.Tuesday Must Reads: Court Tells Feds to Leave California Pot Clubs Alone; Oakland Council Seeks to Beef Up Enforcement on Scofflaw Landlords

Stories you shouldn’t miss:

1. In a landmark ruling for medical marijuana in California, a federal appeals court ordered the US Department of Justice to leave permitted pot dispensaries alone in the state, the Chron reports. In a 2-1 decision, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled that the DOJ has been violating a 2014 federal law that ordered the agency to stop using taxpayer dollars to go after medical weed dispensaries that are in compliance with local and state rules. The decision stemmed from a case involving a legal medical pot club in Marin County, but it’s expected to also apply to the DOJ’s efforts to close Harborside Health Center in Oakland. The DOJ may appeal the ruling to the full Ninth Circuit or the US Supreme Court.

2. Oakland Councilmembers Rebecca Kaplan and Desley Brooks are pushing to allocate $1 million to beef up enforcement on landlords who are violating the city’s tenants’ rights laws and businesses that are failing to pay the new $12.25 an hour minimum wage, the Chron reports. Kaplan and Brooks say the city doesn’t have the capacity to enforce the ordinances; the full council is set to vote on their proposal tonight. A portion of the $1 million would also go to clean up blight and to provide loans to low-income renters and homeowners.

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3. A federal appeals court ruled that an immigration law that allows the federal government to deport noncitizens who are convicted of nonviolent felonies is unconstitutional, the Chron reports. In a 2-1 decision, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law illegally requires immigration judges to determine whether noncitizens convicted of crimes in which no one was hurt still pose a “substantial risk” of committing violence.

4. Activists, artists, musicians, and religious leaders gathered in downtown Oakland last night for the Rally to Defend Oakland Culture, the Chron$ reports. Activists rallied against gentrification and recent complaints filed against Black drummers at Lake Merritt and Black churches in West Oakland.

5. Berkeley Councilmember Jesse Arreguin is running for mayor next year, the Trib$ reports. Arreguin’s decision was revealed on his Facebook page. He will likely square off against fellow Councilmember Laurie Capitelli in the race to replace Mayor Tom Bates, who is retiring.

6. The National Football League announced that it will hold a town hall meeting on October 29 at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland concerning the Raiders’ possible move to Los Angeles and the team’s efforts to build a new stadium at the Oakland Coliseum, the Bay Area News Group$ reports. The NFL will also hold town hall meetings in St Louis and San Diego — two other cities that also may lose their football teams to Los Angeles.

7. And the East Bay city of San Ramon has been rocked by swarm of about 200 small earthquakes in the past week, the Chron reports. The largest temblor in the swarm registered at 3.5 magnitude.