Free Republic

LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) Thousands of homeschoolers in California are left in legal limbo by an appeals court ruling that homeschooling is not a legal option in the state and that a family who has homeschooled all their children for years must enrol their two youngest in state or private schools. Justice H. Walter Croskey in a written opinion said, "California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children." The sweeping February 29th ruling says that California law requires "persons between the ages of six...

City bans garbage disposal units Residents of Raleigh, N.C., face stiff penalties if they install garbage disposal units in their kitchen sinks or repair existing ones if they break. The City Council approved the ban on Wednesday, the Raleigh Chronicle reports. The ordinance includes a fine of up to $25,000 a day. Officials said that anyone caught with an illegal disposal unit could also face a lifetime ban on getting city water. The ban covers several municipalities around Raleigh. The garbage disposal units, which grind up leftover food and flush it into the sewer system, lead to pipes clogged with...

WASHINGTON – California, which once lured Americans from near and far, is now driving out millions of the most productive residents – including high percentages of the most affluent. "When California faced a Mount Everest-sized $14 billion deficit in 2003, one of the major causes for the red ink was the stampede of millionaire households from the state," says a report called "Rich States, Poor States" by economists Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore. "Out of the 25,000 or so seven-figure-income families, more than 5,000 left in the early 2000s, and the loss of their tax payments accounted for about half...

From dreams to debt Investors say they expected to cash in on the hot real estate market when they entrusted money to a company in Murrieta. Instead, many are losing their homes and facing bankruptcy. 03:08 PM PST on Saturday, November 17, 2007 By LESLIE BERKMAN The Press-Enterprise Video: Anna Richter talks about losing money in the investment scheme Residents of Copper Canyon in Murrieta watched in astonishment as a group of investors snapped up homes in their middle-income community last year, paying $50,000 to $100,000 more than the sellers wanted. Today, the front yards are browning, overgrown with weeds....

If Colorado is any barometer, the Republican Party may lose more ground in the 2008 elections. Colorado Republicans took a beating in 2006. In the Governor’s race Democrat Bill Ritter demolished Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez 56-41%. Beauprez’ vacated House seat flipped to the Democrats as Ed Perlmutter trounced Rick O’Donnell 55-42%. Looking ahead, Republicans in Colorado face multiple challenges in 2008 with a key Senate race for the seat held by retiring Republican Wayne Allard, the Presidential race and a possible ballot initiative to abolish racial preferences in public education, employment and contracting. Many eyes will be trained on Colorado...

ANNAPOLIS -- From the soap used to wash dishes to the cars driven to work, Marylanders will feel large and small effects from the recent legislative session some have called the most environmental in years. Democrats this year celebrated their stronger grip on state government and their return to the governor's mansion with a spate of earth-friendly bills that became the dominant theme of the session. Lawmakers tightened emissions standards on new cars. They slashed the amount of water-polluting phosphorus allowed in dishwashing detergent. They ended the commercial harvest of diamondback terrapins and set new goals for solar energy. Oysters...

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - The former suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey killing left jail Thursday after a judge dismissed child pornography charges against him, saying prosecutors didn't have enough evidence to take the case to trial. John Mark Karr, who was not in court for the hearing, was ordered released immediately by Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Rene Chouteau, ending his two-month odyssey in the U.S. criminal justice system after he was extradited from Thailand on suspicion of killing the 6-year-old beauty queen. He did not comment to reporters as he left the Sonoma County jail flanked by his attorneys,...

A federal judge in San Francisco ruled this month that a lawsuit filed against Target Corp. by the National Federation of the Blind challenging the accessibility of the retailer’s Web site can move forward. NFB officials contended that the ruling sets a precedent, establishing that retailers must make their Web sites accessible to the blind under the federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). “This ruling is a great victory for blind people throughout the country,” said NFB President Marc Maurer. When asked if the NFB would file lawsuits against other retailers in an effort to improve Web site accessibility, NFB...

The LA County Gun Task Force has served another search warrant on the home of another member of the fifty caliber community. On Monday September 18th, eighteen police cars swarmed the neighborhood where the FCSA member lives and served a search warrant signed by Judge Steven Kleifield of the LA County Superior Court. The officers were at the residence for several hours and confiscated all semi-automatic firearms belonging to the victim. The probable cause for issuing the search warrant was not available in the body of the affidavit so the reason for the search is unknown at this time. It...

Governor moves to cut vehicle emissions Adopt Clean Car Program, order tells state agencies By Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.09.2006 advertisement PHOENIX — Gov. Janet Napolitano took the first step Friday toward what eventually could be a ban on the sale of cars and light trucks that produce large amounts of "greenhouse gases." In an executive order, Napolitano told state agencies to adopt and carry out a "Clean Car Program" to reduce carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming. While details are still to be worked out, Napolitano said the final...

