California and the Nation
California Might Take Small Step to Let Consumers Keep Track of Their Personal Data
The legislation would update the 2005 Shine the Light Act (SB 27) that required businesses to tell inquiring parties what personal data they have sold and who they sold it to, but was mostly limited to older types of telemarketing that didn’t include the modern world’s online advertisers, data brokers and third-party applications.
The bill would also expand the information to be made available to include data about sexual orientation, gender and similar areas of interest. read more
Jesus Gets a Shout-Out from U.S. Appeals Court after Lancaster City Prayers Are Challenged
Although most prayers offered at the start of Lancaster City Council meetings are Christian and usually invoke Jesus Christ by name, they do not violate the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of separation between church and state.
That ruling last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court is in conflict with rulings in two other appellate courts and sets up a potential showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court. read more
Feds Want Tougher Gasoline Pollution Standards—Like California’s
The so-called Tier 3 standards, which could be in place by the end of the year, would cut the sulfur content of gasoline in the U.S. by two-thirds by 2017. Although the sulfur, itself, does not present a public health hazard, its presence in gasoline messes up catalytic converters that control tailpipe emissions, contributing to smog and soot. read more
“Frackademia” Fueling “Frackomania” as California Counts Its Billions Early
“Frackademia” hasn’t made the dictionary yet, but critics use it to describe the promotion—by corporations with an agenda—of seemingly legitimate, independent, academic and scientific inquiries into fracking. Examples seemingly abound. read more
Feinstein’s Assault Weapons Ban Dropped from Senate Bill
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), whose political career was forged during the turmoil of the 1978 assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk while she was on the board, was more than a little perturbed when her proposal was removed from the broad package.
“You'd think the Congress would listen, but they clearly listen to the National Rifle Assn.,” Feinstein said after Reid’s decision. read more
California, Where First DUI Can Cost $16,000, May Let Bars Stay Open until 4 a.m.
Now, California legislators are pondering legislation that would add a new wrinkle to our schizophrenic attitude about drunk driving. State Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 635 last month, which would give local governing bodies authorization to extend the sale of alcohol in bars and restaurants from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., like Miami, New York and Las Vegas. read more
State Legislature Gets a “D” for Transparency
Just about the only thing transparent in California state government is its lack of transparency, a point just made by at least a couple of good-government groups during Sunshine Week.
A report card published by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation gives the state Legislature a “D” overall for how it makes its data available to the public. read more
Terrorist Conviction Upheld Despite What One Jurist Called “Laughable” Testimony
Judge A. Wallace Tashima said Hamid Hayat was being punished for a crime that hadn’t been committed and called the case “a stark demonstration of the unsettling and untoward consequences of the government’s use of anticipatory prosecution as a weapon in the ‘war on terrorism.’ ” The judge said the government’s case was “largely based on dire, but vague, predictions that he might commit unspecified crimes in the future.” read more
Jane Fonda Can Relax; U.S. Probably Won’t Target Her with Hellfire Missile
Jane Fonda can come out of hiding.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) says the U.S. cannot target the actress and author with a Hellfire missile while she is in the country, despite what fellow Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) implied during his 13-hour filibuster Wednesday in Washington, DC. read more
California GOP Activist Echoes Remarks about Pregnancies Being Rare in Rape Cases
Karl Rove was in California Saturday exhorting the state's Republicans to improve communication of their “timeless principles” in order to recover from their dismal political showings of late.
Comments last week by Celeste Greig, president of the California Republican Assembly (the state's oldest and largest GOP volunteer organization), probably weren't exactly what he had in mind. read more
Ex-Pro Athletes Flock to California for Workers’ Comp, Even if They Rarely Played in State
California is more than just an attractive venue for professional athletes to establish careers and ply their trade. It is also a lucrative and convenient place to file worker’s compensation claims after that career is over, even if they’ve only spent a small amount of time in the state. read more
Only Eight Insurance Companies Still Resisting State Call for Iranian Divestment
Insurance firms doing business in California have reduced their investments in Iran-linked companies by 97% since the state pressured them to divest in 2009. But eight businesses, including State Farm, continue to maintain ties.
In 2009, companies were doing $6 billion worth of business with corporations tied to Iran’s military, energy and nuclear sectors. read more
Stem Cell Blood Bank Settles after Losing Personal Data of 298,000 Clients
San Bruno, California-based CBR Systems Inc., which claims to be the world’s leading stem cell bank, hopefully does a better job of storing its product than it does personal data from clients.
The company agreed to separate settlements with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and potential class-action plaintiffs resulting from its loss of Social Security numbers and credit card information for 298,000 of its clients. read more
Want Your Address Book Secretly Uploaded? Lawsuit Claims There’s an App for That
A lawsuit filed against San Francisco-based Hipster claims that the popular mobile app company downloaded address books, passwords and other sensitive material for use by third parties without the knowledge or consent of users.
The plaintiffs’ suit asserts that, “Literally billions of contacts from the address books of tens of millions of unsuspecting wireless mobile device owners have now been accessed and stolen.” read more
Hospital Chain Uses Obama Court Loss to Justify Ignoring Labor Board
It is open season on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and California-based Prime Healthcare Services got off the first volley Wednesday.
The 21-hospital chain, citing a controversial court decision invalidating three recess appointments to the board by President Barack Obama, said it wouldn’t abide by two of the board’s recent decisions. read more
California Poised to Add Widely-Used Plastic Chemical to Toxics List after 3-Year Delay
Bisphenol A (BPA) has been linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity, and almost made the state list in 2009. Many observers thought that a critical report in 2008 from the National Toxicology Program (NTP) would gain BPA automatic entrance to the list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.
It didn’t happen. read more