California

California Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Bill To Prevent Male Circumcision Ban

David Taintor | October 3, 2011, 2:15PM

California Gov. Jerry Brown

California Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday signed a bill that prevents the state from banning the practice of male circumcision, Reuters reports.

An organization -- dubbed the Male Genital Mutilation Bill -- led an effort to make the practice of circumcising minors a misdemeanor crime. The group hoped to put the measure to a vote on a November ballot, and garnered thousands of signatures in support of the initiative.

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California

Right-Wing Group: Repeal CA's Gay History Law That 'Promotes Homosexuality'

Jillian Rayfield | July 26, 2011, 10:48AM

Classrooms in California are now required by law to include lessons about the historical contributions of a number of minorities, including gays and lesbians. Sounds innocent enough, no? Well, according to a conservative group that is pushing to repeal the law, it both "promotes the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender lifestyles" and "forces children to study materials that tell them their families' values are wrong."

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Gay Marriage

CA Lawmakers Pass Bill To Teach History Of Gays And Lesbians In Schools

Jillian Rayfield | July 6, 2011, 10:40AM

California lawmakers have passed a bill that would require public schools to include lessons about the historical contributions of gays and lesbians in their curriculum.

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Bell City Council Officials

Two Bell, CA Officials Resign After Salary Scandal, Third Takes Pay Cut

Jillian Rayfield | October 11, 2010, 4:49PM

Bell, CA Officials George Cole, Robert Rizzo, Pier'Angela Spaccia, Victor Bello, George Mirabal, Teresa Jacobo, Oscar Hernandez, and Luis Artiga

Two city officials in Bell, California have stepped down from their posts, and another has agreed to take a 61 percent pay cut the Los Angeles Times reports, following a salary inflation scandal that led to the arrest of eight city officials in September.

The officials are accused of using public funds to inflate their salaries, some making up to $96,000 a year for part-time elected positions -- 20 times the national average. Former City Manager Robert Rizzo banked nearly $800,000 a year.

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California

AG Pushes For Court-Appointed Monitor For CA City Following Salary Scandal

Jillian Rayfield | October 6, 2010, 10:59AM

Bell, CA Officials George Cole, Robert Rizzo, Pier'Angela Spaccia, Victor Bello, George Mirabal, Teresa Jacobo, Oscar Hernandez, and Luis Artiga

California Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) has called for a court-appointed monitor to have "complete and unfettered access to all matters relating to the City" of Bell, following a salary inflation scandal that resulted in the arrest of eight city officials last month.

In a September 30 letter, Brown asked that the monitor investigate "fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, misconduct, mismanagement, or any irregularity" in the city government, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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Meg Whitman

Whitman, Former Maid Trade Accusations About What Whitman Knew And When

Ryan J. Reilly | September 30, 2010, 2:57PM

The former housekeeper of California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman charged Wednesday that the former eBay CEO knew her maid was in the country illegally, but continued to employ her and treated her poorly.

Whitman's campaign said that the maid, Nicky Diaz, was being "manipulated" by her high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred for "political and financial purposes," and said the candidate did not know Diaz was in the country illegally.

But Allred said Thursday that she had a copy of a so-called "no-match" letter sent by the Social Security Administration to Whitman back in 2003. That letter, which indicated that Diaz's name did not match with the housekeeper's name, indicates that Whitman knew her housekeeper was not authorized to work, according to Allred.

She planned to release the letter at a press conference at noon Pacific time. The Whitman campaign announced it would preempt Allred with a press conference at 10:30 p.m. PT.

So what do we know so far?

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Meg Whitman

Meg Whitman's Former Housekeeper Alleges Financial And Emotional Abuse

Ryan J. Reilly | September 29, 2010, 3:50PM

A former housekeeper for Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for governor of California, alleged in a press conference with a high-profile lawyer that she was subject to financial and emotional abuse for the nine years she was employed.

Both sides agree that Whitman fired her housekeeper last June because she was an illegal immigrant, just a few months after Whitman's campaign for governor got underway.

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Bell, CA

LA Times: At Least Eight Bell City Officials Arrested Today After Salary Scandal

Jillian Rayfield | September 21, 2010, 12:54PM

An angry crowd at the Bell, CA City Council meeting

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that at least eight city officials from Bell, California, have been arrested today, with L.A. County District Attorney Steve Cooley set to announce criminal charges related to the officials inflating their salaries.

Some City Council members in the working class California community were allegedly pulling in $96,000 a year for part-time elected positions, amounting to 20 times the national average for similar positions. Former City Manager Robert Rizzo, who was reportedly among those arrested, banked nearly $800,000 a year. The DA expanded the probe in July to include allegations of voter fraud and possible conflicts of interest involving city businesses.

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Bell, CA

County DA Expanding Probe Of Bell, CA To Include Allegations Of Voter Fraud

Jillian Rayfield | July 28, 2010, 12:56PM

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office has expanded its probe of the city of Bell, widening the investigation from a scandal over inflated salaries to include allegations of voter fraud and possible conflicts of interest involving city businesses.

Bell City Council members have taken a lot of heat this month after it was revealed that many of them had inflated their salaries to $96,000 a year for part-time elected positions, with one city staff member banking nearly $800,000 a year.

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Michael Duvall

California AG Won't Probe Duvall's Sex Bragging

Zachary Roth | October 6, 2009, 9:51AM

Fmr. State Rep. Michael Duvall (R-CA)

Finally, some good news for California sex braggart "Hot Mike" Duvall...

Attorney General Jerry Brown says he won't investigate Duvall's claim, captured on a hot mike, to be having an affair with a woman identified as a lobbyist for an energy company. Until he resigned in the wake of the scandal, Duvall, a Republican, had been vice chair of the state legislative committee that oversees energy issues.

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