Tag: california

Humboldt County, California, Caught Fining Innocent Homeowners $10,000 Per Day for Offenses They Did Not Commit

In 2018, after a wildfire destroyed their Southern California home, Corrine and Doug Thomas did their best to find a silver lining and turn that nightmare into a dream: They packed up their remaining possessions, and—along with one of their two autistic adult sons—bought a modest home nestled in Northern California’s fabled redwood forests. The home, which is perched on a hill over the Avenue of the Giants highway in Humboldt County, was a perfect fit for their family and included a large barn out back for Doug’s workshop. 

Unfortunately, the Thomases’ dream quickly turned into a terrible new nightmare. 

Just six days after moving in, they received a notice from the county fining them $12,000 per day because the previous owners had used the barn to grow cannabis over two years before the Thomases bought it. The county, which requires a lengthy permit process for demolitions, gave them just ten days to tear it down. Panicked, they hired a building engineer, who estimated that the demolition would cost more than $180,000—which was money they don’t have. As of today, they have accrued more than $1 million in fines. 

By the county’s reasoning, anyone with a greenhouse, cleared garden, barn or any other structure that could be used to grow cannabis is assumed to be growing cannabis and fined at least $10,000 per day. Humboldt accuses property owners of cannabis-related offenses without any proof or process. The county rarely bothers to conduct even the most cursory investigation. If the inspector had visited the Thomases’, for instance, he would have found an empty barn with a few tools. But Humboldt’s inspectors have admitted that they frequently rely on satellite images alone to issue fines.

The Thomases, like more than 1,200  other Humboldt property owners, are victims of the county’s so-called “abatement” program, which levies crippling fines based on unfounded, scattershot allegations that property owners are growing cannabis without paying the county for a permit. Once fined, owners face a legal labyrinth to prove their innocence. In the Thomases’ case, for instance, they’ve waited more than a year for the county to schedule a simple hearing to plead their case. Even as the Thomases waited for a hearing, the daily fines continued to accrue.

That is why, today, the Thomases—along with a group of other Humboldt property owners—have partnered with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to file a class-action lawsuit to put an end to the county’s unconstitutional practice of levying outrageous fines against innocent individuals.

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Newsom Signs Bill Allowing Doctors in California to Face Discipline for ‘Misinformation’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Sept. 30 that allows the state medical board to discipline physicians for “misinformation” or “disinformation” related to COVID-19.

According to the law, misinformation means “false information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus contrary to the standard of care,” while disinformation is “misinformation that the licensee deliberately disseminated with malicious intent or an intent to mislead.”

Newsom gave his reasoning for signing the bill, AB2098, which was introduced by Democratic Assembly Member Evan Low.

“I am signing this bill because it is narrowly tailored to apply only to those egregious instances in which a licensee is acting with malicious intent or clearly deviating from the required standard of care while interacting directly with a patient under their care,” Newsom wrote in his signing message.

Newsom said AB 2098 only applies to physicians’ speech with patients during discussions directly related to COVID-19 treatment.

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Study Finds ‘Concerning’ Trend in the Drugging of Foster Care Kids in California As CPS Scandals Grow

A recent study in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology discovered that California foster care kids are being medicated with powerful psychotropic drugs, but the adults in charge of the children are not taking the appropriate steps to ensure that the drugs are safe for the kids. Currently, the Child Protective Services (CPS) system, which feeds young children to foster care, is under massive scrutiny nationwide.

The study, entitled “Antipsychotics in the California Foster Care System: A 10-Year Analysis,” found that drugging of foster kids supposedly became less frequent over the course of a decade in California. However, the system continues to use extremely “concerning” methods to medicate the kids with little regard for their safety from side effects. According to our recent NATIONAL FILE article “Exposed: Dead Children in the CPS System Near Bohemian Grove And Pelosi’s Pedophilia Links,” a teenager named Steven Gavin Unangst Jr. died in the Contra Costa County foster care system after taking prescription drugs, prompting his family to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the county.

