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January 28, 2022
A gun rights organization sued San Jose, California, arguing a first-of-its-kind city ordinance requiring gun owners to purchase liability insurance is unconstitutional.
The National Association for Gun Rights filed the suit Wednesday in federal court in San Jose, a day after the law was passed. The group seeks a court order blocking the ordinance.
The law requires gun owners to carry a gun-liability insurance policy that would cover losses or damages resulting from any negligent or accidental use of the firearm, including death, injury or property damage. Gun owners will also be required to pay a $25 annual fee.
Calling it a first of its kind in the U.S., San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said in a statement that “gun-harm reduction fees” from firearms owners will be invested in “evidence-based initiatives” to reduce gun violence. The law, set to take effect in July, is a “constitutionally compliant path” toward achieving its aim, according to the statement.
Gun Rights Group Sues to Block First U.S. Firearms Insurance Law
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-27/gun-rights-group-sues-to-block-first-u-s-firearms-insurance-lawA gun rights organization sued San Jose, California, arguing a first-of-its-kind city ordinance requiring gun owners to purchase liability insurance is unconstitutional.
The National Association for Gun Rights filed the suit Wednesday in federal court in San Jose, a day after the law was passed. The group seeks a court order blocking the ordinance.
The law requires gun owners to carry a gun-liability insurance policy that would cover losses or damages resulting from any negligent or accidental use of the firearm, including death, injury or property damage. Gun owners will also be required to pay a $25 annual fee.
Calling it a first of its kind in the U.S., San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said in a statement that “gun-harm reduction fees” from firearms owners will be invested in “evidence-based initiatives” to reduce gun violence. The law, set to take effect in July, is a “constitutionally compliant path” toward achieving its aim, according to the statement.
January 26, 2022
LOS ANGELES — Guns are among the items that have been stolen from cargo containers on railroad tracks in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Monday.
“People were ... breaking into these containers and stealing firearms, tens of firearms,” Moore told the Police Commission. “That gave us the great concern as a source again of further violence in the city as people were capitalizing on the transport of these containers with having little or no policing or security services there.”
Moore said that on Thursday, the day Gov. Gavin Newsom showed up to help bag debris and decry the thefts, the LAPD arrested six people who had been under surveillance for crimes related to the train break-ins.
The issue gained national attention earlier this month as images of the debris left on the Union Pacific tracks by thieves went viral. But that did not stop the stealing, Moore said.
(Excerpt)
Guns stolen from rail cars spark LAPD concern
https://www.hastingstribune.com/ap/national/guns-stolen-from-rail-cars-spark-lapd-concern/article_d8a2c8f5-ae59-5caa-b21b-96d3dae43368.htmlLOS ANGELES — Guns are among the items that have been stolen from cargo containers on railroad tracks in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Monday.
“People were ... breaking into these containers and stealing firearms, tens of firearms,” Moore told the Police Commission. “That gave us the great concern as a source again of further violence in the city as people were capitalizing on the transport of these containers with having little or no policing or security services there.”
Moore said that on Thursday, the day Gov. Gavin Newsom showed up to help bag debris and decry the thefts, the LAPD arrested six people who had been under surveillance for crimes related to the train break-ins.
The issue gained national attention earlier this month as images of the debris left on the Union Pacific tracks by thieves went viral. But that did not stop the stealing, Moore said.
(Excerpt)
January 24, 2022
PHOENIX — Calling them necessities, a first-term lawmaker wants the same sales tax rate on guns as to the food you buy from the grocery and the prescriptions you get from your pharmacy.
Zero.
“You’ve got massively rising crime rates across the nation,’’ said Rep. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix.
“Everybody knows that,’’ he continued. “It’s pretty well documented.’’
(Excerpt)
Lawmaker's bill would eliminate sales tax on gun purchases in Arizona
https://www.google.com/amp/s/tucson.com/news/local/lawmakers-bill-would-eliminate-sales-tax-on-gun-purchases-in-arizona/article_35b8a76a-748e-11ec-b785-93b4f0132acc.amp.htmlPHOENIX — Calling them necessities, a first-term lawmaker wants the same sales tax rate on guns as to the food you buy from the grocery and the prescriptions you get from your pharmacy.
