Free Republic

<p>California grows a mind-boggling amount of the nation's produce: 99 percent of artichokes, 97 percent of kiwis, 97 percent of plums, 95 percent of celery, and on and on. That's why the record-breaking drought (yes, it's finally raining—no, it won't help much!) can affect your grocery bill, even if you live nowhere near California. But with almonds—the state's most lucrative agricultural export—the effect could reverberate for years.</p>

(Reuters) - Residents of bankrupt San Bernardino, California on Tuesday voted to complete a rout of the city's pro-union old guard, electing business-friendly pragmatists who have pledged to try to reduce pension costs and take on vested interests. As San Bernardino enters into a fourth month of mediation with its creditors, the biggest of which is Calpers, California's giant retirement system, voters on Tuesday elected Carey Davis as the crisis-hit city's new mayor. Davis, a businessman and political novice, ran in part on a campaign to reduce the city's pension obligations. In an interview in November, when he became one...

Facing a $78 million budget shortfall, California’s ObamaCare exchange has spent $1.37 million to fund an outreach video featuring exercise guru Richard Simmons gyrating on the floor and hugging a contortionist who is kneeling with his buttocks in the air. The “Tell a Friend — Get Covered” campaign by Covered California features other celebrities Olivia Wilde, comic Billy Eirchner, Fran Drescher and Tatyana Ali. The centerpiece of the effort was an eight-hour live web stream that ran on Jan. 16. None of the celebrities were paid for their work, Covered California said.

(CNN) -- The White House has secured commitments from some of the nation's largest companies for a plan to boost hiring of the long-term unemployed. "What we have done is to gather together 300 companies, just to start with, including, some of the top 50 companies in the country, companies like Walmart, and Apple, Ford and others, to say let's establish best practices," President Barack Obama told CNN Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper in an exclusive interview. "Because they've been unemployed ... so long, folks are looking at that gap in the resume and they're weeding them out before these...

Murder charges were dropped Wednesday against a family friend suspected of killing a man who was allegedly assaulting a 13-year-old Boy Scout, authorities said. The investigation is still ongoing. Police said the charges were dropped against Carmen Reyes, 53, because detectives need more time to gather evidence in the case. Reyes is the family friend of a 13-year-old boy who was attacked about 5 a.m. Saturday while helping his mother load the car for a camping trip. The assault happened near 182nd Street and Van Ness Avenue in Torrance.

CLEARLAKE -- A man reportedly shot an intruder at his home on West 40th Avenue Wednesday afternoon, according to authorities. At about 1:08 p.m., Clearlake Police Department (CPD) officers responded to a report of a shooting that had just occurred in the 4600 block of West 40th Avenue, Sgt. Rodd Joseph stated. The caller, identified as Christopher Charles, reported that he just shot an intruder in his home. When officers arrived at the home, Charles was found on scene; however, the intruder, whose name is being withheld because of medical reasons, had allegedly already taken off on foot, Joseph stated....

Folks, it doesn't come any dumber than this.

The verdicts came after two years of hearings, recalled Fullerton city council members, a Police Department roiled by protests and firings. SANTA ANA – A former policeman sat with his head bowed Monday as an Orange County jury found him not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of a homeless man during a 2011 encounter captured on videotape. Manuel Anthony Ramos, who was a Fullerton police officer for 10 years, then clasped his hands, wiped tears from his eyes and hugged his attorney as the jury also found him not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Kelly...

I don’t really understand how living in an Islamic center that has collapsing ceilings and raw sewage is a part of the Islamic religion. Even the most far out Hadiths and Fatwas (and there are some really far out ones) don’t cover this.But political correctness usually trumps the law when it comes to mosques. Masjid Noor has “serious structural integrity problems and potentially dangerous conditions” that were revealed during a late-December inspection by fire officials, said city prosecutor Trisha Aljoe.“Floors and ceilings are collapsing in there, and extensive work is being done that needs a structural engineer.”Aljoe added that raw...

The city of Los Angeles could receive as much as $500 million in grant money over the next decade under a federal program to fight poverty and improve quality of life, according to reports. Under the Promise Zone initiative, LA and four other regions across the United States have been selected as part of the Obama Administration’s plan to combat high poverty in American communities, White House officials announced Wednesday. The initiative, which was first announced in President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union speech, is designed to bolster partnerships between local businesses and their community “to create jobs, increase...

