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California homeowners pay for violations they didn’t commit

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California homeowners pay for violations they didn’t commit


Code enforcers usually punish householders for their very own errors. However the guidelines work in another way in Humboldt County, California. Newcomers Corrine and Doug Thomas realized the exhausting approach in August 2021.

About one week after the couple moved from Los Angeles County to a brand new residence within the coronary heart of the Redwood Forest, they discovered a violation discover on their entrance gate accusing them of rising industrial hashish with out a allow.

Discuss a welcoming committee! As an alternative of a plate of brownies — the type not laced with pot — the Thomases acquired threats of $16,000 in fines per day for having a three-story barn on their property. The earlier house owners had constructed the construction with out a allow after which used it for an unauthorized hashish enterprise, however the Thomases had nothing to do with that.

They purchased the property with a clear title exhibiting no excellent violations or liens, they usually had no plans to make use of the barn for something unlawful. They’ve by no means grown, harvested or bought marijuana, nor do they use it themselves.

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Their solely enterprise is a basis that helps households with autistic kids. The nonprofit group builds on Corrine’s e book and a film adaptation, “Miracle Run,” about her autistic twins. In any other case, the Thomases are retired on a hard and fast earnings.

Cash for his or her relocation got here from an insurance coverage settlement following the Woolsey Hearth, which destroyed their earlier residence. Regardless of their restricted sources, the county gave them an ultimatum: Demolish the barn inside 10 days or face monetary break.

Even when the Thomases had money for the mission — an engineer estimated it could price about $200,000 to tear down the barn and surrounding old-growth timber — the timeframe was unattainable. All they may do was watch because the fines swelled above $1 million.

“The way in which this was wanting is that we had been going to lose every part,” Doug says.

Many Humboldt County households can relate. As quickly as California voters legalized leisure marijuana in 2016, the native Planning and Constructing Division started planning to maximise the county’s share of marijuana proceeds. By the point the legislation took impact in 2018, the zoning police had been prepared.

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Their enterprise mannequin is easy: They cost a premium for hashish land use and turbocharge penalties for something that could be evasion.

Utilizing crude satellite tv for pc imagery, they determine something that appears like a greenhouse, outbuilding, graded plot, entry street or pond put in with out a allow. Primarily based on little greater than the area’s fame because the Emerald Triangle — the nation’s largest hashish cultivation supply — the zoning police declare all of those enhancements as proof of unlawful hashish agriculture.

No search warrant, website go to or follow-up is required. Guilt is assumed, and property house owners who attempt to defend themselves don’t have any affordable recourse. Households wait years for his or her day in court docket, solely to seek out themselves pleading their circumstances earlier than a non-public legal professional on the county’s payroll — not an actual decide.

County resident Rhonda Olson bought hit with greater than $7 million in fines after shopping for three adjoining parcels of land, which by no means contained hashish underneath her possession. Blu Graham confronted $900,000 in fines based mostly on uninvestigated allegations that he was rising marijuana in greenhouses on his land. In actuality, he was rising greens for his family-owned restaurant.

Somewhat than settle for the civil rights violations, these property house owners fought again with a class-action lawsuit in federal court docket on Oct. 5, 2022. Our public curiosity legislation agency, the Institute for Justice, represents them.

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The case hinges on fundamental guarantees of justice. Hashish is a money crop, and the federal government desires its lower. However code enforcers can not circumvent the Structure to maximise income.

Property house owners have a proper to the presumption of innocence and due course of. The federal government can not merely choose victims and demand cost with out proof of wrongdoing. Even when property house owners are responsible, the penalties should match the offense. Fining individuals lots of of 1000’s or hundreds of thousands of {dollars} for one thing like constructing a greenhouse with out a allow is grossly disproportionate to the violation.

Humboldt County ignores these rules in its hunt for money, forcing many households to settle out of court docket for imaginary offenses—or another person’s actual offenses. Usually, pressuring individuals into settlements is the county’s aim.

The Thomases have a less complicated aim: They simply wish to stay in peace.

Jared McClain is an legal professional and Daryl James is a author on the Institute for Justice in Arlington, Virginia.

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California

Caitlyn Jenner says she'd 'destroy' Kamala Harris in hypothetical race to be CA gov

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Caitlyn Jenner says she'd 'destroy' Kamala Harris in hypothetical race to be CA gov


Caitlyn Jenner, the gold-medal Olympian-turned reality TV personality, is considering another run for Governor of California. This time, she says, if she were to go up against Vice President Kamala Harris, she would “destroy her.” 

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Jenner, who publicly came out as transgender nearly 10 years ago, made a foray into politics when she ran as a Republican during the recall election that attempted to unseat Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021. Jenner only received one percent of the vote and was not considered a serious candidate. 

Jenner posted this week on social media that she’s having conversations with “many people” and hopes to have an announcement soon about whether she will run. 

Caitlyn Jenner speaks at the 4th annual Womens March LA: Women Rising at Pershing Square on January 18, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)

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She has also posted in Trumpian-style all caps: “MAKE CA GREAT AGAIN!”

As for VP Harris, she has not indicated any future plans for when she leaves office. However, a recent poll suggests Harris would have a sizable advantage should she decide to run in 2026. At that point, Newsom cannot run again because of term limits. 

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If Jenner decides to run and wins, it would mark the nation and state’s first transgender governor.  



