Tag: gavin newsom

Beer Industry Trade Group Applauds California Governor’s Crackdown On Hemp Products With THC

A major alcohol trade association is applauding California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) newly proposed emergency regulations to outlaw intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids and require all CBD products be completely free of THC.

The head of the Beer Association, which represents American brewers, importers and industry suppliers, touted its “longstanding commitment to responsible drinking” in comments issued Monday morning and said Newsom’s proposal will close “an unintended loophole” created with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp federally.

“The Beer Institute thanks Governor Newsom for his leadership in closing an unintended loophole that has enabled the proliferation of unregulated intoxicating hemp products,” Brian Crawford, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Intoxicating hemp products are being sold as food and beverages, despite not being deemed safe for the U.S. food supply by federal regulators, and in some cases without age restrictions.”

“The beer industry is proud of our longstanding commitment to responsible drinking,” added Crawford, “and to operating in full compliance with a multitude of state and federal regulations.”

The Beer Institute said in an email that its position “aligns with a bipartisan coalition of 21 state attorneys general” who wrote a letter in March urging Congress to amend federal law so that intoxicating cannabinoids are not included in the federal definition of hemp.

More broadly, the Beer Institute has kept its distance from marijuana. It says on a policy page that while members “strongly believe voters should determine whether their state should legalize the sale of marijuana,” the group itself remains neutral on legalization. It further argues that it’s “misleading to compare marijuana to beer.”

“Beer is distinctly different, both as a product and as an industry,” the trade association contends. “Americans welcome beer at nearly every occasion because beer’s moderate alcohol content means it can be enjoyed sensibly. Brewers and beer importers are committed to responsible consumption, advertising, community service and working with law enforcement to promote public safety.”

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California Governor Unveils Emergency Rules To Ban Hemp Products With Any ‘Detectable Amount’ Of THC

Six years after Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp at the federal level, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is attempting to rein in the proliferation of products that contain intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids. While many support the aims of the proposal, some stakeholders contend it could ultimately limit access to federally legal CBD products.

Newsom announced new emergency regulations on Friday that would outlaw hemp products with any “detectable amount of total THC.” Hemp products that don’t have THC would be further limited to five servings per package, and sales would be restricted to adults 21 and older.

The proposal comes less than a month after the state legislature effectively killed a governor-backed bill that would have imposed somewhat similar restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids.

Newsom said in a press conference that he expects the new rules to take effect after a “very short” administrative process.

Standing next to a table piled with largely unregulated products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids, including beverages and gummies, Newsom expressed disgust that they’re now widely sold at grocery stores, gas stations and convenience stores. Hemp-derived THC-infused sparkling water, he lamented, can be found—including by minors—alongside more benign products like La Croix.

“It’s a disgrace and it’s a shame,” the governor said, “and the industry bears full responsibility for not policing itself, for the proliferation of these intoxicating products that are hurting our children.”

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Gavin Newsom to Decide After CA Democrats Pass $150,000 Home Loans for Illegal Aliens

California Governor Gavin Newsom will make the final decision on a bill that would make illegal aliens eligible for $150,000 in home loans for first-time buyers, after the State Assembly passed a final version of the bill on Wednesday.

Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R-Corona) helped lead Republican opposition to the bill, but Democrats passed it by a three-to-one veto-proof majority, sending it to the governor’s desk — and drawing attention to the party’s pattern of creating incentives for illegal migration by heaping taxpayer-funded benefits onto people who are not supposed to be in the country at all.

As Breitbart News has reported, the loan program expands an existing program that does not require a down payment or interest payments, but instead requires borrowers to repay the principal and a percentage of the appreciation of the value of the home.

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Newsom Nods To Cali’s Soft-On-Crime Jail Break Statute, Retains Prop. 47

In response to 50% of retail stores in San Francisco closing their doors, Democrat Gavin Newsom has signed a series of mild laws obliquely aimed at handling California’s retail crime wave.

On Friday, the governor, who has essentially dodged the retail theft wave for nearly a decade, signed bipartisan legislation for stricter criminal penalties and additional tools for felony prosecutions.

Unsurprisingly, Newsom had no comment on 2014’s Proposition 47, known as “Californians for Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.” Voters were largely misled by the title, which set the stage for almost no accountability for these theft crimes. Prop. 47 reduced many felonies, including drug, sex and other violent crimes, into misdemeanors.

Proposition 36, the “Increase Drug and Theft Penalties and Reduce Homelessness Initiative,” is the proposed rational amendment to Prop. 47, which Newsom and Democrats intend to kill this November.

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Newsom Hires $200k/Year Celebrity Photographer For Glamor Shots

As 20% of California suffers in poverty amid soaring power bills, soaring homelessness, businesses fleeing the state, and sky-high taxes, one might expect the state’s leadership to focus on solutions. Instead, Governor Gavin Newsom has taken a rather unconventional approach: hiring a celebrity photographer, Charles Ommanney, with a $200,000 annual salary to enhance his public image.

