Tag: california

California’s Digital Plates Plan Raises Privacy Fears

California is one of the US states that have introduced digital license plates, amid opposition from a number of rights advocates.

Now, there is a legislative effort to have GPS location tracking embedded in these, to all intents and purposes, devices attached to the car.

Sponsored by Democrat Assemblywoman Lori Wilson, Bill 3138 is currently making its way through the state’s legislature. It refers to “License plates and registration cards: alternative devices,” and the bill has another sponsor – Reviver.

The company was founded by Neville Boston, formerly of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and promotes itself as the first digital license plates platform. It has made its way to both this proposal, and the law the current draft builds on – AB 984 (also sponsored by Wilson) – which was signed into law two years ago.

The problem with Reviver is that it has already had a security breach that allowed hackers to track those using the company’s digital plates in real-time. It doesn’t help, either, that the company is effectively a monopoly – the only one, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) notes, “that currently has state authorization to sell digital plates in California.”

Meanwhile, the key problem with AB 3138, warns EFF, is that it “directly undoes the deal from 2022 and explicitly calls for location tracking in digital license plates for passenger cars.”

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Deputies disciplined, cat shooting case closed: Sheriff

Kern County Sheriff’s deputies accused of using a cat as target practice have been disciplined and they’re back at work.

The incident happened at the Hart Park training facility back in March.

A woman walking in the park said she saw the deputies shoot a cat and kill it.

The woman didn’t capture the shooting on camera, but she did record her confrontation with the deputies in a video that went viral, sparking rage from animal rights groups.

This week on KGET 17 News at Sunrise, Sheriff Donny Youngblood said the case is now closed.

“This case is completed. The allegations were sustained. The officers involved were appropriately disciplined. I met with animal rights groups; they’re content with what we’re doing,” Youngblood said on 17 News at Sunrise. “They’re back to work, but they’ve been disciplined and that’s about all I can tell you without violating the peace officer bill of rights.”

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Multiple California Residents Spot UFOs Floating Above Their Homes

On Friday night, numerous California residents reported that they spotted and filmed a grouping of UFOs flying through the night sky in a zigzag pattern. 

That evening, multiple ring camera owners shared reports of sightings across Palmdale and Lancaster, towns to the north of Los Angeles, with one video showing bright lights zipping across the horizon. 

“Reports are emerging on various social media platforms of a suspected UFO sighting in the night sky,” wrote community page 661 Lasd And Lacofd calls on X. “Multiple individuals have shared their accounts, describing a bright light, a hovercraft-like aircraft, and unusual flight patterns, including abrupt stops and zigzag movements followed by a northerly trajectory.”

“We invite anyone who may have witnessed this phenomenon to share their observations in the comments section below. Your firsthand accounts will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of this incident,” they added.

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California Appeals Court Limits Privacy Rights of Online Messages

A legal battle, seen as a major privacy rights issue, came down to the extent to which the Stored Communications Act (SCA) protects user data, and is now headed to the Supreme Court of California.

This comes after the California Court of Appeal ruled in the Snap, Inc. v. Superior Court case that the majority of remotely stored messages are not covered by the Act’s law designed to prevent unlawful access to stored communications – Section 2702.

The CSA is there to stop platforms that provide online communications and storage from sharing contents of users’ online accounts (messages, emails, photos…). There are some exceptions in the legislation itself, e.g., unless the government obtains a warrant, that sets the bar relatively high.

But now, it looks like Big Tech’s “standard” business model – exploiting user data for massive profits – is coming back to haunt those users in yet another way.

Namely, the California Court of Appeal has found that if providers of that stored user data already have access to it, in order to monetize this content, then that content is effectively already disclosed and CSA has no business trying to protect it.

We obtained a copy of the opinion for you here.

And if this ruling stands, then tech companies can be asked to turn over user data without a warrant – a subpoena, the civil variety included – could potentially suffice.

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California Senators Approve Bill To Let Marijuana Growers Sell Directly To Consumers At Farmers Markets

California senators have advanced an Assembly-passed bill that would allow regulators to issue a new license allowing small marijuana growers to sell their products directly to consumers at state-organized farmers markets and other temporary events.

The legislation from Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D) was unanimously approved in the Senate Appropriations Committee in a 4-0 vote on Thursday. Adults would also be able to consume cannabis on-site at approved events.

The bill cleared the Assembly in late May with nearly unanimous support before moving to the Senate, where it passed through two committees. It now heads to the floor.

If approved, it will still need to go back to the Assembly for concurrence on Senate amendments, including one stipulating that the licensee can only sell and allow on-site consumption at “state temporary events.” The original language was broader, permitting such activity at “specified temporary events.”

The Senate Appropriations Committee also amended the legislation to delay implementation until January 1, 2026.

Under the proposal, the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) would be authorized to issue “a state temporary event license to a licensee authorizing onsite cannabis sales to, and consumption by, persons 21 years of age or older at certain venues expressly approved by a local jurisdiction, as specified,” the bill text says.

