Famous Director, Polanski Accused of Rape Must Appear in California for Sentencing

Film Director, Roman Polanski, accused of having sex with a girl, 13 years of age, fled to France to avoid extradition.

Swiss authorities arrested 76-year-old Polanski at the lifetime achievement award film festival in Zurich. Polanski is an Oscar-winning director of "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown" and "The Pianist." Polanski was imprisoned for more than two months before being transferred to his Alpine chalet in the luxury resort of Gstaad where he was put on house arrest after a $4.5 million bail.

Meanwhile the California Spreme Court has ruled that Polanski must appear before a U.S. court to be sentenced.

According to the LA Times, Justice Ministry spokesman Folco Galli confirmed that Switzerland received an official copy of the ruling.

"We've said that we will wait for this decision to ensure that our proceedings are harmonized with those in the Untied States," Galli told The Associated Press. "That doesn't mean an extradition decision will now be immediately sent out."

Megan's Law

A new California law, Assembly Bill 488, sponsored by the Attorney General now provides the public with Internet access to detailed information on registered sex offenders.

With the new law in place the public is able to access for the first time a list and information on sex offenders required to register with local law enforcement from their personal computers. California's Megan's Law provides the public with certain information on the whereabouts of sex offenders so that members of our local communities may protect themselves and their children.

According to meganslaw.ca.gov, the information was available only by personally visiting police stations and sheriff offices or by calling a 900 toll-number before. The new law was given final passage by the Legislature on August 24, 2004 and signed by the Governor on September 24, 2004.

Megan's Law is named after seven-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester who had moved across the street from the family without their knowledge. Since then the family memebers, Kankas, have worked hard to have local communities warned about sex offenders in the area and now all states now have a form of Megan's Law.

According to Megan's Law website, the new law has made the site able to provide you with access to information on more than 63,000 persons required to register in California as sex offenders. Specific home addresses are displayed on more than 33,500 offenders in the California communities; as to these persons, the site displays the last registered address reported by the offender. An additional 30,500 offenders are included on the site with listing by ZIP Code, city, and county. Information on approximately 22,000 other offenders is not included on this site, but is known to law enforcement personnel.

Officer Christina Burhans of the San Diego police department said, "The community plays a role in monitoring sex offenders. Following the State of California's passage of Megan's Law on May 17, 1996, information on sex offenders was made available to the public. Members of the community are encouraged to view the Megan's Law website by visiting."

California #1 in Animal Right's Laws

Compared to the rest of the states California has the strongest animal-protection laws in the country, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

In a comprehensive analysis of laws in each of state California has been ranked No. 1 according to the LATimes. Each state was ranked based on the legal protections it has enacted in the past. Among California, New Jersey, Colorado, Maine and Massachusetts were scored high in protecting animals and livestock. The lowest scores came from Idaho and South Dakota because of their lack of animal abuse laws or they have not outlawed cockfighting.

"The trends are positive, but there are major gaps in the law throughout the nation," said Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society president. "Anemic animal protection laws in many states will allow cruelty and abuse to continue, and that must change."

According to the LATimes, the Humane Society helped pass 121 new laws last year to strengthen animal protection.

Vehicle License Surcharge to Help Parks

An initiative to establish a $18 annual vehicle license surcharge to help fund state parks and wildlife programs has been put into motion.

The plan is to set up a new trust fund that the will require the $18 annual state vehicle license fee be deposited in this account. The trust will be used solely to operate, maintain and repair the state park system. It will also protect wildlife and natural resources that the parks encompass.

"California state parks are in peril because of chronic underfunding," said Elizabeth Goldstein, President of the California State Parks Foundation in a statement. "Our state parks were once considered the best in the nation, and now they're falling apart and threatened with closure because they have no reliable source of funding. This parks measure would create a dedicated funding source to prevent park Proposed Ballot Measure Filed to Protect California State Parks & Conserve Wildlife closures, eliminate a backlog of more than a billion dollars in repairs and properly maintain parks and other natural resources for our children and grandchildren to enjoy," according to kron4.com

The new fee according the initiative is said to increase state revenues about $500 million annually and will be mainly used to fund state parks and wildlife conservation programs. Creating a potential state savings of $200 million annually.

Vehicles exempt from the increase are commercial vehicles, trailers and trailer coaches.

ASI Candidates Meet to Debate Issues

Associated Students Inc. executive candidates met at the Southwest Terrace Thursday to discuss their campaigns and positions on different Cal State Long Beach policies.

