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California’s plastic bag ban has been a failed experiment

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California’s plastic bag ban has been a failed experiment


We can now add plastic bag bans to the list of  “well-meaning but failed experiments” being run in California.

Two devastating pieces in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times reveal how the environmentalist fervor to rid California of thin, single-use plastic bags resulted in a 47 percent increase in plastic waste statewide. Before the ban, California produced 314 million pounds of plastic waste. By 2022, plastic waste in pounds was closer to 462 million.

Both outlets pin the blame on special interests lobbying for exemptions to the ban, which resulted in the now common 10-cent plastic bag so many shoppers encounter in checkout lines both in and out of California, and now lawmakers are moving to pass new legislation that would take plastic bags of all kinds out of circulation. If reducing environmental impact is the goal, California should brace for another failure.

Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan has made her disdain for plastic bags quite clear in saying, “Ten years ago, California attempted to ban plastic bags to stem pollution. Yet, these insidious relics persist, choking our waterways, imperiling wildlife, and despoiling our ecosystems.”

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Insidious is a dramatic word choice. Consumers know that plastic bags do not belong in waterways, oceans, and blowing across playgrounds. What is actually insidious —meaning to cause gradual, subtle harm — is the impact of plastic alternatives such as woven bags and paper.

Denmark’s environmental ministry found paper bags need to be re-used 43 times to bring their per-use impact on the environment down to the level of single-use plastic bags, meaning what it takes to produce those bags. Any consumer who has set foot inside a grocery store and hauled food back into their home knows that reusing a paper bag 43 times is near impossible. Paper bags are also 2.6 times as expensive for the consumer, which the government of Canada found in their research after similarly dropping the hammer on single-use plastic bags.

Paper requires trees, energy, and water to produce. For a state that is constantly running into issues with energy shortages, electricity blackouts, as well as water shortages, the plan to curb pollution by increasing the burden of other strained systems is the definition of offsetting costs.

Environmental policy tends to work this way. One state or country will crack down on their emissions output, with no care for what happens on the other side of the globe, and the result is no net improvement in overall emissions. There are significant costs to paper products both for the environment and the consumer.

Cloth bags also are not made from thin air. Your standard cotton tote or grocery bag blows paper products out of the water on the cost-benefit. It takes 7,100 uses of the cloth bag to meet the impact of one single-use plastic bag. A consumer would need to use the bag for 136 years of weekly grocery store visits to be as environmentally friendly as single-use plastic is.

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“Environmentally friendly” will always require air quotes of some kind when you’re talking about products being produced from raw materials. A cost always exists whether Californians can see them or not.

For example, polypropylene packaging and woven bags are a 100% byproduct of natural gas and petroleum refinement. These are of course great bags and can be bought at a higher price point in most grocery stores and kept in your trunk the next time you go shopping. They do better on electricity, water, and emissions required to make them, but have you ever heard a major California politician champion natural gas and fossil fuels?

The NYT says California “remains at the forefront of efforts to curb plastic waste,” which is a curious way to frame stubborn failure. Consumers prefer single-use plastic bags because they are cheap, efficient, and convenient when they arrive to shop at the store or pick up food for takeout.

What California can’t seem to get a grip on is the infrastructure required to run a modern waste management system, as well as the will to enforce laws that keep the state clean. Take a walk in downtown San Francisco or Los Angeles and look around. What you’ll see is not a problem being created by plastics.

David Clement is the North American Policy Director for the Consumer Choice Center

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Attorney disputes federal claims after ICE shooting in California; family seeks medical update

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Attorney disputes federal claims after ICE shooting in California; family seeks medical update


The attorney for the man shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Patterson is disputing federal claims and raising questions about what led up to the shooting, and what’s happening now at the hospital.

Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez’s fiancée and attorney say they still don’t know his condition and are struggling to get basic information from authorities.

They’re also disputing ICE’s version of events and point to court documents that they say tell a very different story.

“I have a lot of concern right now about getting info, finding out how is he doing, is he alive, is he recovering and what is his situation,” said Patrick Kolasinski, Hernandez’s attorney.

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Dashcam video captured the moments Tuesday morning when Hernandez tried to pull away from agents who were attempting to arrest him as ICE said he is wanted for questioning in El Salvador in connection with a murder. Kolasinski speculated that his reaction may have been driven by fear.

“I wasn’t with him, I can only imagine if you see what’s happening in immigration detention and find yourself about to be detained,” Kolasinski said. “It’s normal to try and flee.”

ICE claims Hernandez is a member of the 18th Street gang and is wanted in El Salvador. But his attorney says none of that is true. 

“Carlos is a family man who was on his way to work when he was detained by ICE. He has had no criminal contacts in the United States,” Kolasinski said.

Court documents from 2019 show Hernandez was charged with aggravated homicide, which was later reduced to simple homicide. The court documents also shows Hernandez was found not guilty.

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“He was, in fact, acquitted, so he cannot possibly have a warrant out for his arrest,” Kolasinski said.

CBS Sacramento reached out to ICE regarding the court document from El Salvador, but has yet to hear back.

“I think the problem is the training,” Kolasinski said. “You have a not dangerous person and when they try to flee. First of all, the car was way too far behind. When you do a traffic stop, you pull up close behind. If you’ve ever gotten a ticket, you’ll see CHP is on your bumper. Why? So this can’t happen.”

Hernandez’s attorney and his fiancée both say they’re now struggling to get basic information.

“Sheriff’s office, no one, no one responded to me, being searching for answers,” said Cindy, Hernandez’s fiancée.

