California and the Nation
Class-Action Suit Alleges Google Violates California Law by Reading E-mail
Google executives have defended the scanning of users’ Gmail communications―for the purpose of targeting ads at them―since the service was launched in 2004. And people have grumbled about online email privacy for almost just as long.
But a suit filed in California seeks to have the courts decide whether the practice is a violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). read more
California Wrote off Write-Ins on the Ballot for the First Time in History
The election last week marked the first time in California history that write-in votes were not permitted on the state ballot. Sort of.
A person could run as a write-in candidate, but was required to have notified the Secretary of State in advance declaring themselves running for office in order to be eligible. read more
Soda Tax Health Benefits Would Help Minorities the Most
On the eve of votes in Richmond and El Monte on taxation of sugar-sweetened sodas, a new study says if the tax were applied statewide, the danger of diabetes and heart disease would plummet and be most acutely felt among the ethnic groups at highest risk. read more
California Best at Exonerating Wrongly Convicted, to the Disappointment of Prop. 34 Foes
California leads the nation in exonerations of people wrongly convicted of crimes, according to preliminary findings by the California Wrongful Convictions Project.
The early numbers indicate that 214 people have been unfairly incarcerated since 1989, resulting in them serving 1,300 years behind bars at a cost to taxpayers of $129 million.
read more
U.S. Border Agents Accused of Violating Constitution by Forbidding Photo-Taking at Ports of Entry
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for violating the constitutional rights of Americans who try to use cameras near ports of entry.
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TSA Moving Body Scanners, but Says Change Is for Speed, not Privacy
Apparently size matters when determining who has to pass through controversial airport body scanners, which have been challenged on safety and privacy grounds.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is replacing the invasive scanners at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and six other major airports, but cited a desire to simply speed up the security process and is, in fact, shipping the scanners to smaller airports. read more
FBI Must Pay $470,000 to California Journalist Who Outed Reagan as Informant
Twenty-two years after a San Francisco journalist first filed suit against the FBI and the Department of Justice to obtain records on former President Ronald Reagan, a federal judge has awarded him $470,459 in legal fees. read more
140 Californians in Secret Boy Scout “Perversion Files”
Thousands of pages of internal Boy Scouts of America documents detailing sexual abuse allegations against 1,247 Scout leaders were made public Wednesday as part of an Oregon civil suit.
The cases mostly range from 1959 to 1985 and were contained in reports, known internally as the “Perversion Files.” read more
Feds Target L.A. Gang that U.S. Deportation Policy Helped Expand
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has designated a street gang with Los Angeles roots as an international criminal group, allowing the federal government to target the finances of a gang for the first time.
MS-13 thrived locally, but the gang’s connections to Central Americans in other U.S. cities and foreign nations developed over time, assisted by the U.S. deportation policy.
read more
It’s a Fact-Free, Political Open Season on Positive Jobless Numbers
For the second time in a week, unsubstantiated charges have been made that the books were cooked to show favorable national employment numbers, i.e. bolster Democrats politically.
This time the focus was on California, after Business Insider published allegations that the state Employment Development Department (EDD) had failed to submit its jobless claims report to the U.S. Department of Labor, resulting in skewed numbers that looked good for the Obama administration. read more
600 Meningitis-Linked Shots in California Slipped Through Regulatory “Black Hole”
A deadly outbreak of meningitis has been traced back to medicine produced by a specialty pharmacy that the federal government does not regulate. To date, eight people have died and 105 have become ill from a steroid, methylprednisolone acetate, used to treat back pain and joint disorders.
More than 600 people in California have received the shots, although no deaths have been reported in the state. read more
Canadian Bank Buys Credit Card Debt to Threaten Californians with Foreclosure
The National Bank of Canada is taking advantage of a loophole in the law to threaten hundreds of state homeowners with foreclosure if they don’t pay off credit card debt the financial institution bought up in a secondary market. Credigy Receivables, a unit of the bank, buys judgment liens from California lawsuits over unsecured debt and then files foreclosure lawsuits using the liens. read more
Fusion Centers Combine Uselessness, Waste and Privacy Encroachments in the Fight against Terrorism
A new Senate report says that so-called “fusion centers” meant to unite federal, state and local anti-terrorism efforts were an abject failure, and California provided some prime examples of their uselessness. read more
Despite California’s Legendary Public Sector Bloat, Government Employment Ranks Low
California has long stood as a symbol of government bureaucratic sprawl, especially for conservatives who condemn its cost, its overzealous regulatory activities and its waste.
However, judging by the state’s number of government employees, that might not be a fair image. Only four states had a lower ratio of government workers compared to population than California as of March 2011, according to U.S. Census numbers crunched by the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. read more
L.A. City Council Ends Ban on Medical Pot Shops, Expects Fed Crackdown
With a March referendum on pot shops bearing straight ahead and a federal crackdown closing in the rear view mirror, the Los Angeles City Council slammed on the brakes and ended its short-lived pronounced ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. read more
Security Firm Pays $1.9 Million Penalty for Poor Federal Courthouse Guard Training
Akal Security, Inc., the largest provider of security services to the federal government—with a history of costly contractual lapses—has agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice that it did a lousy job of training federal courthouse guards in Northern California. read more