How San Bernardino Terror Attack Survivors Are Struggling with PTSD’S ‘Invisible Wounds’ 2 Years Later – Press Enterprise

11/17/2017 How San Bernardino terror attack survivors are struggling with PTSD’s ‘invisible wounds’ 2 years later – Press Enterprise

LOCAL NEWS How San Bernardino terror attack survivors are struggling with PTSD’s ‘invisible wounds’ 2 years later

Paula Harold has a moment with Heidi, a horse she spent time with in a horse therapy program through Equus Medendi Equine Assisted Therapy in Redlands on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. In back is her husband Anthony. Paula is a survivor from the Dec. 2nd terrorist attack in San Bernardino and is now dealing with PTSD. She has completed at least a dozen sessions of the horse therapy program to help her deal with the issues. (Stan Lim, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

By SUZANNE HURT | [email protected] | The Press-Enterprise November 17, 2017 at 8:22 am

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She’d never been afraid of horses before. Yet she froze outside the corral — her mind racing with fear as she watched the palomino quarterhorse walk around the corral in an isolated box canyon.

Since the Dec. 2, 2015, terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Paula Harold had been afraid, distressed and despondent — diagnosed with post- traumatic stress disorder.

Now she was supposed to go in there and begin equine therapy. But she stood behind the fence – heart beating fast, breathing shallow, her body ooded with anxiety.

“I’m scared,” she said soly to horse expert Angie Sheer and therapist Susan Lilly at Buffalo Meadows Ranch in Redlands. “I don’t know if it’s going to charge me.”

Most days, Paula just stayed home. Reading. Doing housework. Afraid to go out. http://www.pe.com/2017/11/17/how-san-bernardino-terror-attack-survivors-are-struggling-with-ptsds-invisible-wounds-2-years-later/?utm_so… 1/10 11/17/2017 How San Bernardino terror attack survivors are struggling with PTSD’s ‘invisible wounds’ 2 years later – Press Enterprise

She had tried things to stop the anxiety and the depression and the fear aer the attack, when she’d seen bullets come through walls as she crawled down a hall to get away while a grazed coworker fell to the oor.

Now she wondered how she could return to her job as a San Bernardino County Environmental Health Services supervisor when she no longer believed in herself.

Interview with Paula Harold SCNG  

Invisible wounds

Paula is among 57 county workers trying to put their lives back together aer an attack by their coworker, health inspector Syed Rizwan Farook, and his Pakistani-immigrant wife, Tashfeen Malik, at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.

Fourteen people were killed and 22 others wounded when a couple bent on hatred walked into a county holiday party/training event with assault ries and opened re shortly aer pledging allegiance to the Islamic State.

At the time, the FBI called the mass shooting the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.

RELATED: A look back on the San Bernardino terror attack on its rst anniversary

Trauma experts say survivors were le with the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress, which can haunt people like Paula for years or the rest of their lives.

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Sources: National Institute for Mental Health; PTSD: National Center for PTSD
Graphic by: Paul Penzella —SCNG

Documented as early as Homer’s “Iliad,” the condition has been known by many names, including “soldier’s heart” and “shell shock,” but was seared into public consciousness by the troubling experiences of returning Vietnam War vets. In the late 1970s, it was given the name post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

Researchers estimate 70 percent of U.S. residents, or 226.2 million people, have experienced trauma, and at least eight percent later developed post-traumatic stress. There don’t appear to be studies less than 10 years old updating gures for the new millennium’s era of increased terrorism and mass shootings. In 2005, the National Institutes of Health reported PTSD would likely rise sharply in the next decade and become one of the century’s top health issues.

Post-traumatic stress can occur aer someone has experienced or witnessed a frightening event, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, military combat, rape and sexual abuse, neglect, serious accidents, violent attacks, hostage situations and diagnosis of a life- threatening condition.

According to trauma experts and the American Psychiatric Association’s latest diagnostic manual, PTSD involves disabling, simultaneous reactions to trauma lasting more than a month. Those reactions include distressing, intrusive memories taking shape as nightmares and ashbacks; avoidance; negative thoughts or feelings like guilt and helplessness; hypervigilance and fear, which limits sleep, concentration and feeling secure.

While anatomical or physiological differences in the brain and harmful childhood experiences such as abuse or illness can leave people more at risk for PTSD, the most inuential factor is how close they were to the traumatizing event, said trauma science pioneer Frank Ochberg.

“A perfectly normal person will get PTSD given enough stress,” he said.

Journey toward healing

Paula was standing in the conference room, waiting to be in a group photo, when she saw a man in black walk in with a rie. She remembers her confusion as bullets and gunpowder ew. She heard the shots but can’t remember seeing or hearing anything else.

Her mind blanks until she’s in the hall, crawling away while Marilyn Krichbaum, a coworker returning from the bathroom, drops to the ground aer a bullet grazes her stomach. Paula crawled into a nearby room following others who’d escaped, then saw there was no way out.

She crammed into a storage cabinet and prayed the shooting would stop. Coworkers hid in other cabinets while lead Environmental Health Specialist Hal Houser, Vector Control Program Manager Jason Phillippe and Public Health Assistant Director Corwin Porter held the doors closed.

Paula’s husband, Tony Harold, drove her home that night and held her the rest of the evening. They’d always been a strong team. Shaken up aer not reaching her for hours, Tony knew he’d have to be mentally tough — the backbone who’d pull the family together.

He answered the front door when journalists came knocking – which sounded to Paula like gunshots. http://www.pe.com/2017/11/17/how-san-bernardino-terror-attack-survivors-are-struggling-with-ptsds-invisible-wounds-2-years-later/?utm_so… 4/10 11/17/2017 How San Bernardino terror attack survivors are struggling with PTSD’s ‘invisible wounds’ 2 years later – Press Enterprise

He set up cameras outside the house. Applied for a concealed weapons permit. And never le her side.

When it was clear she’d been le with post-traumatic stress disorder, they began a journey toward healing whose end remains out of sight.

“I’m not a cheap tent. I’m not going to fold up when things are bad,” he said.

Panic and fear

Post-traumatic stress can last for decades or become a life-long condition. Those who get early, effective treatment usually recover quicker and are less likely to have long-term PTSD.

Dec. 2 survivors didn’t get counseling the day of the attack, yet rst responders did – as did survivors of the North Park Elementary School shooting that killed a teacher and student in San Bernardino this year.

Houser said what people need to know about that day is no trauma experts helped survivors at the scene.

“I don’t think there’s a dedicated, trained, terrorist response aer-effects team – and that really needs to happen,” he said.

Time, his family and focusing on everyday life — lugging the kids to school, getting groceries and walking the dogs — have helped reduce his post-traumatic stress.

“All these things help you realize your life is still going. But you do always look over your shoulder,” Houser said, sounding sad.

Interview with Hal Houser SCNG  

He’s felt relief and guilt over surviving. He’d like the public, including mental health professionals, to better understand post-traumatic stress and legitimize what survivors feel aer terrorist attacks.

“Especially for some of the survivors that laid on that oor in that room while the killer went around and shot people methodically that were still in agony, or sat there wondering whether he was going to come and shoot them – listening to these sounds for ve minutes, wondering when the police were gonna be there to rescue them – that’s a lot of terror that can really mess up somebody’s mind,” he said.

Ray Britain, who was interim chief of the Environmental Health Services division Dec. 2, and other survivors never understood the term PTSD until they experienced the physical and emotional symptoms.

He’s had high anxiety that’s kept him home. Depression. And tension, with his body aching from adrenalin that ows in ght-or-ight reactions stuck on overdrive.

Insomnia – both going to sleep and staying asleep – comes as the event replays over and over in his head. He’s had panic attacks where his heart raced and he felt about to asphyxiate.

“I never experienced a panic attack before. But when you really feel one, you truly feel like you’re going to die,” he said. “Fear kind of consumes your life. You don’t want to go back to that place and be that helpless again.”

The nervous systems of those with post-traumatic stress become extremely sensitive and are over-stimulated by other people, said Maui- based clinical psychologist Patricia Watson, a senior education specialist for the U.S. Veterans Affairs’ National Center for PTSD.

“Many people kind of want to retreat into themselves and don’t want to be around others,” said Watson, who specializes in terrorism and disaster response.

Lost lives http://www.pe.com/2017/11/17/how-san-bernardino-terror-attack-survivors-are-struggling-with-ptsds-invisible-wounds-2-years-later/?utm_so… 5/10 11/17/2017 How San Bernardino terror attack survivors are struggling with PTSD’s ‘invisible wounds’ 2 years later – Press Enterprise

That was true for Dec. 2 survivors. While some sought solace from family, friends and each other, others simply disappeared.

“I think there are people who have now been lost,” said survivor Julie Swann-Paez, adding her heart breaks over how her friends’ lives were impacted. “People who were happy people just aren’t happy anymore.”

Paula had once been condent, outgoing and calm. Aer the massacre, she became anxious, withdrawn and forgetful. Snippy and impatient at home. Feeling paranoid. In denial over whether the attack happened. She spoke with a voice that sounded like her trust in people had been broken and hid sad blue-gray eyes behind sunglasses.

Tony let her know she wouldn’t have to go anywhere alone. He drove her to her coworkers’ funerals and memorials, meetings with the FBI and survivors’ gatherings.

He took over her responsibilities at home – making dinner, doing dishes and their nances, shopping for groceries. He and the kids – daughter Elizabeth, 11, and son Jacob, 8 — did laundry. He told Paula to relax and just be with the kids, a strength and comfort to her and them.

Tony researched PTSD. He talked to friends with it, especially Marines who’d seen combat.

Paula oen asked him, “Why am I here?” For a few months, she didn’t have the energy to do more than get dressed and brush her hair.

She felt safe enough to go to church, where the same people sat in the same places. She cried a lot there, leaning on her husband as they sat in a pew. He kept his arm around her.

Like others, she didn’t feel ready but returned to work part-time in January 2016 when county ofcials said she needed to.

‘It sounded like gunfire’

County vector control technician Debbie Munden was out of work with PTSD — unable to sleep, jumpy and hyper-aware – for six months, aer she and her best friend, coworker Stacy Toynbee, had been in a parking lot in front of the Inland Regional Center’s Building 3 when they heard a few bursts behind the structure.

Debbie went cold.

“It sounded like gunre, but your brain doesn’t want to believe that’s what it is,” she said.

Interview with Debbie Munden SCNG  

Aer loud, rapid re echoed off the buildings, they found refuge next door. Debbie later calmed hysterical coworkers while Stacy, a former Army medic, tended one of the wounded. Nearly two years later, Debbie said she’s still somewhat numb, with memory and concentration problems and a shorter temper.

Always there

Experts say trauma reminders can trigger intense, uncontrollable physical and emotional reactions such as fear, horror, shame, a pounding heart, muscle tension or trouble breathing. Vivid echoes of traumatic events can feel so real, they’re known as ashbacks.

“There’s no time sense. It’s now. And that can be very frightening,” said Ochberg, a psychiatrist and Michigan State University clinical psychiatry professor who edited the rst text on treating PTSD and sat on the American Psychiatric Association committee that dened the condition. http://www.pe.com/2017/11/17/how-san-bernardino-terror-attack-survivors-are-struggling-with-ptsds-invisible-wounds-2-years-later/?utm_so… 6/10 11/17/2017 How San Bernardino terror attack survivors are struggling with PTSD’s ‘invisible wounds’ 2 years later – Press Enterprise

“Unfortunately, a lot of people who have ashbacks believe they are psychotic. They believe they are going crazy,” he said.

Returning to work aer the Dec. 2 attack, Environmental Health Services program specialist Sally Cardinale, 34, had ashbacks every time she went to the bathroom.

She’d been washing at a bathroom sink in the Inland Regional Center when a crack rang out that day. Someone looked into the hall and found a bleeding coworker, Anies Kondoker, standing outside.

“There’s a shooter!” said the woman at the door. Kondoker, who’d been hit in the arm and stomach, ed into the far stall.

Interview with Sally Cardinale SCNG  

A bullet slammed into a wall near Sally, leaving smoke. She and three others, including a cleaning lady, crouched on one toilet, hugging each other to avoid falling.

As shooting and screaming poured from the conference room, she thought she was going to die. The cleaning lady screamed and cried in Spanish.

Shut up. You’re gonna draw them here, Sally told her.

The gunre stopped. Sally walked in a circle in front of a stall, wondering what just happened.

“You think you’d be the hero,” she said. “I was in shock.”

Aer returning to work in May 2016, Sally envisioned tiles ying off the wall whenever she was in the bathroom. Then she’d go over what she could do if shooting started again.

When she drove, hearing some songs on the radio took her back to Waterman Avenue, where bodies lay in front of the IRC on Dec. 2.

And Sally would again see a woman lying on the ground, her arms shaking in the air in complete shock, until the next time Sally had looked back and the woman’s body was covered. Sally had survivor’s guilt for some time because she hadn’t run in to thwart the attackers like she thought she would.

Jessica Ballesteros was once so intrepid, someone gave her a small rock with “fearless” imprinted on it. She no longer feels safe and is learning to cope with her fear.

“It will always be there. You can’t erase that,” she said.

Secondary trauma

Dec. 2 survivors wonder if it’s possible to completely heal from PTSD. Swann-Paez asked, “Is there any true recovery? Or do you just live with it?”

Interview with Julie Swan-Paez SCNG  

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She had lain on the IRC conference room oor trying to play dead aer being shot twice in the pelvis. The environmental health specialist focused on keeping her heart rate down. She blocked out the screams of friends and coworkers dying around her and told herself to stay calm as blood and urine spilled out of her.

“I can’t let this rewire my brain,” she thought.

Two years later, her mind still replays parts of the attack — Farook entering, coworkers dying. Yet she also replays memories of what she and others describe as secondary trauma – their problems getting medical treatment, medicine or equipment through the county’s self- administered workers’ compensation program.

Swann-Paez said their employer’s “betrayal” has caused her more depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress than the attack itself – which le her with much less post-traumatic stress than some coworkers.

