Tag: california

California County Fines Man $120,000 for Refusing to Evict a Family From His Property

Hundreds of people live in trailers and campers on the streets of Santa Clara County, California—a very visible sign of the ultra-expensive county’s homelessness crisis.

Despite the scale of vehicular homelessness in the county, county officials have spent years focusing their enforcement actions on a single trailer parked on private property.

For years now, winery owner Michael Ballard has allowed his longtime vineyard manager, Marcelino Martinez, and his family to live rent-free in a trailer parked on the winery’s property.

County officials say this violates a county ordinance prohibiting recreational vehicles (RVs) parked on residential parcels from being used as dwelling units. Therefore, Martinez’s trailer has got to go.

Ballard has been trying to fix the violation by building a permanent home for Martinez and his family on the property. But getting all the needed permits from the county for that home has taken years.

In the interim, Ballard has refused to evict Martinez’s family from the property.

“I’m not going to remove this trailer because that will cause them to be homeless and I’d be putting this family on the street and I’m not going to do that,” Ballard tells Reason.

In response, the county has issued Ballard daily fines for every day he refuses to remove the trailer. These fines total some $120,000.

Ballard is now suing the county in federal court, arguing the fines violate the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on excessive fines.

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Cal Fire employee arrested in connection with off-duty arson

A member of California’s firefighter department has been accused of violating his own duties and starting several fires over the last couple of weeks.

CAL FIRE law enforcement officers arrested Robert Hernandez, 38, a CAL FIRE fire apparatus engineer, at Howard Forest Fire Station Friday, and accused him of setting five fires while off duty.

The blazes burned through a combined area of under an acre, according to CAL FIRE.

“I am appalled to learn one of our employees would violate the public’s trust and attempt to tarnish the tireless work of the 12,000 women and men of CAL FIRE,” CAL FIRE Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler, said in a statement.

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Outcry Erupts as California Prepares to Release ‘Pillowcase Rapist’ Who Terrorized Dozens of Women

At some point, Americans must recognize that the people who run their institutions care nothing for their interests.

According to KTLA in Los Angeles, local officials have protested a decision to release a violent serial rapist into the Los Angeles County community of Juniper Hills.

Meanwhile, concerned residents of the nearby city of Palmdale, nestled in California’s Antelope Valley, have also objected to the planned placement of 73-year-old Christopher Hubbart, known as the “Pillowcase Rapist,” so near to their homes.

On Monday, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger set forth her objections in a letter to Judge Robert S. Harrison of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which has jurisdiction over the placement site.

“There are 25 homes within a square mile of the nominated site,” Barger wrote. “Single women and women with children live in those homes. A resident who identified herself as having been a victim of sex trafficking, a rape survivor, and now suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder would have to live near this Sexually Violent Predator in perpetuity, along with her daughter.”

Indeed, Hubbart’s diabolical history of violence against women should preclude him from ever enjoying even limited freedom.

“A man who has admitted to raping over 40 women and suspected of raping dozens more is not fit for release or community reintegration at any level. Christopher Hubbart belongs in a locked facility where there is no chance of him ever again harming another human being,” Barger concluded.

Hubbart’s 40 confessed rapes constitute by far the worst part of this story. But government officials’ unfathomable behavior makes for a shameful subtext.

According to the Antelope Valley Press, officials placed Hubbart in that same community ten years ago. In 2014, the serial rapist occupied a house in Lake Los Angeles, east of Palmdale, before violating the terms of his release and returning to Coalinga State Hospital.

Palmdale Mayor Austin Bishop echoed Barger’s objections.

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Gavin Newsom Just Signed an AI-Deepfake Ban That Could Impact Free Speech. This Is the First Lawsuit Against It.

We were waiting for California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign on the dotted line of a new controversial bill that limits speech around AI “deepfake” content that many believe could impact memes. Now that Newsom has signed the bill, the first of several lawsuits against the censorial bills can be filed.

Christopher Kohls, an online content creator known for his political satire, has filed a lawsuit against the state, challenging recent legislation aimed at regulating AI-generated content. The lawsuit seeks to strike down two California laws which Kohls claims infringe upon First Amendment rights.

Read the lawsuit here.

The controversy began when Kohls posted a satirical video parodying Vice President Kamala Harris, which quickly caught the attention of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Following the video’s viral spread, largely due to a share by Elon Musk, Governor Newsom criticized the content, leading to the swift passage of AB 2655, the “Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024,” and AB 2839, related to “Elections: deceptive media in advertisements.”

