The state Senate, taking a page out of FDR's New Deal plan to change SCOTUS, added new members to SoCal's air quality management district.
The LAT's Patrick McGreevy tells the tale:"Amid charges that polluting industries are taking over Southern California’s clean-air board, the state Senate on Tuesday approved countermeasures including an expansion of the board by three state apppointees."
"Senate leader Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) introduced the bill that would expand the South Coast Air Quality Management Board from 13 to 16 members and require the board to submit to the state Air Resources Board its plans to meet federal and state air quality standards."
“As a result of deliberate efforts to weaken the board’s clean-air majority, there is not one single Latino on the board,” De Leon told his colleagues before they approved SB 1397 and sent it to the Assembly for consideration."
After Clinton's superdelegate endorsement Tuesday, Sanders prepares for a final battle of attrition this week in hopes that he will secure a sizable chunk of California's delegates.
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin's David Montero writes: "It’s a big question sitting out there: Who needs to win California more — Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton?
For Sanders, the answer is simple."
"His narrow, longer-than-long odds to seize the Democratic presidential nomination will require a sizable chunk of the state’s 475 delegates to defeat Clinton. Period. And even with a California win, he still needs a whole bunch of other things to go his way, including a massive reversal of superdelegates to switch from backing Clinton to supporting Sanders."
"For Clinton, it’s to head into the general election with momentum."
SEE ALSO: California Gov. Brown praises Sanders, endorses Clinton -- Nolan D. McCaskill with Politico.
Sanders stopped by Oakland yesterday to try and secure voters before the primary by campaigning on topics such as free college tuition and universal healthcare.
Daily Californian's Cassandra Vogel writes: "With a little over one week to go before the California primary election, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders spoke at a rally in Oakland on Monday in an effort to gauge voter support from members of the community and advocate for his platforms, which revolve around universal healthcare and free public college tuition."
"Before heading to the rally at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Sanders visited Allen Temple Baptist Church in East Oakland at a talk closed off to the public, speaking to churchgoers about how he intends to provide solutions to income inequality and rising mass incarceration rates. At the rally, where he was introduced by UC Berkeley public policy professor and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, Sanders kicked off his stump speech by referencing the momentum — largely spearheaded by younger voters — driving the campaign during its final stretch."
"“We don’t get intimidated easily,” Sanders said at the rally. “And what is extraordinary about this process so far and winning the votes of young people (is) it tells me that our message of social justice, economic justice, racial justice, environmental justice — that is the message for the future of our country.”
Democrat infighting takes center stage during this year's primary in California, but California's G.O.P. hasn't proved decisive in picking a presidential candidate since the 60's.
Capitol Weekly's Chuck McFadden writes: "At long last, we were to be The Deciders."
"After more than 50 years, Californians were going to pick the Republican nominee for president! Ted Cruz was vowing to make his last stand against Donald Trump right here, with his back against the Pacific! San Francisco Republicans would become objects of desire instead of an endangered species! The utterances of we political writers would be accorded the deference they had always deserved! It was going to be very, very wonderful!"
"Didn’t happen."
The Obama administration is going toe-to-toe with U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in court over immigration data, alleged deceptions and misconduct stemming from the administration's November 2014 immigration directive.
Seung Min Kim and Josh Gerstein report in Politico: "The Obama administration is asking to halt an extraordinary federal court order issued earlier this month that called on Justice Department lawyers to take ethics courses and ordered up names and addresses of tens of thousands of immigrants in the country without legal status."
"The Justice Department filed the stay motion Tuesday morning. Brownsville, Texas-based U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen slapped the unusual sanctions against Obama administration attorneys earlier this month, arguing that lawyers misled him about key details of President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration, which are now tied up at the Supreme Court."
"In a statement, Justice spokesman Patrick Rodenbush dismissed Hanen’s view that administration attorneys acted in bad faith, and argued that the judge’s order “intrudes on core executive branch functions.” Other Obama administration officials warned that the order would have a “chilling effect” on immigrants trying to register with the federal government."
The spotlight is on gender-wage-equality in L.A. county after a state audit reveals that women are making 24% less than their male counterparts.
Abby Sewell in L.A. Times: "A state audit released Tuesday found a significant – and growing – gap in the average pay for men and women working for several large California counties, including Los Angeles."
"Women in Los Angeles County’s workforce made on average 76% of what their male counterparts made last year, down from 80% in the 2011 fiscal year."
"The audit by the California State Auditor also looked at the pay gap in Orange, Fresno and Santa Clara counties between the 2011 and 2015 fiscal years."
SEE ALSO: Report predicts that L.A. County will 346,000 jobs by 2020 -- Kevin Smith with San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
A lawsuit has been filed by the federal government in an effort to stop the beneficiaries of Syed Rizwan Farook, the San Bernardino shooter, from receiving his life insurance policy.
L.A. Times' Joseph Serna reports: "The federal government is suing to stop the family of San Bernardino shooterSyed Rizwan Farook from collecting more than $250,000 in life insurance payments from his death."
"In a complaint seeking the seizure of the money Tuesday, the government alleges that the proceeds from Farook’s two policies are derived from a terrorist act."
“Terrorists must not be permitted to provide for their designated beneficiaries through their crimes,” said U.S. Atty. Eileen Decker in a statement. “My office intends to explore every legal option available to us to ensure these funds are made available to the victims of this horrific crime. We will continue to use every tool available to seek justice on behalf of the victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attacks.”"
SEE ALSO: Feds: Suspected terrorist Farook's life insurance payout should go to victims -- Richard K. De Atley in The Press-Enterprise.
And now from our "It's not you, it's me..." file ...
One apartment complex took serious offense to tenants not friending its business on social media by stating that all renters have 5 days to friend the company on Facebook or be evicted from their homes. Talk about control issues!
Ben Hooper with UPI: "SALT LAKE CITY, May 31 (UPI) -- Residents of a Salt Lake City apartment complex said they were outraged to be threatened with eviction if they refused to friend the complex on Facebook."
"Tenants at City Park Apartments said the "Facebook addendum" taped to their doors Thursday night ordered them to friend the apartment complex on the social media site within five days or be found in breach of their rental agreements, which some residents said they signed months ago, before the addendum was authored."
"Residents said the document ordered them not to post anything negative about City Park Apartments on Facebook and granted permission to the company to use photos of tenants and their visitors on the page."