Homeless Deaths Rising Faster Than Population
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Today’s web bonus » View the Sentinel’s photos of the week. santacruzsentinel.com Seasons Greetings HOLIDAY BAKING IN A HOTEL NHL Tony Aprile Realtor® Gingerbread Wildfires Sharks will 831.588.7800 tradition ruin holidays need to www.tonyaprile.com coming for many trade goalie to an end residents by deadline 2016 Eat+Drink » B1 Local » A2 Sports » B3 CalBRE #01167773 A shower H: 57 L: 39 PAGE B10 Wednesday, December 20, 2017 $1.50 FACEBOOK.COM/SCSENTINEL TWITTER.COM/SCSENTINEL » santacruzsentinel.com SeWASHINGTnaON tepassesGOPtaxlegislation to claim his first major legislative Capitol for the House to revote House Speaker By Stephen Ohlemacher and victory. Wednesday, and Republicans to Paul Ryan, Marcy Gordon The Senate narrowly passed celebrate again. R-Wis., walks The Associated Press the legislation on a party-line Hours earlier, House Speaker to the House WASHINGTON » Jubilant Republi- vote, 51-48, after midnight, hours Paul Ryan, who has worked years floor on cans pushed on early Wednesday after the GOP rammed it through toward the goal of revamping the Capitol Hill in to the verge of the most sweeping the House, 227-203. But it wasn’t tax code, gleefully pounded the Washington on rewrite of the nation’s tax laws in the final word in Congress be- gavel on the House vote. GOP Tuesday. more than three decades, a deeply cause of one last hiccup. House members roared and ap- unpopular bill they insist Ameri- Three provisions in the bill, in- plauded as they passed the $1.5 cans will learn to love when they cluding its title, violated Senate trillion package that will touch see their paychecks in the new rules, forcing the Senate to vote every American taxpayer and ev- SUSAN WALSH — year. President Donald Trump to strip them out. So the massive ery corner of the U.S. economy, THE ASSOCIATED cheered the lawmakers on, eager bill was hauled back across the TAXES » PAGE 5 PRESS MEMORIAL SACRAMENTO LEGISLATURE HOMELESS DEATHS RISING Harassment FASTER THAN POPULATION training Annual event criticized commemorates the By Kathleen Ronayne lost lives of Santa The Associated Press SACRAMENTO » When Assembly Cruz County lawmakers met in November to dis- cuss ways of improving their poli- cies for preventing and responding By Jessica A. York to sexual harassment, Democratic [email protected] @ReporterJess on Twitter Assemblyman Ken Cooley had an idea: Ban cellphones from the two- SANTA CRUZ » The number of hour harassment training lawmak- people who have died while ers must attend. homeless in Santa Cruz County It seemed a trivial suggestion for jumped significantly this year, addressing such a serious problem. and advocates and community But interviews and documents ob- members gathered Tuesday at tained by The Associated Press re- the Homeless Services Center to veal there’s truth in what his com- remember the dead. ment hinted at — many lawmak- People dying on the streets of ers aren’t deeply engaged with the Santa Cruz is “nothing less than trainings aimed at preventing the a failure, measured in human type of inappropriate behavior that tragedy,” Phil Kramer, the cen- forced two lawmakers to resign in ter’s executive director, told a the last month. crowd of more than 100. TRAINING » PAGE 5 Kramer, introducing the city’s 19th Annual Homeless Memorial at the center’s 115 Coral St. caf- eteria, stood before a wall cov- SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ered in the dozens of names of those who had died in the past year, and hundreds more tracked The Year since 1999. “During the course of my job, I often find myself having conver- of #MeToo sations about the ‘issue’ of home- lessness, the ‘problem’ of home- lessness, the ‘solution’ to home- By Jocelyn Noveck lessness,” Kramer said. “But The Associated Press today isn’t about that. Today is about the personal. It’s about the NEW YORK » It began with a news human, the human loss and sad- story, and then a tweet, and sud- ness and despair of someone who denly it seemed like everything dies without a roof over their had changed overnight. 2017 will heads.” forever be known as the Year of Personal stories of those the Reckoning. who have died this year ranged Or, more precisely, the year of from the fondly humorous, such the beginning of the reckoning. as Santa Cruz police Sgt. Bill Because at year’s end, the phe- Azuar’s stories of the frequent nomenon of powerful men being “tongue lashings” handed out DAN COYRO — SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL knocked off their perches by alle- by Judy Malone, 49, to the tragic, With a backdrop of the homeless who died in 2017, Homeless Garden Project Executive Director Darrie gations of sexual misconduct — as with Michael Mears, 53, who Ganzhorn remembers Jessie Lycett, who worked at the garden for less than a month. in Hollywood, on morning