BLM Suspended from Amazon; Homeless Get a Pass on Parking Tickets; LAPD Union Backs Caruso; Man Arrested 3 Times in 16 Hours in Glendale; Newsom wants you to sue gun makers and Other Stories: Monday Morning Memo

Courts & Rulings

Legality of resentencing in chambers draws challenge

Former Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley and victims' rights attorney Kathleen Cady yesterday filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court a document labeled "Victim's Notice of Appearance and Assertion of Rights" in which it was contended that state constitutional rights of the family of a man who was slain on Jan. 23, 1992, would be trammeled if the murderer were resentenced without a public hearing, and one at which they could speak.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Santa Ana police association president can't count union salary toward pension

A Santa Ana police sergeant who has been battling the city and its police chief in court cannot count the salary he receives as president of a local law enforcement union in calculating his state pension, an administrative law judge has ruled. Additionally, the money Sgt. Gerry Serrano receives in multiple other categories while on paid leave to head the Santa Ana Police Officers Association - including detective and bilingual salary premiums, holiday pay, and for a uniform allowance - likewise cannot be considered as earnable compensation in determining retirement benefits, Judge Adam L. Berg said in a ruling Thursday, Feb. 17.

Orange County Register

Man convicted of threats he contends were not reasonably believable loses appeal

A man who telephoned a Hermosa Beach comedy club, telling the general manager he would kill him and everyone in the place and burn it down has failed to persuade the Court of Appeal that his conviction for making criminal threats should be reversed because his utterances were made during "a ranting tirade" that was so balmy it should have been discounted and, given that he was in San Diego, he could not have carried out any threat.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

New and enhanced features in LACourtConnect coming soon

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County will soon begin a phased transition of new and enhanced features in LACourtConnect (LACC) that will, among other changes, allow parties and attorneys to chat and talk privately, screen share and view the courtroom proceedings before their case is called in a secure, virtual gallery environment. "The Court expedited the development and deployment of LACC during the first months of the pandemic," Presiding Judge Eric C. Taylor said.

LA Court News Release

Reference to defendant being on parole did not require declaring a mistrial

The Court of Appeal for this district has held that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge did not err in denying a motion for a mistrial after two police officers let slip that the defendant was on parole, reasoning that a curative instruction nullified the damage and, in any event, the accused, by testifying, opened the door to use of prior convictions for the purpose of impeachment.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

No error in not striking answer of defendant to amended pleading despite earlier default

The Court of Appeal for this district has rejected the contention that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge erred in declining to strike the answer to an amended complaint where the defendant had failed to respond to the plaintiff's initial pleading, a default had been entered, and no new allegations were made against him. Thursday's unpublished opinion, by Presiding Justice Laurence D. Rubin of Div. Five, quotes a footnote in the Fifth District Court of Appeal's Oct. 21, 2014 opinion in Weakly-Hoyt v. Foster.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise

1st Circ. backs 25-year sentence for tax evader's standoff

The First Circuit has upheld a 25-year prison term for a New Hampshire man who was convicted of tax fraud before leading an armed standoff with the U.S. Marshals Service, calling the punishment reasonable even though the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an enhanced sentencing law. A unanimous panel on Wednesday rejected an appeal from Edward Brown, 79, who has already served 13 years in prison for refusing to surrender following a 2007 conviction for tax evasion.

Law360

Fifth Circuit opinion in United Airlines vaccine mandate case conjures fiery dissent

A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' unpublished, per curiam decision rarely stirs the pot. But the Fifth Circuit's decision Thursday in a lawsuit between United Airlines and its unvaccinated employees spurred one appellate judge to rebuke his colleagues in no uncertain terms. Six of the airline's employees filed a class-action federal lawsuit last September alleging that their employer's Covid-19 vaccine mandate - according to which anyone who fails to receive a coronavirus vaccination will be indefinitely placed on unpaid leave - violated their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Courthouse News Service

