#nuisance lawsuit

[rodspurethoughts]

Phoenix Plans to Close ‘The Zone’ Homeless Encampment

Phoenix, AZ – Phoenix officials have announced plans to close and clean up the city’s largest homeless encampment, known as “The Zone,” offering each person an alternative place to stay and other services. The closure is expected to begin in May, and police may be called upon to enforce the closures, though the city plans to offer shelter and other services first. The plan comes after a Maricopa…

[cannabisbusinessexecutive]

Sick of smelling her neighbor’s legal pot, this woman sued

Josefa Ippolito-Shepherd tried cleaning, pleading and suing, but she said the attack on her home of 30 years was unrelenting. Sometimes she felt as though she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t live out her retirement in her manicured Cleveland Park colonial. The assailant? The smell of marijuana. Ippolito-Shepherd believed it drifted into her house through the cracks along her stairs,…

[frangipani-wanderlust]

As it stands now, forced-arbitration clauses are legal. In possibly the only good thing the party has done in years, Democrats have been working to ban such clauses from being enforceable.

hey discord updated their terms of service! You have until the 15th of april 2024 to email arbitration-opt-out@discord.com if you want to opt out of their new binding arbitration clauses

I don’t have any kind of legal training, but I read terms a lot, and I’m pretty sure binding arbitrarion is where you have to go to a neutral third party like AAA instead of a courts system to resolve disputes.

the new terms also have something against class action lawsuits but I don’t think there’s a way to opt out of that

[uvmagazine]

An Oklahoma judge has dismissed the reparations lawsuit filed by the last three known survivors of the Tulsa race massacre on Friday, court records show.

The three had sued the City of Tulsa, other groups, and officials over the opportunities taken from them when the city’s Greenwood neighborhood was burned to the ground in 1921.

Lessie Benningfield Randle, 108, Viola Fletcher, 109, and her brother, Hughes Van Ellis, 102, were among the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs maintaned that the damage inflicted during the massacre was a “public nuisance” from the start and were seeking relief from that nuisance as well as to “recover for unjust enrichment” others have gained from the “exploitation of the massacre.

The family attorneys are expected to address the possibility of an appeal.

Read more :

-----

#Tulsa #TulsaRaceMassacre #TulsaRaceRiots #reparations #lawsuit #unheardvoicesmag

[beardedmrbean]

The South Jersey business owner who defied Gov. Phil Murphy’s COVID lockdown orders by keeping his gym open, racking up dozens of court summonses, has been cleared of all charges, his attorney said Tuesday.

Ian Smith, co-owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, opened his facility during the coronavirus pandemic in May 2020 in defiance of a state-ordered closing of nonessential businesses. Police arrested some gym members as they left after workouts at the facility.

Smith and co-owner Frank Trumbetti were fined more than $165,000 and faced more than 80 summonses charging them with violating a governor’s orders, operating without a mercantile license, creating a public nuisance and disturbing the peace.

At one point, the state Attorney General’s office recommended fines of up to $10,000 a day and imprisonment for the owners of Atilis if they did not shutter their business. Many of the charges also carried up to six months in jail, said Smith’s attorney, John McCann of Oakland in Bergen County.

“When you look at this, it didn’t make a lot of sense at the time. It kind of looked like they were throwing everything they could at these guys,” McCann said.

McCann said the summonses were written up by the Bellmawr Police Department, but the cases were later transferred to Winslow Township Municipal Court due to a conflict.

“Those charges hung over these guys’ heads for over four years,” McCann said.

On April 24, a judge in Winslow Township dismissed the charges but gave the prosecutors until this week to appeal.

“We didn’t get a lot of cooperation from Bellmawr with regard to discovery. The only thing we got with regard to discovery was the summonses,” McCann said Tuesday.

“You need the reports, you need a whole bunch of stuff. The judge in Winslow said Bellmawr didn’t provide their court with meaningful discovery to give to us,” McCann said. “She basically said that Bellmawr ignored the requests.”

When there was no appeal from officials in Bellmawr or the state, all charges were dropped with prejudice, meaning they cannot be filed again, according to McCann.

Bellmawr’s court clerk on Tuesday declined to comment on the case, and the court clerk in Winslow Township was not immediately available to comment.

A spokesperson for the state Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a call and an email seeking comment Tuesday morning.

In an interview during the pandemic, Smith accused the state of being “very selective” about which businesses could stay open and those that could not.

“Telling people that liquor stores are essential but places they can come to work on their physical and mental health is not — it’s just not adding up. So, we decided to take matters into our own hands,” Smith said at the time.

In May 2020, the business filed a federal lawsuit against the state, accusing Murphy, along with then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and other New Jersey officials of violating the owners’ constitutional rights by forcing them out of business indefinitely with no timeline for when they can reopen.

McCann on Tuesday said Atilis’ owners did not make money off gym memberships during the pandemic. The facility, for that period of time, became the campaign headquarters for Republican U.S Senate candidate Rik Mehta, who challenged Democrat Cory Booker for his U.S. Senate seat.

People entering Atilis were exercising their right to volunteer for Mehta’s candidacy. If they worked out while they were there, they were not charged a membership fee, McCann said.

“There was no income coming in but for the GoFundMe money they were raising to fight the state,” McCann said. The GoFundMe raised more than $530,000 for the gym owners’ cause.

On Sunday, Smith took to social media to claim victory in the gym’s fight against the state.

“The support we received locally, nationally, and internationally for our stand is something I will be forever grateful for,” Smith said.

[luciel-anciel]

I bet on loosing dogs (Vince x Rody)

TW: Angst, Unrequited Love, Trauma, Victim Blaming

"I know what I did was wrong, but you didn't need to set the bistro on fire," Vince stated. The lamp above them swayed lightly, casting shadows on the scorched side of his face, blisters and healed burnt skin. His throat felt scratchy.

"Why?" Vince asked, seemingly oblivious to his wrongdoings. The only reason Rody agreed to meet Vince in his new apartment was the threat of a lawsuit. Vince had all the evidence to have Rody arrested, and who would believe a nobody like Rody against the esteemed Chef Vince?

