Posts Tagged ‘Edmund G. Brown’
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
You wouldn’t believe how long people have been working on getting a new sign up on the State Building at 350 McAllister in Civic Center. I mean, this is a months-long project. They come out, they put up a sample, they look at it, and then they go back inside.
Anyway, in addition to the State Seal and the golden letters spelling out “STATE OF CALIFORNIA,” the old courthouse will soon be getting a big plaque what says, “RONALD M. GEORGE STATE OFFICE COMPLEX.”
See?
Click to expand
San Franciscans probably won’t ever really notice this addition to the front door of our California Supreme Court, but let’s meet our 27th Chief Justice:
“As a Superior Court judge, George presided over the trial of Hillside Strangler Angelo Buono in 1981–1983. George was lauded for his extremely unusual decision to deny the motion by Los Angeles County District Attorney‘s office to dismiss all 10 counts of murder against Buono. However, his unusual decision was speculated to be a result of his earlier decision to separate crucial counts of rape and sodomy, which in themselves would serve as evidence against the defendant, from the murder charges. The prosecutors felt the evidence against Buono was so weak that it did not justify even an attempt to win at trial. Judges rarely second-guess the prosecutors’ judgment on such a matter (and George stated that he was “loath” to do so). However, George’s review of the evidence in the case caused him to feel so strongly that the prosecutors were in error that he did exactly that.”
See that? Dude wouldn’t let the prosecutor drop murder charges.
Now, what Arnold Schwarzenegger really wanted last year was to name the joint the “Ronald M. George Justice Center,” but that didn’t fly with the SEIU union, so the name we’re getting is a kind of compromise. (Arnold also wanted to sell this building to his buddies but that didn’t work out neither, of course.)
Anyway, All Hail Republicans!
More deets of Executive Order S-17-10 after the jump.
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Tags: 1977, 2011, Administrative, Angelo Buono, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Associate, Associate Justice, attorney, building, California Attorney General’s Office, California Supreme Court, civic center, Civic Center Complex, complex, county, court, Democrat, Earl Warren, Earl Warren Building, Edmund G. Brown, Executive Order, Executive Order S-17-10, George Deukmejian, Governor, Hillside Strangler, Hiram, Hiram M. Johnson State Office Building, Johnson, Jr, judicial, Judicial Council, Judicial Council of California, justice, Justice George, lawyer, los angeles, municipal, of California, office, Office of the Courts, pete wilson, republican, Ronald M. George Justice Center, S-17-10, scr 126, scr126, seiu, state, State of California, superior, supreme court, union, United States Supreme Court
Posted in paranormal | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
California Attorney General Jerry Brown can’t abide California museums that don’t give Nazi-stolen art back to the rightful owners. Even if that means that returning 500-year-old Adam and Eve will cost Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum of Art a cool $24 mil.
Deets below.
El Protector De La Gente, Jerry Brown:
via Thomas Hawk
Brown Defends Right to Seek Return of Artworks Stolen by Nazis
LOS ANGELES – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a Connecticut woman who seeks the return of a pair of 500-year-old paintings looted by the Nazis during World War II, kept for a time in the estate of Nazi leader Hermann Göring and purchased 40 years ago by the Norton Simon Museum of Art.
Brown’s friend of the court brief backs Marei Von Saher, who is suing the Pasadena museum over “Adam and Eve.” The two panels painted by the 16th century German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder are evocative of original sin, according to the museum’s website.
The works were confiscated by Nazi soldiers from an Amsterdam gallery owned by a relative of Von Saher’s during the war. From there, the panels were moved to Göring’s country estate near Berlin until May 1945, when they were discovered by American troops. The following year, they were returned to Amsterdam. From there, the artwork’s trail grows murkier, leading through Russia and to a sale in 1971 to the Norton Simon Museum, where the panels are on display on the main floor. The paintings were appraised last year at $24 million. A depiction similar to the “Eve” panel appears each week at the beginning of the TV show “Desperate Housewives.”
Here they are:
All the deets, after the jump.
