Email Author NICK SCHOU

Awards

• 2011 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published July 29, 2010

  "Don't Start a Riot"

• 2011 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published May 20, 2010

  "Will This Pot Case Get Weeded Out?"

• 2011 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published July 29, 2010

  "Crash First..."

• 2011 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published August 19, 2010

  "Murder? Are You Crazy?"

• 2008 - Southern California Journalism Awards/LA Press Club, published November 21, 2007

  "Just a Random Female"

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2013 Stories by NICK SCHOU

• Another Hint That Mexican Cartels Love California's Potpocalypser

  published Jun 18, 2013

  According to an intriguing item from the local sheriff's blotter in today's San Clemente Patch, an anonymous tipster phoned deputies to say that a 55-year-old man was busy loading bales of marijuana i... More >>

• Potpocalypse Now in Long Beach!

  published Jun 13, 2013

  What happens when I take a few days off blogging about medical marijuana to write a 4500-word cover storyr Why Uncle Sam comes along and starts harassing himself some cannabis collectives! Thank god ... More >>

• San Onofre Nuke Plant Officials Say They Did Nothing Wrong--OH REALLYr

  published Jun 07, 2013

  In a conference call with reporters this morning, Edison International President and Chief Executive Officer Theodore Craver, Jr. essentially blamed bad luck on the company's historic decision today t... More >>

• Kamala Harris, California Attorney General, Sues To Block Toll Road Extension

  published Jun 06, 2013

  At a June 19 hearing, OC's Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) is hoping to win approval from the San Diego Regional Water Control Board for a controversial extension of the 241 toll road that woul... More >>

• The S.S. Sinaloa Sets Sail for OC's Ongoing Potpocalypse

  published June 6, 2013

  Just after 1 a.m. on June 3, a nondescript, single-mast sailboat cruised into Newport Harbor. It's unclear what about the vessel seemed... More >>

• Is 2013's Nuclear-Free Summer the Beginning of an End Game for San Onofre?

  published June 6, 2013

  On the beach side of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), a banner with an ominous message hangs from the side of one of the... More >>

• Steven Douglas Mott: Jail Inmate Died of Alcohol Withdrawal, DA Says

  published Jun 04, 2013

  Soon after arriving at the Orange County Men's Jail/Intake Release Center on Oct. 11, 2011, Steven Douglas Mott let it be known that he liked to take a drink. In fact, Mott, who'd just been arrested i... More >>

• Newport Beach Yacht Seized With Epic Haul Of Weed

  published Jun 03, 2013

  In his breakthrough novel The Death and Life of Bobby Z, author Don Winslow wrote about a homeless acid casualty from the 1960s nicknamed "One Way," who wandered up and down the Orange County coastlin... More >>

• Walmart Pleads Guilty To Illegal Dumping in California

  published May 29, 2013

  Three years ago, the Orange County District Attorney announced a massive $27.6 million settlement with Wal-Mart, Inc., one of the largest payouts involving environmental pollution in state history. In... More >>

• Federal Prosecutors Lift Gag Order After San Diego Mayor Defends Dispensary Owner Ronnie Chang: Update

  published May 22, 2013

  Scroll down to the end of this post for an update on Ronnie Chang's case in the wake of Mayor Bob Filner's press conference Monday. Original Post, May 21, 1:30 p.m.: In the midst of a major crackdown... More >>

• OC's Potpocalypse Arrives in Anaheim

  published May 20, 2013

  Some of Orange County's last-standing medical-marijuana dispensaries have until May 24 to shut down. On May 17, following a similar action in Garden Grove that came in the wake of the recent Californ... More >>

• Feds Still Targeting Medical Marijuana Dispensary Profiled by Weekly

  published May 17, 2013

  In my dead-tree edition of the Bong Blotter this week, about the ongoing potpocalypse in Orange County, I quoted the wheelchair-bound medical marijuana activist Marla James about her difficulties in f... More >>

• All 62 Dispensaries Shut Down In Garden Grove: Update

  published May 16, 2013

  Scroll down to the end of the post for updates. Original Post, May 8, 10:42 a.m.: For the past few years, Garden Grove has been one of the most reliably 420-friendly cities in California. It remains... More >>

• SoCal Edison Girds Public For Summer Power Outages

  published May 15, 2013

  Uh, this doesn't sound good. A day after federal judges ruled that Southern California Edison (SCE) can't reopen its troubled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) without a full public revie... More >>

• Orange County Bids Farewell to Storefront Marijuana Dispensaries

  published May 16, 2013

  The medical-marijuana bubble has officially burst in California. Until recently, anyone with a $20 doctor's note and a hankering for... More >>

• Study Shows Stoners Are Skinnier Than You Thought

  published May 15, 2013

  It's a known fact that marijuana gives you the munchies, which is why it's a great medication for AIDS patients and people experiencing loss of appetite because of chemotherapy. In the eyes of critics... More >>

• Are The Feds Unfairly Targeting Muslim Students Who Oppose Israelr

  published May 14, 2013

  In Washington D.C. today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a probe of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), following reports that the IRS was unfairly targeting conservative non-profit ... More >>

• Federal Judges Rule San Onofre Can't Reopen Without Full Public Hearing

  published May 14, 2013

  In yet another major setback for the scandal-plagued San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) has ruled that the power plant may not open without a f... More >>

• Long Beach Cops Acting Like Douchebags: The Criterion Collection

  published May 13, 2013

  Regular readers of Navel Gazing already know that of all the cities that have cracked down on marijuana in Southern California, none have been as lame and hypocritical as Long Beach. First, the city ... More >>

• OC & Riverside Democrats Struggle to Reverse California's Potpocalypse

  published May 13, 2013

  When it comes to mainstream American politics, usually it's the Libertarian Party that one would associate with a pro-marijuana (medical or otherwise) agenda, but now you can add the Democratic Party ... More >>

• California Supreme Court Upholds Cities' Right to Ban Pot Clubs

  published May 06, 2013

  Note to states considering medical marijuana measures: Don't forget to include a statute forcing cities and counties to enact zoning laws that will allow storefront dispensaries to operate. Without s... More >>

• Judge Overturns Doctor's Multi-Million-Dollar Whistleblower Award

  published May 03, 2013

  A few months ago, it appeared that all the years Dr. Michael Fitzgibbons spent struggling to clear his name had paid off--to the tune of $5.7 million. That's the amount an Orange County jury awarded ... More >>

• Institute For Justice Aids Anaheim Landlord Threatened By DEA In Case First Exposed By The Weekly

  published May 01, 2013

  Last August, Anaheim worked with the DEA to threaten dozens of landlords who had rented office space to cannabis collectives that were obeying state law, which allows such clubs to distribute medicine... More >>

• San Onofre Nuke Plant Could Permanently Close This Year

  published May 01, 2013

  Southern California Edison (SCE), which operates the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), has apparently acknowledged for the first time that it may have no choice but to shutter the aging p... More >>

• Cops Raid Illegal Fountain Valley Pot Grow

  published Apr 30, 2013

  Southern California Edison (SCE) apparently doesn't like it when you illegally tap into the company's electrical grid to power your indoor marijuana grow. So when it realized that whoever was living a... More >>