No immunity for officials who retaliated against police capt's free speech

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that a trio of Wood County, TX, officials must answer charges they conspired to retaliate against a police captain because he exercised his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 to deny qualified immunity to the defendants, local Judge Jeff Fletcher, Sheriff Tom Castloo and former District Attorney James Wheeler. Quitman Police Department Captain Terry Bevill has charged the trio with conspiring to have him fired and arrested for agreeing to a lawyer's request to sign an affidavit for a friend

When The Abuser Goes To Work Blog

Why Joe Biden picked Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court

President Joe Biden's decision to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, as CNN first reported, kills two birds with one stone: It satisfies - and Biden hopes energizes - liberals while also giving Senate Democrats a nominee they can confirm without much fanfare (and maybe even with a few Republican votes). Jackson had been the favorite for the seat since Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement last month because she checked the most boxes for a President who desperately needs a win in advance of the November midterm elections.

CNN

Los Angeles District Attorney

California murder victim's family appalled by Gascón push to drop killer's death sentence

California's Scott Forrest Collins was 21 when he robbed and shot Fred Rose, a 41-year-old father of three, "execution-style" in January 1992. Now Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón wants a judge to vacate Collins' death sentence. The embattled DA is a staunch opponent of the death penalty but also facing a second recall petition after just over a year in office. He is now accused by Rose's family of pushing to resentence the convicted murderer to life without parole without properly informing them - and of handling the case like a defense attorney rather than a prosecutor.

Fox News

South Gate City Council issues vote of no confidence in DA George Gascón

South Gate is the latest city in Los Angeles County to vote "no confidence" in DA George Gascón's policies. The city council voted 4-0-1 Tuesday night, now joining 32 other cities who also voted for "no confidence" in the district attorney. Some of the cities include San Gabriel, Santa Clarita, Beverly Hills, Pico Rivera, Whitter, La Mirada, Covina, Rosemead, Azusa, Santa Fe Springs, Diamond Bar, Redondo Beach, Arcadia, Manhattan Beach, Temple City, Palos Verdes Estates and Lancaster.

Fox11

Nearly 98% of Los Angeles County prosecutors endorse recall effort of rogue DA George Gascon

An astonishingly high percentage of Los Angeles County prosecutors are supporting an effort to recall District Attorney George Gascon, according to the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys (LAADDA), which held a vote among county prosecutors Tuesday. The recall effort has been approved by the Los Angeles County Registrar, which is now seeking between 800,000 and 900,000 petition signatures. "It's been one year of Gascon's social experiment," Eric Siddall, vice president of LAADDA, told Fox News Digital.

Law Officer

Eric Siddall on KNX InDepth (Audio)

ADDA VP Eric Siddall appears on KNX's InDepth podcast to discuss the dramatic vote by ADDA membership to support the recall of LA County DA Gascon.

KNX

Los Angeles prosecutor admits 2-year sentence for child molester may be too lenient

The transgender woman convicted of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl reportedly boasted about her two-year sentence as Los Angeles' progressive district attorney admitted the punishment may have been too lenient. District Attorney George Gascón, who faces an ongoing recall effort, said Sunday that he would have handled Hannah Tubbs' case differently had he known about her "disregard for the harm" that she caused her 10-year-old victim.

New York Post

LA DA association leader questions when Gascon became aware of child molester's disturbing jailhouse calls

The vice president of the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys is questioning when District Attorney George Gascon became aware of jailhouse recordings of a transgender child molester gloating about receiving a slap on the wrist after pleading guilty to molesting a 10-year-old in 2014. "[Hannah] Tubbs was sentenced because of Gascon's policies. End of story. The next question, I think, is when did he know? How did he know it in terms of the tapes?" Eric Siddall, vice president of LAADDA, told Fox News host Bill Hemmer on "America's Newsroom" on Wednesday.

Fox News

Backing for Gascón recall isn't all a partisan affair

There are a lot of people in Los Angeles who are in the wrong jobs for their skill sets and interests, and two of them are destroying the quality of life in Los Angeles County. One is L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, who is a social worker with an interest in what she thinks is social justice. Another county official who is in the wrong job is Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón. He is a former police officer and assistant chief of police with the LAPD and the former district attorney of San Francisco, with an interest in what he thinks is social justice.