Zero.
“You’ve got massively rising crime rates across the nation,’’ said Rep. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix.
“Everybody knows that,’’ he continued. “It’s pretty well documented.’’
(Excerpt)
January 24, 2022
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin's state Assembly has approved a package of Republican-authored bills that would dramatically expand gun rights in Wisconsin, even though Democratic Gov. Tony Evers almost certainly will veto all of them.
The proposals would allow people with concealed carry licenses to go armed on school grounds and in churches on private school grounds; lower the minimum age for obtaining a concealed carry license from 21 to 18; and allow anyone with a concealed carry license from any state to go armed in Wisconsin.
The Assembly passed all four proposals on voice votes during a floor session Thursday. The bills now go to the Senate.
Wisconsin GOP lawmakers approve bill allowing 18-year-olds to carry guns at schools, churches
https://abc7chicago.com/wisconsin-gun-laws-concealed-carry-license-republican-party/11494693/MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin's state Assembly has approved a package of Republican-authored bills that would dramatically expand gun rights in Wisconsin, even though Democratic Gov. Tony Evers almost certainly will veto all of them.
The proposals would allow people with concealed carry licenses to go armed on school grounds and in churches on private school grounds; lower the minimum age for obtaining a concealed carry license from 21 to 18; and allow anyone with a concealed carry license from any state to go armed in Wisconsin.
The Assembly passed all four proposals on voice votes during a floor session Thursday. The bills now go to the Senate.
January 22, 2022
Well, my sister and BIL both have Covid.
He started having symptoms on Tuesday, and she did the following day. Thankfully, neither of them is seriously ill. He said he was already feeling slightly better.
The interesting part is that I went out to dinner with them Monday evening. No symptoms yet...
January 22, 2022
SKIEN, Norway (AP) — Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian far-right fanatic who killed 77 people in bomb-and-gun massacres in 2011, argued Tuesday for an early release from prison, telling a parole judge he had renounced violence even as he professed white supremacist views and flashed Nazi salutes.
Breivik, 42, is serving Norway’s maximum 21-year sentence for setting off a bomb in Oslo’s government district and carrying out a shooting massacre at a summer camp for left-wing youth activists. Under Norwegian law, he is eligible for his first parole hearing after 10 years in prison.
Though experts agree Breivik is highly unlikely to be released, authorities have insisted he has the same rights as any other prisoner, arguing that treating him differently would undermine the principles that underpin Norwegian society, including the rule of law and freedom of speech.
At the three-day hearing, which is taking place in the high-security prison in Skien, south of Oslo, where he is being held in isolation with three cells at his disposal, Breivik made full use of his rights.
(Excerpt)
One of the three rooms he has to himself:
Norway mass killer seeks parole 10 years after attacks
https://apnews.com/article/europe-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-norway-oslo-0b5db97e2bf07e95df08621de9efea20SKIEN, Norway (AP) — Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian far-right fanatic who killed 77 people in bomb-and-gun massacres in 2011, argued Tuesday for an early release from prison, telling a parole judge he had renounced violence even as he professed white supremacist views and flashed Nazi salutes.
Breivik, 42, is serving Norway’s maximum 21-year sentence for setting off a bomb in Oslo’s government district and carrying out a shooting massacre at a summer camp for left-wing youth activists. Under Norwegian law, he is eligible for his first parole hearing after 10 years in prison.
Though experts agree Breivik is highly unlikely to be released, authorities have insisted he has the same rights as any other prisoner, arguing that treating him differently would undermine the principles that underpin Norwegian society, including the rule of law and freedom of speech.
At the three-day hearing, which is taking place in the high-security prison in Skien, south of Oslo, where he is being held in isolation with three cells at his disposal, Breivik made full use of his rights.
(Excerpt)
One of the three rooms he has to himself:
January 17, 2022
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A woman who was shot and killed in St. Louis County this week was attempting to break into a home at the time, according to new information released by police Wednesday morning.
