Saturday web pick-up:
Calif. mudslides prompt evacuations
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif.—Thunderous mudslides damaged dozens of homes, swept away cars and pushed furniture into the streets of the foothills north of Los Angeles on Saturday as intense winter rain poured down mountains denuded by a summer wildfire...."
Sunday Globe article:
"Mudslides strike areas north of LA
LOS ANGELES - Thunderous mudslides swept away cars and pushed furniture out of homes and into the streets in the foothills north of Los Angeles yesterday as an intense winter storm brought down hillsides in wildfire burn areas. At least 41 homes were seriously damaged and 500 more were ordered evacuated after heavy rains overflowed debris basins, carried away concrete barricades, and swept cars down streets (AP)."
A buried brief, Globe?
Like the houses out there?
Mud flowed near an area in La Canada Flintridge that was hit by a mudslide after heavy rains. (Associated Press via Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times)
Still a brief even on a Monday:
"Residents of LA foothills allowed to return home after mudslides" by ASSOCIATED PRESS | February 8, 2010
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. - Residents of foothill communities deluged by mudslides north of Los Angeles have been allowed to return home....
Nothing like covering it after the crisis is over.
Some residents said they were not told to get out until the brunt of the damage was done - unlike during heavy rains last month when officials repeatedly warned foothill communities to be on alert.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Michael Freeman said that by the time officials saw how serious the storm was, it was too late to order evacuations for some and it was determined that it would be safer for them to take shelter in their homes.--more--"
Turned fatal in one instance:
"Woman, 78, dies after car stranded in Calif." by Associated Press | February 5, 2010
WOODLAND, Calif. - Authorities say an elderly woman died of hypothermia after she and her husband took a wrong turn in Northern California and got stranded.
Police say Harold and Raquel Labbe, 78, of Hayward, set out for Cache Creek Casino on Jan. 27. They took a wrong turn onto a dirt road running through an orchard and got their car stuck in mud.
Police believe the couple ran the engine to stay warm, then sought help on foot after running out of gas....
This is absolutely tragic and horrifying.
--more--"
And I think Californians need to calm down:
"LA plans to close most marijuana clinics" by Associated Press | January 27, 2010
LOS ANGELES - The City Council gave final approval yesterday to a much-anticipated ordinance that will close most marijuana dispensaries and curb the “Green Rush’’ that has swept through much of California in recent years.
The ordinance, which passed 9 to 3, caps the number of dispensaries at 70 and provides guidelines that will push the clinics out of neighborhoods and into industrial areas....
Enforcement could be a major effort for the city. No one is sure how many marijuana clinics there are in Los Angeles - the best estimate is between 800 and 1,000 - and getting owners to comply with the ordinance will probably meet resistance.
But not much. We are talking pot-smokers here.
“I don’t want to say this is an impossible task, but it’s going to take a lot more effort than maybe the city realizes at this point,’’ said Robert Mikos, a law professor specializing in federalism and crime policy at Vanderbilt University Law School. “Just because the city says, ‘Stop what you are doing,’ doesn’t mean [dispensary owners] are going to give up easily.’’
One possible option for dispensaries is to seek an injunction to stop the city from enforcing its ordinance.
The ordinance calls for spreading the 70 clinics evenly throughout the city with a community districting plan.
City officials would require dispensaries to be at least 1,000 feet from schools, parks, and other gathering sites.But liquor stores are right around the corner.
--more--"
Just take a toke, Californians, and relax, will ya?
Related: Marijuana: From Maine to Mexico
