Tag: california

Wiener Vows to Stop California Bill Requiring Schools to Inform Parents About Gender Transition

California State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is vowing to stop a proposed bill that would require schools to inform parents in writing that their children have chosen to change their gender identity.

The bill, AB 1314, proposed by Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R-Norco), would provide that

the parents and guardians of pupils enrolled in public schools have the right …  to be notified in writing within three days from the date any teacher, counselor, or employee of the school becomes aware that their child is doing either of the following:

(i) Identifying at school as a gender that does not align with the child’s sex on their birth certificate, other official records, or sex assigned at birth.

(ii) Using sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, or using facilities that do not align with the child’s sex on their birth certificate, other official records, or sex assigned at birth.

The bill is motivated by the case of physical education teacher Jessica Tapia, according to NBC Palm Springs, who was fired after challenging a school district policy that required her to “lie” to conceal information from parents about students who wanted to transition to a different gender. She is currently suing the Jurupa Unified School District.

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Surprise: A California County Went Full-Eliott Ness to Spy on a Church During COVID

In the criminal justice system, people who tend to disagree with the government are aggressively investigated by the elite members of the Santa Clara County COVID-19 Business Compliance Unit. These are their stories.

And cue the “Law & Order” sound effect.

Yes, it’s Law & Order: BCU

Yesterday, I told you about a Chinese app designed to track people who wanted to attend religious services in the Henan province. At the time I opined that governors like Gavin Newsom would salivate over that kind of technology and that something like that was probably headed our way soon. But as it turns out, Santa Clara County in California was already taking a boots-on-the-ground approach when it came to spying on and harassing an area church. Writing on his Substack, Silent Lunch, journalist David Zweig tells the tale of how between November 2020 and January 2021, the Santa Clara County COVID-19 Business Compliance Unit (you thought I made that name up, didn’t you?) went all-in to spy on a church that bucked the ham-handed and unevenly applied lockdown mandates.*

Calvary Chapel San Jose attracted the attention of county snoops on On May 24, 2020. That day, pastor Mike McClure said that he would reopen the church despite the COVID-19 restrictions. And for that matter, the church would stay open. Such a move was bound not to be well-received in California, and even less so in Santa Clara County, which had been particularly aggressive in enforcing lockdown rules. But McClure had seen the devastating effects that enforced isolation had on his congregation. For example, one man said his church attendance kept him from entertaining thoughts of suicide as the quarantine merged with other difficult life events. Another found that church attendance gave him the strength to stave off his urges for alcohol and drugs as the crushing isolation took its toll. A woman said that the fellowship at Calvary Chapel San Jose helped save her son, who struggled with substance abuse after the lockdown cost him an apprenticeship in plumbing. A pastor was able to tie the woman in with a program that she credits with saving her son’s life.

On August 21, 2020, the church was hit with a cease-and-desist letter from the county. At issue were the crimes of meeting indoors, failure of members to mask and social distance, and, of course, singing. Two days later, a pair of officers from the COVID-19 Business Compliance Unit were at the church and saw at least 100 people doing all of those things. As Zweig writes:

So began a series of issuances of fines for violations every single day, beginning in August, and running through the spring of 2021. The fines began at $1,000 each. Per the terms of the public health order, there was no grace period, and the amounts doubled each day that the violations were not corrected until a maximum of $5,000 per day was reached. By October 27, 2020, the county had already fined Calvary $350,000.

By the time September rolled around, churches in the county still could not meet indoors. But shopping malls could operate at fifty percent capacity. In October, churches could have either 100 people or twenty-five percent of their capacity on campus. Museums could accommodate fifty percent of their capacities, and stores had no limits. But at this point, Santa Clara County was determined to bring the hammer down on Calvary Chapel San Jose. To do that, they needed evidence.

And cue the “Law & Order” sound effect, again.

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California allows 47 biological men to transfer to women’s prison—approve no requests of biological women to move to the men’s estate

Since California’s Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act came into effect in 2021, permitting transgender inmates to be housed in facilities in line with their gender identity, 47 biological males have been permitted to transfer to women’s prisons while none of the 12 requests by biological females to transfer to a men’s facility have been granted so far.

Democratic California Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 132 was enacted in January 2021, granting biological male criminals the right to request transfer to women’s prisons based upon a self-declared female gender identity, as well as the right for these males to request to be searched by female prison staff.

The law applies to both male and female inmates alike, but the flow of transfers has so far only gone in one direction. On the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) website, it states that as of Feb. 26, 2023, 349 people housed in male institutions have requested to be housed in a female institution. 47 were approved for transfer, 21 were denied, and 35 changed their minds. The remaining requests are being reviewed.

However, 12 individuals housed in a female institution have requested to be housed in a male institution. None have yet to be approved, but all the requests are under review.