The St. Louis County Police Department identified the woman as 23-year-old Shabria Furlow, of Bridgeton.
Detectives believe Furlow was one of several people who were trying to steal from a home in the 300 block of Lancashire Road Tuesday morning. Officers responded at about 3:23 a.m. to a report of a shooting in the Glasgow Village area of north county. They arrived to find Furlow, who had been shot at least one time, police said. She died at the scene.
Police said they believe a resident in the home fatally shot her.
(Excerpt)
Resident fatally shoots woman trying to break into St. Louis County home, police say
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ksdk.com/amp/article/news/local/st-louis-county-attempted-home-invasion-fatal-shooting/63-09e33229-ae05-4ab4-9daf-331d113b592fST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A woman who was shot and killed in St. Louis County this week was attempting to break into a home at the time, according to new information released by police Wednesday morning.
The St. Louis County Police Department identified the woman as 23-year-old Shabria Furlow, of Bridgeton.
Detectives believe Furlow was one of several people who were trying to steal from a home in the 300 block of Lancashire Road Tuesday morning. Officers responded at about 3:23 a.m. to a report of a shooting in the Glasgow Village area of north county. They arrived to find Furlow, who had been shot at least one time, police said. She died at the scene.
Police said they believe a resident in the home fatally shot her.
(Excerpt)
January 14, 2022
Smart guns, which can only be fired by verified users, will finally become available to American consumers after decades of questions regarding reliability, per Reuters.
LodeStar Works, a four-year-old company based in Pennsylvania, unveiled a 9 mm smart handgun for shareholders and investors in Boise, Idaho. SmartGunz, another company from Kansas, has given law enforcement agents a similar product for beta testing. Both these companies hope to release these products commercially this year.
Verification systems that these guns use can cut down the number of unintentional suicides from when children get their hands on guns. Smart guns can also prevent adults from taking or stealing weapons to harm others, according to Gizmodo.
The LodeStar gun would retail for $895. “We finally feel like we’re at the point where ... let’s go public,” LodeStar co-founder Gareth Glaser said, per the report. “We’re there.”
(Excerpt)
Even if Lodestar does manage to put their handgun into production (they only have a single prototype as of now), I'm quite skeptical that it would be successful even should it perform flawlessly. At almost $900, it's priced at around twice what a typical 9mm handgun costs.
I'll stick to my Sig Sauer.
Are 'smart guns' finally arriving in the U.S.? Here is what we know
https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2022/1/12/22880142/smart-guns-finally-arriving-in-the-u-sSmart guns, which can only be fired by verified users, will finally become available to American consumers after decades of questions regarding reliability, per Reuters.
LodeStar Works, a four-year-old company based in Pennsylvania, unveiled a 9 mm smart handgun for shareholders and investors in Boise, Idaho. SmartGunz, another company from Kansas, has given law enforcement agents a similar product for beta testing. Both these companies hope to release these products commercially this year.
Verification systems that these guns use can cut down the number of unintentional suicides from when children get their hands on guns. Smart guns can also prevent adults from taking or stealing weapons to harm others, according to Gizmodo.
The LodeStar gun would retail for $895. “We finally feel like we’re at the point where ... let’s go public,” LodeStar co-founder Gareth Glaser said, per the report. “We’re there.”
(Excerpt)
Even if Lodestar does manage to put their handgun into production (they only have a single prototype as of now), I'm quite skeptical that it would be successful even should it perform flawlessly. At almost $900, it's priced at around twice what a typical 9mm handgun costs.
I'll stick to my Sig Sauer.
January 14, 2022
(Bloomberg) -- It just got harder to hide from the IRS.
Starting this month, users selling goods and services through such popular sites as Venmo, Etsy and Airbnb will begin receiving tax forms if they take a payment of more than $600. One by one in recent months, tech giants have been warning users of the coming changes and asking them to provide tax information.
“Until this year, the threshold was much higher ($20,000 and 200 transactions) so it didn’t affect nearly as many people,” Venmo told users in its messages about the change. “This requirement only pertains to payments received for sales of goods and services and does not apply to friends and family payments.”