The study states: “Psychotropic medications are defined as having a primary intended effect on the central nervous system. Among these, antipsychotic medications stand out because of their significant metabolic side effects, including weight gain and predisposition to diabetes mellitus type 2…The risk–benefit ratio for the use of antipsychotics may not be in the best interest of foster youth, particularly when other trauma informed multidisciplinary interventions, such as psychotherapy, may be more effective but are frequently inaccessible to this population…Additional ethical problems may exist when a foster child’s autonomy to decide is compromised by arrangements where housing is dependent on continued medication use…Media reports in California suggested that acceptance and adherence to such medications was used as a condition for continued housing…”

The study states: “Of the 7172 children who received psychotropic medications in 2020, only 5581 (77.8%) had the necessary TAR forms. In addition, of the 1764 children receiving antipsychotics, only 904 (51.2%) underwent appropriate metabolic screening. When considering the youth newly prescribed with antipsychotics, only 150/811 (18.5%) received screening, a decrease in performance compared with 2017 (239/913 screened youth; 26.2%).”

“The most concerning findings from this analysis are related to the proper authorization for using psychotropics and rates of metabolic screening. A significant proportion (22.2%) of California foster youth received psychotropics in 2020 without the necessary authorization incorporated in the CQIP policies. Stricter regulations could further reduce prescription rates, ensure safety, and respect autonomy and decision-making principles,” the study stated.

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California’s war on internet freedom

California appears to be waging war on internet freedom.

Last week, California governor Gavin Newsom signed off a new social-media transparency law that poses a serious threat to free speech. Known as AB 587, the law will force social-media companies to disclose their content-moderation policies, and submit detailed descriptions of their efforts to police speech in certain categories, including hate speech, extremism and harassment. Failure to demonstrate that they are regulating, editing and no doubt censoring what appears on their platforms could land social-media companies with big fines.

As noted by Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, the law will have draconian consequences. It effectively forces social-media companies to please the regulatory authorities now empowered to watch over them.

But that was not the only attack on online freedom launched by California lawmakers last week. Newsom also signed the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act into law. This is arguably an even more troubling move than AB 587.

The Age-Appropriate Design Code Act aims to protect children from harmful online content, by insisting that children’s interests are prioritised when businesses are designing and developing their online services. This law effectively insists that all internet users should be treated like children.

After all, the law will apply to any business ‘likely to be accessed by a child’, or unable to establish the age of its consumers ‘with a reasonable level of certainty’ – which goes for most businesses. Businesses will therefore have to assume that the child, defined by the act as any individual under 18, is the default user

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Governor Newsom hopes new social media law will help censorship of “hate speech” and “disinformation”

A bill has been signed into law in California, designed to obligate social media companies to submit enforcement reports twice a year to the state attorney general, and publicly post policies on “hate speech,” disinformation, harassment, and extremism.

After signing the law – AB 587 – Governor Gavin Newsom announced that this is a unique social media “transparency and accountability measure” that is meant to protect Californians from hate and discrimination.

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

The reports will require tech companies to explain how and if they define and remove content from a number of categories, such as hate speech or racism, extremism or radicalization, disinformation or misinformation, harassment, and foreign political interference.

The reports are also expected to go into automated moderation, what happens to flagged content, and how many times it has been viewed.

Newsom seems to believe that social media is being weaponized to spread hate, disinformation, harassment, and lies that threaten communities, and vowed that California will not “stand by” as this is happening.

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CA Parents Sue School District After ‘Nonbinary’ Male Counselors Allegedly Slept in Girls’ Cabins at Science Camp

Last February a group of California parents discovered that their elementary school children were subjected to an extremely uncomfortable situation when allegedly forced to bunk with nonbinary counselors at a four-day camping trip to an outdoor science retreat. The camp vehemently denies the accusations, but the school district is where parents identified the real problem.

The Pali Institute is a Southern California staple. Elementary schools from across the region regularly organize three- and four-day science retreats with the camp. Most children who grow up in Southern California have a Pali story in their history. It has been a beloved learning retreat for decades.

However, parents from Los Alamitos Unified School District (LAUSD) were perplexed when their children came home from the science camp and some claimed “nonbinary” adults (biologically male) slept in the cabins with female students, some as young as 10 years old. They also say the children were subject to “verbal abuse” from one such counselor.