tele- was once seen trying to warm his vision, in chic restaurant kitch- frostbitten bare feet by pouring 50 people died while homeless in icates and discussions with the health nurse, Matt Nathanson. ens, in the U.S. Senate — showed hot coffee on them. Santa Cruz County since Dec. 20, county Coroner’s Office, are a Last year’s homeless death re- no signs of slowing. Each morn- According to best estimates 2016. The 50 known deaths, ex- significant jump from the aver- port showed 37 deaths in 2016 ing, we awoke to ask: “Who’s compiled each year by the Home- tracted from one-on-one conver- age 35 deaths a year in the past and 38 in 2017. next?” less Persons Health Project, some sations, registered death certif- decade, said the project’s public MEMORIAL » PAGE 5 #METOO » PAGE 5 NORTH KOREA THREAT BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA US short of options to Man sentenced in plot Dow Jones Santa Cruz Sentinel punish for cyberattack to behead blogger D 24,754.75 (-37.45) videos on YouTube The Trump administration A man convicted of leading an S&P 500 Follow the Sentinel’s YouTube vowed that North Korea would Islamic State-inspired plot to D 2681.47 (-8.69) channel for videos from our be held accountable for May behead a conservative blogger Nasdaq staff. WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/USER/ cyberattack. PAGE A9 who upset Muslims. PAGE A9 D 6963.85 (-30.91) SANTACRUZSENTINEL INDEX Obituaries .......A6 Opinion............ A7 Business .........A8 Eat+Drink........ B1 Sports..............B3 Weather ........B10 Volume 161, issue 354 0 7890822242 8 A2 LOCALNEWS Wednesday, December 20, 2017 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/SCSENTINEL AND TWITTER.COM/SCSENTINEL » santacruzsentinel.com Co‘SOBERINGunNEWS’ tywarnsofloomingdeficit Even without federal cuts, $9 million annual shortfall predicted by year 2023 welfare services. Federal uncertainty One growing issue for many dis- ty’s Chief Administrative Officer expected to rise by about $27 mil- tricts across the state is the cost Calling it “sobering news,” By Nicholas Ibarra Carlos Palacios, who presented lion to keep up with staff salary, of the state public employee retire- Health and Human Services Di- [email protected] @nickmibarra on Twitter the updates to the county Board benefits and pensions. ment program, CalPERS, which rector Ellen Timberlake told the of Supervisors at its final meeting With an annual budget of $755 lost billions in the recession and board another impact to her de- SANTA CRUZ » Santa Cruz County of the year on Dec. 12. He said if million and a $496 million general is growing at slower rates than in partment’s budget in coming is expecting to balance the books revenues and expenses remain sta- fund, the county government pro- years past. years is uncertainty surrounding this year, but officials warn that a ble there would be a shortfall up- vides health and welfare services “We’re also living longer than federal funding. $9 million budget deficit looms on ward of $2 million the following to residents countywide and pub- projected,” Palacios said. “Every The federal tax bill on the verge the horizon even without factoring year that would grow to $9 mil- lic safety, roads and other essential decade we are adding another two of passing through Congress in- in likely federal cuts. lion by 2023. services to residents in unincorpo- years in longevity at this point.” cludes funding cuts to county “Belt-tightening” not seen since Revenues for the next fiscal year rated areas. According to county Currently there are six employ- programs including foster care, the end of the Great Recession is are expected to rise by $23 million, spokesman Jason Hoppin, as many ees per retiree, but in 30 years it is Meals on Wheels and child ser- needed to balance next year’s bud- buoyed by cannabis industry taxes as one in three Santa Cruz County projected there will be a 1-1 ratio of vices, Timberlake said. get, according to Santa Cruz Coun- and cost-savings. But expenses are residents receive county health and employees to retirees. DEFICIT » PAGE 3 WILDFIRES DEADLY BLAZE LONG-TERM EVACUEES FACE Fire’s cause HOLIDAYS AWAY FROM HOME unknown Fundraiser launched By Amanda Lee Myers for man found dead The Associated Press in his bedroom LOS ANGELES » Ray and Curry Sawyer’s Christmas tree is up, By Michael Todd still waiting for their grandkids [email protected] to decorate it. The presents are @michaeleetodd on Twitter hidden away in closets, waiting to be wrapped, the ingredients CAPITOLA » A Capitola house fire’s for gingerbread men are sit- cause remained undetermined af- ting in cupboards, and the kin- ter the Dec. 9 blaze left a 40-year- dling for the fireplace has been old man dead in his bedroom, chopped. where the flames started, the Cen- A monster of a wildfire burn- tral Fire Protection District fire ing in Southern California froze marshal said.