Number 4. KCRA 3, Sacramento. City deploys climate cops to check your trash for proper recycling.
Sacramento residents have another reason to be proud of their efforts in keeping Mother Earth alive for yet a few more years. The City Council is to be commended for taking state law seriously.
SB1383 requires that local jurisdictions reduce methane emissions caused by… something in your trash.
There are too many pseudo-scientific words in the article to really understand the issue. Terms such as “organic waste” and “mixed recycling” are mingled with “you know, plastic bags,” leading a cynical reader to think that the reporter didn’t understand it either. No doubt he had a deadline, and thank goodness for AI.
The upshot seems to be that helpful city employees in cheerful high-viz vests will patrol residential alleyways inspecting trash bins. They will photograph the contents and place an adhesive sticker on your container: either a happy face “Great job!” or a frownie face “Let’s sort this out”.
There is no real downside at this point. However, SB 1383 is the law—whatever it says, I haven’t looked—and presumably statutory violations will at some point carry penalties.
There is no indication in the article of electronic records being made of who got the happy faces and who got the frownies, I suppose because producing that level of detail would have required the reporter to ask potentially uncomfortable questions.
Someday, residents will get outed for negligent methaneous non-compliance.
If you mix your organics with your non-organics, California could be a real mess. Unless, of course, the unlawful mixing is committed by someone who is excused for an overriding personal factor.
Like homelessness or drug addiction.
For an example, see the following story.
Richard Harris’ 1967 hit commemorating the Los Angeles public park named in honor of the U.S. five-star general produces a melancholy, haunting melody.
Those two adjectives are strangely appropriate in describing the present-day condition of the park after years of homelessness and drug addiction without benefit of sanitation.
This is a nasty story providing insight into how to obliterate beauty with misplaced compassion.
MacArthur Park is the quintessential home of homelessness in LA. Open-air drug use is tolerated, no doubt because holding a homeless person accountable for illicit substance abuse is too hard to do, not to mention uncompassionate, not to mention personally distasteful.
So, Los Angeles has let the problem go, but the city HAS taken steps to provide such clean-up as can be accomplished. Probably performed by city personnel in hazmat suits.
In the last year, 6,300 tons of trash have been removed from the park. That includes 142,000 lbs of human waste.
Who got the job of sorting and weighing it all is unclear.
All in all, I’m sure it’s a great use of $27 million of taxpayer funds to keep the iconic city park thriving.
Nothing says public service like a state representative willing to travel to and from the state house faithfully to accomplish the important business of government. The fact that Ellen Read, a Democrat, has been harassed by law enforcement in violation of the constitution is a travesty.
In this case, the constitution is the New Hampshire constitution, not the U.S. constitution, and the harassment involves a speeding ticket for 103 in a 70. Maybe also the other one for 92 in a 65.
It turns out that Representative Read was traveling home from Concord to Newmarket after the day’s session was over. The trip is less than 50 miles, and probably she was anxious to get home and relax.
It seems the writers of the state constitution—the first ever written in North America—were rightly concerned that early colonial politics would interfere with the business of duly elected lawmakers. Article 21 of Part II clearly says that no elected member may be arrested or held “during his going to [or] returning from” the state house.
In January 1776 that probably made sense. In fact, it probably makes sense today.
But Ms. Read was “returning from” at over 100 mph on a public highway.
Okay, I’ll try to be reasonable. Given that this is New England, she may simply have been flowing with traffic.
(I recall seeing a flickering, distant yellow glow some miles ahead of our rental car one night long ago, headed out of Boston. As it came into view, it turned out to be digital warning signs above the three-lane northbound freeway. They read: “Too fast. Slow down.” The right-hand light flickered on an off as cars passed underneath. The center light was mostly on, occasionally going dark momentarily. The left-hand sign was on continuously.)
The New Hampshire state rep asserted her defense: The constitution protects me from arrest when I’m headed home from state business. Hands off!
The argument didn’t work, and she was on the hook for a $1200 fine. She appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Of course she did.
By Florida state statute, West Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport (DJT). The name change has caused something of a revolt among air travelers who apparently prefer not to set foot on a property named for 47.
Responding to customer demand, United Airlines is offering free ticket changes upon request. Travelers can be re-routed to Fort Lauderdale or Miami International.
I find this remarkable. Trump Derangement Syndrome has taken root.
Half my brain is tempted to bewilderment—such backlash makes no sense.
But the other half of my brain has studied the French Revolution. That domestic unrest probably made no sense to many in 1791 either—until they saw the guillotines go up. At that point, events began to make perfect sense.
“Why do the nations rage?” asked the Psalmist. A good question.
And thanks for joining The Alligator News Roundup for Friday, July 24, 2026. If you find a juicy news article you think we should cover here, send it to me: Curt@alligatorpublishing.com. If it passes editorial muster, we’ll try to include it.
Have a good weekend!