The brunette seemed appalled by the question.

"Why? Why?!" The man's eyes widened in horror, remembering the malicious act that unfolded before him.

"You don't have the right to say that!" Hours spent on serving tables, dealing with the belittmemt from the customers to have spare money and the culmination of his effort were torn apart by pure malice upon the realization the food he was given was his— Manon.

It still made his stomach sick.

"You killed her! You tried to make me eat her!" Despite the favours stacked against him, it didn't matter now as Rody screamed out his lungs in fury

"You killed the love of my life!"

His trembling hands slammed against the desk out in agony, for months! He desperately tried to regain any once and shreads of his sanity but it was too— late... Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes, reflecting the sorrow he felt.

Rody couldn't shake the loss of Manon. He tried keeping busy, diving into city life and staying holed up at home. But no matter what he did, memories of her stuck around like a nagging ache. Nights out and distractions were like weak shields against the hurt. Each attempt to forget felt half-hearted, leaving him stuck in the grip of grief.

"I— I tried to forget it all!" The brunette abruptly stood up from the chair. The screeching noise of the chair scraping against the floor pierced the tense air.

In a swift and fiery movement, he closed the distance between him and Vince, grabbing the front of Vince's collar with a white knuckled grip. The rage within him burned like a wildfire, fueled by the raw pain of Manon's murder. Vince, taken aback by the sudden onslaught, found himself face-to-face with the abundant of emotions Rody had been bottling up.

His approach was drastic, yet Vince did nothing to defend himself and allowed Rody to take his anger out on him.

"I tried to forget you" Rody's voice cut through the charged air, the words heavy with the weight of his attempts to erase the pain Vince had caused.

As the confession hung between them, Vince's gaze met Rody's with a pang of pain. Unspoken desperation flickered in Vince's eyes, a silent plea for Rody to not forget about him— even if he'll just become another painful memory.

In that moment, the ache of remorse mingled with a fear of abandonment. Vince dreaded being forgotten by Rody more than facing the consequences of his actions.

"I loved you" The raven haired adult struggled to speak, his throat still not healed properly. Yet the burning pain littered across his skin— felt nothing, compared to the night that he lost everything he worked for in pursuit to cook something, made out of love

"I-I have loved you."

His words, dripped with desperation as if the phrase was just another way of Vince begging Rody to forget about him, even if his just another nuisance, another traumatizing experience— just don't forget him.

The room bore witness to the silent struggle, the emotional currents swirling between them like an unspoken plea for connection amidst the chaos.

Rody stared at him, his eyes shown one of pain and pure disbelief. All the torment, the suffering he'd endure was all caused by love? All because of that dainty feeling.

"Then don't love me."

The sweet, innocent charm that often adorned the brunette's gaze now held a profound despair that seemed to echo beyond the immediate loss.

"Love has done nothing but leave me" His voice lowered, His normally vibrant, mischievous eyes were now clouded with pain, and his lower lip quivered with an unspoken agony.

"Love left me feeling pathetic." The joy and passion that fueled his anger were cruelly extinguished in that moment, leaving him with nothing but the remnants of what once brought him solace, his delicate soul becoming an emotional storm.

"Love called me blind, Love called me pitiful and love has treated me as an outcast."

"So Vince..."

The world around him blurred as the tears dripped down his cheeks.

"Please don't love me."

[thechanelmuse]

Oklahoma Supreme Court Dismisses Tulsa Race Massacre "Public Nuisance" Lawsuit that is being masked as Reparations

"OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit by survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, dampening the hope of advocates for racial justice that the city would make financial amends for one of the worst single acts of violence against Black people in U.S. history that left as many as 300 people dead and a once-thriving district in smoldering ruins. The nine-member court upheld the decision made by a district court judge in Tulsa last year, ruling that the plaintiff's grievances about the destruction of the Greenwood district, although legitimate, did not fall within the scope of the state's public nuisance statute." Source

I'm just surprised they even put this in the article. But then again people rather read headlines (hence the headline I made this post) and get emotional instead of reading full articles and them case documents that's been sitting online. This was expected when it got dismissed the first time, from a lower court before going to Oklahoma's Supreme Court.

Read the paperwork:

You gotta ask yourself why a lawyer, Damario Solomon-Simmons, for the two remaining survivors — Viola Fletcher & Leslie Benningfield Randle — from the Greenwood district of Tulsa (Black Wall Street) would frame that 1921 government-sanctioned massacre against a single ethnic group there (Black Americans) as a 100-year long "public nuisance" lawsuit and not a reparations case in the form of direct cash payments, return of all land, no programs, and more for those Black American survivors and the descendants of the survivors whose stolen lives and stolen wealth were forever changed.

Domestic terrorism framed as "public nuisance." Like hello....

It's not a reparations case.

[overclockedopossum]

A Quick Guide To Key Issues In US Ballot Measures By State/Territory (leftist perspective) - UPDATED WITH RESULTS

EDIT: Post-election I've been through and updated with results or likely results. Will probably do this again in a few days once things are final. Positive results are in CAPS, BOLD AND ITALICS

I get really frustrated how little I see about ballot measures. So despite not even being in the US, I spent literally all day going through https://ballotpedia.org/2024_ballot_measures#By_state and writing up a summary.

Ideally, if you're able to vote in the US elections then you should do your own research on all applicable ballot measures and vote on them all accordingly. However, if you're not able to do that, I hope this post can help you. Ballot measures are worth voting on regardless of if you're voting Harris, Stein, write-in or spoiling your presedential ballot.

I've covered statewide ballot measures on what I'm calling "key issues", such as abortion and drug legalisation. There's also an alarming number of ballot measures based on purported concerns about non-citizen voting - these tend to replace constitutional language stating "every citizen" can vote with "only a citizen" can vote. I find that deeply concerning as it implies to me the possibility of not every citizen being able to vote.