In 2022, the CDCR commissioned The Moss Group, a Washington-based criminal justice consulting firm, to provide long-term policy recommendations to “ensure successful continued implementation of SB 132.”

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What Conflict of Interest? California AG’s Wife Appointed to Run House Committee that Oversees His Budget

California Democrats who run the state have decided laws no longer matter nor do ethics.  The AG is fine with his wife leading the committee in the state house that oversees his budget. 

KCRA in California reported on the material conflict of interest:

California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s wife, Assemblymember Mia Bonta, has been tapped to lead a budget committee that oversees and helps determine his agency’s spending, a decision that some political experts say is ethically questionable.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, recently appointed Mia Bonta, as the chairwoman of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee 5, which focuses on how taxpayer dollars are used on the state’s various public safety agencies, including the California Department of Justice. Both Bontas are Democrats.

“It should raise eyebrows,” said Bob Stern, former general counsel for the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission. “What’s going on with them? It seems to me they have a tin ear about ethics.”

“I believe Ms. Bonta will continue to be independent and unbiased in her legislative judgment, as she has been since starting her service in the Assembly,” Speaker Rendon said in a statement, defending his decision. “The Legislature has a robust and transparent budget process, designed with checks and balances to ensure the best possible budget is passed. Our final Assembly budget proposal must be identical to the Senate, and will be approved or vetoed by the governor. Additionally, we can’t set salaries or benefits for state constitutional officers, so no elected official can ever personally or financially benefit from our budget process,” he said.

Democrats and their Deep State don’t believe in conflicts of interest or the law when it comes to their own actions.  This happens over and over again. 

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California cops shoot dead double amputee, 36, as he tries to run away from them on his stumps: Police department says officers feared he was going to ‘throw his knife at them’

A group of California police officers shot and killed a double amputee on Thursday as he tried to run away from them on his stumps after jumping out of his wheelchair. 

The three cops from Huntington Park Police Department were filmed firing at least eight shots at Anthony Lowe Jr., a 36-year-old father-of-two. 

His family say he lost the lower halves of his legs recently after an altercation with police in Texas.  

Lowe Jr. had just stabbed someone unprovoked, according to the police department, and was trying to run away from two officers on Thursday. 

First, they tried to Tase him, chasing him as he ran down the sidewalk, away from the wheelchair he had leaped from.

He turned and tried to hurry away from them, clutching a large butcher’s knife in one hand.

A second police car arrived, from which a third cop emerged. Within 15 seconds of the third officer arriving, they fired multiple shots, shooting Lowe in the upper torso. 

Once he was on the ground lying on his stomach, they placed him in handcuffs. 

‘The suspect was tased at least twice by Huntington Park Officers but the deployment of the taser was ineffective. 

‘The suspect attempted to throw the butcher knife at the officers again, at which time an officer involved shooting occurred,’ the LA County Sheriff’s Office release said.

Lowe Jr. later died at the scene. His family is now demanding answers from the police department. 

The officers involved have not yet been named.

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Chair of California’s Reparations Task Force Says Black People are Really Owed $1 Million Each

A few weeks ago, I reported that a nine-member California Reparations Task Force has estimated that black state residents could receive more than $223,000 each in reparations for the enduring economic effects of racism and slavery.

To put that amount in perspective, it has been estimated that it would cost around $569 billion to compensate the 2.5 million black Californians. That total is more than California’s $512.8billion expenditure in 2021 – which included funding for schools, hospitals, universities, and other civilization-essential services.

Now, the chair of California’s Reparations Task Force has said that black people are really owed $1 million each for “harms.”

Speaking with the Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC, Kamilah Moore said her task force found that California’s redlining housing practices targeting black Americans between 1933 and 1977 has had a direct effect on today’s homeless community.

Dubbing housing discrimination as one of the ‘five state sanction atrocities’ against black people, the panel initially recommended to California lawmakers that the state pay up $223,200 to each black resident.

Moore previously said economists on the panel estimated that black Californians descended from slaves were owed $1 million per person in reparations.

. . . . Prior to the task force’s first public meeting last month, Moore discussed the group’s work with economists on how to put a value on the ‘atrocities’ that impacted the black community.

‘They came up with $127,000 per year of the life expectancy gap between Black and white Californians,’ Moore said during a panel at Harvard. ‘That comes to just under $1 million for each Black Californian descended from slaves.’

Moore noted that ‘California can’t pay all that,’ so the task force will be spending the next six months hammering out an adequate value and payment method to recommend to state lawmakers.’

So, I guess the $223,000 each is a compromise we should be grateful for.

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Gavin Newsom’s Wife Rakes in Cash Charging California Public Schools To Screen Her Woke Movies

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D.) wife has charged the state’s public schools as much as $1.5 million to screen her documentaries on “gender justice” and “corporate exploitation.”

