Subject:

U.S. Department of Justice

  • Blogs

    May 10, 2012

    Meet the California Lawmakers Who Are Enabling the Marijuana War

    Losing efforts sometimes score wins. Medical marijuana scored such a moral victory late Wednesday, when 163 members of Congress voted in favor of not allowing federal dollars to be spent on busting pot growers, distributors, and dispensaries in states with medical cannabis laws.The brainchild o ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 10, 2012

    George Gascón Lauds Feds' Discrimination Suit Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio

    The Department of Justice today took the unusual step of suing a sitting U.S. sheriff. Joe Arpaio, the infamous sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., is charged with years of systematically discriminating against Latinos and using the power of his office to retaliate against critics. This paragrap ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 9, 2012

    California Congressmen Push Spending Cuts on Federal Marijuana Enforcement

    Budget hawks incensed over San Francisco's supposedly profligate spending ought to spend a few minutes at Congress, observing the dollar requests submitted by federal departments.Take the $28.2 billion, 111,998-employee federal Department of Justice, for example. The country's 12,000 employees in Un ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 7, 2012

    Gary Johnson, Libertarian Candidate, Gives Marijuana Supporters an Alternative to Republicans

    Will Ron Paul Supporters Follow?For all the love showered upon him by cannabis and hemp activists, Ron Paul was always going to be a bitter pill for liberals to swallow. On the surface, the straight-talking Texan sounded good for voters weary with mainstream party choices: The long-tenured Congressm ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 27, 2012

    El Balazo Owners Sentenced to Prison for Hiring Illegal Immigrants

    The Mexican food competition in this city is fierce. There are great burrito joints and margarita offerings in every direction. Perhaps Marino and Nicole Sandoval, owners of the El Balazo chain, were just wanting a little boost when they stiffed the feds on taxes and hired undocumented immigrants fo ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 11, 2012

    Mayor Ed Lee Finally Breaks Silence on Medical Marijuana

    "If you get Ed Lee on record about medical marijuana," more than one well-connected San Francisco politico has told us, "you deserve a medal."Our best efforts were all deflected, including a situation when we physically blocked Mayor Lee's path to his hybrid Mayoralmobile and still did not win a com ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 9, 2012

    Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Stay Open Despite Federal Deadline

    On the day the federal government wished HopeNet to close, the operators of San Francisco's oldest licensed and taxpaying medical marijuana dispensary prepared accordingly: They grilled hot dogs."We made about 220," said Catherine Smith, whose Ninth Street medical cannabis dispensary is one of the n ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 19, 2012

    Medical Marijuana Crackdown Explained: Feds Are Saving the Children

    ​Melinda Haag finally gave us a reason. The United States Attorney for Northern California broke her media near-silence last week week, granting an extensive, exclusive interview to KQED in which Haag sought to explain the Justice Department's crackdown on medical marijuana.The reasons why Haag's ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 24, 2012

    Medical Marijuana Crackdown: U.S. Attorney Has No Regrets

    Benjamin Wagner, the explainer... sort of.​A flurry of media reports accompanied the Justice Department's crackdown on medical marijuana, announced at an October 2011 press conference in which California's four federal prosecutors outlined plans to attack the state's marijuana industry. But since ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 24, 2012

    S.F. Begins Issuing Medical Marijuana Dispensary Permits Again

    It's a go -- for now.​San Francisco has begun issuing medical marijuana dispensary licenses again, following a recent state Supreme court decision that will allow local pot dispensaries to do business -- for now. The city's Medical Cannabis Act permitting process had been on hold for several month ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 30, 2011

    Feds Force Another San Francisco Pot Club to Close

    Times they did a-change.​Pressure from the Justice Department is forcing a fourth San Francisco pot club to close early next year, with a fifth closure expected soon thereafter.Market Street Cooperative -- one of the city's lowest-profile cannabis dispensaries, with a modest sign outside its 1884 ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 16, 2011

