As the June 7 primary inches ever closer, thousands are leaving California's American Independent Party in droves, amid the realization that AIP registration doesn't actually register you as a political independent.
LAT's John Myers writes: "A new analysis finds nearly 32,000 voters in California's American Independent Party changed their official registration and left the party in the two weeks after a Los Angeles Times investigation identified widespread confusion among the party's members."
"The change comes after a series of stories last month about voters who had intended to be politically independent, what's known in California as having "no party preference." A poll conducted for The Times found 73% of American Independent Party members did not know they had registered with an actual political party."
"Paul Mitchell, a political data specialist whose firm sells exclusive analyses of voter data to California political campaigns, worked with The Times on the stories. He conducted the new analysis for The Times on a pro-bono basis.
SEE ALSO: California sees flood of new voters spurred by presidential race -- John Wildermuth with The Chronicle.
With scrutiny of police departments across the nation intensifying, legislators are now pushing forth a bill that will give officers the ability to prevent the release of camera footage acquired during arrests by giving the officers three days time to contest release requests. The measure is intended for officer safety, but many are saying the bill will have dire implications for government transparency.
AP's Alison Noon in The Chronicle: "California lawmakers on Thursday advanced a bill intended to protect police officers from harm by giving them time to decide whether to keep video footage secret."
"But as the measure heads to the Senate it faces opposition from law enforcement, justice and media representatives worried it could thwart access to public records and strip police leaders of discretion over agency footage."
"Members of the Assembly voted 59-1 in favor of the proposal from Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, to guarantee officers pictured in a dashboard, body or other police-owned video at least three days' notice to give them a chance to fight its release."
Whether it's dealing with lawsuits from the public, or dealing with lawsuits against its own police chief -- the LAPD is no stranger to controversy. Tensions between Chief Charlie Beck and the union representing his subordinates are at an all time high, after officers allege that Beck's influence has been corrupting department reviews in regard to misconduct cases.
LAT's James Quealy and Kate Mather report: "Tensions between Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and the union representing LAPD officers boiled over into a federal lawsuit Thursday, with the Los Angeles Police Protective League claiming the chief has a “corrupting influence” on the disciplinary process and calling for major changes in the way the department reviews serious misconduct cases."
"In a 57-page suit filed against the chief and the city in U.S. District Court, the union claimed Beck has violated the rights of rank-and-file officers who are accused of misconduct by pressuring disciplinary board members to return guilty verdicts. The Board of Rights -- a three-person panel that decides disciplinary cases for officers, who usually face termination or lengthy suspensions -- always consists of two high-ranking LAPD officials and one civilian."
"Pointing to separate lawsuits filed by four LAPD captains who claim they were punished for disagreeing with discipline recommended by Beck in the past, the union argued that the chief has an unfair amount of influence on the Board of Rights proceedings. The board should be composed entirely of civilian members, according to the suit."
There's a cut of nearly $800 million in transportation projects from the state budget -- a result stemming from a nearly $1 billion revenue loss attributed to a 5 cent gas tax decrease over the last 5 years.
AP in OC Register: "The California Transportation Commission has adopted more than $754 million in cuts to planned highway, transit and other projects because of falling tax revenues tied to gas prices."
"The vote taken Wednesday also delays another $755 million in planned future projects."
"A move made by the Legislature during the budget crisis means gas taxes are set annually by the State Board of Equalization based on fuel prices. The tax was set at 17 cents per gallon in 2010 and has now fallen to 12 cents. It will fall to less than 10 cents a gallon in July."
Big Plastic is now looking for a way to get the taxes and proceeds from purchased plastic bags used for environmental development and protection, instead of lining a grocer's coffers.
Capital Public Radio's Ben Adler reports: "The battle over whether California should ban single-use plastic bags is already headed to voters this fall. Now, it looks like they’ll also be asked where proceeds from bag fees charged to consumers should be spent."
"When Gov. Jerry Brown signed a statewide plastic bag ban in 2014, the American plastic bag industry immediately began working to overturn it, placing a referendum on this November’s ballot."
"Now, the industry is submitting voter signatures for a second ballot measure – an initiative that takes aim at the money raised from the bag fees paid by consumers."
And now, for the person who had the worst week in California, #WorstWeekInCA ...
Today's Worst Week in the Golden State is a no-brainer: The award goes to Greg Suhr, former police chief of the San Francisco Police Department. After myriad controversial, with the most recent being yesterday's fatal shooting of an unarmed young black female driving a stolen car, Suhr was forced to resign by Mayor Ed Lee -- the same mayor that swore him in only 5 years ago.
"San Francisco's police chief resigned Thursday at the request of the mayor hours after an officer fatally shot a young black woman driving a stolen car — the culmination of several racially charged incidents in the past year."
"Pressure had been mounting for the resignation of Chief Greg Suhr since December, when five officers fatally shot a young black man carrying a knife. Mayor Ed Lee stood behind the chief then and after it was disclosed in April that three officers had exchanged racist text messages."
"The mayor and the chief had announced a series of reform aimed at reducing police shootings. The two also called in the U.S. Department of Justice to review the department's policy and procedures."