The Journal finally got the requested report on the investigation into deeply misogynistic, violent and dehumanizing messages sent between Eureka Police Department officers centering on Rodrigo Reyna-Sanchez and Mark Meftah. But its heavily redacted text reveals more about obstacles to transparency than it does about the texting scandal. We’ll talk about what all those blank […]
Government
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Can a Conservative Break Through for California Attorney General?
The last time California voters elected a Republican to statewide office, Gavin Newsom was the youthful mayor of San Francisco, Mark Zuckerberg had just opened up Facebook to non-college students and Donald Trump was a Democratic celebrity tycoon wrapping up the sixth season of “The Apprentice.” That was 16 years ago. Now Newsom is the […]
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A Silicon Valley Lawmaker Wants to Protect Workers from Employer Spying
Workers today are subject to more monitoring and tracking on the job — often without their knowledge — than ever before, advocates say. Various productivity applications, often on workers’ smartphones or other devices, track and predict delivery drivers’ and warehouse workers’ every move, collecting data on their location, speed, and accuracy in finishing orders, according to […]
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What Would Brian Dahle do as California Governor?
They may not agree on much, but Republican gubernatorial hopeful Brian Dahle pledges that Democratic lawmakers would find a more receptive partner at the Capitol if he unseats Gov. Gavin Newsom this year. After a decade in the GOP’s (super)minority in Sacramento, Dahle said he knows how to build relationships across the aisle and pass […]
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Clean-car Rules: California Unveils Proposed Measure to Ban New Gasoline-fueled Cars
California’s clean-air regulators this week unveiled a far-reaching proposal requiring a ramp-up in sales of zero-emission cars, culminating in a ban on new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. The rules to force Californians to end their dependence on conventional cars are a critical component to California’s goals to tackle climate change and poor air quality. If […]
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Plans to Curb California Insulin Costs Abound. Will Anything Get Done This year?
As consumers, advocates and others prioritize their fight to lower prescription drug costs, insulin is usually first in line. Now, momentum to curb rising insulin costs seems to be building, with policymakers at the state and federal levels rolling out proposals seeking to provide diabetics some long-awaited financial relief. The questions now: What will materialize […]
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Coastal Commission Votes to Move Forward with Humboldt Offshore Wind Exploration
The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously today to conditionally concur with a federal determination that allowing energy companies and organizations to study a proposed offshore wind farm area on the Humboldt County Coast is consistent with the California Coastal Management Program. The highly technical and bureaucratic vote clears the way for companies interested in purchasing […]
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North Coast’s Commercial Dungeness Season Closing Due to Entanglement Risk
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is closing the commercial Dungeness crab season statewide due to “assessed entanglement risk,” with the North Coast season now ending on April 20 at noon. “We received reports of additional humpback whale entanglements and moved quickly to close the fishery to protect migrating humpback whales that are just […]
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Report to California Legislature: Prepare for Devastating Effects of Climate Change
Painting alarming scenes of fires, floods and economic disruption, the California Legislature’s advisors on Tuesday released a series of reports that lay out in stark terms the impacts of climate change across the state. The typically reserved, nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office outlined dire consequences for Californians as climate change continues to alter most aspects of […]
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Sierra Snowpack Worsens, Falls to Lowest Level in 7 Years
Seven years ago today, during the height of the last drought, California Gov. Jerry Brown stood on the barren slopes of the Sierra Nevada, watching as engineers measured the worst snowpack in state history. Today, snow measurements aren’t quite so bleak. But the snowy scene belies the severity of the drought. The snowpack — which […]
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California to Limit Slavery Reparations After Key Vote
After more than six hours of debate Tuesday, California’s reparations task force voted that only Black Californians who can prove a direct lineage to enslaved ancestors will be eligible for the statewide — and first-in-the nation — initiative to address the harms and enduring legacy of slavery. The nine-member task force voted 5-4 in favor […]
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EPD Sergeant, Captain Facing Discipline Retire, Effective Immediately
The city of Eureka’s highly publicized investigation into a unit of police officers’ dehumanizing, vulgar and violent text messages that made national headlines has come to an end — not with a bang, but with a whimper. The city issued a press release this afternoon noting that a police captain and sergeant facing pending “disciplinary […]