In an effort to get speeding motorists to slow down, one city thought it novel to make small...umm...additions to their city stop signs. The state transportation agency didn't find them too humorous.
Doesn't anyone check this stuff out first??
The Los Angeles Times has an interesting story on Antonio Viillaraigosa's, and law enforcements new approach to gangs. CCN predicts Los Angeles' success or failure will have sweeping effects on crime rates in all cities in southern California and up through the central valley. The mayor's office and the LAPD are promising to consolidate thinly scattered anti-gang resources and pour them into 12 beleaguered neighborhoods -- gang reduction zones -- where intense suppression would be coupled with gang intervention and prevention programs.
That coupling reflects an epiphany of sorts, with law enforcement now voicing a refrain that has long been the lonely cry of civil libertarians and community activists: Street gangs are a social phenomenon that cannot simply be bludgeoned out of existence.
"What we've really had in the past is a mass incarceration strategy," said Jeff Carr, L.A.'s deputy mayor for gang reduction and youth development. "We've locked a lot of people up and we still have this epidemic problem."
The SF Chron reported today that the court of appeals has rejected Union City's $3.22-a-month 911 levy as a tax, not a user fee, because it applies to all customers regardless of whether or how often they call 911. The paper notes that over 20 California cities have implemented similar fees, and with many more considering such a mvoe this could set the stage for a domino affect across the state. Get the full story here.
The SacBee has published results of a survey of Sacramentans on their expectations from the city's police force. Among these:
The full Bee story is here. According to that story, "Department officials say narrowing the gap of response times is not an unrealistic goal – if $50 million more is pumped into the department to provide the level of service the public wants." This funding would equate to over 30 dispatchers and over 150 police officers.
The City of Santa Clarita has been awarded a $435,000 grant from the State of California’s “State Safe Routes to School Grant.” The grant money is allocated to the City’s ongoing campaign to create a safer environment surrounding schools for children as well as to encourage them to walk and bike to school. This is the second year that the City has received this grant, which will go towards improving infrastructure that promotes safety and ease for school children getting from home to the classroom.
Interested? Read more about the program and how to apply here.
Several San Diego Area Cities have beefed up restrictions on sex offenders even as the California court system considers whether or not the underlying law is even permissible. Prompted by citizen outcry and a growing concern about childhood safety as sex offenders move into suburban neighborhoods, a number of California cities are adding extra protections and safeguards to the California law (which establishes a database of registered offenders whereabouts and prevents them from coming within 2000 feet of a school) including San Diego's regulations. Under the city ordinance, registered sex offenders can't be within 300 feet of an amusement center, arcade, day care facility, library, playground, park or school.
While courts are always laying claim to be above the political fray, its no secret that city ordinances passing all over the state will invariably weigh on the minds of judges considering the fallout of undermining tough sentencing laws and restrictions on sex offenders.
This is one political issue few judges will want to be on the wrong side of - politically speaking.
In an effort to stem the rapid spread of killer bees and promote public safety, officials in Martin County, Florida have unanimously passed an ordinance allowing workers to enter private property if they suspect killer bees are present. Vector control workers in Florida have a license to kill Africanized Honey Bees. The ordinance also allows workers to cross property lines to treat mosquito breeding grounds...Can California be far behind?
Full story here.
The city of Ventura reports that 5,000 resident of their city have opted out of their novel approach to 9-1-1 services. As we've reported in the past, Ventura chose an innovative way to meet the needs of emergency services. The city adopted a $1.49 monthly surcharge for telephones to cover the cost of 9-1-1 services.
Ordinarily this would be a 'tax' and subject to a vote of the people, but in an interesting twist, the city allows residents to voluntarily 'opt out' of the monthly surcharge and pay a $17.88 fee in the event the resident actually needed and used the service. Of the 4,986 forms filed as of Thursday, 3,093 were submitted online and 1,893 came in hard-copy form, spokeswoman Anne Hallock said. The total figure, however, represents only a small percentage of the 158,000 estimated phone lines eligible for the fee.
In our inagural edition of California City News, we included three classic video clips of what came to be one of the most popular features on our site - The 'Gadfly Hall of Fame'. Perhaps the most famous California City clip was that taken during a Carson city council meeting where a bail bondswoman softly swipes at a commissioners head with a handful of papers as she passes her by.
The commissioner takes a dive and proceeds to fake a painful episode that would have made Danny Ainge blush during his time with the Boston Celtics in the 80's. And just like those old Lakers-Celtics rivalries - reliving the past is often a good thing to do...so here's the link to the Los Angeles Times story on the coming court case.
But, better yet...here's the video one more time...
The San Jose Mercury News reports that Police in the city of Escondido are taking federal immigration law into their own hands in an unusual way.
Unlike dozens of cities, counties and states across the nation whose officers have been trained by the federal government to enforce immigration laws, Escondido police are not seeking federal approval before picking up criminals in the country illegally.
This week, police officers began tracking down the 90 or so illegal immigrants in Escondido believed to have been previously deported after committing crimes in the United States. In an inaugural three-day sweep that ended Friday, Escondido police took into custody 15 criminal illegal immigrants, people who have been formally deported from the country only to return. The sweep was empowered by a new department policy that allows officers to check the immigration status of almost any suspect, drawing criticism from Latino activists.
According to authorities,and reported here in the North County Times , the operation marked the first time a local police force in the region has specifically targeted the criminal illegal immigrant population, although regional law enforcement agencies have worked previously with federal authorities to deport gang members in the country illegally.
