Impatient Timpani

Bernice Yeung at East Bay Express: Can Health Care Treat Crime?

Health care and violence prevention may not seem related, but Alameda County is betting there’s an important connection between the two.

Jay Barmann at SFist: Mehserle Said ‘F*ck This’ Before Shooting Oscar Grant

In the Johannes Mehserle trial [Thursday], a witness testified that a frustrated Johannes Mehserle shouted “Fuck this” before reaching for his gun and shooting Oscar Grant in the back that fateful New Year’s morning.

Beth Slovic at Willamette Week: Señor Smith

Knowingly hiring undocumented workers is a violation of federal law. Perhaps most important, during a year when Smith is seeking re-election, it is at odds with the senator’s public statements on the explosive issue of illegal immigration.

Amy Scattergood at LA Weekly: Chefs With Tattoos

Cooks turn to tattoos as a preferred expression of individualism, a form of rebellion against kitchen environments that demand conformity.

Gustavo Arellano at the Orange County Weekly: Santa Ana Unified School District Blames Disabled Student for Her Molestation by School Worker, Demands She Pay Their Legal Bills! (content warning: molestation, sexual assault, ableism)

In a June 1st filing in Orange County Superior Court, school districts lawyers tried to dismiss the lawsuit using 40 separate affirmative defenses, known in the real world as “excuses.”