June 26, 2016

California lawmakers unplug the state's electric car program

California’s electric-car rebate program, which has helped put thousands of Teslas, Nissan Leafs and Chevrolet Volts on the road, is running out of money.

In the state budget passed earlier this month, Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers eliminated $500 million originally proposed for the subsidy program and other low-emissions initiatives – the result of a political impasse.

Without the funds, the electric-car subsidy, which has helped Californians purchase 150,000 low- and zero-emission cars since 2009, has hit a roadblock. Thousands of consumers applying for the incentive each month now are pushed to a waiting list.

Unlike most budget cuts, the decision to slash funding isn’t due to a lack of money.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-clean-vehicle-rebate-project-no-money-20160616-snap-story.html

June 25, 2016

It's brother & sister against brother & sister in bitter fight over control of Frank Zappa's legacy

Inside a home recording studio known as the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen, where the late Frank Zappa composed and recorded some of his most adventurous works, his youngest son, Ahmet, reflects on his father’s legacy.

It is a rich musical heritage from one of rock ’n’ roll’s most beloved figures, but one that has become entangled by a contentious family battle.

The Zappa Family Trust owns the rights to a massive trove of music and other creative output by the songwriter, filmmaker and producer — more than 60 albums were released during Zappa’s lifetime and 40 posthumously. Like the intellectual property of many rock stars, the Zappa archives controlled by the trust are potentially worth at least tens of millions of dollars, according to one music insider.

Since the October 2015 death of Zappa’s wife, Gail, however, their children have become embroiled in a feud over control of the trust, which is millions of dollars in debt, pitting one brother and sister against another brother and sister. At issue is not just a celebrated artistic legacy, but even which of the children can perform using the Zappa name and profit from it.

http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-ca-ms-frank-zappa-legacy/

June 25, 2016

Financially Struggling Trump Campaign Holds Fundraising Riot

NEWARK, NJ—Having raised only $3.1 million last month despite clinching the Republican nomination and with just $1.3 million on hand, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign sought a much-needed injection of cash Wednesday by holding a fundraising riot in Newark, sources confirmed.

“We’re inviting our supporters to join Donald for an afternoon of violent shoving, enraged chanting, and throwing sucker punches, with all proceeds going toward our efforts to make America great again,” said Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, explaining that the event included a $50-a-head clash with protesters in the parking lot outside the Prudential Center, where complimentary rocks and glass bottles to throw would be provided.

“Gold-level supporters who give over $500 to the campaign will have a reserved spot inside the vicious, uncontrollable scrum in the arena, where they can enjoy brawling with others or screaming racial slurs at the various minorities who will be on hand throughout the event. And our platinum-level donors—those who pledge over $1,000—will be given exclusive access to the press section, where they can knock a camera out of a photographer’s hand or slam a reporter of their choice to the ground. It’s sure to be a lively event.”

At press time, the campaign had surpassed its goal of raising $5 million, leading Trump’s advisors to organize a fundraising Molotov cocktail hour outside a Hillary Clinton rally to be held later this week.

http://www.theonion.com/article/financially-struggling-trump-campaign-holds-fundra-53140

June 24, 2016

Reince Priebus Smiles, Shakes Head While Flipping Through Old Briefing On GOP’s Plans For 2016

WASHINGTON—Breaking into a smile as he read the words “inclusiveness” and “young voters,” RNC chairman Reince Priebus couldn’t help but shake his head in amusement Wednesday while flipping through an 18-month-old briefing on the Republican Party’s plans for the 2016 election, sources reported.

“Oh man, I completely forgot we came up with this whole 20-point program for how we would appeal to Latinos,” said Priebus, chuckling to himself as he thought back on the two years’ worth of meetings that resulted in a detailed strategy of embracing immigration reform, countering the Democrats’ “war on women” rhetoric, and running on a “positive agenda” of hope and tolerance, which he and other GOP leaders had calculated would put their party’s candidate on the best possible footing for this year’s presidential contest.

“Wow, and there are our favorable assessments of Jeb Bush and Scott Walker! Boy, oh boy, that really takes me back. You know, all things considered, this was a pretty solid plan for taking back the White House. Oh well.”

Priebus went on to state that the briefing wasn’t a complete waste, noting that the section on enacting voting restrictions to subdue minority turnout was still fully usable.

http://www.theonion.com/article/reince-priebus-smiles-shakes-head-while-flipping-t-53139

June 23, 2016

Set Your Clocks Forward: Bolivia’s President Says That It’s the Year 5524

Bolivian President Evo Morales proposed Tuesday that the South American country ditch the Gregorian calendar and return to the calender that its indigenous ancestors used.

