Unusual News
Study Indicates Air Pollution Poses Fire Risk in Santa Monica Mountains
The first year of a three-year study by the U.S. Forest Service and University of California, Riverside, found that air pollution harmed native plants in the eastern end of the mountains, fostering growth of non-native grasses. Those grasses are also known as “flashy fuels” because they have been linked to larger, more frequent fires. read more
New State Cosmetics Database Gives Consumers Bad News about Their Favorite Products
The database comes to the public courtesy of the 2005 California Safe Cosmetics Act. The act requires the producer and/or distributor to give the state a list of all cosmetic products with ingredients known or suspected of causing cancer or reproductive harm. The database currently contains 857 chemicals and can be searched by product, category, company or chemical. read more
No Tax Relief from State for Victims of Ponzi Schemes
McCant, former president of Billionaire Catt Entertainment, was sentenced in August 2012 for defrauding around 15 investors by promising to use their money to promote rap concerts and pay them a portion of the profits. The state billed Tingle $84,000 for back taxes, which has since grown to $135,000 with interest, according to the Los Angeles Times. Tingle, who lost $1 million in the scam, says she doesn’t have the money. read more
Eight Months Later, San Jose Power Station Attack Looks More Ominous
On the day after the Boston Marathon attacks, a gunman or two entered two manholes at a power station just southeast of San Jose and severed fiber optic cables. 911 service was cut to the area and AT&T cellphone service was disrupted.
Someone then shot up the place with a high-powered rifle, pumping more than 100 rounds into several transformers. Cooling oil leaked out and the overheated transformers shut down. No one was injured and the disruption of electrical power was minimal. read more
How One Mistake about a Woman’s Death Cascaded into a Life-Threatening Ordeal
Kaiser’s letter notifying Richter of her untimely passing came from its Medicare department on November 29. Medicare and Kaiser officials told her they got the word from the Social Security Administration, but before the retired social worker could get over there to investigate, her ATM card was deactivated, her credit card was frozen and access to her credit union was blocked. read more
Proposed Ballot Measures Could Expand State Lawmakers to 12,000 or Split California into Six States
Both of those proposals, in the form of ballot initiatives, have been proposed by rich Republicans as ways to make the political system more responsive to the will of the people . . . and, as a bonus, dilute the power of ruling Democrats. read more
School Suffers When Fake “War on Christmas” Story Ignites Conservative Firestorm
The ham-handed satire about a fake teacher, atheist Paul Hunter, at the fake “Argon” Elementary in San Francisco was tweeted, linked to and spread via social media last week to every corner of the conservative blogosphere where indignation over the slighting of Christianity rages this time of year. Shortly after the story’s posting, angry phone calls and nasty email came pouring into the real school. read more
Judge Avoided Jail but Loses Job after Stealing $1 Million from Elderly Neighbor
Police arrested Seeman in June and he was charged with 32 felonies. Prosecutors also alleged he failed to include 40 property investments worth $1.4 million in mandatory judicial financial reports. A deal with prosecutors was struck in August and Seeman pleaded no contest to one count each of elder abuse and perjury. read more
Hospital Blames Death of Woman—Found after 17 Days in Locked Stairwell—on Alcoholism
The city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner knows what killed her. Chronic alcohol abuse. It did not sit well with the family of 57-year-old Lynne Spalding or their lawyer. “This woman died of exposure—either from starvation or dehydration,” attorney Haig Harris told the San Francisco Chronicle. “To suggest alcoholism was involved is an outrageous, gratuitous comment.” read more
Newly-Elected Sebastopol Mayor Operates Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
Mayor Robert Jacob is, perhaps, the first top municipal official in the country to be so blatantly involved in a business considered illegal by the federal government. acob was instrumental in writing Sebastopol’s medical marijuana ordinance, said to be a model for other cities in the state. read more
Over-Pumping of Groundwater Is Sinking the San Joaquin Valley Fast
“We were surprised at the amount of land being affected,” Michelle Sneed, a USGS hydrologist and the report's lead author, told the Sacramento Bee. “We were also surprised by the rapid rate of (sinking).” Anything that passes along the surface of the valley is at risk if sinking continues. It could be more than just a bump in the road for the high-speed rail project just getting up a head of steam. A rapidly evolving landscape could also damage roads, pipelines and railways. read more
State Mails Quarter-Million Medi-Cal Enrollees Bogus Info about Losing Their Doctors
That set off a mini-panic among recipients who immediately inundated their low-cost clinics and doctor’s offices with anguished cries for help. A corrected version of the letter was sent out last week, but not before adding a new layer of confusion to an already-chaotic Affordable Care Act rollout. read more
Judge Rules Loyalty Oath Laws Unconstitutional for Grassroots Political Committees
Secretary of State Deborah Bowen and Attorney General Kamala Harris, both named in the lawsuit, opposed Barta’s demands until the end of October when they reversed course. They acknowledged the statutes were unconstitutional, but argued that no remedies were necessary because the state wasn’t enforcing them. read more
San Jose Council Declares 3-Month Wild Pig Hunting Season in the City
The animals, a mixture of wild boars and pigs weighing up to 300 pounds, have roamed the Almaden Hills for centuries and do occasionally venture into civilization. But, for the past two weeks, dozens have been gathering in groups and wandering through suburban neighborhoods. They tear up lawns—$10,000 in damage at the Almaden Golf and Country Club—and intimidate the citizenry, although no attacks on people have been reported. read more
California May Give Ex-Journalist and Serial Liar Stephen Glass Permission to Practice Law
Glass wrote 41 stories for the New Republic, 27 of which were eventually determined to be fraudulent. The Los Angeles Times asked in an editorial: “Should a Liar be a Lawyer?” and answered “yes.” Although Glass committed “journalistic malpractice on an epic scale,” the newspaper reasoned that he committed his sins long ago, had apologized to the victims and was deemed rehabilitated. read more
Recently Released 83-Year-Old International Jewel Thief Arrested Again
She has plied her trade across the country and throughout Europe for nearly sixty years, charming her victims with beauty, elegance and intelligence. She glides in and glides out, often making her play right in front of the victim amid small talk of jewelry and casual exchanges. She recently got out of an Orange County jail after serving time for an unrelated crime and on Tuesday was arrested on suspicion of stealing a $22,000 ring from a Palm Desert jewelry store. read more