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California Supreme Court set to rule on redevelopment money
The California Supreme Court will issue a long-awaited ruling Thursday on the legality of the state's move to grab $1.7 billion in redevelopment money to help close California's budget shortfall -- a move that rocked cities across the state. The ruling, expected at 10 a.m., should give critical guidance on two state laws: one that dissolves redevelopment agencies and redirects their property tax revenues to the state, and a second that allows agencies to stay afloat if they agree to relinquish a large portion of their funding, which will be used to pay for schools.
http://www.mercurynews.com/californi...057?source=rss
More in need as welfare is cut
Advocates of welfare reform in California often cite one eye-popping statistic as they have pressed for cuts and changes to the program in recent years: The state has one-eighth of the nation's population but one-third of all welfare recipients. Yet steps taken in recent years to cut costs and get more recipients back in the workforce have run head-on into the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression.
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_19635081?source=rss
Crime keeps falling despite a recession - but why?
We've reported that crime continues to fall in the United States. The FBI said it was down for the first six months of the year and the Justice Department said violent crime was down 12 percent in 2010. It's a 20-year trend. One that has continued, despite a recession when people expect crime to pick up. All Things Considered's Robert Siegel spoke to Frank Scafidi, director of public affairs for the National Insurance Crime Bureau and a former FBI agent, to ask him why.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...ession-but-why
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Rand study on medical pot among year's worst, Scientific American says
Remember that Rand Corporation study from earlier this year that claimed crime actually increased in L.A. neighborhoods where cops closed medical marijuana dispensaries? The one that forgot to include crime statistics compiled by the Los Angeles Police Department? The one that Rand had to retract because it was pretty much completely worthless? Well, if you do, it will come as no surprise that the Santa Monica-based think tank's somewhat, uh, flawed report is number five on Scientific American's list of 2011's biggest retractions.
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazin...l_pot_amon.php
Gunfire alert systems aid safety, Calif. cops say
ShotSpotter has become a basic component of police work in six Bay Area cities that have bought it in recent years. While offering mostly anecdotal evidence, and acknowledging some problems, commanders in the cities say it's been a success and is likely to be a permanent feature of their jobs. Its proponents say the system enables officers to respond faster, often reaching the spot where shots were fired before the first 911 caller dials in.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...ed=rss.pageone
U.S. sets up hotline for detained immigrants
U.S. immigration authorities are setting up a telephone hotline to ensure that detainees held by local police forces partnering in a controversial federal immigration enforcement program are adequately informed of their rights. The initiative announced by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency on Thursday provides a toll-free number to field queries from detainees held by state or local law enforcement agencies "if they believe they may be U.S. citizens or victims of a crime."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7BS0ZG20111229
California high court puts redevelopment agencies out of business
The California Supreme Court threw hundreds of redevelopment agencies out of business in a ruling that will benefit state budget coffers but hobble local economic development and housing programs. The court ruled unanimously in favor of a state law passed last summer that abolished redevelopment agencies and voted 6 to 1 to strike down a companion measure that would have allowed the agencies to continue if they shared their revenues.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,7617164.story
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Tip from federal officials was big break in L.A. fires
Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck said the key break in the L.A. serial arson investigation came Saturday night when federal officials recognized a "person of interest" in the fires. That night, officials had distributed a video of a man walking near a car fire at the Hollywood & Highland Center parking structure. Beck said unnamed federal officials recognized the man and gave police information about him.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...%28L.A.+Now%29
New year brings new laws in California
Californians will no longer be able to carry handguns openly in public, buy alcohol at self-serve checkout stands or purchase shark fins for their soup under hundreds of new laws that take effect Jan. 1. Other measures bar minors from tanning beds, allow students to be suspended for cyber-bullying and require booster seats for children in cars until they are 8 years old or at least 4 feet, 9 inches tall. Despite another year of budget shortfalls, the 760 bills that Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in 2011 included several that cost money.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,4146983.story
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Hackers reveal personal data of 860,000 Stratfor subscribers
A computer hacking group has revealed email addresses and other personal data from former Vice President Dan Quayle, former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, and hundreds of U.S. intelligence, law enforcement and military officials in a high-profile case of cyber-theft. The unauthorized release of account information for 860,000 subscribers to Stratfor, a Texas-based company that provides analysis of national and international affairs, makes it possible to identify some subscribers and, in theory, impersonate them in cyberspace, analysts warned.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,0,90925.story
New handgun regulation faces federal lawsuit
A new California law that prohibits the carrying of an unloaded handgun in public already is under legal attack. Charles Nichols, a Redondo Beach resident, filed a lawsuit late last year in federal court against the state seeking to overturn restrictions on where he can display a handgun. AB 144, which took effect this week, expands California's firearm regulations to prohibit people from openly carrying an unloaded handgun outside of a person's home or vehicle.
http://californiawatch.org/dailyrepo...-lawsuit-14294
Plan to change three-strikes law moves toward November ballot
California voters may once again have the opportunity to change the state's three-strikes mandatory-sentencing law. An initiative to change the law has been cleared to gather petition signatures, a potential step toward the November ballot. The proposed change would reduce the sentences of some currently serving time, and reduce prison time for those who are convicted of nonviolent felonies and already have two prior felony strikes.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/cali...nitiative.html
Gun sales break records before Christmas, as FBI reports gun dealers ordered 1.5M background checks in December
Guns were more likely than ever to land beneath Christmas trees in 2011, as the FBI reported record-breaking firearm sales in the days leading up to the holiday. Gun dealers requested more than 1.5 million background checks on buyers in December, the highest single-month figure since the stats began being kept - and one that topped the previous record, set in November 2011, CNN reported.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...sEnabled=false
