Cannabis
Friday, June 20, 2014
Friday Must Reads: Google and Microsoft Compromise on Kill Switches; State Prisons Performed Illegal Sterilizations on Women
Fri, Jun 20, 2014 at 10:31 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Google and Microsoft agreed to install kill switches on their smartphones in a compromise deal with law enforcement officials, the LA Times$ reports. The companies, however, stopped short of making the kill switches automatic — as law enforcement had requested — and instead will install them on phones, but make them optional for users. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, nonetheless, praised the decision by the industry giants, noting that thefts of iPhones have dropped since Apple installed similar optional kill switch devices.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Thursday Must Reads: Children’s Hospital Oakland Merges with UCSF; Feinstein Joins Brown in Opposing Pot Legalization
Thu, Mar 20, 2014 at 9:44 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Children’s Hospital Oakland has finalized its merger with UC San Francisco, in move that officials hope will stabilize Children’s’ finances, the Hayward Daily Review$ reports. Children’s has faced monetary difficulties because it specializes in serving low-income kids on Medi-Cal. Under the merger, UCSF will take charge of Children’s’ finances and provide the Oakland hospital with more staff. Top management at Children’s also will become employees of the University of California.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Monday Must Reads: Dems Push Fracking Ban and Pot Legalization; 42 Calif. Communities Allow Unlimited Water Use
Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 9:45 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. The state Democratic Party unanimously voted to ban fracking and legalize marijuana in its official party platform over the weekend, the LA Times$ reports. The two votes represented a strong rebuke to Governor Jerry Brown, who opposes cannabis legalization and signed a bill into law last year that promises to greatly expand fracking in California. Anti-fracking activists also protested Brown’s speech at the party convention.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Tuesday Must Reads: Berkeley to Kill Thousands of Gophers and Squirrels; Number of College Students Seeking Financial Aid Soars
Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 9:35 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. The City of Berkeley is planning to exterminate thousands of gophers and ground squirrels along the shoreline because the animals are digging into an old landfill and releasing toxins into the bay, the Trib$ reports. The number of squirrels in the area has expanded dramatically because people have been feeding them — despite warnings posted by the city. The city tried to attract raptors to the area to prey on the gophers and ground squirrels, but the effort failed. The city has now hired an exterminator, but is declining to reveal what methods it will use to kill the animals.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Wednesday Must Reads: Oakland Pot Guru Defrauded City; Oakland to Pay Kayvan Sabeghi $645,000
Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 9:50 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Dharminder "Dhar" Mann, the CEO of WeGrow, a marijuana growing store in Oakland, and a self-styled “ganjapreneur” who once graced the cover of Mother Jones magazine, pleaded no contest to five felony charges of defrauding the city, the Trib reports. Mann, who is also the son of a politically connected family that owns a monopoly on the city’s taxicab industry, is scheduled to be sentenced next month for improperly pocketing redevelopment funds. The city council had green-lighted a medical pot dispensary linked to Mann, but then withdrew the approval after his criminality came to light.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Tuesday Must Reads: Majority of Californians Back Pot Legalization; Oakland Police Having Difficulty Hiring Cops
Tue, Dec 10, 2013 at 9:50 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. A strong majority of California residents — 55 percent — now supports the legalization of marijuana, the Bay Area News Group reports, citing a new Field Poll. In addition, 56 percent of respondents said they would vote for a ballot measure that has been proposed for the November 2014 election. The so-called California Cannabis Hemp Initiative would decriminalize pot and require the state to tax and regulate it. The poll results have some pot legalization backers re-examining whether it makes sense for a ballot measure next year or to wait until 2016.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
San Leandro Council Green Lights First Medical Pot Dispensary
Tue, Nov 5, 2013 at 4:53 PM
The fate of medical cannabis in San Leandro will not rest at the ballot box after all, but patients looking to medicate their ailments will, instead, be limited in their choice of dispensaries after the city council voted, 6-1, to allow the permitting for just a single dispensary in the city. If all goes as planned, San Leandro could have its first medical pot club late next year.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Approval of Pot Dispensaries in San Leandro Could Hinge on a Ballot Measure Next Year
Mon, Nov 4, 2013 at 4:34 PM
The San Leandro City Council might approve permits tonight for two medical cannabis dispensaries to open in the city. But in a late twist the approvals would not go into effect until a yet-to-be-written sales tax measure is approved by city voters next year.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Thursday Must Reads: 60% of Californians Support Pot Legalization; Republicans Want to Ban BART Workers from Striking
Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 9:36 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. A new poll shows that an overwhelming majority of California voters — 60 percent — now supports the legalization of marijuana, News10 reports (via Rough & Tumble). The poll, conducted by the nonpartisan Pubic Policy Institute of California, marks a dramatic turnaround from 2010, when state voters rejected pot-legalization measure Prop 19. "This is the first poll we've ever conducted in which we found a majority supporting marijuana use," said Mark Baldassare of PPIC. The only voter subgroups that oppose cannabis legalization are Republicans and Latinos, the poll showed.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Tuesday Must Reads: Three Strikes Reform Is Working; PG&E Agrees to Pay Victims $565 Million
Tue, Sep 10, 2013 at 9:35 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. The decision last November by California voters to reform the state’s harsh Three Strikes law so that non-serious offenders no longer receive life sentences appears to be working, the Mercury News reports, citing a new study by Stanford University and the NAACP. The study showed that of the 1,000 inmates released under Prop 36 only 8 have reoffended — an extremely low recidivism rate. The study also blows a hole in arguments made by opponents of Prop 36 who contended that it would cause a crime spike in the state.