    DA George Gascón Pleased with Feds' Investigation of Sheriff Joe Arpaio

    Joe Arpaio​In San Francisco, District Attorney George Gascón is known as an administratively competent political moderate who has a firmly established place in the ascendant "city family" headed by Mayor Ed Lee. During his tenure as chief of the Mesa Police Department in Arizona, Gascón was know ... More >>

  • News

    December 7, 2011

    DNA Lab Cover-Up: SFPD to Investigate Claims in Secret Court Records

    Joe Arpaio​In San Francisco, District Attorney George Gascón is known as an administratively competent political moderate who has a firmly established place in the ascendant "city family" headed by Mayor Ed Lee. During his tenure as chief of the Mesa Police Department in Arizona, Gascón was know ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 28, 2011

    Secret Court Transcript Reveals Concerns About 'Deliberate Attempt' to Mislead Crime Lab Auditors

    ​Judge: "It's always the coverup that makes the things worse than the problem to begin with"The San Francisco Police Department and District Attorney's Office are both implicated in allegations that a deliberate effort was made to conceal defects at the city's troubled forensics lab from state in ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 23, 2011

    Medical Marijuana: Feds Move to Forfeit Marin Pot Club's Property

    ​The choice offered by the Justice Department was clear: Select California medical cannabis dispensaries needed to close up shop or have their properties seized and operators thrown in prison.This was the ultimatum issued in September by United States Attorney for Northern California Melinda Haag ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 8, 2011

    S.F. Pot Clubs Threatened by Government Crackdown Won't Sue

    On defense​It was only a matter of time before the state's medical marijuana collectives went to the courts -- and the time was nigh Monday for Lynette Shaw of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana to announce at a downtown San Francisco law firm that she's suing the feds. Her deadline to close ... More >>

  • News

    November 2, 2011

    Lost Boys: New Research Demolishes the Stereotype of the Underage Sex Worker

    On defense​It was only a matter of time before the state's medical marijuana collectives went to the courts -- and the time was nigh Monday for Lynette Shaw of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana to announce at a downtown San Francisco law firm that she's suing the feds. Her deadline to close ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 27, 2011

    Judge Won't Prevent Cops from Arresting Gun Lovers Who Tote Assault Weapon Replicas

    make no mistake ... this is legal in California ​Two Bay Area gun lovers lost a battle in court after a judge refused to interfere with cops' discretion when it comes to making firearms arrests.  The case started after Mark Haynie and Brendan Richards were arrested in 2009 and 2010 on suspici ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 11, 2011

    Sonic.net: The Li'l ISP that Stood up to the Feds

    ​I way overpay for my monthly Internet service. There are a bunch of reasons: Sonic.net, my ISP, has great customer service. It almost never goes down. The website is simple and user-friendly. It updates it quickly with service info. When you call them, they talk to you like you're a fellow human, ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 16, 2011

    Feds: Drug Cartels Are Here, and They're Taking Our Jobs

    Gone the way of UAW​The Drug War is going the way of the "evildoers," according to a federal report released last week. Two years ago, foreign drug cartels were in 230 American cities. Today, the cartels -- from Mexico, East Asia, and, presumably, Canada -- have infiltrated more than 1,000 America ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 1, 2011

    Justice Department "Clarifies" Stance on Medical Marijuana: It's Illegal And They Will Arrest You

    They gonna getcha​President Barack Obama's stance on medical cannabis has been a wee nebulous: as candidate, Obama said the drug war was a failure and that doctors prescribing pot as a treatment was "appropriate"; as president, Obama's Justice Department said chasing after pot growers and users wa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 17, 2011

    Posting Copyrighted Music to YouTube Might Soon Earn You Jail Time

    ​You might want to think twice before posting that video of your cat "dancing" to a Lady Gaga song. Not just because nobody wants to see it, but because it might earn you a few years in the Federal pen. Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended a bill for the Senate that would ma ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 28, 2011

    Medical Marijuana Providers Go to Prison. Will President Obama Intervene?

