Hillary Clinton stopped by an Oakland elementary school last Friday to continue gathering support from local voters as her presidential campaign pushes forward.
Anna Dell'Amico in Daily Californian reports: "Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign made its way to an Oakland elementary school gymnasium Friday, where Clinton spoke at a rally about topics ranging from the gender pay gap to college tuition."
"The rally took place at La Escuelita Elementary School in Oakland, which was filled to capacity with Bay Area residents, including several UC Berkeley students, who came to hear Clinton’s platforms and demonstrate their support."
"The rally was an opportunity for undecided voters to see what Clinton has to say, said Maureen Ochi Sides, a campus freshman and member of Cal Berkeley Democrats."
Early voting in Southern California is on the way, but some locals fear that Trump's presumptive nomination will prevent a large voter turnout amongst Reeps.
David Montero writes in Daily Bulletin: "Eager voters get their first crack at casting ballots today — as early as 7:30 a.m. in some Southern California counties — though enthusiasm among Republicans may be diminished now that Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee and faces no competition."
"Los Angeles County Republican Party Chairman Mark Vafiades said he’s worried about that."
"Now that it’s pretty much a done deal, I’m afraid people won’t come out and that will hurt the down-ticket races,” Vafiades said. “I would hope people realize it’s especially important because it affects all of those races: senate, state Senate, Assembly and even the supervisor’s races.”
Sponsors paying more than $5 a signature have created a hotbed in California for those trying to garner signatures to pass initiatives.
AP's Elliot Spagat in Mercury News reports: "Steve Kriston is accustomed to insults from shoppers. Some tell him to get a job when he solicits signatures to qualify measures for California's ballot."
"This is my job, he responds."
"It's a banner year for paid signature-gatherers like Kriston, who came to San Diego after three months working in Orlando, Florida, on state ballot measures there. He is weighing offers to move to Missouri and Minnesota after California's season ends. The Hungarian immigrant now makes more than the $1,200 to $1,500 a week he earned as a truck driver."
A case for overturning a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in the city of Upland may set a new legal precedent: the ability to increase taxes by use of special elections.
Liset Marquez from the Daily Bulletin reports: "After more than a year of costly legal battles, a Fourth District Appellate Court last month in an unprecedented move ruled the city had no legal standing to deny the California Cannabis Coalition the right to hold a special election on a ballot measure that aimed to overturn Upland’s ban on medical marijuana dispensaries."
"Upland has spent $45,884 on the case so far but may be on the hook for another $100,000 or so to pay for the coalition’s legal fees. And it would cost $137,000 to put on a special election."
"The council had felt it had invested too much in this case and was ready to cut its losses and accept defeat,” said Timothy Bittle, the director of legal affairs for the Howard Jarvis Association."
Senator Ted Gaines has successfully pushed SB 807 through the senate, a bill that would prevent civilian drone interference during the course of public safety work by instituting severe penalties for anyone caught trying to rubberneck a disaster with one of the aerial devices.
Jeremy with SusanvilleStuff reports: "Senator Ted Gaines announced Thursday that his Senate Bill 807, which he says will protect forests, property and the lives of citizens, firefighters and emergency personnel from drone interference, passed out of the Senate and is now headed to the Assembly."
"To think that someone would interfere with firefighting or emergency response situations to get a sneak peek or to post a drone video on YouTube is an outrage that is deserving of punishment and condemnation," said Senator Gaines. “I’m pleased that my colleagues agreed, and I look forward to Senate Bill 807’s continued support as it makes its way through the Assembly.”
"Senate Bill 807 will grant civil immunity to any emergency responder who damages an unmanned aircraft in the course of firefighting, air ambulance, or search-and-rescue operations. The bill stems from alarming reports of private, unauthorized drones causing mission-critical aircraft to be grounded during firefighting and medical response operations, putting pilots, firefighters, civilians and property at unnecessary risk."
The San Jose Police Department has publically announced a complete restructuring of departmental training after a fatal use-of-force shooting left a bipolar woman dead.
Mercury News' Robert Solanga reports: "The announcement that the San Jose Police Department is instituting mandatory department-wide crisis-intervention training, aimed at helping de-escalate encounters with people who are mentally ill or in a mental-health crisis, was hailed by many as an important step in dealing with a rising police issue."
"For Jim and Vicki Showman, it's one more step in an ongoing effort that helps keep the memory of their daughter alive."
"I absolutely feel like it's part of her legacy," Vicki Showman said. "She had such a big heart and wanted to make everyone feel accepted and loved. I personally owe it to her to continue to work for that."
And now from our "Trump's America is already here" file ...
Public education can be a great thing. It can teach you the basics, like the alphabet, or it can also help you recognize a mathematical equation when you see one, instead of mistaking it for a secret terrorist code signaling an imminent airplane hijacking (no, we're not making this up).
"An Ivy League professor aboard an American Airlines flight was questioned after a passenger mistook a math equation for Arabic and possible Islamic code for a terrorist attack."
"Guido Menzio, an economics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, was working on a differential math equation as the Syracuse-bound plane was preparing to take off from Philadelphia."
"The 41-minute flight was delayed by two hours as the olive-skinned, curly, dark-haired native Italian was questioned."