Sacramento
Prisoners freed: Facing a $20 billion budget shortfall, California has begun to release prison inmates, with more than 6,500 convicts due to be on the streets by the end of the year. Some of the inmates will be sprung early for completing drug and education programs, while others will have their sentences reduced under a new formula for calculating time already served. The state has also loosened its parole rules: Hundreds of low-level offenders won’t have to check in with parole officers or take random drug tests. The move is igniting fears over public safety. “We are concerned about victims these felons will leave in their wake before being rearrested for committing new crimes,” said Los Angeles police union president Paul Weber.
Santa Monica, Calif.
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Sushi sting: A chic sushi restaurant that was caught illegally serving whale meat has closed and is now facing federal charges. Animal-rights activists had brought a small camera to the Hump, where they filmed themselves ordering the $600 chef’s special, which included what the receipt identified as “whale meat.” A lab confirmed that a sample from the meal was Sei whale, an endangered species. “The Hump hopes that by closing its doors,” the restaurant said in a statement, “it will bring awareness to the detrimental effect that illegal whaling has on the preservation of our ocean ecosystems and species.” Charges against the chef and the owner carry a maximum fine of $200,000 and one year in federal prison.
Chicago
ACORN falls: The community organizing group ACORN said this week it will close its remaining field offices and shut down completely. The announcement comes six months after the release of videotape that appeared to show ACORN staffers advising a purported pimp and prostitute—in reality, two conservative activists—on how to conceal criminal activities. After that incident, Congress voted to cut off the organization’s federal funding, and private donations dropped. ACORN was also scarred by an embezzlement scandal involving the brother of its founder and by its admission that some staffers turned in bogus signatures in voter-registration drives. ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis blamed “well-funded right-wing attacks” that she said were mounted because of the group’s successes in registering minorities and poor people.
Washington, D.C.
Immigration rally: Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered on the National Mall this week to press for immigration reform. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, and other speakers called for Congress to act this year on a bipartisan bill that would grant legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. “Every day without reform is a day when 12 million hardworking immigrants must live in the shadow of fear,” said Rep. Nydia Velázquez of New York. In a videotaped message, President Obama pledged to “work to fix our broken immigration system,” but warned, “it won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight.”
New York
Judge rejects 9/11 settlement: A federal judge has rejected a $575 million insurance settlement for ground zero workers, saying it provided insufficient compensation for the suffering of the 10,000 “heroes” who became ill after inhaling ash and dust. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said too much of the money—about $200 million—would be eaten up by legal fees. He also took issue with a provision that would have given police officers, firefighters, and others just 90 days to sign on to the settlement, which was negotiated by the city and lawyers for the plaintiffs. The deal would have given individual plaintiffs anywhere from a few thousand dollars to more than $1 million, under a point system so complicated, Hellerstein said, it would make a Talmudic scholar’s head “spin and revolve 24 hours a day.”
Newark, N.J.
Cold case solved: A 32-year-old cold case took a dramatic turn this week when police charged two men with murder and arson in connection with the disappearance of five teenage boys in 1978. Police say Lee Evans, 56, admitted that he’d driven the boys to an abandoned house in Newark, where he and two accomplices, one now deceased, locked them inside and set fire to it. The boys had stolen a pound of marijuana from him, Evans said. Evans reportedly became a born-again Christian and, wanting to clear his conscience, confessed his role. “We were hoping for a miracle,” said Lillie Williams, the mother of one of the victims. “I knew it was bad. I do believe he’s dead.”
