Sacramento

WESTERN YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO RECEIVES FEDERAL PROTECTION UNDER ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

 

East County News Service

Photo credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

October 6, 2014 (Sacramento)--The western population of the yellow-billed cuckoo will be protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced. The Service determined that listing a distinct population segment  of the bird in portions of 12 western states, Canada and Mexico is warranted. In the U.S., the listing will cover parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Since 1980, nine sightings of the yellow-billed cuckoo have been made in San Diego County, though no nests have been found since the 1930s, according to the San Diego Bird Atlas Project at San Diego State University.  Locally the birds have been spotted from May to August, most commonly in stands of riparian willows and cottonwoods.


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REPUBLICAN COMMITTEES FINED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING - AGAIN

 

East County News Service

October 7, 2014 (Sacramento)--California’s Fair Political Practices Commission has proposed fines for “money laundering” against three Republican central committees. .The committees illegally funneled money from major donors into candidates’ campaigns in amounts over legal limits, the FPPC says.


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GOVERNOR VETOES FUNDS FOR UC AND CSU CAMPUSES

 

By Miriam Raftery

October 4, 2014 (Sacramento)—Governor Jerry Brown earlier pledged to sign a $100 million funding bill for the University of California and California State University systems ($50 mlilion each)—but only if property tax revenues met or exceeded projections.


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GOVERNOR BROWN SIGNS PRIVACY AND CONSUMER LEGISLATION

 

East County News Service

September 30, 2014 (Sacramento) – Today, Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. signed into law over a dozen bills to strengthen privacy and consumer protections.

SB 828 aims to protect consumers from warrantless electronic spying on e-mails and phone calls. It prohibits any state agency from assisting the federal government in collection of personal electronically stored data, with certain circumstances.


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GOVERNOR TAKES ACTION ON GUN BILLS

 

October 1, 2014 (Sacramento) – Governor Jerry Brown has signed two bills to regulate firearms, but vetoed a third.

Family members can now seek a temporarily restraining order in court to block gun use and purchase, short-term, by a person showing signs of mental instability.  Assembly Bill 1014 was prompted by the deadly shootings in Isla Vista near U.C. Santa Barbara, where family members had warned law enforcement that they feared the suspect was planning violence.


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GOVERNOR SIGNS PLASTIC BAG BAN

 

By Miriam Raftery

September 30, 2014 (Sacramento)--California has become the first state in the nation to ban disposable plastic bags in major retail outlets, though 125 local jurisdictions in the state have already adopted similar ordinances.


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GOVERNOR SIGNS CLEAN VEHICLE BILL

 

 

September 23, 2014 (Sacramento)-- Capping off National Drive Electric Week, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. has signed half a dozen bills to strengthen California's best-in-the-nation electric vehicle market.


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OVERCHARGED TAX ON AN AUTO PURCHASE? GET YOUR REFUND

 

September 15, 2014 (Sacramento) – Californians who want to know if they overpaid sales or use tax when buying a car or truck should verify their local tax rate (www.boe.ca.gov/taxrate) and review their vehicle registration paperwork carefully.


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FIRST AMENDMENT ADVOCATES: URGE GOVERNOR TO VETO SB 1300, WHICH SUBVERTS CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT

 

By Miriam Raftery

September 14,2014 (Sacramento) – Senate Bill 1300, now on the Governor’s desk awaiting signature , was touted as a means of strengthening safety regulation of oil refineries. But last-minute amendments in the bill mean it would “eviscerate the state’s freedom of information law, the Public Records Act,” warns Peter Scheer, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition.  The group is urging the public to contact Governor Jerry Brown and ask him to veto the bill.


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"SIX CALIFORNIAS" MEASURE TO SPLIT UP STATES FAILS TO QUALIFY FOR BALLOT

 

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

September 13, 2014 (Sacramento)—The Secretary of State’s office has found that backers of a ballot initiative that would divide California into six separate states fell short of the required 807,615 signatures needed.  Supporters turned in over 1.2 million signatures, but a random check to verify the validity found only 752,685 signatures were valid—66.1% of those turned in.


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BROWN SIGNS BILL TO GIVE WORKERS PAID SICK LEAVE

 

 

September 13, 2014 (Sacramento)—If you’re a part-time or full-time worker, you’ll soon have at least three paid sick leave days a year, starting in July 2015.


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CALIFORNIA CRACKING DOWN ON COOKING OIL CROOKS

 

By Miriam Raftery

September 9, 2014 (Sacramento)--The state of California is cracking down on slick thieves who have been snatching used cooking oil from restaurants to sell on the black market for use as biofuels.  It’s selling for over a dollar and a half a gallon though it may smell like French fries or fried chicken.


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LEGISLATURE PULLS THE PLUG, KILLS MONOPOLY PROTECTION BILL

 

By Miriam Raftery

September 2, 2014 (Sacramento)--On Friday, the California Senate closed its annual legislative session. Not a single Senator would sponsor AB 2145, which opponents had dubbed the “anti-competitive Monopoly Power Grab Act,” so the bill is now dead.

The measure, authored by Assemblyman Steven Bradford, would have undermined efforts in San Diego to create an alternative to San Diego Gas & Electric under community choice energy law.


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"YES MEANS YES" BILL PASSES LEGISLATURE

 

By Miriam Raftery

September 2, 2014 (Sacramento)--One in five students nationwide is a victim of sexual assault,  Increasingly, campuses across America are facing criticism for not doing enough to protect students from sexual assault.