Ochberg, the psychiatrist, said people who were shot at recover more easily from trauma than someone who wasn’t but lost a coworker or friend and develops survivor’s guilt.

“If you somehow felt responsible for someone who died – that could really haunt you,” he said.

Medical treatment delays and denials are a moral injury that has worsened survivors’ post-traumatic stress, said Ochberg and Watson.

“It’s a secondary betrayal. I would absolutely expect that to prolong the course of recovery,” said Watson, the psychologist.

Fighting the stigma

For many sufferers, post-traumatic stress ebbs and ows over a natural course, during which other adversity in their lives or reminders of the original trauma can trigger symptoms months, years or decades later, Watson said.

Those effects can decline over time. The National Institutes of Health reports PTSD symptoms oen never fade altogether.

Many people delay treatment for years to avoid scary memories and potentially-debilitating post-traumatic stress reactions.

Some don’t know what treatment is available, want to handle it themselves or don’t want to be stigmatized as having a mental disorder, Watson added.

There’s a movement by Ochberg and others to change the diagnosis from PTSD to post-traumatic stress injury, or PTSI, to destigmatize what psychiatrist Jonathan Shay describes as a biological injury to the nervous system marked by persistent adaptive behaviors that were needed to survive.

Trauma experts now can suggest several approaches to help, such as resiliency building, medicine, cognitive behavioral and exposure therapies, yoga, meditation, acupuncture and biofeedback.

New Jersey resident Sarri Singer, who began New York-based Strength to Strength to support terrorism survivors aer living through a 2003 suicide bus bombing in Israel, said psychotherapy doesn’t work for everyone. She believes survivors recover better with support from other survivors.

Dec. 2 survivors say they wish they’d been given a list of what would help them recover and where to get help. Instead, they’re doing their best to gure it out themselves.

“We’re trying everything we can think of,” said Britain.

Moving past shock

Paula tried yoga, homeopathic remedies and aromatherapy for anxiety. She began medications in August 2016 as anxiety got bad and a doctor put her out on her rst medical leave. Being at home with the kids and outside work helped most, her husband said.

She also felt more at ease because he’s nearly always got a gun on him.

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It took more than a year before she could start moving past shock and begin to accept that the attack was real and people were gone – including two of her employees. Counseling, exposure therapy and time helped her process the attack.

When she began equine-assisted therapy in January, she felt worthless, isolated and weak. But with encouragement from Equus Medendi founder Sheer and therapist Lilly, Paula slowly went in the corral and later stood in front of the horse.

It took four or ve more sessions before she felt comfortable being that close to one.

Paula Harold has a moment with Heidi, a horse she used in a horse therapy program through Equus Medendi Equine Assisted Therapy in Redlands on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. Paula is a survivor from the Dec. 2, 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino and is now dealing with PTSD. She has completed 12 sessions of the horse therapy program to help her deal with the issues.
(Stan Lim, The Press- Enterprise/SCNG)

The short-term program – which involved working with the animal, but not riding — helped Paula build trust and body language awareness.

She learned how to regulate her breathing and heart rate, and how to recognize and process her feelings. She learned that when her anxiety is high, she needs to move. She got hope back by building her strength.

As good as it gets?

In the past six months, Paula’s been able to get out more — going to her son’s baseball games, picking out pumpkins at a farm. She’s guarded and processes things slowly, but has regained some patience and condence. When she looks somber or withdrawn, Tony takes her hand and tries to lighten her spirit.

She’s gone back to work four or ve times. Each time, anxiety and depression returned – worse than before.

“So everything we worked for, moving forward — alleviating stress and anxiety, depression is down — she goes back to work and all the triggers came back even stronger,” Tony said.

She last went out in July, aer a break down at the San Bernardino ofce, where she and other Rancho Cucamonga staff relocated aer ve of those killed had worked in their ofce.

As the two-year anniversary approaches, some survivors’ workers’ comp cases are being closed when “qualied medical evaluators” or “examiners” list them as “permanent and stationary” with a certain disability level. Several of the nine survivors represented by workers’ comp attorney Geraldine Ly were listed as 18 to 51 percent disabled, with most on the higher end.

Permanent disability settlements are based on those levels and divided into weekly payments. Some survivors aren’t returning to work. Some are applying for medical retirements. Some survivors’ cases were closed far earlier and they were listed without any disability.

In July, a qualied medical examiner said Paula was 51 percent disabled but ready to work again in a different location, in a diagnosis that stopped her temporary disability income without notice. http://www.pe.com/2017/11/17/how-san-bernardino-terror-attack-survivors-are-struggling-with-ptsds-invisible-wounds-2-years-later/?utm_so… 9/10 11/17/2017 How San Bernardino terror attack survivors are struggling with PTSD’s ‘invisible wounds’ 2 years later – Press Enterprise

Wanting her not to work for the county anymore, Tony urged her not to push herself too fast, but said the decision is hers.

However, Paula enjoys her job supervising restaurant and pool inspectors. She returned part-time in September.

“I thought by going back, it would return things to normal,” she said.

The rst morning, she drove an hour through a thunderstorm, with lightning ashing all around her, to reach the Hesperia ofce where her new supervisor is also a Dec. 2 survivor.

“I can make it,” she told herself as she drove.

Aer working a month, Paula increased from three to four hours a day, three days a week.

Tony worries she can’t progress as fast as the county wants. He’s waiting to see how much she can endure and still keep going. Injured workers are supposed to use the settlement money to pay for future medical needs. He wonders why civilian terrorist attack survivors like his wife can’t get PTSD treatment as long as they need it, like veterans.

He refuses to believe what the psychiatrist claimed: that his wife is “permanent and stationary” — the doctor’s way of saying Paula’s condition won’t improve even with more treatment.

“I don’t believe that that’s as good as she’ll ever get,” he said.

Whatever happens, he’ll be there for the rest of the journey as they work together for Paula’s recovery.

“Those feelings never go away. You just kind of learn to manage them,” said Paula, sitting one morning in a corral shaded by pepper trees.

A quarterhorse named Heidi paced along the fence as she and Sheer watched. Once a skinny rescue animal who didn’t trust humans, the horse now weighs 1,100 pounds and is a trusted therapy team member.

“She’s beautiful and so strong and so powerful – and yet so vulnerable. And that’s what we can relate to,” Sheer said. “You can be both – and it’s OK.”

This story is part of a series on Dec. 2, 2015, terrorist attack survivors’ recovery and California’s workers’ compensation system. The project was undertaken for the USC Center for Health Journalism’s California Fellowship.

Tags: San Bernardino terror attack, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories OCR, Top Stories PE, Top Stories RDF, Top Stories Sun

SUZANNE_HURTSuzanne Hurt Suzanne Hurt has written about everything from boxcar tramps and crooked politicians to surf kayaking, ash oods and the vanishing Borneo rainforest. She’s worked as a reporter at the legendary wire service City News Bureau of Chicago and daily newspapers, The Register-Guard and The Modesto Bee, aer a stint as an editor. As a freelancer, she produced hard news and nature, science, adventure travel and extreme sports content, including multimedia. For The Press-Enterprise and Southern California News Group, Suzanne specializes in narrative storytelling, backed by extensive hard news experience, strict journalism standards and a master’s in literary nonction from the University of Oregon’s journalism school. She’s told the story of one person’s survival of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, traced a man’s path out of homelessness and recreated the Dec. 2, 2015, terrorist attack in San Bernardino through rst responders’ eyes. Also covering GA and the environment, she’s written about avalanche danger, canyoneering, snowshoeing, desert and waterfall hikes, cowboy movers, rescue divers, rabid bats, stealthy burros, the mother orange tree scientists won’t let die and the Jesus pancake.  Follow Suzanne Hurt @SuzanneHurt

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 100 NEW ARTICLES  San Bernardino County Focusing on Ending Homelessness  Among Unaccompanied Women  CHRISTIE MARTIN  8 HOURS AGO

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SAN BERNARDINO – San Bernardino County is the first county in the United States to address the issue of homelessness among unaccompanied woman officials said. With over 100,000 homeless women in the United States, more than both homeless youth and veterans combined, the County of San Bernardino officials decided that it was time to focus on this, often forgotten group.

In the most recent Point in Time Count, 284 homeless women were counted in San Bernardin county, 25% unsheltered, and around 33% were chronically homeless (homeless for 1 year or longer). “This number pales in comparison to reality, due to many of these homeless women being hidden

or just not located. “AllSHARE had a dream for themselves when they were little girls, it [the dream] just somehow fell out of their reach,” said Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales.

County officials after attempting to work on the issue of homelessness as a whole, collected data, leading to the realization that one subpopulation at a time should be focused on in order to achieve a reduction in homelessness. Using this approach, the ultimate goal would be to one day abolish homelessness altogether. Previously, the county has focused on homeless veterans, which has been successful. While they continue to, along with other organizations, provide wraparound services for the identified veterans, they will now be focusing on unaccompanied women. Due to the success of service referral to those identified as veterans during the previous Point in Time counts, this model will again be used in order to provide services to unaccompanied women at the Point in Time counts January 2018. During the count, they count all of the homeless individuals located and collect data in order to plan future goals and in order to request federal funding.

For 2018, the county is shifting the focus to unaccompanied women, meaning women without a companion and without children. County officials agreed that it is nearly impossible to count all, meaning the numbers are lower than the actual numbers. During, the PIT Plus — Point In Time Count Plus, those counting, when finding an unaccompanied woman will direct her to be transported to a place where she could learn about services available to her and be matched with the support needed to get her through the sometimes difficult process. The county is working to create permanent supportive housing, placing this subpopulation in housing, using the Housing First model.

During a three-day educational event, taking place from November 15, 2017, to November 17, 2017, named “1 in 4 Third National Colloquy on Unaccompanied Women”, over 150 people attended from numerous San Bernardino County offices, as well as non-profit organizations serving the homeless population. The event included local, international, and national speakers who either attended in person or via internet video calling. The wealth of knowledge brought to the University of Redlands Orton Conference Center by representatives of countries who have studied the phenomenon for many years and collected data including those explaining what led up to unaccompanied women becoming homeless was astonishing. Unaccompanied women account for over 25% of those homeless in San Bernardino County, with several data sets showing the numbers possibly being up to 40%.

The stigma of homelessness makes it difficult for those homeless, especially women, to find and receive the support needed through their local community. Resources are available, but the usually specified areas of service each department or agency offers makes it difficult to navigate without Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more Got it https://247headline.com/san-bernardino-county-focusing-on-ending-homelessness-among-unaccompanied-women/ 1/3 11/17/2017 San Bernardino County Focusing on Ending Homelessness Among Unaccompanied Women | 24/7 Headline News

hearing several “no” answers prior to receiving the services needed. As a homeless individual, this becomes frustrating as they attempt to only survive living on the streets, dodging dangerous situations, theft, and for many women; sexual and/or physical abuse. Experts from all logistical areas and areas of service came to the conclusion that most of these women became homeless as a result of trauma, violence, and/or abuse. These women, who were already vulnerable as a result of past trauma, during childhood and/or adulthood, in very many ways have become part of the most vulnerable group. According to collected data, the top cause of homelessness among women is abuse consisting of physical, mental, and/or sexual; some being past or present victims of human trafficking. “These women, were girls that our system somehow missed,” said Homeless Policy Advisor Kent Paxton.  Living day-to-day on the streets, even more than other subpopulations are forced to focus on survival and after time goes on many lose faith that permanent housing is even a future possibility. Only around half of homeless women have completed High School and most have a minimal employment history, which makes gainful employment highly unlikely without additional education and/or training. The majority are in their early-40’s  with mental or physical health issues, some receiving Social Security payments. The problem with the low income, such as welfare or social security is the

amount received is not enough to pay rent, bills, and to stay fed based on the cost of living.

More than one homeless woman dies each month in San Bernardino County on average based on statistics collected in the last 5.5 years. The largest  groups of these women died of “natural causes”, which can include a drug overdose and the second largest was those involved in a traffic-related injury/death, including vehicle versus pedestrian, train versus pedestrian, or other similar incidents.

Those who attended the 1 in 4 Third National Colloquy on Unaccompanied Women, were educated from data, video clips, and information from those who have studied or otherwise have knowledge of homelessness. In addition, on November 16, 2017, the group learned about resources available to provide shelter, housing and health care for unaccompanied women. The group then broke up into three smaller groups, where they learned about Trauma-Informed Care for Unaccompanied Homeless Women, Effective Case Management for unaccompanied Homeless Women, or Advancing and Advocacy Agenda for Unaccompanied Homeless Women. On the final day, a portion of the original group will be transported via charter bus to the Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles.

This training, according to County of San Bernardino officials, is only the beginning of the education offered to those working within the community to assist those who are homeless and those in danger of becoming homeless. The ongoing Homeless Provider Network and Interagency Council on Homelessness meetings will continue, with an additional focus working toward the goal to end homelessness among Unaccompanied Homeless Women by their 2020 goal.

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Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more Got it https://247headline.com/san-bernardino-county-focusing-on-ending-homelessness-among-unaccompanied-women/ 2/3 11/17/2017 ROTWNEWS.com – Christmas Reception Hosted by Supervisor Rutherford @ SkyPark at Santa’s Village – Thursday December, 7

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in Community News, County, Entertainment, For Your Information, Informational, Mountain Region, News, Politics, Subject / by Michael P. Neufeld / on November 16, 2017 at 5:00 am /

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By Susan A. Neufeld

Sky Forest, CA – Save the Date: Thursday, December, 7 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., for a reception that will be hosted by San Bernardino County Supervisor, 2nd District Janice Rutherford, at SkyPark at Santa’s Village.

This is the first year the Supervisor has hosted a holiday reception in the mountains; for the mountain communities.

Come out for an evening of goodies and hot cocoa and visit with the Supervisor and her staff. Santa Claus will also be making an appearance.