Not covering something as a "key issue" doesn't mean it's not important - but it does mean I don't feel qualified to comment. I've skipped states without "key issues" to keep the list short. This is not exhaustive. Not-but-should-be-states are at the end.

Alaska:

Ballot Measure 1: MINIMUM WAGE: A YES would raise the state minimum wage to $15/hr and require paid sick leave. LIKELY TO PASS! 57% yes with 76% counted at time of editing.

Ballot Measure 2: RANKED-CHOICE VOTING: A NO would prevent the repeal of the existing ranked-choice voting system in Alaska. Toss-up at time of editing, no sadly at 49% with 76% of votes in, but that could change.

Arizona:

Proposition 133: OTHER: Seeks to constitutionally require partisan primaries, currently required by state statute. A NO on this amendment would make it easier for open top-four/similar primaries to be introduced. FAILED!

Proposition 134: OTHER: Seeks to restrict citizen-initiated ballot measures by imposing electoral-college-style requirements. A NO on this amendment would prevent this restriction on citizen-initiated ballot measures. FAILED!

Proposition 136: OTHER: Seeks to allow ballot measures to be challenged as unconsitutional prior to elections - the practical effect would be to allow nuisance lawsuits making ballot measure campaigns more expensive. A NO on this amendment would prevent this restriction on citizen-initiated ballot measures. FAILED!

Proposition 138: MINIMUM WAGE: This is a tricky one, as it reduces the minimum wage for tipped workers slightly but only on the condition that their total take-home pay is $2/hr above standard minimum wage. Currently tipped workers in AZ have a reduced minimum wage but their total take-home pay only has to equal the standard minimum wage. Generally republicans and restaurants are supporting YES, democrats and worker groups are supporting NO. FAILED!

Proposition 139: ABORTION: A YES on this amendment would provide a strong right to abortion before fetal viability. PASSED 62:38!!

Proposition 140: RANKED-CHOICE VOTING: A YES on this amendment would introduce open top-X primaries, with the legislature to choose the number, and require that candidates receive >50% of votes to win - potentially leading to ranked-choice voting. However, it could lead to top-two open primaries without ranked-choice voting. Failed.

Propositions 311, 312, 313 and 314: COP NONSENSE: a NO vote on all of these would prevent assorted cop nonsense. Sadly all passed.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

California:

Proposition 32: MINIMUM WAGE: A YES on this would provide an $18/hr minimum wage by 2026, rather than stagnating at $16. Currently narrowly behind (48:52) but with only 54% of the vote counted.

Proposition 34: OTHER: Appears to be a set of alarmingly specific and stringent regulations designed to target the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for their broader activities, like providing housing and supporting rent control via Prop 33. A NO would prevent this nonsense. Currently narrowly ahead (52:48) but with only 51% of the vote counted.

Proposition 36: COP NONSENSE: A NO would prevent more aggressive criminal penalties for various (mainly drug) offenses, which would otherwise worsen mass incarceration. Sadly, expected to pass (70% yes with 54% counted)

Proposition 3: MARRIAGE EQUALITY: A YES would formally remove a ban on same-sex marriage from the California Constitution. EXPECTED TO PASS! - 61% with 54% counted

Proposition 6: PRISON LABOUR: A YES would remove language permitting forced labour as punishment from the state constitution. Currently narrowly behind (45:55) but with only 53% of the vote counted.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Colorado:

Amendment 79: ABORTION: A YES on this amendment would provide a nonspecific right to abortion, and remove a section of the Colorado Constitution that prohibits the use of public funds for abortion. LIKELY TO PASS - currently 62:38 with 75% reported, needs 55%!!

Amendment J: MARRIAGE EQUALITY: A YES would formally remove a ban on same-sex marriage from the Colorado Constitution. LIKELY TO PASS - currently 64:36 with 73% reported, only needs 50%!!

Proposition 128: COP NONSENSE: A NO would prevent this proposition from imposing further arbitrary restriction on parole for violent crimes that are already difficult to get parole for. The proposition has been criticised as a giveaway to private prisons. Sadly, likely to pass.

Proposition 130: COP NONSENSE: A NO would prevent an arbitrary allocation of even more money to cops. Sadly, likely to pass.

Proposition 131: RANKED-CHOICE VOTING: A YES would bring in ranked-choice voting for state and federal offices. Likely to fail.

Proposition KK: OTHER: A YES would bring in a tax on guns with proceeds going to crime victims, mental health services, school security etc. LIKELY TO PASS - currently 54:46 with 75% reported!

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Connecticut:

No-Excuse Absentee Voting Amendment: VOTING RIGHTS: A YES would allow absentee voting without having to provide a valid excuse. LIKELY TO PASS - currently 57:43 with 57% reported!

Florida:

Amendment 3: DRUG LEGALIZATION: A YES would legalize and regulate limited recreational weed. Received 55% yes, short of 60% threshold, with 95% counted.

Amendment 4: ABORTION: A YES would provide a strong right to abortion, "before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health". Received 57% yes, short of 60% threshold, with 95% counted.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Hawaii:

Remove Legislature Authority to Limit Marriage to Opposite-Sex Couples Amendment: MARRIAGE EQUALITY: A YES would remove a ban on same sex marriage. PASSED!

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Idaho:

HJR 5: NONCITIZEN VOTING CONSPIRACY THEORY: A NO would prevent an alteration that's at best unnecessary, and at worst could invite future restrictions on the rights of citizens to vote. Likely to pass.

Proposition 1: RANKED-CHOICE VOTING: A YES would bring in ranked-choice voting and open top-four primaries for congresspeople and some state offices. Likely to fail.

Iowa:

Amendment 1: NONCITIZEN VOTING CONSPIRACY THEORY: A NO would prevent an alteration that's at best unnecessary, and at worst could invite future restrictions on the rights of citizens to vote. Passed.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Kentucky:

Constitutional Amendment 1: NONCITIZEN VOTING CONSPIRACY THEORY: A NO would prevent an alteration that's at best unnecessary, and at worst could invite future restrictions on the rights of citizens to vote. Passed.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Maine:

(no "key issues" as far as I can tell, but check out the flag vote!)