(more…)
Tags: 2010, Adam, AMICUS, Amsterdam, art, attorney general, brief, california, Connecticut, down, Edmund G. Brown, eve, german, jerry brown, Jr, Marei Von Saher, museum, nazi, Norton Simon, Norton Simon Museum of Art, paintings, pasadena, supreme court, throws, U.S., U.S. Supreme Court, world, wwii
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, May 17th, 2010
California Attorney General Jerry Brown can’t abide goddamn record companies that fix prices. (Feel free to read that as record companies, straight up.) Anyway, when you bought all those Rico Suave CDs back in the day, you paid too much.
Can I tell you how this all relates to the big scheme of things? No, I get my record co. antitrust lawsuits mixed up. But this whole deal probably had something to do with bad behavior by execs from Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and/or EMI Group.
But that doesn’t matter now. What matters that these melon-farmers are going to own up for past misdeeds by paying for statewide music festivals.
El Protector De La Gente, Jerry Brown:
via Thomas Hawk
Check it:
Enjoy.
Brown and Arts Council Host Statewide Music Festivals Funded by a Price-Fixing Settlement
SACRAMENTO -Yodeling, operas, musicals, Japanese drumming and symphonies are among the summer events around the state sponsored by more than a half million dollars from a Department of Justice settlement with music companies in a case of fixing advertised prices.
Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and the California Arts Council today announced dozens of musical presentations during this summer’s festival season and throughout 2010. Visit the California Arts Council’s website for a full listing of concerts and events benefiting from the grants:
http://www.cac.ca.gov/programs/doj/.
“The Attorney General’s office is proud to be part of providing these cultural events that bring people together to experience all types of music. It’s affordable because of our ability to provide discounted tickets,” Brown said, “and these performances are a testament to the incredible richness and diversity of the state’s music.”
The grants support performances and events in 43 of the state’s 58 counties, reaching an estimated audience of 200,000.
All the deets, after the jump
(more…)
Tags: (SAN), advertised, Alameda, Angeles, antitrust, Arts Council, attorney general, barbara, Bernardino, Butte, calaveras, california, California Arts Council, California Attorney General, Clara, Contra, Costa, county, Cruz, Del, Democrat, Diego, Dorado, Edmund G. Brown, Edmund G. Brown Jr., El, EMI, Entertainment, francisco, fresno, Governor, group, Humboldt, Inyo, jerry brown, Jerry Brown Throws Down, Joaquin, Jr, Kern, Lassen, lawsuit, Los, Luis, marin, Mendocino, Mono, monterey, music, Music Group, Napa, nevada, Norte, Obispo, orange, Plumas, Price-Fixing, prices, Riverside, sacramento, santa, settlement, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma., Sony, Stanislaus, summer, Tehama, universal, Ventura, Warner, Yolo, Yuba
Posted in crime, music | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
California Attorney General Jerry Brown can’t abide gang wars in Steinbeck Country. So today he’s telling us about the people in his Gang Suppression Enforcement Program, along with a whole bunch of other California and federal peace officers, arresting 94 suspected Montery-area Norteños and Sureños.
And to keep things going, Jerry just announced a local, Salinas-area gang task force.
Anyway, there was a big press conference today – look at who all was there.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello (Northern District of CA), Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo, Salinas Chief of Police Louis Fetherolf, Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue and a host of others down in Salinas :
Check it:
“Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today discussed “Operation Knockout,” in which agents from Brown’s Gang Suppression Enforcement Program (GSEP) of the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement arrested gang members after an eight-month, wide-ranging investigation and sweep targeting the most powerful gang leaders in the Salinas area.”
via Thomas Hawk
All the deets:
Brown Announces Major Gang Takedown in Salinas
SALINAS – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced that more than 200 agents from his Gang Suppression Enforcement Program and other law enforcement agencies today arrested 37 members of two vicious gangs responsible for a rampage of violence — including more than three dozen murders and 200 shootings — that terrorized the citizens of Salinas and nearby areas.
Today’s mass arrests culminated an eight-month operation, code-named “Operation Knockout,” aimed at apprehending members of the Norteños and Sureños gangs that turned Salinas into a hub of murder, robbery and drug dealing.