Parking and entrance to the reception are free. http://rotwnews.com/2017/11/16/christmas-reception-hosted-by-supervisor-rutherford-skypark-at-santas-village-thursday-december-7/ 1/6 11/15/2017 City Council repeals sex offender residency ordinance - Highland Community News: Breaking News City Council repeals sex offender residency ordinance Posted: Wednesday, November 15, 2017 4:36 pm Facing the threat of another costly lawsuit the Highland City Council voted 3-2 to repeal a city ordinance prohibiting registered sex offenders from residing within 2,000 feet of schools, parks and other locations identified for children's use, Nov. 14.

The city of Highland's ordinance was modeled after and was enacted following the passing of California Prop 83, Jessica's Law, in 2006. The law, passed with 70 percent voter approval, was named after Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old girl who was victimized by a convicted sex offender who failed to report his whereabouts as required by law.

In May 2017 the city of Highland received a letter from the Law Office of Janice M. Bellucci threatening legal action against the city if the sex offender residency ordinance was not repealed.

According to City Attorney Craig Steele, the treat of lawsuit follows two California court rulings repealing residency restrictions on convicted sex offenders. In 2015 a California Supreme Court that declared the restrictions completely invalid and unconstitutional, violating the rights of sex offenders, and a 2016 California Appellate Court case decided that the restrictions could only apply to sex offenders on parole.

The cases depended on a 2010 academic study organized by Department of Corrections and sex offender advocates that showed no correlation between residency restrictions and increased public safety, Steele said. According to Steele, Bellucci has sent similar letters to about two dozen other cities and filed about a dozen lawsuits. None have gone to court but were settled at the cost of $2,000 to $5,000 in legal fees. "We don't think it's in Highland's best interest to wait and be sued which is why we recommend repeal," Steele said citing the enormous costs the city would pay fighting the litigation. To justify the ordinance, a costly study would need to be conducted. This, in addition to attorney's fees and costs of experts, Steele said, could easily push the cost of litigation over a quarter of a million dollars. "Given that the residency restrictions applied by the state were struck down by the California Supreme Court are virtually identical to the residency retractions Highland and dozens and dozens of other cities adopted, we believe a court would also strike done these ordinances," Steele added.

The memory of the $3.1 million spent battling a 2015 lawsuit over at-large voting for city council was on Mayor Pro Tem Larry McCallon's mind as he reluctantly seconded a motion by Councilman Jesse Chavez to repeal the ordinance. Chavez, McCallon and Councilwoman Anaeli Solano voted to repeal the ordinance while Mayor Penny Lilburn and Councilman John Timmer voted to keep the restrictions.

In discussion Lilburn, McCallon and Timmer each expressed frustration of seeing that Sacramento judges and attorneys have more influence than voters leaving local government little control. "This makes me sick," Lilburn said. "Why should have to fight the fight when our voters already have."

http://www.highlandnews.net/news/breaking_news/city-council-repeals-sex-offender-residency-ordinance/article_225d9f30-ca66-11e7-9fda-0fb5e3f0f2… 1/1 11/17/2017 Free, all-ages 'Stop the violence' concert planned Saturday in Adelanto

Free, all-ages ‘Stop the violence’ concert planned Saturday in Adelanto By Staff reports Posted Nov 16, 2017 at 12:15 PM Updated Nov 16, 2017 at 12:15 PM The concert is scheduled 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at City of the Lord Gospel Baptist Church, 17911 Pearmain St.

ADELANTO — A free community concert, with a “stop the violence, keep the peace” message, is scheduled Saturday featuring Inland Empire-based R&B singer/songwriter Yung Muusik.

The concert is scheduled 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at City of the Lord Gospel Baptist Church, 17911 Pearmain St.

In addition to a lengthy line-up of planned performances, the all-ages event will feature food and drinks, giveaways, face painting, poster signings and haircuts.

Yung Muusik, whose real name is Sam Randall, recently spoke in front of the City Council, inviting them to the show and imploring that they assist his mission focused on “just the kids, period.”

“I think it’ll be a good impact on just the youth itself,” Randall told Council members, “and definitely try to prevent the violence out here in the city.”

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http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20171116/free-all-ages-stop-violence-concert-planned-saturday-in-adelanto 1/1 11/15/2017 KCDZ 107.7 FM - TWENTYNINE PALMS CITY COUNCIL HEARS DEFIANCE TO FORCED CHANGE IN ELECTIONS

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TWENTYNINE PALMS CITY COUNCIL HEARS DEFIANCE TO FORCED CHANGE IN ELECTIONS By Z107.7 News, on November 15th, 2017

Do at-large elections discriminate against minority voters? It’s a question being considered a lot these days by Morongo Basin cities and public agencies under pressure to elect their leaders by district. The matter came up at last night’s Twentynine Palms City Council meeting with some surprising results. Reporter David Haldane explains… Political and legal extortion. That’s how several speakers described a proposal to switch Twentynine Palms from at-large to district elections during the first of five public hearings on the matter held last night. The move comes in response to a letter—received by dozens of cites statewide—threatening lawsuits if the change isn’t made. At-large elections, the letter charges, discriminate against minority voters in violation of the California Voting Rights Act. Many cities have challenged that notion and lost. But the mood seemed defiant in Twentynine Palm as former mayor Jim Bagley and others raised strong objections. “This is liberal progressive social engineering gone mad. It’s fundamentally wrong and it needs to be challenged.” Four council members agreed, with Councilman Dan Mintz allowing only that he’s open to discussion. Plenty more of that’s likely to occur at a closed meeting scheduled for tomorrow.

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https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/small-plane-makes-emergency-landing-on-i-15-south-of-primm/ 2/7 11/17/2017 How to fight blight with other San Bernardino volunteers – San Bernardino Sun

LOCAL NEWS How to fight blight with other San Bernardino volunteers

Mary Rose Bell, 15, assists Melissa Walters, both from Gateway Christian Fellowship, help to paint a trash can container Saturday morning at Blair Park in San Bernardino. Approximately 100 volunteers from a variety of local service groups came to Blair Park in San Bernardino Saturday morning August 19, 2017 as a part of Park Revitalization Day and Fight Blight cleanup. The groups painted, cleaned up trash and worked on landscape maintenance. (Will Lester-Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

By BRIAN WHITEHEAD | [email protected] | San Bernardino Sun PUBLISHED: November 16, 2017 at 5:03 pm | UPDATED: November 16, 2017 at 6:40 pm

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http://www.sbsun.com/2017/11/16/how-to-fight-blight-with-other-san-bernardino-volunteers/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter 1/4 11/17/2017 How to fight blight with other San Bernardino volunteers – San Bernardino Sun Many hands make light work in San Bernardino.

The city seeks volunteers for Saturday’s #FightBlight Cleanup Day, the latest in a string of weekend events dedicated to cleaning San Bernardino of trash and other eyesores.

Check-in begins at 8 a.m. at Anne Shirrells Park, 1367 N. California St.

Volunteers will be provided safety equipment and trash bags, but should wear closed-toe walking shoes, sunscreen and a hat.

There will be complimentary water, snacks and lunch.

“The mood of every volunteer we’ve ever had is extremely positive,” said Monica Lagos, city spokeswoman. “They’re eager to give back, eager to do whatever it is we have planned.”

Since the program’s 2016 debut, as many as 315 unique volunteers, ages 7 to 70, have donated their time to beautify the city, Lagos said. “It’s great to see residents who want to give back.”

Saturday also marks November’s Community Dump Day. Residents can bring unwanted household items – appliances, mattresses, tires – to the park to dispose of them. A driver’s license or utility bill will be requested.

Earlier this month, the city held its last Park Revitalization Day of the year. Volunteers helped spruce up La Plaza Park’s amenities and landscaping.

These cleanup days are part of San Bernardino’s “Help Keep SB Clean!” campaign. City ofcials are encouraging residents to help combat blight by notifying them of vandalism.

“See it, Snap it, Send it!” is the campaign’s slogan.

“We really appreciate everyone who does come out and their commitment to keeping San Bernardino clean,” Lagos said. “We look forward to doing more in 2018.”

To volunteer or for more information: 909-384-7272 or [email protected].

Tags: community, Top Stories Sun

http://www.sbsun.com/2017/11/16/how-to-fight-blight-with-other-san-bernardino-volunteers/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter 2/4 11/17/2017 Amazon job fair coming to Hemet on Friday – Press Enterprise

LOCAL NEWS Amazon job fair coming to Hemet on Friday

RACHEL LUNA / FILE PHOTO Amazon will hold a hiring event in Hemet on Friday, Nov. 17. (Photo by Rachel Luna, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

By CRAIG SHULTZ | [email protected] | The Press-Enterprise PUBLISHED: November 16, 2017 at 12:14 pm | UPDATED: November 16, 2017 at 12:43 pm

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A job fair for positions with Amazon is scheduled from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, in Hemet.

Amazon is looking to hire full-time seasonal workers for its Moreno Valley warehouse. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or equivalent.

The job fair will be at California Family Life Center — Empower Youth, 930 N. State St. Information amazon.com/movaljobs.

The hiring push is one of Amazon’s largest since building up its network of warehouses in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, with several days of on-the-spot hiring events planned this week.

Tags: jobs, Top Stories PE

http://www.pe.com/2017/11/16/amazon-job-fair-coming-to-hemet/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter 1/3 11/17/2017 Former Manson follower Leslie Van Houten has earned parole – Daily News

OPINION Former Manson follower Leslie Van Houten has earned parole

Stan Lim, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG Leslie Van Houten before the start of her parole board hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, at the California Institution for Women in Corona. Leslie Van Houten was the youngest of Charles Mansons followers to take part in one of the nation’s most notorious killings.

By SAL RODRIGUEZ | [email protected] | PUBLISHED: November 16, 2017 at 8:30 pm | UPDATED: November 16, 2017 at 8:42 pm

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On Sept. 6, for the second year in a row, parole commissioners recommended parole for 68-year-old Leslie Van Houten, who participated in the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in the summer of 1969.

Van Houten, who was 19 at the time, stabbed Rosemary more than a dozen times after fellow Charles Manson-follower Charles “Tex” Watson killed Leno and stabbed Rosemary.

Given the notoriety of Van Houten’s crime, the decision of the commissioners has understandably drawn backlash from those who believe no member of the Manson family should ever be released, including members of the LaBianca family.

The decision is now going through a 120-day review period before going to Gov. Brown for final determination. Brown overturned last year’s recommendation based on his belief that “she remains an unacceptable risk to society if released.”

While Brown might just end up repeating himself after the latest recommendation, Van Houten’s case raises important questions about the value of rehabilitation and the purpose of the criminal justice system.

As both parole boards concluded, Van Houten has exhibited a record of “growth and maturity” since committing her crimes, exemplified by her clear articulation of remorse and responsibility for her crimes and her consistent participation in rehabilitative programming. http://www.dailynews.com/2017/11/16/former-manson-follower-leslie-van-houten-has-earned-parole/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter 1/4 11/17/2017 Former Manson follower Leslie Van Houten has earned parole – Daily News

Far from the drug-addled, impulsive teenager of half a century ago, Van Houten’s time in prison has by virtually any measure been exemplary. She’s received a bachelor’s and master’s degree, served as a tutor for Chaffey College, been a leader and facilitator of numerous self-help groups and hasn’t had a single serious rule violation.

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With the passage of decades of time in which she has worked to better herself, Van Houten has also consistently been found to be at low-risk of future violence by over a dozen clinicians who have assessed her going back to the 1980s.

Indeed, there seems to be no credible argument that Van Houten hasn’t changed dramatically for the better since 1969. As deputy commissioner Nga Lam commented of Van Houten’s record of bettering herself at last year’s parole hearing, “[If] you are not rehabilitated, I don’t know who is.”

Further, it should be noted that Van Houten is eligible for parole as both a youth offender and an elderly prisoner.

In 2015, Gov. Brown signed Senate Bill 261, which requires that parole hearings give greater weight to factors like the “subsequent growth and increased maturity” when considering parole of someone who committed crimes before the age of 23.

The policy is predicated on the idea that while young offenders should be held accountable for their crimes, young people are capable of positive change, and thus young offenders should be given the chance to better themselves while incarcerated. Van Houten has evidently taken that initiative and proven those assumptions to be true, to the satisfaction of two consecutive parole boards.

This year, Brown made permanent the Elderly Parole Program, through which offenders 60 or older who have served 25 or more years are made eligible for parole consideration.

At the core is the idea that incarcerating elderly inmates often serves little public safety benefit, as older prisoners are far less likely to reoffend than younger people.

As one of just under 2,300 age 59 or older who have served 24 years or more as of February, Van Houten more than meets the criteria for consideration. Having already been deemed a low-risk for decades, at 68 she’s even less likely to reoffend than ever.

Of course, even granting Van Houten’s rehabilitation and low-risk of reoffending, it’s impossible to argue that the LaBianca family isn’t entitled to feel that Van Houten should remain imprisoned for the rest of her life.

But Van Houten wasn’t sentenced to life without parole, and as such should be considered for parole in light of all the relevant factors — including the victim’s thoughts and whether Van Houten meets the many requirements for parole, which two boards have now agreed she has.

I’m inclined to think that after decades of bettering herself as well as one could behind bars, paroling Van Houten would probably do more to motivate other prisoners to rehabilitate than actually endanger society.

Sal Rodriguez is an editorial writer and columnist for the Southern California News Group. He may be reached at [email protected]

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http://www.dailynews.com/2017/11/16/former-manson-follower-leslie-van-houten-has-earned-parole/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter 2/4 11/17/2017 Budget squeeze: Layoffs coming to Fairplex – Daily Bulletin

LOCAL NEWS Budget squeeze: Layoffs coming to Fairplex

Richard Venegas, 30, of El Monte, with daughter, Lilly, 9, ride the chair lift during the opening day of the LA County Fair at the Fairplex in Pomona on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

By MONICA RODRIGUEZ | [email protected] | Daily Bulletin PUBLISHED: November 16, 2017 at 2:04 pm | UPDATED: November 17, 2017 at 12:17 am

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POMONA >> Fairplex is planning for the future, for unexpected circumstances and looking to become more efcient.

Along with efforts to streamline operations, are plans to lay off 11 full-time employees — including an executive — reducing part-time “work capacity” in addition to reducing outside contracts, according to an email Miguel Santana, president and chief executive ofcer of the Los Angeles County Fair Association, sent out to employees Wednesday.