During the Aymara New Year ceremony — which marks the winter solstice and is considered the start of the new year by many indigenous people — Morales said it was important to reclaim the country’s “ancestral calendar” in a bid to distance the nation from its colonial past, reports Latin American television network TeleSur.

According to the indigenous calendar, it is the year 5524 in Bolivia.

Morales is Bolivia’s first indigenous leader and declared June 21 a national holiday in 2010. Since assuming office in 2005, he has focused on promoting an inclusive national identity for Bolivia — one of Latin America’s most ethnically diverse countries — and introducing social reforms prioritizing indigenous rights.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bolivia-president-wants-country-indigenous-091720731.html

June 23, 2016

'Seismic strain': Land around the San Andreas fault is rising and sinking

For the first time, scientists have produced a computer image showing huge sections of California rising and sinking around the San Andreas fault.

The vertical movement is the result of seismic strain that will be ultimately released in a large earthquake.

The San Andreas fault is California’s longest earthquake fault, and one of the state’s most dangerous. Scientists have long expected that parts of California are rising — and other parts sinking — around the fault in a way that is ongoing, very subtle and extremely slow.

Such vertical movement makes a lot of sense. California sits on the border of two gigantic tectonic plates — the Pacific and North American — that are constantly grinding past each other.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-andreas-fault-20160622-snap-story.html

June 23, 2016

Bandit dons bikini in Southern California heat

The Southern California heat is just too much to bear for some — and apparently even criminals need relief.

Case in point: the bikini bandit.

Authorities in Santa Clarita announced Tuesday that they were in search of a woman who sported a bikini during recent break-ins.

Clad in two-piece bathing suit, the unidentified woman broke into a locked property in the 28000 block of West Avenue C-6 in Lancaster on June 4, sheriff’s deputies said.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bikini-bandit-20160622-snap-story.html

June 22, 2016

Top US diplomat to meet with Venezuela officials amid crisis

Source: AP

A senior U.S. diplomat was scheduled to meet Tuesday with Venezuelan officials to jumpstart dialogue between the normally hostile governments as the socialist-run nation is torn apart by daily food protests and a campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

Thomas Shannon, a career diplomat with extensive experience in Latin America, flew to Caracas after weeks of looting and hunger riots in Venezuela. The riots led to hundreds of arrests and several deaths.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said Shannon, who now serves as undersecretary of state for political affairs, hoped to foster dialogue about the social, economic and political challenges facing the oil-rich country. He was to meet with leading opposition figures and was also expected to meet with Maduro and other government representatives.

The visit comes as the Organization of American States is set to meet later in the week in Washington to debate the mounting crisis and weigh sanctioning Maduro for allegedly stamping out political dissent in violation of regional commitments to democracy.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/top-us-diplomat-meet-venezuelan-officials-163600702.html

June 22, 2016

Standing Up for Democracy in Venezuela

As growing lawlessness, looting and hunger threaten to plunge Venezuela into a state of anarchy, its neighbors remain strikingly reluctant to confront President Nicolás Maduro.

There have been unabashed enablers, a shrinking but resolute camp of left-wing governments that have served as apologists for the despotic president. There are the co-opted, a pack of Caribbean and Central American nations that have turned a blind eye to Mr. Maduro’s abuses in exchange for subsidized oil. And there are the ambivalent, a large and powerful group of nations that only gently criticize the government of Venezuela, if at all, for its mounting human rights violations.

On Thursday, diplomats from across the hemisphere are scheduled to convene in Washington at the request of Luis Almagro, the secretary general of the Organization of American States, to discuss Venezuela’s descent into chaos. Key members of this organization, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and the United States, should demand that the Venezuelan government start allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid and permit the opposition to hold a referendum on whether Mr. Maduro’s term should end early.

Clearly, the Maduro government has failed to govern democratically, a commitment required of all O.A.S. member nations. Mr. Maduro has packed crucial state institutions, including the Supreme Court, with loyalists and has stymied the opposition-run Parliament at every turn. His government has kept political opponents arbitrarily jailed for years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/opinion/standing-up-for-democracy-in-venezuela.html

June 21, 2016

PG&E to close Diablo Canyon, California's last nuclear power plant

Source: LA Times

California’s last nuclear power plant will be phased out by 2025, under a joint proposal announced Tuesday morning by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and labor and environmental groups.

Under the proposal, the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County would be retired by PG&E after its current Nuclear Regulatory Commission operating licenses expire in November 2024 and August 2025.

The power produced by Diablo Canyon’s two nuclear reactors would be replaced with investment in a greenhouse-gas-free portfolio of energy efficiency, renewables and energy storage, PG&E said in a statement.

The proposal is contingent on a number of regulatory actions, including approvals from the California Public Utilities Commission.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-diablo-canyon-nuclear-20160621-snap-story.html

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The times they are a'changin'.