Come early March, California might be clean out of money unless the Legislature takes action, says Controller John Chiang. The shortfall is projected to last seven weeks, during which time Chiang recommends borrowing money and delaying some payments. How did the state end up in such a bind? Chiang says California was spending $2.6 billion more than was included in the budget while tax revenues coming into state coffers were $2.6 billion below projection…
California now gets about 5% of its energy from wind, according to recently released data by the California Wind Energy Association. The state currently has enough wind energy projects to power over 400,000 homes in the state. Still, the majority of California’s energy (42%) comes from natural gas. The state is trying to change that, though, setting the goal of getting 33% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020…
Matt Gonzalez, the chief attorney in the public defenders office, is acting as co-counsel for plaintiffs in a lawsuit that might cost the city of San Francisco $16 million. The suing company, Cobra Solution Inc., claims it was improperly barred from winning city contracts after becoming embroiled in a kickback scheme. Though Gonzalez is using his paid vacation and furlough days to argue the case, many are saying this goes against the public defenders office ethics rules…
In the East Bay, Alameda County prosecutors won stay-away orders against 12 Occupy Oakland demonstrators who were charged with misdemeanors in Saturday’s mass arrest. If they violate the order they could face up to six months in jail. The defendants’ attorney pledged to fight the injunction, saying it’s unconstitutional…
An Oakland police officer faces possible sanctions for covering his nametag while policing during last weekend’s Occupy Oakland protests. His lieutenant also could be fined for not reporting the incident. This is the latest in a series of legal blunders by Oakland’s police department, which currently faces a potential federal overhaul.
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