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One of the more controversial ideas is to legalize the sale of marijuana, as proposed in a bill introduced in California’s state legislature by Democratic State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano this year. The bill proposed taxing pot by $50 per ounce. If legalized, marijuana could become California’s No. 1 cash crop, bringing in an estimated $1 billion a year in state taxes.
The bill was shelved this session, but a revised version will probably be reintroduced. See budget woes, state-by-state »
Last week, Oakland became the first U.S. city to tax proceeds on medical marijuana. Other California cities have discussed a similar tax.
This year, lawmakers in Georgia turned not to pot but to poles as a possible source of additional revenue.
Republican state Sen. Jack Murphy’s proposed “pole tax” would have charged patrons of strip clubs a $5 entrance fee. The bill was not approved.
See the full article from “CNN”
The hypocrisy never ends. Our government continues to make bad decisions and we all have to literally pay the price for those bad decisions, especially our most vulnerable, children and the elderly. In Florida, hundreds of teachers have been laid off, police and firefighters are facing pay cuts and senior citizen programs are being slashed. And why? Because our government doesn’t have the guts to make the hard decisions.
It’s easy to go along with the status quo. Our state and federal governments have some solutions right in front of them. When crises arise we need strong leaders who aren’t afraid to take a pragmatic approach to problem solving. That would surely go a lot further than continuing to chase after pot smokers and online gamblers. Listen to the economists and law enforcement personnel who have advised you of the uselessness and cost of prohibition. Empty the jails of drug users, gamblers and prostitutes. Legalize and regulate these activities. Tax them and use the revenue to help rebuild our crumbling cities.
See the full article from “Examiner.com”
Proposed Redwood City massage parlor rejected
By Shaun Bishop Bay Area News Group
Posted: 07/28/2009 01:54:57 PM PDT
Updated: 07/28/2009 01:55:01 PM PDT
A proposal for a new massage parlor in Redwood City was shot down by the city council Monday night after the applicant refused to accept changes that the city drew up to address residents’ concerns about the plan.
The council upheld neighbors’ appeal of the city zoning administrator’s March decision to approve a use permit for the establishment, which would have been in the 1,150-square-foot ground floor of a commercial building at 515 Woodside Rd.
Residents worried the business would be a poor fit with the nearby Redwood Oaks neighborhood, saying patrons of the massage parlor could cause traffic and parking problems.
…
Some neighbors wrote to the city with fears that the massage parlor would be a place of prostitution, though the city said the applicants passed police background checks and there were no signs the business would be illegitimate.
Police say 21-year-old, Antonio Fernandez Martinez of Oakland, was driving a Ford Crown Victoria outfitted with flashing lights, a microphone and speakers when he tried to pull over an unmarked police car.
Police officials said at first Martinez tried to deny the fact he was trying to stop the police vehicle But Officer Jim Beere, an undercover officer assigned to the vice/child exploitation unit whose vehicle Martinez was trying to stop, said Martinez later claimed he thought Beere was a member of a street gang he was having problems with and wanted to see who he was.
Martinez a convicted car thief will not charged with impersonating a police officer which is only a misdemeanor, instead he will have his felony probation revoked and could face a prison term.
Police officials believe Martinez targets unsuspecting motorist and prostitutes and robs them.once he pulls them over.
See the full article from “Examiner.com”
Prosecutors claimed Tony Alamo had sex with the children after “marrying” them in his church. Several victims told the tawdry story, leaving jurors in tears.
Alamo’s attorneys did little to refute his accusers’ testimony. Mostly, they challenged whether the witnesses, grown women now, accurately recalled what happened in the past. And, of course, they called the prosecutors anti-Christian.
No, prosecutors and now-adult victims were trying to protect children through a nearly 100-year-old law that says it’s unlawful to take anyone across a state line for purposes of prostitution or sexual activity. The law is called the Mann Act, and it carries special provisions for victims under 18. Kids under 18 are children. Not sex toys. Christian or not. If convicted, Alamo could face up to 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine on each count.
The San Francisco city attorney is trying to shut down a North Beach strip club he claims operates without permits and serves as a front for prostitution.
Dennis Herrera filed court documents in San Francisco Superior Court Wednesday asking a judge to immediately shut down Heaven Mini Theater.
Herrera says the club also appears to be linked to an April shooting that injured two doormen at a competing club nearby.
Gregory Walston, an attorney for Heaven, says the shooting and prostitution allegations are “just ludicrous.”Walston claims the club is being unfairly targeted after it tried to properly navigate a city permit system he calls byzantine and contradictory.
Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle
I am tired of the trash. Some neighborhood corners have become de facto dumps. About every fifth day, these corners sprout new collections of clothing, beauty supplies, couches and stinky trash bags. San Pablo Avenue between Alcatraz and Ashby is so full of broken glass and rotting food bags that it’s unsafe to walk a dog there.
I am tired of kids openly smoking marijuana on the sidewalk, in front of their houses, at the corner park.
I am tired of the late-night, outdoor parties that run until 2 a.m., when, awakened by drunken howls, I routinely call the Berkeley police to report excessive noise. Wonderfully, the police always respond within about a half hour, and the parties close up or take it inside. I’m tired of, and a little sad about, having to anonymously report my inconsiderate neighbors.
I am tired of the sad-looking teenage prostitutes who sit at bus stops, morning and night, waiting for their next customer.
Police said Martinez, who was arrested Wednesday, at first denied trying to stop the officer’s vehicle. But Officer Jim Beere, an undercover officer assigned to the vice/child exploitation unit whose vehicle Martinez was trying to stop, said Martinez later claimed he thought Beere was a member of a street gang he was having problems with and wanted to see who he was.
Martinez’s act, which included him driving a car made to look like an undercover police vehicle, unraveled in the Fruitvale district, where Beere and other officers were looking for underage prostitutes who work the area, authorities said.
Although police have no reports about Martinez from any prostitutes, Beere said the concern is that he may have wanted to lure some of them into the car to assault them.
This additional tax revenue makes up less than one tenth of a per cent of the city’s budget, but every penny helps in hard times. That is, presumably, why a state legislator is proposing to legalise – and tax – marijuana generally.
The advantage of “sin taxes” has long been known by economists: it is most efficient to tax what people find most indispensable or what has bad effects. These overlap, conveniently, allowing governments to say they are fighting moral corruption. Alcohol and tobacco – and now cannabis for pain relief – are a taxman’s best friends.
Why stop there? Nevada, where some counties allow prostitution, has debated a $5 tax per transaction at legal brothels. Sweden’s tax office has ruled that, since it is illegal to buy but not to sell sex, prostitutes owe the same taxes as other self-employed people.
Five Men Arrested In Walnut Creek Prostitution Sting
Posted: 9:27 am PDT July 24, 2009
WALNUT CREEK — Five men were arrested Thursday night in an undercover prostitution sting conducted at a motel in Walnut Creek, according to police.
Undercover officers conducted the sting at a motel on North Main Street at around 11:30 p.m., according to the Walnut Creek Police Department.
Police reported arresting five men for allegedly soliciting acts of prostitution and loitering with intent to solicit prostitution.
The suspects taken into custody were: Eric Blackmon, 22, of Hayward; John Quiggle, 59, of Paradise; Nelson Kwok, 31, of Oakland; Habibullah Atamy, 41, of Patterson; and Anthony Martin, 36, of Concord.
The undercover operation came in response to reports of continuing problems with prostitution and related crimes occurring at local hotels and motels, according to police.
See the full article from “FoxReno.com”