Los Angeles Daily News

Why L.A. D.A. Gascón reversed himself on sentencing of woman who assaulted 10-year-old

As he's faced increased criticism from law enforcement, elected officials and his own staff, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón has staunchly defended his handling of a politically fraught case: the prosecution of a transgender woman charged with sexually assaulting a child in a Denny's restroom. Gascón insisted as recently as last week that he was right to allow 26-year-old Hannah Tubbs to plead guilty in juvenile court, where her sentence was two years behind bars.

Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles DA George Gascón wrestles with the complexity of justice reform, as he modifies his ban on trying youth as adults

The past week Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón unexpectedly began making a series of tweaks and changes to some of the high profile justice reforms he put in place after he defeated two-term DA Jackie Lacey in the fall of 2020. The week of tweaking and amending two of his previous reforms began on Tuesday, February 15, with the first of what would be a series of six office-wide memos, each of which outlined newly crafted exceptions to two of Gascón's high profile reforms, namely his rule against trying kids as adults, and the office's prohibition against the use of the "special circumstances," designation for certain kinds of murder cases.

Witness LA

The uproar that could unseat Gascón

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón's tenure has never been smooth, but he may be navigating the most turbulent stretch yet. It has been a dizzying few days for the progressive prosecutor, whose 2020 defeat of then-incumbent Jackie Lacey captivated a surging national criminal justice reform movement. Gascón has faced an internal revolt and cyclical voter anger from practically the day he took office and announced a sweeping array of sentencing reforms. The DA and his defenders would call that backlash the cost of seeking to overhaul how L.A. prosecutes and punishes crimes.

Politico

Recall of LA District Attorney George Gascón builds steam

It hasn't been a great couple of weeks for Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón. His own employees - the Association of Deputy District Attorneys in LA - voted almost unanimously (97.9%) to support a recall effort against him. They joined former LA Police Chief Charlie Beck, once a supporter of Gascón, who also favors recalling the the D.A. from office.

KCRW

Column: In charging molester as a minor, Gascon helps critics and hurts reform

Somewhere inside the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, 26-year-old Hannah Tubbs is serving her sentence for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old child in a Denny's bathroom nearly a decade ago. The Tubbs case has become fodder for the conservative outrage machine, but in this instance, Tucker Carlson and his far-right gotcha groupies have a point - and I really hate saying that. Though Tubbs was 17 when the crime was committed, it requires mental contortions to see the benefit of treating her as a child now.

Los Angeles Times

Prosecutors

Denied: Gascón refuses most SCV cases

In his first year as the county's top prosecutor in Los Angeles County, District Attorney George Gascón has declined nearly two-thirds of all criminal cases presented to him by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station. Gascón's total percentage of declined SCV Sheriff's Station cases in 2021 outpaced his predecessor, former District Attorney Jackie Lacey, by more than double. In the last year, Gascón saw 4,180 SCV case reports presented to his office, of which 2,621 were declined, or approximately 62.7%.

The Signal

Homeless man charged for kidnapping with intent to rape in Weho, LA attacks

The Los Angeles Police Department has identified the man accused of assaulting two women in broad daylight near West Hollywood earlier this month. Gabriel Hodges, 27, was taken into custody on Feb. 17. Both attacks happened within an hour of each other on Feb. 15, according to LAPD.

Fox11

Prosecutors seek to try defendant as an adult in brutal arson-murder after Gascón lifts his ban

Los Angeles County prosecutors have filed a motion seeking to try as an adult a defendant who was 17 when accused of fatally shooting two sisters in 2018, marking the first such move since Dist. Atty. George Gascón backtracked last week on his blanket ban on trying those charged with crimes as minors in adult court. Sierra Brown, 16, and her older sister, Uniek Atkins, were shot and killed in a Westchester apartment before the defendant doused the residence with bleach and set it on fire, prosecutors allege in court records.

Los Angeles Times

2 educators in Rialto failed to report sex assaults on campus, DA says

Two assistant principals in Rialto are now facing felony charges after allegedly failing to report sexual assaults on campus to authorities. According to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office, 38-year-old David Shenhan Yang and 37-year-old Natasha Harris - who are both assistant principals at Carter High School - have each been charged with felony child abuse and two counts of failure to report child abuse or neglect.

