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There was a time when no one worried about what would happen if they videotaped someone. Prior to cell phone cameras, it was nearly impossible for the average person to videotape someone without the person being taped knowing about it. Now that everyone has a...

06 August, 2020 /

We’ve all done it. Gotten behind the wheel and driven when we were tired. Most of the time rolling down the window, cranking up the radio, and indulging in a massive amount of caffeine is enough to get us safely where we need to be....

03 August, 2020 /
californias-attitude-toward-vandalism Vandalism is often an act of passion. Most of us are angry or hurt. We want to strike back at the person we believe treated us badly. We might choose to do this by smashing their mailbox, spray painting a crude message on the side of their house, or slashing their tires. Normally, we feel better about the vandalism… until the police knock on our door. The problem with vandalism is that the victim almost always has a pretty good idea of who was responsible. If they’ve recently argued with, broken up with, or aggravated someone they usually tell the police about the incident. The personal nature of the crime means that you’re likely to get caught.

What California Considers Vandalism

You might think that smashing someone’s mailbox is an act of just revenge. The state disagrees. They consider an act of property damage that was triggered by malicious intent to be vandalism. That includes:
  • Keying someone’s car
  • Smashing a window with a baseball bat
  • Painting graffiti on a building
  • Covering someone’s front door with bumper stickers
03 August, 2020 /
what-is-housing-discrimination It is incredibly difficult to find affordable housing in California. The average price of a home in California is $600,000 which is double the national average. There are several reasons for the housing crisis, including:
  • The number of homes/apartment buildings that have been destroyed by wildfires in recent years
  • High construction costs
  • A discrepancy between the average wage and the average cost of a home
  • Not enough construction companies/workers
  • Lack of housing subsidies
23 July, 2020 /
unwritten-camping-rules-to-remember. Camping is wonderful. Camping provides you with the means to connect to the earth and nature while also bonding with family and friends. The best thing about camping is all the great memories you collect during each camping trip. The next time you’re about to hit the woods for an epic camping trip, keep these unwritten camping rules in mind.

Leave Your Site Better than you Found It

It doesn’t matter if you’re a slob at home when you’re camping, you need to turn into a neat freak. Commit yourself to keeping each place you pitch your camp cleaner than when you found it. Not only does this ensure that the next set of campers who come along will also have a nice place to set up camp, but it also proves that you are environmentally aware. Keeping the campsites cleaner than how you found it includes cleaning up after your pets.

Don’t Leave the Fire Burning

California has had more than its fair share of fires. The last thing you want is to be the cause of the next wildfire. Making sure you douse the fire whenever you’re not sitting in front of is important. It’s a good idea to throw some water over the fire pit so that there’s no risk of a stray spark setting off a big blaze. When you’re camping, take a little while to study your campsite. If the area is full of dry leaves, underbrush, and grass, hold off on starting a fire. If a spark jumps out of your fire pit and sets some of the dry matter on fire, the entire campsite will go up in flames before you have time to spring into action.

The Camp Bathroom isn’t your Kitchen

A surprising number of people who use campgrounds treat the campground’s bathroom like it’s their kitchen. They actually use the sink to wash their dishes. If you’ve never done this, great! If you have, make sure you don’t do it again. Not only is the practice a health hazard, but it can also play havoc on the campgrounds plumbing system and it’s rude to other guests.

Be Respectful While Camping

You’re on a great camping experience and want to have a good time, but that doesn’t mean you should leave your good manners at home. If you’re using a campground, you need to be respectful. That includes things like:
  • Not walking across someone else's campsite
  • Staying calm and quiet during the night
  • Using low lights
  • Keeping your pets and your kids under control
23 July, 2020 /

All parents know that infants should be contained in a car seat, however not all parents know what California’s laws are regarding car seats. Infants and Car Seats Any child that is two or under must be confined to a rear-facing car seat while they are in...

20 July, 2020 /
will-the-police-cite-me-for-not-wearing-a-mask-when-shopping Covid-19 has brought about many changes. One of the newest additions to our lives is the wearing of face masks while in public.

Why are Face Masks Required in California

The hope is that wearing masks will slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The idea is that the masks keep the droplets contained to a single person. California lawmakers are urging residents to wear a mask whenever they’re shopping. The problem is that there is conflicting information regarding the effectiveness of face masks. The result of the conflict is that while some people happily don a mask each time they go out, others refuse to wear them. The debate over wearing facemasks has led many people to wonder if the police will issue citations to those who don’t wear a mask while shopping.

When are Face Masks Required

According to the State of California, masks should be worn whenever:
  • You’re in an indoor public area
  • You’re obtaining medical services, such as dental appointments and donating blood
  • You’re using some form of public transportation, in a taxi, or utilizing a rideshare program
  • When you’re in an area that is heavily used by multiple people
  • Interacting directly with people
20 July, 2020 /
smartphones-in-californias-polling-places1 It's impossible to believe that humans were once able to go through life without a smartphone in our hand. Today, we rely on our smartphones for everything. We use it to update our social media accounts, to take pictures, to get directions, and to find the cheapest place to find gas. On the rare occasions when we have to leave our smartphone behind, it feels like we've lost an arm. Most of us feel the loss of the smartphone so keenly that it's nearly impossible to concentrate on anything else until we're finally reunited with our smartphone. One of the places that smartphones, tablets, and other handheld devices are prohibited are in polling places. That law changed when lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 1707. The bill was approved by the Governor and filed with California's Secretary of State on October 8, 2019. Keep in mind that while you're allowed to bring your smartphone into the polling place, the state has placed restrictions on how the phone is used. While you're in the polling place, you're not allowed to use your smartphone to:
  • Take videos or pictures of someone while they're in the polling place and threaten to use the images against them
  • You can't violate Sections 4221, 14224, 14291, 18370, 18502, 18540, 18541 of the bill
09 July, 2020 /
California was once famous for its three strikes and your out brand of criminal justice.