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Northern California 6-year-old, parents hailed as heroes for saving woman who crashed into canal

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Northern California 6-year-old, parents hailed as heroes for saving woman who crashed into canal


LIVE OAK — A six-year-old and her parents are being called heroes by a Northern California community for jumping into a canal to save a 75-year-old woman who drove off the road. 

It happened on Larkin Road near Paseo Avenue in the Sutter County community of Live Oak on Monday. 

“I just about lost her, but I didn’t,” said Terry Carpenter, husband of the woman who was rescued. “We got more chances.” 

Terry said his wife of 33 years, Robin Carpenter, is the love of his life and soulmate. He is grateful he has been granted more time to spend with her after she survived her car crashing off a two-lane road and overturning into a canal. 

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“She’s doing really well,” Terry said. “No broken bones, praise the Lord.” 

It is what some call a miracle that could have had a much different outcome without a family of good Samaritans. 

“Her lips were purple,” said Ashley Martin, who helped rescue the woman. “There wasn’t a breath at all. I was scared.” 

Martin and her husband, Cyle Johnson, are being hailed heroes by the Live Oak community for jumping into the canal, cutting Robin out of her seat belt and pulling her head above water until first responders arrived. 

“She was literally submerged underwater,” Martin said. “She had a back brace on. Apparently, she just had back surgery. So, I grabbed her brace from down below and I flipped her upward just in a quick motion to get her out of that water.” 

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The couple said the real hero was their six-year-old daughter, Cayleigh Johnson. 

“It was scary,” Cayleigh said. “So the car was going like this, and it just went boom, right into the ditch.” 

Cayleigh was playing outside and screamed for her parents who were inside the house near the canal.

I spoke with Robin from her hospital bed over the phone who told us she is in a lot of pain but grateful.

“The thing I can remember is I started falling asleep and then I was going over the bump and I went into the ditch and that’s all I remember,” Robin said. 

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It was a split-second decision for a family who firefighters said helped save a stranger’s life. 

“It’s pretty unique that someone would jump in and help somebody that they don’t even know,” said Battalion Chief for Sutter County Fire Richard Epperson. 

Robin is hopeful that she will be released from the hospital on Wednesday in time to be home for Thanksgiving. 

“She gets Thanksgiving and Christmas now with her family and grandkids,” Martin said. 

Terry and Robin are looking forward to eventually meeting the family who helped save Robin’s life. The family expressed the same feelings about meeting the woman they helped when she is out of the hospital. 

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“I can’t wait for my baby to get home,” Terry said. 



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California may exclude Tesla from EV rebate program

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California may exclude Tesla from EV rebate program


California Gov. Gavin Newsom may exclude Tesla and other automakers from an electric vehicle (EV) rebate program if the incoming Trump administration scraps a federal tax credit for electric car purchases.

Newsom proposed creating a new version of the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which was phased out in 2023 after funding more than 594,000 vehicles and saving more than 456 million gallons of fuel, the governor’s office said in a news release on Monday.

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“Consumers continue to prove the skeptics wrong – zero-emission vehicles are here to stay,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future – we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”

The proposed rebates would be funded with money from the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is funded by polluters under the state’s cap-and-trade program, the governor’s office said. Officials did not say how much the program would cost or save consumers.

NEBRASKA AG LAUNCHES ASSAULT AGAINST CALIFORNIA’S ELECTRIC VEHICLE PUSH

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday proposed creating a new version of the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program if the incoming Trump administration scraps a federal tax credit for electric car purchases. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, File / Getty Images)

They would also include changes to promote innovation and competition in the zero-emission vehicles market – changes that could prevent automakers like Tesla from qualifying for the rebates.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who relocated Tesla’s corporate headquarters from California to Texas in 2021, responded to the possibility of having Tesla EVs left out of the program.

Tesla automobile plugged in and charging a Supercharger rapid battery charging station for the electric vehicle company Tesla Motors, in the Silicon Valley town of Mountain View, California, August 24, 2016.

Tesla and other automakers may not qualify for the proposed tax credits, according to the governor’s office. (Getty Images, File / Getty Images)

“Even though Tesla is the only company who manufactures their EVs in California! This is insane,” Musk wrote on X, which he also owns.

BENTLEY PUSHES BACK ALL-EV LINEUP TIMELINE TO 2035

Those buying or leasing Tesla vehicles accounted for about 42% of the state’s rebates, The Associated Press reported, citing data from the California Air Resources Board.

Newsom’s office told Fox Business Digital that the proposal is intended to foster market competition, and any potential market cap is subject to negotiation with the state Legislature. 

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“Under a potential market cap, and depending on what the cap is, there’s a possibility that Tesla and other automakers could be excluded,” the governor’s office said. “But that’s again subject to negotiations with the legislature.”

Newsom’s office noted that such market caps have been part of rebate programs since George W. Bush’s administration in 2005.

Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom

Newsom has pushed Californians to replace gas-powered vehicles with zero-emission vehicles. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Federal tax credits for EVs are currently worth up to $7,500 for new zero-emission vehicles. President-elect Trump has previously vowed to end the credit.

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California has surpassed 2 million zero-emission vehicles sold, according to the governor’s office. The state, however, could face a $2 billion budget deficit next year, Reuters reported, citing a non-partisan legislative estimate released last week.

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