Just over a year after unarmed teenager Michael Brown was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, igniting months of violent protests and sparking a wave of outrage across the country when the officer was not indicted by a grand jury, Governor Brown has signed legislation to eliminate grand juries in cases where police kill in the line of duty. Tracey Kaplan, San Jose Mercury News:
“The grand jury ban accomplishes officially what many California district attorneys, including in Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties, are doing already -- deciding themselves whether to bring criminal charges against police officers rather than presenting evidence in a closed hearing to a grand jury and letting the panel decide. Only one other state -- Connecticut -- bans the use of grand juries for all criminal indictments, but that taboo dates back to the early 1980s and has nothing to do with the current protests over the treatment of people of color by police.
“Supporters of California's ban, including the legislation's author, state Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, argued that Senate Bill 227 is necessary to stop even limited use of the grand jury option and to help restore trust in the criminal justice system. They contended that using a grand jury to decide if there is enough evidence to bring charges against cops serves mostly as political cover for district attorneys reluctant to impugn the police officers with whom they work closely and on whom they depend for crucial political support….
“Mitchell, who is African-American, called the ban ‘an important first step in ongoing efforts to build public trust, transparency and accountability, in an atmosphere of suspicion that compromises our justice system.’"
As fires continue to burn across northern California, top fire official describes current conditions as a “nightmare” that could get worse. Craig Miller, KQED:
“Unlike many epic fires in the California record, which were largely driven by wind, in the fires burning north of the Bay Area, ‘There really is no significant wind,’ says Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott. ‘It’s all being driven by the condition of the vegetation.’
“Which is to say, not merely dry, but four-year-drought dry. Pimlott says Cal Fire measures the potential burn intensity of vegetation throughout the state, and is currently seeing ‘record levels’ of that metric, known as the Energy Release Component.
“’It’s just creating explosive growth rates,’ he says.”
Also from KQED: John Myers looks at Sacramento lobbying efforts by local governments, who are near the top in lobbying expenditures each year.
“Local governments dominate the lobbying sweepstakes. Since January 2013, they have collectively shelled out more than double what oil and gas companies spent on Sacramento lobbying, and more than 10 times what’s being spent by the state’s agriculture industry.
“In numerous interviews with community officials and statehouse lobbyists, one thing seems clear: Local governments feel they can’t afford to miss the action, or the chance to defend their interests, when it comes to California’s legislative and executive branches of government.”
In what is being seen as a win for environmentalists, the Sacramento County Superior Court has thrown out rules governing farm runoff on California’s Central Coast. Geoffrey Mohan, LA Times:
“The Sacramento County Superior Court sided with environmentalists who opposed a blanket waiver for growers in the Salinas Valley and other areas of the Central Coast, saying the conditions of an “ag order” failed to protect the public from dangerously high nitrate levels in drinking water and from chemicals linked to the deaths of sea otters and other animals.
“The preliminary decision, expected to be finalized over the next few months, lends support to a stricter set of draft waiver conditions that were opposed by agricultural interests, including Western Growers, a trade association whose members produce roughly half the nation's produce.”
And, speaking of pollution, Chevron has agreed to pay $146,000 in fines related to air pollution coming from its Richmond refinery. Kurtis Alexander, SFGate:
“The penalty stems from 22 citations from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District mostly for discharging unhealthy levels of hydrogen sulfide and other harmful compounds through flaring, the process of burning off excess gas, common at industrial sites.
“The refinery was also cited for excess carbon monoxide coming out of its furnace.”
Retired AFSCME political director Willie Pelote has landed a $12,500 a week job as an Assembly consultant, notes Melanie Mason of the Los Angeles Times.
“Pelote stepped down in May from his post as political and legislative director for the California chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, where he had worked since 1995…
"Weeks later, Pelote went back to work--this time at the Assembly as a deputy chief consultant to Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), chair of the powerful Appropriations committee…
“John Scribner, chief of staff to Gomez, said Pelote was brought on for his ‘excellent organizing skills and understanding of the legislative process.’ His responsibilities include coordinating outreach and networking among interest groups on transportation, the subject of a current special legislative session.”
Bee columnist Dan Walters delivers some Tough Love to Tom Steyer, saying that the billionaire environmentalist shouldn’t complain about high gas prices while promoting government solutions to climate change.
“Steyer and Consumer Watchdog, an organization that launches periodic ballot measures, suggest that refiners are manipulating the gasoline market to run up huge profits and want companies to disclose more information about their profit margins and other data.
“’If the Legislature and the courts will not act,’ he said recently, ‘I believe the citizens will have to take matters into their own hands. Either there is something nefarious going on here, or the structure of the market itself is unacceptable. In either case, we need to fix the problem.’”
A federal investigation has revealed that as many as 600 Commercial truck drivers may have paid as much as $5000 in bribes to California DMV employees to obtain illegal Class A driver’s licenses. Don Thompson, AP:
“Court records say the employees changed computer records to falsely show that drivers had passed written and behind-the-wheel tests after they were bribed by the owners of three truck-driving schools between June 2011 and March 2015.”
And finally, here’s a story that illustrates the desperate lengths some teens - even Dutch teens - will go to in order to get their hands on the latest phone: pilfering a world heritage site.
“A 16-year-old Dutch tourist was caught trying to steal an artefact from the ancient ruins of Pompeii, with the aim of selling it on eBay to raise cash for the latest iPhone.
“The young tourist decided to take a Roman roof tile from the archaeological site, which he hid in his rucksack in a bid to smuggle it out without getting caught, Il Mattino reported.
“But the teenager was spotted lifting the tile by a conscientious American tourist, who informed security staff.
“Police stopped him before he could leave the site.
“The young thief was charged with attempted theft and handed over to his angry mother, who was unaware that he was up to no good.”
We note with pride that it was an American tourist who saved the day. USA! USA!