ABC7

Feds probe accusations against family behind Fatburger

Federal authorities have been investigating Andrew Wiederhorn, chief executive of the company that owns the Fatburger and Johnny Rockets restaurant chains, and examining one of his family member's actions as part of an inquiry into allegations of securities and wire fraud, money laundering and attempted tax evasion, court records show. During the probe, federal agents in December raided the Beverly Grove home of Wiederhorn's son Thayer and daughter-in-law Brooke Wiederhorn, according to search warrant records filed in court.

Los Angeles Times

Policy/Legal

Cities, county support effort to bring state crime bill to ballot

The cities of Oroville and Chico joined Butte County in sending a letter of support for California Assembly Bill 1599 which, if passed, would repeal the controversial Proposition 47. Prop 47, also called the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, was introduced in 2014 and has since been a topic of concern among law enforcement agencies because of the changes it made to incarceration and crime specification.

Chico Enterprise-Record

Parking ticket waivers help LA's unhoused. California may follow suit

A statewide bill modeled after a successful program in Los Angeles would require all local jurisdictions to create a parking ticket relief program for people experiencing homelessness. Unhoused people, especially those living in a car, often rack up parking citations, which when left unpaid can lead to mounting debt, impounded vehicles, and the loss of a driver's license. All of that can make climbing out of homelessness even harder.

LAist

What price 'compliance'?

We are witnessing a radical change in the ethos of law enforcement. It is not a good one. I joined the Los Angeles Police Department in the early 1980s, which of course makes me a dinosaur to my younger peers. So be it. I would sooner face extinction than silently accept the degradation of an honorable profession. There was a time when police work was at least somewhat insulated from the whims of fashionable opinion.

Jack Dunphy/The Pipeline

PERB finds duty to bargain when a proposed ordinance impacts discipline

In a recent decision by the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB), the Board concluded that the County had a duty to bargain over the impacts of the proposed ordinance when it created new grounds for discipline. In this case, the Santa Clara County District Attorney Investigators' Association brought an unfair practice charge against the County of Santa Clara for failing to meet and confer before unilaterally implementing an ordinance that regulated County-owned surveillance technology.

Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association

Los Angeles County/City

DWP commissioner hosted fundraiser for candidate in apparent ethics violation

A Los Angeles Department of Water and Power commissioner held a fundraiser for City Councilman Paul Koretz's campaign for city controller in an apparent violation of city laws pertaining to political fundraising. Jill Banks Barad-Hopkins co-hosted a fundraiser at her Sherman Oaks home on Oct. 23, a Koretz representative confirmed this week. Barad-Hopkins also advertised the fundraiser, according to a mass email she sent on Oct. 11 that was reviewed by The Times.

Los Angeles Times

L.A. police union backs Rick Caruso for mayor, spurning Buscaino, a former LAPD officer

The Los Angeles Police Protective League on Thursday endorsed Rick Caruso for mayor, a coveted nod for the businessman because of the union's considerable political clout. It represents the first major endorsement for Caruso since entering the race this month. He previously served as president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, where he maintained a good relationship with the union leadership.

Los Angeles Times

Fired gay former LAPD civilian employee sues city for discrimination

A gay former Los Angeles Police Department civilian employee is suing the city, alleging he was wrongfully fired in 2021 after being falsely accused of sexually assaulting another man. David Ray Lopez's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit allegations include discrimination, harassment, whistleblower retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Lopez seeks unspecifed damages in the suit brought Wednesday.

MyNewsLA

Lawsuit aims to block appointment of Herb Wesson to LA City Council, reinstate Mark Ridley-Thomas

A Los Angeles civil rights group and others filed a writ in court on Friday, Feb. 18, that aims to halt an effort by Council President Nury Martinez to appoint Herb Wesson to serve in the 10th district seat, which became vacant after colleagues voted last October to suspend Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas. The group, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California, has close ties to Ridley-Thomas, who led the organization during the 1980s.

