California

Budget Woes Mean Big Delays For Small Claims Courts

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:34:00 +0000

Across the country, cash-strapped state and local governments are not just cutting services — they're also cutting access to courts. The tip of the iceberg may be small claims courts.

These courts, dealing with disputes involving small sums of money, are the workhorses of the judicial system.

L.A. Schools Throw Out Suspensions For 'Willful Defiance'

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:32:00 +0000

School suspensions are a big issue in California. Last year, schools handed out 700,000 of them. But the Los Angeles Unified School District took a step to change that this week when it voted to ban suspension of students deemed "willfully defiant."

Before the vote, the district maintained a zero tolerance policy for students who failed to comply, in any way, with any policy or direction given by teachers or school administrators — covering everything from mouthing off to wearing baggy pants.

Well, That's One Way To Stop Smoking

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:29:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

Etta May Lopez needed help. She wanted to quit smoking. She decided she needed to go someplace where she could not go buy cigarettes. And the place that came to mind was jail. Ms. Lopez says this is the reason she went to a jail, walked up to a Sacramento sheriff's deputy and slapped him in the face. The deputy took her inside the jail where she slapped him again. After pleading no contest to a misdemeanor, she faces 63 smoke-free days.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Cases Of Mysterious Valley Fever Rise In American Southwest

Rebecca Plevin — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:02:00 +0000

When she was just 6, Emily Gorospe became very tired and sick. The spunky girl, now 8, developed a fever that wouldn't go away, and red blotches appeared across her body.

"She's got so much energy usually," says Emily's mother, Valerie Gorospe. "Just walking from one part of the house ... she was drained." The little girl was also very pale. "She just didn't look like herself," Valerie recalls.

Emily, who lives in Delano, in California's Central Valley, was eventually diagnosed with valley fever, also known as coccidioidomycosis.

Olympic Sailor Killed In Capsize Of America's Cup Racer

Scott Neuman — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:54:00 +0000

Update at 7:15 p.m. ET: Sailor Was 'Trapped Underneath Boat'

On its website, Artemis Racing says Simpson, 36, "was trapped underneath the boat and despite attempts to revive him, by doctors afloat and subsequently ashore, his life was lost." Artemis says Simpson was part of an 11-member team aboard the boat and that all others have been accounted for.

Update at 6:40 p.m.