Yes, you read that right. In a state where many struggle to make ends meet, Newsom has brought on board a photographer known for capturing the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Ommanney’s task? To ensure that the governor is photographed in his most flattering light, whether it’s wearing aviator sunglasses while picking up trash from a homeless encampment or surveying wildfire damage in designer workwear.

This new role, which was quietly created and filled without the usual fanfare, is particularly egregious amid the backdrop of California’s economic struggles. With Ommanney now a full-time member of the governor’s team, his photos aren’t just about documenting events—they’re about crafting a carefully curated image of Newsom as a hands-on leader, Politico reports.

And while residents suffer, their governor is ramping up his meticulously polished persona, perhaps with an eye on the national stage. Earlier this year, instead of delivering the traditional State of the State address, Newsom’s office produced a glossy video, complete with dramatic visuals—some of which were shot by Ommanney—highlighting national issues over local crises.

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Newsom Threatens Laws Against Deepfakes After Kamala Harris Parody Video Goes Viral

In a clash between Gov. Gavin Newsom and tech magnate Elon Musk, the California governor promoted his intention to endorse a law targeting what he calls the misuse of AI in political advertising.

This decision escalates the ongoing dispute between the two influential figures. Newsom criticized a parody video shared by Musk, which seemed to showcase a campaign ad for Vice President Kamala Harris with a synthetic voiceover, by posting, “Manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this one should be illegal. I’ll be signing a bill in a matter of weeks to make sure it is.”

Musk retorted sharply on social media, emphasizing the legality of parody in the United States.

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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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Gavin Newsom Blames Climate Change “Weather Events” for California’s Massive Financial Deficit

At a press conference, California Governor Gavin Newsom blamed climate change “weather events” for the significant shortfall in the state’s public finances.

A reporter asked Newsom the following question: “Can we explain to Californians how we moved from $100 billion surplus to such a significant deficit in just a few years?”

After blaming volatility and saying the shortfall was anticipated, Newsom then spoke about unanticipated “rain bombs” that prevented the collection of taxes on time.

“Therein lied [sic] this blackout period that beguiled all of us,” Newsom explained, clearly struggling for words.

“If there was any indication that climate change has impacts well beyond those that are often promoted, I would consider our financial delays as just another example of why we need to tackle them.”

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Gov. Newsom’s Revised Budget Still Doesn’t Add Up

Gov. Gavin Newsom raised his estimate of the state’s budget deficit from $38 billion in his January budget proposal to $44.9 billion in his May Revision released May 10. The plan would spend $187 billion from the general fund for fiscal year 2024–25, which begins on July 1. The California Constitution mandates the budget must be passed by lawmakers by June 15.

But the $44.9 billion immediately is reduced by $17.3 billion, the revised budget explains, thanks to a deal he made a month ago with Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg).

That leaves $27.6 billion. We’ll have to wait until the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office releases its own analysis next week to get a more accurate picture. In February, the analyst’s office pegged the deficit at $73 billion. Whatever the actual enormity of the deficit, it’s a shocking flip from the $97 trillion surplus two years ago.

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Gavin Newsom Applauds Rollout Of AI Surveillance Network In California

If you’re not a criminal then you have nothing to hide, right?  This is the perpetual argument used in favor of state mass surveillance throughout history.  It’s the underlying justification at the birth of every surveillance agency from the Soviet Cheka to the German Stasi and beyond.  Don’t commit crimes and “you have nothing to worry about.”

Of course, this argument requires the public to overlook a simple and universal truth – That which is legal today can be made illegal tomorrow, and the people who make these decisions are often not good people.  With the ability to track and trace the behavior and movements of the citizenry in real time, the temptation to abuse that technology to increase government power is exponential.  That is to say, mass surveillance tends to inspire governments to abuse their authority and treat people like criminals even when they are innocent.

As we witnessed around the world during the pandemic lockdowns, authoritarianism can rear its ugly head without much warning and with incredible speed.  Some western countries (and even a few American states) aggressively sought to make resistance to covid restrictions criminal, to the point that authorities were legislating and even building “camps” designed to lock up covid offenders.  These plans were of course denied by political leaders even as they were putting the pieces in place to implement them. 

All of this was done in the name of a virus with a 99.8% survival rate.  What might they do when a legitimate crisis comes along?

We have seen how far our governments are willing to go to go to secure greater power over the populace; they have proven they’re not trustworthy enough to handle unilateral oversight. With real-time AI based surveillance in place the dangers are far greater.  Across the country there has been a quiet rollout of a new algorithm driven camera network from a company called Flock Safety.  

Flock offers AI integrated cameras with off-grid options (solar) that they say are meant primarily for license plate reading and vehicle identification.  California Governor Gavin Newsom recently applauded the creation of a new 480 camera network from Flock that will ostensibly focus on the Oakland metro area.

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