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- With the support of forty-one police chiefs from around the state, the state senate today passed a bill (22-18) that will help police solve gun crimes and catch gun traffickers The bill, AB 352, requires that a new ballistics identification technology be required on all new semiautomatic handguns sold in California after 2008. The new technology, microstamping, uses powerful lasers to make extremely precise, microscopic engravings on a handgun's firing pin or inside the firing chamber. These engravings reference the serial number of the handgun. When a bullet is fired from the handgun,...

The California State Legislature returns from its summer recess tomorrow to wrap up the legislative year, and no one is safe. Children, drivers, teens, parents, business owners, activists, workers, teachers, and of course taxpayers are all in danger of having their quality of life drastically reduced. But there are a couple of bills that strike me as truly the Government sticking its nose into our private affairs: aka, Nanny State Laws. The first, AB 2108 by Assembly member Evans, would require kids to stay in booster seats until age 8 and prohibit them from riding in the front seat under...

Child actress Dakota Fanning is set to shock fans in new movie 'Hounddog.' The film features Dakota semi-nude in child rape scenes. The controversial film written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier is a dark and violent story set in American's rural south and the 12-year-old's mother and agent are convinced her gritty performance is Oscar-worthy. Agent Joy Osbrink was quoted in the New York Daily News, "It's not just the rape scene the whole story is challenging Dakota as an actress. And I've never been so proud of her in my life. I've seen the dailies, and in every scene...

ABC News: At San Francisco's Wharf, a Fight for Medical Marijuana Ensues July 25, 2006 — San Francisco has more cannibus clubs — the dispensaries of marijuana for the medical treatment of the nasty side effects of chemotherapy, glaucoma or AIDS — than any other city in the nation. Yet, that doesn't mean cannabis clubs make welcome neighbors, even in bluest of the blue San Francisco, a city that prides itself on being tolerant of almost every lifestyle. (snip) But the reality of the program is apparently harsher than the notion. However accepting San Francisco may consider itself to be,...

LA County Gun Task Force Serving Search Warrants LAPD & LASO Might Be Knocking On Your Door Next! LA County Gun Task Force Serving Search Warrants Officers from the Los Angeles County Gun Task Force in CA have begun serving search warrants on residents in that county who are suspected of holding un-registered "Assault Rifles" including 50 BMG target rifles. If you or any of your friends have not complied with the provisions of AB-50 that require you to register any 50 BMG rifles you own, you may very well expect a knock on your door at any time. This...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The California Assembly has voted to restrict the use of ultrasound machines for personal use, approving a bill that would allow them to be sold only to licensed professionals. Democratic Assemblyman Ted Lieu introduced the bill after "Mission: Impossible III" star Tom Cruise bought an ultrasound machine to see images of his unborn child. The actor's fiancee, Katie Holmes, gave birth to the couple's daughter, Suri, last month in Los Angeles. Doctors and technologists typically receive years of training to perform ultrasound exams, which help obstetricians check a baby's health. Cruise was criticized by doctors who said...

California could become the first state in the nation to require semi-automatic handguns include microscopic equipment for pressing an identifying mark into every bullet fired. Through newly developed technology, the firing pin of a semi-automatic weapon can stamp the gun's make and model onto a bullet shell as it leaves the chamber. The technology could help police investigate homicides and trace gun trafficking. Thirty-three California police chiefs and two county sheriffs support a bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, that would require the markers. "It has the potential to solve some significant crimes in some pretty large numbers,"...

INGLEWOOD, Calif. An principal trying to prevent walkouts during immigration rallies inadvertently introduced a lockdown so strict that children weren't allowed to go to the bathroom, and instead had to use buckets in the classroom, an official said. Worthington Elementary School Principal Angie Marquez imposed the lockdown March 27 as nearly 40,000 students across Southern California left classes to attend immigrants' rights demonstrations. Marquez apparently misread the district handbook and ordered a lockdown designed for nuclear attacks. Tim Brown, the district's director of operations, confirmed some students used buckets but said the principal's order to impose the most severe type...

A California bill that would make sportsmen who hunt with dogs and pet owners whose dogs have run-ins with backyard wildlife vulnerable to prosecution is advancing in the state legislature.   On April 4, the Assembly Public Safety Committee voted 4 to 3 in favor of AB 2110, sponsored by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-El Cerrito.  The bill was proposed to ban open field coursing events with sighthounds.  Its vague wording could easily leave waterfowl and upland game hunters vulnerable to prosecution when they use retriever dogs in the field.  Assembly Bill 2110 now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for debate. Aside...

ONTARIO - Police investigating the suicide of a middle-schooler say the boy's stepfather could face criminal charges for allegedly not securing the rifle the boy used to kill himself. Anthony Soltero, 14, shot himself March 30. According to the family's attorney, the De Anza Middle School student was distraught after a vice principal threatened him with jail time and school discipline for protesting immigration-reform bill HR 4437. Police withheld the name of Soltero's stepfather, since he has not been arrested or charged. Ontario police Lt. John Evans said the man kept the rifle in the family's garage. The weapon was...