferes with their electrolytes.
Frogs are dying en masse in Australia, Europe, Latin America and western U.S. states. The Caribbean has been devastated. read more
JPL Workers Allowed to Discuss Background Checks but Not Avoid Them
Five of them continued to inform their co-workers, and complain, about what they considered to be a looming, unwarranted invasion of privacy. That drew disciplinary action.
The five appealed the punishment and last week a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judge ruled (pdf) that JPL had engaged in unfair labor practices and ordered it to remove letters of reprimand it had placed in their files. read more
Attorney Argues Georgia Should Ignore Federal Judge in California Because State Has Gay Marriage
The week after a federal judge in California fined a group of lawyers for trolling the Internet looking for downloaders of porn and then suing them, ostensibly, for copyright violations, one of the trolls argued in a Georgia court that the judge should ignore the ruling because the Golden State has gay marriage. read more
Almost One-Third of Honey Bee Colonies in U.S. Collapsed in Just 6 Months
California brings in honey bees from around the country for pollination at its almond farms. Almonds are a $3 billion-a-year industry. The Monterey County Beekeepers told Central Coast News that nearly two-thirds of the nation’s bee colonies in the U.S., from as far away as Florida and the East Coast, are shipped to the state.
The beekeepers group estimated that 65% of the bees died this past winter. read more
U.S. Supreme Court Seems Poised to Whack L.A. Clean-Air Effort at Port
A ruling by the court in favor of the truckers could put a serious crimp in plans for expansion at the container port, which is the largest in the nation.
The port undertook the Clean Air Action Plan in 2006 and the Clean Truck Program (pdf) in 2008 in response to criticism from environmentalists and community activists who opposed expansion of the port unless something was done about the miserable air generated by trucks coming, going and, most insidiously, idling on nearby streets. read more
Nevada’s Solution to Mentally Disturbed . . . Ship Them to California and Other States
The busing tactic coincided with the state’s decision to slash funding for mental health services. Between 2009 and 2012, Nevada cut mental health spending by 28%. Prior to those cuts, the state’s funding for those services was already well below the national average. read more
“Ag-Gag” Bill Would Protect Factory Farms from Animal Cruelty Whistle-Blowing
Disguised as legislation to hasten and facilitate crackdowns on animal cruelty of farm animals in slaughterhouses, a bill that would gag whistle-blowers is moving through the California state Assembly.
AB 343 would make it illegal to record animal cruelty without turning the evidence over to local law enforcement within 48 hours. read more
Study Suggests Fukushima Disaster Caused Thyroid Abnormalities in U.S. Babies
Babies born in California, Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington between one week and 16 weeks after the nuclear meltdown began in March 2011 were found to be 28% more likely to suffer from congenital hypothyroidism (CH) than children born in those states during the same period one year earlier. read more