(flag vote failed, maine flag is staying the same)

Maryland:

Question 1: ABORTION: A YES would provide a strong right to reproductive freedom including abortion and contraception. PASSED! - a massive 74:26 with 76% reported!

Massachusetts:

Question 4: DRUG LEGALIZATION: A YES would provide for licensing/decriminalisation and taxation of psychedelics. Failed.

Question 5: MINIMUM WAGE: A YES would raise minimum wage for tipped employees to be in line with the general minimum wage. Failed.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Missouri:

Amendment 3: ABORTION: A YES would provide a strong right to reproductive freedom including abortion and reproductive healthcare. PASSED! 52:48

Amendment 6: COP NONSENSE: A NO would prevent this weird constitutional "more money for cops" measure, which appears to be looking to reestablish dodgy practises declared unconstitutional in 2021. FAILED 39:61!

Amendment 7: RANKED CHOICE VOTING: This is an anti-ranked-choice measure, a NO would help leave the door open for ranked-choice voting in the future. Passed.

Proposition A: MINIMUM WAGE: A YES would bring in a $15 minimum wage plus strengthened employment rights. PASSED 58:42!

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Montana:

CI-126: RANKED CHOICE VOTING: A YES would require top-four open primaries for congresspeople and some state offices, going hand in hand with ranked-choice voting. Failed.

CI-127: RANKED CHOICE VOTING: A YES would require a voting system where the winner gets >50% of the vote - in practice, likely to be ranked choice - for congresspeople and some state offices. Failed.

CI-128: ABORTION: A YES would provide a strong right to abortion before fetal viability. PASSED - 57:43 WITH 92% REPORTED!

Nebraska:

Initiative 434: ABORTION: This is an ANTI-abortion ballot measure. A NO would help protect the right to abortion. Sadly, this one passed.

Initiatives 437 and 438: DRUG LEGALIZATION: A YES on these measures would legalize and regulate medical weed. BOTH PASSED!

Initiative 439: ABORTION: A YES would provide a strong right to abortion before fetal viability. Sadly, this one failed. Weirdly, the numbers suggest that at least 4% of voters voted yes on both this one and 434.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Nevada:

Question 3: RANKED CHOICE VOTING: A YES would bring in top-five primaries and ranked choice voting for congressional and state elections. Failed.

Question 4: PRISON LABOUR: A YES would remove language permitting forced labour as punishment from the state constitution. PASSED!

Question 6: ABORTION: A YES would provide a strong right to abortion before fetal viability. PASSED!

Question 7: VOTING RIGHTS: This is a Voter ID (suppression) measure, a NO would help protect accessibility of voting. Sadly, passed.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

New York:

Proposal 1: ABORTION and TRANS RIGHTS: Though relatively vague and ambiguous in wording, a YES on this proposal is touted as theoretically protecting abortion rights. It also explicitly protects trans rights. PASSED!

North Carolina:

Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment: NONCITIZEN VOTING CONSPIRACY THEORY: An AGAINST on this amendment would prevent an alteration that's at best unnecessary, and at worst could invite future restrictions on the rights of citizens to vote. Sadly, passed.

North Dakota:

Initiated Measure 5: DRUG LEGALIZATION: A YES on this measure would legalize and regulate limited recreational weed. Failed.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Oklahoma:

State Question 834: NONCITIZEN VOTING CONSPIRACY THEORY: A NO on this question would prevent an alteration that's at best unnecessary, and at worst could invite future restrictions on the rights of citizens to vote. Sadly, passed.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Oregon:

Measure 117: RANKED-CHOICE VOTING: A YES on this measure would establish ranked-choice voting for elections to federal and state offices, including the presedential election and congresspeople, but not for the state legislature. Failed.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

South Carolina:

Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment: NONCITIZEN VOTING CONSPIRACY THEORY: A NO on this amendment would prevent an alteration that's at best unnecessary, and at worst could invite future restrictions on the rights of citizens to vote. Sadly, passed.

South Dakota:

Amendment F: OTHER: This amendment seeks to impose a work requirement for medicaid, forcing recipients to show their participation in "work-related activities" unless they're diagnosed with physical or mental disability. The UK benefits system does this for unemployment benefit and it's both cruel and counterproductive. A NO on this amendment would protect people who need healthcare under medicaid from this meat grinder of institutional cruelty. Sadly, passed.

Amendment G: ABORTION: Though not as strongly worded as in other states, a YES on this amendment would provide a basic constitutional right to an abortion. Sadly, failed.

Initiated Measure 29: DRUG LEGALIZATION: A YES on this measure would legalize and regulate limited recreational weed. Failed.

(other measures skipped as not "key issues" as far as I can tell)

Wisconsin:

Citizenship Voting Requirement Amendment: NONCITIZEN VOTING CONSPIRACY THEORY: A NO on this amendment would prevent an alteration that's at best unnecessary, and at worst could invite future restrictions on the rights of citizens to vote. Sadly, passed.

Washington DC:

Initiative 83: RANKED-CHOICE VOTING: A YES on this measure would establish ranked-choice voting for elections in DC, and also create a semi-open primary system. Passed!

Puerto Rico:

Statehood, Independence, or Free Association Referendum: OTHER: This is a non-binding refurendum, but asks once again if Puerto Rico should become a state. Once again returned a vote for statehood.

[reasoningdaily]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/09/03/beverly-hills-police-lawsuit/

A Beverly Hills police task force arrested 106 people. All but one were Black, lawsuit claims.

Beverly Hills Police targeted Black people with harassment and arrest for low-level or nonexistent violations in an effort to keep them away from Rodeo Drive, according to a class-action racial discrimination lawsuit filed in California Superior Court Monday by civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Bradley Gage.

The complaint centers on the Beverly Hills Police Department’s “Operation Safe Streets,” a campaign to address safety on the city’s famed luxury shopping destination of Rodeo Drive.

The suit claims that between March 2020 and July 2021, the task force made 106 arrests — 105 of whom were of Black people.

