Top Stories
Assembly Passes Legislation to Let Non-Citizens Serve on Juries
Headlines immediately littered the Internet with news that illegal immigrants would soon be sitting in judgment of U.S. citizens.
That is not the case. Assembly Bill 1401 clearly states that the legislation only applies to a person if “among other things, he or she is a lawfully present immigrant.” read more
Secretary of State Bowen Refuses Plea to Update Online Campaign Data
News and advocacy organizations asked California Secretary of State Debra Bowen in a letter (pdf) to provide a more transparent format that would allow interested parties to download a single, comprehensive copy of the database rather than individual snippets of data that don’t lend themselves to analysis.
Bowen responded last week that, for technical reasons, the answer is “No.” read more
5 in Congress Want State to Fire Official Who Allegedly Dissed Own Delta Conservation Plan
A joint statement by Representatives George Miller, Mike Thompson, Jerry McNerney, Doris Matsui and Anna Eshoo demanded the immediate resignation of Jerry Meral, deputy director of the Natural Resources Agency, after he reportedly confided to Tom Stokely of the California Water Impact Network, “BDCP is not about, and has never been about saving the Delta. The Delta cannot be saved.” read more
California Homeowners Barely Able to Tap $2 Billion in Foreclosure Relief
One of the four programs that make up the effort offers mortgage principal reduction up to $100,000 for qualified participants, but only 1,000 homeowners have been able to take part since its debut in February 2011. The entire initiative has spent just one-sixth of the available funds: $245 million on assistance and another $45 million on administrative costs. read more
Journal Published Articles Foretelling Problem that Crippled San Onofre Nuclear Plant
The scientific papers warned of “fluidelastic instability” from the front-back motion, the problem said to plague the San Onofre reactors.
“What’s the purpose of doing the research if not to come up with information so that it doesn’t happen in the field?” Daniel Hirsch, a lecturer on nuclear policy at the University of California, Santa Cruz asked the U-T. read more
Federal Court Rules Immigrants Can’t be Jailed Indefinitely without a Hearing
The decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upholds a lower-court decision that detainees are entitled to one of the most fundamental rights in the United States, having one’s day in court.
The government has six months to provide a hearing to immigrants awaiting deportation proceedings that establishes they are a flight risk or a societal danger, or it must let them go, the appellate court ruled. read more
Confidential Report Rips State Utilities Commission for Downplaying Safety
“For many years, the PUC has been celebrated as a leader in representing taxpayers and for promoting innovative and green technologies,” the report says. “There has been little attention and limited resources directed toward reliability, and even fewer toward safety by the Legislature and the Commissioners. Because safety is considered to be ‘off the radar screen’ of most Commissioners and legislators, it is considered to have little cache for PUC staff and managers.” read more
NRC Paves the Way for Quick San Onofre Restart Without Hearings on its License
“Southern California Edison is seeking to shortcut the license amendment process by urging the NRC to declare that a license amendment that would enable the restart of the San Onofre facility at 70% power involves no significant hazards,” the lawmakers wrote. “We believe that granting this request would put public safety at risk.” read more
Judges Have a Few Choice Words for Governor Brown and the Prison Overcrowding Plan They Rejected
Attention, class. Today’s new word is “contumacious.” It means stubborn or willfully disobedient, recalcitrant and obstinate—and it’s how a panel of federal judges described Governor Jerry Brown and his refusal to further reduce overcrowding in California prisons.
The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threatened Brown with contempt of court if he kept it up and ordered his administration to come up with a plan within 21 days that deals with their concerns. read more
Federal Judge Blocks U.S. Drilling Leases that Ignored Dangers of Fracking
“The potential risk for contamination from fracking, while unknown, is not so remote or speculative to be completely ignored,” U.S. District Judge Paul Grewal wrote. It is the first time a federal agency has been told it had to analyze the environmental effect of fracking when considering lease agreements, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, which brought the lawsuit heard by Grewal. read more
Why Are Billionaires Bankrolling “Populist” Public Education “Reform”?
The parental effort was “assisted” by Parent Revolution, an L.A. advocacy group whose largest benefactor is the conservative Walton Family Foundation, according to journalist Gary Cohn. The Walton family is the richest in the world and owns Walmart. Family members and their foundations are major supporters of conservative causes, fund right-wing think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute, and are among the largest donors to charter schools in the country. read more
SoCal Air Board Doesn’t Wait for State, Passes Own Fracking Rules Despite Defiant Industry
The new rules approved by the board require drillers to give notice when they are planning to commence fracking and let the public know what chemicals they will be pumping into the ground. The industry has fought doing either of those things and hinted they won’t abide by the ruling. read more
Judge Rules the State Unconstitutionally Whacked Its Landmark Environmental Law
A Superior Court judge, daring to go where even he fears to tread, declared unconstitutional state laws passed in 2011 that allowed large projects to be fast-tracked past the state’s landmark environmental law.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch said he took his actions fully aware of their unusual nature, declaring, “The court does not lightly as a superior court declare statutes unconstitutional.” read more
Los Angeles Is World’s First Major City to Sync up All of Its Traffic Signals
The typical Los Angeles metropolitan commuter wasted $1,300 last year while stuck in traffic for an extra 61 hours, probably wondering how much worse it could get.
Now, that statistically average driver will have a few minutes less to think about it since the famously gridlocked city became, reportedly, the first major metropolis in the world to synchronize every one of its traffic lights located within its 469 square miles. read more
Something Inexplicably Awful Is Happening to California Sea Lion Pups
Starving sea lion pups are washing up all along the Southern California coast in unprecedented numbers, and scientists don’t know why.
As of March 24, 948 babies have washed ashore this year in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles and San Diego counties, compared to 88 all of last year. Less than 700 were stranded in the five years previous combined. read more
Worst Sierra Snowpack in Five Years Threatens State Water Supplies
What started out looking like a promising wet winter for an ever-increasingly thirsty state has turned to major disappointment.
Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, the source of much of California’s water, is about 52% of normal, according to state water officials. It’s the worst measurement since 2007 and the third worst since 1994. read more