The operation targeted the most dangerous gang leaders in the Salinas area. In addition to the arrests made today, agents seized 40 pounds of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, nine ounces of methamphetamine, $34,000 in cash, and 12 guns. An additional 57 arrests were made before today’s sweep.
“Operation Knockout was designed to restore safety to the streets of Salinas,” said Brown. “Citizens in John Steinbeck’s hometown deserve better than having to endure a violent crime rate that’s three times the national average. We owed it to the people of Salinas to arrest these out-of-control gang members and ensure a heightened sense of personal security throughout the city.”
Ever more deets after the jump
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Tags: $40, 000, 12, 14, 2010, 34, agencies, agents, and Explosives, Arnold Schwarzenegger, atf, atfe, attorney general, Bureau of Alcohol, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, ca, california, California Department of Corrections, California Department of Justice, california highway patrol, cash, chief, chp, cocaine, country, county, crystal, Dean Flippo, Dennis Donohue, Deputy, Edmund G. Brown, FBI, federal, federal bureau of investigation, Firearms, gang crime summit, Gang Suppression, Gang Suppression Enforcement Program, GSEP, guns, homicides, investigation, jerry brown, Jerry Brown Takes Down, Jerry Brown Throws Down, Joe Russoniello, Joseph P. Russoniello, Joseph Russoniello, Jr, law enforcemen, leaders, Louis Fetherolf, marijuana, Marina Police Department, meth, methamphetamine, mexican, monterey, Monterey County, Monterey County District Attorney's Office, Monterey County Sheriff's Department, Monterey County Sheriff's Office, Monterey Police Department, murders, nine ounces, Norteños, Northern District of California; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, office, Operation Knockout, police, pounds, rehabilitation, salinas, Salinas Police Department, search warrants, Seaside Police Department, secret service, sheriff, sheriff's, state, state department, Steinbeck, Steinbeck Country, Sureños, tobacco, United States Attorney's Office, Violence Task Force
Posted in crime | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Our California Attorney General Jerry Brown can’t abide you polluting the air with hair care products not legal for sale in California. So he just announced a court judgment against Pro’s Choice Beauty Care, Inc, a New York-based distributor – now they’re blocked from selling “pollution-causing” products in CA.
Product is coming off the shelves right now at your K Marts, your RiteAids, your Targets, etc.
That means no illicit Big Sexy Hair Dense for Big Jerry:
These particular products weren’t meant for sale to Californians, so let’s assume that similar hairsprays and gels and whatnot, you know, all those things that you’ll see on sale tomorrow, have been given the O.K. Feel free to shop away.
All the deets:
Brown Removes Pollution-Causing Products from Store Shelves
Oakland-Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced a court judgment against Pro’s Choice Beauty Care, Inc., a New York-based hair care product distributor, blocking the company from selling “pollution-causing” products that also exacerbate respiratory illnesses.
The judgment also requires the retailers Rite Aid, Long’s Drug Stores, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreen Company, Ralphs Grocery Company, Kmart and Target to remove these products at all California stores.
“Pro’s Choice sold thousands of containers of pollution-causing hair products to consumers who unknowingly exposed themselves and the environment to harmful pollutants,” Brown said. “Today’s agreement will remove products from store shelves that pollute our air and exacerbate respiratory diseases such as asthma.”
Pro’s Choice, the largest distributor of professional hair care and nail products in the country, buys U.S. brand-name products overseas and re-imports the products to sell them below suggested retail value. The products are then redistributed to pharmacies, grocery chains, and wholesale clubs throughout the country.
In late 2006, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and several district attorneys notified Brown’s office that many products supplied by Pro’s Choice contained air contaminants well above the state’s limits on volatile organic compounds (VOCs.) Despite numerous tests and repeated violations and requests for compliance, Pro’s Choice continued to sell these products to retailers.
Brown’s office filed a lawsuit against the company in 2008. The company was charged with violating California’s Health and Safety Code 4200 et seq., which protects air quality and prevents companies from intentionally discharging pollutants into the air.