In the course of nding more efcient ways of doing things, some positions were eliminated, Santana said Thursday.

The layoffs, as unfortunate as they are, will be good for the organization.

“At the end, the organization will be much stronger,” Santana said, adding that this will help it grow.

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles County Fair Association’s Board of Directors approved a $71 million budget for the 2018 calendar year which included the reductions.

Santana wrote that when he took over the responsibilities of president and CEO 10 months ago one of four goals was to “evaluate and strengthen our nances.”

http://www.dailybulletin.com/2017/11/16/la-county-fair-association-budget-calls-for-layoffs-at-fairplex-establishing-funds-for-unexpected-circu… 1/4 11/17/2017 Budget squeeze: Layoffs coming to Fairplex – Daily Bulletin

Since arriving, Santana has become familiar with Fairplex’s budget structure, budget assumptions, its operations and has put on his rst LA County Fair.

The former top administrator of the city of Los Angeles, he said Fairplex’s revenue is tied to performance but is also affected by nature. Early in the year, the NHRA Winternationals was shortened due to rain. Attendance at the LA County Fair was affected by record-breaking heat during the rst days of the nearly month-long event. Brush res in the San Gabriel Valley also contributed to keeping people away.

To address such situations, a reserve fund has been created to provide a cushion for those times when Fairplex is affected by unforeseen circumstances, Santana said.

“It’s healthy for our organization to have a reserve,” he said. “It’s a modest fund. I’d like for it to be bigger, but it’s a start.”

The reserve fund is starting out with $500,000.

Another fund — the new initiatives fund — has been created to provide dollars that can be used to give Fairplex a way to “explore new ways of meeting the growing and diverse interests of our guests and to breathe new life in some of our signature programming,” Santana wrote.

This year, Fairplex tried a couple of new programs, including Mi POCO LA, during the fair. Mi POCO LA offered a hip vibe meant to attract millennials through a combination of music, food, art and other elements.

“We had to nd ways to fund those,” Santana said.

Establishing the new initiatives fund provides a modest pot of money that can be used to introduce new programs that reect Fairplex’s diverse audience, he said.

Santana said he has reviewed other areas such as staff costs, debt service and contractual obligations — critical pieces in Fairplex’s operation.

Employee bonuses and salary increases will be given out but “only after we reach our revenue goals,” he said.

Santana said he’s bringing a new approach to budgeting and is being “somewhat scally conservative in our expenditures.”

The organization, he said, is scally stable, but his budgeting approach is meant to ensure funds are used wisely and available for use in a key area. That area in the organization’s mission is that the 3 million people that come through Fairplex’s gates each year have a good experience, he said.

“We’re in the hospitality business,” Santana said. “It’s important to me and to the board we protect that.”

Each year, Fairplex’s nances are audited. This coming year, he plans to complete another type of audit.

“I want to do a review of our system, of our operations and the way we do business,” he said.

The goal is to nd ways Fairplex can do business more efciently in order to invest in its facilities and programs.

Michael Ortiz, chairman of the board of directors of the Los Angeles County Fair Association, said, Santana is introducing some new budget management techniques that are going to give the board a baseline of information.

With this information, board members will be able to set goals and see if those are being met, he said.

In the past, Fairplex has used budgeting practices that were acceptable but made it difcult to track functions on a day-to-day basis, Ortiz said.

Santana has also made it clear that establishing a reserve fund is an important part of the budget and not simply knowing the money exists, he said.

Santana has emphasized that a reserve fund should be established but never thought of as a savings account, Ortiz said.

“I think we all agree with that,” Ortiz said.

Other changes will affect the leadership of the Fair Association.

Among those is putting an end to a $500 a month stipend that members of the board of directors collected, Ortiz said.

Financial experts say the practices Santana is introducing are those businesses should include as part of their nancial operations.

Part of what Fairplex and the Fair Association are doing is thinking about the future, said Jay Prag, professor of economics and nance at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.

“They are no different than a movie theater or a mall,” he said. “All of those businesses are struggling.”

Like those businesses, Fairplex is looking for ways to bring people through the doors, he said.

Successful businesses “have to nd ways to embrace a new world,” Prag said.

To attract visitors, leaders must constantly look for new ways to use the fairgrounds at a time when change is constant and new products are regularly surfacing that capture the public’s attention, Prag said. http://www.dailybulletin.com/2017/11/16/la-county-fair-association-budget-calls-for-layoffs-at-fairplex-establishing-funds-for-unexpected-circu… 2/4 11/17/2017 Budget squeeze: Layoffs coming to Fairplex – Daily Bulletin

Investing in re-energizing programs is something business must do to “to make sure it continues to be a success,” said Paul Sarmas, professor in the Department of Finance, Real Estate and Law of the College of Business Administration at Cal Poly Pomona.

“As a business, you always have to look at new initiative investment,” Sarmas said.

Reducing duplication of services is something companies regularly look at and is part of running an efcient operation, Sarmas said.

“It’s an avenue every biz organization should take and be thinking about,” he said.

Budgets are something that requires constant monitoring, Santana said.

“You don’t just deal with a budget once a year,” he said.

Revenues and expenditures must be monitored on a daily basis.

“It should be healthy and it should create some level of exibility,” Santana said.

Tags: budget, echo code, Pomona Fairplex, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories PE, Top Stories SGVT, Top Stories Sun

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http://www.dailybulletin.com/2017/11/16/la-county-fair-association-budget-calls-for-layoffs-at-fairplex-establishing-funds-for-unexpected-circu… 3/4 11/15/2017 Environmental impact study on Riverside County pedestrian, bike paths OK’d by board – Press Enterprise

LOCAL NEWS Environmental impact study on Riverside County pedestrian, bike paths OK’d by board

By CITY NEWS SERVICE | PUBLISHED: November 15, 2017 at 11:43 am | UPDATED: November 15, 2017 at 1:46 pm

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The Board of Supervisors signed off on Tuesday, Nov. 14, on the nal environmental impact study for a planned pedestrian and bicycle path traversing multiple Riverside County communities, leaving only design plans to be nalized before construction can get underway next year.

“This really is a good thing,” Supervisor Marion Ashley said of the Salt Creek Trail Project. “A lot of work has gone into this. It’s been in the process for a long time. I really commend everyone involved.”

In a 5-0 vote, the board approved a Transportation & Land Management Agency report showing no signicant environmental impacts stemming from the $5.15 million project, which was initiated ve years ago.

Design elements are under review and being rened, with a nal design plan likely to be submitted for board consideration in the next two to four months, TLMA ofcials said.

Aer the plan is approved, the county will solicit bids from contractors interested in working on the project.

Work on the rst segments of the 16-mile trail, crossing portions of Hemet and Menifee, is slated to get underway in the latter half of 2018.

The Salt Creek Trail will incorporate an existing network of smaller trails and include improved sections that offer a 5-foot-wide space for pedestrians, as well as a 14-foot-wide space for bicyclists and other approved devices, according to TLMA.

Once fully developed, the trail will run along the Salt Creek ood control channel, via Canyon Lake, Hemet, Menifee and Winchester. One end will begin in the area of Normandy Road in Menifee, and the other will be accessible from State Street in Hemet, a TLMA map shows.

Three-quarters of the total project budget is comprised of federal Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality monies, with lesser appropriations from county sources.

Along with TLMA, the county Regional Park & Open Space District is involved with the project, which is part of the Southern California Association of Governments’ “2035 Bikeway Network” regional plan unveiled in 2012.

Tags: Top Stories PE

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NEWS California has millions of good-paying jobs for workers without a bachelor’s degree

Carpentry class at Laney College in Oakland. Photos by Alison Yin for EdSource

By EDSOURCE | November 16, 2017 at 8:55 pm

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By MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN, EdSource

Workers who want to earn at least $35,000 a year increasingly need to have some training beyond high school but not necessarily a bachelor’s degree.

That’s the conclusion of a Georgetown University study on the nation’s workforce that goes beyond the narrative that all students need to aim for a four-year college degree.

While the nation has lost more than a million good-paying blue-collar jobs, researchers have found that there is a restructuring underway, as new good positions that don’t require a bachelor’s degree have been created in California and elsewhere.

“The dominant storyline is that you need to have a four-year college degree to have a chance of a good job,” said Neil Ridley, a co-author of the report. “And while that is true to some extent, what we found is that there are more good jobs than people realize for workers who don’t actually have a four-year degree.”

The report sliced each state’s workforce into several groups depending on employees’ level of education and whether they are in a “good- paying” job — which the authors dene as $35,000 or more for workers younger than 45 and $45,000 who are older. Nationwide, about 30 million of the labor force’s 123 million workers don’t have a bachelor’s degree but are in good-paying jobs, said the report. http://www.dailybulletin.com/2017/11/16/california-has-millions-of-good-paying-jobs-for-workers-without-a-bachelors-degree/?utm_source=dl… 1/3 11/17/2017 California has millions of good-paying jobs for workers without a bachelor’s degree – Daily Bulletin

In California, the best prospects for workers without a bachelor’s degree are in manufacturing, health services, nancial activities, real estate, construction and the retail trade, the study found.

Two things stand out: It’s clear workers with bachelor’s degrees are more likely to nd good-paying jobs. But it’s also apparent that the erosion of reliable blue-collar positions like manufacturing hasn’t hurt the opportunities for workers who haven’t earned a four-year college degree — as long they’re trained in the skills needed for these new service-sector jobs.

“The labor market has become a lot more complex,” Ridley said. “Workers need much better information and data on the wages they can expect” and to gure out “what the right credentials are.” He added that tighter relationships between community colleges and employers are also key.

Responding to the challenge, the state’s community college system has ramped up its spending on workforce training from $100 million ve years ago to $900 million in 2017. And a recent report the system’s leaders commissioned highlighted the sectors of the economy community colleges in Southern California could support by educating more students for those middle-skills jobs.

Between 1991 and 2015, California lost more than 230,000 good-paying blue-collar jobs but they were more than offset by the development of 265,000 skilled-services jobs. Both gures apply to workers without bachelor’s degrees.

While employees with bachelor’s degrees on average earn more, the state boasts millions of workers who lack a bachelor’s but typically earn around $59,000 a year — including nearly a million employees whose formal educations stopped at high school.

Of the nearly 9 million workers in California who haven’t earned a bachelor’s, about 3.3 million have good paying jobs. The state’s labor force also includes 5.3 million workers with a bachelor’s or higher — and about 3.9 million of them earn good wages. The typical pay for workers with bachelor’s with good-paying jobs is $84,000, higher than the $59,000 for workers without a bachelor’s who have good jobs.

The state lost more than 420,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs for workers without bachelor’s, but gained nearly 200,000 other good- paying blue-collar jobs in elds such as construction and transportation, Ridley said.

Not every state shares California’s experience of shedding good-paying blue-collar jobs. While manufacturing dipped in 38 states, 23 states gained other good blue-collar jobs that don’t require bachelor’s degrees.

Between 1991 and 2015, the country had shed nearly 1.3 million good-paying blue-collar jobs and added more than 4 million skilled-services jobs for workers without bachelor’s degrees. In California, 47 percent of the good-paying jobs for workers without a bachelor’s are in blue- collar work. The share is higher nationally — 55 percent are in blue-collar work while 45 percent are in skilled-services industries.

In previous reports, the Georgetown center forecasted that by 2020, two-thirds of all jobs in the U.S. economy will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school. It also found that the economic recovery since the recession has overwhelmingly favored workers with some college experience — 11.5 million of the 11.6 million jobs created went to workers who have attended college.

Whether California can prepare its workforces is in question, however. The Public Policy Institute of California predicts a skills shortage among both workers with a bachelor’s and those with some college, totaling 2.5 million people in the coming years.

This story originally appeared on EdSource.org. EdSource is an independent journalism organization that works to engage Californians on key education challenges with the goal of enhancing learning success.

Tags: Education, jobs

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http://www.dailybulletin.com/2017/11/16/california-has-millions-of-good-paying-jobs-for-workers-without-a-bachelors-degree/?utm_source=dl… 2/3 11/15/2017 Orange County takes a step toward banning pot sales and distribution in unincorporated areas - LA Times

Orange County takes a step toward banning pot sales and distribution in unincorporated areas

Orange County moves to ban marijuana sales and distribution (Brennan Linsley / Associated Press)

By City News Service

NOVEMBER 15, 2017, 8:15 AM

he Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to an ordinance banning marijuana sales, distribution and T cultivation in unincorporated parts of the county. Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson cast the lone dissenting vote. He argued the board was ignoring the will of the voters, who approved the decriminalization of marijuana last year with Proposition 64.

The new state law, which takes effect Jan. 1, allows for the recreational use of marijuana for residents 21 and older and the cultivation of up to six plants.

The Legislature approved a law this year allowing cities and counties to approve bans, preventing the issuing of licenses in those areas.

“Every one of our districts voted in favor of Proposition 64,'' Nelson said. “That should mean something.''

Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said she spoke with some elected officials in Colorado, where marijuana was legalized, and reported they had regrets since then.

“It's true no one's ever died of a [marijuana] overdose, but [emergency room] visits skyrocketed there,'' she said, adding many children were hospitalized after finding edible marijuana and consuming it.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer argued that the county was only adopting what all but just two cities in the county have approved. Costa Mesa is allowing for medical marijuana research and development, and Santa Ana will allow for production of marijuana in 20 spots in the city.

Seal Beach and Lake Forest have not decided whether to enact a ban.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-pot-ban-20171115-story.html 1/2 11/17/2017 California's pot industry will be awash in cash | The Sacramento Bee

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Foon Rhee Associate editor, editorial writer and Viewpoints editor

FOON RHEE California’s pot industry will be awash with cash. How dangerous is that?

BY FOON RHEE [email protected]

NOVEMBER 16, 2017 04:00 PM UPDATED NOVEMBER 16, 2017 04:00 PM We’re used to being told that pizza delivery drivers carry less than $10 or $20 in cash to discourage would-be robbers. Marijuana deliverers will be limited to a tad more – $3,000 in product, plus cash from customers.