“If 2 percent of the residents of Beverly Hills are Black but almost 100 percent of the arrests are Black [people,] that’s a pretty clear indication something’s wrong,” Gage told The Washington Post Thursday.

“The women and men of BHPD take an oath to protect human life and enforce the law — regardless of race,” Beverly Hills Police Chief Dominick Rivetti said in a statement Wednesday. “Any violation of this pledge is contrary to the values of this department. We take all concerns regarding the conduct of our officers very seriously.“

During a Wednesday news conference announcing the lawsuit, Crump — the attorney best-known for representing the family of George Floyd — framed the alleged racial bias in Beverly Hills as a national scourge that has led to the death or injury of people whose names are now synonymous with racially biased and violent policing.

“If implicit bias goes unchecked and discrimination goes unchecked, it leads to what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis; what happened to Breonna Taylor in Louisville; what happened to Jacob Blake Jr. in Kenosha, Wis.,” he said. “That’s what happens if the actions of the Beverly Hills Police Department goes unchecked.”

Rivetti in his Wednesday statement said he formed the “Rodeo Drive Team” to address complaints from businesses about a rise in burglary, shoplifting and nuisances such as public intoxication. Rivetti touted the success of the task force, noting that officers arrested individuals with “fraudulently obtained state unemployment benefits” and seizing $250,000 in cash and “ill-gotten debit cards.”

The police did not respond to The Post’s request for the number of arrests or their racial breakdown.

Gage said his team corroborated the figure through a variety of sources, including Beverly Hills police officers who were troubled by the trend that resulted from the 16-month safety operation.

The more than 100 arrestees were cited for a range of noncriminal behaviors such as roller skating or riding a scooter on the sidewalk to low-level infractions such as jaywalking. None of the same behaviors and infractions were enforced against White people, the lawsuit claims.

“The way [police] stop them for trivial things is troubling as well,” Gage said, alleging that Black people questioned by police would face four or five officers or have guns drawn on them. “White people don’t have that.”

The two named plaintiffs in the suit were not California residents but visiting from Philadelphia. During a visit to Beverly Hills last September, Khalil White and Jasmine Williams were arrested while riding scooters on the sidewalk and jailed for resisting arrest. The charges, like most of those that stemmed from the operation, were dropped.

The lawsuit claims that other incidents with police did not end in arrest but indicate a pattern of harassment and over-policing of Black people. Salehe Bembury, then the vice president of men’s footwear at Versace, was allegedly jaywalking and holding two shopping bags from his store last October when police stopped him, asked for his ID and ran his name for warrants.

Bembury filmed the encounter, which went viral.

“So I’m in Beverly Hills and I’m getting … searched for shopping at the store I work for and just being Black,” he said in an Instagram video.

“You’re making a completely different narrative,” a BHPD officer said in response.

The current iteration of the lawsuit focuses on the outcome of Operation Safe Streets, but Gage expects it will broaden to encompass a wider review of discriminatory policing by BHPD and expects the class of complainants to grow tenfold.

“I don’t think Ben or I have had five minutes since the press conference that we haven’t received phone calls. I’ve been getting them since midnight,” Gage said. Since Wednesday, he estimates the legal team has received at least 100 new complaints of racial profiling in traffic stops and other claims of discrimination from around the same period as Operation Safe Streets.

[the-clockwork-fiend]

CREATED: 10 - 16 - 2024

❝ ABOUT THE INVENTOR ❞

Ah, so you'd like to know more about me, hm? Well, dear customer, I'm an open book. Ask of me what you will.

— What's your name? My name? I have a great many names — and titles, of course. You may refer to me as Mika, though Fiend as also been used; but for the life of me, I can't imagine why! Some old friends of mine may use the name Ferris, but unless you're one of them, the former two are preferred. "The Inventor" or "The Shopkeeper" are also welcome.

— What gender are you? I'll spare you the pleasantries and answer this one more forwardly. I am nonbinary. My pronouns? They/them will be suitable, please and thank you.

— How old are you? What a shameless query! — though, I did say I'd answer whatever inquiry you desired. You don't need to know my exact age, but I am over the age of eighteen.

— What do you like? A rare gem of a question! You know, inventors rarely are asked of their likes and hobbies these days! It's truly such a shame! Anyhow, I have a few various past times and enjoyments. I favor the colors blue and yellow, and I'm rather partial to dragons and cats. Some leisurely activities of mine are birdwatching, writing, and reading.

— What do you dislike? You certainly aren't a shy one, it seems. Well, in fairness, I don't have many things I particularly dislike. Dogs is one that comes to mind — you must have seen the "Dogs not permitted" sign at this fine establishment's entrance, surely. Otherwise, I'm not one for politics or discourse either.

That's all, hm? Well, if you come up with anything else you'd like to know about me, I'm right up front here. Though, if I'm in the back, don't come looking for me. It's not as safe back there, and quite frankly, lawsuits for injuries caused at the shop are quite a nuisance.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Politico:

California Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Exxon Mobil in a lawsuit filed [September 23, 2024] of misleading the public about the environmental consequences of plastic production for decades.

The first-of-its-kind civil suit targets the world’s largest producer of chemical compounds that go into making plastic. Bonta, a Democrat, is pursuing some of the profits that he alleges resulted from Exxon’s promotion of single-use plastics as well as a court order for the company to stop what he says are misleading claims about the recyclability of plastics.

Exxon pointed the finger back at California.

“For decades, California officials have known their recycling system isn’t effective,” spokesperson Lauren Kight said in a statement. “They failed to act, and now they seek to blame others. Instead of suing us, they could have worked with us to fix the problem and keep plastic out of landfills.”

The suit in San Francisco County Superior Court, which comes a year after Bonta sued Exxon and four other oil majors seeking compensation for climate change damages, reflects California’s increasingly aggressive effort to hold the industry accountable for climate harms as the state transitions from fossil fuels to renewables.

The lawsuit accuses Exxon Mobil of violating state nuisance, natural resources, water pollution, false advertising and unfair competition laws. It seeks an injunction against “further pollution, impairment, and destruction, as well as to prevent Exxon Mobil from making any further false or misleading statements about plastics recycling and its plastics operations.”

