Free Republic

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday directed the state's energy commission to monitor gasoline prices in the wake of BP's pipeline problems in Alaska, the governor's office said. Schwarzenegger also asked U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to make the West Coast a priority for any oil shipments from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Gasoline prices in California have been steady in most of the state since Sunday, when BP announced it was shutting about 400,000 barrels per day of production from the Prudhoe Bay oilfield on Alaska's North Slope. The AAA motor club showed on Wednesday the...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A state agency removed a judge from the bench Wednesday, concluding that he engaged in "a shocking abuse of power" that led to the wrongful conviction and two-day jail stay for a woman challenging a traffic infraction. Superior Court Judge Kevin Ross was also cited for filming a pilot television series, called "Mobile Court," in which a real small-claims case was heard in a Los Angeles strip club, with Ross presiding. In 2003, Ross threw a woman in jail who was challenging a seat belt violation. The judge concluded she lied when she said she wasn't...

Kern County Superior Court Judge Stephen P. Gildner, the court's former presiding judge, was given a rare public admonishment by the California Commission on Judicial Performance Wednesday for throwing defendants in jail without just cause and pressuring other defendants to take plea deals. The commission found that Gildner issued warrants and took three people into custody without cause because they did not show up in court when he thought they should. Two incidents happened in 2001 and one in 2003. The commission wrote Gildner had no reason to believe two of the men were notified they should show up in...

<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) - Fire codes should be made uniform in the state's highest-risk wildfire regions, overriding a patchwork of local regulations, a state report says.</p> <p>The proposal is one of 69 recommendations developed by the Gov.'s Blue Ribbon Fire Commission staff in response to last October's firestorms, many of which call for more funding. A draft summary obtained by The Associated Press also calls for more coordination among local, state and federal officials, including quicker use of military aircraft in emergencies.</p>