That’s just asking for trouble.

It’s only one of the many ways that when California’s brave new world of legal recreational OPINION marijuana starts Jan. 1, it will be cash only – no checks or credit cards please. And it’s a good bet that the ﬂood of millions and millions in cash will be one of the biggest problems, besides public health and driving while impaired.

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The new statewide regulations issued Thursday by the Bureau of Cannabis Control, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Food and Agriculture cover ownership, testing, record-keeping, labor agreements, cultivation, renewable energy and much, much more – all in hopes that recreational pot legalization goes smoothly.

The bureau’s 115 pages of rules seem to take the dangers of marijuana delivery seriously. Besides the $3,000 limit, they require that the cannabis products be in locked containers and not visible from outside the vehicle, and that delivery vehicles have alarm systems and GPS trackers. Delivery workers would have to be at least 21 and could only make rounds between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Oh, and they couldn’t consume any cannabis while making deliveries.

But blocked by federal law, the regulations don’t ﬁx the overarching ﬂaw: lots of cash. This defect also wasn’t really addressed in Proposition 64, which voters overwhelmingly approved last year to make California the nation’s largest market for legal recreational pot.

Already, there have been armed robberies at pot grows, distribution centers and medical marijuana dispensaries. Just Wednesday night, police say two men and two women used riﬂes and handguns to take large amounts of pot and cash from a dispensary in North Hollywood. The danger will only increase as the amounts of hard-to-trace cash increase in what is projected to be a $7 billion a year industry.

State Treasurer John Chiang sees the problem and is trying to do something about it.

“It is unfair and a public safety risk to require a legal industry to haul dufﬂe bags of cash to pay taxes, employees and utility bills,” he said in a statement. “The reliance on cash paints a target on the back of cannabis operators and makes them and the general public vulnerable to violence and organized crime.”

So earlier this month, he released recommendations that seek to eventually give cannabis businesses basic banking services, including checking accounts and credit cards. Until then, he suggested that state and local agencies contract with armored courier companies to pick up taxes expected to top $1 billion a year from pot businesses, count the payments and take the cash straight to a bank.

Now, Sacramento businesses bring their taxes every month to City Hall, where the cash is processed and sent out with other cash payments by armored truck.

“Thank goodness there haven’t been really any issues,” says Joe Devlin, the city of Sacramento’s chief of cannabis policy and enforcement.

While a network of armored cars may help public agencies, marijuana businesses still have to ﬁgure out what do with the rest of their bounty. Other recommendations of the treasurer’s 18-member Cannabis Banking Working Group include looking at the feasibility of a state-owned bank and organizing a lobbying group among the 44 states where pot is legal in some form.

But it seems highly unlikely that federal law will be changed with anti-drug crusader Jeff Sessions as attorney general. Marijuana is still ridiculously stuck on Schedule 1 of the most addictive and least helpful drugs.

Armored cars are only a “stopgap solution,” says the California Bankers Association, which represents small and community banks and which was part of Chiang’s working group. It says only reform of federal law, including immunity for banks that work with marijuana businesses, can resolve the problem. A state agency will hold a workshop with banks and credit unions next month to discuss possible approaches to cannabis businesses.

http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/foon-rhee/article185077638.html 2/6 11/17/2017 California's pot industry will be awash in cash | The Sacramento Bee

It’s particularly troublesome in small towns in Northern California where marijuana is big business and the cash ﬂows through lots of other local businesses and personal accounts.

In Sacramento, which is well ahead of other cities in getting ready for legal recreational marijuana, the city would allow as many as 30 storefront dispensaries that could also offer deliveries. That includes existing medical pot dispensaries that could apply to modify their permits as long as they’re in compliance. That limit of 30 will likely rise based on customer demand.

As part of proposed rules that the City Council is scheduled to vote on Nov. 28, the city would also permit delivery-only dispensaries. Ofﬁcials say that 180 unregulated delivery services already operate in Sacramento. Who knew? Ofﬁcials also cite industry numbers that delivery services have 57 percent of the market because customers like the privacy and convenience.

Devlin says there could be more than a dozen permitted delivery services in Sacramento, though he expects consolidation in the market to eventually reduce that number to a couple.

He points out that it’s not just cash to be worried about. A couple of gallons of highly concentrated marijuana extract is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars – and if the tracker is removed can easily disappear into the black market, making a tempting target during transport.

Yes, trucks carry very valuable or high-security cargo all the time, mostly without incident. Yet it would be naïve to expect such a high-proﬁle, lucrative industry – even if it’s ofﬁcially legal – wouldn’t attract criminals, even violent ones.

When will the feds get their heads out of the sand and recognize today’s reality of marijuana? I’m amazed a really bloody robbery hasn’t happened yet.

Foon Rhee: 916-321-1913, @foonrhee

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http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/foon-rhee/article185077638.html 3/6 New rules with hefty fees set for growing and selling marijuana in California

Patrick McGreevy

Cannabis sprouts on display and for sale on Nov. 6, 2014. (Los Angeles Times)

California officials proposed new rules Thursday for the growing, transporting and sale of marijuana when the state begins issuing licenses in January, and industry officials said the regulations and hefty fees are a mixed bag.

The regulations, which are subject to public hearings before they are finalized, do not limit the size of cannabis farms, but require every plant to be traced from farm to sale. Security will be required at farms, trucks and pot shops, and cannabis cannot be marketed toward minors.

The license application fee for sellers and others will be $1,000 annually, but there are additional license fees of $4,000 to $72,000 charged to retailers based on how much they sell. Also, an additional fee for testing firms will range from $20,000 to $90,000, while an added charge for distribution licenses will go from $1,200 to $125,000 depending on the amount of product moved.

While those planning small pot farms worry about the rules allowing large corporate growing operations, others see restrictions as burdensome for an industry that has thrived for decades without regulation.

“The industry is diverse,” said Hezekiah Allen, president of the California Growers Assn. “No matter what is decided, there will be problems. These regulations will disrupt a mature and robust marketplace. We are hopeful the disruption will be minimized and that the existing business community will have the time they need to transition their operations and businesses.”

With work behind schedule for setting up a permanent licensing system, the new regulations allow the Bureau of Cannabis Control to issue temporary, 120-day licenses to sellers and growers who have permission from their city or county. Eventually, annual licenses will be issued to those who pass background checks.

A seller of marijuana for medical use must get an M-license, and a seller of pot for recreational use must get an A-license. Sellers of both can get both licenses and operate in the same facility.

The rules require child-resistant packaging, prohibit marketing to minors and require marijuana to meet limits on THC content.

However, a transition period will be set from Jan. 1 to July 1, 2018, during which pot can be transported without meeting labeling requirements and marijuana already in a seller's inventory can be sold without child- resistant packaging. Cannabis products that do not meet the THC limits per package also can be sold during that window. For growers, the California Department of Food and Agriculture will charge a one-time fee ranging from $135 to $8,655 to review an annual cultivation license application.

Growers also will be required to get an annual license fee based on annual production, ranging from $1,205 for small plots to $77,905 for big farms.

Manufacturers of cannabis products including edibles will be charged a $1,000 application processing fee and a license fee, depending on size of operation, from $2,000 to $75,000.

11/15/2017 Covering a Mass Shooting, and Adding to a Town’s Pain - The New York Times

https://nyti.ms/2jlDswV

TIMES INSIDER Covering a Mass Shooting, and Adding to a Town’s Pain

By SIMON ROMERO NOV. 13, 2017 SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Tex. — It wasn’t the television presenters elbowing their way to the front of the scrum near the massacre scene that finally drove home how the news media was aggravating the tragedy here. It wasn’t the run on food at Theresa’s Kitchen or the point at which the number of journalists seemed to rival the few hundred souls of the town’s population.

It was the scene in Rosanne Solis’ living room.

Ms. Solis, 57, a former factory worker who was shot in the shoulder when a gunman killed 26 people at the First Baptist Church last week, had agreed to an interview with The New York Times. Through fatigue and pain, she described in detail the trauma of surviving one of the most hideous mass shootings in United States history.

As I got up and thanked Ms. Solis for her graciousness at such a strenuous time, the door to her trailer home swung open and a swarm of other journalists rushed inside. Without asking permission, a photographer began taking pictures a few inches from Ms. Solis’ face. A television crew insisted on an interview as she tended her wound.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/insider/sutherland-springs-shooting-media-frenzy-adding-to-towns-pain.html?smid=tw-nytnational&smtyp=cur&_r=0 1/4 11/15/2017 Covering a Mass Shooting, and Adding to a Town’s Pain - The New York Times

“Please, no, I’m just too tired,” Ms. Solis told them.

But as I went to my rental car to file my story, no one seemed to heed her plea that she was too exhausted to talk. Sitting behind the wheel, I gazed at the horizon and wondered what those of us documenting this tragedy were doing to this poor town.

I’ve covered gruesome events around the world — earthquakes, hurricanes, fires. But none of those experiences prepared me for the media maelstrom in Sutherland Springs, a tiny, poverty-stricken town hit by the unimaginable slaughter of babies, children and adults in one of its houses of worship.

Ignoring such shootings, or passively accepting how widespread and devastating they are becoming, cannot be an option.

But there may also be something terribly wrong with the spectacle of covering this bloodshed. By now, some of my colleagues are veteran chroniclers of such shootings, grimly bumping into one another with gallows humor over the past few years in Las Vegas; Colorado Springs; San Bernardino, Calif.; Roseburg, Ore.; and Orlando, Fla.

Perhaps because of the small size of Sutherland Springs, the ungainliness of the media’s rush to cover the latest shooting touched a nerve here. As satellite trucks staked out coveted parking spots and broadcasters from around the world described the town’s horrors in German or Russian or Portuguese, tempers flared.

Some residents in the town simply slammed doors in journalists’ faces, a reaction any of us might have had under such circumstances. Others in the town put a price on their cooperation. Reporters from a wide array of organizations scrambled to interview anyone else they could find.

“Eventually the media pressure began to weigh even on me,” Lauren McGaughy, a reporter for the Dallas Morning News, wrote in an eloquent apology to the people of Sutherland Springs. “I did a few on-the-ground interviews before rejecting the rest. It was too stressful. I expressed my growing disgust with a few other journalists, and many agreed with me.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/insider/sutherland-springs-shooting-media-frenzy-adding-to-towns-pain.html?smid=tw-nytnational&smtyp=cur&_r=0 2/4 11/15/2017 Covering a Mass Shooting, and Adding to a Town’s Pain - The New York Times

Journalists were not the only ones who descended on the town. Sidewalk preachers from San Antonio convened at the Valero gas station opposite the church, bellowing their prayers, if not in front of townspeople then for reporters’ iPhone cameras. Chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team meandered through the town.

Brad Kessler, an aspirant for mayor of San Antonio, dropped in to shake hands around the yellow crime-scene tape that cordoned off the killing field. The Homicide Survivors Support Group of Corpus Christi set up a table with stuffed animals, where reporters quickly conducted interviews with the volunteers.

I grew up in a rural outpost in northern New Mexico about the size of Sutherland Springs. I know how suspicious, and sometimes awed, residents of small towns can be of privileged, big-city visitors. Still, I have a hard time imagining what it’s like for the people here to have so many cameras pointed at them and so many tape recorders thrust their way.

As some of the network television trucks began to pull out of town, I wondered how big a role I myself had played in amplifying the suffering of Sutherland Springs. After all, I, too, had approached residents who wanted nothing to do with reporters. I’d asked Ms. Solis, the factory worker, to talk to me when she could have been tending the shoulder where a bullet had sundered her flesh.

When the country endures one mass shooting after another, why they happen certainly ought to be the main focus of the national conversation. But maybe it’s time we also discuss how they’re covered on the ground.

For now, I’m left wondering what happens next in Sutherland Springs.

Bertha Cardenas-Lomas, 57, the head of the town’s cemetery board, seemed to be in shock as I interviewed her, expressing dismay over all the friends and neighbors she now has to bury. She touched on what it’s like to face a barrage of interview requests when she’s struggling to simply mow the grass on the burial ground.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/insider/sutherland-springs-shooting-media-frenzy-adding-to-towns-pain.html?smid=tw-nytnational&smtyp=cur&_r=0 3/4 11/15/2017 Covering a Mass Shooting, and Adding to a Town’s Pain - The New York Times

“No one can ever be prepared to find their way in this situation,” she said, holding her head in her hands. “I’m afraid that the real pain, the reality of this violence, will set in when all of you are gone.”

Follow Simon Romero on Twitter @viaSimonRomero.

A version of this article appears in print on November 15, 2017, on Page A2 of the New York edition with the headline: The Harm Journalists Can Do.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/insider/sutherland-springs-shooting-media-frenzy-adding-to-towns-pain.html?smid=tw-nytnational&smtyp=cur&_r=0 4/4 11/15/2017 Justice Department targets more ‘sanctuary cities’ – San Bernardino Sun

NEWSCALIFORNIA NEWS Justice Department targets more ‘sanctuary cities’

Thousands of people take part in the “Free the People Immigration March,” to protest actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration, in Los Angeles Sunday, Feb. 18, 2017. March and rally organizers are calling for an end to ICE raids and deportations, minority killings by police and that health care be provided for documented and undocumented individuals. Immigrant, faith, labor and community groups are expected to attend, calling for sanctuary to be given to immigrants.. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

By NEWS SERVICE REPORTS | [email protected] | Daily News November 15, 2017 at 2:54 pm



By KATE IRBY McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice sent letters to 29 so-called sanctuary cities on Wednesday, demanding ofcials show they are cooperating with immigration enforcement laws by Dec. 8. The targets include Washington, D.C., several municipalities in California – including Riverside and San Francisco County, and the cities of Santa Ana and Los Angeles – major state capitals like Denver, and entire states.

President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have made jurisdictions that limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement a conspicuous target from the beginning in their crackdown on illegal immigration, and this is only the latest example. Sessions sent nine letters in April making similar demands.