[rae-raewrites]

I got a thing for ya! :D also welcome!! It’s nice to meet you!!

How about.. the riddler and scarecrow jealous hc’s? I’m a sucker for those, they’re always so juicy with alittle angst and showing their vulnerability just a taaaaad bit :3

Ah! Thank you! Also ya angsty boys are best boys. Also I did see you wanted it for the Arkham boys. Ah yes the most vicious of them all.

Riddler and scarecrow jealous hc’s

Oh boy.

Edward is a very jealous man in every sense of the word.

Now mind you it’s not just someone being nice to you or something small like that,it’s routinely behavior he picks up on.

He doesn’t realize at first what he’s experiencing but he knows his ego is being threatened and that simply won’t do!

Hey you know that thing you REALLY wanted but couldn’t get and it was to expensive and he told you it would be a waste of his lawsuit money? Oh my look what arrived in the mail!

It’s even worse when it one of the other rouges.

Harvey eying you? Cobblepot making a flirty remark making you blush a little? He starts intentionally screwing with their operations under the guise of another masterminded plot he’s been cooking up.

Of course while it’s in front of said person making him jealous he’s a lot more touchy.

And a hell of a lot more PDA.

I genuinely don’t think he could actually take it out on you. You’re not the problem everyone else is to him.

Eventually you ask why he’s been so much more lovey than normal and he finally cracks.

“B-because! I’m Gotham’s premier genius! And I’m here competing for your attention like some puppy dog!

Of course you quell his little jealous spert immediately when you give him a peck on the cheek. Poor boy goes red in the face.

Just make sure you’re frequently reassuring him he’s the best. Kisses help a lot too

Scarecrow

I think it would be foolish to assume that Jonathan’s origins from the south would stop any sort jealousy from bubbling up and then acting out on it.

Unlike most of the rouges he has the ability to recognize he’s jealous but the master of fear is not immune from human emotion though he’ll try to tell you otherwise

However his younger years taught him to keep what he has close. That includes you.

Who he gets jealous at is a completely different story.

The other rouges are of course on the table of course but if we’re talking one if his assistants Well…..

I mean he needs new test subjects anyways? What’s the harm in putting some fear in those who seek to be a nuisance?

If it’s among the lines of Harley or cobblepot? The psychological approach works well. Scaring them with small little words all while keeping you nice and close.

Of course when you realize the problem you better be practically smothering him in affection.

All the kisses for him.

“My Dear i am practically forced to admit it but I’m extremely fond of you. However I do not appreciate others trying to steal you away.”

If you really wanna ram your way back into his heart may i suggest some Edgar Allen poe? Or perhaps for the romantic mood phantom of the opera?

[conservativemalarkey]

Also, while I'm on my disk horse... I'm starting to think that we need a penalty for Nuisance Legislation in the same way that we have a penalty for Nuisance Lawsuits.

There are plenty of conservative legislators (at both the state and federal level) who have made a career out of grandstanding. They sponsor bills that have no chance of becoming law and/or are blatantly unconstitutional on their face. Bills like "let's put the Ten Commandments in every classroom in the state", or "let's legally affirm that Marriage Is Between A Man And A Woman, despite the current state of the law and our constituents' public opinion".

They know that these bills are unlikely to get passed, and they know that these bills are legally suspect on their face. Some of them probably believe that they can get them challenged in the Supreme Court and win.

But I think most of them, especially at the federal level, are fully aware that this legislation will never, ever, ever go through. They're not trying to make legislation that is good for their constituents, or even good for their campaign donors and lobbyists. They're running a grift.

They're going back home and telling their base, "hey, we tried to give you what you wanted, but those mean libruls in the House/Senate/executive branch/courts struck it down! Because they're bad and evil and want to turn the frogs gay! Never mind that the bill we tried to pass through was unconstitutional, unethical, and designed to fail so you'd get angry about it. Give us more money and we'll keep Fighting For You! UwU"

And then their base gives them more money, and they get re-elected, and they go back and do it again. And again. And occasionally, one of these garbage bills gets signed into law, and everyone suffers for six months to a year before a court finally shuts it down for being blatantly wrong.

.... In court, a plaintiff who keeps suing people for dumb, bad reasons eventually gets kicked out of the judicial system for wasting court resources. If you keep putting together lawsuits that have no chance of winning, that are based on shitty legal theory, or that are clearly designed to punish a person despite them being found innocent over and over? The court will smack you down for it.

Depending on who you are and what you're doing, you might get ruled against and have to pay damages, you might get banned from suing in that court again, or you might get disbarred.

It's not a perfect system-- a homeless plaintiff acting as their own lawyer is going to get knocked down for frivolous lawsuits a lot earlier than a billionaire with a legal team-- but there is a system in place to keep this shit from happening. It's cold comfort if you're on the other side of a frivolous lawsuit, sure, but it's more than nothing.

Normally, I'm not a fan of saying "there oughta be a law..." because any law is written in blood. If you make a law, you have to enforce it, and any time you enforce it, you run the risk of killing someone.

But I'm starting to think we need a similar system for legislation.

In particular, I'm thinking if you sponsor more than one blatantly unconstitutional, poorly-written, legally dubious bill per year, you should have to justify yourself to a bipartisan committee of some kind and should suffer consequences if you keep doing it.

Because otherwise, you're going to keep getting people who are not trying to legislate; they're trying to grift.

[dangerously-human]

For Lockwood & Co Appreciation Week 2024 Day 6: AU Day, have a snippet of my "Skull as office menace" AU I've started working on. It's not ready for posting to AO3 yet, but the concept is hilarious to me even scarcely developed. The idea is that the skull works in an office generally making a nuisance of himself - he's not a whole living person or anything, he's a skull in a jar working in a normal, mundane office environment, being a problem in the absence of the Problem.

