California Watch

May 10th, 2012

More than half the Ph.D.’s in the state are fake.

John Bear, the author of “Degree Mills”, at a hearing in Sacramento yesterday. California has more diploma mills than any other state in the nation, but it is not doing enough to protect students from the unaccredited colleges and vocational schools that issue worthless degrees, state lawmakers said.

California has more diploma mills than any other state in the nation, but it is not doing enough to protect students from the unaccredited colleges and vocational schools that issue worthless degrees, state lawmakers said at hearing yesterday.

Source: The Bay Citizen (http://s.tt/1blJc)

May 1st, 2012

“Once you’re in you’re in. There’s no backing down. I felt like I was finally a part of something.” - Go behind the story of the documentary “Nuestra Familia, Our Family,” a film about gun violence in Salinas, California.

May 1st, 2012

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newshour:

The picket lines outside of the Golden Gate Ferry’s Larkspur terminal in San Francisco. Ferry service was cancelled this morning due to the strike. More KQED May Day coverage.

(Photo by KQED’s Mina Kim)

Reblogged from PBS NewsHour

April 30th, 2012

California still leads nation in Iraq, Afghan war casualties

When Chief Warrant Officer Nicholas Johnson’s Black Hawk helicopter went down during bad weather April 19, killing him and three others, he became the 671st service member from California to die in the combined Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

A brief Department of Defense statement from April 24 said the crash occurred in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Johnson and the rest of his crew were assigned to an Army aviation regiment based in Hawaii. U-T San Diego later reported that the 27-year-old Johnson was on his first deployment, attended Chino High School in San Bernardino County and is survived by a wife and child.

California continues to lead the nation in fatal sacrifices made to the conflicts, according to an analysis of the most recent Defense Department data available. The figures, which include both hostile and non-hostile casualties, cover three major operations across the two wars: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. Read more.

Photo: Chief Warrant Officer Nicholas Johnson. Credit: U.S. Army

April 16th, 2012

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Our collaboration with ONCE Magazine on unincorporated communities in California is now out! Download it today to see stunning images - and read our full story here.

Photo by Max Whittaker

April 9th, 2012

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Parklawn is an unincorporated island near the cities of Modesto and Ceres, and it’s one of at least four disenfranchised islands in Modesto. Residents rely on failing septic tanks, and although a city sewer line runs adjacent to the community, residents can’t access it. Learn more about Parklawn and other unincorporated communities in California.

Do you live in an unincorporated community? What do you wish people knew about you and your community?

April 6th, 2012

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Sewage water puddles as children play nearby at the Rancho Garcia Mobile Home Park.

Rancho Garcia is one of dozens of mobile home parks in the area without a permit. Wastewater disposal at the park is a mystery – reportedly a makeshift network of septic tanks and cesspools. One resident pointed to a 7-foot-deep hole he dug behind his rusting trailer. That’s where he pipes the sewage from his home. Read more.

April 6th, 2012

Roughly 1.8 million people live in low-income unincorporated communities in California. These communities are outside of recognized city boundaries and therefore lack many public services, including sewer systems and clean water. California Watch reporter Bernice Yeung visited several of these communities across the state and spoke to residents about the challenges they face.

March 30th, 2012

Flashlights, exercise equipment, trumpets, gun parts, combat coats, pistol holsters, water canteens, radios, laptops, M16 rifles, helicopters, microwaves, survival kits, workout equipment, bayonet knives, ammunition cans.

A list of some of the surplus military equipment that California law enforcement agencies received last year. More than 17,000 local agencies across the country have taken advantage of the Defense Department’s equipment giveaways. California police accumulated more equipment in 2011 than any other year in the program’s two-decade history. See what your community has received by searching our online database.

March 30th, 2012

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Among its fleet of helicopters, patrol cars, inmate buses and other vehicles, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department keeps four long-haul semitrailers ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Their purpose: Travel the country retrieving discarded – and free of charge – U.S. military hand-me-downs for its deputies to use in California.

M16 rifles, helicopters, microwaves, survival kits, workout equipment, bayonet knives, ammunition cans and more – the LA sheriff’s office snaps up an average of $4 million to $5 million in surplus military equipment annually.

For example, in this photo Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Watkins shows one of five H-3 helicopters transferred from the military. It’s now used for search and rescue and SWAT transport. Read our full investigation.

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@CaliforniaWatch

California Watch, the largest investigative journalism team operating in the state, was launched in 2009 by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Investigative Reporting. Areas of coverage include education, health and welfare, public safety, the environment and the influence of money on the political and regulatory process.

California Watch

California still leads nation in Iraq, Afghan war casualties

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