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By Callie Shanafelt, HealthyCal.org - August 30, 2011 When David Muhammad became the Chief Probation Officer for Alameda County six months ago, he had big ideas about how to change the system for the better. “Departments around the country have been good at messing with people and not so good at helping people,” Muhammad said. That’s something he wants to...

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By Nels Johnson - Marin Independent Journal - Posted: 08/30/2011 03:28:16 PM PDT A new state law that puts county officials in charge of nonviolent inmates and parolees that formerly were supervised by the state won’t pack much punch at the Marin County Hall of Justice, where officials say they can handle new arrivals. There’s…[For full story:   http://www.marinij.com/sanrafael/ci_18790027 Continued here:...

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Southern California Public Radio – KPCC 89.3 FM Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley said California’s plan to shift supervision of thousands of former state prison inmates to counties will be a “disaster” for L.A. He made the comment as the Board of Supervisors prepared to vote Tuesday on a plan to manage the felons. Under the state’s...

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A California Court of Appeals recently examined whether a law school graduate who is not yet licensed to practice law is an exempt employee... Go here to see the original: Law School Grad Without a License Properly Classified as Exempt

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Asking whether hookah bars are illegal may seem like a silly question given the massive proliferation of such establishments in the last decade. However, you might be surprised to know that many hookah bars are, in fact, operating illegally under state, county, and/or city laws. With smoking laws varying between jurisdictions and local governments strapped for cash, the...

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By Josh Richman – Oakland Tribune - Updated: 08/29/2011 04:00:46 PM PDT With an East Bay lawmaker’s death-penalty abolition bill withdrawn for lack of legislative support, its backers Monday announced a 2012 ballot measure campaign — but with a new wrinkle. In addition to abolishing the death penalty, the measure would draw $100 million from the state’s General Fund...

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By Sam Stanton – The Sacramento Bee – August 29, 2011 Opponents of the state’s death penalty announced a new effort Monday aimed at getting an initiative before voters next year that would abolish the death penalty and replace it with life without parole. The effort uses the enormous costs of California’s death penalty as a sales point...

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By DON THOMPSON - The Associated Press, August 29, 2011 SACRAMENTO A former Los Angeles County district attorney joined an effort to end California’s death penalty Monday, backing an initiative proposed for the November 2012 ballot that would replace capital punishment with life prison terms. “The death penalty in California is broken and it is unfixable,” Gil Garcetti said at...

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Washington Imposes New Fees to Use Public Lands - Some Hunters May Be Double-Taxed! Continued here: Washington Imposes New Fees to Use Public Lands - Some Hunters May Be Double-Taxed!

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Five southern African countries have signed into place the region's biggest and most ambitious transfrontier conservation project yet. Go here to read the rest: Five African Nations Sign Up for Conservation Zone the Size of California