“His ideas are decent, and he’s an excellent source of gossip” - Angeline’s always got her priorities in order - “but you know he’s an HR nightmare.” The other girls all nod. Neha clucks her tongue. “Diversity hire, I bet.” “It’s true,” confirms Melanie, punctuating her statement with a satisfying stapler thud. “Pretty sure he only got the job because he threatened a discrimination suit. Now they can’t get rid of him without risking it, so he’s got free rein to act like that.” Rosa snorts. “Sure, that and he’s got Carol in HR wrapped around his nonexistent little finger.” Angeline opens Neha’s drawer and pulls out a paperclip, ignoring the latter’s halfhearted protests. “Oh, but that’s Carol for you, isn’t it? She’s got a soft spot for the lot of them, all those boy’s club dickheads. Racking up harassment complaints like they’re points.” “Speaking of,” Neha says in a stage whisper, “I keep hearing he and that Lucy girl in Barnes’s department are an item.” “Which Lucy? Fonnegra?” Rosa gestures to Melanie for the stapler. “No, Carlyle.” Melanie barks out a laugh. “You kidding? Everyone knows she’s got a thing for her boss.” “Ooh, Lockwood, right?” Angeline stretches from her perch on Neha’s desk to grab the coffee mug from her own. “Can’t say I blame her.” “Angeline!” Neha scolds. Angeline flashes an unrepentant grin. “You’ve seen the way he looks at her?” Rosa shakes her head. “Now that’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”

[beardedmrbean]

As Berkeley looks to address their homeless crisis, the city council is laying down new rules to make it easier to clear homeless encampments.

Advocates for the unsheltered say their criminalizing homelessness but local businesses say something's got to give.

About 100 people are living at a encampment on Eighth and Harrison. It’s one of the hotspots targeted by a newly approved city council resolution. That resolution aims to make it easier to clear encampments determined to be a safety or health risk, even if no alternate shelter is available.

“Where do want them to go? Into neighborhoods? People aren’t going to like that. And the residents here know that. They cant go into parks, they are always telling them, 'you can't be here, you don’t have a right to exist,'” said Andrea Henson, executive director of “Where Do We Go.”

Berkeley say it has roughly 450 unsheltered residents living on the streets currently. Many in a handful of encampments.

Under a new policy, approved last week, city officials will now be able to clear encampments that pose fire or health hazards or are considered a public nuisance, even if the city has no alternate shelter available for those in the encampments. However, the city said it is committed to offering housing when possible.

"That is our intention that we will make shelter options and I continue to stand by descriptions that we are trying to have a balanced, reasonable approach, so that people can walk down the sidewalk,” said Berkeley councilmember Rashi Kesarwani.

Henson said that some of the individuals in these camps are sick, elderly and struggle with mental health issues. Henson believes the resolution goes against Berkeley’s foundation of inclusivity.

"Instead of finding out what is going on here? what’s going on with people? why are people not being housed and being pushed back out? Berkeley is being gentrified. It's going back to what’s happening in other cities,” she said.

The new measure comes as a group of businesses, including Boichik Bagels and Fieldwork Brewing filed a lawsuit, demanding Berkeley take action to address encampments near their businesses.

“The goal is to force the city into action. There has been a lot of talk and then, they will say they will clean it up. It kind of tightening up the margins and everything comes right back,” said Emily Winston, CEO and founder of Boichik Bagels.

Winston claims unhoused individuals are responsible for stealing water and power from her building, public drug use and say they’re even defecating on the property.

“To say that you can just plop down anywhere you want, in front of anybody’s property and do whatever you want and defecate wherever you want, is not a sustainable solution,” she said.

The city declined to comment on the lawsuit but claims the city council vote was necessary for safety.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the mayor explained “our policy continues to be a compassionate, housing first approach, and the new regulations are designed to be used sparingly in cases where no other options are viable."

As the city tries to balance the needs of the unhoused and the business community, homeless advocates are calling on people boycott businesses who brought the suit against the city.

The Berkeley city manager will determine a date to clear the encampments. Meanwhile, Berkeley businesses said they are still waiting on a response from the city regarding their lawsuit.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Meteor Shower (Part 16)

Bloom doesn’t realize that she had been holding her breath until Icy reminds her to breathe. Truly she doesn’t mean to stare, but she can’t quite help it. It isn’t as though Icy has gone out of her way to hide them—on the contrary, the tattoos inked around them seem to accentuate them. 

She could say that she had simply been admiring those tattoos but eyeballing them after her story is spoken and through with is painfully obvious. 

To her surprise Icy doesn’t snap at her to stop staring. Rather she follow Bloom’s gaze. Traces the vertical line that slices through the rest. 

“How…?” But it feels rude to ask.

“Am I alive?” Icy quirks a brow. She leans herself against the wall. 

“Chalcedony?” Bloom guesses. At this Icy gives a bitter, almost hateful laugh.

“She’s not one to come knocking when she gets ignored.” 

“Then how?”

“Some people might call it luck. It was more of a nuisance really. Diamond and her successes didn’t grab enough attention or make as much money as my story did. The paparazzi liked to come knocking now and then. They got some lovely photos and I guess that one of them decided to call it in, an afterthought really. Or a way to make sure that they wouldn’t get in legal trouble. They still did, I made a lot of money from those lawsuits. Most of those magazines were banned from publication and the online articles were removed pretty quickly.” She shrugs. “I used a good chunk of that money to pay doctors to write an official death certificate for Kyanite. Paid a few more people to have an obituary written.”

“That explains why everyone on the MeTor fansites can’t seem to decide if Kyanite is dead or a missing person.” 

“Kyanite is dead.” Icy assures her. 

It is left unspoken that Bloom best keep it that way. She can hear that much in the firm finality of her tone. A tone that brings a tickle of relief into the fairy’s belly; Icy is starting to sound a bit more like herself at the very least. 

“She’s not dead to me. Or to any of the fans. Kyanite still has a legacy that lives on. Some people still hope that she’ll reappear one day and have a comeback!” 