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LEGISLATURE VOTES TO BAN PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS

 

By Miriam Raftery

August 30, 2014 (Sacramento) – Plastic accounts for 90% of all floating debris in the ocean. This has negatively impacted over 250 species and puts petroleum-based chemicals into our food chain. Many bags wind up in the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” in the north Pacific Ocean that has been estimated to measure hundreds of thousands, even millions of square miles.  Whales, dolphins and sea turtles choke by swallowing plastic bags, which resemble jellyfish prey. Bags can also become entangled around an animal’s neck.


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BILL TO BAN DRONE WARRANTLESS SURVEILLANCE IN CA ADVANCES IN LEGISLATURE

 

By Miriam Raftery

August 27, 2014 (Sacramento)--A bill to restrict law enforcement and other government agencies from using drones to spy on Californians without a warrant has passed the State Senate with overwhelming support.  Senators voted 25 to 8 in favor of AB 1327, which now returns to the full Assembly for a concurrence vote on amendments made in the Senate. If approved there, it will advance to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for signature.


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CALIFORNIA FIRE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION ISSUES STATEMENT ON FIREFIGHTING EFFORTS STATEWIDE

 

August 13, 2014 (Sacramento)—Today, the California Fire Chiefs Association has issued the following news alert with updates on firefighting and wildfire preparedness efforts statewide:


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BRINGING SOLAR POWER TO MORE CA HOMES

 

By Lori Abbott, Public News Service-CA

 

August 7, 2014 (Sacramento) – Making it easier, cheaper and faster for California homeowners to get rooftop solar systems is the idea behind proposed legislation being pushed at the State Capitol.


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CITIZENS UNITED BALLOT MEASURE CHALLENGED

 

East County News Service

July 30, 2014 (Sacramento)--California’s Legislature has voted to put an advisory measure on the November ballot asking the state’s voters whether they believe the Citizens’  United decision should be overturned.


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STATE IMPOSES WATER RATIONING

 

By Miriam Raftery

July 16, 2014 (Sacramento)--The California State Water Resources Control Board has announced they will impose unprecedented restrictions statewide on outdoor watering—including steep fines of up to $500 a day for those who ignore the rules.  This marks the first time ever that water rationing has been imposed statewide, though locally San Diegans have seen rationing in prior droughts.


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KEEPING CA KIDS SAFE FROM FOOTBALL INJURIES

 

Lori Abbott, California News Service

July 9, 2014 (Sacramento)--How long high school football players can practice each week - and how rough those practices can be - may be changing in California.


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CHEERS! BROWN SIGNS BILL TO ALLOW WINE TASTING AT FARMER'S MARKETS

 

 

July 8, 2014 (Sacramento)—Now you can sip a chardonnay or sample a sangiovese while perusing produce and other food items at your local farmer’s market.  Starting immediately, a new bill signed into law today by Governor Jerry Brown legalizes wine tasting at farmer’s markets for winemakers.


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MARK TWAIN'S JUMPING FROG NAMED STATE AMPHIBIAN

 

Lori Abbott, California News Service

July 8, 2014 (Sacramento)-- Mark Twain made it famous, and now the California red-legged frog is about to become the state's official amphibian.


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STATE LEGISLATURE APPROVES BUDGET

 

By Miriam Raftery

June 16, 2014 (Sacramento)—The California Legislature approved a $58.3 billion budget shortly before the constitution deadline Sunday night. The measure was a compromise between Governor Jerry Brown and the Democratic-controlled Legislature.


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REPUBLICAN REGISTRATION FALLS STATEWIDE

 

By Miriam Raftery

May 31, 2014 (Sacramento)--California is becoming bluer – leaving Republicans singing the blues.

According to the Secretary of State, the number of registered Republicans in California has plummeted, while Democratic registrations have held steady.


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CAUCUS WANTS MORE FUNDING FOR MOMS AND KIDS

 

By Lori Abbott, California News Service

May 22, 2014 (Sacramento) -- Budget negotiations will begin soon, and many of California's female lawmakers want to make sure the state's spending plan does a better job of helping women and children.


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WELLS RUN DRY ACROSS CALIFORNIA

 

By Miriam Raftery

May 2, 2014 (Sacramento)--As the drought intensifies, a new report by the California Department of Water Resources reveals that groundwater levels across California have historically low water levels. Half of the 5,400 wells studied had shrunk to levels lower than seen in the last 100 years.


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ASSEMBLY MEMBER WEBER MEETS CONSTITUENTS IN LEMON GROVE

 

By Nadin Abbott; photos Tom Abbott

April 20, 2014 (Lemon Grove)--Assembly Member Shirley Weber (79th-D) held a coffee day with constituents at the Lemon Grove Library on April 19. Weber explained that the issues that face the district are as diverse as the area she represents, adding that the issues of Lemon Grove are ever present in her mind.


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DEMOCRATS LOSE SUPER-MAJORITY IN STATE CAPITOL

 

March 3, 2014 (Sacramento)—Democrats have lost a supermajority in the state Senate, which means they can no longer pass tax measures or constitutional amendments without at least one Republican vote. That could mean a return to gridlock in Sacramento.


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DROUGHT SETS UP WATER FIGHT IN HOUSE

By Lori Abbott, Public News Service-CA



 


February 3, 2014 (Sacramento) - Emergency drought-relief legislation for California is heading to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill by Central Valley lawmakers would halt the restoration of the San Joaquin River and send more water to farmers. In announcing the bill, Rep. David Valadao blamed California's water shortages primarily on failed government policies.


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