Los Angeles Daily News

Trial in Kobe Bryant crash scene photos lawsuit delayed until July

Citing a backlog of criminal cases and fears of coronavirus, a federal judge has adjourned a lawsuit filed by Kobe Bryant's widow against Los Angeles County, including photos taken at the scene of a helicopter crash that killed the NBA legend and his 13-year-old daughter and seven more. U.S. District Judge John Walter on Friday also ordered the parties to go through a second round of closed-door talks, which could completely avoid the trial, which is now scheduled for July 18th.

Los Angeles Sentinel

Consumer

Amazon's business is counterfeit, fraudulent, and replica products

Amazon has a problem, and it's a big problem if you know where to look. Amazon is the direct seller ("Sold and shipped by Amazon") of an inexhaustible supply of counterfeit, fraudulent, and replica goods. Amazon's illusory claim, "Products offered for sale on Amazon must be authentic. The sale of counterfeit products is strictly prohibited," is patently false. In fact, counterfeit, fraudulent, replica, and stolen goods are so common, Amazon's highly manipulated marketplace is crumbling, its credibility evaporating, and its reputation dissolving.

The Counterfeit Report

The U.S. adds WeChat and AliExpress to a list of notorious piracy markets.

The Biden administration on Thursday added WeChat's e-commerce ecosystem and AliExpress, an e-commerce site owned by Alibaba, to an annual list of markets that the United States says engage in counterfeiting and copyright violations. The administration said the activities caused significant financial losses for American businesses and workers and posed risks to consumer safety last year.

New York Times

Crime/Public Safety

Man arrested 3 times within 16 hours in Glendale

A man who is now in custody was arrested three times within 16 hours Sunday in Glendale. The first incident leading to his arrest occurred around 3 a.m. Feb. 13, when patrol officers observed a man - later identified as 47-year-old James Langdon of Los Angeles - pacing in a parking lot near the intersection of Colorado and Louise streets, the Glendale Police Department said in a news release.

KTLA

Beekeepers fight theft with tracking devices (Video)

After reports of hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen beehives hit across California, beekeepers have begun to take matters into their own hands, using GPS tracking technology and security cameras to keep their hives safe.

CBS LA

Three fugitives convicted in $18 million Covid relief scam captured in Montenegro

Three fraudsters who went on the run after being convicted of carrying out a multimillion-dollar Covid-19 relief scam have been captured in Montenegro, U.S. law enforcement sources said Wednesday. Richard Ayvazyan, 43; his wife, Marietta Terabelian, 37; and his sister-in-law Tamara Dadyan, 42, were arrested Tuesday in the small mountainous country in southeastern Europe, the sources said. It was not immediately clear how their extradition to the U.S. might play out.

NBC News

California/National

Manhattan DA's Trump investigation appears to have cratered

The New York Times reports that two of the prosecutors heading up the Manhattan District Attorney's Office investigation of former president Trump have resigned. Mark Pomerantz and Carey R. Dunne, two highly regarded prosecutors, quit the probe after the office's new DA, Alvin Bragg, "indicated to them that he had doubts about moving forward with a case against Mr. Trump," according to the Times. This is not a surprising development.

National Review

Assemblyman Kiley's bill to 'make crime illegal again' finally scheduled for hearing

With California's ongoing crime spike exploding across the state, Assemblymen Kevin Kiley, James Gallagher, and Jim Patterson authored Assembly Bill 1599 to repeal Proposition 47, in early January. AB 1599 would more substantially eliminate Prop 47, repealing all changes and additions made by the initiative, except those related to reducing the penalty for possession of concentrated cannabis, the Globe reported.

California Globe

California bill would allow citizens to enforce weapons ban

California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed Friday letting private citizens in his state sue gun makers to stop them from selling assault weapons just as Texas lets its residents sue abortion providers to stop the procedures, then essentially dared the U.S. Supreme Court to treat both issues the same. At a news conference in the coastal town of Del Mar, north of San Diego, Newsom said he thought the Texas law was wrong and the Supreme Court's decision in December to let it stay in effect while it's appealed was "absurd" and "outrageous."