“Jurisdictions that adopt so-called ‘sanctuary policies’ also adopt the view that the protection of criminal aliens is more important than the protection of law-abiding citizens and of the rule of law,” Sessions said Monday in a press release. “I urge all jurisdictions found to be potentially out of compliance in this preliminary review to reconsider their policies that undermine the safety of their residents.”

http://www.sbsun.com/2017/11/15/attorney-general-sessions-targets-more-sanctuary-cities/ 1/3 11/15/2017 Justice Department targets more ‘sanctuary cities’ – San Bernardino Sun

The latest letters note that federal funding each jurisdiction receives requires them to comply with 8 U.S.C. Section 1373, which forbids states and localities from ordering their ofcials to refuse to turn over information about the immigration status of individuals within their jurisdiction. But a Justice Department ofcial declined to comment when asked what action would be taken against jurisdictions that didn’t show compliance by the Dec. 8 deadline.

“The Department has not made a nal determination regarding Sacramento County’s compliance with section 1373,” one of the letters states. “This letter does not constitute nal agency action and nothing in this letter creates any right or benet enforceable at law against the United States.”

The DOJ ofcial said all jurisdictions sent a letter of this type in the past have met the deadline to show compliance. The letter in April was sent to ofcials in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami-Dade County, the state of California and four other jurisdictions.

Reports at the time indicate that most jurisdictions felt they were already in compliance with the specic federal law, which only prohibits localities from interfering with communications between local law enforcement ofcers and immigration authorities. It does not necessarily mandate that local authorities detain people for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Twenty-nine versions of the latest letter went out Wednesday to recipients that include Sacramento County, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Newark, Denver, West Palm Beach, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont and Washington, D.C.

The letters specically mentions the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, the leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The program provides states and local governments with critical funding necessary to support a range of program areas including law enforcement, prosecution, indigent defense, courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, planning, evaluation, technology improvement, and crime victim and witness initiatives and mental health programs. There was $174.4 million allocated to states under the grant in scal year 2017.

That’s in addition to millions more dollars sent to local jurisdictions every year from the program. Local counties and cities in California, for example, got $10.6 million in 2017.

Sessions announced in July new conditions on the grant, requiring recipients to allow federal immigration authorities access to detention facilities and to give 48 hours’ notice before releasing suspected illegal immigrants. Chicago sued over the additional requirements, and U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber in Illinois agreed with the city, saying Sessions exceeded his lawful authority when he imposed new conditions on particular law enforcement grants.

An executive order signed by Trump shortly aer he took ofce that threatened to strip federal money from sanctuary cities was also blocked by a federal judge in April on similar grounds. Judge William Orrick emphasized in his ruling that only Congress can impose new conditions on federal funds and specically said that Trump did not have the power and therefore cannot delegate those powers to the attorney general.

Orrick’s ruling exempted the Justice Assistance Grant Program, which already prohibits localities from interfering with communications between local law enforcement ofcers and immigration authorities.

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News service reports Doug McIntyre is host of "McIntyre in the Morning" on 790 KABC in Los Angeles, heard weekdays from 5-10am. He also hosted "Red Eye Radio" both locally and nationally and has been talking into a microphone for 20 years. He writes a weekly column for the Southern California News Group.  Follow News service reports @@RadioGasBag

http://www.sbsun.com/2017/11/15/attorney-general-sessions-targets-more-sanctuary-cities/ 2/3 11/17/2017 House tax plan would mean higher borrowing costs for hospitals, schools, affordable housing - LA Times

House tax plan would mean higher borrowing costs for hospitals, schools, affordable housing

An artist's rendering of proposed improvements to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, some of which will be paid for by private-activity bonds. (Scripps Health / Scripps Health)

By James Rufus Koren

NOVEMBER 17, 2017, 3:00 AM

ospitals, university buildings and affordable housing projects could become markedly more expensive to develop if the tax plan approved H Thursday by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives becomes law. The plan calls for eliminating a tax break on a type of bond financing used to build those and other projects, prompting worries by hospitals, colleges and housing groups that they could be forced to cut services, raise prices or cancel projects. They’re hoping the Senate tax plan, which does not eliminate the tax break, comes out on top.

Nonprofits and affordable housing builders are able to borrow money by selling so-called private-activity bonds, which share a key feature with municipal bonds issued by government agencies to finance public projects: The interest income paid to bondholders is not subject to federal or state income tax.

Because of that tax exemption, investors are willing to buy bonds with a lower interest rate, which means lower borrowing costs for bond issuers.

The House tax plan, by eliminating the federal tax exemption, would raise borrowing costs for new private-activity bonds.

Though the bonds are sometimes used by for-profit business to build public-private projects such as toll roads, in California the vast majority of this type of financing is used by hospitals, affordable housing developers and private universities.

Over the last 10 years, entities in California have issued about $49 billion in private-activity bonds. The biggest borrowers have been hospitals and medical centers, which have taken out more than $19 billion in bond debt to build new facilities, retrofit old ones and buy new equipment.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-private-activity-bonds-20171117-story.html 1/3 11/17/2017 House tax plan would mean higher borrowing costs for hospitals, schools, affordable housing - LA Times

California Treasurer John Chiang, who is running for governor and whose office oversees the issuance of tax-exempt bonds, sent a letter this month to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), highlighting the effect of the tax plan on affordable housing projects. But he told The Times that the plan would cause other harm as well.

“I think it’s incredibly shortsighted,” Chiang said. “We’re trying to expand the economy, and these sectors are critical to California’s well-being.”

McCarthy, California’s highest-ranking Republican and a key supporter of the tax plan, did not respond to a request for comment.

The California Hospital Assn. estimates the change could add billions of dollars in added interest costs for hospital construction and seismic retrofitting projects, and the California Housing Consortium said the change could cut the number of affordable housing units built in the state each year by two- thirds.

Investment bankers and finance officers at nonprofits estimate the loss of the tax exemption could push up interest rates on private-activity bonds by 0.5% to 1.5% — a significant sum when the principal typically runs from the tens to the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Consider Keck Graduate Institute, one of the Claremont Colleges, which this year borrowed $52.6 million to build a 290-unit apartment building for students. The institute is paying about 4.7% interest on that private-activity debt.

Hugh Tanner, an investment banker at Raymond James who helped put the bond offering together, said Keck would have paid more like 5.7% if it had to issue taxable bonds. Over the 30-year life of the bond, that extra 1% would add up to a total of $14.8 million in additional interest, he said.

Those higher borrowing costs would trickle down to students. The institute plans to charge $1,360 for studios — below average for Claremont — but Tanner said rents would have to have been closer to $1,500 a month had Keck borrowed at the higher, taxable rate.

“In the end, this is saving students time and money,” said Michael Jones, Keck’s vice president of finance and operations. “Using these bonds is one way to get costs as low as we can for these students. They already pay enough in tuition, and we already need to fundraise to cover our operations.”

Kevin DeGood, director of infrastructure policy at the liberal advocacy group Center for American Progress, said cutting the bonds’ tax exemption would hurt nonprofits across the country while providing little extra tax revenue.

The Joint Committee on Taxation, an arm of Congress, estimated that cutting the exemption would result in additional federal tax income of $39.8 billion over the next 10 years — a meager sum considering that the committee also estimates the tax plan as a whole will result in an overall reduction of federal tax income of $1.4 trillion over that period.

“If you’re a hospital, the additional interest you pay if your bonds are taxable has to come out of donations, out of patients, out of somewhere,” DeGood said. “There is no benefit to anybody to make it more expensive for a hospital to build a new wing. There is not a rational policy argument here. This is about hunting in the night for revenue to pay for egregious tax cuts.”

The threat of losing tax-exempt borrowing is especially worrisome in California, where hospitals are spending billions of dollars to build and retrofit facilities to meet strict new earthquake-safety standards by 2030, said Anne McLeod of the California Hospital Assn.

“That tax-exempt rate is potentially the difference between being able to maintain services and having to cut services,” she said.

Richard McKeown, corporate vice president and treasurer at San Diego nonprofit Scripps Health, said the hospital group plans to spend $2.6 billion on capital projects over the next 10 years, with nearly a third of that amount financed with bonds.

If tax-exempt bonds are no longer an option and Scripps’ borrowing costs go up, McKeown said it would not be an “insurmountable issue” but would probably require some cost cutting.

“It’ll be painful, but it won’t be catastrophic for larger, financially strong organizations,” he said. “Small community hospitals that may not be doing OK financially, the additional burden of a higher cost of debt will make it more challenging.”

Private schools, too, could be pinched by higher borrowing costs.

Over the last 10 years, private colleges and universities in California — including USC, Pepperdine, Stanford and a host of smaller schools — have borrowed $4.1 billion through private-activity bonds to build all manner of campus projects.

California Baptist University in Riverside used tax-exempt bonds for an events center and sports arena. Biola University in La Mirada used them for a new 350-bed dormitory.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-private-activity-bonds-20171117-story.html 2/3 11/17/2017 House tax plan would mean higher borrowing costs for hospitals, schools, affordable housing - LA Times

For affordable housing developers, who rank second only to hospitals in their use of private-activity bonds, the idea of paying higher interest rates is a secondary concern. Their biggest worry is that if these bonds become taxable, the change would have the secondary effect of killing one of the biggest funding sources for affordable housing projects: low-income housing tax credits.

There are two types of those credits, both of which give tax breaks in exchange for investing in affordable housing projects. One of the types of credits, though, is available only to projects that are financed mostly with tax-exempt bonds. No tax-exempt bonds means a whole class of tax credits would effectively disappear.

Chiang’s office reported that in 2016 alone, California affordable housing projects used $6 billion in private-activity bonds and received $2.2 billion in tax credits linked to those bonds. That helped build or preserve 20,600 affordable units.

Will Cooper Jr., chief executive of Irvine affordable housing investment firm WNC Inc., estimated that the combined loss of tax-exempt bonds and the related tax credit program could reduce the number of affordable housing units built in California by 200,000 over the next decade.

Cooper said he’s been lobbying Republicans in Congress and believes that private-activity bonds will ultimately remain tax exempt.

“We believe the Senate bill, which leaves [private-activity bonds] as they are, will carry the day,” he said. “We're going to continue to push. Republicans are willing to put this back on the table.” [email protected]

Follow me: @jrkoren

This article is related to: Hospitals and Clinics, Colleges and Universities, Education, Republican Party, John Chiang, U.S. Senate

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-private-activity-bonds-20171117-story.html 3/3 11/17/2017 Realtors are worried about Trump's tax plan. California homeowners should be too - LA Times

Capitol Journal Realtors are worried about Trump's tax plan. California homeowners should be too

The California Assn. of Realtors ran a newspaper ad billed as an open letter to GOP leaders. (Nov. 16, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR)

By George Skelton Capitol Journal

NOVEMBER 16, 2017, 12:05 AM | REPORTING FROM SACRAMENTO

f President Trump and congressional Republicans have their way, homeownership in California will become less attractive. And that really worries I Realtors and builders. And, of course, it also should greatly disturb home buyers.

The real estate and home building lobbies have historically supported Republicans. But now they’re hammering on the GOP about its tax proposals pending in Congress. And in California they’re targeting seven Republican U.S. House members who face potentially tough reelection races next year.

They’re trying to persuade the House members to turn against their party leadership, including Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, and reject both of the GOP tax proposals.

“If the goal of tax reform is to help middle-class Americans keep more of their hard-earned money, this proposal fails miserably,” the California Assn. of Realtors proclaimed in a full-page ad run in several California newspapers this week. “How could any member of the California Congressional Delegation think this plan is good for the Golden State?”

The ad was billed as an open letter to Trump and members of the California congressional delegation.

The seven Republican House members under pressure include five from Southern California: Darrell Issa of Vista, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, Mimi Walters of Irvine, Ed Royce of Fullerton and Steve Knight of Palmdale. The two others are from the San Joaquin Valley: David Valadao of Hanford and Jeff Denham of Turlock.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-skelton-california-homeowners-gop-tax-plan-20171116-story.html 1/3 11/17/2017 Realtors are worried about Trump's tax plan. California homeowners should be too - LA Times

More from George Skelton »

Especially caught in a bind between their party leaders and homeowner constituents are Republicans from Orange and San Diego counties, where housing costs are particularly high and homeowners would be hit hard. Issa, who represents San Diego County’s north coast, is the only California Republican House member so far to announce he’ll vote against the tax proposals.

The tax plans — one in the House, another in the Senate — would affect homeowners three ways.

The House bill would impact taxpayers who itemize on their federal returns and deduct mortgage interest. Currently they can deduct interest on mortgages up to $1.1 million. The House would chop that limit to $500,000 for future loans. The Senate bill would slightly lower the cap to $1 million.

The House bill also would kill off the mortgage interest deduction for vacation homes. The Senate proposal would keep it.

The Senate bill would eliminate the deduction for property taxes. The House would cap it at $10,000. Right now, if you sell your house you can exempt $250,000 from capital gains taxation if you’re single, or $500,000 if married and filing jointly. That wouldn’t change under either bill. But both proposals would require you to have lived in the house five of the last eight years. Currently, you only need to have lived there two of the past five.

“The current limit is too low for Californians,” contends Steve White, a Studio City broker who is president of the state Realtors association. “In a high- priced state where we’ve already got a shortage of homes for sale, this simply traps people in their homes longer. Fewer people will move and that will just exacerbate the home shortage.”

Very possibly. And that also, of course, would cut into real estate agents’ commissions.

But there’s no question this tax legislation would change homeownership as we’ve known it, eliminating long-enjoyed financial benefits. We all remember the argument that motivated our first leap from renter to homeowner: At least we can deduct the mortgage interest and property tax.

The problem with the $500,000 limit on mortgage deductions is that in many areas of California, housing prices far exceed that amount.

In September, according to Realtors’ data, the median price of an existing single-family California home was $555,000, a 7.5% increase in the past year.

But in Los Angeles County it was $606,000. In Orange, $799,000. San Diego, $605,000. Going inland it was more reasonable: Riverside County, $386,000; San Bernardino, $279,000.