While James Ahumada, the sole ASI presidential candidate, had to leave early due to an exam, vice presidential candidates Lucy Nguyen and Jeff Yutrzenka, and treasurer candidates Jameson Nyeholt and Jason Aula, spoke in front of an audience of less than 10 people, while other students ate their lunch at the tables. The candidates sarcastically mentioned the huge turnout and ASI’s seemingly lack of importance to the CSULB student body.

Moderators Kevin O’Brien, news director of the Union Weekly, and Joanne Tucker, editor in chief of the Daily 49er, asked the candidates a series of questions from raising ASI fees, to budget cuts and why they are running for their position.

A main issue was the statewide budget cuts and how if appointed, the candidates would take action towards up coming budget cuts. Most commented that there is a high need for students to get involved and stay active in fighting cuts.

Vice president candidate Yutrenka, who is a former Senator-at-Larger said, “We need a unified voice to fight the budget cuts.”

Nyeholt, for treasurer, who is the current senator for Liberal Arts and also starting a Law Preiodical said, “We need students behind ASI.”

Treasurers were also asked about their thoughts on raising ASI fees, Aula said he would be fine with the raise if students agree and Nyeholt said he wants to take a real good look at why the fees should be increased.

Nguyen said, “Students need to be more educated on budget cuts.”

Aula, who is also also president of the Long Beach College Republicans, said he would encourage student to vote.

While Ahumada runs unopposed for president, there has been some controversy over a judicial complaint about slimming down candidates for president.

Initially, the former five candidates filed to be in the president election were Jason Aula, who is now running for treasure, Avis Atkins, Vice President Omar Gonzalez and Attorney General Paxcely Marques, and Ahumada.

It is Aula though that has filed a judicial complaint saying the ASI is running an unethical campaign by allowing only one candidate to run.

“It’s not a democratic process if only one candidate runs,” Aula said.

According to ASI board of elections once a candidate has filed for election they are not required to stay in until the end. Most times students who drop out of the race primarily do so because of a heavy workload or an upcoming graduation.

The board reviewed the candidates’ reasons for dropping out and decided that Aula will have to provide more evidence, until then Ahumada is still a qualified presidential candidate.

With 34,000 students at CSULB, the voting turn-out has been around 12 percent. Students can vote from April 12-15. Elections will be taking place online and students will only need access to a computer.

Air Pollution Controlling the Market?

An initiative to suspend air pollution control laws to help boost the the economy has been gathering momentum.

According to the measure prepared by the Attorney General of California suspending air pollution control laws that require major polluters to report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming would possibly help businesses and California get out of debt.

The initiative would stay in effect until the unemployment rate drops back to 5.5 percent or less for four consecutive quarters.

Their thought is while protecting the environment is important, they want to balance such regulation with the ability to maintain jobs and protect the economy.

Another point according to the initiative is at the time theses environmental measures were passed California's unemployment rate was at a low 5.5 percent and now it has skyrocketed to more than 12 percent.

The result is instead of spending billions of dollars complying with theses environmental laws as well as the new costs of increasing gasoline, electricity, food and water; that the saved money could be used to get our economy back on track and create more jobs.

Health Care

President Obama signs healthcare bill Tuesday putting into affect, insurance coverage to an estimated 32 million uninsured Americans and bumps up coverage for all.

After almost a year of debate about this healthcare bill that will effect millions, it passed with a vote of 219 to 212 in the House of Representatives on Sunday night.

"Today, after almost a century of trying, today, after over a year of debate, today, after all the votes have been tallied, healthcare insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America," Obama said.

Most parts of the healthcare bill do not go into effect until 2014 but some parts of the bill are immediate. Tax credits for small businesses offering health insurance to employees will be implemented this year.

Also children with preexisting medical conditions can gain insurance coverage and insurance companies are no longer able to drop insurers because they are ill. The coverage will be extended to adults in 2014.

Another immediate effect is children are allowed to stay on their parent's policies until they are 26 and senior citizens who are in a coverage gap are now covered under Medicare.

"Tonight, at a time when the pundits said it was no longer possible, we rose above the weight of our politics," the president said.

Majority Rules

Measures to pass an initiative changing the legislative vote requirement has been put into motion. The initiative supports changing the legislative vote necessary to pass a budget from two-thirds to a simple majority.

The measure called the "On-Time Budget Act of 2010" and would force legislature to meet it constitutional duty to pass a Budget act by June 15. Previously, the Budget Acts were not passed till August and in 2008, the Budget Act was passed three months late on September 16.

