With plans to put marijuana legalization on the ballot come November, some politicos with ties to police groups in California don't want to see the proposition become reality.
From the Bee's Jeremy B. white: "Two Democratic state lawmakers with deep law enforcement ties announced their opposition on Tuesday to legalizing recreational marijuana use."
"Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, a former Sacramento County sheriff’s official who regularly warns about the consequences of drug use, and Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, the Democratic senator most aligned with law enforcement, warned in a statement about impaired drivers and exposing children to marijuana."
"Joining Cooper and Galgiani in opposition were Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, and Sacramento County District Attorney Anne-Marie Schubert."
SEE ALSO: Governor who called legalization 'reckless' now says Colorado's pot industry is working -- David Kelly in LAT; Oakland approves law to regulate pot industry -- Rachel Swan in Chronicle.
As San Francisco's police force continues to fall under public scrutiny for apparent racism, the current police chief, Greg Suhr, claims that he is the right person to get the ball rolling on departmental reform.
Chronicle's Vivian Ho writes: "San Francisco Police Greg Suhr said Tuesday he has “no intention” of stepping down amid growing criticism of his five-year tenure, asserting that no one is in a better position than he is to oversee reforms to a city force under fire over recent shootings and racist behavior by some officers."
“I know some people would have me to go by the boards. I have no intention of doing that,” Suhr told The Chronicle’s editorial board in an hour-long meeting. “There are a lot of things that are moving parts, and I can’t honestly think of somebody else who could get it all done as quickly as I can get it done.”
"Suhr’s critics, including the four most progressive members of the Board of Supervisors and a group of activists who waged a 17-day hunger strike to try to force his ouster, believe the city needs a new chief at a time when the U.S. Department of Justice division in charge of police-community relations is studying the San Francisco force and drawing up recommendations for changes."
It's not just San Francisco police, but the L.A. sheriff's department which is sharing the spotlight, after a new recruit catches jail guards beating an unresisting inmate.
LAT's Joel Rubin writes: "Less than a week into his career as a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, Josh Sather was summoned by his training officer to the sixth floor of the Twin Towers jail."
"Sather, a promising rookie who had graduated at the top of his class of recruits, was told an inmate had left his cell without permission and mouthed off to jail staff. “We’re going to teach him a lesson,” Sather recalled his training officer telling him."
"Testifying in the federal criminal trial of the training officer and another deputy, Sather told jurors how he and other deputies led the inmate into a hallway. Sather recounted tackling the man and punching him several times but then relenting because the inmate wasn't resisting. Other deputies then set upon the inmate with a barrage of kicks and blows that culminated in them spreading the inmate's legs and the training officer kicking him in the genitals, Sather said."
SoCal Gas can't seem to catch a break... unless it's in their pipes. Shortly after the Aliso Canyon incident, the utility company now finds itself in more hot water after an inspection at one of its storage facilities revealed eroded corrosion control systems.
KPCC reports: "State utility regulators have fined Southern California Gas Company $2.25 million over delayed fixes on corrosion control systems found during inspections of gas operations in the Harbor Area and Mid-City."
"The inspections by the Safety Enforcement Division for the California Public Utilities Commission took place in April and May 2015. That was months before a gas well blew out at the company's massive Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility in the north end of the San Fernando Valley near Porter Ranch. That well rupture was discovered in October, and led to the uncontrolled release of more than 5 billion cubic feet of natural gas and the continued relocation of more than 2,000 families outside the area."
"The CPUC regulates gas utility equipment above ground. The citation, issued Friday, found 45 violations. SoCal Gas has until May 23 to correct the violations or submit a plan for corrections, and to pay the fine. The company may also appeal the fine and citation. "
Big Beverage has just been required by US District Court Judge Edward Chen to use 20% of all add space in the city towards providing a warning label about the detrimental effects of soda on the body.
Bob Egelko reports in the Chronicle: "San Francisco’s first-in-the-nation law requiring display ads for sugary drinks to carry warnings of increased risks of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay can take effect in July as scheduled, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in rejecting a challenge by the beverage industry."
“The warning required by the city ordinance is factual and accurate,” and is a “legitimate action to protect public health and safety,” said U.S. District JudgeEdward Chen, who turned aside industry arguments that the advertising message is misleading and violates free speech."
"The American Beverage Association, the California Retailers Association and the California State Outdoor Advertising Association sought the injunction against the requirement.
California's remnants of a frontier era are all but slowly disappearing as development interests continue to pervade rural communities in an effort to landgrab acreage for building and promoting business.
Mercury News' Paul Rogers writes: "The natural landscape of the American West is gradually disappearing under a relentless march of new subdivisions, roads, oil and gas production, agricultural operations and other human development, according to a detailed mapping study released Tuesday."
"From 2001 to 2011, an area totaling 4,321 square miles -- or 15 times the size of San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco combined -- was modified by development in the 11 Western states, the report found, with California losing the most natural land, and Wyoming and Utah changing at the fastest rate."
"We are nibbling away at our wild places at a fairly rapid clip," said Mike Dombeck, former chief of the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in the 1990s."
And now from our "proof of life" file...
Apparently, China thought that a Panda in Taiwan named Tuan Tuan died this past week while in a Taipei zoo's captivity -- and the internet exploded in outrage. The zoo then shortly released a proof of life photo assuring that Tuan Tuan was alive and well.
"The subject of the photo looks out from behind bars, with newspapers arranged in front of him to prove what day it is. This "proof of life" shot is not a scene from a kidnapping but an effort by the Taipei Zoo to debunk rumors that a prized panda recently died."
"Photos released by the zoo this week show 11-year-old Tuan Tuan looking at the papers laid out in front of his inner enclosure. The zoo's director said in a statement that Tuan Tuan, his partner Yuan Yuan and their cub Tuan Zai are all fine."
"We welcome everyone to visit them at the zoo," said Director Chin Shih-chien said."