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Cindy said she didn’t hear from the authorities first, but from her sister. After arriving at the hospital, she said an FBI agent took her into a room.

“He said, ‘I’m going to record you because I need to have this recorded, right?’ So I was expecting him to talk to me about Carlos. I literally asked how he’s doing, is he’s in the hospital. He said, ‘I cannot share any information. I’m not authorized.’”

CBS Sacramento reached out to the FBI and is awaiting a response. 

As they wait for answers, she said this goes beyond just one case.

“Right now it’s me and that’s the reason I’m here. I’m also representing our community,” Cindy said. “I don’t want this situation to continue and continue blaming these people, in this case, Carlos.”

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Right now, his family and his attorney say they’re still attempting to find out his condition. 

Kolasinski said Wednesday evening that Hernandez is detained under the U.S. attorney’s office. Kolasinski added that Hernandez underwent a medical procedure, but the family doesn’t know his condition. 



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Tori Spelling speaks out after California car crash with seven children

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Tori Spelling speaks out after California car crash with seven children


Tori Spelling is feeling “grateful” after the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star and four of her children were involved in a serious car crash in California earlier this month.

“We are so grateful and so lucky, because it could have been so much worse,” Spelling said in a Tuesday Instagram video, adding that the last few days have been “overwhelming.”

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office previously told NBC News the April 2 crash occurred after another driver allegedly ran a red light while speeding and hit Spelling’s car.

Spelling, 52, and seven children — four of her own and three of their friends — were taken to the hospital after the April 2 accident in Temecula, California. The sheriff’s officer said at the time that all occupants were evaluated at the scene, and no arrests were made. The cause of the collision, however, remains under investigation.

In the self-style video, Spelling detailed the incident from her point of view, saying that the driver who hit her car was “going crazy, crazy fast.”

“I’m just really grateful that in a split second, guardian angels were definitely with us that day, because in a split second, I looked to my right and I saw he was coming full on, full impact into the side of our car,” she said.

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To avoid impacting the children as much as possible, Spelling said she had to turn hard left as fast as she could, causing them to spin out. TMZ, which first reported the incident, said Spelling and the children were treated for cuts, bruises, contusions, concussions, and other injuries.

“I just want to thank all of the first responders on the scene and to Inland Valley ER that took such great care of all of the kids and myself,” Spelling added in the video.

Video obtained by TMZ appeared to show Spelling speaking animatedly with first responders. Photos published by TMZ appeared to show Spelling’s car to be significantly less damaged than the other vehicle involved.

“I’m grateful to everyone who has reached out and repeatedly checked on us and offered to do whatever we needed to get us through this, and all the blessings everyone has sent,” Spelling added in the video.

Spelling shares five children with her ex-husband, Dean McDermott. It is unclear which of her four children was in the car involved in the crash.

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California Assembly Health Committee passes ‘Next of Kin Notification’ bill

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California Assembly Health Committee passes ‘Next of Kin Notification’ bill


A bill sparked by a KCRA 3 investigation cleared its first hurdle in the California Legislature on Tuesday.Assembly Bill 2598 was introduced in response to KCRA’s “Dignity Delayed.” The investigation revealed a backlog of human remains after patient deaths at Dignity Health hospitals. The hospitals are accused of failing to notify families and county officials for months or even years after the deaths and, instead, leaving bodies to decompose in cold storage at an off-site morgue without a death certificate.In court records, Dignity Health said the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing issues caused delays, although they dispute that they did not initially try to contact next of kin.That is a dispute that is now being argued in civil court following lawsuits filed by families who say they were left in the dark about the deaths of their loved ones.In the meantime, AB 2598 aims to make it clear that notification of next of kin is required and that not doing so could have consequences.“This is necessary to fill a gap that we currently have in our law,” said the bill’s author, Assemblymember Maggy Krell, D-Sacramento.The bill states that the California Department of Health could dole out penalties of $200 a day for each day that a hospital fails to make a reasonable attempt to notify family. Fines would max out at $50,000. The California Hospital Association is proposing some amendments and clarifications to the bill, but there is currently no registered opposition to it.The Assembly Health Committee voted to pass the bill, and it is scheduled to be heard before the Assembly Judiciary Committee next.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

A bill sparked by a KCRA 3 investigation cleared its first hurdle in the California Legislature on Tuesday.

Assembly Bill 2598 was introduced in response to KCRA’s “Dignity Delayed.” The investigation revealed a backlog of human remains after patient deaths at Dignity Health hospitals. The hospitals are accused of failing to notify families and county officials for months or even years after the deaths and, instead, leaving bodies to decompose in cold storage at an off-site morgue without a death certificate.

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In court records, Dignity Health said the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing issues caused delays, although they dispute that they did not initially try to contact next of kin.

That is a dispute that is now being argued in civil court following lawsuits filed by families who say they were left in the dark about the deaths of their loved ones.

In the meantime, AB 2598 aims to make it clear that notification of next of kin is required and that not doing so could have consequences.

“This is necessary to fill a gap that we currently have in our law,” said the bill’s author, Assemblymember Maggy Krell, D-Sacramento.

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The bill states that the California Department of Health could dole out penalties of $200 a day for each day that a hospital fails to make a reasonable attempt to notify family. Fines would max out at $50,000.

The California Hospital Association is proposing some amendments and clarifications to the bill, but there is currently no registered opposition to it.

The Assembly Health Committee voted to pass the bill, and it is scheduled to be heard before the Assembly Judiciary Committee next.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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