    This pretty much sums it up​Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband, Dale Schafer, are ill. Fry is a breast-cancer survivor with severe mental-health issues, and Schafer's hemophilia means he is frequently bedridden. So he will have to be in a prison hospital beginning May 2, when the couple will begin fiv ... More >>

  • News

    April 6, 2011

    Blowing Smoke: Obama Promises One Thing, Does Another on Medical Marijuana

    This pretty much sums it up​Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband, Dale Schafer, are ill. Fry is a breast-cancer survivor with severe mental-health issues, and Schafer's hemophilia means he is frequently bedridden. So he will have to be in a prison hospital beginning May 2, when the couple will begin fiv ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 21, 2011

    Ammiano Bill to Change State's Involvement In ICE Fingerprinting Program

    Barter: Fingerprint for a one-way flight to Tijuana​Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has introduced a glut of controversial and liberal legislation in the last week, including lowering the penalty for growing pot. And now San Francisco's comedian-turned-politician has stepped into the mired debate around a ... More >>

  • News

    January 19, 2011

    Government lets fraudulent drug companies deal with Medicare

    Barter: Fingerprint for a one-way flight to Tijuana​Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has introduced a glut of controversial and liberal legislation in the last week, including lowering the penalty for growing pot. And now San Francisco's comedian-turned-politician has stepped into the mired debate around a ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 7, 2010

    Swindler Dresses As Clown On Kiddie Bike To Impersonate Immigration Official

    Oh look! Two immigration officials! ​The evidence is in: To immigrants, there is little difference between an immigration authority and a clown on a kiddie bike. That was the disguise Frank Salvador Solorza used when impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official and extorting ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 21, 2010

    Deaf Left Behind During Emergencies, Lawsuit Says

    The building is burning down -- but no one told Arthur​If the fire alarm goes off and nobody tells the deaf guy, he's just going to sit at his desk. It's a disturbing image, but according to a lawsuit filed today in San Francisco superior court, that's exactly what's happening in four state agenci ... More >>

  • News

    May 12, 2010

    SF Weekly Letters

    The building is burning down -- but no one told Arthur​If the fire alarm goes off and nobody tells the deaf guy, he's just going to sit at his desk. It's a disturbing image, but according to a lawsuit filed today in San Francisco superior court, that's exactly what's happening in four state agenci ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 23, 2010

    Hope You Enjoyed CMCR Report, Because That's All, Folks

    It's not news that marijuana may have healing qualities: after all, medicinal cannabis has been (sort of) the law of the land since 1996, when California voters passed Proposition 215 . Still, it was a very big deal when the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research released the results last Wednesday ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 26, 2010

    DOJ Approves Live Nation-Ticketmaster Merger

    ​On Monday, the David and Goliath of concert ticket promotion and sales -- Live Nation and Ticketmaster -- joined forces to become Live Nation Entertainment, a music industry behemoth that promises to force other music labels and promoters to rejigger their business plans to accommodate. The U.S. ... More >>

  • News

    October 28, 2009

    No Justice

    Despite Obama's promises of change, corporate crooks are still going unpunished for their roles in the financial collapse.

  • Blogs

    October 27, 2009

    Chronic City: 'Truth In Trials' Bill Would Lift Ban On Medical Marijuana Evidence In Federal Court

    ​U.S. Representative Sam Farr (D-Carmel) and more than 20 bipartisan co-sponsors introduced legislation today that would allow defendants in medical marijuana cases the ability to use medical evidence at trial, a right they currently do not have. Due to the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in G ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 6, 2009

    Feds Swoop In to Nail Bay Area Sandwich-Maker Accused of Serving Bacteria On White

    ​Say it's lunchtime and you're at the local gas station trying to choose between the chili cheese dog withering away under the heat lamp or the pre-packaged chicken salad sandwich -- which is going to be healthier? Your instincts might say: Sterile-looking, triangle-shaped sandwich. But the Depart ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 6, 2009

