Concerns about mud and rock slides are increasing as a second, more powerful storm drops heavy rain on Southern California. Residents of more than 1,000 homes in the foothill communities of Glendora and Azusa have been ordered to evacuate, and the CHP has shit down a 10-mile stretch of PCH north of Malibu. Forecasters say the storm that blew in last night could drop as much as eight inches of rain in the foothills and mountains. The good news is all that water is raising the levels of local reservoirs that have been nearly emptied by two years of drought.
The LA City Council will vote today on a proposed moratorium on fracking and other drilling methods to force oil and natural gas from underground. Councilmen Mike Bonin and Paul Koretz proposed the ban: saying before the practices continues to go forward in the city, there should be scientific proof that it’s safe. Critics say fracking is largely unregulated in California because of intense lobbying by the oil and gas industry. Industry groups insist there’s no proof that fracking causes environmental harm.
San Diego County lost a court case over concealed weapons earlier this month that could force cities and counties across the state to issue permits to anyone who meets basic criteria. California Attorney General Kamala Harris says the decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals jeopardizes public safety because it strips local police agencies of their discretion to decide who should be able to carry concealed firearms. She’s filed a petition to overturn the decision. The judges said San Diego County’s law was unconstitutional because – combined with a state law that bans carrying guns openly in public – it effectively bars residents from carrying a gun altogether.
Members of Hollywood’s visual effects community are planning to protest at the Oscars for the second straight year to bring attention to foreign subsidies they say are driving them out of business. The rally is being organized by the Association of Digital Artists, Professionals & Technicians, a new trade group that aims to protect the interests of the U.S. effects industry. The group says rampant tax incentives offered by European and Asian companies are driving down rates and leaving them unable to compete. The protest is planned for between 1-3 p.m Sunday., a couple of hours before celebrities begin arriving on the Red Carpet.
More than 2.3 million adult children are living with their parents in California, according to a new study. That’s a 63 percent increase since the Great Recession began seven years ago. UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research says that more than 500,000 adult children who returned home are living with parents 65 or older. The report says that’s putting a heavy burden on people trying to live out their golden years.
You’re not allowed to talk on a hand-held cellphone while you’re driving in California. But a state appeals court says you may look at a map on one. A three-judge panel overturned the conviction of a man who got a $165-dollar ticket in Fresno in 2012. A lower court found the man guilty of using his phone while he was driving. But the appeals court says California’s law limiting cell phone use does not explicitly bar people from checking road conditions on traffic apps.