Gov. Brown had some choice words for the Fresno sheriff when he called her and scolded her with accusations of maligning his Proposition 57 campaign.
David Siders in the Sacramento Bee: "In his effort to pass a ballot measure to make certain nonviolent felons eligible for early release, Gov. Jerry Brown has turned to direct confrontation – scolding a California sheriff in a voice mail for what he called a “malicious” mailer opposing the measure."
"Hey Margaret, I got that mailing on Prop. 57 that you signed,” Brown said in a message received by Margaret Mims, the sheriff of Fresno County, and obtained by The Sacramento Bee."
"In the voice mail, Brown objected to campaign’s distribution of a card featuring a prisoner that “you said would be released under my proposition."
An appeals court has given a grieving Anaheim family the go-ahead to sue the local police department for the shooting death of unarmed 25-year-old Manuel Diaz in 2012.
L.A. Times' Maura Dolan writes: "A federal jury decision that absolved Anaheim police in a shooting of an unarmed man was influenced by inflammatory, graphic and irrelevant evidence and must be overturned, a federal appeals court decided unanimously Wednesday."
"The decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals revived a civil rights lawsuit by the family of Manuel Diaz, 25, who was shot and killed in 2012 after running away from two Anaheim police officers. The shooting sparked days of violence and street protests."
"Police shootings are often the most difficult — and divisive — cases that our legal system and society encounter,” Judge John B. Owens wrote for the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. “Wrapped in strong emotion and often opaque case law, they can perplex even our most experienced trial judges."
SEE MORE in Public Safety: Competency hearing is sought for former L.A. sheriff Lee Baca -- Joel Rubin with L.A. Times; California bill limiting asset seizures by police headed to Jerry Brown -- Alexei Koseff in Sac Bee; Cop gun-storage bill inspired by Kate Steinle killing heads to Gov. Brown -- Thomas Peeletpeele with East Bay Times; San Jose: council members question police staffing 'emergency' -- Ramona Giwargis with East Bay Times; Lawsuit alleging excessive force by LAPD at black USC party settled for $450,000 -- Richard Winton with L.A. Times
Say Cheese! Selfies at the ballot box have been approved.
Anshu Siripurapu with Sac Bee reports: "Voters in California would be free to snap a selfie with their ballots if Gov. Jerry Brown signs a bill passed by the Assembly on Monday."
"Assembly Bill 1494 by Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-Greenbrae, would allow voters to “voluntarily disclose” how they voted, modifying the current law that prevents marked ballots from being shown to anyone else. Although technically illegal now, the floor analysis of the bill says: “The Secretary of State's office indicates that they have no records of a voter ever having been prosecuted in the state for showing his or her marked ballot to another person."
"Voluntary disclosure would include sharing photos of a ballot on social media, according to Ethan Jones, a consultant for the Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting who analyzed the bill."
Recent climate change legislation encapsulates California's political landscape: the G.O.P is losing a foothold and Democrats do not deviate from party unity.
George Skelton writes for L.A. Times: "Gov. Jerry Brown got mad and one year later has gotten even with the oil lobby."
"It’s a textbook example of what can happen in a representative democracy when a leader is willing to settle for realistic goals. It’s what results when one doesn’t get too greedy and agrees to compromise."
"It’s also symptomatic of one-party control. Dominant Democrats in Sacramento hang together more often than not, and that produces victories when only a simple majority vote is required. And that’s usually."
SEE MORE related to Climate Change: California's climate change law is one signature away from a 10-year extension -- A.P.'s Jonathon J. Cooper in Daily News
Opponents of cannabis legalization are now trying a new method of support galvanization: warn the public about an influx in marijuana based advertisement if November's ballot measure succeeds.
Christopher Ingraham reporting for The Washington Post writes: "California's upcoming ballot initiative to legalize marijuana appears likely to pass, with recent polls showing support for the measure standing at 60 percent or higher. But opponents have lately seized on a new message that they hope will convince Californians on the fence to vote "no" in November: the idea that legalization would lead to a flood of marijuana advertising on television."
"In a July news release for the campaign opposing legalization, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.) claimed that the legalization measure, Prop. 64, "rolls back anti-smoking advertising protections we’ve had for decades and allows marijuana smoking ads in prime time, on programs with millions of children and teenage viewers." The No on 64 campaign similarly states on its website that "Proposition 64 would, in effect, end a 45-year ban on smoking ads on television."
"It's an alarming claim, based on a provision within the proposed legislation that reads as follows: "Any advertising or marketing placed in broadcast, cable, radio, print and digital communications shall only be displayed where at least 71.6 percent of the audience is reasonably expected to be 21 years of age or older, as determined by reliable, up-to-date audience composition data."
SEE MORE related to Cannabis: Marley Natural cannabis brand gets approval as Santa Rosa's first pot processor -- Kevin McCallum with The Press Democrat
California's students appear to be making progress on statewide standardized tests, despite poor performance results last year.
Theresa Harrington with EdSource reports: "More California students are meeting achievement targets in math and English language arts compared to last year, according to standardized test results released Wednesday."
"In spring 2015, students took the new Smarter Balanced tests, which are aligned to more rigorous Common Core standards, for the first time. In spring 2016, the percentage of students who met the targets increased at every grade level and in every student subgroup, the new results show."
"The much-anticipated results were met with some relief by education leaders, who were hoping that this year’s scores would be better than last year’s. Last year’s results were intended to set a baseline by which school and district performance could be measured going forward."
READ MORE in Education: Higher test scores, yes, but no narrowing of achievement gaps in California -- John Fensterwald with EdSource
Spouses dealing with the loss of a loved one and a mortgage with their name on it may see some relief as an anti-foreclosure bill heads to the governor.
L.A. Times' Andrew Khouri writes: "A bill that would grant California widows and widowers greater protections against foreclosure heads to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk after passing the state Senate on Wednesday."
"The proposal is geared at giving surviving spouses who own their home but are not on its mortgage note a better shot at obtaining a loan modification."
"Consumer groups say survivors — including those who inherit property after a death — face considerable resistance from loan servicers when trying to obtain modifications."
SEE MORE related to Policy: California legislature approves bill to help in-home caregivers -- Beau Yarbrough with Daily News; Bills to reduce California prostitution penalties move to Jerry Brown -- Alexei Koseff with Sac Bee
And now for a page from our "Honey, I Shrunk the Cat" file ...
Meet New York's biggest feline friend, Sampson. Standing at over 4 feet with nearly 30 pounds of mass, Sampson is definitely not your average house cat. Meow.
UPI: "The owner of a 4-foot long Maine Coon in New York City claims the massive cat is the city's largest."
"Samson the Maine Coon has gained internet notoriety for his 4-foot, 28-pound frame after repeated efforts by his owner Jonathan Zurbel to have him declared the largest cat in New York City."
"Finally my cat went viral! It took a lot of work because the pet scene on IG is very competitive, everyone thinks they have the cutest pet," Zurbel wrote on Instagram. "All the cat blogs were ignoring me until the story broke, then everyone got onboard. It's important to always stay the course when you are pushing something on the Internet. It takes time, hard work and consistency with some clever strategies."