VOCs significantly contribute to the formation of smog. Under California law, depending on whether the product is a hair spray, mousse, gel or styling product, each must meet California’s stringent standards for VOC content. According to the American Lung Association’s 2009 State of the Air Report, California has five of the top-ten worst smog areas and the highest rate of asthma in the country.
Some of the non-compliant products Pro’s Choice resold to retailers include:
- Big Sexy Hair Dense at a Target in Modesto, CA;
- Redken Fabricate at a RiteAid in Modesto, CA;
- Sebastian Threads Microber Cream at a K-Mart in Lodi, CA;
- Sebastian Shaper Plus at Ralphs in Sacramento, CA;
- John Paul Mitchell Freeze and Shine Super Spray Firm Hold at Longs in Stockton, CA; and,
- Short Sexy Hair Hard Up Gel at Rite Aid in Torrance, CA.
Today’s judgment requires Pro’s Choice to:
- Stop selling or distributing products that violate the limits of VOCs;
- Pull all of the products found in violation;
- Identify and sort products that are non-compliant before distributing them for sale in California;
- Obtain written verification from the manufacturer
Tags: 4200, air, attorney general, Beauty Care, Big Sexy Hair, California Air Resources Board, CARB, company, cream, CVS, Dense, drug, Edmund G. Brown, Fabricate, Grocery Company, Hard Up Gel, Health and Safety Code, inc, jerry brown, John Paul Mitchell, Jr, Kmart, Long's, Microber, modesto, new york, pharmacy, pollution, Pro's Choice, Pro's Choice Beauty Care, Ralphs, Redken, Rite Aid, sacramento, Sebastian Threads, Shaper Plus, Short Sexy Hair, stockton, stores, target, VOCs, volatile organic compounds, Walgreen, walgreens
Posted in crime | No Comments »
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Our California Attorney General Jerry Brown can’t abide the idea of San Francisco having a dysfunctional crime lab so he’s going to send over a team of specialists to assist in a thorough independent audit.
All the deets, below.
Brown Joins SF Police Department Investigation into Evidence Tampering at City Crime Lab
“San Francisco- On the heels of troubling allegations of evidence tampering against a former San Francisco Police Department Crime Lab technician, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that his office will provide a team of specialists to assist in a thorough independent audit of the laboratory.
“My office will assist San Francisco police to get to the bottom of these serious evidence-tampering allegations,”Brown said. “It’s critical that we act immediately to get the San Francisco crime lab back in service and restore the public’s trust in our criminal justice system.”
At the request of San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon, crime specialists from Brown’s office will assist San Francisco authorities in re-testing of evidence, improving internal controls and taking whatever steps are necessary to return the lab to full operation.
Today’s announcement follows allegations that Deborah Madden, 60, a former San Francisco Police Department Lab technician, jeopardized numerous criminal cases by tampering with police evidence.
The San Francisco Police Department will continue to lead the criminal investigation into Ms. Madden’s conduct.
Tags: 2010, attorney general, california, City, cocaine, county, crime, Deborah Madden, department, dept., Edmund G. Brown, Edmund G. Brown Jr., Evidence, George Gascón, jerry brown, Jr, lab, laboratory, police, SFPD, state, tampering, technician
Posted in crime | No Comments »
Monday, January 25th, 2010
California Attorney General Jerry Brown can’t abide car repair shop owners who rip you off for unnecessary work. News comes this morning about a judge in Alameda County who signed off on a:
“$1.8 million settlement that prevents Maurice Irving Glad (aka Mike Glad), owner of 22 Midas auto shops throughout California, from owning or operating an auto repair shop in the state, after the franchisee “deceptively lured” customers with cheap brake specials and then charged hundreds of dollars for unnecessary repairs.”
Now what do you suppose Mike did with some of that ill-gotten booty? Well, he traveled the world, natch, but he also produced an Academy Award-nominated documentary (narrated by Edward James Olmos!) called Recycled Life. (So all those people in the East Bay and the South Bay who thought they were just fixing their cars actually were financing the Hollywood dream factory by paying an average of $268 more than they should have….)