AP

Advocate for illegal-immigrant crime victims: DHS secretary 'psychopath'

Until Nov. 16, 2010, Los Angeles entertainment executive Don Rosenberg considered himself a lifelong liberal and supporter of the Democratic Party. But the minute he picked up the ringing phone, his life changed forever. The caller was from San Francisco General Hospital. She told him that his 25-year-old son, Drew, a second-year student at Golden Gate School of Law, had been mowed down on his motorcycle by a car that, Rosenberg would later learn, was driven by an illegal immigrant without a license.

New York Post

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg lowers charges in grand larceny case

The office of "soft-on-crime" Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg allegedly reduced charges for a brazen career crook who stole cash from an unsuspecting woman on the Upper East Side, only to be quickly nabbed by cops who saw the whole thing. Claude Myers, 54, had 46 prior arrests on his rap sheet and was on parole when he was caught by the NYPD Thursday, sources said. "Next time I won't do it right in front of you," Myers told the arresting officers, according to a source.

New York Post

Convictions/Sentences/Pleas

Arbery killers found guilty of hate crimes

The three white men convicted last year of murdering Ahmaud Arbery are also guilty of violating the 25-year-old jogger's civil rights and targeting him because he was Black, a Georgia jury decided on Tuesday after about four total hours of deliberations in the federal hate crimes trial against the men. Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery twice at close-range with a shotgun, was found guilty on all counts, including interference with rights, attempted kidnapping and brandishing and discharging a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.

Courthouse News Service

Riverside man, daughter plead no contest in kidnapping of woman who was found dumped in the Antelope Valley

A Riverside man and his daughter pleaded no contest Wednesday to kidnapping a woman who was dumped in the desert near Edwards Air Force Base in 2019. Stanley Alfred Lawton, 57, is expected to be sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison in connection with his no contest plea to aggravated kidnapping with the intent to commit robbery, according to Ricardo Santiago with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

City News Service

Corrections & Parole

Gang member granted early prison release before double homicide

Violent California prison inmates are being released back into society, only to strike again, a district attorney said this week. Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni blasted the Governor and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for freeing too many prisoners under Prop. 57 laws. Pacioni's statements were made in reaction to a recent double homicide in Salinas.

KRON4

Board grants parole to murderer who stabbed mother to death in 2001

A 36-year-old man sentenced to 26 years to life in prison at age 15 for stabbing his mother to death was granted parole after a review this week by the state's Board of Parole Hearings. By law, Gov. Gavin Newsom now has 30 days from Tuesday's review to decide whether to affirm or deny Parker William Chamberlin's eligibility for parole. Two state commissioners for the parole board initially found Chamberlin parole-eligible in August 2021.

Bakersfield.com

We owe it to consumers to stop counterfeits in their tracks

As a working parent, our home became a school and an office; day morphed into night, and we had to find ways to make it all work. As a result, many of us turned to online ordering to conserve time, and many brands made heavy investments to meet consumers where they were most comfortable. What's concerning, however, is the astounding prevalence of unsafe counterfeits lurking across a number of trusted, and emerging, e-commerce platforms.

The Hill

Articles of Interest

Amazon suspends Black Lives Matter from its charity platform

The beleaguered Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has been kicked off Amazon's charity platform for its failure to disclose where tens of millions of dollars in donations it received nearly two years ago have ended up. AmazonSmile, which gives a portion of eligible purchases on the online shopping site to charities, said it "had to temporarily suspend" the group today, an Amazon spokesperson told The Post. "States have rules for nonprofits, and organizations participating in AmazonSmile need to meet those rules," the spokesperson said.

New York Post

Pensions

CA Treasurer Fiona Ma helped Santa Ana police union boss in his quest for pension boost

California State Treasurer Fiona Ma backed state legislation aimed at helping Santa Ana police union president Gerry Serrano count his union salary toward his pension and boost his retirement benefits at City Hall, after Serrano asked for her assistance. Ma's actions, first revealed by Anaheim watchdog Duane Roberts, have raised questions about why the state's treasurer would seek modifications of statewide policies to advance the goal of a union leader who's been criticized by Santa Ana officials for seeking improper use of public money.

Voice of OC

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