Santa Cruz Count leaders plan on moving forward with new rules for vacation rentals. Supervisors agreed to bring in a committee to help compile the new rules in an effort to prevent reported parties, parking problems and other issues stemming from the influx of tourists. The initial proposal from Supervisor John Leopold was designed to focus on the Live Oak area only however, Supervisor Ellen Pirie wants to include neighborhoods dealing with similar issues like Seacliff, Rio del Mar and La Selva Beach. Leopold’s proposal would focus on banning events such as wedding receptions and business retreats; requiring stays of at least a week and demanding signs on vacation homes that would let neighbors know whom to call should problems arise.
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A new law enforcing cell phone retailers in San Francisco to post the amount of radiation emitted from their cell phones, was passed today. The ground-breaking law, passed by the city’s Board of Supervisors, will now require stores to disclose the specific absorption rate, or SAR of each phone they sell. Supervisors voted last week to give preliminary approval to the law, which is supported by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is expected to sign the new ordinance within 10 days. The city’s ordinance would require cell phone providers give their retailers a list of SAR values for specific phone models. Those retailers would then have to post those values and federal SAR limits in their stores. Larger chains would have untilnext February to comply, and other stores would have until 2012.
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Salinas police arrested an 18-year old man after he stole a car and led officers on a pursuit causing a hit and run crash leaving one car damaged today. Police say Jose Regalado stole a Chevy Impala that was left running in a driveway on the 900 block of Garner Avenue around 9:40 a.m.,after the owner of the vehicle briefly walked away from the car.Officers pursued Regalado who turned onto Towt Street when he lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree. He then fled the scene on foot and was seen in a backyard near Fremont School where he was arrested. Regalado was booked into Monterey County Jail on several charges including suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle, hit and run, and resisting arrest.
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A unanimous vote was passed by Santa Cruz City Council members to enforce it’s 3-strikes rule against those who ignore citations for municipal code violations. Tonight’s vote comes after the council passed a 3-strikes provision last year making it a misdemeanor to fail to appear in court for 3 or more citations in a 6-month period. The amendment passed today will now enable city officials to file each successive violation as a misdemeanor, which could mean more serious legal consequences and jail time. City officials say the stricter penalty is an effort to deter people from not answering to such infractions as repeated overnight camping, urinating in public or aggressive panhandling.
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