The late budget passage can have a sudden and devastating effect on individual Californians and California businesses. Individuals and families can be deprived of essential governmental services.

The main cause for this delay is the inability of the Legislature to pass a budget in a timely manner because there is a super majority two-thirds vote required to pass a budget. With political party leaders refusing to compromise to solve the State's budget problems and the need for the two-thirds vote requirement the budget act is subject to delay.

Only three states in the country, California, Rhode Island, and Arkansas, abide by the require a vote of two-thirds or more of the legislature to pass a budget.

The purpose of the initiative would require Legislators to forfeit their pay if the Legislature fails to pass the budget on time with a majority vote instead of a two-thirds vote.

Students Protest for Day of Action to Defend Public Education

Close to a thousand students and faculty member with banners and signs marched to E. James Brotman Hall from the top of campus for the Day of Action to Defend Public Higher Education.

The march is in protest to the student fees that have risen 45 percent since 2007. As well class sizes are bigger and the Student-to-Faculty ratios are growing. Faculty and students are angered also about the 1.4 billion cut from CSU budget in the past two years and the shortage of classes offered.

Walking up to the starting point of the march you could hear speakers shouting, “Movements start small and end big.”

Painted signs were everywhere saying, no more apathy, don’t be a douche, together, or more class fewer prisons. Some screamed, “stop the cuts” while they danced in the drum circle to the band playing.

After hundreds had amassed at the top of CSULB on the grass area speakers came on to preach about the school system’s latest budget cut and how California needs to push hard to keep schools safe and public. They speakers also talked about the CSU plan to cut enrollment by 40,000 students and how student fees are up 182 percent since 2000.

One drummer, Johnny Shams, was walking to up to the grass area out of curiosity saying, “I’m contemplating ditching class.”

Behind the speaker podium supporters were selling T-shirts to help raise awareness.

Once the speakers finished they called upon the student and faculty to march down to Brotman Hall.

Daniel Ramirez a marcher said, “Education is important why mess with it.”

Once the stream of people had made it to the Brotman Hall they circled around the huge fountain where speakers talked more, “Public education is a right and central to a flourishing democracy and so is free speech.”

Face-painted students continued to scream as they poured into Brotman hall.

One student, Brandon Johnson said, “Education is the future why we throwing it in the trash.”

Huge banners almost shouted, “Deprive our schools deprive our minds.”

The march ended peacefully with the students and faculty chanting, “The people united will never be defeated.”

Legislator's term

The Attorney General of California has proposed to reduce the total amount of time a person may serve in the state legislature from 14 years to 12 years.

The initiative is to allow a person to serve a toatl of 12 years either in the Assembly, the Senate, or both. The intitiative applies only to legislators first elected after the measure is passed.

Austin Kelly, signature gather says, "The intiative will give more power to the people and make state legislators more accountable."

Cigarette Tax

California is trying pass an intitiative measure on imposing additional tax on cigarettes for cancer research.

According to the measure despite continuing advancements in medical treatment and prevention, cancer remains a leading cause of death in California, reponsible for nearly one in every four deaths each year. Medical experts expect more than 140,000 Californians will be diagnosed with cancer each year.

The intitiative statute imposes an additional five cent tax on each cigarette distributed as well as other tabacco products, to fund cancer research. The research will focus on detecting, preventing, treating, and curing cancer.

Cigarette smoker Ariean Hayward says, "I don't like the idea of cigarettes costing more but if it is going to help prevent cancer then I guess I am for it."

The increase in the new cigarette tax is hoped to amass revenues of about $855 million annually by 2011-12.

Health Care for All

The new bill proposed to give thousands healthcare is criticized for being slow moving and has left many people with questions.

With the Democrats wanting a healthcare system regulated by the government, while Republicans are still stuck on keeping the healthcare system private, not much progress has been made.

Temper fly at the healthcare summit as President Obama and Sen. John McCain decide to get into a side argument about cutting backroom deals and kickbacks.

Instead of moving forward and putting the new healthcare system in to effect, the Republican and Democrats are still stuck at a stalemate. Both parties just reintegrated what points they have already been making for the last year and no movement on a agreement or what should be done has been made.

President Obama annoyed with theses allegations instead tried to focus back on the main pressing issues, "We're not campaigning anymore...We were supposed to be talking about health insurance."

News Now

Mission Statement: To fully understand the new laws that are being pushed by law makers to be on the ballet as well as the processes it takes to make a law pass and become active.