How the Three Strikes Law Worked

The three-strikes law went into effect in 1994. The law was originally proposed in direct response to the horrific murders of Polly Klass and Kimber Reynolds. The way the Three Strikes law works is if someone already had a felony conviction on their record when they were found guilty of a second felony, the amount of time they served in prison for the second felony was instantly doubled. If the same felon found themselves in trouble for a felony a third time, they were automatically sentenced to 25 years to a life in prison term. It didn't matter if they were convicted to two (or three) different types of felonies, the extended sentence stuck. The purpose the three-strike law served was to get dangerous felons off the streets for a long stretch of time. The Three Strikes law was written in such a way that:
  • Multiple sentences can't be run concurrently, they have to be handled as consecutive sentences
  • Suspensions and probation isn't allowed
  • While a felon is allowed to earn credits that shorten the amount of time they spend in prison, they can only use the credits to reduce the sentence by 1/5.
  • Changes to the Three Strikes Law
09 July, 2020 /
ponzi-schemes-and-california-law Ponzi schemes aren't legal in California. The state considers these financial cons a type of financial fraud. California's judicial system is currently set up in such a way that it helps protect whistleblowers and consumers from getting caught up in the legal drama that always surrounds Ponzi schemes.

Understanding the Difference Between Ponzi Schemes and Pyramid Schemes

Many people mistakenly assume that Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes are the same things. While there are quite a few similarities, there are also a few key differences. Ponzi schemes are usually handled by a single person. That individual convinces investors to take part in something, usually a promised investment, that never comes to fruition. Investors are convinced that they can't possibly lose money and will make a huge return on their investment. It usually takes a great deal of time for the investors to realize that the person who is "managing their portfolio" is actually running a con and is keeping their money. The Bernard Madoff debacle is a perfect example of a Ponzi scheme. Madoff created the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC and was able to convince several people he was the real deal. His pitch was so good, he amassed close to 5,000 investors. It's believed that his take was close to $65 billion. A pyramid scheme is more elaborate and involves more people, some of which don't realize that they're committing a crime. With a pyramid scheme, a single person not only recruits investors but also recruits people who gather even more investors. The original person is the very top of the pyramid in this particular scheme. Most pyramid schemes involve a type of product that does actually exist. Business in Motion is an example of an illegal pyramid scheme. The program revolved around the sale of economical vacation plans. Each person who bought into the program invested $3,200. If the person was able to sell additional vacation packages to friends and family, they'd earn a $5,000 commission. Approximately 2,000 people bought into the pyramid scheme. In 2008, they launched a class-action lawsuit against the program's creator. A judge agreed that the program was a pyramid scheme and awarded the investors a $6.5 million ruling.

The Legal Ramifications of Running a Ponzi Scheme

Ponzi schemes are prohibited in California. The laws that address Ponzi schemes are found in the California Penal Code Section (PC) 319. The creators of Ponzi schemes in California can be charged with:
  • Laundering money
  • Business fraud
  • Mail fraud
  • Securities fraud
  • Tax fraud
  • Wire fraud
  • Theft
06 July, 2020 /
strange-laws-from-california When people think about laws, they often think about sensible rules that make sense. However, it is important to remember that laws are made by people, and this means that some real nonsense can be made into actual laws that govern the people. This is true of every country, state, and city. California is no exception. The Golden State is home to its own bits of weirdness thanks to some odd laws. Many of these laws were created long ago, and as such, show their age. Others are a little more recent, and while it may be possible to see what the lawmaker was going for, the wording of the law isn't quite right.

Why Are These Even Laws?

California became a state on September 9, 1850. Over the last 170 year period, a lot of laws have been enacted and removed across the state’s 160,000 square miles. Some of the laws have made sense, such as don’t steal from people and don’t kill each other. Others are a bit stranger. Some of the weirder laws that are still technically active in California include:
  • A person can only wear cowboy boots in Blythe if they own two or more cows
  • A person cannot wash someone else’s car without the owner’s permission in Los Angeles
  • Cursing on a golf course in Long Beach is illegal
  • Detonating a nuclear device in Chico will result in a $500 fine
  • Flying a kite higher than 10 feet is illegal in the city of Walnut
  • Garages in San Francisco are meant for storing personal vehicles and nothing else
  • In California, it is illegal for women to drive cars while wearing housecoats
  • In San Francisco, ugly people are not allowed to walk down the street
  • It is illegal to drive in reverse in Glendale
  • It is illegal to pour salt on Hermosa Beach streets
  • Men and boys are not allowed to dress as women in Walnut unless it is for a play, or they receive a permit from the sheriff
  • Peacocks always have the right of way in Arcadia
  • San Diego homeowners can be fined $250 for having their Christmas lights up after February 2nd
  • Vehicles without drivers cannot drive over 60 mph
  • Visitors of Fresno city parks are prohibited from bothering lizards
  • Women may not wear high heels in Carmel city limits
26 June, 2020 /