“Which is entirely unfortunate.” She shrugs. “People need to let it go.” She sits back on the mattress, finally putting an end to that pacing. Pacing that Bloom realizes was probably of the anxious variety. “At any rate, they can still listen to Kyanite’s music...technically. Some of them probably do, they just don’t realize it.”

“Maybe you should…”

“No! Absolutely not!” Icy reaches for the CD player. “I would sooner kiss you directly on the lips for twelve to thirty-seven seconds before I make a comeback single under the name Kyanite.” 

“Twelve to thirty-seven? That is an oddly specific number unless you have, maybe, put some thought into how long you would be able to tolerate kissing me for.” 

“Please, Peters, everyone has thought about kissing their nemesis before. It’s perfectly normal and part of a healthy long-standing rivalry.”

“I don’t think that most people think about kissing their arch rival, Icy.” 

“Ask Darcy and Stormy.” 

“I don’t think that any of you three are the picture of societal norms.” Before she can make a counter argument, Bloom adds, “or witchy norms.” 

“Whatever, twelve to thirty-seconds isn’t even that long.”

“It is too! Most people would only go for a quick peck if they were dared to kiss their nemesis. Ten seconds at the most!”

“Well why have you put thought into kissing your nemesis?” Icy asks. It sure is a funny way of asking why she hasn’t thought of kissing her specifically. 

“Because I might want to kiss my nemesis one day.” This seems to throw the woman off. She finds it rather satisfying to see how quickly she turns away to rummage through the CDs that she hasn’t yet listened to. 

So close.

She has come so close to finally asking the witch outright for a kiss. 

Just a little one. 

But now isn’t the right time.

.oOo.

The following days are much easier, her shakes have subsided and the ache in her head has faded almost entirely, coming back now and then but subsiding rather quickly. She is, admittedly, cautiously optimistic.

“And this is where I used to pretend that I was a black cat.” Darcy points at a tree, leaving Icy to wonder how many times she had gotten stuck in that particular oak. “I have fond memories here, it’s also where I punched Damon in the face for flirting too much.”

“You punched someone in the face!?” Stormy shouts. 

“Is that so hard to believe? Just because I’m not rambunctious like you or whatever Icy is…”

“Ruthless and cruel.” Icy fills in.

“Doesn’t mean that I have never felt inclined to punch someone.” 

“Maybe you should punch more people, more often!” Stormy suggests. 

“Or maybe you should learn to take it down a bit.” Stella replies. “You don’t have to fight everything that breathes.”

“I don’t just fight everything that breathes, sometimes I fight stuff that doesn’t too.” 

Icy thinks of that one time that Cloud Tower offered a field trip to a tacky haunted house. For all of her big talk, nobody screamed louder and shriller than Stormy as she bashed prop ghoul after prop ghoul. The Trix had been banned from haunted house excursions. 

“See what you’ve been missing out on.” Bloom says. 

“Stupid small talk and overpriced antique stores.” She lifts a brow as Darcy pushes the door to another one of said shops open. Naturally it was actually this one and not the other one that she had gone to all the time as a child. She had declared so at least four times already. 

“You can’t tell me that you don’t want to buy one of whatever this is.” 

“I don’t want to buy…” she begins before she turns to look at whatever Bloom is holding. “Actually I do want to buy that. Hand it over.”

“What is it?”

“For me to figure out after I buy it. Hand it over, Peters.”

“Do you want to become the owner of a cursed object? Because this is how you become the owner of a cursed object.”

“Witches love cursed objects, give it here.”

“Maybe I want it.” Bloom says.

“Fine you can have that curse…”

She shoves the item into Icy’s arms with an, “I don’t want to be cursed!”

“I think that it’s a piece of a gravestone.” Icy observes it. She can make herself a necklace of it. “Yes, this will do well.” A nice little touch to whatever outfit she picks out for their upcoming welcome back show. Her stomach flutters at the thought of it. All of these thrifted props, outfits, and accessories, better come together to make an impressive set. The three of them will work out the details when they get back to the hotel. 

After all of those details are in place and another visit with her doctor, they will be back on the tour bus.

And then she will be back on stage. 

Her grip tightens around that chunk of stone that could have come from a grave.

.oOo.

Cloud Tower provides a nice routine. 

A much needed routine. 

Something that makes her feel ordinary, she thinks that she would like that for a change. 

Cloud Tower witches love insults and verbal sparring. Wit and sarcasm.

For once, Icy gets to deliver the insults and humiliations.

It is like a revision of history.

Something to erase a mortifying past.

It is a complete antithesis to her high school days. 

No one will ever know. Not with how she carries herself these days. They ask her about her past now and then and mostly she lies. At most she tells them about almost overdosing outside of a club and the best of them commend her for going out like a real witch…badass and breaking the rules. 

It is because they have no idea what it actually looks like to die that way. How pathetic and demeaning it truly is. But she doesn’t fill them in. She’ll let them think that she is ‘hardcore’ and wicked through and through. 

Darcy and Stormy don’t breathe a word of it. 

But the three of them never join Lysa and the others for smokes in the ladies room. 

But there are still parts of her old self that run deep, that she can’t seem to shake. The parts of her that will get her right back to being on the receiving end of pranks and cruel jokes if she doesn’t convey them correctly.

She still enjoys her studies. And so she pretends like it is because she can better harass pixies with the grades of an overachiever. Not because she enjoys the act of learning.

She is still somewhat quiet, it wouldn’t be a stretch to call her shy.

But she can make herself aloof and unapproachable. Abrasive and befittingly cold of demeanor. Really she would just rather keep to herself.

She still says strange things that earn her stares. 

But she can pass those comments off as jokes. And if she can’t they usually give her a pass because she has the right look now and, unlike Kyanite, she always had the right look as far as everyone knows. 

Things are different now.

She is different now. 

And as long as she can keep her secret well concealed things will never go back to how they had been. 

As long as she doesn’t tell a single soul, her life will not unravel ever again.

It is truly a terrifying thing to have to guard a secret so closely. 

To know that she is only in her twenties but she has to take this secret to her grave. 

And she will, even if she has to find her grave early for it.