• Certification of Recall Petition Confers Public Benefit

    Metropolitan News-Enterprise
    September 4, 2026

    The City of Grover Beach in San Luis Obispo County might be liable for the attorney fees incurred by a civic group ad two individuals in gaining an order that forced the municipality to accept a petition seeking the recall of a City Council member, under a decision by Div. Six of this district’s Court of Appeal which rejects the trial judge’s notion that no significant benefit was conferred on the public.

  • Conviction Upheld for Murder Suspect Arrested in Pasadena

    Pasadena Now
    September 4, 2026

    A state appeals court panel today upheld a transient’s conviction for murdering a University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) graduate student who was stabbed 46 times inside a Hancock Park furniture store in an attack captured in a chilling audio recording. The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense’s contention that Smith’s trial attorney violated the Racial Justice Act by comparing the defendant’s actions to an animal at the time he killed Brianna Kupfer, 22, on Jan. 13, 2022.

  • Newsom faces final decisions on AI, social media bills

    Daily Journal
    September 3, 2026

    (Subscription required) Measures regulating children's use of AI chatbots, addictive online features and workplace surveillance are among hundreds of bills awaiting action.

  • Judge allows Catalina deer removal work to begin amid permit challenge

    Daily Journal
    September 3, 2026

    (Subscription required) The case challenges the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's decision to exempt the conservancy's Restoration Management Permit from California Environmental Quality Act review.