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03 Jan 2011 21:37

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Politics: New-old Governor inherits worse disaster than last time

  • 9.4% unemployment rate in California when Jerry Brown first assumed the Governorship back in 1975
  • 12.4% California’s unemployment rate today, as Brown begins his third term. Good luck, man. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Dec 2010 09:17

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U.S.: How did Bell, California’s city government become so corrupt?

  • The L.a. Times has a lengthy article on Bell’s corruption that’s worth reading. We could go into great detail with the piece, but we think we can probably explain the story best through the starting and ending salary of one of the most corrupt members of Bell’s government, one of seven town officials who took advantage of low voter turnout and high amounts of power to bilk a fairly poor municipality out of $5.5 million. Here’s how much Robert Rizzo made when he started working for the city, and when he stopped:
  • $78,000 Bell city administrator Robert Rizzo’s starting salary in 1993; he was paid $8,000 less than his predecessor and known for cutting things left and right
  • $800,000 Rizzo’s salary just before he lost his job – at which point it became clear he was cheating one of the poorest municipalities in the L.A. area source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2010 20:36

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U.S.: Police shoot, kill drunk guy holding pistol-shaped water nozzle

  • See this thing up here? That’s right. Water nozzle. Too bad police in Long Beach, Calif. didn’t notice that the drunk guy holding it wasn’t actually holding a gun. Unfortunately, he pointed it at the officers, who then shot him. Now, Douglas Zerby, who was waiting for his friend to pick him up on a street corner, is dead. His older sister, Eden Marie Biele, while being justifiably outraged, offered this thought of the day: “We’re outraged. You can’t get drunk in the city of Long Beach and not get shot? You’re trying to do the responsible thing and not drive and you get shot? Is that standard protocol? They didn’t wait for backup, they just shot him.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Dec 2010 20:06

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U.S.: Ninth Circuit leaning towards Prop. 8 repeal – and a narrow decision

  • Do we have to reach that point?
  • Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt • Suggesting that the court may not decide the Prop. 8 case with a broad brush, and may choose a more narrow route instead. It seems that the court in general is favoring gay-marriage supporters, with the court’s most conservative judge, N. Randy Smith, noting that the blockage of marriage seems arbitrary, considering that gays have equal rights in almost every other point of Californian life. “What is the rational basis for that?,” he asked. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Dec 2010 10:53

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U.S.: Gay marriage: Prop 8 trial heads to Ninth Circuit today

  • It’s a very favorable panel for the challengers to Proposition 8.
  • University of Pittsburgh law professor (and Ninth Circuit expert) Arthur Hellman • Handicapping the highly-anticipated horse race over Proposition 8 in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals starting today. The court, which chose to hear the case before allowing Judge Vaughn Walker’s initial decision to stand, could throw some wrenches in the case, though; namely, if they want, they can decide the case in such a way (by suggesting that supporters fo Prop. 8 didn’t have the standing to appeal the case) so that it doesn’t go to the Supreme Court, even if it legalizes gay marriage in California. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Nov 2010 08:52

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Offbeat: San Jose animal shelter learns to love all of God’s creatures

  • We’re suckers. And there’s always one or two that grab your heart.
  • United Animal Nations emergency services manager Janell Matthies • Expressing her appreciation for the 1,000 bundles of joy recently found in a Los Angeles home. Yes, that’s right, she’s talking about rats – rats found, by the way, during a shoot for the A&E show “Hoarders.” They were recently taken to a San Jose animal shelter largely because they had the room to take them all in. We like Matthies’ ability to see the bright side here, but let’s emphasize that some hoarder dude created an environment disgusting enough to foster that many rats. And yes, since they’re at an animal shelter … they’re up for adoption. No, you first. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Nov 2010 21:09

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U.S.: What happened to Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen? She’s dead

In case you were in need of a good Hollywood whodunit, the death of publicist Ronni Chasen the other day has the city gripped like a Phil Spector murder case. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

15 Nov 2010 20:24

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U.S.: California Supreme Court: Yay immigrants, state’s rights

  • YES illegal immigrants can pay in-state tuition source
  • » Score one for state’s rights. In 2002, California passed a law allowing illegal immigrants at California public universities to pay in-state (read: cheaper) tuition, so long as they’d applied to legalize their immigration status. Plaintiffs argued that federal law, which bars illegal immigrants from gaining “any postsecondary education benefit,” trumped California’s law. But the California Supreme Court disagreed, allowing California universities to continue its policy. The decision was unanimous, and also allows California high school grads who reside in other states to qualify for in-state tuition.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Nov 2010 12:00

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U.S.: Oscar Grant death: Oakland gets unruly after yesterday’s sentencing

  • 1,000+ number of letters the judge received recommending a harsh sentence for BART officer Johannes Mehserle
  • 152 people arrested in Oakland last night in the wake of the light sentence for Mehserle source
  • » Why was the sentence so light? Well, a few things. First, Superior Court Judge Robert Perry felt that the cop had “tons of remorse” for his actions, and that lots of evidence suggested Oscar Grant’s killing was accidental. “I did the best I could with this case,” Perry said yesterday. “My decisions today will not be well-received by many people. I’m sorry for that.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Nov 2010 21:18

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U.S.: Light sentence in Oscar Grant case leaves Oakland on edge

  • 14 years the amount of jail time the mother of Oscar Grant, Wanda Johnson, wanted for BART officer Johannes Mehserle in the police brutality case where the unarmed Grant was killed
  • 2 years the amount of jail time Mehserle will get for his YouTube-spread actions, which have the entire city of Oakland on edge; he’ll also get credit for time already served source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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