CalWatchdog Morning Read – Aprili 20, 2016

20 Apr, 2016 by CalWatchdog Staff

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License suspensions under pressure, Pot smokers rejoice, Trump’s winning, guns are losing and CA can’t breath

Good morning!

The ACLU of Northern California and other groups are pressuring Solano County Superior Court to stop suspending the driver licenses of people who can’t afford to pay fines for infractions.

The ACLU and others would prefer the suspension of licenses stop altogether, but argue courts should at least determine if the driver has an ability to pay prior to any suspension.

Flashback: The groups pressured San Mateo County Superior Court last month. At that time, CalWatchdog asked ACLU staff the obvious question: Didn’t these drivers get themselves in this mess by getting cited in the first place?

“We can hold people accountable without also ruining their lives,” said Micaela Davis, staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California, noting that losing the ability to drive limits the ability to work.

Calwatchdog has more.

In other news:

It’s 4/20 — the unofficial day to smoke pot (or so we’ve read). The new pot czar of California, Lori Ajax, told The Orange County Register that marijuana businesses may soon rival booze businesses in California. That will certainly be a lot easier if recreation use becomes legal, and according to the LA Weekly, a ballot initiative to do just that is close to qualifying.

After a big win in his home state of New York on Tuesday, business tycoon Donald Trump is surging in California. CalWatchdog has more.

Five gun control measures advanced in the legislature on Tuesday, “including measures that would outlaw assault rifles with detachable magazines, ban possession of clips holding more than 10 rounds and require homemade guns to be registered with the state,” reports the Los Angeles Times.

A new report on air quality suggests that 80 percent of Californians live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution at some time during the year. However, many places like Los Angeles (which has the highest level of ozone pollution in the country), El Centro and Sacramento are improving. And Salinas is one of the few cities in the country reporting no days of unhealthy air quality. SF Gate/AP has more. And here’s the full report.

Tidbits:

Since October, 1,900 pregnant Californians have been kicked out of their exchange-bought health insurance plans and placed in Medi-Cal without any notice, reports Voice of OC.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, has repaid questionable payments made from his campaign account (like $361 to a surf and skate shop, $1,200 to a garage door company and $2,023 in cash payments to his wife and campaign manager), reports The San Diego Union-Tribune.