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A sweeping bill intended to rein in the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) is making its way through the halls of Sacramento. KNX 1070′s Margaret Carrero reports the California State Senate has voted overwhelmingly to approve Senate Resolution 16, which calls on lawmakers in Washington to take action against the NSA. Passed in a bipartisan 31-1 vote on Monday, Senate Resolution 16 (PDF) bans state agencies, officials, and corporations from giving any material support, participation or assistance to any federal agency to collect electronic or metadata — including emails and text messages — of any person...

ROSEVILLE, Calif., Jan. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its ongoing Carry License Sunshine and Compliance Initiative, California-based gun rights group The Calguns Foundation (CGF) has published two new reports on handgun carry licenses in the state, which can be viewed or downloaded for free at www.calgunsfoundation.org/carry. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130412/SF94281LOGO) Based on data from the California Department of Justice and other government sources, the Foundation's reports show an increase of nearly 30,000 handgun carry licensees since it began efforts to make California "shall-issue" in May of 2009, when it and the Bellevue, Washington-based Second Amendment Foundation filed the first "right to...

A man is in critical condition after he was shot in the head by a store clerk, officials said. At about 1 a.m. Monday, Bakersfield police officers were sent to the Mi Tierra Market located at 300 South Owens St. regarding a robbery. Officials said the store clerk told them that he had shot one of the suspects. Officers said they found evidence that was consistent with one of the suspects being shot, but the suspects had since fled from the store. Officers said the clerk said three men entered the business and at least one of the suspects was...

Ontario, CA has not succumbed to the pressure felt in other cities across the country. The city of approximately 180,000 has large grass-covered median in the center of town with three lanes on each side. Many years ago, long before I was a member of Ontario Parkway Kiwanis, the group acquired very heavy statues of the Nativity scene and other scenes in the life of Christ. After four years, OPK donated them to the Chamber of Commerce. Every year, we get them out of storage and put up the scenes that can be seen on both sides of Euclid Avenue....

<p>Season's greetings, Santa Cruz style: Just a week after a drunken man cut down Christmas lights downtown, two women have swiped the nativity scene from in front of an elder-care home in Live Oak.</p> <p>The nativity scene was part of an elaborate display in front of Chanticleer Home. It was stolen at 1:24 a.m. Sunday, a time owner Silvio Tufo can state with confidence because it's on the video surveillance tape he turned over to sheriff's investigators.</p>

The city of Santa Monica has allowed an elaborate nativity scene in its Palisades Park each Christmas for nearly 60 years, but officials are ending the tradition this year after an atheist set up his own non-religious display and caused an uproar. Now, the churches behind the nativity are suing in federal court and claim the city violated their freedom of speech by stopping the holiday tradition. A court hearing Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles could decide the fate of the Christian tableau for the upcoming season.

I have marveled over the years at the kind of fear and anger the Christian Faith generates in some sectors of our society. Even the suggestion that there might a a small nativity scene in a park, or Christmas tree near City Hall, or a display of the Ten Commandments often elicits a hew and cry and brings forth camera crews and elicits lawsuits. But the venom seems especially reserved  for symbols of the Christian faith in particular and to some extent the wider Judeo-Christian heritage. A reference from the Q’ran in school is seen by many of this same...

I had just gotten out of the shower, and was getting dressed for work, when I heard a loud explosion. I looked out the window and saw a large plume of smoke. I went out with my digital camera and recorded the video I posted on my YouTube channel. I don't know what exploded yet, and I don't have time to check because it is almost time for me to start the job. I'll probably find out later what happened. The video is HERE or at the link above.

SACRAMENTO — Gun registration had always seemed like the “line in the sand” — a proposal that would so offend the nation’s gun-rights advocates that they would bring out their full political muscle to stop it. Yet a California law mandating government record-keeping for all new long-gun purchases goes into effect on Jan. 1 and few people even seem to know about it. (snip) The new law will bolster a program that has generated much controversy. Earlier this month, legislators held hearings on the effectiveness of the Armed Prohibited Persons System, used to confiscate the firearms of California residents who...

Four suspects have been arrested after a bizarre, early-morning home invasion in Lincoln Heights on Saturday that ended with a resident tying up two of the armed men. The suspects, armed with a shotgun and three handguns, allegedly entered a house on the 2600 block of Alta Street in Lincoln Heights, said Officer Norma Eisenman of the Los Angeles Police Department. The resident, who was the only person home at the time, saw the suspects on a home surveillance system and called 911 about 2:40 a.m., she said. As police and SWAT units arrived, one suspect was seen fleeing the...