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California Governor Unveils Emergency Ban On Hemp Products With THC

California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week proposed an emergency ban on intoxicating hemp products, saying the new regulations are needed to protect the safety of children. The governor issued the proposed emergency regulations, which prohibit sales of consumable hemp products that contain intoxicating cannabinoids including THC after they were drafted by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

“We will not sit on our hands as drug peddlers target our children with dangerous and unregulated hemp products containing THC at our retail stores,” Newsom said in a September 6 statement. “We’re taking action to close loopholes and increase enforcement to prevent children from accessing these dangerous hemp and cannabis products.”

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Gov. Newsom signs bill to resume harsh penalties for smash-and-grab robberies in California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday that reinstates tough criminal penalties for those who conduct large-scale theft schemes and smash-and-grab robberies that continue to frustrate voters across the state.

Under the new law, prosecutors are required to begin imposing harsher sentences on those who damage or destroy property with a value of more than $50,000 while committing a felony.

In 2018, a similar law expired, though the new law will sunset by 2030.

“California already has some of the strictest retail and property crime laws in the nation, and we have made them even stronger with our recent legislation,” Newsom said in a statement. “We can be tough on crime while also being smart on crime. We don’t need to go back to broken policies of the last century.”

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 California governor vetoes bill to make immigrants without legal status eligible for home loans

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Friday that could have made immigrants without legal status eligible for loans under a state program offering assistance to first-time homebuyers.

The bill drew staunch opposition from Republicans well beyond California, with many arguing the state, known for its expensive housing market, should prioritize housing assistance for residents who are in the country legally. But proponents say the legislation would have improved the quality of life for hard-working families, regardless of their immigration status.

Newsom, a Democrat often seen as a potential presidential candidate in the future, said he could not sign the bill because of limited funding available for state housing assistance programs.

“Expanding program eligibility must be carefully considered within the broader context of the annual state budget to ensure we manage our resources effectively,” Newsom wrote in a letter explaining his decision.

The proposal is among many state lawmakers have advanced in recent years aimed at expanding services for immigrants living in the country illegally. Another bill the Legislature sent to Newsom this year would require the state Employment Development Department to create a plan by March 31, 2025, to provide cash assistance to unemployed residents who are ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits due to their immigration status.

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Hemp And CBD Groups Threaten To Sue California Over Governor’s New Rules Restricting Cannabinoid Products

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) plan to crack down on hemp-derived cannabinoids in the state is rankling some in hemp industry, who now say they’re exploring lawsuits to challenge the governor’s proposed emergency rules unveiled last week.

On Friday, the advocacy group One Hemp said it’s considering a court challenge “with the intent to hold Newsom accountable to the normal democratic process.”

The organization, which has ties to the hemp CBD industry, notes the governor’s proposal was never approved by the state legislature and would severely restrict access to hemp products already legal under federal law.

“These are products that the disabled, chronically ill and veteran communities cannot live without to help support seizures, pain and mobility management, sleep and more,” One Hemp said in a press release about the possible lawsuit.

Jared Stanley, a founding member of One Hemp and a co-founder of the CBD company Charlotte’s Web, said Newsom’s plan to target hemp-derived cannabinoids is overbroad and would severely harm families who rely on CBD products.

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California Attorney General Bonta Pressures Top Social Media and AI Executives to Address “Misinformation”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has penned a letter to major social media and “AI” companies. And Bonta’s not urging them to “do better” on innovation, competition, and the like.

No – the letter is all about “election misinformation.”

It’s becoming almost pathological at this point, but the entire ruling apparatus in the US (and that includes not only officials but also politically and ideologically affiliated media outlets) is hammering in the message of that being an actual “threat to democracy.”

As if the largest companies in the said industries didn’t hear all this already dozens of times, Bonta goes out of his way to repeat the message to Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Open AI, Reddit, TikTok, X, and YouTube – (wouldn’t that one fall under the Alphabet category? But Bonta lists the video platform separately).

We obtained a copy of the letter for you here.

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San Bernardino wildfire started by suspected arsonist

A California man has been arrested in connection with the San Bernardino Line Fire, which has scorched tens of thousands of acres of forestland. The wildfire, which began last week, has led to significant damage and the evacuation of residents in affected areas.Justin Wayne Halstenberg, a 34-year-old resident of Norco, California, was taken into custody following an investigation by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department into the wildfire that has resulted in over 34,000 acres being burned. 

“Highland Station detectives, in collaboration with Cal Fire investigators, identified Justin Wayne Halstenberg as the suspect who started a fire in the area of Baseline Road and Alpin Street in the city of Highland, also known as the Line Fire, on September 5, 2024,” said the sheriff’s office in a press release.

Halstenberg has been a delivery driver for FedEx since last year and previously worked at the US Postal Service, according to the New York Post. He is facing multiple charges, including arson of an inhabited structure, arson of forest land, and possession of flammable material.

Authorities have not provided further details on how Halstenberg is suspected of starting the fire. He is currently being held at San Bernardino’s Central Detention Center on $80,000 bail, with a court appearance scheduled for Thursday.

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