Coverage of California politics »

Up north In the Bay Area, housing costs are out of sight. In San Francisco, a median-priced house cost $1.35 million. Marin was $1.25 million. San Mateo, $1.4 million.

To buy a median-priced house in L.A. County, you’d need a minimum qualifying income of about $120,000, the Realtors figure. In Orange, $159,000. In San Francisco, $276,000. In California generally, $112,000.

“Only about a third of California families can afford a median priced home,” Smith says.

And the Republican tax plan will reduce the incentives to sign up for a big mortgage. More than 4 million Californians currently claim mortgage interest deductions, averaging $12,000 per return according to the state finance department. Under the House bill, that would be pared back in pricey areas. And under the Senate bill, no property taxes could be deducted.

Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Assn. of Home Builders, says the GOP plan “abandons the middle-class taxpayers in favor of high-income Americans and wealthy corporations… [It] eviscerates existing housing tax benefits.”

About 55% of Californians were homeowners entering 2017, down from a historic peak of nearly 61% in 2006 before the recession. The low was 43% in 1940 at the end of the Great Depression.

But the important thing for politicians today is that 62% of California’s likely voters are homeowners. It’s hard to believe that they’d be happy their deductions were sacrificed so corporate taxes could be substantially cut.

And they’ll be voting next November. Corporations won’t be. [email protected] http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-skelton-california-homeowners-gop-tax-plan-20171116-story.html 2/3 11/17/2017 U.S. home construction reaches strongest pace in a year, but falls in the West - LA Times

U.S. home construction reaches strongest pace in a year, but falls in the West

A builder works on the roof of a home under construction in Jackson Township, Pa. (Keith Srakocic / Associated Press)

By Associated Press

NOVEMBER 17, 2017, 7:45 AM

onstruction of new homes in the United States climbed 13.7% in October, the biggest jump in a year, as builders broke ground on more C apartments and single-family houses. But the increase wasn’t spread nationwide: Construction declined in the West. The Commerce Department said Friday that the monthly gain put U.S. housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.29 million units. That is the best pace for home construction in 12 months.

California lawmakers have tried for 50 years to fix the state's housing crisis. Here's why they've failed »

Housing starts have risen just 2.4% year-to-date, largely because fewer apartment complexes are being built. Construction of single-family houses has driven much of the growth this year, a sign of greater demand from buyers in a healthy job market.

But recent building trends reversed somewhat in October, with most of the momentum coming from apartment construction. The building of multi-family properties jumped 37.4% in October. Construction of single-family houses increased 5.3%.

Still, the building of new homes has done little to alleviate the growing shortage of existing homes for sale. This shortage has started to stifle the broader real estate market. Purchases of existing homes have fallen over the past 12 months, according to the National Assn. of Realtors. The decline largely reflects that there are 121,600 fewer homes on the market during the same period, a 6.4% decrease that new construction has been unable to offset.

“For a significant increase in new homes, municipalities are going to have to work harder to make more land available for building,” said Robert Frick, a corporate economist with Navy Federal Credit Union.

Construction in the South rose 17.2% last month compared with the month before, a sign the region is regaining its footing after damage from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Home construction shot up 42.2% in the Northeast thanks to groundbreakings for apartments. Construction increased 18.4% in the Midwest, but it declined 3.7% in the West. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-home-construction-20171117-story.html 1/2 11/17/2017 U.S. home construction reaches strongest pace in a year, but falls in the West - LA Times

Building permits, an indicator of future construction, rose 5.9% in October to 1.3 million.

ALSO

How construction worker pay is dominating California's housing debate

A new California law could kill a 30-year-old rule that slowed development in Los Angeles

The house I bought for $130,000 in 1983 is now worth a fortune, and that's a big problem for California

This article is related to: Housing Market, Real Estate

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-home-construction-20171117-story.html 2/2 11/17/2017 Inland Rep. Mark Takano and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus call on Trump to stop deporting U.S. veterans – Press Enterprise

NEWS Inland Rep. Mark Takano and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus call on Trump to stop deporting U.S. veterans

Hector Barajas, 40, a deported veteran of the U.S. Army, polishes his military boots at the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana, Mexico on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. Barajas, who founded the center, is trying to get more health care for veterans in Tijuana. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

By ALEJANDRA MOLINA | [email protected] | The Press-Enterprise PUBLISHED: November 16, 2017 at 1:57 pm | UPDATED: November 17, 2017 at 12:36 am



http://www.pe.com/2017/11/16/inland-rep-mark-takano-and-the-congressional-hispanic-caucus-call-on-trump-to-stop-deporting-u-s-veterans/… 1/5 11/17/2017 Inland Rep. Mark Takano and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus call on Trump to stop deporting U.S. veterans – Press Enterprise Rep. Mark Takano on Thursday, Nov. 16, joined members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs at a press conference to call on the Trump administration to stop deporting veterans.

“We don’t have one day to waste,” said Takano, D-Riverside. “We know that there are veterans who died in Mexico waiting to get the care they needed.”

“That is a stain on America’s conscience,” said Takano, vice ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Takano said the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs are requesting the Department of Homeland Security to issue an immediate moratorium on deporting veterans.

Veterans who are not U.S. citizens can be deported for criminal convictions. Some veterans are not fully aware of the process they need to go through to become citizens aer serving in the military. A common assumption is that citizenship is automatic.

Congressional members also are asking the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide deported veterans access to health care and benets they are legally entitled to receive.

Additionally, they’re calling for key committees to hold hearings to consider permanent solutions for these veterans.

Letters with the requests were sent to these agencies. Takano said these are all steps that could be taken by the end of the year.

There are at least 239 deported veterans from about 34 countries, according to a July 2016 report by the American Civil Liberties Union of California. Other estimates put the number of deported veterans at more than 1,000.

In June, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus visited the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana, which serves as a resource center and shelter for deported veterans.

Last month, Takano led a delegation of members from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to visit the support house to highlight specic needs of deported veterans.

“Despite the injustices that they have suffered … every deported veteran I met told me the same thing, they still love America,” Takano said.

http://www.pe.com/2017/11/16/inland-rep-mark-takano-and-the-congressional-hispanic-caucus-call-on-trump-to-stop-deporting-u-s-veterans/… 2/5 11/17/2017 L.A. County leaders make a plea to feds in push to keep funds for homeless veterans - LA Times

L.A. County leaders make a plea to feds in push to keep funds for homeless veterans

Flags are hoisted at the street-corner encampment of L.A. homeless veteran Kendrick Bailey. (Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)

By Melissa Etehad

NOVEMBER 16, 2017, 5:50 PM

fficials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs decided in September to put local VA officials in charge of $264 million that had previously O been set aside for specific programs to help homeless veterans. VA officials in Washington say the directive will help the agency’s medical directors around the country respond to the changing needs of veterans as it seeks to improve medical care and prevent suicides.

But the shift has generated concern among L.A. County officials, who say it could result in about $34 million being diverted from paying case managers who help homeless veterans find permanent housing to fund other programs at the West L.A. VA Medical Center.

If that happens, they say, it could make the county’s already severe veteran homelessness problem even worse.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved a motion Tuesday to send a letter signed by all five supervisors to VA Secretary David Shulkin, the Senate and House leadership and local VA medical centers asking that the VA reverse its decision.

Authored by Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Janice Hahn, the motion also authorized the board to send a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown and Vito Imbasciani, California’s secretary of veterans affairs, urging action “to protect funding for supportive services for homeless and formerly homeless veterans.”

The $34 million allotted to L.A. County has paid case managers in a voucher program that experts say has been central to helping homeless veterans find permanent housing.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-homeless-veteran-program-20171116-story.html 1/2 11/17/2017 L.A. County leaders make a plea to feds in push to keep funds for homeless veterans - LA Times

The program, which began in 2008, provides housing vouchers and services to help homeless veterans and their families find permanent housing. Its case managers also offer veterans mental health treatment and counseling for substance abuse and guide them through the process of finding housing.

Since it started, more than 6,700 veterans in L.A. County have found permanent housing through the program.

Kuehl said she is concerned that the move could lead to fewer trained caseworkers for the voucher program.

“Finding housing for veterans without the help of case managers is insufficient,” Kuehl said, adding that the homelessness problem is so severe, “we need the VA’s help in making sure that they get off the streets.”

In a Nov. 9 letter to Shulkin, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said case managers were essential in helping homeless veterans retain permanent housing.

VA Press Secretary Curt Cashour said the move would give VA officials in Los Angeles freedom to invest in other programs that address immediate needs that might arise, and added that doing so wouldn’t affect the homeless veteran population that the VA serves.

“VA remains committed to making sure that veterans who are homeless or on the brink of homelessness have a home,” Cashour said in a statement.

About 4,800 veterans live on the streets or in shelters in L.A. County — a 57% increase from last year — according to the 2017 count conducted by the L.A. Homeless Services Authority.

An estimated 5,000 veterans are currently housed and receiving services using the voucher program throughout L.A. County. [email protected]

Twitter: @melissaetehad

This article is related to: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Homelessness, Sheila Kuehl

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-homeless-veteran-program-20171116-story.html 2/2 11/17/2017 Young and homeless in America | EdSource

HIGHLIGHTING STRATEGIES FOR STUDENT SUCCESS Young and homeless in America

NOVEMBER 16, 2017 | CAROLYN JONES

PHOTO BY IRIS SCHNEIDER FOR EDSOURCE Lisa Coker, a staffer with Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, a non profit agency that helps homeless youth and families in Santa Maria, distributes school supplies to students at Santa Maria High School. Coker also helps families seeking emergency shelter at Good Samaritan Shelter, where this family of two adults and six children share three bunk beds.

ore than 4 percent of adolescents and 10 percent of young adults nationwide were living M on the street, in cars or shelters, or couch-surfing at some point in the last year, according to a sweeping study by the University of Chicago released Wednesday.

The study, “Missed Opportunities: Youth Homelessness in America,” was based on random phone surveys of 26,000 young people ages 13 to 25, and represents one of the most accurate, wide- ranging overviews ever conducted of homeless youth, a group whose numbers have long eluded researchers, educators and social workers, homeless advocates said.

“We just haven’t had definitive numbers like this before,” said Shahera Hyatt, director of the California Homeless Youth Project, a state agency. “It’s fantastic to have this data, but the numbers https://edsource.org/2017/young-and-homeless-in-america/590418 1/4 11/17/2017 Young and homeless in America | EdSource are staggering. We as a country really have to face the truth about youth homelessness. I hope this report finally spurs us into action.”

Homeless young people are usually counted through their schools, as required by the federal McKinney-Vento Act, or through “point in time” counts, in which case workers count how many people were in shelters or living on the street on a given day. Both counts are considered low because families might be reluctant to answer school surveys truthfully, or because homeless young people tend to drift in and out of homelessness and might not be counted on a specific day, Hyatt said.

The University of Chicago study, which was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and private foundations, included young people in cities, suburban and rural areas in every region of the country, and breaks down the data down by race, education level and sexual orientation. Young adults were defined as those 18 to 25 years old and adolescents were those 13 to 17. The study did not break down its findings by state.

Among its findings:

Rural homelessness was nearly equal to urban homelessness. LGBT youth were 120 percent more likely to become homeless than their straight peers. African-American youth were 83 percent more likely to become homeless than other groups.

Among those homeless youth who were 18 to 25 years old, the primary reasons they were homeless were high housing costs, low wages and large student debt, according to Matthew Morton, a research fellow at University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall policy research center who oversaw the study.

“This really is a call for urgency and alarm,” he said. “It shows we need to look at this with a wider lens than we have been. Clearly, affordable housing is vital, but it’s not the only factor.”

Young people without a high school diploma or general equivalency degree were 346 percent more likely to become homeless than their peers, underscoring the important role that schools play in preventing homelessness, Morton said.

“Teachers, coaches, school staff, every adult in a school can look for the signs of homelessness among students,” and ensure those students get assistance and stay in school, he said.

https://edsource.org/2017/young-and-homeless-in-america/590418 2/4 11/17/2017 Young and homeless in America | EdSource The study recommends that Congress invest more in safety-net programs, such as child welfare, education and counseling, and promote more affordable housing. Better cooperation between schools, the juvenile justice system, public health agencies and other groups that deal with low- income families would also help, he said.

Sherilyn Adams, director of Larkin Street Youth Services, a homeless youth shelter in San Francisco, said the University of Chicago study provides an accurate depiction of a group that’s often invisible. Young homeless people often don’t appear obviously homeless, and therefore can be difficult to identify and help.

“What’s significant about this study is that it gives us long-needed data about the prevalence of youth homelessness. And the numbers are huge — they’re wholly unacceptable,” she said. “This tells us there is a daunting need that we all need to take seriously. If you know a kid who’s sleeping on someone’s couch, you should get involved.”

More affordable housing, job training, education and shelter space would help provide long-term solutions, she said.

In California, just over 3 percent of the K-12 public school population was homeless last year, according to data submitted by schools to the State Department of Education. Those numbers include students who were living in cars, motels, shelters, on the street or with their families “doubled up” with other families. The University of Chicago study did not ask respondents specifically if they were living “doubled up” — some of those families would have said they were couch-surfing, or living under a roof but in a highly unstable situation, while others would not, meaning that the study data is not precisely comparable to California’s data, Morton said.

High housing costs and low wages in some parts of the state have left California with a child poverty rate of 23 percent, according to a recent study by the Public Policy Institute of California. The group found that the highest rates of child poverty are clustered in the San Joaquin Valley, Los Angeles and the Central Coast. Schools in those areas also reported some of the highest rates of student homelessness.

College students are also affected by the high cost of living. A study released by California State University found that 10 percent of its 460,000 students are homeless.

“We know what needs to be done. We all need to advocate louder for housing,” said Hyatt at the California Homeless Youth Project. “People need to talk to their elected leaders at the local, state https://edsource.org/2017/young-and-homeless-in-america/590418 3/4 11/17/2017 Young and homeless in America | EdSource and federal levels about creating a safe and stable housing supply.”

