California is the land of shake, rattle and roll, seismically speaking, and Gov. Brown has signed a $10 million earthquake early-warning system with the goal of providing a heads up when the Big One hits.
Lillian Dong in Daily Californian: "Gov. Jerry Brown signed a state budget Monday that includes $10 million funding for a statewide earthquake early warning system designed by members of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory."
"The fund will include approximately $7 million for expanding earthquake-detecting systems as well as $3 million for educational and training programs by the state’s Office of Emergency Services. The office will use these funds in partnership with ShakeAlert, an earthquake early warning system created by researchers from UC Berkeley."
"Beginning in 2013, ShakeAlert received a variety of public and private funding, including $13 million from Congress. Many felt, however, that the funding was insufficient, leading state Assemblymember Adam Gray, D-Merced, state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, and state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, to push for a bill in the state budget dedicated specifically to a California early warning system."
The governor signed some new gun control laws before he went off to Europe for an extended vacation, and gun advocates don't like it a bit.
From the Bee's Tyler Foggatt: "Fifty or so gun activists gathered Saturday morning at Sacramento’s Cesar Chavez Plaza to protest Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing of six gun control measures they said would turn “law-abiding citizens into criminals.”
"One bill Brown signed will expand the state’s assault weapons ban to include “bullet-button” rifles, which allow users to quickly dislodge a magazine of ammunition by pressing a button. Others prohibit citizens from possessing magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and require background checks on people purchasing ammunition."
"These stricter measures come as pressure grows nationwide to do something to rein in the proliferation of guns following a string of mass shootings, including one last month that left 49 people dead in a Florida gay nightclub."
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article87414902.html#storylink=cpy
If you ever wonder what your tax dollars are going for, look no further than providing security for House Democratic Leader nancy Pelosi's shopping trip.
From the Chronicle's Matier and Ross: "They’re still buzzing up in the Wine Country over House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi’s VIP ride — complete with flashing lights — to a swank St. Helena shoe boutique."
"As local businessman Thomas “Paul” Smith first described in a letter to the hometown St. Helena Star, he was chatting with friends on Main Street on a recent Saturday afternoon when he spotted “a large, perfectly polished and gleaming black SUV” approaching from a side street."
“The big black SUV then darts out across both lanes of traffic with (red and blue lights) flashing in both front and rear windows,” Smith wrote. “It goes directly into the red zone/fire hydrant area” and stops in front of Footcandy — a shoe store frequented by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Victoria Beckham, where a pair of shoes can set you back anywhere from $100 to more than $1,000."
The Ku Klux Klan is now trying to reinsert itself back into society.
AP in L.A. Times: "Born in the ashes of the smoldering South after the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan died and was reborn before losing the fight against civil rights in the 1960s. Membership dwindled, a unified group fractured and one-time members went to prison for a string of murderous attacks against blacks. Many assumed the group was dead, a white-robed ghost of hate and violence."
"Yet today, the KKK is still alive and dreams of restoring itself to what it once was: an invisible white supremacist empire spreading its tentacles throughout society. As it marks 150 years of existence, the Klan is trying to reshape itself for a new era."
"Klan members still gather by the dozens under starry Southern skies to set fire to crosses in the dead of night, and KKK leaflets have shown up in suburban neighborhoods from the Deep South to the Northeast in recent months. Perhaps most unwelcome to opponents, some independent Klan organizations say they are merging with larger groups to build strength."
