Controversies
State Court Bureaucracy Lays Down the Law: No More Telecommuting from Switzerland
Yahoo isn’t alone in reversing course on what had been a flexible use of telecommuting by its employees. The California Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) is no longer allowing its workers to live in Switzerland while they technically work in Sacramento. read more
Pregnant Woman Says Christian School that Fired Her for Having Premarital Sex Offered Boyfriend a Job
If Teri James hadn’t gotten pregnant she would probably still have her job at San Diego Christian College. But even at a school where virgin birth is not unheard of, James’ pregnancy was undeniable evidence that she had participated in premarital sex. And that, James claims, is why they fired her last October. read more
Navy Considers Putting a Drone Base at Point Mugu
While local, national and international debate rages over the use of drones for surveillance and war, the only question at the Point Mugu Naval Base is when can they get started on establishing a new drone center there.
The U.S. Navy is seeking public comment on its draft environmental plan to base four remote-controlled Triton Unmanned Aircraft Systems at Point Mugu. read more
State Officials, Fighting to Regain Control of Prisons, Tried to Hide Inmate Suicide Report
Apparently state officials think a debate between the federal courts and California over the mental and physical well-being of prisoners is best served by hiding important information about inmate suicides.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the administration suppressed a report by national suicide prevention expert Lindsay Hayes in 2011 that the system for holding suicidal patients in tiny, filthy, airless holding cells contributed to them committing suicide. read more
Oakland Says Charge It, Instead of Charge Them, with Debit/ID Card Undocumented Immigrants Can Use
Undocumented Oakland residents were offered a unique choice at the beginning of February: they could obtain the nation’s first combo municipal identification/debit card and run a higher risk of fraud, or stick with cash and run the higher risk of getting mugged. read more
Edison Tries to Meet NRC Standard for Reopening San Onofre by Claiming 70% is “Full Power”
Southern California Edison, striving to win approval for restarting at least one crippled nuclear reactor at San Onofre, told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Monday that it could meet the agency’s requirement that it be able to run safely at “full power,” but would redefine “full power” to be 70%. read more
Beverly Hills Files Suit to Block Subway Path under High School
One hundred and thirty-eight years ago, downtown Los Angeles was linked by rail to the coast 18 miles away. It’s been 51 years since that link, and rapid mass transit in the region, was broken with the disappearance of the famed Red Cars.
Los Angeles would like to rekindle the connection, but if the wealthy enclave of Beverly Hills has a say, the nine-mile, $5.6 billion subway extension might be delayed for a while. read more
Judge Rules California Sea Lions Are Fair Game if They Travel North to Prey on Endangered Fish
A federal judge in Oregon delivered a death sentence for California sea lions that venture into the Pacific Northwest in search of Chinook salmon and steelheads.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon ruled in a lawsuit brought by the Humane Society of the United States that a fisheries preservation program—at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River and at the Willamette Falls fish ladder on the Willamette River—is legal. read more
Sierra Club Sues after California Gives in to Nevada on Lake Tahoe Development
After Nevada politicians made it clear that they would pull out of a 43-year-old joint agreement with California for managing Lake Tahoe, which straddles their border, unless developers were given more sway and environmentalists were reined in, a new regional plan was adopted in December that did just that.
Last week, the Sierra Club and Friends of the West Shore sued to block it. read more
NASA Finally Agrees to Clean Up Santa Susana Lab, and Watchdog Says It’s Doing Too Much
The 2,850 acres surrounding the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Ventura County, north of Los Angeles, have been dangerously contaminated for more than 50 years.
After years of denial, finger-pointing and delay, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and California inked a deal in 2010 to finally clean up the agency’s 451.2-acre portion of the mess. But a report by NASA’s inspector general threatens to derail the agreement.
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Proposed Initiative Would Replace Big State Utilities with Public-Owned District
Californians have plenty of reasons to dislike utility companies besides having to write them checks every month: nuclear power plants that don’t work; gas lines that explode; rates that only go up, environmental insensitivity, impediments to alternative energy; monopolistic behavior. The list goes on.
If Ben Davis, Jr. has his way, voters will have a chance to change all that. read more
State Dumping of Algebra Requirement for 8th-Graders Raises Civil Rights Issues
In pursuit of increased math proficiency, the state Board of Education has dumped a 15-year-old requirement that students take Algebra 1 in the eighth grade.
The state joins all the other states in adopting a standard included in what’s known as the Common Core Curriculum. State legislation passed last year pretty much ordained that Algebra 1 would become an option, rather than a requirement, after years of controversy. read more
Many Californians Rely on Contaminated Groundwater Sources for Drinking
Around 30% of water deliveries in the state come from the ground—more during droughts—and more than one in five of these 3,037 community water systems that serve 21 million people are providing water that was contaminated before treatment, according to a new report from the State Water Resources Control Board. read more
Attorney General Sues BP over ARCO Gas Station Storage Tank Violations
Last month California Attorney General Kamala Harris sued ConocoPhillips and its spinoff, Phillips 66, for failing to properly inspect and maintain 560 underground gasoline storage tanks. This month, it’s BP’s turn.
The attorney general is seeking unspecified civil penalties for the various alleged violations and asked the court for injunctive relief; i.e. the state wants BP and ARCO to start complying with the California Health and Safety Code. read more
Lawmakers Say Leaked San Onofre Document Implicates Edison and Mitsubishi
California Senator Barbara Boxer and Massachusetts Representative Ed Markey have written a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) asking that it investigate new information from a leaked report which indicates plant operator Edison and manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) early on identified problems in replacement steam generators but did nothing about them. read more
Did California’s High Court “Eviscerate” the Credit Card Privacy Act for Online Retailers?
Dissenters in the California Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision Monday on credit card privacy characterized the ruling as permission for retailers to “collect unlimited personal information concerning their credit-card-using customers and sell that information.” read more