Anyway, get the deets below to see how our California Bureau of Automotive Repair does sting operations. And get the other side of the story from Mike’s mouthpiece via Henry K. Lee right here.
El Protector De La Gente, Jerry Brown:
Read all about it, after the jump
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Tags: 17200, 17207, 17500, 17535.5, 1989, Abbott, Academy Award, Academy Awards, ag, agents, Alameda County, attorney general, auton shops, bait-and-switch, bar, Be Glad, brake, brake adjustments, brake-cleaning, brake-drum repairs, brake-rotor resurfacings, Bureau of Automotive Repair, Business and Professions Code, california, California Attorney General, Campbell, class, Clovis, Concord, county, deceptively lured, Department of Consumer Affairs, District Attorney, documentary, Dublin, Edmund G. Brown, Elizabeth A. Egan, Elizabeth Egan, franchisee, fremont, fresno, Governor, hayward, inc, jerry brown, Jerry Brown Throws Down, Jr, M.I. Glad, Manteca, Maurice Glad, Maurice Irving Glad, Merced, Midas, Midas International Corporation, Mike Glad, modesto, nominated, office, operations, Recycled Life, San Francisco, san jose, san leandro, scam, section, settlement, So Glad, specials, sting, Tom Orloff, Turlock, undercover, Walnut Creek
Posted in crime, government | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
California State Attorney General Jerry Brown is announcing a huge, “b”-as-in-boy, $1.4 billion settlement with affiliates of Well Fargo today. That means that if you bought certain auction-rate securities based on “misleading advice” from any of three Wells affiliates, well, you’re going to get your money back. Hurray!
All the deets are below.
El Protector De La Gente, Jerry Brown:
Here they are:
“Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced a landmark $1.4 billion settlement with three Wells Fargo affiliates to pay back investors, charities and small businesses that purchased auction-rate securities based on “misleading advice.”
“Wells Fargo convinced thousands of investors to purchase auction-rate securities with promises of robust returns and liquidity, but when the market collapsed, investors were left out in the cold,” Brown said. “Based on misleading advice, investors bought these risky securities. Now, retail investors and small businesses are finally getting their money back.”
Under today’s settlement, Wells Fargo will buy back $1.4 billion in non-liquid auction-rate securities from thousands of retail customers, charities, and small businesses nationwide, including about $700 million to California investors. Wells Fargo will also pay legal costs and future monitoring expenses incurred by Brown’s office. In February 2008, nationwide auction markets froze, and investors have been unable to sell their securities.
Earlier this year, Brown filed the suit against three Wells Fargo affiliates-Wells Fargo Investments, LLC; Wells Fargo Brokerage Services, LLC; and Wells Fargo Institutional Securities, LLC-for violating California’s Securities Law. Brown’s suit contended that Wells Fargo routinely misrepresented, marketed and sold auction-rate securities as safe, liquid and cash-like investments, omitting material facts.
The company was also charged with failing to supervise and train its sales agents and selling unsuitable investments. The lawsuit contended that Wells Fargo ignored clear industry and internal warnings about risk and previous auction failure.
In March 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the “Big 4″ accounting firms, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board all determined that auction-rate securities should not be considered “cash equivalents.” Despite these warnings, Wells Fargo continued to aggressively sell and falsely market auction-rate securities as safe, liquid, cash-like investments until the nationwide auction markets froze in early 2008.
In marketing and selling these investments, Wells Fargo failed to inform investors about how auction-rate securities or the auction process worked, as well as the risks and consequences of auction failure.”
Ever more deets, after the jump.
(more…)
Tags: 1-4, 2008, affiliates, attorney general, auction-rate, auction-rate securities, bank, billion, Brokerage Services, california, charities, Edmund Brown, Edmund G. Brown, Edmund G. Brown Jr., February, Institutional Securities, Investments, investors, Jr, misleading advice, securities, settlement, small businesses, wells fargo, Wells Fargo bank, Wells Fargo Brokerage Services, Wells Fargo Institutional Securities, Wells Fargo Investments
Posted in government | 2 Comments »
