Indoor Marijuana Growing and Child Endangerment

This is what I get for not perusing the Arcata Eye for the last few weeks.  This story is a couple of weeks old, but it may represent a first.  It pertains to an indoor grow bust in Arcata for which the electrical work was done so badly that the woman is being charged with endangerment of her .  Only the woman involved is facing the endangerment charge, presumably because she and the kids were occupying the premises (the man charged is identified as a resident of Garberville).

Maybe Ed can tell us if there have been similar charges filed in the past.  From all appearances, these are special factual circumstances, but I wonder if a successful prosecution of this case will establish a precedent.  Are children endangered if certain dealers are brought to the house, or the grow project invites break-ins by criminal elements?  Are they endangered if the grow is big enough to draw a federal raid?

I’m not opposed to such charges if the danger to the children is real and significant.  In fact, the marijuana itself seems incidental to such concerns.  Would the charges be made against someone living a cabin with poor electrical wiring in which no other illegal activity was involved?  I do remember once reading about a similar charge for a woman who drove a vehicle which needed serious brakes repairs, but I don’t know how the case went.  Usually the charge is applied where someone drinks and drives with a child in the vehicle – along those lines.  This case does seem like a trek into new territory with no real bright lines in place.

Wave energy testing DOA in California

The Fort Bragg Advocate reports that PG&E has given up on the last potential testing site.  The article implies without stating explicitly that the fail is due to local environmentalists complaining about the lack of oversight, but it’s scant on facts.  Oregon is apparently more wave-energy-testing-friendly.