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New Law Punishes Doctors Who Challenge the Established Narrative on COVID-19

As TFTP has reported, Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, who has sponsored a slew of mandatory vaccine laws throughout his career came out in 2019 to threaten the speech of those who question forced vaccination. Throughout the pandemic, Pan has been staunchly opposed to free speech and advocated for silencing anyone and everyone who doesn’t worship at the alter of Big Pharma and TheScience(TM).

Now, with the passage of Assembly Bill 2098, this tyrannical state senator has finally gotten his way and even doctors who question the safety of a product from a company with a known history of criminal behavior — will be punished by the state for doing so.

TFTP predicted this was coming after a letter Pan wrote to the Attorney General of the United States, claiming that the “deliberate spread of vaccine information discouraging vaccination” requires the surgeon general to “stop this attack on our nation’s health by addressing the spread of vaccine misinformation.”

He literally advocated for people to be jailed for questioning vaccines — and now he’s gone even further.

The prediction wasn’t hard to make given that this totalitarian likened “antivaxxers” to terrorists and was given a platform in WaPo to do it.

“This campaign to deny potentially life-saving vaccines to those seeking them, and to poison public opinion against vaccinations, could result in countless American deaths. That is akin to domestic terrorism,” Pan wrote.

Pan has also criticized Facebook and other social media groups for allowing vaccine skeptics to post their views when he was given a platform in the NY Times.

“This movement not only puts out mis- or disinformation about vaccines or lies about vaccines, which in itself can be harmful, but they are also aggressively bullying, threatening and intimidating people who are trying to share accurate information about vaccines,” Pan told the New York Times.

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CA school district orders health textbook touting 10 sexual orientations — such as androsexual, polysexual, and gynesexual — and 8 gender identities

A California school district has ordered a health textbook for high schoolers that claims there are 10 sexual orientations and eight gender identities, Fox News reported.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District ordered the “Comprehensive Health Skills for High School” textbook, which claims there are 10 sexual orientations — including androsexual, polysexual, skoliosexual, demisexual, and gynesexual, the cable network said.

In addition, the textbook also says there are eight gender identities — including androgynous, bigender, gender-nonconforming, gender questioning, and nonbinary, Fox News added.

When the cable network reached out to the Newport-Mesa for comment, officials replied that “we follow the state-adopted standards for health education, which includes sexual health. We use a state-approved health curriculum with select modules, taught by credentialed teachers.”

Fox News said the district added that “parents can opt out their child from participating in comprehensive sex education. Parents also have the ability to review all curriculum taught in our schools so that they can be well-informed and make the best decisions for their child. We understand that there are varying viewpoints and beliefs and we follow California State Standards for curriculum, while also supporting parent choice.”

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California Tells Residents Not To Charge EV Because Of Blackouts A Week After Saying State Would Ban Sale Of Gas Cars

California residents are being told not to charge their electric vehicles due to possible blackouts just one week after the state announced it would ban the sale of gas-powered cars in 2035.

The state issued a heat advisory Tuesday, warning excessive heat “will stress [the] energy grid.”

“Consumers are urged to reduce energy use from 4-9 p.m. when the system is most stressed because demand for electricity remains high and there is less solar energy available,” the state said in the notice. “The top three conservation actions are to set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights.”

The state of California earlier in August banned the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035 as it tries to transition toward electric vehicles. The state also set interim targets, requiring 35% of vehicles sold in the state by 2026 to produce zero emissions, increasing to 68% by 2030. California is the nation’s largest auto market.

But the new electric vehicle mandates may be “extremely challenging” to meet, President of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation John Bozzella told The New York Times in an email.

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California Country Musician, Wife Found Dead Near Mojave Desert

A country guitarist and his wife were found dead on a road near the Mojave Desert by California authorities last week.

The Bakersfield Californian reported that Larry and Betty Petree, who had been married for 60 years, were found dead in their vehicle in a remote area of Kern County, according to the performer’s cousin Laurie Sanders.

“At this moment, I’m not sure exactly what happened,” Sanders told the outlet. “What were they doing out there? They don’t travel that far away from home.”

Sanders noted that Petree got lost on his way to a music gig weeks ago.

Kern County Sheriff’s Office deputies said in a press release that they found Larry Petree sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, and found Betty Petree leaning against the rear tire, the department said in a press release. Homicide detectives were not called to the scene, and KCSO did not immediately identify the bodies as belonging to the Petrees.

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