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https://edsource.org/2017/young-and-homeless-in-america/590418 4/4 LOCAL

LA County employee complaints

rise in wake of attention to sexual

harassment charges

Los Angeles County Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration JANN_ON/FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS Mary Plummer | November 17, 2017

Los Angeles County has seen an upswing in the number of sexual harassment complaints filed by its workers recently as daily headlines draw attention to the high-profile issue.

In the wake of sexual harassment charges directed at celebrities and politicians around the country, local municipalities are also coming under the spotlight, with questions raised about whether employees know their rights and are adequately protected.

As one of the biggest local government entities in the country, Los Angeles County employs about 110,000 people with an annual budget of about $30 billion. Since 2011, the county has received about 27,000 workplace complaints from its employees, covering a range of allegations, including age and sexual orientation discrimination.

Sexual harassment is among the top complaint categories. Since July, more than 3,000 complaints of alleged sexual harassment and other problems like race discrimination and inappropriate conduct have been submitted to the county.

Vickey Bane, the executive director of the county’s Equity Oversight Panel, said the total number of complaints has been on an uptrend for several years. But since recent high-profile sexual allegations have surfaced, her department has seen an increase in the filing of sexual harassment complaints.

The county has a "policy of equity" adopted in 2011 that includes worker protections from sexual harassment. County Counsel Mary Wickham said the new program implementing the policy has cut employment litigation costs in half, from about $30 million to $15 million.

"There's no barrier to filing a complaint," Wickham said.

The county would not immediately provide details about the complaints filed, including whether any top staff were the subject of any allegations. "That's a privileged conversation," Wickham said. "I'll say this: the entire county workforce is subject to our process, including the supervisors."

Bane said the higher number of complaints the county is seeing is a good thing, reflecting that managers understand they’re required to report allegations and that staff feel comfortable coming forward.

"It shows that people are embracing, or employees are embracing the process, that they feel they have a place they can go," she said. Bane anticipates the number of overall complaints for the fiscal year will double by summertime to around 6,000.

Timothy Davis, an employment law attorney with Burke, Williams & Sorensen who has worked with public agencies in the state, said while California’s laws protecting workers from sexual harassment and other discrimination have long been clear, the law needs to be followed now more than ever.

"What it may mean for some agencies is that vigilance and compliance might be needed to be increased," Davis said.

11/17/2017 Sheriff's car involved in crash that kills 2 children - LA Times

Sheriff's car involved in crash that kills 2 children

Authorities work at the scene where two people were killed in a three-car collision involving a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department vehicle in Boyle Heights on Nov. 16. (KTLA)

By Alene Tchekmedyian

NOVEMBER 17, 2017, 6:05 AM

wo pedestrians were killed Thursday evening after they were struck by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department vehicle that was involved in a crash while responding to a radio call of shots fired, T authorities said. Three other pedestrians were injured and taken to a hospital for treatment, though details on their conditions were not available, said Los Angeles Police Officer Tony Im. Two deputies were also taken to a hospital.

As of Friday morning police authorities did not release the identities or ages of the victims, or provide more details about the sequence of events leading to the fatal crash. The LAPD is handling the investigation, authorities said.

“It’s still very active and being investigated at this time,” said Officer Drake Madison, an LAPD spokesman. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-boyle-heights-crash-20171116-story.html 1/2 11/17/2017 Sheriff's car involved in crash that kills 2 children - LA Times The three-car crash occurred about 7:30 p.m. in the 800 block of South Indiana Street in Boyle Heights. The impact thrust the sheriff’s vehicle onto the sidewalk, where the five pedestrians were struck, authorities said.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other died at a hospital. Authorities did not name the dead, saying their families had not yet been notified. KABC-TV Channel 7 reported that the two people killed were juveniles.

The drivers of the two other vehicles remained at the scene. They were not injured.

The collision comes less than a week after an 11-year-old girl was killed about a mile away when she was struck by a car while standing by a taco truck. Three others were struck and injured that night, but were expected to survive.

The driver in that incident, Jose Louis Perez, was booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, while a juvenile in the car with him was arrested on suspicion of possessing nitrous oxide, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Perez was heading west on Whittier Boulevard near Marietta Street when he crossed into eastbound lanes and crashed into the two parked cars, police said.

The impact thrust one of the cars onto the sidewalk, where it struck the pedestrians.

Times reporter Sonali Kohli contributed to this story. [email protected]

Twitter: @AleneTchek

UPDATES:

11:20 p.m.: This article was updated with more information about the crash.

9:55 p.m.: This article was updated to note that a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department vehicle was involved in the crash.

This article was originally published at 9 p.m.

This article is related to: Traffic Accidents, Pedestrian and Cyclist Accidents, Crime, Homicide, Law Enforcement, Los Angeles Police Department, L.A. County Sheriff's Department

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-boyle-heights-crash-20171116-story.html 2/2 11/17/2017 Today and Tomorrow No Burn Day In All Four Counties - Highland Community News: Breaking News Today and Tomorrow No Burn Day In All Four Counties Posted: Thursday, November 16, 2017 10:57 am

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has extended a residential no-burn alert effective Wednesday, November 15, 2017 through Thursday November 16, 2017, for all those living in the South Coast Air Basin, which includes Orange County and non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. SCAQMD reminds residents in these areas that burning wood in their fireplaces or any indoor or outdoor wood-burning device is prohibited from now through midnight on Thursday. The no-burn rule prohibits burning wood as well as manufactured fire logs, such as those made from

http://www.highlandnews.net/news/breaking_news/today-and-tomorrow-no-burn-day-in-all-four-counties/article_08a2927c-cb00-11e7-ac04-5b3a48bc4… 1/1 11/17/2017 Valbuena tells the San Manuel story - Highland Community News: Business Valbuena tells the San Manuel story Posted: Thursday, November 16, 2017 3:38 pm While some San Manuel tribal members have moved off the reservation before and after gaming came to the Native Americans, Lynn Valbuena followed her family heritage and stayed on to help lead the tribe and other Native American organizations.

Valbuena, 63, now serves as Tribal Chairwoman, but lives up to her aunt’s admonition: “Never forget who you are and where you came from.”

Addressing the Kiwanis Club of Highland on Thursday, Nov. San Manuel Chairwoman Lynn 16, the proud great-grandmother, known as “Nay” to her Valbueno friends, stilk enjoys telling the history of the San Manuel’s poor days when they raised some fruit and sold tax-free San Manuel Tribal Chairwoman Lynn cigarettes to survive. Valbuena visits the Highland Kiwanis Club. Her mother and grandmother worked off the reservation cleaning homes. Showing slides of early days on the reservation, she spoke fondly of the historic locations and showed one picture of herself at 5 years old, waiting for the school bus. Valbuena attended Cypress Elementary and Cole Elementary, and then it was on to San Gorgonio High School, where the tribe built a new football field for her alma mater. It was in the 1950s that her grandmother helped organize the tribe, but not until 1986 that they got permission for a bingo hall, parlaying that into a casino and bingo hall, and now plans for an expanded casino and 500-room hotel. “We have always maintained relationships with our neighbors,” she recalled.

Her mother was a regular member of the Highland Woman’s Club and often recalled how neighbors from the Valley brought food to the poor Indians on the reservation.

The San Manuel Band has repaid that kindness with a growing list of partnerships, giving out millions of dollars to worthy causes and growing on and off the reservation.

She told of the tribe’s contributions to education, including the new Gateway College just off the I-215 in San Bernardino focusing on health care classes. She said there are now 567 tribes with gaming, 110 in California. But there are none more invested in their community, recalling: “Never forget who you are and where you came from.” http://www.highlandnews.net/business/valbuena-tells-the-san-manuel-story/article_34adead4-cb27-11e7-9a57-639823972167.html?mode=print 1/2 11/17/2017 Valbuena tells the San Manuel story - Highland Community News: Business The Kiwanis Club of Highland meets Thursdays at 7:15 a.m. at the East Highlands Ranch Stone House, 7136 Club View Drive, Highland. Visitors always welcome.

http://www.highlandnews.net/business/valbuena-tells-the-san-manuel-story/article_34adead4-cb27-11e7-9a57-639823972167.html?mode=print 2/2 11/17/2017 White supremacist hate crimes, violence against transgender people surge in LA County, report finds – Daily News

NEWS White supremacist hate crimes, violence against transgender people surge in LA County, report finds

By BRENDA GAZZAR | [email protected] | Daily News PUBLISHED: November 16, 2017 at 10:44 am | UPDATED: November 16, 2017 at 6:19 pm

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Nearly a quarter of all hate crimes reported in Los Angeles County last year were based on sexual orientation, making gay men, lesbians and LGBT organizations the group most frequently targeted for the first time in many years, according to a new report.

The last time the number of homophobic hate crimes exceeded the number of anti-black crimes was in 2002, according to the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations.

There were 118 reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation in 2016, which is two less than the prior year, according to the Commission’s 2016 Hate Crime Report released Thursday. Eighty-one percent of these hate crimes were violent.

They included one hate murder, in which prosecutors alleged that Shehadeh Khalil Issa of North Hills killed his openly gay adult son, Amir, in April of last year partly because of “an extreme hatred of his son’s sexuality.” Issa was found guilty of premeditated murder in the death of his his wife and son as well as for the hate crime allegation.

The total number of hate crimes reported in the county last year was 482, one less than 2015, when there was a 24 percent increase over 2014 and the highest total since 2011, according to the report.

Meanwhile, gender-based crimes jumped by 77 percent last year, most of which were anti-transgender crimes. In fact, anti-transgender crimes jumped 72 percent from 18 to 31 reported incidents with a staggering 97 percent of a violent nature — more than any major victim group, the Commission found.

“It’s alarming (and) at the same time, I always know that the numbers that law enforcement report compared to the number of clients I see coming through my office is always different because there is this fear of going to law enforcement and reporting because there is a fear of re-victimization,” said Mariana Marroquin, a transgender woman who is program manager for the Anti-Violence Project at the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

Latina transgender women, like Marroquin, were targeted the most, the report found. Marroquin said she fled her native Guatemala after she was attacked for her gender identity, stripped naked and heard her attackers plot her death in 1998. Then one day after she had moved to the U.S. in 2002, she was called a homophobic slur by a random man and punched in the face while walking home in the Hollywood area.

However, the work being done with the transgender community about knowing their rights is paying off, she said, because people are more willing to come forward and report such incidents than they have been in the past.

http://www.dailynews.com/2017/11/16/white-supremacist-hate-crimes-violence-against-transgender-people-surge-in-la-county-report-finds/ 1/4 11/17/2017 White supremacist hate crimes, violence against transgender people surge in LA County, report finds – Daily News

(Courtesy Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations)

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Another alarming trend is that hate crimes in which there was evidence of white supremacist ideology — including acts of vandalism in which swastikas or other hate symbols were used — surged by 67 percent from 63 in 2015 to 105 incidents in 2016. This made up more than one-fifth of all hate crimes reported last year, up from 13 percent the previous year.

Shehada Issa of North Hills appears in San Fernando court Monday, April 11, 2016. Issa was convicted in September of this year of premeditated murders of his son, who was openly gay, and his wife.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, who represents the San Gabriel Valley and east and northeast L.A., said has witnessed this in the southeastern part of her district. In recent months, they’ve had to alert the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department because white supremacists and anti-immigrant groups have disrupted city council meetings in communities like Cudahy — yelling hateful rhetoric and brandishing weapons at times.

“Most hate crimes appear to be motivated by race, ethnicity or national origin,” she said. http://www.dailynews.com/2017/11/16/white-supremacist-hate-crimes-violence-against-transgender-people-surge-in-la-county-report-finds/ 2/4 11/17/2017 White supremacist hate crimes, violence against transgender people surge in LA County, report finds – Daily News

The Commission also found that between the Nov. 8, 2016 presidential election and Dec. 31, 82 hate crimes were reported in the county — representing an increase of seven hate crimes or 9 percent from the same period the previous year.

“While seven additional crimes may not seem like a lot, we have to remember that in the previous year there was an exceptionally large jump (47 percent) in the number of hate crimes in November and December of 2015 following the terrorist attacks in Paris and then in neighboring San Bernardino,” said Robin S. Toma, executive director of the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations, referring to a surge in anti-Muslim and Middle Eastern hate crimes.

President Donald Trump’s name was touted in several reported hate crimes during this period. Among them, an Asian woman in Woodland Hills was yelled at by two white men in a car while walking her dogs on Nov. 11 of last year. Using racial slurs, the perpetrators told her to go back to where she came from, yelled “Trump town!” and struck her with eggs, according to the report.

RELATED STORY: Hate crimes against blacks, Latinos, transgender women rise in LA County

Blacks were the second most targeted group with 112 incidents reported though anti-black hate crimes declined 19 percent over 2015. Jews were the third most targeted group, comprising 67 percent of the 101 religious hate crimes despite making up a small percentage of the population. Mexicans were the fourth most targeted group while transgender individuals were the fifth.

Meanwhile, whites were the only racial/ethnic group to experience a sharp increase in hate crimes. Anti-white crimes jumped from 11 incidents to 27 incidents — or 145 percent — but still occurred at a lower rate than other ethnic groups, the report found.

The largest number of hate crimes reported last year — 95 — took place in the sprawling San Fernando Valley, followed by the metro region, which stretches from West Hollywood to Boyle Heights. But when taking into account each area’s population, the metro region had the highest rate of hate crimes followed by the west region V, which includes Beverly Hills, Culver City and a number of affluent beach cities.

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Brenda Gazzar, Brenda Gazzar Los Brenda Gazzar is a multilingual multimedia reporter who has worked for a variety of news outlets in California and in the Angeles Middle East since 2000. She has covered a range of issues, including breaking news, immigration, law and order, race, Daily News religion and gender issues, politics, human interest stories and education. Besides the Los Angeles Daily News and its sister papers, her work has been published by Reuters, the Denver Post, Ms. Magazine, the Jerusalem Post, USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, The Cairo Times and others. Brenda speaks Spanish, Hebrew and intermediate Arabic and is the recipient of national, state and regional awards, including a National Headliners Award and one from the Associated Press News Executives' Council. She holds a dual master's degree in Communications/Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.  Follow Brenda Gazzar @bgazzar