    Oakland Sandwich Maker REL's Shut Down for Selling Creepy Crawlies on Rye

    Morton Fox/FlickrEw.​This may be the year of the sandwich in San Francisco, but if your budget has relegated your lunchtime grazing to the pre-pack options at the convenience store, you might've been ingesting more than just tuna salad recently. In a story on SFoodie's sister news blog The Sni ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 6, 2009

    Breaking News: State to Pay Out $335K Settlement for Carole Migden's Erratic Driving

    Boom! There goes another $335K.The state of California will pay out a $335,000 settlement in the matter of a former senator's case of DWM -- Driving While Migden. The San Franciscan's much-publicized 2007 highway incident left a 30-mile trail of terrified 911 callers and ended with the veteran ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 1, 2009

    S.F. Study: Immigration Judges More Burned Out Than Prison Wardens

    What happens when judges' job burnout level gets too high? You don't want to know.According to a just-published survey of 96 U.S. immigration judges, the men and women deciding delicate asylum cases are stressed and burned-out to the point that the term "asylum" begins to have unpleasant connotation ... More >>

  • News

    November 26, 2008

    Janet Napolitano’s Sorry Service in Arizona Makes Her a Terrible Choice for Homeland Security Secretary

    What happens when judges' job burnout level gets too high? You don't want to know.According to a just-published survey of 96 U.S. immigration judges, the men and women deciding delicate asylum cases are stressed and burned-out to the point that the term "asylum" begins to have unpleasant connotation ... More >>

  • News

    April 23, 2008

    DA takes the blame, but feds mismanaged the money

    What happens when judges' job burnout level gets too high? You don't want to know.According to a just-published survey of 96 U.S. immigration judges, the men and women deciding delicate asylum cases are stressed and burned-out to the point that the term "asylum" begins to have unpleasant connotation ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 18, 2008

    Cosco Busan Pilot Charged, Six Crew Members Disappeared

    What happens when judges' job burnout level gets too high? You don't want to know.According to a just-published survey of 96 U.S. immigration judges, the men and women deciding delicate asylum cases are stressed and burned-out to the point that the term "asylum" begins to have unpleasant connotation ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 21, 2008

    Damn, That Move Was Expensive: Douchebag movers busted

    What happens when judges' job burnout level gets too high? You don't want to know.According to a just-published survey of 96 U.S. immigration judges, the men and women deciding delicate asylum cases are stressed and burned-out to the point that the term "asylum" begins to have unpleasant connotation ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 22, 2007

    Army Food Supply Corruption Probe: Ain't No Thang But A Chicken Wang

    What happens when judges' job burnout level gets too high? You don't want to know.According to a just-published survey of 96 U.S. immigration judges, the men and women deciding delicate asylum cases are stressed and burned-out to the point that the term "asylum" begins to have unpleasant connotation ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 22, 2007

    Army Food Supply Corruption Probe: Ain't No Thang But A Chicken Wang

    What happens when judges' job burnout level gets too high? You don't want to know.According to a just-published survey of 96 U.S. immigration judges, the men and women deciding delicate asylum cases are stressed and burned-out to the point that the term "asylum" begins to have unpleasant connotation ... More >>

  • News

    October 4, 2006

    Untouchable

    Half of U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan's lawyers have quit. But as he remains bunkered against criticism, who's minding the shop?

  • News

    September 7, 2005

    Brugmann's Brain Vomit

    Cleaning up the latest drivel from San Francisco's leading bull-goose loony

  • News

    March 23, 2005

    Wrong Prescription

    The sweet deal a local medical firm got from the Justice Department shows how soft the Bush administration really is on corporate crime

  • News

    December 15, 2004

    Weekly Obsessions

    Things we were obsessing about on Dec. 15, 2004

  • Music

    November 10, 2004

    OK Then

    A dozen local musicians find a silver lining in the election results. Seriously.

  • News

    March 22, 2000

    Mecklin

    Anatomy of a Mau-Mau

  • More >>
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