The moves have sparked outcry on social media. For one thing, the lower threshold comes as more and more Americans bet on themselves: a record 5.4 million adults applied to form their own business last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released this week. That’s partly because it’s easier than ever to use apps to sell crafts, provide services or rent out a second or third home online.
(Excerpt)
IRS Targets Your Side Hustle in Crackdown on Transactions Over $600
https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/uncle-sam-wants-a-piece-of-your-side-hustle-in-irs-crackdown(Bloomberg) -- It just got harder to hide from the IRS.
Starting this month, users selling goods and services through such popular sites as Venmo, Etsy and Airbnb will begin receiving tax forms if they take a payment of more than $600. One by one in recent months, tech giants have been warning users of the coming changes and asking them to provide tax information.
“Until this year, the threshold was much higher ($20,000 and 200 transactions) so it didn’t affect nearly as many people,” Venmo told users in its messages about the change. “This requirement only pertains to payments received for sales of goods and services and does not apply to friends and family payments.”
The moves have sparked outcry on social media. For one thing, the lower threshold comes as more and more Americans bet on themselves: a record 5.4 million adults applied to form their own business last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released this week. That’s partly because it’s easier than ever to use apps to sell crafts, provide services or rent out a second or third home online.
(Excerpt)
January 14, 2022
A wood-frame home in San Francisco with zero bedrooms, one bathroom and a 1940s-style kitchen – “the worst house on the best block” – just sold for about $2 million. A “not habitable” historic home in San Jose went into contract with an asking price close to $5 million. San Jose’s art deco Burbank Theater, which turned to adult fare before sitting vacant for two years, fetched $1.6 million – eight times the minimum auction price.
Welcome to the Bay Area housing market, where it seems that nothing – not a pandemic, not growing safety concerns, nor soaring construction costs – can arrest surging prices for even the most derelict of properties.
Take the Noe Valley home, built in 1900 and described in its listing as a “contractor’s special” with “extreme” deferred maintenance. It’s also “an opportunity like few others,” according to the marketing notes for 320 Day Street. It went up for auction in a conservatorship sale in mid-December and sold Jan. 7 for $600,00 above the starting bid.
The sales price was below the median single-family home price of $2.6 million in a sought-after southern neighborhood packed with Victorian homes, and many modern rebuilds, often with a view. Redfin says Noe Valley homes typically sell in 11 days; updated single-families with about 3,000 square feet routinely go for more than $4 million and can fetch over $6 million. The most expensive listing in the neighborhood—a modern, 6,000-square-foot view home on a lot double the size of the Day Street property—is $10 million.
(Excerpt)
SF's "worst house on the best block" sells for $2M
https://www.google.com/amp/s/therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/2022/01/12/sfs-worst-house-on-the-best-block-sells-for-2m/amp/A wood-frame home in San Francisco with zero bedrooms, one bathroom and a 1940s-style kitchen – “the worst house on the best block” – just sold for about $2 million. A “not habitable” historic home in San Jose went into contract with an asking price close to $5 million. San Jose’s art deco Burbank Theater, which turned to adult fare before sitting vacant for two years, fetched $1.6 million – eight times the minimum auction price.
Welcome to the Bay Area housing market, where it seems that nothing – not a pandemic, not growing safety concerns, nor soaring construction costs – can arrest surging prices for even the most derelict of properties.
Take the Noe Valley home, built in 1900 and described in its listing as a “contractor’s special” with “extreme” deferred maintenance. It’s also “an opportunity like few others,” according to the marketing notes for 320 Day Street. It went up for auction in a conservatorship sale in mid-December and sold Jan. 7 for $600,00 above the starting bid.
The sales price was below the median single-family home price of $2.6 million in a sought-after southern neighborhood packed with Victorian homes, and many modern rebuilds, often with a view. Redfin says Noe Valley homes typically sell in 11 days; updated single-families with about 3,000 square feet routinely go for more than $4 million and can fetch over $6 million. The most expensive listing in the neighborhood—a modern, 6,000-square-foot view home on a lot double the size of the Day Street property—is $10 million.
(Excerpt)
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