Unusual News
Cal/EPA Identifies Racial Factor in Pollution Burden, then Removes It from Pollution Calculator
A year-old Cal/EPA online tool for calculating the burden of pollution by ZIP code across the state shows that African-Americans and Latinos are more heavily impacted by pollution than whites. Having established that, the agency has now ceased using race as a factor in its calculations. CalEnviroScreen 1.0 debuted in 2013 to identify communities impacted by multiple sources of pollution. But complications ensued. read more
Assemblyman Who Proposed Banning Orcas at SeaWorld May be Swimming with Sharks
Assemblyman Bloom said he was inspired by “Blackfish,” a documentary built around the Orlando SeaWorld orca Tilikum that killed three people: "It is time to end the practice of keeping orcas captive for human amusement." SeaWorld spokesman David Koontz disagrees. “We engage in business practices that are responsible, sustainable and reflective of the balanced values all Americans share.” read more
Is S.F. Bar’s Ban of Google “Glassholes” a Civil Rights Issue?
A couple of weeks after social media consultant Sarah Slocum triggered a brawl by refusing to remove her Glass in Molotov’s, a punkish bar in the Haight, the owner of The Willows, a bar popular with tech folk, banned the $1,500 spectacles from the premises.
Patrons at both bars regarded filming or snapping them as a violation of their privacy, and Slocum blamed it on “some wanker Google Glass haters." read more
Is Outbreak of Polio-Like Disease Statistical Noise or Looming Threat?
The doctors reviewed all polio-like cases in the state from August 2012 to July 2013 and found between 20 and 25 that seemed to constitute a cluster of disease. But the cases have not yet been linked to EV68 or, for that matter, to each other although the disease is contagious. Researchers do not know the cause of the paralysis, which is apparently permanent, and say the presence of EV68 may just be incidental. read more
Nearly One Golden Gate Bridge Suicide a Week as Plans for Safety Barrier Drag On
The original design for San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, which opened 76 years ago, included a safety rail 5-feet, 6-inches high. The final design lowered that to 4 feet and people have been jumping off the bridge ever since—around 1,600 confirmed to date, according to the Bridge Rail Foundation. read more
GOP Obama “Birther” Critic Joins State Race for Attorney General
Although Taitz is best known for her "birther" pronouncements, her 2012 political platform for the Senate race listed her pursuit of President Obama last. Still, it’s hard to forget her insinuation that the President had his gay lovers put to death. She also falsely said Obama has dozens of Social Security numbers; his real name is Barry Soetoro; and then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez rigged American elections through the voting machine company he owns. read more
Why Does the FCC Care about Ceiling Lights in a Downtown L.A. Highrise?
The FCC issued a citation to the managers of the Ernst & Young Tower on February 7 after asking them for nine months to do something about static that Verizon Wireless alleged was coming from GE fluorescent ceiling lights inside the Financial District building. The company said the static interfered with voice telephone calls and cellular data exchanges. read more
San Quentin Newspaper Wins Journalism Award While on Suspension by Prison
The San Quentin News, the country’s only inmate-published newspaper, was honored last week by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists for producing “extraordinary journalism under extraordinary circumstances.”
San Quentin prison authorities showed just how “extraordinary” those “circumstances” are when it suspended the newspaper for 45 days over the staff’s choice of a photograph in its December issue. read more
Sam Zell Is Building a Bridge from San Diego to Tijuana’s Airport that Its Mayor Didn’t Want
Construction began in July on the $90-million project that would allow people to park on the American side of the border and walk through a U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint to board a plane on the other side for a small fee. Passengers landing at the airport will be able to make the reverse trek. The border site is 20 miles southeast of downtown San Diego. read more
“Pelosi” Website One of 20 Fakes Used by GOP to Fool Voters and Raise Money
Only reckless, web-surfing clickers and the truly deluded should be taken in by the big type at the top of the page, “Nancy Pelosi for Congress,” and skip immediately to the big “Donate” button at the bottom. The smaller type provides the red meat for those who hate the woman many see as the embodiment of the left coast liberal. read more
Convicted State Senator Introduces Crime Bill with Potential to Help Him
There may have been some merit to state Senate Bill 929, legislation introduced last week that would have changed some non-violent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, but as Senate leader Darrell Steinberg’s spokesman, Rhys Williams, told the Associated Press, “Wrong senator, wrong time.” The wrong senator is Roderick Wright, a Los Angeles County Democrat who was convicted of eight felonies for voter fraud and perjury two days before introducing the legislation. read more
400 Dead and Dying Pythons Found in Elementary School Teacher’s Home
Police arrested 53-year-old Bill Buchman and charged him with felony animal cruelty after finding 182 live snakes and more than 240 dead ones in his home. Friends remembered the sixth-grade teacher mentioning that he bought a snake after his pet dog died. He was said to be devastated by the passing of his mother in 2011. He apparently became a hobbyist, and that morphed into hoarding. read more
“Ghoulish” OC Newspaper Owner Takes out Life Insurance on Employees
Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik thinks Freedom Newspapers, owner of the Register, is acting “ghoulish” by taking out insurance policies on its employees that don’t directly benefit them. Register publisher Aaron Kushner thinks Hiltzik should stuff it, and the Times is a, “reminder of the kind of newspaper and journalism of which we want no part.” read more
Hackers Turn “Smart” Fridge and Appliances into Virus-Spewing Bots
Proofpoint said it detected the attacks between December 23 and June 6 when waves of emails, 100,000 at a time, three times a day, started pouring out of more than 100,000 everyday consumer gadgets. More than 25% were sent by devices that were not laptops, desktop computers, tablets or smartphones.
The gadgets included routers, televisions, multi-media centers and at least one refrigerator that were connected to the Internet. read more
Tea Party Fav Donnelly Steps up as Maldonado Bails out of Governor’s Race
Donnelly celebrated his good fortune by releasing an ad that stars him and Cuban-American actress Maria Conchita Alonso, who translates the candidate’s words into Spanish, sort of, while extolling his virtues, which include his anger and manly testicular “big ones.” Donnelly’s ad was an obvious outreach to Latino voters, who favor Democrats by overwhelming numbers, as well as those who oppose gun control. He hopes to put “a gun in every Californian’s gun safe.” read more
Woman Beats Ticket for Driving with Google Glass
Commissioner John Blair tossed Cecelia Abadie’s ticket for distracted driving, but issued a narrow ruling that there was reasonable doubt the glasses were turned on. Abadie said she was glad she won her case, but was hoping for a ruling that even if the glasses were turned on, they wouldn’t be considered a distraction. It may be the first time a driver was ticketed for wearing the high-tech apparatus. read more