Posts Tagged ‘California’

A bill that would make it illegal for California landlords to require tenants to declaw or debark their pets as a condition of occupancy has been introduced by Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara).  Under the legislation, landlords could not give preferential treatment to tenants with declawed or debarked animals or advertise in a manner designed to discourage applicants with animals that have not been declawed or ... Full story

These are desperate times for California state government, but they're not desperate enough for a foolish fire sale. Officials accepted bids Wednesday to sell about $2 billion worth of state-owned office buildings in Sacramento, Los Angeles, Oakland, Rancho Cordova, San Francisco and Santa Rosa. The state estimates that it will clear at least $660 million once the debt on the properties is paid off, and ... Full story

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday in a case that could impact every American worker who uses a computer, blackberry or text messaging device–whether for innocent messages to loved ones or sexually-charged texts to a mistress. A final ruling from the justices may establish guidelines on how far the right to privacy covers personal e-mail messages and other communications that workers send or receive on ... Full story

There’s good news for thousands of California taxpayers who sell homes at a loss, a practice known as a short sale. A measure (SB 401) signed last week by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger waives state taxes on mortgage debt forgiven in a foreclosure or short sale. The federal liability waiver for mortgage debt relief is still in place, but the state waiver was set to expire at ... Full story

Samuel Hubinette has a new Dodge Challenger drift car for the 2010 Formula D season. On Thursday, a section of Hollywood Boulevard in front of the famous Mann Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California, was closed off. Hubinette then got into his Challenger and obliged the crowd with big slides and plenty of tire smoke. Full story

Is there any area of commerce where regulation is more critically important than healthcare? Whether tighter oversight of the surgical clinic where Willie Brooks Jr. got his lap-band surgery would have prevented his death is impossible to say. But it wouldn’t hurt. This is my third column about the sponsors of the ubiquitous 1-800-GET-THIN billboard campaign sponsored by the Omidis and their business, Top Surgeons. As ... Full story

Here’s your fine-how-do-you-do Friday roundup of consumer news from around the Web: –There’s was always that nagging feeling throughout the taxpayer-funded bailout of Wall Street that these guys were more than victims of circumstance. And now we have federal authorities charging Goldman Sachs with fraud for having bet against — and profited from — the same mortgage products it was hawking to investors. If so, ... Full story

The flu may move its victims — to stay in bed, to resolve to get a flu shot next year, to curse the (probably young and sniffly) family member who gave it to them  — but it also moves, in a way, itself. From west to east, to be exact. Researchers have known that flu season traditionally ... Full story

Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 10:17 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you so much.  Thank you.  Please, everybody have a seat.  Thank you. It is a great privilege to join for this conference on America’s Great Outdoors.  There are a number of people that obviously I want to acknowledge here who have worked tirelessly to move this agenda forward.  At the top of ... Full story

From Green Right Now Reports Solar and wind dominate the clean energy headlines, but the nascent geothermal industry also continues to grow. The U.S. geothermal power sector reported a 26 percent growth in new projects in 2009. In its April 2010 report, the US Geothermal Power Production and Development Update listed 188 projects underway in 15 states.... Full story