“First Partner” Jennifer Siebel Newsom has raised nearly $1.5 million from film licenses and nearly $1.7 million from sales since 2012, according to the watchdog group Open the Books. Her nonprofit, the Representation Project, charges schools an average $270 to license documentaries like The Great American Lie, which says sexism causes economic inequality, and Fair Play, about women who want to do less housework. While the group does not specify how much it earned from schools, Open the Books says it could easily account for all or nearly all her $1.5 million in streaming revenue.

Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit could pose an ethical problem for her husband as he considers a presidential run. The Representation Project drew criticism in 2019 for accepting $358,000 in donations from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), the utility company responsible for some of the state’s worst wildfires. PG&E is listed as an associate producer on two of Siebel Newsom’s films and hosted a screening of her first movie, Miss Representation, in 2011, when Newsom was mayor of San Francisco.

PG&E isn’t the only Newsom donor with ties to the Representation Project. The governor and his wife for years have raised money from the same donors and corporations—he for his political campaigns and she for her nonprofit.

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I’m a successful female minority truck driver. California’s AB5 forced me to leave the state I love

To most people, owning your own business is a way to become successful. For me, it was a mission – a lifeline to a brighter future for myself and my daughters.

 That journey began in California more than three decades ago, when I dropped my nursing studies to get a commercial driver’s license. As a woman, the thought of working in a male-dominated field was intimidating at first. But those initial fears soon gave way to the rewarding opportunities that a career in trucking offers.

The change was unexpected. As a single parent raising four daughters, I needed both flexibility and the opportunity to provide for them. Which is why, in 2015, I partnered with Prime Inc. to become an independent contractor. 

Being an independent truck driver empowered me to run my truck as my own small business. I loved traveling on the job, the freedom to be my own boss, and the option to take my children with me on long hauls when I could. 

Making good money while seeing the country, I built a wonderful life back in California – a place I was proud to call home. I was living my version of the American Dream. But lawmakers in Sacramento soon had a very different plan for me. 

When the state legislature began debating Assembly Bill 5 – a law effectively banning independent contractors in trucking – my dream was put in jeopardy. AB5 would have demoted me from small business owner to company employee – affecting my hours, benefits, flexibility and overall ability to earn on my own terms. It would effectively kill the dream I worked so hard to build over so many years.

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District administrator calls for ‘privileged white voices’ to be dismissed from curriculum plans in California

A California district administrator involved in overseeing curriculum, Samia Shoman, called for “privileged White voices” to be removed from influencing against a far-left ethnic studies curriculum. 

Shoman oversees curriculum in the San Mateo Union High School district as manager of English Learners and Academic Support Programs. The email was dated March 2021 and was obtained via public record request by Zachor Legal.

Shoman contacted the California State superintendent, Tony Thurmond, in March 2021. Shoman blasted “white voices” and said they should have no part in influencing the curriculum.

“We urge the [state board of education] not to give in to the pressures and influences of political lobbyists, racist & privileged white voices, and individuals,” she said. 

Another issue Shoman took up with the proposed ethnic studies curriculum was the idea of “multiple perspectives.”

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‘He Was Looking for People’: What We Know About the Monterey Park Shooter

A 72-year-old man shot and killed 10 people on Saturday night at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, where decades earlier he had met his wife.

On Sunday night police named the shooter as Huu Can Tran, and confirmed that he had taken his own life earlier in the day. Police found his body inside the van he used as a getaway vehicle the night before.

Authorities have yet to identify why the gunman did what he did.

“We still are not clear on the motive,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a press conference Sunday night.

The gunman’s ex-wife and former friends have described him as irritable and  “quick to anger,” while police sources told the LA Times that the gunman had recently gone to a police station close to where he lived to claim his family was trying to poison him.

Saturday night’s massacre happened as thousands of people gathered to celebrate the Lunar New Year festival in Monterey Park, a city of 60,000 people located seven miles from downtown Los Angeles. The city is a haven for Asian Americans, who make up almost two thirds of the population. It was once described by a developer as the Chinese Beverly Hills.

The massacre on Saturday is the 36th mass shooting to take place in the U.S. since the year began, according to Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that defines a mass shooting as a shooting where four or more people are injured or killed. It is the deadliest attack since the Uvalde school shooting last May when 21 people, including 19 children, were killed.

As a mark of respect to the victims, President Joe Biden ordered flags to be flown at half staff on the White House and all federal buildings until sunset on Thursday.

“I still have questions in my mind, which is, what was the motive for this shooter? Did he have a mental illness? Was he a domestic violence abuser? How did he get these guns, and was it through legal means? Well, those questions will have to be answered in the future,” said Rep. Judy Chu, whose district includes Monterey Park and who served three terms as the city’s mayor, during a news conference on Sunday night.

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