As we go into the weekend, here are a few tidbits of news and some craziness from the Left Coast:
- A member of Berkley City Council suggests that an e-mail tax might be a good way to raise money for the stuggling U.S. Postal service. The story is here.
- The LA Times reports that California’s rating with Fitch has improved, although “California’s credit standing is likely to remain lower than most states for the foreseeable future given the magnitude of the state’s budgetary and financial challenges.”
- The UCL Practitioner has a good summary of AT&T Mobility v. AU Optronics Corp., a new Ninth Circuit decision that expands the reach of California’s Cartwright Act to extra-territorial conduct. As Kimberly Krolowec explains, the case opens the possibility to “allow nationwide indirect purchaser class actions in cases where the conspiracy originated from or was substantially connected to this state.”
- Natural Products Insider has two encouraging stories relating to Prop 65. A bill introduced by Assemblyman Gatto would give businesses a 14-day safe harbor period to acheive compliance without being subject to fines. A San Francisco juudge has issued a favorable ruling excluding dietary supplements from Prop 65 by concluding that they are foods. The ruling, while having no precedential value, concludes that chemicals that are naturally occuring in food (and now vitamin supplements) are exempt from Prop 65.
- A skateboarder wins jury verdict in Orange County for running into SUV which was passing through a crosswalk. Yes, you read that right. The skateboarder ran into the SUV, not the other way around.
Have a nice weekend.