Free Republic

Newly released California Highway Patrol dashcam video shows an impaired California State Senator Ben Hueso undergoing sobriety tests and answering questions before his August arrest. In the footage, the San Diego senator is seen driving the wrong way onto a one-way street in Sacramento on Aug. 22. He quickly U-turns, but a CHP officer is quickly on his tail, pulling him over at a nearby gas station. Hueso gets out of his car and is asked to do field sobriety tests. At the officer’s request, he walks back and forth in a straight line. He is then asked to do...

Democratic Assemblyman Ben Hueso said Friday that he is dropping his effort to oust Fish and Game Commission President Dan Richards. Richards recently came under heavy fire from animal-rights groups and Democratic lawmakers after a photo in a hunting publication showed him posing with a mountain lion he shot in Idaho. Unlike in California, where voters banned killing cougars in 1990, Idaho allows the animals to be hunted. Critics said his actions, while not illegal, raised doubts about his ability to lead the commission. But hunting and fishing groups, as well as GOP lawmakers, have come to Richards' defense. Hueso,...

Cigarette smoking would be banned at city beaches and parks under a measure tentatively approved Monday by the city council. Sponsors said the measure will reduce litter and allow beachgoers to avoid secondhand smoke. "To me, this is a quality-of-life issue for San Diego," said Councilman Jim Madaffer, a co-sponsor. "This is an issue that is about public health and safety." The council unanimously approved the ban. A second vote is required before the measure becomes law. San Diego, whose miles of beaches are a major tourist draw, joins a handful of other California cities that have similar bans, including...

Project Could Land City In Another Investigation Developer Gets Barrio Logan Land For $100 http://www.10news.com/news/7064349/detail.html SAN DIEGO -- A planned retail center in San Diego's Barrio Logan was suppose to revitalize the entire area, but the city's redevelopment agency, developer and politicians never got anything done. Now, the lack of progress could land the city in another federal investigation.A memo from the city's redevelopment agency estimated if it had been built, the Mercado Project could have generated $307 million in revenues for the city over 40 years. Instead, the empty 6.5-acre lot is a haven for the homeless.