Unusual News
Legislation Plugs Loophole about Sex with Prisoners
California wants to be perfectly clear about this. If you arrest somebody and take total control of their freedom, and then ask them for sex, it is NOT a consensual relationship.
That wasn’t perfectly clear until Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation Friday nailing down the fine points of when law enforcement officials can have sex with their prisoners. The answer is “never.” read more
Forget Penn State; Caltech Incurs the Wrath of the NCAA
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, whose baseball team has lost 237 straight games, was sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for allowing 30 academically ineligible student-athletes in 12 sports to compete. read more
Hunters Fear Proposed New Name for Department Is a Game Changer
The state Legislature is considering a name change for the Department of Fish and Game that has some hunters up in arms.
Assembly Bill 2283 would change the agency’s name to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, enhancing its recreational and conservation image while de-emphasizing its historical hunting mission. read more
Commission Issues Rare Public Scolding to Judge for Telling Attorney to “Work All Night”
The state Commission on Judicial Performance rarely publicly admonishes judges for their behavior, but it made an exception for Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson.
Jacobson was disciplined for “abuse of the contempt power and abuse of authority" after a 2010 courtroom exchange with attorney Anne Beles, who he told to “work all today, work all night, get up early tomorrow morning” after she requested a routine delay of a preliminary hearing in an attempted murder case. read more
Brown Shrinks Board Known as Safe Haven for Ex-Lawmakers Between Jobs
A longtime government haven for ex-lawmakers between legislative gigs will have fewer slots for those seeking a soft landing.
Governor Jerry Brown wanted to eliminated the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and wrap its functions into a bureau under the Employment Development Department (EDD). He’ll settle for reducing its governing board from seven members to five, thus eliminating two positions he’s avoided filling since he took office. read more
A Federal Enclave Emerges to Protect the Endangered Foie Gras
A week ago, critics of the embattled San Onofre nuclear power plant were exasperated to find that it received special protection from whistle-blowers because it sat on federal property and was not subject to certain state laws.
Now a restaurant is trying to dodge a new, week-old state law banning foie gras by claiming that its location on federally-owned land in the Presidio National Park gives it a special exemption. read more
“Innocent” Man, Convicted of Arson 15 Years Ago, Still Stuck in Prison
A federal judge has upheld a finding by a magistrate that a Modesto man—locked up for 15 years after being convicted in a deadly arson fire—is innocent, but he’ll have to remain in prison while appealing his original conviction on technical grounds. read more
UC Berkeley Decides Not to Militarize Campus Cops
Fresh from confrontations with students over tuition and fee increases, the University of California, Berkeley police have decided to cancel their order for an 8-ton military vehicle from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. read more
S.F. Muni Finds Way to Make Buses Run on Time: Cheat
The San Francisco bus system, under pressure by city voters to not be late, has been fudging its on-time reports for more than a decade by redefining a minute as anything less than two minutes. read more
Landlord Tries to Solve Housing Shortage by Turning Triplex into 44 Rentals
In a sign that the state’s housing shortage isn’t going away any time soon, a Southern California landlord was charged with turning a triplex into an illegal hive of 44 rental units a mile from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and apparently found tenants willing to live there. read more
Not-So-Smart Announcement of Unavailable Police Smart Phone “App”
What better way to welcome the latest class of technology-hip San Francisco police cadets last week than with an announcement of a new, mobile-based information-sharing “app” that would be theirs to break in. read more
Punk’d? DMV Website Hits the Wall Days after Being Sued by Ashton Kutcher
The Department of Motor Vehicles, the bureaucracy everybody loves to hate, has spent the past week explaining to frustrated customers why its newly retooled website has been up and down since Monday morning, or more precisely, not explaining. read more
Deputy Who Busted Mel Gibson to be Fired; Actor Linked to New Movie With Charlie Sheen
Six years after Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy James Mee arrested actor Mel Gibson on a drunk driving charge, endured an anti-Semitic rant by the star, clashed with his superiors over removal of the rant from the arrest report, denied leaking the report to the press and sued the department over his treatment by superiors, the officer has been told he’ll be fired. read more
Woman Banned from Nordstrom for Endangering Her Babies
A woman who left her 11-week-old twins in her locked Cadillac Escalade for 40 minutes while she shopped at the Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton has been banned from shopping at Nordstrom. read more
Birther Wins Seat on San Diego Superior Court
A lawyer best known for his work challenging the citizenship of President Barack Obama and the legitimacy of his administration has won a seat on the San Diego Superior Court, defeating a deputy district attorney who had the backing of law enforcement unions and most of the Superior Court judges. read more
You’re Never Too Young to Get Hauled into Court
Who knew that heavily ticketing children as young as 7 might have a deleterious effect on them and their parents?
Apparently, Los Angeles school police and administrators do now and have agreed to review a policy that resulted in 33,500 court summonses for students 10 to 18 years of age during a three-year period. read more