Local jurisdictions would need to consent to allowing the events in order for a license to be granted.

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Kamala Harris Slammed as ‘Critical’ Supporter of California Law That Increased Crime

As the California legislature works to reform a decade-old law that politicians on both sides of the aisle predominantly oppose, claiming it has destroyed the Golden State, Vice President Kamala Harris is a “critical” supporter of the measure.

Fox News reported that the law, Proposition 47, was introduced in 2024 and reclassifies multiple felonies, such as retail and property theft, as misdemeanors.

The law classifies petty theft of goods valued below $950 as a misdemeanor. This classification also corresponds to multiple offenses.

Proposition 47 also converted a slew of felonies dealing with narcotics possession to misdemeanors.

In 2023, the California legislature worked together to introduce a bill to amend Proposition 47, called the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act.

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California Regulators Propose Gov’t Takeover Of Oil Refineries To Stave Off Energy Crisis

California regulators have proposed a variety of government intrusions into the petroleum industry in order to combat future energy price surges, according to a report released Thursday by the California Energy Commission (CEC).

As the Golden State continues to pursue its green agenda, the CEC expects some of California’s nine oil refineries to be shuttered due to falling demand, which would give the remaining refineries increased pricing power and raise the possibility of a surge in gas prices, the study concluded. To solve this problem, the commission proposed a variety of government interventions, including expanded regulation on private refineries, the establishment of state-owned refineries and an increase in imports. (RELATED: Chevron Leaving California Behind After Years Of ‘Adversarial’ Dem Policies)

“The deployment of ZEVs [zero-emission vehicles] and a robust mass transit system are critical for achieving the state’s climate goals, reducing local air pollution, and eventually eliminating dependence on the volatile global petroleum markets. As demand for gasoline shrinks, refineries may close or convert to processing clean transportation fuels,” the report states. “This will lead to fewer gasoline refineries, with increased market concentration and associated market problems that often accompany it.”

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Newsom issues executive order for removal of homeless encampments in California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Thursday to direct state agencies on how to remove homeless encampments, a month after a Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces.

Newsom’s order is aimed at the thousands of tents and makeshift shelters across the state that line freeways, clutter shopping center parking lots and fill city parks. The order makes clear that the decision to remove the encampments remains in local hands.

The order comes after a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this summer allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces. The case was the most significant on the issue to come before the high court in decades and comes as cities across the country have wrestled with the politically complicated issue of how to deal with a rising number of people without a permanent place to live and public frustration over related health and safety issues.

“There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part,” Newsom said in a statement.

While Newsom cannot order local authorities to act, his administration can apply pressure by withholding money for counties and cities.

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California pushing radical “LGBTQ+” propaganda on state employees, reveals mental health professional

More than 250,000 people work for the state of California, meaning “We the People of the Golden State.” And from now on, all of them are required to undergo “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) propaganda courses showcasing LGBTQ+ perversion in order to remain employed.

Elizabeth Jones, an employee for the California Department of State Hospitals (DSH), wrote an article for LifeSiteNews that explains what the forced indoctrination classes entail.

DSH employs about 13,000 people whose job it is to provide mental health services to around 6,500 patients at five state-run hospitals: Atascadero, Coalinga, Metropolitan (in Los Angeles County), Napa and Patton.

Jones spent about two hours clicking through a mandatory course within DSH called “DSH LGBTQ+ Training 2024” that instructs employees about what so-called “LGBTQ affirming care is, how to deliver it and why it matters.”

The beginning of the course features a psychologist and social worker at Napa State Hospital breaking down the difference between “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

“I was informed that ‘sexual orientations’ include ‘heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual and pansexual,'” Jones writes. “Pansexual, according to my notes, ‘means that the person’s sexual behavior and attraction is rooted in connection with the other person, rather than the gender the other person chooses to adopt’ – denying our bodily reality.”

“‘Gender identities,’ on the other hand, describe ‘the labels we put on ourselves regardless of our sexual orientation’ and include woman, man, ‘trans-man, trans-woman, cisgender, transgender, gender non-binary, gender fluid and gender queer,'” added Jones.

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California Bill Making Child Prostitution a Felony Gets Watered Down After Woke Activists Claim it Will Harm LGBTQ Community

A California bill aimed at increasing penalties for those who engage in commercial sex acts with minors has sparked controversy and opposition from activists. 

The activists expressed particular worry about the legislation’s effect on marginalized communities, especially members of the LGBTQ community.

Senate Bill 1414, initially proposed to crack down on child exploitation, has found itself at the center of a heated debate that has conservatives dropping their jaws.

The legislation, introduced by State Sen. Shannon Grove, originally sought to make it a felony to solicit teenagers 17 and younger for sex. 

The bill, however, has undergone significant modifications during its journey through the legislative process, The Post Millennial (TPM) reported.

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